Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday night. CR South/Harry S Truman photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Pennridge/North Penn photos courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier Times. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web sites: http://www.theintell.com/sportsand http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports.
SOL National
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 20, HARRY S TRUMAN 6
This one’s for you, coach.
Those words may have been unspoken when the Golden Hawks took the field Friday night to face an undefeated Tiger squad, but there was was no mistaking the mindset of a Rock South squad that hadn’t forgotten last year’s 42-0 loss at the hands of Truman.
“There was a lot of build-up this week going into the game – obviously, with the league implications and Truman is a tremendous team, and from last year, the way that game went – us getting smoked 42-0,” assistant head coach Tony Checchia said.
But the Golden Hawks had a lot more than revenge for an embarrassing loss on their minds. A whole lot more.
This weekend marked the anniversary of the passing of coach Vince Bedesem’s mother, Maryanne Bedesem, who passed away Sunday of the weekend South fell to Truman.
“(Coach Bedesem) was unable to attend the game that weekend because his mother was in hospice,” Checchia said. “So for him on a personal level, this game had a tremendous amount of meaning. He felt like he let us down by not being there, which is crazy. Really, it was the opposite. We felt like we left him down. That’s how much this game means to him and how much of a team guy he is.
“We wanted to approach it as much as we could like any game. We had a tremendous week of practice and preparation. The scheme and the game plan was very, very sound for us. I thought it was one of our most focused weeks of practice, but again, we still had that in the backdrop, that extra layer of emotion. Amongst the team, amongst the staff, we really wanted to win this one for coach Vince.
“For us to go out and get that done – I don’t know if there was a monkey on our backs, but with all the extra meaning of this game, we knew we wanted to take care of business. For us to be able to do that was huge.”
For the third time in as many games, Rock South was locked in a scoreless halftime tie. Chase Patterson capped a time-consuming drive in the third quarter, scoring on a 14-yard counter play. Quarterback Noah Caldani ran it in for a successful two-point conversation, and the Golden Hawks led 8-0. Truman speedster Terrence Rodgers raced home from 72 yards out, and just like that, it was an 8-6 game after the failed two-point conversion attempt.
“They can hit the big run at any moment, and that’s what they’ve been doing so well all season long,” Checchia said. “We felt that we were the best team defensively from a physicality standpoint that they were had faced up to this point.
“With that said, we knew that one missed tackle and one missed assignment, and they could go 80 yards on you in the blink of an eye, and sure enough, they hit one of those.”
Truman came up with an interception on the Golden Hawks’ ensuing drive.
“There was a bit of a momentum shift at that moment, but the defense really, really rallied,” Checchia said. “Our calling card has been sticking together and being a unit and fighting as one. We were able to get the ball back.”
Patterson took it to the house from 68 yards, and the Golden Hawks led 20-8.
“He broke a few tackles, he almost got caught from behind but was able to keep his balance and score,” Checchia said. “We knew as good as they could run the ball if we put them in situations where they had to throw the ball more, they weren’t as comfortable doing that.”
Daniel Scannapieco delivered the backbreaker when he came up with an interception and raced 46 yards for a touchdown and a 20-6 lead that held until the final horn.
“It’s our first defensive score in a long time,” Checchia said. “He did a great job of being at the right place at the right time. That was the big play.”
Checchia acknowledged the efforts of several catalysts.
“Shamir Parker represented that whole defensive line,” the Hawks’ coach said. “We had to really focus on stopping the run, and we did it a lot through scheme.
“They had to understand – hey, you’re not going to make every play, but you’re going to have to occupy blocks and let other people make plays. He kind of spearheaded that.
“Another guy who had a real gutsy performance was Nick Gallo. Nick did everything for us defensively, and offensively, he had seven receptions and was a featured part of the passing game. Defensively, Truman is very, very physical. Chase had a couple of nice runs, but it was tough sledding. We had to look for other ways to move the ball, and Nick is who we leaned on there.”
Patterson finished with 101 yards on the ground. Rodgers led all ground gainers with 122 yards.
Council Rock South (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Abington next Friday, and Harry S Truman (3-1, 0-1) will host Neshaminy on Saturday night.
