To run in the September 10th Bucks County Herald
Methacton set the tone early Thursday night in their 42-0 win over William Tennent in Warminster.
The Warriors needed only six plays to march 67 yards on their opening drive, capping it with Roman Brown’s one-yard touchdown run. The Methacton defense then posted a three-and-out on Tennent’s opening drive.
Brown rushed for three first half touchdowns while quarterback Jackson Lecky hit Nolan Groschopp for a 58-yard score with 46 seconds left to give Methacton a 28-0 halftime lead.
Tennent (1-1) opened the second half with their best drive of the game. The Panthers marched 39 yards on eight runs, using the legs of Jimmy Kulpa and Gavin Mensch. Mensch, ordinarily a running back, was pressed into backup quarterback duty.
“I thought we brought a little more energy and didn’t come out as flat,” said fullback Teegan Stanfield. “We got a little ahead of ourselves after we won the first week. After the talk at halftime, we wanted to bring it and run in their face a little more. The game didn’t end like we wanted, but we’ll try and get it back next week.”
After turning the ball over on downs, Lecky connected with Jaylen Andrews on a 39-yard touchdown five plays later. Methacton recovered an errant snap in the end zone late in the third quarter to cap the scoring.
Brown ran for 85 yards on 11 carries. Lecky added 87 yards on the ground and completed 4 of 10 passes for 139 yards.
Tennent lineman Narisi-Kidd forced Lecky to turn the ball over on downs late in the first half with a hurry. Narisi-Kidd had two hurries against a larger Warrior line.
“We’re coming together but I feel like the reason the score was such a big deficit is that we didn’t pick it up in practice this week,” Narisi-Kidd shared. “We can’t act like we’ve already won because we won the week before. We have to take every rep 100% next week.”
Tennent’s starting quarterback, Brayden Rementer, completed three of six passes for 21 yards, before an injury sidelined him for the second half. Mensch and Kulpa combined for 65 yards on 18 carries.
Rementer, Kulpa and co-captain Stanfield are all juniors: indicative of a young Tennent squad. The Panthers have just 11 seniors but 25 freshmen.
In addition to making plays and fullback and linebacker, Stanfield did a commendable job punting. He launched four punts of 34+ yards to force Methacton to move more chains.
“I used to play goalie in soccer. This is my second year punting,” Stanfield shared. “We needed a punter and I tried out.”
Tennent opened head coach Biz Keeny’s second act last Friday night with a 20-7 season opening win at Council Rock North. Mensch rushed for 211 yards and three touchdowns, including an 80-yarder. Keeny coached the Panthers from 2001 to 2012, racking up over 50 wins.
“I feel like last week, when the defense had a little hiccup,” Narisi-Kidd shared, “we came together and said ‘Let’s go.’” The senior pointed out the need for improved communication as a takeaway Thursday night.
“We had a better week of practice against North. This week, we came up a little soft at practice. Last week, we brought the energy,” Stanfield added. “But when you come out flat, the game isn’t going to go your way.”
Tennent sought their first 2-0 start since 2018. The Panthers host Chichester next Friday.