Host #1 Pennridge never led in Friday night’s District One 6A title game against #2 North Penn.

Yet the Rams (12-2), down 21-14, had a chance: Pennridge possessed the ball at the Knights’ 49-yard line with 13 seconds left.

Ziyon Smith intercepted a long Pennridge pass attempt and the Knights ran out the clock for their first District title since 2016. They face juggernaut LaSalle next Friday in state semi-finals.

Pennridge made their first District final appearance since 2020. The Rams, who set a school record with three playoff wins, are winding down arguably their most successful season in the PIAA’s playoff era.

They still have one more game- Turkey Bowl 96- at home against Quakertown on Thanksgiving morning.

“This group is special. They’ve been special since the Greenjackets,” reflected head coach Kyle Beller emotionally. “If you ever sat in the room and talked with them, you’d know you’re around some really great young men. And that is the way they play. When they come to practice, they have fun but they get after it. They understand the process that needs to get done. They play with heart. They’re warriors.

“They play for the community and they know they are doing something bigger than just this year,” Beller continued. “They know their past and they know they are playing for the future kids who look up to them.”

North Penn exploited a short field on their opening drive. Navy signee Matthew Pownall’s 15-yard touchdown run put the Knights up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Rylei Gray’s 67-yard touchdown run extended North Penn’s lead to 14-0 minutes later.

The Rams retorted with a touchdown, marching 69 yards. Noah Keating and Ryan Rowe both converted a fourth down, and Will Dougherty carried three Knights with him on a 21-yard run to the NP-3. Trevor Picciotti pounded it in one play later to put Pennridge on the board.

“It was great to get some momentum there,” said Princeton-signee and co-captain Rowe. “The O line was blocking great and I give a lot of credit to them. The touchdown put us back in the game. We just have to get the job done next time.”

The Pennridge defense settled down. Michael Ferguson broke up a fourth down pass to give the Rams the ball back at their own 43. Chase Clontz ended another North Penn drive by pouncing on a fumble late in the second quarter.

“At halftime, we drew up some stuff to fix our mistakes,” Rowe noted. “We went into halftime like it was a fresh start.”

“We knew they were going to come in the personnel that they ran. We made some slight adjustments to take some things away,” Beller added. “We talked to the players to see what was working and we’ve done that all year: we talk to them. We started making plays and settled in a bit.”

Pennridge was unable to convert either stop into points however and North Penn entered the break with a 14-7 lead.

The Ram defense made a huge stop to open the second half. Pownall took the half’s second play 69 yards to the Ram-3. But on fourth-and-goal at the 1, Jackson Gregoire stuffed Pownall for a loss.

North Penn’s defense forced a three and out and the Knights got the ball in Pennridge territory. Pownall bounced right for a 16-yard touchdown to extend North Penn’s lead to 21-7.

Pennridge answered with a sharp, 64-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-two at the North Penn 3, Rowe took a pitch and muscled in to pay dirt, which cut the Knights’ lead to 21-14 with 4:46 remaining.

Dougherty led the Rams with 56 yards on eight carries. Keating hit seven different receivers for 11 completions on 25 attempts for 71 yards while adding 32 yards on the ground. Pownall’s 174 yards on 22 carries led all rushers. Gray added 94 yards on 10 rushes.

Pennridge used a great defense effort, and some mishandled kickoffs, to hang 28 second half points and beat North Penn 34-10 in week five. It marked the Rams’ first win over the Knights, a District finalist last year, since 2012.

Some things changed and some stayed the same since that September 19th game. What changed was North Penn- who responded by rattling off eight straight wins by an average margin of 25 points per game.

What stayed the same was the Pennridge defense: they had yielded barely 11 points per game over their last 11 games. Seven different Rams have three or more tackles per loss.

The Rams had just six giveaways over their last eight games prior to Friday. While no Ram had rushed for even 700 yards entering North Penn, Pennridge won by moving chains and having dual threat Keating keeping defenses honest with a strong and accurate arm.

