By Scott Huff
You may not be able to win a football championship in September, but you can surely lose one.
And that fact was facing Norristown last week as the Eagles hosted unbeaten Upper Dublin at Roosevelt Field. Norristown, however, remained in the Suburban One League American Conference title hunt with a 20-12 win over the Flying Cardinals.
“We’ve been preaching that to the team all week in practice,” said Norristown head coach E.J. Smith. “Upper Dublin is a good football team, and a team that we had to beat if we want to win a conference championship.”
Norristown (3-2, 1-1) dropped its conference opener against Cheltenham [21-13] and could not afford another conference setback against the Cardinals (4-1, 1-1). And the Eagle offense and defense more than paid the price for victory.
“Sheldon Mayer is a special football player,” said Smith of his talented running back. “We have blocked well for him on the offensive line, but he continues to make plays.”
Mayer rushed for 140 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. One of the TD runs was a 65-yard beauty, and another Mayer long distance run set up one-yard TD sneak by quarterback James Ramsey.
The Norristown offense was expected to show up against Upper Dublin – but the game changer may have been the super effort by the Eagle defense.
The Norristown defense forced five Flying Cardinal turnovers – two fumbles and three interceptions – and kept the biggest UD offensive weapon in check.
Cardinal running back Josh Mastromatto – who has been a touchdown and yardage machine in Upper Dublin’s first four victories – was ‘held’ to 115 yards and did not score a touchdown. Mastromatto, however, did throw a TD pass to Chot Kelly.
“We tackled much better this week,” said Smith. “One of the reasons we lost the last two weeks was that we didn’t tackle very well.
“Our goal is to get better each and every day,” added Smith. “We have a couple of big rivalry games coming up, and we have to stay focused.”
Norristown will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-5, 0-2) to play the Colonials this Friday, and then host surprising Upper Merion (4-1, 2-0) in two weeks.
“Plymouth Whitemarsh is very well coached, and we can’t take them lightly,” said Smith. “And we’ll worry about Upper Merion next week.”
Now the Eagles will work through a rugged October on their way to a potential championship in November.
SOL American Conference
Upper Merion (4-1, 2-0) moved to the top of the conference standings with a 12-7 victory over Cheltenham (3-2, 1-1).
The lone touchdown for the Vikings was a nine-yard TD pass from Alex Phanthavong to Naim Cheeseboro. Upper Merion running back Pete Panichi toted the ball 35 times for 208 yards.
Cheltenham, which trailed by a 3-0 halftime score, kept the game close. The Panthers lone TD came on a 16-yard scoring play by running back Damin Finley. Finley finished with 108 yards on 10 carries.
Upper Moreland (4-1, 1-1) won its first conference game of the season when the Bears defeated Plymouth-Whitemarsh (0-5, 0-2) by a 20-7 margin.
The Golden Bears used a punishing running attack led by Chris Smallwood to secure the win. Smallwood rushed for a game-high 225 yards on 34 carries and scored on TD runs of 11, 38, & 28 yards.
Plymouth Whitemarsh battled to a scoreless first half tie to remain competitive. The lone score for the Colonials came on a fourth period TD by fullback Kyle Crowder.
Wissahickon (3-2, 0-1) lost its second consecutive game in a 28-6 loss to Episcopal Academy.
The Trojans led 6-0 at the half as Jason Billotti booted a pair of field goals. Billotti spilt the uprights from 31 and 33 yards.
SOL Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham (2-3, 1-1) knocked Quakertown (4-1, 0-1) out of the ranks of the unbeaten with a thrilling 23-22 conference victory.
The Hatters – which rolled up 281 total yards of offense – had touchdowns scored by Eddie Coombs, Mike Borbin, and Dan Lineberger.
The Panthers – which accumulated 283 yards of total offense – had a pair of TD scores by Tony Latronica. The other Q-town score was a 62-yard TD pass from Ryan Tinknell to Eric Fath.
North Penn (5-0, 2-0) had little difficulty in defeating host Central Bucks East (2-3, 1-1) as the Knights rolled to a 42-10 conference win.
North Penn running back Ronnie Akins had only ten touches – five rushes (75 yards) and five pass receptions (118 yards) – but scored three touchdowns to lead the Knight offensive effort.
