Phoenixville blanks Kennett in defensive battle

KENNETT SQUARE – A low scoring, defensive battle would certainly seem to favor Kennett during Friday’s non-league football clash against high-scoring Phoenixville.

But the visiting Phantoms ended up beating the Blue Demons at their own game, squeaking out a 9-0 victory that did not include a single offensive touchdown. Phoenixville entered the contest averaging 44-plus points per game, but head coach Anthony Ciarlello was pleased to come away with his team’s third win in as many tries.

“It’s what I expected,” he said. “We came here in 2018 and had to grind it out then. (Kennett) coach (Lance) Frazier has football players and they don’t know how to quit. This was a dog fight.”

It was the final tune up for the Phantoms heading into next Friday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference opener against defending champion Pope John Paul II.

“We definitely didn’t play up to our standards, but you have to be resilient,” said senior running back Deacon Williams.

“The biggest game of our season starts Monday. We have Pope John Paul, which is a really big game for us.”

On the flipside, it was also a defensive gem for Kennett (1-2 overall), but that wasn’t enough to overcome a bunch of ill-timed penalties, or three turnovers by Demons sophomore quarterback Garrett McCracken.

“If you don’t possess the ball and you shoot yourself in the foot, that’s losing football,” Frazier said. “And it seems to happen at the worst times of game for us.

“It’s on us to figure out how to protect the football more and help our young quarterback out a little bit more. We need a more consistent run game.”

Kennett actually outgained the Phantoms on the ground 178-124, but were 0-for-4 on fourth down. All four came with the Demons in Phoenixville territory.

“We bent a lot tonight on defense. But when it counted, we showed up,” Ciarlello said.

Clinging to a 6-0 lead, Williams provided the biggest offensive play of the evening when he took a pitch and rambled 52 yards and into the red zone. A couple plays later, junior kicker Ryan Jacobson booted a 35-yard field goal to make it a two-score game midway through the final quarter.

“It’s not always going to be pretty,” said Williams, who finished with 108 yards on the ground in 20 attempts. “We came in averaging about 300 (rushing) yards per game, so we knew that (Kennett) was going to key in on the run.

“I was able to pop that play outside. I just had to stay patient because the blocking was there.”

The Demons had two more possessions but turned it over on downs at the Phantoms’ 32, and then McCracken was picked off by senior DB Kevin Kingsbury on his only pass attempt of the second half. Kennett surrendered just 235 yards of total offense.

“Our guys played tough defensively,” Frazier said. “They gave us a chance to win the game.”

Some costly penalties – 10 by both sides for a combined 95 yards – and a total of four interceptions set the low scoring tone in the first half. The lone score was a 46-yard interception return for a TD by Phantoms’ senior safety Myles Tenbroeck. But Kennett’s Ian Guyer blocked the PAT to make it 6-0 at the half.

“Myles played a little last week, but this was his first full game this season due to an injury,” Ciarlello said.

A final minute interception by Phoenixville’s Henry Roberts set the Phantoms up at the Demons’ 39, but on the very next play Kennett’s Gavin Ritch picked off a pass to end the threat. The Demons then marched into field goal range, thanks to a 23-yard pass from McCracken to receiver Joalex Carabajal, but Shay Barker’s 35-yard attempt bounced off the left upright.

Early in the third quarter and down six, Frazier decided to go for it on fourth-and-three at the Phantoms’ seven but came away empty handed when runner Aiden Ritch was stopped short of the line to gain.

“I thought about kicking the field goal,” Frazier admitted. “I was trying to be aggressive and I had confidence we could get it. We went to the casino and lost. I know better, but we needed something to get us going.”

Williams wound up with 82 of his 108 rushing yards in the second half.

“Deacon is going to have tough days because he does what defenses are worried about,” Ciarlello explained. “If I was coaching against Deacon, I would have two defenders watching him at all times.

“But he still fought hard, and when it counted he showed up for us, which is what he always does.”

McCracken completed five of his first six pass attempts, but finished the day 7 of 11 for 89 yards and three picks.

“Garrett is young and he’s still learning and growing,” Frazier said.

“Football doesn’t stop, and neither can we. We have to keep developing.”

Phoenixville 9, Kennett 0

Phoenixville                         6 0 0 3 — 9

Kennett                                 0 0 0 0 — 0

Scoring

P – Tenbroeck 46 int. return (kick blocked)

P – Jacobson 35 FG

Team statistics                                P  K

First downs                                      8  11

Rushing yards                                  124  178

Passing yards                                   111  89

Total yards                                       235  267

Complete-Att-Int                            9-16-2  7-11-3

Fumbles-lost                                    1-0  2-0

Punts-ave.                                        6-32.1  4-42.7

Penalties                                           9-83  8-60

Individual statistics

RUSHING – P: Williams 20-108; Wheeler 2-5; Romance 7-8; Howard 1-3. Totals 30-124. K: Guyer 6-76; Frazier 4-14; A. Ritch 14-65; Carabajal 3-18; McCracken 4-(-7); Dougherty 3-9; G. Ritch 1-3. Totals 35-178.

PASSING – P: Romance 9-16, 111 yards, 2 ints. K: McCracken 7-11, 89 yards, 3 ints.

RECEIVING – P: Williams 2-14; Kingsbury 1-15; Lear 4-62; Carey 1-3; Wheeler 1-17. K: Schumacher 2-38; G. Ritch 2-11; Frazier 1-10; Carabajal 2-23.

Interceptions – P: Roberts, Tenbroeck, Kingsbury. K: Taylor, G. Ritch.

Sacks – P: Wheeler, Howard. K: Guyer, Sharpeta, Oscar.