Check out the results for SOL football teams in action Friday. CB South/North Penn photos provided courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Neshaminy/Abington photo provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p320567754)
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of Calkins Media. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web sites: http://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school/fall/football/ and http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/fall/football/
National Conference
PENNSBURY 28, BENSALEM 21 (2 OT)
The Owls looked as though they were picking up where they left off in last week’s upset of Central Bucks West, putting a pair of touchdowns on the board in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Drasaun Moore hooked up with Isaiah Murray for 34-yard touchdown, and Keith Parrish’s 55-yard interception return put the Owls up by a pair of scores.
Things changed dramatically in the third quarter, and Pennsbury senior Tyrone Hodges Jr capped a 78-yard TD drive with a one-yard run. A defensive stop set the stage for another Falcon drive that Hodges capped with a four-yard touchdown run, and the score was deadlocked 14-14.
Coach Dan McShane pointed to senior Joe Meglen as the difference maker in the locker room at halftime.
“I was very calm in the locker room – I’m usually a yeller and a screamer,” the Falcons’ coach said. “Joe Meglen is a really inspirational kid. He’s done whatever we’ve asked him to do – weight room in the offseason, seven-on-seven.
“Joe, we need you to this week play fullback. Next week you’ll play tailback. Joe, next week play outside linebacker, and he’s done it all. We always talk about physical preparation and mental preparation, and we also talk about emotional preparation. How much does it mean to you? He’s a very emotional kid. If we could take his heart and bottle it – it was more them than us. We told the kids – there are no more plays you can call.”
As for his team’s sudden ability to run the football in the third quarter, McShane admits he made an adjustment.
“We had to stay patient, and we did,” he said. “We really dialed back the toolbox of offense, and we said, ‘We’re going to come out with one or two plays and take care of the ball.’
“We knew we could get some yards, but we didn’t want to put it on the ground.”
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime with Malcolm Carey taking it in from 10 yards out for the Owls. Quarterback Zach DeMarchis did the same for the Falcons. Another DeMarchis TD – this one from six yards out – proved to be the game winner when the Owls fumbled just shy of the goal line. The ball went out of the end zone and was ruled a touchback.
“And then the celebration began,” McShane said. “There were so many ups and downs, and one of the big ones was – we were driving to win the game in the fourth quarter. We got down there and had a couple of penalties and a bad snap. We mishandled the ball, and all of a sudden we’re going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 25.
“This means a lot. We’ve said to our kids – ‘We’ve won a lot of games, and right now it’s a little bit of a struggle. I wish I could promise you when it will pay off, but it will pay off.’ We never stop working from the kids on up to the coaches, and you have to see the fruits of your labors just to keep the faith. We’re a very young team, and it’s fun to look at the kids’ faces – that’s why I’m in this business. Just to see the joy and excitement.”
Nasan Robbins led the Falcons with 163 yards on the ground. The unsung heroes of Friday’s win, according to McShane, were the offensive linemen – Jimmy Dunn at center, guards Rob Hawk and Nika Wright, tackles Maurice Stukes (6-8, 365) and Zach Bucksar (6-5, 260) as well as tight end Bill Turk.
“They don’t get mentioned a lot, but they came to the sidelines begging to run, and they got it done,” the Falcons’ coach said. “The running backs just followed the wave.
“Bensalem was gambling a little bit. We felt like we might take a hit here and there, but we think we can move the ball overall. Maurice Stukes and Zach Bucksar both are our captains. When you pick your offensive linemen as your captains, you know you have something pretty special.”
The Falcons' coach lauded the performance of his quarterback.
“Zach’s coming into his own,” McShane said of DeMarchis. “He had a broken arm early. He’s a very good running the ball, and now we have to get him settled in throwing the ball.”
Pennsbury (3-3, 1-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman Friday, and Bensalem (3-3, 0-2) will travel to Council Rock South next Saturday.
