Check out the results for SOL football teams in action Friday. Neshaminy/CB South photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of JD Photography. CB West/Pennridge photos provided by Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of both games.
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
NESHAMINY 42, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 14
In a battle of SOL heavyweights, it was the Redskins establishing themselves as a decided favorite, seizing control of Friday’s homecoming contest and rolling to the impressive win.
“It was a non-league game – I looked at it as a good challenge for our kids, and it was a good challenge,” coach Steve Wilmot said. “I try not to put too much pressure on our kids.
“In no way, shape or form did I say this was a make or break game for our season because in all reality – it wasn’t. We were just really looking forward to some really good competition, and I think our kids really stepped up.”
The Redskins’ coach credited his senior quarterback and field general Mason Jones – who had three TD passes in the first half – for setting the tone.
“Mason Jones just distributes the ball real well,” the Redskins coach said. “He totally understands where to go with the ball.
“He’s a student of the game – he watches a lot of film. He knows where to get the ball in certain looks. He’s the key, he’s running our offense right now.”
It was Jones orchestrating a touchdown drive that was capped with a 45-yard pass to Zach Tredway. Dylan McDonald’s extra point gave the Redskins an early 7-0 lead. A Titans’ drive stalled in the red zone, thanks to some clutch plays by the Redskins’ defense, and Jones was back in business, capping a second TD drive with an eight-yard pass to Oleh Manzyk.
“We gave them some plays, we gave them some yards, but when it really mattered, I think our defense dug in,” Wilmot said. “That first half (defensive) stop – that was huge. When it was time for a big play, we had different kids step up at different positions.”
South got on the scoreboard with a touchdown drive of its own that was capped by a Tyler Watson one-yard run to make it a 14-7 game. Jones answered with his third touchdown pass of the night – this one for 51 yards to Mike Garlick, and the Redskins took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
The Titans pulled to within 21-14 after Sean Charpentier caught an 18-yard Jack Johns touchdown pass. It turned out to be their last hurrah as the Redskins closed out the game with 21 straight points.
Will Dogba took it to the house from 25 yards out, and Tredway’s second TD reception of the night from Jones sealed the Titans’ fate.
All told, the Redskins amassed close to 400 yards of total offense against a usually stingy South defense led by linebackers Nate and Matt Norris.
“We made those two play the run,” Wilmot said. “Our offense is a run-pass option type offense.
“Our offensive line did a nice job. They’re two good linebackers.”
Helping to negate their effectiveness was senior fullback Hayden Rooney.
“He has a broken hand,” Wilmot said. “The doctor gave him an option of getting an operation or just playing the season with two broken fingers, and he decided to play the rest of the season with broken fingers.
“A lot of times he was running right at one of those two, and we were running an isolation play and he battled his butt off.”
Jones threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns with Garlick pulling in seven passes for 89 yards to lead the Redskin receivers. Dogba added another 100-yard game to his resume, carrying 17 times for 122 yards.
For the Titans, Johns threw for 186 yards while Watson ran for 112 more.
Neshaminy (7-0, 3-0 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem on Friday, and Central Bucks South (5-2, 2-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks West.
Central Bucks South 0-7-7-0 14
Neshaminy 7-14-7-14 42
ABINGTON 35, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 13
Darryl Davis-McNeil had himself a career night on Friday.
The junior running back ran for 336 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Ghosts to the no-doubt-about-it win over the host Indians.
The Indians – thanks to a 12-yard Andrew Kelly run – took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter. That’s when Davis-McNeil took charge with touchdown runs of three, 47 and four yards to send the Ghosts into halftime with a 21-7 lead.
Evan Devine’s three-yard touchdown run made it a 21-13 game heading into a fourth quarter that belonged to Davis-McNeil. The junior standout capped a brilliant performance with TD runs of 46 and 86 yards.
Michael Welde led the Indians with 77 rushing yards.
Abington (4-3, 3-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Friday, and Council Rock North (1-5, 1-3) will host Central Bucks East on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Abington 0-21-0-14 35
Council Rock North 7-0-6-0 13
PENNSBURY 17, HARRY S TRUMAN 6
On a night that saw both offenses struggle to find their stride, it was the Falcons’ defense that stole the spotlight, limiting the visiting Tigers to 169 yards and just four first downs.
