Central Bucks East notched a win in SOL football action Saturday. Springfield Township was a winner on Friday. CB East/Bensalem photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL crossover
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 35, BENSALEM 26
Quinn Moody’s electrifying 85-yard kickoff return on the game’s opening kickoff effectively set the tone for an inspired start by the Patriots. East took a two-touchdown lead into halftime and led 35-6 with 1:14 remaining in the third when Pat Keller connected on a three-yard touchdown pass to Joe Maeglin.
That set the stage for a late surge by the pesky Owls, who reeled off 20 unanswered points to close out the game, but they never could get over the hump.
“We take a lot of pride in special teams and started the game with a kickoff return,” East coach John Donnelly said. “The kids do a great job of making it important during the week, so that was a great start to the game. We really controlled the line of scrimmage in the first half into the third quarter.
“I give credit to Bensalem. They kept fighting and playing. We subbed a few guys in, but it wasn’t a wholesale change. We expect to not miss a beat. We’re trying to give other guys opportunities. I don’t feel we took our foot off the gas, but certainly we had some unfortunate drives where we didn’t convert. We were three-and-out and then we fumbled, and all of a sudden, it’s a game, it’s close. We have to put people away when it’s 35-6 in the third quarter, for sure.”
After Moody’s early TD, the Owls pulled to within one, 7-6, but a seven-yard touchdown run by Ethan Shine was followed by a 25-yard TD pass from Keller to Luke Quillen, sending the Patriots into halftime with a 21-6 lead.
Keller and Moody hooked up for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 10:36 remaining in the third quarter, and the Patriots’ lead ballooned to 28-6.
“Quinn Moody has been playing a lot of football for us,” Donnelly said of Moody. “Even since his sophomore year – as that year wore on, he got more and more opportunities. He’s really dynamic, he’s explosive, he’s confident in his ability, and he really had a great week of practice doing the little things we expect out of our receivers – blocking, when the ball’s not being thrown to you, are you doing the right things? He had a great week of practice with respect to that.”
When Keller delivered his third TD pass of the game to Maeglin, the Patriots had their largest lead, 35-6.
“I thought Pat Keller had a great game, just doing the little things,” Donnelly said. “He made some great throws. We didn’t throw it a lot, but he threw for three touchdown passes.”
The Patriots coach went on to credit the play of several players.
“Luke Quillen, our tight end, had a big game blocking and catching,” Donnelly said. “Defensively, Skyler Boss had a big game, and Rocco Ianiero also had a big game at noseguard.”
In a game that saw the Patriots accumulate 304 yards of total offense, Shine led the way with 21 carries for 114 yards and one touchdown. Keller was 11-for-15 for 134 yards and three TDs.
The win was the third in a row for the Patriots after a season-opening 34-29 loss to Ridley.
“We look back and Ridley is 4-0 right now, and that game came down to the last second,” Donnelly said. “I think we’re playing very good football.
“I know from just watching the game today – there is a lot we need to improve upon. Our players know that, and they’re willing to get after it.
“The road doesn’t get any easier. Abington is a very good team. We get to see them live on Friday night. They’ve got some really explosive, dynamic players. They had a great second half against Quakertown, who is undefeated, so our guys are well aware how important this game is. We’re getting ready for a strong week of preparation for it.”
Central Bucks East (3-1, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Abington on Friday, and Bensalem (2-2, 1-1) will host Harry S Truman on Friday.
Bensalem 6-0-0-20 26
Central Bucks East 14-7-14-0 35
Friday, Sept. 17
SOL American Conference
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 35, WILLIAM TENNENT 21
Chris Shelly has a message for prognosticators picking high school football games.
“Tell those forecasters to keep picking against us,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Our kids feel disrespected in a sense because we know how good we can be, so we came in on a mission to take it right to them, and we did.”
The Spartans – who defeated Tennent 14-6 in a shortened 2020 season – put a pair of touchdowns on the board in the first quarter, the first on a one-yard run by Ryan Gibbons and the second on a one-yard run by Ben Cooney after a Springfield bit of trickery.
“Our first one was on a nice drive, and then we had an on-sides kick that was just tremendous by our kicker (Jack Hyland),” Shelly said. “That was the MO. We were going to come right after them in attack mode, and we were up 14-0 and we’re really rolling. We felt like our defense was shutting them down.”
Springfield’s lead grew to 21-0 after Cooney connected with Will Conlin for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
“We were really going, and then right before the half, they hit us on a screen play that goes 80-plus yards,” Shelly said. “It was nicely designed, something we practice against and talk about, but to their credit, they executed it, and now it’s 21-7 at halftime, and they’ve got momentum. They’re playing at home.
“It was good for our kids to not flinch. We preach to our kids all the time, ‘We’re not going to flinch. Stuff’s going to happen.’”
The Panthers trimmed Springfield’s lead to 21-14, and the Spartans responded with Dylan McKenzie taking a punt back 59 yards for a TD.
“That was huge,” Shelly said. “What’s funny, our assistant coach and offensive coordinator, Kevin Clancy, is telling me on the phones, ‘It would be a great time for Dylan to be special right here.’ It was almost like he called the shot, and Dylan took it to the house. It was neat to see Dylan do it. He’s getting double and triple-teamed because kids know how good he is, but we find other ways to score and make plays.
“We’re up 28-14, we had them on the ropes, and to their credit, they took it to the house on the kickoff to make it a 28-21 game. The kid did a nice job. We had some chances to make the tackle, but you have to give them credit. He took it back. What it felt like was we gave up two or three big plays and shut them down everywhere else. I don’t know how many yards they had on the ground, but we took them out of their ground game, forced them to pass.”
The Spartans all but sealed the Panthers’ fate when Cooney ran 14 yards for a touchdown and a 35-21 fourth quarter lead..
“When it was 28-21, we could have easily reeled, the whole thing could have gone south on us, but (Cooney) held us together,” Shelly said. “He pretty much looked at me and said, ‘Give me the ball, coach. Put the ball in my hands,’ so we ran him late in that game and punched it in.
“I didn’t like it that close, but I think it was good for us because it didn’t come that easily for us. Again, it’s a win against a 6A opponent, and we’ll never complain about that.”
Cooney finished a big night with 11 completions for 154 yards and a touchdown. The Spartans’ QB also had seven carries for 40 yards and two TDs. Conlin was Cooney’s number one target, pulling down seven passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
“The Conlin kid was tremendous,” Shelly said. “Any time we needed a big play or a first down, he got it for us.
“Cooney did a tremendous job. He’s playing like an all-league player in my opinion. We had a couple of nice interceptions. Tim Saiber had another interception, John Adams had an interception, and Owen Hussie was tremendous again. I don’t have the defensive stats, but he had multiple plays in the backfield and sacks.
“Our kicker, Jack Hyland, is looking to kick in college. He’s been tremendous. I think we had five successful on-sides kicks last year, and he’s had two or three this year. He’s been phenomenal. He consistently pins teams back inside the 25. He probably outkicked our coverage when they returned a kick for a touchdown.”
Springfield Township (3-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in a crossover game on Friday.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of these Suburban One League games,” Shelly said.
William Tennent (0-3, 0-1) will host Father Judge in a non-league game on Friday.
Springfield Township 14-7-7-7 35
William Tennent 0-7-7-7 21
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