Pennridge uses defense, 4th-quarter burst to best CB South

WARRINGTON >> Pennridge’s defense was there from the start. The offense, however, took a little while to show up for the Rams football team Friday night.

But better late than never. And when the points finally came for Pennridge in the fourth quarter against host Central Bucks South, they came in a flurry. The Rams scored three touchdowns in a 3 minute, 42 second span in the final period and pulled away from the host Titans to claim a 21-7 Suburban One League Continental Conference victory.

“Our offense came off slow but we had full faith in our offense the whole time,” Rams linebacker Chris Feralio said. “And I’m glad we got it done in the end.”

Quarterback Zak Kantor threw for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns and put a cap on Pennridge’s scoring burst with a 55-yard touchdown run with 7:04 remaining as the Rams (3-4, 2-2 conference) have now won two straight after losing their previous four.

“At halftime, I think we had a reality check,” Pennridge junior wide receiver Connor Pleibel said. “We realize we need to score to win the game, obviously, so once that second half came we brought energy. We were ready. We were able to put up 21 points.”

Pleibel hauled in a 25-yard pass from Kantor on 4^th-and-17 that set up Jon Post’s five-yard TD that tied the contest 7-7 at 10:46 in the fourth.  Pleibel proceeded to give the Rams the lead for good, grabbing a deflected pass in the end zone for a 35-yard score at 8:55.

“I tried to go for the catch but it hit his helmet,” Pleibel said. “I just focused on the ball, brought it in.”

Pleibel finished with three catches for a game-high 71 yards. Kantor completed 14-of-30 passes with an interception and led all rushers with 64 yards on nine carries.

“It was the kids getting it done,” Pennridge coach Cody Muller said. “All the credit to them. We didn’t make any adjustments. We threw a couple little wrinkles in there but for the most part it was just the offense. Line up front, they were pass-blocking all day. They did a great job giving Zak time and Zak was finding the guys.”

The Rams defense, meanwhile, shut down Central Bucks South as the Titans’ one touchdown came on a 50-yard fumble return by Matt Tobey in the second quarter. Pennridge held South (3-4, 2-1) to only 35 rushing yards on 26 carries and forced the Titans to punt 10 times.

“We made a couple tweaks, a couple things – guys, more guys that didn’t play defense in the past were now out there,” Muller said. “It’s more so just these kids. The effort and the energy that they bring, I think the tweaks that we made they really enjoy and they’re flying around.

“The one thing you notice on film, it’s not one of two guys making the tackle, it’s six, seven, eight guys all getting in there on the play. That’s the difference between a good and great defense.”

CB South quarterback Josh Consoletti was 10-of-25 passing for 76 yards, connecting with Brady Prezelski four times for 47 yards as the Titans had their three-game winning streak snapped.

“Offensively, obviously, they kicked our butts. You could try to be politically correct about it but we got our butts kicked on the offensive side of the ball,” CB South coach Tom Hetrick said. “And I give them a lot of credit. They’re going to load the box like that we got to make plays on the outside. We just didn’t do that on a consistent basis. So give them credit, they played a much better game than us tonight.”

Both teams are home for SOL Continental games Friday. Pennridge takes on William Tennent at Helman Field while South hosts Central Bucks East.

While Pennridge has some success moving the ball in the first half, it just did not lead to any points.

On its second possession, Pennridge drove to the South 23, but threw incompletion on 4^th and 14.

Early in the second quarter, Kantor found Post for 12 yards to the Rams 48 on 3^rd and 9 but Pennridge fumbled on the next play, Tobey recovering it and dashing 50 yards to put the Titans up 7-0 at 10:07.

The Rams’ next drive got to the South 34 only to end with an incomplete pass on 4^th-and-4.

“It’s about finishing. I preach about it all the time and I think offensively there’s times where we get caught kind of standing around,” Muller said. “Our line up front, we’re so big it’s about finishing and having those kids play ‘til the whistle blows. And sometimes we don’t, sometimes a running back take it easy a little bit, sometimes the receivers don’t run their hardest.

“And we can’t do that. We got to come together and play all four quarters at full speed, empty the tank.”

On their second possession after halftime, The Rams reached the Titans 4 but on 4^th-and-1 South stuffed a Pennridge run for no gain.

CB South got out to its own 26 before punting, giving the ball back to the Rams at their own 49. A Kantor screen pass to Taj Utsey gained 28 yards, putting Pennridge on the South 23. Four plays later, on 4^th-and-17 from the 30, Pleibel kept the drive alive with his sliding 25-yard catch over the middle.

“I had to hit the ground a little bit for that one,” Pleibel said. “It was a little low but I think I came back to it and brought it in.”

The next play, Post reached up to snag a five-yard touchdown pass from Kantor and the Rams were level 7-7 at 10:46.

After forcing a three-and-out, Pennridge began its next drive at the South 35 and two plays later, Pleibel’s 35-yard TD catch off a deflection made it 14-7 at 8:55.

Another South three-and-out led to another Rams touchdown – Kantor keeping on the option and racing 55 yards down the sideline for a 21-7 Pennridge advantage with 7:04 left in the game.