For years, Tim Moncman teams have shined under those well-documented “Friday Night Lights.”

But in these times of an officials shortage, more teams are playing Thursday night games. Moncman’s Parkland squad has three of this year and if the first one is any indication, the Trojans will do just fine.

Parkland led 28-0 after the first quarter and rolled to a 58-13 rout of visiting Pleasant Valley in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night.

The Trojans, who are ranked fourth in the state in Class 6A,  became the league’s first 4-0 team while the Bears fell to 1-3.

Parkland now has an extra day off before visiting Nazareth on Sept. 19 in one of the most-anticipated games of the EPC regular season.

“We’ve got a big one coming up and we’re going to need a great week of practice because Nazareth is a heck of a football team,” Moncman said. “[Peyton] Falzone is not only a great passer, but he’s a runner so we are going to have to finetune as best we can and contain him the best we can. It’s going to be tough.”

The Bears’ triple-option attack and be tough to prepare for because few teams run that kind of offense. PV had some success against the Parkland defense with 79 yards on the ground and 141 yards overall.

But most of those yards came after the first-quarter flurry that saw Finn Coen find Nassim Adams for a 53-yard pass completion on the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, TJ Lawrence had a 6-yard touchdown run.

Lawrence then intercepted a pass on Pleasant Valley’s next possession and returned it to the Bears 7. Two plays later, Jaren Sanchez scored on a short run.

“The mentality tonight was to come out and dominate,” Lawrence said. “We didn’t want to play down to their level because that’s when peoplen can roll over us.”

Before the quarter was over, Adams had a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown and Coen hit Blake Nassry for a 40-yard TD pass.

Two Naquon Thomason touchdown runs got the margin to 42-0 and the entire second half was played with the mercy rule in effect.

“I’m proud of the older kids because we talked about having focus from the beginning and playing with attitude and energy,” Moncman said. “It was nice that they put everything together early and we were able to our younger kids in the game, the kids who give us the scout looks. It gave them an opportunity to play and get meaningful minutes. Everybody got involved.”

Parkland ran just 26 plays and totaled 278 yards. Eight different players got carries led by Corsa’s five attempts for 50 yards. Thomason added 30 yards on three carries and Christian Whitaker had 22 yards on three handles.

Coen was 7-for-7 in the air for 124 yards. Nassry had three catches for 56 yards and Adams had two receptions for 65.

Even Jason Brubacher got into the scoring column with a blocked punt out of the end zone.

Despite the defeat, veteran Pleasant Valley coach Blaec Saeger believes his Bears are a much better team than the one that went 0-11 last year.

PV has hit a rough patch of the schedule having to play Exeter Township, the state’s No. 5 ranked team in Class 5A and Parkland in consecutive weeks.

“Parkland is a perennial power; they’re No. 4 in the state for a reason,” Saeger said. “Tim [Moncman] does an amazing job and they are who they are every single year. They’re going to compete for another 6A title and who knows beyond that. But I like the way our guys fought. We didn’t stop. We got a couple of late runs there and they made the most of it and never quit. I’m pleased we came out healthy and it was just very difficult having Exeter and Parkland two in a row. Now, we’re on to the next one.”

The Bears are at East Stroudsburg South next Friday and then host Nazareth on Sept. 25.

Before that, it’s Nazareth vs. Parkland in a matchup of teams that have combined for the last three District 6A titles. The Ble Eagles are 3-0 entering an EPC Northampton County Division battle at Freedom.

Lawrence said that with a rare Friday night off, he and several teammates would likely watch that game in person.

“The hype [for next week] will be crazy, but it’s an exciting feeling,” Lawrence said. “It’s great to play in front of a crowd like that and everyone plays up to their best when that happens. So, I’m excited.”

“It should be a great high school football game,” Moncman said. “Hopefully, people won’t miss that one.”

Scoring summary

Pleasant Valley 0 – 6 – 7 – 0 — 13

Parkland Trojans 28 – 14 – 9 – 7 — 58

FIRST QUARTER

PA: TJ Lawrece 6 run (Greyson Dancsecs kick), 10:53

PA: Jaren Sanchez 1 run (Dancsecs kick), 8:49

PA: Nassim Adams 76 punt return (Dancsecs kick) 2:51

PA: Blake Nassry 40 pass from Finn Coen (Dancsecs kick), 1:02

SECOND QUARTER

PA: Naquon Thomason 5 run (Dancsecs kick), 9:16

PA: Thomason 17 run (Dancsecs kick), 6:45

PV: Isaac Westerman 6 run (kick failed), 0:46

THIRD QUARTER

PV: Chris Ward 31 run (Ethan Duran kick), 9:12

PA: Safety, Jason Brubaker blocked punt out of end zone

PA: Caleb Corsa 12 run (Evan Sanders kick), 0:29

FOURTH QUARTER 

PA: Justin Barnes 21 run (Evan Sanders kick), 7:27

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/12/lehigh-valley-football-parkland/