Plymouth Whitemarsh rolls past William Tennent in opener

WARMINSTER >> In the 2019 season opener for both teams, the Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials earned a huge road victory at William Tennent with a final score of 42-20 Friday night.

The Colonials officially start the season with their first win, which matches the win total from a season ago (1-8 in 2018).

The win also snaps a five-game losing streak dating back to Sept. 21, 2018.

The Colonials came out firing in the first quarter with back-to-back five-yard touchdown runs from Phil Taormina and Brian Dresnin to have a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.

“I think this was a great start to our season especially since we finished so poorly the last two seasons,” said Dresnin. “It was really important for us to prove to everybody that Plymouth Whitemarsh football is back and better than ever.”

“I owe it all to the offensive line for me to get two touchdowns,” added Dresnin. “They blocked great tonight and coach Chang called great plays so I appreciate that.”

The William Tennent Panthers were able to strike back on the first play of the second quarter when Thomas Santiago ran for a 2-yard touchdown before the extra point was blocked.

Plymouth Whitemarsh starting quarterback Larry McLaughlin later made it 21-6 with a 24-yard pass to Christopher Pierce.

In the third quarter, McLaughlin threw his second passing touchdown of the game with a 10-yard throw to Christian Pierce to make it 28-6.

“I think the entire team played great tonight,” said McLaughlin. “The O-line protected me all night and William Tennent has some tough guys on defense and they played against them well.”

“My receivers and offensive line did great for me so I didn’t have to do a lot of scrambling tonight,” added McLaughlin. “If we can keep doing what we’re doing, we will be fine. Just have to take it one game at a time.”

The Panthers bounced back in the third quarter when Santiago ran for his second touchdown of the game before an attempted two-point conversion failed to make the score 28-12 after three quarters.

The Colonials managed to put the exclamation mark on the game when McLaughlin took the ball himself for a 15-yard rushing touchdown.

Dresnin later ran for his second touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter to give the Colonials a 42-12 lead.

The Panthers would not give up late in the game despite being down by 30 points.

With five seconds left in the game, William Tennent quarterback Matthew Miller threw a 23-yard pass to Fernando Delgado before Santiago ran the ball into the end zone for two points.

Ultimately Plymouth Whitemarsh ran down the field on the kickoff to run out the clock and walk away with a dominant win to kickoff the 2019 season.

Dresnin ran for 192 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns in the blowout victory.

McLaughlin finished the game with three total touchdowns and 221 all-purpose yards in the victory.

“This was a huge game for us,” said PW head coach Dan Chang. “These guys deserved their win tonight. They have been working their tails off since December and we have been waiting for this chance to show that they were ready to turn it around and they came out firing and I’m proud of them.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh will look to go up 2-0 in the young season next Friday when they host Methacton for their home opener at 7 p.m.

William Tennent will look to bounce back after the tough loss when it hosts The Academy at Palumbo next Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 42, William Tennent 20
PW 14 7 7 14 -42
WT 0 6 6 8 -20

PW – Taormina 5-yard rush (Choi kick)
PW – Dresnin 5-yard rush (Choi kick)
WT – Santiago 2-yard rush (PAT blocked)
PW – McLaughlin 24-yard pass to Pierce (Choi kick)
PW – McLaughlin 10-yard pass to Pierce (Choi kick)
WT – Santiago 2-yard rush (2-pt conversion failed)
PW – McLaughlin 15-yard rush (Choi kick)
PW – Dresnin 1-yard rush (Choi kick)
WT – Miller 23-yard pass to Delgado (Santiago 2-pt run)
TEAM STATISTICS
WT PW
First downs 14 19
Rushing yards 144 348
Passing yards118 66
Total yards 262 414
Passing 9-17 4-7
Penalties 7-65 5-55
Fumbles lost 1 2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Plymouth Whitemarsh: Dresnin 22-192, 2 TD; McLaughlin 12-103, 1 TD; McIntyre 3-16; Paciello 2-12; Pierce 3-10; Felgoise 1-10; Taormina 1-5, 1 TD. William Tennent: Santiago 22-79, 2 TD; Forr 6-31; Delgado 2-29; Miller 3-7; Ortutay 1-0; Dejesus 2-(-2).
PASSING – Plymouth Whitemarsh: McLaughlin 4-7, 66 yds, 2 TD. William Tennent: Miller 9-17, 118 yds, 1 TD.
RECEIVING – Plymouth Whitemarsh: Christopher Pierce 2-25, 1 TD; Christian Pierce 1-24, 1 TD; Paciello 1-17. William Tennent: Consenza 3-35; Santiago 2-28; Delgado 1-23, 1 TD; Forr 2-19; Dejesus 1-13.