Pennsbury Builds Lead Then Holds on for Win over Rollers
 

The District One power of 1972 Pennsbury looked unbeatable as they burst to a 27-0 halftime bulge over the Rollers from 'Steel High.'. They moved the ball on the ground , through the air, and on special teams. It had all the makings of a classic blowout and pundits from the 70s were gloating about how those 'old-timers' couldn't stay with 'modern' football team.

The second half, however, had even the most ardent modern supporters nervously jittering in their seats. The 'old guys' were mounting a comeback, and the Falcons were fortunate they had built the lead.

Pennsbury's Dale Delise was the man of the hour, scoring twice for the Falcons and rushing for 125 yards. He carried the ball an unbelievable 37 times for a 3.4 ypc average. He also scored on a punt return, which gave his team a 7-0 lead. That return was an electrifying 70-yard jaunt that saw him change direction several times.  "I was afraid to look back figuring one of the guys may have clipped," Delise explained after the game.  "We came here to win and I was willing to do what Coach (Chuck Kane) asked of me.

Kane explained, "We geared our defense to stop their great backs. That Gibby Reich can flatout fly. We were lucky to hold him to that one late score. He just seemed to get stronger as the game went on. I know he had close to a hundred yards and we had two guys shadowing him."

First year Coach Joe Shevock (he had coached under Sever Toretti before 'Tor' moved to Williamsport) smiled as he recounted the game. "Yeah, we gave them quite a scare at the end. We just took too long to figure out how to defend them. I'll take the blame for that. My guys knew it was uphill at the half, trailing by 27 and not being able to get our offense moving. But they weren't about to throw the towel in." Then he chuckled adding, "And I wasn't about to let them."

Steelton, a team that lived by the run, had to change character. Coach Shevock addressed that. "Hey, we had to design pass plays as we went. They were loading the box with 10 players. We had to adjust. I thought Vic Donato did nicely. He completed 17 passes and spread it around pretty well. You have to remember he has been a single wing guy. We wish Pennsbury the very best. Win it all for the East!"

          Gibby Reich