LANGHORNE, Pa. — Although the Pennsbury football team’s very slim hope of making the PIAA District 1 Class playoffs will not be known until the final power points are released this weekend, the Falcons did finish up their regular season in grand style on Neshaminy’s Heartbreak Ridge Friday night.
For openers, Pennsbury was able to do what it always enjoys most by beating its arch rival, 20-6.
With the win, Pennsbury improved to 4-6 after winning only one game a year ago. What the Falcons also did is up its advantage to 44-39-7 over Neshaminy in a series that dates back to 1930.
And, oh yeah, Pennsbury also had the very distinct pleasure of making sure Neshaminy (3-7) did not make the playoffs after the Redskins took to the field knowing a win would allow them to qualify for the 16-team Class 6A bracket.
Although the teams went into this game with identical records, it was Pennsbury that had played a more competitive brand of football for much of the season.
This was particularly true of the Pennsbury defense, which had recorded shutouts in its three wins and came very close to making it a fourth on Friday night.
How close were the Falcons to another shutout? Consider Neshaminy’s only score came on a two-yard drive after Pennsbury botched a punt snap in the second quarter that allowed the Redskins to tie the game at 6-all. Also in that first half, Neshaminy had a grand total of 31 offensive yards and no first downs.
“My defensive coaches really had the team prepared all season long,” said Pennsbury’s first-year coach John Greiner. “I think this game illuminated that.”
The Neshaminy touchdown came after Pennsbury took the lead in the first quarter when the Falcons sacked quarterback Angel Miranda and forced a fumble. On this play, Pennsbury also fumbled, but on the ensuing scramble Garland Dockery recovered the ball in the end zone.
After tying the game in the second quarter, it looked like Neshaminy might have a little momentum, but that proved to be all a mirage.
With quarterback Jack Arndt really starting to heat up the Pennsbury passing game, the Falcons took the lead for good when Neshaminy dialed up a blitz and Luke Beighley made them pay by exploding on a 55-yard touchdown run right up the middle with 2:12 left in the second quarter.
In addition to playing his usual strong game on defense as a safety, Beighley led the ground game with 85 yards on 16 carries.
It was at the start of the third quarter when Pennsbury took total control of the game as it put together a beautiful 80-yard drive on 14 plays that consumed nearly nine minutes.
The insurance touchdown came on a 13-yard pass from to Arndt to Sylvester Jones, who developed into a weapon as the season went along.
In this killer drive, Beighley continued to pound away and Henry Garlits picked up some critical yardage, including a 5-yard run for a first down on a fourth-down play out of a wildcat formation.
Following an interception by Luke Moyer, Pennsbury ended any remote chance of a Neshaminy comeback with another long drive to kill much of the fourth-quarter clock.Neshaminy had only two possessions in the entire second half.
Arndt had another nice game by completing 11 of 16 passes for 105 yards. Neshaminy, by contrast, was 9-for-20 through the air for 38 yards and had virtually no success running the ball against Pennsbury’s swarming gang-tackling defense.
Entering the year, it was no secret Pennsbury was going to have a very good defensive unit after returning most of the starters from the previous year. Next season it will be just the opposite as Pennsbury will have to replace some outstanding defensive players, but will return a lot on offense with much of its line back and, of course, Arndt.
“I’m happy the kids finished the regular season with a win,” said Greiner. “We had some tough losses, but the players played hard and gave it a great effort all season long.”
Pennsbury (4-6) 6 7 7 0 — 20
Neshaminy (3-7) 0 6 0 0 — 6
First Quarter
P-Dockery recovers fumble in end zone (snap fumbled, run failed)
N-Howell 1 run (kick failed)
P-Beighley 55 run (Wilds kick)
P-Jones 13 pass from Arndt (Wilds kick)
OTHER SCORES
Council Rock South 49, Council Rock North 14
Plymouth-Whitemarsh 56, Bensalem 14
C.B. West 41, C.B. East 14
Central Bucks South 21, Pennridge 14
North Penn 62, Abington 14
West Catholic 26, Conwell-Egan 20 (4 OT)