PHILADELPHIA — Shawn Battle sat there like a simmering volcano ready to erupt. Neumann-Goretti’s 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior was already spewing sweat from every pore, spewing whatever else he tried holding down while trying to maintain his composure as his stomach was doing backflips.
The Boston College-bound safety and tailback would heat up, rehydrate, heat up, rehydrate some more, and just when it looked like nothing on him would work, he would explode on Northwestern Lehigh again Saturday afternoon in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals at the South Philadelphia Supersite.
When the Saints needed him, they broke the sweat-encased seal on Battle to produce four touchdowns en route to a 38-6 Neumann-Goretti victory over Northwestern Lehigh (11-3).
Neumann-Goretti (10-3) advances for the second-straight year to the state semifinals, where the Saints will have to face Wyomissing Area, a 21-19 quarterfinal winner over Danville, next weekend in a rematch of last year’s PIAA Class 3A state semifinals (won by eventual state runner-up Wyomissing, 42-6).
The Saints wouldn’t be going anywhere if not for Battle’s three rushing touchdowns and a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown. He finished with 124 yards rushing on 22 carries, despite cramping up.
“When it gets cold outside, I just get real sick, but I was able to fight through it,” Battle said. “I’m good playing. As long as I get water in my body the night before the game. We were well prepared for this game.
“I’m leaving for BC on January 15. These last games won’t be easy, but I know I’m starting a new chapter in my life. I don’t want this to end right now. I’ll wait for that chapter to begin. I know what it’s like leaving this field after losing in the playoffs. I started here freshman year and played with some great players here. I want all the weight on my back.”
Battle carried it well.
He scored on 15- and 2-yard runs in the first half, as the Saints defense, led by Battle, Daniel Adefolarin, Deshon Dodson, Kyreese Bradley, Khari Reid, and Koren Robinson, stifled the Tigers’ running game, holding them to 78 yards of total offense and five first downs, one by penalty.
The Saints showed great patience in negating Northwestern Lehigh’s screen game. The Tigers finished with 229 yards of total offense, much of that coming when the game was well-decided.
“Northwestern Lehigh is a really good football team and we did what we were hoping to do defensively,” Saints’ coach Albie Crosby said. “Their quarterback (Cade Christopher) is a warrior, and Shawn is a warrior. Right now, we’re leaning on Shawn in different functions and trying to get better every week.
“We play Wyomissing again, and they’re a very, very good football team. We lost to them big last year. It’s a team that if we thought we could get to the finals, we would have to go through them.”
Against Northwestern Lehigh, an added wrinkle to the Saints’ attack came in converted senior wide receiver Anthony Zungolo, who made three catches for 34 yards, including a touchdown. His key 13-yard reception on a fourth-and-10 at the Tigers’ 16 with just under seven minutes in the half set up Battle’s second TD.
“This team has developed since the beginning of the year,” Zungolo said. “This was about us coming together because we were all over the place in the beginning of the year. We’ve grown a lot. It was about execution. We’re listening to our coaches.
“And we have Shawn Battle. He can erupt at any moment.”
Something, regrettably, Tigers’ coach Josh Snyder found out about firsthand. He had seen Battle on tape. Snyder knew what he had to do—take chances. The Tigers tried converting on fourth down five times during the game, and were successful once, which resulted in the lone Northwestern Lehigh score (a Christopher 10-yard run with 7:15 left in the third quarter).
“First of all, I’m very proud of my team and their effort and we really swung with Neumann-Goretti for a while,” Snyder said. “We punched one in early in the second half. I thought we bottled Battle up for a good bit, and he didn’t bust any huge plays. But they did a great job of grinding us and grinding us.
“If you know our track record, we like to take some chances and it’s why we let it rip (going for numerous fourth-down conversions). I didn’t know how many stops we were going to get. We knew we had to take some chances to put the pressure on them.”
Scoring Summary
Northwestern Lehigh (11-3) 0 0 6 0-6
Neumann-Goretti (10-3) 8 8 8 14-38
1st Quarter
NG – Shawn Battle 15 run (Battle run), 7:19
2nd Quarter
NG – Battle 2 run (Terrance Page run), 6:06
3rd Quarter
NWL – Cade Christopher 10 run (pass failed), 7:15
NG – Battle 4 run (Amahj Gowens run), 2:09
4th Quarter
NG – Anthony Zungolo 12 pass from Mehki Wharton (Qaasim Major pass from Wharton), 10:17
NG – Battle 102 INT return (pass failed), 2:49
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
