Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Saturday. North Penn/Pennsbury photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier Times. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web sites: http://www.theintell.com/sports and http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports.
UPPER MORELAND 48, UPPER PERKIOMEN 33
Call it a case of perfect timing.
With the Golden Bears trailing 7-0, Friday night’s game at Upper Perk was suspended because of lightening. When they returned Saturday to resume play, they were off and running, exploding for 48 points.
“Honestly, it gave us a little bit of time to catch our breath and to hammer home some of the ideas we were telling the kids to do,” coach CJ Szydlik said of Friday’s suspended game. “Once we finally broke one – they’re young kids, and I think they started believing – maybe the coaches do know what they’re saying. It just opened up and off and running we went.”
Breaking the big play was Caleb Mead, who took it 76 yards for a touchdown that put the Bears on the scoreboard and opened the floodgates. A second Mead TD run pulled the Bears within two, 14-12.
“We went into a little more of an empty look and ran him on jet sweep,” Szydlik said. “We tried to open up the game.
“In the first three games, everyone has been loading the box. We have a sophomore quarterback, and everyone is forcing us to throw the ball. We’ve been working on it, but we have a lot of young kids, so we’ve been putting things in slowly, and we just decided – ‘Now’s the time, let’s just open it up,’ and it really worked out for us.”
By halftime, the Golden Bears had put two more touchdowns on the board – one a 71-yard Titus Green reception from sophomore quarterback John Knight. The other came when Safier Barr – the sibling of former standout Sterlen Barr – turned an interception into a touchdown that sent the Bears into halftime with a 24-21 lead.
The Golden Bears went on to open up a 32-21 lead when Knight found TJ Troxel for the score only to watch Upper Perk pull to within five. A second Knight to Troxel TD put the Bears on top 40-27, but the host Indians came back to make it a 40-33 game. Again, the Bears answered with a touchdown, this time on a 35-yard run by Knight.
“Our quarterback, John Knight, really stepped up,” Szydlik said. “He threw for three touchdowns and ran for one.
“He’s a sophomore and we’ve been trying to keep it light for him, and today we took the handcuffs off, per se, and let him go.”
There was no mistaking the importance of Saturday’s win heading into the conference season.
“For this group of kids – a lot of them didn’t play last year,” Szydlik said. “They do believe it’s a winning program and they should be winning, and I think today solidified a lot of that and released a lot of pressure off of a lot of us. I think it will spark us and put us in the right direction. It was huge for us.
“Upper Perkiomen is a very good team, they’re very well coached. When we started rolling, the kids started believing, and it all started to come together.”
Upper Moreland (1-2) will travel to Quakertown for Friday’s SOL opener.
NORTH PENN 33, PENNSBURY 7
A cloudburst that dumped three-and-a-half inches of rain in short order on Friday evening made playing in Crawford Stadium an impossibility on Saturday.
“The field and the stadium were underwater,” coach Dick Beck said. “If you stood on the sidelines, when we looked at the field, the water would come over your sneakers. We did not want to go till Monday.”
They won’t have to, thanks to the decision to play the first-ever game on North Penn’s turf field with a seating capacity of 300.
“If we had played on the field, the field would have been wrecked,” Beck said. “It would have been just a slopfest – fumbles, slipping all over the place.
“We wanted to give the kids a chance to play, we wanted to give them a chance to play on a good field. We don’t want to be running around in the mud. It would have been ridiculous.”
The Falcons trailed by just five at the intermission, 12-7, but if there was a defining moment in the game, it came on the Knights’ opening drive of the third quarter. After an intentional grounding call threatened to stall the drive, a diving Jon Haynes – with a defender draped all over him – hauled in a 42-yard Solomon Robinson pass at the Falcons’ 20-yard line. Five plays later, Julian White punched it in from two yards out, and the Knights led 19-7 with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter. The Falcons never threatened the rest of the way.
“The throw by Solomon to Jon was a great pass,” Beck said. “Jon was getting held – they called pass interference on the guy that was covering him, and still Jon made the catch, which was an outstanding catch. That was a huge play.
“Once we scored to go up two scores, now there are so many things you can do on defense. You’re not playing not to give up the big play. We can be more versatile on offense. When we got the ball back on offense, it was like – all right, it’s time to run the ball down their throats.”
