Fairless Hills, PA - Both Abington and Pennsbury entered this game looking to bounce back after week 3, but only Pennsbury was able to succeed in their goal. The Falcon defense started off by forcing an Abington fumble before the clock hit the 10-minute mark. When the offense took the field, Luke Beighley picked up right where he left off last season and took a handoff 38 yards to the house to put Pennsbury on the board.
The Abington offense stalled out, and when attempting a punt, what should’ve been a costly error went down, putting Pennsbury right on the goal line. However, flashes of the Abington defense that put up back-to-back shutouts earlier in the season appeared. They stopped the Falcons on all 4 downs and brought the offense the ball back. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t go well for the Ghosts. An attempted screen on third down went out the back of the end zone for a safety, putting Pennsbury up 8-0.
Early in the second quarter, Jack Arndt broke through the Abington defenses on third and one on a QB sneak, taking the ball 27 yards into the endzone for his first TD of the game to put the Falcons up 15-0. Henry Garlits would keep it going on the ground, putting up a third TD for the Falcons backfield and putting Pennsbury up 22-0, the score we would enter halftime at. After a 6-minute drive, Arndt slung the ball to Connor Randolph, who broke a tackle and walked into the endzone to make it 29-0 in favor of the Falcons.
The dagger would come after the Pennsbury defense continued their domination and forced a punt. On the first play of the possession, Arndt hit receiver Bryce Krusen on a screen, and he took off, breaking two tackles and taking it 63 yards to put Pennsbury up 35-0.
While I said that play was the dagger, the Pennsbury defense had one more nail to hammer into the Ghosts' coffin. A forced fumble deep in Abington territory was recovered and taken to the end zone by Luke Beighley to put Pennsbury up 42-0, which would be our final score.
After the game, I asked Coach Greiner about the win.
Me: How important was getting this win after last week?
Greiner: It was a needed get back win for us as we are trying to establish ourselves as a team on a daily basis. Every play matters in a game and it does not matter the turning point plays occur in a game. Unfortunately last week they occurred within the first four minutes of the game and tonight we played each play with more of a purpose and intention. Thus, we took last week as a teaching lesson and learned from it as a whole group.
Me: What led to the success on defense tonight?
Greiner: The defense, which is coached by Christian Day, John Daidone, Zach DeMarchis, and Dalton Johnson, has done a tremendous job of putting our players in positions to make them successful and the best possible version of themselves on the field of play. And tonight, the process of the coaching and teaching complemented each other.
Me: What is there to improve on next week against Pennridge?
Greiner: The improvement is going to be the day-to-day process of making every rep count and every action accountable in practice. We improved on that this week and we are going to need to improve on that on a daily basis this week starting tomorrow morning with our lifts and film study.
On the other side of things, I asked Coach Fleming on how the Ghosts can improve after the defeat.
Me:What went wrong that has to be improved moving forward?
Fleming:We struggled on the offensive side of the ball, and that starts with me and our staff. Pennsbury came out as the aggressor from the opening snap, and that's how this game has to be played. We didn't match that. As always, we'll go to the film and take an honest look at two things: our effort and our execution of what's being called on both sides of the ball. Those are the areas we control, and those are the areas we have to improve
Me:How can the offense recover after this week’s shutout?
Fleming:It starts with accountability. We'll watch the film as a group and identify exactly where things broke down, whether that's effort, execution, or both. From there, it's about getting back to work and playing with a different mindset. We have to be the aggressor on offense, not wait for something to happen. Our guys are capable, and I trust them to respond. A tough night doesn't define us. How we respond to it will.
Me:The reminder of your schedule might be the hardest in the conference. How do the staff and team plan to prepare for this challenge?
Fleming:We play in a very competitive National Conference of the SOL, and every week you have to bring your 'A' game. There are no nights off. Right now, we need to look in the mirror and identify who we are as a team. That means being honest about our effort, our execution, and our identity. Once we're clear on that, we'll prepare the same way every week: attack the film, attack practice, and show up ready to compete. The stretch ahead is tough, but that's the kind of challenge our program should want.
Pennsbury QB Jack Ardnt is your offensive player of the game, recording 153 yards and 3 touchdowns, two in the air and one on the ground. I asked him some questions about the win.
Me:What went into this performance that lead to your success?
Ardnt:We were definitely humbled last week and were able to use that as motivation. This felt like our first game where all 11 guys were on the same page pretty consistently, which helped me out a ton running and passing the ball. Whenever you have great players and people around you it will always be easier to be successful.
Me:What was the highlight of the game for you?
Ardnt:The highlight of the game for me was the QB Sneak I was able to score on from around 30 yards away, It shows what we can do when we play to the whistle, everyone stayed on their blocks and kept running their feet which made it very easy for me to get into the end zone.
Pennsbury’s Luke Beighley, after winning offensive player of the game with 5 touchdowns against Abington last season, is now your defensive player of the game after a scoop and score in the late third quarter.
Me: How’d it feel to score on both sides of the ball tonight?
Beighley:It felt great to score on both sides of the ball. Offensively the line blocked really well and made my job easy. We also established a pass game which opened up the run game well. Defensively it was awesome to get a scoop and score touchdown, I give credit to Noah Mcardle for stripping the ball out.
Me: What went well for the team tonight that led to a shutout?
Beighley: The defense held up strong throughout the entire game not letting up any big plays to give Abington momentum. The defensive line and linebackers held the trenches down, and the defensive backs didn’t let wide receivers get open. We also rallied really well to the ball as a defensive unit.
Both of these teams will face some serious challenges as the season marches on. Pennsbury goes on the road next week against undefeated Pennridge, while Abington hosts CB West.