Seneca's fourth-down conversion saved a must-win game
Bill Fisher was starting to think of ways to perk up his players. "Fourth and 18, I'm standing there thinking: 'What am I going to tell these kids at 0-3?' " said Fisher, Seneca's head football coach.
Bill Fisher was starting to think of ways to perk up his players.
"Fourth and 18, I'm standing there thinking: 'What am I going to tell these kids at 0-3?' " said Fisher, Seneca's head football coach.
Who knows? Fisher might have unfurled some masterful words of wisdom. But as it turns out, he didn't need them.
Seneca converted that fourth and 18 in overtime, scored the tying touchdown two plays later, and added the decisive extra point to emerge with a 28-27 victory over Moorestown in a pulse-pounder on Friday night.
"Our guys really needed this one," Fisher said on Saturday. "I think my heart's still racing."
Seneca had high hopes entering this season, but the Golden Eagles ran into a couple of strong squads in the first two weeks, losing to still-unbeaten Paul VI and Lenape.
Against Moorestown, which had snapped a 10-game losing streak with a dramatic win over Burlington Township on Sept. 18, Seneca faced a "must-win situation," according to Fisher.
"If we want to do what we hope to do this season, we pretty much had to win this game," Fisher said.
It looked bleak in overtime, as Moorestown scored first, although the Quakers missed the extra point.
Then a sack left Seneca looking at fourth and 18.
"When we used to run the wing-T, fourth and 18 meant you ran a trap," Fisher said.
Instead, quarterback J.J. Scarpello hit Taylor Rosales on a seam pattern for a first down.
Scarpello found Sam Pawlikowski with a 3-yard pass for the tying touchdown, and Kevin Gsell kicked the extra point and popped the cork on a celebration for the Golden Eagles.
"Our kids really needed this one," Fisher said.
Big win. Highland improved to 2-1 with a 22-14 victory over previously unbeaten Bishop Eustace in a WJFL Royal Division clash on Friday.
Senior quarterback Gabe Martorano and junior Orlando Council led the offense, but new coach Brian Leary was most impressed with his team's defense.
"I think people have questioned our defense a little bit," Leary said. "But when push came to shove, they really stepped up for us.
"This was a game that showed our toughness because [Bishop Eustace] is a tough team that never quits.
"I think both teams were probably a little sore about that one."
Wild one. Sterling earned the first victory for new coach Dan Harris in dramatic fashion, surviving a shootout with host Gateway and escaping with a 35-34 win.
Gateway scored to pull within a point with about 90 seconds to play. The Gators went for two, but Sterling's defense made the stop to secure the victory.
Harris praised the play of seniors Larry Bey and Charles Naone-Carter in helping to secure his first victory with the Silver Knights.
"We're a young team, and we've got a long way to go," Harris said. "We've just got to keep working and getting better."
High-flying Hornets. Pemberton improved to 3-0 with a 26-7 win over Holy Cross in a WJFL Liberty game.
Junior quarterback Joe Benson threw four touchdown passes, giving him a South Jersey-best 10 on the season.
"He really knows the offense," Pemberton coach John Rosnick said of Benson. "And our wide receivers are so athletic, he knows if he puts it in the area, they'll go and get it."
Pemberton features a top receiving corps, led by seniors Dez Johnson, Antoine Wilson, and Taro Gaither. Wilson has five touchdown catches this season, and Gaither has four.
Breakthrough. Washington Township (1-2) stunned then-No. 12 Shawnee, 19-17, on Friday night.
"We needed this one," Washington Township coach Mark Wechter said. "The kids have been working so hard."
The Minutemen got two touchdown passes from junior quarterback Mike Piperno. Senior slot Nick Grosso caught a scoring pass for the third game in a row.
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