Check out the winners in SOL football action Friday. North Penn/Souderton photos provided courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. Pennridge/Downingtown East photo courtesy of Kim Supko Photography, CB West/Coatesville photos courtesy of Tracy Valko, Upper Moreland vs CR South courtesy of DAHC Images
Stats provided courtesy of Intelligencer/Courier. For additional football stats and coverage, visit the Intelligencer (https://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school) and Courier Times (https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/)
NORTH PENN 42, SOUDERTON 27
Khalani Eaton made sure the Knights’ season opener in their new and improved Crawford Stadium would be a memorable one, ignoring the oppressive heat to turn in what has become a routinely stellar performance. The senior running back – who surpassed 1,000 yards in the Knights’ abbreviated five-game season last year – was a workhorse, carrying the ball 27 times and accumulating 238 yards while scoring four touchdowns.
“Khalani had a big night, and what I like about Khalani’s big night is he seemed to get stronger as the game went on,” NP coach Dick Beck said. “It was just so hot. One of the most adverse with heat and humidity games I’ve ever been to. It was pretty tough, but he did not get tired, he didn’t cramp up, and I really liked that about his game.”
The visiting Indians had the early advantage. The defending District One 6A champions led 7-0 after one quarter, thanks to a 23-yard Nate Hageman to Shaun Purvy touchdown pass. A one-yard TD by Eaton early in the second quarter evened the score, but the Indians regained the lead when Ty Quintois connected on a 31-yard field goal. Purvy turned an interception into a touchdown, taking it 37 yards for a score that put the Indians on top 17-7 with 1:31 remaining in the opening half.
North Penn gained some serious momentum when – with no time remaining on the clock – Ryan Zeltt hooked up with Levi Carroll for a 35-yard touchdown, pulling the Knights to with 17-14 heading into halftime.
“We called a play, and I’m thinking to myself – wait a minute, and I said, ‘Levi, just run down the middle and see if that guy can cover you as you run by him,’ and he said, ‘Okay,’” Beck said. “I said (to Zeltt), ‘Just throw it to Levi.’ He dropped back, he had a little pressure, he stepped up in the pocket, and he threw. To his credit, he threw a great pass. It hit Levi, who ran right by his kid, right in the hands.”
Carroll turned the opening kickoff of the second half into an electrifying 97-yard touchdown return, and the Knights had their first lead, 21-17. The Indians responded with a touchdown of their own – this time using the Hageman connection with Nate passing to Caleb for a 44-yard score that put Souderton on top 24-21. Eaton’s second one-yard touchdown put the Knights on top 28-24 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, and the senior running back’s 40-yard TD run on fourth-and-short gave the Knights a 35-24 lead after three quarter.
Souderton made it a 35-27 game early in the fourth quarter after a 28-yard field goal, but Eaton’s third one-yard touchdown all but sealed the win.
“We have some injuries, and it’s the beginning of the year – we don’t even know who’s good on our team,” Beck said. “We’re still trying to figure out who plays what position.
“You have a couple of injuries and you’re dealing with the adversity of the heat and how tired people are. You have to feel it out. Within a couple of games, the kids will start getting their wind and start getting in shape, but there’s nothing like playing the game to get you in shape. You cannot simulate practice like a game and expect to get in shape.”
The Knights’ coach credited several players for their strong showings.
“Tyler Beam did a great job getting us together, getting us lined up on defense,” Beck said of his senior linebacker who was sidelined the entire season last year with an injury. “He played a lot of offense at tight end and did a really nice job blocking. He’s very versatile.
“Besides the interception return for a touchdown, I thought our quarterback (Zeltt) really threw the ball well.”
The game took its toll on the Indians, who suffered several injuries – the most notable to Shaun Purvy who was a difference maker on both sides of the ball, accounting for a receiving TD and scoring on a pick six.
“They had guys hurt, and by the end of the game, they were just worn out because they have so many guys going both ways,” Beck said. “You have to give Souderton credit. They really played hard.”
