Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action. Upper Moreland/Archbishop Ryan photos courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Pennridge/Coatesville photos courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of both games. CB West/CB South photo courtesy of Marge Bullock (http://www.margebullock.com)
CLASS 6A
#1 PENNRIDGE 36, #4 COATESVILLE 33
It was a game that could have gone either way, but the Rams quite simply refused to lose. Credit their talent, their fierce determination or their will to win because the Rams have all three. Coach Cody Muller has a different explanation for his team’s success when the odds appear stacked against them.
“Our heart,” the Rams’ coach said. “To look at our kids – the adversity they faced in this game. They played a heavyweight team.
“I give so much credit to coach (Matt) Ortega. I love what he did with that program in the time he’s been there. They’re consistently a tough, physical, fast team, and for our kids to rise to it and not flinch – even when they went up on the big kick return, our kids didn’t flinch. They just believed and said, ‘We got it, let’s go.’”
It certainly didn’t look as though things would go the Rams’ way after Lebron Bessick – on the heels of a Brandon Shire field goal that gave the Rams the lead – returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown with just over five minutes remaining, giving the visiting Red Raiders a 33-29 advantage.
But the Rams had an answer, taking it 64 yards for the go-ahead score on a drive that included one gutsy play after another. There was the pass on third-and-long from Bobby Croyle to Dillon Powles for a first down. And even bigger than that was the six-yard completion from Croyle to Adam Mossbrook on a must-complete fourth-and-five just over midfield. Capping the drive was a 40-yard touchdown run by Jack Ferguson on a perfectly executed trap play that gave the Rams a 36-33 lead with 2:44 remaining.
“To be 100 percent honest, we haven’t ran that play all season, we haven’t practiced it all season out of that formation, but it was something that I looked at Jack and called it,” Muller said. “He had a big smile on his face and couldn’t wait.”
Armed with the late lead, Pennridge’s defense slammed the door on any Coatesville comeback, giving the Rams the emotional win that vaulted their squad into the district title game.
And what did Muller have to say to his players after Friday night’s thriller?
“All I said was I love them,” the Rams’ coach said. “I’m so proud of them. From where we were in January to now and everything that has been against these kids – for them to just come together and play the way they did, I couldn’t be more proud as a coach.”
The game started out with an unexpected aerial display from both sides with both teams scoring a pair of touchdowns on pass plays – the Rams’ first a 65-yard pass play from Croyle to Mossbrook and the second a 55-yard TD pass from Croyle to Dillon Prowles. The Rams’ senior quarterback threw for 298 yards. Prowles had four catches for 107 yards to lead the Ram receivers.
“It was one of those things – we had a lot of success running the football in the regular season, and we went in on Monday and we challenged our guys, telling them we had to have success throwing the ball if we wanted to be great,” Muller said. “Bobby (Coyle), Adam (Mossbrook) and Joey (Kacerik) – all those guys rose to the occasion, and they did a great job. Bobby hung in there – our line gave him some time, but they brought a lot of blitzes, a lot of pressure, and Bobby hung in there like a champ and did a great job with it.”
The Rams took a 26-20 lead into halftime, and it was senior Shane Hartzell – showing no ill effects from his rib injury a week earlier – racing 97 yards for a touchdown to cap off a high octane half of football for both sides. He finished with 123 yards on eight carries.
“Shane is Shane, that’s the best way to put it,” Muller said. “He did go see the doctor earlier in the week, and our team doctor said, ‘You’re good to go.’ I don’t think Shane would have taken no for an answer.
“We planned to use him on defense only just to see where he was at. He was right next to me just getting antsy, waiting to go, so we called his number on offense, and he scored a 95-plus yard touchdown.”
The Rams’ coach acknowledged the efforts of several other players in the win.
“Besides the guys that scored the touchdowns, Joey Kacerik had a huge (62-yard) catch on a crucial play where Bobby threw it deep, and Joey was able to beat his man,” Muller said. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for and we knew he was going to do all season, and he made it when it counted, so I’m really proud of that kid.
