Council Rock South turned the ball over three times in Friday night’s District One AAAA title game against North Penn. The defending district champs turned all three into touchdowns in a 34-14 win over the Golden Hawks. To view game action photos, visit the Photo Gallery.
PLYMOUTH MEETING – The post-game scene was a study in contrasts.
North Penn’s players were lost in a jubilant mob of fans as they celebrated defending a district crown they owned while, not far away, Council Rock’s players exchanged hugs and made no attempt to hide their tears as they dealt with the realization that a special season had ended.
Making the Golden Hawks’ 34-14 loss to the Knights in Friday night’s District One AAAA title game at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School so disappointing was the fact that the players believed the outcome could have been – and should have been - different.
“They’re a great football team,” Rock South senior lineman Tom Trampe said. “They’re big, they have a great line on the defensive and offensive side of the ball, but I mainly feel we shot ourselves in the foot.”
“The turnovers killed us,” teammate Justin Flor said.
Three turnovers – which resulted in three North Penn touchdowns – told the story of Friday’s game for the Golden Hawks.
“Turnovers and a short field – going up against the perennial district champs and guys that have been here, you’re not going to win football games that way,” Rock South coach Vince Bedesem said.
Early on, all signs suggested that Friday’s game was going to be a defensive struggle between the SOL powers.
It was three-and-out for the Golden Hawks on their opening possession of the game, and although the Knights picked up a first down after Corey Ernst found Mike Isabella for a 12-yard gain on their first possession, they were stonewalled by the Golden Hawks’ defense on two of their next three plays. First it was PJ Steinmetz and Christian Preski combining to throw Dan Gevirtz for a three-yard loss. Then Jake Presley sacked Ernst on third-and-long to set up a North Penn punt.
The ball was downed on the Golden Hawks’ four-yard line, and things went from bad to worse for Rock South when – on the second play of the series – North Penn recovered a fumbled exchange on the six-yard line. Two plays later, Ralph Reeves punched it in, and just like that, the Knights – after a Brandon Mandes extra point – led 7-0.
“You have to pick each other up and have a short-term memory,” Flor said. “You have to forget about it and keep on going.”
That was no easy task for the Golden Hawks as they watched North Penn’s lead grow to 14-0 after a drive that was highlighted by Ernst racing 49 yards on a broken play and, one play later, Reeves punching it in from two yards out.
The Golden Hawks might have been able to dig their way out of a two-touchdown hole, but when they fumbled a punt at midfield that was recovered by the Knights, the game started to slip away. North Penn capitalized, turning the fumble into a touchdown and a 21-0 halftime lead.
“We talked about that all week – if you don’t turn the ball over, they’re not outplaying you,” Bedesem said. “It wasn’t that they outhit us. We were toe to toe slugging with them, but we can’t give the ball away like we did tonight and come out and try and win a game – not against this caliber team. If you don’t turn the ball over, then you at least let it go down to the wire and see what happens.”
As it was, the Knights turned a pair of first-half turnovers into touchdowns and what could have been a 7-0 game was instead a 21-0 game.
“You can’t give a team like that 21 points,” Trampe said. “You can’t just hand it to them, especially a team like North Penn. There aren’t too many teams in the state and even the country that can give a team like that 21 points and hang with them.”
It looked as though the tide might be turning in Rock South’s favor when – on the opening kickoff of the second half - Cory Wilkenson recovered a fumble of an Austin Fizel squib kick on North Penn’s 36-yard line. Ryan Whitely had runs of 10 and seven yards on the eight-play drive, and Anthony Alimenti took it in from a yard out. The Ben Solis extra point made it a 21-7 game.
“I said to the coaches at halftime, ‘We have a game plan, let’s follow our game plan,’ and they did,” Bedesem said.
That’s as close as the Golden Hawks would get as the Knights tacked on a pair of touchdowns, capitalizing on Rock South’s third fumble of the game for their final score of the night.
“Our defense did a great job,” Flor said. “We finally started moving the ball at the end of the second quarter, but we couldn’t put it in.
“After halftime, we came out fired up, which was good, but I don’t know where it all went after that. I guess we shot ourselves in the foot again.”
As the players headed off the field after Friday night’s season-ending loss, they were greeted by appreciative applause from their fans who lined the fence. The Golden Hawks had made history by advancing to the district title game for the first time in the program’s history.
“It’s great to know we were the best Council Rock team to go through here, and that’s a good feeling,” Flor said. “Hopefully, the kids under us can take it farther.
“It was a great experience from last year and the year before that when I played jayvee and sat on the sidelines the first time Council Rock (South) made playoffs.”
This year’s team has set the bar high for future Rock South teams to follow.
“We’re extremely proud of this group,” Bedesem said. “I had a talk with our young kids when we sent the varsity out for a walk-through. I said, ‘You are not here for window dressing. You are here to learn. This is a privilege, not a rite, so take advantage of it. Watch what it takes to get to this level, and let’s continue on.’”
Before heading to his team’s bus, the Golden Hawks’ coach tipped his hat to the Knights.
“They’re a great football team,” he said. “They’re going to represent District One well. They’re going to do some good things.”
Bedesem’s Golden Hawks, meanwhile, closed out their season with a 12-2 mark and a share of the SOL National Conference title.
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