Central Bucks West & Central Bucks West advanced to the District 1 6A semifinals. Check out the recaps for all of Friday’s contests. CB West/Garnet Valley photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko, and Upper Dublin/Strath Haven photos courtesy of Shannon O’Sullivan. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1050704496
District 1 6A quarterfinals
#1 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 28, #8 GARNET VALLEY 27 (OT)
By Andrew Robinson for SuburbanOneSports.com
Cooper Taylor wasn’t even supposed to be in there.
While that statement is applicable to the Bucks’ senior class as a whole this season, on Friday night specifically, it applied to the game’s decisive play. Already filling in at quarterback on top of playing every snap at safety and serving as a level-headed leader, Taylor had the opportunity to put his hands on one more.
Taylor blocked the Jaguars’ point-after kick on the first possession of overtime, then scored in response to set the stage for Ryan Clemens’ walk-off PAT as the Bucks survived and advanced to the district semifinals for the second straight season.
“I wasn’t even supposed to come off (the edge), I was supposed to sit back and let it happen,” Taylor said. “They scored, but you never know when that big play can happen. I came off the edge, saw the holder drop the snap and dove for it. I just made a good play, I think I got my full body onto it, not really sure.”
There wasn’t much Taylor didn’t do on Friday. The Washington & Lee-bound senior rushed the ball 22 times for 189 yards and scored all four of the Bucks’ touchdowns. He also threw for 51 yards, was a machine converting first downs and even managed to get an interception playing defense along with several pivotal tackles.
In typical Taylor fashion, he refused to collect credit for the win, calling it a collective team effort. West coach Rob Rowan had nothing but praise for Taylor’s efforts, including those beyond the position he
was forced to take up when three-year starting quarterback Ganz Cooper went down with an injury late in the preseason.
“Not just at quarterback but defensively as well,” Rowan said. “He was the one who blocked the extra point in overtime. You could probably make an argument that it’s the best individual performance on both sides of the ball from a player – I can’t think of one like that.
“He’s just an absolute warrior. One of the most special individuals I’ve ever coached.”
Clemens, the tiny running back. racked up 139 rush yards and plenty of first downs of his own on 22 carries.
“Ryan was tremendous again,” Rowan said. “He had a big night. I don’t know what his numbers were, but he ran the ball incredibly hard.”
Clemens also was 4-for-4 on point-after tries and stepped out calm and confident despite having a field goal attempt blocked by Garnet Valley at the end of the fourth quarter.
“I’m thinking it’s just like any other PAT, we do it in practice a million times, it’s nothing different, but there was a little more pressure because they’d blocked that field goal,” Clemens said. “I was thinking they might block it, but that could happen with any other point after. It was like any other day on the job.”
Even with blood staining his uniform, stemming from an elbow that had been opened up on one of his many trips to the turf, Taylor also passed props to a Jaguars team that had been a postseason barrier for West the last two years.
Garnet Valley had won the last two District 1 6A titles and even with West beating the Jaguars all the way back in Week 1, doing it in the postseason is a different game.
“It’s probably the best game I’ve ever been a part of, just everything about it,” Taylor said. “It was a great game and props to them. They’re a great football team, they’ve had our number in the past, but we weren’t going to let it happen again this year. We knew we could do it, we knew it was possible.”
Once Clemens finally got off the field on Friday, his first stop wasn’t his own locker room but the visitor’s. He exchanged sincere words of respect with the Jags players still milling about outside, knowing a play here or there could have flipped their roles.
Playing any team five times in a three-year span, as the Bucks and Jaguars have done, could easily build animosity. West knew GV was the standard in the district and it would take a special effort to get past them.
The team’s week one win certainly had an impact, even if indirectly.
“It gave us the belief it can be done,” Clemens said. “We proved it and then we proved it again, that’s a tough team, but it can be done.”
Joining Ganz Cooper and Matt Cleland in sweats and a warm coat on Friday was senior Conor McFadden, the senior standout the latest to join the Bucks’ group of injured players. Losing McFadden, a game-changer at receiver, defensive back and kick returner with his speed, took a dimension out of the Bucks’ offense.
Replacing McFadden is impossible, same as it has been with Cooper or Cleland, but the Bucks have done the best they can with who they can. Taylor even paused mid-thought to correct himself from calling the players who have stepped “seconds” to “the next man-up.”
Friday, it’s Devin McGowan’s turn to be the next man up. The junior didn’t have to be McFadden, he just had to do his job which came in the form of four catches for 34 yards and three rushes for 21 yards.
