Penncrest two yards shy of completing comeback of Conestoga

TREDYFFRIN — Conestoga had been waiting four weeks to find a spark. A spark that could ignite a young team and burn its way to a win that has been a long time coming.

Friday night, that spark came on a crucial defensive stop on a fourth-quarter two-point conversion, allowing the Pioneers to secure their first win of the season, 20-19 over Penncrest at Teamer Field.

After going up 13-0 midway through the third quarter, Conestoga looked as if it would cruise to victory. However, the Lions would make a second-half push and came just short of completing the comeback.

Down 20-13 with less than three minutes remaining, Penncrest quarterback Nick Benecke found Jayden Brown for a 48-yard touchdown, cutting Conestoga’s lead to 20-19.

After a Penncrest timeout, the Lions decided to go for two and the lead instead of kicking the extra point and hoping for overtime.

“It wasn’t predetermined,” Benecke said. “After we called the timeout, we ended up making that decision.”

Penncrest’s offense had the momentum on its side, but it was Conestoga’s defense that made the play to stop the Lions from punching it in for two.

“We called a blitz, hoping that they wouldn’t pass, and it was a great play call and the defense just executed,” Conestoga linebacker and captain PJ Hewitt said.

“We had the right call at the right time and our kids made a heck of a play to preserve the win,” said Conestoga coach Matt Diamond.

Although the effort came up short, the Lions were able to outscore Conestoga 19-7 in the second half and showed some of the resilience they feel they have had all season, despite the losses.

“They have fought all year, and unfortunately we fell two yards short tonight, but that is the way it goes sometimes,” Penncrest coach Andrew Pidgeon said. “I will put the ball in my leaders’ hands any game, and this time it was unfortunate it didn’t work.”

Conestoga was able to dominate on the ground all evening, racking up 314 rushing yards. Running back Liam Kirk carried 29 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

“We knew we wanted to run the ball,” Diamond said. “We made some adjustments throughout and felt confident in what we could do.”

The scoring kicked off when Kirk took the Pioneers down the field himself in the opening drive and capped it off with 13-yard touchdown run. After two made field goals by Ray Robinson on either side of halftime, Conestoga led 13-0.

Penncrest was able to get on the scoreboard via a 13-yard touchdown run by Benecke as the third quarter wound down.

After a 6-yard touchdown run by Kirk pushed the lead to 20-7, the Lions answered back with a touchdown as running back Giavanni Antonelli punched a 1-yard run into the end zone. Antonelli finished with 52 yards on 13 carries.

After a missed extra point from Penncrest, they trailed 20-13 with seven minutes on the clock.

“When we were down, the guys fought back and that is all I can ask for from my teammates, to fight,” said Benecke.