Check out the recaps for Friday’s games. Quakertown/CR South photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of D&J Photography. Pennridge/Neshaminy photos courtesy of Kim Supko Photography, and CB South/CB East photos courty of Tracy Valko. Upper Moreland/Phoenixville photos courtesy of Dave Tucker. Check back for galleries of all four 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
PENNRIDGE 28, NESHAMINY 14
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of 911, Cody Muller referenced that fateful day in his pregame talk with his players.
“I told them how 20 years ago there’s people that went to bed, and it was the last time they ever went to bed,” he said. “Not so much that but also the fact that heroes emerged during that time, and when that fire started, people ran toward it instead of away from it.
“I said to the guys at halftime especially – ‘I need 70 guys to run toward the fire.’ I challenged them a little bit, especially our offensive line, and they rose to the occasion, they rose to the challenge, so I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Muller, it turns out, wasn’t fooled by Neshaminy’s 0-2 record heading into Friday night’s conference battle.
“I said – they’re the best 0-2 team in the state,” the Rams’ coach said. “I knew they were going to fight us, without a doubt.”
And fight the Rams they did. The two teams were deadlocked 7-7 at halftime and still knotted 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter, but when it mattered most, the Rams prevailed, scoring a pair of fourth quarter TDs to earn the hard-fought win.
“We went into halftime, and one of the things I told the kids was that they were going to be in a fight,” the Rams’ coach said. “We knew that from the jump. I told them all week that I have a heck of a lot of respect for (Neshaminy) coach (Steve) Wilmot and the rest of his staff. I knew they’d be prepared.”
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter, and after the Redskins’ knotted the score at 14-14, Brennan Fisher returned the ensuing kickoff to the Rams’ 45.
“I think that was his first ever kick return at the varsity level,” Muller said. “He works all week with the return men, and we work our special teams. The guys did a great job of creating a seam, and he found it. It’s a kid that I’ve been waiting for him to really step up, and tonight he did on offense as well. Nate Mossbrook also – that’s a kid I’ve been waiting for him to get it going, and he really found it, so I was very happy.
While Fisher’s return gave the Rams good field position, it was Mossbrook who capped the Rams’ go-ahead touchdown drive with a 16-yard TD run. It was three-and-out for the Redskins, and the Rams answered with another touchdown drive that was again capped by a big Mossbrook touchdown run – this one from 24 yards out to give the Rams a 28-14 lead and all but seal the Redskins’ fate.
“It was a tale of two halves for our offense,” Muller said. “The second half I challenged them, and they rose to the occasion. When we needed them the most, our defense got the stops that we needed, and our offensive line especially did a great job again. Tyler Wetzel ran hard again.
“All week we were working with the wings to get them going the right way and finding the right path, and that was obvious when Fisher and Mossbrook took off a couple of times. Those guys all of them across the board – I’m just really proud of our guys.”
Wetzel surpassed 100 yards rushing for the second time in as many weeks, finishing another productive outing with 11 carries for 131 yards.
For the Redskins, quarterback Nunzio Zydzik – who scored both of his team’s touchdowns – was the leading ground gainer with 78 yards on 16 carries.
“I talked to coach Wilmot before the game and after the game – they’re going to get it going,” Muller said. “He’s got a lot of young faces out there. I have so much respect for that staff and what they do. No doubt in my mind they’ll get something going.”
Pennridge (2-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Friday, and Neshaminy (0-3, 0-2) will host Souderton on Friday.
Neshaminy 0-7-7-0 14
Pennridge 0-7-7-14 28
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 24, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 19
The Patriots capitalized on some critical South turnovers to open up a 17-0 halftime lead and then held off a fierce Titan rally in the second half.
“Give credit to South – they clawed back, but we have to get our fourth quarter kill, we have to close out,” East coach John Donnelly said. “In the first half we had those takeaways, we ran the ball extremely well, really worked the clock, and I thought controlled the line of scrimmage the majority of the game.
