Souderton passing attack key in win over Pottsgrove
FRANCONIA >> The Wing-T was airborne, and Ethan Smerecki was left all alone in the end zone.
“They just forgot about me,” a smiling Smerecki said of visiting Pottsgrove. “Nobody saw that coming.”
It was an evening in which Souderton Area was just as devastating with the pass as it was with the run, and Smerecki was a big part of it, gathering in four passes for 95 yards and the touchdown that sent Big Red on its way to its 31-18 victory over the Falcons.
“That just set the tone for the whole game,” Smerecki said of his first-quarter TD, a 23-yarder off the arm of quarterback Andrew Vince. “It was so early and one of the first drives. It was exciting.”
On the third-down play, Vince rolled right then threw back to the middle of the field, finding Smerecki all by himself. Vince would go on to complete 10-of-17 passes for 194 yards and a pair of scores.
“(Pottsgrove) was really keying on (halfback) DeAndre (Wakefield),” Big Red coach Ed Gallagher said, “and we’re gonna see that from time to time. But as teams will find out, when you key on DeAndre, we have so many other weapons and we have so many other ways that we can hurt you.”
Vince’s other touchdown pass went to Wakefield, who caught a short toss along the sideline, broke a tackle and raced away to a 55-yard score that made it 24-0 in the third quarter.
Five different players caught passes for Souderton in the non-league victory.
“I love when we pass more,” said a happy Smerecki, a senior tight end. “I’m hoping it’s gonna be like that the rest of the season too. We’re very lethal. We can do a lot of things.”
Big Start
Souderton led 17-0 at the half and was up 24-0 in the third quarter.
Big Red had the place rocking.
“It’s amazing. The energy out here was just crazy,” Smerecki said. “It was so much fun to be here, to play for Souderton.
“I can’t wait to get out here next week too.”
Souderton is 1-0, with plenty to be happy about.
“It was a solid effort,” Gallagher said. “Our kids played hard the whole game and I was really pleased with how we played on both sides of the ball.”
Pulling Away
Wakefield drew a lot of attention from the Pottsgrove defense but still managed to crash into the end zone on a two-yard run and scored on his 55-yard reception. He gained 83 yards from scrimmage.
Souderton also got a boost from kicker William Leyland, who booted a 43-yard field goal to extend Souderton’s lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter.
Big Red wrapped it up with a big burst by Nick Guthre (111 yds), who broke away for a 48-yard run to make it 31-10 in the fourth.
Second-Half Surge
Pottsgrove (0-1) got it going in the second half, particularly through the air.
After Luke Kaiser broke the shutout with a 43-yard field goal, quarterback Joe Silvestri hit Ethan McMonagle on a 19-yard slant for a score and later found McMonagle again on a 47-yard bomb to close out the scoring in the final seconds.
Messiah Smythe added a two-point conversion pass from Silvestri.
“You gotta give credit to Souderton,” Falcons coach Bill Hawthorne said. “They’re well-coached, disciplined, and they did the things necessary to win the game.
“I love how our guys fought the whole game. We had a little bit of inexperience that showed up but we’re gonna build on this and move on and we’re gonna be a good team by the end of this season.”
