SOUDERTON – For the last five years, Plymouth Whitemarsh has owned the Suburban One League’s American Conference. This year, the Colonials made the jump to the Continental, but the results have remained the same.
Plymouth Whitemarsh survived a furious second-half comeback from Souderton on Friday night, holding off the Indians 17-14 at Indian Field to remain unbeaten and take control of the conference race.
In a battle between two of the Continental’s remaining teams without a conference loss, the Colonials built a 17-point lead before weathering a late Souderton rally to move one step closer to their sixth straight SOL title.
“This was a huge win for us for sure,” Colonials head coach Dan Chang said. “They are a good and physical team. Their record does not show what kind of team they are. They played some of the best teams in District 1 and played them all tough, so I am proud of our guys tonight.”
The Colonials wasted little time setting the tone. After forcing a quick three-and-out on Souderton’s opening drive, Plymouth Whitemarsh marched 57 yards in nine plays, capping the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Cole Reilly to senior wide receiver Alex Kriebel.
“We ran that play a couple of times in practice, and it was there,” Kriebel said. “When I released up the seam, I didn’t see anybody, and I knew Cole was going to put it on the money like he always does.”
Souderton responded with a promising drive of its own, moving deep into Colonial territory behind a couple of first-down completions from senior quarterback Brett Pollock. But on fourth-and-four, Plymouth Whitemarsh’s defense stood tall and made the stop.
The Colonials capitalized on the stop, marching downfield behind a pair of big gains from senior running back Mike Giangiulio.
Souderton’s defense stiffened inside the red zone, however, forcing Plymouth Whitemarsh to settle for a field goal. Senior kicker Max Peterson converted the try to extend the Colonials lead to 10-0.
The Indians threatened again before halftime, as the Colonial defense bent, but did not break. Plymouth Whitemarsh’s defense forced a field goal try that was then muffed as the half closed, and they went into the break with a 10-0 lead.
The Colonials picked up right where they left off to open the second half.
Reilly orchestrated another methodical drive, moving Plymouth Whitemarsh inside Souderton’s 10-yard line. On third-and-goal from the four, Reilly found senior wide receiver Aiden Orensky in the end zone to push the lead to 17-0.
With less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Colonials appeared to be in complete control.
Souderton had other plans.
The Indians answered with a 65-yard drive, moving inside the one-yard line before sophomore running back Levi Lopez punched it in to cut the deficit to 17-7 late in the third.
Both sides then traded stops until Souderton mounted one final push in the closing minutes.
With just over two minutes remaining, Pollock fought, found, then dove for the pylon for a 9-yard rushing touchdown. The senior signal caller, who gutted through an ankle injury, willed the Tribe within three.
“It was a quick three-step drop, and he was trying to get it out quick, but all of a sudden he got flushed, and he made a play,” Souderton’s head coach Ed Gallagher said about the touchdown. “He was doing that all night. At times, he was running for his life tonight, but he got what he could.”
“He is a competitor and a good athlete, and he doesn’t like losing. He is probably a little disappointed with himself, but his effort was phenomenal tonight.”
Trailing 17-14 with no timeouts remaining, Souderton needed one final break.
Senior kicker Micah Schirripa delivered a near-perfect onside kick, giving the Indians a chance to recover, but the ball trickled out of bounds, allowing the Colonials to escape with their perfect record still intact.
The Colonials improved to 5-0 and, more importantly, 3-0 in conference play, while Souderton dropped to 2-4 and 2-1 in conference play. However, those losses come with an asterisk for the Indians, as the combined record amongst those four teams is 21-2.
Next week, Souderton will look to bounce back into the winner's column in the Battle of 309 at Quakertown, and Plymouth Whitemarsh will look to remain unbeaten as they travel to Council Rock North.