Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. Neshaminy/CR South and Pennsbury/Abington photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Pennridge/Truman 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 Conference
NESHAMINY 9, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
Nine points won’t win a whole lot of football games, but when your team is playing lights-out defense, nine points is more than enough.
“Our defense played their butts off, and they have all year,” Neshaminy coach Steve Wilmot said. “Everything for our defense really starts up front with our defensive line.
“Except for maybe Luke Hitchen, there’s not any real big names there, but they’re all good football players.”
The Golden Hawks managed just 125 yards of total offense as the Redskins notched their second shutout of the season. Finding their way into the spotlight was a defensive line comprised of Hitchen, Chisom Ifeanyi, Sean Smith and Bobby Buchys.
“It all starts with them,” Wilmot said. “Their effort really sets up a lot of good things – a lot of hurried throws by the quarterback. They’re just doing their jobs spilling the plays to the linebackers, and the linebackers are making their plays.
“Just the effort of the defensive line really sets the tone for the rest of our defense. Our defensive backfield did a really nice job of covering their receivers, and our linebackers played well too. It was a really good defensive effort.”
Underscoring the stellar performance of the defense was the fact that Rock South running back Chase Patterson, who entered the game with over 700 rushing yards, had just 37 yards on 13 carries. The Golden Hawks weren’t doing much better in the air, thanks to a stingy secondary that included Cory Joyce, who came up with a clutch interception.
“Cory Joyce played big for us in the defensive secondary,” Wilmot said.
The Redskins scored the game’s only touchdown early when Brody McAndrew found Ryan O’Connor with a five-yard touchdown pass.
A Jack Hughes 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter made it a two-possession game and all but sealed the Golden Hawks’ fate.
“You could breathe a little bit,” Wilmot said. “They have good players, and they’re one play away from going ahead – all they have to do is kick the extra point, and they’re ahead.
“Jack’s been doing a nice job. He’s on the varsity soccer team, and his soccer schedule has been crazy, so he hasn’t been to practice a whole lot. He came out was able to hit that field goal for us and was able to change the game.”
Sophomore Chris James was the workhorse for the Redskins, carrying the ball 31 times for 139 yards.
With the win, the Redskins (6-3, 4-1 SOL) find themselves sharing the top spot in the conference standings with Pennsbury and Harry S Truman. Neshaminy will host Pennsbury in a battle for a share of the conference crown Friday.
“It’s a little different – it’s a little bit of kissing your sister,” said Wilmot. “It’s not going to be a sole, by yourself championship, but whenever we play Pennsbury – some years we play them and we’re 9-0 and some years the records are a little less, but whenever we play Pennsbury, it’s a special week.”
The loss took the Golden Hawks out of the hunt for a conference crown.
“We didn’t capitalize on enough opportunities when they were there,” assistant head coach Tony Checchia said. “We gave up some fluky plays defensively.
“It’s just frustrating. I think it’s frustrating for everybody – the kids, us coaches. We’ve put in as much work as anyone, and to see the results not carry over is disappointing.”
Council Rock South (5-4, 3-2 SOL) will face Council Rock North in the annual Rock Cup contest on Friday. After Friday’s loss, the Golden Hawks are on the playoff bubble.
“Now we’re playing that game – where are we at in the seeds,” Checchia said. “Who won, who lost, and we didn’t want to get into that.
“The silver lining is there’s still a chance, and really, all we’re preaching now is – ‘We have North, this is rivalry week. It doesn’t matter what their record is coming into it.’ That’s been the one thing that’s been consistent – either side could be having a terrible season or a great season. You roll into that game, and it really doesn’t matter. It comes down to that one game. Crazy things can happen. It’s going to be real important for us to get that focus back, take care of business and let the pieces fall.”
Council Rock South 0-0-0-0 0
Neshaminy 6-0-0-3 9
PENNSBURY 35, ABINGTON 28
It was another wild one at Falcon Field.
By halftime, the teams had combined for 49 points but then scored just 14 in the second half – none in the final quarter. With the win, the Falcons find themselves in a three-way tie with Neshaminy and Harry S Truman atop the conference standings.
The Falcons led 14-7 after one quarter, thanks to a Drew Hensor one-yard score. One play earlier – on fourth-and-six, Hensor found Sheehan Miles on the one-yard line. Abington answered with back-to-back 
touchdowns, the second on a 15-yard quarterback run by Tamir Berthau to put Abington on top 21-14.
