North Penn and Upper Dublin were winners in Friday’s quarterfinal round of the District 1 Tournament. Upper Dublin/Cheltenham photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. Neshaminy/North Penn photos courtesy of Jesse Garber (https://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p54309569).
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier Times. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web sites: http://www.theintell.com/sports and http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports.
CLASS 5A
#1-2 UPPER DUBLIN 27, #1-7 CHELTENHAM 0
The Flying Cardinals are on a bona fide tear.
Friday’s win was their seventh straight, and they’ve made it look almost easy with an average margin of victory in those seven games of more than 22 points (and that includes UD’s one-point win over Quakertown).
Making the run even more impressive is the fact that it’s been the very definition of a team effort.
“That’s what’s interesting about this team – there’s not one guy that’s the headliner,” coach Bret Stover said. “It’s a different guy every week. You take him away – okay, we have somebody else, and you’ve never heard of this guy either.
“If you go back and read all the preseason hype, it was Hatboro-Horsham, Quakertown and Upper Moreland. Not one person mentioned us, and we love that.”
Defense has been a calling card for the Flying Cardinals, who have allowed more than 17 points in just one game – their loss to William Penn Charter.
“Our defense really wins the game Monday through Thursday,” Stover said. “Our defensive staff – Dave Sowers and Eric Taylor – preparing those guys for Friday night games.
“Our kids are calling their plays out by formation, Dave is calling them from the sidelines. It was the same thing that happened last week (in a 41-12 win over Phoenixville) when we had the interception to start the game.
“They’re amazing with what they do. I give them a lot of credit because it’s not always the most glamorous side of the ball, but I’ll tell you what – at this time of year, it’s a huge part of what we do.”
Upper Dublin’s defense controlled play in the initial meeting between the two teams, a 20-7 Cardinal win. The Panthers’ lone score came after they recovered a high snap on a UD punt in the end zone.
“The difference this time was we were on turf, and we were able to get footing and move them,” Stover said. “They have some big boys up front, so that was the difference – we were able to do some stuff. Their field in the mud – we couldn’t move them.
“They have some speed, and they got some first downs tonight, but they just were never able to get loose. They like to throw the go ball, and they only threw three or four of them. I think they might have only completed two passes all night. That’s how much we took away from them.”
Touchdown runs by Mason Novak – on a 16-yard run – and Lucas Roselli – from 10 yards out – spotted the Cardinals a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Roselli’s TD came after the Cardinals recovered a fumble near midfield.
A pair of Chris Barbera field goals in the second quarter sent the Cardinals into halftime with a commanding 20-0 lead.
“When it was 14-0, they actually pinned us at our one-yard line on a great punt by their punter, and we went almost 85 yards and got a field goal and ate six or seven minutes up when we were going into the wind – it’s exactly what you want to do,” Stover said. “We spent a lot of time on special teams this week.
“Chris Barbera hits a 34-yarder into the wind, he hits a 32-yarder into the wind to put us up 20-0 at halftime. Our holder on both of them – Nolan Reape – had really good holds. One was high and one was kind of to the right, and he was able to get it on the block.”
Any thoughts of a Cheltenham comeback were all but put to rest when the Cardinals opened the second half with a time-consuming drive.
“We got the ball coming out in the second half, and we literally just ate the clock,” Stover said. “It was 16 plays and ate up a little over eight minutes, and the next play (Mike) Slivka picks off a pass, and we go right back on the ball. We had 23 plays in the third quarter to their one.
“Once we got ahead, we were able to run the ball, and that’s what we tried to do – we tried to get out of there and keep everybody healthy. It was a hard-fought game. They hit us and we hit them.”
It was still a 20-0 game heading into the final quarter when Jacob Rossman added a late touchdown.
Novak, Roselli and quarterback Mike Slivka were a three-pronged attack on the ground for the Cardinals.
“Lucas Roselli and Mason Novak carried the ball well for us,” Stover said. “Slivka with his legs – we were running him a little bit early. He was able to get a couple of key first downs and step out of bounds, not take the hit.
“Mike always wants to get that extra yard – it’s his competitive nature, but tonight he did the right things. He stepped out of bounds and stayed clean. Up front Quinton Derr and CJ Stehli – those two at tackle – had real big nights for us.
“We just dominated the game as far as time of possession, and we were able to go on those long drives and not turn the ball over. We didn’t put the ball on the ground, and that was huge. You win the turnover battle at this time of year, you’re going to be in pretty good shape.”
