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Pottsville Slips by Central Catholic 14-7

Tagged under: District 11, News, pfn, Playoffs

| November 1, 2024

Pottsville head coach Mike Brennan was concerned about size up front going into his team’s first round matchup against Central Catholic. As it turned out, the undermanned line held its own and the Crimson Tide outlasted the Vikings in a fast moving contest at J. Birney Crum Stadium Thursday night.

Pottsville got the ball first and despite gaining 25 yards to midfield and two first downs, was forced to punt. The Vikings offense wore down the defense over the next 14 plays, methodically marching down the field. Early in the drive, quarterback Patrick Cahill completed a 12 yard pass over the right side to Jiyhzik Figueroa, which converted a third down. The two connected on a very similar play on 3rd & 6, which put the Vikings in a goal-to-go situation at the nine yard line. From there, Cahill swung a pass out to Figueroa one more time and after breaking a couple of tackles, he reached into the end zone. With 35 seconds left in the quarter, Central was leading 7-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Pottsville coughed up the football and put its defense in an unenviable position. Gregory Tillman fell on the ball at the Tide 20, setting up the Vikings in the perfect spot to take a two score lead in the second quarter. However, the already tired Pottsville defense managed to stand tall. On second down, Cahill was pressured in the backfield and lost the ball trying to execute a shovel pass. The ball was recovered by Central Catholic, but for a loss of 12. On 4th & 16, he was again flushed from the pocket, first running left, then turning back to his right, before firing an incompletion and turning the ball over on downs.

After 18 consecutive plays on defense, Pottsville finally got its second chance with the football. Julean “Juju” Bainbridge got to work, ripping off a gain of 20 to move his team over midfield. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Allen was not phased in the playoff situation, as he fired 34 yards to a leaping Christian Alvarez. Alvarez and Letrel Montone would be the top targets on the evening, as Tsirell Curry was ineligible for the contest. On the next play, Bainbridge took it off the right side nine yards for Pottsville’s first score of the night. Instead of trailing 14-0, they had tied the game at 7 with 8:14 to play in the half.

The Vikings backed themselves into a corner on the next drive. Taking over on their own seven, Central drove to their 30, but two penalties, including a personal foul, backed them into a 1st & 30 situation. On 4th & 25, ACC had to punt, allowing Pottsville to take over on its own 45.

The Crimson Tide nickel and dimed the Vikings defensive line. They were also helped along by a 4th & 5 offside penalty that provided a first down on the ACC 28. Moments later, Montone found himself in the near corner of the end zone and caught the eight yard touchdown pass from Allen. Pottsville took a 14-7 lead to the locker room.

Central got the ball to open the second half, but the offense was forced to become rather one-dimensional. Cahill scampered for a 17 yard gain and moved the offense to midfield, but the team gained just three yards on the next set of downs. After punting it away,

Despite a 15 yard completion to TE Maxwell Clews on the next possession, Pottsville was halted by a holding call. On fourth down, Tommy Roth batted a ball away, forcing a turnover on downs.

On Central Catholic’s next drive, Cahill and Tate Shoemaker were picking up gobs of yards each time. Five times the offense gained five yards or more. But just as it seemed the Vikings were about to complete the game-tying scoring drive, Cahill fired an inadvisable pass over the middle. Waiting for the ball was Brody Herndon, who read the route perfectly. He raced 65 yards down the far side to the Vikings 20. A drive that had consumed nearly seven minutes came up empty for the Vikings.

ACC got one more chance. A 35-yard field goal had the leg, but went wide for Pottsville, allowing Central to take over on its own 20 with 4:56 to play, still trailing by just seven. Cahill ran for 5, 5, and 12 yards, bringing his offense right over midfield one more time. As his team faced 4th & 4 from the Pottsville 42, Cahill was scrambling, keeping his eyes downfield. Despite appearing to have enough open space in front of him, he threw incomplete. The nearest player who could have caught the ball was Pottsville’s Shay Strancosky.

Having turned the Vikings away one final time, Pottsville ran the clock out as Bainbridge ran stronger than ever for gains of 15 and 19 yards to seal the victory for the road team. On the night, Bainbridge carried 21 times for 109 yards. The balanced offense produced 123 yards on the ground and Allen went 12/16 for 116 through the air. Letrel Montone finished the night with four catches for 31 yards and a touchdown, while Alvarez added three grabs for 45 yards.

ACC struggled without big playmakers in the lineup, such as Aidan Sorrentino, who missed the game with a concussion. The team was also dogged by six penalties. Cahill finished his night 9/14 for 79 yards, with a touchdown and a pick. Shoemaker was held to 87 yards on 21 carries and Cahill ran for 71 yards.

Pottsville advances to next week’s District XI 4A semifinal contest, where they will travel to Southern Lehigh to takeo n the Spartans. The Vikings finish the year 4-7, their fewest victories since 2018.

Read more at LSVSports.com

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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