For a Knights’ squad that often found itself playing home games on the road due to field conditions, the new stadium is significant.
“It was so nice,” Beck said. “They did such a great job. It’s so first class. The kids absolutely love it. The speed of the game, not worrying if it’s going to rain, nothing. This stadium is one of the best stadiums in District One. I’m not saying it’s the best stadium, but I’ll take this stadium over any stadium. It will be nice to really battle now and get a home field advantage because you have a stadium like this.”
North Penn (1-0) will host Abington in Friday’s conference opener, and Souderton (0-1) will travel to Harry S Truman for its SOL opener.
Souderton 7-10-7-3 27
North Penn 0-14-21-7 42
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 35, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 27
(Statistics courtesy of Andrew Robinson/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/football/2021/08/28/maholtz-cb-south-respond-to-plymouth-whitemarshs-challenge-in-season-opener/)
The Titans took a seemingly comfortable 21-6 lead into halftime only to watch the Colonials rally to knot the score. South, however, was able to close it out and escape with a win in a wild season opener.
“It was a crazy high school football game,” South coach Tom Hetrick said. “It was not pretty, but I think the one thing I take away from it is the fact that our kids never doubted they were going to win the game.
“We stood in our own way on offense multiple times. The ball was on the ground way too many times. I guess I’ll tell myself it was because there was a coat of sweat on the football and it was slippery, but we just put the ball on the ground way too many times. That being said, our defense bailed us out a couple of times, and we were able to score when we needed to score, but it was a crazy game.”
The two teams exchanged scores in the opening quarter with Cole Maholtz scoring from two yards out to give the Titans an early lead. Chris McLaughlin answered with a TD for the Colonials but the missed extra point allowed South – which had three first-quarter turnovers – to take a 7-6 lead into the second quarter.
A bad snap on a Titan punt attempt set up a five-yard touchdown run by Matt Boyce, but the Titans regrouped and led 21-6 after a one-yard plunge by Maholtz, a score that was set up by a 46-yard Patrick Maerz to Tyler Robinson pass completion.
Greg Feinberg’s 64-yard touchdown run and PW’s successful two-point conversion pulled the Colonials within a touchdown at 21-14, and another Feinberg TD run – this one from 15 yards out after a Chris McLaughlin interception – knotted the score 21-21 early in the third quarter. South answered with Maholtz’s third score of the night, this one from six yards out.
“I was really proud of Cole Maholtz,” Hetrick said. “We were able to somewhat effectively run the ball at times, other times no. He got a fire lit under him as we worked our way into the second half and started running the ball very, very hard. Cole had an outstanding game for us.”
The Titans led 35-21 after Maerz – who completed 9-of-16 passes for 197 yards – found Tommy Donnelly with a four-yard TD strike. The Colonials made it a one-score game in the opening minute of the fourth quarter after Aiden O’Brien took it 41 yards to the house, but they would get no closer.
“To PW’s credit, we were up 14, and they came out of the half and got two pretty quick scores,” Hetrick said. “In the first games, you preach to them, ‘Some bad things are going to happen.’ It’s a matter of how you handle the adversity, and I think our kids certainly handled it pretty well, and they made plays when they needed to make plays.”
Hetrick handed out praise to several players whose names don’t show up in the box score.
“Zak Fischer is a two-way guy – he’s a receiver, and he’s a corner,” Hetrick said. “He’s a very good defensive football player because he’s so technically sound, and obviously, they run the option. The times they got the ball out to the pitch man – he was sitting there and just playing it with such discipline and aggression. Zak Fischer on both sides of the ball but especially defense – I thought he had a great game.
“Devlin Carey, one of our inside linebackers, made a lot of plays because they started to have some success at the beginning of the second half just giving it to their fullback on just straight drives, and he started to figure out the pace of the game, started to play downhill and made a lot of plays.”
