Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. Cheltenham/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Greg Lindsay, CR South/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography, CB South/Upper Dublin photos courtesy of Shannon O’Sullivan & Pennridge/Truman photos courtesy of Laura Rowe. Bensalem/Abington photos courtesy of Richard Owens. Check back for galleries. (Wissahickon/Carroll photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko)
Non-league
CHELTENHAM 38, NESHAMINY 29
James Smith spent the night creating all kinds of havoc for the Redskins, so it was appropriate that the senior running back – with his team clinging to a three-point lead and time winding down – put to rest any thoughts of a Redskin comeback with a 20-yard burst through the defense for a touchdown that gave Cheltenham its final margin of victory.
“Jimbo hit the trifecta tonight,” Cheltenham coach Terrance Tolbert said. “He scored on offense, he had an interception return for a touchdown, and special teams (kickoff return). He was definitely the player of the game. He stepped up for us big time.”
The Panthers were 0-2 heading into Friday’s game at Heartbreak Ridge, and they were decided underdogs going against a Neshaminy squad that had outscored its first two opponents by a combined 71-0 score. They brought an early end to the Redskins’ scoreless streak of just over 100 minutes when Andrew St John split the uprights for an 18-yard field goal.
Cheltenham’s lead grew to 10-0 when quarterback Kendall Jackson Upchurch – on fourth-and-three – found Ahsaiah Upchurch with a four-yard touchdown pass.
The Panthers upped their lead to 13-0 when St. John connected on a 32-yard field goal.
In the closing seconds of the first half, the Redskins capped their lone sustained drive of the half with Michael Eckart connecting with a wide open Mike Sassano in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown, and just like that it was a 13-6 game.
But not for long.
Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown that sent Cheltenham into halftime with a 19-6 lead and as well as momentum.
“That was huge,” Tolbert said. “I’ve been running that kickoff return for probably about 20 years. That’s my baby KOR, and I’ve scored on that a whole lot over the years. It really works.
“James put us on his back because the game was close, and that just pushed the game further out, gave us some confidence. We knew we were getting the ball back to begin the second half because we deferred in the first half.”
Midway through the third quarter, Smith returned an interception for a touchdown and a 26-6 Cheltenham lead, but the Redskins responded, making it a 26-14 game when Clee scored on a 13-yard run and Eckart took it in for a successful two-point play.
Early in the fourth quarter, Eckart connected with Sassano on a 23-yard TD pass that made it a 26-21 game. The Panthers
answered with a 73-yard scoring drive that was capped when – on fourth-and-nine -Upchurch made a leaping grab in the end zone of a 33-yard pass from Jackson that made it a 32-21 game.
Things got real interesting when Eckart raced 21 yards into the end zone and then connected with Brock Willliams for the two-point conversion to make it a 32-29 game with 2:54 remaining.
Neshaminy’s on-sides kick attempt was recovered by the Panthers, and with the ‘Skins in desperate need of a stop on third-and-three, Smith took it to the house, and the first win of the season was in the books for the Panthers after dropping their first two games of the season.
There was plenty of credit to go around after Friday’s huge win.
“Sean Alston, a linebacker, never stops going,” Tolbert said. “Eli Burnley, Maqui Fairel, and a kid who’s been balling for us the last three weeks – Isaiah Simpson.
“And our offensive line – we have a kid hurt, and we had a sophomore playing right tackle, so this was his first varsity game. He had his ups and downs, but he played a great game and was able to step in for Ish (Ishmael Niangane).”
Also on the Panthers’ offensive line were Jason Crabbe, Josiah Peeler, Mason Jones, and Justin Cowens.
“Tonight we were able to establish some drives, control the tempo of the game,” Tolbert said. “Defense, offense and special teams alike played well in all three phases of the game.
“Tonight was the first time we kind of put it all together, but I think we still have a lot of work to do. I told them we can celebrate for five minutes – we still have work to do next week.”
Up next: Cheltenham (1-2) will travel to Council Rock South for a non-league game, and Neshaminy (2-1) will host North Penn Friday.
Cheltenham 10-9-7-12 38
Neshaminy 0-6-8-15 29
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 13, SOUDERTON 0
Shutouts are rare in football. Especially when going against a team with veteran talent at its skill positions.
The Bucks’ defense stole the spotlight in Friday’s showdown, shutting out a Souderton squad that brought a 2-0 record into the game.
