For the second week in a row, the unbeatens stayed unbeaten and the winless stayed winless in the Colonial-Schuylkill League.
More records were broken and, so far, no coaches have resigned.
Here’s a look back at some of the notable moments from Week 8:
Colonial-Schuylkill League football five things we learned
1. When a loss can be a win
Palisades coach Bobby Smith knew this year’s team was more committed to the program, but still had not seen the type of response he and his staff want when adversity struck.
Smith saw it repeatedly in Friday’s loss to unbeaten Notre Dame-Green Pond.
The Pirates took a 3-0 lead on on the second play of the second quarter only to see the Crusaders score twice in less than three minutes to take a 14-3 lead.
After Palisades scored on its first series of the second half to make it 14-9, Notre Dame-GP responded 72 seconds later with a touchdown, then was driving again after forcing a punt. But the Pirates blocked a field goal then scored on consecutive possessions to take a 22-21 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders responded with a touchdown before the Pirates again drove deep into enemy territory only to come up empty.
But Smith could not have been prouder of what he saw from his team.
“To stop them twice inside the 20 is pretty amazing by these kids,” Smith said. “You don’t stop a good team like that that often. That’s how I knew these kids grew up and believe they can hang with anybody. And they can as long as the kids believe in themselves.
“They heard everybody say, ‘Notre Dame is going to blow you out.’ So, to come out here and play every play like it was their last like we asked them to was amazing. I really think after this week that mentality is going to stick. That’s what is great, even in a loss.”
Palisades also impressed Notre Dame-GP head coach Phil Stambaugh.
“I thought their interior defense played really, really tough for not having big kids,” he said. “That’s a credit to them. That’s the type of game I expected. I think they probably played their best game of the year against us.”
Palisades takes that encouraging sign with it into the final two games of the regular season against Wilson and Salisbury. Smith’s club is third in the District 11 Class 2A playoff standings. Top eight advance.
2. Irony for Crusaders leader, former Mountain Hawk
Notre Dame-GP’s Stambaugh, a Lehigh graduate, has had to endure a pair of nail-biting victories among the Crusaders’ 8-0 start this season. Both have come on the campus of Lehigh’s archrival Lafayette, where Notre Dame-GP is playing three “home” games this season while construction is completed on its campus.
The first sweat came in a Week 3 win over North Schuylkill when Notre Dame-GP stopped a potential game-winning two-point conversion with less than a minute to go in a 21-20 win.
The second came Friday night when Notre Dame-GP recovered from an early fourth-quarter deficit to beat Palisades 34-22.
The Crusaders were leading 27-22 when the Pirates faced fourth down at the Notre Dame-GP 31-yard line. That’s when the Crusaders’ defense came up big for a second time this season. Drew Boyd rolled over in coverage to double-team the Pirates’ best receiver Lincoln Cook and intercept the pass.
“That’s the kind of play we were looking for all night,” Stambaugh said, “trying to squeeze [Cook] a little bit.”
The Notre Dame-GP offense ran out the clock after Boyd’s interception with an 11-play drive that culminated in a touchdown with five seconds left.
Notre Dame-GP has one more “home” game this season for Stambaugh, the only quarterback in Lehigh history to beat Lafayette four times, to endure: Week 10 against winless rival Wilson.
3. Southern Lehigh’s record-setter
Senior Sean Steckert set the program’s career rushing yardage mark in Friday’s shutout of Bangor. He ran for 129 yards on five carries to give him 1,563 yards this season, 3,836 in his career. Steckert passed Jeremy Mack’s record of 3,813. He previously passed Mack’s career touchdowns record of 62. He has 67 after scoring twice against Bangor.
Teammate Colton Sams is approaching two school passing records. The junior quarterback completed all 12 of his passes against Bangor for 232 yards and four touchdowns. He has 4,915 career passing yards and 59 touchdowns. He trails Travis Edmond (5,281) and Logan Edmond (5,242) in the yardage department and is two behind Travis Edmond’s passing TDs record with two regular-season games and at least one District 11 playoff game remaining.
4. Not another meltdown
Williams Valley left Marian Catholic on Friday night after a 56-10 victory to improve to 7-1 and put a stop to a two-week skid of embarrassing behavior.