Maholtz led the Titans ground game with 21 carries for 68 yards and three touchdowns. Maerz was 10-for-17 for 176 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Robinson (85 yards) and Donnelly (53 yards) each had three receptions. For the Colonials, Feinberg had five carries for 94 yards and two TDs. O’Brien added 63 yards and one TD while Nate Kern had 55 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Matt Krysko led the Titans with nine tackles while Ryan Smith had seven.
Central Bucks South (1-0) will travel to Central Bucks West for Friday’s conference opener, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-1) will be on the road at Methacton for a non-league game.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6-0-15-6 27
Central Bucks South 7-14-14-0 35
UPPER MORELAND 21, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 7
Byron Hopkins connected with seven different players, completing 11-of-17 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Golden Bears to the non-league win. Cam Jackson kept the Golden Hawks defense honest, rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown in a standout effort of his own.
For the defending SOL American Conference champions, it was an important win.
“For us this puts us right in the driver’s seat from the beginning,” UM coach CJ Szydlik said. “When you’re a (Class) 4A school, all you’re doing is fighting for points all the time. You go and beat a 6A school and it puts you out in front of everybody. We just have to lick our wounds and come back and get ourselves going again.”
The Golden Bears got on the scoreboard late in the opening quarter when Hopkins found Ryan Olexa with a 14-yard TD completion. The Golden Hawks evened the score with 9:54 remaining in the half on a two-yard run by Tom Woloshyn.
With just 7.4 seconds remaining in the half, Hopkins connected on a 12-yard TD to Stephen Broderick. The successful two-point conversion sent the Bears into halftime with a 15-7 lead. A five-yard touchdown run by Jackson late in the third quarter gave the Golden Bears a 21-7 lead that held until the final whistle.
“For us obviously it was Byron (Hopkins), Cam Jackson, and Ryan Olexa also played really well,” Szydlik said. “Like everybody today, we were dropping like flies with cramps and everything else. It was definitely survival of the fittest.
“At one point, we were down three long snappers, so we couldn’t kick field goals or punt the football. We were trying to teach our back-up quarterback how to snap on the side. It was rough, that’s for sure. At some points, we were down to our eighth lineman, and kids were in there still knowing what they were doing, and that’s why we won the football game. It was definitely our depth, that’s for sure.”
UM’s defense limited the Golden Hawks to just 136 yards of total offense.
“Defensively, Owen Dunleavy probably had anywhere between 12-15 tackles at middle linebacker – he’s obviously an All-Suburban One kid for a reason,” Szydlik said. “Matt Tiernan, who played defensive end and tight end for us, is a really good basketball player who’s definitely coming into his own football-wise. He’s 6-5, 215 pounds. He played really, really well.”
Upper Moreland (1-0) will host Archbishop Ryan in a non-league game Friday, and Council Rock South will be on the road at Upper Dublin for Friday’s conference opener.
Upper Moreland 7-8-6-0 21
Council Rock South 0-7-0-0 7
ABINGTON 19, CHELTENHAM 7
They won’t be accused of stealing the headlines, and their names might not show up in a print all that often, but ask coach Kevin Conlin the key to his team’s season-opening win over its neighboring rival, and he had an immediate answer.
“Our offensive and defensive lines played their hearts out,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We knew that the game was going to be won on the offensive and defensive lines. Cheltenham has unbelievable athletes. They have some great players over there, but we knew up front we would be able to do a couple of different things, so that was the key to the game in my opinion.”
Comprising the Ghosts offensive line were Colin Ward (center), Lucius Crump (guard) Jonah Dalton (guard), Luke Myslinski (tackle) and Pat Fischer (tackle).
“Pat Fischer and (tight end) Danny Moynihan were the only two starters coming back other than our quarterback (John Dzielawa) this year, so there were a lot of question marks,” Conlin said. “They just played so tough, and that’s all we asked them to do, and they really did. They played their hearts out.
“Cheltenham is a really good team, and this is a really exciting win for our program.”
Conlin also had high praise for the play of his defense. Ward played on the defensive line that included tackles Darian Johnson and Johnny Coonahan.
