This week’s notebook features Bensalem, Truman & Upper Moreland and highlights some of the SOL’s top performances.
By Scott Huff
The sixth week of the Suburban One League football season is in the books – and week seven of the SOL season will determine conference champions.
Well actually, week six determined the champion of the SOL American Conference as Upper Dublin (6-0) earned the outright crown with a 31-10 victory over Hatboro-Horsham. The Cardinals will soar to an unbeaten conference season with a win this week against Upper Merion (1-5). The battle for second place should have three teams – Upper Moreland (4-2), Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-2), and Hatboro-Horsham (4-2) all favored to win final conference games and share the second place standing.
North Penn (6-0) will be the prohibitive favorite to be the outright SOL National Conference champion as the Knights face Abington (1-5) in the conference season finale. Pennsbury (5-1) is alone in second place and will close the season with rival Neshaminy (4-2). Pennridge (4-2) owns the remaining winning record in the conference as the Rams close the conference season with winless Bensalem (0-6).
The SOL Continental Conference championship is still very much in doubt and could be shared by two of three teams – or won outright by one of two teams.
Quakertown (5-1) would gain a share of the title with a win over an excellent Central Bucks East (4-2) team on Friday night at Alumni Field. A loss, however, would eliminate the Panthers from championship contention.
Council Rock North (5-1) and Council Rock South (5-1) will do battle Saturday night at Walt Snyder Stadium. A win by either the Indians or the Hawks guarantees a shared championship – if Quakertown wins. A win by either Rock North or Rock South and a Quakertown loss would present the winner of the CRN-CRS game with the outright title.
And the beat goes on…
SOL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Truman Tigers
Truman (3-6, 1-5)had not won a football game since September 18th when the Tigers defeated Bensalem 21-7 to improve their record to 2-1. It had been 42 long days since that win – and HST was outscored 172-37 over that painful span.
That all came to an end last week when Truman erupted for 53 points en route to a 53-20 victory over William Tennent to collect its first SOL Continental Conference victory.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries in key positions – and we’re starting to get some of those players back,” said Truman head coach Jon Craig. “It has been an extremely slow process getting back to where we thought we were at the beginning of the season.
“We saw things starting to come together in the game with Quakertown,” added Craig. “And in the (Central Bucks) East game we got Jorden Freeman back for a series. We put in a good game plan for William Tennent – and we were able to push the gas pedal offensively.”
Freeman – a junior quarterback who replaced the injured Mark Lopez-Shefcyk – had been injured himself in the Council Rock South game. But now he’s back and Freeman fueled the Tiger offense with two touchdown passes and two rushing TD runs in the victory over Tennent.
“The kids seem very confident with Jorden in the huddle,” said Craig. “He is an extremely hard worker and is going to be a huge part of any success we have. Jorden is one of those special kids that you look for and proved to us that he has to be on the field all the time.
“We still have Norristown this week and Egan to close out the season,” continued Craig. “Norristown has a lot of dangerous weapons – and the Egan game is a big deal to the kids. A win there can be a springboard for the off-season.
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to compete in the (district) playoffs,” added Craig. “That won’t happen – ending the season with some wins could.”
‘Notable Numbers’ in the SOL Continental Conference
Desmond Gorski of Norristown was spectacular throwing seven touchdown passes as the Eagles lost a heart-breaking 49-45 contest to Council Rock South. Diamonte Willis caught five passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns for N-town.
Brandon McIlwain of Council Rock North had a sensational outing as the Indians defeated previously unbeaten Quakertown 41-31. McIlwain scored six touchdowns – five rushing scores and a passing score – and racked up 431 yards of total offense. Devon Bibbens caught six passes for 97 yards for the Rock North.
Kyle Hickey of Council Rock South carried 22 times for a game-high 239 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns – and also returned a kickoff 90 yards for the game-winning score – as the Golden Hawks soared to a 49-45 over Norristown.
Alex Gibson of Central Bucks East rushed for a game-high 124 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Patriots marched to a 41-16 victory over Central Bucks West.
Jorden Freeman of Truman accounted for four touchdowns as the Tigers roared to a 53-20 victory over William Tennent. Freeman completed all five of his passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for two scores for the winners.
Rob Burns of Quakertown carried the ball 24 times for 145 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Panthers were knocked from the unbeaten ranks in a 41-31 loss to Council Rock North.
Jake Reichwein of Central Bucks West scored two touchdowns – one on a run and the other on a pass reception – as the Bucks were defeated 41-6 by rival Central Bucks East.
John Maher of William Tennent rushed for a team high 74 yards and scored a touchdown as the Panthers were defeated by Truman 53-20.
This Week in the SOL Continental Conference
Council Rock South Hawks (6-3, 5-1) @ Council Rock North Indians (6-3, 5-1)
Central Bucks East Patriots (7-2, 4-2) @ Quakertown Panthers (8-1, 5-1)
Truman Tigers (3-6, 1-5) @ Norristown Eagles (3-6, 1-5)
William Tennent Panthers (4-5, 1-5) @ Central Bucks West Bucks (2-7, 2-4)
SOL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Bensalem Owls
Bensalem (0-9, 0-6) lost its bid to end a winless season with a heartbreaking 36-35 loss to Abington (1-8, 1-5) last week. The Owls scored the last touchdown – went for a 2-point conversion – and failed.
“The game was back and forth the whole game,” said Bensalem head coach Ed Cubbage. “It was really nice for the players to have a chance to compete for a win.
“One of our talking points all year was to continue to get better,” added Cubbage. “For us right now it is day-to-day, week-to-week. We know how tough it was going to be this year – this is one of the best leagues in the state.”
