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NEWTOWN – On the first play from scrimmage in Saturday afternoon’s showdown against Council Rock South, Pennsbury running back Brandon Pepper did what he does best, bursting through the line for a 10-yard gain.
“All day, baby, all day,” a teammate shouted from the Falcons’ sidelines.That turned out to be wishful thinking. Rock South’s defense saw to that.
Pepper had runs of 10 or more yards just twice the rest of the day – once for 10 yards and once for 12, and both of those came in the first half. Take away those two plays and one 10-yard pass completion by Jeff Prine, also in the first half, and the Falcons’ offense was silenced the whole day by a Golden Hawk defense that is making defensive shutouts look oh-so-easy.
On Saturday, the Golden Hawks notched their fourth straight shutout, downing the Falcons 24-0 in a win that was every bit as decisive as the final score suggests.
Consider only that the Falcons advanced the ball past midfield just twice and never got inside the Golden Hawks’ 40.
“Everyone is flying to the ball,” senior middle linebacker Hunter Shull said. “Our defensive coordinator – Dave Nolter – we have to give a lot of credit to him.
“He’s been doing an amazing job, calling the right play every time, and we’re flying to the ball. That’s all there is to it.”
Saturday’s win was Rock South’s first ever over a Pennsbury squad that finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being 0-2 in SOL play.“We were definitely pumped,” Rock South senior Mark Damirgian said. “Pennsbury – just the name has to pump you up.
“We lost last year (30-7), but we came back strong and did our thing.”
‘Our thing,’ in the case of the Golden Hawks, is dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. While the Golden Hawks were piling up more than 300 yards of total offense, the Falcons managed just over a hundred.
Damirgian – a force on both sides of the football – was Rock South’s leading ground gainer with 134 yards on 20 carries with a pair of rushing touchdowns and one receiving TD. Quarterback Billy Fleming – the master at running the option offense – added 40 yards on the ground and 30 in the air.
Rock South coach Vince Bedesem pointed to his team’s clock-eating offense as a key to its defensive success.“Offensively, it was the ball control and putting points on the board, and our special teams gave us great field position, and the defense is playing very, very good team defense,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “We’re not trying to do extra things. It’s everybody doing their job, and that’s what happens when you play together.”
Pepper led the Falcons with 68 yards on the ground, but 51 of those came in the first half. The Falcons managed only 35 yards of total offense in the second half and ran just three plays in a third quarter the Golden Hawks owned. They did not get a first down until 9:56 remained in the fourth quarter. By that time, Rock South led 21-0.
“Our defense came up big, made some big plays and didn’t give up the big play,” Damirgian said.
“We knew their offense was really explosive,” Shull added. “Pepper is a great runner, but our defensive coaches did a great job preparing us all week, and we shut them down.”
The two teams spent the first quarter exchanging possessions, but in the second quarter, the Golden Hawks took over near midfield and put together an efficient five-play, 51-yard scoring drive.
It all began innocently enough with Fleming completing a four-yard pass to Dennis Chichkin. Then it was Damirgian bulling ahead for four and following that with a 14-yard burst on third-and-two.
An off-sides penalty against the Falcons – one of five Pennsbury penalties in the half – was followed by an 18-yard Damirgian run. The senior running back punched it in from five yards out, and the Ben Solis extra point put the Golden Hawks on top 7-0 at the 7:40 mark of the second quarter.“We just have to read our keys,” Damirgian said. “It’s a team game – everybody has to do their thing. You’re no stronger than your weakest link.
“We just have to work hard and pound it down their throats.”
The Golden Hawks spent the second half doing just that. They opened the third quarter with an impressive 78-yard scoring drive that featured five different ball carriers – Damirgian, Fleming, Brian Donnelly, Ryan Whitely and Anthony Alimenti. It was Damirgian racing in from 27 yards out for a TD that – after a Solis extra point - gave Rock South a 14-0 lead.
It was three-and-out for the Falcons, who lost two yards on those three plays, and again, the Golden Hawks marched down the field. This time they took it 67 yards, and this time the Golden Hawks brought out their aerial attack. Fleming – while on the run – found P.J. Gallo for a 14-yard pickup, and then it was Damirgian making a leaping grab of a 12-yard TD pass. A Solis extra point put the Golden Hawks on top 21-0 after yet another punishing drive that saw the Golden Hawks dominate the line of scrimmage.
“They’re strong,” Bedesem said of his offensive line. “When we get compared to some of the other groups, we don’t look as big, but we preach quickness, we preach fundamentals.
“Our offensive line coach Mike Pacitti does a great, great job with those guys, and they’re a tight group.”
Early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons managed a first down – their first of the half – after a 13-yard run by Zach Ganie, but Alimenti came up with an interception and returned it 29 yards, setting up a 21-yard Solis field goal for the 24-0 final.
Despite their dominance, the Golden Hawks weren’t celebrating when it was over.
“It’s pretty nice – another shutout,” Damirgian said. “But we have to move on and work on Bensalem.”
“The kids know we have to get to the next game,” Bedesem said. “They know we have to get back to work on Monday.
“Bensalem is a team I have seen several times now, and they’re a good, good football team.”
While the Falcons fell to 2-3 overall, the Golden Hawks upped their record to 2-0 in SOL play, 5-0 overall.“It’s amazing,” Shull said. “Coming into ninth grade, I wasn’t sure what we were going to have honestly, but we’ve worked so hard, and it’s all paying off right now. It feels amazing.”
Camaraderie, according to Shull, also plays a role in the Golden Hawks’ success.
“It’s just a great group of guys – every single person,” the senior linebacker said. “We hang out after practice, after games - all the time, and it’s just that teamwork that’s taken us here.”
Talk to Bedesem, and he credits the Golden Hawks’ success to the program that is in place.
“We really feel good about the program itself – not with one particular class, not with one particular side of the ball and not with one particular phase,” he said. “The main phase is working our offseason program in the weight room.
“If any young kid…can learn anything, it’s that you have to be in the weight room. I’m also a big promoter of playing other sports. Wrestle, play basketball, play baseball. Take a Billy Fleming – you can’t substitute his (competitive) level, but when Billy isn’t playing baseball, he’s in the weight room. When B.J. Gallo isn’t on the basketball court, he’s in the weight room.”
So far, that work in the weight room is paying dividends.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 24, PENNSBURY 0
Pennsbury 0 0 0 0-0
Council Rock South 0 7 7 10-24
CRS-Damirgian 5 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Damirgian 27 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Damirgian 12 pass from Fleming (Solis kick)
CRS-Solis 21 field goal
P CRS
First Downs 7 16
Rushing Yards 99 246
Passing Yards 11 66
Total Yards 110 312
Passing (A-C-I) 2-10-1 3-6-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yds. 8-50 4-30
Punts-Avg. 5-38.6 3-36.0
RUSHING:
Pennsbury: Brandon Pepper, 18-68; Zach Ganie, 8-39; Jay Jabat, 1-1; Jeff Prine, 2-(-9).
Council Rock South: Mark Damirgian, 20-134, 2 TDs; Billy Fleming, 11-40; Anthony Alimenti, 4-39; Brian Donnelly, 5-19; Ryan Hickey, 3-11; Ryan Whitely, 1-2; Tony Checchia, 1-1
PASSING:
Pennsbury: Jeff Prine, 2-10-11, 1 INT.
Council Rock South: Billy Fleming, 3-6-30.
RECEIVING:
Pennsbury: Jay Jabat, 1-10; Zach Ganie, 1-1.
Council Rock South: Matt Emilius, 1-14; Mark Damirgian, 1-12, 1 TD; Dennis Chichkin, 1-4.
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