Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. Pennsbury/Truman photos provided by Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. North Penn/CB East photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for galleries of game action photos.
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier. 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/
SOL National Conference
PENNSBURY 47, HARRY S TRUMAN 32
Zach Demarchis had himself a night.
The Falcons’ junior quarterback was unstoppable, piling up 401 total yards in a brilliant performance. Demarchis completed 13-of-17 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown. He ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns.
“We put him in a good position,” Pennsbury coach Dan McShane said. “Coach (Ian) Bell does a good job and coach (Bruce) Campbell, and then it goes right to the players on the field with the offensive line.
“It was a great scheme, and he’s a really good decision maker. He has got to read stuff a lot – more than the average high school quarterback.”
The Falcons broke a 13-13 tie with 9.9 seconds remaining in the first half after a six-yard touchdown run by Demarchis to go into halftime with a 20-13 advantage. They upped that lead to 27-13 after a two-yard Demarchis touchdown that was set up by Dave Burke’s big punt return to the Tigers’ two-yard line.
“We had coached our kids up – they snapped the punt from a very condensed formation, which gives us a lot of running room down the sidelines,” McShane said. “Dave did a good job. He’s a real talented kid, and he’s really coachable. He knew where the opening was. That (touchdown) took a little bit of the pressure off.”
The Falcons led 34-13 after sophomore JayVon McNeill took it from six yards, but Javeer Peterson’s 97-yard kickoff return gave the Tigers some life.
Demarchis delivered the backbreaker when he raced 90 yards for a touchdown and a 41-20 lead.
“We won the track meet, but oh my gosh, they’re scary,” McShane said. “They’re really well coached, and they’re talented. It’s a nice mix – good players and good coaches. We expected them to compete. You have coaches the kids love playing for . – they’re doing a great job. I told all the Truman kids – they’re going to do some damage.”
The Tigers – who accumulated 290 yards on the ground – had a pair of runners eclipse the century mark. Sayyid Saunders had 113 yards and one touchdown while Terrence Rodgers had 106 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns.
For the Falcons, Jason Cook led the receiving corps with 80 yards. McNeill ran for 73 yards.
“It was really nice to see – we had some sophomore in there running the ball too,” McShane said. “Nasan (Robbins) was getting banged around a little bit. Offensively, it was nice.”
Pennsbury (6-1, 4-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South next Friday, and Harry S Truman (5-2, 2-2) will host Abington on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Pennsbury 7-13-14-13 47
Harry S Truman 7-6-7-12 32
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 35, BENSALEM 14
The Golden Hawks took advantage of some Owl miscues and combined with their punishing ground game proved to be too much for Bensalem to handle.
Since their 1-3 start that culminated with a 42-0 beating at the hands of Truman, the Golden Hawks have averaged 30 points a game and are 2-1 with their only loss by one touchdown to Pennridge.
According to coach Vince Bedesem, a whole lot has changed.
“The way everyone is responding to how we prepare, how we practice and how we play – we are a different team than we were in the beginning of the year,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “Now we are enjoying it and going day by day with our approach to the season.”
The Golden Hawks turned a Bensalem fumble on the opening kickoff into a touchdown with Elias Mayo scoring from 14 yards out. Another Mayo TD, this one from two yards, sent the Golden Hawks into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
It was a 21-0 game after Christian Jabbar found Nick Gallo with a three-yard touchdown pass, and the Golden Hawks stretched that lead to 28-0 after Shane Carter returned a blocked punt for a TD.
Keith Parrish scored from two yards out, and Jared O’Connell hauled in a Drasaun Moore touchdown pass to make it a 28-14 game before Chase Patterson put the finishing touches of South’s win with a five-yard touchdown.
The key to the game, according to Bedesem, was winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Mayo led the Golden Hawks with 158 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
Bensalem managed less than 150 yards of total offense with Moore accounting for 83 of those in the air.
Council Rock South (3-4, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury next Friday, and Bensalem (4-3, 1-2) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Friday.
Council Rock South 7-7-7-14 35
Bensalem 0-0-0-14 14
ABINGTON 35, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 14
Darryl Davis-McNeil carried the ball just nine times but averaged close to 25 yards on those nine carries, turning in yet another stellar outing with 224 yards and three touchdowns.
The senior standout set the tone for the win with an 85-yard TD run to put the Ghosts on the scoreboard. Then it was quarterback Billy Griffenburg hooking up with Keith Hudoka from 29 yards out, spotting the Ghosts a 14-0 lead after one quarter. A 17-yard Davis-McNeil TD run sent the Ghosts into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
That lead grew to 35-0 at the end of three quarters, thanks to an 83-yard Davis-McNeil touchdown run and another Griffenburg TD pass. The Indians scored a pair of late touchdowns that included a three-yard Jonathan Kane TD run and a Kane to Robert Ranelli pass for a touchdown.
