Northampton rallies to sink Pottstown, 34-22
POTTSTOWN >> The Northampton offense had picked up just one first down since the first quarter as they trailed Pottstown by seven late in the third quarter Friday night.
However, the Konkrete Kids wore down the Trojans, piled up 153 yards on their final two drives and pulled out a hard-fought 34-22 win.
“We knew we had to come together as a team,” running back Hunter Wacik said. “That’s what we kept saying to each other in the huddle as we were moving down the field.”
Wacik’s three-yard touchdown with 23 seconds remaining capped off a 13-play, 93-yard drive that started after Pottstown failed to convert on a 4th-and-1 from the Northampton 7-yard-line.
“Our guys stepped up big time, they knew the game was in the balance,” Northampton coach Mark Scisly said. “We had two bad penalties on that drive, but our defense got the stop and made up for it.”
Early on, it seemed like no last-minute heroics would be needed as the Konkrete Kids jumped out to a 13-0 lead after an 80-yard touchdown run from Tyrese Brandon. But the Trojans (2-9 overall) battled back, taking a 14-13 lead before a safety gave Northampton a 15-14 lead just before halftime.
Pottstown continued their push in the second half as quarterback Owen Morton hit Nehemiah Figueroa for a 7-yard touchdown pass just one play after a 42-yard direct snap to Josiah Wiggins on a fake punt that moved the Trojans from midfield to inside the 10. Morton then completed a pass to Jamaal Adams on the ensuing two-point conversion to give Pottstown a 22-15 lead.
Morton completed 10 of his 14 pass attempts for 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns while the Trojan rushing attack picked up 180 yards and averaged over seven yards-per-carry.
“This was our best offensive performance of the year,” Pottstown coach Mark Fischer said after the game. “We had a lot of success running plays we’ve been unable to run successfully. Despite the loss, we still have a lot of positives to take away from this performance.”
But the tandem of Brandon and Wacik was just too much for the Trojans to overcome. The duo combined for 363 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries and tired out Pottstown’s defense in the closing minutes of the game.
“We run a multiple-back system,” Scisly explained. “We like rotating those guys in and out and getting everyone touches so they all stay fresh as the game wears on.”
“All the credit goes to our offensive line,” Brandon added. “We wouldn’t be able to run anywhere without those guys. It was truly a team effort.”
Pottstown’s defense was put in tough spots all night, but continued to keep the Trojans in the game. Northampton was unable to score on either of the drives they started in plus-territory, including a third-quarter series they started at the Pottstown 25 following a blocked punt.
After Wacik’s last-minute touchdown, Pottstown had just 17 seconds to travel 85 yards and potentially tie the game at 28. But after a completion to Adams, Morton threw an interception to Jacob Czarnecki who ran the ball back for a touchdown as the clock hit zero.
“We tried running a screen on the first play and our goal was to use a trick play on the final call,” Fischer explained. “But the defender made a good play and undercut the route.”