“Our two defensive ends – Kyle Hughes and Danny Moynihan – really did a lot,” Conlin said. “They’re both two-way players. Danny is our tight end and Kyle’s our fullback. It’s not an easy game when it’s 95 degrees out. It was tough, but those kids were playing right through it. We work them in April, May, June and July, and we’re tough on them. The biggest thing was our trainer has been harping on these kids about staying hydrated. Their kids were hurting, but our kids were pushing through. They did a great job.”
Zahmir Lee’s 67-yard touchdown run with 8:39 remaining in the first quarter spotted the Ghosts an early lead.
“Zhamir was a kid that with the COVID situation didn’t play last year, but he came out this year, and we’re really excited to get him back,” Conlin said. “He really hit the hole hard and took off. It was very exciting.”
The visiting Panthers evened the score when quarterback TJ Taylor connected with Jamal Banks on a 41-yard screen pass. A 30-yard field goal by Pat Capone sent the Ghosts into halftime with a 10-7 advantage. A botched snap out of the end zone gave the Ghosts a safety and a 12-7 lead after three quarters.
Early in the fourth quarter, Dzielawa found Moynihan with a 21-yard touchdown pass that gave the Ghosts their final margin of victory.
Dzielawa threw for 51 yards and ran for 108 more.
“John Dzielawa was just a first down machine tonight,” Conlin said. “He really did a great job. He hit a great pass to Danny Moynihan to finish out the scoring, and he really played within himself – he knows what he’s good at. He’s a super tough kid, he runs the ball well, and he hits play actions really well. I couldn’t say enough about him.”
Lee’s 133 rushing yards led the Ghosts.
For the Panthers, Taylor threw for 147 yards, but they managed just eight net rushing yards.
“Tommy Brett, a free safety, played his guts out – he was awesome,” Conlin said. “Jaime Rivera is another player on defense. Cheltenham is so good. Number five (Jamal Banks) is an excellent player. Tonight was a great night for the Ghosts.”
Abington (1-0) will be on the road at North Penn for Friday’s SOL opener, and Cheltenham (0-1) will face Frankford at Northeast High School in a non-league game on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Cheltenhem 0-7-0-0 7
Abington 7-0-4-7 19
BENSALEM 28, NORRISTOWN 20 (OT)
Statistics courtesy of Ed Morlock/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/football/2021/08/28/norristowns-kaden-cruz-runs-for-289-yards-in-ot-loss-against-bensalem/)
The Owls – whose last win was the final game of the 2019 season – had every reason to lose. After all, they’d taken a late lead on a pick six by Zach Roberts but then watched the Eagles – thanks to a successfully executed flea flicker – knot the score with 49 seconds remaining in regulation. The Eagles, it seemed, had all the momentum, but first-year coach Alex Houston insists his confidence never wavered.
“Ever since we got here, we’ve been talking about having the heart of a champion,” said Houston, himself a Bensalem grad. “Part of that is you have to prepare, so all during camp we’ve been running and really trying to focus on our conditioning. I tell the guys, ‘You never want to lose a game because you’re tired, and that comes with a cost, that comes with a price.’
“We told them coming into tonight it wasn’t going to be easy because we haven’t won in a while, and a lot of that is learning how to win. I really wanted to give them some confidence, and that’s why we punted the ball late in the fourth because I was okay going to overtime. We had a minute to go, and we could have gone for a Hail Mary, but I didn’t want them to lose on a fluke. I also wanted them to really challenge themselves. Winning ain’t easy, and the guys had to realize that. We were excited to go to overtime because we knew we conditioned and we prepared. You’ve got to be able to stand at the hard moments. I wanted my guys ready.”
And ready they were.
The Owls had possession first, and Matthew Saunders gave the Owls the lead when he scored on a quarterback sneak from the one. Houston opted to go for two, and Josiah Leonard took it in to give Bensalem the 28-20 lead.
