Quakertown Panthers Win 2022 Season Opener
By: Julia Henry
The Quakertown High School Panther football team began their 2022 season with a 42-28 win over the Southern Lehigh Spartans last Friday night in a non-league game. After the first offensive drive ended with an interception from the first-year starter, junior Vince Micucci, the team adjusted their mindset and was determined to battle back strong. Brett Heilman, a senior running back and outside linebacker, explained that “first game jitters were getting the best of everybody…I made sure everyone could be calm”. Max Morris, a junior wide receiver and defensive back, finished the night with two receptions for a total of 28 yards and one rush for 10 yards, added the importance of “flushing [the interception] and moving onto the next play”. The Panthers adjusted their mindsets by playing looser and did not allow the Spartans to score again in the first quarter.
Southern Lehigh mixed between a 4-2-5 and a 4-3-4 defense throughout the game. Simple isolation runs up the middle of the field were the key to the Panther’s game-long offensive success. One minute into the second quarter, Brett Heilman rushed 1 yard for a touchdown. Micucci completed a 63-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Adam Streahle three minutes into the second quarter and Heilman rushed and completed the 2-pt conversion. Spartans quarterback, Avery Koser, answered with a 25-yard rushing touchdown to even the score 14-14. The Panthers rallied back to score once more in the second quarter with a 20-yard pass from Micucci to tight end Anthony Ferrugio and headed into halftime with a 21-14 lead.
Halfway through the third quarter, Heilman scored his second touchdown of the game, with another 1-yard rushing touchdown. He explained, “both of [his] touchdowns were at the end of two drives when [the team] pushed down the field” and emphasized the importance of how “[he] put his head down to [guarantee he] got in ''. Continually, he credited Quakertown’s offensive line for the good push they had during his touchdown runs. The Panthers ended the quarter with a 34-28 lead after allowing two touchdowns and scoring another one in the quarter after Heilman’s.
The Panthers executed well in the fourth quarter scoring once more and not allowing the Spartans to score again. Throughout the game, the Panthers defensively experienced trouble holding the outside. Heilman ended with a Panther high 10 tackles because he focused on “rallying to the ball no matter where [he] was on the field” as his defensive approach. A notable downfield throw by Micucci to Heilman led the duo to share the honors of WFMZ’s “Triple Hot Play of the Week”.
The Quakertown Panthers (1-0) host the North Penn Knights (0-1) in a non-league game next Friday, September 2. North Penn suffered a 37-28 loss to La Salle High School after having a 21-17 lead at halftime. The Panthers look to improve and adjust errors from the opener and continue to build off of the season-opening win.