It was another walk-off win in the SOL. This time it was Upper Dublin with the walk-off win over Quakertown. UD/Quakertown photos courtesy of Shannon O’Sullivan, CB South/North Penn photos courtesy of Karla Donohoe, CB West/Pennsbury photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography & Upper Moreland/William Tennent photos courtesy of Kim Supko. CLICK HERE to view our SOL Football galleries
SOL National Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 14, NORTH PENN 6
“A dogfight.”
That’s how Jimmy Wade described Friday night’s battle between a pair of unbeaten SOL squads, and there might not be a better description.
“We’re two physical teams,” the South senior said. “We knew it was going to be a battle going into it.”
And what a battle it was.
In the end , it was the Titans’ defense once again coming up big when it mattered most and limiting a high-scoring North Penn squad that averaged 34.5 points a game through its first six games to just two field goals and 100 total yards of offense.
Listening to the players tell it – it all came down to the team’s game plan.
There is, however, a big difference between having a good game plan and executing that game plan. The Titans did both.
“We couldn’t let the quarterback get comfortable,” Wade said of North Penn quarterback Matt Bucksar. “If you watch his games, he’s always moving around, scrambling.
“Our coach put in a great game plan and made sure he was uncomfortable back there.”
“We knew that kid could run,” South senior Eddie Bowen said Bucksar. “Our goal going into this game was to make sure that kid couldn’t get out of that pocket and could not run that ball. To be honest, I think we didn’t really let that kid run at all.”
Bowen and Wade led the Titans’ defense with seven tackles – each had five solo tackles and two sacks, and in a game where big defensive plays were the norm, the contest ended with a sack of Bucksar.
“Our defense was unbelievable,” South coach Tom Hetrick said. “John Cataldo, our defensive coordinator, drew up a great game plan. The kids executed the game plan.
“To hold their offense to six points on two field goals is a major accomplishment because they have some players over there.”
From the outset, it was obvious points would be hard to come by for both sides.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Titans began a drive near midfield, and on the first play, Danny Gies connected with Dan McCusker on a halfback option for a 33-yard gain to the Knights’ 15-yard line, and it was the Titans’ senior quarterback – on fourth down – bulling his way into the end zone on a nine-yard touchdown run that gave the Titans a 7-0 lead with 6:34 remaining in the first half.
“Their quarterback is really tough,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “On the fourth down, they scored their first touchdown. I thought we had him, and we kind of had a mental breakdown there, and it really cost us. That really hurt us.”
The Knights answered with a drive of their own that included a pass interference call against the Titans as well as several Bucksar completions, including a 24-yard pass to Aidan Eves that took the Knights to the Titans’ five-yard line. The Knights gained just one yard on three downs and – with 20 seconds remaining in the half – settled for a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Bocklet, making it a 7-3 game at the intermission.
The Knights pulled to within one with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter after a 38-yard Bocklet field goal. The scoring drive was highlighted by a 31-yard pass from Bucksar to Matthew Pownall.
The Titans answered with a 79-yard touchdown drive that featured a whole lot of Braylen Cape. The sophomore running back had a 26-yard run on the drive and later took it in from five yards out for a touchdown that gave the Titans a 14-6 lead in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
The remainder of the game belonged to the respective defenses, and both were in top form on this night.
For the Titans, it all starts up front.
“Our defensive line has been great all year – Eddie Bowen, Justin Dwyer and Nick Micewski,” Hetrick said. “Isaiah Gardiner made some good plays for us. He got some reps tonight. They played outstanding.”
The Titans’ coach wouldn’t get any argument from Beck.
“They play a three-man front, which is smart, because all three of those guys are good,” the Knights coach said.
Bowen – who once again made his presence felt – pointed to the team’s defensive coaches as key.
“We have that strength, and we know just to be very physical on that line,” Bowen said. “I give credit to coach Brian Leible and coach Mike Stafford – they coach our defensive line very well and teach us great technique and tell us what we’ve got to do, and it always works out.
“Also, give credit to coach (John) Cataldo, our defensive coordinator, who gets us some stunts in that pass game which allows us to get to that quarterback a little easier. This was a physical game. North Penn is a pretty good team, and I expect them to do some good things the rest of the season. I think today we just did our thing, but I wish those kids the best of luck.”
