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WARRINGTON – Eddie Coombs had an idea he might be onto something special when, on his first touch of Friday night’s SOL game against Central Bucks South, he sprinted 40 yards for a touchdown.
“Our line got off and got after people,” Hatboro-Horsham’s junior running back said. “We were hungry.”
By halftime, Coombs had 200 yards of total offense and three touchdowns as the Hatters rolled to a 42-14 lead on their way to a 56-21 rout that put a serious damper on the Titans’ Homecoming celebration.
All told, the Hatters amassed more than 400 yards on the ground and 150 more in the air, thanks to the accurate arm of quarterback Dan Lineberger.
“We just redeemed ourselves after that embarrassing loss last week,” Coombs said of the Hatters’ 20-7 setback at the hands of Pennridge. “No one really blocked that well against Pennridge, but we got back to the fundamentals this week at practice, and tonight everyone did their assignment.”
The results were nothing short of amazing.
Coombs finished the night with 168 yards on just seven carries. He also had 45 receiving yards. Sophomore running back Darryl Neville added 119 yards and one TD on only nine carries. Sophomore Nick Dividio had 57 yards and one touchdown while senior Mike Bobrin had 55 yards and one TD.
Lineberger was a near-perfect 8-for-9 for 151 yards and three TDs.
“It really speaks to their character as young men,” Hatboro coach Tom Butts said of his team’s response to a tough loss. “We came in on Monday and looked at film, and everyone was a little down.
“To their credit, they came out on Tuesday, and we probably had the best week of practice we’ve had all year. The intensity was outstanding, the pace was outstanding. We went back to the fundamentals and got back to the basics of our offense. Obviously, it’s all the kids. They’re the ones that do it, and they’re the ones that didn’t hang their heads this week.”
The Hatters responded with a performance so dominating that the mercy rule went into effect late in the third quarter.
“This was their Homecoming night, and we knew it was going to be a tough win,” Coombs said. “Their crowd is always wild, so we thought they were going to come out fired up.”
For awhile, the Titans gave their fans reason to be fired up. But not for long.
Nineteen seconds after Coombs punched it in from 40 yards out, Mike Doty, South’s star wide receiver, one-upped the Hatter running back on his first touch of the night, carrying it 65 yards for a touchdown that – after Naish Barren’s extra point – knotted the score 7-7.
The Hatters, however, were just getting started.
Bobrin – dragging a throng of would-be tacklers with him – capped an 11-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown run. Vince Paone’s point-after put the Hatters on top 14-7.
Five plays later – after a Hatboro defensive stop, the Hatters were back in business again. This time, it took just two plays for the Hatters to cover 95 yards. Coombs took care of 92 of those yards when he broke through the line and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown and a 21-7 Hatter lead.
“It all happened so quickly,” Coombs said. “I just saw a hole, and I got two great blocks down field. I made one move, and I was gone.”
Butts, for one is not surprised to see his junior running back make game-breaking plays.
“He’s an incredible athlete, and when you give him some daylight – he’s so shifty that once he gets in the open, not many people are going to run him down,” the Hatters’ coach said of Coombs.
The Titans saw a 12-play drive that began at their own 15 and included a marvelous 34-yard leaping completion from QB Tom Johns to Doty stall when Dan Schandein came up with an interception in the end zone. The Hatters gave it right back on a fumble, but again, the Titans reciprocated. This time it was Dave Lorenzo making the interception
The Hatters made it hurt, marching 84 yards in five plays for a touchdown that gave them a 28-7 lead. Almost appropriately, it was Lorenzo hauling in a Lineberger pass and taking it 40 yards for a touchdown.
“I have to give their offense credit,” South coach Bart Szarko said. “Their running backs did a great job cutting back on our defense, and we didn’t do some things fundamentally sound on defense. We knew they were an explosive football team – both their halfbacks and their quarterback. He (Lineberger) didn’t run, but he threw very well.
