Scott Huff previews the upcoming Thanksgiving Day games.
By Scott Huff
Tradition.
There may not be a more sacred ritual in the Suburban One League than the time-honored custom of playing scholastic football on Thanksgiving morning. There are four ‘Turkey Bowl’ games this season showcasing seven SOL teams – and three of those neighborhood rivalries have a long and storied past.
The ironic part of those three most celebrated holiday rivalries – Quakertown-Pennridge; Abington-Cheltenham; and Upper Moreland-Hatboro-Horsham – is that one team has dominated the series over the decades of meetings.
Pennridge holds a commanding 52-26-5 record against Quakertown; Abington holds a commanding 56-29-6 record over Cheltenham; and Hatboro-Horsham holds a commanding 51-26-5 record over Upper Moreland.
The Harry S Truman-Conwell-Egan Thanksgiving morning rivalry is the ‘youngest’ and ‘most competitive.’ In the last 18 seasons, Egan holds a slight 10-8 advantage over Truman.
But whether you are a Blue & White Panther fan, a Green & White Ram fan, a Maroon & White Ghost fan, a Blue & Gold Panther fan, a Purple and Gold Bear fan, a Black & Red Hatter fan, a Black & Gold Tiger fan, or a Blue & White Eagle fan – the menu on Thanksgiving should include a tasty neighborhood high school football game as an appetizer.
Enjoy.
Quakertown Panthers (7-4) @ Pennridge Rams (7-4)
Poppy Yoder Field
10:15 am
Last Year: Pennridge 28 – Quakertown 13.
Quakertown Head Coach George Banas says: “The game is even more special both for myself and 
(Pennridge head coach) Jeff Hollenbach in that we are both graduates of the teams we coach. We know how meaningful this game is for both communities and how special it is to play in this game and now be able to coach in the game. We only won one game last year, but we played them tough, and even though we lost, I really think that it helped us get ready for the success we had this year.”
Pennridge Head Coach Jeff Hollenbach says: “I’ve been telling the players stories every day about when I was a manager at eight years old when my Dad coached at Pennridge, when I was a player at Pennridge, and when I coached at Pennridge – and the special event that playing Quakertown on Thanksgiving morning is all about. It is an awesome opportunity for these kids to play in front of thousands of people – in front of all the alumni – and how much of a special memory this is going to be for them.”
Regular Season Resume:
Quakertown- defeated Central Bucks South 24-7 and Central Bucks East 34-28 * lost to North Penn 28-7 and Central Bucks West 30-10.
Pennridge – defeated Emmaus 33-27 and Academy Park 28-13 * lost to North Penn 31-20 and Central Bucks West 21-20.
Offensive Scoring Average:
Quakertown – 23.0
Pennridge – 30.5
Defensive Point Allowed:
Quakertown – 21.2
Pennridge – 21.4
Margin of Victory:
Quakertown - + 1.8
Pennridge - + 9.1
Rushing:
Quakertown – Matt Stoneback 172 carries, 677 yards, 11 touchdowns; Rob Burns 67/ 475/ 4; Alec Vera 87/ 347/ 9.
Pennridge – Michael Class 192 carries, 1544 yards, 18 touchdowns; Matt Pasquale 67/ 201/ 2.
Passing:
Quakertown – Alec Vera 61 completions, 894 yards, 7 touchdowns.
Pennridge – Matt Pasquale 96 completions, 1520 yards, 15 touchdowns.
Receiving:
Quakertown – Pat San Angelo 18 receptions, 243 yards, 2 touchdowns; Brian Cass 10/ 168/ 1; Ryan Heegard 10/ 157/ 1.
Pennridge – Micah Stutzman 44 receptions; 717 yards, 8 touchdowns; Michael Class 33/ 425/ 3.
Abington Ghosts (10-3) @ Cheltenham Panthers (5-6)
10 am
Last Year: Abington 7 – Cheltenham 0
Abington Head Coach Tim Sorber says: “It will be a good thing to play the game after the way we lost to 
Neshaminy (35-14) in the district semifinals. This is a huge game for the graduates for both Abington – of which I am one – and Cheltenham. This is a huge game for the players as well – these kids see each other a lot of places like the Willow Grove Mall – and the seniors would like nothing better than to be able to beat Cheltenham in their last game. When I was a senior at Abington, we beat Cheltenham, and I will never forget it. (Cheltenham head coach) Joe Gro is a class guy, and it is a great high school rivalry.”
Cheltenham Head Coach Joe Gro says: “The players have done a great job of getting prepared for this game. If Abington had gotten to the district final, we wouldn’t have played this game. But the players have worked hard the last few weeks, and they really wanted to play this game. If you can’t mentally be ready to play a Cheltenham-Abington game, you can’t get ready to play any game.”
Season Resume:
Abington * defeated both Upper Dublin (55-25) and Garnet Valley (26-21) in PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs * lost twice to Neshaminy (31-14) during the regular season and (35-14) in the district playoffs.
Cheltenham * defeated Springfield (28-26) and Upper Moreland (42-28) * lost to Downingtown West (56-14) and Plymouth Whitemarsh (49-21).
Offensive Scoring Average:
Abington – 30.0
Cheltenham – 23.6
Defensive Points Allowed:
Abington – 18.7
Cheltenham – 31.3
Margin of Victory:
Abington + 11.3
Cheltenham (minus) 7.7
Rushing:
Abington – Craig Reynolds 265 carries, 1912 yards, 27 touchdowns.
