Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action. Upper Moreland/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Springfield Twp/New Hope-Solebury photos courtesy of Michael Rice Photography, and Hatboro-Horsham/LC photo courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of all three games.
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 47, LOWER MORELAND 0
The Golden Bears scored early and often in Saturday’s non-league game pitting the neighboring rivals, opening up a 34-0 halftime lead on their way to the win.
“The big key to the game was we were able to control both lines of scrimmage, both on the offensive line and the defensive line, and that’s what allowed us to be so one-sided in our attack and kept them off the scoreboard,” UM coach Adam Beach
said. “That was something we focused on this week going in. We wanted to get better, and we wanted to be more physical, and I think we were able to do that today, which was good to see.”
Travis Quirk had a pair of interceptions, and sophomore Brody Hughes also had an interception.
Elijah Davis put the Golden Bears on the scoreboard with a touchdown run, and they never looked back.
“Elijah Davis ran the ball very well,” said Beach. “I thought Larry Hughes played well. (Quarterback) David Adamski did a nice job running the offense. He made some nice throws, he was able to take what the defense gave him. Every time he’s out there, he’s getting a little more confident, a little more heady, and you see the progression every game, and that’s always good to see.”
The second half belonged to UM’s reserves.
“They have been working hard all week, and we haven’t had a JV game yet, so for a lot of them, it was their first taste of football this season, and to get it on the varsity level was really fun for them,” Beach said. “They did a nice job. They were able to execute the offense to keep the ball moving, and defensively, they were able to keep them out, so that was a pleasant thing to see on both sides.”
Friday’s game against the neighboring rival was the first in recent memory.
“We’ve played them in the past,” Beach said. “It’s something coach and I had talked about doing again. It’s nice. They’re a growing district, so hopefully, it’s a game that we can continue to play moving forward.”
Up next: Upper Moreland (2-1) will host Interboro in a non-league game Friday. Lower Moreland (2-1) will be on the road at Springfield Twp.
Upper Moreland 34-13 47
Lower Moreland 0-0 0
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 21, HATBORO-HORSHAM 17
The Hatters had a 17-14 lead late only to watch the Crusaders score a touchdown that turned out to be the game-winner with just over a minute remaining in regulation. The Hatters had no answer.
Up next: Hatboro-Horsham will host West Philadelphia on Friday.
Friday, Sept. 5
SPRINGFIELD TWP 54, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 8
Zymir Small had himself quite a game.
The Spartans’ junior running back was – in a word – unstoppable, shredding the Lions’ defense for 244 yards and six touchdowns on just 12 carries in a monster performance, and for Small and the Spartans, it was a night of big plays.
It began when quarterback Nathan Torrealba found Mekhi Paschall with a 59-yard scoring strike, and the Spartans were just getting started.
“Our message was attack mode, so we went onsides right after that and got it back,” Springfield coach Chris Shelly said. “We knew New Hope coming in was young, inexperienced, and they only had 20-some guys, but we want our kids to play to a standard. We talk about it all the time, so we wanted to attack from the get-go.
“We had some things clicking in the passing game, getting Makai loose. He’s obviously a weapon, but when you get up by so many scores – you’re not throwing the football. We wanted to be respectful of the game situation.”
Small scored the Spartans’ second TD from 48 yards. It was his first of six touchdowns.
“He was phenomenal,” Shelly said.
A successful two-point conversion – Torrealba to Jacob Soto – gave the Spartans a 14-0 lead. Then it was Small scoring on runs of 22 yards, four yards and 17 yards, 
the third touchdown putting the Spartans on top 34-0 after one quarter.
A 34-yard touchdown run by Small set the stage for his longest TD run – this one from 70 yards. After the extra point, the Spartans led 47-0.
“We felt pretty strong about running the ball with him,” Shelly said.
Closing out the scoring in the second quarter was freshman Langston Jenkins, who scored from 17 yards out to send the Spartans into halftime with a 54-0 lead.
New Hope-Solebury scored its only touchdown in the third quarter.
For the game, Torrealba was 4-for-7 with 109 yards and a touchdown.
“We felt we had some passes that we hit on, which was nice to build on because we’re going to have to develop a good balance of our offense,” Shelly said. “We challenged our kids to take the next step up coming off the Overbrook win.
“We’re going to have to keep building this thing. We have Lower Moreland next week, and we’re going to respect them. That’s always a rivalry game for us. It’s like a playoff game because they’re a 4A school. We’re going to keep on trying to get better at the details. Our kids know that and stay hungry, Stay hungry and humble, that’s my message. Hungry and humble.”
Up next: Springfield Twp (2-0) will host Lower Moreland in a non-league game Friday, and New Hope-Solebury will be on the road at Thomas Edison High School on Saturday (12 noon).
New Hope-Solebury 0-0-8-0 8
Springfield Twp 34-20-0-0 54
About the Author
