Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. UD/Quakertown photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Pennridge/CB South photos courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of both games.
Football stats provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier. To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the Intelligencer (https://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school) and Courier Times (https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school) web sites.
SOL American Conference
CHELTENHAM 28, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 24
(Statistics provided by Andrew Robinson/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/football/2019/10/05/sykes-seals-win-as-cheltenham-hands-pw-first-loss/)
This was a game for the ages, and listening to Ryan Nase tell it, wins don’t get much better than this one that saw his team deliver a goal line stand, stonewalling the Colonials on fourth-and-goal from the one – thanks to a game-saving tackle by Sam Sykes on the half-yard line.
“This was a game like no game I’ve ever been a part of,” Cheltenham coach Ryan Nase said. “I’ve coached at North Dakota State in the FargoDome, I’ve won three league championships, I’ve been a part of a sold-out game in Yankee Stadium, and this tops it all.
“I can’t even begin to describe the things that were going through my head when we got the fourth down stop. We stopped them on the half-yard line, so do you take the safety. What do you do? Luckily, they couldn’t really stop the clock, so we QB sneaked it. I’ll be honest – half the team celebrated and half the team broke down in tears, and I did a little bit of both.”
To say the ending of this one was high drama would be an understatement. The Panthers took a 21-14 lead into the fourth quarter when things went a bit crazy. The Colonials knotted the score on a Larry McLaughlin two-yard run and – after a Panther turnover – took a 24-21 lead on a Nicholas Choi 21-yard field goal.
The fun was just starting, and the Panthers – on fourth-and-long – regained the lead when Adonis Hunter found Sykes down the middle. The linebacker – pressed into emergency duty on offense – shed a would-be tackler and raced 47 yards to the end zone for a touchdown and a 28-24 Cheltenham lead with 5:39 remaining in regulation.
“I didn’t like the look, so I called a timeout,” Nase said of the key fourth down play. “We had an idea what they were going to come out in.
“As much as I love Jamir Barnes, I’m pretty sure he’s playing with a broken pinkie or something, so he’s had a little bit of difficulty catching the ball. We took him out and put Sam Sykes in the game and told him to run the route that we thought was going to be open, and it was. He caught the ball, got the first down, made a kid miss and took it to the house.”
The game was far from over.
“Our kicker, who I love, outkicked the coverage a little bit,” Nase said. “They got a good return, took the ball down and had first and goal with a minute and change. We stopped them four times.”
Nase’s pregame speech turned out to be prophetic.
“My wife makes fun of me that anytime I have to speak publicly I never actually write it out and plan anything – I wing everything,” the Panthers’ coach said. “Before the game, I walked into the locker room, and something just came over me – you need to tell the kids that something bad is going to happen.
“I said, ‘I’m telling you right now – bad things are going to happen in this game. The difference is going to be – how do you respond to those bad things. Our defense couldn’t get a stop for 46 minutes, but when it came time to get a stop, they got a stop. That’s us – it’s what we talk about all the time. That’s who we are. That’s Cheltenham football. We don’t do it the way you’re supposed to do it, but we do it. We do things differently, but we get it done.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Panthers – benefitting from a pair of PW penalties – got on the board early in the second quarter when Adonis Hunter took it in from a yard out. A Cheltenham fumble set the stage for a Brian Dresnin eight-yard TD run that knotted the score 7-7, but Nate Edwards got that back with an 83-yard kickoff return that sent the Panthers into halftime with a 14-7 lead. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter, setting the stage for the fantastic finish.
Nase, a former offensive lineman himself, admits he is toughest on his O-line.
“I think those guys struggled, particularly in the first half,” the Panthers’ coach said. “You could look in Nasir Carson’s eyes, and see that that kid took everything he had and put everything into that game. I love Nasir, and he’ll be the first to tell you that he hasn’t always taken the easiest road academically/athletically.
“He just took all the changes he’s made in his life and put it into this game and we won. To me, that’s the most important part for our kids. There aren’t very many kids on our team who’ve had it easy. When I took over three years ago, they were like – ‘Who’s this guy?’ and then we went 2-8, and they were definitely like, ‘Who’s this guy?’
“To be where we are now and to get the text messages I’ve gotten from players, parents, alumni, it’s just awesome how everybody on every level – our principal was scooping ice cream at a fundraiser for us last night. We’re all in – everybody is all in, and that’s awesome.”
Hunter threw for 172 yards to lead the Panthers while Dresnin racked up 127 rushing yards to pace the Colonials.