“It was a great win,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “Souderton is a great team, and for our guys to go up to their place and play as hard as they did with the effort they did – I was really proud of them.
“I thought our defense played exceptionally well at all levels, and our special teams were a big deal and executed well, and when you play a good team like Souderton, it’s going to come down to those little details. I thought our guys really honed in and executed well.”
It was the first time the Indians were shut out since 2017 when they fell to CB South 20-0.
“Any time you get a shutout, it’s all 11 guys playing together as a unit,” Rowan said. “I will say I thought our defensive front was lights out. They played incredibly aggressive, they played with their hair on fire.
“We were close to double-digit sacks, and that’s a combination of two things – that’s a combination of the front playing extremely aggressive, but it’s also a combination of our coverage holding up in the back end. I really thought Mason Darrows played exceptionally well. He was challenged multiple times, and he’s a guy who’s getting more confident every week. I couldn’t have been more proud of his effort and how hard he played tonight.”
Comprising the Bucks’ standout defensive line were Jeff Cappa, Liam Laphen, Zach Szabo and Carter Windenmuth.
“Those guys as a group just played incredible football tonight,” Rowan said.
The Bucks didn’t need a whole lot of points to win this one. A 28-yard touchdown run by quarterback Louie Cipollo early in the second quarter would have been enough. It was still a 7-0 game heading into the fourth quarter when Darrows connected on a pair of 24-yard field goals for the 13-0 final.
“Mason is a weapon in the kick game,” Rowan said. “He’s got such a strong leg, and he’s an accurate field goal place kicker.”
Up next: Central Bucks West (2-1) will host Abington in its SOL opener Friday while Souderton will be on the road at Harry S Truman.
Central Bucks West 0-7-0-6 13
Souderton 0-0-0-0 0
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 20, PENNSBURY 6
If coach CJ Szydlik was concerned how his team would respond to last week’s heartbreaking loss to North Penn, he needn’t have worried.
“We made a couple mistakes early tonight, and you worry if there’s going to be a little bit of a hangover from last week, but when you have a senior-led team, they rallied themselves together,” the Rock South coach said. “We put together some nice
drives and obviously got us up 20-0. We’re a tough out. We do some nice things – we just have to get better week to week.”
The Hawks got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter when Marley Emerson connected with Shane Myers for a 24-yard touchdown.
After a Pennsbury fumble, the Golden Hawks capitalized on a short field when Chris Guinter scored on a four-yard run to go on top 14-0.
“Chris is a defensive and an offensive blocking machine that we snapped the ball to, and he rumbled in,” Szydlik said.
On that short drive, the Hawks – after a sack – overcame a second-and-22 to keep the drive alive. They went for it on fourth-and-nine, and Emerson
connected with Dan Horn on a slant to the four-yard line and a first down, setting the stage for Rock South’s second TD.
Late in the second quarter, Myers took it to the house on a 32-yard run that sent the Hawks into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
“Both of those guys did really well,” Szydlik said of Myers and Emerson. “Brody Walker played really well for us on offense. One of our receivers, Dan Horn, is back and had some nice big catches for us.
“Defensively, Ben Myers – who is filling in for my nephew Nate (all-state linebacker Nate Szydlik) – played really, really well. Anthony Cimino at defensive end was borderline unblockable. He was really good.”
Up next: Council Rock South (2-1) will host Cheltenham in a non-league game Friday, and Pennsbury (0-3) will host Pennridge.
Pennsbury 0-0-0-6 6
Council Rock South 7-13-0-0 20
BENSALEM 24, ABINGTON 11
The Owls bounced back from a disappointing loss at the hands of Pennridge to earn the non-league road win.
“We were excited to play tonight,” Houston siad. “We thought we gave a good effort last week against Pennridge (in a 36-33 loss). We came up short and really tried to focus on cleaning some things up – penalties, everyone knowing their assignments.”
The game started off slowly for both sides.
“We took the opening kickoff back for a score, but then it got called back for a holding call,” Houston said. “And then it was kind of back and forth. We finally were able to get on the board with a nice touchdown pass from Myles Annan to Shane Varallo. That was Shane’s third game in a row with a receiving touchdown.”
That 30-yard TD pass put the Owls on top 6-0. Abington put a field goal on the board, but the Owls answered when Annan scored on a 40-yard touchdown run, and a successful Annan to Thomas Bailey completion on the two-point conversion put the Owls on top 14-3.