Harry S Truman 0-0-0-6 6
Council Rock South 0-0-8-12 20
ABINGTON 41, BENSALEM 10
The Ghosts have righted the ship since a shutout loss at the hands of Northeast to open the season, reeling off their third straight win on Friday night. In their last two wins, they have outscored their opponents 68-10.
The secret to the turnaround, according to coach Kevin Conlin, is simple.
“Just hard work and gelling together,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We are working hard.”
That work translated in a monster performance on the ground as the Ghosts amassed over 350 rushing yards. Quarterback Tamir Berthau led the way with 130 yards and one TD. He also threw for a pair of touchdowns. Chance Byrd also surpassed the 100-yard mark.
The unsung hero in the big win, according to Conlin, was the offensive line comprised of Kobe Gaskins, Dean Kelly, Brent Flynn, Billy Everitt, TJ Allen and Tom Lukens.
The Owls had a short-lived lead in the first quarter when Dawson Fontaine connected on a 32-yard field goal. Berthau found Keith Hudoka with a four-yard TD pass, and the Ghosts had a lead they would not lose. By halftime, they led 21-3 and added to that advantage in the second half.
Abington (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South Friday, and Bensalem (0-4, 0-1) will travel to Central Bucks South for a non-league game Friday.
Abington 7-14-14-6 41
Bensalem 3-0-0-7 10
NESHAMINY 47, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 14
The Redskins took care of business in a hurry on Friday, opening up 20-0 lead after one quarter and extending that to 34-0 by halftime.
Everyone had a piece of the action for the Redskins. Brody McAndrew threw for 91 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Oleh Manzyk, Ryan O’Connor and Zac Canimore – all three in the first half. Cory Joyce returned a punt 55 yards for a TD, and Manzyk had a 65-yard TD run.
Chris James led a balanced Redskin attack with 92 rushing yards and one touchdown.
For the Indians, Jonathan Kane threw for 138 yards and a TD.
Neshaminy (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Saturday, and Council Rock North (1-3, 0-1) will host Pennsbury on Friday.
Council Rock North 7-0-0-7 14
Neshaminy 14-14-14-7 47
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 27, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 21
Tom Hetrick made no attempt to hide his enthusiasm after the Titans eked out their first win of the season over their archrival at War Memorial Field.
“I am ecstatic,” the Titans’ coach said. “You have to make good things happen, and we were finally able to make some good things happen.”
One of those good things was a gutsy goal line stand in the closing moments of the game to preserve the lead. The Titans’ defense held with the Bucks threatening on fourth-and-goal with 30 seconds remaining to preserve the lead.
“We missed one of the extra points, so if they score and kick, they win,” Hetrick said. “We had a chance to kill the clock with about four minutes left. We started out and made a couple of plays but then had three consecutive holding penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot and had to punt the ball back. They got it at about the minus-45 and got it down to the goal line.
“On first-and-goal from the 10, Matt Norris came up with a big sack and dropped them for a nine-yard loss. They were second-and-19. They took a couple of shots in the end zone. We just had to hold our water, and we did.”
The Titans led 20-14 at halftime and extended that led to 27-14 before the Bucks made things real interesting with a late rally.
“Part of me thinks it was sort of a boxing match with the exchanging of blows,” Hetrick said. “There were some big blows. We had two blocked punts in the first half by the same kid (Nick Polinchock).
“We were waiting for our guys to make plays like that. You’ve got to make splash plays in high school football. We had a couple of splash plays on punt returns in the first half. Then they came out and splashed on us. Luke Benson is a great football player, and he makes plays. It was a slugfest.
“We’ve trusted all along that we have some football players, and I do believe truly we have a pretty good team, but when the season starts the way it did, somewhere hidden in there is the confidence, and you have to fight your way out of the things that push you down. Success breeds confidence. You have to create excitement, and we were able to do that tonight. I’m proud of how resilient they’ve been. They’re a great group of guys.”
The Titans’ coach acknowledged the play of several players in the win.
“Conor Mckeown is one of our defensive ends,” Hetrick said. “We’ve been waiting to get a pass rush going these first few weeks, and finally we were able to get after a quarterback. Conor had two sacks in the first half, and he probably had a half a dozen hurries. He definitely stepped up and had a good game.
