May the Swartz be with you.
#14 Owen J. Roberts had been moving the ball impressively through their first three drives at #11 Neshaminy (9-3) in Friday’s District One 6A quarterfinal. But midway through the second quarter, up 21-14, the Wildcats tried an ill-advised halfback option pass and it cost them.
Neshaminy standout lineman Owen Swartz turned it into a 10-yard loss and forced a punt.
“I just focused on my film and dialed in on my keys all week,” said Swartz, who had four tackles for loss. “I came in here expecting to do great things with my team. They ended up happening.”
It was the beginning of the end for OJR. Starting with Mike Sassano’s 19-yard touchdown pass that trimmed the Wildcat lead to 21-14, Neshaminy closed the game with 42 unanswered points. Michael Eckhart’s 11-yard screen pass to Carter Clee tied the game at 21 late in the half.
OJR, who had 216 yards in their first three drives, got just 91 for the rest of the game.
“Coaches and players all had to work together as a family to figure out what was going on wrong,” Swartz offered. “We made a couple of adjustments and it got the defense rolling.”
Meanwhile Neshaminy, who rallied from a 14-point deficit to win for the second straight week, was just getting going.
“We were down 14-0 against CB West,” Sassano reminded. “We knew that wasn’t going to stop us. We kept pushing and got into the end zone.”
“The team that gets better every week is going to win this thing,” Swartz predicted. When down “there was no pressure. We wanted to fix what was going on and work harder than the other team.”
Swartz ended OJR’s opening second half drive with a fourth down sack. Three plays later, Eckart hit Mike Sassano on a beautiful crossing pattern for a 49-yard Neshaminy touchdown, and the hosts regained the lead 28-21.
“We had a slant called and I saw one of the outside linebackers blitz,” Sassano described. A Wildcat defender “ran across the field and I took off.”
Two consecutive plays late in the third quarter started to ice the game. Luke Howell pounced on a Wildcat fumble at the Neshaminy 35. “After that fumble, everything changed,” Sassano felt. “We knew what we had to do and we had to take care of business.”
One play later, Nick Sassano hauled in a tackle breaking, 36-yard completion. Eckart scored two plays later from the 17.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, Clee powered in from the three on a drive highlighted by Eckart hitting Brock Williams in stride on a 45-yard bomb. It took Clee just two plays to get his next touchdown. Nick Sassano recovered the OJR fumble on the subsequent kickoff. Clee then slithered 38 yards to pay dirt to make the score 49- 21.
Clee had 12 carries for 149 yards and three touchdowns, with a fourth on a reception. Eckart completed 12 of 18 passes for 230 yards and added 89 yards rushing. Mike Sassano had two catches- both scores- for 68 yards. Williams caught five balls for 77 yards; Nick Sassano added four grabs for 74 yards.
Football is a game of inches. In last Friday’s opening round, OJR stopped #3 and defending District champion Downingtown West at the one-yard in the final minute to preserve a 10-7 win…and give Neshaminy a second round home game that few would have predicted.
Neshaminy (9-3) scored 21 points in all but two games. They boast a very balanced offense- Clee is a 1,000 yard rusher while Eckart had passed for 2262 yards entering Friday.
Five different Neshaminy players have over 300 receiving yards. And Eckart has been picked off just three times in 244 attempts.
The balance “gives everyone an opportunity and everyone has to be accounted for,” Mike Sassano said.
Neshaminy heads to #2 North Penn in next Friday’s District semi-final. The Knights, who have seven straight double-digit wins, fell 18-14 in Langhorne on September 12th. Eckart both ran and passed for over 100 yards.
Football is just a game, but Neshaminy’s run gives some positivity to a hurting community. Two Neshaminy students lost their lives last Friday and there was a pre-game moment of silence to honor them.
“It’s a rough topic. It’s a tough thing for everyone,” Mike Sassano shared. “We feel so sorry for the families. This gives us something to look forward to.”