Griffenburg was an efficient 5-of-7 for 131 yards and two TDs. Hudoka was his favorite target with three receptions – including two touchdowns – for 83 yards.
Michael Welde’s 91 yards on the ground led the Indians.
Abington (3-4, 1-3 SOL) will be on the road at Harry S Truman next Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest, and Council Rock North (1-6, 0-4) will travel to Central Bucks East on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.
Council Rock North 0-0-7-7 14
Abington 14-6-15-0 35
SOL Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 21, WILLIAM TENNENT 16
The Indians needed a win. Badly.
After a convincing win over Penn Wood in their opener, they lost five straight, a streak that came to a welcome end on Friday night.
“We won the first week and we had something going,” senior captain Trevor Watts said. “Unfortunately, we had a couple of losses. I’m not going to lie – it’s tough, but you just have to remind them that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“We just needed to grind it out to the end tonight, and that’s exactly what we did. I’m very happy with my team.”
Playing a starring role in the win was Willie Goods, a freshman running back who exploded for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s such a likable kid,” coach Ed Gallagher said. “Unfortunately, he’s about 130 pounds, so we’ve been trying to not throw him to the wolves too much, but he makes it hard to not put him on the field.
“He’s made plays every chance he’s got. We brought him up in a 7-on-7 over the summer, and he was making plays on both sides of the ball. We had one kid got hurt, and all of a sudden, we’re like ‘Wow, look at that. There he is.’ We expected him to be a jayvee back, but we had a rash of injuries.”
Goods got his feet wet against Central Bucks South two weeks ago and started last week against Central Bucks East.
“He was a little tentative last week in his first varsity start as a freshman, but he really shined tonight,” Gallagher said. “He came out, and he ran with purpose. He sets up blocks incredibly well, and he showed another gear that we haven’t seen yet this year. He really opened it up there. He’s going to be fun to watch the next four years.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit up front offensively, but I thought we did a better job tonight. I thought our guard play was probably the best it’s been all year. To run our offense, we need our guards to execute, and I thought they executed pretty well tonight. I’m happy about that. The backs ran the ball well. They took care of the ball well – all three of them. We were pretty efficient.”
The visiting Panthers threw a scare into the Indians when they opened up a 10-0 lead after one quarter. Dakota Wherrity connected on a 22-yard field goal, his first of three on the night. Sean Bragen added a 10-yard touchdown.
In the second quarter, the Indians – or Goods more specifically – took over, giving the Indians a 14-10 halftime lead with touchdown runs of 55 and 58 yards.
“He’s a phenomenal freshman,” Watts said. “He comes in every day, and he works hard. He’s one of my neighbors. I’ve seen him work forever. He’s a great kid, and he really showed up today. I think we found our guy, we found our running back.”
A Wherrity 35-yard field goal made it a 14-13 game heading into the final frame when Goods capped the winning touchdown drive with a 20-yard touchdown run.
“Dean (DiPisa) made a couple of third down plays that kept that drive going that ended up giving us the winning points,” Gallagher said of his senior QB. “A full offensive team effort. That’s the best we’ve played offensively since week one.”
Wherrity tacked on a 38-yard field goal to pull the Panthers to within five, but they would get no closer.
For the Panthers, the loss overshadowed the 280-yard passing performance of quarterback Mitchell Vierling as well as the standout effort of receiver Dan Goodz, who caught seven passes for 173 yards. Bragen finished with 93 yards on the ground.
On this night, it was Goods that proved to be the difference maker, giving the Indians a much-needed lift and bringing to a welcome end the team’s five-game skid.
“Dark times – it’s tough to get out of them, but it’s the tough teams that come out of them,” Watts said. “Now our eyes are on next week and North Penn. Everyone is going to write us off, but we just have to work harder in practice. Anything’s possible.
“We have our Homecoming Dance tomorrow. I have SATs in the morning, but after that, we’re going to celebrate. You can’t be complacent. We’ve got to come out next week like we lost, but for this weekend, we’re going to enjoy it. We’re going to have fun.”
Souderton (2-5, 1-3 SOL) will host North Penn next Friday, and William Tennent (0-7, 0-4) will host Pennridge on Friday.
