Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. Abington/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Pennridge/CB South photos courtesy of Kim Supko Photography. Check back for galleries of both games.
Stats provided courtesy of Intelligencer/Courier. For additional football stats and coverage, visit the Intelligencer (https://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school) and Courier Times (https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/)
SOL National Conference
ABINGTON 36, PENNSBURY 35
The decision was an easy one for coach Kevin Conlin.
Abington was going to go for two and the win after quarterback John Dzielawa scored from 10 yards out to make it a 35-34 game with one minute on the scoreboard clock.
“Their offense was really quick, and I thought from the 10-yard line (if the game went to overtime), they would have a distinct advantage, so I knew we were going to go for two,” Conlin said. “I just didn’t know what play.”
The play was a successful Dzielawa run, and the Ghosts had a lead they would not lose.
“Danny Moynihan led on the play – he did the kickout block, Jonah Dalton led through the hole, and Johnny took it home,” Conlin said. “Those are our three captains right there. If you’re going to win the game, you might as well run it with your best three guys.”
The game-winning touchdown was set up by a huge kickoff return to the Falcons’ 41 by Saud Salahuddin after the Falcons – thanks to a 68-yard touchdown run by Galamama Mulbah – took a seven-point lead.
“Saud had a great return for us, got us across the 50,” Conlin said. “Johnny Dzielawa had a nice throw to Josh Young, and then Johnny just took over at that point. It turned into a shootout all of a sudden at the end of the game.”
Did it ever.
The Ghosts – who trailed 14-7 at the intermission – found themselves trailing by two touchdowns early in the third quarter.
“We had another good kickoff return (to open the second half) and then we threw an interception,” Conlin said. “It was a bad call by me. At that point, we were like, ‘Let’s let Johnny and Zahmir (Lee) take over the game’ because Pennsbury scored right away to go up 21-7.
“Zahmir Lee once again had a great game, and Johnny (Dzielawa) had a great game. Johnny’s just a tremendous leader. He’s a great hard-nosed football player. He’s not the quarterback that everyone wants, but he’s the quarterback that leads our team, and he’s a quarterback our kids will follow to the end, and that’s exactly what happened tonight. He’s just a great, great football player and a great kid.”
After the Ghosts pulled to within 28-20, Pat Capone delivered an on-sides kid that was recovered by the Ghosts, who took advantage of the short field to score a touchdown that made it a 28-26 game. Lee ran it in for the successful two-point conversion to knot the score 28-28.
But not for long.
Mulbah – who already had a 72-yard TD run in the third quarter – had the 64-yard touchdown run put the Falcons on top 35-28 with 2:30 remaining. The Ghosts, however, had one last comeback in them, rallying for the dramatic win.
Conlin credited his defense for its play.
“It was the usual suspects, but a kid who deserves recognition – Colin Haney has been playing really well for us since the Souderton game,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Kyle Hughes leaves everything on the field for us. He’s a heart and soul type of kid.
“Like I told our team, that was a program win because our kids never put their heads down. Every time they would score, they would come closer together. If someone threw an interception, we would come together. It was not like everything was falling part. Everybody stayed together, stayed calm. It was a great win at the end.”
Abington (3-6, 2-4 SOL) will host Pennridge on Friday, and Pennsbury (0-9, 0-6) will host Neshaminy on Friday.
“Credit Pennsbury – they came out ready to rock,” Conlin said. “They’re probably the most improved team around. They’re going to be a problem next year for a lot of teams.”
PENNRIDGE 35, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 10
Brennan Fisher had himself a night.
The Rams’ junior running back put up some eyepopping numbers, carrying the ball just 13 times for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead a potent Pennridge offense that accumulated over 400 total yards.
“Fisher has had a couple of other big games where he’s scored a couple of touchdowns, but with our offense, it’s essentially by committee,” Pennridge coach Cody Muller said. “We spread the ball out so much that any given day – one of those guys is going to step up and take off with it.
