Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. CB West/Pennridge photos courtesy of Kim Supko Photography. Upper Dublin/Truman photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison Photography. Bensalem/CR North photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography and New Hope-Solebury/Upper Moreland courtesy of Karla Donohoe.
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/)
SOL National Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 28, PENNRIDGE 24
(Statistics courtesy of Andrew Robinson/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/2021/10/02/cb-wests-stand-the-difference-in-duel-with-pennridge/)
Defense has been the calling card for both CB West and Pennridge, but when the two teams did battle on Friday night, they combined to score 52 points. They spent the game exchanging best shots, and it took a late defensive stand on their own 10-yard line by the Bucks to eke out the win.
“It was two really resilient, competitive football teams that really just answered the bell,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “What I told our guys – it was a 12-round fight. We scored, and then they responded. We responded and then they responded.
“I’m just so proud of the resiliency these young men showed. Every time something negative happened, they just stepped up and answered the bell. Our staff is equally proud of them. They put so much effort and work in on a week-by-week basis. Our kids believe – they believe in themselves, they believe in our program and what we do. They never stop fighting. It’s such a tremendous quality to have.”
The tone for Friday’s game was set early. After the Bucks came up with a defensive stop at midfield, Eli Boehm – on the very next play – raced 50 yards for a touchdown and an early West advantage.
The Rams had an immediate answer as Nate Mossbrook took it 77 yards for a touchdown and a 7-7 tie. Sean Curry’s 28-yard field goal gave the Rams their first lead, but Donte Mancini’s one-yard touchdown put the Bucks on top 14-10, and it was still the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Brayden Landherr scored from two yards out to send the Rams into halftime with a 17-14 lead.
In the third quarter, the teams once again exchanged touchdowns. Mancini took it in from two yards for his second TD of the night only to watch Pennridge quarterback Xavier Dantzler find teammate Adam Mossbrook with a 15-yard touchdown pass. The Rams took a 24-21 lead into halftime, but the Bucks had one last answer – a long scoring drive that was capped by a two-yard TD run by Ganz Cooper with 6:09 remaining. The Bucks’ defense held, and the win – West’s fifth in a row since a season-opening loss to Coatesville – was in the books.
“Execution was critical,” Rowan said. “In the second half, we only had two drives. I would argue that both of them were in the seven- or eight-minute range.
“I thought our guys executed at a really high level, and our play calling – our OC Dave Sanderson just called a fantastic football game, and our guys executed the plays.”
The Bucks’ coach was reluctant to single out players, calling the win a “collective team effort.”
“I thought two guys that really stood out for us – they play both ways for us, and we don’t have many guys who do that, Jeremy Goldrick and Donte Mancini were just fantastic all game,” Rowan said. “They battled.
“J’s a linebacker/tight end that rarely comes off the field, and Donte’s a fullback/linebacker. Both guys were in on a ton of tackles, and Donte ran the ball extremely hard, and J is just a tremendous blocker, another guy that was just all over the football.”
Boehm’s 120 yards on 13 carries led the Bucks’ ground attack. Vinny Cherubini had nine carries for 84 yards, and Mancini had 14 for 60.
“Eli ran really hard,” Rowan said of Boehm. “On our first play of the game, he busted out for a (50-yard) touchdown. He ran the ball tremendously hard. I thought our halfbacks blocked really well and also ran the ball really hard.
“It was such a collective effort, and that’s what our identity is. We really try to play team football, we try to play at a physical level with tremendous execution. That’s what we preach and that’s what we try and do on Friday nights. I couldn’t be more proud of the young men we have. They’re just an unbelievable group of kids to coach, and I’m grateful for that.”
For the Rams, Mossbrook’s 103 yards on just four carries led the way, and Landherr had six carries for 74 yards.
Central Bucks West (5-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Pennridge (3-3, 2-2) will be on the road at Bensalem.
