BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – For all that the Bloomsburg Panthers did to shut down Danville running back Anthony Sori for the first three and a half quarters, it would have been easy for #28 to get frustrated and not keep his head in the game.

The Panthers’ speedster running back, who entered the game with more than 700 rushing yards, had been held to just 13 yards on nine carries, mostly on sweep plays.

But in the fourth quarter, Sori came up big for the Ironmen, and he helped bring the purple and orange another big W.

Sori caught two touchdown passes from Andrew Andreychik, including the game-winning 26-yard scoring reception with 56 seconds left to propel Danville (9-0) past Bloomsburg (7-2) for a thrilling 34-30, come-from-behind victory Friday night at Bloomsburg High School.

The two touchdown catches were Sori’s only receptions of the game, but boy, were they big.

“It was frustrating when they were stuffing the ground game,” Sori admitted.

Bloom’s defense did plenty of stuffing the potent Ironmen ground attack, which entered the game averaging more than 270 yards on the ground. This night, the red and black held Danville to just 115 yards on 36 rushing attempts, and battering ram of a fullback Russell Heath had a team-best 76 yards on 17 carries, most of that in the first half.

And the Panthers had Danville down by 10 points on three separate occasions in the second half – 16-6, 23-13, and 30-20. But the leads weren’t safe.

“These kids just don’t ever give up,” said Danville head coach Jim Keiser. “(This win) is huge for this program and for this town. They’ve waited 11 years for this.”

Early on, though, Bloomsburg was stealing the show, through, of all things, the legs and mobility of junior field general Blake Rankin.

Bloom led 9-6 at halftime, thanks in large part to the play of #5, who is getting looks from Rutgers. By halftime, Rankin had run for 49 yards and thrown for 47 more. He scored Bloom’s first touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 39 ticks left in the first quarter. He also helped pin Danville deep in its own territory on its initial possession with a beautiful punt downed inside the five yard line. Danville went three-and-out, and the snap of the punt sailed out of the back of the end zone to give Bloom a 2-0 lead with 8:04 left in the first stanza.

Danville found its rhythm following Rankin’s touchdown run. The Ironmen began a slow, methodical march down the field, matriculating the ball Hank Stram-esque with a steady diet of Heath, mixed with the occasional Sori sweep or Andreychik keeper. All told, the 15-play, 78-yard, 6:58 drive was capped on a 4th-and-3 pass from Andreychik to Mikeal Owens-Wright from four yards out.

The second half became all about the aerial assaults.

Rankin (17-of-36, 222 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) suddenly got his connection with sophomore wide receiver John Klingerman going, and it paid big dividends for the Panthers. Klingerman hauled in scoring passes of 32, 34 and 9 yards in the second half, and caught six passes for 138 yards on the night.

“He’s an outstanding player,” Bloomsburg head coach Larry Sones said of Klingerman. “His speed, his change of direction….” – Sones tailed off, practically left speechless of #2′s playmaking ability.

Each Bloomsburg score brought an answer from the Ironmen. Andreychik scored on a 5-yard run to make it 16-13; hit Garrett Llewellyn on a 54-yard scoring pass to make it a 23-20 game.

“That (pass to Llewellyn) was a 5-yard hitch,” Andreychik said. And with Llewellyn’s speed, the short and simple pass turned into a bigtime play.

After Bloom made it 30-20, Andreychik and Sori hooked up twice. The winning touchdown was set up by Danville blocking a Bloomsburg punt and recovering at the Panther 25 yard line. Two plays later, Sori scored the winning touchdown, sending the Ironmen faithful into delirium.

Bloomsburg still had a chance to win it, as Rankin (26 rush, 142 yards) broke off runs of 23 and 12 yards to advance to the Ironmen 27 yard line with less than 30 seconds left. But Rankin was sacked to end the game, and Bloom was left to wonder what might have been.

Sori might have summed things up most succinctly after the win.

“Good teams don’t come back and win games,” #28 said. “Great teams do.”

Boyertown had it all going for themselves. 8-0 record, 6-0 in the PAC-10 including a 34-28 victory over Pottsgrove, and a 5th place ranking in the District one AAAA Football playoffs.

It all came crashing down to earth as Owen J. Roberts used 285 yards on 37 carries,  six touchdowns from Ryan Brumfield and the defense forced five Boyertown turnovers as the Wildcats crushed the Bears 55-14 Friday night in a PAC-10 game in Bucktown.

With the win OJR (7-2 overall, 6-1 league) should clinch a AAAA football playoff spot, but  also control their own destiny for their first PAC-10 football championship since 1993.

“The kids were focused all week,” said OJR Head Coach Tom Barr. “They didn’t say this was a must win for us. They just took it as , OK, this is our next game and we need to take care of business,” he added.

And take care of business they did.

