AHS football brings home Homecoming win

Scheuerman scores twice, throws for another TD in Redbirds’ triumph

By: Kyle Moylan Sports Editor
    Simply put, the Allentown High School football team had enough.
    It had enough of competitive games turned to blowouts. It had enough of one mistake leading to another. It had enough of losing.
    It had enough.
    This past Saturday during a 28-13 win over visiting Lower Cape May on Homecoming Day, Allentown did something about it.
    “We just came out with a good attitude,” noted Ross Scheuerman, who ran in two touchdowns and threw for another. “That’s what the coaching staff was talking about all week.”
    Allentown kept the positive attitude through some struggles in the first half, which included a fumble and a touchdown called back on a penalty.
    What was different about this win — actually the whole approach — was Allentown’s aggressiveness. Allentown went for it on fourth down three times in the first half. It didn’t make any of the attempts, but the faith shown in the offense and defense was ultimately rewarded.
    “We knew if we didn’t get it, our defense would step up for us,” noted Scheuerman. “The defense played great all day.”
    Lower Cape May didn’t score after any of those drives. But when Lower Cape May tried for a fourth-
and-1 late in the half from the Allentown 43, the Redbird defense came through with a key stop.
    On the next play, Sean Eccles threw a 22-yard pass to John Millet. Then Scheuerman scored on a 35-yard run on the following play, with just 42 seconds left in the half.
    “We needed first downs,” Eccles said. “We needed to keep the ball. We needed to get into the end zone. We needed to win this one.”
    Despite a long halftime for Homecoming, Allentown didn’t lose any of its aggressiveness. It did an onsides kick to start the half. Ian Maltz was able to drop a kick inside the sideline at the 35. The ball took a big bounce and spun back into the hands of a sprinting Scheuerman.
    “It looked like it was going out of bounds and then it took this big bounce right back to me,” Scheuerman said. “It was a great kick.”
    This was the big opportunity. Allentown has had them before. This time, Scheuerman made sure the team took advantage of it.
    Scheuerman scored on a 35-yard run. He followed with a 2-point conversion. Just 14 seconds into the second half, Allentown was leading 14-7.
    Scheuerman finished the game with 154 yards on 20 carries. Allentown used that fact to set up its next score as Scheuerman took a pitch from Eccles, went wide to the right and found an open Matt Mueller in the end zone for a touchdown with 3:59 to go in the quarter.
    Taking nothing for granted, Allentown continued to supply the pressure. Lower Cape May didn’t pick up a first down in the third quarter and finished the 12 minutes of play with a total of negative 18 yards of offense. The big play in the quarter coming when Brian MacNiven sacked Mike Mulligan for a loss of 14 yards.
    The defense allowed Allentown to start its next possession at the Lower Cape May 40. Six plays later, MacNiven scored from 9 yards out to give Allentown a 28-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
    “Everyone was fired up on the sidelines,” noted Eccles. “It’s a great feeling when you know you’re going to get a win.”
    The fact this one was on Homecoming just made it a little sweeter. A big crowd got to see a win. No one at the school was exactly sure when the last big Allentown Homecoming crowd saw a victory. Allentown Athletic Director Brian Irwin checked the record books and could only confirm it’s been over 20 years.
    “I still have two more years to go,” noted Scheuerman, just a sophomore. “I know the seniors are feeling great about this. Glad I could help out.”
    NOTES: Allentown, now 2-4, has a bye this week.