Springfield-Montco senior team defeats Bishop Shanahan in District 1-4A semifinals

SPRINGFIELD — Learn names, know names, respect names.

Throughout the season, the Springfield Township football team felt like it didn’t get the respect it deserved or deserved, despite eight regular-season wins and frequently beating bigger schools in its conference. The postseason will be a new opportunity to show what their team is all about, even if the opponent on the other side of the court is also respectable.

Led by their seniors, the No. 2 Spartans defeated visiting No. 3 Bishop Shanahan 42-21 on Friday in the District 1-4A semifinals.

“We’ve had a lot of disrespect happen to us throughout the year and we’ve been proven wrong here and now,” said Springfield Township senior running back CJ Johnson. “We were underdogs in every match.”

The victory means Springfield Township will play in its first District 1 title game since 2015, the first year of the six classification systems. The Spartans want more and are seeking their first title since 2014, when they won the last 2A championship in the old classification.

The players were fully aware of this, which indicated a post-match celebration. With 19 seniors on the roster, a win-or-lose mentality developed before preseason camp began, and anyone who looked down on or overlooked the team’s accomplishments only motivated them to keep working.

“We’ve known about it since the summer,” said Jack McGuckin of Springfield. “It’s a return to winter training. That’s when we started building that brotherhood, and when we took the field that summer, we knew we had something special.”

Johnson was terrific, the senior running back scored four touchdowns, carrying the ball 27 times for 259 yards and adding three receptions for another 25 yards. McGuckin, a senior quarterback, had two rushing scores – 91 yards on 17 carries, completing 9 of 13 passes for 66 yards, and if that wasn’t enough, he added an interception while playing safety on defense.

Bobby Hartman, another senior, also made his mark throughout the game. The 7-foot-4 wide receiver had three catches for 43 yards, but also had two passes of his own, made a fake punt and handled kicks. In fact, it was Hartman who started the game with an onside kick, which he recovered from as the Spartans came out with the news.

“I’m a little speechless, we’ve put so much work into this season, but especially this week,” Hartman said. “With all the disrespect we felt, I’m just proud of everyone on our team.”

Of course, there are two sides to every playoff game, and although Bishop Shanahan’s winning streak ended earlier than expected, the Eagles still had a fantastic season. Their group, led by seven seniors, also won eight regular-season games and captured the Ches-Mont North division title.

Julian Haylock scored two touchdowns, rushing 16 times for 119 yards to keep up with Shanahan’s offense.

The Eagles started the game strong, stopping Springfield Township on their first field goal, then scored their first field goal of the game when Anthony Aquila hit Aidan Civitella and the receiver broke free for an 89-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for Bishop Shanahan, four turnovers on the night and the Spartans’ powerful running game proved too much to overcome.

“It’s a run game, we knew they were going to attack us,” Eagles coach Paul Meyers said. Our coaches made some changes, but it wasn’t enough.

“The seniors set the bar and the reason we had the season we had is because of our seniors. They were the basis, they gathered everyone and took them with them. We made history by beating some of the schools we play – all 6A – and winning the Ches-Mont title for the first time in school history. Students should hold their heads up because they have something to be proud of.”

Springfield Township scored the next 21 points running. Throughout the season, the Spartans have relied on a strong running game that can eat up yardage behind a physical, powerful offensive line that includes seniors Nick Formoso, Ryan Baranaukas, Peyton Marcino and Bryce McManus, as well as junior Tommy Ryan and senior quarterback Dom Devers.

McGuckin and Johnson, both tough runners with breakneck speed, were quick to point out that nothing they did was possible without their line. Johnson, who had a long run of 53 yards and scored on runs of two, seven, 23 and 32 yards, noted that he has been ahead of this group for some time.

“They just know what to do and are prepared,” McGuckin said. “We’ve come all the way from JV to now.”

Johnson looked unstoppable for most of the game, repeatedly dragging attackers forward, and once he got into space it was a matter of how many yards he could rack up. The only thing that stopped him during his two long touchdown runs was the end zone, otherwise he would have kept going. Considering the senior linebacker, along with McGuckin, Hartman and many others, also took strong snaps on defense, it was a testament to the team’s health that some of his best passes came later in the game.

“Heart,” Johnson said, punching his chest pads several times for emphasis. “It’s all heart.”

Next week, Springfield Township will try to win its first district title in a decade against top-seeded Pope John Paul II, which beat No. 4 Lower Moreland. It’s good that both schools will meet in the final, they played the Panthers in week one, narrowly ahead of Springfield Township to start the season.

No, the Spartans don’t need to be reminded of that either.

“Since we lost, we’ve had it marked on the calendar,” McGuckin said.

“We lost by one touchdown, so we definitely wanted to see them again,” Johnson added.

BISHOP SHANAHAN 7 6 8 0 – 21

SPRINGFIELD TWP 7 14 14 7 – 42

Score playback

1st quarter

BS – Anthony Aquila 89 pass to Aidan Civitelli (Salvie Debellis) 8:09

ST – CJ Johnson 2nd heat (Bobby Hartman) 4:22

2nd quarter

ST – Johnson 7 runs (Hartman kick) 10:48

ST – Johnson 23rd run (Hartman kick) 5:28

BS – Julian Haylock 38 runs (missed kick) 1:51

Third quarter

ST – Jack McGuckin 4 runs (Hartman kick) 7:39

ST – Johnson 32 run (Hartman kick) 4:05

BS – Haylock 19 run (Aquila two-point run) 1:06

4th quarter

ST – McGuckin 2nd run (Hartman kick) 6:35

Team statistics

ST B.S

First falls 20/10

Rushes-Yards 49-372 30-160

Pass 9-13-0-0 4-10-0-3

Passing yards 66,114

Total yards 438,274

Penalties-yards 10-59 3-15

Fumbles – lost 1-1, 2-1

Individual statistics

Rushing: ST – CJ Johnson 27-259, Jack McGuckin 17-91, Mekhi Paschall 1-5, Bobby Hartman 1-4, Theo Ferragame 3-13; BS – Julian Haylock 16-115, Anthony Aquila 12-35, Nate Bracken 2-10.

Passing: ST – McGuckin 9-13-0-0-66; BS – Aquila 4-10-0-3-114.

Reception: ST – Hartman 3-43, Paschall 3-18, Johnson 3-25; BS – Aidan Civitella 2-101, Bracken 1-10, Sam Conte 1-3.

Steals: ST – Hartman 2, McGuckin.