CB West’s line pushes the issue against Hatboro-Horsham

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HORSHAM >> Central Bucks West’s offensive line is looking to wear teams out this fall.

Last year, the Bucks felt like they were the group too often getting tired in the second half and put plenty of time in during the offseason to get fitter without losing any of their muscle. After a slow start Friday night, that conditioning showed through in the second half against Hatboro-Horsham.

CB West didn’t throw a second half pass and the line graded its way to a 31-17 win over the Hatters to open the 2019 season.

“At halftime, we came in and realized we weren’t doing what we needed to up front,” senior left tackle Will Russell said. “This offensive line, the chemistry between the five of us is unmatched and when you have guys like (Nick) Tumolo and (Jack) Fallon, (Jack Fileppo) and Jeremy (Goldrick) running through the holes we create, it’s hard not to block good for them.”

West carried the ball 46 times for 285 yards and just kept grinding out drives without a pass in the second half. Sparked by a long kick return from Nick Olear to start the second half and a touchdown run by Tumulo, the Bucks went ahead and just imposed their will up front.

Russell is one of three returning starters on the line along with right tackle Ryan McKenn and center Michael Cuozzo, also seniors. Joining them this fall are junior Jackson Spradlin, who played varsity defense last year and left guard Drew Weisman, a first-year varsity player.

“Myself, McKenna and Cuozzo are close, we’ve always gotten along well and Jackson and Drew were just easy fits into the offensive line,” Russell said. “They fit the scheme really well and there’s no trouble with fit between any of us.”

The Hatters jumped out to a 7-0 lead as the Bucks failed to get much traction either running or passing the ball. They eventually broke through but a Hatters field goal sent the teams to the half tied 10-10.

Olear took the opening kick of the third quarter back 55 yards and five running plays later, Tumolo punched in from two yards out for a 17-10 lead. Fallon put the game away with a 64-yard run in the fourth quarter, getting past the line then slipping two tackles before speeding away.

Much like the line, the Bucks’ running back pool is a mix of experience and newcomers. Fallon and Tumolo are seniors and combined for 189 yards, Fileppo is a junior and Goldrick is a sophomore but all four are hard runners that mesh with the line.

“They’re very appreciative of us,” Russell said. “They’re always coming up after a run and saying ‘great job,’ we love blocking for them and it’s so nice just to have guys like that who are appreciative and know they can’t do it by themselves and we can’t do it without them.”

Russell said the performance Friday was huge for the line’s confidence, especially the three returning seniors. They felt it was on them to set the tone and if the Bucks want to have a strong season, high-caliber offensive line play was “the thing that was missing.”

Feeling fresher in the second half, Russell he and the rest of the line were able to keep pushing, drive off the ball every snap and not take any plays off despite the Bucks calling a run almost every snap. Even the one drop-back after halftime turned into a run when the line opened a hole that quarterback Jack Neri turned into an 18-yard touchdown run.

“We have a great strength coordinator, he built us all up while making sure we didn’t lose any of our speed,” Russell said. “They say you want bullets instead of bowling balls, so it’s great having these kind of athletic o-linemen.”

FIRST STEPS

It certainly wasn’t the opening the Hatters or first-year head coach Mark Schmidt were hoping for.

Whether it was penalties, turnovers or the defense being unable to get off the field in the second half, a lot of factors added up to slow a good start for Hatboro-Horsham. There were a few bright spots, but in the end, Schmidt knows his team has to perform better.

“We have to go out and make plays and that means you have to go out and do things right,” Schmidt, who won state titles as a head coach at Neshaminy and assistant at Imhotep Charter, said. “We didn’t, it’s really simple. CB West played hard and minimized their mistakes and we maximized on ours.”

Freshman quarterback Collin O’Sullivan played well in his varsity debut, tossing a pair of touchdowns to go with 94 yards in the air. He did throw two picks and had a couple bad breaks cost him two big completions, but overall Schmidt liked what he saw.

Another standout for the Hatters was freshman Nyfise McIntyre, who caught one of the TD passes and also had kick returns of 65 and 67 yards.

The biggest thing is finding ways to cut down the mistakes, especially those coming on the defensive side of the ball that helped CB West extend drives on Friday.

“We didn’t play like we should have, it’s that simple,” Schmidt said. “We had two third-and-ones and jump offside. That’s not what we’re about, it’s disappointing because we’re better than that.”

HEALTHY RETURN

Nick Olear spent the 2018 just watching.

