SOL Football Forecast (10-15-26)

CB West photo provided courtesy of Kim Supko, Springfield Twp photo courtesy of Michael Rice Photography & CB East photo courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Visit the Photo Gallery for game action shots.

Football Forecast – 9

By Scott Huff

Pennridge Is ‘Ram Tough’…
Pennridge (7-0, 4-0) cruised over host North Penn (4-3, 2-2) at Crawford Stadium, winning there for the first time since 2001 as the Rams accelerated to a 20-8 Suburban One League National Conference victory over the Knights.

The winding road to a second consecutive SOL National Conference championship seems to be much clearer as the Dartmouth Green & White (yes Kevin) close out the season against three conference teams with losing overall records.

Pennridge will travel to play a floundering  Abington (2-5, 0-4) this week * hosts a somewhat struggling Neshaminy (3-4, 1-3) & closes out the season at Central Bucks South (3-4, 3-1).

The Rams might be hard pressed to lose to either Abington or Neshaminy.  But that’s why they play the games.

CB South should be the biggest barrier to an unbeaten Ram season * an outright SOL National Conference championship & the top ranking in all of Class 6A District One.

If you are Pennridge, though, you must Remember the Titans.

Pennridge/North Penn Postscript…2001…
Pennridge won that memorable game @ Crawford Stadium back in 2001 against North Penn by a 15-0 score.  The Knights were the #1 ranked PIAA Class AAAA team at the time.

The Pennridge head coach in 2001 was Jeff Hollenbach (112-47 career head coaching record @ PHS) who is now the Rams’ offensive coordinator.

The quarterback on that team was Jeff Hollenbach’s son, Sam Hollenbach, who moved on to star at the University of Maryland & signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007 by the Washington Redskins.

The North Penn head coach in 2001 was Michael Pettine Jr. (45-15 in 5 seasons with the Knights).  Pettine Jr. would begin his own National Football League odyssey in 2001 (not by the way a 2001 Space Odyssey) that has continued to the present day.

Pettine Jr. has recently signed on with the NFL Dallas Cowboys as a Senior Defensive Assistant. 

The Pettine coaching odyssey began late in 2001with the Baltimore Ravens [assistant linebacker coach] * continued with the New York Jets [Defensive Coordinator] * continued with the Buffalo Bills [Defensive Coordinator]  * continued as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns (10-22 record) * continued with the Seattle Seahawks [Consultant] * continued with the Green Bay Packers [Defensive Coordinator] * continued with the Chicago Bears [Defensive Assistant] & continued up until last year with the Minnesota Vikings [Assistant Head Coach].

Lifelong memories were made on that September 7, 2001, for the players, coaches & fans of both Pennridge & North Penn.

But lifelong memories for the country were to be made just four days later on September 11, 2001.

Amen.

Way Back Machine stuck in 2001…
Neshaminy had a historic 2001 as the Redskins captured a PIAA Class AAAA state championship. 

Neshaminy completed the season a perfect 15-0 record & in addition to the state championship won both a Suburban One League National Conference/ ‘Power 10’ title & a District One championship.

The Redskins were able to claim the conference title with key SOL ‘Power-10’ victories over both Pennridge (28-22) & North Penn (23-14).

In 2001 the Neshaminy Redskins were ranked the #9 team nationally by USA Today.
*******
Colonials continue 2026 championship march…
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-0, 3-0) resumed its advancement toward the SOL Continental Conference championship with a 63-0 victory over winless Council Rock North (0-7, 0-4).

The outright championship destination for the Colonials would be arrived at by winning out the remainder of the conference schedule.

Plymouth Whitemarsh will host Upper Dublin (3-4, 3-1) * will play @ Council Rock South (3-3, 1-2) & will host Bensalem (2-5, 1-3).

The Colonials may be hard pressed to lose to either Upper Dublin or Bensalem.  But that’s why they play the games.

Council Rock South should be the biggest roadblock to a PW unbeaten season * an outright SOL Continental Conference championship & a top 3 ranking in the 6A District One playoffs.

If you are Plymouth Whitemarsh, though, you must remember that Council Rock South is the defending Continental Conference champion.

Nightmare @ Alumni Field….or is it a sweet dream?
Souderton head coach Ed Gallagher & his Indians have suffered horrific outcomes the last 2 treks to Alumni Field – iconic home of the Quakertown Panthers.