“I wanted to put the pressure on them,” Houston said of his decision to go for two. “Also, everything I do I want to reinforce to our guys that we believe. Plus, we missed the two kicks before that. If we hadn’t missed our kicks, we would have won in regulation. We have a freshman kicker – he’s a great kid, a great talent, and I think he’s going to be really good, but I wanted us to put the heat on. I wanted them to think about it.
“If we were going to win, we had to get a stop. It’s as simple as that. We want to play really good defense. We forced four turnovers tonight. We really emphasized that to our guys – you have to turn the ball over if you want to win. Everything we did going into the overtime was to instill in our guys that we as a coaching staff believe they can do this. They just rose to the occasion, and I’m so proud of them.”
The Owls’ defense kept the Eagles out of the end zone, and the dramatic win was in the books.
Leonard finished the night with just nine carries but ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s a special player, and the crazy thing about that – he started cramping right around halftime,” Houston said. “Then we had the 30-minute delay for lightening. Josiah didn’t even play in the third quarter because he was cramping so much. I told our trainer and I told Josiah – ‘Listen, I’m not worried about the third quarter. If you can’t play the third quarter, that’s fine,’ but what I did know – we needed a closer. You’ve got to be strong come the fourth quarter, and I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to win.”
Earlier, Leonard scored on a 43-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 7-7. The Eagles went on top 13-7 early in the third and took that lead into the fourth quarter, but the Owls went on top 14-13 on another long Leonard TD – this one from 53 yards out. Their lead grew to 20-13 late in the fourth, thanks to Roberts’ second interception of the game, a pick six he returned 70 yards.
“Zach Roberts is a junior – he battled some injuries over the last couple of weeks, and he missed out on our scrimmage,” Houston said. “We’re really excited about Zach. He’s our punter – he punted the heck out of the ball tonight. Zach’s a great player, and we’re looking for him to get nothing but better.”
Houston explained the philosophy he is trying to instill in his players.
“We tell our guys – ‘Don’t tell me about it, prove it,’” the Owls’ coach said. “If you think you’re good, if you think you’re going to be a great player, then prove it, and you have to prove it every day. We’re really trying to improve the competition quotient. Our guys have got to learn to what it is to compete at everything.
“This started back in the offseason. Our offseason training – we were running on the track, we were in the weight room, we’re doing dynamic stretching. I told the guys every day – ‘I want you to compete at everything, I want you to get in the habit of competing and trying to win, and even if you don’t win, at least you’re trying.’
“That’s the biggest thing I realized coming back to Bensalem is that our guys really had to be built up from the inside, but not just built up – they had to be challenged. There were too many excuses. Too many would have, could have, should haves. At some point, you have to decide who you’re going to be, and that’s what we’re telling our guys. It’s a lot easier to preach that message after a win than it is otherwise.”
The heat took its toll on the Owls.
“We lost a ton of guys,” Houston said. “Our nose tackle went down, our starting receiver and cornerback went out with a possible injury, so we were losing guys left and right. This is something we talk about – ‘What do you do when things don’t go well?’ It’s not just football games, it’s life. We’re trying to really harden our guys mentally. We talk about being mentally strong, we talk about being emotionally stable, and we talk about being physically dominant, and that’s what we’re striving for at Bensalem.”
Bensalem (1-0) will host Hatboro-Horsham in Friday’s SOL opener.
Bensalem 7-0-0-13-8 28
Norristown 7-0-6-7-0 20
UPPER DUBLIN 43, WISSAHICKON 0
Colin O’Sullivan threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes, propelling the Flying Cardinals to a commanding 22-0 halftime lead on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win in Friday’s rivalry game. O’Sullivan finished with three TD passes in a contest the Flying Cardinals controlled on both sides of the football.
“I was really impressed with my guys up front offensively and defensively,” UD coach Bret Stover said.
Tom Smid, Riley Hackett, Kyree Butler, Billy Duffy, Connor Devitt and tight end Dan Nardo comprised the impressive offensive line. Smid, Butler and Hackett also anchored the defensive line.
