GAME TWO
GAME TWO
GAME TWO

Rams Stumble at Bensalem



By Kev Hunter
khunter@thereporteronline.com

BENSALEM — Pennridge’s growth as a football team has been stunted by injuries and turnovers.

The Rams had a multitude of both on Friday night at Bensalem High School, as Pennridge lost 28-14 to fall to 0-2.

“We’ve got a lot of guys banged up and we’re very young, so that’s not a great combination,” Rams coach Randy Cuthbert said. “We have some young guys who are really fighting and doing some good things, but at the same time you’re not gonna beat people turning the ball over five times.”

Pennridge quickly found itself behind 7-0 after H. Terrence Snetter returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown to put the surprising Owls up 7-0 in the first quarter of this non-conference contest.

“I saw my blocker, and I just tried to cut upfield and I saw my wall — got behind it and just kept going,” Snetter said.

The Rams fumbled away their next possession, establishing an unfortunate theme for the evening. Bensalem then doubled its lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 33-yard touchdown run by C.J. Lebesco, who credited his offensive line for prying open a lane.

Lebesco then used his speed to do the rest.

“I just hit that hole, I find it, and I just go,” he said.

Two more Pennridge turnovers early in the second quarter put the Rams on the ropes, and the Owls pretty much landed the knockout punch just before halftime.

Quarterback Kevin Hopkins threw a nice pass down the left sideline to Dovante Newkirk, who was covered tightly but was able to get a step on his man and bring in the catch for a 24-yard touchdown and a 21-0 Owl lead.

“I think we used our speed well,” said Owls coach Kevin Kelly, who has Bensalem out to a 2-0 start in his first year at the helm. “I think we were a little faster than them and we took advantage of it.”

The Bensalem defense aldo did its part, shutting down the Ram running attack in the first half and also forcing a turnover late in the second quarter when the Rams had driven to the Owls’ 21-yard-line.

“I thought we did a real good job against the run, and a couple times when they were able to put a couple first downs together, we came up with turnovers,” Kelly said.

On its second possession of the third quarter, Bensalem capped its longest drive of the night when Snetter scored on an eight-yard run, increasing the Owl lead to 28-0.

The Rams’ first two series of the second half ended with a botched punt attempt, and then an interception.

“They’re getting a little bit of a baptism by fire,” Cuthbert said of his young squad. “It’s a growing and a learning process and it’s tough to lose. We didn’t expect to be 0-2 but here we are.”

The Rams did play a strong fourth quarter, with running back Mike Class showing his value as a runner and a receiver.

The sophomore had a 25-yard run to help set up Alex Krivda’s six-yard touchdown pass to Mike Supp, and then Class also had a 49-yard catch-and-run to go with a three-yard touchdown reception.

“He’s gonna be a really good running back,” Cuthbert said. “He’s got a great attitude and work ethic, and he’s a great kid...This experience that he’s getting now is going to be invaluable to him down the road.”

The Owls came off the field thrilled, but intent on improving: Bensalem had to overcome 10 penalties and three turnovers to get its second victory.

“We don’t play like a disciplined football team yet,” Kelly said. “I thought we played hard. “But I’ll tell you this. We played significantly better than we did last week. There’s no question about that.”

.Pennridge                    0   0   0 14-14
Bensalem                      7 14  7   0-28

Scoring Summary

B-Snetter 86 punt return (Rosenfeld kick)

B-Lebesco 33 run (Rosenfeld kick)

B-Newkirk 24 pass from Hopkins (Rosenfeld kick)

B-Snetter 8 run (Rosenfeld kick)

P-Supp 6 pass from Krivda (Midgett kick)

P-Class 6 pass from Krivda (Midgett kick)

Team Statistics
  P B
First Downs   10 7
Yards Rushing                   154     135
Yards Passing                    88 55
Total Offense                     242      190
Comp. Passes, Int    7-17-3 5-7-1
Fumbles-lost                     5-2        4-2
Penalties-yards               3-25    10-70
Punts-Avg.                      5-33.2  2-34.0
Sacked-Yds. Lost            1-5 0

Individual Statistics

Pennridge

Rushing: Class 14-103; Krivda 5-30; Crawford 4-25; Peters 4-8; Marrero 1-8; Kim 1-1; Pasquale 3-(-6); Dubyk 1-(-11).

Passing: Krivda 7-16-2, 88 yards, 2 TDs; Pasquale 0-1-1

Receiving: Class 3-55, 1 TD; Psomiadis 1-13; Stutzman 1-13; Supp 1-6, 1 TD; Kim 1-1

Interceptions: Class

Bensalem

Rushing: Lebesco 8-69, 1 TD; G. Nieves 4-28; Hopkins 10-23; Snetter 3-13,1 TD; Newkirk 1-2

Passing: Hopkins 5-7-1, 55 yards, 1 TD

Receiving: Newkirk 3-50, 1 TD; Snetter 1-10; Lebesco 1-(-5).

Interceptions: Walker, Avakame, J. Nieves
GAME SUMMARY
PHOTOS PPROVIDED BY BILL FRASER/ THE INTELLIGENCER