FOOTBALL: Morrisville’s comeback falls short as Bulldogs lose to Tower Hill
Morrisville quarterback Zach McIntyre comes under heavy pressure from a pass rusher in Saturday's loss to Tower Hill. (photo by Andrew Golas)
MORRISVILLE — Bill Quill and his Morrisville High football team can point to several reasons why their thrilling fourth quarter comeback fell short Saturday at Robert Morris Field.
Lack of an extra-point kicker was one reason. Foolish penalties in crucial situations took a toll, too. So did the two 70-yard drives they let Tower Hill Academy, from Wilmington, Del. put together.
In the end, all those factors contributed to a 14-12 loss the Bulldogs suffered when their rally came up just short because of an interception thrown inside the 20 with 16.4 seconds remaining.
“The kids played hard and played with pride in the second half when we shut them out,” said Quill, who knew that, with only one day of practice to get ready because of Hurricane Sandy, his squad was ill-prepared to stop Tower Hill’s single-wing offensive scheme.
The 6-4 Bulldogs, who already had a District One PIAA playoff berth secured and were hoping to possibly move into the No. 1 spot, spotted 6-2 Tower Hill a 14-0 lead before they got their act together and gained 123 of their 201 rushing yards after halftime.
Switching quarterbacks from Zach McIntyre to Joe Sesar got the offense going, as did the running of JaQuan Billups (10 for 62), Jimmie Miller (14-77) and Raimy Valdez (10-60).
Tower Hill looked on the verge of making this a blowout after it drove 69 yards in 10 plays (all runs) to get its first points on 6-yard Jermaine Knotts Jr. 8:09 before halftime.
Morrisville, which just missed tying it at the end of the half when Valdez ran 26 yards to the four as time expired, saw the Hillers go up 14-0 on their first posession of the third period. This one covered 70 yards in 10 plays and with the help of a facemask penalty and to Anthony Wallace runs for 24 yards dug a deeper hole for the ‘Dawgs.
Sesar quickly got them out of it. “He’s a better passer than our starter (McIntyre), but he has only come back recently from a broken hand,” said Quill.
Sesar’s only completion - for 50 yards to Valdez following a 21-yard Miller run — ignited the ‘Dawgs, who scored two plays later on an 8-yard Miller run.
Lack of an extra-point kicker was one reason. Foolish penalties in crucial situations took a toll, too. So did the two 70-yard drives they let Tower Hill Academy, from Wilmington, Del. put together.
In the end, all those factors contributed to a 14-12 loss the Bulldogs suffered when their rally came up just short because of an interception thrown inside the 20 with 16.4 seconds remaining.
“The kids played hard and played with pride in the second half when we shut them out,” said Quill, who knew that, with only one day of practice to get ready because of Hurricane Sandy, his squad was ill-prepared to stop Tower Hill’s single-wing offensive scheme.
The 6-4 Bulldogs, who already had a District One PIAA playoff berth secured and were hoping to possibly move into the No. 1 spot, spotted 6-2 Tower Hill a 14-0 lead before they got their act together and gained 123 of their 201 rushing yards after halftime.
Switching quarterbacks from Zach McIntyre to Joe Sesar got the offense going, as did the running of JaQuan Billups (10 for 62), Jimmie Miller (14-77) and Raimy Valdez (10-60).
Tower Hill looked on the verge of making this a blowout after it drove 69 yards in 10 plays (all runs) to get its first points on 6-yard Jermaine Knotts Jr. 8:09 before halftime.
Morrisville, which just missed tying it at the end of the half when Valdez ran 26 yards to the four as time expired, saw the Hillers go up 14-0 on their first posession of the third period. This one covered 70 yards in 10 plays and with the help of a facemask penalty and to Anthony Wallace runs for 24 yards dug a deeper hole for the ‘Dawgs.
Sesar quickly got them out of it. “He’s a better passer than our starter (McIntyre), but he has only come back recently from a broken hand,” said Quill.
