WALLINGFORD PA: The last time the Penncrest Lions held the Media Bowl trophy was in 1987 and Head Coach Paul Graham was 7 years old and in the second grade and Jrs. Matt Atkinson and Jerry Boyer wasn’t even born yet. Well all that change Friday night at George L. King Field when the visiting Lions behind the running of Boyer and Atkinson and a solid defense defeated their cross town rivals in the Panthers of Strath Haven by a score of 14-0 despite fumbling the ball seven times.
One of the biggest differences in the game was time of possession which the Lions dominated in. The Lions set the tone early has on the first drive the Lions went 95 yards on 16 plays before Atkinson hooked up with Matt Bundy for the six yard touchdown. On the drive Atkinson and Boyer combined to rush for 60 yards.
From that point on the Lions turned to their defense to step up and make the big plays when needed. The defense especially Ricky Bailey , Phil Barbieri and Tyriq Kershaw responded big time by forcing two interceptions one a piece from Kershaw and Barbieri and forcing the Panthers to punt the ball four times. “That’s the best I’ve seen our defense in awhile” is how Atkinson would describe his defense.
One play after Barbieri interception Boyer delivered what would turn out to be the back breaker for Panthers as Boyer broke threw several Panther tacklers on his way to a 45 yard touchdown Boyer would finish with 104 yards on 17 carries.” The line just did a perfect job blocking I just tried to find daylight and I cut up field” is how Boyer would describe his touchdown run. “It was the difference of the game right there” is how Graham would describe Boyer’s run.
Up next for the Lions is a date with the defending East AAA Champions the Garnet Valley Jaguars while the Panthers will travel to take on the Marple Newtown Tigers
4 Responses
I don’t see it that way. Haverford, Ridley, Conestoga and Penncrest may have ok teams, but Garnet Valley is on a completely diffrent level this year. I don’t see anyone giving them a challenge unless they have a really bad game against one of the above teams.
‘Haven is a notoriously slow starter, and despite last years record, Penncrest is a tough, physical team. If anyone can bump off Garnet Valley this year, this may be the most wide open Central League in recent memory. Surprises are sure to abound week to week. Watch Haverford, as they return many seniors, and had an explosive week 1 with the spread gun offense.
These things happen. They will be back.
What has happened to Strath Haven?