“They jumped into a heavier front, and we still were able to make some adjustments in the run game and (quarterback) Pat (Keller) didn’t have to pass again too much tonight. Ethan Shine, Declan Kelly, Tommy Day – all three ran really well. Once again, the line did a great job. Our tight ends did a great job, and our fullbacks did a great job of blocking.”
Igniting the Patriots were interceptions by Matt LaBouliere – his third in as many games, Nick Carter and Dan Vogelsong.
“The defense, especially in the first half, did a great job,” Donnelly said. “In the second half, we bent, but we didn’t break.”
A 15-yard touchdown run by Ethan Shine put the Patriots on the scoreboard late in the first quarter. A Jack Corrigan field goal early in second quarter made it a 10-0 game, and an eight-yard TD run by Declan Kelly sent the Patriots into halftime with a 17-0 lead.
Cole Maholtz scored on two-yard run to make it a 17-6 game, but five minutes later, Shine raced 50 yards for the score and a 24-6 East lead. A pair of Maholtz touchdown runs – the first from 23 yards and the second a two-yard run with 44 seconds remaining – pulled the Titans to within five at the final whistle.
Shine was an offensive catalyst for the Patriots, finishing with 238 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns.
Donnelly credited the play of the team’s three tight ends – senior Andrew Perillo, junior Luke Quillen and sophomore Jack Donnelly.
“I thought they did a great job blocking tonight,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Dan Voglesong had some really big tackles on kickoffs. He’s just coming up big as a sophomore who had nine tackles last week. Skyler Boss, one of our inside linebackers, had a really big game, had a bunch of tackles for loss and really played his tail off.”
For the Titans, Maholtz finished with 101 yards and three touchdowns while quarterback Patrick Maerz threw for 184 yards.
Central Bucks East (2-1, 2-0 SOL) will face Bensalem next week, and Central Bucks South (1-2, 0-2) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Central Bucks East 7-10-7-0 24
Central Bucks South 0-0-6-13 19
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 21, ABINGTON 0
(Statistics courtesy of Andrew Robinson/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/football/2021/09/10/cb-west-rides-all-around-effort-to-shut-out-abington/)
The Bucks had things going their way on both sides of the football in Friday’s win, opening up an early lead and keeping the Ghosts off the scoreboard for four quarters.
“Any time you get a shutout, your defense obviously performs really well and executes the game plan really well,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “It would be hard to say individually if anyone stood out defensively. It was really a team effort. We’re just really proud of the way guys bought into their roles this week.
“I saw another level of physicality and pursuing and tackling the football this week that I hadn’t seen prior. We challenged our guys during the week to just get better at the basics, and I certainly think that stood out tonight. When you get a shutout, there’s 11 guys on the field that are doing the job pretty consistently.”
The Bucks took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks to a two-yard quarterback sneak by Ganz Cooper.
In the second quarter, Cooper connected with Vinny Cherubini for a 39-yard TD, and when Cooper punched it in for his second two-yard TD of the first half, the Bucks led 21-0, a score that stood the rest of the way.
“We opened the game with a really good drive – went down and scored,” Rowan said. “In the second quarter, our quarterback (Cooper) and one of our halfbacks (Cherubini) connected on an extremely well-executed play. Our quarterback extended the play with his legs a little bit and just made a really good throw. It was an equally good catch by Vinny. Vinny made some big plays. He blocks really well, and on our first touchdown, he got knocked out at the one-yard line and we sneaked it in.”
Gantz completed 4-for-8 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
“Just to the naked eye without watching any film, I was really pleased with our quarterback play,” Rowan said. “It was the first game we didn’t have any turnovers – we didn’t put the ball on the turf, and we didn’t cough it up. That’s been a message from me since day one, but we haven’t done a good job with that until this point. I thought he played really well tonight.
“I thought Eli (Boehm) ran really hard, and obviously, the defensively collectively across the board played really well.”
Eli Boehm led the Bucks’ ground attack, finishing the night with 147 yards on 15 carries while Donte Mancini added 70 yards and Cherubini had 33 yards and a TD reception.
