Northern Lehigh High School's Zach Heller(#22) runs past Wilson High School's Jeff Breidinger (#63) en route to a touchdown on October 12. (Rob Kandel / The Morning Call / October 12, 2007)
By Mandy Housenick | Of The Morning Call
It was a close game.
But then the clock struck 8:28.
Wilson, which trailed by just two points in the fourth quarter, turned the
ball over four times in the final eight minutes and 28 seconds and Northern
Lehigh turned two of those turnovers into touchdowns, which secured the host
Bulldogs' 32-16 win on Homecoming Night.
''They came out [Friday night], and did they
play,'' Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout said.
Despite looking shaky on offense and giving up huge chunks of yardage on the
ground, the Warriors managed to keep the game close.
In a 3:44-span in the third quarter, they kicked a field goal and put together
an impressive 61-yard drive that ended with Tyler Smith throwing a 49-yard
touchdown pass to Anthony Ventura on the quarter's final play. The ensuing
two-point conversion failed, but Wilson trailed just 18-16.
Then the Warriors started coming apart.
Although Northern Lehigh managed to get to Wilson's 15 yard line, Cory Kent
sacked Kris Krawchuk for a 12-yard loss. Then a 5-yard penalty against the
Bulldogs convinced Tout that his team should punt the ball.
''We were going to go for it,'' Tout said. ''But as a staff, we said, 'Let's
make them go 99 yards,''' Tout said.
It worked out even better for the Bulldogs.
The Warriors fumbled Northern Lehigh's punt, which Troy Silfies recovered at
the 9.
Just a few seconds later, freshman Cody Remaly, who finished with 148 yards on
17 carries, plowed into the end zone for his second score of the night. Casey
Hedash, who struggled earlier in the game on extra point attempts, made the
kick, which gave the Bulldogs a 25-16 advantage.
After running just two plays on its ensuing possession, the Warriors gave the
ball away again. This time, it came via an interception.
Although the Bulldogs didn't score on that drive, they were able to find the
end zone one last time.
Wilson fumbled Northern Lehigh's punt again and Craemer Hedash pounced on it
at Wilson's 10. It took the Bulldogs just one play, this time a run by Zach
Heller, to put six more on the board with 4:30 left. Casey Hedash's kick was
good and that gave Northern Lehigh a 16-point lead.
''I just wanted to get their offense off the field and get ours back on the
field because our offense is on fire,'' said Heller, who ran for 166 yards and
two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Smith threw another pick on Wilson's next possession, and Northern Lehigh just
chewed up the clock for the last 3:34.
Despite the Bulldogs' defense and special teams coming up with a few big
plays, it was their running game that was the difference maker. Northern
Lehigh racked up 360 yards rushing on 56 attempts for a 6.4 yards per carry
average.
''We haven't been a real good drive-scheme team,'' Tout said. ''We've been
better off going head-on. But Northern Lehigh football is counter tray and we
wanted to get that back and we didn't run that much last week because we were
missing our drive blocks. So we went back to the plays that our kids believe
in and it showed [Friday].''
For Wilson, finishing on the wrong side of the scoreboard is a feeling they
are growing increasingly accustomed to.
The defending state champions have now lost two games in a row, something
that hasn't happened since the 2004 season when the Warriors went 6-4 and
didn't make the playoffs. But Wilson coach Bret Comp isn't panicking. He knew
his team, which had nine sophomores starting Friday, would be a work in
progress.
''Our offense is so anemic right now,'' he said. ''But good Lord are we young.
But we'll get better. This was a team effort [Friday]. Just like it's a team
effort when you win.
''I explained to the kids that they're the 2007 Warriors. We have so many kids
putting pressure on themselves. I said, 'If you live in the past, you're
living in the wrong place.'''