Following a defensive stop, OJR took over on downs at the 35 and drove 65 yards on 13 plays as Brumfield scored on a 5 yard run with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.  John Pennell added his first of seven extra points as OJR lead 7-0. Brumfield carried 11 times for 65 yards in the drive.

On the ensuing drive, the Bears tied it at 7-7 as Tom Froelich scored on a five yard run with 11:04 left in the second quarter. The touchdown capped a 64 yard five play drive.  The first play of the drive was the big play as Quarterback Dylan Pasik (7-15, 74 yards but three costly interceptions) found Brook David for 39 yards.

But back came Brumfield and the Wildcats.

Again driving 65 yards, this time in 12 plays as Brumfield went over from the three with 4:45 to go before halftime. Brumfield carried nine time for 36 yards in the drive and Quarterback Ryan Megay found Ian Brazier for a 23 yard completion in the drive to make the halftime score 14-7.

That was just a warm-up of what was to transpire.

Taking the second half kickoff, Brumfield needed four plays for his third score of the night, a 58 yard run that included a great block by Megay with just 2:05 gone in the third period as the Wildcats increased their lead 21-7.

And by this time, Boyertown couldn’t stop the OJR jail break.

After an exchange of possessions, Brunfield was right back at it scoring on a 33 yard run with 4:26 to go in the third quarter to increase the lead to 28-7.

Then on the first play after the kickoff,  Jon Neiman (nine carries 48 yards) fumbled the football and Kyle Moore recovered for the Wildcats on the Bear 48. Before the first play was run, there was a 15 yards Unsportsman Like penalty and player ejection on Boyertown moved the ball to the 33 yard line. Sam Funk (eight carries 39 yards) gained seven on first down and Brumfield took it the rest of the way on second down for an insurmountable 34-7 lead for the Wildcats.

The Bears (8-1 overall, 6-1 league) then got back on the scoreboard as Pasik scored on a four yard run that capped a 66 yard seven play drive as OJR still lead 34-14 with 1:15 to play in the third quarter.

But Brumfield was still not finished.

Boyertown tried its second unsuccessful onsides kick as Paul Minninger recovered both for the Wildcats. Getting the ball on the Bear 49, the Wildcats played a little ball control and Brumfield scored his sixth touchdown of the night, a three yard run with 8:27 to play in the game.

“We worked hard all week so we deserved this,” said Brumfield. “This was without a doubt the best week of practice in my four years here,” he added.

OJR’s defense and  second team offense put two late scores on the board as Nate Blevins returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown and Dylan Frierson, the heir apperant at tailback scored from 15 yards out.

OJR now plays a very tough Perkiomen Valley team next Friday night in Collegeville, while Boyertown must regroup and play Methacton next friday night at home.

Springfield, Pa. Anyone expecting to see an exciting game with lots of action was not disappointed after the show that Desmon Peoples and his cousin Brandon Peoples put on yesterday during Archbishop Wood’s 48-34 victory over conference rival Cardinal O’Hara yesterday afternoon at O’Hara’s new field in Delaware County.

Wood (8-0, 2-0) and O’Hara (8-0, 2-0) came into yesterday’s highly anticipated matchup as the class of both the AAA Philadelphia Catholic League and state rankings. Both teams pride themselves with stingy defenses and potent offenses coming in. Something was about to give.

The fireworks started almost immediately during the Vikings first drive when Brandon Peoples ran thru the middle of the Lions defense for a 54 yard touchdown run. Not to be outdone by Peoples, the Lions Jay Watkins took the ensuing kickoff and scored on an electrifying 75 yard TD.

On Wood’s second possession, the Vikings generated a nine play, five minute drive culminating with Quarterback Joey Monahan’s one yard touchdown. Monahan then continued his good fortune when he intercepted a Ryan Laughlin pass on O’Hara’s next drive. On Wood’s very next play, Brandon Peoples scooted for another 58 yard touchdown and a 20-6 Wood lead.

O’Hara only ran five offensive plays (to Wood’s 16) by the end of the first Quarter. O’Hara began to pick up the pace in the second stanza with their own quick score offense going 68 yards in only four plays with three Laughlin completions and ending with beautiful strike to Senior WR Tyler Gallen and a 42 yard touchdown. Two series later Laughlin again connected with Gallen for a 15 yard TD pass and a tie at 20. Not to be outdone by the two Laughlin TD passes, Brandon Peoples cousin, Desmon decided to join in the fun on Wood’s next drive with his own 68 yard run then a 12 yard burst and a score giving the Vikings a 27-20 halftime lead.

O’Hara hurt themselves with two costly turnovers both before and right after the half. Wood recovered a Lions fumble in Vikings territory just before the half and fumbled again to start the second half on their own 27 yard line which ultimately led to another Wood score. Three plays after the Lions second fumble, Monahan’s 29 yard touchdown run through the middle of the Lion defense gave them a 34-20 lead. But O’Hara answered again going 58 yards in seven plays with the running of both Adam Dempsey and a 14 yard TD run by Watkins.