“At the start of the season, we came out hot and really started believing in each other,” Rowe shared. “We knew this was a possibility since the chemistry on the team was so strong the whole time.”

Beller reflected on when he knew this was a special year. “Maybe when we played these guys the first time around,” he said thoughtfully. “I knew early on. With the way we played week one and battled week two, I knew there was something special about this group. And they just kept battling.”

If ever one single play changed the momentum of a multi-act football game, it was Will Dougherty’s hit in the second quarter. A hit that helped the host #1 Pennridge Rams (12-1) gut out a win in Friday’s District One 6A semi-final over #4 Coatesville 17-14.

Pennridge will host a surging North Penn- in a rematch of week 5’s Ram win- for the District title next Friday.

“What a game. That’s a phenomenal defense over there,” credited Pennridge head coach Kyle Beller. “They are awesome in person. We knew they were a heck of a football team. They would probably be undefeated if (quarterback Matt) Ortega hadn’t gotten hurt.”
Trailing 7-0, but having backed the Red Raiders to their own two, Pennridge’s Dougherty barreled running back Sage Bradshaw two yards deep in the end zone and drove him past the back line for a safety.

“I was just exploding through the line. I didn’t even know it was a safety at that moment until I saw I was in the end zone and my teammates were celebrating,” Dougherty remembered. “It changed the momentum of our team and our attitude in this game.”

On Pennridge’s next play, from a drive that started in Coatesville territory, Noah Keating hit Ryan Rowe on a wheel route. The Princeton-bound Rowe took it to the house and then took the pitch for the conversion to put the Rams up 10-7 midway in the second quarter. Pennridge would not relinquish the lead.

Coatesville received the opening second half kickoff, which they fumbled away to Pennridge’s Nate Derstine. The Rams completed an eight play, 38-yard drive when Keating hit Blake Landherr in the end zone on a one yard jump pass.

Coatesville’s Andre Watson answered immediately with a 59-yard touchdown run that cut the lead to 17-14. But there would be no more scoring in the game’s final quarter and a half.

Thomas Ginnetti’s pressure on Coatesville quarterback Matt Ortega impacted a throw that was picked off by Sean Leuthe, killing a drive. Michael Ferguson turned a Red Raider screen pass into a four-yard loss, forcing a punt on the next Coatesville drive.

“All year, every game, it has been: who is going to make the big play. In the first District playoff game, a senior who didn’t play much has to go in and causes a huge fumble. Every time, it has been like that,” Beller pointed out.

Coatesville moved the ball to the Ram-40 with 40 seconds left, but the fourth down pass fell incomplete and Keating knelt into victory formation.
“It’s who they’ve been and who they are. They grind it out,” Beller noted. “They’re a great bunch of kids. They’ve put in the work and they bought in three years ago. They believe.”

Keating completed 11 of 22 passes for 96 yards. Coatesville outgained the Rams by nearly 100 yards, but Pennridge’s plus three turnover ratio and mistake limiting football couldn’t be overcome.

“Honestly, it’s the same thing week in and week out. We’ll hit reset on Monday and make some minor tweaks,” Beller shared. “But we do what we do and I think it helped us stay level headed.”

Sophomore Trevor Picciotti led the Rams with 12 carries for 65 yards. Picciotti, who got nicked up late in the game, had to replace Rowe who had also gotten hurt.

Third running back option? No sweat for a deep Pennridge team.

“All of these players on this team know it is the next man up,” Dougherty said. “One person doesn’t make our entire team. We keep chugging away.”

The Rams opened this season winning two high scoring affairs against Liberty and Bensalem. But since then, Pennridge has embarked on an 11 game stretch where they yielded just 11.3 PPG.

On Friday, Pennridge surrendered three explosive plays. Coatesville got just 137 yards on their other 46 plays.

“We were very physical,” said senior lineman Ian Gallagher. “We were able to hold them when we had to. They broke off a couple of plays but we came out with the victory.”

Pennridge did this despite surrendering size. 6’6” 300 pound Coatesville lineman Max Hiller is rated by some services as the top junior in Pennsylvania.

