Pennridge runs wild, finishes regular season strong with shutout of Abington
ABINGTON — Wearing the turf they had just dominated, members of the Pennridge football team – muddied and grass-stained and smiling wide – huddled in celebration after their clash with rival Abington.
Pennridge scored on its opening drive, reached the end zone on its first three possessions of the second half, and piled up 302 yards on the ground en route to a 27-0 shutout of the Ghosts in the regular-season finale Friday night.
“The first drive, we went right downfield and ran it down their throats,” said Pennridge quarterback Logan McGowan, who scored three rushing touchdowns in the victory. “The o-line was blocking great, the running backs were blocking for each other.”
The Rams won their fourth straight to finish the regular season 7-3, including a 5-2 mark in the Suburban One League National Conference. Postseason-bound, they wait to see who they will face in the first round of the District 1-6A Playoffs next week.
“At halftime we talked about finishing, and then we started the second half and went right down and scored,” McGowan said.
Friday’s game, moved up to 4 p.m. because of the heavy rain scheduled for Friday night, was a wet, muddy testament to Pennridge’s resolve.
“It was a lot of adversity to say the least,” said Rams coach Cody Muller, who has his team in the playoffs once again (the squad reached the district final a season ago). “With the weather, these kids could have easily come out flat. But instead they responded and did a great job. So I’m proud of the guys.”
The Rams ran the ball nine straight times to start the contest, capped off by Brayden Landherr’s six-yard touchdown, making it 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
After a turnover on downs at the Abington 22 and a missed field goal in the final minute of the first half, the Rams were nearly flawless after the break. They scored on three consecutive possessions after the intermission, all touchdown runs by McGowan: five, 19 and one yard.
“He’s done nothing but rise to the occasion,” Muller said. “That kid, we threw him in with of an opportunity because of an injury. Talk about taking off with an opportunity. I tell the guys all the time: take advantage of the opportunity, whether it’s one rep or a hundred reps. He surely has done that.”
Pennridge controlled the line of scrimmage from start to finish.
“The big thing since Downingtown East (in a loss in Week One) is that it starts up front,” Muller said. “We wanna focus on that as much as possible. So I’m proud of our guys up front. Mostly, I’m proud of our backs. The backs did a great job of blocking and running the football.”
McGowan finished with 113 rushing yards and also completed 3-of-4 passes in the driving rain for 70 more yards. Tyler Wetzel gained 72 yards on the ground and Brennan Fisher had 56. Brayden Landherr rumbled for 50 more yards.
The Ram defense was equally impressive. By the time Pennridge had built a 21-0 lead in the third quarter, the defense had allowed just five first downs in the contest. Connor Lelii’s fourth-quarter interception helped preserve the shutout.
“Our defense did a great job. I thought they were well prepared going into it and they executed,” Muller said.
Abington, which had consecutive wins coming into Friday, finished the season 3-7, 2-5 in the SOL National. Quarterback Johnny Dzielawa ran and scrambled for 90 yards in the contest, directing a fourth-quarter drive that came up just short.
“We came out realizing that this is the last half of football we’re gonna play together, and we’re gonna play our hearts out, pour every ounce of energy into it and leave it all on the field,” the QB said. “This team has all the heart in the world. We know we don’t have the size or the talent, but we just kept grinding and fighting every day to be the best team we could be.”
Pennridge 27, Abington 0
Pennridge 7 0 14 6 – 27
Abington 0 0 0 0 – 0
First Quarter
P-Brayden Landherr 6 run (Connor Lelii kick), 5:41.
Third Quarter
P-Logan McGowan 5 run (Lelii kick), 8:14.
P-McGowan 19 run (Lelii kick), :49.
Fourth Quarter
P-McGowan 1 run (kick failed), 6:21.
P A
First Downs 19 9
Rushes-yards 46-302 27-114
Passing (c-a-i) 3-4-0 3-12-1
Passing yards 70 39
Total yards 372 153
Punts 0 3
Penalties-yards 5-35 3-20
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Turnovers 0 1
Rushing
Pennridge: Brennan Fisher 8-56; Connor Lelii 2-(-10); Tyler Wetzel 8-72; Phil Picciotti 2-11; Nate Mossbrook 3-7; Dylan O’Brien 1-3; Logan McGowan 12-113, 3 TD; Brayden Landherr 10-50, TD.
Abington: Zahmir Lee 12-24; Johnny Dzielawa 15-90.
Passing
Pennridge: McGowan 3-4-70-0-0.
Abington: Dzielawa 3-12-39-0-1.
Receiving
Pennridge: Wetzel 2-68; Adam Mossbrook 1-2.
Abington: Danny Moynihan 1-20; Josh Young 1-8; Jonah Dalton 1-11.
Interceptions
Pennridge: Lelii.
