Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. Pennsbury/Penn Wood photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule, CB South/CR North photos provided by Lisa Henderson and Upper Moreland/Tennent photos courtesy of Jon Sklut, North Penn/Downingtown East photos courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE FOR A DIRECT LINK TO OUR GALLERIES. Check back for photos of all three games. Neshaminy/Pennridge photos courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p587076626).
Stats used in the wraps are provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier. For complete high school football coverage, visit the web sites: http://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school/fall/football/ and http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/fall/football/)
NESHAMINY 23, PENNRIDGE 14
The Rams traveled to Heartbreak Ridge looking for revenge after dropping a pair of games to the Redskins last season. What they got instead was more heartbreak, thanks to a Redskins’ defense that simply would not be denied.
“We knew it was going to be a battle and it was a battle, a physical battle,” Neshaminy coach Steve Wilmot said. “In the end, I think the difference was our defense. I think our defense played real well.”
A week after turning an interception into the game-winning touchdown in a 14-7 win over Roman Catholic, Marcus Griffin had a pair of interceptions.
“Those turnovers were key,” Wilmot said. “I think our defensive line held up against their very large and physical offensive line, and we made tackles when we had to with the linebackers.”
Providing the muscle up front on the Redskins’ defensive line were Luke Hitchen, Lou DiFrancesco, Gio Figueroa and Nick Silenok.
“The difference tonight was our defense,” Wilmot said. “At the end of the day, they graduated some people and we graduated some people, so there’s new people on both sides.
“We were familiar with what defense they were going to give us and what offense they were going to give us and probably vice versa.”
Sophomore Brody McAndrew found Cory Joyce for a 35-yard touchdown pass that gave the Redskins an early 6-0 lead, but the Rams answered when senior Josh Pinkney raced 70 yards for the score and – after a successful two-point conversion – an 8-6 Pennridge lead. An interception by Griffin set the stage for a 27-yard field goal by Matt Leonhauser that put the Redskins on top 9-8.
Another McAndrew to Joyce connection for a TD put the Redskins on top 16-8, but the Rams answered with a touchdown drive that was capped with Pinkney taking it in from five yards out to make it a 16-14 game at the intermission.
That would be the Rams’ final hurrah, and the ‘Skins tacked on a third quarter touchdown when McAndrew punched it in from a yard out.
McAndrew accounted for the bulk of the Redskins’ offense, throwing for 296 yards.
“It’s not as clean on offense as it was last year, but with our 10th grade quarterback, he’s learning every week,” Wilmot said. “He’s got people to throw it to, and we gave him enough protection tonight. He’s just got to make his reads and put the ball in there. I think he executed pretty well tonight.
“Cory Joyce was key in the beginning. There wasn’t anything easy on offense, that’s for sure. Pennridge made sure nothing was easy.”
Neshaminy (2-0) will host Downingtown West on Friday, and Pennridge (1-1) will host Perkiomen Valley on Friday.
Pennridge 8-6-0-0 14
Neshaminy 6-10-7-0 23
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 19, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 14
Jake Reichwein bulled into the end zone from two yards out with 14.3 seconds remaining, propelling the Bucks to the stunning come-from-behind win.
“It was a little bit of a high stress game, for sure,” West coach Chas Cathers said. “I’m super proud of our kids’ effort.”
The Bucks marched 42 yards in the final three minutes to win it.
“They really did believe they could pull it out,” Cathers said. “They knew time was a-ticking and we were out of timeouts. It was now or never. It goes back to the hard work they put in during the offseason and the constant preaching of toughness and effort. It would have been easy to call it quits and stop playing, but they played to the bitter end. They stayed patient, and it ended up going in our direction.
“Council Rock South is a heck of a talented football team. I’m just proud of our effort. We just stayed the course. We faced adversity, but our kids came out and played with phenomenal effort and a great attitude. Overall, we’re very happy.”
In a second half that featured a whole lot of defense, it was the Bucks keeping Rock South off the scoreboard after the Hawks opened up a 14-6 halftime lead. Alex Vera had a hand in both Rock South scores in the first half, turning a 3-0 deficit into a Rock South lead with a 90-yard kickoff return. After Clarke Bittner connected on his second field goal of the half to make it a 7-6 game, Vera turned a Christian Jabbar pass into an 80-yard touchdown and an eight-point halftime lead.
The Golden Hawks still led by that score until Reichwein crossed the goal line with the game winner in the closing seconds.
“At halftime, we made some adjustments that we needed to,” Cathers said. “When we came out in the second half, we were able to move the ball a little bit more consistently.
