Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Thursday. Pennsbury/Quakertown photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography, Pennridge/Bensalem photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay, Wissahickon/Upper Merion photos courtesy of Kim Supko, and North Penn/Council Rock South photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for galleries of all five games.
Non-league
QUAKERTOWN 14, PENNSBURY 7
It wasn’t a must-win. After all, it was only the second game of the season, but it certainly felt pretty close to that to two teams coming off season-opening losses last week.
“We needed this one,” Quakertown coach George Banas said after his team eked out a win in its first ever trip to Falcon Field.
The Panthers received the opening kickoff and scored when quarterback Brady Martin connected with Carter Tucholski on an eight-yard touchdown strike, capping a punishing 80-yard drive that ate seven minutes off the game clock.
“That’s their typical game plan – they get the opening kickoff, and they drive eight, nine minutes, and they punch it in,” Banas said of the Falcons. “It’s very methodical, they just ground and pound, and we were able to do that to them tonight which was a real good lift for us emotionally and mentally after coming off Southern Lehigh (a 35-14 loss) where we really struggled up front on both sides. Southern Lehigh is really good – they were
a state semifinalist last year, and they’ll probably get pretty close to that, if not further, this year. And then Pennsbury has a heck of a game with Northampton last week, and Northampton’s one of the biggest schools in PA.”
The Panthers put another touchdown on the board when – after forcing a punt and benefitting from a Falcons’ personal foul – they took over at Pennsbury’s 33. Martin needed just one play to cash in, finding James Wehrheim in stride for a TD that sent them into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
“He does everything on offense as a quarterback,” said Banas of Martin. “Then defensively, he’s probably one of the top if not the top safety in the league, and he’s our punt returner as well. We could probably put him back on kickoffs, but we’ve got to get him off the field at some point.”
Quakertown’s lead could have been more had it not been for a pair of missed field goals. As it was, the Panthers’ defense was preventing Pennsbury from gaining any kind of offensive rhythm.
The Falcons had a golden opportunity to get back in the game when Luke Beighley blocked a punt early in the fourth quarter that rolled all the way into the end zone where the Falcons pounced on it for a touchdown that made it a 14-7 game with nine minutes remaining.
“We had opportunities – we missed two field goals in the first half that hit the uprights,” Banas said. “So, there’s six points, and then we missed an opportunity in the second half to score again. We should have put it away sooner. We have to work on that type of mentality. When we’re up two scores, we’ve got to try to drive it down and punch it in and get points to really put it away because they block the punt, and we didn’t even touch the kid, and then right away, it’s a game because they’re energized.”
The Panthers killed that energy in a hurry with a defensive stop, forcing the Falcons to punt. Martin delivered a huge pass on third-and-long to keep the drive alive. Later, he converted a fourth-and-one to seal the Falcons’ fate.
“Brady made one heck of a play,” Banas said. “He was scrambling around and found (Emilio) Olivares for a first down that was absolutely huge.
“It was fourth-and-one, and I said, ‘If the A-gap’s open, just bump and go.’ He was able to bump and go, and his second effort got us the first down which sealed the game.”
The contributions didn’t begin and end with the players putting points on the board.
“We had some really good efforts,” Banas said. “Kyler Rosener and (Luke) Pakula at linebacker – those two inside guys really had a good night. (Jackson) Connelly had a tremendous night at D-end again. (Dominic) Ferrugio had an interception, Rosener had an interception.
“People were stepping up. We’re super young. We got a sophomore at outside backer named (Marcus) Baxter. It’s only his second varsity game, and he came up and started to play tonight. Wehrheim’s a junior, and he caught a touchdown. And Carter Tucholski’s a sophomore, and he caught a touchdown. We’re young, but it’s a great mix because we have some really good senior leaders. (Owen) Richwine who plays both ways on O-line and D-line that’s setting the tempo. We started a freshman on defensive tackle, The mix of kids is really good, and I’m glad they were able to show up tonight.”
“This was a much-needed win for them because of all the effort and practice they put in. “You’d hate to go 0-2 and have North Penn staring you in the eye.”
Up next: Quakertown (1-1) will host North Penn on Friday, and Pennsbury (0-2) will be on the road at Council Rock South.
Quakertown 7-7-0-0 14
Pennsbury 0-0-0-7 7
PENNRIDGE 36, BENSALEM 33
(Game stats provided courtesy of Pennridge football)
Fans of big offensive plays had to love this game.
