John Greiner knows what it takes to be successful in the SOL National.
“I coached at Pennsbury for 15 years under Galen Snyder,” said Greiner, the first-year head coach at Council Rock North. “It begins in the weight room and in the offseason. We need to keep plugging away and be positive.
“We’re trying to rebuild the program to where Pennsbury is,” Greiner added. “That’s the goal. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but our kids have it.”
Friday’s contest at Falcon Field at Pennsbury showed the difference between an established program and a program that is still growing. The host Falcons (2-3, 1-0 National) topped the Indians 38-7.
Jaden Santiago’s 22-yard touchdown run and Drew Hensor’s 51-yard scoring rush put Pennsbury up 14-0. The lead extended to 21-0 late in the first quarter. Hensor’s 29-yard gallop brought the ball to the North 7. Isaiah Edwards caught a 1-yard touchdown shovel pass.
The change in quarter brought some momentum to the Indians. Justin Nowmos and Cole Persinger stripped sacked and recovered a C.J. Kohler fumble with seconds remaining in the first. CR North gained 69 yards in the second quarter after four three-and-outs to start the game. North drove as deep as the Falcon 6 before throwing a fourth-down interception in the end zone.
“After the first quarter, we realized we had to pick our stuff up and keep moving,” said Evan Mancinelli, who gained 24 yards on four carries. “Pennsbury is tough and they came to play. We were slacking a little bit in the first quarter. It hit us and we woke up.”
While the Falcons gained 352 yards on the ground, they struggled in the air. Twelve Pennsbury pass attempts resulted in three sacks, a CR North (1-4, 0-2 National) interception and just 33 aerial yards.
“We played our hearts out. That’s all we can ask for,” said Tim Gibson, who made two open field tackles to limit passing damage. “We’re a family.”
Brad Mickles’ 68-yard run set up Hensor’s 3-yard score, which gave Pennsbury a 28-0 lead with 5:02 left in the half. Brady Burgfechtel added a 23-yard field goal. Hensor’s 17-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter put the score at 38-0.
North never quit. Yazan Barouki picked off a pass that gave Rock the ball at its own 28. Backup quarterback Noah Kapusta covered 57 yards on four runs, scoring on an 8-yard scamper with 3:41 remaining.
Kapusta led North with 54 yards on seven carries. Starting quarterback Jack Owens ran for 32 yards on eight rushes.
“Jack as our starting quarterback is one of the captains of the team. He knows the game very well and right now, we’re going to lean on that senior leadership,” Greiner said. “Noah was able to put the score on at the end at the fourth quarter.”
The Indians went on the road to beat Wissahickon 27-6 in week two. North scored 31 points last week against Neshaminy. “Last week we were definitely rolling,” Gibson said. “The run game was strong so it opened up everything else. We were able to pass the ball and run.”
“Coach looks to us too, which I think is a good philosophy,” Mancinelli added. “The quarterback or I can suggest plays and say ‘I’m seeing this will work.’ That’s a great idea.”
Pennsbury has held four of its five opponents to under 15 points. “Our game plan was to throw different sets and fronts at them,” Greiner shared. “It worked against Neshaminy. Pennsbury has a very, very good defense. We knew what we were getting into and we tried to get creative with our game plan.”
North hosts an explosive Harry Truman (3-2, 2-0 National) team on Friday.
“We’re going to have to figure some things out offensively and defensively,” Greiner offered, “but I’m proud of how the kids kept fighting.”
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