Pennsbury came back to knot the score when Hensor found Miles with a 30-yard touchdown pass. A John Gaines interception set up the final score of the half. The touchdown drive included a 22-yard run by JayVon McNeil that was followed by Hensor rolling out and finding Josh Boyda for nine yards. The drive was capped with Hensor connecting with Sheehan for a seven-yard TD and a 28-21 halftime lead.
The Ghosts knotted the score on a 42-yard TD run by Berthau, but Eddie Dualu’s 29-yard touchdown run gave the Falcons a lead they would not lose.
Berthau finished with a game-high 210 yards on the ground. He threw for 96 yards.
For the Falcons, Hensor threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns with Miles catching seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Dualu led the Falcons ground game with 122 yards and a TD.
Pennsbury (5-4, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Friday, and Abington (4-5, 2-4) will host Central Bucks West in a non-league game Friday.
Abington 7-14-7-0 28
Pennsbury 14-14-7-0 35
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 28, SOUDERTON 21
(Check back for a story about the unveiling of the Coach Mike Pettine statue prior to Friday night’s game at War Memorial Field.)
Trailing 21-7 at halftime, the Bucks didn’t look like a team that was going to put a damper on Souderton’s district playoff aspirations, but they silenced the Indians in the second half and scored 14 unanswered points to earn a win that could prove very costly for the Indians.
“That was our goal – we weren’t going to get in, but we were going to play spoiler,” West coach Rob Rowan said.
Entering Friday’s game, the Bucks had lost three straight, but they were in all three games, including last week’s loss to a North Penn squad that is the top seed in District One 6A.
“We literally haven’t changed a thing in terms of the way we’re approaching week to week,” Rowan said. “It’s a testament to the kids and the staff because when things get tough and the record doesn’t end up the way that you want it, it tends to become really easy to let your foot off the gas pedal a little bit, but we just haven’t done that.
“I don’t think last week gave us a confidence boost as much as it reaffirmed that it just comes down to executing and doing your job. Tonight in the second half we did that.”
For the Indians, the first half was highlighted by a pair of DeAndre Wakefield touchdowns – one on a 36-yard run and the second on a 29-yard TD reception from Andrew Vince. Tre Samuels returned a fumble 49 yards for a touchdown. Joseph Fay’s two-yard run accounted for the Bucks’ only score.
“We did not play well in the first half,” Rowan said. “We had a really bad turnover which led to a scoop and score by them.
“Then we had a blown coverage late in the second half which gave them a score going into the half. It was not a good half of football for us.”
In the second half, the Bucks scored three unanswered touchdowns – two by Fay sandwiched around a Garrett Hitchens’ nine-yard TD run.
“To be perfectly honest, we didn’t change anything in our game plan,” Rowan said of the second half. “We made some small tweaks defensively from a coverage perspective, but offensively, we didn’t change a thing.
“We talked about it at halftime – if we were going to win this game, it was going to come down to execution and just guys doing their job. We talk about that all the time, and really in the second half, we came out and put a great drive together to start the half. From that point forward, our guys were totally resilient and did what it took to get the job done.”
The Bucks’ first-year coach didn’t have to look far to find the catalysts in Friday’s win.
“Without question, the whole offensive line and the backfield – Joe Fay, Jack Fallon, Garrett Hitchens, Jack Neri,” Rowan said. “We spread the ball around tonight.
“I don’t know the stats yet, but I would assume that we ran for probably close to 250 yards. Any time you’re doing that, obviously, there’s a lot of people involved.”
Comprising the Bucks’ offensive line are Will Deschaine, Juan Campos, Sean Cotton, Michael Cuozzo, Ryan McKenna and Chuck Ross.
“Defensively, Ryan Hieber is just an absolute coach’s dream,” Rowan said. “He plays both ways, he doesn’t come off the field ever and is just an absolute joy to coach. He’s tremendous.”
Hitchens led the Bucks with 103 yards on the ground. Neri threw for 129 yards and ran for 56 more.
Central Bucks West (3-6, 2-4 SOL) will close out its season at Abington next Friday. Souderton (4-5, 3-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks South Friday.
Souderton 14-7-0-0 21
Central Bucks West 0-7-7-14 28
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 45, WILLIAM TENNENT 21
The Patriots kept their district playoff hopes very much alive with a convincing win over the Panthers. East opened up a 45-7 lead before Tennent scored a pair of late touchdowns.