Central Bucks West 14-0-7-7 28
Pennridge 10-7-7-0 24
NORTH PENN 42, NESHAMINY 21
(Statistics courtesy of Mike Cabrey/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/2021/10/02/zeltt-throws-3-tds-passes-in-2nd-half-north-penn-pulls-away-from-neshaminy/)
Ryan Zeltt put up some dazzling numbers in Friday night’s conference win, completing 14-of-18 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Listening to NP coach Dick Beck tell it, that might not have been the most impressive part of the junior quarterback’s night.
“I thought that Ryan Zeltt did some really good things,” the Knights’ coach said. “When he was pressured, he did a really nice job. We were throwing a couple of bubble screens, and he threw really nice passes. He also did a great job with the clock at the end of the game, running it down so we snapped it with zero time on the clock. He managed the game pretty good too.”
The visiting Redskins hung tough early, breaking a scoreless tie early in the second quarter when – on third-and-10 – Nunzio Zydzik threw a pass on the run that was hauled in by Colin Schuckert-Tohm for a 30-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Neshaminy lead.
Four minutes later, Khalani Eaton took it in from 29 yards out to knot the score, and after the Knights recover a fumble near midfield on the ensuing kickoff, Zeltt connected with Levi Caroll for a long gain, and Eaton punched it in from five yards out to put the Knights on top 14-7. Zydzik’s second TD pass of the first half – this one to Dayvon Tinsley – knotted the score 14-14.
“They’re pretty tough,” Beck said. “The D-front is very athletic and really got off the ball well. We did not do a great job blocking them, and I think their quarterback is pretty gutsy.”
North Penn took a 21-14 lead into halftime after Zeltt scored on a 17-yard TD run in the final minute of the second quarter.
Luke Cody turned a Zeltt screen pass into 22-yard touchdown and a 28-14 lead, and it was 35-14 after Zeltt hooked up with Eaton on a 14-yard TD pass. Nick Buchys took a Zydzik pass 52 yards for a touchdown and the 42-21 final.
Eaton finished the night with 117 rushing yards, and Carroll had a huge night with seven receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown.
“Levi Carroll catching the ball was really big for us,” Beck said. “Luke Cody had a big touchdown pass on screen that was really nice, and Tyler Beam played pretty good at linebacker. I’d like to see us play better defense. We gave up three big plays that cost us touchdowns. Two of them were complete mental breakdowns. I think we have to be smarter than that.”
North Penn (6-0, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Friday, and Neshaminy (1-5, 0-4) will be on the road at Quakertown.
Neshaminy 0-14-7-0 21
North Penn 0-21-14-7 42
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 42, ABINGTON 14
(Check back for game information)
SOL Continental Conference
QUAKERTOWN 36, SOUDERTON 14
“28-23, 28-23, 28-23”
Those numbers might not sound like much of a rallying cry, but for the Panthers, they were a whole lot more than just numbers. They were a constant reminder of a game they couldn’t forget – they were the score of last year’s loss to Souderton in a game the Panthers led at halftime.
“Throughout the entire game and before we started, our moniker – 28-23,” said senior Lex Williams. “That was the final score last year. We were up at the half by a touchdown, and we weren’t going to let that happen again. We weren’t going to give it up.
“We had three games last year we were up, and I think that’s the difference between this team and that team. We were up against Perk Valley, Souderton and Pennridge.”
The Panthers lost all three, but they were not about to let it happen again, blowing open a close game with 22 fourth-quarter points to turn a dogfight into a no-doubt about it win in Friday night’s 309 Bowl game between the neighboring rivals.
“It’s amazing,” senior Zach Fondl said. “We haven’t gotten the trophy back in three years. It’s finally time to bring it home.
“Last year that was our worst loss of the year. It kind of ruined our playoff run and everything, so now we had to get them back, and we did.”
“We believed that was our district title last year that got snatched from us,” Williams said of the District 1 6A title the Indians went on to win.
Friday’s game was played in front of a packed house at Alumni Field, and they kept the place rocking.
“We’ve got the best atmosphere in Suburban One,” Fondl said.
“I’ve got to say we’re the best in the state,” Williams said. “Southeastern PA at least. It means something when the opposing team’s coach says he’d rather play at Quakertown than his home field.
