POPE JOHN PAUL II 34, SPRINGFIELD TWP 27
Chris Shelly was looking for a game that could serve as a measuring stick
The Spartans’ coach got just that in Friday night’s season opener against Pope John Paul II.
No, Shelly’s squad didn’t knock off the defending District 1 4A champions, but the Spartans certainly proved they could play with the visiting Golden Panthers.
“We knew what we were getting into,” Shelly said. “I scheduled this game for a reason. They were district champs last year and run a great program. Their coaching staff is outstanding, but we wanted to set the bar for our guys this year.
“We have 19 seniors coming back. We want to get to the promised land, so we wanted to see how good we were. Coming in, we weren’t afraid. We wanted to get in the attack mode against that team. I think we shook them. We just couldn’t pull it out at the end. We went toe to toe with them, so I’m happy with that. We know right away what we neeed to do, and hopefully, we can play them again. That’s our goal is to get back in the playoffs and have a shot at them again.”
The Spartans established early on they meant business, scoring on the first play of the game from scrimmage when quarterback Jack McGuckin found sophomore Zymir Small for an 80-yard touchdown strike.
“Jack McGuckin was terrific all night,” Shelly said. “He threw the heck out the ball. That’s something we worked on in the offseason. He just has grown tremendously as a thrower. We just need to do a better job of running the ball.”
PJP wasted little time before knotting the score 7-7, but the Spartans – or more specifically McGuckin – had an answer.
“I put the ball in Jack’s hands, and he runs 68 yards for a touchdown and puts us up 13-7,” Shelly said. “He had a game, and we knew that coming in. We knew we had a lot of weapons around him.
“He just has grown so much. He’s one of our captains. Last year, we lost him a little bit because he got injured. We have to keep him healthy, number one, but he was phenomenal. He plays defense for us too. He played his butt off.”
McGuckin finished a productive night behind center 9-for-20 for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 10 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown.
PJP came back in the second quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns – the second one with less than a minute of the half go on top 21-13.
The Spartans weren’t content to run out the clock and – behind another big play by McGuckin – scored their third TD of the half.
“We put the ball in Jack’s hands again, and he hits senior Bobby Hartman with a 30-yard pass to make it 21-19,” Shelly said. “It was a fourth down play. We got the matchup we wanted. We went for two to tie it, but we didn’t get it, but we’re fired up.
“We know we can play with this team, we know how good they are – they have a couple kids going on to play in college. We know we have to play four quarters.”
PJP scored out of halftime but missed on the extra point to lead 27-19 heading into the final quarter. The Golden Panthers upped that lead to 34-19.
“That could have been crushing to us,” Shelly said. “We had a hard time handling their offense. They’re so skilled.
“They have a senior receiver going to Villanova, they have a good quarterback. They’re good. They’re as advertised, but our kids didn’t give up.”
The Spartans scored with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, thanks to a McGuckin 49-yard touchdown strike to freshman Mekhi Paschall,who had three catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.
“Honestly, when you get a freshman, you’re not really sure,,” Shelly said. “In June, we found out he was coming to our school. We’re so ecstatic to have him.
“We go for two (points), and we get it, so it’s 34-27. We tried to go onsides (kick). We took a shot because we knew they’re tough to stuff. Our kid just missed getting it, and they run out the clock with their offense. We couldn’t stop them at the end.”
Despite the outcome, Shelly was pleased with his team’s showing.
“I told the guys afterwards how proud I was of them, but they obviously wanted more,” the Spartans’ coach said. “We didn’t go into that game to lose. We didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for us. We just know we’re there.
“That first game was a lot of mistakes. We had too many unforced errors – a couple turnovers, penalties and stuff like that, but that said, I’m super proud of our kids. We hung in there. We’re hoping we get another shot. That’s what we’re playing for. The standard’s set.”
On the defensive side of the football, junior linebacker Logan Curcio led the Spartans with nine tackles.
“He’s a first-year player,” Shelly said. “He played linebacker for the first time. We seem like we’re experienced with 19 seniors, but we’re really not.
“We have a lot of guys that didn’t play last year, so our defense is still a work in progress because we think it’s going to be very, very good, but our linebackers are really new. To see that kid – he’s a a junior but really hasn’t played linebacker – was good for us. We know what we have to fix now that we’ve faced the big dog.
“The kids worked so hard in the offseason. Jack’s improvement from last year is just exponential, second to none, and he’s just embraced his role. We set up our summer to do a lot of 7-on-7s, and he’s owned the offense.”
Springfield Twp (0-1) will host Kensington in a non-league game Friday.
Pope John Paul II 7-14-6-7 34
Springfield Twp 13-6-0-8 27
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 21, EASTON 12
The Bucks opened the season with a hard-fought non-league win over the visiting Rovers.
The Bucks took a 7-0 lead, the Rovers narrowed the score to 7-6.
But not for long.
Vance Morelli returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to send the Bucks into halftime with a 14-6 lead.
Early in the third quarter, Easton’s Dorian Thomas raced 47 yards for a touchdown, and the Rovers – whose two-point conversion failed – pulled to within 14-12.
The Bucks answered with a long touchdown drive of their own that included several big plays. Morelli ended the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to put West on top 21-12 with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
That score stood the rest of the way with the Bucks delivering some big defensive plays, including an interception that sealed the Rovers fate.
Central Bucks West (1-0) will be on the road at Upper Dublin on Thursday.
Easton 6-6. 12
Central Bucks West 14-7. 21
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