Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. Pennsbury/CB East photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Upper Dublin/CR North photos courtesy of Shannon O’Sullivan, and Springfield Twp/PW photos courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for galleries of all three games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f129542182
SOL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
PENNSBURY 16, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 14
It was a game the Falcons appeared destined to lose. Instead, they found a way to win.
Things certainly looked bleak when the Falcons – one foot from crossing the goal line for their first lead – fumbled, and East senior Jack Donnelly raced 99 yards for a
touchdown that put the Patriots on top 14-3 late in the third quarter.
“We took the opening drive of the second half, and we drove it all the way down to the one-yard line,” Pennsbury coach Galen Snyder said. “We were punching it in, and Nate (Beighley) put the ball over the goal line, they punched it out of his hand. The kid from East caught it and ran 99 yards for a touchdown.
“It was a 14-point swing right there. Instead of us being up 10-7, now it’s East 14-3.
It was a play that appeared destined to be a backbreaker, but the Falcons refused to let that happen. Instead, rallying for the remarkable win.
“We hung together, and we battled back,” Snyder said. “It was the whole group collectively. Everybody stepped up. You don’t see that often, being able to pull yourself back from that kind of adversity, but the kids did a great job. All the assistant coaches kept coaching them up – just kept it together, and it turned out to be a great win for us.”
The comeback began in earnest when Beighley took it 70 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter to make it a 14-10 game, and when Angelo Periera connected on a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons trailed by just one, 14-13.
It was still a one-point game when the Patriots punted the ball away with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Falcons took over at their own 8-yard line, and on the first play, Eric Davis bolted 75 yards to the Patriots’ 21-yard line.
“We moved Eric back to offense last week, and he made a difference,” Snyder said. “This week he really made a difference – last week he did with his blocking, but this week he was able to add catching the ball, catching some of the pitches on the option, and obviously, he came up huge on that
final drive with a tremendous run.”
Three downs later, Periera entered the game for a 35-yard field goal attempt.
East called a timeout to try and ice the sophomore kicker. It didn’t work.
Periera nailed the 35-yard field goal – his third field goal of the night – to give the Falcons a 16-14 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
“He’s a sophomore, but he’s a cool customer out there – he does a great job,” Snyder said. “Dave Crocker is our kicking coach, and Dave’s been around a long time. He’s worked with high school, college and professional kickers. He’s doing a great job with Angelo, and Angelo is doing a great job.”
The Patriots never got the ball beyond midfield, and the Falcons escaped with the come-from-behind conference win.
“Everybody showed a lot of guts,” Snyder said. “They did a great job.”
East – which took a 7-0 lead on Dean Blackwell’s 60-yard TD run less than two minutes into the game – never trailed until Periera’s field goal in the closing seconds.
Pennsbury (3-3, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Friday, and Central Bucks East will be on the road at North Penn on Friday.
Pennsbury 0-3-7-6 16
Central Bucks East 7-0-7-0 14
NESHAMINY 17, PENNRIDGE 7
(Stats provided courtesy of Neshaminy football)
Points didn’t come easily for either side in a game that featured more defense than offense, and it was the Redskins taking a 10-7 lead on Kaden Nicastro’s 25-yard field goal in the second quarter and putting the game away with a touchdown in the third quarter.
“It was a hard-fought victory,” Neshaminy coach Steve Wilmot said. “They had one big play on us – they had a screen play (for a touchdown), but other than that, our defense did very well tonight.”
The Redskins got on the board in the first quarter when Connor Frederick hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass from Colin Baker. Pennridge evened the score when Sam Kuhns turned a screen pass into a 50-yard touchdown, knotting the score 7-7 with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Nicastro’s field goal sent the Redskins into halftime with a 10-7 edge, and a Travis Lavelah one-yard TD in the third quarter gave Neshaminy its final margin of victory.
Lavelah led the Redskins with 29 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.
“Travis Lavelah ran the ball really well for us,” Wilmot said. “Colin Baker also had three or four first-down runs, which kept drives going for us.
“Colby Bracey at fullback had a couple of runs for us. Pennridge has a good team. They have a very good defense. Every yard we got was a hard-fought yard, but I think our guys did good.”
