Tennent Stops Skid With Big Win – Suburban One Sports

WARMINSTER — Pat Traczykiewicz left Alumni Field at Friday night’s halftime with the uneasy feeling that accompanies the fear that his William Tennent High School football career may have ended.

Returning in a sling with a broken collarbone — the result of an option play in the closing seconds of the second quarter — Traczykiewicz became a 6-foot-4 cheerleader for the rest of the game, as junior Adam Asterito finished off the Panthers’ 39-14 win over Upper Merion at home.

The win itself was significant, regardless of who lined up under center, as it gave the Warminster, Pa. school its first win since a road win at Central Bucks West on Oct. 12, 2007. The Panthers had suffered 16 straight losses since then.

For the home fans, it was Tennent’s first triumph at the newly built field since Hatboro-Horsham fell, 37-28, on Oct. 20, 2006, during Traczykiewicz’s freshman year.

"If this is my last start, I’m glad to go out on top," he said. "When I heard it pop, I had a bad feeling. I knew something was wrong. Adam came in and really stepped up, and led us."

Listed at 5-foot-7, Asterito is seven inches shorter than Traczykiewicz, and completed no passes in the second half, on two attempts. His key contribution came in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

Clinging to a 17-14 lead and facing a third-and-eight at Upper Merion’s 21-yard line, Asterito dropped back to pass. He faked a pass, then scampered 14 yards to the seven. Two plays later, senior fullback Tyler Hamlet pounded up the middle for the third of his three touchdown runs.

"Adam came in and played very, very well," Tennent coach William "Biz" Keeny said. "He tucked the ball down and ran for a critical first down. I was nervous because right before the half when we lost Pat, because you don’t know how they’re going to respond. They responded well. We did enough good things tonight to win."

Hamlet rushed for 99 of the team’s 221 total yards on the ground, and Ed Ruiz gained 64, 61 of which came during a game-icing, 22-point fourth quarter. As the final seconds ticked down in the long-awaited win, fans could hardly contain their excitement.

Players heard chants and random yells from various parts of the field. The marching band blared "Smoke on the Water" and "Eye of the Tiger" whenever appropriate, helping to warm up the chilly night.

After counting down the final seconds, the jubilation spread onto the grass, with an overflowing sea of black and red sweatshirts celebrating with cheerleaders, players and coaches.

"We’re excited, but not shocked," Hamlet said. "We had a great week of practice and felt we were going to win."

They came close to ending the streak a week earlier, but a botched snap on a fourth-quarter punt deep in their territory resulted in a safety, and turned a win into a crushing 7-6 loss.

The team made few mistakes Friday.

The Panthers stopped the Vikings’ opening drive, then scored on their first possession when Hamlet capped a 51-yard drive with a two-yard dash up the middle. A Steve Petri interception and a goal-line stand squelched Upper Merion’s next two possessions, though the Vikings eventually scored on their third attempt, when Naim Cheeseboro raced in from three yards out.

With Asterito taking over for the second half, Hamlet took the opening handoff 72 yards for a touchdown. Upper Merion answered five plays later when another Cheeseboro score retied the score, this time from seven yards out. The Vikings’ junior also ran for 39 yards during that drive.

Tennent handled things the rest of the way, getting a 47-yard field goal from Sean Baner to retake the lead, 17-14, and regain the momentum. Things went so well that a botched snap on a fourth-quarter extra-point attempt turned into a two-point conversion when Kevin Kilkenny found Manny Gamboa in the end zone.

"We did enough good things tonight to win," Keeny said. "I was real pleased with our effort."

Whether the effort will account for a second straight win Sept. 25 against Council Rock North, didn’t matter to the players who earned the right to bask for a night.

"It felt like we won the Super Bowl," Hamlet said. "It was amazing. We haven’t won in so long. It was so great. "People say a lot of stuff [about the losing], but I didn’t let it bother me too much. I guess they can’t say it anymore."

WILLIAM TENNENT 39, UPPER MERION 14
UM: 0-7- 7- 0—14
WT: 7-0-10-22—39

Scoring
WT – Tyler Hamlet 2 run (Sean Baner kick)
UM – Naim Cheeseboro 2 run (Alberto Baker kick)
WT – Hamlet 72 run (Baner kick)
UM – Cheeseboro 7 run (Baker kick)
WT – FG Baner 47
WT – Hamlet 2 run (Kevin Kilkenny pass to Matt Gamboa)
WT – Geiger 2 run (Baner kick)
WT – Ruiz 61 run (Baner kick)

Individual statistics
Upper Merion
Rushing: Cheeseboro 17-168, 2 TD; James Brennan 10-37; Andrew Legendre 2 (-3).
Passing: Legendre 10-19 48 yards 2 INTs.
Receiving: Cheeseboro 6-26; Fritz Joseph 2-12; Tyler Zeoli 1-2; Mike Bruno 1-8.
Interceptions: None.

William Tennent
Rushing: Hamlet 16-99 3 TDs; Ruiz 6-64 1 TD; Connor Geiger 2-22 1 TD; Asterito 2-20;

Matt Pirolli 5-7; Traczykiewicz 1-9.
Passing: Traczykiewicz 6-11 62 yards; Asterito 0-2 0 yards.
Receiving: Pirolli 2-32; Hamlet 2-12; Hunter Wuensche 1-18.
Interceptions: Steve Petri, Kilkenny.