Allentown High School’s Julian Tsang (11) chases down a ball before it slips out of bounds during the Redbirds’ Sept. 15 match against Steinert High School in Allentown. Visiting Steinert handed the Redbirds a 4-0 loss. MATT DENTON ALLENTOWN
I t’s hard to imagine six 100-yard rushers in the same high school football game
— four on the same team.
But that was the case when Allentown High School defeated West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North Sept. 18 in a game that ended with a final score of 81-56.
Allentown quarterback Jordan Winston was the leading rusher for the second straight game, getting 354 yards on the ground on 24 carries with six touchdowns.
It seems unimaginable for those who weren’t at the game with what appear like fantasy football numbers, but it was certainly one for Allentown’s record books on both sides of the ball.
Factoring in Allentown’s last game — a 40-34 win in overtime against Notre Dame High School where Winston rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns — Winston has 597 yards and nine touchdowns in the past two games. That’s half a season’s worth of yardage for most outstanding ball carriers.
It was reminiscent of another wild game in 2010 when former Allentown star running back Ross Scheuerman scored seven touchdowns as the Redbirds beat Trenton Central High School, 74-44, before Scheuerman embarked on a college career as one of Lafayette College’s greatest running backs.
The way Winston is going, he can reach 1,000 yards rushing by the Redbirds’ next game at home Sept. 25 in a West Jersey Football League Colonial Division game against Nottingham High School. He has 757 yards after three games, rushing for 160 yards and a touchdown in the season-opening loss, 62-21, to Archbishop Wood High School (Warminster, Pennsylvania).
“I give all the credit to the people in front of me — the big men,” Winston said after the West Windsor-Plainsboro North victory. “They knew we had to block them, and we got it done. Just look at the scoreboard.”
He didn’t do it alone against West
Windsor-Plainsboro North. Joe Mannino rushed for 276 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns, an encore to his 141 yards rushing against Notre Dame.
“[Line play] made us who we are today,” Mannino said.
Add in junior running backs Aydon
Chavis with 132 yards and two touchdowns and Rick Mottram, who finished with 111 yards and a touchdown on four carries, and it made for a busy day for
Matt Fritsky, who kicked nine of 12 extra points.
“It’s really a testament to how hard our offensive line works, how dominant it is,” Mottram said.
There’s also the other side of the scoreboard, where Allentown’s elation turned to frustration. West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s quarterback, Malik Thompson, also rushed for more than 100 yards and ran back two kickoffs.
Allentown has scored 142 points over its first three games, but it also has allowed 152.
“We continued to struggle on defense and special teams. We really have to watch film and find what we’re doing wrong,” Allentown head coach Jay Graber said. “We have to play better on special teams and stop the run. Nottingham has a good running back and their offensive line is strong.”
“We definitely have to put in the work on defense,” said linebacker Mottram, who was one of the state’s leaders in tackles last season. “We need to be better focused at practices and carrying over to games. Everyone needs to know what has to be done.”
The coach pointed out West Windsor- Plainsboro North coming back strong from a season-opening, 21-0 loss to Steinert High School. As happy as he said he was with the victory, Graber said there is a lot of work ahead for him, his staff and his team.
“We have to really self-evaluate our team,” Graber said heading into practices early this week. “This is not acceptable. We cannot win any games in Group III or against a team like Jackson Memorial if we play this way. We have to look at it and see what we can do.
“It’s a combination of everything and we have to coach better.” Graber said.
Time will tell, but Graber generally trusts the dedication and resilience of his players to work their way through things.
Girls soccer
Freshman Emma Pascarella had back-toback game-winning goals as Allentown’s girls soccer team (4-0) nailed down victories Sept. 17 over West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 1-0, and Steinert, 2-1, Sept. 15.
Pascarella converted a pass from Veronica Gotilla in the first half for her third goal of the season, and goalkeeper Ali DeSalvatore needed to stop only one shot by West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
It was a stark contrast from the Steinert game, where DeSalvatore had a number of spectacular saves in the second half while Pascarella put away a 25-yarder for the deciding goal. Kassidy Mulryne scored the earlier goal for Allentown, which is on the road this week against Nottingham Sept. 24.
Field hockey
Dana Thompson, as successor to Hall of Fame coach Mary Ellen McCarthy, has picked up where the team left off with the Redbirds winning the first three games this season, including a 5-2 victory over Nottingham Sept. 19 and a 3-0 victory over Notre Dame Sept. 16.
Against Notre Dame, Paige Zytkowicz scored within the first three minutes, and Kayla Peterson and Olivia Puzzo padded the margin in the second half. Katie White stopped six Notre Dame shots.
Allentown, which has outscored its opponents, 12-3, plays at Hamilton High School West Sept. 24.
Boys soccer
After a 2-1 season-opening victory over Hamilton West Sept. 11, Allentown’s rebuilding team was shut out with only six shots on goal in two games by West Windsor Plainsboro North, 5-0, Sept. 17, and by Steinert, 4-0, Sept. 15.