It was a baptism of fire for Jordan Winston when he got his first start at quarterback for Allentown High School’s football team against Pennsylvania powerhouse Archbishop Wood High School — a 62-21 victor in the Sept. 5 showdown in Warrington, Pennsylvania.
But a week later, Winston showed poise and productivity throwing and running the ball as he connected with Ricky Mottram on a scoring play from midfield to force overtime and then bulled into the end zone from a yard out in the extra session as the Redbirds beat Notre Dame High School, 40-34.
“We have to keep playing the way we did at the end of this game and fight,” Mottram said.
Winston’s stat line for the victory resembles his predecessor, Michael Curry, who put up triple-figure yardage in throwing and running the ball in many games last season and amassed more than 1,000 yards in each category before embarking on a college career at Johns Hopkins University.
Winston likewise put up big numbers against Notre Dame while Allentown repeatedly rallied from behind. He completed 7 of 13 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 243 yards on 29 carries and three touchdowns.
Joe Mannino added 141 yards on 16 carries as Allentown racked up 390 yards on the ground.
Allentown coach Jay Graber would not draw comparisons between Winston and Curry.
“I don’t really compare them in any way,” Graber said after beating his alma mater more dramatically than last year’s 30- 0 victory. “Michael was a great player for us last year on any day. Jordan is a junior who stepped up and so far has done a good job. They’re different kids, different people.”
“He’s great, a terrific athlete who can lead the team and do well for us,” Mottram said of Winston.
Mottram’s no slouch on defense, where his 138 tackles for last year’s team that won nine games earned him a No. 2 ranking in the state in one leading statistical survey. Allentown’s defensive line also earned praise from Graber, including Makelli Quinones, Joe Pritchard, Sam Beckett, Ryan Huth and Taylor Campbell.
“The defense needs a little work,” Mottram said. “We lost eight starters and have a lot of young guys, but they’ve matured. I hope they continue to get better.”
“We made a lot of mistakes early and showed a lot of heart and resilience. I like that heart and stamina,” Graber said. “The first win of the season is always the toughest, no matter what. We are just happy to get the first win.“
Winston put Allentown on the board after falling behind 14-0 when he connected with X’zavier Harris on a 30-yard scoring strike. Matt Fritsky kicked the extra point. Winston said Allentown, which went into halftime down 21-7, made adjustments at halftime to better block out the middle linebacker. Mannino ran 37 yards for a score to pull Allentown to 21-14, and Winston ran 4 yards for another to tie it, both in the third quarter, before Notre Dame answered with two touchdowns for a 34-21 lead. That’s when Winston ran 15 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter before Mottram caught the game-tying scoring pass.
“It’s a great win for our confidence,” Mottram said. “We really needed a win to get back on track. It comes just from the hard work we put in during the offseason and the resilience to fight back.”
It was a good rebound for Allentown with lessons learned in the opening game when Winston ran for two touchdowns and Mannino ran for another.
“We saw our team can’t make little mistakes,” Graber said. “I thought we moved the ball and had good pace on offense [against Archbishop Wood], but we have to improve on defense, and special teams must play better.”
The Redbirds turned that around a bit against Notre Dame and will look for it to continue 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at West Windsor- Plainsboro High School North.
“Any time you play on the road, it’s always tough, and they come off a tough loss to a good team,” Graber said of West Windsor Plainsboro North’s season-opening 21- 0 loss to Steinert High School. “They have a spread offense with the ability to throw the ball downfield, and their linebackers read well and attack.”
Boys soccer
Mohammed Kotby scored the winning goal nine minutes into overtime off a pass from Max Allen, and Joe Jurik and Chris Reeder shared time in goal as Allentown opened its season Sept. 11 with a 2-1 victory over Hamilton High School West.
Kotby said afterward his team took control of the game in the second half. Andrew Bardiwil, the lone experienced starter, scored the other goal.
Coach Andrew Plunkett said his young, rebuilt lineup took its first step to adjusting to the speed of the varsity level, where possession and patience are essential.
The Redbirds hosted Steinert Sept. 15 and travel to West Windsor-Plainsboro North Sept. 17.
Girl soccer
Allentown jumped out to a 2-0 start on the season, beating Monroe Township High School, 2-0, Sept. 5 and West Deptford High School, 4-2, Sept. 11.
Veronica Gotilla and Alyssa Sloan scored, and Toni Catelli and Kali Hartshorn had assists against Monroe. Ali DeSalvatore had to stop only one Monroe shot on goal.
Sydney Regina put in a pair of goals, and Hartshorn and Emma Pascarella fired in the others as Allentown erased West Deptford’s 2-1 halftime lead. DeSalvatore made five saves.
“We dominated all but five minutes of the first half against West Deptford but could not get the ball out of our own 18, and they got two dinky goals,” Allentown girls soccer coach Kim Maurer said. “We definitely have no one taking over the scoring, which is the best thing about our team — that our scoring is spread out.”
Maurer also praised the defense of outside backs Catelli and Alex Searing and interior backs Sara Settlecowski and Hannah Robertson.
The Redbirds traveled to Steinert Sept. 15 and host West Windsor-Plainsboro North Sept. 17. Neither of those teams are in Allentown’s Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division.
“From what I’ve seen so far, I’m excited when we get into division play,” Maurer said.
Field hockey
Melanie Scibilia scored two goals, and Kayla Peterson and Paige Zytkowicz each added another to lead Allentown to a 4-1, season-opening triumph over Princeton High School in Princeton under new head coach Dana Thompson.
Peterson and Rachel Dau each had an assist for Allentown, which played its home opener against Notre Dame Sept. 16 and travels to Hightstown High School Sept. 19 for a 10 a.m. start.