CB West & CR South were winners in Friday’s quarterfinal round of the District 1 6A Tournament. CR South/NP photos courtesy of Dave Oakill & Brad Jenkins. Check back for galleries of both games. CB West/CB East photos courtesy of Liam Perlmutter.
District 1 6A quarterfinals
#2 Central Bucks West 44, #10 Central Bucks East 21
Micah Cole – at 6-6, 385 pounds – is an imposing figure on a Central Bucks West offensive line that once again spent the night creating holes for the team’s stable of running backs. Talk to the senior standout about the line’s dominance, and he has a ready explanation for their success.
“I love blocking for these guys,” Cole said. “They’re really my brothers. Tonight we had a new quarterback, Ethan (Stoneback), and I had the utmost confidence in him.
“Even though he wasn’t our starter (all season), I literally had no doubt that we were going to win this game and that he was going to succeed. Just the fact that we’re all a family makes it really easy to block for them.”
The Bucks’ offensive line – comprised of Cole, Chase Gannon, Orin Sheaffer, Carter Lindenmuth and Ely McGuire, along with tight ends Liam Laphen and Reed Storck – might not find its way into the headlines, but according to West coach Rob Rowan, it is “the heartbeat of our team.”
“When you’re playing in late November, it should be the heartbeat of your team,” the Bucks’ coach said. “Just incredibly proud of those guys. They work so hard.
“Shoutout to our two O-line coaches – Bruce Quedenfeld and Dave Armstrong. Those guys do a phenomenal job working with those guys day in and day out, and it shows. Last week, we rushed for close to 560 yards and this week was probably another 300.”
Leading the Bucks’ ground game was the trio of Nick Miletto, Louie Cipollo and Braylen Cope.
“It’s amazing,” said Cipollo, whose three touchdowns led the Bucks. “I have full trust in all those guys, and I feel like it shows throughout the game because we call plays, and they block amazing and make holes for us.”
Two weeks earlier, West handed East a 41-14 loss in the regular-season finale for both teams. With the win, West secured a share of the SOL National crown. Friday’s rematch came with even higher stakes – a berth in the District 1 Class 6A semifinals.
“It’s always hard to play a team twice, no matter who it is,” Miletto said. “It could be literally the worst team, and it would still be a tough team because they have film on you, they have everything you do. If they lose, they’re going to change their whole scheme. It’s always tough because you have no idea what could happen.”
For Cipollo, who was serving a one-game suspension when the two teams met in the regular season finale, Friday’s game was especially significant.
“Tonight was definitely a little different for me personally because I didn’t play two weeks ago,” Cipollo said. “I came out with the mindset to trust my coaches and trust the guys around me and just play how I play.”
Cipollo was the ultimate finisher in Friday’s win, scoring touchdowns on three of his five carries on runs of 18, 24 and six yards.
“All three were the same play,” Cipollo said. “We ran that play multiple times throughout the night, and my O-line blocked excellent every time, and it was just the hole was wide open. I see that hole, and I have all the trust in those guys. I’m just going to go and try my best to make the play.”
Cipollo had his first and second TDs sandwiched around a 35-yard touchdown run by CB East’s Mike Price.
A 45-yard field goal by Mason Darrows to open the second quarter put the Bucks on top 16-7. Miletto – who once again spent the night running over, around and through the Patriots’ defense – scored on a touchdown run of 21 yards that put the Bucks on top 23-7. He finished with 155 yards and a touchdown.
“Obviously, I can’t do anything without them,” Miletto said of his O-line. “It’s almost like every time I get the ball it’s like a 10-plus yard gain.
“We weren’t slow at the beginning of the year, but they’ve gotten exponentially better every week since I think it was about week six. When we played Abingotn was the turnaround because Braylen (Cape) had like 250 yards or something like that and the week after that he had 140, I had 100, and it just kept going up.”
The Patriots kept things close when quarterback Hunter Pulford scored a touchdown late in the opening half, trimming the Bucks’ lead to 23-14. Liam Laphen hauled in a 10-yard reception from Ethan Stoneback for a touchdown that – after Miletto’s successful two-point run – sent the Bucks into halftime with a 31-14 lead.
