Pennridge knocked CB South from the ranks of the undefeated on Friday night. To view game action photos, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Perkasie – Pennridge ascended to the top of the Suburban One League Continental Conference mountain as the Rams (6-1, 3-0) butted previously unbeaten Central Bucks South (6-1, 3-1) off the first place cliff with a 21-10 victory on the legendary turf at Poppy Yoder Field.
The victory sets up a first place battle with defending conference champion North Penn (4-3, 3-1) at Pennridge next week. The Knights – who were jettisoned from the first place mountaintop 36-29 last week by CB South – defeated Hatboro-Horsham 34-0 Friday night.
“I think we gained some respect with the win tonight,” said Pennridge head coach Randy Cuthbert. “You never really know what is going to happen on any given night, but we were able to make a couple of huge momentum plays that turned the game around for us.”
The Rams delivered an enormous one-two punch to the Titans at the close of the third period that sent South reeling. Pennridge led 14-0 early in the game, but the talented Titans closed to within 14-10 at the close of the first half. And the explosive CB South offense was driving in Pennridge territory with intentions of taking the lead as the third quarter was about to end.
Huge play #1 was a defensive gem from junior Pennridge safety Micah Stutzman who stifled the Titan drive with a key interception.
Huge play #2 came on the very next play as the Rams sensational junior running back Michael Class scored on a jaw-dropping 70-yard touchdown run.
“It was a great feeling to be able to get that pick,” said Stutzman who anchored a superlative Pennridge defensive effort with both tight coverage and great support tackling. “And for Mike to go all the way on the next play was awesome.”
“I was able to read their corner and just cut back to the open field,” said Class who had a ‘quiet’ 230 yards on 27 carries. “But Micah getting that pick was a really huge play for our defense.”
There was little question that the Pennridge defense played a terrific game against the high scoring Titan offense that averaged over 40 points a game. Ram defensive coordinator Bob Rosenberger put together an effective game plan to limit the big play capability of the CB South offense.
“Bob did a great job of getting the kids prepared to read patterns,” said Cuthbert. “The players called certain defenses based on how they lined up offensively. Both (Josh) Adams and (John) Pileggi are excellent playmakers, and I’m proud of the way we were able to limit what they did.
“Plus, I thought we did a great job of controlling the ball on offense and keeping their offense off the field,” added Cuthbert as CB South was ‘held’ to 229 yards of total offense. “This was a great team win for us.”
“Our defense played great,” smiled Pennridge tri-captain John Dubyk. “Everyone on defense played their hearts out. It was just a huge win for us.
“In order for us to get to North Penn, we had to beat CB South,” added Dubyk. “This game was a huge building block to get ready for North Penn.”
“We knew playing Souderton, CB South, and North Penn back-to-back-to-back was going to be a challenge,” said Stutzman. “We wanted to win at least two of those games to make the playoffs, and now we get a chance not only to get into the playoffs, but to win a championship if we can beat North Penn.”
Pennridge took care of business in the first period to take a 7-0 lead. The Rams scored on a nine-play drive that covered 53 yards and culminated in a gorgeous 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Alex Krivda to Class. Joe Unangst kicked the first of his three successful placements for Pennridge.
The Rams stretched the lead to 14-0 in the second period. Pennridge scored on an 89-yard drive that covered nine plays. Highlights in the march were a 26-yard burst by John Kim and a 36-yard burst by Class. Kyle Bigam received scoring honors for the Rams with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Central Bucks South – which trailed North Penn 23-7 at the half last week but rallied in the second half to win – also rallied to make this game competitive.
What proved to be the lone Titan touchdown drive came in the second period. CB South went on an impressive 12-play scoring drive that covered 74 yards. Pileggi capped the scoring drive with an 8-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Paul Weeks. Evan Stahl added the point after the shave the lead to 14-7.
The game was get even closer at the end of the second period as CB South moved to the Ram 11-yard line. The Titans, though, settled for a 27-yard field goal by Stahl – it would prove to be the final points on the night for CB South’s high scoring offense.
“Our mentality at the half was that we can’t let this game slip away from us,” said Dubyk. “We saw what they did last week against North Penn.”
North Penn – after all – is still the defending conference champion. And with the Rams win over CB South, the door is now wide open for the Knights to make their ascent back to the top of the conference mountaintop with a win over Pennridge next week.
“I guess right now we have to be the favorite,” said Class. “But CB South was the favorite after last week, and North Penn was the favorite the week before that. We are going to have to work hard this week in practice if we want to stay on top.”
The view from the top of the conference standings is without question spectacular – but the dangerous cliff is looming right in front of the Rams.
Stay tuned.
Central Bucks South Titans 0 10 0 0 - 10
Pennridge Rams 7 7 7 0 - 21
P: Mike Class 30 pass from Alex Krivda (Joe Unangst kick)
P: Kyle Bigam 3 run (Unangst kick)
CBS: Paul Weeks 8 pass from John Pileggi (Evan Stahl kick)
CBS: Stahl 37 FG
P: Michael Class 70 run (Unangst kick)
Central Bucks South Pennridge Rams
16 First Downs 18
112 Yards Rushing 351
117 Yards Passing 78
229 Total Offense 429
3-26 Punts / Avg. 2-38
1-5 Penalties / Yds 6-60
Central Bucks South:
Rushing: Josh Adams 24-110; John Pileggi 1-1; and Tommy Dibrino 2-1. Totals – 26-112.
Passing: Pileggi 10-24-1; 117 yards & TD.
Receiving: Cale Mosher 5-66; Adams 2-22; Steve Veal 1-14; Paul Weeks 1-8 & TD; Bobby Mallon 1-7. Totals 10-117 & TD.
Interception: Tommy Dibrino.
Pennridge:
Rushing: Michael Class 27-230 & TD: MacKenzie Crawford 15-62; Kyle Bigam 6-34; John Kim 2-29; and Alex Krivda 3 (minus 4). Totals – 53-351 & TD.
Passing: Krivda 4-6-1; 78 yards & TD.
Receiving: Class 2-41 & TD; Crawford 1-17; and Micah Stutzman 1-20. Totals – 4-78 & TD.
Interception: Stutzman.
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