The first eight games were extremely hard for the Owls. Bensalem was outscored 326-76 over the course of the first eight weeks – but the numbers did not tell the story for the coach.
“Matt Haffner is an example of the kids we have on this team,” said Cubbage of his 5-7, 150 pound running back/linebacker. “He puts his heart and soul into the game. He is one of our quiet leaders – and he has done a great job for us.”
Bensalem will close the season this Friday night when the Owls host Pennridge (6-3, 4-2).
“Pennridge is a team that has beaten Neshaminy – and they haven’t been guaranteed a playoff spot,” said Cubbage. “Our game with them is like a playoff game for them – and we look at it as our own playoff game.
“To be able to beat a team like that would be a great way to end the season,” added Cubbage. “We’ll go out and play hard.”
‘Notable Numbers’ in the SOL National Conference
Nyfease West of North Pennrushed for a game-high 103 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Knights marched to a 22-17 victory over Neshaminy.
Mike Alley of Pennsbury rushed for a game-high 178 yards and scored on TD runs of 39 and 52 yards as the Falcons soared to a 27-9 victory over Central Bucks South.
Darryl Davis-McNeil of Abington rushed for a team-high 88 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Ghosts defeated Bensalem 36-35. Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns for Abington – one on a fumble recovery/run, one on a kickoff return, and one on a pass reception.
Ryan Cuthbert of Pennridge scored on a 47-yard reverse for a touchdown as the Rams edged rival Souderton 14-8.
Will Dogba of Neshaminy rushed for 100 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Redskins were edged by North Penn 22-17.
Matt Haffner of Bensalem rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns and Kenny O’Connell threw two touchdown passes as the Owls were clipped by Abington 36-35.
Joe Bechta of Central Bucks South rushed for a team-high 102 yards on 16 carries as the Titans were defeated by Pennsbury 27-9.
This Week in the SOL National Conference
Neshaminy Redskins (6-3, 4-2) @ Pennsbury Falcons (7-2, 5-1)
Pennridge Rams (6-3, 4-2) @ Bensalem Owls (0-9, 0-6)
Abington Ghosts (1-8, 1-5) @ North Penn Knights (7-2, 6-0)
Souderton Indians (4-5, 2-4) @ Central Bucks South Titans (3-6, 2-4)
SOL American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Upper Moreland (7-2, 4-2) will make an appearance in the upcoming PIAA District One Class AAA playoffs – but the Golden Bears still have something to play for in their final conference game this week against Wissahickon (1-8, 0-6).
“I’m really not too good for all the math – but I know that if we win we should get a home game in the playoffs,” said Upper Moreland head coach Adam Beach. “We really haven’t had many home games this year – and I know that the seniors really want to get that home game.”
Upper Moreland is one of three teams that are not Quad-A in the SOL American Conference – and Beach is just fine with that fact.
“One of the advantages to playing the league schedule we play is that it gets us ready for the district playoffs,” said Beach. “We know that if we can play with Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh – we have the confidence to be able to play against teams that are the same (enrollment) size that we are.”
Offensively, Upper Moreland has showcased an explosive attack engineered by senior quarterback Casey Decker.
“We gave a good core of running backs, and that makes our passing game effective as well,” said Beach. “Casey can make things happen. He slows the game when he needs to and will take what the defense gives him.”
‘Notable Numbers’ in the SOL American Conference
Rodney Morgan of Upper Moreland exploded for a game-high 191 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns as the Golden Bears defeated Springfield 62-14. Nick DeLucas rushed for 99 yards and 12 carries, while Casey Decker threw two touchdown passes for the winners.
Nafeese Nasir of Plymouth Whitemarsh carried 16 times for 120 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Colonials marched to a 35-14 victory over Cheltenham. Christian Jones carried 13 times for 113 yards for PW.
Ryan $tover of Upper Dublin completed 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns and Kalief Lee rushed for two touchdowns as the Cardinals soared to a 31-10 victory over Hatboro-Horsham.
Marc Picarelli and Alex Panichi of Upper Merion each scored a rushing touchdown as the Vikings sailed to an 18-6 victory over Wissahickon.
Brett Righter of Springfield scored two touchdowns as the Spartans were defeated by Upper Moreland 62-14.
Branden Mack of Cheltenham passed for 144 yards as the Panthers were defeated by Plymouth Whitemarsh 35-14.
Rasheed Wright of Wissahickon intercepted three passes as the Trojans were defeated 18-6 by Upper Merion.
Casey Walsh of Hatboro-Horsham completed 12 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown as the Hatters were topped by Upper Dublin 31-10.
This Week in the SOL American Conference
Upper Moreland Bears (7-2, 4-2) @ Wissahickon Trojans (1-8, 0-6)
Springfield Spartans (3-5, 2-4) @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (7-2, 4-2)
Upper Dublin Cardinals (8-0, 6-0) @ Upper Merion Vikings (3-6, 1-5)
Cheltenham Panthers (4-5, 3-3) @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (4-5, 4-2)
SuburbanOneSports.com
Top Ten
1. Upper Dublin Cardinals (9-0, 6-0)
2. North Penn Knights (7-2, 6-0)
3. Pennsbury Falcons (7-2, 5-1)
4. Quakertown Panthers (8-1, 5-1)
5. Pennridge Rams (6-3, 4-2)
6. Neshaminy Redskins (6-3, 4-2)
7. Council Rock North Indians (6-3, 5-1)
8. Council Rock South Golden Hawks (6-3, 5-1)
9. Central Bucks East Patriots (7-2, 4-2)
10. Upper Moreland Bears (7-2, 4-2)
10. + Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (7-2, 4-2)
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