Newtown, Pa., The Pennsbury Falcons converted two early Council Rock North turnovers into touchdowns and churned out 440 rushing yards with a variety of misdirection plays and some highlight reel runs by Rutgers commit Charles Snorweah to the tune of a 57-20 drubbing of the Indians last night at Walt Snyder stadium in Newtown.
Ashanti Rumph got things started for the Falcons when he recovered an Indian fumble on the opening kickoff which led to Victor Delgado’s 17 yard TD four plays later. Luke Snyder then intercepted a Brandon McIlwain pass on Rock’s first possession and Pennsbury once again needed only four plays culminating with quarterback Mike Alley’s throw to Vinnie Ratamess in the left endzone.
The Indians for the most part used a no huddle quick tempo offense which perfectly suits D1 prospect McIlwain. Down 14-0 he generated a beautifully executed 10 play,65 yard drive in under three minutes, capped off with his 16 yard strike in the middle of the endzone to Devon Bibbens. It appeared that this was going to be a shootout but that was short lived. What did become apparent was that the Indians were not going to be able to control Pennsbury especially when the ball was put in Snorweah’s hands.
With the ball on the Falcons 33, Snorweah broke past the line then juked the safety on a 62 yard run to the Indians 5. He scored on the game’s next play starting a number of runs he’ll gladly put in his video collection. The next time he touched the ball he veered to his right, made another move on a linebacker then sprinted up field 72 yards to pay dirt which made any chance of an Indian recovery almost impossible.
The win pits the virtually untested Falcons to 3-0 with a conference game looming at Souderton. The Indians suffer their first loss (2-1) and begin conference play next week against Central Bucks East.
What makes Pennsbury a serious state contender: This team is loaded in numbers at most positions. They have two excellent running backs (Delgado and Thompson) as well as Snorweah. It will be difficult to contain their run game with these three plus an offensive line that averages over 270 pounds who drive block as well as anyone in the state. The addition of quarterback (Conwell Egan transfer) Alley give them a real threat to score anywhere on the field at any time either running or passing. It will very difficult to completely contain their run game. They have three very active linebackers (Snyder, Jordan O’Neill and Dalton Hose) that contain the run. For as good a runner as McIlwain is, he only got 64 yards on 16 carries and that is a true testament to Pennsbury’s front seven.
What may hurt Pennsbury: There may be some concern with their pass defense. When given time, McIlwain hit some receivers who were wide open with big plays. To their defense though, they won’t be facing dual threat quarterbacks like McIlwain the rest of the year. They also committed a number of off sides/false starts penalties which they must avoid once they go into the second season.
What Benefits Council Rock North: This team will always score points with McIlwain and his dual threat ability at the helm. They also should take advantage of a slightly easier conference schedule with the move from the Suburban One National to the Continental conference.
What will hurt Council Rock- a team with a physical running attack (like Pennsbury) will wear this team down. They are undersized up front without a lot of depth at key defensive positions.
Late Hits– Alley is a 6’4″ southpaw with ample touch on his throws. He is a welcome addition with the loss of two year starter Breon Clark (moved to Maryland). Thompson and Delgado are good enough to be lead RB’s on just about any other team. Delgado averaged 11 yards/carry. Snyder made a number of big hits an interception and covers a lot of ground from his MIKE position. Snorweah had 200 yards on 11 carries in the first half. He has tremendous change of direction ability. McIlwain is one of the most versatile players in the state. Besides engineering the no huddle offense, the junior also punts and made 6 tackles from his safety position. He has started at QB since his freshman year and will most likely be recruited as an athlete at the next level.
1st Quarter
PSB- Victor Delgado-17 run-PAT-Josh Leon- 10:00
PSB- Vinnie Ratamess-22 pass from Mike Alley- PAT-Leon-6:21
CRN- Devon Bibbens- 16 pass from Brandon McIlwain- 2 PT- Matt Chandlee pass from McIlwain-3:41
2nd Quarter
PSB-Charles Snorweah- 5 run- PAT- Leon- 9:25
PSB- Snorweah- 72 run- PAT- Leon- 7:01
CRN- Tyler Nowmos-20 pass from McIlwain- 2 Pt- Failed- 2:03
PSB-Delgado- 6 run- 2 Pt- Joe Maurer- run- .11
3rd Quarter
PSB- Snorweah-2 run- PAT-Leon- 7:35
PSB- Snorweah- 29 run- PAT- Leon- 5:14
CRN- Chris Welde- 13 pass from McIlwain- 2 PT- Failed – 2;14
4th Quarter
PSB- Chris Rupprecht- 1 run- PAT – Leon – 11:07
