EPC football team power rankings: Can anyone stop No. 1 Freedom?

Jason Roeder is in his 20th season as the Freedom football coach and with a record of 143-80 and two District 11 titles on his resume, he has proven himself to be one of the area's best leaders.

One of the things that make Roeder successful is his unrelenting pursuit of excellence. His Patriots are always trying to get better.

Freedom is 7-0, state-ranked and the only unbeaten left in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference with three weeks left in the regular season. Even though the team has had some significant injuries to players such as Justin Peluso and Hunter Sporka, the Patriots continue to seek ways to get better.

And, Freedom needs to improve because they have several qualities teams chasing them, most notably Parkland and Easton, who are both 6-1, and Nazareth, which seems to have found its footing after back-to-back losses to Freedom and Parkland.

It all makes the final weeks of the season intriguing as teams jockey for District 11 playoff positioning.

Here's a look at the EPC team power rankings from No. 18 to No. 1 with the leaves changing colors, temperatures dropping, Halloween decorations popping up and the games getting bigger:

o. 18: Pleasant Valley

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to East Stroudsburg North 21-20

What's next: At Pocono Mountain East, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Bears lost a thriller to East Stroudsburg North, giving up a late TD and 2-point conversion. Jaxson Haines, Jay Delgado and Chris Ward scored touchdowns for PV. Ward had 105 yards rushing and Aiden Lollis and Haines chipped in 61 and 50 yards, respectively. The Bears had scored just 21 points combined in their previous four games before tallying 20 Thursday night.

No. 17: Pocono Mountain East

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to East Stroudsburg South 67-27

What's next: Host Pleasant Valley, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Cardinals scored a season-high total against South but gave up a season-high. East had 250 yards on offense, including 151 in the air, but had three turnovers and gave up 545 yards on defense.

No. 16: Allen

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Allentown Central Catholic 37-22

What's next: At Whitehall, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Canaries lost their fifth straight game, but had one of their best efforts of the season against ACCHS. They rushed for 239 yards, and had a 63-yard TD run by Kemahni Wimberly and a 57-yard TD dash by Michael Taylor. Ja'lil Johnson had a 16-yard TD run and a 2-point conversion.

No. 15: Pocono Mountain West

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Stroudsburg 37-7

What's next: At East Stroudsburg South, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Panthers had five takeaways against Stroudsburg, including several in the red zone but still gave up more than 400 yards. Freshman standout Christian Stiehler came back after an injury at Northampton and had an interception on defense and a few big plays on offense but Pocono West continued to have trouble sustaining drives on offense.

No. 14: East Stroudsburg North

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Pleasant Valley 21-20

What's next: Host Stroudsburg, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: By getting their third win of the season, the Timberwolves have now won as many games games this season as they won in the previous seven seasons combined. Dave Laughlin clearly has the program headed in the right direction and the come-from-behind win over Pleasant Valley was a testament to how far the Timberwolves have come. Zachary Deresky-Martinez scored from 3 yards out with 17 seconds left and Wayne King ran for the 2-point conversion that provided the winning points against PV.

No. 13: Dieruff

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Parkland 56-6

What's next: Host Emmaus, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Huskies have their final three games at J. Birney Crum Stadium and are trying to regroup after a tough game at Parkland in which they were outgained 298-38. Dieruff had a 95-yard kickoff return by Derwyn Deries, but negative yardage rushing. It was 42-6 after one quarter.

No. 12: Allentown Central Catholic

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Allen 37-22

What's next: Host Parkland, 7 p.m. Saturday

Comment: The Vikings got a balanced offensive attack against Allen with 134 yards rushing and 148 passing. Deon Johnson ran for 84 yards and sophomore quarterback Patrick Cahill had his best game with 138 yards passing and 3 TDs. Maksim Godbolt led the defense with 51⁄2 tackles.

