Hatboro-Horsham wins shootout with Plymouth Whitemarsh

HORSHAM >> Amir Bookard rested his heels on his own 10 yard line, waiting for the Plymouth Whitemarsh football team to kick off after scoring a touchdown on their first possession.

It was more than a chance for the Hatboro-Horsham senior to help his squad answer back. It is a chance for Bookard to make a few more memories before he closes the books on his high school football career.

Bookard shed a tackler and booked it down the sideline for a 90-yard kickoff return, his first return this season. Just what he was looking for in his final game. Only made sweeter because it came in a 56-35 win.

“This was the biggest win we had all year,” Bookard said. “Their first touchdown made us want it more. We showed we can work well as team.”

Bookard and the Hatters (5-4, 4-2 SOL American Conference) will officially close the season on Thanksgiving morning against Upper Moreland. He, Jordan Collazo, and the rest of the Hatters made a statement on the ground against the Colonials. The Hatters rushed for 272 yards in the win.

“The seniors are a great group of kids,” Hatters coach Mike Kapusta said. “They are coming through with three winning records in their Hatboro-Horsham career. That is big coming from where the program was. They put their stamp on this thing. Tonight was an exclamation point.”

Junior Jordan Collazo rushed for a pair of 35 and 34 scores in the first quarter to push their lead to a comfortable situation. The bruising halfback is a bright spot in whom will be returning for the Hatters next season. Jordan finished with 148 yards on 11 carries and three total touchdowns.

“Jordan is a special player,” Kapusta said. “He has power, vision, and cut back ability. He had one heck of a game tonight.”

While it has been a season to forget at times for the Colonials (1-8, 1-5), they were still looking to finish strong. The seniors milked every minute they could of their season. Their determination and will to finish strong was really seen in their opening drive. Christopher Pierce capped off an 11 minute drive with an 11 yard touchdown run.

“PW came out strong,” Kapusta said. “But the rest of the game they really could not do too much. The answer on the kick return from Bookard was huge for momentum and then the offensive line took over from there.”

There was a lot of good seen in that first drive where the Colonials picked up five first downs and methodically controlled the tempo. While the wins have not been there, coach Dan Chang has found different people and aspects of every game to be pleased with this season.

“We are led by few seniors and those guys battled tonight and all year,” Chang said. “This year was a turning point year for next year’s team. I am proud of these guys and excited to see what we do next. We will have some higher expectations.”

The Colonials showed their “nothing to lose” mentality by opening the second half with an onside kick. However after the Hatters fell on it. It was 45 seconds later than Bookard was scoring another touchdown and making another memory.

“Football here has been great,” Bookard said. “I wish I was here for four years instead of three (spent freshman year at Archbishop Wood). I think by winning this year it can help build the younger kids’ confidence for next year.”

Hatboro-Horsham 56, PW 35
Plymouth-Whitemarsh 7 0 7 21 – 35
Hatboro-Horsham 14 14 14 14 – 56
First Quarter
PW – Chris Pearce 11 yard run (Nick Choi kick)
HH – Amir Bookard 90 yard return (Mike Brown kick)
HH – Jordan Collazo 35 yard run (Brown kick)
HH – Jordan Collazo 34 yard run (Brown kick)
Second Quarter
HH – Riley Robinson six yard pass from Riemenschneider (Brown kick)
Third quarter
HH – Bookard three yard run (Brown kick)
PW – Christian Pierce 47 yard pass from Larry McLaughlin (Choi kick)
HH – Ishmael Collazo three yard run (Brown kick)
Fourth quarter
PW – Christian Pierce six yard pass from McLaughlin (Choi kick)
HH – Reimenschneider one yard run (Brown kick)
PW – Pierce 64 yard kick return (Choi kick)
HH – Collazo 19 yard run (Brown kick)
PW – Paciello seven yard run (Choi kick)
PW HH
First downs 17 22
Rushing yards 199 272
Passing yards 94 74
Total yards 293 346
Punts-avg. 2-27 1-32
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 8-65 10-70
RUSHING
PW – Paciello 18-122, TD; Dresnin 9-34; McLaughlin 8-25; C. Pierce 4-18, TD
Hatboro-Horsham – Bookard 9-71, TD; Collazo 11-148, 3 TDs; Robinson 4-26; Riemenschneider 5-(-8), TD; Collazo 2-8, TD; Logan 1-27;
PASSING
PW – McLaughlin 7-20-0 – 94, 2 TDs;
Hatboro-Horsham – Riemenschneider 6-8-0 – 74, TD
RECEIVING
PW – C. Pierce 3-21, TD; Pierce 1-5; C. Pierce 2-63, TD; Dresnin 1-5;
Hatboro-Horsham – Bookard 2-2; I. Collazo 1-35; Robinson 1-6, TD; Collazo 1-11; Logan 1-20;
SACKS
PW. – Franzoni
Hatboro-Horsham – Shalkey