FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> It wasn’t flashy by any means, but Plymouth Whitemarsh overcame what it needed to.
Such was the case last week against Upper Merion in a 2-point win despite 11 penalties. Thursday against Methacton was much the same, but the scoreboard was a much wider margin despite several mistakes.
On a short week with the start of school, the Colonials were unbothered, shrugging off 19 penalties and over 100 penalty yards to thump the Warriors, 35-0 on the road. It’s the second straight road win for Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-0) to start the 2023 season.
“We know we had a real sloppy win last week, so this week we dialed in in practice, fixed our mistakes and I think it showed a little more this week,” senior running back Luke Winterbottom said.
Methacton (1-1) started the game by going three-and-out. Everett Baker took the ensuing punt all the way to the house to go up 7-0 immediately, ultimately remaining ahead the rest of the way.
The Colonials pulled away in the second quarter with two more touchdowns. Winterbottom (eight rushes, 74 yards, TD) broke out on a 46-yard run to put Plymouth Whitemarsh into the red zone. Quarterback Anthony Iannozzi (5-of-12, 86 yards, TD) then punched in a 1-yard QB sneak to go up 14-0 at the 8:36 mark.
Mainly a triple option offense – one that amassed 371 rushing yards – the Colonials’ big scoring plays weren’t limited to the ground. With a minute and a half left until the break, Iannozzi threw a floater to Nazye Boggs for a 30-yard, walk-in touchdown to carry a 21-0 advantage into halftime.
For all the yellow laundry on the field, Plymouth Whitemarsh overcame every single mistake and ran away with the non-league Class 5A matchup.
“It’s our make-or-break game. That’s what we called it all week,” Boggs said. “We’re going to see what we can do with the season. Based off of our last game, we wanted to get better.”
The Warriors had flashes of momentum in the first half. Or as Methacton coach Brian Kennedy calls them, “spurts.” Twice the Warriors were able to force crucial fourth down stops. The first came on a pass breakup from Wes Conover on 4th-and-2, and another came on a goal line stand to keep the Colonials from scoring.
But Methacton was unable to build off those moments, those sparks sputtering out before things caught on fire for the Warriors’ offense.
“We play in spurts. Once we can get out of playing in spurts, we’re going to be ok. But we just never got momentum going at all,” Kennedy said. “We didn’t capitalize on those fourth down stops, turnovers.”
Winterbottom found the end zone with 10 minutes left in the third quarter on a 19-yard run up the middle and through the trenches for a 28-0 cushion. Four and a half minutes later, Boggs – also a first team All-Suburban One American defensive back – broke free for a 60-yard run to the house to cap the scoring.
The ever-mounting penalties and road trip on a short week didn’t faze Winterbottom. After all, he’s dealt with vastly worse circumstances. Having been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last November, Winterbottom is going through treatment for the disease.
That hasn’t derailed the first team All-SOL American running back. Just last week, Winterbottom rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. On Friday, he added a 13-yard reception to help expand on the passing game for the primarily triple option unit.
And while he looks to be in midseason form, Winterbottom knows the season is young, hence the mountain of penalty yards.
“We’re definitely in a good rhythm, but we also definitely have some things we can improve on,” Winterbottom said.
The closest Methacton came to scoring was when the Warriors sent out their field goal unit on 4th-and-goal from the Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-yard line to start the second quarter. Kicker Nick Remish was the difference-maker last week in a 16-13 win over Pottsgrove, but a block and recovery at the line saw the Colonials in possession at midfield again immediately.
Another spurt.
“(Plymouth Whitemarsh) did exactly what we thought they would do offensively, we just didn’t make plays when we needed to consistently,” Kennedy said. “We talked to our kids about being on a rollercoaster. You can’t be playing on a roller coaster, you have to be going up and up and up. We were on that roller coaster tonight. For us to be better than what we played, we have to get off of that.”
Methacton, after dropping to 5A and earning its first District 1 postseason berth since 2014 last year, is looking for another chance at a playoff spot this season. Having finished with a .500 regular season record last year, the Warriors now sit at that margin through two weeks.
Plymouth Whitemarsh has routinely contended in the District 1-5A tournament, being the reigning going back-to-back SOL American champion after unbeaten divisional records the last two years. Though the Colonials have much to clean up, they enter Labor Day weekend in a good place.
“We have a bye week next week, so it feels good going into that 2-0,” Winterbottom said.
Boggs added, “This gives us some momentum.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 35, Methacton 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7 14 14 0 — 35
Methacton 0 0 0 0 — 0
SCORING
First quarter
PW – Everett punt return (Taneju kick), 9:58
Second quarter
PW – Iannozzi 1 run (Taneju kick), 8:36
PW – Boggs 30 pass from Iannozzi (Taneju kick), 1:23
Third quarter
PW – Winterbottom 19 run (Taneju kick), 9:55
PW – Boggs 60 run (Taneju kick), 5:23
TEAM STATISTICS
M PW
First downs 3 14
Rushes-Yards 22-48 39-371
Passing yards 34 86
Total yards 56 457
Passes C-A-I 4-6-1 5-12-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards 3-15 19-100+
Punts 8 0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Plymouth Whitemarsh — Iannozzi 8-58, TD; Winterbottom 8-74, TD; Boggs 6-98, TD; Baker 5-59; Bongard 4-46; Leszczynski 6-33; Douglas 1-(minus-4); Benish 1-7.
Methacton — Conover 10-9; Howarth 5-(minus-1); Ballinger 1-(minus-1); Fazio 1-23; Hall-Sanford 3-14; Grove 2-4.
Passing
Plymouth Whitemarsh — Iannozzi 5-12, 86 yards, TD.
Methacton — Howarth 4-6, 34 yards, INT.
Receiving
Plymouth Whitemarsh — Boggs 1-30, D; Winterbottom 1-13; Baker 2-26; Laffredo 1-17.
Methacton — Ballinger 3-18; Kazito 1-16.
Sacks: PW 1 (Hegarty).
Interceptions: PW 1 (Felgoise).
