Hartshorn, Bucks rally past Montco in 2nd half
LANGHORNE >> Usually when a football team enters halftime having scored 29 points, they’re not worried about making a comeback. That, however, was just the plight facing coach Steve Wilmot and his Bucks all-stars in the second annual Bucks versus MontCo Lions All-Star Football Classic. The Bucks warriors proved worthy of the task, rallying to take a 65-40 victory Monday, May 8 at
Harry E. Franks Stadium.
The first half of the game turned out to be an offensive shootout with neither team offering an effective defensive scheme. Montco took possession on its own 30 yard line after a nice kickoff return by North Penn’s Nick Dillon. Upper Moreland’s Casey Decker directed the attack and immediately utilized the passcatching ability of Upper Dublin’s Mike Cottom and Abington’s George Reid.
The Temple-bound flanker for the Ghosts capped the opening scoring drive by snagging a 20-yard aerial from Decker in the right corner of the end zone. Reid finished the game with five catches for 86 yards and three touchdowns. Cottom added four receptions and 114 yards to the Montco totals. Decker completed 9 of his 14 passes, good for 209 yards and three tallies. In the first half alone, he combined with fellow quarterback Joe Curotto, from Souderton, to pass for 304 yards and help his team tally 40 points.
Despite Montco’s quick start, the Bucks all-stars did not surrender.
Neshaminy’s Mason Jones and Zach Tredway were not about to let their last game at Heartbreak Ridge be an upsetting one. Prior to the game, Treadway was quoted as saying, “I know that it is going to mean a lot to go out there and breathe that Neshaminy air one more time on that field.”
On Bucks County’s first drive, Jones took little time finding his teammate. Tredway converted a short pass at midfield into a substantial gain. Two plays later, he would be on the receiving end of a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jones.
Tredway caught seven passes for 96 yards and a TD on the night. He also electrified the hometown crowd, returning a kickoff 89 yards for Bucks’ third touchdown.
The most versatile performer of the evening was Pennridge’s Jagger Hartshorn. The 6’1” 200-pound runner/receiver accumulated a total of 137 yards and scored three touchdowns, two by running and one on a 18-yard pass from Jones that gave Bucks a momentary 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter, however, belonged to the Montco stars as they lit up the scoreboard with 32 points. Reid led the charge, catching touchdown passes of 18 yards from Decker and 36 yards from Curotto. North Penn’s Jake Hubler added to the offensive assault, hooking up with Decker on a lightning quick pass/run play that covered 62 yards. He finished Montco’s scoring by bolting into the end zone from thee yards out with 19 seconds left in the first half.
Down 40-29 as they headed for the locker room, the Bucks players knew they had to rally on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they needed to up the pressure on the opposing quarterbacks or risk being picked apart in the second half. Offensively, they had to refuel and beat Montco to the finish line.
Jones recovered from his first half leg injury to lead a valiant resurgence by the Bucks all-stars in the third quarter. He combined with Hartshorn for a 42-yard passing touchdown and then restored the home team’s lead by connecting with Central Bucks West’s Kevin O’Hanlon on a 13yard pass.
Bucks County’s defensive also answered the call. Interceptions by Quakertown’s Noah Wood and Bensalem’s Gerald Whea stopped two Montco drives before they even got started. The defensive line, led by a courageous Alex Schmidt from Pennridge, recorded two sacks and pressured Montco passers who would throw for only nine total second-half passing yards.
Bucks utilized the powerful running of Bensalem’s Malcolm Carey and Neshaminy’s Will Dogba to control the ball for the final 12 minutes. Carey scored on touchdown runs of seven and eight yards. Dogba put the nail in the coffin, bursting one yard up the middle for the final score.
The Bucks All-stars had done the seemingly impossible feat of scoring 36 unanswered points to win 6540. Bucks County 65, MontCo 40 (May 8 at Neshaminy)
MONTCO BUCKS
8 15
32 14
0 0–40 1521–65
SUMMARY MC— George Reid 20 pass from Casey Decker (Dan Drop pass from Decker) BC— Zach Tredway 24 pass from Mason Jones (Jones pass from Jaggers Hartshorn) BC— Hartshorn 18 pass from Jones (Barney Amor kick) SECOND QUARTER MC— Reid 18 pass from Decker (Nicholas Dillon pass from Decker) MC— Reid 36 pass from Joe Curotto (Jake Hubler run) BC— Tredway 89 kickoff return (Hartshorn pass from Jones) MC— Jake Hubler 62 pass from Decker (Drop pass from Decker) BC— Hartshorn 11 run (pass failed) MC— Hubler 3 run (Drop pass from Curotto) THIRD QUARTER BC— Hartshorn 42 pass from Jones (Hartshorn pass from Jones) BC— Kevin O’Hanlon 13 pass from Jones (Amor kick) FOURTH QUARTER BC— Malcolm Carey 3 run (Amor kick) BC— Carey 8 run (Amor kick) BC— Will Dogba 1 run (Amor kick)