Council Rock South blanks Pennsbury

Council Rock South has a simple formula: run the ball hard and play suffocating defense. On Saturday, against Suburban One National Division rival Pennsbury, in a game played at Council Rock North, that direct approach was in full effect.

The undefeated Golden Hawks won, 24-0, behind the stellar play of bruising running back Mark Damirgian for the team's fourth consecutive shutout. Council Rock South improved to 5-0 overall, 2-0 league, while Pennsbury fell to 2-3, 0-2.

Damirgian, a 6-foot, 220-pound senior, rushed for 127 yards with touchdown runs of 5 and 32 yards. He added a 12-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback Billy Flemming, who was 3 for 6 for 29 yards.

Damirgian's hard-nosed, between-the-tackles running set the tone for a physical game in which South dominated the clock.

"That's our game: running the football," South coach Vince Bedesem said. "That's no secret . . . Mark certainly came up to his capabilities just pounding the ball. That's all weight room right there."

Damirgian said he added 15 pounds of muscle during the offseason to gear up for South's physical run offense. On South's first possession of the second half, with the Golden Hawks holding a 7-0 advantage, Damirgian capped a 10-play series with a 27-yard touchdown run off a draw up the gut of the Falcons' defense.

"I just lower my head and hope for the best," said Damirgian, who is quick to compliment his line. "I just got to play smash-mouth football."

South's defense has allowed just 14 points this season, and on Saturday it held Pennsbury to 126 total yards and four first downs. When asked about his team's performance, Falcon head coach Galen Snyder was terse.

"Let's see: run better, block better, throw better, catch better," Snyder said when asked what the Falcons must to do improve. "Those types of things."

Snyder thought his defense was tired in the second half because of the offense's inability to sustain drives. Falcons quarterback Jeff Prine was 2 for 10 passing for 11 yards. Tailbacks Zach Ganie and Brandon Pepper combined for 122 yards for the Falcons, accounting for the majority of the team's offensive output.

Also hindering Pennsbury were nine penalties for a total of 61 yards. The Falcons have lost two straight.

For South, however, the win solidifies the Golden Hawks as strong contenders in the league. If they are to continue their winning ways, they will do so behind Damirgian's bulldozing rush attack.

"It gets you psyched up," Damirgian said when asked how it feels to hit defensive players on a run. "You want to keep hitting."

Pennsbury 0 0 0 0 - 0

Council Rock South 0 7 7 10 - 24

CRS: Damirgian 5 run (Solis kick)

CRS: Damirgian 32 run (Solis kick)

CRS: Damirgian 12 pass from Flemming (Solis kick)

CRS: FG Solis 21