LEVITTOWN:
On the road yet again, the Skins traveled to Harry S.
Truman high school tonight for the second game of
National League play. And with the Tigers having shown
some very positive play in their first four games,
taking the Levittown squad lightly would not be a good
idea. Plus with the Blue & Red looking to right the
ship after a rocky two weeks, this game was important
for many reasons. With a nod to history too, Trumans
predecessor schools, Delhaas and Woodrow Wilson, were
first on Neshaminys schedule in 1953 and 1959,
respectively (but enough on the fluff lets get to
it).
As the home team took the coin flip, they then chose to
receive. But having some trouble, only a short punt
bouncing off a Neshaminy defender gave the Tigers some
life as they recovered the ball. And looking alive, they
got down to the Skins 24 before turning it over on
downs. From there it was field general Hugh Hart
directing his troops on a series of nice ground plays
featuring The Bull, Blake Sullivan, and Denny Lord.
With the big guys getting it close, Nate Hall took it in
from the 15 near the end of the first-quarter. As Nick
Tucci nailed the PAT it was then 7-0, Neshaminy.
Kicking it back to Truman, the Tigers had trouble moving
the ball and as the second session got underway, it was
the Schmidtmen back on offense. Looking sharp, Hart
quickly found Justin Andrews with a very pretty pass as
he covered 46 yards for another Skins score. Tucci was
right on and it was 14-0 for the visitors.
Another kickoff and another three and out had Truman
ready to punt. In a nifty surprise fake, the effort
still came up short for Tigers as the ball went back to
Neshaminy at the 26. From there it was Hall going in on
the first carry. The scoreboard then spun to 21-0 after
Tuccis kick. Following the kickoff, this time the Black
and Gold moved the ball out to the 40. Then on a slick
reverse-counter a Tigers back exploded for a 60 yard
sprint to the Promised Land. The kick was good and the
game had tightened to 21-7.
With Langhorne receiving a kickoff for the first time,
it was Devon Brown picking it up a one-hop, squibbed
kick. And turning on the jets, he took it to the Truman
24 where Neshaminy set up on O. Brown then added eight
ticks on two carries to the 16 where on third and two he
got the call again and took it home. Following the Tucci
kick, it went to 28-7.
After the kickoff it was Truman at its ten on a short
return. Bottled up, though, another short punt gave the
ball back to the Redskins at the 35. Not gaining a
first, a 42-yard FG attempt by Tucci came up short.
Truman then ran the clock out as the teams retired for
the break.
Following a lightning delayed halftime, Neshaminy took
the kick to start the second-half as a nice return had
the Skins at their 40. Not staying there for long, Hall
took the first handoff and bolted all the way to the end
zone for a score. Tucci nailed the PAT and the score
rolled to 35-7. And thats the way it stayed throughout
the third-quarter as the pace slowed a bit. But as the
fourth-quarter started up a muffed punt snap by Truman
gave the Moleskinners a first at their three-yard line.
From there it was Hall again to make it 42-7 after the
Tucci PAT.
During the remainder of the fourth-session the clock
spun by quickly; however, there still was some scoring
as a Tiger raced 71 yards for a score to make it 42-13
as the extra point was blocked. Then to return the
favor, Schmidts substitutes and back-ups were not to be
denied as sophomore Matt Magdelinskas scored from the
five-yard stripe to close the final Redskin drive. With
Neshaminy taking a knee on the extra point the
scoreboard read 48-13 and thats the way it ended.
As the Tigers showed plenty of moxy all night long, a
Tip o The Hat to them for staying in it throughout
the game. For the Creek Kids, with the first half of the
season over they can now look forward to a back-half
mostly at home at Heartbreak Ridge. And it starts off
with Council Rock North next Friday. So in that its
another Indians versus Redskins contest, this one should
be plenty exciting so get there early!
See you at the game.