The Vikings lost a Week 6 showdown to Schuylkill Haven, the team they beat to win the previous two District 11 Class 2A championships. During and after the game, head coach Stephen Sedesse said the team’s two best players used derogatory language directed at him. Sedesse suspended those players — quarterback Brady Shomper and running back Fletcher Thompson — for more than a half of the Week 7 game against Panther Valley.
Sedesse said in a statement to the media that he received threats from parents after the win over Panther Valley as well after every other one of Williams Valley’s losses during his 2.5-year tenure, in which it was 28-6.
Williams Valley administration then decided to suspend Sedesse and his father, Mike, an assistant coach, for two games for holding out Shomper and Thompson longer than they were supposed to. Sedesse resigned last Monday rather than accept the suspension and because of the lack of administrative support and parental threats.
“This is me stepping away from the parents and administration of Williams Valley,” Sedesse said in his statement to the media.
A group calling itself the Williams Valley Football Boosters issued a statement the day after Sedesse resigned, refuting all of his allegations and blaming him for a negative culture.
“When allegations of threats are fabricated and small infractions are falsely escalated and reported as far more serious, it fosters mistrust and misinformation,” the statement read.
Shomper threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more against Marian Catholic. Thompson rushed for 122 yards and a TD. Vikings players were not permitted to talk to the media after the game.
Williams Valley is second in the district’s 2A playoff standings behind unbeaten Schuylkill Haven with regular-season games left at winless Shenandoah Valley and 1-7 Pine Grove.
Athletic director Ben Ancheff, who was on Sedesse’s staff, has taken over the head coaching duties on an interim basis.
5. Colonial vs. Schuylkill
The two leagues split the two Week 8 matchups and the Colonial League maintains a 12-11 advantage with two weeks left in the regular season.
Lehighton handled Tamaqua while Pottsville knocked off Wilson in its final game at the current version of Smith Field. A school renovation project including the gymnasium and stadium is planned to begin in the spring, which will have the Wilson football players becoming road Warriors in 2026.
There are two more Colonial vs. Schuylkill matchups in Week 9: Tamaqua at Northwestern Lehigh and North Schuylkill at Lehighton.
Colonial-Schuylkill League football standings
Team (Overall record); Division record; Points for; Points against
Red Division
Southern Lehigh (8-0); 7-0; 297; 98
Northwestern Lehigh (8-0); 6-0; 377; 94
North Schuylkill (5-3); 4-2; 294; 188
Blue Mountain (4-4); 3-3; 249; 193
Lehighton (4-4); 3-3; 215; 184
Pottsville (3-5); 2-4; 145; 187
Tamaqua (3-5); 2-4; 145; 200
Jim Thorpe (3-5); 1-5; 167; 250
Bangor (0-8); 0-7; 77; 333
White Division
Notre Dame-GP (8-0); 6-0; 351; 86
Palisades (5-3); 4-2; 213; 163
Northern Lehigh (5-3); 4-2; 252; 214
Pen Argyl (5-3); 4-3; 167; 204
Saucon Valley (5-3); 4-3; 212; 171
Palmerton (3-5); 3-3; 145; 199
Catasauqua (3-5); 2-4; 160; 254
Salisbury (2-6); 1-5; 114; 238
Wilson (0-8); 0-6; 63; 277
Blue Division
Schuylkill Haven (8-0); 7-0; 429; 114
Williams Valley (7-1); 6-1; 322; 114
Minersville (6-2); 5-2; 319; 123
Tri-Valley (6-2); 5-2; 274; 73
Marian Catholic (5-3); 4-3; 198; 218
Nativity BVM (4-4); 3-4; 119; 184
Panther Valley (3-5); 3-4; 129; 236
Mahanoy Area (1-7); 1-6; 54; 298
Pine Grove (1-7); 1-6; 68; 255
Shenandoah Valley (0-8); 0-7; 83; 305
Week 9 schedule (at 7 p.m. unless noted)
FRIDAY
Tamaqua at Northwestern Lehigh
Jim Thorpe at Bangor
Wilson at Palisades
Notre Dame-GP at Palmerton
Saucon Valley at Southern Lehigh
Panther Valley at Mahanoy Area
Schuylkill Haven at Nativity BVM
Williams Valley at Shenandoah Valley
Tri-Valley at Minersville
Marian Catholic at Pine Grove
Blue Mountain at Pottsville
North Schuylkill at Lehighton
Northern Lehigh at Salisbury
SATURDAY
Catasauqua at Pen Argyl, 1:30 p.m.
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
