Marvin Todd had a huge night in Central Bucks West’s 19-12 win over Tennent. To view photos of the game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Ben Reese
DOYLESTOWN – Central Bucks West coach Brian Hensel knew he was inheriting a potential star when he found out that Marvin Todd was transferring into the Central Bucks School District from Harry S. Truman.
He knew Todd was a very talented football player who could add something to the Bucks' offense. Todd proved that Friday night when he rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead West to a 19-12 win over William Tennent at War Memorial Field.
“I kind of had an idea (what we were getting),” Hensel said after the game. “He's a pretty special kid.
“He's had a tough camp because he was working through some injuries, but he's healthy this week and he did a super job for us.”
In the first quarter, Todd put the Bucks on the scoreboard with a 24-yard scamper around right end for his first touchdown of the game. He finished the first stanza with 79 yards on the ground on only five carries.
It just got better after that. He also gave West its final touchdown, going five yards in the third quarter to make the score 18-12. Mike Miller's PAT added the final point.
“The kid's a great player,” Tennent coach Bob Rosenberger said. “I thought we tackled poorly”
West got something more than running talent with Todd, however.
“He's a locker room favorite,” Hensel said of his running back. “The kids love him.
“He's the kind of kid that America loves. He works real hard; he's quiet, unassuming and, when he touches the ball, he's Mr. Electric.”
The running back didn't expect to carry the ball as much as he did. But he seemed happy with the effort.
“No, I didn't, coming back from injury,” he said when asked about the 25 carries. “They put me in there and let me run so that's what I did.”
Todd is not the straight-ahead plow-horse type of runner. He is more of a jitterbug, dancing through the hole and making would-be tacklers miss him.
But he also isn't a lightweight. He is a solid 6-foot and 185 pounds.
Hensel was amazed that Todd had amassed as many yards as he did.
“What did he have, 150?” he asked.
When told he rushed for 210 yards, Hensel said, “210, Holy Smokes.”
That isn't the most yards that Todd has gained in a football game, though. He had an even better game while playing at Truman.
“I gained over 300 yards my sophomore year against Conwell-Egan,” Todd said. “I didn't play last year because I had a head injury.”
Hensel added a footnote to Todd’s 300-yard game again Conwell-Egan.
“He had 307 in the first half,” the Bucks’ coach said with a chuckle.
Injuries have played into Todd's development as a football player. He missed his entire junior season because of an injury and then missed the Bucks' opener against Upper Dublin last week.
“We could have probably played him last week against Upper Dublin, but he wasn't 100 percent,” Hensel explained. “It wouldn't have been fair to him to put him in that situation and set him up for failure.”
Truman coach Ed Cubbage, according to Hensel, handled Todd’s transfer with class.
“Coach Cubbage and I talked almost immediately when I knew he was going to be with us, and he and his staff down at Truman want nothing but the best for the kid,” Hensel said. “They recognized that he's working hard to improve himself as a person and as a player.
“They're behind him 100 percent. They're not crying sour grapes; they want the best for the kid.”
Well, West got Todd’s best Friday night.
The Bucks also got a good game from senior quarterback John Fitz. Fitz rushed for 48 yards and scored a touchdown and also hit on 6-of-12 passes for 41 yards.
Rosenberger appeared to have a shot at winning his first game as head coach of the Panthers. Tennent knotted the score 12-12 on an impressive 76-yard touchdown run by sophomore Christian Mendez midway through the third quarter and \entered the fourth quarter trailing by only six points.
In fact, the Panthers drove from their own 48 to the West five before running out of downs early in the final period.
“I thought the kids played well,” Rosenberger said. “It's a growing process. We're getting better every week.”
On Friday night, the spotlight belonged to Todd and his West teammates, and Hensel had nothing but praise for his running back and for the coaching staff at Truman.
“I commend the coaches at Truman for having the patience to do what they did with such a talented football player,” Hensel said of not allowing Todd to play his junior season. “That's important because he's got a lot of good years of football ahead of him.”
And one of those years is this one.
EXTRA POINTS: Mendez led the Panthers on the ground with 90 yards and one touchdown on four carries. He also had 37 receiving yards. Tennent quarterback Nik Banks completed 6-of-19 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown…the final stats indicate just how close the game was as the Bucks held a 14-12 edge in first downs and a 299-289 advantage in total yards.
William Tennent 6 0 6 0—12
Central Bucks West 12 0 7 0—19
Scoring
CBW – Todd 30 run (run failed)
WT – Mendez 34 pass from Banks (pass failed)
CBW – Fitz 1 run (pass failed)
WT – Mendez 76 run (kick missed)
CBW – Todd 5 run (Miller kick)
Team statistics
WT CBW
First downs 12 14
Rushing yards 203 258
Passing yards 86 41
Total yards 289 299
Passing 6-19-1 6-12-1
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 5-35 7-70
Punts-avg. 2-23.5 2-29.5
Individual statistics
Rushing:
William Tennent: Mendez 4-90, TD; 3-27; Rickards 1-(-3); Tocce 2-20; Poekert 12-36; Banks 9-33.
Central Bucks West: Todd 25-210, 2 TD; Fitz 15-48, TD.
Passing:
William Tennent: Banks 6-19-1, 86, TD.
Central Bucks West: Fitz 6-12-1, 41.
Receiving:
William Tennent: Mendez 2-37, TD; Perks 2-5; Isaac 2-49.
Central Bucks West: Ciaudelli 5-36; McCauley 1-5.
Interceptions:
William Tennent: Finley.
Central Bucks West: Kennelly.
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