Plymouth Whitemarsh shuts down Norristown

WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh played a near-perfect game when it handled Methacton, 42-14, last week. One area where head coach Dan Chang thought the Colonials could improve was their pass defense after allowing the Warriors to throw for 289 yards.

This week, the PW defense had a dominant outing, holding Norristown to 38 yards through the air in a 49-8 win at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

“I definitely thought we were a little bit better today,” Chang said. “We still have a ways to go. We’re going to continue to get better, but I was happy with our improvement for this week.”

The Colonials (2-1) allowed seven completions on 21 pass attempts and intercepted two passes, which were grabbed by cornerbacks Zion East and Taji Hubbard.

“We stayed in a couple formations that we usually wouldn’t in certain looks,” PW safety Chris Mclaughlin said, “but it ended up working out for us. Game-planning and execution is what it comes down to.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh came close to posting a shutout against their longtime rival. The Eagles (0-3) scored their lone touchdown with 2:49 remaining in the game. It was a four-play, five-yard drive after PW snapped the ball too high on a punt and turned the ball over near its own end zone.

Norristown ran for 89 yards on 32 attempts. Running back Kaden Cruz found success, rushing 20 times for 97 yards.

“I think it starts with our linebacker crew,” Chang said of the defensive success. “We really rely on them to set us in the right place. I thought our DBs played a much tougher game tonight and our d-line was getting some pressure and containing their quarterback. I think it was little improvements all around by everybody that made us go.”

“We were just focusing on us continuing to do what we did from the start of the game and we just didn’t step off their throat,” Mclaughlin said. “We just kept on going.”

Linebacker Gregory Feinberg recovered a fumble to give the Colonials defense three turnovers in the game.

Offense rolling

For the second straight weeks, the PW offense scored in the 40s and didn’t punt, although they tried to and had a high snap.

The starting offense got the ball six times. They scored five touchdowns and fumbled once. The scoring drives were four plays and 51 yards, eight plays and 77 yards, four plays and 65 yards, two plays and 37 yards and two plays and 48 yards.

“I think we’re just starting to click,” Chang said. “The more we get to play together, I think we’re starting to feel our groove a little bit. We’ve got some guys making plays out there. It’s tough – we’ve got a couple guys who can play, so (defenses) have to account for everybody.”

“We clicked,” Mclaughlin agreed. “Our o-line clicked, our running backs, everything clicked together. We’re just ready to go. Over time we’re just coming together as a team. Every day we’re getting better and better.”

The first two drives ended with one-yard scores –Nate Kern found the end zone to get the scoring started and Aiden O’Brien made it 14-0. East scored from nine yards away to extend the lead to 21.

The fourth score was a pass – a playaction throw over the middle from O’Brien to Mclaughlin.

“We call it ‘sleeper,’” Mclaughlin said of his route straight up the seam from the backfield. “And they were sleeping.”

The Colonials closed the first half with a 35-yard touchdown run from Kern to make it a 35-0 game and put the running clock into effect for the second half.

Kern led the way with 71 yards on the ground while East added 68 and Mclaughlin 51.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 49,

Norristown 8

Norristown 0 0 0 8 – 8

Plymouth Whitemarsh 14 21 14 0 — 49

Scoring

First Quarter

PW – Nate Kern 1-yard run (kick failed) 10:12

PW – Aiden O’Brien 1-yard run (Nate Kern run for 2) 5:21

Second Quarter

PW – Zion East 9-yard run (Seve Spruill kick) 11:27

PW – Chris Mclaughlin 32-yard reception from Aiden O’Brien (Seve Spruill kick) 9:43

PW – Nate Kern 35-yard run (Seve Spruill kick) 2:20

Third Quarter

PW – Gregory Feinberg 40-yard run (Seve Spruill kick) 8:27

PW – Taji Hubbard 13-yard run (Seve Spruill kick) 0:17

Fourth Quarter

NO – Nate Robinson 6-yard reception from John DiNolfi (John DiNolfi run for 2) 2:49

TEAM STATISTICS

NO           PW

First downs 12           17

Rushes-Yards 32-89   29-314

Passing yards 38           79

Total yards 127         393

Passing 7-21-2     3-5-0

Punts 4            0

Fumbles-Lost 4-1          2-1

Penalties-Yards 8-75        6-75

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

NO: Kaden Cruz 20-97; Robbie Miller 6-(-9); John DiNolfi 4-1; Adam Moffitt 1-1; Marzon Carr 1-(-1).

PW: Aiden O’Brien 3-22, TD; Nate Kern 7-71, 2 TD; Chris Mclaughlin 3-51; Zion East 4-68, TD; Gregory Feinberg 1-40, TD; Dominic Konieczka 1-0; Taji Hubbard 2-37, TD; Seve Spruill 1-2; Anthony Iannozzi 4-7; Nick Scannapieco 1-(-21); Devon Orensky 1-34.

PASSING

NO: Robbie Miller 4-13-17-0-0; John DiNolfi 3-7-21-1-2.

PW: Aiden O’Brien  3-5-79-1-0.

RECEIVING

NO: Rashad Triplett 2-2; John DiNolfi 1-5; Milan Baird 1-10; Nate Robinson 2-18, TD; Marzon Carr 1-3.

PW: Phil Taormina 2-47; Chris Mclaughlin 1-32, TD.

INTERCEPTIONS

PW: Zion East; Taji Hubbard.