SOL Football Forecast (10-8-26)

Cover photo & UM/Wiss photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice Photography. Pennsbury/Pennridge photo courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.

Football Forecast – 8

By Scott Huff

The Suburban One League National Conference features a pair of heavyweight bouts this week that might knock out the losers from possible conference championship aspirations.
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Pennridge (6-0, 3-0) will take its unbeaten season on the treacherous road to Crawford Stadium to play defending District One champion North Penn (4-2, 2-1).

The Rams and the Knights played twice a season ago with Pennridge winning its regular season game 30-14 which helped the Dartmouth Green & White secure a SOL National Conference championship.

North Penn avenged its regular season loss with a 21-14 victory over the Rams in the PIAA District One Class 6A title game.

The Pennridge 2026 resume includes victories over Liberty (35-0), Souderton (28-11), Council Rock South (27-10), Central Bucks West (14-7), Central Bucks East (26-7) and Pennsbury (28-6).

The Rams have scored an average of 26.3 points per game and has allowed just 6.8 points per game.  A winning margin of 19.5 points per game.

The North Penn 2026 resume includes victories over Lower Dauphin (41-7), Upper Dublin (35-0), Pennsbury (35-7) & Neshaminy (28-0).  The Navy Blue & Columbia Blue have lost games to Central York (42-33) & Central Bucks West (28-26).

The Knights have scored an average of 33.0 points per game and have allowed an average of 14.0 points per game.  A winning margin of 19.0 points per game.
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Central Bucks West (5-1, 2-1) will play an intense district rivalry game against host Central Bucks South (3-3, 3-0) @ Titan Stadium that will also have a huge impact on the outcome of the SOL National Conference race.

The CB West-CB South contest will also go a very long way in determining which Central Bucks school will capture the prestigious CB Cup. 

To date CB South has a 35-6 victory over CB East in its pocket, while CB West will meet CB East on the final regular season game for both teams on October 30^th.

The Central Bucks West 2026 resume includes victories over Easton (36-7), Wilson West Lawn (35-23), Souderton (35-14), North Penn (28-26) & Abington (44-0).  The Black & Gold lost to Pennridge, 14-7.

The Bucks have scored an average of 30.8 points per game and have allowed an average of 14.0 points per game.  A winning margin of 16.8 points per game.

The Central Bucks South 2026 resume includes victories over Abington (37-6), Neshaminy (36-0) & Central Bucks East (35-6).  The Royal Blue, Black & White has lost games to Archbishop Wood (35-17), Downingtown West (28-20) & Plymouth Whitemarsh (33-0).

The Titans have scored an average of 24.2 points per game and have allowed an average of 18.0 points per game.  A winning margin of 6.2 points per game.
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When the Friday Night Lights are turned off @ Crawford & Titan Stadiums, the SOL National Conference championship puzzle should be a little closer to completion.

And one of the possible outcomes could result in a 4-way tie for the SOL National Conference lead * a North Penn win over Pennridge and a CB West victory over CB South would create that 4-way conference deadlock between the Knights (3-1), the Bucks (3-1), the Rams (3-1) & the Titans (3-1).

Stay tuned.

Fly Cardinals fly……on the road to victory
Upper Dublin (3-3, 2-0) soared to its third straight victory as the Flying Cardinals defeated Council Rock North, 38-7, in a SOL Continental Conference game.

Upper Dublin defeated Bensalem 14-13 in the conference opener two weeks ago, and the Cardinals defeated Hatboro Horsham 25-7 three weeks ago in a non-league game.

Currently, Upper Dublin is ranked 16^th in the Class 5A District One rankings which would make the Cardinals the final team to qualify in the 16-team field.

Hall of Fame head coach Bret Stover and his Cardinal & Grey are the only Class 5A team in the SOL Continental Conference with a male enrollment of just 469 students. 

Upper Dublin competes in the conference with all Class 6A teams with some schools having substantially more male students.

