Even as they were doing their postgame circle, where coaches and players congratulate one another, the thoughts of the Parkland Trojans turned to Easton on Friday night. They hadn’t even left the field at Parkland School District Stadium before the hype for next week’s District 11 6A championship had begun, as word spread of the Red Rovers pulling away from Liberty in the other 6A semifinal.
No. 2 seed Parkland had easily dispatched No. 3 seed Nazareth in its own semifinal, building a 28-0 halftime lead and scoring on its first possession of the third quarter to kick in the mercy rule. While the Trojans took out their starters, former Parkland player Marquis Wimberly got to end his scholastic career on the field where it all started, scoring a pair of second-half touchdowns that made the final score of 35-14 a bit misleading.
TJ Lawrence caught a touchdown pass from Finn Coen and rushed for 116 yards and two scores as the third-ranked team in the state in 6A improved to 12-0, clinching a spot in the district final for the fourth straight year. Lawrence didn’t play again after Naquon Thomason scored on a 38-yard TD run that, with an Andrea Giroudon PAT, made it 35-0 and set the mercy rule into effect.
The win was No. 500 all-time in Parkland history and improved coach Tim Moncman’s record as the Trojans’ leader to 97-25 in his 10th season. Moncman has seen his share of good Parkland teams and should be a good evaluator of how well his teams play.
“That was one of the best halves of football we’ve played in a long time,” he said. “The kids came to play on defense, and we got some guys back on the offensive line, Matt Dorsey and James Tyler, and also Jaren Sanchez on defense. None of those guys played last week.”
“The thing is Finn is making us multi-dimensional. He’s putting the ball on people and doing a great job.”
Coen was 6-for-6 passing for 95 yards, spreading the ball around to four different receivers. Blake Nassry had a 3-yard TD reception.
“Me and Finn are best friends and we work out together,” Nassry said. “We know what it takes to be great, and we just keep working at it. And TJ is a great player—basketball, football—no matter what he does, he’s great. We just go and play.”
Lawrence, Nassry, Jude Ruisch, and Nassim Adams are all going for their fourth straight district title. They’ve won two in a row in basketball and now want their second straight football gold.
“We have a championship mindset here,” Lawrence said. “We’re excited and we’ll have a game plan for them and we’ll see what happens. We know Easton is a great team.”
While Parkland returns many from last year’s title team, quarterback Finn Coen is new to the starting lineup. He has played better as the season progressed.
“He is a big part of why we’re here,” Lawrence said. “He is doing great and has become a leader of the team. He coordinates the offense for us.”
Meanwhile, the most famous quarterback on the field at night’s end was Peyton Falzone, who was hugging his teammates one last time. Falzone’s high school career ended with a fractured collarbone suffered against Freedom in Week 4.
Nazareth finished 8-4 and will always wonder how far it could have gone had Falzone stayed healthy. Sophomore quarterback Cooper Madson played well as his replacement, but Falzone was off to a fantastic start.
His father, Nazareth coach Tom Falzone, said earlier in the week that he is still committed to Auburn, but is processing the recent firing of Tigers coach Hugh Freeze. Falzone is expected to sign during the early signing period in the first week of December after seeing the Auburn-Alabama Iron Bowl during Thanksgiving weekend.
### The Series
Parkland came into the game with a 29-19 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1955. Nazareth won the first eight games, but Parkland has won 14 of the last 17.
### Did You Know?
Marquez Wimberly rushed for 254 yards and 3 TDs in the Blue Eagles’ win over Northampton and upped his career TD total to 63, which is the 33rd best all-time in District 11 history. He added one TD in the third quarter for No. 64 and another in the fourth for 65 in his career.
The first eight TDs of his career came at Parkland in 2022 when he ran for 386 yards on 83 carries. His career yardage total, including 134 Friday night, was 3,608.
### Scoring Summary
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Total |
|———-|—-|—-|—-|—-|——-|
| Nazareth | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Parkland | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
**First Quarter**
– P: Blake Nassry 4-yard pass from Finn Coen (Andrea Giroudon kick), 4:00
– P: TJ Lawrence 3-yard run (Giroudon kick), 1:02
**Second Quarter**
– P: TJ Lawrence 33-yard pass from Coen (Giroudon kick), 5:21
– P: Lawrence 10-yard run (Giroudon kick), 0:57
**Third Quarter**
– P: Naquon Thomason 38-yard run (Giroudon kick), 11:07
– N: Marquis Wimberly 1-yard run (Owen Hall kick), 3:02
**Fourth Quarter**
– N: Wimberly 68-yard run (Hall kick), 1:32
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Parkland now looks ahead to the District 11 6A championship against Easton, eager to defend their title and continue their impressive winning streak.
https://www.mcall.com/2025/11/07/district-11-6a-semifinal-parklands-near-perfect-first-half-leads-to-a-mercy-rule-win-over-nazareth/
