Pennridge came from behind to defeat Central Bucks East 35-18 in a non-league contest Friday.
By Scott Huff
Doylestown- The ‘name’ running back the last few years for Pennridge was Michael Class – and a truly great name it was. It rolled off the tongue with ease, and his electrifying play was simple to remember.
The new name running back for the Rams this season is senior Joe Unangst – and the name doesn’t quite roll of the tongue as easily. Unangst may not possess the speed and grace that Class showcased for Pennridge in recent memory, but the powerful running back more than makes up for it with his true grit and determination.
Unangst rushed for a game-high 236 yards on 23 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns as the Rams (2-0) remained unbeaten with a 35-18 victory over host Central Bucks East (1-1). The game was played in the awful heat and humidity at War Memorial Field.
“Last year we were all about Mike Class,” said Pennridge head coach Jeff Hollenbach. “Joe really isn’t all that far away from being the player Mike was for us, and he did a great job of running behind our offensive line.”
“I was able to run through some pretty nice holes,” said Unangst who also caught a pass for 16 yards and excelled in the Ram defensive secondary. “Every time that I touch the ball, I am looking to score a touchdown.
“This was a very important win for us, and we want to go into our league schedule with momentum,” added Unangst. “And we are off to a good start by winning the first two games. Everyone wants to talk about playing teams like Neshaminy and Pennsbury, but those games will come. We want to win the next game we are playing.”
“This reminds me a lot of the old Bux-Mont,” said Hollenbach who quarterbacked the Rams in the early 70’s. “We open the season with Hatboro-Horsham, CB East, and we get CB West next week.
“Then we get to play North Penn and Souderton during the conference season,” added Hollenbach. “We need to stay focused on the game in front of us.”
Pennridge needed its focus to defeat a depleted but feisty CB East team that led 18-14 at the close of the first half. The Patriots played without the services of their terrific junior running back Alex Gibson, who missed the game due to injury.
“I liked what we did in the first half of the game,” said Central Bucks East head coach John Donnelly. “But then we seemed to run out of gas in the second half.
“We had a lot of players cramping up and not dealing too well with the heat,” added Donnelly. “Not having them on the field limited what we could do because we were playing with players that might not be ready.”
Central Bucks East scored first on a bizarre play that resulted in an 86-yard touchdown play. Patriot quarterback Connor O’Keefe threw a rocket across the middle of the field and had the ball tipped by a Pennridge defender into the arms of CB East’s Drew Nimmo who jetted in for the score.
O’Keefe located AJ Ventresca in the corner of the end zone to give CB East an 8-0 lead.
Pennridge closed to within 8-7 with a seven-play touchdown drive that covered 80 yards. Junior DeVon Balmer fired a 28-yard scoring strike to senior Imier Simmons – and senior Ethan Aigeldinger added the point after touchdown. The scoring drive featured a 32-yard pass from Balmer to sophomore Ryan Cuthbert.
The Rams took a 14-8 lead early in the second period. Simmons capped an eight-play drive that covered 48-yards with an 11-yard touchdown burst. Aigeldinger was perfect on the extra point.
CB East scored on an unusual five-play drive that covered 99 yards. O’Keefe fired a 92-yard pass completion to Ventresca to set up the score. O’Keefe culminated the drive with a three-yard touchdown run, and Oliver Boucher added the PAT to give the Patriots a 15-14 lead.
The final score of the first half came on a 28-yard field goal by Boucher to give the Pats an 18-14 lead. It would be the final points of the game for CB East.
The second half belonged to Pennridge and Unangst. The Rams would outscore CBE 21-0 over the final two periods – and Unangst would inflict most of the damage.
Unangst would give the Rams the lead for good with a 19-yard scoring run. Featured in the 10-play scoring drive was an 18-yard run by Unangst; a 10-yard run by Unangst; a 12-yard burst by Unangst; and the 19-yard scoring run by Unangst. Aigeldinger’s placement presented Pennridge with a 21-18 lead.
Unangst would score his second touchdown of the game on a gritty 5-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Again it was Unangst that had the featured play of the drive with a spectacular 66-yard dash. On the scoring play itself, Unangst was indomitable with a second, third and fourth effort to reach pay dirt.
Balmer capped the final Ram scoring drive with a 1-yard run in the fourth period. Again it was Unagnst that had the biggest play in the scoring drive with a 16-yard bolt. Aigeldinger would make the score final at 35-18 with his fifth successful placement in as many attempts.
“I thought our defensive effort in the second half was the turning point of the game,” said Hollenbach. “We were down at the half, and we kept them off the board in the second half.”
“I thought our defense played great tonight,” said Pennridge junior defensive back Mark Weichel who had two key first half interceptions for the Rams. “We wanted to be more physical than them, and I thought we were. Now we want to be able to play like that week in and week out.”
And if the Ram defense can play that way week in and week out – and Unangst can do the same on the offensive end – Pennridge might surprise people and be the class of the league.
And without Michael Class.
Pennridge Rams 7 7 7 14 - 35
CB East Patriots 8 10 0 0 - 18
Scoring:
CBE: Drew Nimmo 86 pass from Connor O’Keefe (AJ Ventresca pass from O’Keefe)
P: Imier Simmons 28 pass from DeVon Balmer (Ethan Algeldinger kick)
P: Simmons 11 run (Algeldinger kick)
CBE: O’Keefe 3 run (Oliver Boucher kick)
CBE: Boucher 28 Field Goal
P: Joe Unangst 19 run (Algeldinger kick)
P: Unangst 5 run (Algeldinger kick)
P: Balmer 1 run (Algeldinger kick)
Pennridge CB East
19 First Downs 7
331 Yards Rushing 42
92 Yards Passing 215
423 Total Offense 257
7-60 Penalties/Yards 3-25
3-33 Punts/Average 3-41
Pennridge:
Rushing: Joe Unangst 23 carries-236 yards-2 TD; Ryan Gordon 7-56; Imier Simmons 4-22-TD; Matt Firuta 7-12; Judens Desrosiers 3-11; and Devon Balmer 9 (minus-6)-TD. Totals 53 carries – 331 yards – 4 touchdowns.
Passing: DeVon Balmer 4-10-0; 92 yards and TD.
Receiving: Ryan Cuthbert 1-32; Imier Simmons 1-28-TD; Joe Unangst 1-16; and Kurt Wiest 1-16. Totals 4-92-0; & TD.
Interceptions: Mark Weichel 2
Central Bucks East:
Rushing: Dan King 11-24; Connor O’Keefe 11-16 - TD; Carson Gastineau 1-2. Totals 23-42-TD.
Passing: Connor O’Keefe 8-18-2; 211 yards and TD; Matt Szczypiorski 1-2-0; 4 yards. Totals 9-21-2; 215 yards & TD.
Receiving: AJ Ventresca 3-90; Drew Nimmo 1-86 & TD; Carson Gastineau 2-18; Eric Poppke 2-13; and Logan Nelsen 1-8. Totals 9-215 & TD.
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