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Growing pains for East Stroudsburg North football in season opener

HONESDALE — East Stroudsburg North came into the season with a lot of optimism. It was the second season under head coach Dave Laughlin; Wayne King was arguably the best quarterback on the mountain; and a number of new and returning players were going to help North take a step in the right direction.

Some of those things came true, with players like King and Zach Deresky-Martinez providing a much-needed punch to the offense and, in the latter’s case, to the defense as well. Unfortunately, it was more negatives than positives as the Timberwolves drop the season opener to Honesdale 33-16.

“We got some things to clean up,” head coach Dave Laughlin said after the game. “We got to understand our scheme better. We got to take better steps.”

The more glaring issues are on the defensive side of the ball, where the defensive line struggled to get any push, and the defense as a whole struggled to tackle, most noticeably when Honesdale’s Mason Avery shed several North defenders en route to a 70-yard touchdown run.

“This game came down to tackling, and we didn’t do a great job of it,” Laughlin said. “Our defensive line kept getting upfield as well. We can’t get upfield like that. We’re hitting our gaps. but we have to be in good space.

“The best part about it is they are things that are easy to correct.”

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North was down 12-0 early after a botched onside kick to start the game gave Honesdale favorable field position, followed by another score after a long drive. The Timberwolves made it close after Deresky-Martinez scored a touchdown and King ran in the 2-point conversion. But after another score late in the first half, the Hornets grew the lead to 20-8 and it was never close again.

Offensively, there was a lot to like about North. Both King and…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/growing-pains-east-stroudsburg-north-051532739.html

Author : Pocono Record

Publish date : 2024-08-24 05:15:32

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