The Owls added touchdown run by Aidan Mayfield in the second half.
“We had a couple touchdowns called back,” Houston said. “Aidan (Mayfield) had another great touchdown run, but we had an illegal man downfield, so we still got stuff to clean up.”
The Owls’ coach was pleased with a lot of things he saw.
“I was really pleased with our defensive effort,” Houston said. “I thought our D-line really got after those guys.
“I thought they were a talented bunch. They got some guys that can hurt you in space, and so I was really pleased with how we really got after those guys.
“We also dealt with some adversity. It was a physical ballgame. There were a lot of penalties on both sides, and I was really pleased that our guys were able to focus, put the bad behind us and focus on the next play.”
The Owls – who were missing three players due to injuries – lost several players to injuries during the game.
“We were up against it,” Houston said. “And guys had to really play hard and play tough, and I’m really proud of how they were able to do that on the road.”
The Owls coach credited the efforts of several players.
“I thought Demarcus Burke played really well, and I thought Cody Garris played really well,” Houstons aid. “Brennan Farnsworth had a great game. Sean Hennessy, Isaiah Posten, and last but not least, my guy Taylor Callahan with his first career interception.”
Up next: Bensalem (2-1) will host Quakertown in Friday’s SOL opener, and Abington (1-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks West Friday.
Bensalem 14-10 24
Abington 3-8 11
NORTH PENN 42, QUAKERTOWN 7
After escaping with a win over Council Rock South a week earlier, the Knights served early notice there would be no reruns this time around, taking an early lead and never looking back on their way to the win.
“I was very happy with the effort tonight,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “We started off slow on the offensive line, but by the end of the game, we were coming off the ball.
“I was really happy how we stopped their running game. We made some changes up front and put some more athletic guys up there, and I think it really paid off for us.”
A 20-yard touchdown run by Rylei Gray gave the Knights an early lead, and then Cam Mainor scored his first of two touchdowns – this one on a draw play from 34 yards out to put the Knights on top 13-0. Matt Bucksar connected with Matt Pownall on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the quarter that – after a successful two-point conversion – sent the Knights into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
Quakertown’s Brady Martin found Jackson Connelly with a five-yard touchdown pass that made it a 21-7 game midway through the third quarter.
“Their quarterback really was Houdini tonight,” Beck said. “We were pressuring him the whole game, and he was running out of the pocket. I thought he played really good.
“Quakertown opened the second half with a 70-yard drive, probably about 15 plays, and he was making first downs, converting third downs into first downs.”
Pownall scored his second TD of the game from nine yards out to send the Knights into the final quarter with a 28-7 advantage.
The Knights added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the 42-7 final – the first TD in the frame by Mainor and the second by Ziyon Smith.
“Jamal Bell played really good at D-tackle,” Beck said. “Will Rittenhouse started at D-end and really did a nice job putting pressure on the quarterback and so did Christian Barnes – he did a really nice job putting pressure on the quarterback.”
Up next: North Penn (3-0) will travel to Neshaminy for its SOL opener Friday, and Quakertown (1-2) will be on the road at Bensalem.
North Penn 7-14-7-14 42
Quakertown 0-0-7-0 7
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 50, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 7
After escaping with wins in a pair of nailbiters, the Patriots rolled to a convincing win to up their record to 3-0 on the young season.
“I thought we had a great week of practice, and that just correlated to really strong execution tonight,” East coach John Donnelly said. “I think in all phases of the game we were really sharp.
“We blocked a punt again, we had a punt return that we almost took back for a touchdown. We just really jumped on them quickly.”
Just how quickly was underscored by the fact that Mike Price – on the third play of the game – raced 61 yards for a touchdown. Cole Wojnicki’s extra point put the Patriots on top 7-0 less than a minute into the game.
Liam Hoey recovered a fumble, and Reuben Bell took it in from the six. A botched Rock North punt gave the Patriots good field position, and they capitalized when Mike Bova threw a touchdown pass to Gavin Kraus.
After another three-and-out for the Indians, East had time for yet one more drive that was capped with an 11-yard touchdown run by Alex White to put the Patriots on top 28-0.
In the second quarter, Alex Henry has two big sacks, and after a punt, Price took it home from the 12 for a 35-0 halftime lead.
A blocked punt set the stage for an Asher Green five-yard touchdown, and after Rock North got on the board, Isaiah Bell scored from 11 yards out.