And run the ball down their throats the Knights did. Shamar Edwards – who had close to 100 yards in the first half – turned in a monster performance, finishing with 190 yards and two touchdowns. White also surpassed the 100-yard mark and had a pair of rushing TDs.
“Shamar (Edwards) and Julian (White) and the offensive line just ran so well today – I was so happy,” Beck said.
Making holes for Edwards, White and company was an offensive line comprised of Jake Walton, Noah Fox, Noah Boast, Eddie Harkins and Don Stites along with tight ends Cory Keim and RJ McNamara.
“They just did an outstanding job blocking,” Beck said.
Not even an injury to Fox could slow down the Knights.
“Shad Alam came in and did an outstanding job – we didn’t lose a beat when he came in,” Beck said.
Earlier, the Knights – thanks to TD runs by White and Robinson – opened up a 12-0 lead. It could have been more, but a drive stalled when Pennsbury’s James Hose picked off a pass in the red zone.
“It was a total miscommunication, which is what caused the interception,” Beck said.
The Falcons used a bit of trickery to get on the scoreboard late in the half when quarterback Drew Hensor hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from teammate Josh Boyda, trimming the Knights’ lead to 12-7 at the intermission.
Any thoughts of a Falcon comeback were put to rest in a hurry in the second half. After White’s TD gave the Knights a two-score advantage, Edwards scored his first of two second-half TDs from 33 yards out, a drive that was set up by a Knight interception.
The Knights head into conference play with three wins.
“I’m very pleased to be 3-0, but as we talked after the game, we’re going to turn our attention to the league,” Beck said. “We feel like we’re 0-0 when the league starts, and I’ve said the same to them when we were 0-3 going into the league season. We’re 0-0, and everybody is tied for first place right now.”
North Penn (3-0) will travel to Pennridge for Friday’s SOL opener, and Pennsbury (0-3) will host Central Bucks East in a non-league game on Friday.
Pennsbury 0-7-0-0 7
North Penn 6-6-14-7 33
HARRY S TRUMAN 49, WILLIAM TENNENT 14
TJ Rogers took it to the house on the Tigers’ first offensive play of the game. It turned out to be a preview of things to come. By the time the night was over, the junior running back had five touchdowns, and the Tigers had coasted to the win.
“The expectation is for him to play like this,” coach Mike LaPalombara said. “He played like this last year too, but we had some other seniors that were getting a little more of the spotlight, but he had some big games for us. He’s got speed, he’s got strength, and he’s got some size. He’s a player.”
There was a price tag attached to Saturday’s decisive win. A melee broke out after a Enzo Poulson scored Truman’s second touchdown in the first quarter.
“The most disappointing part about the whole game was the chippy play right from the outset,” LaPalombara said. “They went off-sides when we were going to do the extra point, so we decided to go for two since it moved us forward.
“When we ran our players out, there was a melee on the field. It’s such a shame that it happened.’”
Four Truman players – all starters – were ejected. The Tigers will be without quarterback Dylan Snelling, Javeer Peterson, guard Tremere Smith and Zayyan Saunders when they travel to Council Rock South on Friday for their SOL opener. Tennent saw three of its players ejected.
“We have some depth,” LaPalombara said. “They’re not the same players, it’s going to be different players, and I think we’ll be just as successful.
“When you lose a senior class, the next guy steps in. They’re not the same, but they fit in. They can still be good, but they’re not the same type of players. I think we’re going to have the same thing. It’s nice we have a little bit of depth.”
Also scoring a touchdown for the Tigers was Tykier Green, whose TD run put the Tigers on top 49-7.
With Snelling out of the game, senior Robbie Tressler – the Tigers’ holder for extra points – was behind center.
“That’s why we stopped going for extra points – we couldn’t get our quarterback hurt,” LaPolombara said. “Robbie had a good game – I’m sure he didn’t expect that. That’s a lot for a kid. Once everything settled down, we just played football.
“Our defensive line played really well. We put a lot of pressure on that team and clogged the holes up. Yaraslav Tkach had a big game on the defensive line.
“DD (Deondre) Winton had a big game for us. He’s lightening when he gets the ball.”