“Our quarterback, Josh Consoletti, had a good game. Their defensive front did a nice job. We weren’t getting a lot of things going on the ground. We would hit some every once in a while. Josh did a nice job of taking what they were giving us. I was proud of him.”
Consoletti threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns, completing TD passes to Brady Prezelski, Kurt Neil and Sean Smith.
West’s Gavin Grondahl also threw for over a hundred yards. Erik Ojert hauled in six passes for 68 yards.
Central Bucks South (1-3, 1-0 SOL) will host Bensalem in a non-league game Friday, and Central Bucks West (1-3, 0-1) will be on the road at William Tennent.
Central Bucks 13-7-7-0 27
Central Bucks West 7-7-0-7 21
SOUDERTON 35, WILLIAM TENNENT 16
DeAndre Wakefield was a welcome presence in the Indians’ lineup after being sidelined with a foot injury since midway through the second game of the season. The junior running back finished with 130 yards and three touchdowns in a contest the Indians led from wire to wire to notch their first win of the season.
“We kind of eased him back in to try not overwork him because he still missed a couple days of practice this week,” coach Ed Gallagher said. “I’m hoping as his foot heels we can get some explosive runs from him.
“He really did that tonight. He hit the holes, and he really took off. I think he feels comfortable that he can do that now, and that’s going to be a boost for us moving forward.”
Wakefield scored on a nine-yard run to break a scoreless tie after one quarter. A Tennent field goal made it a 7-3 game, but a 67-yard touchdown run by Wakefield sent the Indians into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
“I think we executed pretty well, a few blocking schemes that we thought we’d be able to get against them,” Gallagher said. “Unfortunately, on the first couple of drives, we were running outside of the kick-out blocks.
“Once we started running through the correct holes, we got some big gains, and DeAndre broke a long one, and that really opened things up.”
Quarterback Andrew Vince – who threw for 105 yards – took it in from two yards out to put the Indians on top 21-3 in the fourth quarter.
“You can’t talk about our team without talking about what Andrew Vince does on both sides of the ball,” Gallagher said. “At quarterback, he made some really good decisions tonight and made some good throws.
“Unfortunately, he had a touchdown called back. He made a couple of good runs, and he barely comes off the field on defense and might be our leading tackler. He’s a really good football player.”
Tennent’s Jason Schweizerhof found Dan Goodz with a 40-yard TD completion, but Wakefield answered with his third TD run – this one from 30 yards out. Then it was Jalen White scoring from 10 yards out for a 35-10 lead. Before Schweizerhof and Goodz hooked up for the game’s final score.
If Gallagher was looking for an unsung hero, the Indians’ coach pointed to Austin Moyer.
“We have a really good two-way lineman in Austin Moyer,” the Indians’ coach said. “I really like this group.
“I think we have a talented team. Unfortunately, we lost a few games. We can’t allow the morale to get down. It’s too early in the season. We’re trying to stick together, trying to build toward it because we were somewhat fractured in the offseason. I think we’re building toward a little bit more community and getting guys to be on the same page and put aside their selfish tendencies. Hopefully, we can keep doing that.”
The win came on the heels of a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to Hatboro-Horsham a week earlier that saw the Hatters use a late score to eke out the win.
“It’s been a little rough,” Gallagher said. “I thought we were pretty optimistic going into Hatboro last week, and we just continued to let them hang around.
“We couldn’t put the game out of reach, and when you’re only up by one score, one score and a two-point conversion beat us. It was an unfortunate way to lose a game, but we said to them – ‘We’re 0-0 in the Continental. We get a fresh start next week, we have a winnable game on homecoming, Hopefully, we can get things righted and go in the right direction.’”
Souderton (1-3, 1-0 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge Friday, and William Tennent (1-3, 0-1) will host Central Bucks West Friday.
William Tennent 0-3-0-13 16
Souderton 0-14-0-21 35
NORTH PENN 42, PENNRIDGE 20
Things can change in a hurry.
The Rams can attest to that. One minute they were celebrating a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and the next, they were watching the visiting Knights reel off 35 straight points to close out the first half.
"We struggled early up front blocking," NP coach Dick Beck said. "I think they have a good defensive front. Both D-tackles are big and physical, and the linebackers are quick, so I think they have a pretty good D-front.