Upper Dublin (10-1, 6-0 SOL) will host 11th-seeded Unionville in a District 1 5A semifinal contest Friday. Cheltenham closed out its season with an 8-4 record (4-2 SOL).
Cheltenham 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Dublin 14-6-0-7 27
CLASS 6A
#1-1 NORTH PENN 13, #1-8 NESHAMINY 6
Neshaminy and North Penn have had some epic battles over the years. Add Friday night’s District 1 6A quarterfinal game at Wissahickon High School to that growing list.
“It’s so nice to play against a team that plays so hard,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “You don’t have to worry about any of the extra curriculars – it’s just good football. There are very little penalties, there were no personal fouls. It was a great game.”
While the Knights (12-0, 6-0 SOL) advance to next Friday’s district semifinal against Downingtown West, the Redskins saw their season come to a disappointing end.
“It’s hard – four years of my life went here,” Neshaminy senior Oleh Manzyk said. “I love all of these guys, these coaches, this community for accepting me. It’s going to be a long, hard one to recoup from.
“North Penn did a great job of coming out and playing hard. There was a lot of respect on that field. I congratulate them on moving on.”
For 48 minutes, it was a battle of wills – two defenses simply refusing to break, and neither did.
In a game that was a marked contrast to North Penn’s 34-33 double overtime victory over the Redskins on August 24, it was Knights’ defense that won the war, allowing only a first quarter touchdown to a Neshaminy squad that had scored 70 points in its last two games combined.
Making the Knights’ performance even more impressive was the fact that they lost linebacker Erik Laughlin before the game started
“He injured his knee during warm-ups,” Beck said. “There’s a guy that leads our team in tackles, he’s been playing more offense, he plays every down on defense, he’s on every single special teams, and we spent the entire pregame figuring out who his replacements are and going over their responsibilities.
“That’s when Julian (White) came in – he has never played that position before at North Penn. We put him in and said, ‘Just make plays.’ I’m just so proud of the kids, it’s a great group.”
Granted, it didn’t look all that promising for the Knights when the Redskins – behind the dazzling running of sophomore Chris James – marched all the way to the North Penn five on their opening possession of the game. Three plays later, the Redskins were still on the five, and their 20-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.
After a three-and-out for the Knights, the Redskins had another sustained drive, but this one stalled at the Knights’ 26. The third possession turned out to be a charm for the Redskins. The big play of the drive was Brody McAndrew hooking up with Cory Joyce for 37 yards. Manzyk did the grunt work to finish off the drive, covering the final 25 yards on four straight carries – the fourth from four yards out for a touchdown. The Knights blocked the extra point, but the Redskins led 6-0 after one quarter.
“Our offensive line did a great job executing,” Manzyk said. “Once the game started going on, (North Penn) started catching up – as a good team would – to what we were doing, and they countered it. It was just a great battle all the way around.”
The Knights – who did not have a first down in the opening quarter – answered with a touchdown drive of their own. The drive featured a whole lot of Shamar Edwards and included a pair of clutch third down completions from Solomon Robinson – the second an 11-yard yard pass to RJ Macnamara for a first down at the Redskins’ eight. Robinson took it in from seven yards out, and Ayoub Cherradi’s extra point gave the Knights a 7-6 lead.
The Redskins were on the move again, taking the ball to the Knights’ 31, but Macnamara broke up a fourth down pass, and a familiar pattern was developing.
“The defense was playing great tonight,” said Macnamara. “At times, we were letting them get big plays, but we knew when fourth down came we had to make that stop, so our offense could get out there and we could get another shot at scoring.”
The Knights took a 7-6 lead into halftime, and although they lost the battle for field position in the third quarter, their defense was relentless. In the fourth quarter, the Knights’ offense came to life, marching all the way to the Redskins’ three.
“That was just us driving the ball,” said Macnamara, who had runs of 18 and nine yards on the drive. “The line was blocking everyone that needed blocking. They made holes for Shamar, they made holes for me, they made holes for whoever was running the ball.”
The drive netted only a failed field goal attempt for the Knights, and the Redskins took over at their own 14 with 3:13 remaining. They managed one first down, but Evan Spann stepped in front of a would-be receiver for an interception and raced into the end zone for a touchdown and a 13-6 North Penn lead that all but sealed the Redskins’ fate.
“The secondary was in great position,” Beck said. “I thought our man coverage was good. I always thought our secondary would be our strength, and they proved it tonight.”
“The secondary really stepped up tonight,” Macnamara said. “They covered their guys and gave our D-line time to get that quarterback.”
Edwards led the Knights with 80 yards on the ground.
