One kind of team that every sports fan, especially Philly sports fans, loves is the team full of fight and passion. Penn Wood, led by junior Jerry Flynn, is the embodiment of that type of team.
The seventh-seeded Patriots haven’t had the easiest path the District 1 championship by any stretch of the imagination. When they took on Academy Park, that was the only time they were the favorite to win. After a rough and hard-fought win, they then took on the likes of second-seeded Holy Ghost followed by third-seeded Penncrest.
At halftime, against Penncrest on Wednesday night, it felt like the game was up for grabs for either team. Both teams went on their on runs, both teams had their tough defensive stops, and both teams had the crowd behind them at separate times.
What it all came down to was who wanted it more. As cliché as that sounds, it’s truly what ended up happening.
Penncrest went up by six points with just under four minutes left in the game. Then, after only a brief moment of feeling sorry for themselves, Penn Wood caused chaos on the defensive end.
Every time anyone from Penncrest touched the ball, a Penn Wood defender was right on top of them. Every player from the guys on the court to the guys on the bench were going crazy for any top of stop or good contest.
Flynn drove through the paint and earned a tough three-point play, then the rest was history. Penn Wood outscored Penncrest 16-5 the rest of the way. Throughout the entire run, Flynn looked unphased and determined. He wasn’t about to let this game slip away and his teammates were following his lead.
An assist to Saalih Moore from Flynn and a big-time three from Abdullah Dublin, then all of a sudden they were in the lead and hitting free throws to wrap it all up in a neat bow.
This group of scrappy, young men now moves on to face the number one seed for the district title. West Chester East will be tough, especially since they don’t have a great matchup for Andrew Carr’s size. If this defense gets going though, and Jerry Flynn continues to his stellar post-season play, the game could be closer than anyone imagined.