“Our offense is predicated on all of our backs contributing consistently and in a balanced way,” Rowan said. “When that’s happening, our offense can be difficult to defend at times”
The win was the second in as many weeks after falling to a powerful Coatesville squad in week one.
“Our goal – and I mean this sincerely – is we really just talk about getting better week by week,” Rowan said. “We don’t put as much stock into – ‘Hey, we’ve got to win this game.’ It’s really about – ‘Are we getting better at what we need to get better at on a week-to-week basis?’ I believe that is the case. I think our guys are getting better week by week, and as long as we keep doing that, we’re going to be in a competitive situation against anybody that we play.”
Central Bucks West (2-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Friday, and Abington (1-2, 0-2) will host Quakertown on Friday.
Abington 0-0-0-0 0
Central Bucks West 7-14-0-0 21
NORTH PENN 35, PENNSBURY 0
If things weren’t bad enough for a struggling Falcon squad coming off of back-to-back shutout losses, they were faced with the daunting task of taking on a Knight squad that had put up 100 points in its first two wins combined. For the third time in as many games, the Falcons did not score.
It took the visiting Knights just over two minutes to get on the scoreboard when Khalani Eaton capped a touchdown drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. The Falcons came up empty on their ensuing drive, and the Knights were back in business. This time it was quarterback Ryan Zeltt connecting with a wide open Tyler Beam from six yards out to put the Knights on top 14-0.
It was three and out for the Falcons, and Eaton raced 51 yards for a touchdown that – after Ryan Bocklet’s extra point – put the Knights on top 21-0 with 1:50 remaining in the opening quarter. In the opening minute of the second quarter, Zeltt connected with Levi Carroll with an 11-yard touchdown that gave the Knights a 28-0 lead. Eaton’s 10-yard touchdown run – his third TD of the quarter – sent the Knights into halftime with a 35-0 lead that held until the final horn.
North Penn (3-0, 2-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday in a non-league contest, and Pennsbury (0-3, 0-2) will host Harry S Truman on Friday.
North Penn 21-14-0-0 35
Pennsbury 0-0-0-0 0
SOL Continental Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 23, BENSALEM 12
In a battle of a pair of unbeaten squads, it was the Flying Cardinals overcoming a slow start to earn their third win in as many outings.
“It was good for us to have adversity to overcome,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “Bensalem is vastly improved. They’re well coached, they’re doing a nice job down there. They have some athletes. We were fortunate. They gave us all we could handle and more. They kept fighting to the end. We were fortunate that we were able to put it together in the second half.”
The first half didn’t look all that promising for the visiting Cardinals, who fell behind 6-2 and still trailed by that score at halftime.
“The tailback they have is legit – the first play they went 80 yards on an option pitch that we hadn’t seen on film anywhere,” Stover said. “Kudos to them – they caught it, and then we made an adjustment.
“We missed a field goal. We were fourth-and-two from the eight, and we jumped offsides. I elected to go for a field goal. We had another time – our center thought our quarterback was under center, so he snapped it. He’s in shotgun, the ball’s on the ground, and they fall on it. We shot ourselves in the foot the whole first half.”
According to the UD coach, the tone might well have been set before the Cardinals even took the field at Bensalem.
“We didn’t get off the bus real well.” Stover said. “It was a late start. We had trouble getting out of here with all the damage (from the tornado in Hurricane Ida). This was our first time going to Bensalem, and we went to the wrong spot.
“It was the culmination of errors. Our pregame was terrible, and I told them that, and we played exactly like that. Then at halftime, I told them to take all that first half and put it in the box – that’s kind of our little saying. We take what’s going on around us and put that in a box for three hours. We put the first half in a separate box and threw that one in the bottom of the ocean. Then they came out and played like they’re capable of playing. I was pleased.”
The Cardinals wasted little time before taking control in the second half and needed just three plays to put their first touchdown of the night on the board.