For Neshaminy, Jared Molle forced a fumble, and Michael Eckart had an interception.
Wilmot was understandably pleased with his defense, which shut out the Rams in the second half and allowed just seven points.
“They have a really good receiver, #9 (Joseph Gregoire) and John Dougherty covered him all night,” Wilmot said. “Our two inside linebackers – Colton Clee and Carson Snyder – did a nice job stopping the run.
“Our D-line has done a great job all year. Jason Cunningham on the defense line had a couple big stops, so did Kieran Reardon and also Matt DiSantis. The whole defense did very well.”
Neshaminy (3-3, 2-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Friday, and Pennridge (2-4, 1-2) will host Pennsbury on Friday.
Pennridge 0-7-0-0 7
Neshaminy 7-3-7-0 17
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 50, NORTH PENN 28
(Game info provided courtesy of @ADRobinson3 X/PA Prep Live)
A Central Bucks South squad best known for its stingy defense showed that it can also score with the best of them, putting up 50 points while displaying a punishing ground game that amassed more than 400 rushing yards.
“This was an interesting game – it really was,” South coach Tom Hetrick said. “I was very pleased with our offense, and our offensive line just absolutely played out of their minds tonight, they really did. They were creating opportunities for Anthony Leonardi and Corey Moore and Owen Pinkerton. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Comprising the Titans’ offensive line were left tackle Nick Micewski, left guard Nick Conte, center Kieran Padgett, right guard Rolan Hess and right tackle Collin Goetter, a Monmouth University commit.
“There’s a lot of experience in that group,” Hetrick said. “Four of them have played legitimate time for two and, in some cases, this is their third year. Everybody but Padgett started last year every game. The two guards and Goetter started as sophomores.
“I’ve never really had a line that had this much experience, and having experience on the offensive line in high school football is just so important because you don’t get to play that many games in your career. They just were doing some really pretty cool things out there tonight.”
The O-line’s overpowering performance certainly led to some big numbers with Leonardi rushing for 212 yards while quarterback Pinkerton had 113 yards on just 10 carries and Moore finished with 92 yards.
There was nothing to suggest this would be a high-scoring affair after a scoreless first quarter, but the points came fast and furiously in a second quarter that saw the two teams combine for 38 points with the Titans accounting for 25 of those.
“I thought the game was going to be over in an hour because we were running time off the clock,” Hetrick said. “We had a pretty long drive at the beginning of the game, and the time was just bleeding off, and then all of a sudden in the second quarter, everything started to go crazy.”
Pinkerton put the Titans on the board with a 34-yard run, and then Leonardi scored from 75 yards out.
“Anthony Leonardi is a splashy running back,” Hetrick said. “He’s the kind of kid that at any time potentially can get you a big chunk of yards.
“He had that long touchdown run, and he had a couple of other splash plays.”
Amir Major, who also surpassed the 100-yard mark, put the Knights on the board with an 11-yard TD run, but Moore answered with a 34-yard touchdown run for the Titans.
“Corey Moore is just so consistent,” Hetrick said. “He’s just so sound, and he gets you yards, and they start adding up.”
Major picked up his second touchdown – this one on a 45-yard run, and Pinkerton closed out the second-quarter scoring barrage with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jake Menaker in the final minute of the quarter to send the Titans into halftime with a 25-13 lead.
“Honestly, I think Owen Pinkerton, our quarterback, had his best game of the season,” Hetrick said. “He was doing some things with his feet. He had a couple of nice throws – a nice touchdown pass where he made a nice read. He’s growing into the position, and he’s playing with some confidence, and that’s a good thing.”
The scoring wasn’t over for either side. Major’s 6-yard touchdown run and the extra point made it a 25-20 game, but Pinkerton scored from 14 yards out, and then Eddie Bowen returned a fumble 33 yards for the score and a 38-20 South lead heading into the final quarter.
In the final quarter, Moore had a pair of touchdown runs sandwiched around a one-yard TD run by North Penn’s CJ Scruggs.
Although the Knights came up short, they scored the most points of any team this season against a very stingy Titans’ defense.
“Dick Beck is a heck of a football coach – we all know that,” Hetrick said. “They were able to get a couple of things against our defense.