“Ethan is a kid we have tremendous confidence in, and he’s earned that,” Rowan said of his freshman QB, who stepped in after senior Josh George suffered a leg injury in the Bucks’ opening round win over Perk Valley. “He’s earned the confidence because of his preparation, the way he practices, and it’s important that we support him in that capacity and give him the opportunity to make plays that he’s fully capable of making.”
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but in the fourth, Cipollo scored on a six-yard run, and then it was Stoneback punching it in from a yard out to put the Bucks on top 44-14.
“Right now, what I’m most proud of is just the ability to display the maturity as a group of young individuals to be able to say, ‘You know what – we’re not going to allow the previous game to play any impact into this one. We’re going to treat it as its own entity,’” Rowan said. “We’re going to prepare the way we need to prepare, we’re going to come out and execute the way we need to execute, and I thought our guys did that.
“It was 31-14 at the half, so our guys were clearly ready to play. That’s just kudos to them. I think a lot of times that’s easier said than done when you’re dealing with 16-, 17-, 18-year-old young men, getting them to fully trust and understand – ‘Hey, this is its own game. What happened two weeks ago doesn’t matter.’ For them to be able to do that, as their coach, I’m so proud of that.”
Liam Hoey’s 37-yard touchdown run for the Patriots closed out the scoring for both sides.
For the Patriots, both Price and Pulford surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground. Although disappointed to see their season end, East coach John Donnelly and his players had made program history, becoming just the second CB East team to advance to the district quarterfinals.
“Proud of this team and how far we’ve come,” Donnelly said. “I don’t think a lot of people would have projected us to be in the Elite Eight to get here to the quarterfinals and play a very good football team tooth and nail.
“I don’t think the score was indicative of what it was, but it is what it is. More importantly, this team made history. There’s only been two teams to have won a playoff game in (program) history, and they’re one of them. We’re proud of the grit and fortitude they’ve shown throughout the season.”
Up next: Central Bucks West (11-1, 6-1 SOL) will host #11 Council Rock South in next Friday’s District 1 6A semifinal. Central Bucks East closed out its historic season with a 7-5 record (4-3 SOL).
Central Bucks East 7-7-0-7 21
Central Bucks West 13-18-0-13 44
#11 Council Rock South 20, #14 North Penn 13
It was a night for the record books for Council Rock South.
Rock South junior Jerry Rogers scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 18-yard run with just 2:14 remaining in regulation, then added the two-point conversion. One final defensive stand preserved a thrilling victory that propelled the Hawks into the District 1 Class 6A semifinals.
Friday’s victory was not only the program’s first over North Penn, but it also punched the Hawks’ ticket to the district semifinals for the first time in school history. Making the accomplishment even more impressive, Rock South has now won six straight after back-to-back losses to Souderton and Quakertown knocked the Hawks out of contention for a conference title.
That’s not the kind of thing that teams who stumble out of the gate to a 2-3 start typically do, but those back-to-back losses were followed by an all-important bye week.
“We were able to look ourselves in the mirror in the bye week,” senior captain Gavin Sailer said. “The bye week really helped. We were able to look ourselves in the mirror and kind of break it down and build it back up and work from there. All the changes we made from the bye week, that really helped.
“To be a top-four team in the district is special. It’s what we’ve been building here for the last three years.”
Playing a major role in Friday’s win was a standout defensive effort against a North Penn offense that had scored 38 points against third-seeded Pennridge the previous week, with quarterback London Evans throwing for 250 yards and three touchdowns.
“That’s a credit to the coaching,” Sailer said. “First off, by setting up the schemes to lock them down, and then they were just preaching that we needed to get pressure on and then get in (the quarterback’s) face, and we did that.
“Then a credit to our defensive backs – they gave us time to get to the quarterback, and it really worked out.”
The Hawks twice rallied from deficits, overcoming a 7-6 halftime disadvantage before mounting their game-winning drive in the final minutes.
“There were definitely things midway through the game where we could have just said, ‘Okay, we’ve made it far enough,’ and the kids didn’t do that,” Rock South coach CJ Szydlik said. “We went in at halftime, and it was like talking to adults. They were good. Credit to everybody – their parents and all of them – that they were so professional about it and ready to go play the second half. That’s why we won.”
The Knights took an early lead when Ziyon Smith scored on a 15-yard touchdown run. The Golden Hawks answered with their defense scoring a TD on a scoop and score by Chris Guinter, who took it 78 yards to the house. The blocked extra point allowed the Knights to keep a 7-6 lead.
