Academy of the New Church wins in football

Had it not been for his all-out competitiveness, Academy of the New Church senior Hayden Schmucker might have trod gingerly on Jenkintown's grass field during yesterday afternoon's Independence League contest.

Four years ago, his brother, Clayton, suffered a torn knee ligament on the same field, and the running back/linebacker missed the remainder of his senior season. "Yeah, that was pretty tough for him," Schmucker said.

Nothing was going to slow down Schmucker and the Lions in their bid to rebound from last week's loss to Perkiomen School. ANC's first-team offense scored on each of its six possessions as the visitors pinned a 44-22 defeat on the previously undefeated Drakes.

At running back, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Schmucker carried seven times for 41 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side, as a rugged middle linebacker, he made a team-high seven tackles, including five solo stops, in three quarters of action.

"He's a very good athlete," longtime ANC coach Andy Davis said. "He was breathing fire today. He really wanted this."

ANC, which racked up 260 yards on the ground and 131 through the air, improved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in Independence League play. Jenkintown is 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the Independence League, and 1-0 in the Bicentennial Athletic League.

Schmucker scored on a 15-yard run in the second quarter. In the third, he was on the receiving end of a 10-yard scoring pass from quarterback Shannon Givens.

"I'm not the fastest guy around," said Schmucker, a 17-year-old captain from Huntingdon Valley. "I'm the guy you give the ball to up the middle, to get 2 or 3 yards."

Early in the third quarter, with ANC ahead by 30-6, Schmucker came up from linebacker and put a bone-rattling hit on would-be receiver Shawn McCarthy. With the wind knocked from him, McCarthy was helped off the field and briefly sat out.

Givens completed 6 of 8 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wideout Warren Gillis had TD receptions covering 13 and 61 yards. Junior halfback Desmond Lites carried 10 times for 85 yards, including a 41-yard scoring burst.

Academy New Church 16 14 14 0 - 44

Jenkintown 0 6 0 16 - 22

ANC: Givens 1 run (Lloyd-Goodman pass from Givens)

ANC: Gillis 13 pass from Givens (D. Lites pass from Givens)

ANC: Schmucker 15 run (Givens run)

ANC: D. Lites 41 run (run failed)

J: Beltz 1 run (run failed)

ANC: Schmucker 10 pass from Givens (pass failed)

ANC: Gillis 61 pass from Givens (Gillis pass from Givens)

J: Kilby 11 run (Kilby run)

J: A. DiValentino 7 pass from Beltz (Sgro run)