ABINGTON – Whenever bitter rivals meet, it’s common to see nail-biters.
Abington’s football squad made sure nothing was left in doubt Thursday night. Junior quarterback Jack Reilly turned in a superb performance, completing 11-of-12 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown as the Green Wave (6-1) captured at least a share of the South Shore League (Sullivan) title with a 32-7 drubbing of longtime nemesis Rockland.
“This win means a lot,” Reilly said. “This means a lot to the town, to my classmates, everyone. My brothers, they’ve all lost to Rockland, so it’s good to get it back here.”
Entering Thursday night’s South Shore League bout, Abington was listed as the top-seeded team in the MIAA’s Div. 6 power rankings. The Green Wave certainly played like it early, marching 74 yards up the field on the second drive of the game in just seven plays. Lee Spry capped it with a one-yard touchdown rush, making it a 7-0 contest with 6:48 left in the opening quarter.
Rockland punched back early in the second. Marvelous Pleasant finished a prolonged drive for the Bulldogs with a nine-yard touchdown run, diving inside the pylon as his team tied things up at 7-all with 6:48 remaining in the half.
However, in the blink of an eye, Abington had an answer. Exactly one minute later, the Green Wave seized a 14-7 advantage as Daniel Pifer scampered right up the gut for a nine-yard touchdown rush.
After forcing Rockland into a three-and-out on its ensuing possession, the Green Wave capitalized. Ryan Solimini hauled in a 44-yard reception to set things up in the red zone, then plowed to paydirt shortly thereafter with a three-yard touchdown scamper to provide Abington a 20-7 edge at intermission.
Abington deferred to begin the game, and opened the second half with the ball. The Green Wave quickly broke things open, as Reilly spotted Kingston Maxwell in the red zone and fed his wideout a pass. The senior stretched across the goal line for a 10-yard touchdown reception, pushing the lead to 26-7 with 5:55 left in the frame.
“My boys up front gave me a lot of time,” said Reilly. “Then Kingston just got open, like all my receivers do. But it starts up front. My line did a great job all night, and they gave me time, allowed me to get the ball to my playmakers.”
As the Green Wave attempted to salt things away later, Reilly and his teammates began a nine-minute drive that spanned well into the fourth quarter. Given a chance to play late, senior running back Nick Vachon iced things with a 26-yard touchdown rush, putting the game to bed as Abington constructed a 32-7 edge with 3:32 remaining.
Abington was also led by Maxwell (four catches for 47 yards receiving, touchdown) and Solimini (71 yards receiving, 16 yards rushing, touchdown).
Pleasant closed his evening with 18 carries for 85 yards and Rockland’s lone score.
“Any time you can beat Rockland, it’s a big win for us,” said Abington coach Ed Reilly. “We always say the records never matter when you play a team like your rival. What are they, two, three miles away from us? I was just saying that these kids know each other. They’ve been growing up, playing against them since they were seven years old. We told them all week: ‘This is the type of game where you’re going to run into these kids for the rest of your life. You want to be able to say that I got the better of you, at least my senior year.’ ”
