To run in the November 4th Bucks County Herald
On a one play drive early in the second quarter against Council Rock North (1-5, 1-2 SOL Continental) in Newtown on Friday night, Quakertown quarterback Brady Martin launched a 41-yard bomb that Aidan Burgy hauled in for a touchdown.
It gave Quakertown (3-3, 3-0 Continental) a 14-0 lead and served as the snowball to start the avalanche in their 35-7 win over North.
“We rolled out. Burg was my first read. He was double covered but I saw he could run away and get on the other side,” recalled Martin. “He made a good play. At first I thought I overthrew it but he got right under it.”
Early in the third quarter, Martin hit Burgy again, on a 41-yard post pattern that extended the Panther lead to 21-0.
“I knew we would have the deep ball multiple times. The post was wide open and the post was a great play call,” Burgy shared. “And Brady trusted me on that corner route, making me go get it. That’s just how we play.”
“On the post, he just ran by the dude,” Martin added. “It was pretty easy to throw that ball.”
Martin, Gavin Carroll and Aiden Whiteley all added rushing touchdowns. But the Panther air attack differentiates them from most schools. After dropping their first three games in which Quakertown combined to score 32 points, the Panthers have won their last three…scoring at least 35 in all.
Martin has completed over 57% of his attempts for 1062 yards and 12 touchdowns versus just six picks. Matt Thomas (2 catches for 17 yards), Gavin Mushrush (3 catches for 37 yards) and the 6’4” Burgy (3 catches for 93 yards) all had multiple grabs.
“You’ve got a different dynamic with each,” Mushrush explained. “Matt is so shifty that you know he is going to get open. Burg, when you get him going deep, we trust him to go get that ball.”
“I feel like we all bring something different to the table. It’s Gavin’s toughness after the catch. And Brady can always grab the ball and run it himself. We all trust each other,” Thomas added.
“You know you’re not going to go a half or three quarters without getting the ball,” Thomas continued. “You stay focused.”
Burgy went over 500 receiving yards in the CR North game. Mushrush joined Thomas and Burgy by catching his 15th ball of the season.
Last year, Martin mostly sat behind one of the area’s top quarterbacks in Vince Micucci who now plays at Shippensburg. It didn’t take long for Martin to replicate Micucci’s results.
“We all, two years ago, played JV, so that developed some chemistry. Even when Vince was quarterback, we would all throw together,” Martin explained.
Carroll rushed for 89 yards on 17 carries. The Panthers held North to 27 yards on the ground with D lineman Jackson Connelly and William Bowen making drive killing tackles for loss on third or fourth down.
And Mushrush, Thomas and Martin all ball hawked with interceptions too.
“Momentum is huge in high school football. If you’re able to make a play like that, give our offense good field position and demoralize the other team, it brings a lot of energy to the offensive huddle,” Mushrush said.
The Panthers entered Newtown after arguably the most dramatic win in school history: a 35-34 stunner against Souderton where they trailed 28-0 at halftime. Thomas caught a 43 yard Hail Mary and a 10 yard touchdown on the game’s final plays.
“Last week, it was so important to stay composed. When we went to halftime, a few of us said ‘We don’t want this anymore.’ We’re 1-3 and losing 28-0 to an opponent that we’re going to see every year. Souderton is like a bowl game,” Thomas feels. “When we stay together, we know what we can do. We did it all offseason. Brady and I did it in Pop Warner.”
North, trying to build from the momentum of last week’s divisional win over Harry S. Truman, did some positive things. Tucker Martin had an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Gabe Ortiz and Max Chernets both recovered fumbles while Brady Pae intercepted a pass. Backup quarterback Will Cabo completed 8 of 13 passes for 60 yards in 2 ½ quarters.
But Quakertown’s 0-3 start is looking more and more like ancient history. “The chemistry has been brewing for a while now,” Burgy feels. “It’s great to put it out on the field.”
Next Friday, Quakertown heads to Upper Dublin while CR North goes to Cheltenham.
