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By Scott HuffNeshaminy took great care of the little things – and Abington did not – as the host Redskins advanced to the PIAA Quad-A District One semifinals with a 35-21 victory over the Ghosts.
Neshaminy (11-1) will host the winner of the ‘West Chester Bowl’ between host WC Rustin (10-1) and WC Henderson (8-3). That PIAA Quad-A District One quarterfinal game will be played tomorrow at 1 pm.
Abington – which out gained Neshaminy in total offense 360 yards to 299 yards – was flagged for nine penalties. And the three Ghost turnovers proved to be decisive – the Skins had zero turnovers.
“I take full responsibility – I lost the game,” said Abington head coach Tim Sorber after the game. “I made some very bad calls on both the interceptions we had.
“We needed to minimize mistakes, and I didn’t prepare them well enough,” added Sorber. “Penalties and turnovers both come back to coaching.”
But it surely wasn’t that Abington lost the game – Neshaminy won the game and earned the right to advance in the playoffs. “I have to give credit for our team coming out on top in this Suburban One League War,” said Neshaminy head coach Mark Schmidt. “Abington played with a lot of pride, and we made some plays when we needed them.”
The two game breakers on the offense for the Redskins were seniors Anthony Woodroffe and Shane Quinn.
Woodroffe – who rushed for a team-high 105 yards – scored a pair of touchdowns for the Skins and broke off a terrific run of 41 yards.
Quinn – who caught just a single pass for 40 yards and a touchdown – helped open up holes from his tight end position.
“On that touchdown pass, Charlie (Marterella) made a great read,” said Quinn. “I broke open and was hoping that he would see me. And he did.”
Woodroffe – who was battling a stomach virus – was held in relative check for the first half. But when the game was to be decided, Woodroffe played his best football.
“I wasn’t feeling too well early in the game,” said Woodroffe. “But I felt that I needed to stay on the field and help the team.”
One player who played a major role in the Neshaminy victory was indeed Major - Corey Majors.“Having Corey close to 100 per cent was a huge boost for us,” said Schmidt of his Villanova-bound linebacker/running back. “He makes us a much better defensive football team.”
The Neshaminy offense stole the spot light on its first drive. Woodroffe scored on the second play from scrimmage on a 30-yard burst through the Ghost defense. The point-after failed, and the Skins settled for a 6-0 lead.
Dwight Williams exploded through the Abington punt formation to block a punt and give the Redskins possession on the Ghost 29-yard line.
Six plays later, Marterella fired a six-yard scoring pass to Sean Ulmer. The Skins added the PAT and took a 13-0 lead.
Abington came right back to score on its next possession.
Senior quarterback Julien Ireland – who concluded a spectacular career at Abington High School – capped off a nine-play drive with no time left on the clock in the first period with a one-yard TD run. Ian MacMillan booted the extra point to close the gap to 13-7.
Abington took a 14-13 lead in the second period when junior running back Ray Schreiner fired a 30-yard halfback touchdown pass to Josh Lee.
A huge play took place before the close of the first half when Neshaminy’s Kiser Terry forced a Ghost fumble that was recovered on the Abington six-yard line by junior Dylan Donnelly.
Three plays later, Majors bulled in from the one-yard line with 42 seconds left in the half to give the Skins a 19-14 lead at intermission.
Neshaminy would add to that lead as Woodroffe scored his second touchdown of the game – this one a six-yard blast. Majors added a two-point conversion run to boost the lead to 27-14.
Abington would once again make a game of it with a touchdown at the outset of the fourth period. Ireland capped an eight-play drive – highlighted by a 51-yard scamper by Schreiner – with a two-yard touchdown run. MacMillan’s extra point would slice the lead to 27-21.
Neshaminy iced the game on its next possession, though, when Marterella fired his TD pass to Quinn. A run by Sean Ulmer for the two-point conversion would make the score final at 35-21.
“We can enjoy this game until about one o’clock tomorrow afternoon,” said Schmidt in reference to the Rustin-Henderson kickoff time. “We need to continue to play good football.”
And to continue doing all of the little things.
Notes – Neshaminy punter Bryan Reice had a sensational game with a 42 yard punting average and creating ‘long’ fields for Abington … In addition to the blocked punt, Neshaminy senior Dwight Williams caught two passes and had an interception…Abington running back Ray Schreiner was impressive and led all rushers with 143 yards … Ireland completed four passes, caught a pass, and rushed the ball 23 times for 185 yards of total offense.
Abington 7 7 0 7 - 21
Neshaminy 13 6 8 8 - 35
N: Anthony Woodroffe 30 run (kick failed)
N: Sean Ulmer 6 pass from Charlie Marterella (Manuel Guiterez kick)
A: Julien Ireland 1 run (Ian MacMillan kick)
A: Josh Lee 30 pass from Ray Schreiner (MacMillan kick)
N: Corey Majors 1 run (pass failed)
N: Woodroffe 6 run (Majors run)
A: Ireland 2 run (MacMillan kick)
N: Shane Quinn 40 pass from Marterella (Ulmer run)
Abington Neshaminy
14 First Downs 11
255 Rush Yards 188
105 Pass Yards 111
360 Total Offense 299
1-27 Punts / Avg 5-42
9-65 Pen/ Yds 3-27
Abington:
Rushing: Ray Schreiner 16-143; Julien Ireland 23-109 & 2 TD; Jim Sheinsky 1-3. Totals 40-255 & 2 TD.
Passing: Ireland 4-13-1; 72 yards; Schreiner 2-3-1; 33 yards & TD. Totals 6-16-2; 105 yards & TD.
Receiving: Chris Ruhl 4-41; Josh Lee 2-59 & TD; Ireland 1-5. Totals 6-105 & TD.
Neshaminy:
Rushing: Anthony Woodroffe 11-105 & 2 TD; Sean Ulmer 13-42; Corey Majors 6-37 & TD; Charlie Marterella 2-4. Totals 32-188 & 3 TD.
Passing: Marterella 7-13-0; 111 yards and 2 TD.
Receiving: Justin Andrews 2-39; Dwight Williams 2-23; Shane Quinn 1-40 & TD; Sean Ulmer 1-6 & TD.
Interceptions: Dwight Williams; Bobby Marterella.
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