That male enrollment list in the SOL Continental Conference includes Bensalem (966), Souderton (891), Council Rock South (716), Council Rock North (636), Quakertown (635) & Plymouth Whitemarsh (614).

Upper Dublin was ‘moved’ from the SOL American Conference in 2020 to the SOL Continental due to the tremendous success of the program.

Stover guided the Cardinals to some sensational seasons in the American Conference * 13-2 overall record in 2018 * 14-1 overall record in the historic 2015 season when UD defeated the 3 largest enrollment school in the District One playoffs (Upper Darby, Pennsbury & North Penn) * 11-2 in 2014 * 9-2 in 2016 & 9-2 in 2013.

The initial move to the Continental Conference has also been a success.  The Cardinals were 14-1 overall in 2022 * 9-4 in 2024 & 9-3 in 2021.  The record in the conference since the move is an outstanding 31-8.

However, Upper Dublin was 4-7 overall last season * the first losing season under Stover since 2009 * and early season losses to Wissahickon (35-7), Penn Manor (28-14) & North Penn (35-0) make it look like a second consecutive losing season could be an uncommon reality.

The combined records of the teams the Cardinals defeated this season * Hatboro Horsham (2-4), Bensalem (1-5) & Council Rock North (0-6) * are a less than impressive 3-15.

FanDuel might have the Cardinals projected as underdogs against most of their remaining conference schedule that includes Council Rock South, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Quakertown & Souderton.

But don’t bet against Bret Stover & those Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals – I know I wouldn’t.

Believe or not…..there is a Tiger In The (Truman) Tank…..
Harry S Truman (3-3, 1-0) was ‘moved’ from the SOL Continental Conference to the SOL American Conference this season after a dreadful 2-23 Continental Conference record the last four seasons.

But believe it or not, the Tigers would be in the PIAA District One 6A playoffs if the playoffs were to begin today.  The Vegas Gold & Black are currently the 15^thseed in the 16-team D-1 playoffs.

The Truman 2026 roller coaster ride was down in a 42-13 loss to Haverford * upin a 42-7 win over Council Rock North * down in a 34-7 loss to West Philadelphia * up in a 37-0 win over South Philadelphia * down in a 27-6 loss to Chichester & up in a 22-20 conference victory over Springfield-Montco.

The most feared Tiger this season is running back Koko Johnson who in the HST wins scored 5 touchdowns against Rock North * scored 4 touchdowns against South Philly & scored 2 touchdowns against Springfield-Montco.

Truman will hope for the best to halt the down spiral to the 2026 roller coaster ride when the Tigers host Upper Moreland (5-1, 1-0) in what will actually be for the SOL American Conference lead in the early season.

Stay tuned.

District One Rankings
*Class 6A * 16 of 30 D-1 teams qualifies for playoffs*

*Class 5A* 16 of 27 D-1 teams qualifies for playoffs*

And the beat goes on…

SOL National Conference
Pennridge Rams (6-0, 3-0) @ North Penn Knights (4-2, 2-1)
Last Year:
Pennridge 34 – North Penn 10 * North Penn 21 – Pennridge 14
Last Week:
Pennridge remained unbeaten and at the top of both the SOL National Conference and the District One rankings as the Rams defeated Pennsbury, 28-6.  Trevor Picciotti fueled the offense as he rushed 132 yards & 3 touchdowns, while Aiden Tetkowski fired a 17-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Dornon.
North Penn prepped for its showdown with Pennridge as the Knights shut out Neshaminy, 28-0.  Mason DiLorenzo opened the scoring with a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown.  Londan Evans scored on a 20-yard run and threw an 18-yard scoring pass to Rylei Gray. Jayden Jenkins scored on a 3-yard run.
Prediction:
Guest Forecaster: Amelia V. Moyer
Pennridge Rams 31 * North Penn Knights 14

