Bulldogs roll over Knights
It was complete. It was efficient. It was powerful.
Northern Lehigh’s workmanlike 35-14 win over Pen Argyl on Saturday at scenic Alumni Stadium was the substance-over-style type of performance that Bulldogs coach Joe Tout prefers.
“It was a good win,” Tout confirmed after his team won its second straight in the Colonial League after an 0-2 start.
“I thought we battled. I thought we played well. We felt that in the second half of the Wilson game [a 37-20 win] we played well. We were ready to play today and I think now we’ve put together six really solid quarters in a row.”
Tout’s Bulldogs never trailed and they rolled up 288 yards rushing with five rushing touchdowns.
Northern Lehigh (2-2 overall, league) flexed at the line of scrimmage, featuring its balanced run game, early on against the Green Knights.
Matt Frame broke loose for runs of 15 and 28 yards on the Bulldogs’ opening possession. Their second was an 11-play, 52-yard run-only drive that was capped when Frame, who exited with an apparent leg injury midway through the second quarter but returned in the third, powered in from the 1.
Quarterback Dylan Smoyer hit his longest pass of the contest on Northern Lehigh’s next drive, a 47-yarder to Evan Zambo. Repsher paid it off with a 15-yard sweep around right end.
Repsher’s second TD of the half, a 6-yarder, and Brett Misera’s extra point put the Bulldogs up 21-0 with 6:53 left in the first half.
Pen Argyl (1-3, 1-3) secured its initial first down with three minutes remaining before intermission and it sparked an impressive 12-play, 89-yard touchdown march. Gavin Amerman capped it with a 2-yard run with 5 seconds left in the opening half.
Northern Lehigh scored once in the third quarter — on Joe Abidelli’s 7-yard run — then set the final on Frame’s 14-yard sprint with 103 seconds remaining.
Coach Brady Mutton’s Green Knights put together a second long TD drive, this one a 90-yarder, in the fourth quarter. Kristoffer Kessler paid it off with a 5-yard run.
“It was mostly pounding them,” said Repsher, who finished with 81 yards rushing, 35 receiving, two touchdowns and an interception. “We knew they were really physical so we wanted to make sure we were ready for that.”
Frame paced the Bulldogs with 92 yards on 15 carries. Abidelli contributed 76 yards and Trevor Amorim added 39.
Tout touted the offensive line play of center JD Hunter, a four-year starter; guards Lucas Farmer and Jayden Krempasky; tackles Josh Schaffer and Isaiah Warner; and tight ends Chase Misera and Austin Smyth.
“We challenged them,” Tout said, “because I was impressed with Pen Argyl on film.”
Mutton, in his first season as a head coach, thought Northern Lehigh won in the trenches and said his team needs to become more consistent.
Amerman finished 16-of-27 passing for 189 yards.
“They did what we expected but they won that battle,” Mutton said. “We prepared for what they did but when it came down to it, we just got out-physicaled. They beat us up a little bit.
“Every week this year we’ve had a few good drives,” he said. “I’m preaching executing and consistency. We’ll keep working on it.”
Both teams continue their coronavirus-shortened Colonial League seasons next week.
Northern Lehigh puts its two-game win streak on the line against Salisbury at Bulldog Stadium. Pen Argyl tries to earn its second “W” in 2020 against Notre Dame-GP in Bethlehem Township. Both contests are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.