Shane Day’s interception sparks Souderton
WHITEMARSH >> It’s hard to believe how great of shape Plymouth Whitemarsh was in Friday night on Colonial Field at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School after seeing they lost by a final score of 38-23.
After 22 minutes, the hosts lead by nine points and defensive back Vince Martina just grabbed an interception and raced 46 yards to set the offense up inside Souderton’s 30 yard line.
Two plays later, Shane Day grabbed an interception for the Indians. That was just the beginning of the turnaround.
Camerin Carroll took a handoff 27 yards two plays later to put his side at midfield and Koby Khan followed by catching a screen pass from Joey Curotto for a touchdown with 40 seconds remaining.
All of the sudden it’s a two-point game going into the break and Souderton has all the momentum.
“We didn’t execute very well in the first half and we were fortunate to only be down two points at halftime,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “I think our kids knew they could play better football. There’s some nerves — new starters in the lineup right now that had to shake some nerves off and I thought they came out and were very resilient in the second half. We executed really well. Joey Curotto played his heart out at quarterback.”
The Colonials fumbled their first possession of the second half and, four plays later, Khan was in the endzone again to give the Indians a lead they would never lose.
PW’s next two possessions ended in punts while the Indians’ ended in an Austin Miller 70-yard touchdown catch and a Zach Bradshaw 25-yard field goal to make it a 31-16 Souderton lead.
“I thought we were gassing a little bit,” PW coach Dan Chang said of the second half. “Some of our guys were really struggling out there in terms of their energy. We made a couple mental errors. Some key moments and a couple big plays they hit, some mistakes that we made mentally that stalled our drives. It was a quick swing right there.”
The Colonials responded with a touchdown of their own — a 68-yard pass from Joe Stoberl to Martina — but they’d never get any close than eight points.
Khan’s hands
Souderton’s Khan was targeted twice in the passing game and he made the most of each opportunity.
The first was a screen that went for a 47-yard touchdown 40 seconds before halftime to cut the Indians deficit to two.
“It’s a thing I was gifted with,” Khan said of his catching ability. “You don’t usually see me as a guy who can catch a ball or run a ball. So I just take advantage of it and show everybody what I’ve got.”
“The screen was a really nice job,” Gallagher said. “He set up his blocks well and he’s hard to bring down in the open field. Once he gets out and going, I wouldn’t want to tackle him. He’s 230 (pounds) and runs pretty well.”
The second came on Souderton’s first possession of the third quarter. He caught a pass and raced 38 yards to score.
“He ran the wrong pattern,” Gallagher joked. “I’m not going to give him credit. He ran the wrong route, got open and Joey found him and fortunately things happen. It’s not the way we drew it up, but as long as the points count I don’t care.”
Khan didn’t see it as the wrong route.
“I ran a flat but I just saw an opening in between (PW defenders) so I just kind of came between,” he said. “The ball was behind, I caught it and I just saw an opening so I took it.
“I told (QB Curotto) usually if I cheat back on that I’m open a little bit. He knew it, he saw me, he threw it and I just got at it.”
Jamal’s debut
Plymouth Whitemarsh running back Khan Jamal got his first opportunity as the featured back. He carried the ball 13 times for 85 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for six yards. One of his carries was on a fourth-and-three fake punt for eight yards to end the first quarter.
“I would like to get him the ball a little bit more and see what he can do as the year progresses,” Chang said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get him the ball in some open space.”
Opening day rivalry
The teams have played against each other every opening day since 2014 and entered Friday night tied at 1-1. Souderton won in 2014 and Plymouth Whitemarsh in 2015.
“They’ll get their chance again next year,” Gallagher said. “Unfortunately the away team keeps winning in this series. We’ve had some great games with (PW). Dan Chang does a great job with that program and we have a lot of respect for their program. It’s a great opener for both of us.”
Safety first
Plymouth Whitemarsh got the scoring started with a safety in the first quarter.
The Indians lined up to punt, snapping the ball from their own 14 yard line. A host of Colonials converged on Bradshaw to send the ball backwards. Souderton won the race to the ball in the endzone to jump on it for a safety rather than a PW touchdown.