“It was Fisher tonight, and just seeing him grow over time in the last few games – his vision, his speed, his toughness. He’s bringing it. He definitely had it going tonight and did a great job.”
Fisher had the big numbers, but he wasn’t the only productive back in the Rams’ stable. Brayden Landherr also had a big night, finishing with 15 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Wetzel added 49 yards on the ground.
“It starts up front with those guys blocking,” Muller said. “They did a great job – our offensive linemen seeing things and picking up guys on defense.
“Our backs were making phenomenal cuts. Brennan, Landherr and Wetzel did a great job, they found the holes. I was proud of them.”
By comparison, the Titans had 22 carries for 24 yards on the ground against a stingy Rams’ defense.
“The defense has been doing well all season,” Muller said. “Each week we look for them to step up and play tough, and every week they do it. They respond to the call.
“We had a couple new faces in here and there, but overall, they just did a good job of stepping up.”
Landherr put the Rams on the board when he scored from three yards out, a TD that was set up by his own 37-yard run. The Titans evened the scored on a four-yard touchdown run by Cole Maholtz, but the Rams took a 14-7 lead late in the opening quarter when Logan McGowan scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper. Another Landherr TD – this one from one yard out – put the Rams on top 21-7, a score that held until halftime
Late in the third quarter, an interception by South’s Ryan Smith set up a 34-yard field goal by Kevin Carrigan to make it a 21-10 game, but the Rams put some distance between themselves and the Titans when Fisher raced 62 yards for a TD that put the Rams on top 28-10. Another long Fisher TD run – this one for 74 yards – gave the Rams their final margin of victory.
“Up front defensive line-wise, Steve Reutlinger did a great job in the middle of the defense,” Muller said. “Tyler Wetzel was a first-time starter on defense this season. I put him in at outside linebacker for Logan McGowan since Logan was playing quarterback for us, and Wetzel did a good job. He had a sack forced fumble that started the momentum for us defensively.
“We had a freshman, Trevor Fuhs, step in at inside backer for Dylan O’Brien who was out this game. Trevor did a great job for being only a freshman. Phil Picciotti is Phil Picciotti, and our DBs did a good job. Overall, I was just really proud of those guys. Steve Reutlinger being a great leader up front and those two guys stepping in. This week they’ve worked their butts off, and it really showed tonight.”
Junior quarterback Brett Szarkko completed 10 passes for 102 yards to lead the Titans’ offense.
Pennridge (6-3, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Abington on Friday, and Central Bucks South 6-3, 3-3) will host North Penn on Friday.
Pennridge 14-7-0-14 35
Central Bucks South 7-0-3-0 10
NORTH PENN 28, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 21
(Statistics provided by Mike Cabrey/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/2021/10/23/edwards-late-td-catch-helps-north-penn-hold-off-central-bucks-east/)
This game was over.
Or at least so it seemed when Ethan Spann punched it in for a touchdown from one yard out midway through the third quarter, giving the Knights a seemingly commanding 21-0 lead. The Patriots, however, had other ideas and came roaring back to knot the score.
With the Knights in need of a big play and five minutes remaining, quarterback Ryan Zeltt delivered, hooking up with Jalen Edwards for a 59-yard touchdown pass that saved the day for the Knights, who escaped with the tightly contested win.
Early on, the Knights took a 7-0 lead when Zeltt connected with Rashad McNeill for a 33-yard touchdown pass. A 64-yard TD run by Khalani Eaton sent the Knights into halftime with a 14-0 lead that grew to 21-0 in the third quarter. A three-yard touchdown run by Tommy Day put the Patriots on the board with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Dan Reinhardt’s one-yard TD made it a 21-13 game with just over 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. A two-yard touchdown run by quarterback Pat Keller and the successful two-point conversion knotted the score 21-21 with 6:33 remaining. That turned out to be more than enough time for a Knights’ comeback.
Eaton’s 124 yards and one touchdown led the Knights’ ground game. Zeltt threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Patriots, Keller threw for 156 yards and Day had 21 carries for 86 yards and a TD.
