GAME EIGHT
GAME EIGHT
GAME EIGHT

Pennridge goes to Class late



Todd Thorpe Staff writer

PERKASIE — Pitch left, pitch left, pitch left, handoff right, and pitch left again.

Trailing by three points with less than six minutes remaining, its season-salvaging win streak in jeopardy, Pennridge coach Randy Cuthbert didn’t care if visiting Central Bucks West, or everyone in attendance at Poppy Yoder Field Friday night, knew the play or who was going to get the ball.

He was going to give the ball to sophomore running back Mike Class.

And it worked out pretty well for Cuthbert’s Rams, as Class carried the ball on nine consecutive offensive plays in the last six minutes, scoring two touchdowns as his team rallied for a 21-10 Suburban One League Continental Conference victory.

“When we got the ball back with six minutes, we basically decided we were going double tight (end) and giving the ball every play to Mike, and we were going to win or lose with our best guy, so he came through in a big way in the fourth quarter,” Cuthbert said.

“He’s a rare talent, a great kid, and his ability to read blocks and cut and change gears, you don’t come across too often. I think he’s got a chance to be a special player. Basically, I can’t remember a time when I’ve had a 10th-grader that I’ve built the whole offense around.”

Class finished with 268 yards on 35 carries, and when it was done, he admitted that he was tired.

“I’m exhausted,” he said. “I just can’t wait to go home, get a shower and just rest now.”

West (3-5) played good defense all night and in the first half didn’t allow Class or the Rams any big plays. As a result, despite losing the time-of-possession battle by a lot, the Bucks had a 3-0 lead courtesy of a Nick Danilo 31-yard field goal in the second quarter.

But after three-plus quarters of a steady diet of Class, they weren’t able to hold down the talented 10th-grader any longer.

“They have quite a few guys that can carry the mail, but Mike’s a special player,” said Bucks coach Brian Hensel. “A whole lot of (SOL) Continental Conference opponents are going to be seeing a lot of him over the next few years. Hey, he makes the guys around him better.”

Pennridge (5-3, 4-0 SOL Continental) finally got on the scoreboard on its first possession of the third quarter, as Class scored the first of his three touchdowns from 17 yards out.

But West wasn’t deterred. Standout senior receiver Sean Ehlo had his first catch of the night for a 37-yard gain down to the Pennridge 5. Jake Poeske pounded it into the end zone three plays later and just like the host Rams were in trouble with just 5 minutes, 59 seconds showing on the fourth-quarter clock.

“We have kids that gave us everything they had,” Hensel said. “They’re emptying the tank for us. They left it all on the field. I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”

Class quickly moved into West territory on the first play from scrimmage with a 30-yard run, and on the eighth play of the drive, he scored from one-yard out to put his team back in front with 2:21 left.

“Our coach just said we’re going to run tight,” Class said. “We’ve seen (West) had no contain on the outside, we just wanted to run the ball outside all night and that’s what worked for us.”

Then, after sophomore quarterback John Fitz quickly took West down to the Pennridge 30, Rams senior Cody Reimel stepped in front of a Fitz pass for an interception to end the threat.

For good measure, Class broke the next play from scrimmage for a 73-yard TD run.

“I was telling the kids after the game that I think that they’ve learned how to win,” Cuthbert said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the first half. We had some opportunities and didn’t covert. But they didn’t push the panic button when we’re down. We’ve had a couple of fourth-quarter comebacks in a row.”
GAME SUMMARY
PHOTOS BY CARL KOSOLA & THE INTELLIGENTCER
Central Bucks West     0     3    0     7 – 10

Pennridge                    0     0    7    14 – 21

Scoring

Second Quarter

CBW — Nick Danilo 31 field goal

Third Quarter

P — Mike Class 17 run (Zach Midgett kick)

Fourth Quarter

CBW — Jake Poeske 1 run (Danilo kick)

P — Class 3 run (Midgett kick)

P — Class 73 run (Midgett kick)

                                            CBW      P

First downs                               13       17

Rushing yards                            23     323

Yards passing                          168      29

Total offense                              191   352

Passing                               12-22-2   3-9-0

Fumbles-lost                             0-0    0-0

Penalties                                 5-40   5-40

Punts                                          2      0

RUSHING

Central Bucks West: Sherrod Higginbotham 7-25; Jake Poeske 11-25, TD; Cody Riemenschneider 2-1; Kevin Duggan 2-(-5); John Fitz 7-(-23)

Pennridge: Mike Class ; MacKenzie Crawford 4-22; Alex Krivda 5-16; James Marrero 3-11; Pete Psomiadis 1-10; Carter Peters 2-4

PASSING

Central Bucks West: John Fitz 12-22-2, 168.

Pennridge: Alex Krivda 3-9-0, 29.

RECEIVING

Central Bucks West: Seth Ehlo 5-75; Jake Poeske 3-45; Cody Riemenschneider 3-35; Kevin Duggan 1-13.

Pennridge: Cody Reimel 1-19; Mike Class 1-5; Carter Peters 1-5.

SACKS

Central Bucks West: Jake Poeske.

Pennridge: John Dubyk 2, Jeremy Xander 2.

INTERCEPTIONS

Central Bucks West: None.

Pennridge: Kyle Bigam, Cody Reimel.
PENNRIDGE 21CB WEST 10
PHOTO BY CHRISTINE RECKNER
COURTESY OF THE