“Their #1 – Amir Major- did some very good things. He was getting some tough, tough yards, ran out of some arm tackles. He had a good game, and their quarterback (Matt Bucksar) was back, and he’s a good player, and he’s only going to get even better. He did some nice things.
“Our defense has had a great season so far, but sometimes offenses score points.”
Central Bucks South (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will host Abington on Friday, and North Penn (2-4, 1-2) will host Central Bucks East Friday.
Central Bucks South 0-25-13-12 50
North Penn 0-13-7-8 28
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 49, ABINGTON 14
War Memorial Field has become a popular destination on Friday nights in Doylestown.
The Bucks are rolling, and their fan base is growing with each passing week. Friday’s Homecoming crowd had plenty to cheer about in a contest the Bucks dominated from the outset, opening up a 42-6 halftime lead and cruising to the big win.
“I tell our guys all the time – you could not play at a more special place than War Memorial,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “The crowd is amazing, the community comes out and supports us. The student section is getting bigger and bigger every week now that we’re back in school.
“It’s such an amazing atmosphere, it’s such a neat stadium in town. It’s just exciting, and our kids feed off of that. It’s certainly part of the Friday night aura.”
The Bucks raced out of the gate to a 21-0 lead and added to that in the second quarter.
“It was just an offensive explosion in the first half when you hang 42 points,” Rowan said. “We just executed at a really high level, and we challenged our guys this week to do that.”
Leading the offensive charge in the first half was senior Conor McFadden, who had four touchdowns.
“He had four carries, and three of them were for touchdowns,” Rowan said. “He also caught a touchdown.”
McFadden had four carries for 99 yards and three touchdowns and three receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Cooper Taylor was 6-for-9 for 146 yards and two touchdowns and also had eight carries for 87 yards and a touchdown in another productive outing. Ryan Clemens had nine carries for 120 yards and a touchdown, and Jack Williams had a touchdown reception.
“Everybody was kind of in on the party,” Rowan said. “As a whole offensively, I thought our guys – staying on blocks, finishing through the whistle, finishing runs and things of that nature – allowed us to experience the success that we did tonight.”
The Bucks’ coach credited the contributions of a pair of players in the win.
“We gave Sean Zornick more playing time this week and challenged him a little bit to step up, and he just did a fantastic job,” Rowan said of his senior H-back. “I’m really proud of the way he stepped in there and executed the way we asked him to execute.
“The other guy defensively is Jaden Barone. We had moved his position, and he stepped up in a huge way. I’m just really, really proud of his ability to step in there and almost move forward seamlessly. When you have to plug somebody in a new spot, there’s usually a little bit of a dropoff, but in this situation, there wasn’t, and it’s just a testament to him and his preparation. I’m really proud of him.”
Central Bucks West (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Friday, and Abington (1-4, 0-3) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Friday.
Abington 6-8 14
Central Bucks South 42-7 49
SOL Continental Conference
BENSALEM 28, HARRY S TRUMAN 21 (OT)
It took overtime, but the Owls brought a welcome end to their five-game skid to open the season, notching their first win in dramatic fashion when – after Bensalem scored on its first possession of OT – sophomore Thomas Bailey came up with a game-ending interception on the Tigers’ first possession.
The play capped a gutsy effort by the Owls, who staged a late-game comeback to send the game to overtime.
“I wanted it so bad for the young guys,” Bensalem coach Alex Houston said. “It’s really hard to keep guys motivated if you’re not seeing the results, but I think the film shows we’ve been getting better each week, but we still have to clean things up.
“They were happy, and I’m really proud of them. They really showed some toughness and courage. We started 14 sophomores tonight, so those guys got to play. They have to learn what it is to win. We fought to the end – we showed a lot of mental toughness. I’m really proud of them.”
The Owls took a 14-6 advantage into halftime only to watch the Tigers rally to go on top 21-14, but Bensalem had an answer. Sophomore quarterback Hollis Sanders threw a 30-yard touchdown strike to tight end Idris Savadogo to even the score 21-21 with time winding down.
“The crazy thing is we were in this exact same spot last week,” Houston said. “We got the ball down a score with three or four minutes to go, and last week, we couldn’t get it done.
