Cheltenham, Councill Rock North, William Tennent, Wissahickon, Springfield Twp, & Upper Moreland were winners this weekend. Springfield/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice Photography. Check back for a gallery of the game. Wissahickon photos courtesy of William David Tucker. To view a gallery, click on the link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p850291648
SOL Continental Conference
CHELTENHAM 31, BENSALEM 14
It had not been an easy week for the Panthers.
For starters, they were looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking defeat to Council Rock South in last week’s conference opener that saw them open up a 28-15 halftime lead only to watch that lead disappear in a 29-28 loss.
It turns out that loss was secondary to playing for their coach – Troy Gore, who is dealing with a family emergency of far greater significance.
“This was a must-win game,” said assistant coach DJ McFadden, who was filling in for Gore on the sidelines Friday night. “It was definitely a heartbreaking loss the week before with us being up at halftime by two scores.
“This week we came back and had a heartbreaking loss in our family. We had to coach without him for the first time, and that was tough in itself, but our kids – they promised that we would win this game for him, and it would be the turnaround to our season.
“Our kids fought and even went through a little adversity after halftime – us giving up back-to-back touchdowns. We finally put one in and scored. Our defense showed up. It was a team effort from the whole team to the coaching staff as well. They came together and rallied around each other and got the job done.”
The Panthers took a 20-0 lead into halftime only to watch the Owls get right back in the game with back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter.
“We scored and then scored again, and then the defense got stops,” McFadden said.
There were a whole lot of contributors in Friday’s win.
Wide receiver Mike Dunn had 150 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Jerry Higginbotham finished with 80 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Kendall Jackson threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the football, Sean Alston had two interceptions.
“He also had about nine tackles, so that was key,” McFadden said. “Cody Biddle-Peete showed up big. He had a couple of key tackles that led to stops on defense.
“Even on our back end – we got beat a few times, but the whole back end of our defense played a tremendous game.”
Comprising the back end were Kynique Washington, Jabriel Epps, Marcel Pagbaya and ‘J’ (James) Smith.
“They showed up big for us,” McFadden said. “Shamar Barksdale also had a big game. He had some big explosive plays.”
Cheltenham (1-4) will host Souderton on Friday.
Cheltenham 20-11 31
Bensalem 0-14 14
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 16, HARRY S TRUMAN 13
The Indians brought a welcome end to a four-game skid with a come-from-behind win over Truman Friday. It was not only the first win of the season for the Indians, but it also represented the first win for Brandon Garrett since taking over the helm.
“For our guys, the last couple of years – especially the seniors, it hasn’t been what they wanted in their high school season,” the Indians’ coach said. “Going into this season, we knew our first four games of the year were going to be tough – we’re playing Neshaminy, CB East, Upper Moreland and Upper Dublin who are all historically good programs.
“It’s a little demoralizing for the kids to know that they’re going up against these really good schools, but the energy in practice has been good. They understand that it’s going to be a battle. Going into this week, they had won this game the previous two years, so we did have a little bit of extra confidence going into the game.”
In the first quarter, the Indians took a 2-0 lead on a safety, the result of a Truman snapping miscue, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing after that. Two drives later, Truman’s Toure Mohammed came up with a pick six, intercepting a Rock North swing pass and returning it 45 yards for a touchdown and a 7-2 Truman lead. The Tigers took that five-point lead into halftime.
On the second play of the second half, junior Max Chernets forced a Truman fumble that was recovered by Michael Zarutskie, but the Indians came up empty. Later in the quarter, Will Duffy forced a fumble that was recovered by Tucker Martin, but the Indians failed to put points on the board and still trailed 7-2 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We had the ball six times within their 20-yard line in the first three quarters and did not score a point,” Garrett said. “We had the ball two times on the five-yard line and did not score a point.
“They did play pretty good defense within the 10-yard line, but we hurt ourselves. We had some bad snaps, we had some holding penalties, personnel issues here and there, not running where we were supposed to run. We had six or seven drives of four or four-and-a-half minutes but no points until the fourth quarter.”
The Indians finally got in the end zone in fourth quarter when junior running back Erik Ratkevicius scored his first of two touchdowns. On the first drive, the Indians were the beneficiary of two 15-yard penalties on the same play.