“Our game plan was to keep their big dudes under control and work around them to win the game,” Gallagher shared.

Pennridge held Downingtown East to just 86 yards in their second round win. Halloween was spooky indeed for the Rams. They needed a Rowe touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute to hold off upset minded #16 Plymouth-Whitemarsh 22-21 in the first round.

Gallagher reminded that this is now the first Pennridge team to win three playoff games. “The attitude and chemistry is the best since I’ve been in high school and it just carries on each week,” he said. “We keep getting better and better.”

#14 Owen J. Roberts had been moving the ball impressively through their first three drives at #11 Neshaminy (9-3) in Friday’s District One 6A quarterfinal. But midway through the second quarter, up 21-14, the Wildcats tried an ill-advised halfback option pass and it cost them.

Neshaminy standout lineman Owen Swartz turned it into a 10-yard loss and forced a punt.

“I just focused on my film and dialed in on my keys all week,” said Swartz, who had four tackles for loss. “I came in here expecting to do great things with my team. They ended up happening.”

It was the beginning of the end for OJR. Starting with Mike Sassano’s 19-yard touchdown pass that trimmed the Wildcat lead to 21-14, Neshaminy closed the game with 42 unanswered points. Michael Eckhart’s 11-yard screen pass to Carter Clee tied the game at 21 late in the half.

OJR, who had 216 yards in their first three drives, got just 91 for the rest of the game.

“Coaches and players all had to work together as a family to figure out what was going on wrong,” Swartz offered. “We made a couple of adjustments and it got the defense rolling.”
Meanwhile Neshaminy, who rallied from a 14-point deficit to win for the second straight week, was just getting going.

“We were down 14-0 against CB West,” Sassano reminded. “We knew that wasn’t going to stop us. We kept pushing and got into the end zone.”

“The team that gets better every week is going to win this thing,” Swartz predicted. When down “there was no pressure. We wanted to fix what was going on and work harder than the other team.”

Swartz ended OJR’s opening second half drive with a fourth down sack.  Three plays later, Eckart hit Mike Sassano on a beautiful crossing pattern for a 49-yard Neshaminy touchdown, and the hosts regained the lead 28-21.

“We had a slant called and I saw one of the outside linebackers blitz,” Sassano described. A Wildcat defender “ran across the field and I took off.”

Two consecutive plays late in the third quarter started to ice the game. Luke Howell pounced on a Wildcat fumble at the Neshaminy 35. “After that fumble, everything changed,” Sassano felt. “We knew what we had to do and we had to take care of business.”

One play later, Nick Sassano hauled in a tackle breaking, 36-yard completion. Eckart scored two plays later from the 17.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Clee powered in from the three on a drive highlighted by Eckart hitting Brock Williams in stride on a 45-yard bomb. It took Clee just two plays to get his next touchdown. Nick Sassano recovered the OJR fumble on the subsequent kickoff. Clee then slithered 38 yards to pay dirt to make the score 49- 21.

Clee had 12 carries for 149 yards and three touchdowns, with a fourth on a reception. Eckart completed 12 of 18 passes for 230 yards and added 89 yards rushing. Mike Sassano had two catches- both scores- for 68 yards. Williams caught five balls for 77 yards; Nick Sassano added four grabs for 74 yards.

Football is a game of inches. In last Friday’s opening round, OJR stopped #3 and defending District champion Downingtown West at the one-yard in the final minute to preserve a 10-7 win…and give Neshaminy a second round home game that few would have predicted.

Neshaminy (9-3) scored 21 points in all but two games. They boast a very balanced offense- Clee is a 1,000 yard rusher while Eckart had passed for 2262 yards entering Friday.

Five different Neshaminy players have over 300 receiving yards. And Eckart has been picked off just three times in 244 attempts.

The balance “gives everyone an opportunity and everyone has to be accounted for,” Mike Sassano said.

Neshaminy heads to #2 North Penn in next Friday’s District semi-final. The Knights, who have seven straight double-digit wins, fell 18-14 in Langhorne on September 12th. Eckart both ran and passed for over 100 yards.

