Abington scores early and often in beating Pennsbury

The fireworks - the game-changing plays - came quickly in the first quarter.

Safety. Sixty-eight-yard kickoff return. Touchdown. Interception. Touchdown.

That was the sequence, taking place in a 2-minute, 43-second span, that put Abington ahead by 17 points in its 20-7 Suburban One League National Conference home win over Pennsbury on Friday night.

There might not have been much else to put on the highlight reel, but for the 45-plus other minutes, Abington simply controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball - neutralizing Pennsbury's vaunted "Ground and Pound" wing-T offense.

"It's a credit to our defensive staff," Abington coach Tim Sorber said about holding Pennsbury to just 99 yards rushing. "Our kids prepared extremely well. And Pennsbury was physical up front, but our defensive line was able to get upfield and make things happen."

Abington improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference. Pennsbury fell to 5-2 and 3-1.

"I feel awesome," said Abington running back Ray Schreiner about his team's position in the standings. "But we can't think about our record right now. We have a tough game against Bensalem next week and we just have to keep on going."

A botched snap on an attempted punt led to a safety, putting Abington ahead, 2-0, with 2:43 remaining in the opening quarter.

Schreiner returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ken Cropper.

Both Cropper and Schreiner recorded big games on the ground, helping the Ghosts control the clock in the second half. That especially was the case on a third-quarter Abington drive that lasted nearly seven minutes and ended in a 25-yard field goal by Adrian Leatherman. Schreiner carried most of the load on the drive, while Cropper put the Ghosts in the red zone after a 30-yard run.

"We kept our composure all game," said Schreiner, who finished with 70 yards rushing on 23 carries. Cropper carried 18 times for 114 yards.

After the field goal, the Abington defense made its biggest stand of the night, stuffing Pennsbury running back Daquan Mack in the backfield on fourth and 5 in Abington territory.

"It was a team effort," Sorber said. "I'd like to see us execute better when we get inside the 20, but I thought we did a good job controlling the football."

The Ghosts shut down Pennsbury's offense in the first half, limiting the Falcons to just one first down before their final first-half drive. On that final drive, Falcons quarterback Bruce Campbell completed three consecutive passes before two incompletions stalled the drive at the Abington 49-yard line.

Pennsbury   0 0 7 0 - 7

Abington   17 0 3 0 - 20

A: Safety, botched snap recovered in end zone by Kniaziewicz

A: Cropper 1 run (Leatherman kick)

A: Schreiner 1 run (Grasty pass from Cropper)

P: Campbell 45 run (Kniaziewicz kick)

A: Leatherman 25 field goal

Contact Chris Melchiorre at rallysports@phillynews.com.