AUG. 29
NON-LEAGUE
Pennsbury 21, Ryan 20
  I arrived late to the game due to some bad directions and a need for gas, but I arrived with just a few minutes left in the first half.  The score was all tied up at 14-14 much to the surprise of many fans; however I was not too shocked because Ryan always seems to give Pennsbury all they can handle.  It was obvious Ryan's game plan in the second half was to come out and try to run the ball, but Pennsbury seemed to be able to plug up every possible hole Jr. Mark Golic tried to go through.  The third quarter was an even defensive match with both teams going stop for stop, producing a scoreless quarter and a 14-14 tie heading into the fourth quarter. With a fantastic finish brewing.  For most of the fourth quarter it was the same story with each defense making big stop after big stop, when finally with under two minutes to go the Raiders' offense broke through.  After getting the ball in good field position near the 50 yard line with just under a minute to go it was time for the Raiders to strike.  For the first time all game (while I'd been there, anyway), Ryan  allowed Sr. QB Rus Slawter to take a shot downfield, where he connected with first-year football player Jr. Pat Kwiatkowski (Qui-Cow-Ski) for a fantastic catch between two defenders and just crossing the goal line, giving Ryan a 20-14 lead.  After a missed PAT Ryan kicked off to Pennsbury, which got pretty good field position near the 40 with 30 seconds to play.  After a short gain and an incompletion, Pennsbury was in a situation where they needed a big play downfield.  With just 12 seconds left soph. QB Brandon Pepper supplied the big play as he connected with a receiver down around the 10 yard line, and this is where things got crazy.  After the receiver made the grab he was brought down by three Ryan defenders with just 2 seconds on the clock and Pennsbury with no timeouts.  The clock expired, leading to a Ryan celebration on the field! They thought the game was over.  After a discussion the referees informed each coach that there would be 1 second put back on the clock because the clock needs to freeze and allow the chains to get set up.  Amongst all this confusion, Pennsbury managed to get a play call in just in case time was put back on the clock.  After a strong argument from Ryan Coach Glen Galeone, the officials sent both coaches back to their sidelines and were ready to set the chains and start the clock.  By rule the clock starts as soon as the chains are set and the ball is blown back into play.  The ball was placed and as soon as the whistle blew, Pepper had the ball in his hands as well as the fate of the game.  The Raiders' secondary did a fine job on covering all receivers, but Pepper was not to be denied as he rolled left, saw a lane and went for it, taking the ball to the house and tying the game at 20-20.  After Ryan called a timeout in an attempt to freeze the kicker, Pennsbury went out to make the PAT and win the game, 21-20.  At the time I did not understand what happened at the end of the fourth quarter so I made a phone call to have it cleared up for me.  I called my Uncle Jerry (Former Judge RB) who was officiating the UNC football opener. He explained to me that the officials can put time on the clock as long as "in their judgment" there was time before the chains were set.  He also explained to me that it is possible to get a snap off with one second remaining, clearing me of all confusion.  All in all this was a tough hard fought game by both teams.  It was truly a pleasure to watch for all fans.  Although it was a bitter defeat for the Raiders I was glad to see some fight in them even though they were huge underdogs going into this game.  I am very excited for next weekend's matchup with former division foe North Catholic...WE ARE AR!