Cheltenham (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-1, 2-1) will host Quakertown on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-7-7-10 24
Cheltenham 0-14-7-7 28
QUAKERTOWN 14, UPPER DUBLIN 13
(Statistics provided by Brian Good/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/2019/10/04/quakertown-rallies-against-injury-ravaged-upper-dublin/)
The Panthers survived a turnover-plagued first half and rallied to earn a dramatic come-from-behind win over the visiting Flying Cardinals.
“We turned the ball over four times in the first half,” said Quakertown coach George Banas, whose team trailed 13-0 at the half. “We were very lucky that we were only down 13 at halftime.
“The defense played really well tonight in total. They were in some bad spots in the first half and only gave up 13, and in the second half, we were basically able to shut them down completely. We made some adjustments on defense, made some adjustments on offense as well, and we were able to do some things against what they game planned for us.
“Upper Dublin – it’s always a battle with them. Bret (Stover) does a fantastic job. He’s a class act. I can’t remember the last time it was a blowout either way. We played a good second half – that’s what it came down to.”
The Flying Cardinals capitalized on two of the Panthers’ first-half turnovers to score touchdowns – both on short runs by Jacob Rossman – to take a 13-0 lead into halftime.
The Panthers got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter when Will Steich found Ben Kave with a 27-yard touchdown pass.
“Ben Kave has come up big the last couple of weeks, making some really huge catches,” Banas said. “He’s really come into his own, and he’s only a second-year player. He was a soccer kid way back when, and he came out last year for the first time ever.”
The Panthers scored the go-ahead touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth quarter on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Steich. The winning touchdown was set up by a 45-yard pass from Steich to Tyler Merwarth.
Steich completed 13-of-17 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown.
“Will Steich did a really nice job at quarterback as a sophomore,” Banas said. “Last week he was 8-for-8 for 168 yards, and this week he again came up big on some plays.
“He’s a smart kid under center, he doesn’t put us in real bad situations, he knows what everybody is supposed to do on the field, and that’s a huge positive for us.”
Gavin Croissette’s second of two successful PATs proved to be the difference in the game.
“This was huge for us because if we lose this heartbreaker at home – it’s a tough road the rest of the year,” Banas said. “We had to make some plays at the end of the game to get the ball back.
“Upper Dublin got the ball back with a minute-and-a-half left, and we were able to stop them on fourth down and take a knee. I think in the back of their mind they’re thinking – ‘Okay, if we’re in a tight game, we can come up with stops or plays to win the game.’
“Across the board in the second half, we just all came together. The front line played really well – Jeremy McGuigan and Logan Banas played really well. Julian Renner had a couple of big tackles. Matt Park at linebacker played well. Tim Garlick made some big plays on defense. It was a group effort.”
A Flying Cardinal squad that lost standout quarterback Mike Slivka for the season saw his back-up, Tristan Cairnes, leave Friday’s game with an injury.
Quakertown (3-4, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and Upper Dublin (3-3, 1-2) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Friday.
Upper Dublin 0-13-0-0 13
Quakertown 0-0-7-7 14
UPPER MORELAND 20, WISSAHICKON 0
(Statistics provided by Alex Wahl/Pa Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/2019/10/04/dukes-upper-moreland-blank-wissahickon/)
Da-Jahn Dukes – had just four carries – but turned two of those into touchdowns, and the Golden Bears’ defense threw a shutout at the visiting Trojans in Friday’s Senior Night win.
Both teams had less than 200 yards of total offense, and Dukes’ one-yard TD plunge in the second quarter was all the scoring the Golden Bears would need. Dukes added a 30-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Byron Hopkins scored on a quarterback sneak from a yard out for the 20-0 final.
Upper Moreland (5-2, 2-2 SOL) will be on the road at Sun Valley for a non-league game on Friday, and Wissahickon (1-6, 1-3) will host Upper Dublin.
Wissahickon 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 0-8-0-12 20
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 45, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 10
The stakes were high when the sister schools met at War Memorial Field on Friday night. The Bucks were not only looking to up their record to a perfect 7-0 and keep their shot at a conference crown alive heading into next week’s showdown with North Penn, they also were vying for the coveted CB Cup.
They did both and in very convincing fashion, and the CB Cup will reside at West for the first time since 2013.
“(The CB Cup) means a lot to the players specifically because of the nature of the way the district operates – a lot of these guys went to middle school together,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “I think it means a lot to the program and ultimately to the community. There’s so much pride in each and every school that’s in the district. To make that ours this year is a really neat thing for the kids and the community.”