Cheltenham – Greg Morris 1025 yards, 10 touchdowns; Marcus Heimann 750 yards, 14 touchdowns.
Passing:
Abington – David Kretschman 45 completions, 730 yards, 8 touchdowns.
Cheltenham – Marcus Heimann 1235 yards, 11 touchdowns.
Abington – Jordan Neely 31 receptions, 464 yards, 1 touchdown.
Cheltenham – Chris Mayrack 34 receptions, 7 touchdowns.
Upper Moreland Golden Bears (4-7) @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (4-7)
10 am
Last Year: Upper Moreland 35 – Hatboro-Horsham 7
Upper Moreland Head Coach Adam Beach says: “I had the great experience of playing in Thanksgiving Day 
games when I went to North Penn and we played Lansdale Catholic. It is something that you remember for the rest of your life. I coached here at Upper Moreland for six years – took off for two years – and now I’m back – and looking forward to coaching again in this game. It is a great way for everyone to end the season with a meaningful game like this. It should be a very entertaining game – a close game - played in front of a good crowd. I told the kids to play the game with no regrets – let everything you have out on the field.”
Hatboro-Horsham Head Coach Michael Kapusta says: “One of the first things that came up with my interview to take over the program this year was how important the Upper Moreland game was for the community. It has been a long three weeks since our last game, but we took advantage of the time to do a lot of film work – a lot of classroom work. We didn’t want to put too much time on the field and beat them down, but you have to be careful not to let them get rusty, either. It should be a great game.”
Regular Season Resume:
Upper Moreland – defeated Norristown 21-20 and Owen J Roberts 25-14 * lost to Plymouth Whitemash 48-28 and Wissahickon 27-20.
Hatboro-Horsham – defeated Quakertown 26-19 and Norristown 21-14 * lost to North Penn 42-21 and Souderton 21-6.
Offensive Scoring Average:
Upper Moreland – 24.0
Hatboro-Horsham – 20.4
Defensive Points Allowed:
Upper Moreland – 30.4
Hatboro-Horsham – 30.4
Margin of Victory:
Upper Moreland – (minus) 6.0
Hatboro-Horsham – (minus) 10.0
Rushing:
Upper Moreland – Tyler Whitmore 182 carries, 1314 yards, 15 touchdowns; Charlie Hooker 85/ 238/ 3.
Hatboro-Horsham – Jeff Panara 132 carries, 598 yards, 7 touchdowns; Kinglsey Nworu 117/ 515/ 5.
Passing:
Upper Moreland – Charlie Hooker 91 completions, 1010 yards, 10 touchdowns.
Hatboro-Horsham – Casey Walsh 88 completions, 1389 yards, 9 touchdowns.
Receiving:
Upper Moreland – Tommy Robinson 39 receptions, 419 yards, 3 touchdowns; Tyler Whitemore 17/ 235/ 1.
Hatboro-Horsham – John O’Malley 57 receptions, 1112 yards, 10 touchdowns.
Conwell-Egan Eagles (3-7) @ Truman Tigers (5-6)
10 am
Last Year: Truman 34 – Conwell-Egan 31
Truman Head Coach Ed Cubbage says: “I have been going to Thanksgiving Day games since I was six years 
old with the Father Judge-Lincoln games. I love Thanksgiving Day games. A win for us in this game would give us a 6-6 record and it would be the first time since 2001 that a Truman team reached .500. The focus all year was to get a win over an SOL team which we did (against William Tennent and Bensalem) and to be at least .500. This year preparing for the game has been a challenge with almost having a month to get ready, but the kids are excited, especially our seniors.”
Regular Season Resume:
Conwell-Egan – defeated New-Hope Solebury 36-14 and Valley Forge 55-8 * lost to West Catholic 44-0 and Bishop McDevitt 20-17.
Truman - defeated William Tennent 29-0 and Bensalem 20-13 * lost to Council Rock North 21-17 and Pennsbury 35-7.
Offensive Scoring Average:
Conwell Egan – 16.3
Truman – 24.0
Defensive Points Allowed:
Conwell-Egan – 26.3
Truman – 22.1
Margin of Victory:
Conwell-Egan – (minus) 10.0
Truman - + 1.9
Rushing:
Conwell-Egan – Joe Ruggiero 84 carries, 511 yards; Andrew Linder 66/ 288.
Truman – Jordan Livingston 93 carries, 580 yards, 5 touchdowns, Trysten Hunt 68/ 456/ 4; Bobby Hill 53/ 455/ 4.
Passing:
Conwell-Egan – Mike Alley 41 completions, 554 yards, 4 touchdowns.
Truman – Jake Zolna 35 completions, 386 yards, 5 touchdowns.
Receiving:
Conwell-Egan – Joe Ruggiero 13 receptions, 153 yards, 0 touchdowns; Andrew Linder 11/ 179/ 1.
Truman – Corey McCloud 8 receptions, 94 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. North Penn Knights (10-3)
2. Pennsbury Falcons (10-2)
3. Neshaminy Redskins (12-1)
4. Abington Ghosts (10-3)
5. Central Bucks West Bucks (9-3)
6. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (8-3)
7. Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals (9-2)
8. Council Rock North Indians (7-4)
9. Pennridge Rams (7-4)
10. Quakertown Panthers (7-4)
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