Neshaminy victorious in Battle of Bensalem
For BucksLocalSports BENSALEM — Redskins head coach Mark Schmidt was nowhere to be found but the Neshaminy High School football team still couldn’t escape drama last Friday night in a Suburban One League National Conference game at Bensalem.
With Schmidt sitting out on a one-game suspension for allegedly man-handling one of his own players during Neshaminy’s previous game, the Redskins had to fight off a furious secondhalf rally from the Owls to emerge with a 42-33 victory and stay on track for a District One playoff berth.
Halfback Nate Hall rushed for more than 200 yards, while wide receiver Cole Creighton scored a pair of long touchdowns, allowing Neshaminy to overcome a spectacular aerial display from Owls quarterback hevin Hopkins and his favorite target, Donnie Reed.
Hopkins passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns, while Reed racked up 206 yards receiving and one score.
Neshaminy led 28-7 moments into the third quarter as fullback Denny Lord raced 81 yards with the second half kickoff, then barged another seven yards for a touchdown.
But it took Bensalem just 10 minutes to string together three touchdowns and narrow the gap to one point at 28-27. Only an extra point block by Neshaminy’s Trokon Buesmaill stopped the Owls from tying the game with 6:53 to go in regulation.
Hall’s breakaway running iced the victory for the Redskins. He ran 56 yards to give Neshaminy a 35-27 edge with 6:34 to go, then after another Bensalem touchdown, added a 45-yard touchdown scamper with 2:30 to go, putting Neshaminy up 42-33.
Assistant Head Coach Steve Wilmont was the primary offensive play-caller in Schmidt’s absence, while co-defensive coordinators Neil French and Jay Wei- denbaugh managed the defense as usual.
Ironically, Bensalem managed to do little with the Redskins’ D throughout the first half. The Owls remained pinned in their own territory until a muffed punt gave them their only real scoring opportunity of the half.
Bensalem’s Tayvon Mays fell on the loose football at the Redskins’ 21. The Owls capitalized when Hopkins connected with Reed for 18 yards. Then fullback Ian Pisarchuk ran up the middle for a two-yard touchdown, as Bensalem took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The second period belonged to Neshaminy with
Hall’s 11-yard touchdown run, Creighton’s 61-yard touchdown reception from Justin Andrews and Creighton’s 65-yard punt return providing the Redskins a 21-7 lead.
But the Hopkins to Reed passing combination led the Owls back. The pair hooked up 11 times for 206 yards in the game, mostly after intermission.
Bensalem regained the momentum on a 75-yard, 12-play drive that included two Neshaminy pass interference penalties and a key third-down off-sides call against the Redskins.
Qhyle Elijah’s zig-zagging five-yard touchdown run made the score 28-14. Reed’s 52-yard pass from Hopkins made it 28-21 with 1:14 to go in the third quarter.
Reed’s 40-yard reception with seven minutes to go in the fourth set up John McCarthy’s two-yard touchdown catch to make it 28-27 before Neshaminy blocked the extra point.
Alex Arcangeli’s oneyard touchdown run with 4:09 to go gave the Owls new life, but the two-point conversion pass failed and Bensalem trailed 35-33.
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