“This week we kept our composure, we made the plays. Our quarterback (Sanders) is really growing. He throws a great pass, we drive down and tie the game with about a minute to play, so we still had to play defense.”
The Owls’ defense held and got the ball back with 30 seconds remaining in regulation at the Owls 45.
“I opted to just go to overtime,” Houston said. “I didn’t want anything to happen. I wanted the guys to have a fair shot at winning it.”
The Owls had the ball first in overtime. Amir Goldstine picked up nine yards on a reverse, and then Aiden Mayfield punched it in for the go-ahead score.
Then it was time to play defense, setting the stage for Bailey’s game-ending interception. It was not Bailey’s only shining moment in the memorable night.
“The crazy thing was – he had a 70-yard screen to the house in the first half,” Houston said.
Sanders threw for three touchdowns in the win. Mayfield had a pair of touchdowns, and Bailey had the interception and long touchdown.
“All three of those guys are in 10th grade,” Houston said. “Our staff has really been putting in a lot of work. It’s really hard to keep guys motivated if you’re losing, especially young guys.
“I’m proud of them. I thought Truman played a hard football game. I thought coach (Cordero) Newkirk did a great job. We’re going to try and have another great week of practice and try to have a good effort next Friday night.”
Bensalem (1-5, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Friday, and Harry S Truman (1-5, 0-3) will be on the road at Council Rock North.
Bensalem 14-7-7 28
Harry S Truman 6-15-0 21
SOUDERTON 35, QUAKERTOWN 14
Ryan Sadowski scored on a 51-yard run midway through the first quarter, and with one play, the tone had been set. By the time the night was finished, Sadowski had three touchdowns, and the 309 Bowl belonged to the Indians, who controlled play from start to finish.
“I’m beyond pleased,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “This is – if not the best team we’re going to play in our league – one of the best. They’re a good team, they’re a great, proud football program.
“George (Banas) does a great job with them. I knew he’d have them ready to go. They came out, and we were pretty physical. I was happy with that. Our defense played fast and well. I’m thrilled with the defensive line pressure we got on the quarterback, thrilled with the plays we made on the ball. When the ball was up in the air, our secondary made some plays. It was just a solid defensive effort, and the offense – we scored 35 points on a really good team. I’m happy with them.”
The game marked the return of sophomore Ben Walsh behind center as well as backup QB Grayson Largent, who was sidelined with a concussion and closed out Friday’s game.
“It was nice having Ben back – he wasn’t a hundred percent, but he was good enough,” Gallagher said. “He was efficient, and he got the ball out to Danny (Dyches) – what he needed to do several times. He managed what he needed to do.”
By the time the first quarter ended, the Indians led 14-0, turning a fumble into a touchdown from two yards out by Michael McCormick.
In the second quarter, an interception by defensive end Khalil Williams resulted in another score – this time a 15-yard TD run by Sadowski to put the Indians on top 21-0. A five-yard touchdown run by Eddie Bittner made it a 21-7 game at halftime.
Sadowski’s third touchdown run of 12 yards made it a 28-7 game after three quarters, and the Indians extended that to 35-7 when Sadowski took it 63 yards for a touchdown.
With 70 seconds remaining in the contest, Quakertown’s Brady Martin found Aiden Burgy with a 10-yard touchdown pass for the 35-14 final.
Gallagher had high praise for his team’s defensive effort.
“Both of our sophomore D-backs – Hunter Smeltz and Timmy Meehan – had interceptions,” the Indians’ coach said. “Without looking at the film, I just thought we got really good pressure. The defensive line did a really good job. Jack Potson and Joey Nase did a really nice job getting pressure.
“It was a good team effort. We were all over the place and did a nice job.”
Souderton (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Warwick for a non-league game Friday, and Quakertown (2-4, 0-2) will host Bensalem on Friday.
Quakertown 0-7-0-7 14
Souderton 14-7-7-7 35
UPPER DUBLIN 17, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
What a difference a week makes.
Seven days after putting up 53 points in win over archrival Wissahickon, the visiting Cardinals found themselves struggling to get on the scoreboard, and they were locked
in a scoreless tie with halftime approaching before managing a field goal.
