Norristown stands tall at goal-line for 20-13 win over Pottsgrove

Norristown head coach Joe Milligan had to calm his team down in the final seconds.

But it was hard to fault the Eagles for their desire to celebrate.

It took nine long weeks for Norristown to celebrate its first victory last season. They were on the doorstep of their first win of 2022 just three weeks in.
Milligan’s squad composed itself for two final kneel-downs before celebrating its way off the field and to the handshake line.

Despite two fumbles in the game’s final five minutes, a goal-line stand delivered the Eagles a 20-13 Week 3 victory over Pottsgrove on Friday night.

“It feels great,” said Norristown senior running back Jamal Griffin, who ran 15 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns. “We’ve been working all summer. We knew our time was coming sooner or later. We just had to get more disciplined and focus on what we need to do. It all came together tonight, and it felt real good.”

Norristown trailed 13-7 at halftime before Griffin broke off a 64-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the second half, giving the Eagles a 14-13 lead.

Sophomore quarterback Brendan Farrell connected with junior Meyon Ferrell on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 9:39 left in the game to really put Norristown in the driver’s seat. When senior Milan Baird intercepted a pass with 6:28 left to halt a Pottsgrove drive, the Eagles were positioned to put the game away.

Instead they took a much more difficult path to their first victory of the season.

A fumble three plays after Baird’s interception put Norristown’s defense back on the field with 5:06 left at their own 30. Senior Tajhir Gaskins picked off a pass in the end zone with 3:07 to go. The interception looked like another game-clincher until the Eagles fumbled on their very next play on their own 20-yard line.

“We just kept thinking, ‘Push. We ain’t gonna let nothing happen until the end,’” Baird said. “We’re gonna push how we did from the beginning to the end, and you can how see we didn’t let them score.”

Pottsgrove got the ball all the way to the three-yard line after a long run by quarterback junior Gabe Rinda. With their backs against the wall, the Eagles stiffened once again.

Seniors Robert Miller and John Couchara halted Falcons senior running back Koleson Gale in the backfield on third down. Griffin and Rashon Giddens combined to stop Rinda on an outside run on fourth, giving the Eagles the ball back with 1:20 to play.

Griffin rumbled his way to a first down run before Norristown went into its first victory formation of the season to tick away the final seconds.
“We knew our defense was tough since the beginning,” Griffin said. “We didn’t bend or break. We stayed together and made it happen.”

Farrell completed 8-of-16 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown for Norristown. Ferrell made four grabs for 81 yards and a touchdown and Baird caught two balls for 42 yards, including a 37-yard completion.

Rinda went 9-for-23 for Pottsgrove for 96 yards and the two interceptions, unable to connect on the same deep balls Farrell did with his receivers. Delp was his favorite target, catching five balls for 45 yards.

In a Falcons’ backfield missing three of its top rushers, Gale led the way with 15 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown. Rinda added 55 yards and a score on the ground.

“Norristown played a great game defensively,” Pottsgrove coach Bill Hawthorne said. “They were the better team tonight. They did the little things right. They played fundamental technique better than us and they deserved to win.”

The Falcons fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter on a Griffin one-yard touchdown run after fumbling deep in their own end. Rinda and Delp marched Pottsgrove down the field two drives later to tie the game 7-7 on a Rinda one-yard sneak with 8:01 left in the second quarter.

After Norristown fumbled deep in its own end, Gale punched in a four-yard touchdown to send Pottsgrove into halftime with a 13-7 advantage.

The big play by Griffin early in the second half had the Falcons playing behind the entirety of the second half and they never found a response, unable to connect on the same home-run type play.

“It’s how we respond as a program and team,” Hawthorne said. “We’re going to come back, and we’re going to practice fundamentals and technique. We’re going to get back to basics, and we’re going to do the little things right. And we’re going to start playing Pottsgrove football again.”

The early-season victory is a morale booster its hopes to take into next week’s home game against Pottstown, which also won its first game of the season on Friday night.

Norristown hosts the Falcons next week looking to get to .500 (in the fall) for the first time since starting the 2015 season 2-0.

“We’ve worked hard since Day 1,” Baird said. “We worked really hard to get to this moment, and we got it.”

Norristown 20, Pottsgrove 13

Pottsgrove 0 13 0 0 — 13

Norristown 7 0 7 6 — 20

Scoring

NT – Griffin 1 run (Murphy kick)

PG – Rinda 1 run (Tice kick)

PG – Gale 4 run (kick fail)

NT – Griffin 64 run (Murphy kick)

NT – Ferrell 36 pass from Farrell (kick fail)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Pottsgrove – Rinda 14-55, TD; Gale 15-42, TD; Palladino 2-6, Cook 3-(-1).

Norristown – Griffin 15-118, 2 TDs; Ferrell 8-15; Baird 3-6; Farrell 5-0; Team 3-(-2).

Passing

Pottsgrove – Rinda 9-23, 96 yards, 2 INTs.

Norristown – Farrell 8-16, 137 yards, TD.

Receiving

Pottsgrove – Delp 5-45; Cook 1-24; Allen 1-13; 13 1-9; Palladino 1-5.

Norristown – Ferrell 4-81, TD; Baird 2-42; Dieng 2-14.

Sacks: Pottsgrove – Team, Zayas; Norristown – Drummond 0.5, Giddens 0.5.

Interceptions: Norristown – Baird, Gaskins.