GV Football - Playoff Game 3 vs Quakertown

Playoff game 3 saw the #1 seed GV Jags hosting #5 seed Quakertown. And it was a battle.

We scored on a 1 yard Shane Reynolds TD run. Then they scored. 7-7. Then we scored on an 18 yard Ryan Saunders TD run. Then they scored. 14-14. Then we scored on a Ryan Saunders 49 yard TD catch, and missed the extra point. Then they scored. Quakertown 21-20. Then they kicked a field goal and the half ended with Quakertown up 24-20. They had some speed and some good skill position players.

For the second time all year (the first being against Ridley) we trailed at the half. In the Ridley game, we made adjustments at the half and scored a ton of points in the second half to cruise to a convincing win. With luck, the same pattern would repeat itself here.

It did.

In the third quarter we scored 22 unanswered points. Our defense stopped the three Quakertown drives on a 4th down stuff and picked off their QB twice. This resulted in a Reynolds 68 yard TD run with Reynolds 2-point conversion, a Reynolds 1 yard TD run, and a Checcio 20 yard TD run with a passing 2-point conversion to Joey Halloran. 42-24 GV at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Reynolds goes for a 68 yard TD to take the lead

Quakertown started the 4th quarter with a drive ending in a TD pass, getting to within 42-31. Our QB threw an interception on the following drive, but we stopped another Quakertown drive, turning the ball over on downs. Our first play after the 4th down stuff was a 69 yard TD pass to Halloran, with a Halloran 2-point passing conversion. 50-31 GV.

With time winding down, Quakertown completed a long TD pass and 2-point conversion, getting to within 50-39.

On the next drive, with a 4th and 2 at the Quakertown 44 yard line, Reynolds ripped off a 44 TD run (his fourth of the game), and capped it with a 2-point conversion run, to put us up 58-39, which is where the game ended.

I'll give Quakertown a lot of credit. They had a lot of good players, and played hard all the way to the end of the game. We also played well. Our defense gave up some points, but made some big fourth down stops when we really needed them, and we had three interceptions (two by safety Drew Jackalous and one by our QB/CB Max Busenkell).

Our offense scored touchdowns on 8 of 12 possessions. Reynolds was the star of the day, carrying the ball 26 times for 261 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 two-point conversions. He also had the "Earl Campbell" play of the day, absolutely running over/through a defensive back trying to slow him down on a 40 yard run down the sideline.

GV is now 13-0 on the season, and in the 3 playoff games, Shane Reynolds has accounted for ~650 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, and two 2-pt conversions. Not a bad three weeks...

Next up is the Division 1 AAAAAA championship game, which also serves as the PIAA state quarterfinal, against #3 Coatesville. In the 5 years pre-Covid, we met Coatesville in the Divisional playoffs 3 out of the 5 years and have lost all 3 times. They are a very good team, and have been our kryptonite. We have never won the Division 1 title class AAAAAA, while Coatesville has won a Division 1 title and a state championship just in the last few years. We have our work cut out for us...