“But the others rotate through,” Stover said. “I get a little bit of depth there because I have about six or seven that I play and interchange them and give one a rest on each series.”
Posting a shutout in football is no small feat, and UD’s line had plenty of help.
“Nick Rodriguez and Tawfiq Bartlett – our two inside linebackers – probably had three or four sacks between them, and they played the run well,” Stover said. “(Kyle) Lehman is a very good running back for Wiss, and we held him in check. (Aiden) DeFeo can throw the ball if you give him time. We saw him last week against Hatboro have time and pick them apart. We knew we had to get to him. We’re not a big stunting team, but we knew if we left him sit back there and get comfortable that he could have a big night, and we just never let him get going.
“We had a fumble recovery, we had an interception. My kicker (Owen Carl) was kicking the ball in the end zone, so they were starting at the 20, we got them at the 10. We won the field position battle because of our kicker.”
The Flying Cardinals led 2-0 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a safety with 3:43 remaining. Early in the second quarter, O’Sullivan found Noah Lee with a 41-yard TD completion and with 1:55 remaining in the frame connected with Griffin Pensebene from 29 yards out to send the Cardinals into halftime with a 22-0 lead. In between those TD passes, the Cardinals also scored on a 16-yard run.
Not a whole lot changed in the second half. O’Sullivan hit Chris Kohlbrenner with a 38-yard touchdown strike in the opening minutes of the third quarter, and then it was Alex Rossman scoring on a five-yard run to give the Cardinals a 36-0 lead after three and a running clock.
“We by no means played a perfect game, but you don’t want to peak tonight,” Stover said.
Upper Dublin (1-0) will host Council Rock South in Friday’s SOL opener, and Wissahickon (0-1) will travel to Owen J Roberts for a non-league game Friday.
Wissahickon 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Dublin 2-20-14-7 43
QUAKERTOWN 42, SOUTHERN LEHIGH 7
Tyler Woodman had himself a night.
The Quakertown senior set the tone for the big win with a 99-yard return on the game’s opening kickoff, and he was just getting started. He also ran for a pair of scores.
“He’s a special kid,” coach George Banas said. “We caught a glimpse of that last year already. He reminds you of a Robbie Burns that we had back in 2014 and 15 with the way he runs the ball.
“Opening up the game with that type of play. It’s almost like a double-edged sword – you’re like ‘that’s phenomenal,’ but sometimes you’ll let your guard down a little bit. You’ll obviously take it, but you relax a little bit sometimes.”
The Panthers’ coach needn’t have worried.
A three-yard touchdown run by Woodman gave the Panthers a 14-0 lead after one quarter, and after the Spartans cut that lead in half with a touchdown, the Panthers answered when Will Steich found Zach Fondl with a seven-yard TD strike. The Panthers were successful on the two-point conversion and took a 22-7 lead into halftime.
Woodman collected his third touchdown of the night on a 28-yard scamper to put the visitors on top 29-7, and then it was Steich punching it in from a yard out to stretch the lead to 36-7. Jon Etherton’s 22-yard TD run gave the Panthers their final margin of victory.
Not to be overlooked in the lopsided win was the performance of the Panthers’ defense.
“Freddie Retter just had a great, great night at D-end and played some D-tackle,” Banas said. “I think the whole second half they ran away from him because he was that dominant. He just really played well, and he’s playing offensive tackle, defensive end, defensive tackle, he snaps on extra points. He’s doing a lot for us, and it was hot out.
“I thought Will (Steich) had a good game under center. Lex Williams really had a good game for us at inside backer, and he did a good job at running back, blocking. He had a couple of runs late. He had a good night too, especially on special teams. He made a couple of huge hits on kickoffs. The kids played really well – you’ve got to be happy with the win.”
On the sweltering night, Southern Lehigh wasn’t the Panthers only opponent.
