Bensalem, Souderton and Upper Dublin are featured in the second of periodic SOL football notebooks. (Photos provided courtesy of Bensalem football.)
Week two of the 2016 football season included its share of significant games.
In a battle of projected SOL heavyweights, Neshaminy used a late touchdown by Will Dogba and some Mason Jones to Oleh Manzyk magic to earn a tightly contested 31-24 win over Pennridge.
North Penn stymied Downingtown East in a 23-7 win that propelled the Knights to the program’s first 2-0 record since 2009 when La Salle was not on their schedule and they rolled to a 13-0 record before falling to Ridley in the state quarterfinals.
The Knights are one of seven SOL teams without a loss, joining a list that includes four other SOL Continental schools (Central Bucks East, Central Bucks South, Central Bucks West and Souderton) and one each from the National and American (Neshaminy and Upper Dublin).
Those noteworthy accomplishments not withstanding, the big story of the weekend was Bensalem’s 23-17 win over William Tennent that brought a welcome end to a 29-game losing streak dating back to Sept. 21, 2013, when the Owls upended Council Rock South 42-35.
Ed Cubbage, who laid the groundwork for Truman’s turnaround, enjoys a challenge, and the Owls’ second-year coach knew exactly what he was getting into when he took over the helm of a Bensalem program that was in the throes of an 18-game losing streak.
“To me, the positive about taking over a program that’s down – I get to do what I want from the beginning and I get to mold it in my own vision and we go from there,” Cubbage said. “I don’t have a whole lot of opposition because people are – ‘Sure, we’ll do this’ because whatever was done before isn’t working. That’s a huge plus.
“People generally jump on board because it’s something new and different. I think I’m a very optimistic person by nature, so coming in and speaking positively and feeling positive – I think that helps too. That’s where we start.”
Last year, Bensalem fielded only a varsity team.
“We pretty much played everyone in every game,” Cubbage said. “We had all the kids on the field, so we were constantly teaching and showing them – this is what happens when you get on the field.
“I think that helped a lot. Most of our players last year were not varsity ready. We probably – at best last year – would have been a .500 jayvee team, but just getting them on the field and giving them varsity experience kept them interested.”
The Owls took some beatings but saw progress.
“Quite honestly, we had a few games where going into halftime we were in the game,” Cubbage said. “We just weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
“I have good coaches who coach the kids constantly. There’s a difference between coaching and screaming at a kid, and I think a lot of kids saw that they were being coached and that there were people caring about them and wanting them to do well. I think that led to these kids sticking it through.”
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National Conference
Bensalem: Trailing 17-7 in the third quarter of Friday’s game against William Tennent, the Owls – who had just seen the Panthers turn a Bensalem fumble into a touchdown - looked as though they were on their way to their 30th straight loss.
“The only thing that got me through was knowing we had the whole school watching us and wanting us to get 
our first win,” junior Keith Parrish said. “We had a lot of people wanting us to win - our coaches, our teammates, the sidelines and the players.
“The sideline was awesome. They were keeping us up. No one was sitting on the bench like it would be last year. No starting players were down. We were all up and watching the game. We were all just together. We all tried our hardest and we didn’t stop.”
Malcolm Carey’s 39-yard touchdown run made it a 17-13 game (the two-point conversion failed), and when quarterback Stone Moore took it in from 11 yards out, the Owls had a lead they would not lose. Matt Corbett’s 24-yard field goal iced the win for the Owls.
Parrish led the Owls’ ground attack with 94 yards on just five carries while Carey added 89 yards.
“The key to turning things around for our team was mostly teamwork and the end of arguments during practice,” Parrish said. “I’ve been playing since my freshman year, and we’ve been getting a lot better. It all starts in February in the weight room until August and you have mini-camps.”
· Buying in: Turnarounds can’t happen if players don’t buy into the system. Cubbage pointed to seniors Saleem Martin, Blake Morgan, Malcolm Carey and Rob Fund as strong leaders who helped keep the Owls on course when the going got tough.
· Tip of the hat – Cubbage lauded the performances of several players in Friday’s win over Tennent. “Keith Parrish had an unbelievable game on offense and defense,” Cubbage said. “He was hardly off the field. He’s so tired and banged up at the end of the game – I don’t know how he has the energy to leave the stadium sometimes.”
Others who came up big, according to the Owls’ coach, included Vince Citrino (6-5, 330) on the defensive line and junior Rob Harris, who was a factor on both sides of the ball.
Coach Ed Cubbage says: “These kids just love football. You don’t go through what they’ve gone through without loving football. You say, ‘This is how we’re going to do things,’ and it was something they bought into.
“We use the word family a lot, we talk about sticking together. We tell them – even the best of families don’t always get along with one another, but they always stick together. That’s what we try to push and try to create.”
· Next up: A trip to Lincoln High School Friday is next on the schedule for the Owls.
“We’re a little banged up, so I figured I’d give them an extra day off,” Cubbage said. “Tuesday we’re getting back to work, and one of the first things we’re doing – we’re going to show them film.