“We threw a little play action and no one was there – it was (Colin) O’Sullivan to Tawfiq Bartlett,” Stover said. “The same thing happened going the other way – we hit Tristan Cairnes. One was to the right and one was to the left.”
Cairnes’ TD – which put the Cardinals on top 17-6 – was set up by a long Bartlett run. The Owls answered with a long touchdown run by Josiah Leonard, who had TD runs of 70 and 78 yards. This one made it a 17-12 game. A TD run by Nyfise McIntyre with 11:56 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals their final margin of victory.
O’Sullivan finished another strong outing 10-for-15 for 131 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 54 rushing yards on six carries. McIntyre had 18 carries for 91 yards and a TD.
“O’Sullivan played well again at quarterback,” Stover said. “We didn’t ask him to do a whole lot, we were running the ball a lot, and when we did throw, he was on point. He ended up throwing two touchdown passes.
“(Dan) Nardo and (Tristan) Cairnes did a really good job blocking for us on the tight end spots. They both did a good job, and Nyfise McIntyre ran exceptionally well. He’s new to the program this year, and he’s figuring out our offense. He’s getting better week, and he’s getting a little bit more of the playbook, and he’s only a junior.”
The UD coach went on to laud the play of several defenders.
“They have some big play guys,” Stover said. “They have a 6-6 kid at wideout that our guy, DJ Ceresier, locked down all night. He’s had big games, and I think he had one catch tonight. I had Quincy Pauling, on the other side, handling number 10 (Allen Myers). They did a really nice job for us in the secondary.”
Pauling had two of UD’s three interceptions. Chris Kohlbrenner had the other.
Upper Dublin (3-0, 2-0 SOL) will travel to North Penn for a non-league game Friday, and Bensalem (2-1, 1-1) is scheduled to play Central Bucks East.
Upper Dublin 2-0-15-6 23
Bensalem 6-0-6-0 12
HARRY S TRUMAN 42, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
It had been a long time between SOL wins for the Tigers – almost two years, to be exact. Truman defeated Council Rock North 49-20 on Sept. 27, 2019, and then saw its fall season last year wiped out because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers notched a pair of wins last spring, but those wins might not have felt quite the same as a win on a fall Friday night against an SOL foe.
“We struggled the last two weeks,” Truman coach Ben Johnson said. “We fought through some injuries. Our team tonight showed a tremendous amount of resiliency. They never wavered, they had a great week of practice – probably the best practices we’ve seen so far with this team since camp.
“We tell the kids, ‘Practice tells us a lot about what we’re going to do in a game,’ and the boys responded. We really got into the film this week and broke things down and slowed things down a little offensively. Offensively, we sputtered the last two weeks, and tonight we were able to build our confidence, slow things down and get back to basics. For the most part, our kids did a (heck) of a job executing. We still have a few things we need to clean up, but you get a win like that – we got our mojo back. We’re going to celebrate this one and get right on Pennsbury tomorrow morning.”
The Tigers were six days removed from a 41-0 loss to Souderton, but the players – according to Johnson – stayed on course.
“Our quarterback, Terrell Delp, is a three-year guy for us, and he put the team on his back,” Johnson said. “Him and Makai Jackson, Rondell Bradley, Kayden Rossi and Nasir Corley – I could go on and on.
“The kids really got back in the lab this week, started really going back and holding each other accountable. It was a great overall week.”
Defensively, the Tigers pitched a shutout, and on the offensive side of the ball, Delp threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns, and Rossi had 105 rushing yards and a TD. Jackson had 75 yards and a touchdown on two carries. He also had a 23-yard reception. Bradley had four receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense.
Delp opend the scoring with a quarterback sneak, and Dante Giannetti’s kick gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead after one quarter. They blew the game open with three second-quarter touchdowns. Elohim Vines recovered a bad snap in the end zone for a TD, and Bradley connected with Jackson for the two-point conversion. Then it was Bradley hauling in a pair of Delp TD passes – the first from eight yards out and the second a 38-yarder that sent the Tigers into halftime with a 28-0 lead.
