EASTON - The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is full of talented athletes. Many of them were on the football field in the contest between Pleasant Valley and Easton in the first round of the District 11 Class AAAA playoffs.

After the two teams combined for three straight "three-and-outs" to open up the game, Easton tailback Shane Simpson showed why he is considered to be one of those players, as he ripped off an electrifying 22-yard touchdown run. The score was Simpson's first of four, which propelled Easton to a 46-0 rout of Pleasant Valley.Simpson gained 145 yards on the ground, while teammate Dalvyn Reynolds compiled 113 total yards. Reynolds took a 39-yard screen pass to the house early in the game which really seemed to keep momentum on the Rovers' side. Easton's offensive line showed exceptional strength and mobility on the scoring play."They should say 'thank you' to the offensive line," said Easton head coach Steve Shiffert when asked about his talented group of tailbacks. "Our coaches have done a great job this year teaching different tecnhiques and schemes which we change from week to week."Dalvyn (Reynolds) is a great young man and people shouldn't be so surprised when he plays like this. This time last year he ran very well in the playoffs when Shane (Simpson) was hurt. Both of them have different styles of running and that's why they compliment each other so well."Pleasant Valley's senior tailback Eric Mabury is another gifted athlete of the EPC. Marbury gained 123 yards on the ground last week against Stroudburg and looked to continue that trend against the Rovers.The Bears (6-5) opened the game with a few different formations which included the "Air Raid" set which consisted of five receivers and just Marbury in the backfield taking the snap. However, Easton (11-0) continued to dominate up front and contained Marbury to just 29 rushing yards. As a team, the Bears totaled just 10 yards on the ground."Eric does a tremendous job in space and he's also a great passer," said Pleasant Valley head coach Dave Pacchioni. "We had our opportunities early, but we didn't execute up front. We missed our gaps and our assignments. Their (Easton's) big screen pass score really opened the game up. We blitzed on that play, made the right call, and just didn't execute properly."When you play against a team like Easton, things have to go your way and you need some breaks. That didn't happen tonight."Easton's shutout included two forced fumbles, a handful of sacks, an interception, and just four Pleasant Valley first downs. The Rovers kept the Bears from gaining any type of rhythm."It's hard to come out of the locker room down 33-0 and impose your will against a team that plays such tremendous defense," said Pacchioni. "If you can't manafacture first downs in the first half, you're going to be in some trouble.""Our kids shut them down in every phase of the game," said Shiffert. "I love the way we're playing right now but I'd like to complete a few more passes. They work so hard on the practice field and that's what I like about these kids. They come to work every day and they're a ton of fun to be around."Although Pleasant Valley's 2014 season is over, Pacchioni's first campaign as head coach should be considered successful. After dropping the first three games of the season, the Bears rallied to win six of their last seven regular season contests. The impressive streak earned the Bears their spot in the District 11 playoffs. Pacchioni will part ways with 32 seniors whom he's grown close with over the course of the year."It was a tough and challenging season," said Pacchioni. "It's not the way we wanted it to end, but playing a meaningful game at this time of the year, in this stadium, was great. I would have rather had a much closer game, but we couldn't get up and down the field. These kids faced adversity left and right with new coaches, a new staff, and a new schedule and they never once stopped battling."