Football is just a game, but Neshaminy’s run gives some positivity to a hurting community. Two Neshaminy students lost their lives last Friday and there was a pre-game moment of silence to honor them.

“It’s a rough topic. It’s a tough thing for everyone,” Mike Sassano shared. “We feel so sorry for the families. This gives us something to look forward to.”

The score of Friday night’s game- host Pennridge 15 and CB East 8- was close.

The yardage- 297 for Pennridge (8-1, 5-1 SOL National) and 271 for the Patriots- was close.

The number of plays were not. CB East (5-4, 2-4 SOL National) ran 34 plays. The Rams ran 62 plays, none more than 21 yards, and used that attrition to get the win.

“We’re a ground and pound offense and that is what our O line trains for,” said senior offensive lineman Shane Rowand. “We’re not the biggest O line but we give all we got. This week, we really focused on the basics and technique. It showed.”

Pennridge remained in first place in the SOL National.

Liam Hoey’s third effort 45-yard run brought the ball to the Pennridge 8 in East’s opening drive, but the Rams blocked the 25-yard field goal attempt and marched 92 yards the other way. Noah Keating hit Blake Landherr on a 21-yard touchdown to open the second quarter and Ryan Rowe’s two-point conversion made it 8-0.

“It was my first touchdown on varsity,” said Landherr, a sophomore. “It felt awesome. They are big guys over there but we kept chopping wood and carrying water.”

When East got the ball back, Hoey broke a tackle and raced 77 yards on an end around for a touchdown. Hunter Pulford’s pass to Sam Piszel knotted it at 8.

Pennridge converted a 4th and 2 on their subsequent drive which ended with Keating scoring on a 15-yard bootleg. The 15-8 score stood until game’s end.

Pulford’s 35-yard run fueled a late East second quarter drive. The Patriots’ fake field goal attempt was picked off by Sean Leuthe at the goal line.

East, who was pinned at their own six to start the 4th quarter, briefly surged into Pennridge territory. Leuthe forced a fumble that Landherr recovered at the Ram-49 with 6:30 remaining.

“I got beat inside a little bit but our corner (Leuthe) wrapped him up. I saw the ball and it bounced my way,” Landherr described.

The Rams drove to the East-16. Magnus Figueroa responded with two big tackles for loss, to set up third-and-17. Keating connected with Chase Clontz for 15 yards and the Patriots jumped offside during the field goal attempt, giving Pennridge a first down and three victory formation plays.

Trevor Picciotti paced Pennridge with 70 yards on 13 carries. Keating completed 11 of 16 passes for 141 yards. The story for East was the breakout of the slippery Hoey, a junior who ran for a career high 161 yards. Pulford added 88 yards on 12 lugs.

Pennridge had its best start since 1964- going 7-0- before a week eight loss to CB West. They entered Friday as the top ranked team in District One 6A.

Keating became the school’s all-time yardage leader against Abington on week six. He is the only Ram to accumulate 4,000 career rushing or passing yards. Keating teams with the running back stable of Will Dougherty, Ryan Rowe and Picciotti to give Pennridge multiple weapons.

“Every block that you do can turn into an amazing play,” Rowand noted. “I love having all of these options, and our backs and wide receivers absolutely make the best of the blocks we make.”

East opened 3-0 before losing dynamic junior running back Mike Price in week four. Price, who rushed for nearly 1,300 yards as a sophomore, was expected to be a key piece of the Patriot offense. Sophomore Pulford has stepped up, going over 1,000 total yards on Friday.

Defensively, senior Timmy Fuhrmeister set a CB East record with 5.5 tackles for loss in a week two win over Cheltenham- and nearly matched it five weeks later with five TFL against Abington.

East hosts archrival CB West next Friday; Pennridge hosts CB South to conclude the regular season.

27 points.

CB West defense didn’t yield it in their first five games.

Neshaminy’s offense broke that mark in four of their first five games.

