GLEN MILLS—When undefeated Garnet Valley jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead over Neshaminy, the Redskins players weren't worried.
Neshaminy coach Mark Schmidt? Now, he was a little worried.
"We came out ready to go, and they punched us in the face," Schmidt said. "I thought it was going to get ugly."
The game's ugliness didn't last past a four-fumble first quarter.
Neshaminy scored three unanswered touchdowns and held off two Garnet Valley threats in the fourth quarter to win 21-14 on Friday night and advance to next week's Class AAAA District One championship game.
The third-seeded Redskins (12-1) will face unbeaten North Penn (13-0) at a neutral site for the title.
Neshaminy needed an impressive comeback to get there.
After falling behind, 14-0, in the first quarter, Neshaminy scored twice in the second to make it 14-14 at the half.
Redskins junior quarterback Brian Titus threw a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Paul Carrezola midway through the third quarter for what turned out to be the game-winning score.
"We didn't come out and play well, and they took advantage of us," Neshaminy senior fullback Jay Colbert said. "But we flipped the switch because we didn't want to go home."
Titus shook off the wind and the chill to complete nine of 16 pass attempts for 90 yards. In the second quarter, he completed two third-and-long passes during the scoring drive that led to the game-tying touchdown.
"I felt a little drained after it was 14-0, but we battled back," Titus said. "We're a second-half team. When it was tied at halftime, I knew we'd come out and win it."
The game-winning touchdown came on a third-and-goal play in the third quarter. With a defender in his face, Titus threw a perfect pass to Carrezola near the goal line, and the 255-pound tight end ran over defenders to get into the end zone.
"Titus made a couple of real nice throws," Schmidt said.
Redskins senior running back Bryan Dean rushed 29 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. With running back Quilian Arnold on the sideline for the entire game with a hamstring injury, Dean rarely left the field.
Colbert ran 11 times for 27 yards and scored on a one-yard run with 24.7 left in the first half.
Garnet Valley's dangerous offense moved the ball well for most of the game. The Jaguars (12-1) dominated the first quarter and scored two touchdowns in the first nine minutes.
Senior running back Tim Keyser returned the opening kickoff 52 yards. Seven plays later, he scored on a two-yard run to make it 7-0 only 3:44 into the game.
Less than seven minutes later, Chris Palaio scored on a two-yard run to make it 14-0 with 3:23 still remaining in the first quarter.
In the second half, the Jaguars drove inside Neshaminy's 30-yard line on both of their second half possessions.
But the Redskins kept Garnet Valley's offense off the field for long stretches.
Dean and Colbert combined for 40 rushing attempts, while the Jaguars three backs totaled only 20 carries.
Neshaminy opened the second half with an 11-play, 48-yard drive that took more than six and a half minutes off of the clock. The only pass attempt on the drive was Titus's touchdown pass to Carrezola.
On the ensuing possession, Garnet Valley drove 62 yards on 13 plays and reached the Redskins 19-yard before turning the ball over on downs.
Neshaminy took over and held the ball for almost seven and a half minutes.
Garnet Valley didn't have its second offensive series in the second half until only 3:50 remained in the game.
On the final series, Garnet Valley reached the Neshaminy 25-yard line, but Redskins’ defensive back Matt Knorr knocked down a fourth-down pass by Jaguars quarterback Mark McHugh with 1:48 left.
"We never let out heads down," Titus said. "We knew we could come back."
NESHAMINY 21, GARNET VALLEY 14
N: 0-14-7-0—21
GV: 14-0-0-0—14
Scoring
GV-Tim Keyser 2 run (Dan Acchione kick)
GV-Chris Palaio 2 run (Acchione kick)
N-Bryan Dean 2 run (Seth Jeffries kick)
N-Jay Colbert 1 run (Jeffries kick)
N-Paul Carrezola 3 pass from Brian Titus (Jeffries kick)
Individual statistics
Neshaminy
Rushing: Dean 29-102, TD; Colbert 11-27, TD; Titus 5-(-10).
Passing: Titus 9-16-0, 90 yards, TD.
Receiving: Rick Brebner 3-26; Tyler Orr 2-25; Carrezola 2-20, TD; Dean 1-13; Colbert 1-6.
Garnet Valley
Rushing: Keyser 9-51, TD; Jared Bonacquisti 8-28; Mark McHugh 12-25; Palaio 3-18, TD.
Passing: McHugh 9-16-0, 93 yards.
Receiving: Paul Dunn 4-46; Keyser 3-28; Palaio 2-19.
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