Souderton has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as the Black Cats captured a pair of astonishing one-point victories in the traditional 309 Bowl on the Alumni Field turf * 22-21 last week & 35-34 in 2024.

Last week the Indians seemingly took control of the game early – leading 21-7 at one point in the second half – and held a 21-14 lead going in the fourth period.

However, Quakertown scored a touchdown with 1:38 remaining in the game & added a 2-point conversion to seize the 22-21 advantage.

If that wasn’t painful enough * Souderton drove down the field on its next possession and had a good shot at game winning field goal.

No good.

And Souderton left Alumni Field in 2026 with an agonizing 22-21 loss.
*******
And if that wasn’t enough of a terrifying Alumni Field nightmare * 2024 might have been significantly worse for the Indians.

Souderton led 28-0 @ the end of the first period and led 34-15 @ the close of the first half.  The Indians were shut out in the second half.

Quakertown continued its improbable comeback with14 third period points to close to 34-29 & the Panthers put together a frantic final scoring drive that saw them score the game-winning touchdown as time expired to give the Black Cats a remarkable 35-34 victory.

Remember – one team’s awful nightmare is another team’s sweet dream.

And that sweet dream of victory became a beautiful reality for a second time at Alumni Field for Quakertown head coach George Banas and his resilient Panthers.

And congratulations go to the Panthers for snatching a sweet dream victory from the jaws of a nightmarish defeat.

Spartans continue 2026 journey to the finish line…….
Springfield-Montco (3-4 overall) has been no stranger to the PIAA District One Class 4A playoffs.

However, this season a playoff berth is going to be a longshot at best as the Spartans close out the 2026 season.

Springfield is ranked 6^th in the 4A classification in D-1 with the 4 top ranked teams going to the postseason. 

The Blue & Silver would have been ranked fourth in the district if not for heartbreaking losses to Harry S Truman (6A * 22-20) & Trinity (3A * 21-20).

Springfield is coming off an impressive 35-2 SOL American Conference victory over (6A) William Tennent (2-5). 

The remainder of the conference schedule is a challenging one of the Spartans.  Springfield will travel to Upper Moreland (6-1) and will host Hatboro Horsham (2-5) & Wissahickon (5-2).

Enormous credit must go to head coach Chris Shelly & the Spartans for remaining and competing in the SOL despite having the smallest male enrollment in the American Conference. 

Springfield is a 4A classification with just 308 male students.  Harry S Truman (758) & William Tennent (621) are 6A schools * Wissahickon (528), Upper Moreland (442) & Hatboro Horsham (475) are 5A schools.

District One Rankings
Class 6A * 16 of 30 teams Qualify for the Playoffs*

Class 5A * 16 of 27 teams Qualify for the Playoffs

And the beat goes on…

SOL National Conference
Central Bucks East Patriots (4-3, 2-2) @ North Penn Knights (4-3, 2-2)
Last Year:
North Penn 31 * Central Bucks East 20
Last Week:
Central Bucks East won an exciting 28-27 overtime game against Pennsbury.  The final touchdown in overtime came on a 5-yard scoring pass from Hunter Pulford to Liam Hoey & Cole Wojnicki added the game winning extra point.  Hoey also scored on a 7-yard scoring pass from Pulford earlier in the game.  Pulford scored on a 14-yard run, while Asher Green opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown.
North Penn had a chance to knock Pennridge out of the unbeaten ranks, but the Knights failed to do so in a 20-8 loss to the Rams.  The North Penn defense recorded a safety & Zyon Smith capped a 76-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.  The Knights were without the services of star running back Rylei Gray who missed the game with an ankle injury.
Prediction:
North Penn Knights 27 * Central Bucks East Patriots 17

Central Bucks South Titans (3-4, 3-1) @ Pennsbury Falcons (3-4, 1-3)
Last Year:
Central Bucks South 17 * Pennsbury 3
Last Week:
Central Bucks South lost its first conference game of the season as the Titans were defeated by Central Bucks West, 45-13.  Gavin Graham highlighted the offense rushing for 142 yards and scoring on touchdown runs of 48 & 4 yards.  CB South trailed CB West 24-7 @ the close of the first half.
Pennsbury lost a key conference game in overtime to Central Bucks East, 28-27.  Jack Arndt scored on a 1-yard run to give the Falcons a 27-21 overtime lead, however, PHS missed the extra point.  Arndt threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sylvester Jones.  Justin LaRue Madison scored on a 7-yard run & Luke Beighley scored on a 6-yard run.
Prediction:
Central Bucks South Titans 20 * Pennsbury Falcons 17

