Check out all the results for SOL football teams in action on Friday night. To view photos of the CB East/CB West, North Penn/CB South and Pennsbury/Abington games, please visit the Photo Gallery. (Some of the stats used in the wraps below were provided courtesy of Calkins Media. For complete high school football coverage, please visit www.PhillyBurbs.com.)
Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 32, PENNRIDGE 29
No one saw it coming. Not even Souderton quarterback AJ Curotto
With two minutes remaining and the Indians – who trailed by three - staring at a fourth-and-two at their own 35, the senior QB assumed the Indians would play it safe.
“Walking over to the sidelines (for the play call), I wasn’t expecting to go deep at all,” Curotto said. “I was expecting we would just get the first down, keep the game alive and keep the ball moving.
“Coach walked right up to me and said, ‘We’re going for it. We’re going for it right here,’ and I was ecstatic. I thought it was a great call because no one in the stadium, not even me, was expecting that.”
Curotto found Manny Nieves streaking down the sidelines with a perfectly thrown pass, and Nieves did the rest, sprinting into the end zone for a touchdown that put the Indians on top 32-29 and sent the Indian faithful into a frenzy.
“It was just a great play,” Curotto said. “Manny ran a heck of a route and made a great catch. It looked like a finger tip catch.
“That play had nothing to do with me. Manny made a great catch, my offensive line gave me plenty of time – it was a beautiful pocket. They kept me clean for pretty much the entire night. I owe those guys all the credit in the world. I love my teammates so much. We’re a big family here at Souderton.”
And what were Curotto’s emotions as he watched the play unfold?
“I can’t even tell you,” he said. “It was sort of an out-of-body experience for me. It was like a dream. I’ve dreamed of that moment since I was a little kid.
“That kind of makes my career right now. I wouldn’t even have to play the next four games, and I’d be ecstatic. It was a dream come true being able to lead my team down for a win over Pennridge, our biggest rival. I don’t even know what to say.”
The win was the first of the season for the Indians, and there was no overstating how significant it was.
“This means everything,” coach Ed Gallagher said. “To be honest with you, this made our season. We have four games left on the schedule, and I hope we can win all four of them, but this made our season.
“We looked at this as an opportunity to get in the right direction. We’ve been getting better every week. I keep telling people that – ‘You just need to keep getting better every week, and good things will happen.’ We had as close to a full compliment of players tonight as we’ve had. I credit our kids.”
Almost as dramatic as the Indians’ late-game drive that won it was the drive that put the Rams on top 29-26. The drive featured a marvelous Matt Pasquale 51-yard pass to Micah Stutzman that set the stage for a Pasquale-to-Stutzman 13-yard touchdown pass, giving Pennridge a three-point lead with 1:50 showing on the clock.
The game was far from over as the Indians answered with an unforgettable game-winning drive that was capped with the electrifying Curotto to Nieves 65-yard TD pass.
“He’s a competitor,” Gallagher said of his senior QB. “I’d go into battle with him any day. He doesn’t come off the field – I don’t think he came out for a play on offense or defense today. Unless he’s dying or hurt, he doesn’t come out.”
Pasquale threw for more than 200 yards, 101 of those to Stutzman. Mike Class ran for 110 yards and a touchdown. Curotto threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns while running backs Blake Gular (94 yards) and Marcus Miller combined for 177 yards.
Friday’s game was high school football at its very best. Not only were the stands on both sides packed, the fence surrounding the field was lined with fans, and the two teams gave the 4,000-plus fans in attendance their money’s worth and then some.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Curotto said. “It was a fantastic atmosphere. Pennridge had a huge student section, we had a huge student section, and they were going back and forth all night.
“The bands were blaring. It was such a great atmosphere, and to be able to walk out of here with a win – I can’t even describe my emotions right now.”
He didn’t have to. The smile glued on his face said it all.
Souderton (1-5, 1-2 SOL) will travel to War Memorial Field for a Saturday afternoon game against Central Bucks East next week. Pennridge (4-2, 0-2) will host Central Bucks South on Friday night.