“As always, I’m proud of my offensive line for doing what they do week in and week out.”
Comprising the Rams’ offensive line were left tackle Stephen Reutlinger, left guard Jake Tarburton, center Eli Kantor, right guard Joey Rindone and right tackle Danny Fish.
Pennridge (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will host Souderton in the District One 6A title game next Friday. The game will pit Muller, a Souderton grad, against his former coach.
“(Ed) Gallgher and I have been talking about this all season,” Muller said. “We talked about it months ago that we would see each other in playoffs, and here we are.
“We believed in each other, we believed in our teams. Not a lot of people did. I love when people pick against us, our kids love it. They feed off it. We’re just excited.”
Coatesville 14-6-7-6 33
Pennridge 14-12-0-10 36
#3 SOUDERTON 27, #2 SPRING-FORD 24
(Stats courtesy of @RSenior31/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/football/2020/11/06/souderton-staves-off-spring-fords-furious-rally-in-district-1-6a-semifinal/)
The Indians were well on their way to picking up their first postseason win in 14 years, and a mercy rule seemed a whole lot more likely than the Rams getting back in it after a first half that saw Souderton open up a 20-0 lead and dominate play for the entire half.
By halftime, Brayden Porter – who had already reached the 100-yard milestone – had touchdown runs of 39 and 27 yards. Elijah Goods returned an interception for a touchdown as the Indians had two picks and a fumble recovery and had allowed the Rams just 25 yards of total offense in the half.
“It was an excellent first half,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “Mike Heath, our D coordinator did another great job putting together a scheme to stop their running game. I thought we did a great job all night.”
As it turned out, the game was far from over.
“It would have been nice to just cruise in the second half, but we chose to make it interesting and let me age a little further,” Gallagher said. “It kind of had that eerie feeling of the second quarter at Coatesville last year. We played really well in the first quarter, and then all of a sudden in the second quarter, everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. In the fourth quarter stretch, we kind of felt the same way, but we found a way to rebound and get it done.”
The downturn began with a blocked punt and a seemingly harmless field goal, but the Rams – who still trailed 20-3 heading into the final quarter – suddenly had a pulse and found themselves right back in it when they recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
After a Souderton three-and-out, the Rams capped a 61-yard drive with a 45-yard Ryan Freed touchdown pass, and suddenly it was a 20-17 game with 7:23 remaining. The Indians answered with a touchdown drive of their own that was capped when quarterback Evan Kutztler scored from three yards out to give Souderton a 27-17 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
A 90-yard touchdown run by Gage Swanger pulled the Rams within three with three minutes remaining. The Indians effectively ran out the clock to earn the historic win.
“That was crazy,” Gallagher said. “We didn’t stop playing – we just made some bad plays – the fumble return for a touchdown was compounded by the kickoff return for a touchdown. Then we get them stuck in a fourth down passing situation where we excelled all night long in getting stops, and they all of a sudden hit one up the seam for a touchdown. That was the first thing they did offensively all night.
“We shut them down. Our defense did a great job all night long, but unfortunately, we had to get that one last offensive drive just to survive.”
Almost lost in the shuffle were the outstanding punt returns of Shaun Purvey, two setting up the Porter TD runs.
“Shaun Purvey is an electric player,” Gallagher said. “We’ve been trying to get him more touches in as many ways as possible. He had a big interception for us tonight and the punt returns – he’s been doing that all year for us. I couldn’t be any happier.
“Both of our corners had interceptions tonight – Purvey and Elijah Goods. There’s a lot to be happy about. Those kids stepped up.”
Anchoring the Indians’ defense was Jacob Horton.
“He was just punishing people – he had a lot of big hits tonight,” Gallagher said. “He was very determined to win that game, and he really had a huge part in it. He also had a couple of carries and did some things offensively as well. He’s a good football player, and he had another really good game.”
Gallagher also credited the efforts of running backs Porter and Jalen White.