CB East running back Devon Passman was held in check with 75 yards on 14 carries. The lone Patriot scoring drive covered 94 yards and culminated on a one-yard TD run by Justyn White.
Central Bucks South (3-2, 1-1) rebounded from its loss last week to North Penn with a 27-6 conference win over rival Central Bucks West (2-3, 1-1).
One highlight for the Titans came when Mike Doty – the #1 rated receiver in the conference – returned a blocked field goal 97 yards for a touchdown. Sean Kummer scored on a four-yard TD run.
The fine Buck rushing tandem of Rashaad Williams and Ted Conrad combined to rush for 200 yards. However, neither was able to cross the goal line as they did in West’s 38-35 win over Souderton a week ago.
Souderton (3-2, 1-1) rebounded from that CB West loss with a gut wrenching 20-19 conference win over Pennridge (3-2, 0-1).
The Big Red claimed the win as placekicker Shawn Leo blasted a school record 47-yard field goal, while Leo also booted a 37-yard field goal. Justin Powell led the Indian rushing attack with 157 yards and a touchdown.
Pennridge, which has now lost two straight games, actually scored more touchdowns than Souderton. The Rams received TD efforts from Zach Knepp, Jesse Knepp, and Ian Walbridge.
SOL National Conference
Council Rock South (4-1, 1-1) was forced to battle hard in its 16-12 conference win over Bensalem (2-3, 1-1).
The Golden Hawks trailed 12-10 at halftime and needed a TD run by Rus Chichkin to seal the win. Chichkin finished with a team-high 90 yards on 22 carries.
The tough-luck Owls were led in rushing by Camryn LaSalle who raced for 103 yards on 18 carries. The TD plays for Bensalem came from the Vogelei brothers – Ron and Tom. The Owls generated 303 yards of total offense in the loss.
Pennsbury (4-1, 2-0) remained unbeaten in the conference with a 35-21 victory over Council Rock North (1-4, 1-1).
The Falcons ground out 315 yards of rushing yards and featured Brandon Pepper (136 yards), Dante Devine (122 yards – two scores) and Richie Applegate (62 yards – two scores). Devine also scored on a 55-yard interception return.
Rock North – which took an early 7-0 lead – was led by Lee Marvel who ran for 96 yards and caught a TD pass from Tyler Hamilton. Hamilton passed for 170 yards and 2 scores.
Neshaminy (4-1, 2-0) remained on top of the conference standings with Pennsbury with a 42-0 conference win over Harry S Truman (0-5, 0-2).
The Redskins led 28-0 at the half and registered a staggering 435 yards of total offense. The Neshaminy defense recorded its third straight shutout.
Truman, which didn’t get a first down until late in the first half, was held to 125 yards of total offense. The Tigers played without both running back Jeff Tiberi and quarterback Mike Schmidt.
Abington (4-1, 1-1) rebounded from its lone setback of the season with a 37-0 conference victory over William Tennent (0-5, 0-2).
The Ghosts – which dropped a 7-0 heartbreaker to Neshaminy last week – had close to 400 yards of total offense. Julien Ireland ran for 105 yards and scored a touchdown, while quarterback Sam Kind scored two touchdowns and passed for two more scores.
William Tennent, who must now play Neshaminy next week, was limited to only 27 yards of total offense. The Panthers had four first downs, 11 rushing yards, and 16 passing yards.
SuburbanOneSports.com’s Football Fever Forecast
(*/ home team)
Abington 31 *Council Rock South 28
*Neshaminy 49 William Tennent 0
*Pennsbury 42 Harry S Truman 13
*Bensalem 38 Council Rock North 28
CB South 27 *Quakertown 14
*Pennridge 21 CB East 17
Souderton 28 *Hatboro-Horsham 14
North Penn 42 *CB West 14
Upper Moreland 21 *Upper Merion 20
Cheltenham 27 *Wissahickon 21
Norristown 35 *Plymouth-Whitemarsh 13
SuburbanOneSports.com’s Fab. Five
1. North Penn Knights (5-0, 2-0)
2. Pennsbury Falcons (4-1, 2-0)
3. Neshaminy Redskins (4-1, 2-0)
4. CR South Hawks (4-1, 1-1)
5. CB South Titans (4-1, 1-1)
- Log in to post comments
0
