There’s nothing - according to Charlie Marterella - quite like playing a football game at ‘the Ridge.’
“There’s nothing better,” Neshaminy’s senior quarterback said. “To me, that’s the best place to play high school football around. Our fans get gunned up. It’s fun.”
Heartbreak Ridge – home to the Neshaminy Redskins - has a long and storied history. Myles Gratsy, Abington’s gifted middle linebacker, has never played at the Ridge.
“I heard it's a long walk there and a long walk back,” he said of the trek from the locker room to the field. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Part of the Ridge’s more recent history is the fascinating rivalry that is developing between Neshaminy and National Conference foe Abington.
Last year, the two teams met twice – Abington won on its home field 28-24 during the regular season , and the Redskins returned the favor when the Ghosts traveled to the Ridge in the postseason, winning 24-17.
“The more rivalries, the better,” Marterella said. “It makes it more fun.”
Friday night’s showdown between the SOL powers is everybody’s game of the week, a scenario that seemed unlikely after the Ghosts dropped their season opener to Central Bucks East in overtime, but a win over Plymouth Whitemarsh and last Thursday’s 16-15 win over highly regarded Souderton changed everything.
The Ghosts – despite the loss of key players from last year’s explosive squad – have become a player in the SOL once again, and this time around, they’re doing it with defense. The Ghosts allowed just one offensive touchdown in their first two games combined during regulation and also proved capable of making the big stops against Souderton.
“John Konway came back, and he’s a great leader,” Grasty said. “We’re just putting everything together, flying to the ball and playing hard.
“We’re all great friends outside of school. We all hang out a lot, and we all know we need to play hard for each other.”
Grasty and Konway have been anchoring the Ghosts’ defense at middle linebacker and defensive lineman respectively.
“In our three games, those two kids have played extremely well,” Abington coach Tim Sorber said. “They made a lot of plays against Souderton, but as anybody knows about football, it’s not just two players. It’s good team defense.
“We also got some excellent play from Julien Ireland at safety.”
I
reland – who moved from running back to quarterback this season - also will be asked to lead a revamped Ghost offense that used the big play to defeat the Indians.
reland – who moved from running back to quarterback this season - also will be asked to lead a revamped Ghost offense that used the big play to defeat the Indians.“He doesn’t come out of the game much,” Sorber said of Ireland. “He’s really improved tremendously at free safety, and he made some big plays.
“We’ve had some great efforts by a lot of kids and played really good team defense.”
In Abington’s win over Souderton, Ireland connected with wideout D.J. McFadden for a 75-yard touchdown pass. McFadden had three catches for 131 yards.
“Abington is a very, very good football team,” Neshaminy coach Mark Schmidt said. “They have a couple of guys that really stood out on the projection screen this week – a wideout (McFadden) and a new running back (Ray Schreiner).
“You add Julien Ireland to that offense, and on defense, they have two or three players that are some of the better players we have played in a while. Their linebacking core is terrific. Their D-line – one guy is big, but the rest are real fast and athletic. They have guys that can run, and they’re very aggressive. You have to really play well.”
Schmidt didn’t stop there, offering high praise for Abington’s special teams.
“They have been terrific,” he said. “Their return game has been great, they blocked a field goal, and they pressure the punter. They cover every aspect.”
The Ghosts will have to be on top of their game if they hope to upset a Neshaminy squad that is ranked as high as fifth in the state polls.
“They’re a team that offensively executes very well,” Sorber said. “Neshaminy is not a team that beats itself as far as turnovers and penalties. That exemplifies a well-coached football team.
“They’re extremely physical up front. They have kids that are extremely strong, and their big kids can move and do a nice job.”
The Redskins are best known for their ability to chew up yards on the ground, and with Corey Majors, Sean Ulmer and Anthony Woodroffe in the backfield, they’re certainly capable of doing just that.
“What’s made their offense even better is the fact that Corey Majors now has a bigger role playing fullback,” Sorber said. “He’s a strong, fast kid and poses a tremendous threat in their run game.”
“Corey Majors has done very, very well,” Schmidt said. “He’s a weapon offensively out of the backfield. He’s running very well, and his blocking has improved.”
But that’s not all. Materella at quarterback has made the Redskins a threat in the air as well.