Tyrone Hodges capped a Falcon touchdown drive in the first quarter with a two-yard run. Christopher Knop’s extra point gave the Falcons a 7-0 advantage, but the Tigers threatened to make it interesting when Truman’s Sayyid Saunders delivered an electrifying run, turning a short pass from Rob Tressler into a 72-yard touchdown. The failed PAT allowed the Falcons to maintain a 7-6 lead, and that’s as close as it would get the rest of the way.
A 27-yard field goal by Knop sent the Falcons into halftime with a 10-6 lead. Nate Bost’s 85-yard kickoff return to open the second half gave the Falcons their final margin of victory.
Tressler filled in behind center when the Tigers lost starting quarterback Jorden Freeman, who left the game with an injury and did not return.
Pennsbury (4-3, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday, and Harry S Truman (2-5, 1-3) will be on the road at Abington.
Harry S Truman 0-6-0-0 6
Pennsbury 7-3-7-0 17
American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 24, UPPER DUBLIN 21
PW placekicker Stephen Longo drilled a 26-yard field goal with 1:44 left in Friday’s conference showdown, breaking a 21-21 tie and propelling the Colonials to a win that brought to a stunning halt UD’s SOL winning streak dating back to Oct. 25, 2013.
“This is a huge win for us,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “We haven’t beaten them in (three) years. They’re riding this high.
“I told our guys this week, ‘They’re just another football team like we are. There’s no need to put them on a pedestal.’ I was really proud of how we fought and battled. Our defense played great tonight. The scoreboard shows we gave up 21, but that was on a very short field. The key for us was battling every down and playing great ‘D.’”
Blaise Gravinese spearheaded PW’s standout defensive effort with a pair of interceptions. John McGinley also came up with an interception.
“Joe Stoberl played well defensively – made some really big hits for us at corner,” Chang said. “Our ‘D’ line was pretty good. Leonard Galante has been great for us all year and Leland Krukowski. Our team defense was good tonight.”
Playing in front of a packed house at Cardinal Stadium, the Colonials showed their mettle on more than one occasion. The Cardinals took a 7-0 lead after one quarter, but the Colonials answered with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter – the first on a one-yard run by Stoberl and the second on a TD pass from Stoberl to Vince Martina.
“Joe (Stoberl) made some really big plays for us, and offensively, we got the job done,” Chang said.
The Colonials stretched their lead to 21-7 in the third quarter when Stoberl connected with Gravinese for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The Cardinals came roaring back, knotting the score 21-21 when Justin Horn raced in from 52 yards out. The Colonials won in dramatic fashion when Longo nailed the field goal.
“That was a huge field goal,” Chang said. “Against Wissahickon, he tried two field goals and he was 0-for-2.
“The way that he bounced back – he drilled it right down the middle. It was a great snap, a great hold, and he drilled it. I’m happy for him that he’s able to regroup, re-gather himself and hit that in a pressure situation.”
The win was the sixth in a row for the streaking Colonials after a season-opening loss to Souderton.
“It’s a huge win for us confidence-wise, playoff point-wise,” Chang said. “We’re really getting into the tough part of our schedule.
“We have Hatboro next week who is on a high and really playing well. Then we have Cheltenham for our Homecoming game and then we close out the season with Quakertown at their place. We have a couple of hard games coming up, so we have to enjoy this and really be able to put the hard hat on and get back to work on Monday.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-1, 4-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Upper Dublin (5-1, 3-1) – scheduled to play Springfield – will have a week eight bye.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-14-7-3 24
Upper Dublin 7-0-7-7 21
QUAKERTOWN 43, CHELTENHAM 6
The Panthers needed a big win, and they got just that, racing to a 36-0 lead on their way to a victory that evened their league mark at 2-2.
Tim Shevlin hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Austin Clarke to put the visiting Panthers on the board, and when Clarke found Noah Wood for the two-point conversion, Quakertown led 8-0. A Nick Lefkoski 24-yard touchdown run made it a 15-0 game at the end of one quarter, and the Panthers were just getting started.
Another Clarke TD pass – this one to Shevlin for 51 yards – sent the Panthers into halftime with a 22-0 lead. In the third quarter, Clarke hit Nick Cass with his third TD pass.
