Saydee scores 5 TDs, Penn Charter pounds Germantown Academy

WHITEMARSH >> Edward Saydee knew the big run was going to happen.

And on the opening play of the second half, Saydee delivered it — bursting through the line than dashing 80 yards to the end zone to give the visiting Penn Charter football team a 21-0 lead over Germantown Academy 14 seconds into the third quarter.

“I felt good the entire game, I just knew I was about to get a chance to break one,” the Quakers senior running back said. “Just because my o-line was doing their job, like we were doing what we were supposed to do. We just had to clean it up a little bit by holding our blocks but other than that, I knew I was about to break one.”

The rushing touchdown was the first of four after halftime for Saydee, the Temple commit finishing his PC career in stellar style on a cold, windy Saturday afternoon at Carey Stadium, collecting 278 yards on the ground as the Quakers rolled past the Patriots for a 41-14 Inter-Ac victory.

“It’s my last one,” said Saydee, who was given the Geis Trophy as the game’s MVP. “I wasn’t emotional coming into the game, I’m never emotional coming into a game I try to stay calm. But seeing the time come down, I just knew it’s my last high school game so I had to give my heart to it.”

Saydee ended the game with five touchdowns — taking a screen pass 43 yards for six in the second quarter — as Penn Charter (8-2, 4-1 league) earned its second straight win over rival GA (6-4, 1-4).

“Everything we did was to try to keep him from doing those things and they got us into formations and into looks that were just not where we were comfortable,” Germantown Academy coach Matt Dence said. “And we missed tackles and when you miss tackles against a back like that, you’re in trouble

Quarterback Ryan Jones added 95 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries as the Quakers compiled 429 rushing yards in claiming a fourth consecutive win. Penn Charter led 27-0 before the Patriots finally scored at 11:55 in the fourth quarter when Matt Brittingham hit Hans Lillis for an eight-yard touchdown on 4th-and-3.

Saydee, however, answered with a 61-yard touchdown run 57 seconds later then tacked on four-yard TD run with 6:01 left for a 41-7 advantage.

“He came out, he played hard — he’s a good player,” said GA offensive/defensive lineman Elijah Wroten of Saydee. “We came out strong at first, I just felt like we didn’t adjust as well as we should of. We just had to pick it up in the second half but we didn’t in the long run.”

The Patriots added a second touchdown with 36.3 seconds remaining when Brittingham connected with Tayshaun Mack from 28 yards out. The loss was the third in a row for GA, which began the season 5-0 but struggling in Inter-Ac play — its lone win coming against SCH Academy Oct. 20.

“It stinks especially when you’re 5-0 and you feel really good about yourself,” Dence said. “And we are a good football team. But the key to this league is staying healthy, especially the Co-Ed schools. We had 52 kids on the roster, which is big for us but 52 guys aren’t ready to play varsity football. So you really go 30-ish guys and when you lose five or six guys you’re in it. And for a time we lost some of those guys.”

Junior Trae Vance paced the Patriots in rushing with 123 yards on 19 carries. Brittingham threw for 127 yards and two scores on 10-of-24 passing.

“Our kids competed but they just beat us in every aspect of the game,” Dence said. “They’re a well-coached, talented football team and we knew we had to play well to beat them and we did not play well and they did the things they needed to do and did them well.”

Penn Charter took a 7-0 lead after a GA punt died in the wind and set the Quakers up the Patriots 33 at 4:38 in the first quarter. On 3rd-and-6, Saydee ran for 24 yard down the five and on the next play Jones found the end zone for a five-yard score at 2:44.

On its next possession, Penn Charter drove down to the GA 8 but had a 25-yard field goal blocked. The Patriots proceeded to go three-and-out but Conall Sweeney’s punt rolled all the way down the Quakers four. PC used nine straight runs to get to the GA 43 then on the drive 10th’s play Jones hit Saydee on a screen pass and Saydee took it the rest of the way for a 14-0 lead with 1:13 left in the half.

Saydee made it 21-0 with his 80-yard TD run to start the third with the senior extending the PC lead to 27-0 at 9:01 in the quarter as he found the end zone on a run from 33 yards out.