“Our defense has just been playing very good, and really, we just kept on preaching to our kids that they have to have continuous effort and play four quarters. I’ll tell you what – they played every second of that football game.”
The Bucks’ defense limited the Golden Hawks to 193 yards of total offense. Jabbar accounted for 137 of those in the air. The Hawks had just four first downs.
“Our whole defense played phenomenal,” Cathers said. “They just played really played good assignment football, especially with an option team like Council Rock South.”
Reichwen led the Bucks with 107 rushing yards.
“Jake Reichwein came out in the second half and played pretty outstanding on offense,” Cathers said. “He’s been stellar on defense as well, but we wanted to give him the football a little bit more in the second half, and he did a nice job really pounding it in there.
“Josh Crecca did a nice job at the helm at quarterback.”
Ryan Moylan added 90 yards on the ground for the Bucks, who were coming off a win over Hatboro-Horsham.
“Right now, we’re just focusing on trying to get better,” Cathers said. “We preach to the kids – we’re not really worried about the opponent we’re going to face, we’re just worried about what we do each day and the steps we need to take to get better as a team.
“Of course, we’re happy with the wins, but we’re not going to be satisfied. We want to get better as a program and as a team. That’s our focus right now.”
Central Bucks West (2-0) will host Quakertown on Friday, and Council Rock South (1-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks South.
Central Bucks West 6-0-6-7 19
Council Rock South 7-7-0-0 14
QUAKERTOWN 16, SOUDERTON 13
One week after holding on for a tightly contested win over Central Bucks East, the Panthers were back at it again on Friday night, once again showing a flare for the dramatic.
With 3:16 remaining in regulation, the Panthers used a seven-yard touchdown run by Christian Patrick to erase a 13-8 deficit and then delivered one final defensive stop to eke out the emotional win that brought the 309 Bowl trophy back to Quakertown.
“We had the same thing last week – we knew what we needed to do, and I would say we sure as heck did it,” junior Nick Levinski said.
Long after the packed stands at Alumni Field had emptied, players gathered for photos around the large 309 Bowl trophy that is theirs for the next year.
“I told them I’m very proud of them – they played Quakertown football tonight, tough hardnosed football,” coach George Banas said. “Backs against the wall, we’re going to come out swinging.
“Luckily, we were able to beat a very good Souderton team tonight. To be 2-0 and beat two really good teams this year – mentally for a 15-18-year-old, it’s so valuable.”
Take away a late touchdown drive by Souderton that saw Jeremy Tammaro take it in from four yards out with 9:21 remaining, and the Panthers’ defense made life tough for the Indians.
“With their Wing-T offense, it’s reading guards a lot,” said Levinski. “Everyone was fired up and just wanted to go in.
“You can’t ask for much more than that in a team win. The whole defense was in just to stop them on every single down.”
Banas, it turns out, is more than a little familiar with the Wing-T.
“I love facing the Wing-T personally,” the Panthers’ coach said. “I played against it at Shippensburg for four years as an outside linebacker against our offense, so I know all the nuances of the Wing-T even thought I’ve never coached it on the offensive side, but I know how to defend it because I saw it every day.”
Banas credited Levinski – who delivered the stop on Souderton’s fourth down play after the Panthers took the lead - for coming up big all night.
“He’s a very intelligent football player,” he said of his inside linebacker. “He’s orchestrating our defense.
“He’s putting guys in positions they need to be, he’s making sure we get our checks, our bumps, our sets. He’s letting me know exactly what’s going on, and for him to do that as a junior is phenomenal.”
The Panthers’ coach also had high praise for defensive tackles Colby Benner and Nick Frasch.
“They don’t get a lot of publicity, but I think once they settled in tonight they did a great job of clogging up the middle in order for our guys to make plays,” Banas said, acknowledging also the strong play of defensive end Max Russell. “He was huge off the edge.”
Early on, the Panthers used a 28-yard Brad Bryan touchdown run and successful two-point conversion to go into halftime 8-6. Field goals of 26 and 28 yards by William Leyland accounted for the Indians’ only points.
The score stood until Tammaro’s TD run in the fourth quarter that gave the Indians the lead. Tammaro had several big runs on the drive, including a 33-yard burst on a fullback trap.
“We’ve been there before,” Levinski said. “We talked in the locker room about what happens when you face adversity.
“No one really put their head down. We said, ‘We’ve been in this situation before, and we know what we need to do to win.’”
The Panthers responded, and their second win of the young season was in the books.
“To get these wins is a huge deal to us,” Levinski said. “I’m just hoping it rides into the (conference) season.”
Bryan accounted for 151 yards of total offense while Patrick led the Panthers’ ground game with 94 yards.
