Rams rally, win lone holiday contest
QUAKERTOWN — The only thing worse than the tradition of high school football on Thanksgiving being reduced by the coronavirus pandemic to one game in Pennsylvania this year is the limited amount of people whowere able to attend.
Everyone other than parents of the players who were interested in the 91st meeting between archrivals Pennridge and Quakertown had to watch Thursday morning’s game on a livestream, which was not the same as being there, which was a shame because the teams produced a magnificent game that was worthy of an overflow crowd at Quakertown’s Alumni Field instead of the 200 or so who were fortunate enough to be allowed in.
Pennridge came back from a 14-7 deficit with a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to end its season with a 21-14 win that helped wash away the sour taste of a PIAA 6A state quarterfinal loss to neighboring Souderton 13 days earlier.
Considering all that’s happened in Pennsylvania and around the nation, both teams felt fortunate just to be allowed to play on this holiday. So many other traditional matchups were knocked out by the virus. Most recently, the Catasauqua-Northampton, Liberty-Freedom and Easton-Phillipsburg games were canceled.
This game was going to happen, Pennridge coach Cody Muller promised, even had his Rams advanced to the 6A state championship, which will be held Saturday in Hershey.
“If I were to cancel this game, the community would have had me run out of town so fast it’s not even funny,” Muller said. “I mean, it would have been a little different, but we would have played.”
And for that both teams were happy, even though it was a crushing loss for the Panthers (5-3), whoseized control of the game in the third quarter, only to lose it on three excruciating plays in the fourth.
The first was a high snap on a punt attempt that gave Pennridge (7-1) a gift touchdown when Jake Tarburton recovered the live ball in the end zone.
The second was a lost fumble near the Pennridge goal line that was recovered by Jack Ferguson at the 2 to squelch a 63-yard drive.
Finally, Pennridge responded with the game-winning drive that was capped by a 59-yard pass from Bobby Croyle to Joey Kacerik. It was the only time Pennridge went to the air in the eight-play series.
“I was thinking please don’t drop this,” Kacerik said. “I was just trying to watch the ball into my hands and hope for the best.”
All of this came after the Rams offense had the ball for just nine
plays in the third quarter, when the Panthers turned a 7-0 deficit into a 14-7 advantage.
They did it with a quick strike on a gadget play (a 46-yard bomb from running back Tyler Woodman to Zach Fondl), followed by a long, 14-play series that appeared to give them insurmountable momentum.
“Three [losses] that wewere in tight ones,” Quakertown coach George Banas lamented. “We’ve got to find a way to win. We’re young and we’ve got to be able to find a way to push through.”
Banas would have preferred a more complete season to be finished in a stadium filled to capacity.
“But in the beginning of the year or July, if you would had told me we’d play eight games, I would have taken them with no fans,” Banas said. “So how can you be greedy? I’m happy that their families were able to see
them play.
“The atmosphere at Quakertownis like nowhere else. They’re right on top of you. Our student section is phenomenal. Cheerleaders, everybody, you know. And when we travel, we usually outnumber the home team.”
Morning Call reporter Nick Fierro can be reached at 610-7782243 or nfierro@mcall.com.