Bensalem 0-14-0-0-7-0 21
Pennsbury 0-0-14-0-7-7 28
NESHAMINY 21, ABINGTON 0
Defense was the name of the game when the Ghosts and Redskins squared off in a key conference battle. The Redskins capitalized on a short punt to drive 41 yards for a touchdown late in the half when quarterback Mason Jones found Oleh Manzyk with a 10-yard pass. Dylan McDonald’s extra point sent the ‘Skins into halftime with a 7-0 lead.
Will Dogba’s eight-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the Redskins on top 14-0, and later in the quarter, a Jacob Gordon interception set up another Jones touchdown strike – this one for 35 yards to Manzyk.
The Ghosts managed just 200 total yards of offense against a stingy Redskin defense. Darryl Davis McNeil accounted for 138 of those on 32 carries.
Jones led the Redskins’ offense with 225 yards in the air and two TDs. Zach Tredway was his favorite target with six receptions for 110 yards.
Neshaminy (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks South in a non-league game on Friday. Abington (3-3, 2-1) will be on the road at Council Rock North.
Abington 0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 0-7-14-0 21
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 37, SOUDERTON 36
Nate Ventresca and his teammates could finally exhale.
On a night that saw the two teams combine for 73 points and over 700 yards of total offense, it was the Patriots’ defense coming up with one last stand to preserve the important win.
“We just knew they were going to try to do some short passes, go up and spike it,” Ventresca said. “Our secondary was covering great.
“We wanted to get a rush, just get in there and make a play. Our secondary did an awesome job.”
There were heroes galore on both sides. While Souderton senior Koby Khan led all ground gainers with 188 yards and two touchdowns, the Patriots received a monster performance from quarterback Matt Szczypiorski, who recovered nicely from an early interception and threw for 260 yards. The senior quarterback – sidelined last week – engineered a brilliant late-game drive for the game-winning touchdown.
“He came back and threw some really good balls on harder reads than what was on the interception,” coach John Donnelly said. “I’m really proud of the way he played.
“He ran hard. He had a great performance tonight as did all our guys. Most of the year the defense has been picking us up, and tonight we had to pick them up a little bit. That’s what makes a good team a good team.”
Wes Verbit – Szczypiorski’s favorite target – had 126 receiving yards, including a clutch third down reception to jumpstart the game-winning drive. Jake Novroski had 76 receiving yards, including a clutch 28-yard reception inside the Indians’ 12 on the Patriots’ final drive. A personal foul on the Indians put the ball on the six, and after the Patriots gained four yards on a pair of gritty runs by Chad Guzzi, Szczypiorski punched it in from two yards out on third down to knot the score.
“We brought it to them,” said Guzzi, who had 85 tough yards on the ground. “Despite the wet conditions, we marched down the field, and we just hit them with the run and got some passes.
“We played our hearts out. You can’t give up – take it to them. Ski (Szczypiorski) did a great job. We got the deep ball a few times, and when he scored on the quarterback sneak, it was just a great job.”
Barney Amor’s extra point gave the Patriots their final margin of victory, and the senior kicker played a major role in the win. It was his 38-yard field goal – his third field goal of the night – that gave the Patriots their first lead of the game, 30-28, with 3:30 remaining.
The Patriots’ senior kicker – who connected on a school record 47-yard field goal a week earlier – has trained under former North Penn standout Brandon McManus, now the kicker for the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.
“You just have to hit the ball – you can’t think about it,” said Amor. “It’s all a mindset. That’s what I find it is.
“You have to be comfortable, no matter what. An extra point is an extra point, and a 40-yarder is an extra point. Nothing changes based on the distance. It’s all the same.”
The Indians needed just two plays to regain the lead after Amor’s field goal. A 44-yard kickoff return by Camerin Carroll gave the Indians the ball on their own 48, and Khan took care of the rest, shedding every tackler along the way on a 52-yard touchdown run that – after Joey Curotto’s two-point conversion – put the Indians on top 36-30 with 2:59 remaining.
