Langhorne: With the 2013 season finally here, the 'Skins served as hosts to the Northeast High Vikings of Philadelphia's Public League. Always a contender in one of the oldest city leagues around the country, the Vikings posted a strong 7-5 record in 2012. And although seeing a lot of their starters graduate, a new coach and some new faces at Northeast promised to show they were ready to continue the tradition. As to Neshaminy, last year saw them finish up 9-4 as they made it to the semi-finals of the D1 playoffs before Coatesville sent them packing. Plus that last game wasnt necessarily one the Moleskinners will look back on fondly in years to come but it just may be the catalyst a senior-heavy group relies on for a serious run in 13. Enough said - let's get to the game.

The 'Skins won the flip, elected to receive and after a squib kick they started up at their own 30. With Tyler Wombough under center, it was all about the run as D'Andre Pollard, Blake Sullivan and Denny Lord quickly had the ball down to the Viking's 30 on ground work alone. Trokon Buesmaill also had a hand before a pass play went short with Wombough then sacked to bring up a fourth and 20. Punting from the 50 the ball found the endzone with Northeast then taking over on their 20. But the Vikings missed an opportunity on a wide open third-down pass and were forced to punt.

With Cole Creighton making the fair catch at Northeasts 45, the Schmidtmen were then back on O. Showing their depth, Denzel Hughes came in and ripped off a 20-yard scamper to get it in close. From there a couple of shots by Sullivan, who was bulldozing people, gave the 'Skins a first at the nine. Pollard then showed he was ready to take it up a notch as he earned the first six of the night. The PAT by Dylan McDonald was down the fairway as Neshaminy took the lead, 7-0.

Sullivan then showed another talent when he kicked off with the Vikings at their own 27 after a short return of his boot. Using a multi-set offense featuring four wideouts, Northeast picked up a first on a couple of nice efforts by their skill players. But the next series ended short when Luke Carrezola recorded the first 'Skin sack of the game. With the clock showing the first quarter had ended, the teams flipped sides before the Vikings went into punt formation. The snap went wild, though, and Buesmaill fell on the loose ball inside the five. The good spot was quickly converted into another score as Pollard shook off tacklers to earn his second TD of the night. McDonald was true again to make it 14-0 after the conversion and with 11:46 remaining in the second.

Sullivan once again wowed the crowd with a nice kickoff which saw the Vikings start up deep on their side. A three and out had them set up to punt again as a decent kick had Creighton trying a fair catch at the 45; however, a Northeast player made contact and the 15 yard penalty gave the 'Skins a first at the 30. A beautiful run by Pollard had it down just near the goal line from where Sullivan punched it in. But the PAT was blocked and the scoreboard then stayed at 20-0 for Neshaminy with the clock showing nine minutes still left in the first-half.

Following Sullivan's kick, Northeast had it out to the 28. A nice run gave them a first at their 40 which represented their best spot of the night. Things then went a little sideways for the Vikings as the ball was stripped, bounced free and Neshaminy covered it up. Mason Jones then came out to test his hand at the controls. A bit short, though, Neshaminy gave the ball back to the Vikings, on downs, at the 27. Sticking to their spread offense, Matt Magdelinskas stopped a Northeast first down effort on a key tackle. Once again forced to punt it away, Neshaminy then had the ball at mid-field. Using the wishbone and then the Wildcat too, they worked the ball down to the Vikings 20. And at that spot it was Wombough nailing Hamiid Pack for an air-score as they went up 27-0 after the successful PAT.

As the clock showed just over a minute in the half, Northeast started at its own 25 after the short kickoff return. Two plays went nowhere before the gun sounded the end of the first-half with the teams heading to the locker rooms for the break.

Back out for the second-half, Sullivan teed it up and following a nice return the Vikings started at their 34. But stalling out, a Northeast punt soon followed with Creighton taking it back to the enemy 45. Looking in good shape, it came up empty for Neshaminy as they fumbled it back with the Vikings back in business on their side of the 50.

Using their spread offense, the Vikings were still looking to make some offensive headway. But it was no luck as they punted it again after another three and out. Creighton then let the squibbed bouncer roll to the 24 where the Blue & Red offense came back out on the field. Buesmaill then opened it up with a 26-yard ramble that had it at the mid-field stripe. He then earned ten more on two more efforts to put it at the 40. Getting bunched up a bit, Wombough had it to Pack at the 15 but it came loose for an incompletion. A run that followed was short and on fourth down at the 27, another pass just miss as the Vikings took over on downs.

Northeast came right out looking for yardage but a long pass missed. A couple of plays came up short and a bad snap then put the Vikings into a tough punt from their endzone. The punt came off well, however, and a hard tackle on Creighton saw the ball pop loose. An alert Devon Brown made the recovery to give the 'Skins a first at the 50. A couple of nice runs, and a pass to Sullivan looked nice, but an illegal formation call pushed them into a third and ten as the third-quarter ended.

Changing sides for the last time, the 'Skins could'nt convert and after punting it away, the Vikings started it up at their 20. A couple of nice plays saw the Vikings get it out to Neshaminy's 45 where Northeast looked like they were gaining traction. Still, three more passes and a run came up a cropper as the ball went back to the Creek Kids on downs. Changing crews, Jones then came out under center and the ball was soon down to the 20 on another beautiful run by Pollard. Sticking with his man, Jones gave it back to Pollard who had it to the one-yard line on three more carries. From there it was Sullivan who took it across. Jones then went for two but his pass missed Pollard as the score rolled to 33-0.

Sullivan came back out to kickoff yet again with just under seven minutes in the fourth. A short kick gave the Vikings decent position at the 35 from where they started a nice drive that had them down to Neshaminy's 20 with just under two minutes still on the clock. With Northeast pushing, and the Redskins shoving, it was a hectic last couple of plays that saw the PPL club with a first down at the nine as the clock showed 45 seconds still to be cashed. Going to a fourth and 15 after a sack, with 18 seconds still to be played, the last Northeast effort came up short as Boniface Stevens busted up the go-for-broke pass. A quick knee by Jones followed and that was that.

Game to 'Skins!

A great effort by the Redskins to start the season with the Vikings playing it a lot tougher than the score might make it seem. And with plenty of ball left, no doubt Northeast will improve during the year. From Neshaminy's viewpoint, a few kinks have been worked out, with a few still needing work, but all-in-all it was a nice start to the year. Continuing the non-league schedule, next Friday will see Downingtown West come to Langhorne as the Schmidtmen play the Whippets for the first time ever. It should be a great night as West has some terrific talent and plays in the tough Ches-Mont League. So you better be at The Ridge early as this will be a good one with plenty of folks piling into Harry Franks Stadium.

See you at the game.

Sterling Limosine Player of the Week

Luke Carrezola

The senior defensive lineman was credited with three tackles – two for a loss – as well as two hurries and one sack for a loss of 15 yards to lead a Redskin defense that did not allow a point in Neshaminy’s 33-0 win over Northeast last Friday. Coach Mark Schmidt says: “Luke worked extremely hard in the offseason to improve himself on both sides of the ball. We are pleased he got off to a positive start against Northeast. However, we are looking for even bigger things Friday as we get ready for a great challenge in Downingtown West.”

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