William Tennent 10-0-3-3 16
Souderton 0-14-0-7 21
PENNRIDGE 26, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 6
The Bucks struck first when Ricardo Washington turned a Josh Crecca pass into a 71-yard touchdown, giving West had a 6-0 lead before fans settled in their seats.
The Rams answered with a touchdown of their own with Kyle Schetter taking it in from two yards out. Kyle Cuthbert’s extra point gave the Rams a lead they would not lose.
A pair of Zak Kantor touchdown passes in the second quarter – the first to Shane Hartzel and the second for 59 yards to Ryan Garner – sent the Rams into halftime with a 20-0 lead. That score stood until the fourth quarter when Kantor connected for his third touchdown pass of the night, this one to Zack Tarburton from 20 yards out.
Kantor threw for 133 yards and three TDs with Garner hauling in four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
For the Bucks, Crecca threw for 182 yards with Washington on the receiving end of 96 of those. The Bucks could not run the football against a stingy Rams’ defense, finishing with -11 yards in that category.
Pennridge (5-2, 2-1 SOL) will be on the road at William Tennent next Friday, and Central Bucks West (5-2, 1-2) will travel to Central Bucks South.
Pennridge 7-13-0-6 26
Central Bucks West 6-0-0-0 6
NORTH PENN 57, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 43
The Knights rolled to a 41-15 halftime lead, and although the Patriots never seriously threatened, they certainly didn’t go down quietly, scoring 21 points in the final quarter and pushing the combined point total to 100 points.
The Knights opened up a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Khan Jamal punched it in from two yards out, and Owen Thomas returned an interception 53 yards for the score. East quarterback Evan O’Donnell had a pair of touchdown runs in the second quarter, but the Knights scored 27 points of their own – a tear that included a Steve DePaul touchdown pass to Jake Walton as well as a pair of Justis Henley touchdowns. His first came on a 12-yard run and his second in the air on a 45-yard TD pass from DePaul. In addition, KJ Cartwright returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
By the time it was over, DePaul had 252 passing yards and three touchdowns with Henley on the 
receiving end of six passes for 169 yards and two TDs.
O’Donnell threw for 145 yards and also had five rushing touchdowns. Chad Guzzi led East on the ground with 80 yards. Also for the Patriots, DeJohn Armstrong returned a fumble 29 yards for a score.
North Penn (5-2, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Souderton next Friday, and Central Bucks East (3-4, 2-2) will host Council Rock North on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Central Bucks East 0-15-7-21 43
North Penn 14-27-10-6 57
SOL American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 28, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 14
The Colonials returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and followed that with a second touchdown after recovering a UD fumble near midfield to go on top 14-0 after one quarter.
The rest of the night belonged to the Flying Cardinals.
In the second quarter, the Cardinals recovered a fumble and took it in for the score. Malik Bootman punched it into the end zone to make it a 14-7 game after the successful extra point by Chris Barbera, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points. Bootman’s second TD of the quarter – this one from 24 yards out – made it a 14-14 game at the intermission.
In the second half, Lucas Roselli had a pair of touchdown runs, and the Cardinals’ defense kept the Colonials off the scoreboard the final three quarters, giving UD the important come-from-behind win.
Upper Dublin (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Central next Friday for a 3 p.m. game, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-5, 1-2) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Upper Dublin 0-14-7-7 28
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-0-0-0 14
QUAKERTOWN 40, CHELTENHAM 6
The Panthers racked up almost 400 yards of total offense while limiting their visitors to just 158. They led from wire to wire.
Nick Levinski set the tone for the Senior Night win, recovering a Cheltenham fumble in the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Panthers a lead they would not lose. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Christian Patrick’s 16-yard touchdown run and successful PAT put Quakertown on top 13-0. Cheltenham interrupted the Panthers’ run with their only TD of the night on a 39-yard run by Jamir Barnes.
The second quarter was all Quakertown. Another Patrick TD run was followed by Brad Bryan finding Tim Shevlin with a 20-yard touchdown pass. Bryan punched it in from two yards out to send Quakertown into halftime with a 34-6 lead.
Patrick’s third TD run of the night closed out the scoring.
Patrick led all Quakertown ground gainers with 115 yards. Bryan threw for 93 yards, completing 6-of-8 passes.
Barnes led Cheltenham with 96 yards on the ground.
Quakertown (6-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland for a key conference showdown next Friday. Cheltenham (0-7, 0-3) will host Wissahickon on Friday.
