Central Bucks South scored on every possession in the first half and never looked back on its way to a 52-24 win over fourth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh. To view action shots of the game, visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Plymouth Meeting – The only thing that could prevent the vaunted Central Bucks South offense from scoring was the scoreboard clock as the Titans crushed host Plymouth Whitemarsh 52-24 in the opening round of the PIAA District One Quad-A playoffs. CB South scored on every possession in the first half, and on all but one possession in a mercy-rule second half – and that possession was stopped when the scoreboard clock mercifully reached 0:00.
“We were good tonight, very good,” smiled Central Bucks South head coach Dave Rackovan. “The players really understand the offense, and we executed very well. We wanted to have a balance between the run and the pass, and we were able to do that. This surely wasn’t the game that I envisioned.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh – the Suburban One League American Conference champion - had an impressive defensive resume entering the contest. The swarming Colonials had three shutouts this season and had allowed opponents a little over seven points a game. But PW had no answers for a Titan offense that was led by University of Virginia bound quarterback Matt Johns and bruising senior running back Dan Brown.
Johns was more than impressive with 16 completions for 219 yards and a pair of scores, while Brown bulled his way into the end zone for four rushing touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 100 yards. Brown also scored a fifth touchdown on a punt return.
“I love the way that our offense is built,” said Johns who received excellent protection from his offensive line. “We want to be able to spread teams out, and I think that we have bought into the offense a lot more this year. We can be very good when we play our style.
“I think we needed this game to prove ourselves to people,” continued Johns as the Titans entered as a #13 seed compared to the #4 seed of PW. “We went out and played our system – and it was clicking.”
“We came into the game with confidence,” said Brown. “But we need to come out of this game humble. And we have to go into the next game just as hungry as we were for this one.”
The next game for the Titans will be an away contest at (#5) Garnet Valley. The Jaguars advanced with a 28-6 opening round PIAA Quad-A District One victory over (#12) Ridley.
“I really haven’t thought about who we play next,” said Rackovan. “I concentrated the whole week on Plymouth Whitemarsh,”
It showed.
Central Bucks South took the opening kickoff and marched 60 yards on 11 plays for the score. Brown – who rushed for 27 yards on the opening drive – capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown burst. Evan Stahl booted the first of his seven successful extra points.
The Plymouth Whitemarsh offense counter punched with an 11-play touchdown drive that consumed 75 yards. Xavier Ellington – who rushed for 70 yards in the game – culminated the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Tyler Haney added the PAT to knot the score at 7-7.
The Titans regained the lead on an eight-play, 67-yard scoring march. Brown – who looked as though he was stopped in the backfield for a rare loss – broke tackles and rambled 23 yards for a touchdown. The Titans would close the period with a 14-7 lead.
CB South pushed the lead to 21-7 early in the second period. The Titans struck quickly as Johns fired a gorgeous 42-yard scoring pass to Frank Magasich. Magasich would finish with three catches for 69 yards and one touchdown.
The Colonials would chip away at the Titan lead with a 13-play scoring march. Haney blasted a 23-yard field goal to close the South lead to 21-10. It would be the closest PW would get for the rest of the night.
CB South scored on its next possession to snatch a 28-10 lead when Johns drilled a 24-yard scoring aerial to senior Chris Veal. Veal finished his night with a game-high seven receptions for 87 yards.
The Titans added a field goal at the 0:00 mark of the first half when Stahl connected on a 37-yard field goal. The highlight of that drive was a 25-yard run by Jon Mullin from punt formation. The field goal gave CBS a 31-10 halftime lead.
The lead swelled to 38-10 after a Steve Veal interception was converted into a touchdown. Brown capped a six-play, 55-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The signature play in the drive was a 30-yard pass completion from Johns to Chris Veal.
The bleeding continued for the Colonials when Brown scooped up the ball and returned it 37 yards for a special teams touchdown. The 45-10 score started the mercy-rule clock.
Plymouth Whitemarsh would score a third period touchdown when Russhon Phillips threw a 33-yard scoring dart to Alton Custus. Phillips finished the game with 10 completions for 143 yards.
Central Bucks South countered with a fourth period touchdown when Brown scored on a 16-yard run. It was the final score of the game for the Titans and came with 11:50 left in the game.
The Colonials scored the final touchdown in the fourth period. Corey Kelly – who rushed for a game-high 106 yards – capped off the scoring drive with a 13-yard bolt. Haney’s extra point would make the score final at 53-24.
“Playing this type of offense is really a fun way to play football,” said Johns. “We are all out there really having some fun.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh, though, didn’t crack a smile.
Central Bucks South Titans 14 17 14 7 - 52
Plymouth Whitemarh Colonials 7 3 7 7 - 24
CBS: Dan Brown 10 run (Evan Stahl kick)
PW: Xavier Ellington 2 run (Tyler Haney kick)
CBS: Dan Brown 23 run (Stahl kick)
CBS: Frank Magasich 42 pass from Matt Johns (Stahl kick)
PW: Haney 23-FG
CBS: Chris Veal 24 pass from Johns (Stahl kick)
CBS: Stahl 37-FG
CBS: Brown 6 run (Stahl kick)
CBS: Brown 37 punt return (Stahl kick)
PW: Alton Custus 33 pass from Russhon Phillips (Haney kick)
CBS: Brown 16 run (Stahl kick)
PW: Corey Kelly 13 run (Haney kick)
CB South Titans PW Colonials
21 First Downs 16
168 Rushing Yards 191
219 Passing Yards 143
387 Total Offense 334
0-0 Punts / Avg. 3-14
1-5 Penalties / Yds 3-40
Central Bucks South:
Rushing: Dan Brown 18-100 & 4 TD; Tommy DiBrino 10-26; Jon Mullin 1-25; Jon Pileggi 1-12; Bobby Mallon 1-4; Matt Johns 1-1. Totals 32-168 & 4 TD.
Passing: Matt Johns 16-22-0; 219 yards & 2 TD.
Receiving: Chris Veal 7-87 & TD; Dan Bechta 5-56; Frank Magasich 3-69 & TD; Bobby Mallon 1-7. Totals 16-219 & 2 TD.
Interception: Steve Veal
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Rushing: Corey Kelly 11-106 & TD; Xavier Ellington 15-70 & TD; Russhon Phillips 13-15. Totals 39-191 & 2 TD.
Passing: Phillips 10-21-1; 143 yards and TD – Ellington 0-1-0; 0 yards. Total 10-22-1; 143 yards and TD.
Receiving: Alton Custus 4-56 & TD; Xavier Ellington 3-36; Corey Kelly 2-29; Garnell Sanders 1-22. Totals 10-143.
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