Early on, the two teams exchanged touchdowns with Anthony Giordano scoring on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Evan O’Donnell. The Panthers answered with Kip Mooney finding Derrick Cosenza with a 20-yard TD pass. O’Donnell’s one-yard TD plunge gave the Patriots a 14-7 lead after one quarter and they added to that in the second, going into halftime with a 24-7 lead. The added three more scores in the third quarter before the Panthers would score again.
Bryan Kelly – who led all ground gainers with 114 yards – scored three consecutive touchdowns on runs of 22, 31 and 14 yards. O’Donnell threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns with Giordano hauling in five passes for 83 yards and two TDs.
For the Panthers, Mooney threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Cosenza had five receptions for 92 yards.
Central Bucks East (5-4, 3-2 SOL) will host Pennridge next Saturday at 1 p.m., and William Tennent (2-7, 0-5) will host North Penn on Friday.
Central Bucks East 14-10-21-0 45
William Tennent 7-0-0-14 21
NORTH PENN 21, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 10
The Knights – tired of the slow starts that plagued them in recent weeks – opened up a 21-3 halftime lead. The Titans scored a second-half touchdown but would get no closer than 11.
Shamar Edwards put the Knights on the scoreboard with a seven-yard touchdown run, and after South’s Brian Maddon connected on a field goal, Julian White scored from 35 yards out. Solomon Robinson connected with Evan Spann for the two-point conversion and the Knights led 15-3.
In the second quarter, Robinson hooked up with Jon Haynes for a 27-yard touchdown and the 21-3 lead.
South’s Brady Prezelski connected with Carter Hallgren from 25 yards out for a touchdown and the only score of the second half.
Robinson threw for 101 yards and a touchdown and Edwards ran for 96 yards.
North Penn (9-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and Central Bucks South (3-6, 2-3) will host Souderton on Friday.
Central Bucks South 3-0-7-0 10
North Penn 15-6-0-0 21
SOL American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 31, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 17
The Flying Cardinals clinched sole possession of the SOL American Conference title, but no one was doing a whole lot of celebrating.
“As I said to our guys, ‘We have one more left before we can celebrate,’” UD coach Bret Stover said. “Obviously, that’s our first goal every year – to win a conference championship. I think every team goes in with that same goal.
“Now we’re playing for bigger and better things – some homes games as long as we can stay alive in the (district) playoffs. There wasn’t a whole lot of jumping up and down, there wasn’t a whole lot of screaming. It was, ‘Hey guys, you’ve clinched at least a share of it, but we have bigger goals.’ The senior leadership we have understands that, and our younger kids are learning that, so that’s part of building the program.”
The Cardinals led 14-3 after Lucas Roselli punched it in from one yard out, but the Colonials made it a 14-10 game when Larry McLaughlin found Christopher Pierce for a touchdown. Roselli got that score back, racing 65 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to send the Flying Cardinals into halftime with a 21-10 lead.
“That gave us a little breathing room before halftime because we were having trouble stopping their run game,” Stover said of Roselli’s TD return. “We were able to get into halftime and make some adjustments.”
A 35-yard Christopher Barbera field goal upped that lead to 24-10 after three quarters.
“It was probably good from 50,” Stover said of Barbera’s kick.
Mason Novak took it in from 13 yards out – his second rushing TD of the game – to make it a 31-10 game.
“He just carried everybody into the end zone,” Stover said.
PW tacked on a late score for the 31-17 final.
“We still couldn’t stop their run game all night,” Stover said. “Dan (Chang) does a nice job with the veer that they run.
“They’re all young over there too, so they’re only going to get better as the years go on. It was nice to come out of there with a win. It’s a tough place for us to go play. It was their Senior Night.
“I’m proud of the way my kids responded. We had some injuries, some kids that didn’t play, some (new) kids that had to play, but that’s what it’s all about. When you get to this point, everyone is banged up, so it’s next man up mentality, and our guys came through tonight.”
The Cardinals’ coach went on to laud the effort of some of the unsung heroes on his squad.
“I think our offensive line really deserves the shout-out,” Stover said. “They stymied us a little bit in our run game, so we kind of went to our goal line package, and our guys up front responded. We basically moved the ball on them the way they were moving the ball on us.
“Our guys up front did a remarkable job getting off the ball and controlling their guys at the line of scrimmage.”
Members of the UD’s offensive line includes left tackle Quinton Derr, left guard Aman Orlena, center Connor English, right guard Bryan Derr, right tackle CJ Stehli, and tight end Brody Balasa.
Upper Dublin (7-1, 5-0 SOL) will host Upper Moreland next Friday to wrap up the regular season. Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-7, 1-4) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham Friday.
