August 7, 2011
Philadelphia, Pa., The Council Rock North Indians endured a last minute rally by upset minded Northeast and the Vikings missed a field goal with a little over two minutes remaining giving the Indians a hard fought 15-13 win at Northeast’s Charles Martin stadium.
Kyle Thorpe played a monster game for the Indians on defense and made three key stops in the fourth quarter to preserve the win. “We took Kyle out in the first half to get him to refocus and he came through big time in the second half” echoed Indians Coach Adam Collachi. “He did what he needed to do to get us the win”
It appeared at first the the Indians would run away with this one early when they recovered the opening kickoff that was pooched perfectly behind the Vikings front line. Four plays later, sophomore quarterback Brandon McIlwain scampered for a 14 yard score before only 14 seconds elapsed.
As the game went on it appeared that Northeast’s team speed was giving Council Rock some problems. McIlwain was given little time to throw and on two occasions intentionally grounded passes while he was getting sacked.
Holding on to a slim 8-7 lead in the third quarter, McIlwain completed a 9 yard touchdown pass to Josh Williams who made a sensational high point reception giving the Indians an 8 point advantage. However, Northeast scored on their next possession, via a 51 yard run but a missed two point conversion ended the scoring.
“The offensive coaches made good adjustments in the second half in dealing with the constant pressure Northeast’s outside linebackers were giving us”, said Collachi. “We had to slow down their speed around the edge so that our quarterback had more time to make his reads”
The win gives the Indians (D1, SOL National Conference) an undefeated slate (2-0) and a date next week with non conference foe Hatboro-Horsham. Northeast (D12, AAAA, Pub) falls to 0-2 and will host Father Judge.
Notes: McIlwain has started at QB since his freshman year and came to Pennsylvania from California. He is also the team’s punter and had decent hangtime on most of his punts. Speedy receiver DuJuan Martin had 31 yards on his first two touches in the first half. Defensive lineman Tyler Callendar injured his foot in the second half and did not return.
