Big plays lead Pennridge to final
Pennridge hit long passes, long runs to beat Coatesville in semis
The Pennridge football team got off to a flying start in its 3633 win over Coatesville in the District 1-6A semifinals.
On the game’s first snap, quarterback Bobby Croyle connected with Adam Mossbrook for a 64yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead just 16 seconds into last Friday’s contest.
Big plays ended up being the name of the game for the Rams offense all night at Helman Field. All four of their touchdowns came on plays of 40 yards or more — the first two on Croyle passes then runs by Shane Hartzell and Jack Ferguson — to advance to a district final matchup at Helman Field Friday with rival Souderton.
“Between Adam Mossbrook starting it off with the hitch and taking it all the way and then Bobby throwing another one too and obviously Ferg and Shane what they did, our kids, our seniors they lead the way,” said Pennridge coach Cody Muller after last Friday’s win. “And we got a group of underclassmen that believe in them and see what they’re doing. I can’t even say enough, how proud I am of this team.”
On the Rams’ second drive, Croyle swung a pass to Dillon Powles who took it 55 yards to the end zone for a 14-7 lead. Croyle finished 9-of-21 passing but six of
his completions went for 23 yards or more as he threw for 297 yards.
The senior quarterback’s final completion was a 62yard strike to Joey Kacerik on a 3rd-and-22. Seven plays later, Pennridge went up 29-27 on a Brandon Shire 20-yard field goal with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter.
“He was under pressure, he was rolling away from his strength and he put it on a dot and Joey did a great job of getting downfield,” Muller said.
Af ter Coatesv ille returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, Ferguson provided the winning score on a 40yard TD run with 2:44 left.
Hartzell, meanwhile, produced the night’s longest play in the second quarter. With the Rams at their own 3, the senior bounced a run right and kept charging down the field, scoring at TD 97 yards later.
“I can’t remember the last time I ran 97 yards that quick — ever,” Hartzell said.
Hartzell had to leave the previous week’s game against Abington due to injury and said the issue was back spasms but finished the semifinal with a gamehigh 123 yards rushing on eight carries.
“It’s truly a comfort thing, like can you play, can you play through the spasms,” Hartzell said. “Take a couple Advil and then just play.” DEFENSIVE POINTS » Pennridge allowed more points last Friday (33) than it had given up its prior five games this season (29), but only one of Coatesville’s four touchdown drives began inside Red Raiders territory while Coatesville’s fifth and final TD came on a kickoff return.
“It was truly a battle,” Ferguson said. “Just play after play, they really didn’t have much in the run game and we knew they were going to pass it. It was all just about getting our people in position to stop it.”
In the second quarter, the Rams defense provided its side with a few points courtesy of Hartzell. With Coatesville at its own 3, the Villanova commit got quickly into the backfield to force a fumble which the Red Raiders recovered for a safety — the two points pushing Pennridge’s lead to 19-14 with 7:56 left in the first half.
“The formation they were lining up with, we knew that if they had the motion over, it was either sweep if that wing blocked out or if he came back it was going to be counter tray with the
QB,” Hartzell said. “So that wing blocked out, I saw the gap and I just went.
“And I actually at first I thought I missed the tackle but I guess my hands stripped the ball a little bit and tried to jump on it but he got to it.”
FINAL STATS » Souderton and Pennridge are playing for the 13th consecutive season, the Rams and Indians each with six wins during that span although they have traded off who controlled the rivalry.
Big Red won three straight from 2008-2010 but the Rams took six on the next seven, including four in a row from 2014-2017. Souderton has won the last two — earning its first win at Helman Field in 2018 with a 38-33 victory then last year beating the Rams at home 24-21.
• Pennridge and Souderton are the first two Suburban One League schools other than North Penn to reach the District 1-6A final since PIAA went to six classifications in 2016. North Penn beat Garnet Valley in 2016 and lost to Coatesville in 2018.
• The last time two SOL sides played for a District 1 title in PIAA’s largest class was 2015 when Upper Dublin defeated North Penn 4621 for the Class 4A crown at Souderton.