“I’ve never seen a field like this. Quakertown is the closest football field (to the fans) I’ve ever seen, and it is electric. It’s insane.”
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in a first half that was a whole lot wilder than the 7-7 halftime score suggests. The Panthers benefitted from a short field when – after a bad snap on a Souderton punt attempt – they took over on the Indians’ 20. Tyler Woodman’s nine-yard touchdown run gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 8:17 remaining in the first quarter.
After a second Quakertown touchdown was waved off for a holding call, CJ Winters came up with an interception. The Indians marched all the way to the Panthers’ 10-yard but only to see their field goal attempt blocked.
Quakertown moved the ball to the Indians’ 19 when Winters snagged his second interception of the first half. The Indians cashed in this time, pulling a Philly Philly special out of their bag of tricks with Elijah Goods hooking up with Danny Dyches for the 21-yard touchdown and 7-7 tie. The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter deadlocked 14-14.
The Panthers got momentum they would never lose when – after scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a Will Steich quarterback keeper – John Eatherton ran the bobbled snap on the point-after attempt in for the successful two-point conversion and a 22-14 lead.
Lex Williams recovered a fumble on the Panthers’ ensuing kickoff, and Steich connected with Zach Fondl for a 60-yard TD and a 29-14 lead.
“For three quarters, we basically shot ourselves in the foot, laid an egg,” Quakertown coach George Banas said. “We just didn’t play well at all. For how great we played last week, we played the total opposite in the first three quarters, and then all of a sudden, it was like a light bulb went off.
“We had a couple of things bounce our way. That two-point play – that’s a huge point because then they have to go for two. Then we get the on-sides kick – it wasn’t an on-sides kick, it was just a squib. We end up getting it, and that’s a huge turnaround.”
The Panthers capped the quarter and game when Fondl – despite a defender draped over him – somehow caught a 32-yard pass from Steich for the 36-14 final.
Fondl pointed to the Panthers’ stamina as a key in their fourth quarter surge.
“They got tired and we didn’t,” he said. “That’s from all the hard work in the summer. We earned it, we deserved it.
“This is our biggest game of the year. To us, nothing is better than beating Souderton and getting the trophy back. Now we have to focus on Neshaminy.”
Steich connected on 11 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns with Fondl on the receiving end of eight for 182 yards and two TDs.
“He came back and made some great catches at the end because that was uncharacteristic of him in the first half – there were two that he probably should have had for touchdowns that he usually makes,” Banas said. “He redeemed himself, and that’s what we told each other at halftime.
“I didn’t go in there and rip them like I normally do. I just went in there and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to take a deep breath and so do you’ because I was out of sorts. I was letting myself get out of it, and then they see that, and they get a little frazzled. We just all took a deep breath at halftime and said, ‘Let’s all play for each other. Let’s play for the 57 guys in the room.’”
Woodman had another productive night running the football, finishing with 21 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown.
“It was such a team effort in that fourth quarter,” Banas said. “It seemed like everybody was making plays. Woodman was making plays, Eatherton, Steich, Fondl. The line did a really good job in the fourth quarter because early on (Steich) was under a lot of pressure, and late in the game we had a lot of time to throw the ball. Fondl makes two great catches for touchdowns. Eatherton the huge two-point conversion. He’s smart enough – it’s bobbled, everybody is standing here, ‘I’m going to pick it up and go in,’ and then Lex (Williams) making that huge recovery on the squib kick.
“Our defense – 14 points. One was a trick play that we just got hooked. We bit on it. Kudos to them, but to hold them to 14. It’s always a battle with them.”
The win was the sixth of the season without a loss for the Panthers, who have defeated the defending District One 5A champion (Upper Dublin) and the defending District One 6A champion (Souderton) in back-to-back weeks.
“In the beginning of the year, those were good teams (we beat), but they were not the caliber of Souderton, let’s be honest,” Williams said. “Returning district champ – they’re a very good team.”
“I think this game proved…,” Fondl said, but before he could complete his thought, his teammate did.