With the win, the Titans improved to 7-0 with three games remaining.
“No Friday night is guaranteed,” Wade said. “When you go out there, you’ve got to give it your all. That’s what we try and do.
“Tonight’s game was huge. We have three more games left, and we’re going to treat all of them like we’re playing North Penn because every game is just as important as this game, but this one felt great.”
Wade, who is a hybrid safety/linebacker, drew high praise from his coach.
“Jimmy Wade is a unique and elite football player,” Hetrick said. “He’s a playmaker. He has savvy, he has instincts, he has twitch, and he makes plays.”
The Titans’ coach went on to credit the Knights.
“North Penn is North Penn,” Hetrick said. “Dick Beck is an unbelievable football
coach. Those kids know how to play this game. They’re just so well coached, they just execute. It’s an elite football team, it’s an elite program, so for our guys to come out here and do some of the things we did and grind out some of the things we ground out, I couldn’t be more proud.
“It was a great win, it was just a great win. It was a great high school football game.”
Neither team put up big numbers in a game that featured more defense than offense. Cape led the Titans’ ground game with 65 yards and Pinkerton was limited to 47. Bucksar’s 96 passing yards led the Knights.
In addition to Bowen and Wade, McCusker had six tackles while Kube Kaden and Jack Bartolillo both had five. Kaden and Bartolillo each had a sack. Matt Harmon had the game’s only interception.
While the Titans are first in the latest District 1 6A rankings, the Knights are not far behind at third.
“We’ll get better and learn from this,” the Knights’ coach said. “Look, they’re good. They’re really good defensively, and they’re tough offensively
“This team will be resilient, and we will bounce back and get ready to play Pennsbury. We have a great group of kids that have great character. There’s no quit in these guys. They’ll be back next week and smiling and ready to go.”
Central Bucks South (7-0, 4-0 SOL) will host Abington on Thursday, and North Penn (6-1, 3-1) will host Pennsbury on Thursday.
North Penn 0-3-3-0 6
Central Bucks South 0-7-0-7 14
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 27, PENNSBURY 6
The visiting Bucks used a 21-point second quarter to blow open a close game on their way to the convincing win over the Falcons.
“From the get-go, I was just really pleased with the energy and the focus and the physicality that we came out with to start the game,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “Our guys stepped on the field and just played with a
level of confidence that we’ve really been working towards.
“We got out to a quick start and just executed at a high level for the majority of the game. I’m really proud of the growth we’re making. We’re getting better each week, and that’s our goal.”
In the first quarter, the Bucks got on the board when Ryan Clemens nailed a 35-yard field goal. They all but put the game out of reach with a 21-point second quarter.
Noah Miller connected with Gavin Todd on a 28-yard touchdown pass for a 10-0 lead, The 80-yard scoring drive was highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Miller to AJ Gerace.
“AJ Gerace on both sides – he’s never going to get a lot of the stat credit, but what he does for our team – he’s just an unbelievable football
player,” Rowan said of his senior tight end/defensive end. “He’s just always around the football. He does so many little things for us that might not pop out to the normal person, but from a coaching perspective, he’s a really, really good football player, and he has been for three years now. He just continues to exceed my expectations because every week he just gets better and better and better.”
After the Falcons came up short on a field goal, the Bucks had another scoring drive that was capped when Miller hit a wide open Clemens for a 77-yard touchdown that saw the senior standout somehow keep his balance when a Falcon defender dove at his feet.
“Ry is Ry,” Rowan said of Clemens. “He’s a superstar, and every week he backs that up.”
The Falcons fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Bucks recovered at the Pennsbury 27. Clemens raced 15 yards on the first play from scrimmage, and the drive was capped with Miller taking it in from four yards out for a 24-0 lead that the Bucks took into halftime.
“I thought Noah Miller played his best game of the year,” said Rowan of his senior quarterback, who unofficially threw for 129 yards in the first half. “I thought he was in complete control of the offense, mixing in running the football, throwing the football. He was just really efficient and effective
with his decision making. He was really accurate tonight. He’s a guy who really stood out to me.”
The Bucks closed out the scoring with a Clemens field goal in the third quarter.
