No apology needed: Finerghty shines despite injury, Cinnaminson football tops Collingswood

COLLINGSWOOD – As the final seconds wound down on the Cinnaminson High School football team’s victory over Collingswood Friday night, senior quarterback Brian Finerghty turned to his head coach and apologized.

“What for?” Mario Patrizi asked. “You played great.”

Finerghty’s left leg started cramping late in the third quarter as the Pirates were clinging to a five-point advantage.

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He tried to play through it but was unable to finish the contest. Cinnaminson pulled through, 26-7, thanks in part to a 34-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Michael Beers to Gavin Prendergast with 7 minutes remaining.

But Finerghty felt like he let his team down. Patrizi felt the opposite. Finerghty carried the Pirates while he was in the contest. They wouldn’t have sailed away victorious without him.

“I laugh it off (the apology) because without him, we’re not (the same team),” Patrizi said. “He brings such a dynamic to the table where he wants to be in every play. He goes both ways. He don’t come off the field, which is tough (plays strong safety too).”

Finerghty, a three-year starter, broke his leg in the season-opener against Collingwood last year and missed all but the final two games. Patrizi moved him back to quarterback this fall after playing him at running back each of the past two seasons.

His ability to deliver with both his arm and legs was evident against the Panthers.

Patrizi pointed to the 18-yard run Finerghty made to convert a 4th-and-1 in the third quarter in which he broke multiple tackles and mashed the circle button twice for a pair of gorgeous spin moves.

Then there was the 20-yard dime the left-hander threw to Beers in the fourth on the same drive Beers found Prendergast for the key score.

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“He brings so much intensity on the field,” Beers said. “You know he’s on the field. It’s like having 12 guys. He kind of does it all. He’s an amazing player, an amazing teammate, he’s always picking us up. He’s a great guy to have on your team.”

There wasn’t anyone upset with Finerghty that he had to leave the contest. They saw him fighting.

“I wanted to finish the game out,” Finerghty said. “I was battling with the athletic trainers to let me get in there, let me run a couple run plays. I didn’t want to let anybody down. … I just want to lead this team on a good winning record this year, go to the playoffs, win a playoff game, see what we can do. I don’t want to let anybody down on this team.”

He didn’t against Collingwood.

Finerghty finished 8-of-13 passing for 127 yards, a touchdown and an interception and had 14 carries for 63 yards.

“He’s a gamer,” Patrizi said.

More importantly, Finerghty is the type of player that brings out the best in his teammates.

“He wants to win and he’s a team guy and when guys see that, they want to fly around with him,” Patrizi said. He added later, “He leads by example. That’s the one thing, you have leaders that proclaim their leaders, this kid leads by example.”

Play of the Game

Beers hadn’t thrown a pass in any of his snaps relieving Finerghty.

However, with Cinnaminson facing a 3rd-and-15 on Collingswood’s 34-yard line with just a 12-7 edge, Patrizi put the game on Beers’ arm.

“He asked if I was good to run it, and I said yeah, I wanted the play,” Beers said.

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Beers rolled to his left and let go of the ball just as he was drilled by a defender.

The ball floated, but landed right in Prendergast’s arms, who then broke a tackle, spun around and raced to pay dirt for a 19-7 advantage.

“That was scary. He just lobbed it up there in the middle,” Prendergast smiled. “… I was dragging toward the middle of the field and I had to cut up because the guy was on me, and thankfully he made the perfect pass.”

Player of the Game

Prendergast – Finished with 4 catches for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“He went off,” Beers said. “He’s a playmaker for sure. He works his butt off and I love that for him. He’s a great guy. A great teammate.”

Game notes

• Cinnaminson’s Kyle Willis ran 15 times for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns.

• Jackson Machado and Donovan Wilkinson stepped up defensively for the Pirates. Machado had a forced fumble and a pair of sacks while Wilkinson batted a pair of passes at the line and also registered a sack.

• Collingswood’s lone score came on Joseph Pritchett’s 7-yard touchdown run with 5.3 seconds left in the first half.

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What’s next

Cinnaminson (2-0) hosts New Egypt on Thursday at 6 p.m. Collingswood (1-1) welcomes Gateway to town on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Late lob lifts Cinnaminson football to victory over Collingswood