“We’re the real deal,” Williams said.
Quakertown (6-0, 4-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Friday, and Souderton (3-3, 3-1) will host Abington in a non-league contest.
Souderton 0-7-7-0 14
Quakertown 7-0-7-22 36
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 48, HATBORO-HORSHAM 13
The Golden Hawks had plenty of reasons to celebrate on Friday night. Not only did they notch their first win of the season in convincing fashion, the win also marked a historic milestone – coach Vince Bedesem’s 100th win.
“He spoke to the team afterward, and he had a lot of emotion in his voice,” Rock South assistant head coach Tony Checchia said. “He really remembered – for everybody – how much this game means.
“You see it from generation to generation. There are young guys that are playing on the team right now, there’s someone like me who played for Vinny 10 years ago, and now there’s guys on staff who just graduated from college that played for him about five years ago. It’s just a reminder of the amount of generational influence that a great football coach has on a program, a community.
“To get his 100th win tonight with the group of people that we did in terms of the players but also the way our coaching staff is made up and the number of former players that are now coaching with him and other coaches that played for his dad (Dick Bedesem) that have been coaching with us – it’s just a reminder of the legacy that Vinny has and the Bedesem family has, and it was a cool thing to see.”
Friday’s win came on the heels of five straight losses, but according to Checchia, the team continued to progress.
“Each week it’s been tough because the score lines haven’t always reflected it,” he said. “As a coach, each week you’re looking for growth, especially in a year like this for us. There’s a brand new offense, there’s a lot of new coaches on staff.
“We knew this was going to be about growth. Obviously, you want the wins to come along with that. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen these first five games. We also played some really good teams. Even in those games and hidden in those score lines, progress was being made. We were getting a little bit better, a little bit more consistent, starting to come together just a little bit more week to week.”
Checchia pointed to several players who were catalysts in the win.
“The number one guy is definitely Damon Culver,” the Rock South coach said. “Damon has been in and out of the lineup this year with some nagging injuries. He finally got the all clear.
“He had three touchdowns tonight, probably close to a hundred yards rushing. The number one thing was he brought a ton of energy. On the sideline, he’s hopping around, he’s getting people excited after each and every score, and that was something I think we really were missing. We just really didn’t have that emotional sparkplug guy. Damon kind of stood out from a stat standpoint but also his leadership and just his enthusiasm tonight.”
Culver’s three TDs all came in the first half. His two-yard run put the Hawks on the scoreboard, and after John Fortunato scored from three yards out, Culver had back-to-back touchdown runs – the first from 13 yards and the second a 25-yard run.
The outcome of this one was decided before halftime as the Golden Hawks opened up a 34-0 lead.
Also providing a spark was Jake Zarnowsky, who thrilled the Golden Hawks fans with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
“Over the last couple of weeks, Jake has developed into more of a focal point of our offense,” Checchia said. “He seems to be getting the ball at key moments, converting a big third down and that sort of thing. Whether it’s catching a pass out of the backfield or running the ball and even tonight he had a kick return touchdown. He’s been helping us in a lot of ways. He’s only a junior, so to see him come into his own as we hit the second half of the season would be a really cool thing.
Culver’s 114 rushing yards led the Golden Hawks. Daniel Erardi added a 13-yard touchdown run late in the game.
“I think this week was the culmination of a lot of that stuff,” Checchia said. “It’s really validating, especially for our kids because they have been putting in a lot of work. The thing is – everybody puts in a lot of work, so that doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to win games.
“It came to fruition tonight. We are hoping this is going to be a jumping off point for the rest of our season. We feel like we have four games ahead of us that we feel like are more favorable than some of the games we saw in the earlier part of our schedule.”
Markel Roberts-Jackson had a hand in both of the Hatters’ touchdowns. He connected with Chrishon Avery with a 21-yard pass, and he scored on a 13-yard TD run.
Council Rock South (1-5, 1-3 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-5, 0-4) will host Central Bucks West on Friday.
