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Shore falls to Pottsgrove in AAAA tournament

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Jersey Shore players react on the field at Northern Lehigh High School after a tough 14-10 loss to Pottsgrove in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs.

SLATINGTON –Isaiah Taylor didn’t know his team was running a fake punt. The Pottsgrove running back stood on the sideline waiting for the Falcons to kick the ball back to Jersey Shore on Friday night at Northern Lehigh High School.

But the ball was snapped to an upback and he got just enough yardage to extend a second-quarter drive which was already seven plays old. Pottsgrove needed 11 more plays to close out that drive, converting two third downs and two fourth downs along the way before quarterback Jay Sisko sneaked into the end zone from 1-yard out.

The 18-play drive highlighted the strength of a Pottsgrove offense which would have made Woody Hayes downright giddy. The Falcons rushed for more than 300 yards last night, and their defense recorded four fourth-quarter takeaways in a 14-10 win over Jersey Shore in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs. Ninth-ranked Pottsgrove won the first state playoff game in school history and advances to face the winner of today’s District 11 championship game between Bethlehem Catholic and Saucon Valley in next week’s state quarterfinals.

Jersey Shore fell to 0-3 in state playoff games under coach Tom Gravish.

“We were close to making a couple plays. That’s the difference,” Gravish said. “I thought out defense played great. It was just a couple plays. But when you get to this level, you can play even and one play can be the difference.”

The touchdown for Pottsgrove following the fake punt run was the last points the Falcons scored Friday. They were held to fewer than 20 points for just the fifth time this season despite topping their season average in rushing yards.

A potent offense which threw just four passes had to earn every inch of yardage it gained thanks to a relentless Jersey Shore defensive front. On his way to another All-State season, Jersey Shore defensive tackle David Tomb was disruptive from the first whistle. He dropped Taylor (30 carries, 160 yards) numerous times in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage.

With the exception of a handful of plays, including a Taylor 66-yard touchdown run, the Bulldogs’ defense had a strong handle on Pottsgrove’s option-based offense. The Falcons finished with 313 rushing yards but drove the length of the field to score only once.

Jersey Shore forced a turnover on downs at its own 34 in the first quarter. Kyle Tomb recovered a fumble at his own 34 in the third quarter. Pottsgrove was forced to settle for a field goal try (which it missed) from the red zone in the third quarter. And the Bulldogs forced a turnover on downs at their own 7 in the fourth quarter.

And just for good measure, David Tomb blocked a field goal attempt in the first quarter.

“They definitely did some things we haven’t seen before,” Taylor said. “They put a lot of guys on the line and it was difficult blocking them. They definitely made things difficult.”

“Our whole goal was to shut down the run,” Jersey Shore’s Dawson Sechrist said. “We’re a defensive team and we know how to shut down run games. They have a good run game, but we have a good defense to stop that.”

The lone blemish for the Jersey Shore defense was a first-quarter run by Taylor in which he got a great seal block on the second level and sprung free into the secondary where he ran away for a 66-yard touchdown run. The light-footed and patient Taylor erupted through the hole, taking advantage of one of the few times his line was able to spring him.

The touchdown tied the score at 7-7, but didn’t dissuade Jersey Shore from its gameplan. It found a way to deal with Sisko’s prestidigitation in Pottsgrove’s option-based offense and kept giving the Bulldogs’ offense chances to get back into the game.

“That long touchdown run gave them a little bit of momentum, but I still thought out defense played great,” Gravish said. “(David Tomb) did a great job against some tough linemen. But they battled and left it all out there.”

Jersey Shore struggled to find the offensive success it had on the game’s opening possession when it marched 70 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Tanner Lorson found Koby Peacock down the right sideline for a 30-yard gain. Two plays later he hit Stanton Westlin for a 23-yard gain to set up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Sechrist in the flat.

Lorson finished the night with 220 passing yards, which was the second-highest total of his season. He converted third downs of 10, 20 and 12 yards in the third quarter and the Bulldogs looked to replicate that opening drive. But his third-down pass to the back corner of the end zone on third-and-goal slipped through the arms of his receiver and Shore had to settle for a Cameron Griffin 22-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.

“He’s growing every day. From every practice to every game, he’s doing better and better,” Sechrist said of Lorson. “I can’t wait to have him back next year.”

“We were hoping to be able to run it a little bit more,” Gravish said. “But when we had to throw the ball, we saw guys coming open. We maybe didn’t have a ton of time to throw the ball, but we had guys open. (Lorson) does a nice job. He’s growing every week and he’s grown into a really fine quarterback.”

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