“We’ve been turning defensive plays into touchdowns for the last couple of weeks, and tonight was no different,” Szydlik said. “Chris made a play, scooped it up and scored. For a big defensive end, he rumbled pretty fast down the sidelines.
“That was huge. It gives the kids that 100 percent belief that they were going to win that football game.”
The Golden Hawks took their first lead when – after a Brody Walker interception – quarterback Cannon Benzio connected with Walker on a 12-yard touchdown that gave Rock South a 12-7 lead after three quarters.
With 6:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, North Penn regained the lead when Evans connected with Smith on a 13-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion fell short, but the Knights led 13-12.
That set the stage for Rock South’s game-winning drive that was capped by Rogers’ TD run.
“Jerry did Jerry stuff today,” Szydlik said. “We lost Gavin Lacey early in the year. He shared time with Jerry and was our big running back last year when Shane Myers got hurt. We lost Gavin right away, and when you have injuries, it takes time for other people to fall into a groove.
“Jerry did it midway through the year, and now we’re just riding that wave. It’s been pretty special.”
The Knights’ final drive for the lead stalled at the Rock South 22, allowing the Hawks to hold on for the win.
“We got some really good pressure from Gavin Sailer up front,” Szydlik said. “Gavin’s a two-time All-Suburban One defensive tackle for us and a team captain.
“Along with Chris Guinter and Ben Myers, they anchor our defense, and they were fantastic again tonight.”
And the contributions extended well beyond the defensive front.
“Our offensive line was really good again,” Szydlik said. “Our two inside linebackers, Matt Evangelist and Cross Cervellero, really stepped up for us.
“Logan Smith was fantastic at safety, and Ryan Kruszczynski came in and had some big plays for us as a sophomore. Lucas Lacey, who plays outside linebacker, was fantastic as a sophomore. We lost some guys early in the year, and now sophomores have stepped up. We’re leaning on that pretty hard right now.”
As a result, the Hawks find themselves in a position few would have predicted.
“At the beginning of the year, I thought we were going to be a really good team,” Sailer said. “We got a transfer quarterback (Cannon Benzio), and then we hit a little bit of a rough patch in the middle of the season.
“But we were able to bounce back, and we’re on a six-game winning streak right now. I’m proud of these guys for being able to battle. We went down 2-3, and everybody counted us out. Now we’re in the semifinals, so it’s pretty special.”
Up next: Council Rock South (8-3, 6-1 SOL) will travel to War Memorial Field Friday for a battle against second-seeded Central Bucks West in a District 1 6A semifinal. For the Rock South seniors, it’s a full-circle moment.
“Freshman year, we played there, and the goal from freshman year was to get back there and play in a big-time moment like that,” Sailer said. “It’s all kind of played out and worked out. It’s awesome to go to a field like that and play in such a big game.”
North Penn closed out its season with a 6-6 record overall, 3-4 SOL.
North Penn 7-0-0-6 13
Council Rock South 6-0-6-8 20
#4 Spring-Ford 28, Plymouth Whitemarsh 21
The Colonials battled to the final whistle but came up just short in Friday’s District 1 6A quarterfinal game.
After the Rams took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, PW rallied to even the score but Spring-Ford answered with a TD to go into halftime with a 14-7 advantage. The Colonials evened the score after a touchdown run by Mike Giangiulio, but again the Rams answered with a score to go on top 21-14 after three quarters – a quarter that included a defensive stop of PW in the red zone.
Spring-Ford opened up a 28-14 lead with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, but PW’s Jaiden James made things interesting with a kickoff return for a touchdown to make it a one-score game, but that’s as close as the Colonials would get.
For the Colonials, Cole Reilly completed 12 of 24 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown. The senior quarterback also led his team in rushing with 70 yards on 11 carries. Giangiulio had 62 yards on 15 carries.
Under the category ‘it-doesn’t-get-any-closer-than-that,’ Spring-Ford held a 328-327 edge in total yards. PW had a 22-18 advantage in first downs.
Plymouth Whitemarsh closed out its season with a 9-2 record and a share of the SOL Continental Conference with a 5-1 mark.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-7-7-7 21
Spring-Ford 0-14-7-7 28
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