Photo provided courtesy of Kim Supko. https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f129542182
Football Forecast
Volume 1
By Scott Huff
Life involves a mixture of succusses and failures, and it is a philosophical acceptance of both.
Or in other words...
“You win some, you lose some.”
The Suburban One League opened the 2025 football season with a less than impressive cumulative record of 9-12.
The list of winners included Wissahickon, Neshaminy, Council Rock South, North Penn, Central Bucks East, Pennridge, Bensalem, Souderton, & Upper Moreland.
The list of losers included Upper Dublin, Central Bucks West, Central Bucks South, Council Rock North, Cheltenham, Quakertown, Pennsbury, Abington, Harry S Truman, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Hatboro-Horsham, & William Tennent.
But like they say…it’s still early.
Stay tuned.
I spy with my little eye…
Pennridge football fans who traveled to Bethlehem Liberty last Friday and watched the Rams collect a 31-21 victory might have noticed a familiar face on the Ram sideline.
Veteran Pennridge coach Jeff Hollenbach has joined head coach Kyle Beller’s staff as assistant. Hollenbach has two previous stints as head coach of the Rams and has a very impressive resume.
In his first stint with the Rams which began in 2004, Hollenbach was a spectacular 72-25 that included six titles in eight years and five 10-win seasons.
In his second stint with Pennridge which began in 2013, Hollenbach was 39-22 and finished his head coaching career with a magnificent 111-47 record.
P.S. – Hollenbach – a former standout quarterback and Ram graduate - is the grandfather of current quarterback Noah Keating. Keating – a 4-year starter with Pennridge – has committed to play at Marist University next year.
Who has the highest winning percentage in the history of the iconic Neshaminy High School football program?
Is it Mark Schmidt who coached the Redskins from 1995-2013 and won 70.9 percent of his games (161-66)? – No
How about Harry Franks who coached the Blue & Red from 1952-1959 and won 87.3 percent of his games (69-10-2)? – No
Is it John Petercuski who coached the Skins from 1960-1965 and won an incredible 98.3 percent of his games (59-1-5)? – No
And the answer is current Neshaminy head coach Nick Felus, who coached the Redskins to a 30-0 victory over Emmaus in his 2025 head coaching debut (1-0). – You can’t beat 100 percent.
Let’s set the ‘Way Back Machine’ to 2012…
Barack Obama was re-elected President of the United States.
Superstorm Sandy devastated the United States east coast.
There was the horrific shooting of children at Sandy Hook Elementary school.
Eggs cost $2.15 a dozen.
And it was the last time that Wissahickon defeated neighborhood rival Upper Dublin in football, 41-21.
Until 2025 as the Trojans ended its winning drought against the Flying Cardinals with a 21-16 opening week victory.
Let’s hope for more competition this year when the SOL National Conference has its cross-over games with the SOL Continental Conference.
Last season in the two weeks of cross-over games, the SOL National dominated the SOL Continental, winning 14 of the 16 games – and outscoring them by a wide 449-134 margin.
The lone Continental Conference winners in 2024 were Souderton over Central Bucks West (20-13) and Harry S Truman over Abington (7-6).
And the beat goes on…
SOL Cross-Over Games
Thursday – 7 pm
CR South Hawks (1-0) @ North Penn Knights (1-0)
Last Year:
North Penn 34 – CR South 6
Last Week:
Council Rock South opened the 2025 season with a 50-8 non-competitive victory over Philadelphia Public League opponent, Frankford. The Golden Hawks led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 50-0 at halftime.
North Penn opened its 2025 season with a competitive 42-21 victory over Ches-Mont power Downingtown East. Rylei Gray scored 3 touchdowns for the winners – Matt Pownall scored 2 touchdowns – and Jacob Garrett scored on a long distance scoop-and-score.
Prediction:
North Penn Knights 38 – CR South Golden Hawks14
Pennridge Rams (1-0) @ Bensalem Owls (1-0)
Last Year:
Pennridge 38 – Bensalem 27
Last Week:
Pennridge opened its 2025 season with a 31-21 payback victory over Bethlehem Liberty. Liberty routed the Rams 40-14 a season ago. The Rams rushed for 294 yards and received a 2-touchdown effort from Ryan Rowe, while Trevor Piciotti & Noah Keating added single scores. Luis Nune kicked a 31-yard field goal.
Bensalem opened the 2025 season with a 19-7 victory over Upper Darby. The scoring plays from the Owls came from Shane Varallo (30-yard TD reception), Aidan Mayfield (7-yard run), and Thomas Bailey (punt return). The only score against Bensalem came on a late 4th quarter touchdown by the Royals.
Prediction:
Pennridge Rams 34 – Bensalem Owls 24
Quakertown Panthers (0-1) @ Pennsbury Falcons (0-1)
Last Year:
Pennsbury 17 – Quakertown 7
Last Week:
Pennsbury opened its 2025 season with a 20-14 loss to Northampton. The Falcons led 14-6 at the half but were outscored 14-0 in the second half. Kaiden Brown and Jordan Brensinger each scored rushing touchdowns for Pennsbury.
Quakertown opened its 2025 season with a 35-14 loss to Southern Lehigh. The Panthers trailed 21-7 at the half. Kyle Roesner scored on a 1-yard run and Carter Tucholski scored on a 73-yard run.
Prediction:
Pennsbury 20 – Quakertown 10
Neshaminy Redskins (1-0) @ CR North Indians (0-1)
Last Year:
Neshaminy 34 – CR North 13
Last Week:
Neshaminy opened the 2025 season with a 30-0 victory over Emmaus. Michael Eckart thew a pair of TD passes – one to Nick Sassano – and another to Carter Clee. Eckart and Clee also scored rushing touchdowns for the Skins.