The two teams combined for 43 first-half points and spent the half playing – ‘can you top that?’
When the dust had settled on a wild contest pitting a pair of SOL squads, the Rams prevailed, but it wasn’t easy.
“I think what I’m most pleased with is – we have a short week, we have some adversity,” Pennridge coach Kyle Beller said. “We’re down two starting linebackers. We moved some people around. We moved Will (Dougherty) to tailback, and the whole team was in it.”
The move to tailback certainly agreed with Dougherty, who finished with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Quarterback Noah Keating completed 9 of 15 passes for 154 yards and two TDs with no interceptions.
In a preview of things to come, Aidan Mayfield raced 40 yards for a touchdown on the Owls’ first play of the game. Unfazed, the Rams answered with an opening drive that was capped with Keating finding Sean Leuthe for a 32-yard touchdown, and less than three minutes into the game, it was 7-7, and the two teams were just getting started.
Mayfield’s 19-yard TD run put the Owls on top 14-7 at the end of one quarter, but in the opening minutes of the second quarter, Keating connected with Dougherty for a 54-yard touchdown that evened the score. The Owls were forced to punt, and the Rams took their first lead when Keating scored on a nine-yard run. Sophomore quarterback Aiden Tetowski turned a broken play on the PAT into a huge two-point conversion when he connected with Chase Clontz, and the Rams led 22-14.
“It was a bad snap,” Beller said. “Our sophomore quarter picked it up, rolled around and did what he was coached to do by Coach Cressman and Coach O’Connor, and he ran it perfect. That was huge.”.
Bensalem responded with a touchdown of their own when Brennan Farnsworth scored on a 40-yard run, and Pennridge took a tenuous 22-21 lead into halftime.
“They are a good football team,” Beller said. “They’re well-coached, they’re athletic as heck. They took the first play to the house. We had them third-and-long a bunch of times, and they got first downs.
“I think our kids did a great job trying to keep them in the pocket, and those kids still made plays, but they just kept grinding and believing and playing their tails off. No one was on each other. It was just next man up, and every kid was like that from 1 to 57.”
Pennridge added to its lead when a drive that included a whole lot of William Dougherty was capped with a six-yard TD run by Dougherty that put the Rams on top 29-21. Again, the Owls answered when Myles Annan connected with Farnsworth on a 37-yard TD pass. The two-point attempt failed, and the Rams led 29-27 after three quarters.
Another Dougherty TD run – this one from five yards – put the Rams on top 36-27. A 20-yard touchdown run by Thomas Bailey pulled the Owls to within three – 36-33 – with six minutes remaining.
The Owls forced a fumble with 6:07 remaining, but the Rams’ defense held, and the wild win was in the books.
“When they got the fumble, we didn’t hang our heads,” Beller said. “They got the ball, and they had all the momentum in the world, and the defense got a huge stop. We got a huge stop at the right time, and sometimes all you need is one because, man, that team is everything I thought they were.
“It was such a great team win, playing the way they did. On the offensive side of the ball, up front did a great job. Will ran the ball, Tommy Gianetti ran the ball. Noah (Keating) made great decisions, and they moved the ball. Everyone did their jobs. It was just a great team win against a team that’s going to win a lot of football games. This Bensalem team is going to win a lot of football games.”
Up next: Pennridge (2-0) will host Harry S Truman next Friday, and Bensalem (1-1) will travel to Abington next Friday.
Pennridge 7-15-14-0 36
Bensalem 14-7-6-6 33
NESHAMINY 41, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
(Game stats courtesy of Neshaminy football)
Defense is rapidly becoming the calling card for the 2025 edition of the Neshaminy football team. On Thursday, the Redskins pitched their second shutout in as many games, opening up a 34-0 lead by halftime and controlling play from the outset.
Michael Eckart was on top of his game, completing 11 of 14 passes for 233 yards and no interceptions. His first touchdown pass – an 18-yarder to Mike Sassano was set up by a Sassano interception.
Brock Willliams hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Eckart, and the Redskins led 14-0. Then it was Nick Sassano’s turn, and his 44-yard touchdown reception gave the Redskins a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
Carter Clee scored on a five-yard touchdown run, and then it was Williams scoring on a 34-yard pass from Eckart. The missed PAT sent Neshaminy into halftime with a 34-0 lead.