“They both definitely contributed to us grinding it out and winding the clock,” Gallagher said. “I’ve got to credit Evan Kutzler. He made a huge throw on third down to Sean McGoldrick that extended the drive where we went up 27-17. That was huge response after they scored to cut it to three. That was a big play.”
Souderton (6-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to archrival Pennridge for Friday’s District One 6A title game, Gallagher will be squaring off against his former player Cody Muller.
“This is awesome,” the Indians’ coach said. “We were going to play them one way or the other, and I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s play for a district championship.’
“We kind of joked about it a couple of weeks ago, but here we are. It’s exciting. I wish we didn’t have the restrictions because there would be 15,000 people there. We’re going to be an underdog – let’s go get it.”
Souderton 14-6-0-7 27
Spring-Ford 0-0-3-21 24
CLASS 5A
UPPER DUBLIN vs. KENNETT
(Upper Dublin won by forfeit due to a Kennett COVID-19 case)
WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 48, WISSAHICKON 13
In a District One 5A semifinal, the Trojans trailed by just one at the end of one quarter (14-13), but Rustin reeled off 20 unanswered points in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 34-13 lead. Rustin added two more scores in the second half to win going away.
A kickoff return by EJ Shreiner to the Rustin 33 set up the Trojans’ first touchdown – a three-yard run by Jeremiah Clark that made it a 7-6 game. Rustin went on top 14-6, but Anthony DeFeo found Schreiner for a 32-yard touchdown, pulling the Trojans to within one. That’s as close as they would get.
Wissahickon (3-3, 2-1 SOL) will host Springfield Township in a non-league game Friday. West Chester Rustin will travel to Upper Dublin for Friday’s District One 5A title game.
CLASS 4A
UPPER MORELAND 35, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 0
It was hardly your typical pre-state tournament game week for the Golden Bears, who were preparing to play Bonner-Prendergast – a 3-0 team from the PCL – but wound up facing a winless Archbishop Ryan squad due to a COVID-19 case at Bonner-Prendergast.
“It was definitely an interesting week, that’s for sure,” UM coach CJ Szydlik said. “We had a tough game against Quakertown last weekend. Obviously, Quakertown played really well and found some holes. We spent basically the week trying to fix ourselves and get ourselves in better positions.
“The whole thing changing worked in our favor to that point because we really didn’t have time to worry about game planning and everything else.”
The Golden Bears took a 37-6 beating at the hands of the Panthers last week.
“I think we learned from it,” Szydlik said. “It revealed a couple of warts that we had, and we were able to fix some of them.
“We moved some guys around. A couple of kids got a little banged up in the game, so other guys got to play today and played really well. We’ll get those guys back, so that helps us along the lines with depth. After it happened, I wasn’t too happy about it, but now that you look back on it, it was like, ‘You know what, it was probably for the best.’”
The Golden Bears did a whole lot of things right in Friday’s win, dominating play from start to finish. They limited Ryan to less than 150 yards of total offense while accumulating close to 500 yards of their own.
Szydlik was pleased with his team’s effort in Friday’s win.
“We talked a little bit about just being relentless and not giving up – if you need to get subbed out for a play, that’s what we’ll do,” Szydlik said. “We have enough guys just to continuously keep going and we did.
“That’s what led to the outcome – we just kept going and we kept our foot on the throttle.”
Cameryn Jackson punched it in from a yard out to put the Bears on the scoreboard. Jahaire Johnson’s 12-yard touchdown reception from Byron Hopkins put the Bears on top 14-0, and that lead grew to 21-0 after Hasson Johnson scored on a pick six.
Another Johnson TD reception from Hopkins – this one from 20 yards – sent the Golden Bears into halftime with a 28-0 lead.
“Jahaire Johnson had a good game with two huge catches, which obviously creates things for us,” Szydlik said. “He opens the field for everything else. Cam Jackson and Anthony Broderick ran the football really well.”
Jackson, who finished with 145 rushing yards, took it in from 61 yards out for the 35-0 final.
“Defensively, we played really well,” Szydlik said. “It’s probably our best game defensively – we were locked in, the kids focused on it.
