Wissahickon ends skid with win over Hatboro-Horsham
LOWER GWYNEDD >> After Wissahickon fell to 0-4 last week, head coach Bruce Fleming said he was still waiting to see his team play a complete four quarters. Friday night against Hatboro-Horsham, the Trojans came close enough.
“Halfway through the first (quarter) and a little bit into the second (quarter), we were a little shaky,” Fleming said. “We were able to find ourselves and put it all back together. This was as close to a complete game that we have played so far, and now we need to take that momentum into next week.”
Wissahickon did enough to beat the Hatters, 21-18, in a roller coaster of a game. The teams went blow for blow in the second half, exchanging touchdown for touchdown.
Both teams benefited from standout quarterback play, a fact that is especially notable for Wissahickon (1-4, 1-1 SOL American).
After likely losing junior starting quarterback Nick Santo for the remainder of the season to a shoulder injury, the Trojans have turned to sophomore Aidan DeFeo. After just a few short varsity games under center, he has found rhythm and confidence. He tossed three touchdown passes against Hatboro-Horsham, including the game-winning 52-yard strike to junior E.J. Schreiner.
Trudging on without one’s experienced, clear-cut starting quarterback is a coach’s nightmare.
Fleming has done what any good leader does: find silver linings. When Santo was declared unlikely to return this season, Fleming pointed to the fact that he is a junior with ample time to recover and still hopefully play his best football as a senior. He also mentioned it will give DeFeo the opportunity to prove himself a worthy backup in the event Santo gets hurt again next season. So far, DeFeo looks the part of valuable insurance.
“In the second half last week, (DeFeo) started to develop some comfortability,” Fleming said. “It showed all of this game. He was able to understand what was going on, slow the game down and do what he needs to do.”
Hatboro-Horsham first-year coach Mark Schmidt has been tasked with molding freshman quarterback Colin O’Sullivan. Considering he spent the past 19 seasons at Neshaminy, amassing 161 wins to become the program’s winningest coach, Schmidt has almost certainly faced more daunting challenges.
O’Sullivan fits the bill of the type of quarterback every program seeks: reliable enough to start as a varsity freshman without throwing the season away, while gaining invaluable experience in the process. Most obvious was his ability and willingness to throw the ball downfield. He found his favorite target, sophomore Chrishon Avery, for several big plays.
The Hatters as a team are young but bursting with upside. It is not difficult to envision a scenario where this program could takeoff under a coach of Schmidt’s caliber within the next season or two. For now, they drop to 0-5 (0-2 SOL American) in 2019.
While the stat sheet is stuffed with crooked offensive numbers, it was perhaps one of the more unsung complexities of football that led the Trojans to their first win of the season: extra points.
Wissahickon sophomore kicker Nathan DeVincent made all three of his extra point attempts. Hatboro-Horsham went 0-3, including 0-2 on two-point conversion attempts.
“We harp on the very small things with our team, even to the point of making sure the locker room is cleaned up,” Fleming said. “The guys are starting to understand that the little fine details help us take that next step.”
Hatboro-Horsham 0 6 6 6 — 18
Wissahickon 0 7 0 14 — 21
Scoring
Wiss: Benjamin 10-catch (Extra point GOOD)
HH: Avery 4-catch (Extra point NO GOOD)
HH: Collazo 1-run (2-point attempt NO GOOD)
Wiss: Schreiner 15-catch (Extra point GOOD)
HH: Collazo 7-run (2-point attempt NO GOOD)
Wiss: Schreiner 52-catch (Extra point GOOD)
Individual Stats
Passing: HH: O’Sullivan 11-19, 1 TD. Wiss: DeFeo 8-16, 3 TDs
Rushing: HH: Ali 8 carries, 22 yards; Collazo 13 carries, 63 yards, 2 TDs; Cerisier 4 carries, 10 yards. Wiss: Lehman 12 carries, 21 yards; Baldwin 1 carry, 0 yards; Smalls 10 carries, 41 yards; DeFeo 1 carry, 9 yards;
Receiving: HH: Collazo 1 catch, 0 yards; McIntyre 2 catches, 15 yards; Zangari 1 catch, 3 yards; Avery 5 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD; Cerisier 2 catches, 15 yards. Wiss: Baldwin 1 catch, 12 yards; Benjamin 1 catch, 10 yards, 1 TD; Smalls 3 catches, 53 yards; Dougherty 1 catch, 15 yards; Schreiner 2 catches, 67 yards, 2 TDs.
