NEWTOWN – In a battle between two undefeated Suburban One heavyweights, physicality reigned supreme as Pennridge toughed out a win over Council Rock South.
Pennridge junior running back Trevor Picciotti scored two touchdowns, while junior linebacker Blake Landherr anchored the defense as the Rams defeated the Hawks 27-10 Thursday.
“Our kids take pride in it,” Beller said about his team’s physicality. “They just kept grinding away. Trevor was also running like a monster out there, hitting holes and falling forward every play.”
After Pennridge’s defense forced a fumble on CR South’s opening drive, Landherr recovered to give the Rams an early opportunity.
A few plays later, Pennridge capitalized. On fourth down, junior quarterback Aiden Tetkowski connected with Picciotti for a 10-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring.
CR South answered early in the second quarter. Hawks senior quarterback Cannon Benzio lofted a pass downfield for junior wide receiver DJ Andrzejewski, who hauled it in for a 41-yard touchdown to tie the game.
The score ignited the Hawks sideline and crowd, but the Rams methodically responded on their ensuing possession. Pennridge marched down the field, picking up first down after first down until it reached the CR South 5-yard line.
On first-and-goal, Picciotti punched in his second touchdown, putting the Rams back in front with 5:02 remaining in the second quarter. Pennridge’s ensuing 2-point conversion attempt failed.
After forcing another CR South punt, Pennridge had enough time for a two-minute drill before halftime and took advantage. In less than 90 seconds, the Rams extended their lead when Tetkowski connected with junior wide receiver Nate Derstine for a 45-yard touchdown.
But with 33 seconds remaining, the Hawks had one more answer.
Benzio aired out a deep pass for sophomore wide receiver Ryan Kruszczynski, who came down with it to put CR South in scoring position. One play later, senior kicker Declan Barry split the uprights, cutting Pennridge’s lead to 20-10 at halftime.
“We told the kids, things happen, and mistakes get made, and we just had to cut it loose,” Beller said of the end of the half. “Honestly, it was a bad call on my end, so it's my fault too, but we had to let it go. We knew we were getting the ball back in the second half, and we were going to go play football. And at the end of the day, it’s one play, and we got to come back and play the next one. That’s just our mentality.”
Pennridge did just that after halftime.
The Rams defense suffocated CR South’s offense, shutting out the Hawks in the second half behind a dominant performance from Landherr.
The junior tackling machine tallied five tackles, including four for loss, but his biggest play came late in the third quarter. With the Hawks searching for a spark, Landherr plucked a tipped pass out of the air and returned the interception to the CR South 5-yard line.
“I think it was a game changer,” Landherr said. “We then were able to punch in the touchdown, and that gave us what we needed to close out the game.”
A few plays later, senior running back Matt Schafer punched it in, giving the Rams a three-possession lead with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
From there, Pennridge had the game where it wanted it. The Rams defense continued to swarm CR South, while Picciotti and the running game wore down the Hawks defense.
Picciotti finished with 24 carries for 116 yards as Pennridge improved to 3-0. “My blockers were out there doing their thing,” Picciotti said.
“I was just trying to get us some yards, hit people and run them over.”
CR South suffered its first loss of the season and its first at home in nearly 700 days. The Hawks will now turn their attention to conference play.
“You’re not going to beat a good football team making the mistakes we made,” CR South head coach CJ Szydlik said. “We did not have a good week of practice, and that showed.”
“We just have to be better. We had the same penalties two weeks in a row, and we can’t do that. We will fix it, bounce back from it, and see what happens next week.”
Pennridge will host undefeated CB West next Friday, while the Hawks will travel to Souderton.