Spring-Ford races to 56-0 victory over Pope John Paul II

UPPER PROVIDENCE >> Spring-Ford will vie for its second PAC-10 Championship in five seasons next week.

On Saturday, however, the Rams took care of their necessary business.

Matt Gibson and Jason Wilson both eclipsed 100 yards on the ground while Ricky Venuto threw for 200 yards and three scores as Spring-Ford raced to a 56-0 victory over winless Pope John Paul II on the Golden Panthers’ Senior Recognition Day.

“I thought our kids competed,” Pope John Paul II head coach Rory Graver said. “We saw glimpses in the first half. We put together a nice drive but it stalled inside the 20. But again, you have to give credit to Spring-Ford. They’re a darn good football team, that’s the bottom line.”

Spring-Ford's defense limited PJP to 110 yards of total offense in a 56-0 win. (Sam Stewart - The Mercury)
Spring-Ford’s defense limited PJP to 110 yards of total offense in a 56-0 win. (Sam Stewart – The Mercury)

Spring-Ford (8-0 PAC-10, 9-0 overall) compiled 537 yards of total offense in the commanding win that sets the stage for a winner-take-all season finale against undefeated Perkiomen Valley (8-0, 9-0) for the PAC-10 10 title next Friday night.

Gibson finished with 112 yards rushing on five scores, including scores from 30 and 62 yards, respectively. Wilson came in the late stages of the second quarter and finished with 170 yards and two scores on 12 rushes in a little more than a quarter’s worth of time.

Quinn McKenna also had a solid performance, hauling in five passes for 116 yards and two scores for a Ram offense that wasn’t penalized and played without starters Stone Scarcelle, Trey Jarmon and Teddy Dylinski.

“We talked about cleaning up what we do,” Spring-Ford sixth-year head coach Chad Brubaker said. “We can’t wait for the big games to clean things up, we need to make sure that we are doing the right thing all the time. We did a pretty good job.”

Pretty good may have been an understatement.

The Rams were consistent throughout, scoring a touchdown on eight of its 11 drives. The team had built a commanding 21-0 lead after the first behind solid play from senior signal caller Venuto before going into the half with a 42-0 edge.

Wilson, the scout team running back, made the most of his touches in the third quarter, rushing for 108 of his 170 yards in the frame before capping off his day with a 7-yard score to make it 56-0 eight seconds into the fourth. The senior broke runs of 24 and 58 yards in the third quarter and is now 13th in the PAC in rushing with 373 yards.

“These guys practice like everyone else and when they get their opportunity we expect them to work hard and play hard,” Brubaker said, “Jason’s a guy that works for us on scout team, emulates the other team’s running back and when he gets his shot he’s a hard runner who keeps his shoulders square and bangs up in there.”

The defense also made easy work of PJP, registering six sacks and an interception while holding the Golden Panthers to 110 yards of total offense and -7 rushing yards. Tim Rudderow finished with an interception while Tanner Romano and Joe Campbell each finished with 1.5 sacks.

Spring-Ford's Matt Gibson breaks free for a 30-yard touchdown run in the first half. (Sam Stewart - The Mercury)
Spring-Ford’s Matt Gibson breaks free for a 30-yard touchdown run in the first half. (Sam Stewart – The Mercury)

Jared Johns-Lupold led PJP (0-8, 0-9 PAC-10) with 59 yards receiving and Dan Cirino finished with 11 receptions for 44 yards while Matt Duff finished 17-of-31 for 119 yards.

It just wasn’t nearly enough.

Results

Team1234T
Spring-Ford21217756
Pope John Paul II00000

Spring-Ford

Player Comp Att Pass Yds Pass TD Int. Rush Att. Rush Yds Rush TD Rec Rec Yds Rec. TD Sacks Def. Int XPM XPA FGM FGA
Ricky Venuto1016200301101000000000
Matt Gibson00000511221160000000
Brad Heininger000000002421000000
Zach Gulgule00000310000000000
Quinn McKenna0000000051162000000
Bryce Dorsey00000000160000000
Jason Wilson00000121702000000000
Matt Booth000008270000000000
Selwyn Simpson0000021701200000000
Nick Crawford00000000000100000
Danny Kelchner000000000000.500000
Tanner Romano000000000001.500000
Tim Rudderow00000000000010000
Zachary Futchko00000000000100000
Jeremiah Ndjali000000000000.500000
Joe Campbell000000000001.500000
Owen Gulati00000000000006700
Total101620030313375102003616700

Pope John Paul II

Player Comp Att Pass Yds Pass TD Int. Rush Att. Rush Yds Rush TD Rec Rec Yds Rec. TD Sacks Def. Int XPM XPA FGM FGA
Andrew Salvo00000110180000000
Joey Giannone00000130000000000
Matt DeLaurentis13-2002-120000000000
Ryan Kormos00000000100000000
Dan Cirino00000722011440000000
AJ Natale000001901-20000000
Sean Brennan00000000160000000
Rick DAquilante00000000120000000
Total13-2001223016580000000
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