Harry S Truman (3-0) will travel to Council Rock South for next Friday’s SOL opener, and William Tennent (1-2) will be on the road at Souderton on Friday.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 43, VALLEY FORGE MILITARY ACADEMY 14
Max Perry once again was all but unstoppable. The Spartans' senior quarterback threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, propelling the Spartans to a 29-0 lead early in the second quarter on their way to the decisive win.
Perry’s first of three TD passes to Wilson Krewson was from 35 yards out and spotted the Spartans an early lead. Krewson hauled in a 25-yard Perry pass that – after a successful two-point conversion – put the Spartans on top 15-0. When Perry punched it in from one yard out, that lead grew to 22-0 with 1:42 left in the opening quarter, and it was a 29-0 game after the third Perry-to-Krewson connection.
Sophomore quarterback Gabe Franzyk scored on a quarterback draw from eight yards out, and the Spartans led 36-0 on their way to the rout.
Springfield Township (2-0) will host Academy of the New Church next Friday.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 18, PENNRIDGE 12
After making a trip to Perkiomen Valley on Friday night only to see their game postponed, the Rams were hoping for a better start on Saturday morning when they made the return trip.
That didn’t happen.
Due to a power outage, the first half of the game was played without a scoreboard, but that was the least of the Rams’ worries. The Rams’ opening drive stalled at the Vikings’ 35. With time winding down in the first quarter, the Vikings scored on a third-and-long 25-yard run by quarterback Cole Peterlin to go on top 6-0. That score stood until halftime.
Randy Washington took the opening kickoff of the second half 80 yards for a touchdown that put the Vikings on top 12-0. With just over five minutes remaining, the Rams made it a one-score game when Taj Utsey took it in from one yard out. Another kickoff return for a touchdown – this time by Malik Smith for 74 yards – made it an 18-6 game. A late TD by Joe Muntz – who surpassed the 100-yard mark – accounted for the Rams’ final score and the 18-12 final.
The win avenged the Vikings’ season-ending loss to Pennridge in the District One 6A playoffs.
Pennridge (1-2) will host North Penn in its SOL opener next Friday.
Pennridge 0-0-0-12 12
Perkiomen Valley 6-0-6-6 18
DOWNINGTOWN WEST 35, NESHAMINY 14
The Whippets had just too much firepower for the Redskins.
A one-yard Brody McAndrew TD run in the opening moments of the second quarter knotted the game 7-7, but the rest of the night belonged to the Whippets. The home team led by just a 14-7 score at halftime, but the Whippets capped a 20-0 tear late in the third quarter when Tyriq Lewis scored from one yard out for his third rushing touchdown of the contest.
Oleh Manzyk scored on a one-yard plunge in the final quarter, but by that time, the Whippets were in command.
Lewis surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground, and quarterback Will Howard threw for over 200 yards. His favorite target – Jackson Luneberg – had over a hundred receiving yards.
Neshaminy (1-2) will host Council Rock North in next Friday’s SOL opener.
Neshaminy 0-7-0-7 14
Downingtown West 7-7-13-8 35
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 35, WISSAHICKON 14
Saturday’s game started out on a promising note for the Trojans, who led 7-0 after one quarter. A 42-yard touchdown run by Jalen Smalls accounted for the only score of the frame, but the visiting Crusaders responded with 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
The Crusaders added to that lead with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to go on top 28-7. Wissahickon tacked on a fourth quarter TD when quarterback Nick Santo hooked up with Maurice Willis from 30 yards out.
Smalls paced the offense with a season-high 67 yards. Willis played big, pulling in six receptions for 100 yards and one TD, and Santo was effective throwing the football, finishing the game 13-for-15 for 154 yards and a touchdown.
"The defense played well with big hits and stops on LC's strong run game," coach Bruce Fleming said.
Wissahickon (0-3) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for Friday’s SOL opener.
Lansdale Catholic 0-14-14-7 35
Wissahickon 7-0-0-7 14
NORRISTOWN 26, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 14
The visiting Colonials battled the Eagles to a 7-7 halftime tie, and they were still very much in the game after three quarters, trailing by just a 20-14 score, but that’s as close as they would get.
In the first quarter, Nick DiNolfi found Christian Thomas with a touchdown pass, and the two hooked up for a second touchdown in the third quarter to account for both scores.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-3) will host Wissahickon in its SOL opener Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-0-7-0 14
Norristown 7-0-13-6 26
Friday, Sept. 7
ABINGTON 27, CHELTENHAM 0
Nothing, it seems, was going to prevent Abington from completing its rivalry game against Cheltenham. Not even a 90-minute lightening delay that saw the two teams holed up in their hot locker rooms.
