Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Cheltenham 37-6 in an SOL American Conference game on Sunday. File photo courtesy of Kim Supko. To view photos, please visit the Photo Gallery: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p120832580
SOL American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 37, CHELTENHAM 6
There was plenty of uncertainty after Friday’s SOL American Conference opener between Plymouth Whitemarsh and Cheltenham was postponed. The school – according to a Facebook post from Dr. Michael Christian, Superintendent – “received an anonymous tip from the Pennsylvania Safe-2 Say tip line indicating there would be a potential threat of harm” at the football game. In “an abundance of caution,” the game was postponed.
“I didn’t know if we were even going to be able to make up the game, so I’m glad to get it in, for sure,” PW coach Dan Chang said.
Sunday’s conditions were hardly ideal – it was windy, rainy and cold, forcing both teams to adjust their game plans.
“It’s hard to run what you want when it’s really hard to handle the ball,” Chang said. “It was raining pretty steadily all game, and turnovers were a major part of it. I’m happy our guys stayed together, and we were able to put some points on the board.”
“We gave away at least two turnovers and got two or three, but the ball was on the ground 50 or more times that each of us recovered our own.”
For one half, it looked as if the first score might win it. Neither team scored until the closing minutes of the half when the Colonials got a safety on a Cheltenham punt attempt to go on top 2-0.
“We had a big play to pin them back deep,” Chang said. “They punted from the end zone, their punter kind of bobbled the snap, and we were able to tackle him in the end zone for a safety.”
The Panthers got the ball back and scored a touchdown when junior Nazye Boggs broke a huge run from midfield and took it to the house, sending the Colonials into halftime with a 9-0 lead.
“That was huge,” Chang said. “At that point at the half, I thought it might be 9-0 as a final. It was definitely a big momentum swing right there going into the half.”
The Colonials rode that momentum and added three more touchdowns in the third quarter to go on top 30-0 heading into the final frame and then added a fourth quarter TD.
“We made a couple plays, we broke a couple of runs,” Chang said. “We got some guys who were pretty dangerous with the ball. We got some short fields, and that helped us as well.
“It’s tough for us in that rain – we pitch the ball a lot, so the ball is in the air on a lot of exchanges for us, but we were able to get a little bit of that going in the second half.”
Cheltenham broke up PW’s shutout bid after the outcome had long since been decided in the fourth quarter. The Colonials’ defense – the undisputed star on Sunday – did not allow a point with the Panthers’ only score coming against the special teams.
“Our defense was really good again,” Chang said. “Our linebacker crew was really good. Kevin Hegarty – just by looking at the game today – played a great game, one of his best games. Tommy Hannon is always solid. Greg Feinberg and Aiden O’Brien – those are our linebackers.
“Our D-line is always anchored by our two ends – Joe Foy and Jared Kolsun, and they always do a nice job for us, and on the interior, Zach Smith really held his own inside against a big offensive line.”
The Colonials also received enough big offensive plays to win going away.
“Tommy Hannon ran really hard for us at our fullback position,” Chang said. “Nazye Boggs, Luke Winterbottom – I thought all those guys ran the ball tough in some tough situations.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and Cheltenham (3-3, 0-1) will host Springfield Township Friday.
Cheltenham 0-0-0-6 6
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-9-21-7 37
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