And if there were still doubters after the Bucks 6-0 start, those doubts should be put to rest after Friday’s dominating effort on both sides of the football. West led 14-3 after one quarter and then exploded for 24 points in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 38-3 lead.
The Patriots managed less than 150 total yards on offense against West’s relentless defense.
“Defensively, we played as well as we have all year across the board,” Rowan said. “Secondary-wise, we had four picks in the first half, but to just give credit to the guy who had the interception would be robbing the guys up front that were putting on tremendous pressure. The entire defensive effort was tremendous.”
Jack Neri capped the Bucks’ first scoring drive when he took it in from one yard out. The senior quarterback finished the night with 43 yards on the ground and completed 7-of-10 passes for 134 yards.
“Offensively, Jack Neri played his best game of the year,” Rowan said. “He just made tremendous decisions from start to finish. He threw great balls, he ran well, and that’s very big because it allows us to attack defenses in multiple ways. He just played with a level of confidence I haven’t seen this year, and that was really encouraging.”
Michael Smigley’s 33-yard field goal made it a 7-3 game only to see the Bucks reel off 31 unanswered points to close out the half. Jack Fallon, who had another impressive outing, had three consecutive touchdown runs of three, three and seven yards – in the Bucks’ tear.
Ben Mullikin returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown, and for good measure, Bailey Moyer tacked on a 43-yard field goal to close out the half.
In the third quarter, Nick Tumolo had a 32-yard touchdown run that put the Bucks on top 45-3 as everyone got into the act.
“We have 41 guys and we only have three or four guys playing both ways,” Rowan said. “It’s a compliment to our staff getting these guys developed and maximizing their potential.”
Pat Voko’s four-yard touchdown run closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Fallon led all ground gainers with 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He also had three receptions for 80 yards.
Central Bucks West (7-0, 4-0 SOL) will host North Penn in a battle for the conference top spot on Friday.
Could Rowan have imagined a scenario where his team – which won four games last year – would take a 7-0 record into that contest?
“Honestly, we take it day by day, and we have to – it’s such a grind,” the Bucks’ coach said. “If you allow yourself to get caught looking into the future – if one or two days slips through, that could derail the entire process you’re working towards.
“We really try to stay present every day. I believe in our staff and I believe in our players tremendously. I’m not surprised (we’re 7-0), but I certainly never looked that far down the road.”
Central Bucks East (3-4, 0-3) will host Central Bucks South next Saturday at 11 a.m.
Central Bucks East 3-0-0-7 10
Central Bucks West 14-24-7-0 45
NORTH PENN 47, SOUDERTON 21
After watching the Knights and Indians exchange scores in a wild first half, it seemed like a safe bet that the last team with the football would be the winner. That didn’t happen. The Knights – who took a 26-21 lead into halftime – saw to that, shutting out the Indians in the second half and setting the tone by forcing the Indians into a three-and-out on their first possession of the second half.
Nothing was ever the same after that telling sequence.
“The first drive in the second half was the most important part of the game,” coach Dick Beck said. “We were on our heels the whole time because with their backs – you never know when one’s going to break it and all of a sudden he’s running into the end zone. (DeAndre) Wakefield is quick.
“The key was not just the stop. It was 10 plays – three yards and a cloud of dust, chipping away and then getting into the end zone. Taking six minutes off the clock and next thing you know, there was four minutes left in the fourth quarter, and we were up 12. That’s huge and then we get another stop, and then it was just drive – three yards, four yards, six yards. They were two huge drives for us.”
There was no denying the opening drives of the second half told the story. After the Knights forced the Indians to punt, they took over at Souderton’s 44-yard line. Kenny Grandy got seven yards on first down, and RJ Macnamara got seven on the next. The Knights were rolling, and when they had a rare third-and-long on the drive, freshman quarterback Ryan Zeltt connected with Justin DiPietro for 10 yards and a first down.
Macnamara took it in from two yards out, and the Knights led 33-21. Another Souderton drive stalled with Nate Brown delivering a clutch sack on third down.
“That was huge,” Beck said. “He’s our guy in the middle. He makes all of our calls. He’s a great kid to coach, and he’s got a fantastic feel for the game. He’s very, very tough.”
The Indians came up just short on fourth down, and again, the Knights capitalized with Brown capping this drive with a two-yard TD run. The Knights led 40-21 midway through the fourth quarter, and a win was all but in the books.
With sophomore Khalani Eaton sidelined after a strong start, Macnamara was the workhorse, finishing with 146 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.
