Upper Moreland, Wissahickon & Truman were winners in SOL football action this weekend. Check out the recaps for all three games.
Saturday, Oct. 17
SOL American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 24, SPRINGFIELD TWP 7
It was a far cry from Friday night lights, but inclement weather forced the Golden Bears to reschedule Friday’s home game against the Spartans to Saturday with a 9 a.m. start.
The Golden Bears didn’t let the unusual start time affect their play, delivering their share of big plays in a winning effort, but impressing coach Adam Beach the most was his team’s ability to make adjustments.
“I told the kids at the end of the game — as we get deeper into the season, people get a handle on what we’re doing,” the UM coach said. “Springfield did some things that we weren’t expecting, and I was very pleased with how we identified what they were doing, communicated to the players and the coaches, and we all made the adjustments.
“That’s how we got those big chunk plays, and that was really the difference in the game.”
Both teams went three-and-out on their first possession, but the Bears – whose drive stalled on their own 42 – received a big lift from Grey Tucker, the team’s punter.
“We punt the ball from our own 42, and our kicker does a great job of angling the kick, and the ball rolls to the 12, so that was great,” Beach said. “It was a nice job by him.
“Springfield got the ball, and on third down Santino Rodriguez forced a fumble that was recovered by Bige Chambers inside the 10, and we get the ball.”
Several plays later, Kyle Moore scored on a four-yard run. The kick on the PAT was blocked, but the Bears led 6-0.
Trailing by one score, the Spartans opted to go for it on fourth-and-two at their own 35, and they were stonewalled by the Bears’ defense. On their ensuing possession, the Bears found themselves with a fourth-and 15 but managed to get a first down with one of several ‘chunk plays.’
“(David Adamski) threw a 20-yard pass to Brody Hughes, which was a big play to keep the drive alive,” Beach said. “It felt like a Thanksgiving Day game with all the craziness going on.”
That long pass to Hughes set the stage for a Rodriguez six-yard touchdown run with 6:17 remaining in the second quarter. UM’s try for a two-point play came up short, but they led 12-0.
“Springfield got a first down, and they’re doing some things, and then Noah Fuchs got a big sack, and they lost like 20 yards, so that stops them,” Beach said.
The Bears could not capitalize and turned the ball over on downs, but Donnie Dinkins came up with a sack to end any threat by the Spartans, and UM took that 12-0 lead into halftime.
UM received the second half kickoff and was called for a penalty that negated a big return. The ball was on the UM 10, and an off-sides call against the Bears took the ball back to the five.
“It’s third down, and we hit Moore on a 69-yard pass play,” Beach said. “On that same drive, on fourth-and-four, we get a first down on a run by Tino (Rodriguez), and Julian Melendez had a big block to make it happen.
“We finished the drive with a seven-yard run by Moore with 5:30 remaining in the third.”
A bad snap on the PAT attempt, and the Golden Bears settled for an 18-0 advantage.
Springfield answered with a scoring drive of its own when Michael Eder hauled in a 10-yard pass, making it an 18-7 game late in the third quarter.
The Golden Bears take over at their own 20.
“Kyle Moore again had a big run – a 30-yard run that gets us back on their side of the 50,” Beach said. “Then we stall, but on fourth down, we had a big catch by Jeremy Zabalou. That extends the drive, and Tino finishes it off with a four-yard run.”
UM’s Rodriguez forced another turnover that was recovered by Dinkins. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
“We were able to make the big plays, use what they were doing against them a little bit,” Beach said. “That gave us the advantage.
“I thought that’s kind of how it went, and that’s good for us moving forward. That’s how you want the games to be. It was good to see.”
Up next: Upper Moreland (7-1, 3-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Springfield Twp (3-5, 1-2) will host Hatboro-Horsham Friday.
Springfield Twp 0-0-7-0 7-
Upper Moreland 6-6-12-0. 24
Friday, Oct. 16
HARRY S TRUMAN 35, HATBORO-HORSHAM 14
Things looked promising when the Tigers opened a 13-0 lead out of the gate, but it turned out to be short-lived as the Hatters rallied to knot the score in the second quarter.
That could have marked the beginning of the end for the Tigers, but it wasn’t as they answered the Hatters comeback with a 22-6 tear to close out the game.
“That, to me, was the bigger thing,” Truman coach Frank McArdle said. “We blew a coverage, and they had a 90-yard touchdown pass. They’re not a passing team. They like to run the ball.
“Credit to them, they got a stop and drove down and scored. The game wound up being tied.
“Our guys responded, and that’s what shows me our program’s growing. When I first got here, I don’t know if we respond to those things. I think we go down, and it keeps going down.”
The Tigers won Friday’s game with a new quarterback behind center.
“We had to start a sophomore quarterback, Sataj Edwards, and he made his first varsity start,” McArdle said. “He did great – led the offense really well.”
Taking a whole lot of pressure off Edwards was senior Jasir Mitchell, who had 265 rushing yards in a stellar outing.
“We used him as a tailback and a wildcat quarterback at times,” McArdle said.
The Tigers took a 21-13 lead into halftime, thanks to a second quarter drive after the Hatters had tied the score.
“We got the ball back, and our offense went on a long drive,” McArdle said. “We scored, and we had a two-point conversion.
“We ran an option play. Jasir (Mitchell) was the holder, and he pitched it to Mark Hackney, and he got in for two points.”
The Tigers upped that advantage to 28-19 heading into the final quarter and added another TD in the fourth quarter..
There were plenty of contributors in the win.
“Taheem Watts played really well for us,” McArdle said. “He played wide receiver and running back at times.
“Jack (Williams) had a bunch of big catches for us.”
While the win loomed large, even more significant was the team’s response when their 13-point lead disappeared.
“That’s the thing I’m most happy about as a coach — when we’re coming back and winning games,” McArdle said. “Before the Springfield game, we either blew the team out or were trailing most of the time. Us fighting back, that’s our next step as a program — to always be in it and come back and win games.”
With the win, the Tigers improved to 4-4 on the season.
“It’s great for us to be 4-4,” McArdle said. “We’re in a good spot. We have a big game this week with Wissahickon, so if we can win that one, it puts us in a really good place.”
Up next: Harry S Truman (4-4, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (2-6, 1-2) will be on the road at Springfield Twp on Friday.
Harry S Truman 13-8-7-7 35
Hatboro-Horsham 7-6-6-0 19
WISSAHICKON 28, WILLIAM TENNENT 7
The Trojans accumulated 320 total yards of offense, which included 238 yards on the ground. Leading the way was senior Quasir Sampson, who was a workhorse out of the backfield and finished with 139 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
Quarterback Evan Dixon completed 5 of 8 passes for 82 yards. He also connected with La’Rod Potter on a successful two-point conversion. The senior QB also had four carries for 24 yards.
Avery Godoy came with an interception and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown. He also was Dixon’s top target with three receptions for 79 yards, and he had two carries for 37 yards.
Ben Hinchcliffe added a pair of field goals – one of 39 yards and the other 28 yards.
Christian Norcum had three receptions for 19 yards.
Wissahickon is eighth in the latest District 1 5A power rankings.
Up next: Wissahickon (6-2, 2-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Friday, and William Tennent (2-6, 0-3) will be on the road at Upper Moreland.
Wissahickon 13-15 28
William Tennent 0-7 7
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