Any thoughts of a Lions comeback were immediately thwarted when Desmon Peoples took the kickoff and did his own circus imitation and a 95 yard touchdown and a Vikings 41-27 lead.

With Dempsey beginning to bear down on his own running game, he generated 50 yards in the next drive ending with Laughlin’s one yard plunge to bring O’Hara back to within a touchdown.

After a missed Wood field goal, the Vikings held off O’Hara next drive to try to knot the score and took advantage of an O’Hara bad snap on a punt formation that enabled them to have great field position on O”Hara’s 23 yard line. Five plays later, Brandon Peoples put an exclamation point on the game with an eight yard TD run.

Laughlin was pressured throughout and was sacked five times. The Lions also played without the services of RB’s Brendan McLaughlin (high ankle sprain) and Damiere Shaw (concussion).

For the Vikings, Desmon Peoples (11-175 rushing, one rushing TD, 95 kick return TD) and his cousin Brandon (9-170, 2 TD’s) as well as their offensive drive blocking, provided the difference in victory. Monahan (2 rushing TD’s, one interception, and a fumble recovery) also made a serious impact.

Both these teams figure to see each other a second time in two weeks when the PCL AAA league championship takes place. Wood plays Archbishop Carroll next week in their semifinal matchup while O’Hara will take on Monsignor Bonner.

With the game tied at 28 in overtime, quarterback Nolan Harmotto faked a handoff to Rushel Shell and ran ten yards for the game winning score to give Hopewell (5-4) a 34-31 thrilling win over West Allegheny Thursday night.

In the first half it was the Rushel Shell show. He rushed for over 150 yards in the half including three touchdown runs. He scored on runs of 16, 5 and 77 yards. The other score was a Harmotto passed to Zach Gula for a three-yard score.

Hopewell’s defense denied West Allegheny a first down until the second quarter.

West Allegheny did get on the scoreboard on the final play of the half. Aaron McKinney went in for the two-yard plunge.

Hopewell led 28-7 at halftime.

West Allegheny (6-3) came back from a 28-7 halftime deficit to force overtime. West Allegheny’s defense led the charge. They held Hopewell’s offense to only three first downs and Shell only had 24 yards rushing in the second half.

McKinney led the way for West Allegheny. He scored three of his four touchdowns in the second half on runs of 11, 1 and 35 yards.

His 35-yard run with seven minutes remaining made it 28-26. Then he threw a pass to CJ Revtai to tie the game up at 28.

McKinney finished the night rushing for 83 yards and he caught seven passes for 69 yards.

The game was tied at 28 at the end of regulation. In overtime each team had a chance to score from the 10.

West Allegheny had the ball first in overtime and came away with a 27-yard field goal by Steve Amic.

What would Hopewell do on their next possession? They have one of the best runners in PA in the backfield.  It should be hand off to Shell, right?

That is why the next play worked so well as Harmotto faked the handoff and went in for the score.

Hopewell head coach Dave Vestal said, “I knew if we ran play action to Rushel they would be all over him. Our quarterback is a playmaker.”

With the win Hopewell qualifies for the Class AAA playoffs and could be the most dangerous 5-4 team going into the playoffs.

Shell finished the game with 193 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He became the first WPIAL running back to run for 2,000 yards in consecutive regular seasons.

He also passed West Greene’s Rodney Wilson and moved into third place on the WPIAL all-time list with 6,358 yards.

WINGATE — The Bald Eagle Area football team is viewing each of their final games of the regular season as a playoff game. One hiccup in terms of wins and losses and the Eagles could be on the outside looking in.

Going into Friday night’s matchup with Centre County rival Penns Valley, the Eagles were holding onto a precarious eighth spot in the District Class AA rankings, 10 points ahead of Richland and 20 in front of Central.

If indeed the Eagles are in the playoff mode, they took one more step toward a possible berth in the District 6 Class AA tournament Friday night when they held off a stubborn Penns Valley Ram team for a hard-fought 41-28 win at Alumni Stadium.

“Tonight wasn’t exactly what I wanted to see,” said BEA head coach Jack Tobias. “We went up by something like 41-something at the half, but we just didn’t put them away. We are letting people hanging around and going into this part of the season, you just can’t afford to do that. We have to tighten some things up both offensively and defensively. We can’t continue to give up big plays, especially passes, and we just have to find a way to stop people.”

In addition to keeping their playoff hopes alive with the win, the Eagles also claimed possession of the Iron Bell trophy.

“That had a lot to do with this game tonight,” said Jack Tobias. “We had pictures all over the locker room from last year and at the end of the game, we weren’t holding the bell. We came up a little bit short last year and we wanted to make sure that it didn’t happen again this year. It was senior night and the guys stepped up to make some big plays when they had to. I am proud of every one of them. They have done an awesome job and I think this is the first time we have been five-hundred here at Bald Eagle at this stage of the season in a long time.”

