Plymouth Whitemarsh runs over Methacton, 34-0
PLYMOUTH MEETING >> Plymouth Whitemarsh’s offense has a lot of options … and it’s not afraid to use them.
Particularly its best option; namely, the one that lines up behind center.
The Colonials got their “O” on track Friday in their 34-0 romp over Methacton. A unit limited to a single score in its season-opening 21-6 loss to Central Bucks South racked up 370 yards primarily on the ground, with four players making major contributions.
The biggest contributor was Aiden O’Brien, who puts the “option” in PW’s option offense. The senior signal-caller ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for another as the Colonials undid a Warrior squad coming off a defense-oriented 12-7 loss to Pottsgrove in its lid-lifter.
“Aiden is a gamer,” PW head coach Dan Chang said afterward. “He’s the kid you want to have when it counts.”
When he wasn’t dishing the ball off to his team’s other principals — classmate Thomas Monetemayor, juniors Nayze Boggs and Luke Winterbottom — O’Brien was wreaking havoc with his own feet. He rushed for a game-high 133 yards, 101 of them in the first half, and two scores in the final 5:39.
O’Brien added maximum output through the air in the second half. In a passing game where PW mustered only seven yards on four completions, he connected with Montemayer on a four-yard toss late in the third quarter to put the Colonials in position to make the non-league contest a “running clock” affair.
“He’s the leader of the offense when you need to get on track,” Chang added.
It all made for a long night for Methacton, whose defense was the bright spot in a 12-7 loss to the Falcons. The Warrior “D” appeared poised for an encore performance when it stopped the Colonials’ opening drive one yard short of the end zone, but PW dashed the hope after its guest went three-and-out on their subsequent drive that netted only five yards.
“We got our butts handed to us,” head coach Brian Kennedy said. “PW came to play. They took control.”
The hosts got things going on their second series, Winterbottom scoring on a one-yard sprint around his left tackle 61 seconds before the end of the first quarter. O’Brien added a pair of one-yard scoring bursts – the first through left guard, the second up the middle 21 seconds before halftime.
O’Brien’s TD pass to Montemayor came at the 2:34 mark of the third quarter. With 6:55 left in the game, Montemayor added a one-yard run off center to make it a 34-0 game.
For the night, Boggs rolled up 105 yards on 12 carries. Montemayor added 62 on nine totes, and Winterbottom logged 54 yards. The bulk of his yardage was off a 50-yard sprint around his left end that moved the ball to the one for Montemayor to finish the drive.
“Luke has been steady,” Chang noted. “Boggs is new to the team, and he’s learning the position well, Montemayor is running tough, too.
“I’m proud of how the guys have been running through adversity.”
Methacton’s defensive stars were George Dyer, who had the stop on O’Brien at the Warrior one on PW’s stalled first drive; and Jake Chapman, who intercepted O’Brien at the Colonial 40 early in the second quarter. Offensively, quarterback Michael Wolbers was 6-for-10 passing for six yards.
The running game was headed by Anthony Perillo and Tyler Weil-Kasper, who had a respective 17 and 15 yards.
“We made too many mistakes,” Kennedy said. “I know it’s difficult to play errorless ball, but we had three offside penalties at bad times.
“PW is a good team that plays well,” he added. “They’re consistent. That’s why they’re a district power every year.”
NOTES >> Tommy Hannon was an individual standout on PW’s defensive unit, dropping Wolbers for a five-yard loss in the second quarter and intercepting him two plays later. … The Colonials’ kickoff team hit a rough patch at the start of the second half, three attempts going out of bounds forcing rekicks. Methacton eventually took possession of the ball at its 45 on the fourth try.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 34, Methacton 0
Methacton 0 0 0 0 – 0
Ply-Whitemarsh 7 14 7 6 – 34
PW-Winterbottom 8 run (Spruill kick)
PW-O’Brien 1 run (Spruill kick)
PW-O’Brien 1 run (Spruill kick)
PW-Montemayor 4 pass from O’Brien (Spruill kick)
PW-Montemayor 1 run (kick failed)
TEAM STATISTICS
Me PW
First downs 3 19
Rushing yards 36 365
Passing yards 6 5
Total yards 42 370
Passes C-A-I 6-11-1 4-8-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 4-20 9-100
Punts-Avg. 4-34.0 0-1-27.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Methacton – Perillo, 4-17; Weil-Kasper 6-15; Wolbers, 6-10; Brandi, 1-1; Grove, 1-1; Lagana, 1-1; Conover, 1-(-9).
Plymouth Whitemarsh – O’Brien, 19-133, 2 TDs; Boggs, 12-105; Montemayor, 9-62, 1 TD; Winterbottom, 5-54, 1 TD; Laviola, 1-8; Ant. Iannozzi, 1-3; Leszczynski, 1-0.
Passing
Methacton – Wolbers, 6-11-6, 1 INT.
Plymouth Whitemarsh – O’Brien, 4-8-5, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving
Methacton – Chapman, 2-9; Weil-Kasper, 3-(-1); Perillo, 1-(-2).
Plymouth Whitemarsh – Montemayor, 2-2; Winterbottom, 2-3.
Interceptions – Methacton: Chapman. Plymouth Whitemarsh: Hannon.
Sacks – Plymouth Whitemarsh: O’Brien, Hannon.