“We were very detail oriented,” Donnelly said. “The kids have a lot of confidence, but it’s not overconfidence. We’re just really proud of the way they approached their training during the week, and it’s spilled over into the game tonight.
“I think the first two weeks were really important for us to be battle tested and to be able to survive the storm and come out on the right side.
“This was a huge game for us heading into league play and CB South being a super strong opponent. It gives our guys a lot of confidence, but we know what we have to prepare for.”
Up next: Central Bucks East (3-0) will travel to Central Bucks South for Friday’s SOL opener, and Council Rock North (0-3) will be on the road at Upper Dublin.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-7 7
Central Bucks East 28-7-0-15 50
CENTRAL BUCK SOUTH 21, UPPER DUBLIN 0
(Game info courtesy of @ADRobinson3/The Reporter: https://www.thereporteronline.com/2025/09/06/football-defensive-intensity-helps-central-bucks-south-shut-out-upper-dublin-for-first-win/
The Titans needed a win. Plain and simple.
And with SOL National Conference play set to begin in seven days, they got just what the doctor ordered – not only a win but a shutout win.
“This was big,” South coach Tom Hetrick said. “We have a lot of new names and faces, but the standard of what we expect out of ourselves is what it is. They’re not sitting there saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to take a while
to get good at this.’ Nobody cares if you’re good at it. They hope you’re not good, and so we need to get good.
“We have some talented football players. We just need to get as good as we can get as soon as possible because nobody’s going to wait around for you, so it was definitely good to get in the win column. I think we’re definitely progressing in a direction that makes me happy.”
Nothing made the Titans’ coach happier than the dazzling effort of his defense that limited the Cardinals to just 97 yards of total offense and completely stymied their ground game (they had 25 carries for -17 yards).
“I was very proud of our defense tonight,” Hetrick said. “Their quarterback is a legit player, and they’ve got some weapons, and the fact that we were able to shut them out – kudos to our defense for that.
“We take a lot of pride in the work we put in to play people’s run games tough, and I thought we did that tonight. We had six sacks, so that adds to that yardage total, but as a whole, our defense was – most importantly – sound, and they were very active tonight, so I was proud of them.”
Six different players contributed sacks – Colin Jack, Gavin Graham, Adrian Hryckowian, Juju Hardy, Brody Horvat and Jacob Friedman – while veteran linebackers Javin Kube and Jack Bartolillo were key in slowing down the Cards’ run game.
“Javin Kube is solid,” Hetrick said. “He started out the year with an ankle injury, but he’s played the last couple of weeks. He came on strong as a sophomore
last year, and now he’s having a heck of a start to the season. He just makes plays.
“Jack Bartolillo has a lot of experience, and he’s playing some good football, and as far as the run game is concerned, I think those two were definitely heavily involved in that.”
Points were not easy to come by for either side, but giving the Titans an immediate boost was the 86-yard touchdown run by Gavin Graham late in the second quarter to send South into halftime with a 6-0 lead.
“Gavin Graham played a good game again,” Hetrick said. “He tore off that first touchdown run, and he does some splashy things on defense.
“It took our offense a little bit to get going. It was only 6-0 at halftime, but we had some guys going both ways. They had some guys going both ways, and I was proud of our guys with the fact that they sort of manned up and finished it off. There was some warrior kind of mentality going on out there.”
Graham’s TD was all the Titans would have need, but they added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter – the first on a 76-yard pass from Cade Crim to James Shaeffer and the second a 15-yard TD run by Colin White for the 21-0 final.
Up next: Central Bucks South (1-2) will host Central Bucks East Friday, and Upper Dublin (0-3) will host Council Rock North.
Central Bucks South 0-6-0-14 21
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-0 0
PENNRIDGE 41, HARRY S TRUMAN 12
The Rams took care of business in a hurry, opening up a 21-0 lead after one quarter and extending that to 41-0 by halftime.
“It was a great team win,” Pennridge coach Kyle Beller said. “Kids played hard. We got everybody in, which is always good, but now we’re entering league play, and we have to get ready to go play some hard-nose football.”
Ryan Rowe’s six-yard touchdown run put the Rams on the board. The first quarter also included a 17-yard Noah Keating to Jackson Gregoire touchdown pass that was followed by a 21-yard TD pass from Keating to Gregoire.
