Feature Photo courtesy of J.Mac Media
WARRINGTON, PA — C.B. South entered Friday night still searching for its first win of the season.
By halftime, there wasn’t much doubt that the search was over.
After opening the year 0-3 against a difficult non-conference schedule, the Titans exploded for 37 first-half points and controlled all three phases of the game in a 37-6 win over Abington in the SOL National opener for both teams.
South head coach John Cataldo said the early struggles never changed the message inside the program.
“What we told the kids is that we take each week one week at a time, and our goal is to continuously improve,” Cataldo said. “We knew that we had a very challenging non-conference schedule.”
The Titans certainly looked battle-tested Friday.
South struck almost immediately, breaking a 74-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the game. Oliver Woodcock later connected on a 36-yard field goal, and the Titans carried a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.
Then the game opened up.
Sophomore quarterback Trent Haviland broke loose for a 33-yard rushing touchdown before throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Rizzo moments later.
Haviland struck again later in the quarter, connecting with Josiah Leicht for a 28-yard touchdown, the first varsity touchdown of Leicht’s career.
And South wasn’t finished.
With 1:54 remaining in the half, Jake Blum returned a punt for a touchdown, sending the Titans into halftime with a stunning 37-0 advantage over an Abington team that had entered the night 2-1 and had not allowed a point in its previous two games.
Haviland finished the night responsible for three touchdowns — two passing and one rushing — and was named the CDS Wealth Management Offensive Star of the Game.
“He really played with confidence tonight,” Cataldo said of Haviland. “I think as the season evolves, he’s going to get more and more confidence.”
Haviland already had varsity experience entering the season, but not at quarterback. He started nearly every game at cornerback as a freshman before taking over the offense this fall.
“He’s a tremendous athlete,” Cataldo said. “Our offense executed probably better than we have all season. We really did a nice job.”
South’s defense was every bit as impressive.
Javin Kube was all over the field and finished with at least 12 tackles, earning the CDS Wealth Management Defensive Star of the Game.
Blum added an interception to go with his punt-return touchdown, while Colin White also came away with an interception.
Cataldo also credited Sonny Wade for several big hits and praised the way the entire defense played together.
“We executed at all three levels,” Cataldo said. “We felt like going through the challenge of the non-conference schedule would help us in conference play. I think tonight is something that we can continue to build off of.”
Blum’s performance was especially notable considering he is playing his first varsity season as a senior.
“Jake Blum had an excellent game defensively,” Cataldo said. “He had an interception, and then on the special teams side, he had a punt return for a touchdown. He’s a leader in our secondary.”
Special teams played a major role beyond Blum’s return.
Woodcock converted four of five extra-point attempts in addition to his 36-yard field goal and was named the CDS Wealth Management Special Teams Star of the Game.
For Abington, it was a difficult night from the opening minutes.
The Ghosts had entered the game riding consecutive shutouts, but miscues on both sides of the ball allowed South to take control early.
Head coach Bruce Fleming said getting off to a better start will be a major focus heading into next week.
“We’ve got to start the game on a high note,” Fleming said. “We had some miscues defensively and offensively that put us behind the sticks, and we gave up big plays on things we need to clean up. Guys have to trust each other and make sure everyone is doing their job.”
Abington was able to settle down defensively after halftime, keeping South off the scoreboard over the final two quarters.
The Ghosts finally broke through with 35 seconds remaining, when Kai Taylor scored from two yards out against South’s reserves. The extra point was blocked, producing the final 37-6 margin.
Fleming said the second half gives his team something to build on.
“We simplified a few things in the second half offensively just to see guys come out with effort and make sure they could execute the plays at hand,” Fleming said. “Defensively, we wanted to make sure guys lined up correctly and were executing. We’ll look at the film, see what the mistakes were, identify the positives and build on that to get ready for Pennsbury.”
For South, Friday represented more than simply getting into the win column.
After three weeks of difficult non-conference football, the Titans opened league play by showing exactly why their record may not have told the entire story.
“We looked back on our losses and said, ‘What can we learn from that?’” Cataldo said. “We’re going to take what we learned, build on it and just continue to grow. Our goal is to improve each day. If we do that and focus one week at a time, then the results will take care of themselves.
“That was evident tonight.”
CDS Wealth Management Stars of the Game
Offense — Trent Haviland, C.B. South 2 passing touchdowns | 1 rushing touchdown
Defense — Javin Kube, C.B. South At least 12 tackles
Special Teams — Oliver Woodcock, C.B. South 36-yard field goal | 4-of-5 PATs
Final: C.B. South 37, Abington 6
Up Next: C.B. South travels to Neshaminy, while Abington heads to Pennsbury next Friday.