Thanksgiving day roundup: Easton (Pa.) takes out Phillipsburg (NJ)

Easton (Pa.) scored touchdowns  in each of the first three quarters and its defense limited Phillipsburg (NJ) to 30 yards rushing for the game as it recorded a 24-8 win Thursday morning in the 105th meeting between the two schools at Lafayette College's Fisher Field in Easton, Pa.

According to Lehighvalleylive.com, three different players scored touchdowns for Easton (11-2), which held a 14-0 lead at halftime. Kevin Griffin's 36-yard run in the first period and Ian Hayden's 9-yard TD pass to Matt Moward in the second quarter accounted for Easton's first two scores.

Phillipsburg, 7-3, registered its only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter.

Alex Martin caught seven passes from quarterback Mike Diamond for 125 yards for Phillipsburg. Griffin had 95 yards rushing for Easton while Hayden completed nine of 18 passes for 160 yards. Freshman Shane Simpson made six catches for 111 yards for Easton.

Easton now leads in the series by 58-41-5.

Needham (Mass.) 42, Wellesley (Mass.) 18

In Wellesley, Mass., Needham (8-3) closed the gap on neighboring rival Wellesley (2-9) in their 124th annual Thanksgiving game by scoring a 42-18 win at Hunnewell Field.

Nico Panepinto scored three touchdowns and Ronnie Rosser intercepted three passes for the Rockets, who clinched the Bay State Conference Carey Division crown. Wellesley actually scored the game's first touchdown on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Matt Pini to Dan Elfman. 

Elfman, the team's leading rusher, was heled to 41 yards rushing but he added five catches for 85 yards. Pini was 14-of-29 for 265 yards and two scores according to the Metro West Daily News.

Ryan Charter, a sophomore quarterback, fired a career high four touchdowns passes in only 14 attempts. Mike Vespa rushed 22 times for 77 yards.

It was all Needham after that. Wellesley still leads the series by 59-56-9.

New London (Conn.) 37, Norwich Free Academy (Conn.) 17

According to the Norwich Bulletin, Kyle McKinnon rushed 29 times for 254 yards and scored three touchdowns as New London (Conn.) won the 150th meeting of the two schools. It is believed to be the longest-running rivalry game in the nation.

Kyle McKinnon rushed for 254 yards and scored three touchdowns for New London.

Photo by Ken Rutt

Norwich Free Academy leads the series, 73-66-11.

McKinnon not only rushed for two touchdowns, but he scored on an 83-yard catch. More importantly, his team (9-1) advanced to the No. 4 seed in Class L. The Whalers host fifth-seed New Canaan (9-1) in a Tuesday playoff game.

It wasn't NFA's day as it took a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal by Colin Gladue, who hurt his knee on the kick and never returned.

McKinnon then put his team up with TD runs of 1 and 28 yards, giving the Whalers a 12-3 lead with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.

Like good rivalry games should, this one see-sawed back Norwich Free Academy's way as Erik Washburn connected on a pair of touchdown passes - a 20-yarder to Marcus Outlow and a 72-yarder to Ryer Caruso. That gave their team a 17-12 edge.

But another big play, this coming on a 66-yard run from Jevon Elmore, gave New London the lead for good with 4:28 left until halftime.

Philadelphia Northeast 27, Philly Central 20

Daquan White scored the first two touchdowns of the game and Northeast (Philadelphia, Pa.) never looked back in the 120th meeting between the Philadelphia squad.

The victory avenged a first-round Public League playoff and helped increase the series lead to 60-50-10. White scored on runs of 12 and 69 yards.

According to Philly.com, Northeast was actually led in rushing by Shimeek Carter (nine carries, 98 yards) and Daquan Bohannan was effective passing with six completions in eight attempts for 136 yards and two touchdowns. 

Central (Philadelphia, Pa.) was led by quarterback Ryan Dydak, who completed 10 of 19 for 101 yards and one touchdown to Richard Dayton, who also rushed for a score. Central also had good games from Richard "Tre" Dayton (four catches, 46 yards, a two-point conversion) and Walt Pegues (87 yards rushing).
Washington Dunbar 33, Coolidge 21 (DCIAA Championship)

Enduring the forfeiture of a regular-season conference game, the firing of its head coach, and the loss of three ineligible players, Dunbar (Washington, D.C.) won its 10th D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association title on Thursday, defeating upstart Coolidge, 33-21, at Eastern High.

“We knew we had to keep pushing forward,” senior running back Olu Izegwire told the Washington Post.

Izegwire and running back Curlee Walker helped cap the remarkable season by Dunbar (9-3), combining for 273 rushing yards, while derailing the hopes of Coolidge (8-3) and its second-year coach, Natalie Randolph.

Izegwire's 73-yard TD punt return gave Dunbar a 13-7 late in the first quarter.

After Coolidge tied the score at 13-13, Dunbar went up by two touchdowns on a 28-yard reception by Maxie Stevens from quarterback Lamel Matthews. In addition to all the other obstacles it had to overcome this season, Dunbar had to play four games without Matthews, who had been injured.

“It’s just unreal,” Dunbar defensive back Carlos Atkinson said.

Atkinson registered two pass interceptions to lead the Dunbar defense.

Dunbar players then dumped a bucket of ice water on interim head coach Willie Bennett just prior to the end of the game. Bennett had taken over for Ashaa Cherry, who'd been relieved of his head coaching duties in September for using three ineligible players. Dunbar also had to forfeit a DCIAA game for its involvement in a game-ending brawl against Baltimore Dunbar in its season opener at the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Morgan State.

Coolidge, meanwhile, rallied this season to reach the DCIAA final after going 4-7 in Randolph's first season in 2010. Its appearance in the championship game was only its second since 1987.

Randolph, an environmental science teacher at the school and a former college track star, is one of the only women to ever coach high school football.