As for the Rams (0-8), their focus was continuing to play hard and put a complete game together, something they haven’t quite been able to do thus far this season.

“We have made progress and as I said before, it is just not enough to get over the hump,” said Penns Valley head coach Marty Tobias. “We have been trying hard to put a complete game together and again tonight, we didn’t. The penalties and a couple of costly turnovers really set us back.”

But regardless of the final score, the Penns Valley coach liked what he saw from his team as far as improved play and staying in the game.

“I was really pleased with the resiliency of the kids and the way they kept fighting,” said Penns Valley head coach Marty Tobias. “We were able to put some points on the board which allowed us to stay close and get us out of the hole we dug for ourselves early in the game. They attacked the edges a couple of times, got us off balance in a couple of sequences and we had trouble containing their pass offense.”

Leading the Ram squad was the passing combination of quarterback Sam Snyder to wideout Kevin Montminy who hooked up eight times for 154 yards. On the ground, the Rams spread the wealth around as Austin Auman rushed for 54 yards, Snyder tossed in another 42 and Mike Owens chipped in with 34.

Although impressed with the Rams offensive output, Jack Tobias was most impressed with two-way Elliot Dillon.

“He (Dillon) did an outstanding job for them, especially on the defensive line,” said Tobias. “He got good penetration all night long and that took a lot of counters away from us. He just did a lot of things to disrupt a many of the things we do offensively. But overall, I have to give a lot of credit to them. They are 0-8, they are a young team and they just played a heckuva ball game. There are a lot of young guys on that team and I know that Marty (Tobias) will get them together and they will be a lot better next year.”

Offensively, Eagle quarterback Justin Taylor had a good night throwing the ball, completing 9-of-15 passes for 210 yards and a pair of scores. Kyle Womer caught four of Taylor’s aerials for 142 yards and one score, while Coleman Hoffman hauled in four passes for 40 yards and another Eagle TD.

“Those guys (Taylor and Womer) have been on all year long,” said the Eagle coach. “Kyle could have had a couple more there if we wouldn’t have tripped on one, but again, those guys have been real consistent for us all year long. They are both having a good year, they are seniors and I am just happy for them.”

Marty Tobias was impressed with the Eagles’ air attack.

“The Taylor kid throws a good ball and they have some good receivers,” said Marty Tobias. “They have been doing it all year and tonight, we just couldn’t stop them.”

When Taylor wasn’t throwing the ball to Womer, Hoffman and others, Cody Hicks provided a pair of strong legs to carry the ball eight times for 95 yards and three touchdowns.

“I don’t what coach Tobias had planned to do,” said Hicks about getting a few more touches. When I get the ball, I always run hard. We also have a lot of strong guys up front on the line and that makes it a lot easier to run the ball. As for playing for the bell, it is always nice to have something to play for in addition to winning the game.”

PHILADEPHIA - Going into last night’s game between St. Joe Prep and Roman Catholic, Prep head man, Gabe Infante made certain that Senior Jeff Heath was involved all night on both sides of the ball. “Jeff needs to always be on the field because all he does is make plays,” quipped Infante. That, he did by running for one touchdown, intercepting one pass, setting up another touchdown with a completed  halfback option pass and making 8 unassisted tackles in the Hawks 31-15 conquest over Roman Catholic in a Philadelphia Catholic league AAAA dual at Germantown High field.

The Hawks got things started on their first possession with a five-minute, 12 play, 65 yard drive ending with Heath’s five yard TD scamper. A couple of nice runs by Senior Mark Casale and a well timed 15 yard pitch and catch from Junior QB Skyler Mornhinweg to WR Paul McGann set up the score.

Prep continued their good fortune in the second quarter with another five minute drive and a costly Roman personal foul penalty culminating with Mornhinweg’s 13 yard touchdown pass to Senior Adrian Johnson.

Up 13-0, the Hawks scored again on the third play from scrimmage in the second half when Mornhinweg hit Johnson again for a 69 yard TD pass and a 21-0 lead.

After a Prep field goal and a 24-0 deficit, the Cahillites started to gather some momentum with their own six play drive highlighted by a Keir to sophomore William Fuller 28 yard pass and a Dennis Regan five yard touchdown run. Keir’s pass to Michael Boccelli for a two point conversion made the score 24-8.

In the beginning of the fourth quarter, any momentum Roman could muster was foiled when Prep Junior DL Luke Hutkin batted, then intercepted a Keir screen pass. The Hawks put the game away thereafter in four plays with a Casale 21 yard run, then Heath’s halfback option pass to Eric Medes to the Roman one. Mornhinweg completed the drive with a one yard TD run.

Mornhinweg was 7 of 14, had130 yards passing with two passing TD’s and one running. Johnson had both TD passes. Casale, unofficially had 57 well earned yards on 18 carries.

