Plymouth Whitemarsh pounds Methacton
WHITEMARSH >> The Plymouth Whitemarsh football team was doing something Friday night that it didn’t get many chances to do last season.
It was celebrating.
The Colonials were screaming, hugging and smiling after they beat Methacton, 35-7, at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School to improve to 2-0, doubling their win total from 2018.
“It’s just the culture,” PW quarterback Larry McLaughlin said. “Everyone wants to work. Everyone wants to be better. Like we said, the goal is 1-0 every week. It’s a different mindset. I’m really happy with the guys. It’s a brotherhood — love all of these guys, awesome to play by their side.”
“These guys have been waiting for their chance to show that we’re back,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “It’s such a great group of kids. They really rely on each other. They have a special bond together and they work so hard. I’m happy with how we’re performing right now. I think we’re going to continue to get better, because these guys are hungry. They want more. We’ll take it one game at a time. I think their starting to gain a little confidence.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh got the job done with a dominant rushing attack and a hard-nosed defense.
The offense ran the ball 30 times for 273 yards and four touchdowns.
Brian Dresnin led the way with 10 carries for 110 yards and a score, Christopher Pierce scored three times on seven carries and 60 yards, McLaughlin posted 68 yards on four carries and Michael Paciello had four carries for 41 yards.
“Just giving it to Dres or either of the (Pierce) twins or Michael,” McLaughlin said, “they all run so well. (Methacton’s) defense really helped us. They didn’t squeeze or anything like that so Dres had a lot of room to run, hit people. He was running really fast — he was flying. We looked good with that.”
“(McLaughlin) puts us in the right spots and makes the right decisions with the ball,” Chang said. “When he’s on his game I think we’re doing pretty well.
“Our offensive line is turning into one of our strengths. Three seniors on there — Tim McNally, Jake Davis, Zach Davis — on both sides of the ball are just great linemen for us. They’re bringing us together with two juniors Dan Kahley and Jack Hildebrand and doing what they need to do — getting in the right spots, moving people. I’m excited to see how good they can get.”
Dresnin got the scoring started with a five-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Pierce crossed the goal line on a 24-yard run at the end of the first to make it 14-0.
After a scoreless second quarter, Pierce returned the second half kickoff to midfield and on the second play of the drive made it 21-0 with a five-yard rushing touchdown. He completed the trifecta with a nine-yard score later in the third.
Christian Pierce, who had two catches for 67 yards, recovered a fumble and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the Colonials lead to 35-0.
The fumble return touchdown put an exclamation point on PW’s inspired defensive effort.
The Colonials held Methacton (1-1) to 77 rushing yards on 35 carries — just over two yards per attempt.
“Our ‘D’ has been flying around now for two weeks,” Chang said. “Our d-linemen are taking up blocks, our linebackers are flying around and we’ve got some good guys on the edge to bottle things up. Happy with the way they’re playing.”
The Warriors scored their lone touchdown — a 4th-and-1 28-yard strike from Dylan Schultz to Marcus Meele — with 1:30 remaining in the game.
Methacton will host Upper Merion next Friday at 7 p.m. while the Colonials welcome Norristown at the same time.
