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Heartbreaker: Imhotep falls in 5A title game in overtime to Penn Trafford @TepFootball

Tagged under: District 12, Game Photos, Gameday Hub, News

| December 10, 2021

Imhotep’s defense lived up to it’s billing, tough and hard hitting

It seemed they were a team of destiny. The Imhotep Panthers came into the 5A title bout with Penn Trafford ranked #1, a spot they held preseason till a loss La Salle, then regained the top spot 3 weeks ago when Exeter took down Governor Mifflin. The next week Imhotep advanced by a win over Cathedral Prep then Penn Trafford destroyed that same Exeter team to earn their ticket to Hershey. Tonight, that destiny ended in heartbreak as the Panthers fell to Penn Trafford in overtime, 17-14.

“I’m proud of my guys. It didn’t end the way we wanted to but I’m still very proud of these dudes” said Imhotep head coach Devon Johnson. We just made mistakes on the line tonight that cost us the game.”  Imhotep committed 13 penalties for 81 yards, several of them were false start penalties that cost them valuable yards in short yardage situations.

Both defenses played stellar all night. Imhotep held PT to just 168 yards while PT held the Panthers to just 240 yards of offense.

Make no mistake, this game was a classic battle from start to finish, and it took until there was 3:29 left in the second quarter for the Tep offense to get on the board. After a massive 50 yard punt by the Warriors put Tep on their own 12, the Panthers went on a 24 play, 82 yard drive that ended with Rahmir Stewart running in from the 13. That’s when the first mistake hit them. A false start on the 2 point try moved the ball to the 8 and Tep failed to convert.

 

The Warriors answered on the next drive to take a 7-6 lead into the break. Nearly the entire first half, sans the last two drives, were a defensive battle. The second half was much of the same. With just over 7:00 left in the game, the Panthers took a 14-6 lead with a 5 yard run by Stewart. He also converted the two pointer.

 

On the ensuing kick it looked like Tep gave PT anther gift, kicking the ball out of bounds giving them the ball at the 40 but the Imhotep defense held Penn Trafford and forced a punt with 6:21 left in the game. It looked like the vaunted Panther defense, one of the best in the state all year, was going to stop the Warriors again but a pass interference on fourth down gave PT new life at the Tep 13. Several plays later the game tying td came with just 34 seconds left.

Then came overtime. Imhotep won the coin toss and elected to go on defense, naturally. They held the Warriors to a field goal to make it 17-14. On Imhotep’s first play, they committed a false start moving the ball back to the 15. Then, disaster struck. After a 5 yard run by Stewart, the PT defense dropped him for a 16 yard loss. On their final play, Mikal Davis was dropped again.

“Hat’s off to those guys. They played a great game, but we just shot ourselves in the foot too many times” said Johnson. The Panthers should hold their heads high. This was a great season that just came up a few yards short of a title.

Imhotep ends the season with a 11-2 record.

Scoring Summary/Box score:

https://pafootballnews.com/2021-piaa-championships-penn-trafford-vs-imhotep-charter/

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