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Neshaminy Takes Care of Business in 38-3 Win Over Pennridge

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 6, 2024

Perkasie- The Redskins and Rams came into yesterday’s game both with identical 4-2 overall records. The Rams, however, had the slight advantage head-to-head in the district playoff seeding as they were 2-1 heading into the matchup, compared to the 1-2 conference record sported by Neshaminy.  Neshaminy didn’t let the standing get in the way of their mindset and went about business as usual. Utilizing some explosive plays (20+ yards or more), the Skins capitalized and controlled all three game phases. Head coach Steve Wilmot was pleased with the outcome and how his team handled business. In his postgame interview, he mentioned, “I thought it was a complete team win, I think offensively, we had a great week of preparation, and that showed today. Defensively, I think it helped that Central Bucks West, who we faced last week, is kind of similar offensively as Pennridge, and there were some bright spots for us last week, so we carried over what we did and didn’t do and carried over into the game plan this week.” Wilmot continued, “I think our defense played terrific, and we made some nice plays on special teams, too.”

Coach Wilmot wasn’t kidding either, on the very first play from scrimmage, his quarterback, Junior Michael Eckhart, raced untouched 70 yards for the touchdown and the lead straight out of the gate. On his game-opening touchdown, “We knew we had to hit it, and my guy pulled through and got the one block, and I knew there wasn’t anyone else to beat and used my speed to get downfield.”  And get downfield, did he, as you can see here.

Pennridge’s first possession ended in a punt.  Neshaminy’s next possession was extended due to a fake punt, but after three plays, they were forced to punt.  On the Ram’s next possession, Neshaminy senior Connor Frederick sacked Noah Keating. A few plays later, the stingy Skin’ defense forced another punt. The offense was halted, and they would have to settle for a Kaden Nicastro field goal. Nicastro extended the lead after connecting from 26 yards out with only 1:54 to go in the quarter. The quarter would end locked at 10-0.

The second quarter went underway, and Pennridge seemed to find its footing and moved the ball downfield with a steady dose of runs before having to settle for a Luis Nunes 21-yard field goal.  With 5:38 to go in the half, the Skins’ lead was cut to 10-3, and this would be the closest the Rams would come to a tight game. Neshaminy came out in their next possession, and Carter Clee took three handoffs for a total of 25 yards.  A false start forced the momentum to subside slightly, but then sophomore Nahsir Moore took the handoff and bolted 44 yards to pay dirt.  After the PAT, the Redskin lead was extended to 14 (17-3). The Rams looked to come alive again and held the ball for the majority of the 3:38 that was remaking. They were moving the ball efficiently but were unable to come up with any points.

The second half was much like the first half where Pennridge showed life then it was quickly dispatched. They got a few plays into their first series and a Noah Keating pass was picked off by Junior Nick Sassano. The Rams defense then allowed a Eckhart to Clee first down before yielding another 5-yard Clee carry.  Neshaminy was starting to move the ball then a deflected Eckhart pass end up in the hands of Jackson Gregoire. Pennridge was unable to come away with any points as the Neshaminy defense was relentless. After the forced punt, the Skins would end up in the endzone a few moments later when Michael Eckhart hit Colby Bracey for a ten-yard score to extend their lead to 24-3 with 9:15 to go in the third quarter. The Neshaminy defense held the Rams to another punt. The next Skins possession was only four plays and ended when Eckhart hit  Jason Gilardi

For a 52-yard bomb of a touchdown and a 31-3 lead.  Pennridge’s offense would be stopped and forced to punt on their next two possessions, and the third quarter would come to an end. The fourth quarter saw the Neshaminy and Pennridge reserves duke it out. Neshaminy’s second team left off where the ones did and bulldozed their way through for another score. With under two minutes to go, senior Jason Wilmot raced to the outside, and Superman leaped over the goal line and pylon for the nail-in-the-coffin score and the 34-point lead. While this writer isn’t one for mural victories, I will point out that the Pennridge backfield is in good hands for future years to come as I got to see a healthy dose of sophomore Sean Leuthe (6-43) 7.2 yards per carry and freshman Trevor Picciotti (2-19) 9.5 yards per carry. Picciotti has rushed 11 times for 91 yards (8.3 ypc) and a score in his young career.

 

Mayhem’s Player of the Game…

-QB1 from Neshaminy Michael Eckhart, who, by my account, rushed six times for 76 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 67% of his passes for 115 yards and two passing touchdowns.

-Sophomore running back Nahsir Moore carried the ball five times for 79 yards and a score.

-Junior Nick Sassano had an interception on defense and a punt return touchdown that was nullified due to a block in the back.

Neshaminy’s Student Spotlight

Jordin is a senior and has been cheering for 13 years. Her favorite subject in school is science. She plans to go to college and study nursing. A fun fact about Jordin is that she is related to former President Eisenhower.

Katie is a senior and has been cheering for 14 years. She enjoys social studies and is going to college in Florida for psychology. A fun fact about Katie is that she doesn’t have a tiktok.

What’s next: Another Important game as Pennridge (4-3, 2-2) plays host to CB West (5-2, 3-1), while Neshaminy (5-2, 2-2) hosts CB East (3-4, 1-3) who looks to keeps its 6A district playoff hopes alive.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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