Quakertown rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit to defeat Pennridge 28-21 in front of a packed house. To view photos of the game, please visit the Photo Gallery...CLICK HERE.
By Scott Huff
If winning isn’t everything – then why do they keep score? – Knute Rockne
East Rockhill – Quakertown head coach George Banas would have made fiery Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne proud. Banas went on a “tirade” (his words) in the locker room at halftime with his beaten-down Panthers getting whipped by host Pennridge 21-0 at Helman Field before an overflow crowd on a beautiful Thanksgiving morning.
“Let’s just say that I almost killed one of my assistant coaches with a thrown trash can,” smiled Banas. “I told the kids we can get on the bus right now – or we could go out and play Quakertown football in the second half.”
Q-town did the latter as the Panthers dominated the second half and scored 28 unanswered points to capture the 86th meeting between the Panthers and the Rams – 28-21. Pennridge still leads the Thanksgiving Day series 53-28-5 with Q-town winning the last two years.
“We knew that we were down the three scores, but we have the skill players to get that back quickly,” said Banas. “We didn’t hit the panic button – and we felt that if we could step it up defensively we might be able to create some confusion.”
The Quakertown secondary was a huge part of that confusion with three critical interceptions in the second half. The first was by senior Jack Chenoweth – and the two fourth quarter picks came from senior Jon Potynski.
“The defensive line did a great job of getting to the quarterback,” said Potynski. “And once the play was extended – we were able to make some plays.
“We got a real talking to by the coach at halftime,” added Potynski. “And there was no way that the seniors on this team were going to go out that way.”
The Q-town defense made its decisive stand in the second half – and senior running back Rob Burns also made his presence felt in the final 24 minutes.
“The seniors knew it was their last game – and we just kept our heads up going into halftime,” said Burns who scored three touchdowns - rushed for 134 yards on 23 carries - and in doing so became the career rushing leader in Quakertown history with 3,778 yards which eclipsed the mark set by Tony Latroncia (3,766 yards from 2006-2009). “We knew the odds were against us, but we felt that if we could get a momentum shift we would be okay.”
Good old ‘Mo’ – which was definitely on the Pennridge sideline in the first half – abruptly left the Rams in the second half. ‘Mo’ became the Panthers best friend in the second half.
“Once they got the momentum in the second half, we couldn’t get it back,” said Pennridge head coach Jeff Hollenbach. “We had our chances to get it back – but we just never did.
“We played about as well as we could play in the first half,” added Hollenbach. “But it wasn’t enough.”
Pennridge took a 7-0 lead with a touchdown late in the first period. Senior Judens Desrosiers capped the seven-play scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown burst. Junior place kicker Matt Mauer added the point after touchdown for the Rams.
Pennridge would expand the lead to 14-0 with a second period touchdown. Desrosiers – who rushed for 50 yards on nine carries – again capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. Mauer spilt the uprights for the PAT.
Pennridge would expand the lead to a seemingly safe 21-0 advantage when Desrosiers scored his third touchdown of the game with a one-yard sneak to cap an 11-play scoring drive. Mauer added the point after touchdown – and the 21st Ram point would be their last.
Quakertown began its second half domination with a scoring drive on its first possession. Burns culminated a 10-play, 75-yard scoring march with a three-yard bolt. Senior Anthony Soriano added the placement to slice the lead to 21-7.
Quakertown used a bit of trickery to score its second touchdown of the third period. Quarterback Tom Garlick handed off the Burns – who handed the ball to senior wide out Aaron Besch – who fired a gorgeous 42-yard scoring pass back to a wide-open Garlick. The Soriano extra point made the score 21-14.
The game was tied at the outset of the final period.
A Potynski interception set up the game-tying touchdown. Burns capped the 66-yard, six-play scoring drive with a nifty 20-yard touchdown burst. It was this run that gave the gritty Burns the all-time leading rushing number. Soriano’s PAT knotted the score at 21-21.
A second Potynski interception – deep in Ram territory - set up the game-winning touchdown. Burns touched off the 24-yard, seven-play scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown run. Soriano’s extra point would make the score final at 28-21.
“This was a hard way for the seniors to end their careers,” said Hollenbach. “But there were still hugs and tears to be shared after the game.”
“Right before we came out in the second half, I calmly told the players to just fight on every play,” said Banas. “We made one play – and then the next one – and the one after that.”
And when it was over Quakertown made enough plays on both offense and defense to leave Helman Field a winner.
Quakertown Panthers 0 0 14 14 * 28
Pennridge Rams 7 14 0 0 * 21
P: Juden Desrosiers 4 run (Matt Mauer kick)
P: Desrosiers 6 run (Mauer kick)
P: Desrosiers 1 run (Mauer kick)
Q: Rob Burns 3 run (Anthony Soriano kick)
Q: Tom Garlick 42 pass from Aaron Besch (Soriano kick)
Q: Burns 20 run (Soriano kick)
Q: Burns 3 run (Soriano kick)
Quakertown Pennridge
20 First Downs 13
215 Yards Rushing 212
130 Yards Passing 28
345 Total Offense 240
4-46 Penalties / Yards 5-55
3-30 Punts / Average 1-34
Quakertown:
Rushing: Rob Burns 23-134 & 3 TD; Nick Bonomo 4-51; Jon Potynski 3-26; and Tom Garlick 16-4. Totals 46-215 & 3 TD.
Passing: Garlick 12-20-1; 88 yards – Aaron Besch 1-1-0; 42 yards & TD. Totals 13-21-1; 130 yards & TD.
Receiving: Potynski 4-22; Besch 3-27; Cheoweth 2-9; Garlick 1-42 & TD; Burns 1-21; Kyle Baskin 1-8; Bonmo 1-1. Totals 13-130 & TD.
Interceptions: Potynski (2) & Chenoweth.
Pennridge:
Rushing: Judens Desrosiers 14-50 & 3 TD; Connor Hansen 4-56; Ryan Gordon 6-32; Nick Hirsch 8-32; Devon Balmer 9-17; Kyle Dakota 2-12; Josh Pinkney 2-8; and Dan Hockman 2-5. Totals 47-212 & 3 TD.
Passing: Balmer 2-9-3; 28 yards.
Receiving: Hansen 1-27 & Ryan Cuthbert 1-1. Totals 2-28
Interceptions: Mark Weichel.
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