Falcons 'Rain' Supreme, Defeat Hawks 13-10

FAIRLESS HILLS -- It’s a well know fact that professional football players and coaches try to avoid reading the newspaper or visiting online sites espousing the predictions or opinions of their writers what a team may or may not accomplish during the upcoming season.

Contrary to their pro counterparts, the Pennsbury squad as a whole, and most notably junior tailback Daquan Mack and senior Shawn Pepper, took notice of what was being said and more importantly what wasn’t being said about the Falcons chances to make an impact in the Suburban One League title race.

"They had us written off, and it made me mad," Mack said. "Everybody was talking about C.R. North, Neshaminy and C.R. South being the best teams in our league. No one even mentioned us. We wanted to show tonight that we could play with anybody."

The Falcons (4-1 overall, 2-0 league) interjected their hat into the championship ring so to speak as the defensive unit which has allowed only 68 points thus far in five games, completely shut down the Golden Hawks offensive attack in the second half, along with a little help from Mother Nature as the skies opened up with a deluge falling to the already water-logged turf, as the fourth quarter got underway Saturday night.

The Hawks carried a 10-6 halftime advantage into the locker room, following a 30-yard field goal by Ben Solis to get on the board, and senior Ryan Hickey, who racked up 63 yards in the first half, scoring on a one-yard plunge to snag the lead.

Following the intermission, the Pennsbury offensive line led 6-foot, 7-inch, 310 pound center J.J. Denman, who is committed to Penn State, took control of the game as the Falcons took the opening kick and produced a time consuming drive that culminated with junior Daquan Mack blasting his way into the end zone, carrying three would-be tacklers, from three yards out.

"That was huge for us," Mack said. "They were doubling the A. We just adjusted at halftime and we were able to run again. This meant a lot to us tonight. They took it to us last year and we really wanted to make a statement tonight. Our defense played great tonight."

The drive consumed all but four minutes of the quarter, and after watching from the sideline for almost eight minutes, it didn’t take long for the Hawks to respond ad they raced up field taking only four plays to set up shop at the Pennsbury 30-yard line.

But that’s as far as they would get as the Falcons held strong, led by junior Tony Donovan, Tommy Hose, Shawn Pepper and Shane Letukas, stuffing the Hawks on a fourth-and-three.

The rain came pouring down as the fourth got started but it was flood of Falcon blitzes that forced the Hawks to commit three turnovers, including a vital fumble recovery by Tommy Hose with four minutes left to play in regulation.

Pepper, who was the projected pre season starter, came up with the biggest sack of his career with 13 seconds left on a fourth and 10 from the Pennsbury 30-yard line, as CR South had one last gasp effort to get within range of Solis to attempt what would be a miraculous game tying field goal considering the quagmire the field had become.

Hawk signal caller Brian Donnelly, who was unable to avoid Pepper’s rush, had put the Hawks in position to take four shots down field as he completed a 25-yard pass to wide out P.J. Gallo.

The Falcons, whose ground attack amassed almost 200 yards, was let by Adam Lewis who rushed for 48 yards in the first half and got the home team on the board with a 30-yard touchdown jaunt down the sideline, and quarterback Bruce Campbell, who added 45 yards on the ground.

"It will be hard for them to talk about the team to beat in the league with our mentioning us now," added Mack. "It felt so great to get the go ahead touchdown, I don’t care if I lost my helmet, or how many guys tried to get me down. We wanted this game."

Council Rock South       0        10           0            0           -10

Pennsbury                    6          0          7            0           -13