Cheltenham 6-0-0-0 6
Quakertown 13-21-6-0 40
HATBORO-HORSHAM 21, WISSAHICKON 12
The Trojans broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter when quarterback Chris Edwards found Will Riemenschneider with a seven-yard touchdown pass. The Trojans answered with a big play of their own when Antaun Lloyd hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass from Nick Santo. A failed extra point allowed the Hatters to maintain a 7-6 lead, and they added to it when Josh Smith punched it in from three yards out to make it a 14-6 game at the intermission.
In the fourth quarter, Edwards hooked up with Calvin Broaddus for an eight-yard TD pass and a 21-6 Hatter lead. The Trojans didn’t go down without a battle, and Santo connected for his second touchdown pass of the game, this one to Rasheed Wright from nine yards out for the 21-6 final.
Smith led all ground gainers with 133 yards and a TD. Edwards threw for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Trojans, Santo threw for 127 yards and a pair of scores. Lloyd was on the receiving end of four passes for 103 yards.
Hatboro-Horsham (3-3, 1-2 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and Wissahickon (2-5, 0-4) will be on the road at Cheltenham Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-14-0-7 21
Wissahickon 0-6-0-6 12
Non-League
NESHAMINY 21, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 14 (OT)
With their backs pressed firmly against the wall and the Titan faithful ready to celebrate a big win, the Redskins did the improbable – converting a fourth-and-goal from the 17 with 34 seconds remaining when Mike Garlick grabbed a Brody McAndrew pass in traffic on the goal line. Matt Leonhauser’s extra point knotted the score, setting the stage for overtime.
“Just based on Central Bucks South’s scheme, we felt we could isolate Mike Garlick one-on-one with a safety,” coach Steve Wilmot said. “A couple plays before that we ran him up the field and then ran him to the post.
“On that play, we just decided to switch it up and run Mike to the safety and then to the corner of the end zone, and Brody found him. We were building on something we did before. We switched things up a little bit, and it worked, thank god.”
On the Redskins’ first possession in overtime, Joel Stills took it in from seven yards out, and the Redskins’ defense held, and for the second time in as many weeks, the Redskins rallied late for a come-from-behind win.
“Every week I try to have a theme for the week, and this week’s theme was overcoming adversity because our kids did a nice job with it last week,” said Wilmot of his team’s 33-28 come-from-behind win over Abington. “I just wanted to give some positive reinforcement that they overcame adversity last week.
“They proved the week before against Abington they could win a close game. One game at a time, one play at a time.”
Savion Hebron’s 47-yard touchdown run spotted the Redskins an early 7-0 lead, but Josh Consoletti somehow found Collin Dompert between a pair of defenders in the back of the end zone, knotting the score after Brian Madden’s successful extra point.
With 21 seconds remaining in the first half, a trick play resulted in a touchdown when Consoletti found himself on the receiving end of a nine-yard touchdown pass that sent the Titans into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
“In the first half, I know our defensive coaches were a little disappointed,” Wilmot said. “Just a play here and a play there, and before you know it, they’re up 14-7.
“I’m real happy that our defense was able to shut them out in the second half. I have to watch the film, but it just looked like a total team effort. We had Logan Williamson and Marcus Griffin in there at corner, and their wideouts were pretty quiet the whole game. We stopped the run, and it’s a whole team effort to stop the run. Our whole defense really stepped up in the second half.”
Stills led the Redskins with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown while McAndrew threw for 113 yards.
For the Titans, Consoletti threw for 131 yards and Watson had 103 yards on the ground.
“A lot of credit goes to Central Bucks South,” Wilmot said. “Going into it, we knew they had a good team.
“North Penn made some long passes on them, but besides those long passes, they have a really good front and good linebackers. They have a good overall team, and I’m definitely happy to get out of there with a win.”
Neshaminy (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will host Bensalem next Friday, and Central Bucks South (5-2, 2-1) will host Central Bucks West on Friday.
Neshaminy 7-0-0-7-7 21
Central Bucks South 0-14-0-0 14
NATIVITY BVM 38, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 14
Friday's game didn't start out on a good note for the Spartans. In the first half, the Spartans were plagued by four fumbles and three dropped passes. Max Perry threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Bornholdt in the second quarter, but the Spartans found themselves staring at an 18-7 deficit at the intermission.
On the first play of the second half, Springfield's Paul Asman – with good pursue – forced a fumble and recovered the ball. The offense responded with Perry finding Jamir Page with a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it an 18-14 game, but Nativity answered with a pair of touchdowns to go on top 31-14 at the end of three quarters.
Perry threw for 186 yards and ran for 36 more with three touchdowns.
Springfield (2-4) will be on the road at defending district champion New Hope-Solebury next Friday.
Springfield Township 0-7-7-0 14
Nativity BVM 6-12-13-7 38
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