"When they scored – it was actually a real nice play by their middle linebacker. They sent a little blitz, and our guard didn't see it."
For the undefeated Knights, the fun began with a Shamar Edwards 56-yard touchdown run, and then – after a Nate Brown stop on fourth-and-one just beyond midfield – Julian White scored from 55 yards out for his eighth rushing touchdown of the year. The Knights’ defense held again, and Jon Haynes delivered what might well have been a killing blow when he ran the ensuing punt back 76 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead after one quarter.
"When we had the third and short and Shamar broke it for a touchdown – that was a real nice cutback by him," Beck said. "They went for it on fourth down, and Nate Brown tackled the guy in the backfield on a blitz with Eric Rowe, who's been playing out of his mind. Eric and Nate have just been playing awesome in the middle for us."
By halftime, both White and Edwards had added another touchdown to their stats, and the Knights led 35-7. A pair of Zak Kantor touchdown passes in the fourth quarter was the lone bright spot of the second half for the Rams.
Edwards finished with a 168 rushing yards and two TDs in yet another stellar outing.
"He's been amazing," Beck said. "First of all, he's super tough, he's strong and he's thicker than people will understand until they see him live. He's got great lower body strength, he's sneaky fast, and he has very good vision.
Solomon Robinson threw for 137 yards.
Beck also acknowledged the strong play of junior RJ Macnamara on both sides of the football.
"RJ had two sacks, he had one tackle for a loss, he caught a pass for 20 yards, and he had a nice day blocking for us up front," the Knights' coach said. "Defensively, I thought his motor – he just kept going and going, and he probably had his best defensive effort of the year."
Kantor threw for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jon Post led the Ram receivers with 107 yards.
North Penn (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Friday, and Pennridge (1-3, 0-1) will host Souderton Friday.
North Penn 21-14-7-0 42
Pennridge 7-0-13-0 20
SOL American Conference
QUAKERTOWN 49, UPPER MORELAND 14
A pair of Michael Terra touchdown runs spotted the Panthers an early 14-0 lead. The Golden Bears cut that lead in half when sophomore quarterback Jon Knight hooked up with Jahaire Johnson for a 78-yard touchdown.
The rest of the night belonged to the Panthers, who took a 28-7 lead into halftime and looked every bit the part of a 4-0 squad.
Quarterback Brad Bryan threw for more than a hundred yards and a pair of touchdowns. Christian Patrick led a lethal ground game with 87 yards.
Knight paced the Golden Bears with 149 yards in the air and two touchdowns.
Quakertown (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday, and Upper Moreland (1-3, 0-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday.
Upper Moreland 7-0-0-7 14
Quakertown 14-14-14-7 49
UPPER DUBLIN 34, HATBORO-HORSHAM 7
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Selvin Haynes hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Slivka. It marked the beginning of a 20-0 tear to close out the first half that included an interception return for a TD by Jason Scott and another Slivka to Haynes touchdown connection.
Haynes finished the night with three touchdown receptions – his third put the Cardinals on top 27-0 late in the third quarter.
An Amir Bookard kickoff return for a touchdown accounted for the Hatters’ only score of the night. The Cardinals closed out the scoring with Slivka finding Brody Balasa for a touchdown and the 34-7 final.
Upper Dublin (3-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Penn Charter on Friday for a 4 p.m. contest, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-3, 0-1) will host Wissahickon on Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-7-0 7
Upper Dublin 0-20-7-7 34
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 28, WISSAHICKON 14
The Colonials opened up a 28-0 lead en route to their first win of the season. A pair of Michael Paciello touchdown runs put PW on top 14-0 after one quarter. The Colonials took that lead into halftime.
Paciello accounted for his team’s third touchdown, returning an interception for the score, and Brian Dresnin, who led the Colonials’ ground game, scored the final PW touchdown before the Trojans scored a pair of late touchdowns.
Wissahickon's offense was paced by Marice Johnson Jr who ran for 64 yards. Maurice Willis played big, pulling in 10 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Santo completed 18-of-35 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptsion. The defense received a strong performance from Jalen Smalls at the linebacker position. Brian Menhardt had an interception.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-3, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland Friday, and Wissahickon (0-4, 0-1) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham.
