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By Scott Huff
Quakertown – Quakertown head coach George Banas had a rather smug look on his face after the host Panthers (3-0) remained unbeaten with a convincing 24-7 non-conference victory over Cheltenham (2-1).
“I always like to root for the underdog,” said Banas as his Black Cats were considered by several prognosticators as ‘second best’ in all three games it has played in this 2011 season. “I love to watch Rocky – I own the entire box set.”
“Honestly, we love coming into games being overlooked,” said senior Justin Wieder who had a magnificent game on both sides of the football with a pair of touchdown runs and a pair of interceptions. “It feels great to be undefeated. We will celebrate tonight, but tomorrow we will look at film and get ready to play Downingtown West next week.”
Quakertown was ready to play a wonderful defensive game against an electrifying Cheltenham offense. The Montgomery County Panthers under 
head coach Joe Gro had routed both Truman (35-0) and Bishop McDevitt (34-14) to open the season.
“Cheltenham has some players that can take it to the house,” said Banas in reference to the explosive Panther backfield of junior Mark Thompson and senior Aquil Reed. “We did a great job of keeping them from breaking the big play. Once we got the lead we wanted to make sure that if they were going to score, they were going to have to drive the ball and take time off the clock.”
Thompson led all rushers with 113 yards on 19 carries and scored the first touchdown of the game on a 38-yard burst. However, the Panthers turned the ball over six times – four interceptions and two lost fumbles - and were flagged 12 times for 98 yards worth of penalties.
“There is no way that any team is equipped to overcome that number of turnovers,” said Gro. “The penalties were frustrating, but we don’t give them the football with penalties. We lost the game by turning the ball over.
“We knew that with a team that is as inexperienced as this one is, that we were going to have to face adversity,” added Gro. “We will find out now what type of team that we have this year.”
The Quakertown drive after the Thompson score was interesting.
The Q-town Panthers had a first down at the Cheltenham 17-yard line – and on first down senior quarterback Zac Gravelle gained a yard. There was a Cheltenham dead ball penalty that moved the ball to the CHS 9-yard line (wrong spot). A second down resulted in a two-yard Gravelle run and set up a third and one at the seven-yard line. The third down play was an incomplete pass.
There was no fourth down.
“The way that we were able to handle that was huge,” said Banas as all five officials somehow managed to miscount the downs in the series. “It could have changed the game around.”
Quakertown was able to rebound with a game-tying score before the close of the half. Wieder polished off a nine-play scoring drive with a one-yard blast into the end zone. Casey Fosbenner added the PAT to knot the score 7-7 with just 48 seconds left until intermission.
Mike Potynski intercepted a pass for Q-town on the first defensive series of the second half. Six plays later, 
Fosbenner put points on the board for the Bucks County Panthers with a 28-yard field goal.
Cheltenham fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and three plays later Potynski bolted 23 yards for a touchdown. Fosbenner’s placement gave Quakertown a 17-7 margin with 5:40 left in the third period.
Quakertown turned another Cheltenham turnover into points at the outset of the fourth period. Wieder culminated a short field six-play, 29-yard drive into points with a three-yard touchdown run. Fosbenner’s point after touchdown would make the score final at 24-7.
Quakertown used sensational performances from Gravelle to capture wins over Upper Perkiomen (27-20) and Pocono Mountain East (42-12). His offensive numbers - both running and passing the football - jumped off the stat sheet, but no such numbers were needed in this win.
“Zac may not have had the numbers tonight, but he was able to open up the field for the other players,” said Banas. “It was great to see the other kids step up and make plays.
“We have to play a great team in Downingtown West next week,” added Banas with a wry smile as the Whippets own a 3-0 mark and have outscored opponents by a staggering 126-42 point margin. “I don’t think too many people will be picking us to win. But that’s okay.”
Cheltenham Panthers 0 7 0 0 - 7
Quakertown Panthers 0 7 10 7 - 24
Scoring:
C: Mark Thompson 38 run (Remy Locksmith kick)
Q: Justin Wieder 1 run (Casey Fosbenner kick)
Q: Fosbenner 28 FG
Q: Mike Potynski 23 run (Fosbenner kick)
Q: Wieder 3 run (Fosbenner kick)
Cheltenham Quakertown
15 First Downs 13
205 Rush Yards 137
94 Pass Yards 83
299 Total Offense 210
12-98 Pen. / Yards 5-45
0-0 Punts / Avg 2-26
Cheltenham
Rushing: Mark Thompson 19-113 & TD; Aquil Reed 9-38; Hyneef Dockery 10-37; and Ahjavon Patrick 1-17. Totals 39-205 & TD.
Passing: Dockery 8-14-4; 94yards – Thompson 0-2-0; 0 yards. Totals 8-16-4; 99 yards.
Receiving: Reed 4-44; Demetrius Reynolds 3-44; Patrick 1-6. Totals 8-94
Interception: Patrick
Quakertown
Rushing: Justin Wieder 13-63 & 2 TD; Mike Potynski 10-61 & TD; Mike Sawyer 2-16; and Zac Gravelle 9- (minus 3). Totals 34-137 & 3 TD.
Passing: Gravelle 5-12-1; 83 yards.
Receiving: Wieder 2-15; Nick Nagele 1-36; Potynski 1-23; Matt Roberts 1-9. Totals – 5-83
Interceptions: Wieder (2); Potynski; and Roberts.
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