“It was just two evenly matched teams playing each other to the best of their ability. It really came down to special teams, and we lost that battle,” said Neshaminy varsity football head coach Michael Frederick on the 13 to 17 loss against North Penn. The loss will certainly make it much more difficult for Neshaminy to secure a spot in the District One Class AAAA football playoffs.
The game started off with Neshaminy winning the coin toss and starting at the Neshaminy 20 yard line. For the majority of the first quarter Neshaminy and North Penn were going back and forth with possessions. While Neshaminy looked to be working their way downfield on their first drive, it quickly ended after Neshaminy sophomore quarterback Mason Jones was sacked for a loss.
After punting the ball away, North Penn returned the ball to the Neshaminy 25 yard line, but North Penn was unable to capitalize on the situation as Neshaminy junior defensive back Denzel Hughes intercepted the ball. Unfortunately, Neshaminy was also unable to capitalize on the turnover and was forced to punt.
When Neshaminy senior punter Kevin Goetz reared back to punt the ball, a North Penn defender was able to get in front of Goetz and block the punt. North Penn returned the ball for a touchdown and the point after was good, the first quarter would end, North Penn 7, Neshaminy 0.
“It was a rivalry game. We knew their plays and they knew ours,” Frederick said. The second quarter, up until the five minute mark, was more of the same. North Penn and Neshaminy were simply matching each other play for play and drive for drive.
However, after Neshaminy returned the punt to about mid-field, Neshaminy senior running back D’Andre Pollard received the first hand-off of the drive and ran 52 yards into North Penn territory to score a touchdown. The first half would end Neshaminy 7, North Penn 7.
The second half began with North Penn starting on their 38-yard line after a decent return. However, North Penn was forced to punt the ball to Neshaminy after a short, three and out drive. Following yet another Neshaminy punt, North Penn was able to make it downfield within field goal range and by the end of the third quarter North Penn was up, 10 to 7.
The fourth quarter proved to be the most exciting of the game, after Jones completed a huge pass to Hughes, putting Neshaminy at the six yard line, Pollard received the snap and ran the ball in. Unfortunately for Neshaminy, the point after was blocked and the score was close, Neshaminy 13, North Penn 10.
The Neshaminy defense was unable to hold North Penn for the remainder of the fourth quarter, North Penn worked the ball downfield with about a minute left in the game and eventually ran it in from the one-yard line. The game ended with North Penn victorious, 17 to 13.