“That was a 30-yard penalty,” Garrett said. “Two plays later, Erik scored a touchdown to go up 10-7.”
Ratkevicius capped the drive with a 21-yard TD run, and his second touchdown was from 10 yards out.
The Indians opened up a 16-7 lead, before the Tigers scored a late TD for the 16-13 final.
"Our defense was the story of the game," Garrett said. "Our defense was incredible. Our coaches put together an incredible game plan for the week."
In the fourth quarter, Brady Pae had an interception at the Indians' 10-yard line.
"There were two or three series that sophomore Tommy Rapp and junior Marco Katsos were in at linebackers for their first reps in high school football," Garrett said. "Marco Katsos had about five tackles in the game, and Tommy Rapp also had a couple of tackles.
"The big story was our defensive line. Dexter Moore was one of our honorary captains for the game. He was incredible - he had two sacks, and they were getting ready to punt, and I don't know if he just got in so fast that the punter was scared and started to run with the ball. Dexter tackled him 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
"Our front seven - our line and our linebackers - were incredible, especially when you play a wing-t type of team that just runs the ball. They were flying to the ball."
Rock North's defensive dominance was underscored by the fact that its defense was on the field for just 38 snaps the entire game while its offense was on the field for 69 snaps.
"We had control of the ball the majority of the game - we just couldn't get those touchdowns when we needed them," Garrett said.
Comprising Rock North's defensive line were Michael Duffy, Will Duffy, Dexter Moore and Grant Capozzolli. Seeing action at linebacker - in addition to Katsos and Rapp - were Matt Chernets, Tommy Butler and Tucker Martin.
For the game, the Indians had 84 rushing yards and 164 passing yards. Garrett lauded the strong play of Ratkevisius, Chernets and Zarutskie on the offensive side of the football.
“They were huge in the game,” Garrett said. “Erik had the two touchdowns, Max Chernets was one of our tight ends who had three catches for 25 yards but in big spots, and Michael Zarutskie had six catches for 90 years – no touchdowns, but in the fourth quarter, he had a big 30-yard catch that pretty much sealed the deal.”
There was no mistaking the significance of getting that first win for the Indians.
“The SOL is an extremely hard conference to play in, and any win you can get by one or one hundred helps you in the standings,” Garrett said. “Getting that first win - the energy at Saturday morning’s practice – the kids were lively. It was much different than the last four Saturdays, for sure.”
Council Rock North (1-4, 1-1 SOL) will host Quakertown on Friday, and Harry S Truman (1-4, 0-2) will host Upper Dublin Friday.
Council Rock North 2-0-0-14 16
Harry S Truman 7-0-0-6 13
Non-league
WILLIAM TENNENT 14, JP McCASKEY 7
The Panthers made their journey to Lancaster worth the trip, notching a come-from-behind win in Friday’s non-league contest.
No one had a better night than senior Isaiah Rosario, who rushed for 220 yards and a touchdown in a stellar outing. Also, playing a starring role in the win was the Panthers’ defense.
“We had three goal line stands – two in the fourth quarter and one in the third quarter,” Tennent coach Colin Leach said. “All were four-down drives. They went for it on fourth down, and we stopped them every time.
“Rosario was just on fire. He played every snap on offense. He took a couple of big hits. He was huge kid on offense.
The game started out on a promising note when the Panthers took the opening kickoff into the red zone, but with the ball on McCaskey’s 18, an errant snap was recovered by the Red Tornado, whose ensuing drive was capped with a touchdown pass that gave the home team an early 7-0 lead.
The two teams exchanged punts until – late in the second quarter – senior linebacker Dan Ellis forced a fumble, and the Panthers recovered the ball near midfield. On fourth-and-eight and still trailing 7-0, Tennent went for it at McCaskey’s 42-yard line.
“Gavin Mensch hit AJ Alwan for a 13-yard completion for a first down,” Leach said. “Isaiah Rosario then took it 25 yards. Jakob Lindsey broke a run, and then Gavin Mensch scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 30 seconds left in the half.”
The Panthers went into halftime deadlocked 7-7.
