Pen Argyl football turns back the clock, runs over Catasauqua

FULL STORY: Pen Argyl football pounds the rock in 2nd half of win at Catasaqua

Pen Argyl 36, Catasauqua 14 - Rapid Recap

The Pen Argyl football team transformed its offense from a run heavy, single-wing unit to a pass-heavy group over the last few years.

In their Colonial/Schuylkill League White Division matchup at Catasauqua Friday night, the Green Knights turned back the clock and turned to their rushing attack.

Pen Argyl rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns in a 36-14 win over the Rough Riders at Alumni Stadium.

Turning point: The Green Knights led 14-7 at halftime with Catasauqua set to receive the opening kickoff of the second half. Pen Argyl senior Larry Lerdo’s kick to his right bounced a couple times and sophomore Collin Ramsay jumped on the ball before a Rough Rider touched it to set the Green Knights up 29 yards from the goal line.

Four plays later, senior quarterback Brad Rissmiller kept up the middle on fourth-and-one and didn’t stop until he reached the end zone on a 20-yard carry. Reid Kotulka’s PAT gave Pen Argyl a 21-0 lead 1:53 into the third quarter.

Catasauqua responded on the first play of the second half as junior quarterback Aiden Hess connected with sophomore Rodney Brodie on a 62-yard touchdown pass down the away sideline.

Three plays into the Green Knights’ next drive, Catty senior Ian Juica intercepted Rissmiller’s pass and the Rough Riders took over at the Pen Argyl 41.

The Green Knights forced a four-and-out and ran the ball 12 straight plays on a 57-yard scoring drive that chewed up 5:56 of game time. Senior Damian Tyminski rushed for his second touchdown of the night on a 7-yard carry that extended Pen Argyl’s lead to 28-7 with 1:41 left in the third.

Pen Argyl’s final scoring drive of the game took up more than half of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Mason Soos capped a 10-play, 52 yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Rissmiller found the end zone again after scrambling to his left following a miscue on the PAT attempt. The unintended two-point conversion made it 36-14 with 4:22 left to play.

Top performers: Tyminski paced the ground game with 73 yards on 12 carries, including a two-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the first half. The senior also led the Green Knights in receiving with six catches for 62 yards.

Rissmiller completed 12 of 18 passes for 113 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Rissmiller found fellow senior Alex Moser wide open in the middle of the end zone on a 12-yard TD pass for the game’s first points. Rissmiller added 64 yards on the ground on 10 carries.

Hess completed 14 of 27 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown. Junior Jordan Bradshaw hauled in five catches for 45 yards and Juica had four receptions for 44 yards.

Senior Chad Beller scored Catasauqua’s second touchdown on an eight-yard carry.

What it means: Pen Argyl improves to 3-2 with its first win over the Rough Riders since 2020. The Green Knights will look to make it two wins in a row when they travel to Minersville (4-1) Friday night.

Catasauqua drops to 3-2 and will look to bounce back when it travels to Schuylkill Haven (4-1) Friday night.

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Desmond Boyle may be reached at [email protected].