Central Bucks East was a winner in SOL football action Saturday. Game photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos. (Springfield-Wissahickon photos courtesy of Thea Bosca/Springfield football)
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 56, PENNSBURY 21
The Patriots lit up the scoreboard, scoring early and scoring often on their way to the mercy rule win over the visiting Falcons.
Ethan Shine punched it in from a yard out for an early 7-0 lead, and with 1:43 remaining in the opening quarter, Pat Keller connected with Jack Donnelly for a 22-yard touchdown reception and a 14-0 advantage. A 68-yard touchdown strike from Keller to Matt Labouliere gave the Patriots a three-touchdown advantage with three seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
The Falcons broke the Patriots’ 21-point tear with a touchdown, but the Patriots blocked the extra point. Tommy Day’s 30-yard touchdown run put the Patriots on top 28-6 with less than five minutes remaining in the half.
Keller threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Justin James with 3:36 on the scoreboard clock, and then with 32 seconds, the Falcons scored a touchdown on a two-yard run and added a two-point conversion to make it a 35-14 game after a wild half that saw the two teams combined for 49 points.
Midway through the third quarter, Quinn Moody punched it in from two yards out, and then it was Keller hooking up with Moody for an eight-yard touchdown pass that put the Falcons on top 49-14 after three quarters.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the Falcons scoring first on an eight-yard run, and Declan Kelly’s five-yard touchdown run closed out the scoring as the Patriots rolled to their fourth conference win without a loss.
Seven different players scored for the Patriots, who had 450 yards of total offense. Keller completed 12-of-14 pass attempts for 193 yards and four touchdowns. Labouliere was his favorite target with four receptions for 118 yards and one TD. Shine had 10 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown while Day had six carries for 69 yards and a TD.
Alec Seserko set a program record, connecting on 8-of-8 point-after attempts.
Central Bucks East (5-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Friday, and Pennsbury (0-6, 0-4) will host Upper Dublin on Friday.
Pennsbury 0-14-0-7 21
Central Bucks East 21-14-14-7 56
Friday, Oct. 1
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 14, WISSAHICKON 6
In a game that featured a whole lot more defense than offense, the two teams headed into the third quarter with nothing but zeroes on the scoreboard.
“We knocked on the doorstep a couple times in the first half but couldn’t punch it in,” Springfield coach Chris Shelly said. “We were in the red zone two or three times.
“Our defense played outstanding. That Wissahickon team has some really good skill kids – their quarterback, their receivers, but we put together what we thought was a really good defensive game plan, and our kids executed, and we really held them in check.”
The Spartans finally got on the scoreboard at the 11:54 mark of the fourth quarter when Ben Cooney scored on a quarterback keeper. With less than 10 minutes to play, Wissahickon quarterback Aidan DeFeo found Braheem Thomas with a 41-yard touchdown pass, but the Spartans blocked the point after and still had a 7-6 lead.
“They have some really good kids, and they make plays,” Shelly said. “We could have been up by one or two scores, but we couldn’t punch it in. We missed a field goal.
“Finally, in the fourth, we get the score we need, and they strike. They got loose, but what really was neat to see for our kids – the star kids, the Cooneys and the Conlins, they were who they always are, but we have this kid Johnny Adams who we’ve been waiting for to step up his game, and he did. He blocked the extra point, he made some huge tackles, he had a big catch.”
Dylan McKenzie’s seven-yard touchdown run with 6:56 remaining gave the Spartans their final margin of victory.
“We felt like we were in control of the game, but then we weren’t - it was 7-6,” Shelly said. “That second score that we had put the nail in the coffin, so to speak, but we still had to run out the clock.”
All told, the Spartans had 289 yards of offense – 191 rushing and two touchdowns. Cooney completed 11 passes for 98 yards and also had 14 carries for 66 yards and a TD. Ryan Gibbons had 19 carries for 66 yards. McKenzie had 12 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown and also had six catches for 37 yards. Adams had a 50-yard reception.
“We ran it late really well with Cooney and Gibbons, but the other guys like Johnny Adams and Danny Matthews were fantastic,” Shelly said.
Adams and Matthews, both seniors, are defensive backs. Adams is also a wide receiver.
“Dylan McKenzie is our go-to guy that everyone is aware of, but we need these other guys to step up, and Johnny Adams did,” Shelly said. “He played like a college football player. We’ve been trying to get him to realize his potential, and I think he did (Friday) night.
“Danny Matthews was a star for us on defense. He was flying all over the place, he had a huge interception that he took back a long way,” Shelly said. “He’s one of those kids as a senior, and people don’t realize all the little things he does. It was nice to see.
“It was our homecoming, it was a tremendous crowd. It was closer than I wanted it to be, but it was exciting. You’ve got to give the Wissahickon kids credit. They were beating Upper Moreland, and they had a big win against New Hope, so we knew coming in these guys are not going to roll over. They fought us hard, credit to them.”
Springfield Township (4-1, 2-1 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Friday.
“This is a big one for us,” Shelly said. “We felt like we played with PW (a 35-14 loss), but we just made too many mistakes. They’re the gold standard – they’re in control of the whole race, but there are still games to be played.
“We just felt like we had to get back on track this week, so getting Wisshahickon and now we go to New Hope. We’re not going to take anybody lightly.”
Wissahickon (1-5, 1-2) will host Lower Moreland in a non-league game.
Wissahickon 0-0-0-6 6
Springfield Township 0-0-0-14 14
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 42, ABINGTON 13
The Titans led wire to wire and notched their fourth win of the season, their second in National Conference play.
In a preview of things to come, they put 14 points on the board in the opening quarter. Cole Maholtz jumpstarted the offense with a 14-yard touchdown run, and then quarterback Brett Szarko found Maholtz with a three-yard touchdown pass to give the Titans a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Maholtz scored his third touchdown of the game – this one on a 10-yard run that put the Titans on top 21-0. The Ghosts broke the Titans’ tear when Johnny Dzielawa connected with Jonah Dalton with a two-yard touchdown pass to make it a 21-7 game at halftime.
In the third quarter, Matt Boyce scored on a five-yard carry, and then it was Zak Fischer racing home from 22 yards out to put the Titans on top 35-7. Another Szarko touchdown pass – this one a 10-yard strike to Fisher - gave the Titans a 42-7 lead.
The Ghosts tacked on a late touchdown when Dzielawa tossed an 11-yard pass to Danny Moynihan.
Maholtz led the Titans ground game with 91 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Szarko completed 11-of-15 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Tommy Donnelly had four catches for 49 yards. Kevin Carrigan was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points.
For the Ghosts, Zahmir Lee had 13 carries for 65 yards. Dzielawa threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Central Bucks South (4-2, 2-2 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Thursday, and Abington (1-5, 0-4) will be on the road at Souderton on Friday.
Abington 0-7-0-6 13
Central Bucks South 14-7-14-7 42
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