“We got a kid back from an injury – Matt Tiernan. He’s a big (6-4) basketball player. He played defensive end for us, and he played really well.
“Nasir Thomas – who was an all-Suburban One kid last year – was out a couple of weeks with a bad ankle. He’s back and played really well. We’re getting healthy at the right time I guess.”
Hopkins threw for 78 yards and two TDs and also ran for 77 yards.
Upper Moreland (5-1, 4-0 SOL) is scheduled to play the winner of Saturday’s contest in Mansion Park, Altoona, pitting District 11 champion Oil City (8-0) against District 6 champion Juniata (5-1).
Archbishop Ryan 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 7-21-7-0 35
CLASS 3A
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 34, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 28
(Information courtesy of @LionsNHS)
New Hope-Solebury hung tough in Friday’s District One opener, scoring 14 fourth-quarter points to pull to within seven, but it wasn’t enough as the Patriots held on for the win in a game played at Cardinal O’Hara High School.
The Lions, who trailed 6-0 after one quarter, took their first and only lead after Phil Weinseimer scored on a six-yard touchdown run (7-6). Carroll answered with a touchdown to go into halftime with a 13-7 lead that grew to 20-7 early in the third quarter.
The Lions didn’t go down quietly. A Weinseimer to Ben Garritano touchdown pass made it a 20-14 game with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter. Carroll, however, returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to go on top 27-14.
Again, the Lions battled back and made it a 27-21 game with just under nine minutes remaining, thanks to a two-yard TD run by Joey Capriotti. Just over a minute later, the Patriots upped their advantage to 34-21 after a 61-yard touchdown completion. Weinseimer scored one-yard plunge to make it a six-point game with three minutes remaining. The Lions had one final possession on their own 12 but saw that drive end with an interception.
New Hope-Solebury (2-4, 1-3 SOL) will host Council Rock South in a non-league game on Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 0-7-7-14 28
Archbishop Carroll 6-7-14-7 34
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 31, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 24
Talk about ending the season on a high note. This was it.
The Bucks opened the season with four straight losses to a killer lineup that included SOL powers North Penn, Pennridge, Neshaminy and Abington. They closed the season by picking up back-to-back wins over sister schools Central Bucks East and Central Bucks South to win the Central Bucks Cup. It is the first time West has won the cup in back-to-back years.
“This means everything,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “People jokingly say – ‘You could lose every game in your season, but if you beat the both of the CB schools, it’s a success.’ We view that a little bit differently.
“People try to downplay the legitimacy that those games don’t mean more than the other games, and the fact of the matter is they do. I think not accepting that as reality is kind of foolish. Do we prepare any differently? No, in terms of a week-to-week basis, but the energy that is present in that game is just dramatically different than the other games on your schedule. Those two are just different.
“We’ve kept the cup two years in a row. I pointed out to the kids on Monday that CB West has never won the cup in back-to-back years, and I told them tonight, ‘You guys just made history.’”
Several performances stood out in the big win.
“There are two that really jumped off the charts offensively,” Rowan said. “Eli Boehm is a sophomore, and he’s been phenomenal all year, and he was phenomenal tonight. I don’t have the tally yet, but he probably rushed for 150-plus yards.
“The other guy was Dante Mancini who probably went for another 150, and he had maybe three touchdowns tonight. Both of them ran like men on a mission. They ran the ball extremely hard, they were carrying people. It was very impressive to watch them run and how physical they were. Both of them have carried the load for the entire year.”
The Bucks’ coach credited the strong play of his defensive line – anchored by Tyler Fasti, Imir Love, Devon Cimino and Jackson Spradlin – as a key in the win.
“CB South’s offense is so potent,” Rowan said. “When they can run the ball well and throw the ball well, you’re in trouble, and I thought our D-line did a decently good job of making them one-dimensional tonight. For the most part, we eliminated the run game out of their attack. It allowed us on the back end to play with a little more awareness of what was coming. I thought they did a really good job of stepping up.”