“Their quarterback has impressed me,” Sorber said. “He doesn’t throw up gaudy stats, but he has a high completion percentage, and he makes good decisions.
“That’s an aspect right now – Neshaminy hasn’t necessarily had as good a passing attack as they do now, and that’s a big thing.”
Schmidt acknowledged that Marterella has added a special dimension to the team.
“He’s a leader, and our team has a lot of respect for Charlie,” he said. “He’s not a front runner.
“He’s just a guy that gets it, and he goes out there and he’ll take that shot and make the play. He has a good grasp of what we’re doing offensively, and he distributes the ball to a lot of people, and that’s really been fun to watch.”
The Redskins once again boast an outstanding defense with the Villanova-bound Majors as the centerpiece.
“Defensively, they’re going to make you earn your points,” Sorber said. “They’re not going to give up a big play, and I think that’s coach (Neil) French, their defensive coordinator’s philosophy. If you’re going to score on them, you’re going to have to earn it.”
According to Schmidt, there are players whose names don’t find their way into the headlines who have also stepped up for the Redskins. Players like Dwight Williams, Shane Quinn, Ryan Katona, Nick DiDonato, Dylan Donnelly, Bobby Marterella and Justin Andrews, among others.
They’ve combined to become a squad that is the team to beat in the National Conference.“I love it,” Marterella said. “I don’t think there’s pressure. We just really need to get better each week, keep improving and see what happens from there.
“I think our team will go as far as our ‘O’ and ‘D’ lines take us. That’s where it all starts. If we can get blocking and protection up front, we can be a tough team to beat.”
For the Ghosts, Friday night’s game under the bright lights at Heartbreak Ridge will represent the ultimate challenge.
“First we have to stop Corey Majors because he’s a great player,” Grasty said. “We have to execute our offense and fly to the ball on defense. I’m looking forward to it.”
NOTE: Abington’s faculty and administration are having a dress-down day on Friday with each teacher/administrator paying $3 that will be contributed to the Marco Dapkey Foundation. The Redskins’ senior captain was diagnosed with leukemia prior to the start of the season.
Abington at Neshaminy
Friday, Sept. 24, 2010, 7 p.m.
Record: Neshaminy 3-0, Abington 2-1
Last week: Abington defeated Souderton 16-15, Neshaminy downed Central Bucks East 30-7
Last year: Abington defeated Neshaminy in the regular season 28-24, Neshaminy downed Abington 24-17 in the post season
Abington coach Tim Sorber’s keys to the game:1) The key defensively is stopping the run. With any Neshaminy football team – even though they throw the football a whole lot better, their passing game really comes from their ability to run the football. When you want to beat Neshaminy, you have to stop the run. You have to prevent them from having any big plays.
2) Offensively, we’re really searching up front for our offensive linemen to really start executing our blocks. That’s one thing we haven’t really done effectively and consistently.
3) Win the special teams battle. Don’t have any negative plays on special teams. We have had a couple of instances against Neshaminy where they blocked a punt and scored or ran a kickoff back. Those things are game changers.
Coach Sorber says: “The last couple of years we’ve had some really hard-fought games, down-to-the-wire type of games. One thing I really like about this rivalry – I know the kids get fired up for it, but at the end of the game, win or lose, both teams respect one another. There’s a tremendous amount of sportsmanship. You don’t see any personal fouls, you don’t see any jawing back and forth. It’s two quality football programs that have a tremendous amount of respect for one another.”
Neshaminy coach Mark Schmidt’s keys to the game:
1) Defensively, we have to make sure they don’t hit the big play. They have some guys that can make it a one-play drive. They proved that against Souderton.
2) We just have to maintain our consistency. I’m sick and tired of riding a roller coaster. We have had a lull in games where we have been fortunate to get through it, but those breaks are going to run out.
Coach Schmidt says: “We have a lot of respect for each other. You have us and Pennsbury who have a traditional school rivalry, but Abington and us has become a lot of fun.”
Friday night’s Pennsbury/Bensalem game will be broadcast live on WBCB 1490 AM at 7 p.m., preceded by a pregame show at 6 p.m. The Neshaminy/Abington game will be broadcast live on the web site www.wbcb1490.com, beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. The North Penn/Central Bucks South game will be broadcast live on the internet at www.wnpv1440.com.
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