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WARMINSTER – Ted Conrad was in the middle of a post-game interview after Monday night’s non-league game against William Tennent when teammate Rashaad Williams appeared out of nowhere.
The Central Bucks West teammates exchanged high fives. The two running backs had plenty of reasons to celebrate. All night long Conrad and Williams provided a perfect one-two punch out of the Bucks’ backfield.
“It’s like thunder and lightning,” Conrad said. “We’ve got lightning outside and me up the middle.”
West’s version of Thunder and Lightning accounted for 178 yards on the ground – more than the entire Tennent team gained in total yards.
“We hope to keep that going all year,” Conrad said.
While Conrad pounded it up the middle for a game-high 106 yards, Williams had 89 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. The speedy sophomore also took the opening kickoff 97 yards for an electrifying touchdown run that effectively set the tone for the Bucks’ 25-6 win, a win that spoiled the Panthers’ debut on their new turf field.
“This was huge,” Conrad said of the win. “We lost to Tennent when I was a sophomore – it was close, and we should have won that game. Last year we were killing them, and I don’t know what happened (the Bucks lost 33-29), but this year – this feels great.
“It’s the second week of the season, getting a great win – we’re ready for Wissahickon now.”
The loss put a damper on a perfect night for football in Tennnet’s refurbished stadium.
“It was really exciting,” junior Sergio Jamison said of playing on the new field. “We wanted to win the first game on this field, but we didn’t execute enough.”
Fans hadn’t settled into the new stands when Williams did his best DeSean Jackson impression on the opening kickoff, eluding would-be tacklers as he raced down the far sidelines for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead 13 seconds into the game.
“I almost had one last game, but the kicker tackled me,” Williams said of his touchdown run. “I knew what to do this game. I knew they were weak on the outside, so I took it on the outside. The kicker came, and I just made a move. It was exciting.”
The quick start was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Bucks, who were coming off a disappointing loss to Freedom in their opener.
“That’s a team that has a lot of pride,” West coach Chris Felton said of Tennent. “They struggled a lot the week before as we did.
“The thought process was get on them early. I’m sure they thought the same thing. We just happened to get that return from Rashaad, and that set the tone.”
If Williams’ touchdown jumpstarted the Bucks, who took a 12-7 lead into halftime, Tanner Barbon’s fumble recovery on the third play of the second half all but cut the heart out of the Panthers.
“That just swung the whole game wide open right there,” Conrad said. “They definitely had it going. They punched it in right before halftime. We had a couple of mistakes here and there.
“We got the fumble. It was our ballgame again.”
The Bucks capitalized, turning Tennent’s miscue into a seven-play, 43-yard scoring drive that included a 13-yard run by Barbon as well as a 10-yard run by Conrad. Williams muscled up the middle for the final nine yards and a touchdown that put the Bucks on top 19-7.
“You get right down to a point in a critical drive, and then you fumble the ball, and they take it down and score,” Tennent coach Biz Keeny said. “It’s a game of momentum, and they controlled it in the second half.
“We had too many mistakes. We had a fumbled snap, a low shotgun snap. We just didn’t do enough things to win. It’s about execution.”
West’s drive effectively negated any momentum the Panthers may have gotten after their 65-yard, 14-play touchdown march to close out the opening half.
Tennent’s only scoring drive began with a big 16-yard run by Jason Roth, who led the Panthers with 70 yards. With time rapidly winding down in the half, the Panthers – thanks to a pass interference call – found themselves on the Bucks’ seven-yard line.
Tennent hit paydirt when quarterback Pat Traczykiewicz found Sergio Jamison in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 3.6 seconds on the game clock that – after Sean Baner’s extra point – trimmed West’s lead to 12-7 at the half.
“After my touchdown, I felt the momentum changed to our side heading into halftime,” Jamison said. “Coming out of halftime, we thought we were going to take control again, but then we lost the fumble.”
The Bucks turned Tennent’s ill-timed fumble into a 19-7 lead but then saw a game-clinching drive come to an end when Jamison came up with an interception at the Bucks’ own nine-yard line.
The Panthers couldn’t do a whole lot with the turnover, collecting just one first down before punting it away.
The Bucks answered with a 69-yard scoring drive to seal the Panthers’ fate. Williams capped the drive by taking it in from three yards out for a 25-7 West lead that held up until the final horn sounded.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 25, WILLIAM TENNENT 7
Central Bucks West 6 6 7 6-25
William Tennent 0 7 0 0-7
CBW-Williams 97 kickoff return (Kick failed)
CBW-Williams 3 run (Pass failed)
WT-Jamison 7 pass from Traczykiewicz (Baner kick)
CBW-Williams 9 run (Stella kick)
CBW-Giedgowd 3 run (Kick failed)
CBW WT
First Downs 14 11
Rushing Yards 243 86
Passing Yards (-5) 43
Total Yards 238 129
Passing (C-A-I) 1-2-1 5-15-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-Yds. 6-47 1-5
Punts-Avg. 1-31.0 3-35.7
RUSHING:
Central Bucks West - Ted Conrad, 18-108; Rashaad Williams, 17-89, 2 TDs; Tannar Barbon, 5-30; Jackson Giedgowd, 4-15, 1 TD; Liam Houck, 1-1.
William Tennent – Jason Roth, 12-70; Jim Aguire, 6-31; Shannon Brown, 6-11; R.J. Risch, 1-3; Pat Traczykiewicz, 5-(-29).
PASSING:
Central Bucks West – Jackson Giedgowd, 1-2-(-5).
William Tennent – Pat Traczykiewicz, 5-15-43. 1 TD.
RECEIVING:
Central Bucks West – Rashaad Williams, 1-(-5).
William Tennent – Sergio Jamison, 3-30, 1 TD; Tyler Hamlet, 1-7; Dylan Malitsky, 1-6.
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