This week’s notebook features Souderton, Norristown & Upper Moreland and highlights some of the weekend’s notable performances.
By Scott Huff
The second week of the Suburban One League non-conference season is in the books.
In the SOL Continental Conference Council Rock North made a statement that it could still be one of the elite teams in the SOL. The Indians – which lost 56-36 to Perkiomen Valley in their opener – rebounded with a 36-29 victory over Central Bucks South. It helps that Rock North has the premier player in the SOL in Brandon McIlwain. Quakertown, Norristown, William Tennent, and Central Bucks East remained unbeaten.
In the SOL American Conference unbeatenUpper Dublin was extremely impressive in its total domination of Truman in a 38-7 win. Everyone knows the caliber of the high-powered Cardinal offense – but the tenacious Upper Dublin defense was also magnificent in shutting down the potent Tiger offense. Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Moreland remained unbeaten.
In the SOL National Conference North Penn and Souderton were the only two teams in the conference that captured wins. The Knights and Indians played competitive games as NP bested West Catholic (40-24) and the Big Red rallied for a 21-14 win over CB West. It is a rare week indeed when Neshaminy, Pennsbury, Pennridge, CB South, and Abington all lose in the same week.
And the beat goes on…
SOL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Norristown Eagles
Norristown (2-0) is hopeful of making its final season in the Suburban One League a memorable one. The Eagles – who along with Upper Merion – will exit the SOL next season for the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
“It is the final year in the Suburban One League for Norristown and the kids know all about it,” said Norristown head coach Jason Powel. “We want to continue to keep playing our local rivalries like Wissahickon and Plymouth Whitemarsh on our non-league schedule.”
Norristown – which opened the season with a 43-13 win over Methacton – played Wissahickon last week and claimed a 38-13 victory over the Trojans. Khalif Sinclair played an awesome game for the Eagles with a spectacular four-touchdown performance that saw the electric Sinclair score on a punt return – an interception return – a pass reception – and a run to fuel the offense.
“Khalif may be a small target (5-8, 160) but he has tremendous speed and vision,” said Powel. “It seems like his feet never touch the ground – and he is very elusive.
“When he has his mind right – he can make special plays,” added Powel. “We saw that last year – and we’re seeing more of it this year.”
Next on the schedule for the unbeaten Eagles will be unbeaten rival Plymouth Whitemarsh.
“Dan (Chang) does a great job of coaching,” said Powel. “We know that PW is going to be prepared and ready for us.
“Our job is to be prepared and ready to play them,” added Powel. “We hung with them last year – hopefully we can do a little better this year.”
‘Notable Numbers’ in the SOL Continental Conference
Khalif Sinclair of Norristown scored rushed for 214 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Eagles soared to a 38-13 victory over Wissahickon. Sinclair scored on a punt return – an interception return – a pass reception – and a run to fuel the offense.
Brandon McIlwain of Council Rock North rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns as the Indians defeated Central Bucks South 36-29. McIlwain also threw a touchdown pass and scored on a 65-yard interception return.
Elias Mayo of Council South rushed for 142 yards and scored two touchdowns on only eight attempts as the Golden Hawks soared to a 43-13 victory over Bensalem.
Rob Burns of Quakertown rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers clawed Hatboro-Horsham 36-19. Burns also caught a 34-yard touchdown pass.
Jack Lamb of Central Bucks East rushed for a game-high 93 yards and scored a touchdown as the Patriots marched to a 16-10 overtime victory over Pennridge.
Tyler Lynch of William Tennent passed for 166 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another TD as the Panthers clawed Fels 44-0.
Jake Reichwein of Central Bucks West rushed for a team-high 75 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Bucks were defeated by Souderton 21-14.
Maurice Jackson of Truman scored on a 72-yard interception return for the only Tiger points as HST was defeated by Upper Dublin 38-7.
This Week in the SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks West Bucks (0-2) @ Pennridge Rams (1-1)
Norristown Eagles (2-0) @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (2-0)
Quakertown Panthers (2-0) @ Cheltenham Panthers (1-1)
Truman Tigers (1-1) @ Bensalem Owls (0-2)
Council Rock North Indians (1-1) @ Pennsbury Falcons (1-1)
William Tennent Panthers (2-0) @ Oxford (0-2)
Neshaminy Redskins (1-1) @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks (1-1)
Central Bucks South Titans (1-1) @ Central Bucks East Patriots (2-0)
SOL American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Upper Moreland (2-0) came into the season without its marvelous tailback Tyler Whitmore, who was lost to graduation. Not lost to graduation – however – was the veteran leadership along both the offensive and defensive lines.
“We have a lot of seniors on the line – and with that comes experience,” said Upper Moreland head coach Adam Beach. “The line is battle tested and can make adjustments easily.”
A cornerstone of both the offensive and defensive lines are seniors Christian Leighton (6-0, 210) and Connor Dolan (6-5, 280).
“I love the versatility and intelligence of Christian,” said Beach of his offensive center and defensive end. “He knows every position on both offense and defense – he even knows what the quarterback has to know. He really can play anywhere.
“Connor gives us great size up front,” added Beach of his offensive and defensive tackle. “He is one of the reasons why we are able to run the football.”
Whitmore may be gone – but in his place are seniors Rodney Morgan and Nick DeLucas – along with junior Nick Pagano.
“Rodney has done very well in the first two games,” said Beach as Morgan has rushed for 382 yards and four touchdowns in the first two Golden Bear wins. “But both Nick DeLucas and Nick Pagano are also very good backs.”
Also in the Upper Moreland equation for a balanced offense has been senior quarterback Casey Decker.
“Casey makes very good decisions – and when (Archbishop) Carroll put men in the box to stop the run – Casey was able to hurt them with the pass,” said Beach. “He is going to make teams play us honest defensively.”