North Penn (9-0, 6-0 SOL) will travel to Central Buck South on Friday, and Central Bucks East (6-3, 4-2) will host Central Bucks West on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Central Bucks East 0-0-7-14 21
North Penn 7-7-7-7 28
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 27, NESHAMINY 3
The Bucks notched a convincing bounce-back win after last week’s loss to North Penn in a key conference battle, coming up big on both sides of the ball.
One name popped up immediately when coach Rob Rowan was asked about his team’s win.
“Donte Mancini played – in my opinion – maybe his best high school football game ever,” the Bucks’ coach said. “All phases of the game – he blocked extremely well, he ran the ball extremely hard. Defensively, he played really well. He had a blocked punt.
“We blocked two punts – one of them he blocked and the other one – he ended up picking it up and running it all the way back to the three- or four-yard line. He was just all over the field making plays.”
Also coming up big, according to the Bucks’ coach, were quarterback Ganz Cooper and Conor McFadden.
“They both connected a couple of times on some really nice plays,” Rowan said. “I thought defensively Casey Smith and Cooper Taylor played really well.
“Collin Newman, Jack Wierzbowski – a lot of guys contributed to the overall success.”
Listening to the the Bucks’ coach tell it, his team might well have lost its identity in its loss to North Penn.
“This week was really all about just getting back to playing our brand of football,” Rowan said. “I thought the week prior we kind of got away from who we are and our identity for a chunk of the game, and that ended up hurting us. It was really just getting back to playing our brand of football, executing at a high level, and I thought our kids came out and did that.
“Neshaminy is a tough team. I know their record says otherwise, but those kids are well coached, they play extremely hard, so we knew we were in for a battle.”
Central Bucks West (7-2, 5-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East next Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest. Neshaminy (1-8, 0-6) will be on the road at Pennsbury.
SOL Continental Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 20, HARRY S TRUMAN 13
Senior Nights don’t get much better than this one for the Golden Hawks, although the game had a less than promising start for the Hawks, who trailed 13-0 in the second quarter.
“Truman is a pretty solid team,” Rock South assistant head coach Tony Checchia said. “A lot of talented skill position guys, a ton of speed, a lot of guys that can hurt you in a lot of different ways, a lot of playmakers.
“For the year, this was definitely our best team effort. Coach (Vince) Bedesem said it a few times tonight and after the game to the kids – the way that we played complimentary football. The offense was moving the ball, the defense was coming up with stops, and the special teams were coming up with big plays as well.
“Unfortunately, throughout the year, we’ve had moments where the offense is doing well but the defense isn’t and vice versa. It’s hard to win games like that. It was a big night. It was a real cool thing to see the team effort on Senior Night, and really truly, it was a team win. Everyone contributed.”
The Golden Hawks were without senior quarterback Matt Striffolino, forcing sophomore Caleb Christian to step into a starting role.
“Unfortunately, Matt picked up an injury last week, so Caleb had to come in and step up,” Checchia said. “Really, that was his first time under the fire of Friday night, and he passed the test. He did enough to give us a chance to win.”
The Golden Hawks, according to Checchia, gave up two big plays, allowing the Tigers to take the early 13-0 lead.
“Right before halftime, Truman had a fake punt call on fourth down that we were able to stop, and that put us in a pretty good position right before halftime with only about 10 or so seconds left,” Checchia said. “Caleb was able to throw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jake Zarnowsky. We went for two and didn’t get it, so it was 13-6 going into half.”
The Golden Hawks received the opening kickoff of the second half, and senior Bobby Kennedy delivered a big kick return, taking the ball to the Tigers’ 20-yard line.
“It’s kind of rare that it got to that point – usually if you get that far, you’re scoring, but Truman didn’t give up on the play,” Checchia said. “You could kind of sense the momentum. It was a really good moment for Bobby because he was a little bit of a scapegoat for some of the big plays earlier, and to see him rebound on Senior Night and come up with the big play is really cool.”