Wissahickon 0-0-0-14 14
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-0-7-7 28
Non-league
PENNSBURY 35, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 34
The Falcons won a wild one on Friday night, but it took some late-game heroics to do it.
“It was a win,” coach Dan McShane said. “Young football players learning to overcome adversity. We’ve had leads in three of four games and lost two of them and almost managed to do that tonight.
“It’s just the type of game you say, ‘All right, it’s good to see you guys smiling.’ We gutted it out and did whatever it took. There’s a lot to work, a lot to build on. We think we’ve got a talented group – they’re just young and learning to play the game.”
The Patriots – who trailed 35-21 – pulled to within one with 2:49 remaining when Evan O’Donnell, who threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns, found Chris Lochetta with an 11-yard touchdown pass. The Patriots lined up for the extra point but – instead – went for two. They didn’t fool the Falcons, who broke up the pass play to preserve the lead and the win.
“When you’re 0-3 and as competitive as Pennsbury kids are, they’re always trying to hit home runs,” McShane said. “We talk about just being disciplined, doing your job.
“We work on the field goal block, we talk about having good eye discipline. There’s always the possibility of a fake. CB East is pretty innovative with their special teams, so Nathan Scott did was he was supposed to do. He’s a senior, and he’s a very disciplined kid. He’s very intelligent.
“The moment they got lined up in a regular field goal I thought – you know what, it looks like they’re trying to sucker us. I told our kids, ‘It’s a huge lesson. The little things are what win football games for you.’ Hopefully, we’ll go forward with that and they realize – as Bill Belichick of the Patriots says, ‘Do your job.’ Nobody else’s, just your job.”
Early in the game, the Falcons rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to go on top 14-7 after Drew Hensor found Jason Cook from 19 yards out. The Patriots had a golden opportunity to get closer when they recovered a botched snap at the Falcons’ nine-yard line in the closing minute of the half, but they came up empty.
“We really loved up the defense in the locker room at halftime – that was a big stop,” McShane said. “They really gritted it out, and the offense and special teams were very grateful for that.
“Then we started the second half – coach (John) Donnelly did a great job. They changed their entire offense, got the spread, got some space, and we struggled a lot with our own calls. We made some personnel changes late last week, so kids for the first time were playing different positions, and for some kids, it was the first time they ever played. They have a real talented quarterback and good play calling by them and it got to be a real nail biter.”
JayVon McNeil punched it in from two yards out for his second TD of the game to give the Falcons a 21-7 lead, but the Patriots came roaring back. O’Donnell scored from 23 yards out on a quarterback keeper, and after the Patriots recovered a successful on-sides kick near midfield, O’Donnell capped a scoring drive by finding Anthony Giordano from 21 yards out, knotting the score 21-21.
Hensor scored on a six-yard run to cap a drive that included a clutch Hensor to Josh Boyda completion on third-and-20.
“(Hensor) has good escape-ability, and he kept his eyes down the field,” McShane said. “Really, we were pretty surprised. We didn’t expect to be that open. (Boyda) caught it and ran down the sidelines with his knee brace shake, rattle and rolling.
“Boyda is a pretty unique kid. He’s a real competitive kid, and he’s kind of our Swiss army knife – he plays quarterback a little bit, he’s our wide receiver. He’s a nice weapon to have.”
The Falcons led 35-21 after Brad Mickles scored from 19 yards out. The Patriots made things real interesting, answering with back-to-back scores of their own, but the Falcons would not be denied.
“It was a game of two halves – in the first half, it was the defense and a host of those guys, and in the second half, it was the offense,” McShane said. “We really felt they couldn’t stop us.
“We really felt that way in all of our games, but we just didn’t have the ball enough. We have a pretty good group up front that can run block. We got a running back by committee, and Hensor is getting better and better at that position.
“We’ve got a good coaching staff, we’ve got good kids. The kids have been solid, getting in each day and working, doing a good job in the classroom. Tonight wasn’t pretty, but at least for 24 hours, we could smile.
Hensor threw for 174 yards and a touchdown and finished with close to 240 yards of total offense. Boyda had three catches for 80 yards to lead the receivers.
Lochetta led the Patriots with 113 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Pennsbury (1-3) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Friday, and Central Bucks East (2-2) will travel to North Penn on Friday.
