CB South pushes forward with win over Pennridge
EAST ROCKHILL >> Pennridge put together a methodical, 12-play drive for its first points of the evening Friday, but the Rams wished they didn’t have to wait until the fourth quarter to do so.
“It’s Week Seven, and we’re still saying we’re a second-half team,” Pennridge coach Cody Muller said. “At some point, we have to start fast, and there’s times that we do. Against Souderton, we did, but we’re having mental mistakes.
“I hate the excuse of being young. There is no such thing at this point. We saw some glimpses of some things from some young kids. Phil Picciotti (LB/FB), with his first start, did a really good job for being a freshman. The effort is there. It’s just we gotta clean up some things — the fumbles, the missed blocks, missed tackles. Those things kill you. It’s the varsity level.”
The Rams’ first three possessions of the night led to a pair of punts sandwiched around a turnover. It was just too much to overcome in the 27-7 loss to Central Bucks South.
The Rams (1-6 overall, 0-4 SOL Continental) got on the board in that final quarter, powered by tough running by Brayden Landherr and triggered by the passing of quarterback Bobby Croyle.
Croyle found Elias Dantzler for an 11-yard touchdown, cutting South’s lead to 27-7.
Croyle completed 16 of 33 passes for 130 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
GETTING BETTER
Coming into the contest, the Rams were intent on ending a five-game skid.
“We really did come in thinking we were gonna win,” Croyle said. “We had a good week of practice. We came in all hyped up and ready to win but couldn’t execute.”
Pennridge also got the ground game going at times, with Landherr and Taj Utsey close to averaging five yards per carry.
But the Rams were unable to sustain drives in the first three quarters of the contest.
Pennridge thought it had started to turn the corner two weeks ago in a close battle with then-unbeaten Souderton, but is still working to maintain consistency.
“We felt like we had a great game that week (against Souderton). We didn’t come out with a win but we felt it was a great week,” Croyle said. “But then we came out and did not do well against CB West, which really hurt our morale. This was supposed to be our bounce-back week.
“It didn’t go to plan. If everyone executes, we’ll win games.”
“It took three touchdowns (against us) for us to wake up,” Muller said of Friday. “We got guys that are first-year varsity starters that, by Week Seven, gotta get the mental stuff right.”
SOUTH PUSHES FORWARD
The Titans (5-2, 2-1 conference) continued what they hope is a march towards the postseason, led by Sean Smith’s 93 yards rushing as well as 25 yards receiving and a TD reception.
Josh Consoletti hit Smith, Colin Crabtree (14-yd TD) and Jason Christianson (17-yd TD) for first-half scores, building a 21-0 lead by the break.
The Titans widened the margin to 27-0 in the third, when Christianson battled his way in from three yards out.
