Central Bucks South turns tables on Spring-Ford
Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker admitted before the game that his senior-laden squad had a few spots that were still up for grabs through preseason camp – specifically on the defensive side.
Aug. 23 marked a baptism by fire for those new starters in the form of Central Bucks South’s quarterback-wide receiver duo Josh Consoletti and Sean Smith.
Consoletti threw for 268 yards and a career-high five TDs, 208 of those yards and four of the scores going to Smith as Central Bucks South surprised SpringFord in a 34-24 opening night win.
For the Titans, the victory was sweet revenge for a setback suffered almost a year ago to the day, when the Rams traveled to face the Titans and walked away with their own mild upset in a 21-0 victory to open the 2018 season.
“We got embarrassed at home last year,” surmised Sean Smith. “We definitely wanted to get them back.
“I knew they were going to play me man-to-man, so I was looking forward to having some opportunities.”
Smith gave CB South the lead for good with 8:13 to play on a 10-yard strike from Consoletti, but perhaps his biggest play of the night came on the ensuing Rams’ possession, when the senior picked off Spring-Ford QB Ryan Engro (24-for-38, 294 yards, 2 TD, INT) with about seven minutes to play.
“One of our assistant coaches… he came up to me, and he told me we needed a pick and he needed me to get it for him,” said Smith. “I’m glad I was able to make it happen.”
The next biggest play came when Spring-Ford, which was ranked No. 13 in the PaPrepLive.com preseason Top 20, muffed a punt inside their own 25, leading to a CB South recovery. Three plays later, Smith was in the end zone again, courtesy of a dart over the middle by Consoletti. The Titans had their two-score lead and wouldn’t look back.
“It’s not about (the five touchdowns) or any individual accomplishments,” Consoletti added. “We need playmakers to make plays.”
The senior QB was certainly that on Friday, adding 93 yards rushing to his stat line, 25 of them coming on third-and-long play where he slipped away from SF’s Blake Terrizzi (2.5 sacks on the evening) and converted into a firstand-goal at the Spring-Ford 10. On the next play, Consoletti found Smith for the decisive score.
“What I’ll remember about that play was my linemen blocking the whole time, my receivers continuing on their routes, drawing the defenders away,” said Consoletti. “Once I got out of the pocket, I knew I’d have some room.”
Spring-Ford’s inexperienced secondary suffered another blow when the Rams were forced to sideline Andrew Yoon – their lone returning starter in the unit – with an injury.
“We definitely missed him,” Brubaker allowed, but [Consoletti] killed us. We weren’t containing him, when we did get our hands on him, he’d slip out of the tackles. He’s a heck of a player, and we didn’t help ourselves at all.
“We’re very inexperienced in the secondary, and we made some really basic, elementary mistakes. We have to continue to work, and once we look at the film I’m sure we’ll be kicking ourselves.”
Both offenses came out flying in the first half, Consoletti finding Smith and Cole Andrewlevich for early scores and a 13-3 lead before Spring-Ford’s own offense got going midway through the second quarter. Engro converted third-down passes to Blaize Scarcelle and Dante Bonanni, setting up Armante Haynes’ oneyard TD plunge to bring the Rams within three.
SF took its first lead with 1:41 to play before halftime when Engro bought himself time, stepped up in the pocket and hit Scarcelle for a 28-yard TD on a 4th and 12 play. The lead was short lived, however, as Consoletti drove the Titans 67 yards in eight quick plays, culminating in his second TD pass to Smith and a 2017 halftime lead for the visitors. Both teams cracked 200 total yards of offense before the break.
Both defenses settled in during the third quarter, particularly Spring-Ford’s, who allowed only nine total yards in the stanza. The lone offensive highlight was a doozy, as Bonanni made a twisting grab in the right corner of the end zone, putting the Rams back in front of the seesaw contest, 2420.
The Titans saved their best for last, however, dominating the fourth quarter with the Consoletti/Smith connection and hard running to drain the clock by Matt Cohen and Joe McSweeney.
“They’re good players,” Brubaker reiterated. “It was a tough first varsity experience for some of our guys.”
Haynes accumulated 80 yards on the ground for Spring-Ford, while three different receivers eclipsed the 60-yard mark (Bonanni, Scarcelle, and BJ Beard), led by Bonanni with 145 yards and a score. Terrizzi’s 2.5 sacks paced a defense that took down Consoletti behind the line four times in all.
Spring-Ford (0-1) will attempt to right the ship against another Suburban One foe when they travel to Harry S. Truman next week, while the Titans welcome Downingtown West for their home opener.
Last year, a disappointing season for the Titans began with a lopsided home loss to Spring-Ford. Will they use the opening road victory as a springboard to bigger things in 2019?
“We’ve got a good core of guys,” said Smith. “I can already see that this is going to be an amazing season.”