Plymouth-Whitemarsh runs over Abington

ABINGTON >> Plymouth Whitemarsh couldn’t have gotten off to a worst start Friday night.

But once the Colonials got their ground game in motion they ground up Abington, 33-18, pushing the Colonials to a 2-0 start on the season.

Nafeese Nasir ran for 182 yards and two scores as the visitors got off the deck to double their win total in the year’s early going.

The Ghosts, meanwhile, dropped their second game in as many starts.

The Colonials’ first 5:00 was up and down.

They stopped Abington’s initial series, but  then fumbled and lost the ensuing punt.

That fumble was turned into a touchdown by the Ghosts, who went 30 yards on four plays, the final one a 16-yard pass from David Kretschman to a wide-open Michael Brooks.

The point after, however, was missed, leaving the Ghosts with only a 6-0 lead.

“That was unfortunate, and it hurt us,” said PW head coach Dan Chang of the early turnover. “But I was real happy with the way we responded and with the way our offense executed tonight.”

And PW’s execution ultimately did in the home team.

Once PW got its hands on the ball, the Colonials weren’t to be stopped.

Following the Ghosts score, PW went 77 yards on 15 plays, with Nasir cracking in from the 1-yard line to tie the score.

And after Zach Zygmunt’s successful PAT, PW had a lead it would not lose.

After the Ghosts were quickly forced to punt, the Colonials were at it again, going 61yards on seven plays.

This time the key guy was Jake Winterbottom, who opened the 61-yard drive with an 18-yard run, then polished it off with a 6-yard touchdown with 8:19 left in the half.

Now up 13-6, it was time for the PW defense to shine. And shine it did, courtesy of a goal-line stand which saw the Colonials trenchmen stuff Brooks for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the one.

“We had too many penalties and too many missed opportunities,” said Abington head coach Tim Sorber. “That was a bad call by me down on the goal line, and then we had the ball another time inside the 20 and didn’t come up with points.

“There was a lotta shoulda, woulda coulda tonight.”

After the stop, the Colonials offense was halted, and after a short punt the Ghosts had a first down at the PW 27.

But again, PW was unyielding, with Luke Mascio sacking Kretschman on fourth down from the PW 15.

The Colonials forgot about running out the clock, and instead went 80 yards on six plays.

A couple of Ghosts penalties, primarily a pass interference call, helped.

And PW finally stuffed it in, with passing quarterback Joe Stobert finding CJ Jones for a 12-yard score with just 0:04 left in the half.

Abington was hurt severely by penalties in the first half, being whistled seven times for 52 yards.

Those penalties, however, went the other way on PW’s first drive of the second half, with four procedure calls eventually forcing a punt that Abington  turned into points.

The Ghosts, keyed by the running and passing of Kretschman, went 76 yards on nine plays, with Kretschman going the final four yards for the touchdown.

Abington’s fortunes took a turn for the worst, however, when Nasir returned the ensuing kickoff to the Ghosts 13-yard line.

Nasir scored four plays later, and the PW lead went to 27-12.

“Coach Chang emphasized playing smart tonight,” Nasir said. “We were all excited before the game and Coach just told us to make sure we play smart.

“I thought we did that. Our offensive line really executed. Abington’s a good team and they’re real tough and scrappy. But when it came to the physical part of the game, we took over.”

Abington came knocking again, with Kretschman going 5-for-6 through the air on a 66-yard scoring drive that ended with his 2-yard flip to George Reid for the proximity score.

The two-point conversion failed, however, leaving the hosts two possessions down.

Things got even worse when a Nasir kick return set up the Colonials at the Ghosts 36.

PW got its two-touchdown lead back just five rushing plays later when Nasir hit the end zone for the game’s final score.

And the Colonials were 2-0.

“We brought a lot of skill players back this year,” Chang said. “The questions we had this year were about our offensive line.

“But they did a real nice job tonight, and hopefully they’ll continue to get better.”