Neshaminy Redskins (3-4, 1-3) @ Central Bucks West Bucks (6-1, 3-1)
Last Year:
Neshaminy 28 * CB West 18
Last Week:
Neshaminy snapped a 3-game losing skid with a convincing 42-7 victory over Abington.  Luke Howell – a replacement running back for the injured Brock Willams – had a career night scoring 5 touchdowns.  Angel Miranda fired a 29-yard scoring pass to Colson Hill.
Central Bucks West remained in contention for a conference championship as the Bucks gouged Central Bucks South, 45-13.  Braylen Cape – a transfer from CB South – raced for a game-high 160 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 70 & 2 yards.  Nick Miletto rushed for 95 yards and scored on runs of 18 & 4 yards.  Nick Wierzbowski & Josh George also scored for the Bucks.
Prediction:
Central Bucks West Bucks 38 * Neshaminy Redskins 13

Pennridge Rams (7-0, 4-0) @ Abington Galloping Ghosts (2-5, 0-4)
Last Year:
Pennridge 43 * Abington 8
Last Week:
Pennridge remained unbeaten with a key 20-8 conference victory over North Penn.  Mar ‘Quan Walker intercepted a pass and returned it 29-yards for a touchdown to get the Rams on the scoreboard in the first quarter.  Aiden Tetkowski fueled the offense with 2 touchdown passes – one to Nate Derstine (4 yards) & the other to Brody Blomgren (18 yards).
Abington continued to struggle in SOL National Conference play as the Ghosts lost for the 34^th consecutive time in a 42-7 loss to Neshaminy.  The good news for Abington was a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kai Taylor to Caleb Smith that closed the Redskin lead to 14-6 in the first period. The bad news is that the Ghosts have been outscored 165-12 in the 4 conference losses.
Prediction:
Guest Forecaster:  Ameila V. Moyer
Pennridge Rams 44 – Abington Galloping Ghosts 7

SOL Continental Conference
Upper Dublin Cardinals (3-4, 2-1) @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (6-0, 3-0)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Upper Dublin had its 3-game win streak snapped in a 42-7 loss to defending conference champion Council Rock South.  The lone scoring play of the game for the Flying Cardinals came on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Lawson Tyler to Braeden Skahan.
Plymouth Whitemarsh overwhelmed and overmatched Council Rock North as the Colonials remained unbeaten with a 63-0 victory over the winless Indians.  Tristan O’Brien rushed for 2 scores, while Santino Cavell & Nolan Alston each scored a single rushing touchdown.  Cole Reilly threw touchdown passes to Alston & Khamani Davis.
Prediction:
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 42 * Upper Dublin Cardinals 7

Council Rock South Hawks (3-3, 1-2) @ Bensalem Owls (2-5, 1-2)
Last Year:
Council Rock South 14 * Bensalem 12
Last Week:
Council Rock South captured its first conference victory as the Golden Hawks soared to a 42-7 win over Upper Dublin.  Rock South scored a pair of touchdowns on the defensive side of the ball when Rocco Szydlik scored on a 20-yard interception return & Jerry Rogers scored on a 55-yard fumble return for a score.  Rogers also scored on touchdown runs of 36 & 13 yards, while Daniel McKnight scored on a 26-yard run.
Bensalem treated its Homecoming crowd to a 49-6 non-league victory over Dobbins Tech.  The Fighting Owls led 42-0 @ halftime.  The touchdown parade began with touchdown run by Brennan Farnsworth.  The scoring march continued with runs by Jonathan Cooper & Landin Smith.  Sophomore Avery Johnson scored on a 79-yard kickoff return & also scored a rushing touchdown.  Maverick Syron threw a touchdown pass to Michael Dragani.  Amir Gray found paydirt with a ‘pick-6’.
Prediction:
Council Rock South Golden Hawks 28 * Bensalem Owls 20

