It has been some time since the Parkland High School football team has won a District 11 championship, five years in fact, since 2017. The start of the 2022 regular season did not put into play thoughts of the Trojans winning a district championship this season, as they lost three of the first five games and dropped another against rival Emmaus in the regular season finale.

The Trojans finished the regular season 6-4 overall and were the sixth seed in the tournament. They defeated Nazareth and Northampton on the road before meeting reigning district champion Freedom in the final.

Parkland started fast and finished strong in taking down the Patriots 35-10 last Friday night at Easton’s Cottingham Stadium.

After an incompletion in the opening series, Trey Tremba ripped off a 52-yard run on the second play from scrimmage. He followed that big rush with gains of seven, five and five yards before capping the drive with an 11-yard touchdown. Tremba added a second score in the opening quarter to take the Trojans up 14-0 after one.

“We played hard and we played for 48 minutes,” said Tremba. “We really wanted this game, especially after the way that we started the season. We had a couple of tough weeks and everyone counted us out. We knew what we had and when we would get fully healthy, we knew what we were capable of.”

After a Freedom field goal in the second quarter, Tremba added another touchdown run to stake Parkland to a 21-3 advantage. Quarterback Luke Spang connected with wideout Jack Harrison for an 11-yard TD to give Parkland a 28-3 advantage at intermission.

Tremba highlighted his offensive line for its play against Freedom.

“The offensive line did a great job all night,” Tremba said. “They really worked hard and were on top of their games all night. They created holes for me to run through and really helped me have a successful night.”

Head coach Tim Moncman agreed to the sentiment of his offensive line.

“Our O-line did a great job,” Moncman said. “They’re (Freedom) a physical football team. That’s what they pride themselves in. Our O-line took over. That was a great tone-setter.”

Tremba rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Spang completed 9 of 12 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison caught both touchdown passes and finished with 83 receiving yards.

Parkland will now take on District 12 power St. Joe’s Prep in the state quarterfinal round on Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.