Check out the winners in SOL football action Saturday. UD/Council Rock South photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison Photography. Upper Moreland/Archbishop Ryan photos courtesy of Dave Tucker. Check back for galleries of both games.
SOL Continental
UPPER DUBLIN 38, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 7
Statistics courtesy of Andrew Robinson/PA Prep Life: https://papreplive.com/2021/09/04/upper-dublin-stands-strong-after-storm-tops-cr-south/)
The Upper Dublin community – dealing with the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Ida – needed something to feel good about, and for three hours on Saturday, UD’s football team played with their hearts on their sleeves on their way to their second no-doubt-about-it win in as many games.
“I said to the kids – ‘You have to take what we’ve gone through and put it in a box and put it away for three hours and focus on what we’re trying to accomplish,’ and they did that,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “I took my hat off to them at the end of the game and said, ‘You guys did an awesome job.’
“It’s a life lesson. Our community got dealt a really bad hand, and you can go two ways with you – you complain about it or you do something about it. I said, ‘Let’s go out and do something about it. Let’s give our community something to grab onto and be proud of,’ so that’s what we did. That was our goal, and we did it.”
Saturday’s league opener was supposed to be a UD home game on Friday night, but Cardinal Stadium was unplayable, so the game was moved to Rock South.
“It was kind of like it didn’t even happen until the game was over, and then everybody started thinking about it again,” said Stover. “But while we were in the moment, football was bigger than what had happened, but in reality, what has happened is bigger than football.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Flying Cardinals seized control. Colin O’Sullivan – who had three touchdown passes in UD’s season opener – connected with Noah Lee for a 39-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead. A 10-yard touchdown run by Tawfiq Bartlett after Cael Jamison came up with a fumble recovery put the Cardinals on top 14-0.
Rock South cut that lead in half when Thomas Woloshyn scored from three yards out, but a 36-yard Owen Carl field goal sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 17-7 advantage. In the third quarter, Nyfise McIntyre’s two-yard touchdown run upped the Cardinals’ lead to 24-7. In the fourth quarter, O’Sullivan hooked up with Lee for an eight-yard touchdown pass. Chris Kohlbrenner turned an interception into a 30-yard touchdown return for the 38-7 final.
Upper Dublin’s defense limited the Golden Hawks to less than 100 yards of total offense.
“I was just really happy with the way we played up front – my same guys as last week did really well,” Stover said . “We only had one day of defense to prepare for that triple option, and Vince’s kids run it so, so well. If you’re not on your landmarks with that triple option, those kids can break it at any minute. He (Rock South coach Vince Bedesem) makes you load the box and put everybody in there. He’s trying to pop one through and we’re trying to prevent it.
“Dave Sowers, my D coordinator, does a great, great job of getting the kids ready. To do that in two hours, not even two hours, I tip my hat to him as well.”
Earning special props from Stover on the defensive side of the football were Tom Smid, Riley Hackett, Justin Fornwalt, Tristan Cairnes and Cael Jamison.
O’Sullivan completed 16-of-19 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Lee was his favorite target, finishing with six receptions for 107 yards and two TDs.
“Noah Lee, our outside wide receiver, had two touchdowns and played really well,” Stover said. “Nyfise McIntyre came in after an injury and played really well at running back. It was a good clean game. I’m happy we came out on top.”
For the Golden Hawks, Woloshyn’s 51 rushing yards led the way
Upper Dublin (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday, and Council Rock South (0-2, 0-1) will host Quakertown Friday.
Council Rock South 0-7-0-0 7
Upper Dublin 0-17-7-14 36
QUAKERTOWN 42, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 7
Tyler Woodman was back at it again.
For the second time in as many games the senior running back set the tone early, scoring three first-quarter touchdowns to spot the Panthers a 21-0 lead on their way to the mercy rule win. He finished the night with four touchdown runs.
“I said it before – there are real glimpses of Robbie Burns in him,” Quakertown coach George Banas said. “I think the game has really slowed down for him compared to last year. He’s setting up his blocks. The line is doing a phenomenal job for him, the receivers are blocking down field.
