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Wissahickon Edges Hatboro Horsham 14-12 For Their First Win of the Season

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

| October 10, 2020

The Wissahickon Trojans picked up their first win of the season Friday, on the road against Hatboro Horsham in dramatic fashion. The game was anything, but easy, yet the Trojans were able to pull off the win. Both teams played very physical, but also very sloppy, which led to a tight game throughout. Both teams fought hard right up until the end, but Wiss came out on top to even their record at 1-1.

“It’s a great feeling to get that monkey off our back, we felt going into this year with our senior leadership that it would be a successful year for us. Last week’s set back was a reality check for us, that we knew we had to play a lot better. Even though this game was a little sloppy at some points, but we never gave up on ourselves and we found a way to pull it out in the end.” Said Coach Bruce Fleming

Wissahickon was looking to avenge a 31-27 loss to Upper Dublin in their season opener and they came out of the gates firing. They were able to force a three and out on Hatboro’s first drive thanks to a Mustafa Thompson sack. On the Trojans first offensive possession, it was pretty clear who they wanted to give the ball too. That player is Sophomore Running Back Kyle Lehman. Lehman had just under 100 scrimmage yards last week vs Upper Dublin and he picked up right where he left off, taking the ball down the left sideline and getting into the End Zone for a 34 yard score. Lehman was a workhorse for Wiss all night, carrying the ball 24 times for 146 yards. Coach Fleming spoke about Lehman being a big part of the offense,”Our game plan was very similar to last week against Upper Dublin, some things we saw that Hatboro did allowed us to keep a similar game plan from last week, but we knew we had run the ball to feature Kyle Lehman”

Neither team’s offense was able to put much together for a good portion of the second quarter. The Trojans recovered a fumble, but their offense stalled. They did move the ball down the field on their next drive, getting into Hatboro territory, but a screen pass by Aidan DeFeo looking for Kyle Lehman was picked off after Linebacker Josh Spruill made a nice play. DeFeo had turnover troubles last week, when he threw three interceptions and he had tough time protecting the ball Friday as well.

After back to back three and out’s, Wissahickon looked to catch Horsham off guard with a fake punt at their own 44 and give their offense a spark, but the Hatters snuffed it out. For the first time in the half, Hatboro looked like they had some rhythm to their offense as they got their rushing game going. The one two punch of Quarterback Markell Robert-Jackson and Running Back Omar Ali got Hatboro into the Red Zone, but with less than thirty seconds left in the half, all of their hard work was undone. An ugly snap caused a fight for the ball and Kevin Pineda was able to recover the ball for the Trojans to maintain their slim 7-0 lead going into half.

“Defensively all week, I challenged my guys to not let that team beat us. If a teams gonna to beat us, we’re gonna beat ourselves. So they took that challenge that I gave them, they made the stops that they needed, they took it personal, so that we wouldn’t lose this game and we came out on top at the end.” Said Coach Bruce Fleming

 

Wissahickon started off the second half with a promising drive, that was kickstarted by a 31 yard reception by Maurice Johnson Jr. But the drive ended when DeFeo threw his second interception of the game, once again on a screen pass that was intended for Kyle Lehman. This time it was Defensive Linemen Reda Oueldaissa with the pick. But on the next play Hatboro gave it right back after yet another poor snap, that Chase Bethea was able to recover for the Trojans.

Wiss went right back to Johnson Jr. who hauled in a catch over the middle, eventually going out of bounds at the the 10 yard line after a 39 yard gain. This was the Trojans first trip to the Red Zone all game and they looked to go up two scores. After two Lehman carries to get the ball on the two yard line, the Trojans coughed it up after what looked like a miscommunication between DeFeo and his Running Back.

Hatboro needed a spark on offense and they went back to what gave them success towards the end of the first half, running the ball with Ali and Robert-Jackson. Ali put together a few nice runs, including a 20 yard gain to get Hatboro into Wissahickon territory, before Markel Robert-Jackson burst through the Trojan defense on a QB keeper for a 47 yard Touchdown. The PAT was no good, which meant the Trojans still led 7-6 with 4:48 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

The next few possessions turned into a bit of a field position battle, with Hatboro taking advantage after getting a defensive stop deep in Wiss territory. Sam Fink returned a Bobby Hassz punt to the Trojan 32 yard line, but Shane Lynch was able to kill Hatboro’s momentum when he sacked Robert-Jackson for a loss of 9, forcing a three and out.

The Trojans were pinned deep yet again, but they went back to their stud running back, Kyle Lehman. Lehman was able to get Wissahickon out of trouble and down the field, with carries of 18 and 28 yards. Yet, the Trojans still weren’t able to put more points up on the board. After an incompletion on 3rd and 5, the Trojans decided to go for it, giving Lehman the ball one more time, but it might’ve been a bit too predictable, because Hatboro blew the play up for a loss.

Still trailing 7-6, Horsham now had the ball on their own 37 with 4:31 remaining and the game on the line. Robert-Jackson and Ali both helped the Hatters move the ball down the field against a stingy Trojan defensive line. Hatboro was able to get positive yardage on every play, which eventually led to a 25 yard Touchdown run by Omar Ali. Horsham’s offensive line created a big hole on the right side and Ali was able to run into the End Zone for the score, giving Hatboro their first lead of the night with less than two minutes remaining. The two point conversion failed which meant Hatboro led 12-7.

Wissahickon needed a big play if they wanted to win the game. They certainly got what they were asking for. A nice kick return by Maurice Johnson Jr. set the Trojans up at their own 39 yard line, which meant they needed a 61 yard drive to win the game. On the very first play of the drive it was Johnson Jr. who came up big. DeFeo threw a bullet over the middle to Johnson Jr. who was able to get in front of his defender and make the catch around the Hatboro 45. The speedy receiver was able to stay on his feet as he eventually made his way into the End Zone to put the Trojans back in front with 1:35 left in the game. Nate Divincent’s PAT made it a 14-12 ballgame.

“We always know that Maurice has the ability, we’ve been waiting for him to take that next that next step as a receiver and this year as a senior he’s taken it upon himself to make every play he can when he gets the ball into his hands. Today’s game plan allowed for him to have a great night and he really showed out for us and won us the game.” Said Coach Fleming

Now it was up to the Trojans defense to seal the game against a very dynamic Hatboro rushing attack. Horsham continued to run the ball, despite needing to go 80 yards in 90 seconds, but it seemed to be working as they moved the ball into Trojan territory. Markel Robert-Jackson put together a couple of nice runs, but his 125 total yards on the ground wasn’t enough in the end. A delay of game set the Hatters back, forcing them to throw the ball, which led to two incompletions and a turnover on downs.

Despite all the late-game drama, Wissahickon improves to 1-1 and although they put up a great fight, Hatboro falls to 0-2. The Trojans will travel to New Hope-Solebury to face off against the Lions next Friday at 7.

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