Parkland Press

Brian Badawika had been practicing a kick from the exact spot several times during the days before Tuesday’s East Penn Conference boys soccer playoff game. He was ready.

His time came last Tuesday at Emmaus High School’s Memorial Field.

Badawika walked up to the penalty spot from about 10 yards away with a chance to deliver the Parkland boys soccer team a postseason win over rival Emmaus.

The Parkland football team has been playing its best football over the past few weeks.

The Trojans have built up some momentum after winning their last three games, which came on the heels of two consecutive losses.

That momentum continued last Friday night with a 24-0 shutout victory at Stroudsburg in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

Back on Sept. 6, nearly a month before their latest meeting, the Emmaus girls volleyball team got the better of rival Parkland, coming back from down two sets to one to earn an important early season win over a team that it has not found much success against of late.

But that was in the friendly confines of the Hornets’ Nest. Last Monday night, it was a different story.

It may have been the festivities and fun atmosphere of homecoming weekend, or it may have been playing a rival on the opposite side of the field, but whatever it was, the Parkland football team found its mojo last Friday night.

The Trojans (5-2 overall, 4-2 EPC South) put together a strong second half to take down Whitehall 49-21 last Friday night at Parkland School District Stadium for their third straight win, the team’s longest win streak of the season.

When Teagan Mangahas found the back of the net in the second half, it seemed like it would be the winner for Parkland. It gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead in a game that did not lack scoring chances, but featured strong defenses.

The Trojans have only allowed one goal their last three games, while outscoring their opponents 22-1 over that span.

It hasn’t been done yet this season through six regular season games, but the Parkland football team will try to win its third consecutive game on Friday night when it hosts Whitehall at Parkland School District Stadium in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division rivalry game.

Coming off victories over Nazareth and Liberty the last two weeks, the Trojans (4-2 overall, 4-2 EPC) will look to make it three straight against the Zephyrs (1-5, 1-5), who are facing a down year and a first-year head coach.

For the last half decade the Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic girls volleyball teams have been in several state finals between the two of them and are a consistent powerhouse in their classifications.

Last Monday night the two met in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season match. The Trojans did not sweat much in winning the first set, but were forced to hold on to take the next two in sweeping the Golden Hawks by scores of 25-12, 25-19 and 25-17.

Junior quarterback Tanner Lewis had been splitting time with senior quarterback Andrew Lee while each were getting their feet wet as first-year varsity contributors through the first half of the regular season.

Last Friday night, Lewis had the best night of his young varsity career, completing 9-of-13 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns and running for 68 yards and a score in helping lead Parkland to a 45-35 come-from-behind Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division win over Nazareth at Andrew Leh Stadium.

The Trojans are now on a two-game win streak.

For nearly 15 minutes of game action last weekend, or a quarter-and-a-half, the Bethlehem Catholic football team looked like it was going to be another victim of the Parkland Trojans on their home field. The Hawks could not get anything going and the Trojan defense came out strong.

But the second half saw Becahi score 17 straight points and not allow any, propelling the Golden Hawks to a 24-16 victory over the Trojans) last Friday night in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division clash of reigning District 11 champions (Becahi 4A, Parkland 6A).

The Parkland boys soccer team can finally say that it is on a winning streak during the 2018 season. After drawing with Central Catholic in the season opener and then defeating rival Emmaus in the next game, the Trojans lost two of their next three games.

But after a 3-1 win over Pocono Mountain East last Saturday, Parkland (4-2-1 overall, 3-1-1 EPC Skyline) found its first win streak of the 2018 regular season after taking down Whitehall 4-0 Monday night at Parkland High School in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Skyline Division game.