LANGHORNE: Back home at Heartbreak Ridge for the kickoff of the Second Season, the 'Skins opened the playoffs against Unionville. From the western suburbs, the Indians call the Ches-Mont League, American Division home, and at 8-2 they have been a force all year long. No stranger to Neshaminy, in 2011 it was the Schmidtmen taking to the road as the roles of "host and guest" were reversed in game one of the playoffs that year. A tough out, Unionville is big across the front and can run and throw. And with the Creek Kids looking to right the ship after last week in Fairless Hills, lets not waste any more time talking and just get down on the field for the action.

With the weather crisp and cool, the 'Skins won the toss and elected to receive. Trokon Buesmaill and Devon Brown were deep but the short squib kick was picked up by an up-man and returned to the 31. Set up in The Wildcat, three Pollard runs for a first down came up a cropper on a Ridge Runner penalty and the Chris Watson punt was fair caught; however, contact by a Skin added 15 to put Unionville at their 42. An offside by Neshaminy then had the Indians at the 47 before they had run their first play. Still, a three-and-out by the visitors had them punting it back as the booming kick rolled out at Neshaminy's 18-yard line.

The Wildcat was the set as two flips to Devon Brown had the 'Skins at the 29 for a quick first. A loose ball then put it back at the 21 as Tyler Wombough came in under center. Getting to a third-and-long before finding Cole Creighton for nine, it wasn't enough for the Blue & Red with another Watson punt following. Nailing it, the Indian returner called a Fair Catch at his 31 as their offense came back out. A nice pass quickly moved the ball to mid-field for a first with another nice toss putting the Indians at the 40 as the chains were moved. A run then earned just enough for a first down to the 29 with three more efforts seeing a fourth-and-five roll around. The Indians went up top but the desperation pass hit the ground as the ball went back to the Creek Kids. One play then went nowhere as the first-quarter ended with the teams trading directions.

Creighton took the first handoff of the second-quarter and busted it loose for 18 out to the 39. Denny Lord then took one up the middle as he tagged on another 20 to the Unionville 40. But from there it went south for the 'Skins offense as they were forced to punt. Watson put it in the corner and Unionville started at its ten on the exchange. Holding them on two runs, a third-down pass moved the Indians to the 28 for a first. Another pass hit for a long gain and even a holding call, that brought them back, still had the Indians at mid-field. Bunching them up on a missed pass, a 15-yard penalty on Langhorne managed to give the Indians a first at Neshaminy's 45. Then going to fourth and four at the forty, Unionville went for it with a trips left and empty backfield but jumping offsides they were forced to punt. Creighton grabbed it deep and made some nice moves to get it to out to the 21.

The clock showed under five-minutes in the half as Wombough set up in the I. Giving it to Pollard he promptly broke loose for 60 with a facemask adding 15 more to give the 'Skins a first-and-goal at the 6. Pollard walked it in from there and Dylan McDonald nailed the PAT to make it 7-0 for the home team. Following the McDonald kick Unionville then started at their 28. Getting a few on the run, a personal foul on Neshaminy moved them to mid-field with the clock becoming a factor. A quick pass then had Unionville at the 39 with a first. Once again going to fourth-and-four, the Indians connected this time to get to the 20. Then on a play that looked like a Titanic disaster movie remake, the Indians QB made it to the 7 for a first-and-goal after losing the ball, picking it up and showing some nice moves. From there Unionville faked a sweep as the upback scooted up the middle for the TD. The PAT was good and with 59 seconds on the clock, it was all knotted up, 7-7.

Brown and Hamiid Pack set up deep as the Indians kicked off. Brown grabbed it at the 24 and returned it to the 47. From there Pollard broke for 35 yards but another flag on Langhorne brought it back to make it first and fifteen at their 42. A couple of efforts came up short and the gun then sounded the halftime break.

Back after the break, McDonald set up for the second-half kickoff as it went high and rolled before being picked up and returned to the 28 by the Indian back. Going to a quick fourth-and-one, the Indians just made it at the 39. A three-and-out then forced a punt, however, with Creighton taking it back to Neshaminy's 25. Pollard took the first hand off and ripped off 50 yards to the Indian's 25 where the ball came loose but was alertly picked up by Creighton who tacked on seven to the 18. Pollard took it twice more from there to earn the score with McDonald then right on with the PAT to make it 14-7 at the six-minute mark of the third.

