Check out the recaps for SOL football teams in action Friday. North Penn/UD photos courtesy of Brad Jenkins. PW/CB South photos courtesy of Jenn McDonald, CB East/Bensalem photos courtesy of Richard Owens, and Pennsbury/Archbishop Ryan photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for galleries. (CB West/Souderton photos courtesy of Marge Bullock: http://www.margebullock.com ) CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' FOOTBALL GALLERIES.
PENNRIDGE 27, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 10
(Game stats provided courtesy of Pennridge football)
In one of the week’s marquee SOL games, it was the visiting Rams pulling away in a tightly contested contest for the big road win, turning a 7-7 game into a 27-10 win.
“Honestly, I was most proud of our resilience,” Pennridge coach Kyle Beller said. “It was a back and forth first half, and I really thought the way we came out in the second half and just kind of settled in and played our brand of football. It was all three phases, and that’s what I was really happy with.”
Early on, the two teams exchanged touchdowns. Trevor Picciotti’s 10-yard touchdown run gave the Rams a 7-0 lead after one quarter.
The Golden Hawks had an answer when quarterback Cannon Benzio connected with DJ Andrzejewski on a 41-yard touchdown pass. Picciotti broke that 7-7 tie with a five-yard touchdown run, and the Rams led 20-7 after quarterback Aiden Tetowski found Nate Derstine for a 45-yard touchdown.
A pivotal moment came in the closing moments of the half.
“They threw a deep bomb, we got beat, and we hold them to a field goal,” Beller said.
Declan Barry’s 24-yard field goal made it a 20-10 game at halftime. A Matt Schafer touchdown from inside the one in the third quarter gave the Rams their final margin of victory.
It won’t show up on the scoreboard, but the Rams – according to their coach – did a masterful job of running time off the clock by maintaining possession in the second half.
In addition to Picciotti’s 116 yards and one touchdown, Tetowski completed eight of 13 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Nate Derstine had three receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.
“Aiden (Tetowski did a good job managing the game, making some big throws when he needed to,” Beller said. “Nate Derstine did a good job at receiver and also made some big plays.
“Trevor is just always falling forward, getting the hard yards. He almost broke one or two, but that’s a credit to them. That’s a really good football team, so to grind out that many yards on them – they really have a good defense. It was definitely time of possession, control the ball. That was really key, and he ran really hard and had a really nice night.
“The offensive line did a great job getting holes for Trevor and just fighting. Overall, I think the defense – just their hustle pursuit. We gave up some big plays in the first half, and just the way they came back in the second half. That’s a really good offense. They have some weapons. Overall, the team pursuit and staying with the game plan – I thought they did a nice job.”
With the win, the Rams improve to 3-0 entering SOL National Conference play.
“It’s a great spot to be in,” Beller said. “And I know it’s coach talk – I think we have a lot of things to fix and clean up. I’m sure every coach feel that way, especially early on.
“We didn’t have a great second half of practice yesterday. We’re still not practicing well. We just have to keep improving, so we’re where we need to be at the end of the year. Our league’s a grind, and we know that every game is a dogfight.”
For the Golden Hawks, Benzio completed eight of 22 pass attempts for 175 yards and one touchdown.
When it came to fourth-down efficiency, the Rams converted all three of their fourth down attempts while the Hawks did not on their only attempt. The Rams were 6-for-14 in third-down efficiency, and the Hawks were 1-for-7.
Pennridge finished with 245 yards total offense while the Hawks had 219.
Up next: Pennridge will host Central Bucks West in the SOL conference opener for both teams Friday, and Council Rock South will be on the road for its opener at Souderton on Friday.
Pennridge 7-13-7-0 27
Council Rock South 0-10-0-0 10
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 33, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
(Game info courtesy of Ed Morlock X: emor09, and game stats provided by PW football)
The Colonials continued their impressive early season run with their third win in as many
games, this one a shutout win over the visiting Titans.
The key, according to coach Dan Chang, was his team’s play in the trenches.
“I thought our offensive and defensive lines really led the way tonight,” the PW coach said. “We controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
“We got great performances defensively by Chase Tadeo, Maisen Wright, and Kyaire Lindsay - they were disrupting them all night on the D line.”