Quakertown Panthers (3-4, 3-1) @ Council Rock North Indians (0-7, 0-4)
Last Year:
Quakertown 49 * CR North 0
Last Week:
Quakertown continued a somewhat surprising run for a possible District One playoff berth with a stunning 22-21 victory over Souderton.  The Panthers opened the season 0-4.  Carter Tucholski threw a touchdown pass to James Wehrheim & completed a 2-point conversion to Damion Lowande-Richardson to provide the comeback victory.  Tucholski and Wehrheim connected for a TD earlier in the game, and Tucholski also threw a scoring strike to Elliot Martin.
Council Rock North was overwhelmed and overmatched in a 63-0 victory loss to unbeaten Plymouth Whitemarsh.  The Indians have been outscored this 2026 season by a margin of 271 points (38.7 points per game) to 27 (3.9 points per game).  Unfortunately, Rock North has now lost 22 straight games.
Prediction:
Quakertown Panthers 49 * Council Rock North Indians 7

SOL American Conference
Harry S Truman Tigers (3-4, 1-1) @ Hatboro Horsham Hatters (2-5, 1-1)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Harry S Truman continued its roller-coaster ride (I know I write about this every week) as the Tigers were defeated by Upper Moreland, 47-14.  The Truman resume is loss * win * loss * win * loss * win & loss.  Koko Johnson scored in the first quarter in the Upper Moreland game to close the gap to 14-7, however, HST could not score again until the fourth quarter.
Hatboro Horsham had its 2-game winning streak halted in a 30-14 loss to Wissahickon.  The Hatters were competitive in the first half with the Trojans as the teams were tied at 7-7.  Hatboro Horsham, though, was outscored 23-7 in the second half.
Prediction:
Harry S Truman Tigers 21 * Hatboro Horsham Hatters 14

Wissahickon Trojans (5-2, 1-1) @ William Tennent Panthers (2-4, 0-2)
Last Year:
Wissahickon 35 * William Tennent 0
Last Week:
Wissahickon rebounded from its conference opening loss to Upper Moreland (14-0) with a 30-14 victory over Hatboro Horsham.  Quasir Sampson had 20 carries for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns to fuel the offense.  Ryan King and Christian Norcum also scored rushing touchdowns for the Trojans.
William Tennent lost for the second week in a row as the Panthers were caged by Springfield, 35-2.  The lone score of the game came on a safety in the second period.  Gavin Mensch led the rushing attack with 80 yards on 10 carries.
Prediction:
Wissahickon Trojans 38 * William Tennent Panthers 6

Springfield Spartans (3-4, 1-1) @ Upper Moreland Bears (6-1, 2-0)
Last Year:
Upper Moreland 41 * Springfield 7
Last Week:
Springfield snapped a 2-game losing streak as the Spartans marched to an overwhelming 35-2 conference victory over William Tennent.  Quarterback Nathan Torrealba completed 13 of 17 passes for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Torrealba fired 2 TD passes to Mekhi Paschall (15 yards & 40 yards) & one to Jibril Tawfeeq (36 yards).  Michael Eder scored on a 5-yard run.  Paschall opened the scoring for the Spartans with a ‘pick-6’.
Upper Moreland remained the only unbeaten team in the conference with a resounding 47-14 victory over Harry S Truman.  Santino Rodriguez scored 3 touchdowns on runs of 23, 14 & 4 yards.  Quarterback David Adamski fired 3 -touchdown passes – one to Kamasi Underwood – one to Ben Holcombe & one to Brody Hughes.
Prediction:
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 31 * Springfield Spartans 17

Non-League Game
Souderton Indians (2-5) @ Appoquinimink Jaguars (DE) (3-2)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Souderton lost a key conference game as the Indians lost a 22-21 heartbreaker to Quakertown.  Souderton lost a 14-0 lead * lost a 14-7 lead * lost a 21-7 lead * lost a 21-14 lead * lost a chance to hold a 21-20 lead when the Indians yielded a 2-point conversion * and lost a chance to win the game missing a field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Appoquinimink lost for the 2^nd straight week as the Jaguars were defeated by Cape Henlopen, 24-21, which followed a 21-7 loss to St. George’s Tech.  Appoquinimink opened the season with wins over George Washington (31-6), Dover (33-7) & Howard (3-2 not a typo).
Prediction:
Souderton Indians 31 * Appoquinimink Jaguars 17

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