Norristown knocks off Plymouth Whitemarsh

WEST NORRITON >> Catch. Turn. Score. It sounds easy as one, two, three. And while it a little more goes into than that, Norristown wide receiver Christian Thomas repeatedly made it happen on Saturday against Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The junior’s three receiving touchdowns allowed the Eagles to grab a 26-14 win over the struggling Colonials. His six catches and 76 yards led a strong air attack and gave first year head coach Joe Milligan and his program’s first win of the year.

“Going the season I had one plan,” Milligan said. “What I did in the past cannot be done. We are looking to our future now. It was a collective effort and my coaching staff has supported me. I am happy with how we are playing.”

Tossing those three scores was sophomore quarterback Nick DiNolfi. His chemistry with Thomas took off in the second quarter and moved the chains in the timeliest of times. The Eagles (1-2) had several big plays on the afternoon, some that were called back to penalties. Those flags in the first half helped the game go to the half knotted at one score a piece.

“Nick is my man and we throw passes before and after practice,” Thomas said. “We have a good bond. He knows how read the defense and he knows how to throw the ball. This team works hard at practice every single day. We are tough and we proved it on the field today.”

The Colonials’ (0-3) first-half score came from Brian Dresnin. The Colonials took advantage of strong field position and after consecutive Dresnin carries, coach Dan Chang’s club opened up the scoring. The 5-8 junior was the workhorse for the Colonials with 85 yards on 19 carries in the loss.

“We lost together,” coach Chang said. “It was not any one thing or any one person. We have to eliminate the big mistakes.”

The Colonials took the lead again in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Eagles had an immediate answer. Junior Isaiah Tucker watched the kickoff take a high bounce over his head. He had to turn around and back track to bring it in. But once he collected himself he found open space down the home sideline, his 85 yard return gave the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish.

“We have guys that can make things happen,” Milligan said. “We have to use everyone to the best of their ability. Teams might focus on Christian, but we have other weapons that can step up.”

The Eagles defense picked up the pressure in the second half and forced the Colonials to find different ways to rally. They gave Micahel Paciello 10 second-half carries and while he was able to churn up 62 yards, he was never able to break one to ignite his team.

“Mike is coming off injury we are trying to get him going,” Chang said. “We have to sure some things up protection on. Overall we have a lot of things to address.”

It was only four months ago when Milligan grabbed the reigns of the program. He understood it would take time to build, but to be three weeks into the season and have a win under their belt, the alum and former collegiate player could not be more pleased with his team’s performances to this point.

“We have been playing well,” Milligan said. “Once we get locked in and we know what we are doing, it is time to play ball.”