Ventresca powers CB East past Hatboro-Horsham
BUCKINGHAM >> The pile-moving runs of Jake Ventresca provided just the type of giddy-up that Central Bucks East needed.
“Nothing better than being scared with your eyes closed, three feat off the ground – parallel to the ground,” Ventresca said with a smile, speaking of his relentless charges on Saturday. “This one is just gonna keep us moving forward. It’s an energy booster.”
Ventresca ran 27 times for 134 yards and battled his way to the end zone twice, as the Patriots earned an impressive 29-14 non-league win over Hatboro-Horsham to even their record to 1-1.
“We were running through big holes all day,” Ventresca said. “The linemen were getting their blocks when they got downfield and that just helps me out.”
Ventresca’s two touchdowns helped break the game open in the second quarter.
The first – a four-yarder on 3rd-and-Goal – extended the Patriot lead to 15-7. Then, with just 51 seconds left in the half, on a 1st-and-Goal from the seven, Ventresca darted to his left, then cut it all the way back right to go slicing into the end zone for a 22-7 halftime cushion.
“We call him ‘shifty,'” coach John Donnelly said. “He’s dynamic and can stop on a dime. And accelerate quickly. He’s carrying guys, he makes guys miss.
“And he’ll also be the first one to thank the offensive line.”
East gained 173 yards on the ground, nearly matched by the 139 through the air. Quarterback Evan O’Donnell was an efficient 11-of-16.
“The run’s gonna open up the pass, and I thought we did a nice job of executing there,” Donnelly said. “We always wanna be high percentage in the passing game. We always say to throw it short and let us run long, and that’s what we try to do.”
O’Donnell threw to his running backs, Patrick Volko and Ventresca, for decent gains, and then was able to hit a couple big ones downfield, hitting Chris Lochetta down the seam for 43 yards. Four plays later, O’Donnell rolled out and lofted one to a reaching Anthony Giordano, who went up high to make a nice grab for the touchdown that widened the margin to 29-7 in the third quarter.
The Hatters (0-2) used a 14-play drive, capped by a seven-yard Amir Bookard TD run, to close to within 29-14 with 11 minutes, 53 seconds to play. But East, thanks in part to three consecutive runs of 15, 9 and 9 yards by Ventresca, drained the clock.
“Their kids came out, made plays, and they moved the ball,” Hatters coach Mike Kapusta said. “When we look at ourselves, we are seeing losses in concentration and mental errors that are killing us.”
Things did start off well for Hatboro when an eight-play, 78-yard drive was finished off by a six-yard touchdown run by Ismael Collazo, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.
But East answered right back.
The Patriots scored on a three-yard run by O’Donnell, who then threw to Bryan Kelly for the two-point conversion, lifting East into the lead for good. The touchdown was set up by a seven-yard gain by Ventresca, in which he crashed into a crowd of defenders and never stopped moving.
“We were trying to run the ball and get these guys tired. It feels great,” he said of the win. “We needed this one.”
