Neshaminy entered last Friday’s game with a 0-2 record, but left with their first win of the season. Taking on the Council Rock South high school squad, the game would end with a score of 49 to 15 with Neshaminy decimating their opponents.
“It just feels great to get the win, it was tough the first couple of weeks,” Head Coach Michael Frederick said on his first win as Head Coach at Neshaminy.
Signs of Neshaminy’s ultimate domination came early on, when on the first play Council Rock South high school’s quarterback Shaun Stackhouse threw an interception to Neshaminy cornerback Boniface Stevens. The subsequent drive by Neshaminy would result in the first touchdown of the game for Neshaminy after running back D’Andre Pollard ran for a 12-yard touchdown at the end of a short drive.
After receiving the kickoff again shortly after the opening kickoff, Council Rock South running back Brendan Patterson pumped some life into Council Rock South’s offense. But the success was short lived after Council Rock South turned the ball over on downs.
One thing that stood out in this game was the more present passing game, rather than the running game with Pollard. Quaterback Mason Jones and wide receiver Denzel Hughes for the past two games, have been moving the ball downfield, and accumulating more and more yards each game.
After a series of completions to Hughes, Jones was able to give a short pass to Pollard on first and goal for the second touchdown of the game. Yet again after receiving the kickoff, Council Rock South would turn the ball over on a fumble, again on the first play after returning the kickoff. The first quarter ended shortly after, Neshaminy 14 and Council Rock South 0.
The first play of the second quarter would result in Jones being on the wrong end of a Council Rock South blitz, making it second and long. Neshaminy would go for it on fourth down after a couple failed running attempts. Surprisingly, Neshaminy wide receiver Trevor Lay would score a touchdown on a Jones completion to make the score Neshaminy 21, Council Rock South 0.
Council Rock South would finally score their first touchdown of the game after retaining possession of the ball for two minutes. This was the longest drive of the game, and eventually Patterson made a 10-yard touchdown.
Answering right back on the kickoff, Neshaminy’s Matt Magdelinskas returned the ball 70 yards for a touchdown to close out the half. By the end of the second quarter the score was Neshaminy 35, Council Rock South 7.
Receiving the kickoff, Neshaminy started out the second half with the ball. Jones and Hughes worked their way down field, Hughes would receive a 15-yard touchdown pass to start off the second half with a score of 42 to 7.
Council Rock South, had they played like the same in the first half as they did in the second half may have won the game. Patterson made short work of the Neshaminy defense working the ball downfield on three consecutive first down runs. Council Rock South quarterback would then hand the ball off to running back Vincent Alimenti who would not only score their second and last touchdown, but the two-point conversion that came after.
Although the game was all but over, Neshaminy scored yet again before the game would end. After the reserves were brought in for the final drive of the game, Jones would make a long completion to wide receiver Will Dogba for a 30 plus yard touchdown to close out the game.
“We knew that passing was really one of our soft points and so we took advantage of that,” Jones said. Neshaminy, who has in past years focused on their running game, may be shifting their offensive strategy to a more balanced pattern of passing and running. This is no coincidence, under Frederick Neshaminy will certainly flourish this year and in upcoming seasons as Neshaminy is becoming a better well-rounded team.
