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LANGHORE – As Bryan Dean made his way to the locker room after Friday night’s season opener against Souderton, Neshaminy coach Mark Schmidt nodded in the direction of his senior running back.
“He’s my horse,” the Redskins’ coach said. “He’s my horse. He’s pretty good.”
Dean was better than ‘pretty good’ in the Redskins’ 35-6 rout of the Indians. He was all but unstoppable. The elusive running back rushed for 167 yards and also had 45 receiving yards, but it was his effort on a drive midway through the second half that sealed the Indians’ fate.Souderton – after falling behind 21-0 – rallied to make it a 21-6 game by halftime and then stymied the Redskins’ offense in the third quarter. But when a Souderton scoring drive stalled after Redskin senior Ariel Hoffman intercepted a pass at the goal line, Dean went to work, carrying the ball on seven of the next eight plays and accounting for all but six yards of a methodical 80-yard scoring drive that put the Redskins on top 28-6.
“We knew we had to drive down the field and tire out their defense,” Dean said. “We finally did it.”
The Indians were never heard from again.
“We were a little nervous here and there, but as the game went on, we started adjusting, and our ‘O’ line made the blocks,” Dean said. “I didn’t really think we would put this many points up, but we came together as a team, and we made every play count.
“Coach was happy with our performance.”
He should have been.
Although Schmidt had to be cringing when his team fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage, giving Souderton possession at the Redskins’ 19-yard line. Chris Kelly rumbled nine yards on the very next play, and it looked like the Indians were in business.
The Redskins had other ideas.
John Figueroa threw Kelly for a two-yard loss on the next play, and the Indians got nothing on third down. Then their 28-yard field goal attempt sailed wide, and a golden opportunity had gone out the window.“They give us a gift – we get nine yards, and all of a sudden, on the second play, we don’t block a guy at the point of attack and lose two yards,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “That should have told me right there what our night was going to be like.
“That was very unfortunate. I felt pretty good – alright, we’re getting a break. They’re a good football team, but they gave us opportunities.”
Given a reprieve, the Redskins capitalized.
Dean, who was thrown for a four-yard loss by Jake Guzman on first down, scrambled 24 yards on a third-and-10 draw play. He followed that with runs of 13 and 12 yards, setting the stage for a 35-yard touchdown run by Corey Majors to put the Redskins on the scoreboard.
“We weren’t worried,” Dean said of the Redskins’ response to their game-opening fumble. “It was the first play, and we knew we could recover from that mistake.”
When Kyran Kervick came up with an interception on the Indians’ 32-yard line, the Redskins were off and running. Two plays later, quarterback Brian Titus found Dean for a 34-yard touchdown that – after the kick failed – put the Redskins on top 13-0.
A three-and-out for the Indians was followed by a six-play, 71-yard Redskin scoring drive that featured a 15-yard gain by Ricky Williams on a reverse, a 17-yard Dean run and a 37-yard scoring strike from junior quarterback Charlie Marterella to senior Rick Brebner. A two-point conversion from Martarella to Dylan Lange made it a 21-0 game.
“I was really happy to see Brebs get back and make that nice catch,” Schmidt said of Brebner, who had turned his ankle and was questionable for the game. “He came back tonight and gave us that kick we needed.”
Late in the half, Souderton’s Jon Holloway recovered a fumble on the Redskins’ 37-yard line, and the Indians capitalized. Quarterback Connor Brokenshire found Andrew Coyle for a nine-yard pickup. Clint Passarella rushed for nine yards, and after back-to-back runs by Kelly – the first for four yards and the second for six, Andrew Coyle fought off would-be tacklers to take it in from five yards out.
Kervick blocked the extra point, but the Indians – who did not collect a first down until 4:34 remained in the half – had life, trailing 21-6 at the intermission.
“That was a big deal for us,” Souderton senior Kyle Connolly said of getting on the scoreboard. “We needed something to get us through halftime, and that helped.
“We had some momentum going into the second half, but we didn’t take advantage of it.”
The Indians’ defense limited the Redskins to just 24 yards of total offense in the third quarter, and it looked like momentum might be swinging in their favor when they began to move the football.
Brokenshire found Connolly for 32 yards on a slant, and after a seven-yard completion to Peter Jenne, the Indians benefitted from a pass interference call that took the ball to the Redskins’ 17-yard line.
Kelly rushed for three yards on first down, but then came the clutch interception by Hoffman, setting up the drive that featured a whole lot of Dean and all but iced the win for the Redskins.
“He made some good tacklers miss, so credit to him,” Gallagher said of Dean.
For good measure, Williams turned his team’s next possession into his own personal highlight reel, rushing for seven yards on first down and then sprinting 70 for a touchdown that put the finishing touches on the impressive win.
“Ricky and Bryan are really good tailbacks, but only one can play,” Schmidt said. “We’ll use them both – that’s our plan.”
Gallagher was hoping his team could establish a running game. It never happened.
“Ryan Katona, (Nick) Didonato and (Adam) Gillen – those three guys inside are very athletic, and they really took away the inside stuff,” Schmidt said. “I was really happy.
“Our defense did a super job the whole game really. That was really nice to see our guys get after them.”
“They have a nice ball club,” Gallagher said. “We weren’t ready to play. We had a bad week of practice. The kids weren’t prepared, and this is a tough place to go unprepared. They’re always good down here. I give credit to Mark and his staff. They did a great job.”
NESHAMINY 35, SOUDERTON 6
Souderton 0 6 0 0-6
Neshaminy 13 8 0 14-35
N-Majors 35 run (Domico kick)
N-Dean 34 pass from Titus (Kick failed)
N-Brebner 37 pass from Marterella (Lange pass from Marerella)
S-Coyle 5 run (Kick failed)
N-Dean 6 run (Domico kick)
N-Williams 70 run (Domico kick)
S N
First Downs 8 14
Rushing Yards 101 305
Passing Yards 80 91
Total Yards 181 396
Passing (C-A-I) 7-19-3 6-11-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-3
Penalties-Yds. 2-15 4-41
Punts-Yds. 6-37.5 4-27.3
RUSHING:
Souderton – Chris Kelly, 15-57; Connor Brokenshire, 6-18; Tyler Scholl, 1-9; Andrew Coyle, 5-9, 1 TD; Clint Passarella 2-8; Jon Holloway, 1-0.
Neshaminy-Bryan Dean, 25-167, 1 TD; Ricky Williams, 3-92, 1 TD; Corey Majors, 3-45, 1 TD; Ron Smith, 2-5; Brian Titus, 2-(-2). Charlie Marterella, 1-(-2).
PASSING:
Souderton – Connor Brokenshire, 6-16-64, 2 INTs; Anthony Sergio, 1-3-16, 1 INT.
Neshaminy – Brian Titus, 3-8-43, 1 TD; Charlie Marterella, 3-3-48, 1 TD
RECEIVING:
Souderton – Kyle Connolly, 4-45; Lucas Bohidar, 1-16; Andrew Coyle, 1-9; Peter Jenne, 1-7; Kevin Lister, 1-3.
Neshaminy – Bryan Dean, 3-45, 1 TD; Rick Brebner, 2-35, 1 TD; Corey Majors, 1-for-11.
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