“The guy from Delaware who recruited him was on our sidelines, so I think he played a little bit inspired – I’m going to have to get him to come to every game,” Beck said.
Zeltt threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns in yet another standout effort.
“He was great tonight,” Beck said. “He threw a screen pass that looked like it was covered. He couldn’t have thrown that in a better spot.
“At the end of the first half, he threw a vertical route – I thought we had a great chance to score. There are not enough words I can say about a kid who’s 14 years old and is playing as well as he is. One time we called a play action that they had totally covered, and he read it was covered, and he just tucked it and ran for about eight years – just some heady, smart plays.”
All but lost in the shuffle was Kavon White’s 97-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. Wakefield answered with a 38-yard touchdown run for the Indians, and the craziness began. Zeltt responded with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Evan Spann. Then it was Jalen White scoring on a seven-yard TD run for the Indians. Macnamara had a pair of touchdowns sandwiched around an Andrew Vince to White 25-yard TD pass. The senior running back took it in from 24 yards out and scored on a 63-yard Zeltt pass. The Indians’ defense held on the final drive of the opening half, but it wasn’t an omen of things to come as the Knights owned the second half.
“I told those (Souderton) guys – they’re going to finish the year strong and most likely we’ll see them in the playoffs,” Beck said. “They’ve got a very good team. Ed Gallagher’s doing a great job. They’ve got a lot of weapons. I just think we’re going to see them again.”
Wakefield had 87 yards on the ground to lead the Indians – 79 of those came in the first half. Vince threw for 91 yards.
North Penn (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Friday, and Souderton (6-1, 3-1) will be on the road at Council Rock North Friday for a non-league game.
Souderton 7-14-0-0 21
North Penn 14-12-7-14 47
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 27, PENNRIDGE 7
The Titans opened up a 21-0 halftime lead on their way to a no-doubt-about-it win over the struggling Rams.
A pair of Josh Consoletti 14-yard touchdown passes gave the Titans a 14-0 lead after one quarter – his first to Sean Smith and the second to Colin Crabtree. A 17-yard touchdown strike from Consoletti to Jason Christianson midway through the second quarter sent the Titans into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
Christianson punched it in from four yards out for a third quarter touchdown before the Rams got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter on a Bobby Croyle to Elias Dantzler 14-yard touchdown pass.
Smith led the Titans ground game with 94 yards on eight carries (11.8 ypc). Consoletti completed four passes for 57 yards with three of those for touchdowns while Carter Hallgren also had four completions.
For the Rams, Croyle threw for 132 yards and a TD.
The Titans held just a 13-12 advantage in first downs while the Rams had a 234-221 edge in total yards. The Rams were hurt by their four turnovers.
Defensively, the Titans were led by Cole Cenci, who had a team-high 16 tackles (nine solo, 1 TFL), two forced fumbles and one interception that was returned for 50 yards. Joe McSweeney had eight tackles and Vaughn Hess had six, including one sack and tackle for loss. Crabtree had two fumble recoveries.
Central Bucks South (5-2, 2-1 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East next Saturday at 11 a.m. Pennridge (1-6, 0-4) will travel to William Tennent Friday.
Central Bucks South 14-7-6-9 27
Pennridge 0-0-0-7 7
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 24, BENSALEM 6
To say the Golden Hawks needed a win might be an understatement, and after six straight losses, they got the result they were looking for on Friday night at Bensalem.
“It’s a real sense of relief,” assistant head coach Tony Checchia said. “As the season goes on, it starts to become a grind. You need that boost.
“The kids have been working hard. Their heads have been in it the right way in spite of the losses. Every week you saw us get a little bit closer. Sometimes it wasn’t reflected in the scores, but there were games we were hanging around until halftime and things got away from us in the second half. Just little execution things we’re getting slowly but surely better. To finally have the kids get a little bit of a reward for all the work they’ve been putting in, it re-energizes you a little bit.”
The Golden Hawks took a lead they would not lose in the first quarter. Adam Keylin’s 31-yard field goal put Rock South on the scoreboard, and senior Dawson Fresses took it in from seven yards out for a 10-0 lead. A nine-yard touchdown run by Bensalem’s Ashton Barnes made it a 10-6 game at the intermission.
In the third quarter, Fresses took it in from five yards out, and Matt Striffolino’s 16-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter closed out the scoring.
“You got two touchdowns out of Dawson Fresses – who played running back and fullback and also played a ton of defense at linebacker – but your sophomore quarterback Matt Striffolino also got his first rushing touchdown, so you saw that mix of youth and some of the seniors doing what they do and coming together for a full game,” Checchia said. “It was a 10-6 game at the half, and Bensalem is a team that is always just one big play away from changing a game.