Make it five of six on Friday night when quarterback Mike Eckart ran 72 yards for a third quarter touchdown to put Neshaminy (5-1, 3-0 SOL National) up 28-11 in their 28-18 homecoming wire to wire win over CB West.

Eckart ran or passed for all four Neshaminy touchdowns, capping off a night where he completed 11-of-16 passes for 187 yards and rushed for 130 yards on 16 carries. Eckart now has thrown 17 touchdowns in 104 attempts…against just one interception.

“First off, it’s the offensive linemen. They open up the holes. They match the physicality and make it really easy on me,” Eckart credited. “And our skill guys are the best of the best. They make plays all of the time. I know I can bet my life on them.”

Eckart connected with six different receivers. “In practice, we run a lot of reps on what we’re going to work on for the game that week,” the quarterback noted. “We practice plenty of times and our receivers work the hardest.”

Not that West (4-2, 2-1 National) didn’t make it interesting. In a battle of quicksilver quarterbacks, West’s Louie Cipolla answered with a 48-yard touchdown scamper of his own late in the third quarter.

West also drove into Neshaminy territory twice in the fourth quarter but were turned away both times, the second instance via a Carson Schneider red zone interception in the game’s final minutes to ice the contest.

“We knew they were good runners and they would try to take our weak side. Every time I would try and set the edge and 42 (West’s Nick Miletto) or 44 (Gavin Todd) would try and contain me. I was just trying to do my best,” noted junior defender Dan McGarrity, who had two tackles for loss in the second half and keyed the Neshaminy defensive effort. “I couldn’t do that without the rest of my teammates.”

Schneider recovered the fumbled opening kickoff, giving the hosts the ball at the West 33. Eckart called his own number from six yards out to put Neshaminy on the board for the game’s opening score.

Eckart connected with Bobby Lagler on an 83-yard bomb on Neshaminy’s next drive to extend the lead to 14-0.

“It was initially a quick gain thing,” Eckart described. “The pocket collapsed and our guys weren’t open at first. I saw Bobby snap off. He used his legs and was quicker than his guy. He got open and he made a big play. We needed it.”

Cipolla returned a Neshaminy punt 32 yards, giving West opening field position at the Neshaminy 42. Cipolla raced 24 yards for a touchdown four plays later and Todd pounded in the conversion to cut the lead to 14-8.

Mason Darrows’ 36-yard field goal with 2:48 left in the half further ate into the Neshaminy lead. The scoring drive was set up by a Cipolla to Jack Wilson 39-yard bomb.

But Neshaminy answered with a six play, 83-yard drive that featured four chunk plays. None was chunkier than Eckart’s 31-yard screen pass to Carter Clee for a touchdown.

Talk about balance- Neshaminy entered Friday’s contest with just 30 fewer rushing yards than passing yards. They averaged just shy of 400 total yards per game. Clee grounded out 54 yards on 16 rushes.

For West, Cipolla ran 12 times for 94 yards. Wilson caught six balls for 71 yards and the Bucks utilized two quarterbacks in the second half.

“(Cipolla) is a good runner but we knew that when they put in the other quarterback (Josh George) that they were going probably try and take some shots,” McGarrity explained. “We were ready for that.”

The Bucks brought a four-game win streak into Langhorne- nearly five as West almost erased a 19-0 deficit in their opener against Easton.

“This was great,” McGarrity exclaimed post-game. “We knew it would be a war. They’re Central Bucks West and that is what they’re known for. But we’re Neshaminy and we want to win games and keep going- war after war.”

Both squads are home next Friday. Neshaminy will play the biggest game of first year coach Nick Felus’ young Langhorne career when they host unbeaten Pennridge. Pennsbury travels to CB West.

In 2024, CB South beat CB West on a walk-off Hail Mary.

In 2025, it was CB West- specifically Gavin Todd- who caught CB South’s Hail Mary at the Buck goal line with 10 seconds remaining to preserve the host Bucks’ (4-1, 2-0 National) 25-21 win on Friday night.