“We made a lot of mistakes – we turned the ball over three times, twice inside the 10-yard line. When you don’t execute on either side, it becomes a long night.”
The Titans answered with a 67-yard touchdown drive that featured three Doty receptions, including an 11-yard touchdown catch with a defender draped all over him.
But there was still three minutes remaining in the half. More than enough time for the Hatters to tack on two more touchdowns. The first one – a 57-yard drive – featured a 44-yard run by Neville and was capped with Lineberger finding Coombs for a 12-yard TD reception.
Another three-and-out gave the ball to the Hatters with 1:17 remaining. A pair of Lineberger to Lorenzo passes closed out the 51-yard scoring drive – the second a leaping 14-yard TD reception by Lorenzo in the corner of the end zone that sent the Hatters into halftime with a 42-14 lead.
The only question that remained was when and if the mercy rule would go into effect.
That question was answered when Neville burst through the line for a 46-yard touchdown run with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter. Paone’s extra point – his seventh of the night – made it 49-14.
“I know the backs get all the headlines, but obviously there has to be people making holes for them,” Butts said. “Our line really did an outstanding job tonight.”
And the Hatters’ O-line – comprised of Matje, Matt Gallaso, Nick Ceniviva, Bill Bowman and Kevin James as well as tight ends Billy Meehl and Connor Poston – had a most enjoyable night on Friday.
“It was fun tonight,” Matje said. “It was a fun game.
“We had our best week of practice, and I think that helped us so much. We had two four-hour practices. We stuck with it. Nobody gave up. We just came out and worked hard even after that tough loss last week, and we just prevailed.”
The Hatters improved to 3-2 in the league (4-4 overall) while the Titans are 1-4 in league play (3-5 overall)
“It’s great,” Coombs said. “Now we realize if you practice well, you’re going to play well. That’s what we need to do – practice well and go after North Penn.”
The Hatters host the undefeated Knights – ranked second in the state – on Friday night.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 56, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 21
Hatboro-Horsham 21 21 7 7-56
Central Bucks South 7 7 0 7-21
HH-Coombs 40 run (Paone kick)
CBE-Doty 65 run (Barren kick)
HH-Bobrin 7 run (Paone kick)
HH-Coombs 92 run (Paone kick)
HH-Lorenzo 40 pass from Lineberger (Paone kick)
CBS-Doty 11 pass from Johns (Barren kick)
HH-Coombs 12 pass from Lineberger (Paone kick)
HH-Lorenzo 14 pass from Lineberger (Paone kick)
HH-Neville 46 run (Paone kick)
CBS-Welk 36 carry (Barren kick)
HH-Dividio 60 run (Paone kick)
HH CBS
First downs 16 16
Rushing Yards 404 176
Passing Yards 151 201
Total Yards 555 377
Passing (C-A-I) 8-9-0 11-36-3
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-0
Penalties-Yds. 3-25 4-35
Punts-Avg. 2-32.5 2-28.0
RUSHING:
Hatboro-Horsham – Coombs, 7-168, 2 TDs; Neville, 9-119, 1 TD; Dividio, 2-57, 1 TD; Bobrin, 12-55, 1 TD; Schandein, 2-6; Number 3, 1-3; Lineberger, 3-(-4).
Central Bucks South – Doty, 2-66, 1 TD; Davis, 9-50; DiPasquale, 4-48; Welk, 0-36; Giusti, 2-9; Taing, 3-8; Eisemann, 2-4; Kummer, 1-0; Johns, 5-(-9).
PASSING:
Hatboro-Horsham – Lineberger, 8-9-151, 3 TDs.
Central Bucks South – Johns, 9-23-167, 1 TD, 3 INTs; DiPasquale, 2-3-34.
RECEIVING:
Hatboro-Horsham – Lorenzo, 3-80, 2 TDs; Coombs, 4-45, 1 TD; Meehl, 1-26.
Central Bucks South – Doty, 8-164; Hannan, 1-24; Eberz, 1-10; McLaughlin, 1-3.
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