Garnet Valley Beats Quakertown to Punch ticket to District One Championship game @GVAthletics @GarnetValleyFB @QPantherFB

Tagged under: District 1, Game Photos, Gameday Hub, News

Alec Eskin | November 20, 2021

Photo taken by Tbone Smith (@trsmith296)

This game was fought hard by both teams as they were looking to make history tonight. Garnet Valley was looking to be the first 13-0 team in school history and Quakertown looked to move on to the District One Title game for the first time in their history. It was a high scoring affair between both teams but Garnet Valley came out on top 58-39. Both offenses moved up and down the field at a constant pace, meaning that nobody could pull away at any certain point in the game. Lets go into a deeper recap of each teams’ nights . . .

Quakertown was undefeated at 12-0 coming into this game. They had already made some history, becoming the first Panther team to be 12-0 and to get into the District One Semis. Tonight they showed why they have made it so far. On offense, quarterback Will Steich passed for 302 yards with three touchdown passes, a career night for him. Zach Fondl and John Eatherton were able to step up, each with one touchdown reception and Eatherton has 155 yards on top of that. They were able to also gain chunks of yards on the ground behind running back Tyler Woodman who also had a touchdown in the game. Their balanced offense is what carried them this far and certainly performed at its best tonight. The big play for them was the touchdown pass from Steich to Woodman to put them up 21-20 right before half. However, on defense, it was less than spectacular. They allowed a season high 58 points and never forced Garnet Valley to punt. The positives things from that night were that the Panthers were able to get an interception off of Busenkell for just the second time this year and they were able to get a fumble recover as well. A tale of two heads for the Panthers.

Garnet Valley had their toughest game of the year against a very good opponent. They started off the game slow, fumbling twice and a delay of game penalty as well. However, when they got themselves right on offense, it was smooth sailing. Shane Reynolds had another career night with 245 yards and ran for four touchdowns. The main thing that stood out within those stats for him was the yards after contact. He was able to break tackle after tackle. Passing, Max Busenkell went seven for eight passing with 192 yards, one touchdown pass, and one interception on both offense and defense. The big play on offense was a 69 yard touchdown pass from Max Busenkell to Joey Halloran which put Garnet Valley up 50-31 in the fourth quarter. On defense, Garnet Valley did not have their best first half allowing 24 points due to Quakertown’s ferocious passing attack. Woodman, Eatherton, and Fondl were able to find space to run and get chunks of yards in a short period of time. However, they were able to get a big stop to start the second half after the opening kickoff was recovered by the Panthers. They also only allowed 15 points in the second half compared to 24 in the first half. Garnet Valley all year long has been a second half team and they have stepped up when the pressure is the highest.

Quakertown will turn in their gear after a historically good season going 12-1 and making it to the District semifinals. For Garnet Valley, they will face Coatesville next week for the fourth time in five years in the District One Championship game on Friday at 7:00 PM after a strong victory against Ridley where they won 50-14. Coatesville has a chance to win the District One title for the third time in five years while Garnet Valley has the chance to claim it for the first time since 2007. This should be a really fun game to watch and a good conclusion to the District One Playoffs.

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