Check out the results for SOL football teams in action Friday. To view photos of the CB South/NP and Upper Moreland/Cheltenham games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of Calkins Media. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web site www.PhillyBurbs.com<http://www.PhillyBurbs.com>.
National Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 28, NORTH PENN 27
Josh Adams accepted congratulations from one South fan after another. He signed autographs for the starry-eyed children waiting eagerly for him at the gate as he left the field. All the while wearing a smile that told the story of a magical night.
The Notre Dame-bound senior had just shredded the Knights’ defense for 327 yards and three touchdowns. It was a decidedly different outcome than last year’s Oct. 4 shootout that the Knights won 35-28 in a contest that saw Adams go down in the third quarter with a torn anterior cruciate ligament that would bring an abrupt end to his season. He had 95 yards before he was injured.
“I’m just blessed to be back out here,” Adams said. “I just thank God that everything went great with my recovery. I have a great family and my teammates to pick me up.
“From there, I was just trying to move forward and do the best I could to help my team. I just feel blessed to be able to get back out here. I’m just grateful.”
In the end, a game that featured one big play after another came down to one play – or two yards.
With 44 seconds remaining in regulation, North Penn quarterback Josh Bevan capped an impressive 80-yard, four-minute scoring drive when he took it in from five yards out. Overtime seemed inevitable, but North Penn – after a pair of timeouts – lined up for two.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” South junior Luke Kohler said. “They didn’t have any time left – they were going for the win.
“We just made sure everybody was locked up on a man. We had everything covered.”
It was all or nothing for the Knights.
Cross the goal line for the two-point conversation, and they take a one-point lead. Stop the play, and the Titans escape with the huge win.
The Titans were ready, and it was Kohler, the Titans’ middle linebacker, who came up with the stop of Nick Isabella to all but seal the huge win for the Titans.
“They spread us out,” Kohler said. “They only had one back in the backfield. I was just watching him come through. The line made a hole, and I filled it. It was amazing, the best feeling in the world.”
All Adams could do was watch the drama from the sidelines, but he insists he was confident.
“If they score, we get a chance to get the ball back with 40-some seconds left,” he said. “I was just thinking – if we get the ball back, we have to go fast, march down the field. We’re good at spreading the ball and moving fast. That’s where my mind was.
“That (stop on the) two-point conversion was great. I thought we were going to stop them on the touchdown play, but big ups to them.”
For 48 minutes, the two teams exchanged scores. First it was Adams scoring on a 33-yard run, but the kick failed.
The Knights responded with a touchdown drive of their own that was capped with a 15-yard TD run by Nyfease West, who led the Knights with 161 yards. Matt Ammendola’s extra point gave the Knights a 7-6 edge at the end of one quarter.
West and Adams exchanged touchdown runs in the second quarter, and the Knights took a 14-13 lead into the intermission. Adams had 191 yards in the first half.
A 13-yard touchdown run by Adams and the successful two-point conversion from quarterback Kevin Witchey to Troy Robertson put the Titans on top 21-14 at the 10:28 mark of the third quarter.
The Knights knotted the score at the 7:29 mark of the fourth quarter when a 70-yard touchdown drive was capped by a one-yard Isabella plunge. The fun was far from over.
A 78-yard scoring drive that featured a whole lot of Adams as well as an eight-yard run by Witchey and a nine-yard completion to Robertson culminated with Adams taking it in from 10 yards out. After the extra point, the Titans led 28-21 with 4:45 remaining.
The Knights had just enough time for one last drive, setting the stage for the clutch score and big stop by the Titans on the two-point conversion
How did it feel to beat the Knights in front of a full house on Toga Night?
“That felt great,” Adams said. “Last year I wasn’t able to finish the game, and my sophomore year – I played a little bit, but I didn’t make that big of a difference.
“My senior year – it was a good way to go out.”
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Kohler said. “We’re going for first place.
“The fans were great. It was crazy.”
While the Knights (2-3, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Souderton for a Thursday night matchup, the Titans (4-1, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday night.
North Penn 7-7-0-13 27
Central Bucks South 6-7-8-7 28
(To read Scott Huff’s complete game story with stats, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/article/content/pennridge-defeats-neshaminy-home-opener-0047206)
Pennridge played in front of an overflow crowd in its inaugural game at recently refurbished Helman Stadium. As openers go, this was a memorable one.
The Rams received a big night from senior Joe Unangst, who rushed for 212 yards on 22 carries and caught three passes for 76 yards and a TD. Quarterback DeVon Palmer completed 9-of-13 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns.
The two teams went into halftime deadlock 14-14, but the Rams’ defense shut out the Redskins in the second half, and the Rams won it when Unangst took a shovel pass 45 yards for the game-winning score.
Pennridge (4-1, 1-1 SOL) will host Abington on Thursday night while Neshaminy (2-3, 1-1) will host Central Bucks South Thursday.
SOUDERTON 60, BENSALEM 20
Jamar White scored on a 26-yard run after teammate Jack Morgan recovered a fumble on the Owls’ 34-yard line, and the Indians were off and running. Blake Gular ran it in from 23 yards out after a failed fake punt, and the Indians led 12-0 before fans had settled in their seats.
The Indians opened up a 39-0 lead before the Owls got on the scoreboard in the closing seconds of the opening half on a three-yard run by Devante Porter.