“I can’t remember as hot of a week leading up to tonight’s game as well,” Banas said. “We’ve played on some hot nights, and we’ve played on some really hot days down at (Central Bucks) East when they didn’t have lights, this week when you looked at Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday – it was blazing hot out there, and it didn’t cool down tonight at all.
“You’re trying to keep your kids hydrated. The booster club got them ice pops that had electrolytes in them. We had ice bags on their necks at halftime. We had some kids taking their shoulder pads off because they were overheating so bad. We conditioned the living daylights out of them, but tonight was rough even though we’re pretty conditioned.”
Quakertown (1-0) will host Council Rock North on in Friday’s SOL opener.
Quakertown 14-8-7-13 42
Southern Lehigh 0-7-0-0 7
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 35, SCHUYLKILL VALLEY 7
Chris Shelly wasn’t sure what to expect when Schuylkill Valley was a late addition to the Spartans’ schedule.
“We picked up the game the day after we found out Kensington couldn’t play us,” the Spartans’ coach said. “I know upstate is a different brand of football sometimes, so we were a little bit concerned – how big are they going to be? Can we run the ball? We felt really good running the ball last night. We felt like we could run on them all night, but we mixed it up with a little pass and run.”
Making an impressive debut in the backfield was sophomore Ryan Gibbons, who had 19 carries for 103 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 5.4 yards a carry.
“Gibbons is a little big man, but he’s a player,” Shelly said. “Pound for pound, he’s tough as nails, and we knew coming in that we’d rotate our b-back – we only have a one-back set, but he ran really hard, really tough, downhill. It was a phenomenal performance by that kid who’s only a sophomore.”
Senior Ben Cooney had a successful debut under center, completing 7-of-17 pass attempts for 153 yards and a touchdown for an average of 21.8 per completion. He also had nine carries for 56 yards and a TD.
“Ben Cooney is one of our captains,” Shelly said. “He didn’t put up the greatest numbers, but some of it was bad route running and things like that. I thought he really managed the offense well. He’s a kid we knew we had in our pocket last year because we had a two-year starter in Gabe Franczyk. That kid was really, really good, but we knew we had a good kid behind him in Cooney. It was a really impressive performance by him even though his numbers don’t show that.”
It was Cooney spotting the Spartans a 7-0 lead after one quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run. The Spartans added a pair of TDs in the second quarter. First it was Gibbons scoring on a three-yard run, and then Cooney found Dylan McKenzie with a 45-yard touchdown reception to send the Spartans into halftime with a 21-0 lead. McKenzie finished the game with four receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.
“Dylan McKenzie was an all-league second team kid last year at receiver,” Shelly said. “He had a really phenomenal game too on the offensive side.”
A one-yard TD run by Gibbons gave the Spartans a 28-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter, and the sophomore back’s third touchdown of the night – a six-yard run – closed out the scoring.
The Spartans came oh so close to posting a shutout, but Schuylkill Valley scored a late TD when both teams had gone deep on their benches.
Shelly lauded the play of several defenders.
“Danny Matthews was phenomenal for us,” Shelly said. “He’s like an outside linebacker, kind of a rover. He had a lot of tackles for losses They really couldn’t run the ball on us. That was their MO coming in – to run the ball off tackle, and we shut it down and forced them to throw.
“Owen Hussie on our D-line – he was phenomenal on the front. Ryan Marcino had a ton of tackles at linebacker. Tim Saiber, our free safety, came downhill and made a lot of tackles. Defensively, we absolutely shut them down.”
Willum Conlin had a pair of receptions for 39 yards, and Ryan Marino had three for 26 yards. Also contributing were John Adams with a 15-yard reception, Richie Jones with three catches for 10 yards, and Jonah Wells with one reception for 10 yards.
Springfield Township (1-0) will host Academy of the New Church in a non-league game Friday.
Schuylkill Valley 0-0-0-7 7
Springfield Twp 7-14-7-7 35
RIDLEY 34, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 29
The Patriots didn’t win their season opener, but they certainly gave Ridley all it could handle. Twice the Patriots scored from deficits – knotting the score in the first half and taking their only lead of the game in the second half only to see their hosts score a late touchdown to win Friday’s non-league opener.
