For The Dialog
NEW CASTLE – Second-ranked Salesianum’s 305 rushing yards helped pave the way to a 30-13 win over William Penn in nonconference football Saturday afternoon at Bill Cole Stadium. The Sals snapped a 10-game winning streak for defending state champion William Penn, which came into the contest ranked No. 1.
Senior running back Colby Reeder had a huge day, scoring four touchdowns, one of which came on defense. He capped the first Sals scoring drive with a 15-yard run with 7:31 to go in the second quarter. The drive was set up by a 55-punt return by John Andreoli and included senior Zach Jarome running for 16 yards the play before Reeder scored.
Reeder put Salesianum up two touchdowns when he caused a Colonials fumble, then picked the ball up and scampered 30 yards into the end zone. Penn answered with an 80-yard drive, the last 29 coming on a pass from quarterback D.J. Johnson to Chichi Amachi with 1:34 left in the half.
Instead of running out the clock, Salesianum put itself in scoring position on runs of 13 and 32 yards by Reeder, taking the ball to the Colonials’ 19. Pearce Bartlett made a 36-yard field goal to extend the Sals’ lead to 17-7 at the half.
William Penn was forced to punt on its first possession of the second half, and the Sals went back to work. Jarome had big runs of 32 and 39 yards to give them first and goal at the Penn 10. Two plays later, Reeder rumbled in from eight yards out. After a missed extra point, the score was 23-7.
The Colonials would score on a 34-yard drive when Johnson and Amichi hooked up yet again. The pass was short, but Amichi broke a tackle and took it to the house. Salesianum recovered an onside kick at their own 45, and Reeder ran for a 55-yard score to put the game away.
Reeder finished with 173 yards on 20 carries, while Jarome had 126 on just eight attempts. The Sals (7-1) travel to Sussex Tech on Friday at 7:30 p.m. That is where Salesianum’s season ended last year in the playoffs. William Penn (7-1) travels to Charter Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. start.
