Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com is once again recognizing a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Sept. 15, 2025)
Although Carly Scott was a natural all-around athlete, playing soccer and basketball as a youngster, Central Bucks South volleyball coach Kurt Godfrey always knew that she was born for his sport. When her older sister, Ashley, played for the Titans as a defensive specialist, a young Carly made an immediate and lasting impression. “I’ve known Carly since she was about six years old,” said the coach. “Even back then, you could tell that she was a kid who just leaves it all out there. I say we had to steal her away from soccer, but I think she was always a volleyball player at heart for her entire life. She would come to Ashley’s matches and ask to take a ball from the ball cart and would go into the hallway and set a ball against the wall for almost the entire match. She is one of those kids who loves the sport. You could tell from back then, from Day 1, how much she loved volleyball.”
Scott concurs and remembers those formative days well. “I also played soccer and basketball but, in fifth grade, my older sister who played volleyball just begged me to try out and play CYO, so I did,” she recalled. “That’s
when I said, ‘This is the sport for me.’ I never really loved soccer or basketball, but I just loved volleyball. I quit soccer and basketball right away, because all I wanted to do was to play volleyball.” Upon reflection, it’s now hard to believe that any other sport was ever remotely under consideration for Scott. “Volleyball is her life,” said Godfrey. “She’s that kid who, when she leaves practice the night before games, watches film on opponents. If she’s not watching film on opponents, she’s watching Nebraska play Penn State or Nebraska play Pitt. She lives and breathes volleyball. She is just one of those kids. You wish you had 14 of them who care as much as she does and who are as dedicated as she is. She, honestly, is a great kid who I am going to be very sad to be losing.”
Scott has been a starter at setter for four years, going through three straight tough seasons of single-digit wins before enjoying team and individual success as a senior. “I don’t know if I would have ever imagined her accomplishing what she has accomplished,” said Godfrey. “She has been an absolute rock in our program for the last four years. She is probably one of the hardest working kids that I’ve ever coached. I don’t know that I’ve had another player in my 10 years as head coach who has given as much heart and soul to this team. She is an unbelievable kid.”
As a two-year captain, as elected by her peers, Scott could not be more proud of the team and what it has achieved this season. “I feel like we worked so hard to grow this whole culture back of family, and it comes from hard work at every single practice,” she said. “Every one of those girls is so dedicated, and we really haven’t always had that in years past.”
Scott also plays club volleyball for VEVA (Vanguard Elite Volleyball Academy), still makes the time to get involved in several extracurricular activities. She books herself solid during the school year with the likes of Athletes Helping Athletes and Spanish Honor Society and Operation Eternal Gratitude.
The next stop for Scott is York College of Pennsylvania (YCP), where she will continue her volleyball career while pursuing a degree in secondary education. YCP, which plays at the Division III level, also has an excellent academic reputation. “She is an incredibly strong student,” said Godfrey. “That leads to her being a strong setter. I mean, really, setters are your quarterbacks out there on the court. They really are our leaders, whether they are elected captains or not. We look to our setters every play. They touch the ball on every play. Like I said, along with being a court captain and a team captain, she is also our emotional leader.”
To read Scott’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/carly-scott-00121586
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Sept. 15, 2025)
Hit or miss. Those were the two directions Will Dougherty figured his final high school football season could take. The Pennridge senior certainly could have been forgiven if he had leaned toward the ‘miss’ side after his Rams’ squad lost five straight to close out their 2024 season, including a 28-14 Thanksgiving Day loss to Quakertown. Dougherty, however, chose to do all he could to make his senior season a ‘hit.’ “I felt the need to be able to step up for my team in the offseason and really lock in because we knew it was our senior year,” he said. “During the banquet last year, I was recognized as a person who always led by example and did the little things right by last year’s offensive coordinator, coach West. So, when he said that, I knew I needed to be the one to step up.”
And step up he did. “He applied to be a captain of the football team, went through the interview process and was chosen by the interview committee,” Pennridge coach Kyle Beller said. “He’s a great leader for the team, and his play is phenomenal on the field on both sides. He’s a good student, he’s a great person. He’s one of the kids we have built this program around that does things right, that has really laid a solid foundation for us to get in the direction we are in.”
The direction the Rams have taken this season would have been all but impossible to imagine for even to the most optimistic Pennridge fan. The Rams finished atop the standings in the highly competitive SOL National. “This has been extremely unexpected with the outcome, but I knew we were gonna be better,” Dougherty said. “I just didn’t know how much better.” The senior captain has committed time to working with aspiring young players as well. “During the offseason, we had a bunch of early middle schoolers come to our weight room, and I would always – after our workouts – stay back and organize the middle school’s lifts,” Dougherty said. “I was able to teach everyone the form of all the lifts and stuff.”
Dougherty has been a key contributor at running back and on the defensive line. “He’s an old school football player on both sides of the ball,” Beller said. “He is a hundred miles nonstop every play.” While there’s certainly no denying the significance of time spent in the weight room and working tirelessly in the offseason, that – according to Dougherty - is not the only key to this year’s success. “It’s team bonding and chemistry,” Dougherty said. “Coach Beller emphasized to really take time and bond with the other players outside of football, and I feel like that had the most impact.”
A strong student, Dougherty is leaning toward a mechanical engineering major next year. These days, he has a co-op job at Bracalente Manufacturing in Trumbauersville. “I go to work during my tech school hours in the morning, then I go to school and then I go to football,” he said. Dougherty has his sights set on continuing his football career at the collegiate level. He is off to a good start with several D3 offers and a very real possibility of offers to play at a higher level. “I see myself being recruiting as a running back,” he said. “I know at my younger levels, I did start as a defensive line player because I was fast. Once I moved to running back, I tore it up on the field.” Dougherty’s ability running out of the backfield was on full display in Pennridge’s 36-33 win over Bensalem when he had 23 carries for173 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one reception for 54 yards and 1 TD. “Will has worked himself into the player he is today from his diet to his work ethic in the weight room,” Beller said. “This is a kid that stays after lifting and helps me work with the middle school kids in the offseason. Will has been absolutely awesome for this program the last three years. He’s a kid that just does everything right. “
To read Dougherty’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/william-dougherty-00121630
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