“We just didn’t tackle, they beat us up in front and our defense is something that we’re going to have to work on,” Head Coach of the William Tennent Panthers Bob Rosenberger said after a 41 to 7 loss against Neshaminy. Friday’s game against Tennent resulted in another Neshaminy victory bringing them to a record of 4 wins and 0 losses.
Unfortunately for Tennent, Neshaminy struck early and hard. It was only two minutes into the first quarter before senior running back Denny Lord rushed for a five yard touchdown. However, what proved to be Neshaminy’s most deadly weapon was junior D’Andre Pollard who on Neshaminy’s fourth play from scrimmage of the game had a 40 yard rush. Pollard has rushed for over 100 yards in every game this season so far and is showing no signs of slowing down.
“Our offensive line worked out real well today and has been doing a great job,” Neshaminy Head Coach Mark Schmidt said. Pollard managed to run the ball in for three touchdowns, and yet again rushed for over 100 yards. Neshaminy’s defense also rose to the occasion, only allowing Tennent to keep possession of the ball for nearly half the time Neshaminy did.
After forcing Tennent to punt on their first drive, Pollard was immediately handed the ball and consequently took it for 30 yards into the end zone. Tennent’s defense did not show up to play. Pollard was not only well protected, but was slipping tackles left and right.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, senior starting quarter back Tyler Wombough completed a 25 yard pass to tight end Luke Carrezola. By the end of the first quarter the score was Neshaminy 21, Tennent 0.
At the beginning of the second quarter Neshaminy started off on their 41 yard line. In the second quarter Tennent’s defense appeared to be showing signs of life as they held Neshaminy to a single drive and forced a punt. However, Tennent’s hope of any sort of comeback was thwarted when Neshaminy similarly forced Tennent to bring out the special teams crew and handed the ball off to Pollard for a nine yard touchdown.
After about four minutes of back and forth possessions, with two minutes left before the half, Lord rushed 33 yards into the end zone. At the end of the half, the score was Neshaminy 35, Tennent 0. Senior Dorian Arthur attributes the team’s success to the coaching staff, “The coaching is just great. They having us practicing every single day running plays. They really stress fundamentals and it pays off,” Arthur said.
At the beginning of the third quarter Neshaminy kicked off to Tennent who returned it to their 43 yard line. The success, however, was short lived. In under a minute Neshaminy had the ball back on their 35. It appeared throughout the whole game that Tennent had two big problems they needed to work on, their offensive line and defensive backs.
On almost every play Tennent’s quarter back Nick Banks was being pressured by the Neshaminy defense resulting in various incomplete passes and sacks. After Neshaminy had a few successful runs Wombough completed a 50 yard pass to junior Hamiid Pack.
By the time the third quarter was over the score was Neshaminy 41, Tennent 0. While Tennent ended up losing to Neshaminy, Banks managed to rush the ball 33 yards for a touchdown making this game the first game of the season Neshaminy was scored on.
“I have really been stressing to our guys about playing a complete game, being smart and I am happy that we were able to do that. They got one in at the end there but that’s going to happen,” Schmidt said.
The game ended just as badly for Tennent as it started, on a promising running play by Tennent running back Alex Perks, Neshaminy forced a fumble in the end zone and recovered it for a touchback. The game would end with Wombough kneeling at the 20, the final score ended up being Neshaminy 41, Tennent 7.
