Morrisville pays back Jenkintown in District 1-1A final

JENKINTOWN >> In the District 1-1A championship game, the Jenkintown Drakes fell at home to the Morrisville Bulldogs by a final score of 38-13 Saturday.

The Drakes (6-4) had the advantage especially after beating the Bulldogs 34-6 back on Oct. 4 earlier this season.

However, Morrisville (6-5) was able to flip the script and run away with a blowout victory for the district championship.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bulldogs got on the board first with a 29-yard pass from Bennet Waters to Mekhi Crooksd for six points before Waters ran in the end zone for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Later, Jenkintown starting quarterback Clinton Jackmon ran five yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to one point.

However, with three seconds left before halftime, Waters managed to find Jaycop Perez-Sierra for a 32-yard touchdown pass and a 16-7 lead at halftime.

With the Drakes down by nine points at halftime, Jenkintown head coach Luke Ashenbrenner had a positive message for his team.

“The message was that nothing in the first half that has happened was what we didn’t expect,” said Ashenbrenner. “We expected them to be hungry, motivated, fired up.”

“The challenge at halftime was to match their level of intensity and can we stop the self inflicted mistakes,” added Ashenbrenner.

The team took the message well and they delivered with a 75-yard run from Jackmon on the first play of the second half before the extra point attempt was blocked.

The Bulldogs responded immediately on their first drive when Jaheim Counts ran for a 55-yard touchdown.

It was all Morrisville after that by scoring two more touchdowns and big plays to have a 38-13 lead after three quarters.

Both teams finished the game with a couple of long drives that resulted with tempers flaring and a district championship for Morrisville.

Ashenbrenner gave some positive notes despite the tough season ending loss.

“This is an experience that I think everybody can learn from,” said Ashenbrenner. “The seniors obviously with this being their last game, the underclassmen can learn something from this. As coaches we are going to learn something from this that tomorrow is not a guarantee.”

The Morrisville Bulldogs will focus on the regional championship on Friday, Nov. 8 when they host Lackawanna Trail High School from District Two.

With the loss, the Jenkintown Drakes finish the season with an overall record 6-4.

Morrisville 38, Jenkintown 13
M 0 16 22 0 -38
J 0 7 6 0 -13
M – Waters 29-yard pass to Crooksd (Waters run 2-pt conversion)
J – Jackmon 5-yard run (Bunker kick)
M – Waters 32-yard pass to Perez-Sierra (Waters run 2-pt conversion)
J – Jackmon 75-yard run (PAT blocked)
M – Counts 55-yard run (Counts run 2-pt conversion)
M – Sprague 1-yard run (2-pt conversion failed)
M – Counts 10-yard run (Waters pass to Sprague 2-pt conversion)
TEAM STATISTICS
J M
First downs 8 11
Rushing yards165 225
Passing yards64 177
Total yards 229 402
Passing 7-20 10-19
Penalties 8-75 11-90
Fumbles lost 0 1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Jenkintown: Jackmon 8-118, 2 TD; Harris 15-35; Koniers 3-15; John 1-(-3). Morrisville: Counts 12-137, 2 TD; Crooksd 9-73; Sprague 4-13, 1 TD; Waters 2-2.
PASSING – Jenkintown: Jackmon 7-20, 64 yds. Morrisville: Waters 10-19, 177 yds, 2 TD.
RECEIVING – Jenkintown: John 1-45; Miller 2-21; Koniers 2-4; Harris 2-(-6). Morrisville: Crooksd 5-98, 1 TD; Perez-Sierra 3-42, 1 TD; Wedgest 2-37.