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EAGLEVILLE – John Reimer was hot and tired, but the smile on the 265-pound lineman’s face suggested he wasn’t feeling the heat and humidity.
“This is what we needed to start off the season,” the Quakertown senior said after his team had gutted out a 13-6 win over Methacton in Saturday afternoon’s opener. “Last year we started off bad (with a loss to Emmaus), and the season went downhill.
“This win will do us good in the long run for the rest of the season.”
The Panthers’ defense came within 15 seconds of pitching a shutout, but Methacton quarterback James McHugh capped a last-ditch 62-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Rusty Bryant that put the Warriors on the scoreboard.
Still, no one was complaining about an effort that saw the Warriors held to just 65 yards on the ground. Take away the 61 yards McHugh amassed on his team’s final drive, and the Warriors had just 110 yards in the air.
If you’re counting, that’s 175 yards of total offense until Methacton’s final meaningless drive.
“Before the game our coach said we didn’t want them to get 100 yards,” Reimer said. “Our defense was working hard. That was our goal – we weren’t letting them move.”
On the offensive side of the football, the Panthers got big performances from several players. Tyler Burke led the ground game with 86 yards on 15 carries. Tony Latronica added 65 yards in a solid supporting role.
Quarterback Ryan Tinknell completed 12-of-16 passes for 120 yards, spreading the ball out to seven different receivers.
“It’s a new year, a new team and new chemistry,” coach John Donnelly said. “I felt we could do some things.
“We had some costly errors, but we rebounded. I thought our defense did an outstanding job for almost 48 minutes and really kept us in good field position.”
Sometimes in sports the difference between winning and losing is a matter of inches. In Saturday’s contest, the difference was 94 yards.
Trailing 7-0, Methacton needed five yards and – despite having four downs to do it - couldn’t punch it in on its first drive of the second half. The Panthers responded with a 99-yard scoring drive.
The game’s defining sequence took place in the opening minutes of the second half after the Warriors’ forced a fumble – the Panthers’ lone turnover of the day – and pounced on it at Quakertown’s 34-yard line.
An acrobatic leaping grab by Tim Smith over his defender of a 25-yard McHugh pass took the Warriors to Quakertown’s five-yard line.
Scott Burnick was thrown for a one-yard loss, and then came a false start penalty, setting up first-and-goal from the 11.
A two-yard gain preceded yet another penalty – this one for delay of game, and just like that, the Warriors were facing third-and-goal from the 14.
Still, it looked as though the Warriors were about to make a game of it when – after an incomplete pass on third down – Nick Laperche’s kick from 31 yards out sailed through the uprights.
But in a game that saw the two teams combine for 18 penalties, another yellow flag was on the field.
This time the Panthers were the guilty party, but as fate would have it, the play had been whistled dead because of their off-sides violation, negating the field goal.
Lapreche’s 26-yard field goal attempt was blocked, and the Panthers’ 7-0 lead remained intact.
“We have really been talking how we need a little motivation this year and we need guys to step up,” said senior Rob Basile, who along with Edwin Gonzalez keyed the Panthers’ defensive effort at linebacker. “They told us to watch their guards – follow them.
“We just worked our butts off, and it paid off.”
The Panthers took over on their own one and proceeded to march 99 yards for a touchdown. The 14-play drive took six minutes off the clock and included several big plays. The first came when Latronica powered eight yards for a crucial first down to the 11 to get things started.
Then came a series of huge third-down plays. On the first, Burke broke free for 17 yards. Then it was Geoff DeLan turning a Tinknell dump pass into an 11-yard gain.
The biggest third down conversion came when Eric Fath pulled in a 15-yard completion on what looked like a certain interception but – thanks to a mistimed Warrior jump – wasn’t.
The scoring drive was capped when Pinknell took it in from five yards out, giving the Panthers a 13-0 lead.
“This (win) sets the tone,” Reimer said. “We’re all pumped up. It’s going to be a great ride home on the bus. It sets the tone for the rest of the season.”
Early in the game, the Panthers failed to put points on the board after two fumble recoveries – the first by Gonzalez and the second by Vince Rosanelli.
Midway through the second quarter, the Panthers generated a scoring drive. The big play of the 64-yard drive was a 22-yard Tinknell completion to Latronica. Ben Ede pulled in a 13-yard touchdown pass, and Basile’s extra point put the Panthers on top 7-0.
“We had a little bit of trouble putting it in, but our defense remained solid, and we gave our offense that chance that they needed,” Basile said. “The offense pulled through at the end and did a good job.”
“Our coach stressed the fact that we wanted to be one of half of the teams that’s undefeated to start the season. We needed to get off on the right foot, keep the momentum and get some wins this year.”
The Panthers will host Upper Merion at home on Friday in the second of four straight non-league games against former American Conference foes before they begin Continental Conference play.
“We have some things to work on to get better at, but I’m really excited to play the bigger schools,” Reimer said.
Quakertown 13, Methacton 0
Quakertown 0 7 6 0-13
Methacton 0 0 0 6-6
Q-Ede 13 pass from Tinknell (Basile kick)
Q-Tinknell 5 run (kick failed)
M-Bryant 14 pass from McHugh (Pass failed)
Q M
First Downs 14 8
Rushing Yards 163 65
Passing Yards 120 171
Total Yards 283 236
Passing (C-A-I) 11-16-0 12-16-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-2
Penalties-Yds. 9-75 9-81
Punts-Avg. 2-45.5 4-17.0
RUSHING:
Quakertown – Burke, 15-86; Latronica, 13-65; Festa, 4-15; Fath, 1-7; DeLan, 1-2; Tinknell 8-(-12), 1 TD.
Methacton – Capizzi 7-66; McHugh, 7-4; Burnick, 9-1; Smith, 1-0; Bryant, 2-(-6).
PASSING:
Quakertown – Tinknell, 11-16-120, 1 TD.
Methacton – McHugh, 12-16-171, 1 TD.
RECEIVING:
Quakertown – Fath, 3-36; Latronica, 2-33; Festa, 2-17; Ede, 1-13, 1 TD; DeLan, 1-11; Basile, 1-8; Roberts, 1-2.
Methacton – Smith, 7-97; Bryant, 2-32, 1 TD; Nwankwo, 1-21; Burnick, 1-12; Capizzi, 1-9.
Link to Photo Gallery: http://sos.exposuremanager.com/g/083008_quakertown_vs_methacton_dw
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