We’ve reached the first half of the high school basketball regular season in the Astound TV Network sports viewing area.

First, we have a live poll on our website regarding Colonial League Football our viewers can participate in at our YouTube page …AND can vote while watching a pair of Colonial League games tonight on ATVN!

Before we take a look at some recent highlights of games as seen on the Astound TV Network, a few observations (see our most recent blog for more on the “Mountain Valley” divisional teams)…

1) While we expected Allen and Salisbury to be among the top teams in their respective leagues, both of these teams have exceeded most people’s expectations as they sit atop the District XI 6A & 4A standings (as of ‘press time).

2) Not surprisingly, Northampton, Nazareth, Central Catholic, Notre Dame-Green Pond and Wilson are some of the other top boys team at the midway point of the season. Also, Dieruff, Easton, Emmaus and Parkland have been fulfilling expectations and have been playing at a high level on the girls side — all of these schools have been featured quite a bit on Astound TV Network Sports so far this winter.

3) Keep an eye on the Liberty and Parkland boys’ teams as both have been “in” a number of games that they ended up losing. Both schools really stepped up their non-league schedule so their win/loss record may not be overly impressive compared to other schools. Catasauqua has also had some tough losses but, just like last year, don’t be fooled by their record come playoff time.

4) Speaking of many of those top teams, here’s our basketball broadcast schedule coming up on ATVN over the next several days…

Friday, January 16th
LIVE: Lehighton @ Northwestern (Boys)
Delay: Wilson @ Salisbury (Boys)

Tuesday, January 20th
LIVE: Allen @ Parkland (Boys)
Delay: Emmaus @ Central (Girls)

Now, here’s some of the best highlights of recent local games as seen on Astound TV Network (Contact our studio for copies of our entire broadcasts!).

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Salisbury vs. Saucon Valley (1/26)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Northampton vs. Nazareth (1/26)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Easton vs. Nazareth (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Dieruff vs. Easton (12/25)

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, company or subsidiary.

Local sportswriter, Mason Smith, stops by The SportsTalk Shop today to give his view on the Mountain Valley teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

Don’t forget to log on to our YouTube page right now to vote on who you think is the EPC’s first half MVP!

The high school basketball season is more than halfway over, and the outcome looks very different for each of the seven boys’ teams in Monroe County.

Pocono Mountain West still reigns supreme over the Mountain as the Panthers will be the first area team to punch its ticket to the district playoffs. A large part of that the next-level play of Senior Guard, KJ Coles, who recently broke the program’s all-time scoring record and is quickly approaching the area’s all-time mark.

Surprisingly, the second-best player for Rich Williams’ squad has been sophomore forward Teddy Stiehler, who’s becoming a fearsome shot-blocker and reliable offensive release valve. Williams did say Stiehler could be an impactful player this season, but he’s approaching All-EPC status. The Panthers remain on the shortlist for conference and district title contention.

The next three teams, Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg North and Pocono Mountain East, are in a heated battle for a postseason berth, albeit in different fashions. For Stroudsburg, the Mounties are led by a young-but-growing duo of Tae El-Bassiouni and Jarel Jackson, who’ve shared the scoring load so far. Other pieces like Isaac Gibbs, Josh Ivers-Green and Kameron Knight have also made a lot of progress after taking their lumps last season.

As of now, the Mounties are in the 6A district playoff bracket while flirting with the EPC tournament, but their resolve as young players will be tested the final month of the season.

East is in a similar situation, but instead of young talent leading the way, the senior duo of Aiden Pierre and Dominic McManus have each shown moments of brilliance. The problem is that they haven’t been able to do it together yet, which is why the Cardinals haven’t been able to pull away offensively.

After them is a supporting case of Christian Varkanis, Anthony Tapia and Fred Allicock, who’ve excelled in their roles but are inconsistent. Hopefully the winter break provided a chance to reflect and tighten the screws.

East Stroudsburg North, the only Pocono team in 5A, won’t have the luxury of backing into the district playoffs like last year. Every team in the class is around .500, meaning if the Timberwolves want to guarantee postseason play, they must have the record to back it.

Wayne King is doing all he can to lead his team, with freshman Brandon Bowen showing he can be a reliable perimeter marksman. North continues to use a chaotic defense and balanced offensive production, and it’s worked. Will that be enough to get into the dance? It’ll have to play itself out.

The final three teams – East Stroudsburg South, Pleasant Valley and Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg, are all but virtually eliminated from playoff contention barring a miraculous second-half push. Notre Dame, being in a 1A class that isn’t strong this season, have the best chance to get into the top-4, and their recent win against Salem Christian showed a high-end version of the team’s potential. What holds the team back is too many turnovers and erratic offensive play. Unfortunately, we’ve seen more of the latter from Matt Gallagher’s squad so far this year.