The Falcons got on the scoreboard in the opening minute of the fourth quarter with the big play on the drive a 33-yard pass from quarterback David Kane to sophomore Lamar Kamjay. Jordan Brensinger did the rest, taking it in from five yards for a touchdown that made it a 27-6 game. That score held until the final horn.
“We pride ourselves on being a physical football team,” Rowan said. “We knew the game against Pennsbury was going to be tough. They’re always tough and well coached, super fundamentally sound. We knew what we were in for. I was proud of our guys to step on the field the way they did.”
Central Bucks West (5-2, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Saturday for a 7 pm contest, and Pennsbury (3-4, 1-3) will be on the road at North Penn on Thursday.
Central Bucks West 3-21-3-0 27
Pennsbury 0-0-0-6 6
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 36, ABINGTON 0
The Patriots scored early and often, opening up a 26-0 halftime lead on their way to the mercy rule win.
“It was a win that we really needed for the kids’ morale and confidence,” East coach John Donnelly said. “We know we played good football, but we’ve come out on the wrong end of things three weeks in a row against three really good teams – against South, Pennsbury and North Penn.
“This was obviously a must-win. It wasn’t pretty at times, but we did a lot of really, really good things, so defensively, I don’t know how many total yards they had, but it wasn’t many. We did a great job of getting pressure with our first and second level players. We had four takeaways tonight. I thought the defense was really strong.”
Mike Price put the Patriots on the board with an eight-yard touchdown run. Just over a minute later, Joey Craig intercepted a pass and took it in from the 20 for a pick six that put the Patriots on top 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, Logan Simkiss scored on a five-yard bootleg, and Craig’s extra point made it a 21-0 game. An Abington snap over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety gave the Patriots a 23-0 lead.
Brady Wojnicki split the uprights on a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the half with East leading 26-0.
Four minutes into the third quarter, East’s David Traber blocked a punt, and Liam Hoey recovered in the end zone for a 33-0 lead, and after an Abington fumble, Wojnicki nailed a 32-yard field goal to put the Patriots on top 36-0, a score that held until the final horn.
“I’m really pleased with the offensive line and the tight ends,” Donnelly said. “They just continue to block really, really well. Really the entire season.
“Even last week against North Penn, we had 321 yards total offense and ran the ball really well. I think we continue to do a really good job with that.”
East’s three tight ends are Sam Piszel, George Worster and Connor Simkiss. Comprising East’s offensive line are Dan Kirk, Magnus Figueroa, Connor Rodriguez, Christian Taormina and Timmy Fuhrmeister.
Fuhrmeister was also a force on defense.
“Timmy Fuhrmeister has been a beast all year long on both sides,” Donnelly said. “I know the front three of Fuhrmeister, Kirk and Figueroa were pretty dominant throughout, and we got great pressure from all five of our linebackers, but it starts up front.”
Central Bucks East (3-4, 1-3 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday, and Abington (1-6, 0-4) will be on the road at Central Bucks South Thursday for a 6:30 pm start.
Central Bucks East 14-12-10-0 36
Abington 0-0-0-0 0
SOL Continental Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 37, QUAKERTOWN 34
Bret Stover certainly understands how the Panthers earned the nickname ‘the Cardiac Cats.’ The UD coach had a front row seat to Quakertown’s latest miracle comeback, but this one fell just short as the Cardinals had some magic of their own, driving the length of the field in one minute and four seconds after the Panthers – who trailed 28-7 early in the third quarter – took a 34-31 lead when Brady Martin connected with Matt Thomas for a touchdown.
“They got an unsportsmanlike excessive celebration call, so I took the penalty on the extra point,” Stover said. “It was a 35-yard extra point, and they missed it, so that’s what kept it a three-point game.”
A field goal would tie it, and the Cardinals appeared in the perfect position to get just that when – with the ball on the Panthers’ four-yard line and four seconds on the scoreboard clock – they were down to their final play.
Stover opted to roll the dice and go for the win, and quarterback Kevin Etkin made his coach look brilliant, rolling to his right and finding Eric Berman for the walk-off touchdown.
“We were really out of bodies, and we didn’t want to play overtime,” Stover said. “We had momentum. We had gone from the 38 to the four in a minute.