Pennridge 14-7-0-8 29
Souderton 7-13-6-6 32
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 42, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 34
The Patriots led 28-21 after Alex Gibson scored on an 80-yard run, but the Bucks answered with a pair of touchdowns passes by quarterback John Fitz, who threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns, to go into halftime with a 35-28 lead. In a second half that featured a whole lot more defense than the first, the Bucks opened up a 42-28 lead before the Patriots scored a fourth quarter TD.
Gibson had another monster night for the Patriots, accumulating 248 yards on the ground in the first half but managing only 45 in the second. He still finished the night with 293 yards rushing. Defensively, West’s Joe Ramos delivered a crucial interception in the second half.
The Bucks (5-1, 3-0 SOL) have won five straight. They will host Quakertown next Friday while the Patriots (2-4, 1-2) will host Souderton on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Field
Central Bucks West 14-21-7-0 42
Central Bucks East 21-7-0-6 34
NORTH PENN 35, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 28
(To read Scott Huff’s complete game story, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/article/content/berry-leads-knights-win-over-titans-0038272)
In a game that featured a whole lot of offense – 738 yards all told, it was the Knights emerging victorious. The Knights took a 21-14 lead into halftime, but the Titans knotted the score when Josh Adams raced 53 yards for a TD to open the second half. The Knights led 28-21 after Kris Akins scored on a three-yard run. They upped that lead to 35-21 on a two-yard TD burst by Luke Berry, who led the Knights with 193 yards and three touchdowns. Nyfease West added 186 yards on 22 carries. South’s Josh Adams had 95 yards before being sidelined in the third quarter.
North Penn (3-3, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham next Friday while South (4-2, 2-1) will travel to Pennridge.
North Penn 14-7-14-0 35
Central Bucks South 14-0-7-7 28
HATBORO-HORSHAM 26, QUAKERTOWN 19 (OT)
Quakertown took a 19-13 lead on a 12-yard run by quarterback Alec Vera early in the fourth quarter only to watch the Hatters rally to knot the score on a one-yard touchdown pass by Hatters’ quarterback Casey Walsh to Charlie Obrecht in the game’s closing seconds. The extra point for the win hit the upright, setting the stage for overtime. The Hatters won it with a pair of Jeff Panara runs for a touchdown in overtime.
Hatboro-Horsham (3-3, 1-2 SOL) will host North Penn next Friday while the Panthers (3-3, 0-2) travel to Central Bucks West. The Panthers have lost three straight after a 3-0 start.
National Conference
PENNSBURY 37, ABINGTON 0
The game may have still been in doubt, but by the end of the second quarter, it was clear whose game it was to lose.
Despite a slow start and only a 3-0 lead following a quarter-and-a-half of play, Pennsbury found its groove, first ripping off a 40-yard touchdown run by Charles Snorweah and then going into the half with not only a 10-0 lead, but a huge advantage in total yards, 153-58 after two quarters of play.
The early Pennsbury scores and the lack of any offense for most of the contest by Abington led to a 37-0 win for the Falcons over the Ghost in a Suburban One National Conference rivalry meeting at Abington High School’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Stadium on Friday night.
“We’re no joke. We’re ready to play anybody that wants it and they can come and get it,” said Snorweah, who finished with 94 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. “This game was huge because it didn’t just boost our momentum and confidence, but it sends a message to every other team in the district that we’re ready to play and we’re going to be better.”
In the third quarter, Abington again had trouble on offense and the Falcons (5-1, 3-0) used its ground-and-pound attack to put more points on the board, as Raheem Thompson ran in a score from 24 yards out midway through the third quarter to put Pennsbury up 17-0.
“Pennsbury was a huge test and they are a very good football team,” Abington coach Tim Sorber said. “I don’t know if they’re 37 points better than us, but they were better. They executed and they did a nice job of controlling the football and they played extremely well on defense while we couldn’t get anything going on offense.”
After Snorweah ran in his second touchdown run late in the third quarter, Pennsbury continued to rack up the points, scoring on a 41-yard pass from Breon Clark to D’Andre Cruz to put the Falcons up 30-0. A 68-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Cody Tabeek capped the scoring.
