Bensalem rallied to defeat Council Rock South 42-35 in SOL National Conference action on Saturday. To view photos of the Bensalem/CR South game, please visit the Photo Gallery. (Stats used in the article below were provided courtesy of Calkins Media. To view Dan Dunkin’s complete game story, please click on the following link: http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/communities/bensalem/bensalem-wins-shootout-over-cr-south/article_4f678da2-b79b-583c-ae2c-d034652513a2.html)
BENSALEM 42, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 35
Things didn’t look all that promising for Bensalem in the opening half of Saturday’s contest between a pair of SOL schools looking for their first win, but the Owls – led by the dynamic duo of Ian Pisarchuk and Alex Archangeli - displayed remarkable resiliency as they rallied for the important win.
“We’re grateful we got it,” Bensalem coach Kevin Kelly said.
What was the Owls’ coach most pleased with in his team’s performance?
“Our persistence,” Kelly said. “I was very concerned what was going to happen if we fell behind again, and just the fact that we fell behind 12-0 and kept playing and kept competing.”
The Golden Hawks led 6-0 after Chris Woelk returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown in the closing seconds of the first quarter. That lead grew to 12-0 after Tyler Anderson turned a Greg Paprock pass into a 31-yard touchdown reception.
The Owls answered with a touchdown of their own when Archangeli bulled in from nine yards out. The extra point by Alec Rosenfeld made it a 12-7 game.
But not for long.
A 58-yard run by Anderson and the two-point conversion from Paprocki to David Haun put the Golden Hawks on top 20-7 with 1:50 remaining. It looked as though the Golden Hawks would take a seemingly comfortable 13-point lead into halftime, but the Owls had other ideas.
A touchdown drive that included a 25-yard run by Pisarchuk was capped when Pisarchuk took it in from eight yards out, making it a 20-14 game at the intermission.
“I really thought our touchdown at the end of the first half was very important to our kids,” Kelly said. “We felt confident going into halftime that we could move the ball coming out in the third quarter, and thankfully, we were able to do that.
“As we moved the ball on offense, I thought our confidence grew. We have two pretty good running backs (Pisarchuk and Archangeli), and I thought our kids up front really did a nice job of giving them a chance to use their abilities.”
The Owls came out in the second half and reeled off three straight touchdowns to go on top 35-20 early in the fourth quarter. Pisarchuk ran it in from 29 yards out for the first score, and quarterback George Pegram threw for a pair of TDs.
Rock South answered with a touchdown of its own, thanks to a 74-yard Paprocki to Haun connection, trimming the Owls lead to 35-28 after a successful two-point conversion.
Pisarchuk answered with a 65-yard touchdown run that – after Rosenfeld’s kick – made it a 42-35 game and all but sealed the Golden Hawks’ fate. Another Paprocki to Haun TD pass closed out the scoring.
Pisarchuck and Archangeli combined for 305 yards on the ground with Pisarchuk rushing for 182 yards and three TDs while Archangeli had 123 yards.
Kelly tipped his hat to left tackle Brian Leible, left guard Craig Noel, center Danny Dallesandro, right guard AJ Dallessandro, right tackle Kyle Crane and tight end Melvin Forkpa for their role in the Owls’ successful ground game.
“That’s kind of how we feel we have to play this year – run the ball effectively and hopefully get some things in the play action passing game,” Kelly said. “We were able to do that today.
“We played far from a perfect game, but we played well enough to win. We’ve been on the wrong side of some tough losses these last three weeks, and I’m very happy for our kids that they were rewarded for their work.”
The Owls are 1-3 overall (1-0 SOL) while the Golden Hawks fell to 0-4 (0-1 SOL).
Bensalem 0-14-14-14 42
Council Rock South 6-14-0-15 35
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