WARMINSTER >> Coming off of two straight losses, it was important for Central Bucks West to get back to its winning ways if it wanted to compete in the Suburban One League Continental Conference. Friday night the Bucks did just that, as they beat William Tennent 20-7 to improve to 4-2 (1-1 conference) on the year.
“This was very, very, very important,’ said CB West head coach Chas Cathers about getting the team’s first win since week 3. “We had to refocus this week and get back to what we do great and the kids did a nice job of stepping up to the challenge and executing.”
West dominated on the ground on their way to 239 yards rushing but used the arm of quarterback Josh Crecca to find the end zone twice and keep the Panthers honest.
Crecca finished 6-of-10 for 117 yards and two touchdowns, with receiver Kevin O’Hanlan accounting for 74 of those yards, as they stretched the defense when they needed.
“He (Crecca) does a real nice job,’ Cathers said. “He’s got good vision and he likes to be able to step back and sling the ball around and he did a nice job with that tonight.’
Oddly enough, it was a quarterback that led the Bucks in rushing too, but it wasn’t Crecca.
Ryan Moylan, West’s wildcat-type quarterback, racked up 116 yards on just 10 carries giving them a rare one-two punch with a two QB system.
Moylan’s versatility was best on display at the end of the first quarter, as he took a quarterback dive off the right side, squeezing between two defenders and slipped out the other side on his way to a 39-yard TD scamper.
“Both those guys have just been performing when we need,” said Cathers of Moylan and Crecca. “I think they both did a nice job and Ryan (Moylan) did a heck of a job giving us that option on the ground tonight, so we’re just able to go with whoever has the hot hand at the moment.”
For Tennent (0-6, 0-2), it’s been a quarterback carousel for parts of the season as well, as the Panthers switched between Kip Mooney and Jason Schweizerhof.
A Week 3 elbow injury to Mooney gave Schweizerhoff the official starting nod but due to an illness to Schweizerhoff, Mooney was forced to play under center in this one.
Mooney didn’t play poorly either, especially for finding out he’d be starting in pre-game warmups, but it was the same old story for the Panthers as penalties killed them.
Three separate personal foul penalties, including a roughing a punter on what would have been West’s only punt of the night, extended drives for the Bucks and gave Tennent no chance of catching up.
Unfortunately, this is nothing new.
“It seems like it’s been like that all year,” Tennent head coach Leo Plenski said. “Every time we have an opportunity to turn things around we find some way to shoot ourselves in the foot, whether it’s a turnover or a bad penalty it seems like it always happens.”
Sean Bragen was one of the bright spots in this one for Tennent. Their workhorse running back carried the ball 21 times for 110 yards and while it wasn’t always glamorous work, he was willing to be the go to guy for his team.
“He’s a heck of a player, and if I asked that kid to run through a wall for me I know he would,” said Plenski when discussing Bergen “He’s a great player and an even better kid to coach, and he’s only a junior.”
The win is big for CB West. If they are going to try and compete with the juggernauts of the SOL Continental (such as North Penn and CB South) they have to take care of business in the games they are supposed to win, and that’s exactly what they did in this matchup.