Infante was ecstatic with his team’s enthusiasm afterward and was not at a loss for words when asked about contributions. “The defense stepped up big time.”  Pointing to Junior LB Dan Mancini, “The kid is a little undersized but makes play after play. He’s got a huge motor.”  Guys like Hutkin, McGann, Phil Riehl and Frank Fanto were instrumental in our game plan. These kids make my job easier.”  As for Mornhinweg, Infante’s reaction was candid. “What more can I say. Skyler is the leader of this team and does more than what the stats provide. He takes a pounding every week and bounces back. He never complains.”

The Hawks (losers in four of their first five and with one of the most difficult out of conference schedules behind them) have won three straight and are 2-1 in conference and a date looming with rival and top state ranked LaSalle next week.

Roman, who is finished with conference play, figures to be a serious force come playoff time.  “Roman has a great team and a very efficient coaching staff” said Infante. “We very well may see them in the playoffs.  No one looks forward to playing them.”

SCRANTON, PA - Abington Heights (8-0) sits atop the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1 all alone after their, 62-14, rout of West Scranton. The Comets have now outscored West Scranton, 158-34, over the course of their last three meetings.

Abington Heights’ rushing attack of James Fruehan and Paul Gallagher accounted for six touchdowns. Fruehan rushed for 180 yards on 13 carries (3 TDs) and Gallagher compiled 76 stripes on 13 attempts (3 TDs). Joe Repshis’ crew totaled 471 yards of offense tonight. The Comets now have North Pocono (5-3) in their sights for next Saturday’s tilt.

West Scranton (6-2) has won their previous six games since losing their season opener to Riverside, 32-19. Invaders quarterback Tyler Hughes passed for 152 yards on 13 of 29. Hughes also ran for close to 100 yards. Next week, West Scranton travels to Valley View to take on the Cougars (5-2) on Friday. Valley View has a short week as they will be in action tomorrow when they take on Scranton Prep at 1:30 p.m.

This game had excitement.  There were two hook-and-ladder plays and a reception on a tipped pass by 285-pound left tackle Nick Faraci. In the end South Fayette spoiled Seton-LaSalle’s homecoming game with a 42-35 win at Chartiers Valley High School.

With the win South Fayette (8-0) remains as the only unbeaten team in the conference.

The quarterbacks combined for over 600 yards passing and eight touchdowns. The two teams scored 56 points in the first half, including a big second quarter.

In the second quarter with 3:58 left and the score tied at 21, Seton-LaSalle’s Kevin Hart caught a 13-yard touchdown pass. That was his second of the quarter.

South Fayette’s Zach Challingsworth took control. He caught two touchdown passes of 30 and 17 yards in the final two minutes to give South Fayette a 35-21 lead at halftime. He also recovered a fumble, took it nine yards for the touchdown and caught five passes for 90 yards. The teams combined for 21 points in the second half.

In the third quarter Seton-LaSalle’s Mike Del Sardo caught a 66-yard touchdown pass to make the score 35-28.

Trevor Fiorentini’s one-yard score gave South Fayette a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. Seton-LaSalle’s Chad Dawgiello caught a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead, 42-35.

On the final drive Dave O’Brien was intercepted on Seton-LaSalle’s final drive. O’Brien finished the game completing 25 passes for 395 yards and five touchdowns. Mike Del Sardo caught 13 passes for 231 yards and two scores.

Jeff Davis rushed with 175 yards and a touchdown for South Fayette. Quarterback Christian Brumbaugh completed 16 of 26 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns.

By Jeff Fisher

High School Football America 

www.highschoolfootballamerica.com

The 2010 season hasn’t been a good one for team’s riding long winning streaks.

Friday night, Reidsville (North Carolina) lost 28-7 to Cummings to stop the nation’s longest active win streak at 55.  Ironically, the streak began for Reidsville back in 2006 after a 39-21 loss to Cummings.

Reidsville became they third team in America this year to see its quest to match De La Salle’s (Concord, CA) record of 151 straight wins go up in smoke this season.

Plymouth (New Hampshire) began the season with the longest active streak at 55 straight, but after a 2-0 start, the Bobcats streak was snapped at 57 with a 20-9 loss to Kennett, which back in 2004 ended Plymouth’s then record 46-game win streak.

Lake Travis (Austin, TX) would have been next-in-line to take over the top spot, however, one week before Plymouth lost, the Cavaliers saw their 48-game win streak snapped in a 14-10 loss to Westlake.

Two 40+ game win streaks were snapped during the first weekend of September.

Solon (Iowa) had its 42-game win streak snapped September 3^rd when it lost 21-15 to Regina (Iowa City, IA).   That same night, Cascia Hall (Tulsa, OK) was beaten 34-27 by Holland Hall, which snapped the Commandos’ 41-game win streak that was one short of Oklahoma’s all-time record of 42 set by Ada in the mid-90’s.

So the question is…who now has the bull’s eye on its chest?

