Pennsbury remained undefeated with its 34-7 win over Abington on Saturday.
By Scott Huff
Pennsbury (5-0, 2-0) played its first half of competitive football all season Saturday afternoon, leading host Abington (3-2, 0-2) 14-7 going into halftime, but the Falcons soared in the second half to fly to a 34-7 victory.
“We were slow, sloppy, and undisciplined in the first half,” said Pennsbury senior running back Charles Snorweah who rushed for a game-high 126 yards and two touchdowns. “Abington came out fired up and we didn’t. They stopped our offense in the first half, but we came back focused in the second half.”
“It took us a while to get started,” said Pennsbury head coach Galen Snyder. “Abington came at us hard – and we expected that from them.”
“We played good football for the first 24 minutes, and into the third quarter,” said Abington head coach Tim Sorber. “Pennsbury is a very good football team – a team that could win a district championship. This might be the best Pennsbury team that I have coached against in my 15 years at Abington.”
There were three aspects of the game that changed in the second half that broke the game open for the Falcons.
Outstanding Abington senior running back Juawine Sowell –who rushed for 104 yards in the first half – did not play a single snap in the second half. Sowell suffered from dehydration in the 80-degree weather inside Schwartzman Stadium and was forced to watch the action from the Ghost sidelines.
“We had to do some things differently, and we lacked some consistency,” said Sorber. “But we also had too many key penalties and turnovers in the second half.”
There was a huge momentum change at the outset of the second half. Abington scored what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown early in the third quarter when junior Michael Brooks broke free on an electrifying 74-yard touchdown run. However, a holding call behind the play negated the score, and the Ghosts never threatened again.
Pennsbury took advantage of that momentum swing to score a touchdown on its next possession to up the lead to 21-7. And the high-flying Falcon offense began to dominate the Abington defense, scoring 20 unanswered second half points.
Abington actually led the game 7-0 by scoring on its first possession of the game. The Ghosts scoring drive covered 75 yards on eight plays and culminated on a 23-yard scoring pass from David Kretscham to George Reid. Matt Bevilacqua spilt the uprights on the PAT.
Pennsbury would tie the game 7-7 with a short touchdown drive in the first period. The Falcons moved 53 yards on just three plays for the score, and the scoring play came on a 30-yard scoring pass from quarterback Mike Alley to running back Victor Delgado. Josh Leon would add the first of four placements for the winners.
Pennsbury scored on its final drive of the second period to secure the lead for good. The Falcons scoring march covered just 40 yards on five plays with Snorweah earning scoring honors with a 5-yard TD burst.
Pennsbury added to its lead with a touchdown in the third period. The scoring drive covered 85 yards on only five plays, and Delgado capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.
The Falcons added two fourth quarter touchdowns to pad its winning margin. Snorweah scored his second touchdown of the day on a 7-yard scamper, and Raheem Thompson would conclude a scoring drive with a nifty 20-yard TD burst.
“I guess you might say that we had a little bit of a slip-up today,” said Snyder. “But a 34-7 final score can’t really be too much of a slip-up – can it?”
Not really.
Pennsbury Falcons 7 7 7 13 – 34
Abington Ghosts 7 0 0 0 – 7
A: George Reid 23 pass from David Kretscham (Matt Bevilacqua kick)
P: Victor Delgado 30 pass from Mike Alley (Josh Leon kick)
P: Charles Snorweah 5 run (Leon kick)
P: Delgado 9 run (Leon kick)
P: Snorweah 7 run (Leon kick)
P: Raheem Thompson 20 run (kick failed)
Pennsbury Abington
16 First Downs 17
343 Rushing Yards 156
46 Passing Yards 143
389 Total Offense 299
4-38 Punts / Average 5-33
4-70 Penalties / Yds. 4-31
Pennsbury:
Rushing: Charles Snorweah 14-126 & 2 TD; Raheem Thompson 8-90 & TD; Victor Delgado 7-45 & TD; Chris Rupprecht 4-42; and Mike Alley 7-40. Totals 40-343- 4 TD.
Passing: Alley 2-7-0; 46 yards & TD.
Receiving: Delgado 1-30 & TD and Vinnie Ratamess 1-16. Totals 2-46 & TD.
Interceptions: Gary Lichtenstein.
Abington:
Rushing: Juawine Sowell 14-104; Michael Brooks 9-41; David Kretscham 13-23; and Jordan Neely 1-(minus 9). Totals 37-156.
Passing: Kretscham 13-26-1; 143 yards & TD.
Receiving: Shamar Farmer 3-19; J. Scott 3-12; George Reid 2-37 & TD; Neely 2-36; Daron Boone 2-20; and Brooks 1-19. Totals 13-143 & TD.
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