Council Rock South won the ‘Battle of the Rock’ and clinched a share of the National Conference crown with its 17-0 win over CR North. To view action photos of the game, visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/.
NEWTOWN – This is the stuff dreams are made of. At least for anyone who’s ever played high school football, and if there’s anything better than playing your neighboring rival in 
front of a full house on a November night custom-made for football, Brian Donnelly wasn’t sure what that might be.
“Coming out for the second half, I kind of just stopped and thought ‘This is my last chance to play these guys,’” Council Rock South’s senior quarterback said after Friday night’s game against Council Rock North. “We just wanted to come out and really send a message. They’re a great team, and we knew they would fight us hard.”
Council Rock North battled gamely in the annual showdown between the neighboring schools, but it was the Golden Hawks who had the final word, downing the Indians 17-0 in Friday night’s Battle for the Rock at Walt Snyder Stadium.
As the final horn sounded, Rock South’s student section stormed onto the field, and the players disappeared in a mob of jubilant classmates and friends.
“It’s great that they come out and support us, especially tonight,” Donnelly said. “They’re just awesome. These kids come out, and they have some crazy chants going up there. They do a really good job of picking us up.
“You’re tired out there on the field, and you look up, and you have 300 or 400 kids jumping up and down – it gets you fired up, it gets you motivated. You don’t feel tired any more. If they want to come out and rush the field at the end of the game, we’ll let them.”
The celebration with the student body was brief, but the memories of a night that saw the Golden Hawks clinch a share of the National Conference title as well as the district’s top seed will last for a lifetime.
“It’s a special experience,” senior captain PJ Gallo said. “Not a lot of kids get a chance to come out here and play in a rivalry game like this.
“This one was awesome. It’s always a hard-fought game – you have to give them a lot of credit. They played a great game. We worked hard all week – our coaches, our teammates, and we came out 
and played a great game.”
One team’s euphoria is another team’s disappointment, and while the Golden Hawks celebrated, the Indians were left to say their tearful good-byes.
Coach Adam Collachi struggled to find the words to describe what this year’s senior class had meant to his program, which – after a 1-9 season last year – finished the year 5-5.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” the Indians’ coach said. “They have done such a tremendous job.
“For 17 and 18-year-old kids to step up the way they did and to show leadership and heart and character. I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids. I wish I had sent them off better. That will be one of my biggest disappointments ever as a coach.”
The Indians certainly didn’t lose for lack of effort, and take away a pair of big plays – a 52-yard touchdown run by Anthony Alimenti and a 39-yard TD run by Donnelly – and the Indians’ defense did its job.
“They’re just an all-around good football team – they’re the premiere team in the league,” Rock North quarterback Trevor Guzy said. “I give them 100 percent credit for the win, but they just had the play makers.
“We gave a hard fight. Two big plays killed us. Other than that, it was a good fight.”
No one would argue that point, and it was the Indians who had a chance to get on the scoreboard first after Trent McKay recovered a fumble on the Golden Hawks’ 47-yard line. A 17-yard Guzy to AJ Nielson completion and a nine-yard pass to John Devine highlighted a 10-play drive to the Hawks’ seven-yard line, but the Indians came up empty after missing wide left on a 24-yard field goal attempt.
The Golden Hawks answered by marching 80 yards for a touchdown that featured Alimenti’s brilliant 52-yard sprint into the end zone. The Ben Solis extra point put the Golden Hawks on top 7-0 with 49 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
On Rock North’s ensuing possession, Guzy once again had the Indians on the move, finding Billy McAlister for an 11-yard completion at midfield and a first down, but after the Golden Hawks stuffed a running play for no gain, 
senior defensive lineman Andrew Cohen sacked Guzy for an 11-yard loss. Guzy hit McAlister with a 16-yard strike on third-and-long, but the Indians were still forced to punt as the Golden Hawks’ defense held.
“Our defensive coordinator talked about their pass game was dangerous, but our defense stayed disciplined, everyone did their assignments, and we came out with a ‘W,’” said Cohen, who helped anchor a defense that allowed the Indians just six net yards on the ground.
The Golden Hawks drove 79 yards but came up empty when they misfired on a 23-yard field goal, and they settled for a 7-0 lead at the intermission.
Points didn’t come a whole lot easier in the second half for the Golden Hawks, who fumbled on their first two possessions. The first was recovered by Dan Schmidt and the second by McKay, but the Indians couldn’t capitalize on either as the Golden Hawks’ defense once again stood tall.
“That’s a big concern,” Rock South coach Vince Bedesem said of his team’s turnovers. “These mishaps put us at a disadvantage, but our defense stepped up and did a nice job of keeping the ball out of the end zone.”
Rock South added an insurance touchdown when Donnelly capped off an 80-yard drive with his 39-yard TD run. The drive was highlighted by a 20-yard swing pass to Alimenti. The Solis extra point put the Golden Hawks on top 14-0 with 10:18 remaining.
The Golden Hawks closed out the scoring when Solis connected on a 39-yard field goal with 2:17 remaining for the 17-0 final. Rock South closed out the regular season with a 9-1 record.
“It feels good,” Gallo said. “We haven’t had a ton of goose eggs this year. We did last year, but our defense play awesome tonight. All around - our coaches, everyone did a great job, and our defense really stepped up and played well.”
Despite the outcome, Collachi was pleased with his team’s showing.
“I’ll take these kids any day of the week in any kind of competition,” the Indians’ coach said. “They’ll fight it out in a game of checkers. They’re just a special, special group of kids, and they really have done a tremendous job of setting this program in the right direction.
“Now it’s our responsibility – and we owe it to them to better ourselves. They’re fantastic kids.”
NOTES: Guzy – who transferred from the Hun School to Rock North for his senior year - finished the night 16-for-25 for 145 yards. “This is my first and last year of varsity football,” the senior quarterback said. “It was real special. It’s real hard to see it end. Who knows what the future holds. It hasn’t really hit me yet that it’s over.”
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 17, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
Council Rock South 7 0 0 10-17
Council Rock North 0 0 0 0-0
CRS-Anthony Alimenti 52 run (Ben Solis kick)
CRS-Brian Donnelly 39 run (Ben Solis kick)
CRS-Ben Solis 39 field goal
CRS CRN
First Downs 13 8
Rushing Yards 282 6
Passing Yards 20 145
Total Yards 302 151
Fumbles-Lost 8-3 1-1
Passing (C-A-I) 1-3-0 16-25-1
Penalties-Yds. 4-30 1-5
Punts-Avg. 1-37 3-36
RUSHING:
CR South: Brian Donnelly, 23-135, 1 TD; Anthony Alimenti, 9-68, 1 TD; Ryan Whiteley, 10-38; Christian Crane, 3-36; PJ Steinmetz, 1-3, Ryan Hickey, 1-2.
CR North: AJ Nielsen, 10-14; Steve Sroba, 4-18; AJ Garboski, 1-1; John Devine, 1-(-2); Trevor Guzy, 7-(-25).
PASSING:
CR South: Brian Donnelly, 1-3-20.
CR North: Trevor Guzy, 16-25-145, 1 INT.
RECEIVING:
CR South: Anthony Alimenti, 1-20.
CR North: Billy McAlister, 7-78; AJ Nielsen, 4-37; Jake Yardley, 2-14; John Devine, 1-9; Steve Sroba, 2-7.
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