GAME SEVEN
GAME SEVEN
GAME SEVEN

Pennridge pulls away from Hatboro-Horsham



By Andrew Marcus
amarcus@montgomerynews.com

PERKASIE – If Hatboro-Horsham put one more defender in the box to stop the run, the referee would have needed to throw the flag.

With 11 men daring Pennridge to run, the Rams had to make adjustments on Friday. It meant taking the reins off first-year starting quarterback Alex Krivda. The junior connected on two touchdown passes to lead his team to a 21-13 win and their fourth consecutive victory.

Staring at a fourth down and five yards to go, the Rams had no choice but to go airborne considering the Hatters were in their goal line defense. Krivda got more than a first down as he hit tight end John Dubyk in the end zone for the score with seven minutes remaining in the game.
Kicker Zach Midgett’s extra point gave the Rams their first lead of the night.

“We worked on that play in practice a lot over the last few weeks and we were waiting for the right time to use it,” Krivda said. “You have to execute what the defense does not expect sometimes.

“Everyone has gained confidence throughout the season and I especially have. I have come a long way since week one. I thought we moved the ball well, but we have a lot of things we can tune up on to get ready for next week.

With the score at 14-13, the Hatters thought back to a missed two-point conversion in the second quarter. After Aaron Channing hit Frank Coluntuono on a 21-yard pass they elected for the two points and were denied. What felt like no big deal with a 13-7 halftime lead, suddenly looked like the difference between being tied and being behind.

“I walked down to the extra point mark and it’s like a lake,” Hatters’ coach Gary Pagliaro said. “Our kicker was having trouble getting his footing. If we were down at the other end we would have went for one, so that’s the reason behind that.”

But seven minutes was still plenty of time for the Hatters to mount a drive. Senior fullback Dom DeFazio, who finished with 94 rushing yards, showed he was capable of hitting a big play. The first play from scrimmage for the Hatters went 68 yards to end zone with one quick DeFazio cut. Continued...

“We had a breakdown on the big play in the first half and we were worried about their size,” Rams’ coach Randy Cuthbert said. “They controlled the ball for long periods of time, but at the half we talked about regrouping, not panicking, and our guys did a good job shutting them down.”

In the fourth quarter the Rams tightened up and yards were more difficult to come by. The Hatters needed to convert on their own fourth down play, but senior defensive tackle Anthony Fecondo was in the backfield to force a turnover on downs.

“We scouted them and we knew they run a lot of veer option,” Krivda said. “We knew if we played assignment football we could shut them down. That’s what we did in the second half.”

Immediately after the Rams (4-3, 3-0) regained possession, sophomore Mike Class sealed the win with a 41-yard burst up the middle to extend the score to its eventual 21-13 final. Class, who caught a touchdown pass from Krivda in the first quarter, finished with 130 rushing yards.

“We know all about (Class),” Pagliaro said. “He’s shifty and to see him cut back on a field like tonight is pretty amazing. I can’t even imagine what he’d be like on turf.”

Class’ 10th touchdown in seven games forced the Hatters (3-4, 1-3) and Aaron Channing to go away from their veer option that they have run effectively all season. With Rams’ rushers coming down the first year starter’s neck, Channing finished game 1-for-7 with two interceptions, made by the Rams’ Kenny Crawford and Carter Peters.

“The kids are obviously are disappointed,” Pagliaro said. “Especially after last week (an overtime loss to Souderton) and this week, it was a double dose, but we’ll back. There really is no excuse, we just have to come back and battle next week.”



  



GAME SUMMARY
PROVIDED BY THE
PROVIDED BY THE
Hatboro-Horsham                 7    6    0    0 – 13

Pennridge                            7    0    0   14 – 21

Scoring

HH - Dom DeFazio 68 yard run (Stumpp kick)

P – Mike Class five yard pass from Alex Krivda (Midgett kick)

HH – Frank Coluntuono 21 yard pass from Aaron Channing (conversion failed)

P – John Dubyk ten 10 yard pass from Alex Krivda (Midgett kick)

P – Mike Class 41 yard run (Midgett kick)

                                           H-H        Pennridge

First downs                            13                11

Rushing yards                       232              193

Passing yards                         21              86

Total yards                            253              279

Passing (c-a-i)                    ( 1-7-2)         (5-7-0)

Fumbles-lost                          2-1              0-0

Punts-avg.                             3-31            3-30

Penalties                              4-15              1-5

RUSHING

Hatboro-Horsham – DeFazio 10-94, TD; Young 10-61; Ejimonyeugwo 5-36; Spahits 5-21; Channing 5-14; Saverio 3-6

Pennridge – Class 19-130, TD; Marrero 9-43; Crawford 4-27; Peters 1-6; Reimel 1-4; Krivda 4-(-17)

PASSING

Hatboro-Horsham – Channing 1-7-2 – 21, TD

Pennridge – Krivda 5-7-0 – 86, 2 TDs

RECEIVING

Hatboro-Horsham – Coluntuono 1-21, TD

Pennridge – Reimel 2-63; Dubyk 1-10, TD; Psomiadis 1-10; Class 1-5, TD; Crawford 1-(-2)

INTERCEPTIONS

Hatboro-Horsham – none

Pennridge – Crawford, Peters

SACKS

Hatboro-Horsham – Spahits, DeFazio

Pennridge – none

 
PENNRIDGE 21 - HATBORO-HORSHAM 13