MIDDLETOWN — Chris Gicking hesitated before trying to speak on a topic that sparked a deep emotional response Friday night.
“He got up in the middle of the night and drove to the hospital the other day,” Gicking said, when asked why his father, Harry Gicking, a longtime Marple Newtown assistant coach, wasn’t on the sidelines. You know how tough guys his age think they are. He’s in Bryn Mawr Hospital, but he’s going to be fine.
“I was mad about missing practice the other day. And he got mad at my mom when she didn’t bring him something she wanted so she could (keep up with what we were doing).”
Gicking kept his father up to date on the Tigers’ preparations for Friday’s visit to Louis Scott Field for their Central League opener against Penncrest.
“He finally texted me,” the younger Gicking said. “He just told me to stop texting him and go out and get a win.”
The Marple Newtown players, knowing what was on their head coach’s mind, responded with a strong effort in the first half, a strong performance in the third quarter and the victory that assistant coach Gicking called for, 37-6. .
The Tigers (2-0, 1-0) built a 24-0 halftime lead, led 37-0 after three quarters and didn’t give up a point until less than six minutes remained in what, at the time, it was a ticking clock.
After MN sophomore Brian Box returned the opening kickoff 30 yards to the visitors’ 40, David Bertoline capped an eight-play drive with a 1-yard scoring run.
Penncrest’s first possession lasted four plays before Jimmy Hally went down on a Lions fumble. A 24-yard completion from Bertoline left just one yard for Box to cover the second touchdown.
Two plays later, another Penncrest fumble fell to Marple’s Jacob Eck, and this time the Tigers covered 43 yards in six plays, with Box’s 15-yard run setting up his 1-yard run.
Box had a 27-yard run to lead off a 74-yard drive that opened the second quarter. A 15-yard dead-ball personal foul pushed Marple back to Penncrest 24, and when two completions by Bertoline left the Tigers without a first down, Ty Can kicked a 30-yard field goal.
“We tell the kids that every week we have to get better,” said Chris Gicking. “Every practice we want to build on things. Little things soon turn into big things.”
Sean O’Donnell’s 20-yard drive to Owen Campbell got Penncrest across midfield for the first time late in the first half before the Lions fumbled on opportunities.
Can left O’Donnell for a two-yard loss when Penncrest’s first possession of the second half fell short. Four plays later, Can was on the receiving end of Bertoline’s 30-yard TD throw.
The Tigers’ starters got one more chance to move the ball, with Paul Defruscio charging five times in a six-play drive, including a 15-yard touchdown run.
Junior Jake McGowan, the starting offensive left tackle who played center as a sophomore in 2021, was happy that he and fellow linemen Jason Bennett, AJ Diianni, Josh Tiger-Wesley and Gavin Cooney were able to help their team rack up about 300 yards in total. offense.
“The point is that everybody does their job,” McGowan said.
McGowan moves to the winger when he’s on the defensive line.
“Again, it’s just you have to do your job,” he said. “They (Penncrest) run an interesting offense with all their playing options. Each person has to do what he can to stop them.”
The only time the Tigers didn’t stop the Lions was in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, when Penncrest used 13 plays to go 83 yards for his six points. Spencer Tyson had runs of 19, 14 and eight yards before O’Donnell scored on a 10-yard run to the end zone.
By then, if someone in the Gicking family was texting Harry back at Bryn Mawr, it would surely ease any anxiety about missing out on the game.