The Patriots found themselves staring at a 14-0 deficit after one quarter but rallied to knot the score late in the second quarter. Ethan Shine’s seven-yard touchdown run put the Patriots on the board early in the frame, and the two teams were deadlocked with 3:25 remaining in the half when quarterback Patrick Keller connected with Quinn Moody for a 54-yard touchdown pass.
The tie was short-lived as 23 seconds later Mills raced 92 yards for a touchdown to send the Raiders into halftime with a 21-14 lead. Another long TD run by Mills – this one for 81 yards put the Green Raiders on top 28-14, but the Patriots didn’t go down quietly, roaring back to take the lead. It was a 28-21 game after Keller found Matt LaBouliere with a 34-yard TD pass. Less than a minute later, Shine’s second touchdown of the game – this one from six yards out – and the successful two-point conversion from Keller to Luke Quillen put the Patriots on top 29-28 with seven minutes remaining. The Green Raiders, however, had an answer, scoring with 3:18 remaining in regulation, and the Patriots fell just short.
Central Bucks East (0-1) will travel to Neshaminy for Friday’s SOL opener.
Central Bucks East 0-14-0-15 29
Ridley 14-7-0-13 34
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 14, PENNRIDGE 7
Adam Mossbrook took the opening kickoff and raced 91 yards for a touchdown that ignited the home crowd. It turned out to be the Rams’ last hurrah as the visiting Cougars kept them off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
The Rams managed less than a hundred yards of total offense against a stingy East defense.
Pennridge (0-1) will host Pennsbury in Friday’s conference opener.
Downingtown East 6-8-0-0 14
Pennridge 7-0-0-0 7
COATESVILLE 35, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 14
The visiting Red Raiders raced out of the gate to a 28-0 lead and took a 35-0 lead into the fourth quarter when the Bucks scored a pair of late touchdowns.
Donte Mancini’s two-yard touchdown run put the Bucks on the scoreboard, and later in the final frame, Sean Blue punched it in from a yard out.
Mancini finished the night with eight carries for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Central Bucks West (0-1) will host Central Bucks South next Friday when SOL action begins.
Coatesville 14-14-7-0 35
Central Bucks West 0-0-0-14 14
GREAT VALLEY 29, WILLIAM TENNENT 7
The visiting Panthers took a 7-6 lead with 4:16 remaining in the opening half after a 12-yard run by Brendan Stier. The Patriots answered with a score and took 14-7 lead into halftime. They scored 15 unanswered points in the second half.
William Tennent (0-1) will host Academy Park in a non-league game Friday.
William Tennent 0-7-0-0 7
Great Valley 6-8-10-5 29
ACADEMY PARK 42, PENNSBURY 0
Not a whole lot went the visiting Falcons way in Friday’s opener. Early on, they had some success running the football, but the Knights led 6-0 after one quarter. Three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter sent Academy Park into halftime with a 27-0 lead. Eric Willis ignited the Knights, hauling in five passes for 136 yards which included a 68-yard TD reception.
Things didn’t improve in the second half as the Knights scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns for a 42-0 lead which held until the final horn.
Pennsbury (0-1) will travel to Pennridge for Friday’s non-league opener.
Pennsbury 0-0-0-0 0
Academy Park 6-21-15-0 42
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 37, NESHAMINY 0
The Vikings proved to be every bit as good as advertised when they travelled to Heartbreak Ridge, opening up a 16-0 lead after one quarter and stretching that to 23-0 by halftime. The Redskins never got untracked against a Viking squad that is a perennial district and state power.
Neshaminy (0-1) will host Central Bucks East in its SOL opener on Friday.
Archbishop Wood 16-7-14-0 37
Neshaminy 0-0-0-0 0
CHICHESTER 15, HARRY S TRUMAN 9
BELMONT CHARTER 26, LOWER MORELAND 12
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