“I was like – we’re finishing this game. One way or another we’re sticking it out. We got Cheltenham kids pretzels, we got our kids pretzels – we’re sticking it out,” Abington coach Kevin Conlin said.
The referees apparently agreed with Conlin, and stick it out they did. Play was halted with 9:26 remaining in a scoreless second quarter. Play resumed at 9:04 and the game ended at 11:05 p.m.
“It was only supposed to be 30 minutes, so we just kind of laid low,” Conlin said. “Our locker rooms are kind of small for the 80-some kids right now, so it’s really hot.
“We said – take your pads off, get the music going, concentrate on the game. Our coaching staff was saying after the game how tired we were because we all were because we were amped up for the game. Then we had to bring it all the way back down during the break. Then we had to ramp it back up – the highs and lows of just going up and down.”
The Ghosts’ offense put 27 points on the board, but the real star on this night was the defense. A pair of third quarter turnovers – both recovered by Angelo Pearson – set the stage for 13 unanswered Abington points. He returned the first 65 yards for a score that made it a two-touchdown game, and the Ghosts led 20-0 when Tamir Berthau and Keith Hudoka hooked up for their second TD of the night.
“Anthony Pearson had that huge fumble recovery for a return touchdown, and on the next series – I want to say two plays later – had another fumble recovery,” said Conlin of his cornerback who also had an interception. “He’s a kid that doesn’t come off with his size and stature, but he’s always in the right spot. He’s a fantastic hard worker. He does whatever he can to put himself in a great position, and he does it every single time.”
For good measure, the Ghosts tacked on another touchdown in the fourth quarter with Berthau connecting for his fourth TD of the night – this one to Ky-le Drummond for the 27-0 final.
“It’s a rivalry, so you never know what’s going to happen,” Conlin said. “We told our kids – ‘Who’s going to handle the distractions? The heat in school, the heat in practice, and then all of a sudden like the Eagles – who’s going to handle the distraction of an hour-and-a-half rain delay?
“We came out really excited, really fired up and really did well. We fed off our defense – our defense did really well again. Our defense was a huge, huge factor in all of this.”
The Ghosts limited a dangerous Panther squad to less than 150 yards of total offense. Their dominance began with a defensive line comprised of Tom Lukens, TJ Allen, Maliq Strother and Chris Allen. Jahmir Twyman also rotated into the D-line and made important contributions.
“Cheltenham has a really good running game,” Conlin said. “Our kids really honed in this week and did really well with it.”
While the game was scoreless when the Ghosts went into the locker room for 90 minutes, it didn’t take them long for them to get on the board when they came out.
“We had the ball, we’d been playing well defensively, but we were still having trouble offensively moving the ball, keeping first downs rolling. When we came out, we made a nice throw from Tamir Berthau to Keith Hudoka.
“Those two had two touchdowns together. They did really well. We had a big play, and I’ll tell you what – the MVPs of the game should be the crowds. Both student sections for both teams stuck it out, and they were by the gate trying to get back into the game. As soon as they got the gates up, the kids rushed into the stands. It was a great atmosphere, all things considered.”
The long touchdown pass gave the Ghosts a 7-0 lead and sent them into the halftime locker room with that one-touchdown advantage. That first score, according to Conlin, was huge.
“We told our kids, ‘Whoever handles the distractions is going to win this game. This first series is going to mean a lot – it’s going to dictate a lot of what’s going to happen,’” Conlin said. “Just the enthusiasm that one play gave us really set the tone for us.”
Conlin also credited the play of inside linebacker Marc Macione.
“He just really did a fantastic job this week, really taking control of the inside linebacker spot that was left vacant with (the graduation of) Jackson Taylor last year,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “He really played his heart out.
“It was great because he’s a kid who played a lot of neighborhood ball for Abington/Glenside and all that kind of stuff. He knew all the kids for the other team. It was a great win for him to be part of that.”
Abington (2-1) will travel to Bensalem for Friday’s SOL opener, and Cheltenham (2-1) will host Springfield Township on Friday.
Cheltenham 0-0-0-0 0
Abington 0-7-13-7
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