Psenicska takes to the air to give Springfield rare comfortable win

LOWER MERION >> Springfield needed some breathing room. Not as in being backed up on their own goal line with the opposition preparing to blitz but in putting together a performance where they would not have to eke out a game in the final moments.

Over the past two weeks, the Cougars have pulled out gritty victories and received key plays when they needed them most. In their three-point win against Upper Darby two weeks ago, they needed a Geo Dotsicas touchdown reception with under 40 seconds to win. Last week, it was a Pat Clemens touchdown run and a two-point conversion stop in triple overtime to outlast Ridley.

Being able to not have the game come down to a nerve-racking conclusion would be ideal. Friday night, the Cougars got exactly what they were looking for.

Quarterback Jack Psenicska threw for 224 yards and four touchdowns, including two over 60 yards, as Springfield ran away with a 36-0 Central League victory over Harrition.

Psenicska capitalized on two early opportunities. After the Rams fumbled on their opening drive and the Cougars recovered in great field position, he found receiver Frank Bullock for a score from 10 yards out. In the second quarter, he found Jack Spence on a screen, and Spence took it 82 yards to give Springfield a 16-0 lead with 5:31 left before halftime.

Psenicska, who only played three quarters, noted how the last two weeks weren’t pretty, but the adversity made the team better.

“The last two games have not been fun,” Psenicska said. “It may have looked fun but they weren’t fun at all. We’re resilient and we’re not going to stop.”

The offense showed more big play ability as Psenicska found running back Ben Konah on a screen that went for 63 yards to give Springfield (4-0, 2-0) a 23-0 lead at the break. While the offense was rolling, the defense was putting on a dominant performance of its own.

The Cougars limited Harrition (1-3, 0-3) to 86 yards of total offense, 43 of which came on the second drive of the game that drive resulted in a turnover on downs. Linebacker Colin Shane was the standout of the unit with 11 total tackles and the fumble recovery that set up his team’s first score. Shane, Clemens and Jeff Biancaniello patrolled the middle of the field and didn’t allow the Rams to record a play longer than 10 yards.

Shane was giving a lot of credit to the two guys who play alongside him for the strong defensive display.

“They put in the work, plug every hole and do whatever they want,” Shane said. “I really think they set it up for us to do what we can do with plugging up holes and making sure the run game is stopped.”

The Rams were led by running back Jack Rosenfeld, who had 39 rushing yards in the first half including 23 on the Rams only promising drive. The big plays eventually caught up to head coach Justin Mellor’s team.

“We can’t give up those big, explosive plays on defense. It just demoralizes you,” Mellor said. “We work so hard to get to the 20 then throw one pass and score a touchdown.”

Springfield returns home next week to take on Marple Newtown, which fell to 42-14 to Garnet Valley.