Council Rock South and Springfield (Montco) were winners in SOL football action on Saturday.
Stats used in the wraps below are provided courtesy of Calkins Media. For complete game stories about both of Saturday’s games, please visit the web site www.PhillyBurbs.com<http://www.PhillyBurbs.com>.
NEWTOWN – There are always bigger things, more important things than a game, but on Saturday night, the Council Rock South football team needed a game to bring some degree of normalcy to a world that has been anything but normal since the tragic passing of three Rock South students last Saturday.
The Golden Hawks, playing with emotions that were still raw, turned in a gem, surviving a 90-minute rain delay in the first quarter and returning to the field to earn a no-doubt-about-it 41-0 win.
“This was huge,” senior Vince Alimenti said. “The team really needed this with everything that was going on this week.
“We really banded together as brothers. We knew what had to get done, and we came out here and did it for the community and for the three boys.”
“It was hard losing them,” junior Mike Stock added. “But we really came out for the community and for each other, and it was good to take this win.”
Earlier that day Alimenti and Stock attended the funeral service of Shamus Digney. It was the final farewell in a week of farewells.
Digney and Ryan Lesher were both part of Rock South’s basketball program.
“Our basketball team came together closer than we ever have before, and the football team came together and helped each other out, same with the whole school and community,” said Stock, who also plays basketball.
At the top of the stadium, three banners hung in memory of the three sophomores. ‘God bless Cullen,’ ‘God bless Shamus,’ and ‘God bless Ryan’ were the simple messages on those banners in memory of Cullen Keffer, Digney and Lesher.
“Words can’t express what the whole community has gone through,” Rock South coach Vince Bedesem said. “Speaking for even the small cross section I have, starting with the administration, the teaching staff and support staff, they’ve done an outstanding job of keeping the normalcy but yet going with the flow and keeping the student body healthy.
“It started out very, very slow, and rightfully, so, but we just kept talking and said, ‘Let’s keep the lines of communication open.’”
Saturday’s game was originally scheduled for Friday night.
“Our administration was great on backending the game to Saturday,” Bedesem said. “We were actually debating whether we should have went Monday.
“Obviously, we made the right choice. Our principal, Al Funk, kind of stood up like Knute Rockne and said, ‘You know what – we’re doing it now,’ which was great. It was the direction that we needed. We’re keeping things easy for them to understand, but then we just got after it. We had to pay the price of the waiting game for the rain, but it worked out for us. It really did.”
The game went Rock South’s way from the outset, although the two teams were locked in a scoreless tie when they left the field for a lightning delay with less than six minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Golden Hawks returned to the field with a vengeance. By the time the quarter had ended, they led 14-0. Alimenti, who finished with 143 yards and three touchdowns, accounted for both scores – his second on a 60-yard TD run.
“It was hard,” Alimenti said. “You just had to turn off the emotions once game time started. It was a pretty difficult thing.”
By halftime, the Golden Hawks – benefitting from four Owl turnovers - led 35-0, and the mercy rule was in effect for the second half.
“It’s been a while since we really got (our offense) clicking,” Bedesem said. “We know that when we get this thing going, it’s hard to stop.
“It’s a trust thing and when the kids see it and buy into it, they can see how it goes. We’re very happy.”
The Golden Hawks’ defense extended its string of scoreless quarters to six. They have not allowed a point since giving up 28 in the opening half of last week’s game against Pennsbury.
“I thought even last week we were getting better in the second half,” Bedesem said. “We wanted to build off of that.
“My defensive coordinator (Dave Nolter) and his staff – they again went back to the basics and just started preaching fundamentals. It was good.”
The defense limited the Owls to less than 100 yards of total offense.
“We’re thinking we’re going to go out and punch every team in the mouth and play as hard as we can and hopefully we come out with a ‘W,’” Alimenti said. “We’re practicing harder than ever this year. We’re really after the wins.”
“We’re just going to take it one game at a time,” said Stock, who recovered a fumble in Saturday’s win. “We can do well, but we have to take it one game at a time – don’t overlook anybody.”
Next week, the Golden Hawks will travel to Heartbreak Ridge for a contest against former National Conference foe Neshaminy (0-2).
“Getting a ‘W’ going into a Neshaminy (game) – I don’t care what their record is,” Bedesem said. “Neshaminy is Neshaminy.
“I know a little bit about that. We’re going into this week, and we have to prepare like we haven’t prepared before and make sure that we’re getting better for this week coming up.”
But for this Saturday night, it was just good to be playing a game.
SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 29, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 7
The Spartans’ defense continued its dominance in Saturday’s win over the Crusaders. They allowed a touchdown for the first time in two games, but that came in the fourth quarter after the Spartans had opened up a 29-0 lead.
A George Baughan field goal put the Spartans on the board in the first quarter, and by halftime, they extended that lead to 15-0. Quarterback Chris Stone accounted for the Spartans’ first touchdown with a 30-yard run, and then it was Martin Worgan taking it in from 15 yards out.
The Crusaders, who managed just 131 yards of total offense, never threatened. Worgan led the Spartans’ ground attack with 104 yards and one touchdown. He also had a receiving TD. Stone finished with 71 yards on the ground.
The Spartans (2-0) will host Penn Charter next Friday.
Lansdale Catholic 0-0-0-7 7
Springfield 3-12-7-7 29
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