After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, the Red Tornado’s drive stalled, but their punt pinned the Panthers at their own 13-yard line.
“On the first play from scrimmage, Isaiah Rosario broke free for an 86-yard run to the one-yard line,” Leach said. “He fell at the one-yard line. On the next play, we gave it back to him, and he scored a one-yard touchdown that made it 14-7.”
That score stood the rest of the way.
In addition to Rosario, Lindsey, a sophomore, had 10 carries for 49 yards. Mensch completed seven passes for 54 yards and also had one rushing touchdown. Frederic had 3 carries for 14 yards and one reception for seven, and Alwan had three receptions for 31 yards.
“AJ Alwan finally returned from injury to play his first game this year, so it was great to have him at the tight end position,” Leach said. “Joey Hebling, Derrek Gunther and Justin Frederic were all contributors on the offense to help out Gavin at quarterback. The offensive line played well -junior left tackle Dan Minetola, senior Nick Taylor at left guard, Sean Hazlett at center, Luke Gregin, a freshman, and Dan Ellis, a senior at right tackle."
On defense, Hazlett led the way with five tackles - four solo - and 1.5 tackle for loss. Hebling and Guenther also had four solo tackles.
William Tennent (2-3) will host Wissahickon in Friday’s SOL American Conference opener.
William Tennent 0-7-7-0 14
JP McCaskey 7-0-0-0 7
UPPER MORELAND 48, WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 7
The Golden Bears received contributions up and down their lineup on the way to a convincing win, their fifth of the season without a loss.
“It was a really good team win,” UM coach Adam Beach said. “Offense, defense, special teams – everyone was contributing. Guys were making plays in all facets of the game. It was a really good win for us as a team. We’re very happy with that.”
After the team’s exchanged possessions, a 40-yard punt return by Aidan Tuffy set the stage for the Golden Bears’ first score with 5:44 remaining in the opening quarter when Alex Foley connected with Larry Hughes for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
The two teams exchanged possessions, and then punting again became a factor. This time it was UM’s Luke Sword who was a difference maker.
“Luke Sword, who is an excellent kicker, booms a 40-yard bomb – way up into the lights,” Beach said. “Their kid muffs it, we get the ball inside the 20, we go in and we score on a 1-yard touchdown run by Aidan Tuffy, and it’s 14-0.”
The fun was just starting for the Golden Bears, and on the Warriors’ very next possession, Larry Hughes came up with an interception, setting up yet another Golden Bear score – this time a 16-yard touchdown pass from Foley to Braden Moore that put UM on top 21-0.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard on a 48-yard touchdown run to make it a 21-7 game, but the Golden Bears answered.
“We get the ball, and we have a very nice long drive, chew up a lot of clock, and we scored with 58 seconds to go in the half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Justin Valentin,” Beach said. “In 58 seconds, they get the ball, they go right down the field to the 1-yard line.
“They’re out of timeouts – the last play of the half, they decide to run. We have a great play on the goal line – a goal line stand by Alex Costanzo, and that’s where we went into halftime. That was big.”
In the third quarter, the Golden Bears had another long scoring drive – this one a 71-yard drive that was capped with a 9-yard touchdown run by Elijah Davis that put UM on top 35-7.
“The next time they get the ball – they snap the ball over the quarterback’s head, and Justin Valentin recovers it,” Beach said. “The next play is a 15-yard touchdown pass from Foley to Aidan Tuffy, and it’s 42-7, and now we’re in the mercy rule.
“They get the ball, and we call the dogs off obviously.”
Late in the game, the Warriors fumbled the shotgun snap. Junior John Allen scooped up the ball and ran 78 yards for the game’s final score. The Bears took a knee instead of going for the extra point.
“When John Allen scored, everyone was so happy for the kid – it was a great moment for us,” Beach said.
Upper Moreland (5-0) will host Springfield Twp to open SOL American Conference play Friday.
“We got league play this week – we’re looking forward to Springfield coming in,” Beach said. ”Our league is going to be good. We’re looking forward to it.”
Upper Moreland 7-21-7-13 48
WC Henderson 0-7-0-0 7
WISSAHICKON 52, INTERBORO 20
The Trojans wasted no time before taking control of Friday’s non-league contest, opening up a 21-0 lead after one quarter on their way to a big win over the visiting Buccaneers.