For the Redskins, James had a game-high 137 yards but over a hundred of those came in the first half.
“We had a lot of chances,” Neshaminy coach Steve Wilmot said. “We were able to move the ball, but when we got closer to the goal line, we were having a little trouble on third down.
“Credit North Penn for a really good pass rush. They were keeping Brody (McAndrew) on his toes back there. He just wasn’t able to set his feet and throw the ball. They were covering us pretty well too.”
The Redskins’ defense continued its pattern of allowing just one touchdown for the seventh straight game.
“The story of the second half of the season was our defense,” Wilmot said. “A lot of credit goes to the defensive coaches, but a lot of credit goes to the players.
“Cory Joyce and Oleh (Manzyk) are the cornerstones of the defense, and everyone else was just really flying around and doing their jobs. It was kind of special.”
Neshaminy closed out its season with an 8-4 record and a share of the SOL National Conference title.
Neshaminy 6-0-0-0 6
North Penn 0-7-0-6 13
#1-4 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 24, #1-5 HARRY S TRUMAN 22
The Tigers had the game won.
Or at least so it seemed after Enzo Poulson – with 39 seconds remaining in regulation – scored on an eight-yard run and then caught a Dylan Snelling pass for a successful two-point conversion to put the Tigers on top 22-21.
The Whippets had other ideas, capitalizing on a kickoff return to near midfield and a long pass play on third down to set up a field goal attempt. With two seconds remaining, Dan Byrnes connected on a 39-yard field goal.
Looking for the definition of heartbreaking? This was it.
“We had them,” coach Mike LaPalombara said. “We should have scored more in the first half.
“Mistakes were made and they capitalized. Nevertheless, the kids played hard and made their community proud. It was a great season.”
A season that seemed destined to extend into next week’s district semifinals after a first half the Tigers controlled completely. Underscoring the Tigers’ dominance, according to stats compiled by Todd Thorpe of the Bucks County Courier, was their 258 yards of offense to just two yards for the Whippets and their 12-0 advantage in first downs in the opening half.
For all of their dominance, the Tigers led by just a 14-0 score. Terrence Rodgers opened the scoring with a 61-yard touchdown run, and Poulson added a five-yard touchdown. Both came in the first quarter. They did not score again until the fourth quarter when the Whippets suddenly showed signs of life on offense.
Truman – which still led 14-0 heading into the final quarter – found itself trailing 21-14 late. That set the stage for a late 70-yard drive and Poulson’s touchdown run and the gutsy two-point conversion for what – at the time – looked like an apparent win.
But 39 seconds turned out to be just enough time for the Whippets to pull off the improbable comeback.
Rodgers led the Tigers with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown while Poulson added 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Harry S Truman closed out its most successful season in program history with a 10-2 record (5-1 SOL).
Harry S Truman 14-0-0-8 22
Downingtown West 0-0-0-24 24
#1-3 GARNET VALLEY 49, #1-11 QUAKERTOWN 14
Garnet Valley – a district finalist in each of the last two seasons – brought a perfect record into Friday’s district quarterfinal and was a decided favorite against an upstart Panther squad fresh off an upset of sixth-seeded Perk Valley.
For a while, it looked as though the two teams might spend the night exchanging touchdowns. After the Jaguars took an early 7-0 lead, Quakertown quarterback Brad Bryan found Tim Garlick with an 11-yard touchdown pass to even the score.
Garnet Valley answered with another touchdown, but again, the Panthers responded with a scoring drive of their own, this time Bryan scored on a keeper from 11 yards out to knot the score 14-14. The Jaguars continued to pile up the yardage, marching downfield for the go-ahead score.
Quakertown – forced to punt for the first time in the game – pinned the Jaguars inside their own one-yard line. Unfazed, they marched 99 yards for a touchdown that marked the beginning of the end for the Panthers.
By halftime Garnet Valley led 35-14. The Panthers kept the Jaguars off the scoreboard in the third quarter, but they tacked on a pair of touchdowns in the final frame.
Christian Patrick led the Panthers with 106 rushing yards, and Bryan had 100 passing yards.
The Jaguars – who amassed 459 yards on the ground – had a pair of runners who surpassed the 100-yard mark – Dan Bradley (147 yards, 2 TDs) and Greg Reynolds (114 yards, 2 TDs).
Quakertown (9-3, 4-2 SOL) will host Pennridge in its annual Thanksgiving Day game at 10:15 a.m.
Quakertown 7-7-0-0 14
Garnet Valley 14-21-0-14 49
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