By Scott Huff
And then there was one.
North Penn is the only team in the Suburban One League to be playing December football – yikes - December football.
The unbeaten Knights (13-0) will face Ridley (12-1) on Friday night at Coatesville for the PIAA District One title. The winner will face the winner of the LaSalle (11-1) versus Easton (13-1) game to be played on Saturday.
A North Penn-Ridley preview can be seen later in the week on SuburbanOneSports.com.
PIAA District One Final Prediction
North Penn Knights 24 – Ridley Green Raiders 14
The menu of Thanksgiving games was delectable.
Getting your kicks
Pennridge and Quakertown came down to the final play of the game with the Rams (6-6) edging the visiting Panthers (8-4), 31-28. It was the 80th meeting in the storied rivalry that dates back to 1930 with Pennridge holding a 49-26-5 lead in the series.
PHS junior Dan Caya drilled a 32-yard field goal with no time left on the Poppy Yoder scoreboard clock to secure the win.
“This was the first year ever that he kicked a football,” said Pennridge head coach Randy Cuthbert. “He has a strong leg, and I’ve watched him kick 50-yard field goals in practice.
“Dan is a soccer player first, but he has plenty of potential to be an excellent place kicker,” added Cuthbert. “He is probably the best player on the soccer team, and he has been a tremendous help to us this year.”
Caya was a first-year player for the Rams, while Quakertown also had a first-year player in place kicker Rachel Dolly.
The senior girls’ soccer player asked Panther head coach John Donnelly if she could come out for the football team this year, and last spring Donnelly gave her a tryout.
“Rachel played club soccer with Oliva O’Neill who kicked last season for Pennridge,” said Donnelly. “She is a very good soccer player, but I told her that I wouldn’t keep her on the team unless she was going to help us.
“During the spring, she was very accurate on her kicks,” added Donnelly. “So she came out this year, but it wasn’t until the last five games that she had an opportunity to kick.”
Quakertown place kicker Geoff DeLan was injured in the CB South game, and Dolly finished the kicking chores against South. She was a collective 15-15 against CB West, Souderton, Avon Grove, and Pennridge.
“Rachel had to make some pressure kicks,” said Donnelly. “And she wasn’t bashful. She gained the respect of the rest of her football team.”
Maybe it’s Dave Babb??
Pennridge athletic director Dave Babb was ‘in the house’ at Poppy Yoder Field in Perkasie as the Rams won a breathtaking 31-28 game over arch-rival Quakertown.
Last year, then Quakertown athletic director Dave Babb was ‘in the house’ at Alumni Field in Quakertown as the Panthers won thrilling 34-29 contest over archrival Pennridge.
Babb has packed up his briefcase this August and left Quakertown and headed south to Pennridge. It was odd seeing the well-liked Babb clad in Pennridge green rather than Quakertown blue.
“There were a lot of reasons why I left, and Pennridge was just a good opportunity for me,” said Babb. “The Thanksgiving Day game was definitely a weird feeling. I still live in Quakertown, and I see a lot of the players either in church, or across the street, or in the grocery store. I see them all over.
“Both teams played a great football game,” continued Babb. “Quakertown made it to the playoffs, and we had a tough team that refused to give up. Thanksgiving morning is like a Bowl Game for both teams.
“Both Quakertown and Pennridge are in the same conference, so the job is very similar,” added Babb. “I miss Quakertown, but I am very welcome here.”
And so you want to be a head coach
Hatboro-Horsham and Upper Moreland met for the 78th time on Thanksgiving morning with the Hatters (6-6) scoring late in the fourth period to edge the Golden Bears (5-6), 15-14. Hatboro-Horsham leads the series by a 51-21-6 margin.
The game pivoted on Hatter head coach Dave Sanderson decision to go for a two-point conversion to win the game after the second H-H touchdown, and with the Hatters trailing 14-13.
“There was no hesitation whatever,” said Sanderson. “We just wanted to win the football game right then and there.”
And the Hatters did just that.
Casey Saverio went into motion and latched on to the Matt Hollenbeck pass for the two-point conversion. Hollenbeck had just thrown a 28-yard scoring pass to Zach Shaner to put the Hatters in position to win the game.
A great call by Sanderson to go for two???????? Only if the Hatters convert – which they did.
Upper Moreland coach Adam Beach was faced with a fourth and one earlier in the period and elected to go for it. And why not? The Bears have one of the finest running backs in the area in Chris Smallwood.
“My thought there was to get a yard and win the game,” said Beach. “That was my mindset.”
Smallwood – who finished his spectacular career with 124 yards and a touchdown against the Hatters on a sloppier than sloppy field – was stopped short. The Hatters gained valuable field position and eventually won the game.
A bad call by Beach to go for the first down??????????? Only if the Bears didn’t convert – which they didn’t.
In the end, it is the players on the field – and not the head coach – that decides the football game.
Turkey Day Leftovers
Abington closed out its 2009 season with a 28-14 win over Cheltenham on Thanksgiving morning. The Ghosts – who lost to Neshaminy in the first round of the PIAA District One Playoffs – finished with an overall record of 8-3. The Panthers finished its season with an overall mark of 3-9.
Abington showcased one of the finest quarterback-wide receiver tandems in seniors Sam Kind and Anthony Hensley. The Dynamic Duo connected for a pair of touchdown passes against the Panthers – one of 43 yards – and the other of 7 yards. Kind also threw a 55-yard TD pass to Kevin Deal and scored on a 1-yard run.
Cheltenham running back Damin Finley came into the game as one of the premier runners in the entire Suburban One League. And Finley’s performance against the Ghosts did little to tarnish his image as he scored on a pair of sensational touchdown runs of 70 and 29 yards.
Harry S Truman concluded its first season under new head coach John Iannucci with a 28-21 loss to rival Conwell-Egan. The Tigers finished their season with a 3-9 record, while the Eagles ended at 6-5.
Truman finished the season with just 28 players as the Tigers attempt to rebuild their program. Truman ended the 2008 season with a record of 3-8. The meager record improvement this season included wins over Upper Dublin (12-6), William Tennent (35-0), and Stroudsburg (21-7). There were close losses, however, to both Cheltenham (7-6) and Bensalem (16-12).
The Tigers led Egan 21-14 going into the fourth period behind a fine effort by Drew Peterson. Peterson – who rushed for a team-high 120 yards on 20 carries – scored on runs of five and four yards. Travis Thomas also scored for Truman on a 20-yard run.
Suburban One Sports . Com
Final Top Ten
1. North Penn Knights (13-0)
2. Neshaminy Redskins (9-3)
3. Pennsbury Falcons (9-2)
4. Abington Galloping Ghosts (8-3)
5. Council Rock South Golden Hawks (8-3)
6. Norristown Eagles (9-2)
7. Quakertown Panthers (8-4)
8. Council Rock North Indians (6-5)
9. Souderton Indians (6-5)
10. Pennridge Rams (6-6)
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