Wissahickon falls short to CR North

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Wissahickon head coach Bruce Fleming entered this season with his sights on snapping the program’s 5-year stretch of finishing under .500, but it is difficult to make progress as a whole when the starting quarterback is not on the field.

The Trojans were without junior signal caller Nick Santo due to a shoulder injury suffered last week in the season opener. His absence loomed large in Wissahickon’s 27-6 loss to Council Rock North on Friday Night. Sophomore Aidan DeFeo was under center in his place, in what was DeFeo’s first varsity start.

In the second quarter of a scoreless game, DeFeo muffed a handoff exchange that was scooped by the Indians’ Sean Berlin, who ran it back 27 yards for a touchdown. DeFeo was picked off on the next play from scrimmage. The resulting Council Rock North possession ended in another touchdown.

Santo served as the backup and made a brief appearance at the beginning of the second half. It was Fleming’s best chance at erasing a 20-0 deficit. He threw one pass before re-aggravating the injury and leaving the game for good.

Fleming mentioned the gameplan did not change drastically due to the quarterbacks’ similar style of play, but the importance of experience cannot be understated. Santo came into the season with 13 varsity starts to his name.

“You have a sophomore starting in his first Friday night game, and there are always going to be a little nerves,” Fleming said. “Once he started to settle down a little bit, he started to understand a few things. But, this is on me. It is on me to make sure my guys are prepared for Friday night, no matter who is out there.

“A lot of things that we saw tonight are things that we can fix in practice,” Fleming continued. “We need to get our guys to translate what we work on in practice and apply it to Friday nights.”

On the opposite sideline, Council Rock North’s first-year head coach John Greiner was operating with no shortage of experience. The Indians are led on the offensive side of the ball by senior quarterback Jack Owens and senior running backs Tim Gibson and Dillon Sheehy. Owens came into his own as the game progressed. Gibson spearheaded a rotating rushing attack. Council Rock North had six players with five or more carries.

Greiner spent the last four seasons as Bristol’s head coach. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Pennsbury for 15 years. Friday night marked his first win as leader of Council Rock North. Once an esteemed program, the Indians have three wins over the past three seasons.

“It’s a relief,” Greiner said. “There’s always pressure to win, no matter what the situation is. We really wanted to win it for the seniors, in terms of what they have been battling through the past couple years and how much we have worked over the course of the past four weeks. They worked their tails off.”

The game was not without dramatics. With Council Rock North up 27-6 and the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, the Indians continued to try and punch the ball in from inside Wissahickon’s 3-yard line. A quarterback kneel could have sent both teams home in a peaceful manner.

Greiner explained that it was simply an attempt at giving back to another one of his senior players, Cole Persinger.

“All his life, (Cole) has been a quarterback and running back,” Greiner said. “I looked at him and decided he was the perfect guard. We had an abundance of running backs. He basically self-sacrificed everything he has done for the past 11 years in terms of playing football. He has become one of our best offensive lineman, and that’s the reason I was trying to reward him at the end.”

Fleming saw it differently.

“That’s something I will remember,” Fleming said.

Council Rock North 27, Wissahickon 6
Council Rock North X 20 X 7 — 27
Wissahickon X X 6 X— 6
CRN: Berlin 27 fumble return (extra point successful)
CRN: Mancinelli 9 run (extra point unsuccessful)
CRN: Mancinelli 3 catch (extra point successful)
Wiss: Lehman 60 run (extra point successful)
CRN: Owens 9 run (extra point successful)
Individual Stats
Passing: Wissahickon: DeFeo 2-10, 40 yards, 0 TDS, 2 INTS; Santo 1-1, 11 yards.
Rock North: Owens 8-15, 78 yards, 1 TDS, 0 INTS.
Rushing: Wissahickon: Smalls 2 carries, 12 yards; Benjamin 2 carries, 9 yards; DeFeo 1carry, 2 yards; Clark 3 carries, 14 yards; Lehman 4 carries, 61 yards, 1TD; Baldwin 3 carries, 2 yards. Rock North: Gibson 13 carries, 72 yards; Herbert 6 carries, 25 yards; Sheehy 8 carries, 21 yards; Mancinelli 7 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD; Owens 6 carries, 36 yards, 1 TD; Berlin 5 carries,15 yards; Sommers 1 carry, 4 yards.
Receiving:Wissahickon: Dougherty 2 catches, 20 yards; Baldwin 1 catch, 11 yards. Rock North: Brick 1 catch, 7 yards; Gibson 3 catches, 51 yards; Sheehy 1 catch, 3 yards; Mayo 1 catch, 9 yards, Mancinelli 2 catches, 8 yards, 1 TD.