It was all set up for Abington to have a memorable night.
It was homecoming. It was senior night. It was, if all went according to plan, the night that the Ghosts would take the penultimate step toward their first outright Suburban One National football title since 1989 against the conference's defending cochamp.
"They had all their extracurricular stuff going on tonight, and it's nice to spoil it," Council Rock South quarterback Brian Donnelly said after the game.
Get the idea?
The Golden Hawks jumped out to a quick lead, fending off a resilient Abington squad, and downed the host Ghosts, 30-22, Friday.
The Hawks, ranked No. 8 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, handed No. 3 Abington (8-1, 5-1) its first loss and will likely assume the No. 1 spot in the District 1 playoff-points rankings. Abington entered in first with 135; South, tied for third with 118.75.
The Hawks spurted to a 14-0, first-quarter lead behind a 10-yard Donnelly keeper and running back Anthony Alimenti's sideline-burning 90-yarder that came less than five minutes later. South outrushed Abington, 160-18, in the opening 12 minutes.
Abington quarterback Ken Cropper connected with Josh Lee for a 39-yard touchdown toss early in the second period, but the Ghosts' momentum was quelled on the ensuing drive by Alimenti's second scoring run. This one, a 56-yarder, pushed the South lead to 20-7.
Cropper responded by hitting Myles Grasty on a 7-yard pass for a touchdown right before halftime to cut the lead to six.
The Ghosts looked to be in good shape, receiving the second-half kickoff, but turned in a disastrous third quarter. They committed five penalties for 30 yards in the frame, against a paltry five yards of offense. They finished with 10 penalties that cost 60 yards.
South added a 34-yard Ben Solis field goal in the third and a 39-yard Christian Crane TD run in the fourth. Abington pulled to within eight on a 53-yard flea-flicker, thrown by Ray Schreiner to Lee, and successful two-point conversion with 9:28 remaining.
Abington tried to mount a final comeback, driving to the opposing 33-yard line with less than a minute left, but the effort fell short.
"I'm proud of our kids, but I'm proud of [Ghosts coach Tim Sorber's] kids, too," South coach Vince Bedesem said. "This represents Suburban One National very, very, very well."
