Football: Washington Twp. beats Cherokee

By Phil Anastasia

Tom Hildebrand passed for two scores and ran for the winning score as Washington Twp. rallied for a 22-18 victory over Cherokee on Friday night.

Hildebrand, a senior QB, was 12-for-20 passing for 104 yards and two touchdowns and also ran 16 times for 72 yards and a score.

His 5-yard TD run with 1:10 on the clock was the game winner for WT (4-1).

Cherokee (1-3) rallied from a 15-0 deficit behind quarterback Trevor Osler (14-for-18 passing for 197 yards) and running back Matt Stickney (18 carries, 77 yards).

The Chiefs scored 18 unanswered points and took an 18-15 lead on Stickney's nine-yard touchdown run and Osler's two-point conversion pass to Jake Powell with just 2:13 remaining in the game.

But junior Andrew O'Neill returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to the Cherokee 30. After a face mask penalty, Hildebrand carried twice for the final 14 yards, scoring the game-winner from five yards out with 1:10 on the clock.
"I had no doubt we were going to come back," Hildebrand said. "It reminded me of baseball. Last year we had five walk-off wins. That's our mentality."

Washington Twp. 7 8 0 7 -- 22
Cherokee 0 7 0 11 -- 18
WT: Andrew O'Neill 10 pass from Tom Hildebrand (Hildebrand kick)
WT: John Williams 9 pass from Hildebrand (Matt Long pass from Hildebrand)
C: Trevor Osler 1 run (Ken Ravel kick)
C: Ravel 32 FG
C: Matt Stickney 9 run (Jake Powell pass from Osler)
WT: Hildebrand 5 run (Hildebrand kick)

Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com or @PhilAnastasia on Twitter