High School

La Salle College vs. Easton: Live Score Updates from This Heavyweight Pennsylvania Football Playoff Battle

Follow along as La Salla College and Easton face -off in the PIAA football state quarterfinals on Friday.

Harry Lichtman

LaSalle College and Easton square off in a heavyweight PIAA state quarterfinal.
LaSalle College and Easton square off in a heavyweight PIAA state quarterfinal. / La Salle College Football/John Wilbur

Two Pennsylvania schools will face off in the PIAA high school football state quarterfinals on Friday night.

La Salle College enters the game having a record of 10-1 overall. The Explorers are coming off a 31-16 win over Imhotep Charter in the first round.

Meanwhile, Easton enters the contest with an undefeated overall record of 13-0. The Rovers are coming off a 42-17 blowout victory over

The last two times these schools faced off in the playoffs were in 2009 and 2010, where La Salle College prevailed both times. The the two football programs will meet again at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Players to Watch

La Salle College

Gavin Sidwar - QB: A senior and Missouri commit
Ahzir Nelson - RB: A junior
Joey O'Brian - WR/SAF: A senior and Notre Dame commit
JP Oates - TE: A senior and Temple commit
Grayson McKeogh - OL: A senior and Notre Dame commit

Easton

  • Cole Ordway - QB: A senior
  • Chris Martinez - RB: A senior
  • Andrew Biddle - WR: A senior

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Live Updates

(Refresh throughout the game for live updates, scores, key plays and analysis.)

1

2

3

4

F

La Salle College

0

28

14

7

49

Easton

0

0

7

0

7

1st Quarter

- Rovers receive the opening kickoff and begin at their own 16. Quarterback Cole Ordway keeps it himself and picks up a couple first downs. They move across midfield but go three and out and punt with 5:20 left in the quarter.

Explorers start their first drive at their own 8. Gavin Sidwar fires a deep pass to Joey O'Brian for a 46-yard gain to their opponents' 46. They move closer but are unable to score on 4th down, turning the ball over on downs.

Rovers take over at their own 27. A defensive penalty moves them up the field. They eventually drive over past midfield as the quarter ends.

End of 1st: La Salle College 0, Easton 0.

2nd Quarter

- Rovers are unable to convert on 4th and 6.

Explorers take over at their own 33. Sidwar connects with Owen Johnson for a big gain to the 50. Sidwar connects Johnson again for 27 yards to the 23.

On 4th and 6, Sidwar finds Johnson for a 19-yard touchdown. XP good as the Explorers lead 7-0 with 7:50 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 7, Easton 0, 7:50 left in 2nd.

On the ensuing kickoff return, Easton fumbles the ball around the 20-yard-line, and JP Oates picks it up and returns it for an Explorers touchdown. XP good with 7:41 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 14, Easton 0, 7:41 left in 2nd.

Rovers get the ball as the offense finally returns to the field. They move close to midfield but go three and out and have to punt. Explorers get a big return across midfield.

Explorers begin at the opponents' 39. Running back Ahzir Nelson gets a big gain up to the 5. Nelson takes it in for a five-yard touchdown run. XP good with 3:26 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 21, Easton 0, 3:26 left in 2nd.

Rovers begin at their own 29. Ordway connects with Trevon Tyler on a screen pass for a big gain across the field to their opponents' 29.

However, Ordway gets sacked and fumbles the ball, as the Explorers recover at their own 39 for a takeaway.

Sidwar connects with Johnson for a 21-yard gain in Rovers territory. Sidwar throws a swing pass to Oates who goes 30 yards for a touchdown. XP good with 1:24 left in the half.

NOTE: Gavin Sidwar has now thrown 34 touchdown passes this season.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 28, Easton 0, 1:24 left in 2nd.

Rovers begin their next drive deep in their own territory but just let the clock run out, ending the half.

HALFTIME: La Salle College 28, Easton 0.

3rd Quarter

- Explorers receive the opening second half kickoff and begin at their own 34. On the very first play, Sidwar throws a screen pass to Johnson who gets a huge gain up to the opponents' 27.

Sidwar then connects with Oates who takes it to the 11. Three plays later, Desmond Ortiz scores from one yard out. XP good with 9:51 left in the third quarter. This activates the running clock.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 35, Easton 0, 9:51 left in 3rd.

Rovers start at their own 36 with a running clock. At the 50, Cole Ordway throws a deep pass to Sean McPeek for a 50-yard strike and score. XP good with 8:46 left in the third quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 35, Easton 7, 8:46 left in 3rd.

Explorers begin at their own 20. An offensive penalty moves them behind their own 10. At the 7, Sidwar connects with Oates who goes 93 yards to the house, but a flag negates the touchdown.

Around their own 5, the Explorers go three and out and are forced to punt.

Rovers begin at their own 49. A fumbled handoff results in a loose ball recovered by the Explorers for another takeaway.

Explorers take over at their opponents' 46. They pound the rock as Ortiz scores on a 20-yard rushing touchdown. XP good with 52 seconds left in the third.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 42, Easton 7, 0:52 left in 3rd.

Rovers start at their own 25 with another running clock.

End of 3rd: La Salle College 42, Easton 7.

4th Quarter

- Rovers go three and out and are forced to punt.

Explorers begin at their own 39. They pound the rock with Jurae Dial multiple times. Dial eventually scores on a 13-yard touchdown. XP good with 5:30 left in the game.

TOUCHDOWN: La Salle College 49, Easton 7, 5:30 left in 4th.

Rovers begin at their own 21. The drive up the field into Explorers territory but the clock runs out, ending the game.

FINAL: La Salle College 49, Easton 7.

RECAP

La Salle College and Easton met in the MIAA Class 6A football state quarterfinals Friday night. The Rovers entered the game undefeated at 13-0, but the Explorers dominated the contest for a 49-7 road victory.

After a scoreless first quarter, La Salle College went on to score four touchdowns to take a 28-0 lead at halftime. Quarterback Gavin Sidwar threw two touchdowns passes, while the Explorers registered four touchdown runs. Desmond Ortiz scored two of them, while Ahzir Nelson and Jurae Dial each got in the end zone too.

La Salle College's defense also stepped up big time. They kept Easton's offense led by quarterback Cole Ordway at bay most of the game. The Rovers fumbled the ball three times in the game, and JP Oates was involved in all three plays. On an ensuing kickoff after an Explorers touchdown, Oates picked up a loose ball and returned it for a score.

The lone Easton score came in the third quarter when Ordway connected with Sean McPeek for a 50-yard touchdown pass.

With the win, La Salle College improves to 11-1 and advances to the state semifinals vs. North Penn on Thanksgiving weekend.

Published |Modified
Harry Lichtman
HARRY LICHTMAN

Harry Lichtman is a sports reporter based in Montgomery County, MD and the DC area. He also writes for Capitals Outsider and LastWordOnSports, and previously wrote for MLB Report, The Sports Pulse, the Baltimore Jewish Times, the Montgomery County Sentinel, and The Bottom Line newspaper at Frostburg State University. In 2020, Harry won an MDDC Press award for a story about former high school lacrosse head coach Jeff Fritz. Harry has been writing since 2016.

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