“They hit a couple of big plays on us, but it was kind of that bend but don’t break, and we came up with a couple stops at the goal line or on our side of the 50-yard line, and those proved to be pretty big for the game.”
Sophomore Brady Beres had 94 rushing yards to lead the Golden Hawks.
Checchia pointed to the senior leadership of Fresses as well as other veterans as key in keeping the Hawks together.
“Guys like Brandon Berghaier, Noah Caldani, Dawson Fresses and Tim Vickrey are just a few of the guys that were part of a very successful team last year,” Checchia said. “I think it’s been tough for them to go from that to what we were doing now and really having to scrape by to get this first win, but they’ve been keeping the course with things and along the way getting the young guys up to speed.
“For us, that’s been the challenge. Yes, we have a group of seniors that have had a taste of success last year, but we’re asking a lot of young guys to play a lot for us. That’s just the nature of our team. We lost a lot of good players, so it’s opened the door for young guys to play, and you’re going to take your lumps when you do that.”
Council Rock South (1-6, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Friday.
“We have a tough stretch coming up with Pennsbury and Neshaminy and then, of course, (Council Rock) North to end the year, but this was a boost for that last leg,” Checchia said. “Obviously, North is the big one, but we look at all of those games as rivalry games.
“This gets a little bit of that energy back, and it gives you something to build on a little more positively going into a Pennsbury week. These years they get long sometimes, so to get that boost and get morale back a little bit, it’s hard to measure that.”
Bensalem (2-5, 0-3) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Friday.
Council Rock South 10-0-7-7 24
Bensalem 0-6-0-0 6
ABINGTON 35, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 7
The Ghosts took care of business in a hurry, putting 20 points on the board in the opening quarter and cruising to the decisive win.
Nasir Jones got the scoring started with a seven-yard touchdown run, and Andrew Wesh scored his first of two touchdowns – this one from 13 yards out. A Tamir Berthau TD from three yards put the Ghosts on top 20-0.
In the second quarter, Wesh scored his second TD of the game, and after a successful two-point conversion from Berthau to Caleb Baker, the Ghosts led 28-0 at the intermission. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Bertha hooking up with Baker from one yard out, and Dillon Sheehy breaking up the Ghosts’ shutout bid with a five-yard TD run.
Berthau threw for 170 yards and a touchdown and Wesh had 154 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tim Gibson’s 74 yards on the ground led the Indians.
Abington (6-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Friday, and Council Rock North (1-6, 0-4) will host Souderton in a non-league contest Friday.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-7 7
Abington 20-8-0-7 35
Non-league
NESHAMINY 34, WILLIAM TENNENT 14
Chris James stole the spotlight in the Redskins’ win over the Panthers. The junior running back – who had 22 carries – finished the night with 191 yards and two touchdowns.
It was the Redskins’ ground game that was the difference in this one as they amassed 270 rushing yards. James raced home from 33 yards out to put the Redskins on top 7-0 after one quarter. It turned out to be a preview of things to come.
Senior quarterback Brody McAndrew – who finished with 74 yards on the ground – scored from 12 yards out to put the Redskins on top 14-7. A one-yard TD run by Tom Santiago made it a 14-7 game at halftime.
Another Santiago one-yard TD run knotted the score in the third quarter, but a Tennent turnover set the stage for a three-yard touchdown run by James. The Redskins had a lead they would not lose. A McAndrew to Andrew Kindness two-yard touchdown pass put the Redskins on top 27-14, and they sealed the Panthers’ fate when Greg Orleski scored from four yards out.
Santiago led the Panthers with 111 yards on the ground.
Neshaminy (3-4, 1-2 SOL) will host Bensalem on Friday, and William Tennent (2-5, 0-3) will host Pennridge on Friday.
William Tennent 0-7-7-0 14
Neshaminy 7-7-7-13 34
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 34, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 13
Three Spartan ball carriers went over the century mark. Junior quarterback Gabe Franczyk was the workhorse out of the backfield, finishing with 134 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. JP McGowan had 124 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, and Cam Davis needed just five carries to amass 108 yards and a TD.
The Spartans seized early control of the game with one big play after another en route to a 28-0 halftime lead. Franczyk had TD runs of 40 and 17 yards while McGowan had runs of 52 and 72 yards.
Springfield Township (5-2) will host Morrisville in a non-league game Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 0-0-7-6 13
Springfield Township 14-14-0-6 34
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