“It was tough,” admitted junior linebacker Nick Miletto. “We gave them some chances at the end of the game. It was a jump ball, just like last year. I actually dropped the ball but Gavin caught it and sealed the game.”

Miletto unofficially had eight tackles- including three for loss or no gain- but his nine-yard conversion on a fourth-and-two midway through the fourth quarter was one of the game’s critical plays. Miletto scored from two yards out with 3:22 left to put West up 25-21.

“I don’t think I’ve ever not been on a fourth and short,” shared Miletto, who had 29 important yards on eight carries, and embraces his battering ram role. “The play was Wham. I followed my blocker and the hole opened up.”

South recovered a fumble at the West-11 on the second play of the game. Three plays later, Gavin Graham punched it in from the two to put the Titans up 7-0.

West countered when quarterback Louie Cipollo slithered through the South line on a designed run and raced 80 yards for a touchdown to knot the game at 7.

South exploited another West miscue. After the Bucks seemingly forced a three-and-out, the Titans recovered a fumbled punt. Five plays after converting a fourth down, Graham rushed for a 14-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. West’s Mason Darrows closed the half’s scoring with a 27-yard field goal.

On a third-and-14 late in the third quarter, South quarterback Cade Crim kept it and ran 16 yards to the West-16 to keep the drive alive. Graham capped the drive by bludgeoning in from the one two plays into the fourth quarter for his third TD of the night.

Three plays later, Cipollo hit Owen Pudlo on a 57-yard bomb for a touchdown. Cipollo’s 8-yard strike to Darrows converted the two points and cut the Titan lead to 21-18.

“On my run, on our first drive nothing was working,” Cipollo offered. “On our second drive, I saw the break and opening, I cut back a little bit and then it was off to the races.

Cipollo added that the Bucks had worked on his bomb all week. In West’s opener, “against Easton, I missed it,” Cipollo continued, “so it felt good to hit it. We’re a run, run, run team which causes the safeties to play up. And then we can hit the Go ball.”

After the Pudlo touchdown, the Buck defense forced a three-and-out and took over at midfield with 8:18 left, which set up their final scoring drive.

Big plays were the hallmark of CB South’s (2-3, 1-1 National) first two wins: Graham, Crim and James Schaeffer all had touchdown runs or catches of 74+ yards over the prior fortnight. West kept things in front, with South’s longest play going for 24 yards.

“It was our game plan,” Miletto said. (South) “runs similar plays. It’s not that hard to play against; it’s trying to bring the guy to the ground. We had some trouble at first against a certain play but after halftime, we got a little better with it and from there, our pass defense did the job.”

After dropping their opener, CB West allowed just 22 points in their next three games- all wins- including handing Souderton the Big Red’s first shutout since 2017.

“After week one, we’ve been practicing a lot harder,” Cipollo said. “We’ve been making fewer mistakes and executing on our plays.”

Cipollo led all rushers with 146 yards on 13 carries. Graham eclipsed 100 yards- 103- on 23 carries. Crim completed 10-of-18 passes for 85 yards.

Both schools battle a Lower Bucks foe next Friday- CB West heads to Neshaminy as CB South hosts Pennsbury.

On a third and ten early in the fourth quarter, Council Rock South linebacker Nate Szydlik wrapped up Cheltenham quarterback Kendall Jackson for a loss of 11 that forced the Panthers to punt from their own end zone.

When that punt was returned to the Cheltenham-13, Szydlik took the first down handoff in for a touchdown to put the host Golden Hawks up 28-20.

That is what all-state players do. Szydlik, who had 17 tackles for loss last year, made the Pennsylvania Football Writers All-State squad last fall.

That score held as the final as CR South (3-1, 1-0 SOL Continental) scored the final 22 points in both team’s divisional opener. Szydlik, back after being injured in the first quarter of South’s first game, had 133 yards on eight touches and two huge sacks on defense.

“I’m ready to go and excited for the year,” exclaimed Szydlik, who has already received several FCS offers.