“We had two or three turnovers in the first half – we couldn’t get out of our own way,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “We fumbled a punt, we threw an interception, we fumbled a toss sweep, we fumbled snaps. It was wet, but it wasn’t like a total washout or anything.
“I think part of it was coming off the emotional game we played last weekend (a 53-42 win over Wissahickon). We settled in, and we had a two-minute drive right before halftime – got it down for a field goal.”
Matt Miller accounted for the only points of the first half, splitting the uprights with a 30-yard field goal late in the half to send UD into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
“The thing that was good was nobody panicked, nobody pointed fingers, no one was screaming at each other,” Stover said. “It was Upper Dublin football. We knew we were going to be fine. We just had to figure out which button to push, and we did.”
The Flying Cardinals found their stride in the second half, scoring on their opening drive when Shyne Roberts scored on a two-yard run for a 10-0 UD lead..
“We came out of halftime and kicked off –it was three-and-out (for Rock North), and then we went right down and scored,” Stover said.
Roberts was coming off a career performance – 17 carries for 334 yards and 7 touchdowns – in the
Cards’ win over Wissahickon.
“They did a nice job bottling him up, which you expect,” Stover said. “They’re not going to let him to get seven touchdowns, and we knew that.
“Part of it was Shyne just needed to be patient. He was trying to hit the home run every play like he did last week. Once he stayed in the hole – he’s such a big kid, and you’re not going to stop him. He just had to understand it was a six- or seven-yard night instead of a 40-yard night.”
With the wind at their backs in the third quarter, the Cardinals added another score when quarterback Kevin Etkin connected with Eric Berman on a 21-yard crossing route for a 17-0 lead that stood until the final horn.
“It was a real nice throw, and Berman made a guy miss and found the corner of the end zone,” Stover said.
While the Cardinals’ offense struggled to get untracked, the defense excelled.
“Our defense played really well,” Stover said. “They had one big play, and (Chris) Kohlbrenner caught him at the 10, and we pushed them back out of field goal range. We just had our moments early.”
Upper Dublin (4-2, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South for a conference battle on Thursday, and Council Rock North will host Harry S Truman on Friday.
Upper Dublin 0-3-14-0 17
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
SOL American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 42, CHELTENHAM 13
Nazye Boggs had himself a night.
The senior running back had just five carries, but he certainly made the most of them, finishing with 231 yards and four touchdowns. The fun started early for Boggs who raced 61 yards for a touchdown on the very first play from scrimmage to give the Colonials a 7-0 lead 14 seconds into the contest.
“He averaged 46 yards a carry – it was pretty impressive,” PW coach Dan Chang said of Boggs’ remarkable performance. “We didn’t run a ton of plays.”
The Panthers evened the score when Tre McLeod scored on a 20-yard run only to see Boggs answer with a 20-yard TD run and a 14-7 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Colonials’ running back still had time for another big play TD in the quarter, this time taking it 75 yards to the house for a 21-7 lead.
The Colonials led 28-7 after blocking a Panther punt and taking it in for a touchdown. They took that three-touchdown lead into halftime.
Boggs opened the second half with – you guessed it – another long touchdown run, this one for 74 yards and a 35-7 lead. A touchdown run by Everett Baker of around 80 yards gave the Colonials a 42-7 lead before Michael Dunn hauled in a touchdown pass from Jonathan Ingram for the 42-13 final.
Chang praised the defensive efforts of senior Taeshaun Johnson, junior Kevin Hegarty, junior Luke Laviola.
“Those guys are solid for us,” Chang said. “Andrew Iannozzi played a really good game, and Anthony Iannozzi had an interception.
“A host of D-linemen that we were rotating in played well. Jadon Joseph is a guy who moved from D-end to D-tackle and has been playing pretty well there.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-1, 1-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Cheltenham (0-5, 0-1) will be on the road at Springfield Twp Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21-7-14-0 42
Cheltenham 7-0-0-6 13
UPPER MORELAND 19, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Alex Foley threw three touchdown passes, and the defense turned in a tenacious defensive performance to lead the Golden Bears to a win in their conference opener.
On the receiving end of those TD passes were Frankie McDermott, Jamir Williams and Larry Hughes.