According to our research, another North Carolina team has taken over the top spot.  West Rowan (Mt. Ulla, NC) won its 39th straight game last Friday night with a 40-0 shutout of Statesville.  Directly behind the Falcons at 37 is Phoebus High School (Newport News, VA).  Right behind Phoebus are two teams riding 36-game wins streaks....Alcoa (Tennessee), which is going after a record 7th straight Tennessee state championship and Highlands High (Ft. Thomas, KY).
 

Shifting gears, but still speaking of streaks...Soldotna beat Kenai Saturday for its fourth Alaska Small Schools football championship in five years.  The Stars and Kardinals, which are separate by 10-miles, have now combined to win nine straight titles.

The 77-42 victory was the highest scoring game in Alaska high school football championship history, which was then followed by the lowest scoring game as Anchorage West beat Service 6-0 for the Big Schools title.

Last but not least, the High School Football America cameras were on the south side of Chicago Friday night to do a future story on THE streak in America.

It belongs to St. Rita alum Dr. Gerry Grieco, who has now attended 491 straight Mustang games!  Yes, Dr. Grieco, has not missed a game since 1968 when his beloved Mustangs were 0-9.

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Despite all of his individual success rushing the football, Hopewell junior phenom running back Rushel Shell knows what aids him.

“I’d be nothing without my offensive line,” Shell said. “Without them, I wouldn’t get even five yards per game.”

Central Valley only wishes Shell would average five yards per game.

Shell ran for 302 of the Vikings’ 371 yards as Hopewell (3-4) kept its WPIAL playoff hopes alive with a thrilling 26-22 victory over Central Valley (4-3) Friday night at Tony Dorsett Stadium on the Hopewell High School campus.

Each and every week is a must-win for the Vikings, who would more than likely be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss. That means each game from here on in is like a playoff game for the Vikes, and the more than 5,000 people in attendance really helped add spark to the playoff atmosphere.

“It’s not pressure,” Shell said of the need to win each week. “It’s motivation.”

Hopewell showed that motivation right from the onset, as Shell burst through the Warrior defense practically untouched for a 92-yard scoring run with 4:53 left in the opening stanza. At that point, Shell had run for 104 yards. And he was just getting started.

Hopewell finished the first half with 191 yards rushing and only attempted two passes, both incompletions. Shell had 150 yards at halftime, but the Vikings held only a 6-0 lead in what was turning into a defensive struggle.

Central Valley, meanwhile, ran about as many formations in the first half as it gained offensive yards. The Warriors ran plays from the shotgun, I, Delaware Wing-T and straight T sets, but managed only 64 first half yards and a quartet of first downs. But during halftime, someone must have lit a fire under the Warriors’ big three of Lukas Turley, Aaron Law and quarterback Curtis Lewis.

Employing a mostly Delaware Wing-T offense in the second half, Lewis, Turley and Law ground the Warriors to a 7-6 lead on a 10-play, 5:18 drive. Exclusively keeping the drive on the ground, the CV drive was greatly aided by a Viking unsportsmanlike conduct penalty early on in the drive. Law gave CV a 13-12 lead on a 1-yard run with 11:56 left in the game and Turley capped the blue and white’s scoring with a 4-yard run with 4:43 left.

But for each Central Valley touchdown, Hopewell had an answer. Dual-threat quarterback Nolan Harmatto (24 rush yards, 23 pass yards; rush TD) scored from a yard out to make it 12-7 in the third quarter. Harmatto’s run capped a 5:50 drive that featured 11 plays – 10 of which were runs.

Shell set up his second touchdown of the game (a 4-yard run with 7:54 left in the game) with a 38-yard run out of a keeper from the Vikings’ single-wing offensive package. Most of Shell’s runs in the single-wing sets went to the left side of the line. That wasn’t by accident.

“We like to (run it left),” said Hopewell head coach Dave Vestal. “The left side of our line is our strong side.”

Central Valley found that out repeatedly in the second half. And on Hopewell’s deciding touchdown drive – a 7-play, 63-yard march – Shell registered six carries and had runs of 20, 13, and 11 yards to set up his 6-yard scoring run, his third touchdown of the night.

“He can really take a game over,” Vestal said of Shell, who finished with 35 carries for 302 yards. Shell now has run for 1,705 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year.

FB Zach Roman ran for 35 yards on six carries, opening the game with two rushes for 23 yards. Hopewell ran for 371 yards on 52 carries and finished with 15 first downs.

Central Valley finished with 189 yards of offense – 168 of which came on the ground. Lewis ran for 63 yards on 15 totes; Turley had 61 yards on 13 carries; and Law finished with 40 yards on 10 carries. But CV completed just three passes in 15 attempts between Lewis and Matt Bradford.

GROVE CITY – Both teams came into the game with a 6-0 record and they knew who ever won this game most likely would win the Region 5 crown Friday night.

Grove City’s Wes Phipps scored four touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 35-17 win. Both teams were ranked at the top of the WesternPAFootball District 10 power rankings.