“Lincoln is a good team. They can’t just sit there and think – we got one, it’s going to be easy. We also pride ourselves on our work ethic. We have to take that next step. We can’t be satisfied.”
Continental Conference
Souderton: The Indians opened their season with back-to-back wins over Plymouth Whitemarsh and Quakertown, and coach Ed Gallagher acknowledges he might not have predicted the program’s first 2-0 start since the 2010 season.
“It’s been a weird two weeks,” the Indians’ coach said. “With one scrimmage, you don’t really get a gauge of how good a team is.
“PW scrimmaged North Penn, and it was really hard to get a gauge because North Penn is so good. Then you go against a Quakertown team that played (Archbishop) Ryan in their first game, and Ryan’s really good. You’re coming off weeks where they’re playing really good teams, so you don’t know how good they are.
“You’re showing video, and your kids are seeing them getting beat pretty bad, and it’s hard to keep your kids focused on what they need to do. However, we found a way to be 2-0, and that’s the main thing.”
This year’s team boasts a strong senior class with many of its players seeing significant varsity time since they were sophomores.
“We have a really good group of kids that – I hate to say were pointing to this season, but this is a group of seniors that played a lot as sophomores and juniors and took some lumps against some really good teams,” Gallagher said. “No one asked to be put in the National Conference (the last two years).
“That was the hand we were dealt, and that’s what they had to play with the last two years as underclassmen. Now that they’re seniors I do think they want to set the tone that this is going to be a different year – we have a different mindset about how we’re going to approach things. I really like the approach so far. I couldn’t be more happy with the mental part of the game.”
· Curotto and Khan raising the bar: Joey Curotto and Koby Khan have lived with the burden of lofty expectations since they arrived on the varsity scene as sophomores. Both have been impressive in the first two games.
“They both had high expectations as juniors and didn’t achieve what they were hoping to achieve,” Gallagher said. “Here they are in their senior year. They haven’t always bought in, but now it just seems like we’re getting it from them. They completely get it.”
In the Indians’ season-opening win over PW, Curotto threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for one TD and ran for another in Friday’s 26-20 win over Quakertown.
“Curotto is having so much fun playing football, and I’m so happy because for the past two years he seemed like he’s felt so pressured to make plays, and he really didn’t enjoy playing the game, but he’s truly enjoying playing football right now,” Gallagher said. “He was like a little kid after the game Friday night.
“He was so happy and pumping the team up because he’s having fun playing football again. That’s what it should be about. This isn’t life or death. They’re playing high school sports, and it’s refreshing to see kids look at it from that perspective.”
In Friday’s 26-20 win over Quakertown, Khan rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He had a pair of receiving TDs in the win over PW.
“Koby is carrying a bigger workload now,” Gallagher said. “Last year we had three guys that kind of split the load.
“On Friday night, he ran very well and ran very hard. I think teams are going to struggle to tackle him, especially as the game goes on. He’s 230 pounds and he’s a pretty strong kid.”
· Senior strong: Curotto and Khan aren’t the only seniors who have stepped up their game. Shane Day, who was an outside linebacker the past two years, has moved to safety this year and excelled.
“He’s a selfless player who would love to be in the spotlight, just like any other kid,” Gallagher said. “He’s been working and working, and he’s done a very nice job.”
Daly also is seeing time at tight end and wide receiver on the offensive side of the football.
“Offensively, we were hoping Dajone Averett was coming back from West Catholic, and he did not so we’re struggling at wide receiver,” said Gallagher, who also lost wide receiver Matt Halteman (injury). “We’re a little thin at receiver so Shane, who is our best returning tight end, has been playing some receiver as well.
“He’ll do whatever it takes for the team to win. He’s that kind of player, and I’m thrilled he’s off to a good start his senior year.”
Gallagher also pointed to the strong starts of Ben Yerk and Brandon Taragna.
“Both are playing a little bit of offense and a little bit of defense and helping the team in the secondary and as running backs and are both doing really nice things,” the Indians’ coach said. “Cam Carroll is certainly coming into his own.
“He had two punt returns (against Quakertown) that were just outstanding and also had a long touchdown reception. He’s also our best cover guy on defense, so he’s made some huge contributions in his first year as a two-way player.
“Guys like Andrew Stein and Jack Morgan have been around for a while and they are really driving the leadership of the team, but it’s not one or two kids. It’s a lot of them saying the same things and being on the same page because they don’t want a repeat of the past couple of years. They want this year to be different and I’m a huge fan of that.”
American Conference
Upper Dublin: The Flying Cardinals have outscored their first two opponents – Methacton and Harry S Truman - by a combined 82-0 score. The last thing the red hot Cards need right now is a week three bye, but that’s exactly what they’ve got.
Upper Dublin found out too late to schedule another game that it had lost its non-league game with Abington that was originally scheduled for this week.
“What happened was the school board at Abington said the only way they could cancel their Thanksgiving Day game against Cheltenham was if they played it during the regular season,” UD coach Bret Stover said.
