Pen Argyl can't catch a break in loss to West Catholic

FROM THE MORNING CALL

PHILADELPHIA — Dylan Evans broke off a running play that was designed to go off tackle and sprinted around the right end.

The Pen Argyl senior then escaped several West Catholic pursuers by cutting back across the middle of the field.

All that was left for the Green Knights standout to do was finish the run he'd done 78 other times in his career.

But something happened on this play that hadn't happened on his previous trips to the end zone.

Evans tripped.

"You don't see him do that all year," Pen Argyl coach Paul Reduzzi said.

He wasn't jumping over someone. He wasn't slipping in grass or mud. It was an artificial surface. His balance is so good, that it led to many of his 4,400 rushing yards.

But, in Saturday's PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal at the South Philly Athletic Super Site, Evans had that kind of day. So did his teammates.

At every crucial moment, the Green Knights came up short.

"We were one play away every time," Evans acknowledged.

Those shortcomings led to a 32-7 loss to the Burrs.

After Evans fell, Pen Argyl had a first down at the West Catholic 11-yard line. Three plays later, Conor Gum hit Kyle Muller with what appeared to be a pass for a first down at the 1. But officials spotted the ball just outside the 1, leaving the Green Knights two chain links short of the first down.

That was the first series of the second half, with Pen Argyl down 12-0.

In the first half, two officials calls proved costly for Reduzzi's team.

On the game's first series, the Knights drove to the 1. Evans stretched toward the end zone. His knee touched down. He facemask was grabbed. The ball was knocked out.

Officials ruled it a fumble and West Catholic's ball.

On the Knights' third series, they appeared to have a first-and-goal at the Burrs' 1 after a completion from Gum to Kyle Muller, who caught the ball and came down with both feet inbounds. He then stretched toward the pilon and the ball came out as he hit the ground.

The official right on top of the play ruled it a catch at the 1. Another official more than 10 yards away ruled it an incompletion. Next play, Pen Argyl came one yard short of a first down.

"If there was a touchdown behind them or one of those big plays behind them," Reduzzi said, "it gives you something to build on. We didn't get that.

"We didn't get any positive feedback."


West Catholic made the most of its big plays and it's the reason coach Brian Fluck's squad won.

The Burrs converted on third down on a 20-yard pass play, then finished the drive on Jaleel Reed's 1-yard TD run with 1:29 left in the second quarter for a 6-0 lead.

Three plays later, 6-foot-7 Jarryd Jones-Smith intercepted Gum's screen pass and returned it to the Pen Argyl 42.

Four plays later, Reed found Bruce Mapp in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the first half for a 12-0 West Catholic lead.


"I'm supposed to be up all the time," Reduzzi said. "That [interception and subsequent score] hurt me. It took something out of us."

Reed fumbled the second-half kickoff after a 50-yard return. Tommy Young made the strip and Evans recovered.

Pen Argyl, which had 21 first downs and never punted, put together another long drive. But it ended in disappointment with Evans falling down and the fourth-down play that came up short.

"In games like this, you need something to restore your energy," Reduzzi said. "Our kids, their tanks were drained."

Feeding off the positive energy, West Catholic put together a 99-yard drive capped by David Williams' 33-yard scoring run.

Jalil Shoatz scored on fourth-quarter runs of 33 and 27 yards to ice things.

"We ran some different formations off the weak side and got some breaks to the outside when [the Knights] were busting things up inside," Fluck said. "The kids know things aren't going to go their way all the time. We needed to make plays to turn things around."

Evans set the school record for touchdowns with a 3-yard scoring run with 37 seconds left. It was his 31st this season. But Evans' mind was elsewhere.

"I feel bad for the team," he said. "We worked so hard to get this far and then not have things go our way."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-piaa-class2a-quarterfinal-1203-20111203,0,2420063.story