Check out all the SOL football action for Friday, including a game story about Quakertown’s win over William Tennent. To view photos of the Wissahickon/Springfield, CB South/Bensalem and Neshaminy/Abington games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of Calkins Media. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web site www.PhillyBurbs.com<http://www.PhillyBurbs.com>.
Continental Conference
By Ben Reese
QUAKERTOWN — It was a momentous night in Quakertown.
The Panthers opened league play in the SOL Continental Conference with a victory on their new turf field. The win broke a curse.
At least that's what head coach George Banas said after Quakertown beat William Tennent 21-14 Friday night to earn its fourth consecutive victory.
"It feels tremendous," Banas said about being 4-0. "We had the curse going.
"We were 0-for-4 for four years until tonight. Week four has not been pretty for us."
Banas' quarterback, Alex Vera felt the same way.
"It's great," he said of the fourth consecutive win. "We were 0-for-4 in the fourth game in the past four years, and it's good to get our first league game under our belts and come out with the W."
In no small part with Vera's help.
The quarterback scored two touchdowns including the go-ahead score on a 46-yard run and set up the third TD with a 50-yard pass to Aaron Besch.
It was that long touchdown run that got Quakertown going. Tennent had taken an early 7-0 lead before Vera scored his first TD of the game in the second quarter to knot the score at halftime.
After receiving the second half kickoff, Quakertown got eight yards on a run by Rob Burns. On third down and two, Vera broke through the line and then outran everyone to the end zone.
"It was actually a quarterback sneak," Vera said. "It wasn't the play (that the coaches called), but I saw how open it was, so it was my decision to take it.
"Coach (Chris) Hunter said in practice that if it was that wide open I could take it for a sneak and it worked out for us."
Banas couldn't have been happier with the play.
"We just saw that they were playing some wide threes (on the defensive line) during the week," the coach said. "Chris Hunter, our offensive coordinator, knew we would be able to grab a sneak here and there.
"We thought we could get 10 or so, but the kid's fast. I knew he was fast. He's lanky so he can cover a lot of ground quick. I didn't realize his legs moved that fast."
William Tennent coach Bob Rosenberger absorbed a lot of the blame for his team missing Vera on his long TD run.
"They caught us in a defense that we angled the wrong way," he said. "They had the right call in the right situation."
On the first play of Quakertown's final possession of the third quarter, Vera again came up big again. This time he hit Besch for 50 yards, moving the ball to the William Tennent 13-yard line.
Nick Bonomo picked up 10 yards on the next play. Bonomo completed the drive, bulling in from the three to put Quakertown up 21-7.
Tennent came back at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth to make the game close. The Panthers from Warminster drove 61 yards in 11 plays with reserve quarterback Colin Herbert scoring from the two.
However, it took Tennent three tries to kick the extra point. Two illegal procedure calls pushed the ball back to the 13-yard line, forcing kicker Dylan Mannon to make the PAT from the 31.
"We go to kick an extra point and we get two penalties," Rosenberger said. "How do you jump offside on an extra point?"
That was Rosenberger's chief problem with his team, the penalties.
"I think a lot of it was dumb penalties in dumb situations," he said. "We get a personal foul on an extra point that they miss. These are all controllable things and we can fix them."
Tennent got a good game from its quarterback, Nik Banks. Banks put his team on the board first, bursting through the middle and sprinting to the end zone for a 67-yard TD early in the first quarter.
That held up until Vera's 4-yard run, which tied the score. The Quakertown QB's second run put his team ahead and Bonomo's run sealed the win.
However, Banks was injured in the fourth quarter. Herbert replaced him under center.
"They said it might be a high ankle sprain," Rosenberger said of his starting quarterback. "He said a kid in the pile just rolled up on him."
Tennent got just 18 yards from running back Sam Collazo, who had a big game in William Tennent's previous victory.
"He was playing both ways and he was cramping," Rosenberger said. "His finger was a little banged up.
"We had some exchange issues (with the injured finger) and we were worried about some fumbles. When he's cramping like that, there's nothing you can do. We needed him more on defense than we did on offense."
About that new turf field.
In the past, Alumni Field had been a dirty, muddy field to play on. Now it is something to behold.
"We love it," Banas said. "What's not to love? We're not playing on crab grass and dirt.
"The kids came out excited and the crowd was energetic. It was a packed house; it was almost like Thanksgiving."
Vera, who showed off his speed on the new turf, was impressed.