Several plays later, Christian ran it in from six yards out, knotting the score 13-13. It was still a tie game heading into the fourth quarter.
“It was back and forth, and we put a drive together,” Checchia said. “Damon Culver, another senior, ended up scoring on an inside run of about eight yards or so. That put us up 20-13. We came up with a few stops.
“Truman got one last chance with a minute, perhaps two minutes to go and ultimately came up short. It was a team effort in the sense of offense, defense and special teams, but it was also a team effort in terms of a sophomore quarterback making a lot of plays.”
Checchia went on to acknowledge players who came up big.
“Obviously, it was Senior Night, and those guys – Bobby Kennedy, Damon Culver came up with big plays,” Checchia said. “Alex Checchia probably had his best game on offense and defense.
“It was just an all-around effort. Other guys like Jake Zarnowsky contributing as a junior, Connor Omlor and Joe Fortunato at linebacker continued to really shine for us. The D-line as a whole unit had a really active night and was able to bring a lot of pressure.”
Comprising the Golden Hawks’ defensive line were Alex Checchia, Connor Dillon, Mason Shores, Andrew Szymborski, and contributing also was sophomore Tom Gallagher.
“In all aspects it was a team win,” Checchia said. “Now we can put everything on that big game at the end of the year, which is North. The effort throughout the year has been really good from the kids. There have been lots of times when they could fold and not approach each day the way they do, but for the most part, they’ve stayed the course.
“All the adversity we’ve faced throughout the year through injuries and frustrating games that didn’t go our way – to bring it all together Senior Night, for the kids, it was a really cool moment. We’re all really happy for these kids and these seniors to have that moment against a pretty good football team. This is one of those boosts you really, really need at this time of year. Now all of a sudden, we have some confidence and a little bit of belief heading into the North game. You throw away the records and you just take it as it is.”
Council Rock South (2-7, 2-4 SOL) will face Council Rock North on Friday in the annual Unity Cup game. Harry S Truman (3-6, 2-4) will be on the road at Quakertown on Friday.
Harry S Truman 7-6-0-0 13
Council Rock South 0-6-7-7 20
QUAKERTOWN 42, BENSALEM 7
Tyler Woodman – for the second time this season – ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Friday night, the senior running back took it 95 yards to the house. In Quakertown’s season opener, he ran it 99 yards for a TD.
“It’s been a while,” Quakertown coach George Banas said. “Really, teams haven’t been kicking to us the last couple of weeks prior to tonight, so I don’t think Bensalem saw any of them on film. They ended up kicking to Woodman. He was untouched.”
That was just the beginning of another stellar performance by Woodman, who had 15 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns. He also had one reception for 10 yards and a TD.
“Things have really slowed down for him this year, and he’s slowed down as a running back and really let things develop before he makes his move,” Banas said. “That’s a seasoned player that he’ll let his blockers get in front of him, he’ll let things open up, and then he’ll explode.
“Week in and week out, he’s really been a go-to guy for us. Him and (John) Eatherton in the backfield are a phenomenal one-two punch.”
Woodman’ five-yard touchdown run put the Panthers on top 13-0, and when Woodman wasn’t doing damage, quarterback Will Steich was, connecting with Zach Fondl with an 11-yard touchdown pass and – after the successful two-point conversion – a 21-0 lead.
Steich found Woodman from 10 yards out for a touchdown that sent the Panthers into halftime with a 28-0 lead.
“The biggest thing is we’re balanced on offense, and we’re balanced on defense,” Banas said.
Josiah Leonard put the Owls on the scoreboard in the third quarter with a five-yard touchdown run, but Woodman wasn’t finished yet, and his four-yard touchdown run put the Owls on top 35-7 in the fourth quarter. Steich connected with Fondl from 11 yards out for the 42-7 final.
Banas credited his defense for its role in the win.