Connecting for a pair of those three early touchdowns were quarterback Nolan Pounds and wide receiver Xavier Johnson – one a 46-yard TD grab and the other a 62-yard touchdown reception.
Interboro made a brief run in the second quarter, pulling to within 28-20 by halftime.
“It was actually 28-0 halfway through the second quarter, and for whatever reason, at the 7:08 mark, we played a poor seven minutes there where we turned the ball over on a poor snap, we had a bad exchange,” Wissahickon coach Rory Graver said. “You have to give them credit as well. They came out and made plays in that time, but we really played a poor seven minutes there, but the positive thing is we responded at halftime and came out and played much better football.”
For the game, the Trojans accumulated 577 total yards and showed remarkable balance while doing it – finishing with 281 yards passing and 296 rushing yards.
Pounds put up impressive numbers yet again, completing 17 of 21 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He also had nine carries for 18 yards and one TD. Johnson had five receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Quasir Sampson had 14 carries for 89 yards and one touchdown. Kareem Lee had four carries for 53 yards and one touchdown. Tyree Chambers had three carries for 30 yards and one touchdown, and backup quarterback Evan Tolmie had one carry for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Also, key in the Trojans’ big win was Jimmy Murray Jr.
“He’s played well on both sides of the ball for us,” Graver said. “He’s our outside linebacker. He had a big screen pass that went around 63 yards. He’s kind of a do-it-all type guy for us this year.
"Rory DiJoseph-Testa - an inside linebacker for us - has been playing very well these last four weeks."
Friday’s win was the fourth straight for the Trojans since falling to Upper Dublin in their season opener.
Wissahickon (4-1) will travel to William Tennent for its SOL American Conference opener Friday.
“I think our conference is going to be a really competitive conference,” Graver said. “I think the important thing is that everyone’s ready. At this point, everyone is 0-0, so it doesn’t really matter what you did before. Each week is going to be a challenge for us.”
Wissahickon 28-24 52
Interboro 20-0 20
SPRINGFIELD TWP 35, LOWER MORELAND 0
Friday’s game against Lower Moreland wasn’t just another non-league contest on the Spartans’ schedule. With the Lions ranked above them in the District 1 4A power rankings, the Spartans had a little point to prove.
“We treat every game like a playoff game,” Springfield coach Chris Shelly said. “To us, Lower Moreland was a 4-0 team, and they were ahead of us in the playoff rankings, so we looked at it like – we’ve got to go beat them, and our kids took care of business.”
Did they ever.
One play was all it took for the Spartans to set the tone.
“The first play, Jack McGuckin hit Mekhi Paschall on a 61-yard touchdown pass,” Springfield Twp coach Chris Shelly said. “First play of the game – we took a shot. We felt we had the right matchup, and we got him.”
The Spartans led 7-0, and they were just getting started.
Then it was Zymir Small with a 12-yard touchdown run, and next it was CJ Johnson’s turn to get a piece of the action. The senior captain scored on a two-yard run, spotting the Spartans a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Johnson had an 85-yard touchdown run, and the final score came on a captain-to-captain connection with McGuckin hooking up with Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown reception, and a 35-0 lead heading into halftime. That score stood the rest of the way.
“It was good,” Shelly said. “Again, the sophomores and freshmen – the JV kids – got the shutout in the second half, so we were real happy.”
For the game, McGuckin was 9-for-11 for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson had four catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
In addition to scoring the game’s first TD, Paschall also had an interception.
Senior Bobby Hartman led the team with two sacks.
“It was good – we got out of there pretty much unscathed,” Shelly said. “And we got the W.
“We’re in a good position, but we’re facing a very good Upper Moreland team that is 5-0 at their place. We’re excited for the challenge.”
Springfield Twp (4-1) will travel to Upper Moreland for Friday’s SOL opener, and Lower Moreland (4-1) will host Academy of the New Church on Friday.
Lower Moreland 0-0-0-0 0
Springfield Twp 21-14-0-0 35
Saturday, Sept. 21
ACADEMY PARK 38, HATBORO-HORSHAM 27
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