Phipps said, “I think just all around we played a really solid football game.”

The Oilers received the opening kickoff and went down the field. The drive took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Mark Hutchinson’s one-yard score gave them the lead.

Minutes later Grove City’s Phipps had an 11-yard touchdown run that would tie the game up at 7.

Oil City’s Luke Klena would connect on a 21-yard field goal to give them the lead, 10-7. But Phipps answered their drive again with another score to give Grove City a 14-10 lead.

The Oilers scored late in the first half to take a lead right before half. Quarterback Mark Kulinski hit all-state tight end candidate Ben Koyack for the 19-yard touchdown. The Oilers went into halftime with a slim 17-14 lead.

After giving up over 200 total yards of offense in the first half the Grove City Eagles’ defense would make adjustments and shut down the Oilers in the second half.

After a scoreless third quarter the Eagles would score. Phipps scored on back-to-back touchdowns to give them a 28-17 lead.

Grove City would finish the scoring off late in the fourth quarter when Harold Price took a reverse and went 58-yards for the score.

Price would finish with 103 yards running and Phipps added 85 yards. Kulinski finished the night passing for 157 yards.

Grove City travels to Slippery Rock. Oil City will try to rebound at home against Meadville.

When the 2010 schedule came out, Pottsgrove at Owen J. Roberts was billed as the possible Pioneer Athletic Conference 10 game of the year.

After all The Falcons are the two time defending league champions and both of the Wildcat league losses in those two years were to the Falcons

A suprizing league loss by each team may have tarnished the game a little, but there will still plenty of story lines entering the game.

Four of the best players in the entire state (Terrell Chestnut and Maika Polamalu for Pottsgrove and Ryan Brumfield and Sam Funk for OJR) going against each other. The first time since 2007 that the game has been played at OJR. And finally with each team with one loss in the league, the chance to stay one game behind league leader Boyertown

In the end, the Wildcats used five touchdowns and 325 yards rushing from Brumfield to shock the Falcons 49-20 Friday nite in Bucktown.

“They’re a good football team,” said OJR Head Coach Tom Barr. “So no, I never thought we would hang 49 on them”, he added.

The tone for the entire game may have been set on the third play of the game.  Polamalu attempted to take a pitch from Tory Hudgins, lost the handle on the ball and when he dove for the ball, he collided with the Wildcats’ Sean Moloney and was injured but left the game on his own power but did not return. Moloney recovered the fumble, but the first of three Personal Foul penalties on the Wildcats moved the football back to the 49 yard line of Pottsgrove.

The Wildcats needed just five plays as Brumfield took a handoff, bumped into his Quarterback Jay Thomas and still raced 25 yards for the score with 8:33 left in the first quarter.  John Pennell kicked his first of seven extra points and the rout was on.

After an exchange of punts, OJR (5-2 overall, 4-1 league) then put the game away in a matter of 66 seconds.

Pottsgrove started with the ball on their 18 yard line and on the third play, Kayvon Greene fumbled and was recovered by Funk on the nine yard line of Pottsgrove. Three Brumfield runs, the last coming from six yards with 36 seconds left in the quarter as they incresed the lead to 14-0.

“Tonite we just played smash mouth OJR football”, said Brumfield,  who also had touchdown runs of 71 and six yards in the second half. “We’ve been waiting three years for this moment. The past couple of years they took advanatage of our mistakes and tonite we took advantage of theirs.”

Boy did they ever.

On the ensuing Pottsgrove possession Chestnut was hit by Funk on a third and eight from the 30, Brumfield picked the ball up on the 25 yard line and raced untouched for the touchdown with 11:17 left before halftime as the Wildcats led 21-0.

The Falcons (5-2 overall, 4-2 league) then got as close as they would get when Chestnut raced 51 yards that capped a 60 yard 3 play drive with 9:43 left in the second quarter to cut the OJR lead to 21-7. Chestnut led Pottsgrove with 87 yards on 11 carries and was 2 of 3 passing for 36 yards. But most of the night the Falcons were held in check by the OJR defense.

The Wildcats recovered four Falcon fumbles, three of which led to scores for OJR.

Lost in all the offense for OJR was that Funk, who was a monster on defense also went over 100 yards rushing for 105 yards on nine carries and scored from 12 yards out on the opening possession of the third quarter to increase the OJR lead to 35-7.

Caron Wilson scored on a six yard run   and Greene caught a 10 yard touchdown pass from Chestnut for Pottsgrove.

With the win, OJR now travels to play Pope John Paul II next Saturday afternoon before the big showdown in 2 weeks with Boyertown of the turf in Bucktown. Pottsgrove now has to regroup and play Methacton at home next Friday night.

LANGHORNE – Council Rock South (7-0) scored four touchdowns over the final 24 minutes on the ground as the Golden Hawks stunned Neshaminy (6-1) 28-21 at Harry E. Franks Stadium.