South dug themselves an early hole. Cheltenham (1-3, 0-1 Continental) brought the SOL Player of Week 3 into Newtown with James Smith, who scored in the Panthers’ September 5th upset over Neshaminy with a pick-six, run and kickoff return. Smith ran for a 19-yard touchdown on the game’s first drive and added a pick-six six plays later.

He nearly duplicated his three-way touchdown feat but a punt returned for touchdown was called back for a hold.

Marley Emerson hit Joey Madara on a 15-yard score to put CR South on the board. Cheltenham countered with a Melo Stehman 3-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 20-7 halfway through the second.

And then the Panthers offense stopped. After racking up 191 first half yards, South shutout Cheltenham and surrendered just one first down in the second half.

“The second half, we cranked everything up. The defense yielded no points and we had plenty of three-and-outs,” explained Madara, who had two tackles for loss. “We turned it up and played better.”

“We started playing team football,” Szydlik added. “In the first half, we had guys trying to solo tackle. In the second half, the big thing in the locker room was everybody to the ball. And our DBs played great. They didn’t allow a lot of separation and our line got to their quarterback.”

Meanwhile, South chipped away. Shane Myers scored on a three-yard run, set up on a drive when Emerson to Szydlik converted on a 4th and 15.

“No matter what down it is, I am thinking touchdown and go score,” Szydlik offered. “Especially on fourth down, when your team needs you to make a play, go make one.”

Cheltenham drove to the South-10 late in the first half, but Szydlik sacked the Panthers out of field goal range; the Panther attempt from 29 was short.

“Before every play, I’m thinking: ‘Go do it. Go make a play.’ Our D line did great,” Szydlik said. “They created the hole for me. All I had to do was go in and make the tackle.”

Madara hauled in a 13-yard Emerson offering with 44 seconds left in the third to put the Golden Hawks up 21-20…for their first lead of the game and a lead that they would not surrender.

“It was the same play for both touchdowns, on the back side,” Madara noted. “(Marley) threw a heck of a ball both times. They were lasers.”

South has held their first four opponents to 21 or fewer points. Offensively, Emerson completed 8 of 14 passes for 107 yards.

CR South continues their four game homestand by hosting Upper Dublin next Friday.

Pennridge scored on their first six offensive possessions- and held visiting Harry S. Truman to just two first half first downs- in the Rams’ 41-12 dominance Friday night.

The Rams are now 3-0 for the first time since 2020. “It’s year three and you see consistency,” said third year coach Kyle Beller. “Offensively, Coach Hollenbach and his staff have some phenomenal game plans and it’s great to see them keeping people off balance.

“They are learning how to win: week in and week out,” Beller added.

Just 4:15 into the game Pennridge had only 36 total yards but 14 points. Devin Kelly recovered the opening pooched kickoff; a subsequent penalty gave the Rams starting field position at the Truman-24. Ryan Rowe punched it in from the six five plays later.

After forcing a 3-and-out, and pouncing on a fumbled punt snap, Pennridge quarterback Noah Keating hit Jackson Gregoire on a 17-yard touchdown pass one play later to make it 14-0.

At that point, the only remaining suspense was what Pennridge’s winning score would ultimately be.

Gregoire and Keating (4-for-6, 75 yards) connected again on a 21-yard scoring toss late in the first quarter. The Tigers had just two first quarter yards as Blake Landherr, Ian Gallagher and Rowe had multiple tackles for loss or no gain.

“We were physical up front,” Gallagher said. “We ran some blitzes and stunts but our base defense was beating them. We were more physical than they were.”

Keating ended a 45-yard drive by calling his own number from the one, making it 10 straight quarters where Pennridge has scored.

The Marist-bound quarterback’s tackle breaking, effort filled 14-yard touchdown scramble halfway in the second put the Rams up 35-0.

“That run started last year- week 10 against CB South,” Beller observed. “He started to run more and get that confidence level, and he’s done it all three games. That was a senior captain saying ‘I’m going to go score.’”