"It's awesome," he said. "It was great.
"The turf's good. It looks real good. I love playing on it.
"Our first game was played at Souderton, not technically home. We knew a lot of people would be here tonight."
And they got what they were looking for, a Quakertown win.
The Panthers (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Norristown next Saturday afternoon while the Panthers (2-2, 0-1) will host Council Rock North on Saturday afternoon.
William Tennent 7 0 0 7 – 14
Quakertown 0 7 14 0 – 21
WT — Nik Banks 67 run (Dylan Mannon kick)
Q — Alex Vera 4 run (Anthony Soriano kick)
Q — Vera 46 run (Soriano kick)
Q — Nick Bonomo 3 run (Soriano kick)
WT — Colin Hebert 1 run (Mannon kick)
WT Q
First Downs 10 13
Rushing Yards 124 148
Passing Yards 80 72
Total Yards 204 220
Passing 13-6-0 10-5-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-0
Penalties-Yards 8-52 3-32
Punts-Ave. 4-25 3-40.7
Individual statistics
Rushing: WT — Nik Banks 15-95, 1 TD; Sam Collazo 5-18; Dan Costello 2-6; Colin Herbert 6-5, 1 TD; Derek Finley 2-1; Vince Icabone 2-(-)1.
Q — Rob Burns 19-90; Nick Bonomo 5-30, 1 TD; Alex Vera 10-27, 1 TD; Luke Wood 2-1.
Passing: WT — Banks 6-12, 80 yards; Herbert 0-1.
Q — Vera 5-10, 72 yards.
Receiving: WT — Icabone 3-28; John Ryan 2-42; Herbert 1-9.
Q — Aaron Besch 3-73; Kyle Baskin 1-4; Bonomo 1-(-)5
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 21, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
The Indians didn’t exactly light it up offensively, but buoyed by a standout defensive effort, they earned the shutout win.
Brandon McIlwain led the Indians – who scored all of their points in the second quarter – with 104 yards on the ground and 132 more in the air. Chris Welde gained 82 yards.
The Patriots, who were already without standout running back Alex Gibson (injury) saw three more players leave Friday night’s game with injuries.
The Indians (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent next Saturday while the Patriots (1-3, 0-1) will host Council Rock South on Saturday.
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-0 0
Council Rock North0-21-0-0 21
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 16, HARRY S TRUMAN 14
It was the story of two halves. The Tigers opened up a 14-0 lead in the first half only to watch the Golden Hawks, who managed just two first downs in the entire opening half, come back with 16 second-half points to earn the come-from-behind win.
Vince Alimenti, who led the Golden Hawks with 139 yards on the ground, scored from nine yards out and then ran it in for the two-point conversion. His fourth-quarter four-yard touchdown run knotted the score. The Golden Hawks once again went for the two-point conversion, and this time Alimenti found teammate Shaun Stackhouse for the completion and the two-point win.
Quarterback Mark Lopez-Shefcyk was the leading ground gainer for the Tigers, finishing with 104 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for a TD.
The Golden Hawks (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to War Memorial Field to face Central Bucks East next Saturday while the Tigers (2-2, 0-1) will travel to Central Bucks West next Friday.
Council Rock South 0-0-8-8 16
Harry S Truman 7-7-0-0 14
National Conference
NESHAMINY 21, ABINGTON 18
The Redskins opened up a 21-10 halftime lead and then withstood a second half comeback attempt by the Ghosts. D’Andre Pollard, who led the Redskins’ ground game with 80 yards, put his team on the scoreboard with a 33-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter. The Ghosts knotted the score when David Kretschman found Daron Boone with a 20-yard touchdown pass. Neshaminy took a lead it would not lose when J.R. Stevens ran an interception in for the score.
The Ghosts pulled to within 21-18 after a Juawine Sowell eight-yard TD run and a two-point conversion.
Neshaminy’s defense limited the Ghosts to just 196 yards of total offense.
Neshaminy (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Pennridge next Friday night while the Ghosts (3-1, 0-1) will host Pennsbury next Saturday.
Abington 7-3-0-8 18
Neshaminy 14-7-0-0 21
PENNSBURY 49, SOUDERTON 6
The Falcons were once again impressive. For the fourth time in as many games, they made easy business of their opponent and have now outscored their opposition 190-34. Friday’s win was their second shutout of the season, and their offense was unstoppable, accumulating 435 yards of total offense.
