Peddie rallies for second win

FOOTBALL: The Falcons scored the last 19 points of the game last week to defeat Penn Charter on the road by a final of 19-12.

By: Neil Hay
   For 22 minutes the Peddie School football team looked ordinary, beatable.
   But over the next 26 minutes, the Falcons were something else.
   Down 12-0 late in the first half at Penn Charter in Philadelphia Saturday, the Falcons awoke from their slumber to score a touchdown, then outplayed Penn Charter in the second half for a 19-12 win.
   The win was Peddie’s second of the season without a loss.
   With about 30 seconds left in the first half Peddie quarterback David Kupstow connected with Drew Rucks on a 65-yard touchdown pass. That play lifted the spirits of the Falcons as they headed into the halftime intermission.
   "That gave us momentum," said coach Frank diLaurentis.
   The play was a boost for Peddie, but did not discourage Penn Charter, at least early in the third quarter when the home team stopped the Falcons’ first series after the second-half kickoff.
   But Peddie, which allowed Penn Charter to control the football for much of the first half, was a changed team in the second half.
   "We told the team ‘let’s forget about the first part of the game’. We were missing tackles, were half-asleep. I said ‘let’s have some fun’," said diLaurentis.
   And they did. Taji Morris gave Peddie a 13-12 lead with a 20-yard scoring run. Later in the third quarter Kupstow and Rucks teamed up again, on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
   Peddie gained 161 yards rushing on 24 carries. Morris accounted for 139 yards on 15 runs. Kupstow completed eight of 15 passes with no interceptions for 162 yards. Rucks finished with three catches for 90 yards.
   In all Peddie had 323 totals yards on offense. Of that total 295 (142 passing, 153 rushing) were produced in that crucial 26 minutes. On defense the Falcons had a pass interception by John Johnston and a fumble recovery (on the Peddie 25-yard line with 2:20 left to play) from Stefan Scoon. In total Peddie allowed Penn Charter 62 yards rushing and 159 passing.
   Asked if he thought giving up 221 yards was too much, diLaurentis quickly replied, "Not if we win the game."
   It was not a good week going into Saturday’s game. As diLaurentis put it, "It was a lousy week. Friday was a lousy day." Then there was a mixup on Saturday’s warmup schedule, all of which may have contributed to the Falcons’ lackluster play in the game’s first 22 minutes.
   "I honestly think it contributed to our lack of timing."
   But timing is everything. And the Falcons picked the right time to get their house in order: the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.
   "It is nice to come away with a win, going into our biggest challenge (tomorrow at 2 p.m. against visiting Poly Prep of Brooklyn). I am not thrilled the way we played. We played twenty-six minutes of the game. That is what we need to build on and focus on for this week’s game."