“He’s a really good player,” Donnelly said of Khan. “We knew he was the guy we had to stop. He’s so hard to tackle, and obviously, he illustrated that tonight.
“They’re so well coached. Ed (Gallagher) does a great job, and in this kind of game – I’ve been on the other side of it, the heartbreak, but I thought they played with a lot of grit and so did we. We didn’t get flustered. We felt like we always had enough time left and pulled out a great win.”
The Patriots took two minutes off the clock on their touchdown drive, and after the Indians took over on East’s 40, the Patriots’ defense stood tall, delivering a clutch sack that cost the Indians 10 yards and took them well out of field goal range.
Take away Khan’s TD run, and East’s defense stymied the Indians in the second half.
“We just went in at halftime, and coach gave a nice speech to light a fire under us,” Ventresca said. “It wasn’t like they were doing anything to beat us. We weren’t tackling well.
“We decided – hey, we’ve got to step it up. We made a couple of adjustments on the little things, and we just played our game.”
Central Bucks East (5-1, 2-1 SOL) will host North Penn next Saturday at 1 p.m., and Souderton (3-3, 0-3) will travel to William Tennent.
Central Bucks East 7-7-13-10 37
Souderton 14-7-7-8 36
NORTH PENN 42, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 13
Central Bucks South held the grand re-opening of its stadium on Friday, and while the Titan faithful celebrated before the game, it was the Knights doing most of the celebrating once the game started – although the Titans looked as though they might keep things interesting.
The Knights appeared poised to blow the wide game open early, taking a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Senior quarterback Reece Udinski found Ricky Johns with a seven-yard touchdown pass, and then Jon Haynes returned an interception 55 yards for the score.
Tyler Watson set up the Titans’ first touchdown with an interception, and appropriately, on the Titans’ ensuing offensive series, it was Watson racing 82 yards for the score. Another Titan interception set the stage for a Jack Johns to Sean Charpentier four-yard touchdown pass, and suddenly, it was a 14-13 game. The Knights brought an end to the Titans’ celebration with a pair of touchdowns – both on Udinski passes – to go into halftime with a 28-13 lead. Johns account for the first, taking it in from 41 yards out, and then it was Jake Hubler with a 37-yard TD reception.
The Knights tacked on a pair of second half touchdowns.
Ignoring the elements, Udinski turned in another impressive outing, throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns. Johns caught seven passes for 167 yards while Hubler had eight catches and 116 yards.
Watson led the Titans on the ground with 144 yards while Johns threw for 166.
North Penn (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East next Saturday (1 p.m.), and Central Bucks South (5-1, 2-1) will travel to Neshaminy for a non-league contest.
North Penn 14-14-0-14 42
Central Bucks South 0-13-0-0 13
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 20, WILLIAM TENNENT 7
The Bucks – intent on snapping their two-game losing streak – put 13 points on the scoreboard in the first half and never looked back. Quarterback Joshua Crecca put the Bucks on the board when he found Kevin O’Hanlon with a 17-yard TD pass, and then it was quarterback Ryan Moylan taking it in from 39 yards out. The Bucks took that 13-0 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Nicholas Ferrentino was on the receiving end of a 17-yard touchdown pass from Crecca for a 20-0 lead. The Panthers broke up West’s shutout big when Kip Mooney hit Gabe Morales from 10 yards out.
The Bucks’ defense limited the Panthers to 193 total yards. Sean Bragen led the Panthers with 93 yards on the ground.
West was led by its quarterbacks – while Crecca threw for 118, Moylan ran for 120. Griffin Shields had 93 yards on the ground.
Central Bucks West (4-2, 1-1 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge next Friday, and William Tennent (0-6, 0-2) will host Souderton Friday.
Central Bucks West 13-0-7-0 20
William Tennent 0-0-0-7 7
American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 27, QUAKERTOWN 6
The Hatters put 27 points on the board, but it was the play of their stingy defense that ensured the Panthers were never a factor after Noah Wood’s 35-yard touchdown run made it a 7-6 game early in the second quarter.