Upper Dublin 7-14-3-7 31
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-7-0-7 17
CHELTENHAM 19, UPPER MORELAND 14
Caleb Mead.
Coach Ryan Nase admits he was all but having nightmares thinking about his team facing the star running back.
“When you have a kid like Caleb Mead on your team, there’s always excitement,” the Panthers’ coach said. “I haven’t been this afraid of one player kind of taking over a game and singlehandedly beating us since I was (coaching) at Father Judge and we played Will Fuller at Roman Catholic.”
Fuller is now playing for the Houston Texans, and his high school coach – Joe McCourt, a teammate of Nase’s at Lafayette– is Mead’s running back coach at Upper Moreland.
“We allowed him to have just enough yards not to beat us,” Nase said of Mead.
The senior running back scored a pair of first-half touchdowns – the first from 73 yards and the second from four yards out to spot the Golden Bears a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
“We still kind of have the same thing going on offensively – I’m calling the plays, so I’ve got to figure it out,” Nase said. “We’re putting up yardage, yardage and yardage, but we’re just having trouble scoring points.
“We get a big stop on defense to start the game. We get the ball on the half yard line, and we take the ball for 21 plays and almost an entire quarter, and we finished with zero points.”
A dropped pass by a wide open player in the end zone and a missed field goal by the always reliable Justin Grady didn’t help the Panthers’ cause on the drive.
“We think Justin Grady is not only one of the best kickers in the league but in the area – he misses what is a chip shot for him,” Nase said. “You have the ball for 21 plays and almost 12 minutes, and you come away with no points. It’s frustrating, and we have to figure out why.
“We’re still turning the ball over too much. Our backs fumbled a couple of times and recovered, so it could have been even worse. “
A 22-yard Adonis Hunter to Nate Edwards touchdown pass made it a 14-6 game at the intermission. Another Hunter to Edwards TD pass – this one for 21 yards – made it a 14-12 game at the end of three quarters. Hunter scored from one yard out, and the visiting Panthers led 19-14 after three quarters.
Hunter threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards was his favorite target, hauling in seven passes for 119 yards and two TDs.
“Last week was kind of his coming out party,” Nase said of Edwards. “He was a little bit frustrated a couple of weeks ago because he had been getting open, and there were some bad passes and he had a couple of drops.
“We tried to move him around because he is such a gifted athlete, and I think we were trying to do too much with him, so we took a step back and said, ‘Go back to playing opposite TJ (Harris), and let’s try and figure out a way to take some deep shots, but more importantly, get you the ball in space and let you go, make people miss and be fast.’ He did a really good job of that today. He had 111 yards last week and tonight he had two touchdowns and set up our quarterback sneak for a third.”
Beyond that, Edwards was also a major contributor on special teams.
“We made a decision during the week – as dangerous as Caleb Mead is, we weren’t going to take Justin Grady’s leg out of the game,” Nase said. “We were going to kick off deep and we were going to punt, and Nate – in our special teams group – took some pride in that and really stepped up and had a couple of big tackles on special teams too.”
Also for the Panthers, Jamir Barnes rushed for 139 yards on 22 carries.
Mead finished the night with 248 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. He also had four receptions for 43 yards.
“That’s one of the things that isn’t talked about sometimes is the workload he takes on,” Nase said. “He returns kicks and punts, and he plays every snap on defense. He just goes. I know Sterlen Barr was really good for them last year too, but he’s the best player I have seen in the Suburban One American in the last two years – it’s not even close.
“I have talked to a couple of people this week – maybe I don’t know anything about college recruiting, but you can’t convince me that kid’s not a Division I player,” Nase said. “I know he’s not huge, but if that’s not a Division I running back – maybe he’s not Miami or Florida State, but I’ll tell you what – I wish he was playing for my alma mater at Lafayette because he can play.
Cheltenham (6-3, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Friday.
“Everybody looks at Wissahickon’s record and thinks they’re not very good – they put up 58 points tonight and got their first win,” Nase said. “They are an extremely dangerous team offensively. They can move the ball and score points. The other week I said I thought they were the best 0-6 team in the country. I meant it, and I think they proved me right tonight, so it doesn’t get any easier. We’re really beat up physically, so I’m a little nervous about next week.”
Upper Moreland (3-5, 2-3) will travel to Upper Dublin for its regular season finale.
Cheltenham 0-6-13-0 19
Upper Moreland 0-14-0-0 14
QUAKERTOWN 29, HATBORO-HORSHAM 16
The Panthers exploded for 22 third-quarter points to blow open a close game.