Central Bucks West (5-1, 2-1) @ Central Bucks South (3-3, 3-0)
Last Year:
Central Bucks West 25 * Central Bucks South 21
Last Week:
Central Bucks West remained in contention for a SOL National Conference championship as the Bucks rolled to a 44-0 victory over Abington.
Central Bucks South won for the third straight week as the Titans rolled to a 35-6 conference victory over district rival Central Bucks East.  Gavin Graham scored two rushing touchdowns on runs of 3 & 1 yards and scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Trent Haviland. Haviland also fired a 9-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Rizzo.  Sean Bulicki scored a rushing touchdown for the winners.
Prediction:
Central Bucks West Bucks 28 * Central Bucks South Titans 24

Central Bucks East (3-3, 1-2) @ Pennsbury Falcons (3-3, 1-2)
Last Year:
Central Bucks East 7 * Pennsbury 0
Last Week:
Central Bucks East lost for the second straight week as the Patriots were defeated by district rival Central Bucks South, 35-6.  The lone scoring for CB East came in the first half when Cole Wojnicki kicked a pair of field goals – one of 37-yards & the other of 25-yards.  The Patriots trailed 21-6 @ halftime.
Pennsbury battled unbeaten Pennridge in the first half before falling to the Rams, 28-6.  The Falcons trailed 15-6 @ halftime.  Luke Beighley rushed for 65 yards and scored on a 6-yard run.  Quarterback Jack Arndt completed 10 passes for 96 yards.
Prediction:
Central Bucks East Patriots 17 * Pennsbury Falcons 14

Abington Galloping Ghosts (2-4, 0-3) @ Neshaminy Redskins (2-4, 0-3)
Last Year:
Neshaminy 48 * Abington 6
Last Week:
Abington unfortunately lost its 33^rd straight SOL National Conference game as the Ghosts were shut out by Central Bucks West, 44-0.  Abington does own a pair of shutout wins this season against Norristown (13-0) & CR North (38-0).
Neshaminy had some good news and bad news in its 28-0 conference loss to North Penn.  The good news was that the Redskin defense intercepted four Knight passes.  The bad news was that the Neshaminy offense failed to score and was held to less than 100 yards total offense.
Prediction:
Neshaminy Redskins 21 * Abington Galloping Ghosts 10

SOL Continental Conference
Souderton Indians (2-4, 2-1) @ Quakertown Panthers (2-4, 2-1)
Last Year:
Souderton 49 * Quakertown 12
Last Week:
Souderton rallied in the second half but failed to catch unbeaten Plymouth Whitemarsh, 17-14.  The Indians trailed the Colonials 17-0 @ the close of the first half.  Souderton scored 2 rushing touchdowns in the second half as Levi Lopez scored a 4-yard run & Brett Pollock scored on a 9-yard run.
Quakertown scored early and often in a 56-13 conference victory over Bensalem.  Carter Tucholski fired 2 touchdown passes – one to Elliot Martin & the other to Dominick Ferrugio.  Marcus Baxter scored 2 rushing touchdowns for the Panthers.  Daimon Lowande-Richardson raced for a 72-yard touchdown run & Lukas Furness scored on a 3-yard run.  Brenden Gartland scored on a 40-yard ‘scoop & score’ to close out the scoring.
Prediction:
Souderton Indians 21 * Quakertown Panthers 17

Council Rock South Hawks (2-3, 0-2) @ Upper Dublin Cardinals (3-3, 2-0)
Last Year:
Council Rock South 34 * Upper Dublin 14
Last Week:
Council Rock South will showcase ‘Youth Night’ as the defending SOL Continental Conference champion Golden Hawks will attempt to halt a 2-game losing streak.  Rock South had a bye last week.  Two weeks ago, Rock South lost to Quakertown 24-21 & three weeks ago the Hawks lost a 14-13 conference game to Souderton.
Upper Dublin won for the third consecutive week as the Flying Cardinals soared by Council Rock North, 38-7, to remain unbeaten in the conference. Quarterback Lawson Tyler threw a 60-plus touchdown pass to Braeden Skahan & also scored on a 1-yard run.  Tyler O’Sullivan scored 2 touchdowns for UDHS, while Ty Greenberg also scored a rushing touchdown.  Duncan Boyd kicked a 22-yard field goal to open the scoring.
Prediction:
Council Rock South Hawks 24 * Upper Dublin Cardinals 17

Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (5-0, 2-0) @ Council Rock North (0-6, 0-3)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Plymouth Whitemarsh jumped out to a 17-0 first half lead but was forced to hang on late in the game in a 17-14 conference victory over Souderton.  Cole Reilly threw 2 touchdown passes – one a 25-yard scoring pass to Alex Kriebel & the other a 4-yard TD pass to Aiden Orensky.  The margin of victory was provided by a 33-yard field goal by Max Peterson.
Council Rock North lost for the 21^st consecutive game as the Indians were defeated by Upper Dublin, 38-7.  The lone score for Rock North in the ‘mercy-rule’ game came in the fourth quarter.
Prediction:
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 49 * Council Rock North 7

**Non-League**
Dobbins Vo Tech Mustangs (1-5) @ Bensalem Owls (1-5)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Dobbins Vo Tech captured its first win of the season as the Mustangs defeated Kensington, 18-6.  Dobbins opened the season with losses to Roxborough (12-6), Renaissance Academy (54-12), Vaux (36-6), Kipp DuBois (22-0) & Samuel Fels (20-0).
Bensalem suffered a 56-13 conference loss to Quakertown.  The Owls were ‘never in the game’ and trailed 28-6 @ the close of the first quarter & 49-7 @ halftime.  The highlight for Bensalem was a 78-yard touchdown run by Brennan Farnsworth.
Prediction:
Bensalem Owls 31 * Dobbins Mustangs 13

SOL American Conference
Upper Moreland Bears (5-1, 1-0) @ Harry S Truman Tigers (3-3, 1-0)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Upper Moreland opened the conference schedule with a key 14-0 victory over Wissahickon.  Both the Golden Bears & the Trojans were considered conference favorites going into the game.  Kyle Moore scored on touchdown runs of 13 & 2 yards.  The score at halftime was 14-0.
Harry S Truman the Tiger offense generated just enough points as HST captured a 22-20 conference victory.  Koko Johnson scored 2 touchdowns & a 2-point conversion, while Jasir Mitchell scored a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.  The Tiger defense came up with a critical goal line stand in the final quarter to secure the victory.
Prediction:
Upper Moreland Bears 20 * Harry S Truman Tigers 14

Hatboro Horsham Hatters (2-4, 1-0) @ Wissahickon Trojans (4-2, 0-1)
Last Year:
Wissahickon 42 * Hatboro Horsham 7
Last Week:
Hatboro Horsham opened its conference schedule with a 24-14 victory over William Tennent.  The Hatters broke open a 14-14 third period deadlock to seal the deal.  Brendan Heaphy scored twice – both on 1-yard runs – and kicked a 30-yard field goal.  Joey Biermass scored on a 15-yard run and rushed for a game-high 118 yards.
Wissahickon lost a critical conference opener to Upper Moreland, 14-0.  The Trojans & Golden Bears were considered co-favorites to contend for a conference title.  Wissahickon entered the game with Upper Moreland with a 25.0 points per game average.
Prediction:
Wissahickon Trojans 31 * Hatboro Horsham Hatters 14

William Tennent Panthers (2-4, 0-1) @ Springfield Spartans (2-4, 0-1)
Last Year:
Springfield 20 * William Tennent 14
Last Week:
William Tennent opened the conference schedule with a 24-14 loss to Hatboro Horsham.  The Panthers were tied 14-14 in the third quarter on touchdown runs by Gavin Mensch & Braden Rementer.
Springfield held an 8-0 lead after one quarter * trailed 14-8 @ halftime * outscored Truman 12-8 in the 3^rd quarter * and lost to the Tigers 22-20 in the conference opener for both teams.  The Spartans had a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line but failed to score in the fourth period.
Prediction:
William Tennent Panthers 21 * Springfield Spartans 20

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