In the second quarter, Keating punched it in from a yard out for a touchdown, and then it was Keating taking it to the house from 19 yards out. Brody Blomgren’s 28-yard TD run sent the Rams into halftime with a 41-0 lead.
Truman scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns for the 41-12 final.
In limited action, Keating was 4-for-6 for 75 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five carries for 44 yards and two TDs.
Up next: Pennridge (3-0) will travel to Pennsbury on Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-3) will host Souderton on Friday.
Harry S Truman 0-0-0-12 12
Pennridge 21-20-0-0 41
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 26, INTERBORO 23
It was a game they could have lost – perhaps should have lost, but the Colonials simply refused to lose, overcoming their mistakes and then delivering a goal line stand to escape with the hard-fought win.
“Our kids gutted out a very tough win for us,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “When you look at all the things that happened in the game, and we came out with a win – it was special.”
The Colonials – who trailed by nine at halftime – battled back and scored with three minutes remaining in regulation to go up 26-23.
“They have a huge return on us on the kickoff and get down to our 40,” Chang said. “They put together a couple of nice runs. It’s fourth down from the five-yard line, and I thought we got a great stop. We got a tough call, and they got a first down on the three-yard line about a minute and five seconds.
“We do a great job. We stop them. They got a play off with two seconds left. They try to throw the ball, and Mike Giangiullo swats the ball away – the guys about to catch it in the end zone.”
The Colonials’ coach pointed to some of the game’s bright spots.
“We moved the ball pretty decently,” Chang said. “Mike Giangiullo has been a great runner for us with the ball in his hands. Mike Bongard, Cole Reilly – those guys can all run with the ball in their hands. Cole made a couple nice throws tonight as well, and he’s getting better and better each game, and he’s going to continue get comfortable in our offense.
“Our offensive line is getting better each game. We’re very, very young, and we’re making some young team mistakes, but I think we’re heading in the right direction .”
Friday’s win, however, was anything but easy.
“It was pretty sloppy on our end,” Chang said. “We muffed the first two kickoffs, and they recovered back-to-back kickoffs. On the first, they drove down and scored.
“We had a kickoff return (by Jaiden James) that got called back for a block in the back. James Cain scored on a 60-yard touchdown run that gets called back for holding. We turned the ball over on a fumble. I’m totally guessing, but Interboro’s quarterback had to have close to 300 yards rushing. I don’t know how we won the game.”
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-2) will travel to Manheim Township for a non-league game Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-13 26
Interboro 23-0 23
WISSAHICKON 38, ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 14
(Game info courtesy of @emor09 X)
The Trojans continued their impressive early season run, blowing open a close game in Friday’s battle of unbeaten squads with a 21-point fourth quarter.
“I don’t think we played our best football tonight,” Wissahickon coach Rory Graver said. “You have to credit Carroll. They’re a much improved team from what we saw last year. They’re well-coached.
“I was proud of our resilience. Carroll cut our lead down, and we responded with two quick touchdowns. Besides two mishaps on defense, I thought our defense play pretty well.”
The Trojans, who led 7-0 after an 11-yard Dom Harvey-Sheppard touchdown, found themselves deadlocked 7-7 after one quarter.
Another Harvey-Sheppard touchdown run – this one for 16 yards on a big third down play – put the Trojans on top 14-7 midway through the second quarter. Ben Hinchcliffe’s 25-yard field goal sent the Trojans into halftime with a 17-7 lead.
Carroll made it a 17-14 game midway through the third quarter, and it was still a three-point game entering the final quarter when Evan Tolmie connected with Quentin West for a 60-yard 
TD. Less than three minutes later, another Tolmie touchdown to West – this one from 44 yards – put the Trojans on top 31-14. Harvey-Sheppard’s third TD run of the night gave the Trojans their final margin of victory.
“Dom Harvey-Sheppard had three touchdowns, Q West had two touchdowns,” Graver said. “Our running back combination of Quasir Sampson and Tyree Chambers ran really well. Our guys blocked well on the perimeter.
“Defensively, Andrew Rowan has been really solid for us on both sides of the ball at linebacker and also guard. We got pressure on the quarterback with Hassan Freeman, Cole Lillenfeld and Zion Ford.”
Up next: Wissahickon (3-0) will travel to Sun Valley for a non-league game Friday.
Archbishop Carroll 7-0-7-0 14
Wissahickon 7-10-0-21 38
SPRINGFIELD TWP 54, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 8
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