Throw in the fact that Springfield Township cancelled its season, and the Flying Cardinals will play an eight-game regular season.
“There are just no games out there,” Stover said. “We get the (Springfield) forfeit, but I’d rather be playing both weeks, and I’d definitely rather be playing this Friday.
“Even though we’re playing pretty well, we’re still making a lot of mistakes on film that we have to get fixed, and really, the only way to do it is live fire.”
Stover is still looking to pick up jayvee games for this week as well as week eight when the Cards would have played Springfield.
“I’m looking for a game for next Monday so that we can keep our young kids playing because obviously, they’re the future of your program,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said.
· Horn in charge: One of the brightest spots in the first two games has been the stellar play of Justin Horn. The senior quarterback, who was voted captain by his teammates, had five touchdowns in UD’s season opener against Methacton and threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s win over Truman.
“He’s playing lights out,” Stover said. “He sees the field well. He obviously has a firm understanding of the offense playing behind Ryan (Stover).
“Justin, in my opinion, probably would have started on 80 percent of the teams we played last year had he not been stuck behind Ryan. He closed the gap from his sophomore to his junior year, which enabled us to do more with Ryan because had Ryan gotten hurt, we were very comfortable bringing Justin in if we had to. I think that’s a tribute to him working hard off the field and getting to know the system.
“He’s still making some mistakes, but the thing he’s not doing – he’s not turning the ball over. It’s funny to watch him out there – he looks like Ryan telling everyone where they’re going because we’re young and inexperienced at receiver. We’re growing up on the field. That’s why we’d like to play this week so we could grow up a little more on the field.”
· Leading the way: Justin Horn hasn’t been the only player to step to the fore. Stover pointed to Phil Butler, one of the team’s two returning starters who is starting at tailback and also playing corner. He also was elected captain by his teammates.
“He’s kind of our captain in the secondary,” Stover said. “Phil’s doing a real nice job of leading by example and doing all the little things in the locker room. I’m very happy with that.”
Jason O’Gara, another captain, made two starts last season but suffered a season-ending injury in the Cards’ second game against Truman.
“He had a start and a half under his belt, and Jason’s doing a nice job of leading by example,” Stover said. “The three of them are doing a nice job.”
Juniors Max Winebrake and Malik Bootman have also been impact players at linebacker. Winebrake saw significant action during last year’s playoff run after a starter went down with an injury. Bootman is also seeing action at fullback.
“They’re two of our guys for the future,” Stover said.
· Healthy competition: Although they lost all but two starters from last year’s District One AAAA championship squad, the Cardinals had a strong group of underclassmen waiting in the wings. This year’s roster has 71 players after finishing the season last year with 55.
“We’re one of the few that actually went up,” Stover said. “When you win a district title, there’s a lot of excitement, and your numbers jump.”
The Cards lost 26 seniors from last year’s squad to graduation, but this year’s team has 23.
“We have some juniors that are neck-in-neck and kept some of the juniors coming out of camp,” Stover said. “There’s an up side to having someone around for a couple of years, and it breeds competition.
“The senior who didn’t start week one is going to bust his butt more in practice for us. Actually, I think it’s been a big difference for us that we have competition. When I started, we had kids that we knew were going to play because there was no one better than them. Now we don’t have that problem. (If) you’re not going to work hard enough at your job, we’re going to replace you, and our kids understand that.”
Last week in the SOL
Bensalem 23, William Tennent 17 (Bensalem’s Keith Parrish and Malcolm Carey combined for 183 yards on the ground.)
Neshaminy 31, Pennridge 24 (Neshaminy senior Will Dogba ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns and also had 38 receiving yards.)
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7, Abington 0 (PW’s Jamal Khan rushed for 91 yards on 14 carries.)
North Penn 23, Downingtown East 7 (NP’s Justis Henley had eight receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown and also came up with an interception on defense.)
Upper Dublin 41, Harry S Truman 0 (Upper Dublin senior quarterback Justin Horn threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns.)
Central Bucks West 28, Council Rock South 7 (CB West’s Joshua Crecca threw for 187 yards – 110 to Kevin O’Hanlon.)
Souderton 26, Quakertown 20 (Koby Khan rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Indians.)
Cheltenham 33, Bishop McDevitt 29 (Quarterback Dylan Jones threw for 202 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another.)
Phoenixville 33, Upper Moreland 19 (UM quarterback Casey Decker accounted for 176 yards of offense.)
Central 27, Wissahickon 21 (Wissahickons’ Darryl Baldwin rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns.)
La Salle 28, Pennsbury 0 (The Falcons managed less than 100 yards of offense against the PCL power.)
Central Bucks East 24, Hatboro-Horsham 6 (Brian Stella, who led East with 65 yards on the ground, blocked a punt and one play later took it in from six yards out.)
Central Bucks South 35, Council Rock North 6 (Matt Norris and Nate Norris had a hand in 25 tackles combined as the Titans limited the Indians to just 158 yards of total offense.)
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