Council Rock North opened its season with a 21-6 loss to Upper Moreland. The good news for the Indians was that they led 6-0 early in the game.
Prediction:
Neshaminy Redskins 49 – CR North 13
Non-League Game
Wissahickon Trojans (1-0) @ Upper Merion (0-1)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Wissahickon opened the season with a 23-16 win over Upper Dublin. Evan Tolmie threw a pair of touchdown passes – one to Jason Murray Jr. – and the other to Xavier Johnson. Murray returned the second half kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown.
Upper Merion opened the 2025 season with a 21-20 loss to Lower Merion.
Prediction:
Wissahickon Trojans 28 – Upper Merion Vikings 17
West Chester Henderson (1-0) @ H-H Hatters (0-1)
Last Year:
West Chester Henderson 42 – Hatboro-Horsham 27
Last Week:
West Chester Henderson opened the 2025 season with a 40-35 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Hatboro-Horsham opened its 2025 season with a 42-21 loss to Marple Newtown.
Prediction:
West Chester Henderson Warriors 45 – H-H Hatters 20
Upper Moreland Bears (1-0) @ West Chester East (1-0)
Last Year:
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 21 – WC East Vikings 14
Last Week:
Upper Moreland opened its 2025 season with a 21-6 win over CR North. Larry Hughes scored on a pair of touchdown passes from David Adamski, while Elijah Moore scored on a TD run.
West Chester East opened its 2025 season with a 21-20 victory over Academy Park.
Prediction:
Upper Moreland Bears 24 – WC East Patriots 21
SOL Cross-Over Games
Friday – 7 pm
Souderton Indians (1-0) @ CB South Titans (0-1)
Last Year:
CB South 21 – Souderton 6
Last Week:
Souderton opened its 2025 season with a convincing 31-7 victory over Spring-Ford. Ben Walsh threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Timmy Meehan and scored on a 1-yard run. Caleb Moyer scored on a 57-yard run & Mike McCormick scored on a 4-yard run. Charlie Pisoni kicked a 22-yard field goal.
Central Bucks South opened the 2025 season with a wild 39-28 loss to Archbishop Wood. Last season the Titans won their first 12 games of the season before losing 21-19 to North Penn in the District One final. South rolled up 301 yards of total offense and received rushing touchdowns from Braylen Cape, Cade Crim, and Gavin Graham. Crim threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Ahuja. The Titans allowed 458 yards of total offense to Wood.
Prediction:
Central Bucks South Titans 35 – Souderton Indians 31
Central Bucks East (1-0) @ Cheltenham Panthers (0-1)
Last Year:
CB East 42 – Cheltenham 26
Last Week:
Central Bucks East opened its 2025 season with a 20-14 victory over Ridley. Alex White and Asher Green combined to return a kickoff 85 yards for a score. Mike Price and Hunter Pulford each scored rushing touchdowns for the Patriots.
Cheltenham opened its 2025 season with a 35-24 loss to Wilson West Lawn. The Panthers trailed 14-0 at the close of the first quarter and were down 28-12 at halftime. Cheltenham outscored Wilson West Lawn 12-7 in the second half.
Prediction:
Central Bucks East Patriots 31 – Cheltenham Panthers 20
Abington Ghosts (0-1) @ Truman Tigers (0-1)
Last Year:
Harry S Truman 7 – Abington 6
Last Week:
Abington opened its 2025 season with a 29-22 loss to Conrad Weiser. Kai Taylor scored on an18-yard run and also scored on a 14-yard pass from Miles Yocus. Yocus also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Turner.
Harry S Truman opened its 2025 season with a 41-7 loss Haverford. The one win for the Tigers last year was a 7-6 win over Abington.
Prediction:
Abington Ghosts 21 Harry S Truman 7
Upper Dublin Cardinals (0-1) @ CB West Bucks (0-1)
Last Year:
CB West 35 – Upper Dublin 14
Last Week:
Central Bucks West opened the season with a 26-20 loss to Easton. The Bucks trailed 19-0 after 3 quarters by rallied back on touchdown runs by Joey Craig, Louie Cipollo, and Nick Miletto.
Upper Dublin opened the season with a 21-16 loss to Wissahickon. Ron Shepard, who ran for a game-high 159 yards, opened the scoring with an early touchdown, but the Cardinals were held off the board until the final 10 seconds of the game.
Prediction:
Central Bucks West Bucks 28 - Upper Dublin Cardinals 14
Non-league games
Wilson West Lawn (1-0) @ Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-1)
Last Year:
Wilson West Lawn Bulldogs 21 – PW Colonials 7
Last Week:
Wilson West Lawn opened its 2025 season with a 35-24 victory over Cheltenham.
Plymouth Whitemarsh opened its 2015 season with a 40-35 loss to West Chester Henderson. The game was tied 21-21 a the half – PW led 35-34 – Henderson scored with 3 minutes left in the game seal the victory.
Prediction:
Plymouth Whitemarsh 24 – Wilson West Lawn 21
Overbrook Panthers (0-1) @ Springfield Spartans (0-0)
Last Year:
Did Not Play
Last Week:
Overbrook opened its 2025 season with a 44-6 loss to Ben Franklin.
Springfield did not play last week.
Prediction:
Springfield Spartans 35 – Overbrook Panthers 6
William Tennent Panthers (0-1) @ Methacton (0-1)
Last Year:
William Tennent 21 – Methacton Warriors 13
Last Week:
William Tennent opened its 2025 season with a 28-0 loss to Archbishop Carroll.
Methacton opened its 2025 season season with a 34-28 loss to Pottsgrove.
Prediction:
William Tennent Panthers 14 – Methacton Warriors 13
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