“They’re explosive on offense,” Banas said of the Owls. “They’ve got weapons all over the place with #2 (Josiah Leonard), #3 (Ashton Barnes) and #5 (Allen Myers), and their quarterback (Matthew Saunders) is a heck of an athlete, so for us to contain them much of the game and only give up seven (points). We didn’t give up the big play which our huge game plan was today.
“I thought the defense overall really played well. Freddie Retter had an unbelievable night again. I don’t know how many hurries he had and how many sacks. I can think of three sacks that he had. I thought offensively and defensively they performed well on the line which opens up everything for everyone else.”
Comprising Quakertown’s offensive line were Retter, Anthony Schiller, Blake Griesemer, Nick Fletcher and Vinny Pellegrini. Retter, Schiller, Griesemer and Pellegrini comprise the defensive line.
In addition to Woodman, Steich completed 8-of-14 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Eatherton had nine carries for 76 yards.
For the Owls, Leonard had 17 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown. Saunders completed 10 passes for 90 yards.
The win clinched at least a share of the SOL Colonial title, but the Panthers aren’t celebrating.
“We really didn’t win anything yet,” Banas said.
Quakertown (9-0, 6-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Friday, and Bensalem (5-4, 4-2) will travel to Souderton on Friday.
Quakertown 13-15-0-14 42
Bensalem 0-0-7-0 7
SOL American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 31, UPPER MORELAND 28
One play.
That’s what Friday’s battle for the top spot in the SOL American had come down to. Trailing 28-24, the Colonials found themselves with the ball on the eight-yard line facing a fourth-and-goal with less than a minute on the scoreboard clock.
Score and the Colonials were all but guaranteed a victory that would clinch a share of the conference title. Come up short, and the Golden Bears would be tied atop the standings with just one game remaining.
Coach Dan Chang put the ball and the outcome in the hands of his senior quarterback Aiden O’Brien.
“He had a little run-pass option,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “It’s fourth down, the game is on the line. I wanted to give him some options – I wanted to give him the option to throw the ball and if he had it, he could turn it up field and run it himself.
“We got a great seal on the edge by Joe Troilo and Louis Malfara, which gave us the option to run it or pass it. Once I saw Aiden tuck that ball away, there was no doubt he was getting in. Nate Kern had a great block right at the goal line that sprung Aiden in as well. It was an exciting one, definitely.”
The go-ahead score came after Cam Jackson’s 64-yard touchdown run put the Golden Bears on top 28-24 with 5:21 remaining.
“Game after game, they’re fighting every play,” Chang said. “We’ve had a couple of games where we’ve gone down and taken a lot of adversity, and these guys just keep fighting back.
“That’s one of the things I talked to them about after the game – how proud I was of their resilience when things don’t go well.”
The two teams spent the game exchanging scores. A 51-yard Jackson touchdown run gave the Bears the early lead, but Nate Kern punched it in from a yard out to knot the score 7-7 after one quarter.
An 18-yard O’Brien TD run put the Colonials on top 14-7, but Jackson scored from 26 yards, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 14-14.
The Colonials – thanks to a nine-yard O’Brien TD run – led 21-14 after three quarters, but Jackson answered with a 27-yard touchdown run in the fourth to knot the score. A 34-yard field goal by Steve Spruill put the Colonials on top 24-21, setting the stage for Jackson’s big run and the dramatic finish.
“Number 28 – Cam Jackson for them is special,” Chang said. “He broke some long plays where he was just breaking tackles. We had him bottled up, and he’s just breaking tackles.
“Their quarterback (Byron) Hopkins is a really good player too. He extends the play. Those two guys are excellent. They’re a good football team.”
The Colonials entered Friday games with some key players banged up.
“From last week’s Tennent game, we thought we were going to lose Chris McLaughlin who is a two-way starter, Zion East who’s a two-way starter and Nick Scannapieco, who’s a two-way starter,” Chang said. “Zion was able to go one way, Chris was basically out – he tried but he was hurting still, and Nick was out.