Clarke finished the game just 5-of-8, but three of those completions went for touchdowns. Christian Patrick – who tacked on a fourth-quarter TD – led the Panthers ground game with 108 yards on 20 carries.
Cheltenham managed just 219 yards of total offense, and its only touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Quran Smith took it in from one yard out.
Yasin Abdul-Haqq led the host Panthers with 73 yards on 17 carries. He also completed four passes for 72 yards.
Quakertown (2-5) will host Upper Moreland on Friday, and Cheltenham (2-6, 1-3) will be on the road at Wissahickon Friday.
Quakertown 15-7-7-14 43
Cheltenham 0-0-0-6 6
HATBORO-HORSHAM 42, WISSAHICKON 13
The Hatters continued their offensive onslaught, turning a 21-7 halftime lead into a 35-7 advantage heading into the final quarter on their way to another lopsided win. The Hatters have scored 104 points in their three conference wins combined.
The list of contributors was a lengthy one for the Hatters, who spread the wealth around. Junior quarter Chris Edwards threw for 63 yards and a touchdown and ran for 42 more and two TDs. The Hatters piled up 348 yards on the ground with Anthony Kwiatanowski leading the balanced rushing attack with 104 yards. Quentin Sullivan had 77 while Adam Suder added 75.
Antaun Lloyd led the Trojans with 109 yards on the ground.
The win was the fourth in a row for the streaking Hatters, who opened the season with three straight losses.
Hatboro-Horsham (4-3, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday for a battle of unbeaten conference squads. Wissahickon (1-6, 0-4) will host Cheltenham on Friday.
Wissahickon 0-7-0-6 13
Hatboro-Horsham 14-7-14-7 42
Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 38, WILLIAM TENNENT 20
The Indians brought a welcome end to a three-game skid, thanks to the standout effort of their defense. Tennent managed just 188 yards of total offense while Souderton had more than 400 yards.
Despite dominating the game statistically, the Panthers hung around, knotting the score 7-7 after Scott Herbert’s three-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lynch. The Indians answered with back-to-back touchdowns on a one-yard run by Joey Curotto and Koby Khan’s 15-yard TD run. The Panthers trimmed that lead to 21-13 at halftime on yet another Herbert touchdown pass – this one to Ryan Savage for 49 yards.
Dylan Molyneaux’s 35-yard field goal gave the Indians a 24-13 advantage, but Herbert’s third TD strike of the night to Ryan Galdi for 67 yards made it a 24-20 game before the Indians scored 14 unanswered points to close it out.
Curotto finished the night with 130 yards in the air while Khan (156 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Camerin Carroll (81 yards, 1 TD) did most of the damage on the ground. Khan also had an interception on the defensive side of the football.
For the Panthers, Herbert threw for 124 yards while Sean Bragen ran for 64.
Souderton (4-3, 1-3 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Friday, and William Tennent (0-7, 0-3) will be on the road at Pennridge.
William Tennent 7-6-7-0 20
Souderton 14-7-10-7 38
PENNRIDGE 30, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 21
A pair of first-quarter drives that stalled in the red zone came back to haunt the Bucks, who controlled play in the first quarter but came up empty. The Rams made it hurt, reeling off 17 unanswered points in the second quarter. Matt Mauer’s 42-yard field goal ignited the run that included a one-yard TD run from Nick Tarburton and a 48-yard touchdown pass from Jagger Hartshorn to Austin Herrlinger.
The Bucks made it a 17-7 game when Ryan Moylan found Kevin O’Hanlon with a 27-yard touchdown pass, but the Rams put the game out of reach with a pair of Hartshorn touchdowns – one in the air to Anthony Kelly and the other on a 21-yard run.
Hartshorn once again led the Rams, throwing for 147 yards and two touchdowns and running for 60 yards and one TD.
For the Bucks, quarterbacks Moylan (113 yards) and Joshua Crecca (97 yards) combined for 210 yards in the air with O’Hanlon hauling in seven passes for 100 yards.
Pennridge (4-3, 2-1 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Central Bucks West (4-3, 1-2) will host Central Bucks South on Friday.
Central Bucks West 0-0-7-14 21
Pennridge 0-17-7-6 30
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