While the defensive line was stymying the Titans at every turn, the offensive line - comprised of Jack Jingoli (center), Brody Amplo, Liam Ward, Colin Calvanese, Max Montemayor and tight end Chase Tadeo - was creating holes for a PW running game that gashed the Titans for 320 yards.
“Our offensive line was moving guys tonight,” Chang said. “They were just really, really physical tonight.”
The Colonials - who have put 109 points on the board in just three games – got on the scoreboard less than five minutes in when quarterback Cole Reilly scored on a nine-yard run. A Max Peterson 32-yard field goal gave PW a 10-0 lead after one quarter, and early signs pointed to another big win by the Colonials.
“From the start, you could tell that our line was taking control,” Chang said. “And we just kind 
of rolled from there.”
By halftime, the Colonials led 19-0, adding a 29-yard Peterson field goal and a one-yard TD run by Michael Giangiulio. In the third quarter, Reilly found Peterson for a 48-yard TD reception and Reilly successfully ran it in on the two-point conversion. Another Giangiulio one-yard TD in the fourth quarter closed out the scoring.
Giangiulio led the PW ground game with 90 yards and two touchdown while Reilly threw for 72 and ran for 58 more and a touchdown. Aidan Orensky had six carries for 58 yards, and James Cain had four for 50 while Tristan O’Brien had one carry for 32 yards.
The Colonials had a pair of interceptions – one by Sam Montemayor and the other by Morgan Hulitt.
The Colonials limited the Titans to 157 yards total offense. Gavin Graham led the way with 73 yards on 17 carries.
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh begins conference play Friday at Quakertown on Friday, and Central Bucks South will host Abington on Friday.
Central Bucks South 0-0-0-0 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-9-8-6 33
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 62, BENSALEM 19
The Patriots were all but unstoppable on offense, scoring early and scoring often on their way to the mercy rule win.
“I think the real story was again we were clicking on offense,” CB East coach John Donnelly said. “We made some solid plays on special teams, which we really work hard at, so it was important to really kind of hit our stride heading into league play with Neshaminy next week.
“We’re pleased with the outcome and our performance, but we’re looking to have improvement every single week and make a big jump for next week.”
After Bensalem was three-and-out on its first possession, the Patriots went to work with quarterback Hunter Pulford throwing a screen pass to Cole Wojnicki, who raced 50 yards to the Owls’ 19. Mike Price ran it in from 19 yards, and the Patriots led 6-0 just three minutes into the game.
Bensalem responded with a 70-yard screen pass of its own to East’s 10. The drive was capped by Brennan Farnsworth taking it in from there, knotting the score 6-6 just 27 seconds after the Patriots took the game’s first lead.
Liam Hoey scored on a five-yard TD run that gave the Patriots a 14-6 lead, and after a Bensalem three-and-out, East quarterback Hunter Pulford ran it in from the 15, and it was 20-6 with 3:19 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Owls connected on a 75-yard screen pass for a touchdown to Jeremiah Lugo to make it a 20-12 game after one quarter.
It was more of the same in the second quarter.
Price scored from 10 yards out, and using some trickery on the successful two-point conversion, Alex Pullner connected with Owen Metzger, and the Patriots led 28-12. Another three-and-out for the Owls, set the stage for another East TD – this one on a six-yard run by Pulford that put the Patriots on top 35-12 with 5:27 remaining in the half.
That was still plenty of time for three more scores – the first on a Price run of 50-plus yards for a 42-12 lead. Bensalem answered with a 50-yard run of its own, capping the drive with a long touchdown pass.
With just over a minute remaining in the half, the Patriots put together another TD drive that culminated with Pulford finding Price on a 25-yard touchdown completion that sent East into halftime with a 49-19 lead.
A 60-yard touchdown run by Price put the Patriots on top 56-19, and a late score gave East its final margin of victory, 63-19.
“Coming off last week – we were really sloppy at times, and we really made that a major point of emphasis to just play cleaner this week, more 
efficiently, be more precise, which has really been a major point of emphasis this year - to be more precise and to hone in on that precision, especially on the offensive side of the ball,” Donnelly said. “Defensively, we were uncharacteristically not tackling well in the first half, and we were better in the second half with that.”
On a night that saw the Patriots put up 63 points, there were plenty of contributors.
“Mike Price is one of four running backs that ran the ball well night – Liam Hoey, Chase Ingram and Asher Green,” Donnelly said. “They all ran the ball with production tonight, which means the offensive line was blocking very well.
