Log In


Reset Password

Bears get first win

Practice makes perfect. Pleasant Valley's Nasai Moon knows that.

The Bears' junior showed why Friday night.Moon carved up the William Allen defense - rushing for 250 yards and three scores - to help Pleasant Valley roll to a 31-6 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference victory."I think we're getting a lot better. We practiced a lot harder. This week, we had one of the best practices we ever had," Moon said afterward. "And it shows."Moon powered a Bears' (1-3) offense - one that looked like it had found a spark it had been missing in the first three weeks of the season."It was a great game for him," Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Versuk said of Moon. "He's run the ball hard all season. But it was really nice to see him break some runs open."It's great for his confidence. It's his first year as a starter."Moon's touchdowns covered 70, 10 and 33 yards, as the Bears jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead. The 250 yards came on just 16 carries.The 70-yard score came on the first play from scrimmage after Pleasant Valley forced a safety early in the first quarter to make it 10-0."That first play. That first run play, that's when I felt like we got this," said Moon. "It feels great knowing that my blockers blocked for me. I have confidence in them."The Bears piled up 326 yards on the ground and finished with 432 yards of total offense."We were able to establish the running game," said Versuk. "It took some pressure off our quarterback. I think some of our younger linemen, now it's their third week involved because we have injuries and stuff. And we were able to do some things with our double tight end set."When it wasn't the running game, the Pleasant Valley offense also found room to work through the air. Quarterback Brandon Keyes hit Mikey Brown for a 55-yard score late in the first quarter to put the Bears up 17-0. Moon added two touchdowns in the second half.Pleasant Valley's defense prevented the Canaries (1-3) from getting into a rhythm offensively. Allen rushed for just 54 yards and finished with just 76 through the air."We played good defense," Versuk said. "I thought we were flying to the ball. Another week with our young linebackers. These are guys ... that because of injuries, are forced in to play. And I thought they did a good job of preparing."Allen prevented the shutout when Romeo Wright found Syeid Diaz for an eight-yard score in the fourth quarter."I thought our secondary play was good," Versuk said. "I thought we blew one or two coverages. We had a couple pass interference calls; we gotta get our head turned around. That's something we'll correct at practice."But overall, I thought we did a good job of controlling the pass. Our key was keeping Romeo (Wright) contained, because he's a great player. He's a four-year starter, and we were able to keep him around in the pocket and wrap him up when we had to and get ourselves in position."The Bears executed to near perfection."The game plan was to come out there in running formations, and run and then play-action pass when we needed to," Versuk said. "And play good defense. Control the quarterback because he's their best player. He's the best athlete on the field. But we were able to contain him, and that was a big thing."UP NEXT... Pleasant Valley hosts Pocono Mountain West next Friday.TRICKY... The Bears recovered on onside kick after going up 17-0 in the second quarter. The drive ended when Pleasant Valley failed to convert a fourth down at the Allen 29.