Upper Moreland will put its unbeaten season on the line this week when the Bears host unbeaten Conwell-Egan.
“It is going to be a test,” said Beach. “Egan is a good football team.”
And right now so are the Bears.
‘Notable Numbers’ in the SOL American Conference
Nafeese Nasir of Plymouth Whitemarsh rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns as the Colonials marched to a 33-18 victory over Abington.
Ryan Stover of Upper Dublin rushed for a game-high 136 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Cardinals soared to a 38-7 victory over Harry S Truman. Stover – who also threw a TD pass – broke off runs of 60, 49, and 27 yards.
Rodney Morgan of Upper Moreland rushed for a game-high 131 yards and a score as the Golden Bears captured a 27-7 victory over Archbishop Carroll. Casey Decker threw two TD pass for the winners.
Brendan Mack of Cheltenham rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score as the Panthers clawed to a 19-13 victory over Bishop McDevitt.
Kyle Smith of Upper Merion scored two touchdowns as the Vikings sailed to a 29-13 victory over Harriton.
Calvin Broaddus of Hatboro-Horsham caught 11 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns as the Hatters were topped by Quakertown 38-19.
Mike Marino of Wissahickon fired two touchdown passes as the Trojans were defeated by Norristown 38-13.
Justin Hill of Springfield threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Sheir-Ton Whittaker as the Spartans were defeated by Lansdale Catholic 49-7.
This Week in the SOL American Conference
Norristown Eagles (2-0) @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (2-0)
Conwell-Egan Eagles (2-0) @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears (2-0)
Sun Valley (0-2) @ Upper Merion Vikings (1-1)
Wissahickon Trojans (1-1) @ Souderton Indians (1-1)
Lansdale Catholic Crusaders (2-0) @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (0-2)
Abington Ghosts (0-2) @ Upper Dublin Cardinals (2-0)
Quakertown Panthers (2-0) @ Cheltenham Panthers (1-1)
Springfield (1-1) – bye
SOL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Souderton Indians
Souderton (1-1) came into the 2015 season with a veteran team. The Indians find themselves as the smallest fish in the huge SOL National Conference pond – and head coach Ed Gallagher wanted to go into those deep waters with a good non-conference record.
“It would have been nice if we could go into our conference schedule 3-0,” said Gallagher as the Big Red has split its first two non-conference games. “But if we win next week against Wissahickon (0-2) we’ll settle for 2-1.
“The Plymouth Whitemarsh game the first week was a tough one to lose,” added Gallagher in reference to Souderton’s 20-14 loss to the Colonials in overtime. “And we almost gave one away last week – but we got it back and a win is a win.”
The Indians were even with Central Bucks West (0-2) late in the game – but a touchdown drive in the final moments insured a 21-14 victory over the Bucks.
Jamar White scored the game winner for the Big Red with just 32 seconds left in the game. White wrapped up the victory on the defensive side of the ball with an interception on the final Bucks possession.
“Jamar ran really well and he also blocked very well,” said Gallagher. “We actually called timeout after the last touchdown so that he could get his breath. We knew we were going to have to send him out there again to play defense.
“The challenge we gave the players for the non-conference games was to play well and get ready for the tough conference schedule we play,” continued Gallagher. “Our first conference game will be against (PIAA Quad-AAAA District One Champion) Pennsbury. I hope that we can make the game interesting.
“But right now we need to focus on our next game,” added Gallagher. “We need to win football games.”
And look for the Big Red to capture that home victory.
‘Notable Numbers’ in the SOL National Conference
Reece Udinski of North Pennfired three touchdown passes and passed for 254 yards and the Knights marched to a 40-24 victory over West Catholic. Ricky Johns caught four passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns for the winners.
Jamar White of Souderton scored the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds left in the game as the Indians edged Central Bucks West 21-14. White rushed for a game-high 128 yards and two touchdowns for the Big Red.
Zach Tredway of Neshaminy caught five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown as the Redskins were defeated by Downingtown West 20-14. Will Dogba rushed for 94 yards and a score for the Skins.
Sam Thompson of Central Bucks South rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two touchdowns – but it was not enough as the Titans were beaten by Council Rock North – 36-29.
David Kretchsham of Abington passed for 162 yards and two touchdowns as the Ghosts were defeated by Plymouth Whitemarsh 33-18.
Devon Balmer of Pennridge passed for 108 yards and a touchdown as the Rams were defeated 16-10 in overtime by Central Bucks East.
Kenny O’Connell of Bensalem rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns as the Owls were defeated by Council Rock South 43-13.
Mike Alley of Pennsbury completed five passes for 100 yards as the Falcons were shut out by La Salle 14-0.
This Week in the SOL National Conference
Council Rock North Indians (1-1) @ Pennsbury Falcons (1-1)
Wissahickon Trojans (1-1) @ Souderton Indians (1-1)
Truman Tigers (1-1) @ Bensalem Owls (0-2)
North Penn Knights (1-1) @ Downingtown East Patriots (2-0)
Central Bucks West Bucks (0-2) @ Pennridge Rams (1-1)
Neshaminy Redskins (1-1) @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks (1-1)
Abington Ghosts (0-2) @ Upper Dublin Cardinals (2-0)
Central Bucks South Titans (1-1) @ Central Bucks East Patriots
SUBURBAN ONE SPORTS.COM
TOP TEN
1. Upper Dublin Cardinals (2-0)
2. Pennsbury Falcons (1-1)
3. Neshaminy Redskins (1-1)
4. North Penn Knights (1-1)
5. Council Rock South Hawks (1-1)
6. Quakertown Panthers (2-0)
7. Central Bucks East Patriots (2-0)
8. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (2-0)
9. Council Rock North Indians (1-1)
10. Norristown Eagles (2-0)
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