Cincinnati College Prep 42 St. Bernard 36 @SBEPAthletics @Coach_Pflug @AthleticsCcpa @PaFootballNews

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, Game Photos, Gameday Hub

David Burnworth | October 20, 2019

I took in the game between Cincinnati College Prep Academy VS St Bernard-Elmwood Place because I had told their coach Jeremy Pflug I was going to cover one of his games. He coaches CCP, a school going back to 2009 had only had seasons that did not have losing records and both of them was .500 teams. This season after seven weeks of plays the Lions were 5-2 uncharted waters for this team and if they win 2 of their next three games, they would in all likelihood be in the state playoffs making this game a huge one for them.St Bernard came into this one losing three of its last four games and with an overall record of 2-5.
On the opening kickoff Ed Clark would recover an onside kick by CCP, to give the Titans a first down at their own 47 yard line. Jaden Wood would pick up 25 yards with a nice catch and run to set up 25 yard run by Zykeem Hunley to make this a 6-0 game, with 8:51 left in the quarter. The Lions would get a sweet scramble from Mark Smith for a gain of nearly 25 yards, but the drive fizzled out shortly after the big play. The Lions defense thanks to a sack by Zaire Mobley and Deonta Shields on Titans quarterback Peyton Pugh quickly got the ball back to their offense. From there Smith showed off his best Antwaan Randle El impression by darting for a 55 yard touchdown, a two point conversion pass from Smith two Antonio Hammond gave us a 8-6 score, with 5:55 left in the exciting opening quarter. The last 1:09 of the quarter would bring us a sack by Zaire Mobley on Peyton Pugh, a 45 yard run from Smith and then another fine run by Smith from 17 yards out for another touchdown. Smith would be sacked by Leni Thornton and Ed Clark on a two point try, keeping the score 14-4 in favor of CCP.

Pugh was scrambling like a madman when he spotted Leni Thornton wide opened, throwing the ball on a dime, it landed in the waiting hands of Thornton, who picked up 43 yards on the play. A little over three minutes later Pugh used his legs to score from 2 yards out, then he hit Isaac Drew on a two point conversion to lock this game up at fourteen. Rashaun Clark would get a nice 25 yard gain to get the Lions offense moving and he would close out the 9 play, 68 yard drive with a 28 yard run into the end zone. Smith hit Hammond again to complete the two point conversion, making this a 22-14 game with 3:18 left in the half. The Titans would respond with a 5 play, 59 yard drive that concluded with Zykeem Hunley hauling in a 27 yard pass, then a 11 yard, two point conversion pass to Jaden Wood locked this game up at twenty two, with 1:09 left on the clock. Mark Smith (THE PAFOOTBALLNEWS.COM) player of the game would break four tackles on his way to a 55 yard touchdown run, with :15 seconds left in the half. He then hit Hammond to complete the two point conversion to make this a 30-22 game.

The Titans would get a pick by Zykeem Hunley on a very bad pass thrown by Smith with 10:10 left in the 3rd quarter. Smith did not make many mistakes in this one and he would later make up for this one in a tremendous way before the clock stuck 0:00 for the final time. Pugh
was scrambling around again,while looking downfield for anyone who was opened when he spotted Isaac Drew, who hauled the pass in for a 9 yard touchdown. Pugh then tied this game up at 30, by hitting Hunley on the two point conversion try. Smith would find Miontae Wallington, who made a very nice adjustment to make the catch for a gain of 26 yards, with 5:34 left in the quarter. The drive hit a snag when Ed Clark crushed Salvador Bartolon for a 5 yard loss. This became a 36-30 game, after Smith raced in for a 33 yard score. On the HUDL roster Smith is listed at 6-1, 170 pounds, runs like he is about 135 pounds with a tornado like wind behind him.

Just five seconds into the final frame Clarence Currin Jr. tied this one up at 36 a piece when he scored from 2 yards out. Hunley would know away a smith to save a touchdown and keep this one locked up, with 4:21 left in the game. Hunley would pick off a Smith pass in the end zone just :12 seconds later again keeping this game tied. The pick ended a bizarre drive for CCP, that covered 17 plays, but only totaled 21yards because of several stupid penalties. The game had 2:42 left when Currin took an option pitch from Pugh and turned it into a 25 yard gain. The CCP defense would shut things down from there and get the ball back to its dangerous offense 80 yards away from pay dirt. Smith would complete two passes on the drive that feature eight total plays. The first pass set the tone of the drive, that moved 78 yards with just enough time left on the clock for one more play. The offense came out with two receivers stacked behind the other on the left and on the right, with Smith in the gun. I had figured one of two things was going to happen. first Smith was going to make his reads and take off for another touchdown or he would make his read and see if #2 Hammond was opened, after making his read he let a pass fly to Hammond, who was wide opened in the end zone, Hammond made the catch and set off a celebration by his team and his coaching staff that was worth the price of admission. Final score 42-36.
I spoke briefly with Coach Pflug after the game, where I congratulated him on the win and talked about the great winning play call. There I learn that a bubble scree was another option on the play. I was oblivious to that because I was only smart enough to watch for two things and not a third, which explains why I am a fan and not a coach.

Unofficial stats
ST. BERNARD
51 PLAYS
331 YARDS
PASSING, 13-21 3 TD’S

CCP
58 PLAYS
420 YARDS
9-17 1 TD 2 INT’S