South and PV already have double-digit losses, despite having arguably two of the best players in the area. Pleasant Valley’s Sebastian Sacci is good for about 20 points and 7 rebounds a game, but the team around him often struggles to show up. South’s Marcel Stapler and Jaiden Martinez-Tovar have shown flashes, but they each have their own flaws on top of the team’s overall anemic scoring that holds them back.

For them, the pivot towards the future is the more appeasing action at this point of the year.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we review some of the top highlights from our high school sports coverage from right before Christmas, here’s a look at upcoming games we have coming your way on Astound TV Network over the next few days…

Friday, January 9th 
LIVE: Liberty @ Nazareth Boys’ Basketball
Delay: Becahi @ Easton Boys’ Basketball

Monday, January 12th
LIVE: Easton @ Parkland Girls’ Basketball
Delay: Central Catholic @ Northampton Boys’ Basketball

Wednesday, January 14th
LIVE: Freedom @ Parkland Boys’ Wrestling

Be sure to check our schedules here on the Astound website for more details and check back for changes as they occur due to either winter weather issues or changes by the school due to conflicts!

Now, as promised, more of the top highlights from December 2025 from game scene on Astound TV Network…

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Allen vs. Whitehall (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Dieruff vs. Emmaus (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Parkland vs. Northampton (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Liberty vs. Northampton (12/25)

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

First of all, a big “Happy New Year’s” to all our devoted followers of the SportsTalk Shop blog here on our website.

We are excited to be back and, as we have for the last few years, have some exciting plans to expand our local sports coverage over the next 12 months .. delays will be coming as the new year unfolds!

Before we do that, a shout out to the Astound TV Network crew for capturing one of the biggest moments in Pennsylvania sports…a highlight that was 3rd on ESPN’s “Top 10 Moments,” featuring the Nazareth boys basketball game winner…

Bobby Grzenda’s Happy Holiday Heave To Win!

It was one of a number of competitive games we featured on Astound TV Network to close out the 2025 calendar year. Here are a few more of our highlight packages for games airing on ATVN right before the holidays…

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Liberty vs. Freedom (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Catasauqua vs. Notre Dame Green Pond (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Easton vs. Nazareth (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Wrestling – Northwestern Lehigh vs. Freedom (12/25)

Lastly, we have already kicked off 2026 with some very competitive high school wrestling and basketball match-ups. Here’s a look at the next few days of our local sports coverage on Astound TV Network (as always, live events will also be streamed on our YouTube channel)….

Tuesday: LIVE: Nazareth @ Northampton (Boys Basketball)
*Nazareth/Northampton Girls Hoops will air delayed exclusively on Astound TV Network

Wednesday: (LIVE) Emmaus @ Nazareth (Wrestling)

Thursday: (LIVE) Salisbury @ Saucon Valley (Boys Basketball)

Friday: Doubleheader – Teams TBD

Check back to the SportsTalk Shop later this week for more local sports insights, highlights and upcoming schedule information!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

After yet another busy season of covering local sports and community events, I, and many of us in the Astound TV Network studios, will be taking the next couple weeks off to recharge our batteries and be back, ready to bring you even MORE in 2026.

We’re going to be going out with a bang as you get to look at our plans or our last week of high school broadcast on us on Astound TV Network…

Monday: Northwestern @ BASD Freedom Wrestling

Tuesday:
Northampton @ Parkland Basketball
Easton @ASD Dieruff Basketball (Astound video customers only)

Wednesday:
Wilson @ Bangor Basketball
(ND-GP at Southern Lehigh … Schools rescheduled game to another night)

Thursday:
Allen @ Whitehall Boys Basketball
Dieruff @ Emmaus Girls Basketball (Astound video costumers only)
(Central/Parkland boys/girls doubleheader rescheduled by schools to another night)

Friday:
Freedom @ Liberty Boys Basketball
Notre Dame-Green Pond @ Catasauqua Girls Basketball (Astound video costumers only)

Saturday:
Easton @ Nazareth Basketball (1pm start time)

Before we do, we want to leave you with more video highlights from ATVN‘s coverage this year (see below).

We also want to thank all our viewers for your patronage and also to all the people who have reached out to us again this year, appreciating the job done by all of our crew members and Astound staff personnel, bringing you so many different events through the past 12 months.  We have even more special plans in store for our viewers and customers in 2026…but you’ll have to check back to the ATVN website in the coming weeks and months to find out more about them!

In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the New Year!

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Parkland vs. Whitehall (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Wrestling – Easton vs. Nazareth (12/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Basketball – Allen vs. Emmaus (12/25)

Schedule is subject to change. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Today here at The SportsTalk Shop, we continue our look back at some of the top players, teams, games and special moments from the 2025 high school football season on Astound TV Network.

Before we do, a quick reminder to tune into this Thursday’s LIVE ATVN SportsTalk show, broadcasting on both Astound TV Network and streaming for free on our YouTube page.  We’ll meet with some of the new head basketball coaches in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference this winter and also talk about some big issues concerning local hoops, along with thoughts on the first few weeks of the season.

Tune in Thursday at 7pm!