Central Bucks East 7-0-14-13 34
Pennsbury 7-7-7-14 35
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 35, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 21
The Spartans found themselves staring at a 21-0 deficit before Max Perry scored from one yard out on a quarterback sneak with 3:30 remaining in the opening half. They pulled to within seven (21-14), but that’s as close as they would get.
Springfield Township (2-1) will travel to Dover High School next Saturday.
CHELTENHAM 17, NORRISTOWN 7
It’s been no secret that coach Ryan Nase places a high value on his kicker, Justin Grady. Listening to the Panthers’ coach tell it, Grady was a difference maker in Friday’s win.
“Justin Grady might have helped us win this game more than any kicker or punter has helped us win a game before,” Nase said.
Grady’s stats for the game are dazzling – he was 4-for-4 with touchbacks on kickoffs, he hit a 33-yard field goal, he had four punts for 217 yards, which was a 53.5-yard average
“And he absolutely hawked one of their punt returners to make a touchdown-saving tackle,” Nase said. “You name it – he did it.
“I almost feel like I’m letting down the football community by how much I pump up this soccer player, but he is such a stud, and he was a difference maker.”
Nase had to shuffle his lineup since he was without several players.
“We were missing some guys because we lost focus in the Abington game,” the Panthers’ coach said. “Jamir Barnes was asked to do everything.
“We have a 70-man roster, and he’s the only player on our team with a scholarship offer right now. We said, ‘Jamir, we have to take you out of the backfield and move you around.’ He said, ‘If it will help us win, I’ll do it,’ and that’s what he did.
“He had big plays at receiver, and when we got down to the end of the game, he had a huge run to win us the game. He was a difference maker at free safety on defense – we moved him from corner to free. Jamir and Justin are such great football players, and they so unselfish.”
Also stepping up was senior captain Marcus Winfield.
“He was in the same boat,” Nase said. “Norristown knew what we were going to do. They knew our situation, and they had eight or nine in the box every time, and we had to chuck it a little bit.
“Nate Edwards has been a running back most of his life, and we said, ‘We need you to move you out to receiver,’ and he had a couple of big plays. It was tough for us because of some of the things we were dealing with – not being able to practice Monday or Tuesday, so we had a short week. We had a bunch of guys that stepped up and said – ‘Put me where you need to put me, and I’ll do what you need me to do.’”
The Panthers took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks to Grady’s 33-yard field goal and a touchdown run by Siddiq Williams.
“Siddiq was a kid who had some troubles as a freshman – he was unhappy about his sophomore season last year, and a lot of that was because of his struggles as a freshman before I got there,” Nase said. “I told him, ‘Keep working hard, run track, lift weights, get your grades right,’ and he just did everything he needed to do. I told him – ‘At some point, you’re going to get an opportunity, and because you’re so used to doing the right things, it’s going to happen.’
“We had a third-and-short from the 33-yard line, and we run iso to try and get the two yards, and he breaks it for 34 and scores the touchdown. He’s a great story of guys who struggled at Cheltenham that have absolutely bought in to everything I’ve been selling them – ‘Guys, if you trust me and I trust you, not only will you win football games, but you’re going to get opportunities.’ I don’t know what Siddiq’s football career has in front of him, but the changes he made in the classroom – he’s going to be a kid that I know is going to be successful in life.”
The Panthers added a touchdown in the second quarter to go on top 17-0. This time it was Barnes taking a Adonis Hunter pass in for the TD.
“We stole a play from Auburn in the college football playoffs last year,” Nase said.
Cheltenham took that 17-0 lead into halftime and did not score the rest of the way. The Eagles got on the scoreboard with a touchdown in the final minute of the game.
“We got a three-score lead, I tried to do everything I could to run the ball, Norristown knew I was going to run the ball – they are a naturally eight-man front that plays mostly man coverage, and they threw a ninth guy in the box as much as they could,” Nase said. “We were almost trading punt for punt, and luckily, Justin Grady is on my team. He switched field positions the whole second half.
“We needed one first down (late in the game), and Jamir got it for us, and we took a knee.”
Cheltenham (3-1, 0-0 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Friday for its conference opener.
Norristown 0-0-0-7 7
Cheltenham 10-7-0-0 17
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