“We had a play called, and Quakertown called a timeout, and we changed our play call, which obviously worked out for us. It was Etkin to Berman for the third time tonight for a touchdown pass. That was it – either walk off or walk home. It was 34-31 or 37-34. That was the way it was going to be.”
Interestingly, several plays earlier, the Cards looked as though they’d missed a golden opportunity.
“We had a call with probably 12 seconds left,” Stover said. “We ran the fake quick screen, and their guy bit, and we missed it for the win.
“Now you’re like – ‘Oh my gosh, that was our chance’ because we were out of timeouts at that point, so we were really, really scrambling. We got the clock stopped, and we went for it.”
Early on in Friday’s game, the Panthers took a 7-0 lead when Martin connected with Aiden Burgy for a 12-yard touchdown. The Cardinals answered with three straight scores. First, it was Etkin hooking up with Ryan O’Sullivan for a 16-yard touchdown that knotted the score.
Then Berman began what would a huge night with a 60-yard touchdown, and a Logan Fitzmaurice 74-yard interception return for a touchdown sent the Cards into halftime with a 21-7 lead.
“You had Logan Fitzmaurice intercept a pick six,” Stover said. “He’s a kid – we really gave him a hard time. He dropped it every time he was in front of something this week. He plays center on offense, and he’s playing linebacker.
“We said, ‘You cannot catch a thing,’ and he catches it and goes (74) yards for a touchdown, so he shut everybody up. I was so happy for him. It was like – good for him.”
Early in the third quarter, another Etkin-to-Berman connection – this one from 37 yards out gave the Cardinals a 28-7 lead.
“Berman had a night of all nights,” Stover said. “He caught a hitch and went (60) yards for a touchdown. He caught a backside post for a (37) yard touchdown and then he caught the game-winner. Three touchdowns – that’s a lot for anybody.
“Ryan O’Sullivan caught the fourth one, and on a couple of those, we got some really good downfield blocking. They were screens, and our linemen got out in front of them, and they made some really, really nice blocks.
“Earlier in the year, we were just running into the pile as wideouts. Obviously, we teach them, we tell them, we show them, and the kids finally get it, and we were really able to use that screen to our advantage tonight because Quakertown was bringing so much pressure that it was our way out of it.
A one-yard TD run by Martin made it a 28-14 game after three quarters.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Matthew Miller connected on a 44-yard field goal to up the Cardinals lead to 31-14. The Panthers came roaring back.
A 20-yard touchdown pass from Martin to Burgy made it a 31-21 game with 6:28 remaining, and a one-yard touchdown run by Kyler Roesener trimmed UD’s lead to 31-28 with 3:47 remaining, and the Panthers weren’t finished yet, taking a lead on the Martin to Thomas connecting with just over a minute remaining.
The Cardinals, however, had an answer, rallying for the walk-off win.
“That’s one of those things – we talk about staying together, and even the coaches – when they scored (to go ahead), no one lost their mind,” Stover said. “It wasn’t like you were screaming at a kid.
“We had some kids on the field that weren’t in there when the game started. That part of it is what it is, and that’s part of high school football. It’s attrition on a night like tonight when you play a hard-hitting team like we played.
“I think we have everybody rowing in the right direction, which is good for week seven. We’re building for other stuff. That’s what you want as a coach. You want to see your kids get better, and that’s what we were able to do tonight. No body panicked.
“ Kevin (Etkin) had a really great check to Ron Shepherd (on the game-winning drive) – he took it 30 yards, almost took it to the house. Their good player (Burgy) caught him from behind. He ran the ball outstanding. He didn’t have any touchdowns, but he was probably well over a hundred yards – 10 here, 20 here, falling forward. He was a beast.”
The Cardinals’ coach tipped his hat to Quakertown.
“They never die,” Stover said of the Panthers. “That’s George (Banas) though. That’s his mentality – no lead is too big.
“I told my kids at halftime – ‘They’re coming for you,’ but I just couldn’t stop it. They’re a good staff, they make good adjustments. Their kids believe – it’s Quakertown football, that’s all I can say. It’s respected by Upper Dublin, I can tell you that.”
Upper Dublin (5-2, 4-0 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Thursday, and Quakertown (3-4, 3-1) will host Harry S Truman Thursday.
Quakertown 7-0-7-20 34
Upper Dublin 7-14-7-9 37
SOUDERTON 44, BENSALEM 13
The Indians took care of business in a hurry in this one.
