Pennridge extends season with win over Hatboro-Horsham in District 1-4A playbacks

EAST ROCKHILL >> Pennridge kept its season alive Tuesday evening with a 2-1 win over Hatboro-Horsham in the District 1-4A playbacks at Pennridge High School.

The win sends the Rams to a matchup with North Penn, a 1-0 winner over Boyertown, Friday for a spot in the PIAA-4A state playoffs.

The Rams and the Hatters were locked in a scoreless draw for more than 65 minutes. Pennridge senior Aiden Castle broke the tie in the 67th minute, when he received a long pass from junior Shane Velez. Castle dribbled towards the middle of the field and back to the right before scoring into the left side of the net.

“I think I was just in the right place at the right time, honestly,” Castle said. “It was a great ball in by Shane Velez. I’m glad I was clinical with that finish.”

Less than two minutes later, No. 8 Pennridge doubled its lead. When the ball got through a Hatboro-Horsham defender, Castle was there to take advantage. From the left side, he carried across the middle of the field before passing to Jared Hess, who finished to give the Rams an insurance goal with 11:31 left in the game.

“I didn’t see Jared Hess at first,” Castle said. “I saw three defenders and I was like, ‘Oh boy. Do I have to take them all on myself?’ Then I heard him scream for the ball and I thought – great – and slotted him through. He finished it.”

“(Pennridge’s first goal) kind of knocked us back,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath said. “To give a second one up quickly after that was deflating.”

Hess’ insurance goal proved to be necessary. Caleb Hudson scored for the 13th-seeded Hatters with 53 seconds left in the game to cut their deficit in half. The senior was in front of the goal when a shot was saved and he put the rebound away to give his side hope in the final minute.

Pennridge was able to keep the ball out of their own box for the final moments to set up a third meeting with North Penn Friday. The Suburban One League Colonial Division rivals split their regular season meetings.

“I’m really excited for it,” Castle said. “It’s always a good game against North Penn. Hopefully we can get our second win against them.”

Hatboro-Horsham’s season ends with the loss.

“Can’t say enough about the boys,” McGrath said. “They battled back and got one at the end to at least give us a chance. Overall just a good game and we knew it would be.

“Coming into the season we had pretty high expectations with the senior class we had. We went through a stretch in the middle – there was a point where I didn’t even know if we were going to make playoffs because of how we were playing. We turned it around, won two games in districts, lost in overtime and now lost 2-1 in playbacks. Overall, a few weeks from now, I think it’ll be a successful season and the guys can keep their heads high.”