“Again, our perimeter players do a great job of blocking as well. I thought it was Hunter Pulford’s cleanest game. He was very efficient in the pass game and just ran the offense really, really well, so I was pleased with him because he’s still a young quarterback. Coming into his high school career, that wasn’t his natural position. He did a really good job as a sophomore last year and got pretty much a full season under his belt. I thought he really hit his stride tonight, and that bodes well for us heading into next week.”
In Thursday's win, Pulford was 6-for-7 for 159 yards and a touchdown. Price led East's ground game, finishing with 161 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
Up next: Central Bucks East will be on the road at Neshaminy Friday, and Bensalem will be on the road at Council Rock North.
Bensalem 12-7-0-0 19
Central Bucks East 20-29-0-14 63
PENNSBURY 16, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 0
Shutouts are a rare occurrence in football.
The Falcons have managed to throw two shutouts in three games to open the season. Twice in Friday’s win Ryan had first-and-goal inside the Falcons’ 10, and twice they were stonewalled.
“We came up with big stops,” Pennsbury coach John Greiner said. “Both times we were able to stymie them down there and change the momentum of the game, but to their credit, they kept fighting back, and we kept responding.
“We did enough on the offensive end, running the ball to keep the clock going in the second half, and our defense kept stopping them. We created a couple of turnovers, and in the end, we won the game 16-0.”
The Falcons got on the board early when – after a bad punt – they took over at the Ryan 30. Quarterback Jack Arndt delivered a huge play on third-and-14 when he connected with Bryce Krusen at the one. Two plays later, Arndt punched it in for the score.
After a botched punt gave the Falcons another short field, Luke Beighley scored on a 20-yard run for a touchdown that put the Falcons on top 14-0. A 25-yard field goal by Colin Wilds sent the Falcons into halftime with a 16-0 lead that stood the rest of the way.
“I thought being able to steal three points at the end of the half – we practice field goal situations, and Colin Wilds was able to nail a 25-yard field goal as time expired,” Greiner said. “I thought that was big. That created separation in terms of making it a two-point score game where we would have put pressure on them if they had scored.”
That field goal doesn’t happen if linebacker Noah McArdle had not delivered a huge play, returning a fumble 80 yards to the five-yard line to set the stage for the field goal.
“Nate Ketchum made the big defensive play there, causing the fumble, and the ball was rolling around in the turf, Noah alertly picked it up and went down the sideline with it,” Greiner said.
The Falcons’ entire defensive unit stole the spotlight, but there were several catalysts.
“Sam Comer was a catalyst in terms of getting edge pressure at the defensive tackle position,” Greiner said. “Justin LaRue and Henry Garlits manned the middle at linebacker, and both those guys did a tremendous job, so shoutouts to them.
“Then on the back end, Jacob Depew and Luke Beighley were able to hold tight in terms of the safety and strong safety positions. We got complimentary play from our noses, and we had a duo of noses with Jackson Coons and Gabe Navarreto and then Greg Campbell.”
The Falcons take a 2-1 record into next Friday’s SOL opener.
“It feels good to be in a position to go into the league with a winning record and week by week and building block by building block,” Greiner said. “We’re focus on North Penn starting tomorrow and into the weekend.
“Coach Beck has a great program up there as we all know, so we’re going to go up there and give it our best shot.”
Up next: Pennsbury will be on the road for Friday’s SOL opener at North Penn.
Archbishop Ryan 0-0-0-0 0
Pennsbury 13-3-0-0 16
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 35, SOUDERTON 14
Nick Miletto – on the heels of a three-touchdown performance against Wilson – scored on a 12-yard run with just under five minutes remaining in the opening quarter of Friday’s game at Souderton
It marked the beginning of a 35-0 tear by the Bucks, who rolled to their third win in as many outings.
A 57-yard touchdown pass from Josh George to Louie Cipollo upped West’s advantage to 14-0 in the opening moments of the second quarter. By halftime, the Bucks led 21-0, thanks to a touchdown in the closing minute when George found Braylen Cape with an 18-yard TD pass.
The Bucks added to their lead in the third quarter when Miletto scored his second TD of the game – this one from 43 yards. Cape scored on a 20-yard run early in the fourth quarter, and the Bucks led 35-0.