Council Rock South 14-20-7-7 48
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-6-7 13
BENSALEM 6, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
One week after putting 47 points on the board in a win over Harry S Truman, the Owls scored just six points. It turns out that was all they needed to eke out the win in Rock North’s homecoming game.
“You had to know that North was going to be fired up,” Bensalem coach Alex Houston said. “It was their homecoming. We’re not too far apart in the standings. They were at 2-3, we were at 3-2, so we knew we were going to get their best shot.
“Things happen in football games. It was a good game for us to be involved in. Last week we scored all those points, and the kids have got to realize you’re not going to put up 500 yards every week. It’s not going to be like that. We were in a tough fight, and – we want it, guys, so just keep playing. That’s what we were saying on our sideline – just keep playing.”
Neither team scored until Josiah Leonard’s 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Leonard’s 103 rushing yards led the Owls.
“The play that got us on the other side of the field was the pass to Ashton Barnes – that was probably a good 35-40-yard pass,” Houston said. “Our quarterback (Matthew Saunders) had a tough night, but it was like we talk about – ‘You just have to make the plays when they’re there to be made. Never mind what you missed the first three quarters.’
“We went into the fourth quarter 0-0, but we felt good. You just have to keep playing.”
The Indians – who did not have any passing yards – rushed for 138 yards.
“Our defense came up huge,” Houston said. “At one point in the game, they got a turnover on our 10, and we stopped them and then blocked the field goal.
“Terrel Roane, who plays defensive line for us, blocked both of their (field goal) kicks. They have a real good kicker, and he blocked both of their attempts. That’s the story of the game. It’s one of those things – everybody has to contribute from the top of the roster to the bottom of the roster. The coaches – we stay composed.”
The Owls were minus several starters.
“We were starting a true freshman at center,” Houston said. “Our center was injured last week and didn’t practice this week. We have a thing – if you don’t practice, you can’t play.
“We went out there with a sophomore left tackle, both of our tackles are sick, so we had new guys in the lineup. We had a new punter. Our punter, who has been crushing the ball, wasn’t here this week, so we knew we were going have some growing pains, but the guys just had to keep fighting.”
The Owls’ first-year coach credited the efforts of several players.
“Defensively, I thought Alex Rivera played a heck of a ballgame, and Scott Pearson – defensively, those guys were just everywhere,” Houston said. “Scott came up with a huge pass deflection on fourth-and-seven.
“Offensively, Josiah (Leonard) scores the touchdown that puts us ahead. Ashton Barnes had an amazing catch to put us in a position to score because we really couldn’t get things moving. I thought those guys played well.
“What I told them at the end of the game – three or four weeks ago, we don’t win that game because we didn’t know about ourselves. We didn’t know who we wanted to be. I’m just so proud of them. They kept fighting, and here we are sitting at 4-2 with a great Pennridge team coming in Friday night.”
Bensalem (5-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Pennridge on Friday, and Council Rock North (2-4, 1-3) will host Central Bucks East on Friday.
Bensalem 0-0-0-6 6
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
UPPER DUBLIN 38, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
Sparked by three touchdowns from Colin O’Sullivan and an inspired defensive effort, the Flying Cardinals were in complete command from start to finish. The decisive win came on the heels of a 31-0 loss at the hands of Quakertown a week earlier.
“It was a rough week for us,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “We haven’t been beaten up like that in a long, long time over here.
“The kids and staff – we all went back to basics, and we put our time in and we grinded this week, and the results showed on the scoreboard. That’s just got to be our mantra – we’ve got to keep doing it. One game at a time, and that’s how we’re going to approach it.”
O’Sullivan used his legs to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter, scoring a touchdown on a 10-yard run. Midway through the second quarter, the junior quarterback hooked up with Chris Kohlbrenner for a 49-yard touchdown strike, and with 19 seconds remaining in the first half, O’Sullivan capped an impressive half when he hit Griffin Pensabene with a seven-yard touchdown pass, sending the Cardinals into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
“He had a really good game,” Stover said of O’Sullivan. “What’s not going to show up in the stat box anywhere – he made some really, really nice checks. He put us in some really, really good plays. He took something where most quarterbacks would probably throw it anyway, and checked to something as simple as a run, and we got a 35-yard gain on it. Things like that are going to help us grow on the field because when he can put us in a better play – I love it.”
