GERMANTOWN - No. 13 Quince Orchard led by just four points, 17-13, in the third quarter after No. 16 Seneca Valley charged back with two straight touchdowns. The reeling Cougars were faced with a third-and-long inside their own 20-yard line and the Seneca defense was itching for another big stop.

But QO stepped up. Cougars quarterback Drew Murphy (7 of 14 for 115 yards) found receiver Eric Bishop deep downfield for 68 yards, igniting the QO bench. Running back Mark Green then punched the ball into the end zone from 11 yards out. The touchdown put Quince Orchard up 24-13, but more importantly it sucked the life out of the Valley. One quarter later, the score stayed the same at Quince Orchard (7-1) escaped with a victory.

"I'm proud of the way the kids kept their composure and finished out the game strong," said Quince Orchard coach Mencarini. "[Seneca Valley] came out in the third quarter and scored two unanswered touchdown' to tighten the game, but our kids responded and put them away. It was reminiscent to the Damascus game were we held a big lead in the second half and watched it vanish.

"But not this time."

Indeed not this time. Not last time either. Seneca (6-2) and QO, two traditional rivals from the 1990s, squared off for the first time in six years last year (they played in different classes; Seneca in 3A, QO in 4A), and the Cougars emerged with a 27-0 victory. It wasn't as easy this time around, but they still pulled out a win, the first time Quince Orchard has ever recorded back-to-back regular season wins over Seneca,

"We knew this would be a good game and Seneca would be ready to play," said Green, who finished with a game-high119 yards on an astonishing 35 carries. "We grew up with all of those guys; this is a big rivalry."

Quince Orchard's first touchdown came compliments of a blocked put from linebacker Alex Twine. The ball bounced into the end zone and Twine's teammate, Corday Thomas scooped it up, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

Seneca Valley had to punt on their next possession, too, but this time the Eagles got the kick away. Unfortunately for them, their defense couldn't hold. Quince Orchard went 63 yards on nine plays, although they had to settle for a Harry Long chip-shot field goal to take a 10-0 lead.

It kept getting worse for Seneca. Twine, who finished with double-digit tackles, once again made a game-changing play. He stripped Eagles star running back Eddie Cunningham (89 yards) and QO recovered at the Seneca 24-yard line. Green, who became QO's main rusher after James McCallister fractured his leg early in the game, took advantage of the short field and rushed for a 9-yard score and a 17-0 Cougars lead.

"I wanted the load on my back; I'm up for the work load," Green said. "Anything to help the team win."

But the Sceamin' Eagles came storming back in the second half. Cunningham, who now had 1,068 yards and 16 touchdowns, broke loose down the sideline for a 53-yard touchdown run, making the score 17-7.

Then Quince Orchard lost a fumble in their own territory, practically gift-wrapping another Seneca score. Eagles quarterback Max Nicholson (13 of 22 for 68 yards) promptly found 6-foot-5 tight end Tanner Vallely for a 14-yard touchdown pass, cutting their deficit to 17-14 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

But that's all the scoring that Seneca Valley could muster as Quince Orchard put the clamps down and the offense came to life just when it needed to.

"Quince Orchard is a good team and you can't fall behind early on a squad like that the way we did," said Seneca Valley coach Fred Kim.

Seneca's standout lineman Bernard Wolley echoed his coach's sentiments:

"QO came ready to play," he said. "But we will see them again in the playoffs."