“I was not surprised at all by the outcome,” Snorweah said. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting it to be a blowout, but we knew we could win by a good margin. We knew that we were a better team and that we just had to come out, play strong, have no mental mistakes and have no turnovers and we did that. We expected our result.”
Besides Snorweah, a couple other Pennsbury backs put up big numbers on the stat sheets. Thompson rushed eight times for 51 yards and a score, while Clark ran six times for 52 yards.
Abington was led by Craig Reynolds, who rushed 18 times for 105 yards.
Overall, Pennsbury finished with 410 yards of total offense to only 122 for Abington.
When asked if he would’ve been happy with a 5-1 overall record if asked before the season, Sorber said, “No.”
“We want to be 6-0. We’re good enough to be 6-0. I think we’re a good enough football team to do the things we need to do to be 6-0, but it’s not the end of the world. You finish the regular season with one loss and you’re still in a great position to do other things.”
The win improved Pennsbury’s record to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, putting the Falcons in a tie for first place with Neshaminy, which also won on Friday night. The Falcons will host William Tennent next Friday while Abington will host Harry S Truman.
Pennsbury 3-7-13-14 37
Abington 0-0-0-0 0
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 28, HARRY S TRUMAN 13
The Golden Hawks won for the first time this season, opening up a 14-0 halftime lead and then holding off a Tiger comeback in the second half. Quarterback Greg Paprocki put the Hawks on the scoreboard with a six-yard run, and later in the half, a Joe Lauch interception set the stage for a 39-yard TD run by David Haun. A nine-yard touchdown run by Bobby Hill made it a 14-7 game, but Paprocki answered with his second TD run of the night, this one from 18 yards to put the Hawks on top 20-7. The two teams exchanged touchdowns to close out the game.
Rock South (1-5, 1-2 SOL) will host Neshaminy next Friday while the Tigers (2-4, 0-3) will travel to Abington.
Council Rock South 0-14-6-8 28
Harry S Truman 0-0-7-6 13
WILLIAM TENNENT 22, BENSALEM 21
Bensalem went on top 21-7 with just under 11 minutes remaining in regulation, but the Panthers scored a pair of touchdowns and made good on a two-point conversion in the final five minutes to earn the win. Alex Perks had a huge game for the Panthers, rushing for 176 yards, which included an 85-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds to make it a one-point game. He also scored on the ensuing two-point conversion.
Bensalem’s dangerous duo of Ian Pisarchuk (205 yards, 1 TD) and Alex Archangeli (140 yards, 1 TD) both had huge nights, but in the end, the night belonged to Perks and his Panther teammates.
Tennent (2-4, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury next Friday while the Owls (1-5, 1-2) will travel to Council Rock North.
NESHAMINY 42, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 20
The Redskins’ offense was operating on all cylinders, opening up a 28-6 halftime lead and extending that advantage to 42-6 before the Indians scored a pair of late touchdowns. Touchdown runs by Denny Lord (3 yards) and Blake Sullivan (1 yard) gave the ‘Skins a 14-0 advantage at the end of one quarter. Rock North quarterback Brandon McIlwain’s five yard touchdown run temporarily interrupted the Redskins’ offensive onslaught, but D’Andre Pollard took it in from five yards out, and then quarterback Tyler Wombaugh connected with Denzel Hughes for a 23-yard touchdown and a 28-6 halftime advantage.
Wombaugh found Hamill Pack with a five-yard TD pass to open the third quarter, and when Pollard, who ran for 194 yards, took it in from 24 yards out, the ‘Skins led 42-6.
If the ‘Skins running game wasn’t enough for opponents to deal with, Wombaugh completed 9-of-10 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
The ‘Skins (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South next Friday while the Indians (4-2, 1-2) will host Bensalem on Saturday afternoon.
Neshaminy 14-14-14-0 42
Council Rock North 0-6-8-6 20
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN SCORES 49 UNANSWERED POINTS IN ROUT OF CHELTENHAM
After Shaky First Quarter, Cardinals Defense Clamps Down on Panthers
By Jesse Bernstein for SuburbanOneSports.com
On Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Upper Dublin High School, John Lee and Co. put on a show. Lee rushed 16 times for 129 yards, adding two touchdowns along the way in a 49-14 Flying Cardinals win.
