East Stroudsburg North’s football program doesn’t need to worry about an identity crisis.

The Timberwolves know exactly who they are. And what they’re capable of.

A refreshed and rebranded East Stroudsburg North football team continued its resurgence Thursday, using a late score to secure a remarkable 21-20 victory over Pleasant Valley.

It moved the Timberwolves to 3-4 on the season, giving a team that had one win in each of the last two seasons multiple victories in a campaign for the first time since 2016, when the squad won four games.

The run is not lost on second-year head coach Dave Laughlin.

“That’s what we’re building here. That’s what we’ve worked towards, changing that culture,” said Laughlin. “Before, we used to be that team that gave up 70, and we were everybody’s homecoming. We are not that anymore.

“My kids come to work every day. They work hard. They bring the pail to work every day, and they come out, and they try and punch somebody in the face. We’re hard-nosed football here.”

And Thursday’s win was the embodiment of that mindset.

North’s game-winning drive started on its own 29-yard line and began with 8:01 left in the fourth quarter. It ended with a 3-yard score from Zachary Deresky-Martinez, who came off the field twice due to injury during the drive, with 17.2 seconds on the clock. And it was punctuated when QB Wayne King rushed in on the two-point conversion to put the Timberwolves ahead 21-20.

“We went into that huddle the play before the touchdown, and two weeks ago we beat Pocono Mountain West on a run by Wayne, who was led in by Deresky,” said Laughlin. “I looked at Wayne that day and he said he wanted the ball. I looked at him today and he said, ‘I don’t care, we’re scoring no matter what.’ And Zach said, ‘I’m scoring right now.’

“That’s what we look for. And he just finds a way. He works hard, and he finds a way.”

The Bears (0-7) got the ball back with 11.8 seconds remaining at their own 24-yard line. After a sack moved the offense back to the 19-yard line, Pleasant Valley nearly pulled off a sensational play with multiple laterals after a completed pass as time expired, but North’s defense was able to make the stop and seal the win.

“I’ll never question the heart and will of my kids,” said Bears’ coach Blaec Saeger. “They come to play. This one obviously hurts, a lot, and one we definitely feel we could have won right there at the end. And North made the plays and we didn’t, so I tip my hat to them, they deserve it.”

Pleasant Valley struck first, going 59 yards and chewing up nearly six minutes on its opening drive before Jaxson Haines went into the end zone from a yard out to make it 6-0 with 4:38 to play in the first quarter.

The Timberwolves scored twice in the second quarter, with Brandon Roca registering an 8-yard rushing TD and Jayden Ramos adding the extra point to make it 7-6.

It was King and Deresky-Martinez who connected for a clutch score as time expired in the half. On fourth-and-one from the Bears’ 9-yard line and with 8.5 seconds remaining, King found Deresky-Martinez, and the junior did the rest, stretching to reach the ball over the pylon to make it 13-6 at the break.

A 45-yard touchdown run from Jay Delgado on his first carry of the game cut the Bears’ deficit to 13-12 with 4:56 to play in the third quarter.

After a stop on defense, Pleasant Valley produced another long drive — this one 66 yards — that ended with Chris Ward scoring from two yards out and Haines adding the two-point try to put the Bears ahead 20-13 with 8:05 left in the game.

But North responded with a resilient drive, one that showed what these Timberwolves are about.

“I took over last year, we won one game,” said Laughlin. “This year, now we’re up to three. We’re looking forward to getting in playoffs this year, and really changing that culture.”

TOUGH TO STOP ... “It’s the only time all year we face the triple. We go through all year, we face basically our offense all season long. And then we get to this game and it’s a triple. This week, three days, we had to learn how to stop the triple. It’s assignment and alignment, know our keys, and there were multiple big plays today where PV had us and we just went to the wrong person.” — Laughlin on stopping the Bears’ triple-option offense.

STAT LEADERS ... Deresky-Martinez rushed for 91 yards, while King ran for 59 and passed for 68. Kendrick Sympson had four grabs for 54 yards. Ward had 16 carries for 105 yards for PV, while Aiden Lollis carried six times for 61 yards, and Haines finished with 16 carries for 50 yards.

ES North 21, Pleasant Valley 20

ES North 0 13 0 8 - 21

Pleasant Valley 6 0 6 8 - 20

PV - Haines 1 run (kick failed)

ESN - Roca 8 run (Ramos kick)

ESN - Deresky-Martinez 9 pass from King (kick failed)

PV - Delgado 45 run (kick failed)

PV - Ward 2 run (Haines run)

ESN - Deresky-Martinez 3 run (King run)