“Devin McGowan stepped up in a big way with Conor’s absence,” Rowan said. “He had a couple of really nice carries and some big catches in the pass game. I’m just really proud of his performance as well.”
West’s defense got a stop on the opening drive and the offense responded in kind by marching down the field and scoring on a four-yard run by Taylor. The Jaguars seemed to be driving for an answer early in the second quarter, but Taylor picked off GV’s Tyler Lassik on the Bucks’ 11-yard line.
That was only a temporary stem as the Jaguars would finally get into the end zone on a three-yard dive by Luke Vaughn with 1:51 left in the third quarter after a long drive of their own.
The Bucks tried what would have been a 42-yard field goal from Clemens at the halftime horn but settled for a 7-7 draw.
After what was a relatively routine first half, the final 24 minutes and overtime would be a test of the Bucks’ resolve. West received the opening kick of the second half and drove all the way down to the GV five where the Bucks got stood up on a fourth-and-1 play to turn the ball over.
GV followed by rolling right down the field, Lassik finding Kai Lopez for a 12-yard score to go up 14-7.
“Our conviction, our self-belief in everyone on the team, we know we’re never out of a game at any point in time,” Clemens said. “We can always crawl back, we always have that fight in us. We never give up.”
West’s defense, which has been so good all year, suddenly found itself unable to stop the Jaguars in the second half.
Taylor revitalized a shell-shocked crowd with a 47-yard touchdown run to bring the score back level at 14-14, but GV rolled right back down the field and took a 21-14 lead on Ronnie Leraris’ 26-yard run.
Taylor, Clemens and McGowan combined for all 71 yards on the following drive, capped by a 19-yard rush from Taylor to tie it again. Now, the defense needed to get a stop.
“We just have immense faith in each other,” senior end Jack Williams said. “We’ve had a couple injuries, but we have the core guys, so we just said ‘All right, let’s make a play.’ That’s what it came down to.”
Jaden Baron dropped Leraris for a one-yard loss on first down. Aedan Donnelly stopped Lassik for a paltry two yards on second. With GV forced to pass on third down, it was now or never to get home.
Sophomore Jeff Cappa did, finishing off initial pressure from Williams and registering the first and only sack of the night to force a punt.
“I just followed my roles,” Cappa said. “We battled adversity, we have a ‘next guy up mentality.’”
Taking over with a sliver more than two-and-a-half minutes left, it seemed like the Bucks had been given a gift. The drive started well but stalled as it neared the red zone, a five-yard Taylor run only good enough to reach the 22 and bring up fourth-and-two.
Clemens and the kicking unit went out but a fierce push by Garnet Valley up front led to a full-palmed block of the kick with :51 seconds left.
Williams, who was a monster blocking for Taylor at tight end, didn’t need prompting to cut a promo on what the emotions of the night were like for his team.
“To hit such a low point, it makes these moments so much higher,” Williams said. “Ganz, starting QB for three years, torn ACL. Cleland, the best rugby player in America, out. McFadden, fastest kid in the state, torn ACL last week. One of our D-linemen goes out with a broken pinky, it just makes this so much sweeter.
“Every week, it feels like another blow and we’re still 12-0 and these moments are so much more special.”
While there were moments of frustration, a big play here or a missed assignment there leading to some pointed words on the field, the Bucks didn’t crumble in those moments.
“They’re just incredibly resilient, and that’s who they are,” Rowan said. “It’s one of the toughest groups of young men I’ve ever been around. They just believe in themselves and each other and are just incredibly, incredibly resilient.”
High school overtime is unique. Teams take alternating turns of four downs to go 10 yards and score, so every play is magnified just a bit more even down the usually routine kick after.
When Lassik went all-out, diving into the endzone to give GV its third lead of the night at 27-21 before the kick, the Bucks had to make something happen.
“We have a block but on that one, we were like ‘nah, everyone’s going,” Williams said. “We’re winning this game, we’re making a play. And Cooper Taylor - dog - made the play.”
While Taylor wasn’t supposed to be in there, he was. Because he was, he made the play of the game, taking a point off the board in what became a one-point win.
“There’s no one I’d rather be playing with and I just want to leave it all out there,” Taylor said. “I know my time’s running out, so why not?”
The Bucks (12-0, 7-0 SOL) will host No. 5 Central Bucks South, a 35-19 winner at No. 4 Spring-Ford, in the semifinals next week. While West won the regular season meeting in Week 9, both Taylor and Clemens were expecting no less than the best the Titans had, similar to what GV had given them on Friday.
Football will go for at least one more week at War Memorial Field because Cooper Taylor was right where CB West needed him to be, even if he wasn’t originally supposed to be there.