Early on, it seemed that Cheltenham junior running back Greg Morris would be too much for the Cardinals’ defense. On two of his first three carries, he outran everyone for touchdowns of 49 and 75 yards.
However, the Cardinals struck back quickly, scoring on a 15-yard floater from junior quarterback Ryan Stover - who played the first quarter over the regular starter, senior John Derr for undisclosed reasons - to senior tight end Marc Conran and a hard-earned 5-yard plunge by Kaleif Lee.
Stover, in his one quarter of action, completed 7 of 8 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. However, Upper Dublin coach Bret Stover said he had no inkling of keeping him in the game over Derr.
“John’s our quarterback, he’s my senior quarterback, and I’m happy that Ryan came in and played well,” the Cardinals’ coach said.
Both sides dug in for what was sure to be a high scoring affair.
It wasn’t meant to be.
The Cardinals’ defense, which had yielded 123 rushing yards to Morris in the first quarter, would hold him to just 30 the rest of the game, including a paltry two yards after halftime. On the sudden shift, coach Stover said, “Well, we got him under control. We made our adjustments.”
The stout Cardinals defensive line pressured Panthers senior quarterback Marcus Heimann into three turnovers in the second quarter. Led by Derr, the offense could only produce one touchdown in the quarter, giving the Cardinals a 21-14 lead heading into the half.
The offense really exploded in the third quarter, scoring two more touchdowns with relative ease. By the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were sending in subs. Two more touchdowns later, Upper Dublin was high-fiving and celebrating a 49-14 shellacking.
Upper Dublin improves to 6-0, (3-0 SOL), and the Panthers drop to 2-4, (1-2 SOL)
Upper Dublin 14-7-14-14 49
Cheltenham 14-0-0-0 14
Individual Stats:
Marcus Heimann: 5/13, 66 yards, 3 interceptions, 1 lost fumble, 4 rushes for 22 yards
John Derr: 4/13, 39 yards, 9 rushes for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns
Ryan Stover: 7/9, 100 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 rush for 2 yards
Greg Morris: 11 rushes for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1 reception for 40 yards, 0/1 passing with 1 interception
John Lee: 16 rushes for 129 yards, 2 touchdowns
Kaleif Lee: 7 rushes for 15 yards, 1 touchdown
UPPER MORELAND 21, NORRISTOWN 20
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Charlie Hooker ran 58 yards for a touchdown that – after Kyle Dolan’s extra point - put the Golden Bears on top 21-20. That score held until the final whistle. The Eagles led 13-7 at the end of one quarter, thanks to a three-yard TD run by quarterback Sonny Brewer and a 35-yard TD run by Isaiah Carter. The Golden Bears took a 14-13 lead into halftime only to watch the Eagles regain the lead with a third quarter TD.
Junior Tyler Whitmore rushed for 102 yards and one touchdown. Hooker threw for 162 yards and a TD.
The Golden Bears (3-3, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin next Friday while the Eagles (0-6, 0-3) will host Springfield next Saturday.
Norristown 13-0-7-0 20
Upper Moreland 7-7-0-7 21
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 44, WISSAHICKON 34
The Colonials once again had their dominant ground game on display. Manny Jones led the way for PW with 157 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Brian Afflick added 125 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, and Jose Mora-Vega had 76 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. He also had a pair of two-point conversions and hauled in a pair of passes for 31 yards and one TD. Quarterback Connor Hanlon had eight carries for 20 yards and also had a pair of two-point conversions on the ground. Hanlon finished the night 6-for-10 for 79 yards and two touchdowndowns. Jimmy Rodgers had three catches for 34 yards and one TD, and Luke Mascio had one catch for 14 yards. On the defensive side, Nafeese Nasir had an interception.
For the Trojans, quarterback Mike Marino was 11-for-21 for 136 yards and three touchdowns. Jared Reed was his favorite target with four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Kyle Stein led the Trojans with eight tackles and an interception.
The Colonials (4-2, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Merion next Friday. The Trojans (2-4, 1-2) will host Cheltenham.
SPRINGFIELD 33, UPPER MERION 31
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