Pennridge edged Pennsbury 28-27 in a District One AAAA quarterfinal game on Friday night. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Perkasie – Somewhere Poppy Yoder was smiling.
Pennridge was both lucky and good as the Rams survived a furious second half Pennsbury rally to defeat the Falcons 28-27 in a PIAA District One Quad-A quarterfinal game played on the slick turf on Poppy Yoder Field. The Rams led 28-7 and seemed to have the game well in hand, but Pennsbury showed the heart of a champion and cut the lead to a single point with a touchdown with 1:47 left in the game and lined up for the game-tying extra point.
It hit the left upright.
“To be honest, it was time that we caught a break on an extra point,” smiled Pennridge head coach Randy Cuthbert. “It just shows that you can’t take anything for granted in this game. But we have been prepared to win close games like this, and we played some good football tonight.”
“We did what we had to do late in the game,” said Pennsbury head coach Galen Snyder. “I am proud of the way that we played in that second half. We made some very big plays against a very good football team.”
And even after the missed placement, the Falcons still had a shot at an amazing comeback victory with a recovered onside kick. The Falcons had a fourth-and-four on the Ram 41-yard line – but a sack by cornerback Michael Class finally gave the Pennridge fans a chance to breathe in the fourth period.
Yes it was that Michael Class – the same Class that has the eye-popping numbers as the megastar Ram junior running back.
“That was my first sack ever playing football,” grinned Class who rushed for a game-high 150 yards and two touchdowns. “I actually lost my man when he went in motion, and I just saw the quarterback with the ball and went after him.”
Pennridge reeled off its most impressive drive on the very first drive of the football game. The Rams generated a 15-play scoring drive that covered 70 yards. John Kim earned the scoring honors on a brilliant 16-yard run on third and goal for PHS, but the Rams missed the extra point and settled for a 6-0 lead.
Pennsbury also scored on its initial possession. The ‘Ground and Pound’ Falcons used their passing game to highlight the drive with a 19-yard pass connection from quarterback Breon Clark to Anthony Bullaro and a gorgeous 27-yard scoring pass from Clark to Tommy Hose.
Mikhail Kniaziewicz added the point after touchdown to give the Falcons their only lead of the game – 7-6.
Pennridge would take the lead for good with a second period score. Class capped a 42-yard scoring drive with a nine-yard touchdown burst. The drive consumed of just five plays, and the Rams would take the 14-7 advantage into the half after senior quarterback Alex Krivda connected with senior Kyle Bigam on a huge 2-point conversion.
Pennridge appeared to put the game in its back pocket in the third period. The first offensive play of the second half resulted in a marvelous 69-yard scoring run by Class, and after a fumble recovery by freshman Davon Balmer on the ensuing kickoff, Krivda connected on a 25-yard scoring pass to Bigam. Kicker Joe Unangst split the uprights after both scores to increase the lead to a comfortable 28-7.
Make that a not-so-comfortable lead.
Pennsbury cornerback Ryan Muse intercepted a pass near the close of the third period to give the Falcons great field position. Two Ram penalties and two Falcon plays resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by Clark – and coupled with the extra point – cut the lead to 28-14.
Pennsbury scored on its initial possession of the fourth period to slice the lead to 28-21. Daquan Mack culminated a 10-play scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Clark highlighted the scoring drive with a pair of passes – one to Bullaro for 14 yards and the other to Hose for 12 yards.
A Pennsbury defensive stop gave the Falcons still another possession, and once again the Falcons pierced together a clutch scoring drive. This drive featured the talents of Shawn Pepper, who reeled off a 16-yard run, caught a 15-yard pass from Clark and scored on a 45-yard dash to get the Falcons close at 28-27.
“I am proud of the way that we were able to comeback from 28-7,” said Pepper. “A lot of teams might have rolled over, but we didn’t do that. We played hard the entire game.”
The loss will end the season for the SOL National Conference champion Falcons at 9-3.
The victory will continue the season for the SOL Continental Conference champion Rams, who are now 11-1.
Pennridge will play at Quakertown on Thanksgiving morning (10:15 am) to attempt to claim its outright conference title, and will then turn around 50 hours and 45 minutes later for a 1 pm kickoff in the PIAA District One Quad-A semifinal game against Spring-Ford.
Spring-Ford (#7 seed) upset Ridley (#2 seed) – 28-26 – in its PIAA District One Quad-A quarterfinal game.
“You have to love it – the more football the better,” said Pennridge senior co-captain John Dubyk, who excelled on the defensive side of the ball for the Rams. “I love the guys on this team, and we hope to keep it going.”
“We can’t underestimate Quakertown, and I hope that we will be able to jump on them early,” said Pennridge senior Kenny Crawford. “This is going to be an exciting time for everyone. We want to keep this train rolling.”
“The game with Quakertown is always big, but so is the game with Spring-Ford,” said Cuthbert. “The fact that we get to play Spring-Ford at home is huge – this is a special time for the players.”
And the 28-27 Pennridge victory over Pennsbury was indeed special.
Pennsbury Falcons 7 0 7 13 - 27
Pennridge Rams 7 7 14 0 - 28
Pennridge: John Kim 16 run (kick failed)
Pennsbury: Tommy Hose 27 pass from Breon Clark (Mikhail Kniaziewicz kick)
Pennridge: Michael Class 9 run (Kyle Bigam pass from Alex Krivda)
Pennridge: Class 69 run (Joe Unangst kick)
Pennridge: Bigam 25 pass from Krivda (Unangst kick)
Pennsbury: Clark 1 run (Kniaziewicz kick)
Pennsbury: Daquan Mack 1 run (Kniaziewicz kick)
Pennsbury: Shawn Pepper 45 run (kick failed)
Pennsbury Pennridge
14 First Downs 13
150 Yards Rushing 199
105 Yards Passing 90
255 Total Offense 289
4/33 Punts / Average 5/34
3/45 Penalties /Yards 11/98
Pennsbury:
Rushing: Shawn Pepper 13-70 & TD; Tommy Hose 6-45; Daquan Mack 7-28 & TD; Chuck Snorweah 2-11; Sykeem Steward 2-4; Breon Clark 7 (minus 8) & TD. Totals 37-150-3 TD.
Passing: Clark 7-12-0; 105 yards & TD.
Receiving: Hose 2-39 & TD; Anthony Bullaro 2-33; Pepper 2-26; and Simpson 1-7. Totals 7-105 & TD.
Interception: Ryan Muse.
Pennridge:
Rushing: Michael Class 24-150 & 2 TD; John Kim 4-28 & TD; Kenny Crawford 6-24; Alex Krivda 3-4; and Kyle Bigam 3 (minus 7). Totals 40-199 & 3 TD.
Passing: Krivda 6-10-1; 90 yards & TD.
Receiving: Bigam 4-69 & TD; Crawford 1-12; and Class 1-9. Totals 6-90 & TD.
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