Senior Nate Hall scored four touchdowns to lead Neshaminy to a 42-21 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in Friday’s opening round District One AAAA contest. Stats used in the article below were provided courtesy of PhillyBurbs.com, a media partner of SuburbanOneSports.com. To read Dan Dunkin’s game story, please click on the following PhillyBurbs.com link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/redskins-roll-to-date-with-cb-south/article_675e429b-1c72-5123-80e7-64bb984e1883.html
By Mary Jane Souder
PLYMOUTH MEETING - As Nate Hall left the field late in Friday’s District One AAAA opener at Plymouth Whitemarsh, the Neshaminy student section paid tribute to the senior running back by chanting, ‘Nate push weights, Nate push weights.’
The 5-5 Hall spent the night bulling his way through PW’s defense for 134 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Redskins to a no-doubt-about-it 42-21 win over the fourth-seeded Colonials in Friday night’s District One AAAA opener.
“He’s a great runner,” Neshaminy senior Brian Toal said. “He doesn’t stop (moving) his feet, he keeps going. He looks like he’s down sometimes, and then he’s up running down the field. He’s a strong man.”
While Hall led a Redskin running attack that amassed 329 yards on the ground, Toal, who plays middle linebacker, helped anchor a defensive unit that limited PW’s vaunted running attack to just 94 yards on the ground.
“It was everyone working together and making their calls,” Toal said. “The D-line really stepped up tonight. Every play that came to them – they just took control.
“Everyone was making their reads, and whenever the ball came their way, they just knew how to stop it.”
The Redskins’ defense limited PW to just 159 yards of total offense,
“Their defense was very, very aggressive,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “We were getting pushed around a little bit up front.
“When we tried to take a couple of pass shots early on, we weren’t very successful. I probably should have kept going back to it, but I think they won the battle at the line of scrimmage tonight.”
The Colonials forced the Redskins into a pair of three-and-outs on their first two possessions of the game. A blocked punt on the second of the two gave the Colonials the ball on the Neshaminy 14. A six –yard run by Corey Kelly and then a seven-yard scamper by quarterback Pete Giorgio set up a one-yard touchdown plunge by Kelly and – after a Jared Seiler extra point – gave PW an early 7-0 lead.
That apparently served as a wake-up call for Neshaminy’s offense, which responded with 21 unanswered points to close out the half. The fun began with a 10-play, 68-yard drive that featured one big run after another. It began with a 12-yard run by Hall and was followed by back-to-back 13-yard runs by Blake Sullivan. Denny Lord had a 16-yard carry that took the ball to PW’s 14, and four plays later, Hall punched it in from three yards out. The first of six successful Nick Tucci PATs knotted the score 7-7 at the 10:04 mark of the second period.
“Our offensive line stayed focused and opened up big holes for me to run through,” Hall said. “I had to score for my team and I did.”
On PW’s ensuing possession, the Redskins’ defense held on fourth-and-five at their own 35, and Neshaminy took over on downs. The drive began with a 10-yard run by Devon Brown out of the wildcat and was highlighted by a 28-yard run by Sullivan. Hall took it in from two yards out, and after Tucci’s extra point, the Redskins led 14-7 with two minutes remaining in the half.
Another superb defensive series gave the Redskins the ball at midfield with 1:09 showing on the scoreboard clock. They needed just 52 seconds to hit pay dirt this time. The drive included a pair of Hugh Hart completions for first downs, the first for 11 yards to Tom Kreiling and the second for 12 yards to Cole Creighton. The drive was capped by Hart finding Creighton with a nine-yard TD toss that sent the Redskins into halftime with a 21-7 lead.
“We stopped them two series in a row, and all of a sudden, I feel like we just started playing a little bit high,” Chang said. “They started getting their run game going, and it snowballed out of control for us.
“Obviously, Neshaminy is a very storied program, and there was no doubt in my mind that they were going to be very physical all night, and that’s what we got.”
The Redskins accumulated 176 yards on the ground in the opening half and 212 yards overall, a far cry from the preceding week when they were shut out in a 7-0 loss to Pennsbury.
“We were a little embarrassed last week,” coach Mark Schmidt said. “We got punched in the mouth, and that’s something we’re not used to.
“All week long we challenged our guys to go get these guys because they’re a good team. They play hard.”
Hall acknowledged that the Redskins struggled to generate offense in their loss to the Falcons.
“I wouldn’t say we were embarrassed,” he said. “I would say that we couldn’t make it happen, but our defense did great. Our offense just couldn’t make it happen for some reason.
“Today we showed everybody that we could run the ball.”
Despite their two-touchdown lead, the Redskins weren’t finished yet, taking over on downs on their own 48 and immediately marching 52 yards for the score. The drive featured a 17-yard pass from Hart to Luke Carrezola and was capped by a 28-yard TD run by Hall.
The Redskins’ lead grew to 35-7 after a five-yard touchdown run by Hall with 2:47 remaining in the third period. The Colonials answered with a touchdown drive that culminated with a three-yard Kelly carry.
After a successful on-sides kick, the Colonials scored again. This time it was Giorgio taking it in from four yards out to make it a 35-21 game after Seiler’s PAT. For good measure, the Redskins tacked on another touchdown when Denny Lord scored from one yard out for the 42-21 final.
“It’s one of the best feelings you’ll ever have,” Toal said after his team’s opening round win. “There’s no other way to experience the feeling.
“It’s great to be together as a team and be in this position. We were confident, and we were pumped for this game. We knew as long as we all made our reads and made our calls we’d be fine.”
The Colonials closed out the year with an SOL American Conference title and a 9-2 record.
“I told them to be proud of what we did this year,” Chang said. “They accomplished a lot of great things when people didn’t thing we would be very good at all.
“For the guys coming up next year, we have to build on this. We have to build and be able to take the next step.”
The Redskins, meanwhile, have earned a date with Central Bucks South in next weekend’s quarterfinal round.
“This means a lot,” Hall said. “You never know what could happen. It’s playoffs – you’ve got to do your best.”
NESHAMINY 0 21 14 7-42
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7 0 0 14-21
PW-Corey Kelly 1 run (Jared Seiler kick)
N-Nate Hall 3 run (Nick Tucci kick)
N- Nate Hall 2 run (Nick Tucci kick)
N -Cole Creighton 9 pass from Hugh Hart (Nick Tucci kick)
N- Nate Hall 28 run (Nick Tucci kick)
N-Nate Hall 5 run (Nick Tucci kick)
PW-Corey Kelly 3 run (Jared Seiler kick)
PW-Pete Giorgio 4 run (Jared Seiler kick)
N-Denny Lord 1 run (Nick Tucci kick)
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