Sealing the game, according to the Bucks’ coach, was an interception by sophomore linebacker Jack Wierzbowski.
“He had gotten beat on a couple of plays toward the end of the first half, so I thought it was sweet irony that he came up with the pick at the end,” Rowan said. “It embodies and symbolizes the mindset of the team. It’s just a never-give-up and never-quit mindset.”
The game was a battle from the outset. The Bucks opened up a 9-0 lead only to watch the Titans go on top 14-9. The Bucks responded with a 10-0 run to go into halftime on top 24-14. They led by two touchdowns (31-17), but the Titans pulled to within one score and had possession only to see Wierzbowski bring an end to that threat with an interception.
“It was a fantastic game,” Rowan said. “We’re really young, and we opened up with a brutal four-game schedule. Kudos to our kids. They never quit, they never stopped practicing the way we expect them to practice and prepare, and it showed the past two weeks.”
Central Bucks West closed out its season with a 2-4 record (1-4). Central Bucks South (2-4, 2-3) will host Neshaminy in a non-league game Friday.
Central Bucks West 9-8-7-7 31
Central Bucks South 0-14-0-10 24
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 40, BENSALEM 18
Gabe Franczyk ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more in a glittering effort at quarterback for the Spartans, who led from wire to wire.
Franczyk opened the scoring with a five-yard TD pass to Will Conlin and followed that with a 14-yard touchdown run, spotting the Spartans a 13-0 lead after one quarter.
Josiah Leonard caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Berry to make it a 13-6 game, but back-to-back Franczyk touchdown runs of one and two yards sent the Spartans into halftime with a commanding 27-6 lead.
In the third quarter, Franczyk found Dylan McKenzie with a seven-yard touchdown pass to put the Spartans on top 34-6 before Barry hooked up with Leonard for the second time in the game – this time from 28 yards.
Nate Dennis scored on a four-yard touchdown run, and the Owls closed it out with Barry finding Ben Hall for a 22-yard TD reception.
Sophomore linebacker Ryan Marcino had one pass deflection as well as one interception.
The win was a team effort for the Spartans, who had their fourth successful on-sides kick this season.
Springfield Township (3-2, 1-2 SOL) will be traveling to Wissahickon for a non-league game Friday. Bensalem remained winless on the season (0-6, 0-5 SOL).
Bensalem 0-6-6-6 18
Springfield Twp 13-14-7-6 40
QUAKERTOWN 39, WILLIAM TENNENT 14
Micah Kunkle had a big game for the Panthers on both sides of the football. The senior middle linebacker, who also plays tight end, hauled in a long touchdown pass and also had a pick six.
“He had to have led the team in tackles as well – he had a heck of a game,” coach George Banas said.
Tyler Woodman returned Tennent’s first punt of the night for a touchdown to open the scoring.
“Tyler Woodman has been really good in all facets of the game, but he’s a return specialist – that’s his third return for a touchdown in two weeks,” Banas said.
Junior quarterback Will Steich effectively directed the offense on a night when things were not always going the visiting Panthers’ way.
“I thought Will Steich played a good game under center for us and really kept our heads on our shoulders,” Banas said. “We didn’t play a clean game by any means.
“He was able to keep that offense together, and we had a bunch of issues. We had injuries, we had penalties, we had guys not lining up correctly, guys dropping the ball, and he really kept his composure tonight.”
Quakertown had the better of play from the outset, opening up a 12-0 lead after one quarter and taking a 19-7 lead into halftime. The visiting Panthers outscored Tennent 20-7 in the second half, rolling to their fifth win in six games.
“If you would have told me that we were playing our sixth game of the season, I would have said, ‘I’ll take it in a heartbeat,’” Banas said. “There are so many games being cancelled right now. There must have been four or five cancelled today.”
Quakertown (5-1, 3-1 SOL) will host Perkiomen Valley in a non-league game Friday.
Quakertown 12-7-7-13 39
William Tennent 0-7-0-7 14
Thursday, Nov. 5
METHACTON 13, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
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