Central Bucks West defeated Pennridge 38-7. Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. (Tennent/Hatboro-Horsham photos courtesy of Kadi Schenk). CLICK HERE to view the Suburban One Sports’ Football Galleries.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 38, PENNRIDGE 7
(Game info courtesy of @RealMatty_Ice X/EPAFootball)
The night belonged to Ryan Clemens and Noah Miller.
The West duo combined for over 400 yards on the ground and five touchdowns, and both were all but unstoppable.
Clemens surpassed the 250-yard mark while Miller had 150 yards and could have had more.
“Noah had two really long runs,” West coach Rob Rowan said of his senior quarterback. “One was called back by just a really, really foolish penalty on our behalf. Otherwise, he would have had two 50-plus yard touchdown runs.
“Noah and Ryan are an incredible one-two punch. They’re both just tremendous young men, and they’re so similar in the way they go about the game and their preparation. They’re both just unbelievable practice players. They’re students of the game. There’s a reason why they excel.”
It was Miller who put the Bucks on the scoreboard with a 57-yard touchdown run, but the Rams had an immediate answer when junior quarterback Noah Keating connected with Chase Marshall for a 30-yard touchdown that knotted the score 7-7.
“We just had to settle in,” Rowan said. “We had a misalignment on the touchdown. It was just a miscommunication. It really skewed our alignment on the play.
“We didn’t really make any adjustments per se – we just kind of settled in to what our game plan was. Guys just kind of took a deep breath and settled in to reading their keys. I thought from that point on we played really well.”
If there was a turning point in the game, according to Rowan, it came on a huge defensive play in the second quarter with the Rams threatening to score.
“We had a big interception by our safety, Louie Cipollo,” the Bucks’ coach said. “He had a really good week of practice, and we were expecting him to come out and play well, and he did.
“He had a huge play that I thought swung the momentum of the game. They were driving. Louie had an interception and landed on our one-yard line. The next play Ryan ran 90 yards.”
Miller ran it in for the score that gave the Bucks a 14-7 lead they took into halftime.
“Louie’s interception was a game-changing play,” Rowan said. “It was an exceptional play. He high-pointed the ball. It was just a really, really good play.”
The third quarter saw the Bucks cap a long drive with a 22-yard field goal by Clemens to make it a 17-7 game entering the fourth quarter.
That lead grew to 24-7 when Clemens scored on a six-yard run five seconds into the final frame. A Pennridge fumble resulted in another touchdown, this on an 11-yard Clemens run.
“We caused a couple of turnovers, and any time you can do that – you can certainly swing the pendulum in your favor,” Rowan said. “We had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Four turnovers in a game can be difficult to overcome.”
Then came a sequence that underscored Clemens’ dominance in Saturday’s game when he came up with an interception near midfield and – a play or two later – ran 52 yards for a touchdown and a 38-7 lead.
“Then he kicked the extra point too,” Rowan said. “He keeps getting better. He just does everything so exceptionally well.
“He’s one of the best practice players I’ve ever been around. He just practices so hard. He’s always focused, he’s always playing attention, he’s always asking questions. It’s not a mistake or a happenstance that he goes out there and has
over 250 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He was exceptional, and I’m just glad he’s on our team.”
Making Clemens’ remarkable performance even more noteworthy is the fact that he’s rarely – if ever – off the field.
“He’s the ultimate warrior,” Rowan said. “He’s more in shape than maybe any football player I’ve ever had. He is in tip-top physical shape, and he takes care of himself incredibly well.”
The Bucks also received a lift from a reserve thrust into a starting role at H-back.
“We had a sophomore – Liam Laphen – step in tonight and play a key role in our offense,” Rowan said. “He stepped in for AJ (Gerace), who’s dealing with some nagging injuries.
“He played the whole game, and I haven’t watched the film yet, but to the naked eye, he played really well. He blocked incredibly well and really, really impressed for his first varsity start.
“A couple other guys carried the ball tonight – Gavin Todd had a couple runs, Devin McGowan had a couple of runs. We were able to get those guys involved a little bit. Louie (Cipollo) had a big catch on a third down play for a 15-yard gain.
“But tonight was pretty much the Ryan and Noah show.”
Central Bucks West (6-2, 4-1 SOL) will host North Penn Friday, and Pennridge (4-4, 2-3) will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday.
Central Bucks West 7-7-3-21 38
Pennridge 7-0-0-0. 7
Thursday, Oct. 10
HATBORO-HORSHAM 21, WILLIAM TENNENT 7
Ty Teasley had himself a game to remember.
The junior running back scored all three of his team’s touchdowns and finished a stellar outing with 210 yards to lead the Hatters a win that brought a welcome end to a three-game skid.
“Ty has kind of been forced into being our key back with all our injuries, but he had a really big night,” Hatters’ coach Tom Butts said. “This (win) was absolutely huge.
“To their credit, our kids – if you showed up at our practices, you have never known we were on a three-game losing streak. They bring it every day. The energy is there. They’re a unique group of kids.”
The game started on a promising note for the Hatters when the Panthers – after a pooch kick –fumbled the opening kickoff that was recovered by the Hatters.
“We drove a little bit, and we fumbled the ball, and #1 (AJ Alwan), their defensive end, who’s a pretty good player, scooped it up and ran it down to the one-yard line,” Butts said. “Ty Teasley caught him at the one, and they punched it in two plays later to go up 7-0.
“Then it was just a back-and-forth battle. Pretty much all night, it was a defensive battle. We did eventually get things going on the ground.”
Midway through the second quarter, Teasley put the Hatters on the board when he scored on an electrifying 76-yard run.
“Then we stopped them, and I think it was 1:33 left in the half,” Butts said. “We put together a drive and threw a fade from Chris Roughton down to Jaedon Lebens on the two-yard line with six seconds left.
“We ran up and killed the clock, and then Ty Teasley scored on a pass from Chris Roughton as time ran out to make it 14-7 at the half.”
The back-and-forth pattern continued in the second half, and the Hatters gave themselves some welcome insurance when they added a touchdown
early in the fourth quarter.
This time it was Teasley scoring on a nine-yard toss play to give the Hatters their final margin of victory.
Butts had high praise for his team’s defensive effort, which did not allow a point after the Panthers’ early score.
“Quinn Fullmer was our sparkplug out there,” the Hatters’ coach said of the sophomore linebacker. “I don’t know how many tackles he had, but he had a bunch, and he had two interceptions, which were huge.
“Kayden Collazo came back from injury, and he played defensive end and fullback for us. He had a nice night. Nate Gockley forced a fumble late, and Christian Burkert recovered the fumble. We played solid defense. Other than the interceptions, it wasn’t like it was spectacular, but it was really solid, fundamental defense.”
Hatboro-Horsham (3-5, 1-2) will travel to Wissahickon on Friday, and William Tennent (3-5, 1-2) will be on the road at Springfield Twp Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-14-0-7 21
William Tennent 7-0-0-0 7
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