XETER TWP. — Crestwood’s Noah Schultz returned the game’s opening kickoff on Friday night 31 yards.
The Comets then proceeded to do what was necessary against state power Bishop McDevitt. They drained over half of the first quarter clock, keeping the ball away from McDevitt’s quick-strike offense.
The strategy only worked once. The rest of the half, Crestwood struggled to move the ball and gave it back to McDevitt.
And McDevitt struck three times in the first half on the way to defeating Crestwood 35-0 in a PIAA Class 4A semifinal game at Exeter Township High School.
District 2 champion Crestwood ended its season at 13-2, setting the school record for wins in a season and give the program its first victory in state competition a week earlier. District 3 champ McDevitt (12-1) will play District 7 champ Aliquippa on Thursday for the state championship, a rematch of last year’s title game.
Crestwood moved to the McDevitt 27-yard line on its first possession, using completions to Brendan Dennis and Schultz and three offsides penalties to pick up two first downs. The drive stalled on an incompletion with 5:23 left in the first quarter.
“We ate the clock, we flipped and zipped and ripped and everything we could do to try and earn some first downs,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “We were able to. (We) tried to keep them off balance because if you try to line up on them there’s just too much speed. It certainly worked. We were able to move the football. We made them earn the heck out of every one of their drives.”
Crestwood deviated from its single-wing, run-heavy attack on the possession, throwing three times.
McDevitt didn’t change much when it got the ball. The Crusaders moved right down the field and on a fourth-and-17 play quarterback Stone Saunders avoided a tackle attempt by Crestwood linebacker Cole Kakalecik and zipped a 30-yard TD pass to receiver Rico Smith.
“It’s a tough offense when you’re not used to it,” McDevitt coach Jeff Waechter said. “It’s a single wing and our players never saw it before. We adjusted. We took a little shot the first drive for them, but our defense did a great job after it. And we got our offense going.”
The McDevitt defense then produced three consecutive three-and-outs against Crestwood. The Comets possessed the ball 60, 61 and 61 seconds on those possessions, giving the ball back to a McDevitt offense loaded with Division I college prospects.
Saunders threw a 7-yard TD pass to Tyshawn Russell the next time the Crusaders had the ball, his 48th touchdown throw of the season. Another three-and-out by the defense resulted in McDevitt taking a 20-0 lead into halftime on a 15-yard run by Minnesota recruit Marquese Williams.
“They settled in like we knew they would and we couldn’t find a way to make a play,” Arcangeli said.
The second half didn’t start well for Crestwood as Smith, who has 16 Division I offers, returned the kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown.
“The kickoff return, that’s a killer,” Arcangeli said. “You don’t get chance to get your feet under you.”
McDevitt finished of its scoring on a 15-yard Saunders-to-Russell touchdown pass with 8:05 left in the third quarter. A pass for the two-point conversion made it 35-0 and set forward the mercy rule.
Crestwood didn’t get another first down after its initial drive until a 4-yard run by quarterback Jaden Shedlock with 10:21 left in the game. The Comets threw a season-high 19 times. Schultz, who had over 2,000 rushing yards entering the game, finished with 10 carries for no yards. The offense which regularly produced over 350 yards on the ground per game was limited to 5 total on 21 carries.
The game was marred by penalties. McDevitt was flagged 18 times for 162 yards. Crestwood was penalized 10 times for 105.
After offsetting personal fouls with 1:24 left, Waechter decided it was best his team head directly to the locker room after the game and not shake hands with the Comets.
Crestwood 21, Bonner-Prendie 14
PHILADELPHIA — Just enough offense in the first half.
Just enough defense at critical times.
The combination was just enough for Crestwood to advance in the PIAA Class 4A state football playoffs at Northeast High School.
The Comets struck with big plays in the first half and used its defense to overcome a stagnant offense in the second half for the 21-14 quarterfinal victory over District 12 champion Bonner-Prendie.
“We talked at halftime and said ‘Hey, if we don’t score anymore we’ll be OK because we’re up two scores,’” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “To have the offense do that and set the tone and then the defense, the effort there was incredible. We’re hanging on there against a team that lights the scoreboard up.”
First the offense.
Crestwood scored on its third play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jaden Shedlock started left and then bounced his run a little wider. Once he turned the corner, he was on the way to a 53-yard touchdown run.
Bonner-Prendie answered back after pinning Crestwood at 1-yard line on a punt and taking over at the Crestwood 24 after a short punt by the Comets. Quarterback Justin Shepherd lofted a pass from there to 6-foot-4 Jalil Hall in the left part of the end zone for a TD that helped tie the score 7-7 at 6:59 of the first quarter.
Crestwood got the lead back with a 12-play, 70-yard drive. The possession appeared stalled when the Comets faced a fourth-and-10 at the Bonner-Prendie 28. Crestwood, though, turned the situation into a touchdown.
Shedlock rolled a bit to his right on the fourth-down play and the Bonner-Prendie defense drifted with him. He then threw back to the left to running back Noah Schultz, who slipped out of the backfield and was wide open. Schultz was able to trot into the end zone for his 36th touchdown of the season and probably the easiest one thus far.
Schultz later gave Crestwood a 21-7 lead going into halftime, busting up the middle for a 76-yard touchdown run with 4:34 left in the second quarter.
Crestwood piled up 209 yards in the first half compared to 81 for Bonner-Prendie. The second half, though, wasn’t as kind to the Comets offense.
Crestwood’s four second-half possessions resulted in 1, 18, minus-9 and 3 yards.
And now for the defense.
Bonner-Prendie drove to the Crestwood 17-yard line after receiving the second-half kickoff. Crestwood cornerback Matt Sklarosky stopped the threat with an interception in the end zone. Safety Nick Miscavage also had an interception in the end zone — his ninth pick of the season — in the second quarter after the Friars drove to the Crestwood 9-yard line.
Bonner-Prendie inserted Colin Finnegan at quarterback after the second interception and he got things going with his legs and his arm.
“We needed to change things up,” Bonner-Prendie coach Jack Muldoon said. “We felt Colin was a more physical player and we’d have a run game with him.”
Finnegan threw a 5-yard jumpball TD pass to Hall with five seconds left in the third quarter to move the Friars within 21-14.
The Friars had the ball just two more times. The first possession ended on downs at the Crestwood 33 as the Comets broke up two passes. The second started at the Friars 34 with 3:45 remaining and also started poorly.
Finnegan tossed a short pass to running back Avery Hankey on first down, but Crestwood linebacker Cole Kakalecik flattened him for a 6-yard loss.
“I saw they had trips to the one side and they threw backside to the running back and I was all over it,” Kakalecik said.
Finnegan was buried under an avalanche of Comets for a 7-yard loss on second down. After an incompletion, Bonner-Prendie had no choice other than trying to convert a fourth-and-23 with 2:22 left. The Friars had burned all their timeouts in the third quarter.
Finnegan’s pass to Hall was too high, sending Crestwood to its school-record 13th win of the season.
“We’re really good defensively,” said Kakalecik, a four-year starter. “All the guys come into practice working really hard, putting everything they have into it. It really allows us to put ourselves in the best position defensively.”
