Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Saturday. Neshaminy/CR South photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery.
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 31, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 6
It took just two plays for the Redskins to get on the scoreboard, a very short drive that was capped with a John Hutchinson 30-yard touchdown run. The Golden Hawks never threatened.
By the time the first quarter had ended, the Redskins led 14-0. Chris James scored his first of two touchdowns on the day when he took it in untouched from two yards out. The drive was highlighted by a long Brody McAndrew to Dawson Obringer pass that took the Redskins to South’s nine. A 25-yard Jack Hughes field goal sent the Redskins into halftime with a 17-0 lead.
A 12-yard James touchdown run put the Redskins on top 24-0 at the end of three quarters. Noah Caldani scored on a six-yard run to put the Golden Hawks on the scoreboard. Greg Orleski’s 27-yard touchdown run gave the Redskins their final margin of victory.
McAndrew completed 9-of-14 passes for 172 yards. Orleski had 12 carries for 93 yards to lead the Redskins.
Noah Caldani led the Golden Hawks with 104 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.
The Neshaminy defense limited Rock South to 153 total yards.
Neshaminy (5-4, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury Friday, and Council Rock South (1-8, 1-4) will host Council Rock North in a battle for the Unity Cup on Friday.
Neshaminy 14-3-7-7 31
Council Rock South 0-0-0-6 6
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 31, WILLIAM TENNENT 14
The playoffs started early for Central Bucks East. Four straight losses put the Patriots in a position where every game – suddenly a must- win – was a playoff game if they entertained any thoughts of advancing to the postseason.
After falling behind 7-3 on Saturday, the Patriots closed out the game with a 28-7 tear to win for the second time in as many weeks. They are the 16th seed in the latest District One 6A rankings in what will be a 16-team field.
“We continue to have our best practice weeks, which is important,” coach John Donnelly said. “With each week, we’re getting better. I think that’s the sign of a really good football team. There’s more work to be done.”
A Michael Smigley 38-yard field goal put the Patriots on the board first, but the Panthers answered with a touchdown when Tom Santiago scored from three yards out.
“Tennent has hung tough with a lot of teams this year – they’re much improved, and they’re tough kids,” Donnelly said. “We knew we were going to be in for a dogfight.”
A pair of Pat Volko touchdowns – the first from one yard and the second from four – in the second quarter sent the Patriots into halftime with a 17-3 lead.
“The first half went by pretty quickly,” Donnelly said. “They did a good job of controlling the ball and eating clock, but we were able to get a few scores in right before the half.
“Pat Volko played very well today. He continues to run super hard for us and is just an incredibly tough kid. I think he gets the most out of his body, and he just puts his body on the line all the time. He had a big game running the ball.”
The Panthers made it a 17-10 game when Santiago scored on a nine-yard run, but Dylan Rotondo answered for the Patriots. The freshman scored from 12 yards out to give the Patriots a 24-10 lead after three quarters. Quarterback Anthony Giordano’s three-yard touchdown run gave the Patriots their final margin of victory.
“Anthony Giordano ran the ball well for us today,” Donnelly said. “Freshman Dylan Rotondo also scored a touchdown and ran very hard for us. As the year has gone on, he’s gotten more and more touches. He’s just a dynamic kid for a freshman. We’re excited about him.
“We ended up with a short field a number of times because our defense had held tough. We had two takeaways on the day which set us up with good field position, and I think we were just able to really run the ball well.”
All told, the Patriots had 266 rushing yards. Smigley’s 93 yards on three carries led the Patriot ground gainers. Volko added 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Donnelly credited the play of his offensive line comprised of left tackle Nick Sebal, left guard Jack Duffy, center Bryce Smith, right guard Griffin Trail, and right tackle Liam Scully.
“Hats go off to the offensive line because we knew that we really needed to run the ball well today,” the Patriots’ coach said. “I think we clearly did. We moved the chains pretty consistently in that respect.
“Our two tight ends, Peyton Pflug and Andrew Cassidy, blocked very well today. Towards the end of the first half and then into the late third quarter and early fourth quarter we were fortunate to get good field position.”
The Panthers managed just 132 rushing yards against a stout Patriot defense.
“From a defensive standpoint, Griffin Trail stood out again on the defensive side of the ball,” Donnelly said. “He created chaos in the passing game in terms of rushing the passer and did a great job of just shedding blocks and making plays in the run game.
“Michael Smigley had a great game as well. He had some really great tackles on defense – just came up out of his corner spot and played very physical.”
Back-up kicker Morgan Dorsey, a soccer player, split the uprights with the first PAT of her career after Giordano’s TD run that closed out the scoring.
“She’s trained with us through the spring and summer – she’s a football player, she’s on the team,” Donnelly. “We were in a position where we could get her on for an extra point, and she made it, so she’s 1-for-1 in her career.”
Central Bucks East (5-4, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Friday. William Tennent (3-6, 1-4) will be on the road at North Penn.
William Tennent 7-0-7-0 14
Central Bucks East 3-14-7-7 31
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