By: Kyle Moylan
If anyone ever wants to know what the Allentown High School football program has been like for the past three decades, they would only have to look at one play that happened in the fourth quarter at Ewing this past Saturday night.
Following a touchdown that put them up by 15 points, Ewing kicked off. The kick was neither an onsides or a deep one. It was one of those hundred-hoppers that are hard to return.
This one was hard to grab.
As several Allentown players chased after it, the ball was as elusive as a greased pig. It just kept bouncing to the right sideline, but would not go out of bounds. And every time an Allentown player reached out to grab it, the ball just seemed to bounce away.
Finally, Ewing’s William Green fell on the ball at the Allentown 21. Two plays later, Matthew Brecko scored his third touchdown in what ended up a 27-6 Ewing win.
"We just can’t get the ball to bounce our way,"Allentown Coach Greg LaCava noted. "It’s been that way for a long time. At this time it’s not bouncing our way, but we have to keep persevering. One of these day days it will bounce Allentown’s way. And when it does, these kids will deserve it."
LaCava’s explanation was as good as any. How else does one explain how a coin-toss of a football game somehow ends up 27-6. It looks like a blowout to everyone except for the people who watched the game.
"Yeah, I was nervous," Ewing Coach Craig Wood noted of a game in which his team held a 7-6 lead at the half. And, quite frankly, Ewing was very lucky to be leading at all.
"Our defense played solid and allowed us to hang around and hang around and hang around," Wood noted.
Ewing was not having much success moving the ball in the first half. In fact, Ewing’s lone score came after a fumbled snap on a punt attempt set the Bue Devils up at the Allentown 18.
Ewing took over with less than a minute to play in the first quarter and ended up scoring early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Brecko.
Brecko’s touchdown and ensuing extra point by Thomas Carroll came with 10:54 to play in the half. Over the next 10:37, Ewing picked up a grand total of two yards.
Using a steady ground attack of Matt Mordas (14 carries for 80 yards) and Ryan Reiser (16 carries for 59 yards), Allentown was able to move the ball from its own 31 to the Ewing 14. Allentown had a first down at the 14, but lost three yards over the next three plays.
LaCava decided to send on Dan Gentz, a big two-way lineman, to attempt a 34-yard field goal. Gentz responded by kicking a low liner that just barely cleared the line of scrimmage before gradually picking up enough height to clear the bar.
With 24.8 seconds left in the half, Gentz added a 37-yard field goal. This one was a high, powerful kick that was good from the second it left his foot.
While Allentown had the momentum and was down by just a point, it was also a team that had the two most impressive drives in the first half.
"We’ve had opportunities," LaCava said. "We had them against West Windsor South and last week against Hamilton. We’re not a one-play team, though. For us to score, we have to put sustained drives together. For high school players to put that many plays together mistake free is extremely difficult."
In the third quarter, Allentown did get one big play. Mordas carried the ball on the first play from scrimmage from the Allentown 30 to the Ewing 27. Three running plays then brought the ball to the 20, setting up a fourth-and-two.
Before Allentown ran a play, it was called for a delay of game.
"That was my mistake," LaCava said. "I caused the delay of game. I was indecisive."
A fourth-down run fell two yards short of a first down.
Allentown hung tough, though. The defense allowed one first down, but then forced a punt.
"Our defense did a great job," LaCava said. "The credit for that goes to Tom Letson. He gets our players up to play."
Allentown also was forced to punt. By now, however, the depth of the two teams was starting to change the game at the line of scrimmage.
"You could see it as the third quarter wore on," Wood said. "You could see the surge going the other way at the line of scrimmage."
LaCava agreed.
"Depth is our enemy right now," LaCava said. "You could see what happens as the game goes on. We have so many players going on both offense and defense."
Ewing put together what was really its only drive of the game, going 73 yards on 10 plays, scoring on a 21-yard run by Brecko.
Even so, the Allentown defense was giving it a chance to win. In fact, an interception and return by Chaz Rini brought the ball near midfield. Unfortunately, a clip brought it back to the 26. Three plays later, Ewing’s Jason Rogers intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Then came the infamous kickoff.
"The score was not indicative of how we played," LaCava said.
Forget the score from this one. Forget the scores for the rest of the season as well. Doesn’t matter what the score is. At 0-3, Allentown needs wins. Starting with Princeton this Saturday, Allentown needs wins.
"We need to be as close to .500 as possible going into the Lawrence game (week nine)," LaCava noted. "In order to get there, we can’t take anyone for granted."
To its own behalf, Ewing didn’t take Allentown for granted. And certainly no one should take for granted that 27-6 was a one-sided game.
It wasn’t.
Sometimes the ball just bounces in funny ways.
