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FAIRLESS HILLS – Pennsbury needed just two plays to find the end zone on its opening drive of Friday night’s game against Abington.
Sophomore Brandon Garrett sprinted 18 yards on the first play, and on the next, senior Brandon Pepper capped the 35-second scoring drive by racing 30 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown. Mikhail Kniaziewicz’s extra point put the Falcons on top 7-0 before fans had even settled into their seats.It looked much too easy, and as it turned out, it was.
The Falcons managed just six points the rest of the way, and in a contest dominated by both defenses, the Ghosts eked out a 14-13 win.
“This was a great win for us against a good team,” Abington defensive lineman John Konway said. “We worked hard for it.
“It came down to the last minutes. We knew what we had to do – stop Pepper, and we came out with the ‘W.’”
Stopping Pepper was no easy task. The gifted senior quarterback had 21 carries for 148 yards with 89 of those coming in a superb second half.
In the end, the game came down to the final drive. With the Falcons trailing by just one (14-13), the Ghosts were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
A 22-yard punt gave the Falcons possession on their own 39 with 7:02 showing on the sc
oreboard clock. Pepper and company went to work. The senior QB picked up eight yards on first down, and one play later, his nine-yard run gave the Falcons a first down.
oreboard clock. Pepper and company went to work. The senior QB picked up eight yards on first down, and one play later, his nine-yard run gave the Falcons a first down. A three-yard Zach Ganie carry set the stage for an 11-yard Pepper burst and another first down. After the Falcons lost a yard on first down, Pepper sprinted for 12 and a first down on the Ghosts’ 18-yard line.
Then came a series of downs that ultimately determined the outcome of Friday’s showdown.
Pepper carried for three on first down, but Ganie was thrown for a two-yard loss on the next. An illegal procedure penalty – the sixth five-yard penalty of the half for the Falcons – set up a third-and-long from the Ghosts’ 22-yard line.
“They were jumping early, so we were holding our snap count a little bit longer – just a split second extra, and our timing just wasn’t there,” Pepper said of his team’s penalty woes. “It really wasn’t anybody’s fault. We tried catching them, and it worked at times, and it didn’t work at times.”
Pepper carried the ball for six yards on third down, but on fourth-and-eight, he could not escape the Ghosts’ pass rush and was taken down by Konway for a five-yard loss.
“They were running pretty much the same play, and it kept working and working, but when the time came down to it, we stepped up and stopped them when we needed to,” Konway said. “We handled adversity well.”
Some of that ‘adversity’ was the absence of veteran coach Tim Sorber on the sidelines. According to athletic director Cosimo Fiorno, the long-time coach’s absence was for ‘personal reasons.’ In his stead, assistant coach Kevin Conlin found himself at the helm, and he survived a nail biter.
“Pennsbury is a fantastic team,” Conlin said. “I thought they did a heck of a job limiting our running game, and I was very happy with our offensive line and the adjustments we were able to make at halftime.
“The kids were able to adapt to them and scored on the first drive of the second half. That was a big part of the game. Today we talked about getting momentum fast, and them scoring on two plays – they did a nice job of scouting us and knew right where to hit us. Kudos to them. We had to make some adjustments and we did.”
The biggest adjustment the Ghosts made in the first half came on the defensive side of the ball after the Falcons’ two-play TD drive to open the game – a drive that was set up by the 39-yard kick-off return of Adam Lewis.
“Their line is great – their ‘O’ line is tough,” Abington senior linebacker Myles Grasty said. “They don’t stop moving their feet, and they have a great ball carrier. They work hard together.”
The Ghosts responded to the Falcons’ opening drive with a 66-yard scoring drive of their own. The drive featured a whole lot of Julien Ireland and sophomore running back Ray Schreiber, whose 82 yards on the ground led the Ghosts.
“Ray Shreiner is a very good football player,” Conlin said.
Big plays on the drive included a 13-yard Ireland completion that went through the hands of a Falcon defender and fell into the arms of an alert Tim Salley for a big first down on third-and-five.
