Pennsbury nips Neshaminy, 27-20, in OT thriller
For all of the high-caliber teams it has had in recent years, Pennsbury was never able to climb to the top of the Suburban One League National Conference ladder. At some point, either former league foe North Penn or Bucks County archrival Neshaminy would kick the Falcons off.
Now, after a 16-year wait, the program has the first-place hardware it has longed to put in the school's trophy case.
Bob Williams / FOR THE INQUIRER
Colin Healy and Teddy Holcombe of Pennsbury grabs the feet of the Bryan Dean of Neshaminy as another Pennsbury player comes in from behind.
It didn't come easily. Pennsbury fought off a second-half rally by defending league champion Neshaminy and triumphed, 27-20, in overtime Friday night at Falcon Field to claim its first National Conference title since 1993. That year, it tied Central Bucks West atop the standings.
The Falcons had the first OT possession and converted, with QB Brandon Pepper providing his third 1-yard scoring sneak of the night. Colin Rumph, atoning for a missed extra-point in the third quarter, nailed the PAT.
The Redskins, who trailed, 14-0, at intermission and 20-7 entering the fourth quarter, were held to six yards on their first three OT plays. On fourth-and-goal from the 4, Charlie Marterella's pass toward tight end Shane Quinn was batted away by Pittsburgh-bound safety Eric Williams.
Pennsbury (9-1 overall, 6-1 conference) gained one of the top seeds, probably the No. 2 spot, in the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA tournament that is scheduled to begin next Friday. The 16-team tournament field will be announced on Monday.
The Redskins (8-2, 5-2) also qualified for the playoffs but will now have a much tougher road to travel. When the "win points" and "bonus points" are totaled Sunday by District 1 officials, they could be seeded as low as No. 8. If that's the case, they would host a first-round game and possibly visit No. 1 seed North Penn (10-0) in a quarterfinal.
With 105 yards on 20 carries, Pepper (2 for 8 passing, 36 yards) sparked his team's wing-T attack. Fullback Dante Devine carried 15 times for 56 yards.
Down by 20-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Neshaminy evened things on an 85-yard scoring toss from Brian Titus to wideout Ricky Williams. Williams caught the ball along the left sideline, at the 31, and raced 69 yards to paydirt. But the hosts got a piece of Ricky Domico's extra-point boot to leave the contest deadlocked.
On the previous series, aided by a pass-interference call on third and 21, the Redskins trimmed Pennsbury's 20-7 advantage on a 5-yard scoring burst around right end by senior workhorse Bryan Dean (19 carries for 49 yards).
In the first half, while building a 14-0 lead, the Falcons controlled the ball and the clock. They ran 33 plays from scrimmage compared to Neshaminy's 15. In the first quarter, following a fumbled punt that left Pennsbury only 10 yards from the end zone, Devine scored from the 1.
Neshaminy 0 0 7 13 0- 20
Pennsbury 7 7 6 0 7- 00
P: Devine 1 run (Rumph kick)
P: Pepper 1 run (Rumph kick)
N: Dean 2 run (Domico kick)
P: Pepper 1 run (kick failed)
N: Dean 5 run (Domico kick)
N: R. Williams 85 pass from Titus (kick blocked)
P: Pepper 1 run (Rumph kick)
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019 or robrien@phillynews.com.