“And then (Will) Steich throwing the ball with such accuracy and (Zach) Fondl and (Zach) Greulich making the receptions – it’s balanced, so they can’t just load up the box and try and contain him.”
Woodman had touchdown runs of 12, 34 and three yards in the first quarter, and in the second quarter, Steich connected with Zach Fondl for a 27-yard touchdown and an 28-0 Panther lead. Woodman’s fourth touchdown – this one from one yard out – sent Quakertown into halftime with a 35-0 lead, delighting the Panther faithful who turned out in force for their team’s home opener.
“It was electric at Quakertown,” Banas said. “The stadium was overflowing. Our side was packed, people were standing all around the fence – both end zone fences. It was crazy because after the game people didn’t want to leave because they were just happy there was football, and it was normal. It was cool to be home, it really was.”
The second half featured a running clock, and the Panthers tacked on a touchdown in the third quarter. Lex Williams got into the scoring column with a 10-yard TD run. The Indians scored a late touchdown against the Panthers’ reserves.
The Panthers have allowed just 14 points total in their two wins this season. Banas had high praise for the performance of his defense in Saturday’s win.
“Across the board defensively, we had a really good night,” the Panthers’ coach said. “We had two interceptions – (John) Eatherton had an interception and (Zach) Greulich had an interception. We had a couple of fumble recoveries. The defense was swarming tonight.
“The front four did a really nice job across the board – Freddie Vetter, Blake Griesemer, Anthony Schiller and Nick Laudenberger. Those front four really set the tone, and linebacking core – a lot of times they’re running free because we’re chewing up blocks up front, so you have Kaden Roesener and Lex Williams really making some plays for us.”
Quakertown (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday, and Council Rock North (1-1, 0-1) will be on the road at Souderton Friday.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-7 7
Quakertown 21-14-7-0 42
SOUDERTON 41, HARRY S TRUMAN 0
The Indians were coming off a tough loss to North Penn in a season opener that saw several key players go down with injuries. They also did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday because of Hurricane Ida. Any thoughts that they’d be unprepared were put to rest in a hurry in Saturday’s morning conference opener.
“We got here, we got the team together, we got ready, we had breakfast before we came, so I think we definitely came together as a team,” senior captain Sean Barrera said. “The loss to North Penn was an awakening.
“I definitely think it got our heads together and brought us closer as a team. We know what we need to do to get it done. We have to make sure we’re always giving 100 percent during practice, during the game. The second-half adversity (in the North Penn loss) definitely hit us, but we’ve got to bounce back a little bit better.”
The Indians owned Saturday’s game from the opening kickoff until the final horn. Brayden Porter’s 12-yard touchdown run five minutes into the game spotted the Indians a 7-0 lead, and a one-yard touchdown by Elijah Goods put Souderton on top 14-0 after one quarter.
Souderton showcased its Hageman-to-Hageman sibling connection when senior quarterback Nate Hageman found junior wide receiver Caleb Hageman with a 35-yard touchdown pass that gave the Indians a 21-0 advantage. Porter scored his second touchdown of the game – this time from five yards out for a 28-0 lead, and a three-yard touchdown by Javier Torres with just over a minute remaining in the quarter sending the Indians into halftime with a 35-0 lead, putting the mercy rule in effect for the second half.
A pair of first-half interceptions by Jared Zimmerman and Caleb Hageman highlighted a standout defensive effort by the Indians.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way the kids responded, not only to adversity but the changes that happened throughout the week,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “Yes, we lost a couple of players (in the loss to North Penn), but we also got sent home from school Wednesday, didn’t have school Thursday, so we didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday which ultimately forced the game to be moved to Saturday.
“The way they responded – they came out at practice yesterday. It wasn’t a great practice, but it was a practice. We needed to get back out and do things. I just think they were being kids and enjoying being back with each other, but they weren’t really executing as well as they did today. They really came out today and came to play on both sides of the ball. The defense got the shutout, the offense was just rolling. We got things going early and didn’t stop.”
The only score of the second half came midway through the fourth quarter when Khalil Williams turned a Truman fumble into a touchdown and the 41-0 final.
In addition to wearing the title of District One 6A champions, the Indians also are the defending Continental Conference champs.
