Return To the Single-Wing Results in Pen Argyl's Third Win

Wild second half results in Pen Argyl's third win
Green Knights score 14 points in fourth quarter to beat No. Lehigh.

By Mandy Housenick Of The Morning Call
September 22, 2007


Call it crazy.

Call it unbelievable.

Call it a little lucky.
Nobody would argue with those descriptions if they saw the second half of Northern Lehigh's game against visiting Pen Argyl.

The Green Knights made bad snaps on back-to-back plays to push them back 24 yards during the third quarter.

Bulldogs quarterback Kris Krawchuk completed a pass for minus-11 yards -- to himself.

And Pen Argyl's Mike Huth recovered a punt blocked by Northern Lehigh's Craemer Hedash and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.

''I've never seen a play like that and I can't believe I actually scored on it,'' Huth said.

When all the craziness ended, it was the Green Knights 14, the Bulldogs 7.

Pen Argyl managed to get past previously unbeaten Northern Lehigh (3-1) despite playing without quarterback Kyle Hess, who has a broken collarbone. In less than a week, the Green Knights (3-1) learned the single wing, the offense they ran last year, albeit with almost entirely different personnel.

''I have to give credit to [assistant coach] Bob Schooley,'' Pen Argyl first-year coach Paul Reduzzi said. ''And to the kids. They were very studious.''

Other than the Bulldogs' touchdown in the second quarter, the first half was pretty uneventful.

The antics began in the third quarter and got crazier in the fourth.

Pen Argyl found itself with great field position (Northern Lehigh's 40) with 9:36 left in the game. But consecutive bad snaps knocked the Green Knights all the way back to their own 36. A run of 9 yards on third-and-34 wasn't nearly enough, and they were forced to punt.

Hedash made a great play and blocked the punt, but the ball spun away from him and Huth was there to pick it up.

The 5-11, 200-pound junior ran 65 yards down the right sideline for the score.

The ensuing kick failed and Pen Argyl still trailed.

The Bulldogs then went three-and-out and had to punt the ball away.

The snap, though, sailed over Krawchuk's head and landed 30 yards in back of him. The Green Knights pounced on it and had first-and-10 from Northern Lehigh's 18 with 5:09 left.

''We made too many mistakes to beat a good team,'' Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout said. ''That's as simple as I can put it. We didn't make enough good decisions.''

After Jeff Smith came up with a 13-yard run that put his team at the 5, a penalty (too many men on the field) pushed the Knights back to the 10. Smith gained 9 yards on the next two plays before Reduzzi called a timeout on fourth-and-inches.

''He guaranteed us he would score,'' Huth said of Smith.

The bruising fullback kept his word. He bulldozed his way into the end zone to give the Knights their first lead. Then he ran in the two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs put together a threatening final series. On fourth-and-nine, Krawchuk connected with Josh Kern for a 40-yard pass, putting them on Pen Argyl's 22 and giving them their first first down of the second half. After a timeout, Krawchuk completed a 12-yard pass to Matt Gill. Three running plays later, the Bulldogs had fourth-and-goal from Pen Argyl's 3-yard line.

But Krawchuk's pass was batted down by Dalton Hinton, which ensured the win.

''Our hearts were pumping very fast,'' Huth said of Northern Lehigh's final drive. ''It was awesome.''

The Green Knights have made quite a turnaround since their opener. In that loss to Saucon Valley, they managed just 49 yards of offense. Since then, they've won three games and their offensive numbers have improved drastically. Against Northern Lehigh, which came in giving up the fewest points in the league, the Knights racked up 222 total yards.

''We've come so far,'' Huth said. ''We've got some momentum now.''

PANL

First downs98

Rushes-yards46-20530-88

Passing-yards1794

Comp-Att-Int1-3-08-15-0

Fumbles-lost4-02-1Penalties5-303-11

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: PA: Jeff Smith 24-117, TD; Mike Huth 1-65, TD; Matt Young 9-21; Nick Holderman 5-8; Austin Williams 7-(-6). NL: Matt Gill 7-14; Zach Heller 6-18; Kris Krawchuk 9-8; Richard Arnold 1-4; Cody Remaley 5-38, TD; Casey Hedash 2-6; Team 1-(-30).

Passing: PA: Young 1-3-0, 17 yards. NL: Krawchuk: 8-15-0, 94 yards.

Receiving: PA: Dalton Hinton 1-17. NL: Josh Kern 2-48; Craemer Hedash 1-28; Gill 1-12; Zach Rex 2-13; Casey Hedash 1-4; Krawchuk 1-(-11).

amanda.housenick@mcall.com