Neshamiminy rides Will Dogba to win over Souderton
LANGHORNE – Although it wasn’t exactly impressive, the Neshaminy High School football team did what it needed to in order to remain relevant Friday night.
By holding off a scrappy Souderton team, 21-10, Neshaminy improved to 5-2 and remained with one loss in the Suburban One National League.
With road games at North Penn and Pennsbury in the last two games of the regular season, Neshaminy also picked up an absolute must win in terms of keeping its district playoff hopes alive.
Playing in front of a large Homecoming Day crowd on Heartbreak Ridge, it initially looked like it was going to be easy for the Redskins as they efficiently drove the ball on the opening possession of the game.
Featuring the passing of junior quarterback Mason Jones, Neshaminy went 62 yards on 12 plays and reached the end zone on a 7-yard run by tailback Will Dogba.
The Neshaminy defense also was very strong in the early going, allowing Souderton only one first down in the entire first half. The Redskins special teams got in on the act as well by partially blocking a pair of punts to give its offense great field possession in the first two quarters.
It all eventually led to a second touchdown when Neshaminy scored with 1:20 remaining in the second quarter on a 1-yard sneak by Jones. This culminated a 60-yard drive that was kept alive by two fourth-down completions by Jones, including a 16-yarder to Denzel Hughes, who dragged two Souderton defenders across the first down line.
Whether Neshaminy relaxed or Souderton picked it up a notch, it was a much different second half. Sparked by in the insertion of Blake Gular at running back, Souderton went 55 yards on 10 plays at the start of the third quarter and scored when Gular gutted the Neshaminy defense with a 36-yard burst up the middle.
By doing a great job of protecting its flanks, the Souderton defense also did its job and came up with two stops. The second one came on a fourth- down play that set up the Souderton offense on the Neshaminy 45.
After picking up one first down, Souderton looked like it was really in business when Koby Kahn ripped off an 18-yard run to the Neshaminy 15. It was here where Neshaminy’s defense stood tall by allowing only one yard on three plays and forcing Souderton to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Nate Verso.
There was still plenty of time with over 7:00 remaining, but Souderton was unable to get the ball back until the final minute. By that time, it was trailing 21-10 after the Redskins went 67 yards and completed the scoring on a 6-yard run by Dogba.
Neshaminy’s game-clinching drive included 10 runs by Dogba, who finished with 152 yards on the evenings. The fact Dogba needed 31 carries to get them was a credit to a Souderton defense that played hard all night and never allowed Neshaminy to strike with any of its trademark big plays.
Contact Rick Fortenbaugh at rfortenbaugh@trentonian.com, or @RickFort7 on Twitter
Neshaminy 21, Souderton 10
(Oct. 16 at Neshaminy)
SOUDERTON (3-4) 0 0 7 3 — 10
NESHAMINY (5-2) 7 7 0 7 — 21
SUMMARY
First Quarter
N — Dogba 7 run (McDonald kick)
Second Quarter
N — Jones 1 run (McDonald kick)
Third Quarter
S — Gular 36 run (Verso kick)
Fourth Quarter
S — Verso 30 field goal
N — Dogba 6 run (McDonald kick)