Upper Moreland (3-3, 2-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and William Tennent (2-4, 0-1) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday.
William Tennent 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 6-6-0-7 19
SPRINGFIELD TWP 29, WISSAHICKON 28 (OT)
Chris Shelly didn’t hesitate.
Given the option to kick the extra point for the tie or go for the two-point conversion and the win, the Spartans’ coach rolled the dice after his team scored in the first OT and trailed the Trojans – who also scored a touchdown – by one point.
“I’m going for two – we’re going to do it,” Shelly said. “1) I think we’ve got the play call to win it, and 2) I didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with them any longer.”
The Spartans ran what they call their “muddle huddle.”
“It’s kind of a trick play, but it’s something we’ve had in our pocket for a long time,” Shelly said. “They’re a well-coached team, they knew it was coming. I put the ball in Jack McGuckin’s hands, and we just executed it perfectly.”
McGuckin, the Spartans’ junior quarterback, rolled to his right.
“He has the option of throwing it to a wide receiver or taking it in himself,” Shelly said. “He just decides to take it. Right then, right there, we closed the deal. It was really fitting that Jack did it because he’s been right there.”
Although McGuckin’s day ended on a high note, it wasn’t all smooth sailing in Friday’s win.
“The kid – he fumbled in the game, he threw a pick, but it didn’t matter because the kid’s a winner in the fourth quarter,” Shelly said. “I think we caught them off-balance, and we went on sound, so they weren’t able to adjust to us. Jack just took it and really ran a kid over. He gets in the end zone in overtime, and we go nuts – dog pile, everything. We celebrated a little bit.”
The following day, Shelly was still riding the wave of his team’s emotional win.
“I can’t stop smiling since last night,” the Spartans’ coach said.
And for the Spartans, Friday’s win over a favored Trojan squad was undeniably special.
“No one thought we would win,” Shelly said in reference to the prognosticators who picked
Wissahickon. “Our kids see it – we take it to heart. We knew Wissahickon was putting up 40 points a game, but our kids – you could see it in their eyes in pregame. We were determined to out-physical them.
“It wasn’t pretty at times. It went back and forth, back and forth, and our kids never gave up. We challenge them every week. I’ll be honest – we had a bye week, and sometimes that’s good because you get kind of healthy, but also, they got sick of hearing me. They got sick of hearing me because we had lost two straight games, and we really felt like this was a turning point for us in terms of our team.”
The Spartans’ coach credited the team’s veterans.
“We were really led by our seniors,” said Shelly. “Our captains – Miles (Goodwin), Frankie Wilman, EJ Hendrzak and Ryan Gibbons – have been tremendous. They willed us to this victory through practice.
“The other part of it is – the junior class, which we feel is outstanding for us, needs to take it to the next level, and I think that’s kind of what happened in this game.”
Wissahickon struck first, taking a 7-0 lead after a long touchdown run by Jaden McLean.
“That was like a 90-yard run, but we told our guys pregame – ‘These guys are explosive. They’re used to scoring points, and we can’t get down,’” Shelly said. “We came back with a really nice drive.”
In the second quarter, the Spartans evened the score when McGuckin scored on a one-yard sneak to even the score 7-7 at the intermission.
“We felt we were in real good shape – this was their Homecoming, the place was packed,” Shelly said. “We felt like we were outplaying them at a lot of levels, but we haven’t been able to close games the last couple of weeks. Really, that was our message to our guys- they had to play four strong quarters.”
The Spartans took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter when McGuckin found Bobby Hartman with a 28-yard touchdown pass. The Trojans came back to even the score with a TD pass to McLean and added another touchdown to go on top 21-14 late in the third quarter.
“We felt like we had them really well scouted, but even though you kind of know what’s coming, they still execute it,” Shelly said. “They’re so explosive, but we just kept believing.
“We felt like we were right there. We hung in there.”
Springfield’s CJ Johnson scored on a 55-yard run to knot the score midway through the fourth quarter.
“We went back and forth for the last six minutes,” Shelly said. “We even had a shot at the end to throw a Hail Mary and didn’t get anything out of it.”
The stage was set for overtime, and when the Spartans won the coin toss, they elected to play defense first.