“Yeah, I made some plays,” Taylor said, succinctly. “But I wouldn’t have done any of it without my team.”
Garnet Valley 0-7-7-7-6. 27
Central Bucks West 7-0-0-14-7. 28
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 35, #4 SPRING-FORD 19
(Game stats will be added when they are received)
On paper, the Titans may have been a slight underdog when they traveled to fourth-seeded Spring-Ford. The Titans – from the outset - looked a whole lot better than their fifth seed, blowing open a close game late to earn a win that set up a rematch with archrival Central Bucks West in next Friday’s district semifinal.
“Our game was what it’s been all year,” South coach Tom Hetrick said. “It’s no secret we want to be able to run the ball, and against a team like Spring-Ford that’s been averaging over 30 points a game – if you can effectively run the ball and kill a lot of clock and score at the end of drives, then you put yourself in a position to keep their high-powered offense off the field.
“As a whole, we were able to do that. We only had two offensive series in the first half. Only one of them ended up in a touchdown – the other one we ran out of time at the end of the half, but we ate a lot of clock. We came out in the third quarter, and it was more of the same. Their offense is explosive because their quarterback (Matt Zollers) is the real deal, and they have a great receiving corps. Their system is very good and dynamic. They’ve been able to splash on people all year, and as a whole, we kept them from doing that tonight. Kudos to the defense, kudos to the offensive line. Anthony Leonardi, Corey Moore and Owen Pinkerton all had runs and ran the ball hard, and it was just a team effort.”
The tone for the game might well have been set on the opening kickoff.
“We kicked the ball off to them, and we pooch, so obviously, they had a plan for what they wanted to do,” Hetrick aid. “So, on the pooch, their kid caught the ball and tried to literally throw it to the other side of the field where they were hoping we weren’t
“We had two or three guys – they just had the instincts, and they see three or four guys standing opposite the ball, and they think something’s weird, and they instinctively just sort of peeled off. We literally knocked the ball down in the air and recovered a fumble and took it in for a touchdown. It was crazy how the game started.”
The Rams answered with a field goal to make it a 7-3 game, but the Titans had an answer. Corey Moore capped a long touchdown drive with a one-yard plunge that put the Titans on top 14-3 after one quarter. With six minutes remaining in the first half, the Rams tacked on a touchdown to make it a 14-10 game at halftime.
“We always say, whether we’re winning or losing, you just have to put a blanket on the scoreboard and come out and play the second half,” Hetrick said.
The Titans – after a kickoff return to their 40-yard line - scored on the opening drive of the second half when Moore capped a nine-play drive with another one-yard touchdown that put the Titans on top 21-10.
“We went up (21-10) because we were controlling the clock,” Hetrick said. “We had long drives – five yards here, seven yards there and three yards here, and we were just able to run the ball very effectively again. I’m real proud of them.”
A field goal by Spring-Ford’s Liam McGarvey made it a 21-13 game after three quarters, but Owen Pinkerton extended the Titans’ lead with a 29-yard touchdown run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to put the Titans on top 28-13.
After a three-and-out for the Rams, the Titans put together another scoring drive with Moore – for the third time in the game – taking it in from a yard out, this time for a 35-13 lead. The Rams scored a late touchdown, but it was too little too late, and the Titans had the big win.
Hetrick was pleased with his team’s effort and had high praise for his secondary.
“Against a team like this – if they didn’t score 30 points on you, your defensive secondary must have been doing good things,” Hetrick said. “Sebastian Pacchione has had a great season for us at corner and had a very good night tonight. Jack Mauz was a first team all-league defensive back. He’s just so technically sound, and he had a great game.
“Danny Gies is one of our safeties, and he was doing some good things and Danny McCusker – those last two guys are juniors, and our coach did a very good job of getting them ready. We talk about it all the time how you just have to have feet anchored to the ground at the right spot before the ball gets snapped and make plays, and they did. Our secondary had a very good game.”
Central Bucks South (11-6, 6-1 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Central Bucks West for a rematch of a contest the Bucks won late in the regular season.
“We can’t wait – we’re looking forward to the rematch,” Hetrick said. “It will be a good game.”
Central Bucks South 14-0-7-14 35
Spring-Ford 3-7-3-6 19
#6 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 34, #3 SOUDERTON 17
The hugs and the tears as the players said their emotional farewells underscored just how hard it was for the Indians to see their storybook season come to an end in Fridays’ District 1 6A quarterfinal.
“I learned a lot during the season, and I built so many great relationships with my brothers,” senior Danny Dyches said. “I just appreciate them every day and just working hard with them every day.
