BOOSTERCLUB3

GAME EIGHT

Cope helps Rams win on Senior Night

By: TOM PFAFF

The Intelligencer

The running back ran for a game-high 155 yards as Pennridge slipped past Central Bucks South.

PERKASIE - Pennridge had to cope Friday with a forgettable start to its Senior Night at Poppy Yoder Field.

The Rams found themselves trailing a mere 14 seconds into their Suburban One League Continental Conference football matchup with Central Bucks South, as Titans junior Bobby DiPasquale fielded the opening kickoff at the 6-yard line, faked a reverse handoff to the right then raced through a seam up the left side for a 94-yard touchdown return.

Pennridge's coping skills included a healthy dose of senior running back Brandon Cope, who responded by taking the first play from scrimmage 60 yards over the left side to the CB South 4-yard line. Two plays later, Cope scored on a 2-yard run up the middle.

Cope went on to rush for a game-high 155 yards, as the Rams posted more than 400 yards of total offense. Ultimately, senior receiver Kyle McCabe's first career touchdown reception off a tipped pass in the third quarter put the Rams ahead to stay, allowing the seniors to walk off the field still glowing from their 24-19 victory.

Pennridge senior quarterback Kyle Peters said Cope's opening play and score lifted the team's spirits.

"That run let everyone know that we were going to be fine, and that we could get it back to a tie game," Peters said.

Pennridge (5-4 overall, 2-3 SOL Continental) got several key performances from its seniors, including Peters, who completed eight of 11 passes for 160 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Before McCabe's 32-yard touchdown grab - which gave the Rams an 18-13 lead and capped a 13-play, 80-yard that consumed the first 5:55 of the third quarter - Peters earlier had converted a fourth-and-four by throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass down the left side to senior receiver Rocky Ferrier, which gave Pennridge its first lead, 12-7, just 35 seconds into the second quarter.

The Titans (3-6, 1-5 SOL) fought back, however, on their ensuing 75-yard drive. Junior Chris Veal gained 29 yards on a pair of carries, and DiPasquale finished it by taking an option toss from junior quarterback Matt Johns and racing 20 yards over the right side for his second touchdown of the game for a 13-12 advantage, which South took into halftime.

Once Pennridge had regained the lead, it relied on senior kicker Dan Caya, who kicked a pair of fourth-quarter field goals that expanded the lead to 11 points, 24-13.

Pennridge's lengthy drives kept the CB South offense off the field and mostly out of sync after the first quarter.

"Pennridge pounds the ball pretty well, and they have some good running backs, but I felt our defense stepped up," DiPasquale said.

Even after Johns ran an option play for an 11-yard gain, then tossed a controversial lateral to senior Josh Williams at the Pennridge 7 and enabled Williams to score with 1:41 left, the Titans were unable to execute the onside kick, and the Rams were on their way to victory.

"It's such a great feeling after last week, a hard loss (at CB West), to come back and to win on Senior Night on our last game on this turf," McCabe said.