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By Tom Moore
Staff writer
NEWTOWN TWP. — Holding only a seven-point halftime lead over 16th-seeded Upper Dublin on Friday night, Council Rock South needed a quick pick-me-up in the third quarter.
Senior running back Anthony Alimenti provided one with a 29-yard touchdown run down the right sideline eight plays later to help get the Golden Hawks going again en route to a 34-7 victory in a District One Class AAAA first-round game at Walt Snyder Stadium.
The top-seeded Golden Hawks (10-1) advanced to host No. 9 Downingtown East, a 28-17 winner over West Chester Henderson, in the quarterfinals next Friday evening.
Alimenti thought CR South was perhaps playing down a little to the level of its competition in a surprisingly competitive first half.
Coach Vince Bedesem and his staff strongly encouraged the Golden Hawks to be more physical and move the ball after intermission.
Alimenti, who finished with 14 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns, was the catalyst.
"It was a great call by John Donohue, our offensive coordinator," Bedesem said. "We were pounding the ball inside, pounding the ball inside. They were starting to commit more linebackers inside, so we tossed the ball outside.
"Anthony just did a great job. He broke a tackle and, bang, he's going the distance."
"Our line made great blocks and I was able to get in the end zone," Alimenti said.
Alimenti is averaging 11.1 yards per carry (63 for 697) this fall.
With senior quarterback Brian Donnelly rushing 20 times for 174 yards and two scores (to give him 1,170 yards and 20 TDs on the season) and bruising senior fullback Ryan Whiteley (13 for 128) also surpassing 100 yards, CR South accumulated 339 of its 496 rushing yards in the second half.
"I think we came out a little slow, obviously," Donnelly said. "We weren't able to do what we normally do. We were stopping ourselves with turnovers and penalties.
"It was nice to come out in the second half, early in the third quarter, sustain some drives and get our offense moving."
All five CR South touchdowns covered at least 29 yards, with the longest coming on an 80-yard, fourth-quarter sprint down the right sideline by Donnelly.
Junior fullback PJ Steinmetz added a 31-yard burst up the middle to close out the scoring.
"The best part of our team is the backs get all the credit, but the offensive line is unbelievable," Donnelly said. "They're meeting us in the end zone after long runs.
"It really picks you up — especially if you're struggling — when you see your linemen blocking downfield. When we're doing that, it's a tough offense to stop."
CR South has rushed for 3,335 yards (an average of 303.2) in 2011 while passing for just 297 (17 Friday).
The Golden Hawks, the Suburban One League National Conference co-champion, has outscored opponents, 304-141. Its defense has limited all but two opponents (Abington, 22, and Father Judge, 34) to 21 or fewer points, and its offense has rung up 30 or more seven times.
Juniors Aaron Presley (six this season) and Christian Crane (four) had interceptions, as did senior Corey Wilkenson. Senior Ian McDermott also recovered a fumble for CR South.
"We challenged them in the locker room (at halftime)," Bedesem said. "We told them we've got to get a chip back on our shoulder — they (Upper Dublin) were playing with a chip on their shoulder. We were really happy with the response in the second half."
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