Abington: Tonight, Neshaminy visited the Stephen A. Schwarzman Stadium to meet the Abington Galloping Ghosts. The Ghosts came at 1-3 and the ‘Skins at 3-1. The Ghosts are a long time opponent - our lifetime record is 38-12-0.
Brock Williams TD
Neshaminy got first possession. A 15 yard penalty pushed them back to the Ghosts’ 43 when Michael Eckart came out guns blazing and threw a 57 yard pass to Brock Williams who sprinted down the field for a TD. Kicker Stephen Buczzek is back and the PAT is good. Score ‘Skins 7 – Ghosts 0.
The Ghosts then went three and out.
Neshaminy’s Carter Clee ran 48 yards for a TD but a holding call brought it back. Not to worry, as Nick Sassano and Brock Williams ate up yards on Eckart passes. Getting down to the 22, Eckart threw a downright beautiful pass to Bobby Lagler for a TD and Buzccek’s kick is good. Score is ‘Skins 14 – Ghosts 0.
The Ghosts then went another three and out.
Starting from the Ghosts’44, Neshaminy’s Clee next did the hard work as he rushed down the field to the Ghosts’ 22 and then Eckart took to the air again for a TD pass to Nick Sassano. Buzccek’s kick is good. Score is ‘Skins 21 – Ghosts 0.
Carson Schneider INT
The Ghosts then went another three and out but on the ensuing punt, Kai Taylor ran a trick play for a first down, Abington’s first, first down of the night. On the next play Ghosts’ QB Miles Yockus‘ pass was intercepted by Carson Schneider and the ball went right back to Neshaminy.
With a penalty on the Ghosts, the ‘Skins started with excellent field position on the Abington 25. Cayden Weaver’s 17 yard catch was negated with a ‘Skins’ penalty which put them back on the Abington 29 and the clock ran out on the 1st quarter.
Switching sides, Eckart took to the air again, with a 17 yard throw to Nick Sassano on the Ghosts' 1. With one yard to go, a bad snap pushed Eckart back to the 15, but he quickly recovered and caught Michael Sassano for a TD. Buzccek’s kick is good. Score is ‘Skins 28 – Ghosts 0.
Forced to start from their own 20, the Ghosts put together their best drive so far. Moving the ball on some good runs by Ayden Turner and Kai Taylor, and a catch by Antonio Ford got the Ghosts into ‘Skins territory. However, back to back penalties stalled them on their own 47 and Abington had to punt.
Neshaminy scored again on 24 yard Lagler catch on an absolutely picture perfect rocket from Eckart for his 5th TD pass of the night. Buzccek’s kick is good. Score is ‘Skins 35 – Ghosts 0 as the teams go into the locker room for the break. We took advantage and went back to re-watch that Eckart-Lagler connect again and again. It was a truly perfect throw and catch – breathtaking!
Corey Keenan-Webb
With a running clock now in effect, the 3rd quarter began with Abington in possession. WR Turner had an 11 yard catch and Abington decided to go for it on 4th down but Yockus was tackled by Rocco Gregory and Corey Keenoy-Webb for a loss and a turnover on downs on the Abington 48.
And just like that, Clee immediately ate up 27 yards followed by another 21 yards for a TD, his 4th rushing TD of the season. Buzccek’s kick is good. Score is ‘Skins 42 – Ghosts 0.
The Ghosts took over on their 30 as we saw all new faces on the Neshaminy defense. The Ghosts were able to move the ball effectively due to 34 rushing yards by Taylor which brought the end to the 3rd quarter.
Stephen Buczzek K
Switching sides and now on the ‘Skins’ 7, Yokus threw to Taylor in the end zone to put 6 on the board. Abington went for 2, but the conversion was stopped by the Neshaminy defense. Score ‘Skins 42 – Ghosts 6.
The Ghosts then attempted an offside kick but Josef Perlman quickly scooped it out of the air giving the ‘Skins great field position close to midfield. A slew of new faces stepped into the offense with freshman Angel Miranda in as QB. Cayden Weaver came in a RB and right away started putting down some hard fought, tough gains. But the ‘Skins stalled on the Ghosts’ 39 and turned the ball over on downs.
Malakhi Fox
But the ball went back to the ‘Skins on the first play, an interception by freshman Malakhi Fox wearing #29, who ran a pick six for a TD. The kick was no good due to a botched snap. Score ‘Skins 48 – Ghost 6 with 7 minutes left to play.
