Neshaminy defeated Abington in a key SOL National Conference battle Monday. Photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Stats provided courtesy of Todd Thorpe/Intelligencer/Courier. For additional football stats and coverage, visit the Intelligencer (https://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school) and Courier Times (https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/)
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 49, ABINGTON 28
On a night that featured more than a few outstanding offensive performances, Chris James stood out in a crowd. The Redskins’ workhorse had 30 carries and finished a stellar outing with 222 yards and four touchdowns.
“He runs his heart out every time he touches the ball,” Neshaminy coach Steve Wilmot said of James. “I wouldn’t trade him in for anyone. The Abington guys are great, but we love Chris. He just bleeds Neshaminy scarlet and blue, and he’s just a great teammate. He’s been a captain for two years, and our kids really rally behind him.”
Neshaminy’s win – which handed the Ghosts their first loss – came on the heels of a 30-0 loss to Pennridge.
“Pennridge was really good,” Wilmot said. “I think our kids were really disappointed with the outcome, and I think they were just ready to get back on the field and prove to themselves that we’re a good team. That’s not to take anything away from Pennridge – they were really, really good.”
James – who had just 37 yards in the loss to Pennridge – had more than that on the Redskins’ opening possession, capping the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to give Neshaminy a 6-0 lead. The Ghosts had an immediate answer, and Oreck Frazier raced 43 yards on a delay that – after Antonio Ditri’s extra point – gave the Ghosts a 7-6 lead after one quarter.
With starting quarterback Aiden Schlupp sidelined (injury), junior Nunzio Zydzik was thrust into a starting role, and he accounted for a pair of touchdowns – his first on a four-yard run that – after his two-point completion to Gavin O’Connor – put the Redskins on top 14-7 late in the opening half. The score was set up by a Michael Donato interception.
“The good thing about this year – we practiced a long time,” Wilmot said. “Back five-six years ago, we had two weeks of camp, and we thought it was a long time. When they went to one week of football camp, you had to have your starter established before camp even started.
“This year we mini camp in helmet, then we had three weeks of padded practice before our first game, and our backup quarterback got a lot of good reps. We felt good about putting him in the game because we had those three weeks of practice where he got a ton of reps. He came in there tonight, and he executed our offense well. He showcased his athletic ability a little bit and did a nice job.”
The Redskins scored 14 points in less than a minute to close out the first half. Their first TD with 43 seconds remaining came on a gadget play when Gavin O’Connor hit Donato with a 39-yard touchdown strike. Then – after the Ghosts fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Zydzik found Donato from 10 yards out, and Neshaminy took a 28-7 lead into the halftime locker room.
“Mike is a terrific athlete,” Wilmot said of Donato. “He’s kind of a first-year player for us. He toyed around with the idea of playing the past two years, so we were familiar with him. His brother played for us.
“Mike’s a baseball guy, and a couple years he opted to focus on his baseball stuff. We finally got him out this year, and he’s Ian Sheehan type athletic, and you definitely saw that tonight.”
An electrifying 89-yard touchdown run by Frazier on the Ghosts’ opening possession of the second half made it a 28-14 game, and after a three-and-out for the Redskins, the Ghosts marched 71 yards with Robert Bell scoring from 24 yards out on a draw to make it a one-score game, 28-21.
Less than two minutes later, James raced home from 54 yards and followed that with a 14-yard touchdown run, giving the Redskins a 42-21 advantage. The two teams exchanged scores to close out the game with Khaliq Henry hauling in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Dzielawa, but James answered with his fourth TD run of the night – this one from 33 yards out.
After a contest that saw the Redskins accumulate 402 total yards of offense – 284 on the ground, Wilmot credited the play of his O-line.
“The offensive line did what they were supposed to do – I don’t know his name, but 65, we just started running away from him because he wasn’t giving up. He’s a big fellow, and he was playing really hard,” Wilmot said of defensive tackle William Everitt (6-4, 290 pounds). “We just got to the point where we ran to the other side.
“Nick Soska is a two-way guy. He had a big sack at the end of the game, and he played on that side we were running to along with Kenny Monaco, who’s also a senior. Those two guys are third-year starters for me on the offensive line, and especially at the end, we just started running behind those two guys.
“On Nunzio’s quarterback sneak when he ran about six yards, and another senior, Nate McGlone, really came up big on that 
play – blocked his butt off, so those seniors really, really did well for us. We had another senior at center, Alex Ierardi, who had a guy over top of him and had a tough job all night.”
The Ghosts actually held an edge in total yards with 443 (265 on the ground). Frazier finished with 160 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Dzielawa threw for 178 yards and a touchdown. Caleb Baker had a big night with eight receptions for 101 yards.
“They have just a lot of really good athletes on that team,” Wilmot said. “I think they have a really good team. They have a nice line, they’ve got some very, very dangerous athletes that showcased their skills against us tonight. I’m really happy to get out of there with a win.”
Neshaminy (2-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West Friday, and Abington (2-1) will host Pennsbury on Friday.
Abington 7-0-14-7 28
Neshaminy 6-22-7-14 49
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