WHITEMARSH >> Two years ago, Plymouth Whitemarsh made a change at quarterback a couple weeks into the preseason. The Colonials went from senior signal-caller Chris McLaughlin to junior Aiden O’Brien. O’Brien ran a high-scoring offense while McLaughlin focused on running the defense from the safety position. That team won the Suburban One League American Conference and reached the District 1-5A semifinals.
This season has followed a similar script. Senior quarterback Anthony Iannozzi started the first three games of the year and the Colonials went 2-1. They made a move to junior Caiden Leszczynski in Week 4, which changed the offense and allowed Iannozzi to focus on his role in the secondary. They won the SOL American and are on their way to the District 1-5A quarterfinals.
Leszczynski went 5-for-7 for 76 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added 15 yards and a touchdown on the ground in the fourth-seeded Colonials’ 42-7 win over No. 13 Hatboro-Horsham in the first round of the District 1-5A playoffs Friday night at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
“He took over officially as the starter in Week 4,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “We re-tooled everything that week. We went back to the offense that we have been running for the last couple years. We tried something new in the beginning of the year and it wasn’t panning out so we made a wholesale change. He’s getting better and better every week. I was proud of how all our guys executed tonight.”
Leszczynski was the backup quarterback through the offseason and the first three games. He made sure to stay prepared for any opportunity that came his way.
“He was always a guy who was ready to go,” Chang said. “He was always standing by my side waiting for his shot to get in and he was ready to go when he stepped in. Credit to him and his preparation.”
“It helped a lot,” Leszczynski said, “just making sure I know what’s going on, know all my plays, know what everyone has to do on every play and just always being ready is what really helped me.”
Leszczynski did all of his damage against Hatboro-Horsham in the first half. He played the first drive of the second half – a six-play touchdown drive to go ahead 42-0 – before exiting the game with the rest of the starters but didn’t run the ball or attempt a pass.
“He’s getting better at taking command of our offense and controlling where we are and putting us in the right spots with our reads and getting the ball distributed,” Chang said. “He has a great arm, he has great timing. He elevates our passing game a little bit. Guys are expecting him to lead our ‘O’ and he’s doing a great job.”
The 6-foot-1 170-pound quarterback completed his first four passes. He started his game through the air with back-to-back completions to wide receiver Marcus Laffredo – the first a 20-yarder and the second an 18-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 in the middle of the first quarter.
“The pocket was clean, the timing was on, our receivers were in the right spots,” Leszczynski said, “so I could throw the ball on time. They made it easy.”
On the first play of the second quarter, Leszczynski found tight end Chase Rarrick for a 26-yard gain to set up a 1st-and-goal at the four-yard line. Luke Winterbottom scored on the next play to make it 21-0.
Leszczynski’s final completion was a 10-yard touchdown to Nazye Boggs, extending the lead to 28-0, in the middle of the second quarter.
He ran for a three-yard touchdown on 4th-and-1 on their next possession to make it 35-0 before halftime.
As a team, the Colonials (9-1) ran for 280 yards on 36 attempts. Luke Laviola led the way with 101 yards while Boggs added 85 yards and Winterbottom 44. All three scored touchdowns in the win.
“Our o-line, they were putting up some great blocks,” Leszczynski credited for the offensive success. “Our playmakers were making plays. Our backs made sure they were getting open on pass plays, hitting the hole on run plays. It really just comes down to up front. Our line was absolutely dominant.”
PW’s starting defense played the first half and the first possession of the second half. They allowed 73 yards and no points before exiting the game.
“Our d-line is getting better and better,” Chang said. “Our defensive tackles Jadon Joseph, Eddie Moyett, Chase Rarrick had a lot of big plays tonight. Our linebacking crew has always been a strength of ours and was again tonight. Kevin Hegarty – he’s the guy who runs the show for us on ‘D.’ He sets the tone with his physicality and we saw it tonight in a lot of ways.”
PW will face No. 5 West Chester Rustin in the quarterfinals next week.
Mason Bynum scored the Hatters (5-6) touchdown with a 40-yard run in the third quarter. He finished the game with 68 yards on seven carries.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 42, Hatboro-Horsham 7
Hatboro-Horsham 0 0 7 0 – 7
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14 21 7 0 – 42
Scoring
First Quarter
PW – Luke Laviola 13-yard run (Dilan Taneja kick) 7:45
PW – Marcus Laffredo 18-yard reception from Caiden Leszczynski (Dilan Taneja kick) 5:11
Second Quarter
PW – Luke Winterbottom 4-yard run (Dilan Taneja kick) 11:30
PW – Nazye Boggs 10-yard reception from Caiden Leszczynski (Dilan Taneja kick) 6:44
PW – Caiden Leszczynski 3-yard run (Dilan Taneja kick) 1:22
Third Quarter
PW – Nazye Boggs 23-yard run (Dilan Taneja kick) 2:38
HH – Mason Bynum 40-yard run (Corben Miller kick) :22.3
TEAM STATISTICS
HH PW
First downs 6 19
Rushes-Yards 34-147 36-280
Passing yards 27 76
Total yards 174 356
Passing 3-3-0 5-7-0
Punts 4 1
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-1
Penalties-Yards 4-25 1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
HH: Mason Bynum 7-68, TD; Jaxson Bumpus 5-15; Chris Roughton 5-(-2); Jackson Minch 9-38; Nate Gockley 5-13; Charod Braxton 1-(-2); Eli Gonzalez 1-7; Corben Miller 1-7.
PW: Luke Laviola 9-101, TD; Caiden Leszczynski 3-15, TD; Luke Winterbottom 6-44, TD; Andrew Iannozzi 3-10; Nazye Boggs 6-85, TD; Micah Thompson 4-16; Michael Bongard 4-6; Will Fahey 1-3.
PASSING
HH: Chris Roughton 3-3-27-0-0.
PW: Caiden Leszczynski 5-7-76-2-0.
RECEIVING
HH: Jackson Minch 1-5; Jaden Lebens 2-22.
PW: Marcus Laffredo 2-38, TD; Chase Rarrick 1-26; Luke Winterbottom 1-2; Nazye Boggs 1-10, TD.
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