“The key for us all week was – ‘This is what we’re good at, this is what their defense is going to allow us to do,’ and that’s what we stuck with,” Johnson said. “We had tremendous amount of success with that.”
The second half featured a pair of big plays by the Tigers. Rossi raced 68 yards on a fake punt for a third-quarter touchdown, and in the fourth quarter, Jackson took it 72 yards to the house for the 42-0 final.
“Our offensive line struggled the last two weeks, and we were able to run that ball tonight,” Johnson said of his O-line comprised of Devan Harris, Nasir Corley, Maxx Strong, William Brennan, Eliazar Mercado and Landon Vingless. “The whole offense was just in sync tonight. They were reading the defense and checking down. It was really a beautiful thing to see quarterback (Delp) become a coach on the field.”
Johnson also lauded the play of his defense that included a big night from Jaivear Jackson on the defensive line.
“He just played a (heck) of a game tonight,” Johnson said. “We see it in practice, and we finally turned him loose tonight.
“Devan Harris plays middle linebacker, and you have Kessey Lowenthal, Elohim Vines, and Jaivear Jackson. They played a (heck) of a game – lots of big sacks. They just played well. We scored in every aspect of the game. We had a scoop and score on a punt, we had a fake punt run back by Rossi. Elohim Vines – on a punt the ball went over the kid’s head. He picked the ball up and scored.”
Harry S Truman (1-2, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (0-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks South Friday.
Harry S Truman 7-21-7-7 42
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
SOUDERTON 49, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 16
Elijah Goods finished with a rare trifecta – scoring a touchdown on special teams, offense and defense – and Brayden Porter surpassed 100 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground and also had a receiving TD to lead the host Indians to the no-doubt-about-it win.
“Elijah Goods was really good tonight,” coach Ed Gallagher said. “He scored three times in three different ways. I’m not sure when the last time was that somebody did that.
“Brayden Porter had two spectacular runs for touchdowns in the second quarter. The one run he made someone miss him and made a cut and just exploded. He really showed off his speed. His other run he just ran like a man possessed. He was getting close to the end zone and just carried people in. He ran really hard tonight.”
The Indians got on the scoreboard on their first possession when quarterback Nate Hageman connected with Porter for a 54-yard touchdown on a perfectly executed screen pass.
“It was set up really well, we executed it really well, and it looked like we were going to pick up where we left off on Saturday,” said Gallagher of the Indians’ 41-0 rout of Harry S Truman. “Then all of a sudden, we broke into the uglies. We didn’t field a punt that ended up rolling down to the two. Then we fumbled a snap into the end zone, and they scored by recovering the fumble in the end zone, so it was 7-7, and they didn’t have a first down.”
Souderton bounced back from its shaky start quite nicely, thanks to a Goods interception that he ran back for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 5:44 remaining in the opening quarter.
“It had to be 70 or 80 yards,” Gallagher said of Goods’ electrifying pick six. “It was a really impressive runback on the interception.”
A Goods punt return for a touchdown put the Indians on top 21-7 with nine minutes remaining in the half.
“All of a sudden, it’s 21-7 in the first quarter, and outside that screen pass (for a TD), we really hadn’t done that much yet,” Gallagher said. “We were still getting our feet wet and getting things going.”
In a half that featured one big play after another, Porter took it 60 yards to the house for a 28-7 advantage. Another Porter touchdown run was followed by a three-yard TD run by Goods that sent the Indians into halftime with a 42-7 lead.
Rock North got on the scoreboard, but the Indians’ reserves had an answer when quarterback Jared Zimmerman scored on a keeper from 20 yards out. Souderton’s final touchdown was set up by a 40-yard run by Javier Torres to close out the third quarter.
Souderton (2-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Friday, and Council Rock North (1-2, 0-2) will be on the road at Pennridge on Friday.