The wide receiver/cornerback, a 6-foot-3 athlete with great speed, couldn’t get on the field last year thanks to something totally outside his control. In what he calls “a long story,” a viral infection spread to his heart, causing inflammation that kept him from competing.

How fully healthy, Olear shook off the rust from his season away to help the Bucks in all three phases of the game Friday.

“It was tough at first, but I just battling and focused on getting through it, and here I am,” Olear said. “I was still there supporting them, they’re always going to be my friends.”

The senior wideout had the only reception of the game for CB West, a 38-yard jaunt through the Hatters defense off a curl route that helped set up Bailey Moyer’s 21-yard field goal to open West’s scoring.

Olear also added an interception in the fourth quarter, thwarting the Hatters’ drive that started after Fallon’s long touchdown run. His biggest impact on the game however, was the 55-yard kick return he had to open the second half.

Olear, who also runs sprints in track, said Friday was his first time really serving as a kick returner. Football runs in his family, with his dad and older brother both playing so he’s happy to do anything the Bucks need of him.

 “Everyone was on their blocks and I saw an opening to the left so I just hit it,” Olear said. “I wanted to get off to a good start, it was tied so I wanted to give that spark to the team to open the second half. We wanted the momentum back on our side.”

DEFENSIVE KICKER

In the team’s postgame huddle, CB West coach Rob Rowan singled out his kicker.

Anyone that knows Bailey Moyer knows how good he is on a soccer field but the senior added another job to his list this fall. The new Bucks kicker not only hit his first field goal try and went a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points, he saved two touchdowns by making the stop on a pair of long Hatter kickoff returns.

“They needed a kicker, I was thinking about it last year but it was a little too much with soccer preseason and everything,” Moyer said. “This year, things got cut down a little bit so I decided I was able to do it.”

The senior joked that Bucks boys’ soccer coach Stefan Szygiel was “a little suspect at first” about him kicking, but added both coaches have been very flexible about keeping Moyer’s schedule balanced.

Moyer said he was surprised Rowan singled him out and that he had such a big impact on his first game but he was happy to contribute for his teammates. Both tackles came at key spots as well.

On the first, right after the Bucks’ go-ahead score, Moyer forced McIntyre out of bounds to save a score and the drive ended with Cole Young picking off O’Sullivan in the endzone. The second came after Neri’s touchdown run and while the Hatters eventually scored, they had to waste precious time doing so.

A superb defender in soccer, Moyer felt his soccer instincts kick in with a return man on a breakaway coming his way.

“I just kind of shielded him to the side,” Moyer said. “It’s another tackle, I knew I’d have a teammate over there so I just wanted to get him down as easily as I could.”

CB WEST 0 10 7 14 – 31

HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 10 0 7 – 17

Scoring Plays

2nd Quarter

HH – Collin O’Sullivan 8 pass to Chrishon Avery (Michael Brown kick) 11:15

CBW – Bailey Moyer 21 field goal 8:24

CBW – Nick Tumolo 4 run (Moyer kick) 4:09

HH – Brown 22 field goal 9.2

3rd Quarter

CBW – Tumolo 2 run (Moyer kick) 9:52

4th Quarter

CBW – Jack Neri 18 run (Moyer kick) 10:06

HH – O’Sullivan 6 pass to Nyfise McIntyre (Brown kick) 6:48

CBW – Jack Fallon 64 run (Moyer kick) 6:27

Team Stats

CBW HH

First Downs 14 12

Rushes-Yards 46-285 33-168

Passing 1-5-0-2 12-22-2-2

Passing Yards 38 94

Total Yards 323 262

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards 2-20 4-26

Individual Stats

Rushing: CBW – Jack Neri 5-29, Jack Fallon 16-128, Nick Tumolo 11-62, Jeremy Goldrick 9-33, Jack Fileppo 5-34; HH – N’gianni Cerisier 6-39, Omar Ali 3-2, Patrick Chapman 7-62, Jordan Collazzo 10-59, Chrison Avery 2-0, David Metzler 1-1, Nyfise McIntyre 1-0, Collin O’Sullivan 3-5

Passing: CBW – Neri 1-5-0-2-38; HH – O’Sullivan 12-22-2-2-94

Receiving: CBW – Nick Olear 1-38; HH – Collazzo 2-30, Avery 3-25, Chapman 1-4, Markel Jackson 4-27, Isaiah Beauchamp 1-(-3), McIntyre 2-11

Interceptions: CBW – Cole Young, Nick Olear; HH – Albert Zangari, Avery

Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson
Montgomery Media/Lansdale Reporter sports writer.

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