“I thought Braylen played his best game so far,” West coach Rob Rowan said. “He found the end zone twice, and he was running really hard and with good vision.
“I’m really proud of him. He just continues to get better and better every week, and I think that trend will continue.”
The Indians averted the shutout with a pair of late touchdowns, both by Stone McKenna. His first came on a 60-plus yard TD reception from quarterback Brett Pollock, and the second was an 85-yard run for the Souderton track star.
Rowan had high praise for his team’s defensive effort in the win.
“I thought our defensive effort was really strong,” the West coach said. “Overall, I was really proud of our guys’ mentality. We were on a short week after a pretty big game last Friday, and I was just proud of our guys’ ability to move on from that pretty quickly, get back to work and close the gap to where we’re at and what we believe our potential is. I was just really proud of their mentality and the way they came out tonight.
“It would be tough to single anybody out per se. Anytime you’re playing shutout football, that’s a real team effort. I just love the way our guys are flying around defensively right now. I thought all 11 guys were flying around. Guys were hitting and popping, and we were around the football all night, and that’s a good thing.”
Up next: Central Bucks West will travel to Pennridge for a battle of a pair of 3-0 teams in the SOL National Conference opener. Souderton will host Council Rock South on Friday.
Central Bucks West 7-14-7-7 35
Souderton 0-0-0-14 14
ABINGTON 38, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
Caleb Smith had himself a night to remember.
The Ghosts’ senior quarterback – in his first year behind center – had five touchdowns, rushing for four and throwing for one more while leading the Ghosts to their second win in as many games.
“I’m going to quote Scott Huff from his Football Forecast article today where he said we needed a mythical performance from Caleb Smith, and that’s what he gave us,” Abington coach Bruce Fleming said. “Everyone knows that Kai Taylor is our bell cow, and everyone is going to focus everything on him.
“So, we really focused in on Caleb making the right reads for his quarterback runs, and tonight, he did a great job of making the right reads to pull the ball when he needed to, and he’s very fast, so once he gets in the open field, it’s very hard to catch him.”
Smith’s passing TD was hauled in by Lucas Jordan, and EJ Dixon added a touchdown run.
While Smith was stealing the spotlight with his offensive heroics, the Ghosts’ defense was turning in a dazzling performance of its own.
“I’m going to give it to my entire defense,” Fleming said. “This is back-to-back weeks of pitching a shutout.
“We challenged the defensive line to take care of that triple option by Council Rock North, making sure the fullback doesn’t break out anywhere, so they stepped up to the challenge. I’m really proud of those guys.”
The Ghosts enter SOL Conference play with a 2-1 record, and it’s been quite a while since they won back-to-back games heading into the league season.
“It means a lot in the direction the program is turning into,” Fleming said. “It also means a lot to our community – the school community and just the community as a whole.
“The glory years of Abington are coming back and starting to show them that things are different. It took us a little time to get it going in the right direction, but I think we’re starting to get our stride a little bit.”
Up next: Abington will travel to Central Bucks South for next Friday’s SOL opener, and Council Rock North will host Bensalem Friday.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
Abington 13-13-12-0 38
NESHAMINY 28, QUAKERTOWN 21
It was a contest that couldn’t have started much better for the Panthers and much worse for the Redskins, who found themselves on the short end of a 21-0 score after just one quarter.
As it turned out, the game was far, far from over, thanks in no small part to some Brock Williams heroics as well as a Redskin defense that stymied the Panthers at every turn..
By halftime, the Redskins had trimmed that lead to 21-13, scoring their first TD on a nifty 42-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Angel Miranda to Bradley Dalessandro that made it a 21-6 game.
A shanked Panther punt gave the Redskins a short field, but they didn’t help themselves. Three straight penalties all but flipped the field, and a first-and-31 start for the Redskins resulted in a James Wehrheim interception.
The Panthers couldn’t capitalize and punted. Brock Williams picked up the rolling ball, surprising the Panthers and returning it 82 yards for a touchdown that made it a 21-13 game at the intermission.
After the Panthers’ third interception of the night – this one by Wehrheim, Quakertown took over inside their own five. The drive ended in disaster for the Panthers when Williams came up with a pick six, taking it to the house from the 19. The successful two-point conversion knotted the score at 21 apiece.