Council Rock North 7-0-6-3 16
Souderton 21-21-0-0 42
QUAKERTOWN 41, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 13
The Panthers upped their early season mark to 3-0 with their third lopsided win in as many outings, but according to their coach, this was not a vintage performance.
“We did not play well at all,” coach George Banas said. “We turned the ball over twice, we had some penalties tonight between the ears that are just not tolerated. Hopefully, they learned. Listen, it’s good to win 41-13 and still have a ton of stuff to coach up and get better.”
John Eatherton gave the Panther faithful something to cheer about when he returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown and an early 6-0 lead. The Golden Hawks answered with a five-yard touchdown run by Chase Myers to go on top 7-6 with four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
“We made a lot of mistakes between the ears tonight, and they were able to score on that possession because of a mental mistake by one of our kids that gave them phenomenal field position,” Banas said. “My rule is if you make a mistake like that – you’re out for the quarter, so that put us in a little bit of a different defensive set, and they drove down and scored.”
According to Banas, Friday’s game followed a similar pattern to the Panthers’ season opener against Southern Lehigh that saw Tyler Woodman open the game with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
“It was just like Southern Lehigh – it’s great to have the big play early, but it’s almost like a curse because you let your guard down,” Banas said. “Last week, we didn’t open up with a big play, and we were pretty methodical with moving the ball down the field, scoring, holding them, moving the ball down the field, scoring.
“It was pretty much drive and score, drive and score, and it just seemed as though the kids were more locked in where against Southern Lehigh and again tonight, we opened up the game with this huge play, and it’s like – you take a deep breath, and they just sort of relax, and that’s not always too good.”
The Hawks took that 7-6 lead into the second quarter, but the Panthers regained the lead when Will Steich found Zach Fondl from six yards out. The successful two-point conversion gave Quakertown a 14-7 lead. Tyler Woodman’s 16-yard touchdown run made it a 21-7 game, but the Hawks had an answer once again, this time scoring on four-yard Tom Woloshyn TD run to trim that lead to 21-13 with six minutes remaining in the half.
Steich sent the Panthers into halftime with a 28-13 advantage after he scored on a three-yard quarterback keeper.
Midway through the third quarter Steich found Woodman for a 23-yard touchdown and a 34-13 Quakertown lead. A 12-yard touchdown run by Zach Gruelich in the final frame gave the Panthers their final margin of victory.
For the Panthers, Steich was 6-for-10 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He also had seven carries for 59 yards.
“His numbers should have been a lot greater – he had at least three drops as well that hit kids right in the hands for big plays,” Banas said. “He ran the ball tonight. He had more runs tonight than he did the last two years combined. It was really, really great to see him come out of his shell and run the ball because it gives us a totally different dynamic, so people have to guard that as well, so that was really good to see out of Will tonight.”
The Panthers’ coach credited the play of several players on the defensive side of the football.
Kaden Roesener just made a bunch of hits from linebacker,” Banas said. “Freddie Retter again from the defensive line. John Eatherton had a really good first half – had the punt return, had a great interception return. He really did a phenomenal job for us in the first half.”
For the Golden Hawks, quarterback Matt Striffolino threw for 80 yards to lead the offense. Myers had a pair of catches for 71 yards
Quakertown (3-0, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Abington on Friday, and Council Rock South (0-3, 0-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks West. Friday.
Quakertown 6-22-6-7 41
Council Rock South 7-6-0-0 13
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 21, PHOENIXVILLE 19
The Golden Bears accumulated close to 400 yards of total offense and opened up a 21-6 lead but barely escaped with the win when the Phantoms came up short on a two-point conversion with 31 seconds remaining.
The Phantoms took a 6-0 lead in the opening seconds of the second quarter. The Golden Bears took their first lead midway through the quarter when quarterback Byron Hopkins found Mekhi Lyles with a 36-yard touchdown pass. The Phantoms fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and with 5:19 remaining in the opening half, the Golden Bears went on top 14-6 when Ryan Olexa caught a 14-yard Hopkins touchdown pass. They took that eight-point lead into halftime.