Senior quarterback Billy Fleming led the Golden Hawks rushing with 150 yards on 24 carries and three scores. This was the biggest win in their nine-year history.

If you don’t believe it, all you had to see was the Golden Hawk fans storm the field after the win.

Fleming scored on runs of 5, 28 and two yards in the second half. Mark Damirgian added 93 yards rushing.

The Redskins took the lead in the second quarter on a seven-play 60-yard drive. Charlie Marterella scored on a run and they led 6-0. Marterella finished with 214 yards passing.

After a quiet first half both teams exploded in the second half with one huge play after another. For every score the other team had an answer.

Council Rock South quarterback Billy Fleming said, “We made some adjustments with our blocking schemes at halftime and came out fired up.”

Boy did they ever as the Golden Hawks drove right down the field on the opening second half drive as Flemings scored on the five-yard touchdown run to start the wild second half.

But Neshaminy came back on a long kickoff return by Sean Ulmer and a one-yard score by Anthony Woodroffe put them back up.

With the Redskins leading 14-7 in the third quarter, Fleming’s 28-yard touchdown run tied the game up at 14.

With the game tied at 14, the Redskins quarterback Charlie Martarella’s 57-yard touchdown bomb to Dwight Williams put the Redskins up 21-14 on the last play of the third quarter.

Now trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter Council Rock South drove 67-yards and scored on a Fleming two-yard keeper tying the game up at 21.

The Golden Hawks’ defense stopped Neshaminy and got the ball back on downs. Mark Damirgian’s 36-yard touchdown run with 2:27 remaining gave Council Rock South the lead, 28-21.

The Redskins would get the ball back but time ran out on them.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Whitehall placekicker Joshua Cirocco’s cleats were pretty distinctive – a bright shade of blue on a sideline decked in maroon and gold.  Cirocco explained he had played in a soccer game earlier Saturday and didn’t have time to get a different pair of cleats.

By the time the game clock at J. Birney Crum Stadium hit triple zeros, Allentown Central Catholic left Whitehall feeling rather blue. A completely different sort of blue.

The Vikings (6-0) harassed and pressured Villanova recruit Chris Polony all evening and chewed up 455 yards of offense en route to a 21-14 victory over the Zephyrs (5-1) Saturday evening in Allentown.

With the victory, Allentown Central Catholic put itself in the drivers seat to the Lehigh Valley Conference championship.

“They’re a very good football team,” Whitehall head coach Tony Trisciani said of ACC. “We gave ‘em everything we had. I didn’t talk to the kids about losing tonight – I talked to them about learning.”

Whitehall had a chance late to knot things at 21-all. The Zephyrs drove from their own 12 to the ACC 46 yard line with :28 left, but Polony’s third down pass was intercepted with 19 ticks left to seal the victory.

Polony started 2-of-2 for 77 yards, including a 66-yard scoring pass to Nate Hoenl for a 7-0 lead, but the Viking defense harassed #12 the rest of the game.  He finished 11-of-31 for 143 yards and two interceptions.

“We relied on some pressure up front,” said Viking head coach Harold Fairclough.

But bringing pressure is a risk/reward type of strategy, and Whitehall beat the pressure to answer a 21-point run by the Vikings when Eric Fiore (15 rush, 114 yards, TD) scampered 65 yards down the home sideline to make it a 21-14 game.

“They caught us on a blitz there,” Fairclough said of the long scoring run. “And the first score (the long pass) was a blown coverage.”

Central Catholic junior quarterback Brendan Nosovitch said the first Zephyr touchdown woke the green and gold up.

“We kind of came out flat,” Nosovitch said.

But poked between the eyes, Central Catholic’s spread offense fired to life and revved its engines, primarily the engines of #2 (Colin McDermott), #4 (Kevin Gulyas) and #5 (Nosovitch).

Nosovitch had a hand in all three Viking touchdowns, helping ACC build a 21-7 lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter.  He scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards and connected with Gulyas (12 rec., 168 yards, TD) on an 11-yard pass.

In all, Nosovitch ran for 81 yards on 25 carries and completed 20-of-28 passes for 230 yards.

And McDermott became the focal point of the Vikings’ offense in the second half.  With only seven rushes for 28 yards to his credit at halftime, #2 finished the Saturday night tussle with 144 yards on 23 carries.

“They’re spread’s good,” Trisciani said of ACC.  “And they have good players.

“Sometimes we got them and sometimes we didn’t,” Trisciani continued, “but we got them enough times to still have a chance to win the game.”

Tyler Artim finished with six catches for 57 yards for Whitehall, who finished with 264 yards of offense and 15 first downs.

But ACC was simply firing on all cylinders.  The Vikes rushed for 225 yards and threw for 230 – finishing with 455 yards and 23 first downs.  For the 2010 season thus far, ACC has been a model of near-perfect balance – throwing for 1,119 yards and running for 1,118.