Alex Fydryszewski

This, deep down, is the matchup I wanted to see when the brackets came out. While my gut in the first round told me Easton had something, my mind knew that it was a big mountain they would have to climb, and they could not do it. I figured 21-0 on grass in the rain would translate to probably 35-0 on turf with it dry. Besides, now we get to see someone new, someone different. I love the LVC, but let’s face it, the best part about playoff time is seeing someone different. The Mountaine…erm, uh, um… The Cougars bring something new and something exciting. In the other semifinal, Parkland hosts WVW. The fan in me wants the best matchup possible, and that means Parkland, the Liberty supporter wants the lesser of two evils, that’s WVW, and that would mean home game. However, no matter how the chips fall, Liberty will be ready.

For Liberty, we know on offense that the ‘Canes are dangerous, and probably have more firepower than any team at any level east of the Susquehanna. The front seven may also be unequaled at any level east of the Susquehanna as well. For Liberty to win, the same names I touched on all season need to bring their A game again. If Liberty plays like they did in the second quarter vs East Stroudsburg, folks will have the freedom to leave at halftime. If they play like they did in the first quarter, where there were a bunch of penalties and Liberty seemed overconfident, it could make for an interesting game.

A better question is who is Hazleton and what do they do? They like to run. It seems like they even telegraph where they’re going to send Nate Eachus with the ball, almost a “Here’s our play, coming right at you, now…stop us if you can.” Eachus is over 1,600 yards on the season, and according to the HAHS football website, he has carried 202 times. Talk about a durable running back, look no further that Nate Eachus. QB Joe Kost also likes to get in on the running act, he has carried 91 times for almost 400 yards. In the passing game, Kost will look to 6’2” receiver Chad Nicholas, who is only a sophomore. 6’3” Junior Matt Drumheller also lines up wide on occasion. That is cause for concern, they have some big boys. Matchups could be a problem there. On defense, they are led by their Mr. Everything, Nate Eachus, and also senior linebacker Rich Matz.

Liberty seems to fare well with teams that do that whole “here it is, come get us” type of offense, and I have a funny feeling Hazleton has not seen a team with eleven athletic scholarship level players on the defensive side of the ball this year. Last time the ‘Canes met the Cougars, it was on a horribly freezing night up in the mountains, and Hazleton looked like they had just been hit with a nuclear warhead after a quarter. That game ended in a disaster for the Cougars, who had a packed Harman Geist Stadium behind them, but they could not deal with the speed and power Liberty brought to the table. One must wonder how different this team is. I think they are bigger and better, but there is even more talent on this team than the last two, at least I think so. Yes, I know, Jarnagin, Hoagie, Persa, the King’s guys from last year, Petros; They were all good, the first three great, but this team could have a college player at every spot on defense and a college player at every spot on offense, on top of that, a lot more of these guys have scholarship potential. So on the basis that they’re better, but Liberty is better, would I be wrong to think 42-7 might happen again? Perhaps, but again, let us take no team lightly, after all, this is the playoffs. Until we meet again on Friday at the house that Banko built, ‘Go Canes.