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NEWTOWN – Fans had barely settled in their seats when Brian Donnelly surprised everyone – Central Bucks South’s defense included – by faking a handoff out of Council Rock South’s vaunted option offense and sprinting 35 yards for a touchdown.
A new era of Council Rock South football had officially begun.
With one dazzling run, Donnelly had forged his own identity in a position standout Billy Fleming had owned the past three years.
For those who were worried about the fortunes of the Golden Hawks without Fleming, Donnelly quickly alleviated those concerns by amassing over 100 yards rushing and scoring three touchdowns in a first quarter performance for the ages.
The Golden Hawks led 28-7 after one quarter and never looked back on their way to a 42-20 win over the Titans.
“I was waiting behind Bill during my sophomore and my junior year, and I was able to learn a lot from him,” Donnelly said. “He did a great job, obviously, running this offense, so I was able to take a lot from that.
“Our offense had a lot to prove without (Mark) Damirgian, Fleming and all the other guys we lost. It was nice to come out here, especially real early, and make a statement that we’re moving on from last year.”
Donnelly finished the night with 174 yards on the ground, 43 yards in the air and four touchdowns, but it was his performance out of the gate that set the tone for the big win.
“I wasn’t surprised,” CB South coach Dave Rackovan said of the first-year quarterback’s performance. “We had seen him – he’s a good athlete, and they have a bunch of guys he can get the football to. We knew he was a great athlete last year.”
“We know Brian’s strengths,” Rock South coach Vince Bedesem said. “We’ve always known it.
“We love getting the ball in his hands, and he is progressing and doing a great job for us.”
On the other side of the field, Titan quarterback Matt Johns had a big night of his own, throwing for over 200 yards and rushing for another 34.
“He’s not going to Virginia for nothing,” Bedesem said. “He’s got great vision, and he’s got great coaching.”
By the time Johns threw his first pass of the night, the Golden Hawks led 14-0. On the Titans’ first play from scrimmage after Donnelly’s opening TD –set up by a huge kickoff return by Anthony Alimenti, Rock South’s Michael Yost recovered a fumble on the Titans’ 20-yard line, and the Golden Hawks were back in business.
“We just didn’t play right,” Rackovan said. “We gave them the big kickoff. We didn’t get settled down until almost the second quarter.
“That’s a good football team. You can’t make mistakes with a good football team.”
This time it took the Golden Hawks three plays – all Donnelly runs – before the senior quarterback punched it in from one yard out. The second of six Ben Solis extra points made it a 14-0 game.
“I was probably more nervous this year coming out because quarterback is the leader of the offense, and I had some big shoes to fill,” Donnelly said. “We came out and scored on the first play, and it all went away after that. That helped a lot.”
Johns answered by engineering an eight-play, 82-yard scoring drive of his own that featured four straight completions. Included in the drive was a 21-yard completion to Dan Bechta as well as three passes to Chris Veal, who had over 100 receiving yards on the night.
Dan Brown scored from two yards out, and after Evan Stahl’s extra point, it was a 14-7 game.
But not for long.
Another big kickoff return by Alimenti – this one to the 47-yard line – set the stage for a five-play scoring drive that featured a pair of runs by PJ Steinmetz for 15 yards and culminated with Donnelly taking it in from 38 yards out. A Solis extra point made it a 21-7 game.
“The key to the runs was the offensive line syncing the reads, and the offensive line and the backs were all making their blocks downfield,” Donnelly said. “It makes it a lot easier when everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do.”
“You don’t get that open without the offensive line doing their job,” Bedesem added. “All three of our backs with our fullback and halfback – we’re wheeling bodies in and out, and collectively offensively, we did a super job.”
Rock South’s lead grew to 28-7 after Christian Crane took it in from 41 yards out.
The Titans interrupted the Golden Hawks’ run with a 92-yard scoring drive that featured a whole lot of Johns, who capped the drive by finding Veal with a nine-yard strike that made it a 28-14 game after Stahl’s extra point with 7:15 remaining in the half.
The Golden Hawks responded with a nine-play drive that included five carries by fullback Ryan Whitely. Donnelly took it in from four yards out, and after Stolis nailed his fifth extra point, the Golden Hawks led 35-14 heading into the intermission.
“It always helps when you can start out good, especially in the first quarter,” Donnelly said. “I was nervous coming out in my first start.
“I knew what to expect though. The coaches did a great job of preparing us.”
Brown took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown that ignited the South faithful and made it a 35-20 game.
The Titans’ defense forced the Golden Hawks to punt for the first time in the game, but the Titans’ saw their chances of making it a one-score game go up in smoke when Aaron Presley came up with an interception.
“I thought the momentum was switched at that point,” Rackovan said. “We turned the football over. We stalled, but we had opportunities.
“If you look at the second half, it was 7-7. Our kids – to their credit – came out in the second half and played, but they’re a good club.”
The Golden Hawks capitalized on Presley’s interception, marching 70 yards on seven plays. Ryan Hickey delivered a 22-yard run on the drive and Donnelly added a 24-yard scamper. Alimenti sprinted in from 11 yards out, and the Golden Hawks, after another Solis point- led 42-20 with 3:57 remaining in the third quarter.
Neither team scored after that as Rock South went on to earn the big win, and as beginnings go, it was a good one for the Golden Hawks.
“It was just nice to be able to move on,” Donnelly said. “(Fleming) really established something great over the last two years, taking us to playoffs and getting us our first playoff win. Hopefully, I can come in and fill his shoes and maybe get us a little bit further.
“This (win) is huge. The way we came out in the first quarter and set the tone kind of answered most of the questions anyone had about our offense especially and about our defense. It was just huge to come out and play like that.”
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 42, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 20
Central Bucks South7 7 6 0-20
Council Rock South 28 7 7 0-42
CRS-Donnelly 35 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Donnelly 1 run (Solis kick)
CBS-Brown 2 run (Stahl kick)
CRS-Donnelly 38 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Crane 41 run (Solis kick)
CBS-C.Veal 9 pass from Johns (Stahl kick)
CRS-Donnelly 4 run (Solis kick)
CBS-Brown 95 kickoff return (Kick failed)
CRS-Alimenti 11 run (Solis kick)
CBS CRS
First Downs 22 16
Rushing Yards 80 407
Passing Yards 234 43
Total Yards 314 450
Passing (A-C-I) 23-35-3 3-7-1
Fumbles-Lost3-1 1-0
Penalties-Yds. 6-53 6-60
Punts-Avg. 2-27.53-35.7
RUSHING:
Central Bucks South: Matt Johns, 3-34; Tommy Dibrino, 6-22; Dan Brown, 8-17; Bobby Mallon, 4-10; Jeff Hussein, 1-7; Chris Veal, 1-(-10).
Council Rock South: Brian Donnelly, 17-174, 4 TDs; Vincent Alimenti, 3-67, 1 TD; Ryan Hickey, 5-48; Christian Crane, 3-47; Ryan Whitely, 10-42; PJ Steinmetz, 5-28; Christian Preski, 1-1.
PASSING:
Central Bucks South: Matt Johns, 23-35-234, 3 INTs.
Council Rock South: Brian Donnelly, 3-6-43, Ryan Hickey, 0-1-0, INT.
RECEIVING:
Central Bucks South: Chris Veal, 10-116, 1 TD; Dan Bechta, 5-76; Bobby Mallon, 4-18; Bobby Dibrino, 2-16; Dan Brown, 1-3; Frank Magasich, 1-5.
Council Rock South: PJ Gallo, 2-21; Anthony Alimenti, 1-22.
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