Font ResizeThe Red Lion football team dared William Penn to throw the ball, and quarterback Jordan Davis was happy to oblige.
With help from stellar line play and a dependable receiving corps, the senior signal caller completed 12 of 20 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Sparked by their QB, the Bearcats overcame a first-quarter deficit and a front-loading Red Lion defense to lead by as many as 45 points in their 48-19 victory over the Lions at Small Athletic Field.
Malik Generett caught four of those Davis passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-foot-5 senior also forced a fumble on a sack and
snagged an interception in the first half, helping the Bearcats score 21 points in a two-minute span midway through the second quarter, giving William Penn a 24-point advantage.
"It was a typical day," Bearcats coach Matt Ortega said. "A typical day by Malik and our wideouts and Jordan and our line's pass protection. It's just what we've been doing all year."
William Penn (4-0, 1-0 Division I) improved its point total to 215 through four games. The 48 points was actually a season-low for the Bearcats against an esteemed Red Lion defense, but still a little higher than the Lions (1-3, 0-1 Division I) were hoping for.
"We've got to stop killing ourselves," Red Lion coach Pat Conrad said. "In the second quarter there we were right in the ballgame, and we committed quick turnovers that led to 21 points, and they're able to blow it open. It can't
The Lions drove 55 yards on the game's opening drive -- including a 35-yard run from midfield by freshman quarterback Chad Kelly in his first series as a starter -- to set up a 34-yard field goal from Dylan McCoy.
The Red Lion defense stopped the Bearcats on a fourth-down conversion attempt in Lions territory and crossed midfield, but Generett delivered a bulldozing hit on Kelly's blind side to force a fumble. The Bearcats scored six plays later on a Brandon Walker run to take the lead.
With the help of a Joseph Ross interception, Red Lion was able to keep the William Penn offense in check, but only for so long.
The Bearcats put together a nine-play, 85-yard drive capped by another one-yard touchdown run from Walker to go up 14-3 with 7:42 left in the second quarter.
Three plays later, Generett picked off Kelly in Red Lion territory and then hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass for a score.
Ross fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Terry Owens recovered the ball for the Bearcats. He ran down to the 5-yard line. Generett scored on the first play from scrimmage, catching the ball near the left sideline in the end zone despite a Red Lion defender tugging on his facemask.
A game that had the making of a low-scoring battle suddenly looked more like another comfortable victory for William Penn.
"That's the big thing with our team, if you look at every game there's been like a 21-point swing in a three- or four-minute span," Ortega said. "That's the whole idea behind the aggressiveness on defense and the no-huddle on offense."
Davis kept throwing against a Red Lion defense that put most of its resources up front to stop the run. He found Barry Bowman on a two-yard touchdown pass with only six seconds left in the half to give the Bearcats a 35-3 lead.
Two quick third-quarter touchdowns and the Bearcats were well on their way to a monster victory in the Division I opener to put their other YAIAA opponents on notice.
"We have to tell them that we are No. 1 in the county for a reason," Davis said. "This is a statement right here. Forty-eight points, that tells people something."
The rest of Red Lion's points came in the fourth quarter against William Penn's second-team defense. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Kelly, the nephew of former NFL great Jim Kelly, finished with 12-of-26 for 145 yards, but 106 of those yards came in the second half with the Lions down big.
smclernon@ydr.com; 771-2045
Red Lion 3 0 0 16 -- 19
William Penn 7 28 13 0 -- 48
First Quarter
RL -- Dylan McCoy 34 FG, 8:50
WP -- Brandon Walker 1 run (Ethan Fair kick), 2:00
Second Quarter
WP -- Walker 1 run (Fair kick), 7:42
WP -- Malik Generett 25 pass from Jordan Davis (Fair kick), 6:01
WP -- Generett 5 pass from Davis (run failed), 5:42
WP -- Barry Bowman 2 pass from Davis (Newt Miller pass from Davis), 0:06
Third Quarter
WP -- Steffonte Doby 8 run (Fair kick), 10:47
WP -- Terry Owens 1 run (run failed), 1:17
Fourth Quarter
RL -- Todd Maciejewski 16 pass from Chad Kelly (Tyler Zeller pass from Michael Wiertel), 6:45
RL -- Stephen States 7 run (Wiertel run), 0:37
-- RL -- WP
First downs -- 14 -- 14
Rushes-yards -- 27-113 -- 35-133
Passing -- 12-26-1 -- 12-20-1
Passing yards -- 145 -- 242
Total yards -- 258 -- 375
Punts -- 3-39.7 -- 1-20
Fumbles-lost -- 3-2 -- 1-1
Penalties-yards -- 5-55 -- 3-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Red Lion, Chad Kelly 15-66, Brett Fishel 6-42, Stephen States 3-16, Jacob Hagan 1-3, Joseph Ross 1-(-3), Michael Wiertel 1-(-11); William Penn, Jordan Davis 5-52, Brandon Walker 11-48, Steffonte Doby 7-25, Deonte Davis 1-11, Terry Owens 2-5, Kahlil Thompson 3-3, Javaughn Murphy 1-1, Ratik Drakeford 1-0, Kelvin Parker 2-(-1), Newt Miller 1-(-4), Aaron Daniels 1-(-7).
Passing -- Red Lion, Kelly 12-26-1-145; William Penn, Jordan Davis 12-20-1-242.
Receiving -- Red Lion, Maxwell Horka 3-41, Todd Maciejewski 4-40, Joseph Ross 3-33, Brett Fishel 2-31; William Penn, Andre Callum 2-118, Generett 4-67, Miller 2-30, Murphy 3-25, Barry Bowman 1-2.