Quakertown led by just a 7-3 score at the intermission.
Christian Patrick’s 19-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter was the Panthers’ only score in the opening half. Michael Brown’s 22-yard field goal accounted for the Hatters’ lone score.
A Brad Bryan touchdown pass to Patrick early in the third quarter gave the Panthers a lead they would not lose. Bryan also took it in from a yard out and Andre Faltz fell on a fumble in the end zone to put the Panthers on top 29-3 before the Hatters scored a pair of late TDs- the first on Ismael Collazo’s nine-yard run and the second on an 80-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Nahji Logan.
Patrick led the Panthers with 197 yards on the ground.
Quakertown – which has a bye next week – closed out its regular season with a 7-2 record (4-2 SOL). The Panthers are 10th in the latest District One 6A power rankings. Hatboro-Horsham (4-4, 3-2 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 3-0-6-7 16
Quakertown 0-7-22-0 29
Non-league
HARRY S TRUMAN 42, PENNRIDGE 20
The Tigers just keep rolling along, erupting for 21 second-quarter points to go into halftime with a 35-14 lead. The Rams never threatened. The win upped the Tigers’ record to 8-1 with only a win over Bensalem separating them from a share of the conference title. The Rams, meanwhile, saw their postseason plans all but evaporate.
After Enzo Poulson scored on a four-yard run, the Rams knotted the score when Shane Hartzel returned an interception for a touchdown. Touchdown runs by James Koliyah and Terrence Rodgers put the Tigers on top 21-7, but Ryan Garner scored from four yards to make it a one-score game.
Another Poulson TD run and a 40-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Snelling to Jahni Coleman sent the Tigers into halftime with a comfortable 35-14 lead.
A 50-yard touchdown run by Rodgers – who finished with 187 yards and two TDs – and a Zak Kantor to Connor Pleibel touchdown pass were the only scores of the second half.
The Tigers’ defense allowed just 158 total yards – only 24 on the ground.
Deondre Winton added 82 rushing yards for the Tigers.
Harry S Truman (8-1, 4-1 SOL) will host Bensalem on Friday, and Pennridge (4-5, 3-2) will travel to Central Bucks East for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
Pennridge 7-7-0-6 20
Harry S Truman 14-21-7-0 42
WISSAHICKON 58, EASTERN YORK 43
(Submitted article)
Trojan fans traveled out to Eastern York to watch a Friday night football game and were treated with a basketball game instead. The young Trojans were able to notch their first victory Friday night, besting Eastern York 58-43. The Trojans put the scoreboard operator at work early behind the running of senior Chris Smalls to take a lead of 6-0. Eastern York – behind a high-powered passing offense – was able to strike early and often in the first quarter to take a 21-6 lead midway through the quarter. The young Trojans did not put their head down and were able to respond back to close first quarter with a score by way of pass from Nick Santo to Maurice Willis.
The second quarter saw the Trojans jump on the back of Chris Smalls and the arm of Nick Santo to go into the half down 28-20. The defense started the second half with a stand to force Eastern York to their first punt of the night. Wissahickon responded back with a TD run by Chris Smalls to tie the score 28-28. Eastern York responded with a drive of its own, giving them the lead once again at 35-28. Wissahickon moved the ball down the field with runs and a long pass from Santo to Caso to set the team up for the score. A missed extra point left the score 35-34.
At this point in the game, lightning struck quickly for the Trojans. In a span of two minutes, Wissahickon put 24 points on the board. A TD run by Chris Smalls, a fumble recovery and score for Tyler Caso, and another TD run by Chris Smalls. All three scores were followed with two-point conversions by Jalen Smalls. This barrage of points allowed the Trojans to secure the victory. The defense received big hits led by Raejon Benjamin, Mark Thompson, and Tyler Caso. Two timely interceptions by EJ Schreiner and Raejon Benjamin helped secure the victory.
Chris Smalls had a career night, finishing the game with 24 carries for 249 yards and four TDs. He also had two catches for 18 yards and a sack. Nick Santo continued to perform in his sophomore season going 12-for-26 for 202 yards with two TDs and three INTs. Maurice Willis continues his stellar senior season with three catches for 99 yards with two TDs. Tyler Caso put in a complete game on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he had three catches for 52 yards, two carries for five yards and 1 TD. Defensively, he had a fumble return for a TD and constant pressure on the QB.
Overall, a great team win. Come out and support your Trojans as we finish the season Friday night at Wissahickon Stadium and we celebrate senior night. 7pm kickoff.
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