The mercy rule went into effect early in the third quarter when Williams scored on a 15-yard run for his third TD of the night. That 41-0 lead that stood until the final horn.
Also coming up big for Neshaminy was Clee, who had a big night out of the backfield with 17 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown. Eckart also had five carries for 50 yards. Williams had four receptions for 83 yards and two TDs, Nick Sassano had three catches for 52 yards. Bobby Lagler had one reception for 46 yards, and Mike Sassano – who had a pair of interceptions – had two receptions for 44 yards as Eckart spread the wealth around.
Up next: Neshaminy (2-0) will host Cheltenham in a non-league game next Friday, and Council Rock North (0-2) will travel to Central Bucks East next Friday.
Neshaminy 21-13-7-0 41
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
NORTH PENN 21, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 14
(Additional info will be provided when it’s received)
This game kept fans on the edge of their seats for the full 48 minutes.
It took a holding call with time expired to wipe out a successful Hail Mary pass in the end zone by Rock South quarterback Marley Emerson before the Knights and their fans could be celebrating the tightly-contested win.
It was still a 14-14 game with five minutes remaining in regulation when the Knights recovered a fumble at South’s 30-yard line, and Rylei Gray scored a TD that turned out to be the game-winner, racing in from 14 yards.
The ending was not the only high drama in Thursday’s non-league contest.
The Golden Hawks got on the scoreboard first when – after their defense stopped the Knights on third-and-two at their own 23 – Shane Myers took it home on a 13-yard TD run.
The Knights responded to the early setback, putting a pair of TDs on the scoreboard to go into halftime with a 14-6 advantage – Matt Bucksar connected with Matt Pownall for a six-yard TD midway through the second quarter for their first score. With less than a minute remaining in the half, Bucksar tossed his second TD pass of the night – this one a 16-yard touchdown that sent the Knights into halftime with the lead.
A North Penn fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half set up a six-yard touchdown run by Myers, who also ran it in for the two-point conversion that knotted the score 14-14 in the opening minutes of the second half.
That score stood until the Rock South fumble late in the game that set up the game-winner.
Up next: North Penn (2-0) will travel to Quakertown next Friday, and Council Rock South will host Pennsbury Friday.
Council Rock South 6-0-8-0 14
North Penn 0-14-0-7 21
WISSAHICKON 52, UPPER MERION 28
(Game info courtesy of @emor09 X)
There may have been some who were concerned the Trojans would have a letdown after their emotionally-charged win over archrival Upper Dublin in Friday’s season opener. They need not have worried. Before the first quarter was over in Friday’s
non-league game against the Vikings, the Trojans had a 21-7 lead on their way to the big win.
“That’s something we discussed all week,” Wissahickon coach Rory Graver said. “Having an emotional win over Upper Dublin – I thought our guys did a pretty good job, especially up front. We’re continuing to develop a younger group up front and keep on getting better and better each week.”
The tone for this one was set in a hurry when Quasir Sampson came up with an interception that resulted in a 16-yard touchdown run by Quentin West. Upper Merion knotted the score, but the Trojans had an immediate answer as quarterback Evan Tolmie connected with West for a TD – this time from 11 yards out to give the Trojans a 14-7 lead. A 10-yard touchdown run by Sampson made it a
21-7 game.
“I was pleased that our defense got us off to fast start,” Graver said. “We intercepted the first pass, which put us into a scoring position.
“Offensively, we did a nice job of spreading the ball around. A handful of people had multiple touchdowns tonight.”
The Trojans took a 21-14 lead into halftime and then extended their advantage to 42-14 late in the third quarter. Contributing TDs in the 21-point quarter were Dom Harvey Sheppard on a 22-yard TD run, Sampson on a 3-yard touchdown run, and West’s third touchdown – this one on a 46-yard reception from Tolmie.
In the fourth quarter, Harvey-Sheppard had a 55-yard touchdown run.
“Evan Tolmie keeps getting better as a quarterback in his second start,” Graver said. “Quasir Sampson had a really big game for us, scoring two touchdowns and playing really well defensively.
“Dom Harvey-Sheppard played really well offensively and defensively. He had two long touchdown runs, and Quentin ‘Q’ West had two touchdown receptions for us today.”
Up next: Wissahickon (2-0) will host Archbishop Carroll in a non-league game next Friday.
Wissahickon 21-0-21-10 52
Upper Merion 7-7-7-7 28
WEST CHESTER EAST 27, UPPER MORELAND 7
About the Author