Cam Jackson scored on a 24-yard run to give the Golden Bears a 20-6 lead with seven minutes remaining in the contest. That lead turned out to be anything but secure.
Less than a minute later, the Phantoms connected on a long pass play to pull to within eight, 21-13. They threatened to knot the score after a touchdown reception with 31 seconds remaining, but the Golden Bears – who have shown a flare for the dramatic in their last two games – held on the two-point conversion attempt, and their third win in as many games was in the books.
Jackson had another big game, finishing with 20 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown. Hopkins threw for 72 yards and two TDs and also had 49 rushing yards.
Upper Moreland (3-0) will host Wissahickon on Friday in the SOL opener for both teams.
Phoenixville 0-6-0-13 19
Upper Moreland 0-14-0-7 21
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 49, NORRISTOWN 8
(Stats courtesy of Ed Morlock/PA Prep Live: https://papreplive.com/football/2021/09/10/plymouth-whitemarsh-shuts-down-norristown/)
The Colonials notched their second lopsided win in as many weeks, scoring early and often on their way to the mercy rule win.
Once again, PW did most of its damage on the ground, finishing with 314 rushing yards. Coach Dan Chang credited his offensive line for controlling the line of scrimmage. Comprising that line were Louis Malfara, Joe Troilo, Kolton Galie, Chris Kane, Zach Smith and Jared Kolsun.
Nate Kern scored his first of two touchdowns on a one-yard run less than two minutes into the game. A quarterback sneak by Aiden O’Brien from the one gave the Colonials a 14-0 lead after one quarter. The second quarter was more of the same as they added three more TDs. Zion East scored from nine yards, Chris McLaughlin hauled in a 32-yard O’Brien pass, and Kern scored on a 35-yard run that sent the Colonials into halftime with a 35-0 lead.
In the third quarter, Greg Feinberg (40-yard TD run) and Taji Hubbard (13-yard TD run) both added touchdowns before the Eagles scored a meaningless touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Colonials used 11 different ball carriers. Kern’s 71 yards and two TDs led the balanced attack. East added 68 yards and a touchdown and McLaughlin had 51 yards. O’Brien threw for 79 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 22 yards and a TD.
The Colonials had some new players step up in the win. Hubbard scored his first touchdown and also collected his first interception.
Chang also lauded the outstanding play of freshman Kevin Hegarty at defensive end.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1) will host New Hope-Solebury in Friday’s SOL opener.
Norristown 0-0-0-8 8
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-21-14-0 49
METHACTON 35, WISSAHICKON 27
(Information provided courtesy of Zak Wolf @ZakWolf22)
For the second time in as many weeks, the Trojans saw a lead slip away in the second half, forcing them to absorb their third loss in as many games.
Kyle Lehman got the ball rolling for the Trojans, scoring from 10 yards out. A successful two-point conversion gave Wissahickon an early 8-0 lead. That lead grew to 14-0 when Lehman scored on a 12-yard run. Methacton’s Khaydon Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to make it a 14-7 game at the end of one quarter.
After a Methacton interception, the Trojans came up with a big stop on fourth down. A successful fourth down conversion hookup between Aiden DeFeo and Lehman set up the Trojans’ third touchdown – a quarterback sneak by DeFeo from two yards out that put the Warriors on top 21-7 with 5:34 to remaining in the first half. That was enough time for the Warriors to score a TD that made it a one-score game, 21-14. The Trojans took that seven-point lead into halftime.
Methacton marched down the field on the opening possession of the second half, knotting the score 21-21. Lehman turned a DeFeo screen pass into a 57-yard gain, setting up another Lehman touchdown from 10 yards out with some nifty running after pulling in a DeFeo screen pass.
That turned out to be the Trojans’ last hurrah. Methacton led 28-27 at the end of three quarters and went on to earn the win.
Wissahickon (0-3) will travel to Upper Moreland for Friday’s SOL opener.
Wissahickon 14-7-6-0 27
Methacton 7-7-14-7 35
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 49, CHELTENHAM 0
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