Easton senior quarterback Cole Ordway became the program’s all-time leader in total offense last week, surpassing local legend Shane Simpson with 6,142 total yards and counting.
He continued his record-breaking week by surpassing Simpson, himself and three others for the most rushing touchdowns in a game as his seven scores on the ground lifted Easton to a 51-14 rout of rival Nazareth on Friday night at Nazareth High School. The win also gave the Red Rovers their first 10-0 start since 2014 to capture the EPC Northampton Division championship.
The senior quarterback stepped up when it mattered most time and time again as four of seven touchdowns on the night came on fourth down to headline a 227-yard rushing night for the Red Rover. His team tallied 440 rushing yards on the night one year removed from a 63-55 thriller against the Blue Eagles where they racked up 568 yards on the ground.
His first fourth-down conversion of the night came on the team’s opening drive as the signal caller took the snap out of the shotgun and plunged up the middle from a yard out to give the Red Rovers an early 7-0 lead. The second drive ended in identical fashion, a 1-yard keeper, but even when the offense wasn’t clicking, Ordway found a way to create points.
Faced with a 4th-and-25 from the Nazareth 32, Easton elected to punt, so Ordway stayed in the game and pinned the Blue Eagles inside their own 1-yard line. On the next play, Sean McPeek stormed into the backfield to bring down Marquez Wimberly for a safety that extended the lead to 16-0.
A 54-yard sprint down the far sideline and a ridiculous 4th-and-4 designed run, where it looked like Ordway was bottled up short of the sticks before breaking into the open field for a 27-yard touchdown, gave the Red Rovers a commanding 30-0 lead heading into the locker room.
Despite a 76-yard touchdown by Jayden Quach on the opening play of the second half, and a quick 3-and-out forced by the Blue Eagles defense, coach Matt Senneca’s group weathered the storm to pull away for a mercy rule victory over their division rival.
The win is the second straight in the series for Senneca and the Red Rovers after losing six in a row in the matchup dating back to 2019.
Senior running back Trevon Tyler capitalized on his first ever carries in the backfield with 114 yards on just 10 carries to provide a spark in a ground attack dominated almost exclusively by Ordway and senior teammate Chris Martinez.
Up next
Easton (10-0) enters the District 11 6A playoffs as the area’s top-seed for the second consecutive season after a perfect regular season. The Rovers will host the eighth seed in the district at a time and date still to be determined.
Nazareth (7-3) will enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak, but is still likely to earn the third-seed in the bracket and play host to a team at a time and date all still to be determined.
Derek Bast is a freelance writer who can be found on Twitter/X at @derek_bast. He can be reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.
EASTON 51, NAZARETH 14
Easton: 16; 14; 7; 14 — 51
Nazareth: 0; 0; 7; 7 — 14
ORDER OF SCORING
First quarter
E: Cole Ordway 1 run (Noah Borluca kick); 8:48
E: Ordway 1 run (Borluca kick); 6:05
E: Marquez Wimberly -1 run (Safety); 1:14
Second quarter
E: Ordway 54 run (Borluca kick); 10:42
E: Ordway 27 run (Borluca kick); 5:35
Third quarter
N: Jayden Quach 76 pass from Cooper Madson (Owen Hall kick); 11:42
E: Ordway 2 run (Borluca kick); 4:40
Fourth quarter
E: Ordway 1 run (Borluca kick); 9:18
N: Luke DePietro 43 pass from Madson (Hall kick); 7:01
E: Ordway 56 run (Borluca kick); 4:33