An electrifying 75-yard touchdown run by Williams early in the fourth quarter turned out to be the game-winner, giving the Redskins a 28-21 lead they would not lose.
Earlier in the game, the Panthers took a 7-0 lead on a 24-yard touchdown run by Daimon Lawonde-Richardson.
The Panthers upped their lead to 14-0 when quarterback Carter Tucholski found Wehrman wide open streaking down the sidelines for a 54-yard touchdown completion.
A Dominic Ferrugio interception of a Redskin screen pass gave the Panthers possession at the Neshaminy six. Two plays later Gavin Handschumacher turned a toss from four yards out into a TD, and the Panthers led 21-0 after one quarter. It turned out to be their last hurrah.
Williams finished with 223 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries in a stellar outing.
Up next: Neshaminy will host Central Bucks East in its SOL National Conference opener Friday, and Quakertown will host Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday.
Neshaminy 0-13-8-7 28
Quakertown 21-0-0-0 21
NORTH PENN 35, UPPER DUBLIN 0
(Game info provided courtesy of Andrew Robinson X: @ADRobinson3)
A depleted Upper Dublin squad – minus five senior starters – was no match for a North Penn
team that is expected to vie for the SOL National Conference crown.
The Knights scored all of their points in the opening half. They led 21-0 after one quarter and got on the scoreboard when – with five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter – Sal Colella returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown. A 22-yard TD run by Rylei Gray upped that advantage to 14-0, and then it was Gray hauling in a 37-yard TD pass from London Evans.
The Knights added a pair in the second quarter, thanks to a pair of Evans touchdown passes. His first was a 50-yard TD to Ziyon Gray and the second was a 39-yard pass to Gray for his third TD of the game.
Up next: North Penn will host Pennsbury in next Friday’s SOL opener, and Upper Dublin will host Hatboro-Horsham Friday.
North Penn 21-14-0-0 35
Upper Dublin 0-0-0-0 0
UPPER MORELAND 40, LOWER MORELAND 14
On paper, Upper Moreland was a clear favorite entering Thursday night’s non-league game against neighboring Lower Moreland. Adam Beach, however, wanted to dispel that thought before his players stepped onto the field.
“Football is a sport where you train so hard and you work year-round, and you’re only guaranteed ten games,” the UM coach said. “That was kind of our message. We’ve had some success early on, and here’s a team that we know - they’re close, and they’re well coached. They really are, and he (Dominic Gregorio) is building something there, and they’re getting better.
“We’ve got to go out there and prove ourselves every time we walk on the field. I told them - ‘Last week was a great win against a really big, tough Bensalem team, but no one cares. You’ve got to go out here tonight, and you’ve got to prove yourself all over again. Every time you walk on this field, you’ve got to prove yourself,’ and I was happy that they took that, and they went out and they proved themselves again. That was a good thing to see.”
The Golden Bears did all the proving they needed to do in the opening half, racing out a 21-0 lead after one quarter and upping that advantage to 40-0 by halftime.
Moore jumpstarted the Bears returning a punt 71 yards for a touchdown. Then it was Nick Melendez hauling in a 20-yard touchdown pass from David Adamski. Santino Rodriguez made it a 21-0 game after his 37-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, Moore scored on a one-yard run, and Rodriguez did the same, giving Upper Moreland its 40-0 lead.
Lower Moreland scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter when the outcome had been long since decided.
“We did some good things,” Beach said. “We did some things we got to work on, and it’s another step in our journey throughout the season.”
The UM coach went on to credit the play of three sophomores – Vincent Figueroa (defensive line), Sean Coulter (defensive end) and Nick Melendez (fullback/outside linebacker).
“Nick had a pick six last week, and he catches a touchdown this week and was making some defensive plays,” Beach said. “Sean Coulter and Vincent Figueroa were able to step in and give us some meaningful minutes as sophomores.
“It’s always good to see those guys take the step and kind of do it on the varsity level.”
Up next: Upper Moreland will host Penn Wood in a non-league game Friday.
Lower Moreland 0-0-0-14 14
Upper Moreland 21-19-0-0 40
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 14, WISSAHICKON 7
TRINITY 21, SPRINGFIELD TWP 20
PENN WOOD 14, HATBORO-HORSHAM 7
CHICHESTER 34, WILLIAM TENNENT 21
WEST PHILADELPHIA 34, HARRY S TRUMAN 7
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