“We had a lot of young guys in there. (Sophomore) Luke Winterbottom played free safety for us most of the game. Luke is a stellar athlete – he’s going to be really, really good, and he showed up tonight. Dom Konieczka played running back for Chris along with Devon Orensky, who went down with an injury early in the game. Greg Feinberg played the linebacker position that Nick Scannapieco would have usually played. Credit to these guys – they get a lot of reps in practice, so they were ready to go. Those guys really stepped up and were there for us.”
With one regular season game remaining, PW clinched at least a share of the SOL American title with Friday’s win.
“It’s been a while for us,” Chang said. “I told the guys – they deserve it, they deserve to celebrate it. They were ecstatic. I told them – you can’t recreate that feeling anywhere. For all the stuff you go through, that’s the payoff – a game like that.
“We clinched a share, but obviously, we’re not happy with a share. We have to get ready for next week and take care of Wissahickon.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-1, 9-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and Upper Moreland (7-2, 4-2) will host Upper Darby in a non-league contest.
Upper Moreland 7-7-0-14 28
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-7-7-10 31
WISSAHICKON 36, WILLIAM TENNENT 22
(Game information courtesy of @ZakWolf22)
Kyle Lehman ran for three touchdowns while quarterback Aidan DeFeo threw for one and ran for another to lead the Trojans to the important win.
“It was Senior Night, we have an outside chance to still make the playoffs, so there was a lot of high emotion for tonight’s game,” Fleming said. “Offensively, Aidan DeFeo has just been great all year long leading our team from the quarterback position, and obviously, Kyle Lehman is just a different dynamic player that does a lot of different things that forces opposing teams to focus on him, and that’s opened up things for a lot of our other guys.”
It took just over two minutes for the Trojans to find the end zone when DeFeo connected with Jaylen Quick on a short touchdown pass on third-and-goal. The Trojans took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter, and they upped that lead to 13-0 when Lehman punched it in with 10:03 remaining in the opening half.
Lehman scored his second touchdown of the night – this one from 19 yards out – to put the Trojans on top 20-0 midway through the second quarter. The TD was set up by a 65-yard DeFeo to Quick pass. After a Chase Bethea interception, the Trojans tacked on a touchdown when DeFeo scored on a quarterback sneak. Wissahickon took a 26-0 lead into halftime.
Lehman’s 48-yard touchdown run gave the Trojans a 33-0 lead early in the third quarter before the Panthers got on the scoreboard. A field goal by Nate DeVincent sent the Trojans into the final quarter with a 36-7 lead. The visiting Panthers added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, but it was too little too late.
“Tonight our receivers – Jalen Quick had a big catch, Braheem Thomas had a big catch as well,” Fleming said. “He also had an interception defensively and just missed on having two interceptions.
“My D-back coaches makes a bet with our DBs, saying if they’re able to get three interceptions in a game, he takes them out for pizza the following week, so they just missed it for this coming week. It was a good job all around offensively. We made some slight tweaks on our offensive line, and our offensive line did a great job of opening up holes and protecting Aidan tonight.”
Wissahickon (3-6, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and William Tennent (0-8, 0-5) will be on the road at New Hope-Solebury Friday.
William Tennent 0-0-7-15 22
Wissahickon 6-20-10-0 36
Non-league
SOUDERTON 42, CHELTENHAM 27
(Game stats provided by Ed Morlock/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/2021/10/23/soudertons-jared-zimmerman-impresses-in-1st-varsity-start/)
There were once again new faces in the Indians’ lineup, none more conspicuous than under center where junior Jared Zimmerman filled in for Nate Hageman. Zimmerman seized the moment, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and running for two more.
“Nate hurt his throwing shoulder toward the end of the game last week at Upper Dublin, so Jared Zimmerman had his first varsity start tonight,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “He’s a good athlete, he’s a competitor, he’s played multiple sports throughout his life, so the stage was not too big for him.