“We still have to come out with a chip on our shoulder because there’s always that rumor – oh, we only won districts, we only got to states because of COVID,” Barrera said. “We definitely have to come out and prove ourselves that we’re Souderton and this is how we play, this is how we get down. This is my senior year, and I have to make the most of it while I have it.”
Gallagher couldn’t argue with Barrera.
“There is a lot of talk and speculation that there should be an asterisk on last year,” Gallagher said. “I’m like, ‘No, we were a pretty good football team.’ North Penn lost (a game in the abbreviated regular season), Coatesville was the best team from down South and they lost to Pennridge and we beat Pennridge.
“I don’t know what else we have to prove to people that we’re a good football team and a good football program. We’re going in the right direction. Playing today without a couple of key guys was a testament to what kind of program we have right now.”
Gallagher liked a lot of the things he saw in Saturday’s win.
“Braydon Porter got a little dinged up last week and barely had any contact all week, but he came out and ran hard today and had a couple of touchdowns,” the Indians’ coach said. “Sean McGoldrick was banged up last week – the North Penn game was physical, it always is, but if anything, I think the two days off from practice was a blessing for us just to rest a little bit. They’re both still a little bit banged. We’re going to have to get them a little more rest the beginning of this week and hopefully get ready for Rock North.”
Souderton (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-2, 0-1) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Harry S Truman 0-0-0-0 0
Souderton 14-21-0-6 41
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 34, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 29
They needed a once-in-a-lifetime touchdown reception and a perfectly executed on-sides kick. The Golden Bears somehow got both and won a game they had every reason to lose.
“Honestly, we have really resilient kids that never doubted,” UM coach CJ Szydlik said. “We did not play well, we didn’t play well from the beginning, we didn’t play well on special teams. It was something that was more on us as coaches.
“The kids just kept battling. You have to give (Archbishop) Ryan credit. They obviously wouldn’t go away and wouldn’t go away, so you’re down two scores in the fourth quarter, and you’ve got to lean on your seniors. Byron (Hopkins) makes a couple of big plays. Ryan Olexa makes a couple of big catches, and then Cam Jackson makes the catch of a lifetime over his shoulder and goes 74 yards to win you a football game.”
The Golden Bears’ coach – in that breath – didn’t mention the onsides kick by Jaryd Meehl, but there would have been no late-game catch by Jackson if the junior kicker hadn’t made the perfect onsides kick after UM scored a touchdown to trim a once 14-point fourth quarter Ryan lead to two, 29-27, with 3:30 remaining.
“We were going for two and you think you have this great call, and it turns out to be the worst call – that’s completely on me,” Szydlik said. “You just hope your kids keep rallying and then we kicked onsides.
“Our kicker – Jaryd Meehl – does a fantastic job on his kick and we get the ball. It was probably one of the nicest onsides kicks I’ve seen in my lifetime. It couldn’t have been any better. Colin Hogan, who’s a senior, recovers it.”
On third-and-long on the Bears’ ensuing drive, Hopkins connected with Jackson, who made the catch of the day and took it to the house for the game-winning TD.
“Cam comes out of the backfield and runs a wheel route up the sideline,” Szydlik said. “Their safety did a really nice job of acting like he didn’t see where Jackson was going and came running over. The ball goes right between his hands and right to Cam, he makes the catch in traffic, breaks a tackle and still runs. I don’t know where it was (on the field). It definitely was third (down) and what are we going to do next? He’s a gamer. He’s a tough, tough, tough kid that does anything you ask him to do. He’s a special kid.”
An interception by UM’s Cole Tucker put the finishing touches on the dramatic win.
Archbishop Ryan was hardly an unfamiliar opponent to the Golden Bears, who had rolled to a 35-0 win over the Raiders last fall to earn their program’s first PIAA state playoff win.
Saturday’s game started off slowly for the Golden Bears, who trailed 2-0 after one quarter and 17-7 at the intermission. A Hassan Johnson run accounted for the Golden Bears’ lone touchdown. The Raiders upped that lead to 23-7, but a Hopkins to Ryan Olexa touchdown pass and two-point conversion made it a 23-15 game, and it was a 29-15 game heading into the final quarter when the Golden Bears staged their heroic late-game comeback.
