Neshaminy survives Abington in thriller

 

Not very usual for a high school football game on a Thursday night, but both Neshaminy and Abington showed great effort despite a short week of practice as the Redskins earned an exciting victory 33-28.

Abington didn’t waste a lot of time getting the first six points when quarterback Billy Griffenburg connected on a 7-yard pass to Jackson Taylor to lead 6-0. However, Neshaminy only needed three plays to take a 7-6 lead after Brody McAndrew threw a 31-yard pass to Mike Garlick.

The Ghosts took the lead back in the very next drive that ended with a 7-yard run from Darryl Davis-McNeil. The Redskins took the lead right back with a 77-yard kickoff return from Ryan O’Connor to lead 14-12 after the first quarter. After a lot of defensive stops during the second quarter, the Redskins hit the end zone late with a 15-yard pass from McAndrew to Oleh Manzyk to lead 21-12 at halftime.

Abington waited until the end of the third quarter to start a comeback when Hudoka snagged a 9-yard pass from Griffenburg. The Ghosts later turned a fake extra point attempt into a two-point conversion when wide receiver Angelo Pearson threw a pass to Billy Freeman. Abington later took the lead with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter after Davis-McNeil drove in a 5-run touchdown and a 2-point conversion to lead 28-27. However, the Redskins drove down the field quickly and ended their last drive with a 15-yard pass from McAndrew to Cory Joyce.

The Redskin defense ended the game after shutting down Abington in four plays to seal the 33-28 victory. McAndrew finished the game with four touchdowns for the Redskins. Abington’s Davis-McNeil finished with 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the loss.Abington head coach Kevin Conlin was pleased with the way his team performed against a good Neshaminy team.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the kids,” said Conlin. “They fought every single play during the game and I know Neshaminy is a great program, but I told them to keep fighting because good things happen to teams that do that.

“I told McNeil a couple weeks that he’s been battling injuries the last couple weeks and that tonight was his big week,” added Conlin. “We’re trying to get him back to what he did last year and tonight he delivered.”

Neshaminy head coach Steve Wilmot was thrilled with the way his team performed despite having a short week of practice.

“It’s always a great game between Neshaminy and Abington,” said Wilmot. “We knew it was going to be a really hard-fought game tonight.

“It’s tough on both teams when they have a short week of practice,” added Wilmot. “But both teams were dealt the same hands and we just got to deal with it.”

Abington will look forward to a longer week of practice before trying to snap a three-game losing streak when it hosts Council Rock North Friday night.Neshaminy will look for its fourth straight win when it travels to Central Bucks South.

Neshaminy 33, Abington 28

NE   14  7  0  12  -33

AB   12  0  8  8  -28

AB- Taylor 7 pass from Griffenburg (Gibbs PAT missed)

NE- Garlick 31 pass from McAndrew (Leonhauser kick)

AB- Davis-McNeil 7 run (Gibbs PAT missed)

NE- O’Connor 77 kickoff return (Leonhauser kick)

NE- Manzyk 15 pass from McAndrew (Leonhauser kick)

AB- Hudoka 9 pass from Griffenburg (Freeman pass from Pearson 2-point conversion)

NE- Joyce 6 pass from McAndrew (Leonhauswer PAT missed)

AB- Davis-McNeil 5 run (Davis-McNeil run 2-point conversion)

NE- Joyce 15 pass from McAndrew (2-pt conversion failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Neshaminy: Joel Stills 7-2; Joyce 1-10; McAndrew 5-1; Manzyk 11-80; Garlick 1-1. Abington: Davis-McNeil 34-148 2 TD; Griffenburg 3-50; Lambright 10-85.

PASSING – Neshaminy: McAndrew 15-20 210 yds 4 TD. Abington: Griffenburg 9-19 78 yds 2 TD.

RECEIVING – Neshaminy: Garlick 4-75 1 TD; Joyce 6-76 2 TD; Canimore 2-35; Manzyk 3-24 1 TD. Abington: Taylor 1-7 1 TD; Hudoka 7-68 1 TD; Pearson 1-3.