They had a modest 9-0 lead heading into the second quarter, thanks to a 12-yard touchdown run by Caleb Moyer midway through the frame and a safety less than three minutes later.
The second quarter was all Souderton.
On the first play of the quarter, Elijah Hampton scored on a seven-yard run, and then it was Houston Marshall scoring on a three-yard run for a 22-0 Souderton lead. A two-yard touchdown pass from Ben Walsh to Mike McCormick and a successful two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper by Walsh put the Indians on top 30-0 with 41 seconds remaining.
And they still had time for another score when Walsh connected with Hampton on a 22-yard touchdown with 0.08 seconds remaining to send the Indians into halftime with a 37-0 lead.
JoJo Sudi’s 80-yard touchdown run gave the Indians a 44-0 lead just over a minute into the second half.
“I was happy that we showed improvement,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “I thought our offensive line played well – they’ve been getting better every week.
“We shared the wealth. It was nice. Five different running backs scored – two on receptions and three on rushes. We just played well overall. Everyone executed well. We played good defense and good offense. It was just a solid win.
“Bensalem is getting better. They’re coming off a win over Rock South last week. They’ve got some explosive playmakers that we were able to hold in check until we put our backups in.”
The Owls got on the scoreboard on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Evan Varallo. Aiden Mayfield’s 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter made it a 44-13 game.
Souderton (4-3, 3-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Thursday, and Bensalem (3-4, 1-3) will host Council Rock North on Thursday.
Bensalem 0-0-7-6 13
Souderton 9-28-7-0 44
SOL American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 42, WILLIAM TENNENT 7
Upper Moreland celebrated Senior Night with a no-doubt-about-it win over the visiting Panthers, and for a Golden Bear squad looking to bounce back after last week’s loss to Springfield Twp, this was exactly what the doctor ordered.
“We laid out what we needed to get better at in the week in practice,” UM coach Adam Beach said. “To watch us come out there and execute, especially on the defensive side of the ball was really good to see.
“The kids really responded well. They understood the situation. They woke up a little bit as they say understood they let one slip away, and they made the adjustments. It was nice to see the results of their hard work.”
It took not time at all for the Golden Bears to see the results of that hard work.
“On the first play from scrimmage, Alex Foley hit Jamir Williams on a 60-yard bomb to kind of get us started,” Beach said. “That got us down pretty close, and Justin Valentin scores on a one-yard touchdown run.
“We get a stop, they punt the ball – it’s a bad punt. We’re driving again, and we throw a pick. Number 20 (Joey Hebling) picks off the pass. We stop them again.”
The Bears took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter when they mounted another scoring drive. Aidan Tuffy scored from 14 yards out.
“On their next possession, we get a key defensive play by Alex Costanzo, who gets a sack,” Beach said. “That sets us up to get a 33-yard touchdown pass from Foley to Jamir Williams.”
The Golden Bears took that 21-0 lead into the halftime locker room.
In the third quarter, Larry Hughes intercepted a pass and rumbled 40 yards to complete the pick six to make it a 28-0 game.
After another UM defensive stop, Elijah Davis takes it 40 yards to the house for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead. The Bears weren’t finished yet, and after yet another defensive stop, UM senior Danny Lewis scored on a five -yard run.
“It was a big night for Jamir (Williams),” Beach said. “Braden Moore caught a lot of passes, so he did some nice things too. He didn’t score any touchdowns, but he was integral to what we were doing.
“Braden Moore and Jamir (Williams) have not been getting a lot of touches because we’ve been dominated by Tuffy and Larry (Hughes), so it was good that Jamir got some big ones, and I know Braden Moore got a lot too.
“(Alex) Foley played well. Jimmy Baker is a senior captain who goes both ways – offensive line and defensive line, just being that solid guy and allowing us to make plays. Danny Lewis – it was nice for him to get out there and have success in the field.”
Beach used the opportunity to give his younger players some game action, and the Panthers scored their lone touchdown when Kyle Flack scored on a 25-yard TD reception.
Upper Moreland (6-1, 1-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Thursday. William Tennent (3-4, 1-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
William Tennent 0-0-0-8 8
Upper Moreland 7-14-21-0 42
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