Sesar’s only completion - for 50 yards to Valdez following a 21-yard Miller run — ignited the ‘Dawgs, who scored two plays later on an 8-yard Miller run.
The defense came to life, too. First, it stopped Tower Hill on a 4th-and-2, then after a 3-and-out, got the ball back when Miller picked off Matte and returned the interception 55 yards to the 25. Five runs got Mo’ville into the end zone as Valdez scored on an 8-yard run with 0:58 left to get within 14-12, but only after a potential two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
After Valdez continued his late heroics recovering an onside kick at the 39, Sesar found Miller for nine yards to the 24. But after three incompletions, he was picked off by Anthony Wallace and Tower Hill went into a victory formation to seal its win.
“Getting to the playoffs after last season (0-10) was our goal this year,” said Quill. “We’ve made it, but it would have been nice to win today and maybe get a better seed.”
Tower Hill 14, Morrisville 12
(Nov. 3 at Morrisville)
LINESCORES
Tower Hill (6-2) 0 7 7 0 — 14
Morrisville (6-4) 0 0 0 12 — 12
SUMMARY
TH - Knotts Jr. 6 run (Boyden kick)
After Valdez continued his late heroics recovering an onside kick at the 39, Sesar found Miller for nine yards to the 24. But after three incompletions, he was picked off by Anthony Wallace and Tower Hill went into a victory formation to seal its win.
“Getting to the playoffs after last season (0-10) was our goal this year,” said Quill. “We’ve made it, but it would have been nice to win today and maybe get a better seed.”
Tower Hill 14, Morrisville 12
(Nov. 3 at Morrisville)
LINESCORES
Tower Hill (6-2) 0 7 7 0 — 14
Morrisville (6-4) 0 0 0 12 — 12
SUMMARY
TH - Knotts Jr. 6 run (Boyden kick)
TH - Wallace 6 run (Boyden kick)
M - Miller 6 run (run failed)
M - Valdez 8 run (run failed)
M - Miller 6 run (run failed)
M - Valdez 8 run (run failed)
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MORRISVILLE — Bill Quill and his Morrisville High football team can point to several reasons why their thrilling fourth quarter comeback fell short Saturday at Robert Morris Field.
Lack of an extra-point kicker was one reason. Foolish penalties in crucial situations took a toll, too. So did the two 70-yard drives they let Tower Hill Academy, from Wilmington, Del. put together.
In the end, all those factors contributed to a 14-12 loss the Bulldogs suffered when their rally came up just short because of an interception thrown inside the 20 with 16.4 seconds remaining.
“The kids played hard and played with pride in the second half when we shut them out,” said Quill, who knew that, with only one day of practice to get ready because of Hurricane Sandy, his squad was ill-prepared to stop Tower Hill’s single-wing offensive scheme.
The 6-4 Bulldogs, who already had a District One PIAA playoff berth secured and were hoping to possibly move into the No. 1 spot, spotted 6-2 Tower Hill a 14-0 lead before they got their act together and gained 123 of their 201 rushing yards after halftime.
Switching quarterbacks from Zach McIntyre to Joe Sesar got the offense going, as did the running of JaQuan Billups (10 for 62), Jimmie Miller (14-77) and Raimy Valdez (10-60).
Tower Hill looked on the verge of making this a blowout after it drove 69 yards in 10 plays (all runs) to get its first points on 6-yard Jermaine Knotts Jr. 8:09 before halftime.
Morrisville, which just missed tying it at the end of the half when Valdez ran 26 yards to the four as time expired, saw the Hillers go up 14-0 on their first posession of the third period. This one covered 70 yards in 10 plays and with the help of a facemask penalty and to Anthony Wallace runs for 24 yards dug a deeper hole for the ‘Dawgs.
Sesar quickly got them out of it. “He’s a better passer than our starter (McIntyre), but he has only come back recently from a broken hand,” said Quill.
Sesar’s only completion - for 50 yards to Valdez following a 21-yard Miller run — ignited the ‘Dawgs, who scored two plays later on an 8-yard Miller run.