The UD coach liked the way his defense flew around the ball.
“I was very impressed with Quakertown and the way they flew to the ball,” Stover said. “I felt like I was watching one of our defenses from years past.
“Our kids kind of took that to heart. We said, ‘This is what we usually look like, but we don’t look like this right now.’ The kids made a conscious effort to fly to the ball, and as a result, we were able to pitch the shutout. They’re talented, they have some explosive players.”
In the third quarter, the Cardinals upped their lead to 28-0 when Nyfise McIntyre scored from two yards outs. McIntyre’s second touchdown run of the quarter – this one from 28 yards – gave the Cardinals their final margin of victory.
Stover lauded the efforts of several players in the win.
“Defensively, Riley Hackett played a really, really strong game for us at the defensive end spot,” Stover said. “Jacob Cornbluth at linebacker is coming along as a junior in only his third start for us, finding his way. I thought from the naked eye he had his best game at linebacker for us.
“Our secondary – Chris Kohlbrenner, Noah Lee, DJ Ceresier and Coleman Zamborsky – played really well because they throw it deep a lot, and we were able to match them back there. It’s going to be something we can definitely build on back there. We’re going to get a couple kids back next week. We were a little shorthanded tonight. With us, you’ve got to rob Peter to play Paul.”
Upper Dublin (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Friday, and Harry S Truman (2-4, 1-3) will host North Penn.
Upper Dublin 7-14-14-3 38
Harry S Truman 0-0-0-0 0
SOL American Conference
CHELTENHAM 36, WILLIAM TENNENT 24
(Additional stats will be added when they are received)
The host Panthers started slow but found their stride, celebrating homecoming with a win over Tennent. The visiting Panthers actually took an early 14-7 lead, but Cheltenham rallied to go on top 21-14 at the intermission and never looked back.
“They came out in an offense we’d never seen them run before,” Cheltenham coach Troy Gore said of Tennent. “It was an emotional night for our kids with it being homecoming, pep rally, and sometimes kids are over excited and don’t know how to savor the moment.”
Senior Kam Wyatt was a catalyst for the Panthers, finishing with a pair of touchdown receptions. He also returned a kickoff for a TD that was called back.
“The play of our senior captain Kam Wyatt picked us up,” Gore said. “For the second week in a row, he just took over the game. That’s what got our kids fired up and ready to play.
“He had a kickoff return that was called back, and when it got called back, the play was so huge it just woke us up. After that, it was all downhill from there.”
The Panthers opened up a 36-16 lead after TJ Taylor connected with Wyatt.
“Tennent’s played well, but our kids seem to make what should be a comfortable, smooth transition, and they make mountains out of ant hills,” Gore said. “These kids are still learning each other and still learning how to overcome adversity, even if it’s a positive adversity. We’ve been in pep rallies, homecoming all day, and the excitement building up to the game, I believe, was a little overwhelming.
“The perfect analogy is when your kids are at their second or third birthday, and everybody is screaming happy birthday, and they act like they’re mad but they’re not mad. I had a lot of that today. I had a lot of emotional moping for no apparent reason whatsoever. There was a lot of that going on, and that’s what really slowed us down a little bit.”
Quarterback TJ Taylor was also an offensive catalyst, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for one more.
Cheltenham (3-2, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday for a key conference showdown.
UPPER MORELAND 41, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 14
The Golden Bears were frustrated, angry – you name it – after watching a 21-0 lead slip away in a 32-21 loss to Cheltenham last week. It was a safe bet they’d be all business when Friday’s game at New Hope-Solebury rolled around, and they were, seizing control of the game early and never letting go.
“It started after Friday’s loss,” UM coach CJ Szydlik said. “We actually had a really good week. We had a couple of team meetings, and guys got underneath some stuff and that translated into today. I was pleased overall with everything. We did a really nice job.”
