WRIGHT TWP. — Crestwood did what Crestwood does — run the ball.
On Friday night the Comets would kept it on the ground 46 times as they ran with the 47-0 victory over North Pocono, clinching the top seed in the upcoming District 2 Class 4A playoffs.
The outburst by the Comets is becoming a common occurrence as Friday made it eight consecutive games where the offense scored at least five touchdowns.
“We buy into what we do, and what we do is unique,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said.
Crestwood was again led by star running back Noah Schultz, who picked up 159 yards and scored two touchdowns in the second half as the Comets began to pull away.
Schultz finished the regular season with over 1,600 rushing yards and 24 scores, leading his team to a 9-1 finish in the regular season.
The Comets set the tempo early with a 11-play (all rushing), 78-yard drive capped off by quarterback Jaden Shedlock’s 2-yard keeper for the game’s opening score.
Crestwood almost came up empty, but an untimely North Pocono penalty on fourth-and-4 kept the drive alive.
The Trojans defense would briefly keep the Crestwood offense at bay, forcing the Comets to punt on their next two possessions. But North Pocono’s offense would not be able to capitalize, unable to advance the ball to midfield.
As the Comets offense began to slow and head off the field following a three-and-out possession, special teams and defense would make big plays of their own.
A well-placed Logan Rolles punt would set the Trojans (4-6) back at their own 1-yard line. Two plays later, the Comets forced a North Pocono fumble to give the offense the ball back just two yards away from the end zone.
Shedlock would double his team’s lead on ensuing play, scoring his second touchdown of the night.
The freshman set the tone for his team as the Comets would not need to punt the rest of the way.
“They’re a tough team,” Shedlock said. “It started off as a battle, but we do what we do and we pulled it out.”
Shedlock ran for 96 yards in the contest and completed two passes, finishing the season just shy of 800 rushing yards to go with a 56% completion rate.
Crestwood would finish the half running the ball a dozen times for 90 yards with Robert Knight ultimately picking up the score with 15 seconds left in the half for an 18-0 lead at the break.
Penalties and mental mistakes almost cost the Comets the scoring chance, as two flags would move the ball from the 7-yard line all the way back to the 31.
“We shot ourselves in the foot offensively there,” Arcangeli said, “but we stuck to the plan and our offense did an amazing job.”
On the other side of the ball, the Crestwood defense stood the test, keeping the Trojans on their side of the field for the entirety of the first half.
North Pocono would not run a play in Crestwood territory until late in the third quarter after a Michael Blaine reception on a screen pass set his team up at the Comets’ 46-yard line. But the defense would battle back as Magnus Bibla picked up a sack that set the Trojans back 12 yards.
“Our defense got nasty when we needed it to,” Arcangeli said.
Crestwood would continue to control the clock with drives of 11 and seven plays that both ended with Schultz finding the end zone.
The Comets would make short work of their next possession, scoring with just 15 seconds running off the clock. Brendan Dennis would take the drive’s first carry 43 yards only to be pushed out at the 1-yard line. Dennis was sure to get the score on the ensuing play, picking up the final yard for the score.
Looking to get the goose egg off the scoreboard, the Trojans set back out to find some rhythm in their offense. Blaine would find open space and pick up 28 yards, setting his team up within 30 yards of the end zone.
The drive would ultimately not pan out with Matthew Sklaroski intercepting a fourth-down pass and returning it 86 yards to the end zone.
“I thought our kids played hard tonight — hats off to (Crestwood),” North Pocono coach Greg Dolhon said. “They’re a good football team. They make broken plays go for 20 yards.”
Crestwood 47, North Pocono 0
North Pocono`0`0`0`0 — 0
Crestwood`6`12`8`21 — 47
First quarter
CRE — Jaden Shedlock 2 run (kick failed), 7:19
Second quarter
CRE — Shedlock 2 run (pass failed), 8:51
CRE — Robert Knight 7 run (kick failed), 0:15
Third quarter
CRE — Noah Schultz 7 run (Brendan Dennis run), 4:42
Fourth quarter
CRE — Schultz 39 run (Logan Rolles kick), 11:06
CRE — Dennis 1 run (Rolles kick), 8:30
CRE — Matthew Sklaroski 86 interception return (Rolles kick), 3:12
Team statistics`NP`CRE
First downs`5`20
Rushes-yards`15-86`46-341
Passing yards`38`11
Total yards`124`352
Passing`3-9-1`2-4-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-12`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-30`2-47
Fumbles-lost`2-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`2-20`8-74
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — NP, Michael Blaine 16-67, Evan Jenkins 3-14, Noah West 7-13, Kevin Wickizer 3-3. CRE, Noah Schultz 22-159, Jaden Shedlock 16-96, Brendan Dennis 3-51, Robert Knight 3-28, Nick Miscavage 1-5, Logan Rolles 1-2.
PASSING — NP, Noah West 3-9-1-38. CRE, Jaden Shedlock 2-4-0-11.
RECEIVING — NP, Michael Blaine 2-32, Cole Thomas 1-6. CRE, Lincoln Bibla 1-12, Magnus Bibla 1-(minus-1).
INTERCEPTIONS — CRE, Matthew Sklaroski 1-86.
MISSED FGs — None.