Shreiner had a clutch 12-yard run, and with the ball on the Falcons’ 24, Ireland escaped an ankle tackle and sprinted 11 yards for a first down. Shreiner capped the drive by turning the corner and easily beating every defender in his path in a foot race to the end zone. Ian MacMillan’s extra point made it a 7-7 game.
After their early scoring drive, the Falcons managed just two first downs the remainder of the first half, and those two came on Pennsbury’s final drive which just reached midfield on a 23-yard run by Pepper at the horn.
The Ghosts opened the second half with another impressive 66-yard scoring drive. Shreiner opened the drive with a seven-yard run, and after Ireland rushed for five, the sophomore running back followed his block through the line and then sprinted down the field for a 25-yard gain.
The Ghosts survived a holding penalty, thanks to a screen pass that Salley turned into a 23-yard gain to the Falcons’ three. An illegal procedure call moved the ball back to the eight, but it didn’t matter to Shreiner, who took it in on first down for a TD that – after MacMillan’s extra point – make it a 14-7 game midway through the third quarter.
The Falcons answered with a long drive of their own, taking it 61 yards for a score. The drive again showcased Pepper, who had carries of 11 and 10 yards and eventually took it in from eight yards out, cutting the Ghosts’ lead to 14-13 with 9:22 remaining.“They just kept giving (Pepper) the ball,” Conlin said. “They have a phenomenal player, and they were going to win or lose with him, and I respect that. That’s what we do – we’re going to live and die with Julien Ireland.
“Pepper is a phenomenal football player. He’s been killing us for two years.”
“They were tough,” Grasty said. “Brandon Pepper was running all over us. We had to step it up and stop Pepper. All they were doing was giving Pepper the ball. We had to stop him.”
The Falcons surprised more than a few people when they opted to go for two, especially after linebacker Colin Emrich pulled Pepper down short of the goal line.
“I think we wore them down,” Pepper said. “We were wearing them down, and I thought we could get them.
“We wanted to put the pressure on them, but we came up a little short. To be honest, I agree with coach Snyder’s call – I would have went for it too.”
It was three-and-out for the Ghosts on just their second possession of the half, and the Falcons took over, setting the stage for the game’s final drive that was halted by the Ghosts’ defense and an ill-timed penalty on the Falcons.
“The penalties killed us,” Snyder said. “I thought we had them, but the penalties killed us.
“I think we had a toughness issue earlier in the season, and we’re starting to rectify that. We just came up a little short. It was a tough, physical game. It could have gone either way.”
While the Ghosts improved to 3-1 in league play (5-2 overall), the Falcons saw their record drop to 1-3 in the league (3-4 overall).
“To have a shot at the playoffs, we obviously have to win out,” Pepper said. “The next two games are definitely winnable, but that Neshaminy game is going to be real tough. It will be a must-win situation, I know that.”
ABINGTON 14, PENNSBURY 13
Abington 7 0 7 0-14
Pennsbury 7 0 0 6-13
P-Brandon Pepper 30 run (Mikhail Kniaziewicz kick)
A-Ray Schreiner 13 run (Ian MacMillan kick)
A-Ray Schreiner 8 run (Ian MacMillan kick)
P-Brandon Pepper 8 run (Run failed)
A P
First downs 10 12
Rushing yards 149 194
Passing yards 37 4
Total yards 186 198
Passing (A-C-I) 3-5-0 1-1-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-0
Penalties-Yds. 8-50 8-30
Punts-Avg. 3-31.0 3-32.3
RUSHING:
Abington: Ray Schreiner, 11-82; Julien Ireland, 15-59; Jim Shelinsky, 1-4; Tim Salley, 1-4.
Pennsbury: Brandon Pepper, 21-148, 2 TDs; Brandon Garrett, 10-38; Zach Ganie, 9-7; Joe Brown, 1-1.
PASSING:
Abington: Julien Ireland, 3-5-37.
Pennsbury: Brandon Pepper, 1-1-4.
RECEIVING:
Abington: Tim Salley, 1-23; D.J. McFadden, 1-8; Ray Schreiner, 1-6.
Pennsbury; Joe Brown, 1-4.
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