On another perfect night for Lower Bucks County high school football fanatics, a packed house at Falcon Field was on hand for the 75th renewal of the annual Redskins-Falcons slugfest. And with the Blue and Red bringing their 8 and 1 record to Fairless Hills, and the Orange and Black celebrating Hall of Fame Night, the pageantry and excitement had the stadium rocking. Plus playing to the crowd all evening long, the two teams didn’t fail to disappoint the fans in attendance as well as those listening on the radio and watching on the internet broadcast.

Electing to receive after winning the coin toss, the Falcons couldn’t shake opening drive jitters as they delivered a three and out and then followed that up with a squibbed punt that gave the ‘Skins the ball on the Birds 38. And if you happened to look away for a moment, you might have missed Jason Ulmer’s 21-yard burst for the first score of the game on just the third play of that drive. Seth Jeffries didn’t miss the PAT and it was very quickly 7-0 for the visitors. Then after receiving the ball and setting up at their own 20, Pennsbury again failed to move the ball and was forced to punt. That kick was a short one too but a ‘Skins penalty on the punt gave the ball back to the Birds. Starting at their own 35 on that Neshaminy snafu, Pennsbury showed their fans they came to play as they cobbled together a very pretty 65-yard drive that took 13 plays and just over 8 minutes before the Birds found the end zone. With their PAT also good, it was then even up at 7 a piece.

After returning the ensuing kickoff to the 30, the Redskins went to work once again. Looking sharp, they traveled the required 70-yards in 9 plays and 5 minutes with Ulmer doing the honors on a short one-yard power run. A highlight of that offensive display was a Justin Kinney to Kevin Steinberg 18-yard pass along with Ulmer’s nifty moves on several runs. The PAT was true and the Redskins went up, 14-7. With the Falcons not doing much on their next possession, and after punting to the Moleskinners, it was the ‘Skins ball once again on their own 30. What followed was another beautifully crafted drive as the Creek Kids drove 70-yards down the field punctuated by Ulmer’s 4-yard scoring jaunt. As usual, the extra point was good and it was 21-7 for the Playwickian Eleven.

Then just when it looked like the visitors could relax a little, the kickoff sailed to the ten where it was grabbed by a Falcon on the run – a run of 90 yards for a touchdown and a 21-14 game. But not letting that affect them in the least, Neshaminy came right back with another long drive which started at their own 35 and didn’t stop till they put it in the back-ten on a 9-yard Kinney toss to Joe Stemme. With Jeffries hitting it again, the score was changed to 28-14. With the Falcons then receiving the kickoff with just 1:30 left in the half, they went up top, and deep, one too many times before an errant ball was intercepted by Ian Cappana at the ‘Skins 25. And once again, a sneeze could have caused a spectator to miss the action as the Redskins went right down the field in just over a minute with the ending a beautiful 17-yard pass to Gary Renson for the last score of the first half. As the gun sounded, it was very clearly 35-14 for the Langhorne gang.

Starting the second half as if they had already won the game, the ‘Skins looked a little sloppy on their opening drive. In fact, after their three and out and a short punt, the Falcons took over at Neshaminy’s 38-yard line. Not missing a beat, Pennsbury traversed that short distance into the promised land in no time with the scoreboard then adjusting to read 35-21. On the next drive, though, the Blue and Red looked a little more serious as they started at their own 20 and proceeded to slice and dice their way to the Falcons 30. Just as on the first drive, a little carelessness and a fumble killed that effort and gave control back to the Birds. Finally waking up to the realities of it all, Neshaminy then stiffened up as the Birds turned in another three and out with the ‘Skins taking over on their own 28 after a very nice wind assisted Pennsbury punt. With the third period ending at just about that point, the last 12 minutes started with the ball in Neshaminy’s hands near mid-field.

Beginning to look a little sloppy again, the Redskins moved forward and backward on some miscues and penalties as they strove to play ball control. With the pace of the game having slowed down a bit, it became a little difficult to get excited about that drive; however, it did end with another sweetheart – and patented – Ulmer run of just over 20 yards for his fourth score of the night. Jeffries then put it through the uprights and it went to 42-21 at 9 minutes to go in the game.

At that point, the Falcons finally started to show their fatigue as on the first play of their next drive it was Mr. Everything, Justin Kinney, who stole an aerial to put a quick stop to that Pennsbury effort. With Neshaminy starting on the home team’s 30-yard line, it didn’t take long before Ulmer delivered on a short burst up the middle for his fifth of the contest. With the PAT blocked, the score stood at Neshaminy 48 and Pennsbury 21 with three and a half left in the contest.

The Falcons last drive stalled out quickly and after punting it away, the Redskins took over on their own 37 with two minutes to go. And with Coach Schmidt then letting his starters grab some pine, the laundry fresh white uniforms of the replacements certainly lit up the last few minutes of the game.

And that’s the way it ended as we very happily finally get to state: Game to Redskins.

So with the regular season behind them, and at 9-1, Langhorne can now look forward to the coming playoff season. And as there are some final slots and teams still to be determined, it’s not yet clear who the Redskins will play next week but no matter what team it is, we’ll see you at the game!

One last thought – congratulations, Neshaminy, on a fabulous 2007 regular season.

Photos courtesy of Jesse Garber