“They scored on the second play – they get into the end zone on a jet sweep, they get the extra point, and it’s 28-21,” Shelly said. “Again, the resiliency of our kids – we try a toss pass on first down, and we just miss it. We felt like that
play was there – we just didn’t click on it.
“On the second down, McGuckin – I can’t say enough about this kid. We talked about him coming of age. Every start he just gets better and better and is really a first-string quarterback, and he throws a 10-yard touchdown strike to tight end Nick Ebner, setting the stage for the two-point conversion and we win.”
The Spartans’ coach lauded the play of his junior quarterback in his first year behind center.
“It’s really just been a matter of time with him,” Shelly said. “He still continues to make mistakes, but he learns to fast. We’re going to tell him to keep on firing – don’t get down on yourself. The kid’s a winner.
“We didn’t have him last year – he broke his collarbone. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s only a sophomore,’ but that was a whole year he could have played. He just hasn’t played enough, but this was the one that we saw him take over.”
Shelly added yet another word of praise for his seniors.
“I can’t say enough about the senior class,” the Spartans’ coach said. “They were determined. I can’t even tell you – our pre-game hitting lines, I couldn’t hold them back.
“I don’t think anybody was picking us to win this game, nobody, so that fueled our fire. After two weeks of listening to Shelly barking at them, they just responded big time.”
Springfield Twp (3-2, 1-0 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday, and Wissahickon (4-2, 0-1) will be on the road at Upper Moreland Friday.
Springfield Twp 0-7-7-7-8 29
Wissahickon 7-0-14-0-7 28
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 23, HATBORO-HORSHAM 13
(Game stats courtesy of Council Rock South football)
The Golden Hawks may have had an idea this wasn’t going to be easy when – on the first play of the game – the Hatters turned an interception into a touchdown and an early lead.
“We won, but we didn’t make it easy on ourselves,” Rock South coach CJ Szydlik said. “The game didn’t start out the way we wanted it to.
“They had us 7-3 at the half – we had the ball on the one-inch line going in and went offsides, they stopped us, and we ran out of time.”
Frank Rafferty’s field goal early in the second quarter were the Hawks’ only points of the first half. The Hawks drove down field again but missed a field goal, and that was followed by the stop at the goal line.
Szydlik’s halftime talk apparently worked since the Golden Hawks came out of halftime and outscored their hosts 20-7.
“Honestly, you lean on them and tell them it’s up to them,” the Golden Hawks coach said. “We kind of saw it on Tuesday that this game was heading this way and did all the things you could to get them to understand you can’t take it easy. We’re just not good enough to take our foot off of it.
“We woke up a little at the end and played our way of playing, and we were fortunate enough to come away with a win.”
The Hatters received the second half kickoff, and it was three-and-out, setting the stage for a Rock South touchdown drive that featured runs by Chase Myers and Chase Ennis with Ennis scoring on a 9-yard run to make it a 10-7 game. The Hatters had an immediate answer to go back on top 13-10.
“Chase Myers and Shane Myers then took over with some big runs, and Ennis punched it in from the one,” said Szydlik.
Linebacker Ryan Smalls blocks a punt to end the third quarter, and Chase Myers scored from six yards out to put the game away. Myers finished a productive night with 33 carries for 180 yards and one touchdown.
“Chase Myers pulled us out of it running the football,” Szydlik said. “We were able to run the ball at the end.
“They did a very good job of taking some of our pass stuff away, which means we have to regroup with some of that.”
The Rock South coach credited the Hatters.
“It was a real good football game,” Szydlik said. “Hatboro played their rear ends off. I knew they would. They have good coaches over there, and they’re trying to build something just like we are, so we knew we’d get their best shot, and we did.
“We were a little resilient there at the end and were able to get a win, which is really all that matters, but after the week we had, we have to reel it all back in and get back at it again.”
Also for the Golden Hawks, Shane Myers had eight carries for 65 yards. Rock South’s dominance is underscored by its 335-147 advantage in total yards of offense and its 21 first downs to just five for the Hatters.
Council Rock South (5-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Thursday at 7 p.m., and Hatboro Horsham (3-3 overall) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Friday.
LOWER MORELAND 14, VAUX 8
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