No. 11: Stroudsburg

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Pocono Mountain West 37-7

What's next: At East Stroudsburg North, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Mounties bounced back from a tough night at Easton with a solid victory over West, getting touchdown passes from sophomore Jackson Mitchell to Ethan Dudsak and Karmari Coleman. Dudsak scored twice and the Coleman score went or 73 yards. Israel Mendez and Jayden Taylor also scored for the Mounties, who are now eighth in the District 11 6A power rankings.

No. 10: Whitehall

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Emmaus 31-7

What's next: Host Allen, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Zephyrs trailed only 10-0 at halftime at Emmaus and got a TD pass from Tanner Dogmanits to his brother Talon in the third quarter. But overall, Whitehall's offense never got going. It was held to 115 total yards and hurt by a pair of turnovers. Adam Youwakim again led the defense with eight tackles.

No. 9: East Stroudsburg South

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Pocono Mountain East 67-27

What's next: At Pocono Mountain West, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Cavaliers are averaging 40.1 points per game, second to only Parkland (40.2) in the EPC. Quarterback Ivan Laubach, running back Charles Capers and wide Xzavier Pusateri are among the best offensive players in the league. This is clearly the best team in District 11 5A at the moment and could play deep into November with improved defensive play.

No. 8: Bethlehem Catholic

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Freedom 24-3

What's next: Host Nazareth, 7 p.m. Saturday

Comment: Cayden Vassa threw for 158 yards and ran for 24 against Freedom, but threw 3 interceptions. The Golden Hawks were hurt by five turnovers overall and had 10 penalties for 89 yards, many of them of the pre-snap variety. Likely have to win one more game to secure a home-game in the District 11 4A quarterfinals.

No. 7: Northampton

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Easton 42-14

What's next: Host Freedom Friday night.

Comment: The Konkrete Kids were outrushed 268-24 at Easton. They made some plays in the passing game with Sincere Wadlington and Joey High getting touchdown passes, but they must shore up their rushing defense with Freedom coming to Al Erdosy Stadium this week.

No. 6: Liberty

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Lost to Nazareth 34-14

What's next: Host Easton 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Hurricanes hung with Nazareth for a long time, but couldn't score in the second half. Liberty gave up too many big plays, but did play solid defense in the red zone. Gabe Green had a big night running the football and Jake Pukszyn had 7 catches for 90 yards before cramping issues sidelined him in the second half. After being one of the big stories in EPC football through September, the Hurricanes will now have their character tested. See how they respond to their first loss.

No. 5: Emmaus

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Whitehall 31-7

What's next: At Dieruff, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Green Hornets got 128 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns from Reilly Bechtel in the win over Whitehall. Bechtel also had 5 tackles, including a pair of sacks on defense. Jerek Cooper threw for 120 yards and Kai Jefferson-Rushing had 3 catches for 28 yards and a touchdown.

No. 4: Nazareth

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Liberty 34-14

What's next: At Bethlehem Catholic, 7 p.m. Saturday

Comment: The Blue Eagles got a big offensive night from Marquez Wimberly and a big defensive performance by Lance Zuercher in the win over Liberty. Nazareth closed the game well with a pair of touchdowns. Peyton Falzone passed for more than 200 yards and ran for more than 100. It's a team that is getting healthier and building momentum for a tough stretch run that concludes with a visit to Easton on Oct. 25.

No. 3: Easton

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Northampton 42-14

What's next: Host Liberty, 7 p.m. Friday

Comment: The Red Rovers outgained Northampton 392-210, and got a combined 235 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns from the combination of Will Day and Dorian Thomas. Jasir Frutchey had 5 catches for 69 yards as Easton won its sixth straight game and has averaged 40.2 points per game during the win streak.

No. 2: Parkland

Record:

Last week's ranking:

Last week: Beat Allen 56-6

What's next: At Allentown CCHS, 7 p.m. Saturday

Comment: The Trojans got touchdowns from eight different players in the rout of Dieruff. The defense gave up 30 points in a loss to Freedom on Aug. 30, but in the 5-game winning streak that has followed, they have allowed a combined total of 26 points.