The defense came to life, too. First, it stopped Tower Hill on a 4th-and-2, then after a 3-and-out, got the ball back when Miller picked off Matte and returned the interception 55 yards to the 25. Five runs got Mo’ville into the end zone as Valdez scored on an 8-yard run with 0:58 left to get within 14-12, but only after a potential two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
After Valdez continued his late heroics recovering an onside kick at the 39, Sesar found Miller for nine yards to the 24. But after three incompletions, he was picked off by Anthony Wallace and Tower Hill went into a victory formation to seal its win.
“Getting to the playoffs after last season (0-10) was our goal this year,” said Quill. “We’ve made it, but it would have been nice to win today and maybe get a better seed.”
Tower Hill 14, Morrisville 12
(Nov. 3 at Morrisville)
LINESCORES
Tower Hill (6-2) 0 7 7 0 — 14
Morrisville (6-4) 0 0 0 12 — 12
SUMMARY
TH - Knotts Jr. 6 run (Boyden kick)
TH - Wallace 6 run (Boyden kick)
M - Miller 6 run (run failed)
M - Valdez 8 run (run failed)
Lack of an extra-point kicker was one reason. Foolish penalties in crucial situations took a toll, too. So did the two 70-yard drives they let Tower Hill Academy, from Wilmington, Del. put together.
In the end, all those factors contributed to a 14-12 loss the Bulldogs suffered when their rally came up just short because of an interception thrown inside the 20 with 16.4 seconds remaining.
“The kids played hard and played with pride in the second half when we shut them out,” said Quill, who knew that, with only one day of practice to get ready because of Hurricane Sandy, his squad was ill-prepared to stop Tower Hill’s single-wing offensive scheme.
The 6-4 Bulldogs, who already had a District One PIAA playoff berth secured and were hoping to possibly move into the No. 1 spot, spotted 6-2 Tower Hill a 14-0 lead before they got their act together and gained 123 of their 201 rushing yards after halftime.
Switching quarterbacks from Zach McIntyre to Joe Sesar got the offense going, as did the running of JaQuan Billups (10 for 62), Jimmie Miller (14-77) and Raimy Valdez (10-60).
Tower Hill looked on the verge of making this a blowout after it drove 69 yards in 10 plays (all runs) to get its first points on 6-yard Jermaine Knotts Jr. 8:09 before halftime.
Morrisville, which just missed tying it at the end of the half when Valdez ran 26 yards to the four as time expired, saw the Hillers go up 14-0 on their first posession of the third period. This one covered 70 yards in 10 plays and with the help of a facemask penalty and to Anthony Wallace runs for 24 yards dug a deeper hole for the ‘Dawgs.
Sesar quickly got them out of it. “He’s a better passer than our starter (McIntyre), but he has only come back recently from a broken hand,” said Quill.
Sesar’s only completion - for 50 yards to Valdez following a 21-yard Miller run — ignited the ‘Dawgs, who scored two plays later on an 8-yard Miller run.
The defense came to life, too. First, it stopped Tower Hill on a 4th-and-2, then after a 3-and-out, got the ball back when Miller picked off Matte and returned the interception 55 yards to the 25. Five runs got Mo’ville into the end zone as Valdez scored on an 8-yard run with 0:58 left to get within 14-12, but only after a potential two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
After Valdez continued his late heroics recovering an onside kick at the 39, Sesar found Miller for nine yards to the 24. But after three incompletions, he was picked off by Anthony Wallace and Tower Hill went into a victory formation to seal its win.
“Getting to the playoffs after last season (0-10) was our goal this year,” said Quill. “We’ve made it, but it would have been nice to win today and maybe get a better seed.”
Tower Hill 14, Morrisville 12
(Nov. 3 at Morrisville)
LINESCORES
Tower Hill (6-2) 0 7 7 0 — 14
Morrisville (6-4) 0 0 0 12 — 12
SUMMARY
TH - Knotts Jr. 6 run (Boyden kick)
TH - Wallace 6 run (Boyden kick)
M - Miller 6 run (run failed)
M - Valdez 8 run (run failed)
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