Four hundred of those yards came on the ground as the Falcons were led by the three-pronged attack of Charles Snorweah (116 yards, 4 TDs), Victor Delgado (116 yards, 2 TDs) and Raheem Thompson (96 yards).
The Falcons led 21-0 at the end of one quarter and took a 28-6 lead into halftime. They tacked on 21 unanswered second-half points.
The Falcons (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Abington next Saturday for a noon contest while the Indians (2-2, 0-1) will travel to Bensalem next Friday.
Pennsbury 21-7-14-7 49
Souderton 0-6-0-0 6
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 42, BENSALEM 0
The Titans raced to a 21-0 lead after one quarter and extended that to 35-0 by halftime. They didn’t have to go far to score their first two touchdowns. A fumble recovery on the Owls’ 15-yard line set up a Josh Adams 10-yard TD run. Adams finished with three TDs. A blocked punt gave the Titans possession on the one, and Evan Becker took it in for the score. The Owls never threatened.
Central Bucks South (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will host North Penn next Friday while the Owls (0-4, 0-1), who have been shut out in three straight games, will host Souderton.
Bensalem 0-0-0-0 0
Central Bucks South 21-14-7-0
NORTH PENN 47, PENNRIDGE 22
(To read Scott Huff’s game story, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/article/content/north-penn-downs-pennridge-sol-opener-0046948 )
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 28, CHELTENHAM 7
Showing no ill effects from their disappointing loss to Abington a week earlier, the Flying Cardinals opened up a 14-0 lead after one quarter and stretched that to 20-0 by halftime.
It was Tom Henning – after blocking a punt – recovering the football in the end zone to put the Flying Cardinals on the scoreboard. Ryan Stover found Gary Fields for a six-yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-0 game after Chris Shields converted his second extra point. Another Stover TD pass – this one for 28 yards to Matt Thompson – sent the Cardinals into halftime with their 20-0 lead.
A John Lee touchdown run in the third quarter and the ensuing two-point conversion gave the Cardinals a 28-0 lead before the Panthers (1-3, 0-1 SOL) got on the scoreboard.
Stover finished the game 10-for-16 for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Thompson was his favorite target with six receptions for 84 yards. Kalief Lee had 94 yards on the ground.
The Flying Cardinals (3-1, 1-0 SOL) forced five turnovers, including a pair of interceptions. Upper Dublin will travel to Springfield next Friday, and the Panthers will host Upper Moreland.
Upper Dublin 14-6-8-0 28
Cheltenham 0-0-7-0 7
WISSAHICKON 41, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 28
Josh Trunk’s 50-yard run for a touchdown in the opening quarter set the tone for a big night for the Trojans. Trunk finished the night with three TD’s, which included a six-yard TD pass from quarterback Michael Marino. Josh Smith added a pair of touchdowns for the Trojans on runs of 13 and 69 yards. Jonathan Laracuente’s 40-yard touchdown run capped the scoring for the Trojans, who led 14-0 at halftime.
The Spartans cut that advantage in half when Martin Worgan scored on an 18-yard touchdown run, but the Trojans answered with back-to-back Smith TD runs to take control of the game.
Smith once again led the Trojans on the ground with 228 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He already has 693 yards on the season with six touchdowns. Trunk had 81 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. He also had two receptions for 32 yards and one TD. Defensively, Colin Williams led the way with 11 tackes, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception.
Wissahickon (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh next Friday while the Spartans (2-2, 0-1) will host Upper Dublin.
Wissahickon7-7-14-13 41
Springfield 0-0-14-14 28
UPPER MORELAND 42, HATBORO-HORSHAM 6
It was a 14-6 game at halftime, but the Golden Bears blew the game wide open with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter. The Golden Bears accumulated close to 400 yards of total offense while the Hatters were limited to 181.
Leading the charge for the Golden Bears was Tyler Whitmore, who accounted for 260 of his team’s yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Quarterback Josh Abrams threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns and also ran it in for a score.
The Golden Bears led 14-0 after one quarter, thanks to a pair of Whitmore TD runs. A one-yard touchdown plunge by Hatters’ quarterback Casey Walsh made it a 14-6 game at halftime. That’s as close as the Hatters would get.
Upper Moreland (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham next Friday while the Hatters (0-4, 0-1) will travel to Upper Merion.
Upper Moreland 14-0-21-7 42
Hatboro-Horsham 0-6-0-0 6
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 34, UPPER MERION 10
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