Abington started on their 40 but was quickly assisted by 'Skins' penalties. But they could not get past midfield and a 4th and 15 situation. Going for it, Yokus’s receiver could not complete the pass and Neshaminy started from the 50.
‘Skins’ junior Dylan Lomassaro rushed for 47 yards before the clock ran out. Final score ‘Skins 48 – Ghosts 6.
Michael Eckart
Michael Eckart was electric - 94.1% effective with 251 completed passing yards and 5 passing TDs. Carter Clee had 101 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD. Steven Buczzek, coming back from an injury, went 5 for 6 on PATS, only missing the last attempt due to a bad snap. The Sassano Brothers each had a TD and as always, they are all over the field making plays. We saw some great catches tonight as well from Brock Williams and Bobby Lagler, who both scored TDs. The 2nd half introduced us to some new faces. Freshman Mikalhi Fox returned a pick six for a TD and junior Dylan Lomassaro put down some hard runs.
Defense
The defense held Abington to 1 score, put pressure on their QB all night long and shut down their run game, allowing only 59 rushing yards. Neshaminy’s D line is indomitable and let’s give you an explanation to lend creedance to that adjective - If someone is described as indomitable, it means they are strong, brave, determined, and virtually impossible to defeat or overcome. They possess an "indomitable spirit" or "will" that enables them to persevere through challenges, never give up, and face adversity with courage. That is our defense.
We are betting the game prep for the next two games will be as solid as it has been all season. Coach Felus has fired up the troops and his approach to the basics is showing rewards. We are pretty darn excited for the rest of the season.
We are also actively researching our archives to determine if any other Neshaminy quarter back has thrown 5 TD passes in one game, and to 5 different receivers. We are researching whether this has ever happened before in Redskin history.
Captains for tonight's game - #1 Michael Eckart, #9 Carson Schneider, #52 Owen Swartz and #54 Milo Makes.
The Ghosts always play hard and tonight was no exception. We thank them for their hospitality and wish them the best of luck the rest of the season.
You can re-watch the game here. FYI - the livestream of this game garnered 2,031 views.
One thing more - the uniforms took us by complete surprise as the last time we saw anything similar was in the 2012 season at the William Tennent game. Granted, it is hard to remember uniforms back to 1928, and even though there are differences, it made us sit right up and take notice, because the uniforms are sharp.
We are back at The Ridge to meet Central Bucks West next week, and we know the Neshaminy faithful will be out in force to cheer on the team. The next two games, at home, are important ones and we need our faithful to fill the stands!
Good night Mrs. B!
BOXSCORE
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Game 5
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1
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2
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3
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4
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F
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neshaminy | 21 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 48 |
| Abington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Team | Qtr | Time | Description | NHS | OPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 1 | 10:40 | 57 yard TD pass Michael Eckart to to Brock Williams and Stephen Buczzek kick is good | 7 | 0 |
| N | 1 | 7:20 | 22 yard TD pass Eckart to Bobby Lagler and Buczzek kick is good | 14 | 0 |
| N | 1 | 4:03 | 22 yard TD pass Eckart to Nick Sassano and Buczzek kick is good | 21 | 0 |
| N | 2 | 10:05 | 17 yard TD pass Eckart to Mike Sassano and Buczzek kick is good | 28 | 0 |
| N | 2 | 1:31 | 23 yard TD pass to Lagler and Buczzek kick is good | 35 | 0 |
| N | 3 | 6:25 | 21 yard TD run Carter Clee and Buczzek kick is good | 42 | 0 |
| A | 4 | 11:51 | 7 yard TD pass Miles Yockus to Kai Taylor and kick is no good | 42 | 6 |
| N | 4 | 7:14 | Pick six by Dylan Reed and kick is no good | 48 | 6 |
Photos
Photos courtesy of Jesse Garber
For more game photos go to Jesse Garber on Zenfolio
VIDEO
Video by Nate Hall '13 | Nathaniel Hall Portfolio
STERLING LIMO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sterling Limo Honor Roll:
Michael Eckart, Neshaminy – In a remarkable showing, the senior quarterback competed 16 of 17 passes for 251 yards and five touchdowns – all in the first half of Neshaminy’s 48-6 win over Abington.
Michael Eckart