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By Scott Huff
PERKASIE – The deciding moment of the tradition rich Thanksgiving Day game between host Pennridge and Quakertown – on the 80th meeting between the two neighborhood rivals - came on the very last snap from scrimmage.
A sea of blue and white clad fans in the south stands, and a blanket of green and white fans in the north stands held their collective breath as Pennridge placekicker Dan Caya lined up a 27-yard field goal with the score knotted at 28-28 – and only two ticks left on the Poppy Yoder Field scoreboard clock.Quakertown called not one – not two – but three timeouts to try and ice Caya. And on the fourth time that the Rams lined up – a false start moved the ball back to the 16-yard line.
“I just tried to remain calm,” said Caya who earlier kicked a pair of field goals and barely missed on a 47-yard attempt. “I had never been in the situation before, and actually I was hoping that we would score a touchdown on our last drive and it wouldn’t come down to this.
“I kept in my mind that this was just like practice,” added Caya. “The snap was good, the hold was good, and once I kicked it I knew that the kick was good.”
And it was.
As the scoreboard clock flashed 0:00 – Pennridge (6-6) had come up with a thrilling 31-28 win over the favored Panthers (8-4). The Rams now lead the storied series – which began in 1930 – 49-26-5.
“I was pretty nervous,” said Pennridge long snapper Adam Schoellkopf. “The way the game was going, I knew that it might come down to a field goal.
“I had two bad snaps last week against Cheltenham,” added Schoellkopf. “I worked real hard this week so that wouldn’t happen again.”
Schoellkopf’s snap was perfect – the hold by Dan Wolfe was also good – and Caya’s field goal proved the difference in a very entertaining football game.
“Last year we didn’t attempt a field goal the entire year,” smiled Pennridge head coach Randy Cuthbert. “And extra points were an adventure.
“Dan came out for us in the spring, and we were glad to have him,” added Cuthbert. “He is a soccer player first – an excellent soccer player – but he could be a pretty good football player too.”
The game teetered back and forth for most of the cloudy Turkey Day morning.Pennridge scored on its first possession on a 22-yard field goal by Caya. The highlight of the drive was a 30-yard dash by junior burner Jesse Knepp.
Quakertown took the lead when quarterback Ryan Tincknell fired a 25-yard scoring pass to Joe Able. Rachel Dolly kicked the first of her four successful extra points to give the Panthers a 7-3 lead.
Pennridge regained the lead – 10-7 – on its first possession of the second quarter. Kyle Peters bolted in from the 1-yard line to cap a seven-play drive that featured a sensational 38-yard burst by Knepp.
“We ran a lot of 47-Buck and 48-Buck,” said Knepp who torched the Panther defense for 201 yards rushing on 30 attempts. “I have to give credit to my offensive line - they opened up some nice holes.”
“Jesse Knepp is a warrior,” said Cuthbert. “He was taped up and down his body with different injuries, and he proved why he is such a leader on this football team.”
Quakertown came right back to take a 14-10 lead. The Panthers moved 68-yards on six plays as Tony Latronica bolted in from the four-yard line. Tincknell hit a clutch 22-yard pass in the drive to Kurtis Roberts, and Latronica also ripped off a 25-yard run.The most impressive drive of the game came when Pennridge consumed almost seven minutes and moved 65 yards for a score. Knepp capped the drive with a 1-yard run, and the placement by Caya pushed the score to 17-14 – Rams.
In an interesting twist, Pennridge fair caught a punt at the Panther 31-yard line with 11 seconds left in the half.
A somewhat confusing attempt for a 47-yard field goal followed with a snap from center – a hold seven yards off the line of scrimmage – but no rush from Quakertown.
The kick barely sailed to the right.
“I waited 12 years to be able to get that free kick,” said Cuthbert. “My idea of what the rule is – and what the refs told me what the rule was – were not the same. I hope they got it right.”
Pennridge created a 20-14 lead in the third period when Caya was perfect on a 23-yard field goal. The big play in that scoring drive was a 21-yard burst by Carter Peters.
Quakertown regained the lead – 21-20 – when Roberts weaved his way 62 yards on a punt return for a touchdown.Pennridge used a big play of its own – a 64-yard pass from Kyle Peters to Dylan Moore – to set up Knepp’s six-yard TD blast. The Rams opted for a two-point conversion – which was converted when Kyle Peters tossed an aerial to Drew Smith to give Pennridge a 28-21 lead.
Quakertown would not go away – though – and scored with 1:54 left in regulation when Tincknell threw a 37-yard scoring dart to tight end Mike Olimpo. The placement knotted the score at 28-28.
The winning Pennridge drive began on the 25-yard line.
Carter Peters ran for 13 yards and a first down. Knepp raced for eight yards, and Carter Peters ran for seven more yards and another first down.
Knepp ran for one yard, and on second down Knepp jetted for 21 yards and still another first down.
An incomplete pass – a 4-yard run by Knepp – and a 10-yard dash by Knepp put the ball on the 11-yard line with two seconds left in the game.
And this is where the story started.“Knepp is as good as advertised,” said Quakertown coach John Donnelly. “We thought we played pretty well, but you have to take your hats off to Pennridge.
“The seniors on this (Panther) football team won 16 games over two seasons,” said Donnelly. “But right now, it is difficult to console them with that fact.”
“The game came down to a situation that players dream about,” said Cuthbert. “It is an awesome feeling.”
One man’s dream is another’s nightmare.
Quakertown 7 7 7 7 - 28
Pennridge 3 14 3 11 - 31
P: Dan Caya 22 FG
Q: Joe Able 25 pass from Ryan Tincknell (Rachel Dolly kick)
P: Kyle Peters 1 run (Caya kick)
Q: Tony Latronica 4 run (Dolly kick)
P: Jesse Knepp 1 run (Caya kick)
P: Caya 23 FG
Q: Kurtis Roberts 62 punt return (Dolly kick)
P: Knepp 6 run (Caya kick)
Q: Mike Olimpo 37 pass from Tincknell (Dolly kick)
P: Caya 32 FG
Quakertown Pennridge
13 First Downs 21
128 Rush Yards 301
130 Pass Yards 81
258 Total Offense 382
2-28 Punts / Avg 1-35
4-50 Pen / Yards 4-30
Quakertown:
Rushing: Tony Latronica 17-107 – TD; Nick Perrine 1-12; Joe Able 4-9; Tyler Burke 1-2; Ryan Tincknell 7 (minus 2). Totals 30-128- TD.
Passing: Tincknell 6-10-2, 130 yards – 2 TD.
Receiving: Kurtis Roberts 2-29; Olimpo 1-37 & TD; Perrine 1-28; Able 1-25 & TD; Latronica 1-11. Totals 6-130 & 2 TD.
Interceptions: None
Pennridge:
Rushing: Jesse Knepp 30-201 & 2 TD; Carter Peters 15-92; Dylan Moore 4-14; Pete Leatherman 1-5; James Marero 1-0; Kyle Peters 10 (minus 2). Totals 61-310- 3 TD.
Passing: Kyle Peters 3-8-0, 81 yards.
Receiving: Moore 1-64; Carter Peters 1-9; James Worthington 1-8. Totals 3-81
Interceptions: Dan Wolfe, Leatherman.
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