The Golden Bears welcomed wide receiver Stephen Broderick back in the lineup.
“We got a couple of kids back from injury,” Szydlik said. “Stevie Broderick played wide receiver for us and ran really well, caught some nice passes. The kid had a really nice game today.”
The UM coach tipped his hat to New Hope-Solebury.
“The New Hope kids played their hearts out,” Szydlik said. “We have a lot of guys, and they’re a little outmanned. You give them a lot of credit for gutting it out. It was probably a little tough for them with us coming off a loss. We were ready to go.”
Upper Moreland (5-1, 2-1 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and New Hope-Solebury (0-5, 0-3) will host Springfield Township.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 14, WISSAHICKON 6
In a game that featured a whole lot more defense than offense, the two teams headed into the third quarter with nothing but zeroes on the scoreboard.
“We knocked on the doorstep a couple times in the first half but couldn’t punch it in,” Springfield coach Chris Shelly said. “We were in the red zone two or three times.
“Our defense played outstanding. That Wissahickon team has some really good skill kids – their quarterback, their receivers, but we put together what we thought was a really good defensive game plan, and our kids executed, and we really held them in check.”
The Spartans finally got on the scoreboard at the 11:54 mark of the fourth quarter when Ben Cooney scored on a quarterback keeper. With less than 10 minutes to play, Wissahickon quarterback Aidan DeFeo found Braheem Thomas with a 41-yard touchdown pass, but the Spartans blocked the point after and still had a 7-6 lead.
“They have some really good kids, and they make plays,” Shelly said. “We could have been up by one or two scores, but we couldn’t punch it in. We missed a field goal.
“Finally, in the fourth, we get the score we need, and they strike. They got loose, but what really was neat to see for our kids – the star kids, the Cooneys and the Conlins, they were who they always are, but we have this kid Johnny Adams who we’ve been waiting for to step up his game, and he did. He blocked the extra point, he made some huge tackles, he had a big catch.”
Dylan McKenzie’s seven-yard touchdown run with 6:56 remaining gave the Spartans their final margin of victory.
“We felt like we were in control of the game, but then we weren’t – it was 7-6,” Shelly said. “That second score that we had put the nail in the coffin, so to speak, but we still had to run out the clock.”
All told, the Spartans had 289 yards of offense – 191 rushing and two touchdowns. Cooney completed 11 passes for 98 yards and also had 14 carries for 66 yards and a TD. Ryan Gibbons had 19 carries for 66 yards. McKenzie had 12 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown and also had six catches for 37 yards. Adams had a 50-yard reception.
“We ran it late really well with Cooney and Gibbons, but the other guys like Johnny Adams and Danny Matthews were fantastic,” Shelly said.
Adams and Matthews, both seniors, are defensive backs. Adams is also a wide receiver.
“Dylan McKenzie is our go-to guy that everyone is aware of, but we need these other guys to step up, and Johnny Adams did,” Shelly said. “He played like a college football player. We’ve been trying to get him to realize his potential, and I think he did (Friday) night.
“Danny Matthews was a star for us on defense. He was flying all over the place, he had a huge interception that he took back a long way,” Shelly said. “He’s one of those kids as a senior, and people don’t realize all the little things he does. It was nice to see.
“It was our homecoming, it was a tremendous crowd. It was closer than I wanted it to be, but it was exciting. You’ve got to give the Wissahickon kids credit. They were beating Upper Moreland, and they had a big win against New Hope, so we knew coming in these guys are not going to roll over. They fought us hard, credit to them.”
Springfield Township (4-1, 2-1 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Friday.
“This is a big one for us,” Shelly said. “We felt like we played with PW (a 35-14 loss), but we just made too many mistakes. They’re the gold standard – they’re in control of the whole race, but there are still games to be played.
“We just felt like we had to get back on track this week, so getting Wisshahickon and now we go to New Hope. We’re not going to take anybody lightly.”
Wissahickon (1-5, 1-2) will host Lower Moreland in a non-league game.
Wissahickon 0-0-0-6 6
Springfield Township 0-0-0-14 14
About the Author
