H.S. football: Nate Beighley helps Pennsbury close out regular season by shutting out Neshaminy
LANGHORNE — The Pennsbury High School football team came into the season in need of a fresh start.
The Falcons hadn't won a game since 2019, going 0-10 in 2021 and 0-5 in a COVID-19 shortened season in 2020. It was more of the same after a 28-6 road loss to Coatesville in the opener Aug. 26.
How the fortunes have changed since. Pennsbury finally flipped the script with a 35-0 win over William Tennent the following week, and it hasn't skipped a beat since.
The Falcons capped a 9-1 campaign Friday night with another 35-0 shutout, this time against archrival Neshaminy, for their first victory over that program since 2019. The victory also wrapped up an undefeated SOL Continental Conference title at 7-0, including a win over North Penn for the first time this century.
"We really stepped it up this year," Pennsbury running back/defensive back Nathan Beighley said. "It feels great. It does feel like a dream."
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The Falcons will almost definitely be a top-three seed in the District One Class 6A playoffs starting next week. That means they would be guaranteed homefield advantage at least through the quarterfinal round, should they advance that far.
"I think it definitely brings a lot of attention to our program and gets little kids up to come play for us," Beighley said.
A junior, Beighley has been part of the Falcons varsity squad for both winless years. The turnaround this season has come in part to the return of Galen Snyder's "Ground and Pound" offense. Snyder, the former coach of the Falcons, returned to the helm this season following the departure of Dan McShane. The offense, headlined by Beighley, Galamama Mulbah and quarterback Shane McGurrin, has responded to the run-heavy attack by averaging over 30 points per game.
Both sides of the ball were on full display against Neshaminy, as Mulbah and Beighley combined for 235 rushing yards. McGurrin added a rushing touchdown on a fourth-down, 1-yard dive to make it 14-0, and both Chamar Wade and Beighley returned interceptions for touchdowns.
Beighley, who ran for 86 yards, would have had a pair of pick-6s, but another interception return was called back due to a Falcons penalty.
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Pennsbury is playing high-level defense at the right time. The Falcons pitched their second straight 35-0 shutout, and in this one, allowed just 141 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers. They also scored two defensive touchdowns. They'll enter the playoffs giving up an average of just 14.1 points per game.
Neshaminy should be able to build on this season. While quarterbacks Colin Baker (junior) and Ben Long (sophomore) didn't have the best of nights, they both gained valuable experience against the Falcons' defense. Whoever wins the starting job next year will also have the luxury of handing off to a pair of talented backs in juniors Travis Lavelah and Julian Hammond.
Pennsbury will need to clean up some things to make a run at the district title. The Falcons had 90 penalty yards in the win and had less than 100 yards of offense in the second half.
Game balls:
Galamama Mulbah, Pennsbury:The running back carried it 26 times for 149 yards and scored both the game-winning touchdown on the Falcons' opening drive and another in the third quarter to make it 28-0.
Markus Barnett, Neshaminy: On a rough night for the Neshaminy offense, the senior led the way with 65 rushing yards on 14 carries in the final game of his career.
Travis Lavelah, Neshaminy: He finished with 48 yards on nine carries to complement Barnett's effort.
They said it:
“I'm so proud of our boys going 9-1, but we're only getting started," Beighley said.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PA Bucks High School Football: Pennsbury Neshaminy rivalry game