Astound TV Network Sports: Southern Lehigh vs. Bethlehem Catholic (11/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Easton vs. Parkland (11/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Easton vs. Liberty (11/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Jim Thorpe vs. Allentown Central Catholic (10/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Nazareth vs. Northampton (10/25)

Don’t forget to check out our broadcast schedule for the best in local high school girls and boys basketball and wrestling, all winter long, on ATVN!

Schedule is subject to change. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We’ve reached the end of the fall sports season on Astound TV Network!

First of all, we want to wish the best of luck to two teams in our coverage area — Southern Lehigh and Northwestern — as they go after state championships this weekend in the state finals.

As usual, Astound video customers can watch the state championship games for free on PCN (dial position 97).

Today, we start our look back at some of the top plays, teams and moments from this past season as seen on ATVN….

Nazareth Gets The Turnover They Need

Naquan Thomason To The House!

Have A Day, Sean Steckert!

Jake Pukszyn’s Record-Tying TD

Astound TV Network Sports: Southern Lehigh vs. Shamokin (11/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Northwestern Lehigh vs. Notre Dame Green Pond (11/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Easton vs. LaSalle College (11/25)

Copies of our productions are also available — contact the ATVN studio for details.

Now, the winter season is already underway! Don’t forget to bookmark and keep checking back to our website all winter long for Astound TV Network‘s exclusive coverage of HS sports!

Schedule is subject to change. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell 

If you only casually keep tabs on local high school field hockey, it may seem like it’s been more of the same this season for the EPC–Emmaus dominating while the normal cast of characters–Parkland, Easton–put together valiant efforts to challenge the Hornet dynasty.  

But if you look a bit closer, you may have noticed that an unfamiliar name emerged in the EPC and District XI 3A bracket–that of the Freedom Patriots. 

The Patriots put together an 7-6 EPC record, which qualified them for the postseason for the first time in ten years.  

The program came close the past two years–finishing 8-9-1 and coming just short of qualifying for either playoff.  

Prior to that, Freedom finished 4-14.  

That was Coach Chelsea (formerly Quinn) Cohen’s first year as Freedom’s head field hockey coach. 

Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell 

Cohen, a 2013 Easton graduate who continued her playing career in college at Ohio State, came to Freedom after coaching the JV team at Easton for five years. During that time, Easton was consistently advancing to championship games and putting together valient challenges to the Emmaus dynasty. 

Coming in as the head coach of the program, Cohen was excited and eager to bring that same culture of winning from her time at Easton to the Freedom program. She admits that she had very high expectations when she first took over the program and that 4-14 first season was a bit of a reality check, leading Cohen to think: “this might not happen overnight”. 

Cohen immediately focused on changing the mindset. She stressed to players that they had the talent they needed to be competitive, but they first needed to believe that. 

This came naturally to the coach, who shared that she spent much of her four years at Ohio State developing grit and building character. Cohen said that when she arrived in Columbus, she realized she was suddenly a “little fish in a big pond”. She fought week after week to earn a spot on the travel squad, and she calls upon that experience of digging deep and working hard today as she works to build her program. 

Now, it certainly hasn’t been all mindset. Cohen has worked tirelessly to develop her players from a skillset and experience perspective, all the while remaining focused on establishing a winning culture for the program. This ranges from everything from involving herself in local club field hockey organizations and encouraging her players to play in the offseason, to inviting middle school players to ball-girl at games.  

Cohen’s involvement as a coach in the local club program, Phoenix Performance Academy, has created a bridge that provides an opportunity for her players to continue playing in the offseason. 

“A good majority of the team has joined the club space and has been playing year-round, which is awesome to see,” shared Cohen.   

“Girls getting the opportunity to play year round is important and a big part of the success.” 

Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell 

Not only that, but the offseason involvement has almost certainly contributed to players earning the opportunity to play at the college level. 

This includes 2025 Freedom grad, Aly Laubach, who has continued her playing career at Mercyhurst. Cohen credits Laubach with contributing to turning the program around: “She just has that competitive edge and will to win. She was an amazing kid that everyone looked up to in a way that your program just feeds off those players”. 

In addition to Laubach, Cohen highlighted Carly Kuehner, who was a senior leader on the 2025 squad. Kuehner has committed to play at Franklin & Marshall next year. Like Laubach, Cohen shared that Kuehner has a “want to win at all costs”, and that mentality set a valuable example for her teammates.  

Cohen also offered praise to her coaching staff, many of whom have been by her side since she started at Freedom.  

But they’re not done yet. Cohen is focused on making earning a spot in the playoffs the standard for Freedom field hockey. As they move into offseason training and focus on development and rebuilding, she’s not just looking to repeat the success, but to be even better next fall. She’s looking to find ways to turn some of those close losses and ties into victories.  

“I just try to give them the tools and try to get them to believe in themselves. They’ve had the capability of success all along,” shared Cohen.  

Photo courtesy of Doris Pursell 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.