“I know he got nervous throughout the week and started to struggle the last two days of practice, but he really came and performed tonight. I’m very happy for him and very proud of him for the effort he put forth. I tried to keep things simple for him. We were running the ball for the most part early. We had success running the ball, so he threw a couple of play action passes and kind of got his feet wet and felt a little more confident. He just started to get in a zone and play with confidence.”
A 28-yard punt return by Elijah Goods to the Cheltenham 22 set up a nine-yard touchdown run by Javier Torres and a 7-0 Souderton lead.
“Javier was out for a little bit and then he came back, so he’s rotating with Elijah Goods at left halfback right now,” Gallagher said. “We’re really banged up, so we’re playing as many as we can, but he’s a senior as well. I’m very happy with him because he’s been a fullback for the first three years, and we moved him to halfback because we had more depth at fullback. He really stepped up again tonight, he made some good plays.”
Zimmerman hooked up with Aiden Scott from 37 yards out in the opening moments of the second quarter, and the Indians led 14-0. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs on Souderton’s 46, and the Indians capitalized. A Zimmerman carry took the ball to the Panthers’ 10, and this time it was Brayden Porter taking it to the house from 10 yards out.
The Indians recovered a fumble at the Panthers’ 26, and it took Zimmerman just one play to run it in for a touchdown and a 28-0 Souderton lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. Kam Wyatt interrupted the Indians’ four-touchdown tear, scoring a TD for the Panthers from five yards out, but the Indians got that back when Zimmerman carried the ball 19 yards for a touchdown and a 35-7 lead after the Ty Quintois PAT. The Indians recovered the ensuing kickoff, and they capitalized when Zimmerman scored from six yards out with eight seconds remaining to go into halftime with a 42-7 lead.
“Jared Zimmerman was huge for us tonight,” Gallagher said. “Danny Dyches played tonight – he missed the Upper Dublin game when he was quarantined for a close contact. I thought he played pretty well on both sides of the ball.
“It was just a solid overall night for us. I was really happy. We had kids make plays on defense. The first half we were flying around making plays. I’m sure (Luke) Pollack had a dozen tackles again even though he only played in the first half.
“I took out all the starters at halftime. We’re so banged up. We can’t afford to have Jared Zimmerman go down, we can’t afford to have Brayden Porter go down. We’re at the point where Jared, Brayden, Elijah (Goods) – none of them played in the second half. We played our backups and might have had one first down in the second half.”
The Panthers had several big plays in the second half. TJ Taylor connected with Wyatt for a 68-yard touchdown, and then Tyzeem Kinney scored from 25 yards out to make it a 42-21 game late in the third quarter. Wyatt scored on a 67-yard run for the 42-27 final.
“This was our first road win of the year,” Gallagher said. “In our defense, our toughest games are all on the road, but we needed to get that monkey off our backs because if we make the playoffs we’ll be on the road.
“We’re going to do the best we can moving forward. We’ve got Bensalem this week. Our kids got a little more confidence back, so hopefully, we have a solid week of practice, get ready for Bensalem and are able to finish the deal and go to the playoffs.”
Zimmerman completed 4-of-6 passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns, and he also had eight carries for 69 yards and two TDs. Porter finished with 13 carries for 99 yards and a TD.
For the Panthers, Wyatt had nine carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns and two receptions for 76 yards and a TD.
Friday’s game was arranged at the last minute after both Souderton and Cheltenham lost their scheduled games to Hatboro-Horsham and New Hope-Solebury respectively.
“I was happy for our kids, and I was happy for Cheltenham’s kids,” Gallagher said. “We have our Senior Night next week, but they would have lost their Senior Night if we hadn’t played tonight. It worked out well. We were both dealt a bad hand, and we made something out of it and were able to go down there and play a game. I was very happy with that.”
Souderton (5-4, 3-2 SOL) will host Bensalem on Friday, and Cheltenham (4-5, 3-1) will be on the road at Springfield Township on Friday.
Souderton 7-35-0-0 42
Cheltenham 0-7-14-6 27
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