Plymouth Whitemarsh wins SOL American showdown with Cheltenham

WHITEMARSH >> Quarterback Aiden O’Brien mentioned every member of his bullish offensive line and coach Dan Chang spoke of two defenders making the most of their little experience to produce two of the game’s biggest plays.

There was plenty of credit to go around for Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday night, and as a result only one unbeaten team left in Suburban One League American Conference play.

“That’s one of the best teams we’re gonna play all year. They have a lot of great athletes. Our guys rallied and that was an awesome win,” said O’Brien, who scored a pair of rushing touchdowns against rival Cheltenham.

“This is a huge win for us,” Chang said. “We knew coming in that Cheltenham was gonna be very good. They are loaded with talent. They do a lot of nice things, getting their guys the ball in some open space. They’re huge up front so we knew it was gonna be a test.

“We told our guys it was gonna be a dogfight the whole night. We knew there were gonna be ups and downs, and I’m really proud of how our guys rallied. When things were not going well, we really picked each other up.”

The 21-13 victory raised PW’s conference record to a perfect 3-0, with a 5-1 overall mark. Cheltenham is now 3-4 on the year, 2-1 in the SOL American.

Protecting a 14-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, PW’s defense came up with one of its four takeaways when defensive end Louis Malfara pounced on a Panther fumble, ending a potential go-ahead drive by the visitors.

PW took over at its own 14 and marched 86 yards, chewing up almost half the fourth quarter in the process, to build the lead to eight.

Said O’Brien of the drive: “That was huge. We were fighting for a while. No one was really moving the ball, and then we put that drive together. That was really the nail in the coffin.”

Zion East (57 yards) had gains of 21, 17 and 15 yards on the drive to keep the Colonials moving.

On 1st-and-Goal at the 10, O’Brien took the snap and raced through a gash up the middle, bolting into the end zone to make it a 20-13 contest. Seve Spruill’s extra point split the uprights to make it 21-13 with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left to play.

“(Running backs) Dom Konieczka, Devon Orensky, and my whole o-line – Connor Capizzi, Kolton Galie, Zach Smith, Joe Troilo and Louis Malfara – did a great job blocking for me,” O’Brien said. “I give it all to them.”

Cheltenham responded by moving the ball all the way to the Colonial 21 with just under two minutes to play.

But on 3rd-and-2, cornerback Jimmy Foy intercepted a T.J. Taylor pass at the goal line that was intended for Kamden Wyatt (six catches/78 yards), all but clinching the victory for PW.

“That last interception was such a great play by Jimmy Foy,” Chang said. “He plays scout team for us every single play, every single practice. He’s a starter for us and he gets better every single day. Most people don’t know that he just started playing football last year. And he’s developed, I feel, into one of the best corners in the league.”

PW’s other interception came in the first half.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers took a 7-0 lead when Zaheim Welton-Salahuddin (131 yds) raced away to an 85-yard touchdown run, and then PW tied things up on a five-yard run by O’Brien.

The Colonials took their first lead just before the half when Taji Hubbard intercepted Taylor (99 yds), returning it 20 yards to make it 14-7 Colonials.

“This was his first varsity start,” Chang said of Hubbard. “He’s a basketball player. And he still plays basketball but played football this fall, and it was his first varsity start. And he made a great play on a tipped ball. He had a great reaction and took it to the house. I was super happy for him and how he played as well.”

The Panthers tightened things to 14-13 with just 36 seconds left in the second quarter when Taylor hit Wyatt for a 29-yard score. The extra-point attempt was wide.

There it stayed until the fourth, when PW put together its longest march of the night.

“We kind of got stronger there as the game went on. I felt like we were able to wear them down a bit in the second half,” Chang said. “It’s definitely a big step for us.”

And the Colonials hope the first of many.

“We’re looking at bigger things than just the conference,” O’Brien said. “We’re trying to do something at districts, maybe even states.”