“We missed extra points,” Szdylik said. “In the course of all this we lost our long snapper to a torn ACL, so we’re trying to do different things on extra points, and obviously, it wasn’t working out in the beginning of it all, so we’re kind of scrambling when it comes to that.
“Ryan kept us on our toes. Their defensive line played really, really well. It was one of those battles. I’ll be honest, I think it’s a game that normally you just lose. It’s a credit to the fact that the kids have worked so hard, and they’re seniors now. They battled and won us a football game.”
The UM coach went on to credit the performances of several players in the win.
“Ryan Olexa played very well,” Szydlik said. “In the beginning, he had some struggles. We definitely did with our emotions and things like that in game where you played somebody in the playoffs the year before. There were definitely a lot of raw emotions out there. Ryan played well. Matt Tiernan again played well on the defensive line. Cole Tucker has been doing everything we ask. He’s a kid who’s basically a back-up running back/wide receiver type kid who plays his heart out.
“You don’t get to this place without a senior that’s been starting for you for three years. Byron’s a special kid. It was one of those games where you can’t buy a bucket. It was like – we can’t get out of our own way. We’re one of those teams, I guess – it just starts rolling and it’s like, ‘okay, here we come.’”
Upper Moreland (2-0) will host Phoenixville in a non-league game on Friday.
Archbishop Ryan 2-15-12-0 29
Upper Moreland 0-7-8-19 34
Friday, Sept. 3
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 31, ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 7
The Spartans jumped out to an early lead and led wire to wire in Friday’s non-league contest.
“We knew coming in that ANC a couple years ago was a really, really strong 10-0 team, and they always get some really good athletes, and they’re coached well,” coach Chris Shelly said. “This year they only had 24-25 kids, but they had some really good skill kids.
“We felt like we could wear them down with our depth, and we scored early. Tim Saiber had an interception on the very first play of the game. He picks the ball off, gives us great field position, and we punched it in. We scored on a QB sneak by our quarterback Ben Cooney after we had some quick catches.”
That 7-0 lead grew to 14-0 when Cooney connected with Dylan McKenzie for a 20-yard touchdown.
“We felt like at that point we had them on their heels, but to ANC’s credit, they got one of their skill kids behind us, and they scored on a long touchdown pass, so now it’s 14-7, and they’re back in the game,” Shelly said. “To their credit, they hung in there. We felt like they had some Suburban One-like skill kids that tested us.
“They were just really young and inexperienced on the O-line, so we got to their quarterback a ton. We had a ton of hurries, a ton of sacks, and Timmy Saiber picked another ball for us, so he had two interceptions, which was phenomenal.”
In the second quarter, Jack Hyland connected on a 36-yard field goal to send the Spartans into halftime with a 17-7 lead.
“We have a really good field goal kicker,” Shelly said. “You don’t see high school kids kick field goals, so we felt that was a nice thing going into half, but we still felt like we weren’t playing our best ball, so we challenged our kids.
“In the second half, we made more plays really led by Ben (Cooney), our quarterback. At times we didn’t block real well up front, but Ben made huge gains in the quarterback run game.”
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, Ryan Stewart hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Cooney, and then it was Ryan Gibbons scoring on an eight-yard run for the 31-7 final.
“Ryan Gibbons had a monster second half,” Shelly said. “We ran the ball late, and we made some plays in the second half. You look at the 31-7 final – it looks good on paper, but it was a lot closer than it sounds. It wasn’t what we wanted, but a win’s a win. I’m happy with the win.”
The Spartans’ coach credited several other players as well.
“Dylan McKenzie was again a force for us at wide receiver, and senior receiver Ryan Stewart made a great (touchdown) catch that broke the game open,” Shelly said. “Our two D-tackles – Owen Hussie and Jason Morrissey – were a force and were in their backfield all the time. I don’t know how many sacks they had, but they were constantly in their backfield.
“Colby Sabin was our defensive end, Will Conlin was a force on both sides of the ball playing both ways. Our kids really settled down in the second half.”
Springfield Township (2-0) has an open date this weekend and will open league play Friday (Sept. 17) at William Tennent.
Academy of the New Church 7-0-0-0 7
Springfield Township 14-3-0-14 31
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