“It’s very tough going out like this because we had a long season. We’ve been grinding all summer, and it hurts. As a senior, it’s definitely going to be hard leaving my team. We’re like brothers.”
Friday’s loss was the first of a remarkable season for the Indians and the first on their home field in 20 games, dating back to 2019.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “Our kids had an outstanding season. They leave this field tonight with a sting because it’s the first time they’ve lost on this field in their career. They haven’t lost here, which is such a testament to what they were able to do. It’s unbelievable what they were able to accomplish as a group. They’re the first team to go 10-0 in a season, the first Souderton team in school history to win 11 games. How could I be any more proud of what they did?
“At the end of the day, unless you win the state championship, you’re going to lose your last game. It just happened to be tonight. It could have been last week. We battled back against Pennsbury when it seemed like we were down there. I thought we were battling back today. I’m proud of our kids and the effort they gave, not just tonight but all year. It’s been a great season, and I’m certainly not going to dwell on one game.”
The game started out on a shaky note when – after a lengthy drive – the Indians fumbled in the red zone.
“When you play a really good team like that in the playoffs, you can’t come away empty,” Gallagher said. “We drove down the field and executed – we went right down my play sheet, and I felt really good about what we had prepared to do against their defense. We got the ball where we needed to, and we were in a position where we at least get three points.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t take care of the football. We turn the ball over there, and now it changes the game because you’re chasing points the rest of the game.”
The Whippets took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, and the Indians got on the scoreboard when Rylan Zuk converted a 34-yard field goal to make it a 7-3 game.
The game’s defining moment might well have been when quarterback Quinn Henicle delivered a 34-yard touchdown strike with seven seconds remaining in the half, sending the Whippets into halftime with a 14-3 lead.
“It was a killer,” Gallagher said. “We get a stop, call a timeout, force them to punt, figuring our two-minute drills looked really good all week. Every week we practice it. Ben (Walsh) is throwing with a little bit of confidence and Danny (Dyches) is really good. If we can get the ball to him in space, we’re fine.
“Unfortunately, we gave them enough time to do what they did, but we’ve got to get a better pass rush, and we’ve got to get off the field. We can’t give up two 40-yard passes with less than a minute left. It’s a killer. You can’t point the finger at one person. It is what it is. It happened.
“Yes, 7-3 at half, you feel a lot better. If we get points on that first drive, it’s 7-6 at half, but it wasn’t. It was 14-3. They scored the first possession of the second half, and we’re chasing points the rest of the game. We knew going in it was good football team, and we’d have to play really well to beat them. We played well, we just didn’t play well enough to beat them. They made more plays. I’m proud of our kids for the effort they gave.”
Trailing 20-3 after the Whippets scored early in the third quarter, the Indians answered with a touchdown drive that was capped with Walsh punching it in from one yard. Downingtown West’s Jake Kucera returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown that made it a 27-10 game after three quarters.
Early in the fourth quarter, Walsh connected with Dyches on a 24-yard touchdown to cut the Whippets’ lead to 27-17. The Whippets put the finishing touches on the win with a late touchdown for the 34-17 final
“We had a good drive (to open the game), we had multiple good drives, but we shot ourselves in the foot a bunch of times where we should have scored multiple times,” Dyches said. “We just didn’t execute, and we didn’t make plays when they had to happen. It’s definitely tough for us, but it was a good ride. We had a great season, and I appreciate everyone who’s been a part of this. It’s been great.”
The senior standout went on to credit his opponent.
“They were a very good team, we knew we could hang with them,” Dyches said. “They made more plays than us, and the team that makes more plays is going to come out on top.
“It’s two really good football teams. You have to give them their props, so kudos to them. They just made more plays than us.”
Gallagher also tipped his hat to the Whippets.
“That’s a good football team,” Gallagher said. “They did a good job protecting (quarterback Quinn Henicle) and giving him time to throw. He’s got a heck of an arm, and he’s got some really good receivers, so you have to give them credit and move on, wish them luck in the next round.”
Souderton closed out its historic season with an 11-1 record and the SOL Continental Conference title with a 6-0 mark.
Downingtown West 0-14-13-7 34
Souderton 0-3-7-7 17
District 1 5A quarterfinals
#5 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 22, #4 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 14
The Golden Knights took the first play from the line of scrimmage 62 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead and upped that lead to 9-0, forcing the Colonials to spend the game playing catchup before falling just short.
“I was proud of the way our guys fought until the end,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “Nazye Boggs played his heart out for his final game with us. He is a special kid and player who will be severely missed.
“Our seniors this year were part of the team that won our third consecutive league title. They should be proud of their accomplishments and know that they left this program in a great place.”