Souderton quarterback Dean Dipisa had a huge night, throwing for 214 yards.
Matt Fugitt had another big night punting, averaging 49 yards on a pair of punts and pinning the Indians deep in their own territory.
“His punts tonight were phenomenal – put them inside the 20 a couple of times,” Banas said.
Quakertown (2-0) will be on the road at Central Bucks West Friday, and Souderton (1-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Souderton 3-3-0-7 13
Quakertown 8-0-0-8 16
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BENSALEM 19, WILLIAM TENNENT 14
The Owls needed a heroic fourth-quarter comeback to escape with a win over the pesky Panthers, who took a 14-7 lead into the final frame. An 11-yard touchdown run by Bensalem quarterback Drasaun Moore made it a 14-13 game after a failed two-point conversion, and the Owls took a lead they would not lose when Moore found Jarred O’Connell with an eight-yard touchdown pass.
Earlier, Moore, who scored from a yard out in the first quarter, sent the Owls into halftime with a 7-0 lead. The Panthers answered with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter – the first from Sean Bragen, who ran for 100 yards to lead the Panthers, and the second a 14-yard TD run from Tom Santiago.
Moore accounted for 121 yards of offense to lead the Owls.
Bensalem (2-0) will travel to Archbishop Carroll Friday, and William Tennent (0-2) will be on the road at Harry S Truman.
Bensalem 7-0-0-12 19
William Tennent 0-0-14-0 14
HATBORO-HORSHAM 21, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 17
The Hatters rebounded from a disappointing loss to Central Bucks West seven days earlier to defeat the visiting Patriots, but it took a heartstopping ending to pull this one out as Anthony Kwiatanowski saved the day when he caught a Chris Edwards pass and took it 58 yards into the end zone with 34.8 seconds remaining.
The Patriots led 10-7 at the intermission, erasing an early 7-0 Hatter lead with a Chad Guzzi touchdown run and a Mike Smigley 28-yard field goal. The Hatters’ first-quarter score came on a Josh Smith 40-yard touchdown run.
In the third quarter, the Hatters went on top 14-10 after Adam Suder took it in from one yard out, but East answered with an Evan O’Donnell 55-yard TD pass to Jake Novroski. For the second time in as many weeks, the Patriots saw a late lead slip away.
O’Donnell led the Patriots’ offense with 176 yards in the air.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-1) will be on the road at Souderton on Friday, and Central Bucks East (0-2) will travel to Methacton.
Central Bucks East 0-10-0-7 17
Hatboro-Horsham 7-0-7-7 21
ABINGTON 30, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0
The Ghosts dominated play on both sides of the football. While their defense limited the Colonials to just over 100 yards of total offense, Darryl Davis-McNeil rushed for 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Billy Griffenburg threw for 86 yards and two touchdowns – the first to Jackson Taylor and the second to Keith Hudoka from 16 yards out.
Abington (1-1) will travel to Cheltenham on Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-2) will host Norristown on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-0-0-0 0
Abington 7-7-14-2 30
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 35, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 7
It’s still early, but in two games into the season, the Titans have been nothing short of explosive, outscoring their opponents 73-13. In Friday’s non-league outing, the Titans opened up a 35-0 lead before the visiting Indians broke up their shutout bid with a fourth quarter score.
Ryan Watson led a balanced South rushing attack with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown. He also hauled in a 56-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to give the Titans a lead they would not lose. He added a second score on a 73-yard run, and then it was the defense’s turn to step up with Jason Horvath picking off a pass and returning it 41 yards for a TD and a 21-0 halftime lead.
Quarterback Jack Johns, who threw for 123 yards, had a 70-yard touchdown run, and Tom McLaughlin also scored on a TD run in the third quarter to send the Titans into the final frame with the 35-0 lead.
Robert Ranelli accounted for Rock North’s only touchdown.
Central Bucks South (2-0) will host Council Rock South on Friday, and Council Rock North (1-1) will host Penn Wood.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-7 7
Central Bucks South 7-14-14-0 35
PENNSBURY 41, PENN WOOD 28
The Falcons’ inspired offense picked up where it left off in last Friday’s win over Academy Park, torching Penn Wood’s defense for 41 points and 380 total yards of offense. Pennsbury took a 41-14 lead into the fourth quarter when its visitors scored a pair of meaningless touchdowns.
Quarterback Zach Demarchis was an efficient 7-for-10 for 139 yards and two touchdowns, spreading the ball around to seven receivers. He also had five carries for 62 yards.
Andrew Basalyga put the Falcons on the board with a two-yard TD plunge, and then it was Nassan Robbins taking it in from the two. Basalyga caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Demarchis, and JayVon McNeill scored from three yards out to put the Falcons on top 27-0 as everyone got into the act for the Falcons.
