Truman and Pennsbury picked up big wins on Saturday night.
Some of the stats used in the wraps below are provided courtesy of Calkins Media. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web site www.PhillyBurbs.com<http://www.PhillyBurbs.com>.
HARRY S TRUMAN 42, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 40
Coach Jon Craig called the Tigers’ heartstopping victory over Council Rock North the “signature win” his team was looking for. By any name, it was a monumental win for a Tiger squad that has suffered through some tough losses but is clearly on the rise.
“We let two fourth quarter leads get away from us, and we’ve let a comeback fall short in the fourth quarter,” Craig said. “We needed a good win in a tight situation against a good team.
“We let them get away with one last year (a 21-17 loss to Rock North in a game the Tigers led), and for our program moving forward, it just helps solidify the things we talk about, and it puts into action our idea of mental toughness.
“I’ve said it many times – our issue is figuring out how we can’t beat ourselves. We had a lot of bad penalties, and to let them even come back and be close like that is something we have to work on, but the feeling of holding on and winning a close game over a very good team that is very well coached is going to be the thing we’re going to point to a lot as we move forward. We still have a lot of football left.”
The Tigers found themselves staring at a 20-7 deficit but rallied to go on top 21-20 at halftime.
“We were down and definitely did not have momentum,” Craig said. “We had some penalties that killed some drives on offense. We couldn’t get off the field on third down in the first half on defense, but to do all that, to make mistakes and not be technically sound – to be up 21-20 at halftime was huge. A lot of guys were looking around for someone to make big plays and kids like Corey McCloud, Justin Fant and Mark Lopez – they made huge plays. When they made big plays, our kids rallied around that.”
A key play in the Tigers’ first half comeback was a 57-yard touchdown run by quarterback Mark Lopez-Shefcyk that – after Tim Kenny-Schwarz’s extra point – that made it a 20-14 game. The Tigers went on top 21-20 when Lopez-Shefcyk tossed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Tramel, but Craig pointed to Lopez-Shefcyk’s 57-yard TD run as the game changer.
“That play really characterized what this win was about,” the Tigers’ coach said. “We bought in, and there were kids making multiple blocks downfield to spring him loose.
“It was really a busted play – it was a pass that he scrambled, and that to me is the play that stands out as the play that got us going. To come off the field 21-20 with a lead after how poorly we felt we played – we felt good coming out the second half.”
Chris Welde accounted for all three of Rock North’s touchdowns in the opening half, scoring on a 20-yard run and hauling in a pair of Brandon McIlwain touchdown passes.
“We said at halftime – ‘Even though we’re up, the pressure is on Council Rock North. They’re a team that’s undefeated in the conference. They had a two-touchdown lead, and now it’s gone. Let’s go out and play and enjoy the moment. Don’t worry about the end result. Let’s take one play at a time and win the next play, and we’ll be fine,’” Craig said.
The Tigers opened the second half with three consecutive touchdowns that included runs by Trysten Hunt, Justin Fant (69 yards) and Lopez-Shefcyk.
“It was the product of our line doing a great job, our offensive coordinator and our offensive staff getting our guys in the right position,” Craig said. “The kids go out and play and believe in what we’re doing.”
The Indians’ 42-20 lead early in the fourth quarter was anything but secure.
Welde put the Indians right back in it with an 80-yard kickoff return, and when McIlwain found Matt Chandlee with a 47-yard touchdown pass, the Indians were within eight (42-34). A Truman fumble set up a McIlwain touchdown run, but the two-point conversion failed.
“We’re up 22 points, and they get a kickoff return for a touchdown, and then we can’t get a first down to save our lives,” Craig said. “We let them right back in the game.
“Both drives they started around the middle of the field.”
The Tigers caught a break on the Indians’ two-point conversation attempt.
“On the touchdown, McIlwain scores and his helmet comes off, so on the two-point play, he was not allowed to come back on the field,” Craig said. “That obviously will factor in, but we’ll take pride in what happened. That’s the way the game goes.”
The Indians had one last possession, but their 31-yard field goal attempt missed wide.
On a night that saw the two teams combine for 902 yards of total offense, Lopez-Shefcyk was the leading ground gainer for Truman with 127 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw for 84 yards and a TD. McCloud had 108 yards while Fant added 108.
For the Indians, Welde finished with 124 yards on the ground and McIlwain had 65. The Indians’ junior quarterback also threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
Truman (4-3, 2-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday while Rock North (5-2, 3-1) will host Central Bucks West.
Council Rock North 13-7-0-20 40
Harry S Truman 7-14-14-7 42
PENNSBURY 41, PENNRIDGE 14
It hasn’t taken long for the Falcons to establish themselves as the class of the SOL, and any thoughts that the Rams might be able to hang with the Falcons in Saturday night’s National Conference showdown were put to rest in a hurry.
Charles Snorweah was the class of the class in the Falcons’ Homecoming Night game. The Rutgers-bound senior finished with a game-high 239 yards and three touchdowns. It was Snorweah who put the Falcons on the scoreboard with a 16-yard run, and then Victor Delgado tacked on a TD run. Another Snorweath touchdown run – this one for 77 yards – put the Falcons on top 21-0, and when quarterback Mike Alley raced in for the score, the Falcons led 28-0.
Down but not out, the Rams used an Imeir Simmons touchdown run to make it a 28-7 game at halftime, and then made things interesting with another Simmons TD run to pull to within 28-14. The rest of the night belonged to the Falcons, who closed out the game with a 13-0 run.
Raheem Thompson also surpassed the 100-yard mark for the Falcons, who improved to 4-0 in SOL National Conference play (7-0 overall).
Pennsbury will travel to North Penn next Friday while Pennridge (5-2, 2-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South.
Pennridge 0-7-7-0 14
Pennsbury 21-7-6-7 41/em>
About the Author