Gular finished with 156 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries to lead the Indians. White had 116 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. All told, the Indians, who used nine different ball carriers, accumulated 501 yards of total offense – 460 on the ground.
The Owls’ finished with just 167 yards of offense – all on the ground. Porter accounted for 115 of those yards. He also had two touchdowns.
The decisive win helped erase memories of the Indians’ back-to-back losses, including last week’s 49-6 loss to a powerhouse Pennsbury squad.
Souderton (3-2, 1-1 SOL) will host North Penn on Thursday night while Bensalem (0-5, 0-2) will travel to Pennsbury
Souderton 19-20-14-7 60
Bensalem 0-7-7-6 20
Continental Conference
HARRY S TRUMAN 28, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 16
Trysten Hunt spotted the Tigers a quick 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game with a 70-yard run. The Bucks pulled to within one after a two-yard TD run by quarterback Eddie Shields. That’s as close as they would get the rest of the way.
By the end of one quarter, the Tigers led 21-6 and took a 21-9 lead into halftime. Kel Hunt scored from 16 yards out, and after the second of two West fumbles, quarterback Mark Lopez-Shefcyk found Terez Franklin with a 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Tigers went on top 28-9 after Corey McCloud hauled in another Lopez-Shefcyk touchdown pass.
Dallas Owen led the Bucks with 112 yards on the ground. Lopez-Shefcyk led the Tigers with 119 yards on 10 carries.
Truman (3-2, 1-1 SOL) will host Quakertown on Thursday night while the Bucks (1-4, 0-2) will host Council Rock South on Thursday.
Harry S Truman 21-0-7-0 28
Central Bucks West 6-3-0-7 16
American Conference
CHELTENHAM 28, UPPER MORELAND 21
The Golden Bears fell from the ranks of the undefeated when they were stunned by the host Panthers, who won it after recovering a bad snap on a punt on Upper Moreland’s five-yard line. Two plays later, Yasin Abudul-Haqq scored the winning touchdown after recovering his own fumble before he crossed the goal line.
The Panthers served early notice that they were a force to contend with when they scored on the opening drive of the game. The touchdown was set up by the long kickoff return of Gregory Chowder to the Golden Bears’ 40-yard line. Brandon Mack found Jamill Milligan-Bates to go on top 7-0.
Upper Moreland marched all the way to the Panthers’ two-yard line on their first possession, but that’s where the drive stalled. The Panthers capitalized on their big stop, going 98 yards for the score with Greg Morris taking it in from 32 yards out to go on top 14-0.
An 80-yard touchdown run by Tyler Whitmore, who finished with 219 yards and three TDs, made it a 14-7 game at halftime. A pair of touchdown runs by Whitmare put the Bears on top 21-14, but the Panthers – after recovering a fumble -scored the go-ahead touchdown on a Mack to Matthew Tuszi three-yard pass.
Cheltenham (2-3, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Merion next Thursday while Upper Moreland (4-1, 1-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday.
Upper Moreland 0-7-14-0 21
Cheltenham 7-7-0-14 28
HATBORO-HORSHAM 34, UPPER MERION 18
The Hatters got in the win column for the first time this season with their no-doubt-about-it victory over the Vikings. Kworu Kingsley took it in from five yards out on the Hatters’ opening drive of the game. Upper Merion answered with a touchdown in the second quarter when Isaiah Graham-Mobley found Tyler Thornton with a 28-yard scoring pass, but a pair of touchdown runs by Joe Albano put the Hatters on top 21-7 at the intermission.
George DiHima converted a 39-yard field goal to make it a 21-10 lead, but Kinsley scored on a 13-yard run to make it a 27-10 game.
Casey Walsh found Charlie Obrecht with a 31-yard touchdown pass before Graham-Mobley scored for the 34-18 final.
Kinsley led the Hatters with 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-4, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield on Thursday while the Vikings (0-5, 0-2) will host Cheltenham on Thursday.
UPPER DUBLIN 46, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 14
The Flying Cardinals once again displayed their dominance in American Conference play, turning a 13-7 lead into a 39-7 halftime advantage on its way to another decisive win.
Ryan Stover found Gary Fields with a 69-yard touchdown pass to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard. Another Stover TD pass – this one for 22 yards to Matt Thompson – made it a 13-0 game. Springfield trimmed that lead to 13-7 when – after the Spartans recovered a fumble -Brett Righter took it in from 22 yards out. That would be the Spartans’ last hurrah as the Flying Cardinals reeled off 33 unanswered points.
Stover threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others. Evan Scott and John Lee also had TD runs for the Flying Cardinals.
Upper Dublin (4-1, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Thursday night while the Spartans (2-3, 0-2)
Upper Dublin 19-20-7-0 46
Springfield 7-0-0-7 14
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47, WISSAHICKON 27
Nafeese Nasir led a potent Colonial offense with 200 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. On defense, he came up with an interception. He also had 107 return yards on three returns. All told, the Colonials accumulated 403 yard on the ground. Quarterback Anthony Mirabile threw a eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Mascio. Mike Swider had an interception as well.
For the Trojans, quarterback Mike Marino completed 15-of-26 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Smith was the Trojans' leading ground gainer with 66 yards on 12 carries. He now has 759 and six touchdowns on the season.
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