Pennsbury (2-0) will host North Penn on Friday.
Penn Wood 0-6-8-14 28
Pennsbury 7-20-14-0 41
WISSAHICKON 13, CENTRAL 7
Antaun Lloyd had a big night, scoring a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to propel the Trojans to the come-from-behind win. The win avenged last year’s 27-21 loss to Central.
Central scored the only touchdown of the first half and still led 7-0 heading into the final quarter when Lloyd took over. A long touchdown run knotted the score with 7:23 remaining, and his second with 48 seconds remaining on the clock gave the Trojans the dramatic win.
The Trojans’ defense once again stood tall with Central’s only touchdown in the second quarter coming on a fumble recovery.
Wissahickon (2-0) will be on the road at Pottsville on Friday.
Central 0-7-0-0 7
Wissahickon 0-0-0-13 13
HARRY S TRUMAN 35, AVON GROVE 12
The Tigers racked up 453 yards of total offense, racing to a 21-6 halftime lead and blowing the game wide open with 14 points in the third quarter.
Sayyid Saunders led the Tigers’ ground attack, carrying the ball just 11 times for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Enzo Poulson and David Akinwande both rushed for more than 90 yards on a night that saw the Tigers accumulate 377 yards on the ground. Quarterback Dylan Snelling accounted for over 100 total yards of offense.
The Tigers led 7-0 after one quarter, thanks for a 35-yard touchdown pass from Snelling to Javeer Peterson. Avon Grove made things briefly interesting, scoring to make it a 7-6 game, but Truman closed out the half with TD runs by Akinwande (3 yards) and Saunders (20 yards).
Harry S Truman (2-0) will host William Tennent on Friday.
Harry S Truman 7-14-14-0 35
Avon Grove 0-6-0-6 12
UPPER MORELAND 42, PHOENIXVILLE 7
The Golden Bears turned in another torrid offensive performance, following last week’s 41-14 rout of William Tennent with a romp over the Phantoms.
For those wondering what Caleb Mead would do for an encore after his breakout performance a week earlier, the junior running back had 179 yards and two touchdowns to lead the streaking Golden Bears. His performance was complimented by the strong outing of quarterback Brendan Olexa, who threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears put 20 unanswered points on the board in the opening quarter – Mead took it in from three yards out, Olexa found Bryan Mowery with a 40-yard TD pass, and Olexa scored on a 15-yard run. When Ronnie Perrelli scored on another 40-yard pass play from Olexa, the Bears led 27-0, and the rout was on.
Upper Moreland (2-0) will be on the road at Upper Perkiomen on Friday.
Upper Moreland 20-14-8-0 42
Phoenixville 0-7-0-0 7
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 31, UPPER DUBLIN 9
The Vikings exploded for 21 unanswered points after the Flying Cardinals took a 3-0 lead on Chris Barbera’s 19-yard field goal. By the time UD scored again on a 45-yard TD run by Malik Bootman, the Vikings were in command.
Upper Dublin (0-1) will host Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game next Friday.
Perkiomen Valley 7-21-0-3 31
Upper Dublin 3-6-0-0 9
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 61, NORTH PENN 44
The Knights, who took a 30-27 lead into halftime, accumulated 442 yards of total offense on Friday night. That was the good news.
The bad news was that the Cougars outscored the visiting Knights 34-14 in the second half. It is the second loss in as many outings for the Knights, who have allowed 64 points in the second half of their first two games combined.
A bright spot in the loss for North Penn was the unmistakable connection between quarterback Steve DePaul and Justis Henley. The Knights’ junior QB threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Henley hauled in 11 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Cougars, who gouged the Knights’ defense for 370 rushing yards, the loss avenged last year’s 23-7 loss to North Penn in the second game of the season.
North Penn (0-2) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Friday.
North Penn 10-20-7-7 44
Downingtown East 13-14-20-14 61
BISHOP McDEVITT 14, CHELTENHAM 13
The Panthers rallied from a 14-0 deficit to make it a one-point game after quarterback Jordan Gyabaah took it in from seven yards out late in Friday’s game. Bishop McDevitt stonewalled the Panthers’ two-point conversion attempt, forcing the Panthers to absorb the heartbreaking loss.
After McDevitt kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for three quarters, Gyabaah accounted for both Cheltenham touchdowns in the final frame.
Cheltenham (0-2) will host Abington next Friday.
Bishop McDevitt 7-0-0-7 14
Cheltenham 0-0-0-13 13
LOWER MERION 46, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 12
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