Hatboro-Horsham’s offense can’t be stopped against Wissahickon
HORSHAM >> Hatboro-Horsham’s offense punted once during Friday night’s 42-13 Suburban One League American Conference win over Wissahickon at Hatboro-Horsham High School.
The punt bounced off a Trojans gunner and was recovered by the Hatters. The ensuing drive — like every other in the game — resulted in seven points for the hosts.
“It felt good,” Hatboro quarterback Chris Edwards said of the offensive success. “We had things going our way. Hard work pays off. We’re just happy that things went our way in this game.”
The Hatters first possession was a four-play drive that culminated with a Anthony Kwiatanowski four-yard touchdown run.
After forcing a turnover on downs, the Hatters scored in four plays again — this time the score was a 32-yard pass from Edwards to Ben Ejimonyeugwo.
Ejimonyeugwo ended the Trojans next possession with an interception and that’s when the Hatters punted for the only time.
The Hatters took over at midfield and it took just five plays for Josh Smith to punch it in from four yards out for a 21-0 Hatboro lead.
The hosts got the ball to start the second half and it was more of the same. Edwards capped off two five-play drives with four-yard and 10-yard rushing scores.
The follow drive was a little longer — seven plays — before Kwiatanowski muscled it in from three yards out on the first possession of the fourth quarter for a 42-7 lead.
Most of the offensive damage was done on the ground. Hatboro threw just three time — all completed — for 79 yards. It rushed 40 times for 382 yards.
Kwiatanowski led the way with 120 yards, Quentin Sullivan followed with 76, Edwards 75 and Adam Suder 68.
The credit went to the big guys up front.
“Coming into the game that was the goal,” Hatters coach Mike Kapusta said. “Wissahickon has some really good skill players. They manage to hang in games and make big plays. We wanted to control the clock. We wanted to control the line of scrimmage and control the game, control the scoreboard and our kids stepped up to the challenge and did a great job.”
“The linemen were getting their jobs done,” Edwards said. “We came in the film room Monday and Tuesday and we were prepared for the talents (Wissahickon) has on that team. We just studied our opponent real hard, came out and did what we needed to do.”
“Give (Hatboro) credit,” Wissahickon coach Randy Cuthbert said. “They played well. They were very physical. Up front, they’re bigger and stronger than us. That’s something we have to work to improve over time. We have to be a better weight-room team.”
Sitting atop
Hatboro stayed perfect in SOL American play with a 4-0 record and is tied for the league lead with Plymouth Whitemarsh. Those two schools face off Friday at PW at 7 p.m.
“That’s where we want to be,” Kapusta said. “The goal from day one is to win the league championship. We’re still in contention for that, so we’re happy. We didn’t start how we wanted to, 0-3 (non-league) was tough, but we have a really resilient bunch. The kids hung together, they wanted to get it right, they wanted to come back and work harder. As a coach, what more could you ask for? … We have it rolling in the direction we want to and have a big one against PW.”
“Can’t say too much about it,” Edwards said. “We’re just happy that we are where we’re at right now. Looking forward and hoping to continue to do well.”
Tough task
Wissahickon wide receiver Marlyn Johnson is arguably the most dynamic playmaker in the conference. Hatboro limited him to four catches for 41 yards.
Edwards and Brandon Crews each spent time following Johnson to either side of the formation and usually had a little bit of safety help over the top.
“We had Brandon Crews on him for a little while then Chris stepped in and did a great job covering him,” Kapusta said. “We wanted to be physical with him. We put our big guys on him — our taller corners on him. He’s a heck of a player, so the best way to do damage on him is to make it hard for him to get off the line and disrupt the timing. The pass-rush did a great job too. If the quarterback wasn’t on the ground, he was running for his life. That made things a lot easier.”
“(Hatboro) rolled somebody up on him and bought a safety over,” Cuthbert said. “It goes back to controlling the line of scrimmage, whether you’re running the ball or passing. You have to have time if you’re passing.”
A bright spot
Wissahickon’s Antaun Lloyd rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown on just six carries. His score came in the fourth quarter.
“Antaun’s great,” Cuthbert said. “He’s just a great athlete. He can do so many different things. He can run, block, catch. He’s one of the best cover corners around. I think he has a chance to be a special player. He also has a great attitude and work ethic and, honestly, we need more of that.”