PW quarterback Caiden Leszczynski punched it in from a yard out to make it a 9-6 game at halftime. The Golden Knights opened up a 22-6 score in the third quarter, but the Colonials answered with a touchdown when Lezczysnki connected with Marcus Laffredo for a 38-yard score to make it a 22-14 game. That’s as close at the Colonials would get.
Plymouth Whitemarsh closed out its successful season with a 9-2 record overall and the SOL American Conference crown with a 5-0 mark.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-6-8-0 14
West Chester Rustin 9-0-13-0 22
#2 STRATH HAVEN 26, #7 UPPER DUBLIN 21
The Flying Cardinals made the long trek to Delaware County and gave the second-seeded Panthers all they could handle before falling just short.
“It was a good season for us,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “Coming off what we lost - if you told me we were going be (playing tonight), I would have probably raised by
eyebrows at you, and I would have said, ‘I’ll take it.’
“I don’t like to lose, but there are silver linings, and we’ll find them, and we’ll build off of them. We’ve been playing so deep into December the last couple of years, but with the schedule we play and then to have to go on the road for this game - if we play that game at home, it’s probably a different outcome, but because we have to play the league schedule we have to play, it’s a two-edged sword for us. We are battle tested, but we lose players along the way, and as a result, we end up on the road for this game. We’re just going to have to be better next year during the regular season to get that game at home.”
The Cardinals were in Friday’s game until the end.
“We said all week as a staff – we wanted to just have a chance in the fourth quarter to win the game, and we had a chance in the fourth quarter,” Stover said.
Trailing Strath Haven 26-21, the Cardinals twice had the ball late in the game, but both opportunities ended with turnovers. Stover, however, had no complaints.
“The kids played phenomenal,” the UD coach said. “Their first touchdown – our D-back tried to jam and fell down, and that was their first touchdown.
“We answered it. (Chris) Kohlbrenner intercepts a pass and runs it back to the 40. We go all the way down and we scored, and I lose my tight end, (Benji) Ravitz, who makes a nice catch in the back of the end zone. He’s a sophomore, so now we go to the freshman who last week had two nice catches, but
you practice all of this stuff you want to run, and that third of the offense is out.”
On UD’s first score, quarterback Kevin Etkin connected with Ravitz from six yards out to put UD on top 7-6. Strath Haven came back and took a 13-7 lead into halftime and then scored on a long run to go on top 20-7 with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“We answered – Shyne Roberts makes a long run down the sideline and hurts his rib, and he’s done for the night,” Stover said. “You’re like, ‘All right, that’s the other third of the offense, and now you’re down to one third, but the kids just kept right on fighting. The defense kept making plays, stopping them. We forced punts.
“Everything we wanted we saw, we expected and we were able to do except at the end when we needed to throw the ball down the field.”
A Cardinals’ touchdown – Etkin connecting with Kohlbrenner on third-and-long for a 16-yard TD - pulled UD to within 20-14 at the end of three quarters. Early in the fourth, the Panthers went on top 26-14, but the Cardinals answered. A six-yard Etkin to Ryan O’Sullivan touchdown pass made it a 26-21 game, and that’s as close as the Cardinals would get.
“You look around – Chris Kohlbrenner, a senior who played offense, Mark Campbell, senior, Trey Relvas, senior, and then Shyne (Roberts),” Stover said. “My four seniors should hold their heads up high. They should not think of their last game as a bad thing. They should think of their last game as a positive. Then you look around at all the other faces, and they all come back next year, so that’s going to be huge.”
Early in the year, a young UD squad lost to Central Bucks West and North Penn by a combined 79-14 score but then reeled off five straight wins. The Cardinals were the seventh seed heading into to the postseason and accomplished more than most would have predicted, entering Friday’s game as an underdog.
“It was a playoff game, it was a road game,” Stover said. “We lost a junior lineman that started 25-30 games in two years, so you put a sophomore out there, and he holds his own against the guy that outweighs him by 75 pounds. Everybody stepped up and did their thing.
“After CB West and North Penn beat us up, we were like ‘On my goodness, let’s go, let’s hold on here,’ and then the kids turned the corner. I’m super proud. I told them – I have a lot of respect, hats off. All the cliches came into play. They left it all on the field, they really did. They left it down at Delco, and they should be proud of that. They’re not coming home going – ‘Well, if we would have…’ There’s none of that. They left it all on the field, which is great.”
Upper Dublin closed out its season with a 7-5 record overall (4-2 SOL).
Upper Dublin 0-7-7-7 21
Strath Haven 6-7-7-6 26
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