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NEWTOWN – Julien Ireland may have said it best.“That fake punt was crazy,” the Abington quarterback said of a play that forever turned the tide in Friday night’s SOL showdown against Council Rock South. “I didn’t even expect that to be honest.”
Neither, it turns out, did anybody else, which is hardly surprising since the Ghosts – clinging to a tenuous 38-35 lead - were on their own 25-yard line with a fourth-and-eight when coach Tim Sorber made a call that caught everyone unawares.
“I play a lot of Texas Hold’em, and I had a pair of threes, and I bluffed them – I went all in,” the Ghosts’ coach said with a laugh and then acknowledged that his team had been working on the fake punt all week. “They were coming after us, and we knew if we got the look to call it.
“They cover the two outside men and have one returner, and they bring eight. We had the option if they weren’t going to come to call a timeout and go regular punt.”
The Ghosts got ‘the look,’ and Tom Kennedy snapped the ball to the up back, Jim Shelinsky. The junior running back lofted a short pass over the on-rushing Golden Hawks to Tim Salley, and the speedy senior did the rest, racing 75 yards for a touchdown that stunned the partisan Rock South crowd at Walter Snyder Stadium.
John Konway, the team’s punter, recounted the electrifying sequence from his vantage point.
“When he called the play, I was like, ‘I guarantee that Tim is going to get this ball. When big times come around, I know Tim wants to play,’” Konway said. “I carried out my fake, I saw that everyone was still rushing me, and I knew as soon as he got the ball he was gone.”
For Konway, Friday night’s game represented the first time he’d suited up in two weeks. The Ghosts’ standout defensive lineman suffered a rotator cuff injury in his shoulder, but Konway – despite the pain - was not going to miss Friday night’s game.
“My first hit in two weeks was this game,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I would play through anything.”“I could have had a broken leg – I still would have played,” Ireland said.
The Ghosts needed every ounce of guts, every ounce of determination, and every ounce of heart they had to earn this win that featured a roller coaster ride of emotions on both side.
Consider only the fake punt.
Moments earlier, Rock South fans were celebrating Matt Emelius throwing Ireland for a two-yard loss on a huge third down play. The next they watched in stunned silence as Salley sprinted 75 yards for a TD that – after Ian MacMillan’s extra point – put the Ghosts on top 45-35 with 3:43 remaining.
That score held up until the final horn.
“They obviously did their homework, and that fake punt at the end was a great call by him,” Rock South coach Bedesem said. “It was a great job by Tim and his staff – his kids played great.
“There was no overlooking this, they were underplaying everything. We have to come out and win the game. There are no excuses, no excuses at all. We have to get back on the train next week. There’s still plenty of football to be played.”
Bedesem and his players might have had an idea it wasn’t going to be their night when they coughed the ball up on their first two possessions of the game. The Ghosts turned both into seven points.“That’s the lesson, right there,” Bedesem said. “You can’t give up the ball as many times as we did, and they did a tremendous job of capitalizing on the turnovers.”
Turnovers aside, the Ghosts accumulated 435 totals yards and 45 points against a defense that had allowed just 42 points in eight games and boasted five shutouts. Ray Schreiner led the way with 130 yards on 18 carries. Ireland had 87 yard.
“Their D-ends have done a nice job all year of funneling things in to their linebackers,” Sorber said. “With the tight end and wing, we thought with Shreiner’s speed we could expand them and start hitting Ireland up the middle.
“Our offensive line, tight ends and wing backs – they took it to them. That’s a credit to these kids. They continue to work extremely hard, and they never gave up on this offense. When you put 45 points up against this team - that’s pretty good.”
A recap of the opening half would show that the Ghosts – after a fumble recovery by Bryan Osei on the Hawks’ first offensive play of the game – needed just 23 yards to get on the scoreboard. A big play on the drive was a 16-yard run by Schreiner on third-and-long.
“He’s a (heck) of a player,” Bedesem said. “He did a great job as far as getting around the corner. It keeps you off balance – inside/outside, inside/outside.”
Ireland took it in from seven yards out, and the first of six MacMillan’s extra points made it a 7-0 game. On the third play of their second drive, the Golden Hawks fumbled the ball again, and this time Will Taylor recovered on Rock South’s 40.
O
ne play later, Schreiner found D.J. McFadden on a halfback option for a 40-yard TD completion, and just like that, the Ghosts led 14-0 after MacMillan’s extra point.
ne play later, Schreiner found D.J. McFadden on a halfback option for a 40-yard TD completion, and just like that, the Ghosts led 14-0 after MacMillan’s extra point.“I think a lot of the big plays were them turning the ball over,” Abington junior linebacker Myles Grasty said. “We took advantage every single time.”
“I didn’t expect them to turn the ball over that much,” Ireland said. “I know they’re a great team, and they take care of the ball.”
