Junior Michael Class turned in a stellar performance to lead Pennridge to a 35-14 win over Abington in Friday’s PIAA District One AAAA opener. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Perkasie – “He has done it to every team this season, why wouldn’t he do it against us,” shrugged Abington head coach Tim Sorber after Pennridge jettisoned the Ghosts from the PIAA District One Quad-A playoffs with a 35-14 victory “(Pennridge head coach) Randy (Cuthbert) does a great job of putting him in different positions to make plays, and he made some big plays.”
Who is he?
Ram junior running back Michael Class who was once again outrageous with a 283-yard – four-touchdown performance. Class – who also had a 56-yard scoring play called back on a holding penalty – scored on runs of 48, 49, 45, and 73 yards.
“I saw a lot of seams, and I just look to see where I can cut back,” said Class. “I feel I can be dangerous in the open field, and my teammates give me a chance to make big plays.”
“Michael is just a special player, he has a tremendous gift for changing direction,” said Cuthbert. “He is such a great player, but we still feel we have to mix it up some on offense. But it is tempting to just give him the ball on every play.”
Pennridge scored on its initial possession of the game when Class capped the brief four-play drive with his terrific 48-yard run. Ram place kicker Joe Unangst split the uprights for the first of his five successful extra points.
Abington, though, rallied back to knot the score at 7-7. The Ghosts pieced together a well-executed 11-play drive that was capped by an 8-yard touchdown burst by junior Craig Reynolds. Reynolds would finish the game with a team-high 146 yards.
Pennridge would extend the lead to 21-7 by halftime.
Senior Ram quarterback Alex Krivda capped an 11-play scoring drive with a gorgeous 8-yard scoring strike to Micah Stutzman, and Class would score his second touchdown of the night on a wonderful 49-yard race to the end zone.
Abington came back in the third period to close to within 21-14.
The Ghost took advantage of good field position with a recovered fumble, and two plays later senior quarterback Dylan Collins scored on a 47-yard scamper. Collins finished with 82 yards rushing despite being sacked five times and completed 12 passes for 117 yards.
Abington – which will play a final game on Thanksgiving against Cheltenham – would get no closer.
Pennridge iced the win with a pair of spectacular runs by Class in the fourth period. The first TD came on a nifty 45-yard run, and Class concluded the scoring on a marvelous 73-yard touchdown run.
Abington might not have won the game on the Poppy Yoder Field scoreboard, but the Ghosts did manage to move the football against a rubber band Pennridge defense. Abington stretched the Ram defense and garnered 338 yards of total offense, but 10 penalties hampered trips to the end zone.
“We have been able to move the ball all year,” said Sorber. “But you have to finish drives and get into the end zone, and we didn’t do enough of that.”
“Our goal was not to let them have a big play,” said Cuthbert. “They have an explosive team that likes to take shots down the field, but I thought we did a decent job of making them work on the offensive end.”
A big playmaker on the defensive end for Pennridge was senior co-captain John Dubyk. Dubyk could be seen as a defensive end, a defensive tackle, and at linebacker.
“I love getting a chance to play all over the field,” said Dubyk ,who came up with a pair of key sacks for the Rams. “We gave up some yards, but when they got close we did our jobs and shut them down.”
“Number 9 (Dubyk) was the most impressive player we saw on film coming into the game,” said Sorber. “And he was impressive tonight.”
“John may not have the defensive stats that some players might have, but that is because teams run away from him,” said Cuthbert. “He is a real animal, and I would run away from him, too.”
The next stop for Pennridge on its PIAA District One tour will be a home game at Poppy Yoder Field against Pennsbury. The SOL National Conference champion Falcons defeated West Chester Rustin 21-13 in their first round game.
“I told the players that Pennsbury is going to be a whole different game,” said Cuthbert. “Abington is a wide open team offensively, and Pennsbury is going to come straight at you with the run. We are going to have to match them physically.”
Cuthbert might have to game plan against a powerful Pennsbury running game, but Falcon head coach Galen Snyder is going to have to game plan for Pennridge megastar Michael Class.
Cuthbert might just have the easier assignment.
Abington Ghosts 7 0 7 0 - 14
Pennridge Rams 7 14 0 14 - 35
P: Michael Class 48 run (Joe Unangst kick)
A: Craig Reynolds 8 run (Sean Tracey kick)
P: Micah Stutzman 8 pass from Alex Krivda (Unangst kick)
P: Class 49 run (Unangst kick)
A: Collins 47 run (Tracey kick)
P: Class 45 run (Unangst kick)
P: Class 73 run (Unangst kick)
Abington Pennridge
15 First Downs 13
221 Yards Rushing 352
117 Yards Passing 34
338 Total Offense 386
1/32 Punts / Average 0/0
10/70 Penalties / Yds 4/25
Abington:
Rushing: Craig Reynolds 18-146 & TD; Dylan Collins 20-82 & TD; Tyler Schreiner 1-0; Kendall Stewart 1 (minus 7). Totals – 40-221-2 TD.
Passing: Collins 12-24-1; 117 yards.
Receiving: Kendall Stewart 7-61; Gage Gormley 2-29; Craig Reynolds 2-8; and Trey Guaglionona 1-19. Totals 12-117.
Pennridge:
Rushing: Michael Class 21-183 & 4 TD; MacKenzie Crawford 8-30; Kyle Bigam 4-22; and Alex Krivda 7-17. Totals 40-352 & 4 TD.
Passing: Alex Krivda 3-4-0; 34 yards & TD.
Receiving: Kyle Bigam 2-26; Micah Stutzman 1-8 & TD.
Interception: Matt Pasquale.
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