LONDON GROVE – Two plays in, Quakertown had the lead.
One play later, it didn't.
And the Panthers never got it back.
Quakertown jumped on Avon Grove in Friday night's District One Class AAAA first-round playoff game, with senior running back Tony Latronica racing 80 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage.
But Avon Grove, in its eighth year playing football and in its first playoff game in school history, answered right back when junior Brandon Monk dashed 59 yards for a TD on its very first play.The fifth-seeded Red Devils (10-1 overall) went on to reach the end zone on their first five possessions, and they went on to a rain-soaked 41-14 victory Friday night that spoiled Quakertown's hopes for its first playoff win in five tries.
“It stinks,” Quakertown coach John Donnelly said. “It's not what we envisioned. These guys were all talking about making history and being the first team to advance. We weren't satisfied with just making the playoffs, and we weren't satisfied after the win that we had last week [against Souderton] – I think we were still hungry.
“We came out flying, scoring on the second play of the game, but it just wasn't enough after that.”
Avon Grove will meet Ches-Mont League rival Downingtown West in next week's second round. Downingtown West whipped Conestoga, 40-8, in its first-round game Friday.
Quakertown (8-3) still has its annual Thanksgiving Day game against rival Pennridge coming up on Nov. 26, but the Panthers had obviously hoped to move on in the playoffs – especially since they had qualified last year, only to lose to Ridley in the first round.
“They deserve it – they're a good team – but I still don't feel like we played how we could,” said Rob Basile, a Quakertown senior middle linebacker. “Not to cut them down; they're very good, but...”
Basile attributed Quakertown's deficiencies to “a combination of things” and “little errors [that] stacked up.”
Quakertown simply had no answer for Avon Grove's three-headed rushing monster of Brendan McLaughlin, Brandon Monk and Jordan Harris, who combined to rush for 355 yards and four touchdowns.
“Defensively, linemen were having trouble, linebackers were having trouble – it was all around,” Basile said. “They were busting plays in the middle and on the outside, so I think just collectively we didn't play how we could have. Their line was being physical; me and the (other) linebackers weren't able to get off. It's a team effort, and it's just as much my fault as it is anybody else's.”
Basile went on to say that it didn't even matter what Avon Grove ran.
“They did exactly what we expected they would,” he said. “They have three great guys that can run the ball, and as you saw, they all ran on us. We knew what was going to happen. Some of the plays I knew what they were going to run, and I still couldn't do anything about it.”
After the teams traded those quick early touchdowns, Avon Grove marched 54 yards in 10 plays to take a 14-7 lead with 1:44 left in the first quarter on Ryan Ayers' 19-yard TD run.
The Red Devils then needed eight plays to move 72 yards and extend the lead to 20-7 when quarterback Kerry Kush scored from the one with 7:21 remaining in the half.
Then, even after Quakertown seemed to pin the Red Devils deep with a 56-yard punt by Damon Lightner, Monk picked up the ball as it rolled and raced 31 yards with the return, setting Avon Grove up at its own 43. From there, the Red Devils needed just seven plays to score, with Monk waltzing in from 21 yards out to make it 26-7, which is where things stood at halftime.
Avon Grove needed just 2:55 of the third quarter to extend the lead to 34-7 on a 6-yard TD run by Harris that was followed by McLaughlin's two-point conversion run.
Quakertown would score again, however, when Avon Grove's Harris dropped a pitch from Kush, only to have the Panthers' Dylan Gossler pick it up and take it 32 yards for a defensive touchdown.
The Red Devils' last TD came on a 51-yard run by McLaughlin with just 3:57 to play in the game.
“The positive is that we've got another football game, and it's against a rival and we've got a chance for us to go 9-3, and that's a very respectable season,” Donnelly said. “So that's what we're fixing to do.”
AVON GROVE 41, QUAKERTOWN
Quakertown 7 0 7 0-14
Avon Grove 14 12 8 7-41
Q-Latronica 80 run (Dolly kick)
AG-Monk 59 run (Ruggieri kick)
AG-Ayers 19 run (Ruggieri kick)
AG-Kush 1 run (kick blocked)
AG-Monk 21 run (pass failed)
AG-Harris 6 run (McLaughlin run)
Q-Gossler 32 fumble return (Dolly kick)
AG-McLaughlin 51 run (Ruggieri kick)
Q AG
Rushing Yards 214 429
Passing Yards 79 14
Totals Offense 293 443
Passing (C-A-I) 7-17-0 1-3-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yds. 5-22 3-30
Punts-Avg. 3-39 0-0
RUSHING:
Quakertown – Latronica, 16-134; Able, 11-65; Perrine, 4-9, Tincknell, 7-6.
Avon Grove – McLaughlin, 14-148, 1 TD; Mond, 2-113, 2 TDs; Harris, 13-9, 1 TD; Kush, 4-40, 1 TD; Ayers, 2-27, 1 TD; Price, 2-5; Sallee, 1-2.
PASSING:
Quakertown – Tincknell, 7-17-79, 1 TD.
Avon Grove – Kush, 1-3-14.
RECEIVING:
Quakertown – K.Roberts, 4-52, Able, 2-25, Olimpo, 1-2.
Avon Grove – Rooney, 1-14.
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