To view action photos of the Souderton/Perk Valley, Bensalem/Pennridge and Neshaminy/Hatboro-Horsham games, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
FRANCONIA TWP – Perspective is everything, and Tyler Scholl and his Souderton teammates managed to keep things in perspective after their team’s week one loss to Neshaminy.
Granted, it was heartbreaking to lose a game the Indians completely dominated in the first half, but the players knew it was not the end of the world for a squad with decidedly high hopes.
“We had to stay focused, and we just have to know it’s week one – things like that happen, and we have to bounce back,” Scholl said. “We can’t let our season get ruined because of a loss in week one.”
Scholl certainly did his part to make sure the frustrations of week one would be a distant memory when the Indians faced Perkiomen Valley in a non-league contest on Friday night. The gifted senior running back was the offensive catalyst in the Indians’ 34-13 win, rushing for 183 yards on 13 carries. Scholl’s 91-yard touchdown run sent the Indians into halftime with a commanding 28-0 lead.
Despite his team’s decisive win, coach Ed Gallagher was not thrilled to see the Vikings score 13 third-quarter points after going scoreless in the first half. He let his team know as much after the game.
“I said, ‘This is going to sound a lot like last week,’” the Indians’ coach said in reference to his team’s 20-13 loss to Neshaminy in a game it led 13-7 at the half. “We came out and executed and played very well in the first half tonight, and something happened in the second half where we weren’t staying on blocks, we weren’t executing and we seemed to tire.
“It’s hot, it’s humid. They called for this, and I thought we prepped the kids a lot better physically this week in terms of getting fluids into them so they wouldn’t have as much cramping. I was happy to see we played a little better in the fourth quarter. The third quarter was pretty bad.”
That being said, Gallagher acknowledged that it can be hard for players to stay focused when their team has a four-touchdown lead at the intermission.
“You get into the locker room, and a lot of kids are excited because some of them might get on the field for the first time,” Gallagher said. “You want that opportunity for them, but the (number) one’s have got to have the mentality that ‘we’re going to go out and put this away,’ and they didn’t really do that.
“We certainly have things to work on.”
Scholl echoed Gallagher’s concerns.
“We felt good coming out, but going into halftime, we’re up 28-0 and we feel good about ourselves, and we’re laying down,” the senior running back said. “We feel like the game is already won, and we don’t come out firing.
“We have to learn from that and come out next week and play a complete game.”
Waiting in the wings is an Abington squad that downed the Indians 16-15 last year in week three. The Indians scored the potential game-tying touchdown late in the game but – after enduring some kicking woes in game one – opted to try for a two-point conversation. The attempt failed, and the Indians suffered the heartbreaking defeat.
It proved to be a costly loss for the Indians.
“(Friday’s game) is huge,” Scholl said. “Last season we started off the season 1-2. We dropped a bad game at Abington. We got ourselves into a hole, got the 15th spot in the playoffs.
“We can’t let that happen this year. We don’t want to go in the playoffs as the 15th seed.”
The Indians will host the Ghosts on Friday night at 7 p.m.
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