The Ghosts’ 14-0 lead held up for all of three minutes before the Golden Hawks answered with a 67-yard drive that was highlighted by a 21-yard run by Ryan Whitely as well as back-to-back runs of 11 and 24 yards by quarterback Billy Fleming, the latter for a touchdown. Ben Solis’ extra point made it a 14-7 game.
It was 14-14 after a 68-yard Golden Hawk drive that culminated with Brian Donnelly taking it in from five yards out. The Hawks went on top 21-14 at the 2:33 mark when – after taking over on downs – they needed just two plays to cover 42 yards. Tony Checchia accounted for 38 yards on a first-down carry, and Mark Damirgian, who led the Golden Hawks with 108 yards rushing and two TDs, took it in from four yards out with 1:53 remaining in the half.
That was more than enough time for the Ghosts to mount a 78-yard scoring drive. Schreiner raced for 14 on a key third down play, and Ireland hit McFadden for a 44-yard gain. Ireland hooked up with Lee for a 14-yard TD pass and, after another MacMillan kick, the Ghosts went into the locker room deadlocked 21-21.
“We were letting them drive on us,” Bedesem said. “I think they wore us down a little bit.”A Ryan Hickey interception set up a 50-yard touchdown run by Damirgian that – after the Solis’ extra point – put the Golden Hawks on top 28-21.
Again, the Ghosts answered, this time going 47 yard on five plays with Schreiner setting the tone by sprinting 24 yards on the first play of the drive. Ireland took it in from one yard out, knotting the score at 28-28.
Another Golden Hawk fumble – again recovered by Osei – led to a 36-yard MacMillan field goal and a 31-28 Ghosts lead. A three-and-out for the Golden Hawks set up a 42-yard scoring drive that was capped by a four-yard Ireland TD run, putting the Ghosts on top 38-28.
Not to be outdone, the Golden Hawks – after a big kick-off return by Hickey and a Ghost personal foul – took over on Abington’s 31. Five plays later, Donnelly took a pitch 18 yards for a TD that, after the Solis extra point, made it a 38-35 game, setting the stage for the you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it ending.
The Ghosts’ win sets up a three-way tie atop the National Conference standings with Neshaminy, Rock South and Abington all boasting identical 6-1 records.
We’ve had success in the playoffs, but the one thing missing from the resume is a championship,” Sorber said. “I think a lot of people gave up on us in the beginning of the year because of what we lost last year. These kids could have given up after Neshaminy because Neshaminy beat us up physically and dominated us. They continued to work hard and get better, and it’s a credit to the kids.”
“We worked hard all week,” Grasty said. “We knew we had to come out here and play the best game we played all season in the biggest game of the season.”
ABINGTON 45, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 35
Abington 14 7 10 14-45
Council Rock South 6 15 7 7-35
A-Julien Ireland 7 run (Ian MacMillan kick)
A-D.J. McFadden 60 pass from Ray Schreiner (Ian MacMillan kick)
CRS-Billy Fleming 24 run (Pass failed)
CRS – Brian Donnelly 5 run (Billy Fleming run)
CRS-Mark Damirgian 4 run (Ben Solis kick)
A-Josh Lee 14 pass from Julien Ireland (Ian MacMillan kick)
CRS-Mark Damirgian 50 run (Ben Solis kick)
A-Julien Ireland 1 run (Ian MacMillan kick)
A-Ian MacMillan 36 field goal
A-Julien Ireland 4 run (Ian MacMillan kick)
CRS-Brian Donnelly 17 run (Ben Solis kick)
A-Tim Salley 75 pass from Jim Shelinsky (Ian MacMillan kick)
A CRS
First Downs 14 14
Rushing Yards 215 287
Passing Yards 220 31
Total Yards 435 318
Passing (C-A-I) 6-13-1 2-3-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 5-3
Penalties-Yards 5-65 4-25
Punts-Avg. 3-39 3-31
RUSHING:
Abington: Ray Schreiner, 18-130; Julien Ireland, 22-87, 3 TDs; Jim Shelinsky, 3-(-2).
CR South: Mark Damirgian, 11-108, 2 TDs; Tony Checchia, 5-63; Billy Fleming, 19-60, 1 TD; Brian Donnelly, 3-23, 2 TDs; PJ Gallow, 1-1.
PASSING:
Abington: Julien Ireland, 4-11-85, 1 INT; Ray Schreiner, 1-1-60, 1 TD; Shelinsky 1-1-75.
CR South: Billy Fleming, 2-3-31, 1 INT.
RECEIVING:
Abington: D.J. McFadden, 3-115, 1 TD; Tim Salley, 2-91, 1 TD; Josh Lee, 1-14, 1 TD.
CR South: Ryan Whitely, 1-28; Brian Donnelly, 1-8.
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