For a complete account and all the stats from Saturday’s Council Rock South/Father Judge game, read Christopher Bailey’s story on PhillyBurbs.com by clicking on the following link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/courier/golden-hawks-win-a-wild-one/article_ae7b0be8-92ce-5ead-8567-623fc9ebf190.html
To view action photos of Council Rock South/Father Judge game, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
PHILADELPHIA - It was a play that defined a game and perhaps a season.
Council Rock South was reeling after watching Father Judge turn a pair of costly turnovers into a 14-0 lead in the first quarter of Saturday’s non-league season when Anthony Alimenti delivered an electrifying 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
The play not only trimmed Judge‘s lead in half after a Ben Solis extra point but, more importantly, breathed life into a struggling Rock South squad.
“That was the biggest play of the game, one of the biggest plays of our season,” senior captain Tom Trampe said. “We’re down 14-0 like that - a lot of people are all sluggish, thinking we’re in the dumpster.
“That was huge. That jumpstarted the whole sidelines, the whole stands. That was the biggest play of our night and possibly our season.”
In truth, Alimenti’s dazzling play was almost lost in the shuffle of Rock South’s 35-34 win in a shootout that wasn‘t over until senior PJ Gallo‘s sack of quarterback Rob Daniels after a bad snap with 14.5 seconds remaining.
Although some might have forgotten the big TD runback of the Golden Hawks‘ senior captain, his teammates had not.
“That was the change in momentum of the whole game,” fellow captain Andrew Cohen said of Alimenti‘s TD run. “That got us up and got our whole team rolling. After that, we fought back and won the game.”
Things didn’t exactly get easier for the Golden Hawks after Alimenti’s runback. As a matter of fact, Rock South fell behind 21-7 before its players rallied yet again.
Brian Donnelly - an emerging star at quarterback who ran for 232 yards on Saturday - delivered a four-yard TD run, and teammate Ian McDermott took it in from 19 yards out. A pair of Solis extra points sent the two teams into halftime deadlocked 21-21.
“We just keep fighting back,” Cohen said. “I know we started off slow, but it’s all about perseverance. Fighting back like we did today is a good thing for our team. It shows we can fight back all the time.”
“We have to make sure not to get down on each other,” Trampe added. “If someone makes a bad play like a fumble - that can be a killer, but we don’t get down on each other.
“A couple of things went wrong in the beginning, but we don’t let that stop us. We don’t put our heads down on the sidelines. We just keep all positive and keep everybody up. If we start getting down on each other, that’s a bad receipe.”
The Golden Hawks had the right recipe on Saturday.
A Donnellly 79-yard TD run put the Golden Hawks on top 28-21 but Judge rallied to knot the score. The Golden Hawks responded with another scoring drive - this time Donnelly took it in from 45 yards out for his third rushing touchdown on the day.
All told, Rock South amassed 307 yards on the ground with Donnelly attempting only one pass that fell incomplete.
“These guys create gaps all the time,” Donnelly said of an offensive line that includes both Trampe and Cohen. “I’m two yards in the backfield on every play, but these guys make it happen. They work hard every day, and that’s what it leads to.”
The Solis extra point made it a 35-28 game. That extra point turned out to be the difference in the game as Judge answered with another touchdown but opted for the two-point conversion. The ball was knocked free of what came mighty close to being a completion in the end zone, and with Judge rallying for one last drive, the Golden Hawks defense held strong.
Although the Golden Hawks’ offense stole the spotlight in the win, Bedesem acknowledged the role of his special teams as well.
“Special teams are always big catalysts as far as momentum in the game,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “We preach to the kids all the time the importance of special teams. Offense and defense are one thing, but they heard a speech yesterday how important special teams are to us.”
Saturday’s come-from-behind win upped the Golden Hawks record to 2-0, and this one was hard earned.
“The kids just keep coming after them,” Bedesem said. “It was hot and humid. They’re exhausted, and they got a taste of what hard-nosed football is all about, that’s for sure.
“This is a great experience, and they just did a great job.”
- Log in to post comments
