Quakertown defeated Pennridge 22-7 for its third straight Thanksgiving Day win. Photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1050704496
QUAKERTOWN 22, PENNRIDGE 7
George Banas had done the math, so when the subject of his team’s three straight Thanksgiving Day wins over Pennridge came up, the Quakertown coach had it all figured out.
“Listen, the last time that happened – those guys are 90-some years old now, and I’m not sure there’s too many of them around,” Banas said of a streak that had not been done by the Panthers since the 1949, 1950 and 1951 seasons.
Although Quakertown still trails Pennridge 58-31-5 in the series between the neighboring rivals, this was a win for the program’s record books.
“I brought it up at the pep rally for the first time,” Banas said. “Actually, my assistant coach, Brad Mushrush, keeps track of a lot of that stuff, and he always gives me those great tidbits and researches a lot of things, so we talked about it – how long it’s been.”
For the seniors, it was pretty much a storybook finish to their high school careers.
“Since we were five while playing Pop Warner, every year Pennridge – it was the best game of the year,” senior Tanner Clancy said. “We were always looking forward to it. We lost to them the first year, and ever since then, we haven’t lost.
“In high school – people change, people transfer. Those three years of high school are the most important, and we won. Those are the meaningful ones. This is definitely the best one as a senior.”
“This is crazy, honestly,” senior Adam Streahle said. “We put a lot of work in during the offseason, and you see it pay off right here.”
“This is everything,” senior Vince Micucci said. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again a million times – Quakertown is an awesome place to play football. In the fall for the last 13 years, it’s been Quakertown football for me.
“I used to come to this game as a little kid. I was a ball boy all throughout middle school. I’ve seen these games go both ways. To be able to win three in row is pretty special. It’s something I’ll remember my whole life. I’ll always bleed blue, so it means a lot to come out with a win.”
Appropriately, the seniors played major roles in the win. Leading the way yet again was Micucci, who threw for 98 yards and ran
for 43 more. Modest numbers perhaps, but the veteran quarterback delivered some game-changing plays, the first on Quakertown’s opening drive. With the Panthers on the Rams’ nine, things appeared heading for disaster when Micucci retrieved a high snap that sailed over his head and somehow – while running a tightrope down the sidelines – found Max Morris for an eight-yard completion and a first down on the one-yard line.
“He’s a gamer,” Banas said of his quarterback. “He made some plays in that first half – found some guys open. We made some catches – tiptoe sideline catches. It was one after another, it was pretty wild.”
“It’s kind of happened all year,” Micucci said. “You try to make the best out of something. It’s an emotional game, so it can go either way in the blink of an eye. All right – we’re going to be backed up 20 or more yards when we were set up close, so to make the best out of the play, it was huge for us.”
On the next play, Gavin Carroll took it in from a yard out for a touchdown, capping a 72-yard drive and giving the Panthers a 6-0 lead.
A short field netted the Panthers a 40-yard field goal by Logan Jeffrey, putting the Panthers on top 9-0 early in the second quarter.
The Rams answered with a sustained drive that covered close to 90 yards and was capped by a 19-yard screen pass for a touchdown from sophomore quarterback Noah Keating to senior Sam Kuhns, and just like that, it was a 9-7 game with 3:44 remaining in the first half.
“We did not want to give up the huge, huge play,” Banas said. “We wanted them to drive down the field – 14-15 play drives. That’s when they scored – I don’t know how many plays, but it was a long drive, and that’s what we wanted to see.
“So that was our game plan – to not give up big plays and try to keep 25 (Kuhns) in check.”
The Panthers answered the Rams’ scoring drive with a 69-yard touchdown drive of their own. The drive included runs of 17 and 15 yards by Carroll and a 13-yard completion from Micucci to Morris. It was capped with senior Eddie Bittner taking it in from two yards with 29 seconds remaining in the second quarter to send Quakertown into halftime with a 15-7 lead.
With the Panthers still clinging to that eight-point lead, their defense came up with a huge stop on fourth-and one. The Panthers took over at their own 33, and on first down, Micuccci – with the Rams’ defense in full pursuit – pointed downfield while scrambling for his life. A hole opened up, and the senior QB took it 27 yards to the Rams’ 40.
“I try to get the ball into our playmaker’s hands,” Micucci said. “I like to think I have some speed, but I’m not the fastest on the field, so whenever I can give them the ball – it’s always my goal.
“When I pointed downfield, I thought I would see something open up because usually I have a vision in my head of what’s going to happen, and it didn’t. I saw a hole to my left open up. Things just worked our way there. It was nice.”
Later in the drive, on fourth-and -six at the Rams’ 36, senior Anthony Ferrugio hauled in a high pass from Micucci at the 11-yard line. Carroll took it four yards on first down, and on the second of back-to-back carries, Bittner – whose 83 rushing yards led the Panthers – punched it in from two yards out, and Quakertown led 22-7 with 8:27 remaining.
“(The key today) was definitely the trenches, the linemen – they stepped up big in the run game, and that sets up all the pass game,” Clancy said. “They were doing a really good job, and that’s what really made us get the win.”
On the Rams’ ensuing drive, they marched from their own 30 to the Panthers’ two. The drive featured a whole lot of Noah Keating and included a 24-yard pass to Nick Stolarski and a nifty 28-yard toss to Joe Gregoire to the Panthers’ two. A one-yard loss on the next play was followed by a bad snap that was recovered on the Panthers’ 23 by Quakertown junior Aiden Burgy, all but sealing the Rams’ fate.
When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the players raced to the end zone to retrieve the trophy that will reside in Quakertown for the third straight year. There we lots of hugs and even some tears as the players bid farewell to a season with just about a perfect ending.
“When I was growing up, I came to every home game and every Thanksgiving game,” Clancy said. “It always has a bigger meaning that just football.
When will it sink in that the seniors’ final high school season is over?
“After the last picture,” Clancy said. “The final picture, the walk back to the locker room, the hugs to the family, that’s when it will finally sink in.”
“This was more emotional,” Streahle said. “Knowing it’s the last one with all my friends I’ve been playing with since I was a young age just put everything on the line.
“At a young age, I was always coming to these games – my family played for Quakertown. It’s just a special moment.”
“It hasn’t hit me fully yet,” Micucci said. “We turn in our equipment later today. It probably won’t hit me for a while that it’s done. Probably not till next spring when we’re not coming out for practice. It’s definitely a blessing to play for this town, and to be able to go out the way we did, it’s more than I could ask for.”
In an emotional postgame scene, Banas accepted hugs, thanks and congratulations from his players and alumni who returned to share in the celebration.
“It’s special – I’m not going to lie,” Banas said. “I bleed Quakertown. Everything I do pretty much revolves around this place.
“I give credit to the kids all the time – about how much work they put in, the effort they give us day in and day out, and they compete on the field. To do this, three in a row – it’s something special. I’m sure it will sink in. We’ll celebrate it at the banquet.”
Quakertown closed out its season with a 7-5 record (4-2 SOL) while Pennridge was 3-8 (2-5 SOL).
Quakertown 6-9-0-7 22
Pennridge 0-7-0-0 7
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