Abington rolled to a 55-25 win over Upper Dublin in an opening round District One AAA Tournament game Friday. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Abington – The loudspeakers at Schwarzman Stadium did not play the melodic song Memories over the sound system during host Abington’s stunning 55-25 victory over Upper Dublin (9-2) in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
But for seniors Craig Reynolds and Jake Clark, along with junior Jordan Neely, there were vivid memories created on this chilly early November night that will be cherished for a lifetime.
Reynolds – who rushed for a game-high 135 yards and 3 touchdowns – became the all-time leading single season rusher in Ghost history. Reynolds effort bested the mark set by John Stone who rushed for 1564 yards back in 1983. Reynolds is at 1600+ yards and counting.
“Craig comes from a great football family, his Dad was a great running back at Abington,” said Abington head coach Tim Sorber, whose team improved to 9-2. “Craig has earned his spot in the record book, and he’s the type of kid that will tell you how great a job his offensive line has done for him this year. But he is an exceptional back.”
“I am blessed to have a great line playing in front of me,” said Reynolds on cue. “It is a great feeling to be able to break the record – especially since my Dad played here. But we have to put this game behind us now, we want to make a run deeper in the playoffs.”
Clark – the fireplug of an offensive and defensive lineman – has helped create those gaping holes for Reynolds all season. But the 5 foot-10 inch, 260-pound senior helped turn this playoff game around with an interception on a screen pass that came with the Ghosts holding a 34-18 lead in the second period.
“I have never run with a football – ever,” smiled Clark who ‘raced’ 35-yards with the ‘pick’ to set up an Abington touchdown. “We saw that play all week on film, and I just dropped back and he threw me the ball. I don’t know where the receiver even was, but once I caught the ball I just took off. Coach (Dave) Laughlin tells us if we score a touchdown on defense, he’ll buy us a cheese steak. I was running for that cheese steak.”
“I have coached here 18 years and I have only had three players play all four years as a starter,” said Sorber. “Jake was a kid at age 7 that was our ball boy, and then he played all through our youth leagues. Once we got to football camp, we knew he was a player. He loves the game – he plays over 100 snaps a game on both offense and defense.”
And then there were the wonderful memories created by Neely. Neely – who had not returned a kickoff all season – thrilled the Ghost fans as he returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. And after Upper Dublin’s Mike D’Ambrosio kicked a field goal – Neely managed to top his own spectacular performance by returning the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for another magnificent touchdown.
“I was really hoping all season that I would get a chance to return kickoffs, but this was the first game I got a chance,” said Neely. “Coach (Terrence) Tolbert told me this week that I would be returning kicks. He didn’t say why, just that I would be doing it.”
“Great coaching,” smiled Sorber. “We knew that both Jordan and Craig would be good return guys, but we had some injury issues and we wanted to limit their touches in a game. But now that we are in the playoffs, we decided to give them the chance. And they made us look good.”
Abington looked good from the get-go as the Ghosts captured a stunning 34-3 lead by the close of the first period. In addition to the glorious kickoff returns for scores by Neely - Reynolds scored on a 27-yard run – Paul Goerlich recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score – and Reynolds scored on a 2-yard run.
“To be honest, we were embarrassed with the way that we started the game,” said Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover. “That is not the way that we have played football this year. We are a lot better than that. We didn’t quit, though, but we can’t be happy with how we played.”
No the Cardinals didn’t quit.
In fact, after trailing 34-3 Upper Dublin scored the next 14 points to close the gap to 34-18. And a possible touchdown drive that would have cut the margin to 34-25 was short circuited by the Clark interception.
Cardinal senior quarterback John Derr concluded a stellar career by scoring on runs of 40 and 7 yards and also throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to John Lee. Derr finished the night with 19 completions for 220 yards and also rushed for 54 yards on 7 carries.
Abington managed just a single touchdown in the second half, but it was a significant one as it gave the Ghosts a 55-18 lead and started the ‘mercy-rule’ clock. The score came on a dazzling 55-yard scoring pass from sophomore quarterback David Kretschman to senior tight end Mark Bond.
“This could very well be the last time these seniors get to play a game in this stadium,” said Sorber as the Ghosts prepare for their second round PIAA Quad-A District One game at [#1 seed] Garnet Valley (11-0) next week. “And they made this game one to remember.”
Even if Barbra Streisand (google her) wasn’t singing Memories in the background.
Upper Dublin Cardinals 3 15 0 7 * 25
Abington Ghosts 34 14 7 0 * 55
A: Neely 85 kickoff return (run failed)
UD: D’Ambrosio 23 FG
A: Neely 89 kickoff return (kick failed)
A: Reynolds 27 run (Seidenberg kick)
A: Goerlich recovers fumble in end zone (Seidenburg kick)
A: Reynolds 2 run (Seidenburg kick)
UD: Derr 40 run (D’Ambrosio kick)
UD: John Lee 16 pass from Derr (D’Ambrosio kick)
A: Goerlich 16 pass from Kretschman (Seidenberg kick)
A: Reynolds 23 run (Seidenburg kick)
A: Bond 55 pass from Kretschman (Seidenburg kick)
UD: Derr 7 run (D’Ambrosio kick)|
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