Wissahickon came back Saturday to win its suspended game against Lower Merion. Hatboro-Horsham & Upper Moreland are additions to Friday night’s wrap. Wissahickon/Lower Merion photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Upper Moreland/Interboro photos courtesy of David Tucker, and New Hope-Solebury/ANC photo courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for galleries of all three games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1050704496
Non-league
WISSAHICKKON 35, LOWER MERION 18
It took two days, but the Trojans notched a decisive non-league win over the Aces. Friday’s game at Lower Merion was halted due to lightning in the area with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter with Wissahickon on top 16-12.
When the Trojans returned on Saturday morning to resume play, the Aces took an 18-16 lead. It turned out to be short-lived.
“We drove down and got a turnover, and we kind of had our way after that,” Wissahickon coach Rory Graver said.
The Trojans had their way to the tune of a 19-0 tear to close out the game, earning their third win in as many games.
“The biggest thing is we’ve been able to overcome adversity this year in a few of our games, and our guys have a belief in themselves, belief in each other and belief in their program,” Graver said. “I think that’s the biggest thing in trying to get this program moving in the right direction.
“We’re still a ways away for sure, but I think we’re taking steps in the right direction. Coming off a 1-9 year, we started our offseason in December. It would have been very easy for them to not commit themselves, but they’ve made a full commitment, and they’ve put in the time. We’ve been in there since December, so it’s paying dividends now.”
The Aces had no answer for Wissahickon’s ground game that was led by the glittering performances of freshman Quasir Sampson (18 carries, 177 yds, 2TDs) and senior Jalen Randall (13 carries, 96 yards 2 TDs).
The Trojans had 461 yards total offense with 319 of those on the ground. Paving the way for the strong showing was the offensive line comprised of Cole Rogers, Jarret Federer, Thomas Garvey, Aidan McGillian and Ethan Baritz.
“For us offensively, it really starts with our offensive line,” Graver said. “They continue to 
play well, and I think our defense played a really strong game this week.
“We kind of challenged them this week after really not playing our best the previous week against Hatboro-Horsham (in a 41-40 win), and they responded to that. They played well. Our defensive coordinator, Mike Magowan, put a good plan together, and our guys believed it, and they did a great job.”
Anchoring the defense is the Trojans’ defensive line.
“Cole Rogers has been playing phenomenal for us as our weakside D-tackle,” Graver said.
Wissahickon (3-0) will host Simon Gratz on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time, and we’ve got to quickly get ready for Simon Gratz on Thursday, which is a short week for us,” Graver said.
Friday, Sept. 8
UPPER MORELAND 25, INTERBORO 0
It was the tale of two halves.
The Golden Bears took a tenuous 2-0 lead into halftime, the result of a safety when Interboro had a bad snap go out of the end zone. They came out of halftime and scored 23 unanswered points in the third quarter to seize control of the game.
“We’re such a young team, and we talked at halftime – we’re stopping ourselves, we’re just not executing up front, and guys were taking turns making mistakes,” Beach said. “But defensively, the kids really improved. I think they’re starting to see it and react, and they were doing a really good job. Interboro wasn’t able to move the ball.
“In the second half, we came out, and their first drive we get a pick-6 from our senior captain Zion Akinbo. Once we got that pick, everyone was like, ‘Okay, we’re good.’ Once we had that one good thing happen, everyone kind of settled down, they just started executing, and things just started to roll from there, so it really started with the pick-6 at the start of the second half.”
The win came on the heels of two straight losses to open the season, and things didn’t look all the promising in the first half.
“We’d go down the field, we’re on the one-yard line, we’re going to score, and we fumble the snap,” Beach said. “We’re having a great drive, and we get a negative play.
“I told them – ‘We have to go through it, there’s only one way to go through this. We have to go right through it, and you guys have to learn,’ and they are. It was good for them to have success. Hopefully, it’s something we can build on next week, and we keep growing from there.”
In the third quarter, Akinbo’s interception for a TD turned the tide, and sophomore running back Elijah Davis had a pair of touchdown runs to account for Upper Moreland’s scores.
Beach also acknowledged the strong efforts of several players.
“Alex Simpson did a real nice job,” the UM coach said. “Frankie McDermott played for us for the first time and did a real nice job.
“Francesco Maglio did a nice job, and Justin Valentin – he’s a sophomore lineman, and he really had a nice game. He had a couple of nice plays in the backfield and actually caught a pass out of the backfield and almost scored. He had a nice game as a sophomore, so that was good for him.”
The win was a much-needed boost for a young Golden Bear squad.
“It’s confidence,” Beach said. “You preach it, you coach it and you teach it, but until it happens for them – they have to go through it.
“We’re focusing on things to work on every week. This week we really focused on a couple of things defensively – staying low and squeezing and reading our keys, and they were able to do it in the game, and they had a lot of success doing it, so hopefully, they’re starting to realize, ‘Okay, this is working, we get better, we grow, and we just go from there.’”
Upper Moreland (1-2) will host Radnor in a non-league game Thursday.
Interboro 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 0-0-23-0 23
HATBORO-HORSHAM 27, SPRINGFIELD TWP 0
The Hatters – operating on all cylinders on both sides of the football – opened up a 20-0 halftime lead on their way to the big win in Friday’s non-league contest, knocking off a Spartan squad that entered the game with a pair of wins under its belt.
“This was huge,” HH coach Tom Butts said. “I’m excited for our kids. They’ve worked so hard. It was a long week. We (practiced) at night a couple of times because of the heat, and they’re not getting home until eight o’clock at night.
“The first week of school is always tough for kids because they’re going through that grind of being in school for seven-and-a-half hours and then they’ve got to jump on the field, and to get pushed back tonight makes it even longer. Our kids just work really hard. I’m proud of them.”
It was a night of big plays for the Hatters, who got on the scoreboard in the opening quarter on Luke Foley’s 41-yard touchdown run.
“We were a little more explosive,” Butts said. “The last couple of weeks, we were more ground and pound and had some 13 or 14-play drives. We were a little more explosive tonight, which was nice to see.”
Quarterback Chris Roughton connected with Mason Bynum for a 36-yard seam pass for a touchdown, and near the end of the first half, Bynum ripped off an 89-yard touchdown run to send the Hatters into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
Junior Jackson Minch scored the only touchdown of the second half on a seven -yard run for the 27-0 final.
“He’s a pretty neat story,” Butts said of Minch. “He’s a kid that’s been a jayvee kid for us, and he’s been scout player of the week for us in the past.
“We’re a little banged up right now – we have a lot of kids going both ways, and he was a kid that came in and spelled some of our kids that have been playing a lot. He played really, really well, blocked well for us. It was really neat to see him get in and get a score.”
The Hatters’ coach acknowledged several catlysts on defense as well.
“Roman Marinucci had a really good game for us,” Butts said of his senior defensive lineman. “Jaxson Bumpus is our middle linebacker, and he’s really settled into his role of being the quarterback of the defense.
“Jaden Lebens had a big play for us. He tipped an option pitch and recovered it. I thought he was going to score. He tried to scoop it up, and it fell through his hands and landed on it.
“I’m super excited for the kids. They bought in – they’ve been fantastic.”
Hatboro-Horsham (2-1) will travel to William Tennent on Thursday, and Springfield Township (2-1) will host West Philadelphia on Thursday.
Springfield Twp 0-0-0-0 0
Hatboro-Horsham 7-13-0-7 27
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 34, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 0
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