The McDonald kickoff that followed was then returned to the 31 where the Indian returner lost the handle on the ball. Jumped on by a 'Skin, Neshaminy not only caught a big break but a short-field too. One handoff to Denny Lord posted a yard with the next to Pollard being good for the other 30 and another TD. McDonald's extra point then gave the Creek Kids a 21-7 lead. McDonald then kicked off gain and the Indians started at their 30 after the return. A couple of runs saw Unionville earn a first before going up top to move the chains to the mid-field point. Driving hard, the Indians decided to keep it up top but Boniface Stevens picked it out of the air and returned it all the way to the enemy 15. Pollard then grabbed 11 to the four with Lord bringing it home from there. Mr. Automatic hit the PAT and the scoreboard rolled to 28-7 with a minute left in the third.

McDonald's kick was brought back to the 30 where the Indians got off one short play before the third-quarter ended. After the walk, Unionville set back up on offense with a second and seven at their 35. A quick pass earned the yardage for a first at the 44. Another aerial also worked to put them across mid-field at the Redskins 45. Going to another fourth-and four at the 39, Unionville's pass was tipped by Lord to knock it incomplete as the ball went back to the Schmidtmen with ten minutes in the fourth-quarter. With Wombough under center, three shots came up short before Watson drilled a punt out at the 17 where the Indian's offense came back out.

Going to the Shotgun, three Unionville efforts just made the first. And liking the look, the Indians stayed in that set as it went to another fourth-and-short at the 39; however, the fake pass-and-roll was stopped by Creighton as Neshaminy got the ball back at the eight-minute mark. With Wombough back under center, the first give was to Pollard who broke it all the way to the back ten to bank his fourth score of the night. McDonald was right down the fairway and it went to 35-7 mid-way through the fourth. McDonald then booted it down the field with the Indian returner coming out to the 30 to give their offense another shot.

Looking for air yards, a quick pass earned just one with another being tipped. On third-and-nine, another pass also missed and it went to fourth-and-a-bunch. Having no choice, the Indians were forced to try again but it was Lord intercepting the missile as he put Neshaminy at the 40 with the pick. Bringing in some fresh faces, it was then Mason Jones who took the snap and flipped the ball to Buesmaill who showed some awesome speed as he raced all the way to the Promised Land for the score. McDonald's PAT was low and tipped to keep the score at 41-7.

Following the kickoff and return to the 25, the Indians faced a whole slate of fresh Redskin uniforms. And as the youngsters adjusted, the Indians earned several firsts to get it to Neshaminy's 38 with just under four-minutes on the clock. Another nice Indian run had it down to the ten where the replacement 'Skins began to tighten the screws as they pushed the offense back a yard. Cale Kitchenman then sacked the QB to put it at the 12 for a third-and-goal-to-go. The Unionville pass missed in the endzone and on fourth-and-thats-it, a completed pass was just short as it went back to the Moleskinners at the five. And with just a minute on the clock it wasnt long before Jones grabbed a knee as the gun sounded the end of the fourth which means:

Game to Skins!

Wow! Where to begin? First, a shout-out to Unionville which was every bit as good and tough as predicted. Thank you, Indians, for making the trip and playing at 110% all night long. Everyone in Langhorne appreciates the effort.

Turning to the 'Skins, at 1-0 the playoffs journey continues again next week. Good job in that regard! And thinking that the first-half was just a little shake-it-off, we're mighty happy that the second-half saw a level of play everyone expects. That's mighty important too as coming to Harry's House next Friday is Spring-Ford of the PAC. With the Rams taking out Downingtown West tonight, and posting an 8-2 mark in the regular season, they're the real deal in every way. No doubt, this is going to be a good one plus since it's the last time the Redskin gridders will be on home turf in 2013, we advise that not a single Langhorne fan miss this D1 quarter-final playoff contest. So knowing it will be jammed, get to the Ridge early and never forget that the team loves the support so be prepared for some serious "Go Redskins" type cheering all night long.

See you at the game.

Photos by Jesse Garber

For more game photos go to Jesse Garber on Zenfolio

Sterling Limousine Defensive Player of the Week

Denny Lord

The Redskins allowed just seven points in their 41-7 opening round district win over Unionville. Lord led the defense with eight solo tackles, one interception and one pass breakup.

Coach Mark Schmidt says: "Denny made several big plays in crucial situations against Unionville. During the last four or five weeks, he has really stepped to the forefront as a leader on defense. Denny's ability to make our calls and adjustments will be critical as we face a Spring-Ford offense that is more diverse than anything we've seen this year."

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