The Panthers had just 218 yards of total offense.
“It was a great physical team effort on defense led by Nick Chapman at inside linebacker,” coach Mike Kapusta said. “(We got) a great game at defensive end by Robert Fitzgerald.”
With the win, the Hatters upped their record to 3-0 in conference play.
“Quakertown is always a tough place to play, and they’re a well-coached, physical team, so I’m very happy with our team’s preparation and competitiveness tonight,” Kapusta said. “It was a total team effort with big plays made all over the field at all positions.
“We are where we want to be at 3-0 in our conference.”
Quarterback Chris Edwards put the Hatters on the board when he capped a 78-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run late in the opening quarter. Wood’s TD run made it a one-point game, but Edwards took it in from one yard out in the closing seconds of the half to send the Hatters into the intermission with a 14-6 lead.
For good measure, the Hatters added a pair of second-half scores – a 68-yard TD run by Calvin Broaddus in the third quarter and Anthony Kwiatanowski’s 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Kapusta pointed to his offensive line – Chris Edmondson, Evan Nemeth, Jake Hunsberger, Matt Lane and Ryan Bruno – as key.
Kwiatanowski led a balanced Hatter attack with 90 yards on the ground. Edwards threw for 80 yards and ran for 55 more. Wood led the Panthers with 90 yards.
Hatboro-Horsham (3-3, 3-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and Quakertown (1-5, 1-2) will be on the road at Cheltenham Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 7-7-6-7 27
Quakertown 0-6-0-0 6
UPPER MORELAND 34, CHELTENHAM 19
The Golden Bears raced to a 21-0 halftime lead on their way to the important conference win.
Casey Decker accounted for the Bears’ first two scores – the first on a touchdown run of 48 yards to give UM a 7-0 lead after one quarter. The second – on a one-yard run – put the Bears on top 14-0 after Randy Meehl tacked on his second extra point of the night. Bryan Mowery recovered a fumble and took it in from 28 yards out to send the Golden Bears into halftime with a three-touchdown lead.
Sterlan Barr’s 83-yard kickoff return to open the second half gave the Bears a commanding 27-0 lead. The Panthers made it a 27-13 game when Yasin Abdul-Haqq took it to the house from 62 yards out. Barr’s 40-yard touchdown run put the Bears on top 34-13 before Julian Smiley hauled in a 71-yard TD pass from Abdul-Haqq.
Barr led the Bears with 109 yards on the ground, and Abdul-Haqq accounted for 186 yards of total offense with 96 of those coming on the ground.
Upper Moreland (3-3, 1-2 SOL) – scheduled to play Springfield – has a bye week next week and will return to action on Oct. 14 at Quakertown. Cheltenham (3-6, 1-2) will host Quakertown next Friday.
Cheltenham 0-0-13-6 19
Upper Moreland 7-14-6-7 34
UPPER DUBLIN 37, WISSAHICKON 6
(Information will be added when it is received.)
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 28, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
The Rams showcased their defense in a decisive non-league win over the visiting Golden Hawks, allowing just 111 total yards of offense and bringing a welcome end to a three-game losing streak.
A pair of Nick Tarburton one-yard touchdown runs – one in both the first and second quarters – sent the Rams into halftime with a 14-0 lead. Any doubts about the outcome were put to rest in a third quarter that saw quarterback Jagger Hartshorn display his playmaking skills.
The senior quarterback’s 11-yard TD run put the Rams on top 21-0, and after an impressive stand by the Rams’ defense, Hartshorn raced 86 yards for the score and – after Matt Mauer’s fourth of four extra points – a 28-0 lead.
Hartshorn finished with 207 yards rushing to lead the Rams. For the Golden Hawks, sophomore Chase Patterson had a team-high 50 yards on the ground.
Pennridge (3-3, 1-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Friday, and Council Rock South (1-5, 1-1) will host Bensalem next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Council Rock South 0-0-0-0 0
Pennridge 7-7-14-0 28
About the Author