Brody Blomgren took a shovel pass 30 yards for Pennridge’s final score of the evening. Raheem Bradley and Luke Quitola both had fourth quarter touchdown runs for Truman.

The combination of playing just one half mixed with outstanding field position- Pennridge’s worst first half start was their own 44- limited Ram rushing stats. But Rowe (5 carries, 19 yards), Keating (5 carries, 39 yards) and William Dougherty (5 carries, 21 yards) spearheaded a run game that racked up over 500 yards in the Rams’ first two games.

“They’re awesome,” Beller said. “They all just do their job. They’ve all been playing for three years, they are all in the weight room and it’s showing now. They are three great options and it’s clicking.”

Pennridge averages 36 points per game. “Credit to the O-line: it’s been a great first three games rushing wise,” Keating shared. “At the beginning of the game, it was a little tough to get the run game going. They obviously watch film and saw that we can run the ball so they stacked the box. Once we got some passes off, they widened out.”

“Our run game has been very good. We have better chemistry this year, especially with our O line and D line,” noted Gallagher, a two-way lineman.

“Like Ian said, the team chemistry. Compared to the four years I’ve been here, this is the closest team by far,” Keating added, “and I think that translates onto the field. We’re a lot more physical and have a lot more experience, which has gotten us off to a good start.”

Pennridge plays their SOL National opener at Pennsbury this Friday. Truman hosts Souderton in their SOL Continental opener.

Note: Friday was the first time the Rams were home since playing their 1,000th football game – a season opening win at Bethlehem Liberty. Former Ram alumni were honored at halftime, including Keating’s father and grandfather.

“That was super cool,” Keating said. “Both of my uncles were out there too. It was really cool to see all of that Pennridge tradition.”

Vikings were known for their sea power.

But on Friday night in Warrington, the Archbishop Wood Vikings threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns in their 39-28 opening night win over host CB South.

“Watching film, we knew we would have to outscore them offensively,” said senior wide receiver Kenny Montgomery. “But we thought that we could. We took shots all game and it worked out at the end of the day.”

On Wood’s fifth play of the year, junior southpaw Jack Drakeley hit senior wide out Trey Smith on a 54 yard slant for a touchdown to put the Vikings up 7-0. The 6’4” Smith, who announced his commitment to Navy 24 hours before kickoff, did a fair impression of an F-14 with eight catches for 175 yards.

South answered with a 6-play, 50 yard drive ending in Braylen Cape’s 22-yard score. Wood retorted when Montgomery hauled in a 3rd and 14 pass, got a block, and went 49 yards for a touchdown.

Titan quarterback Cade Crim answered that with a 12-yard touchdown counter run to knot the score at 14.

South took the lead when Gavin Graham impressively raced 50 yards for a score with 9:47 left in the first half. Drakeley cooly responded with consecutive third down touchdown passes: 17 yards to Montgomery and two yards to David Robbins.

Wood led 26-21 at halftime. South appeared to gain momentum when Drakeley was forced to miss two series with a cramp. Momentum was short lived as Drakeley’s understudy, David Melcher, ran 57 yards for a score on only his third snap.

“We’ve got a good, strong rotation. We don’t have backups,” Montgomery pointed out. “It’s obviously good that we have guys who can step up like that and score.”

After South responded with a Dylan Ahuja 40-yard touchdown catch on fourth down, Melcher hit Montgomery on 4th and 17 for a 34-yard score with 11:04 left. Montgomery’s third TD grab put Wood up 39-28.

It was Wood’s fifth touchdown on third or fourth down. “It is our mentality. We played a lot of good competition in 7 on 7 this spring,” Drakeley noted. “We feel like we’ve been at it for a while and it’s our time to shine. Nothing fazes us.”

Drakeley, who re-entered the game in the fourth quarter, completed 14 of 26 passes for 246 yards and critically: no interceptions.

“This is just a reflection of the work we put in during the offseason,” Drakeley explained. “Coach Goettner had us working since January. I work with Kenny and Trey all the time. Kenny works his butt off. Trey is just a baller. And we have guys who didn’t even get into the game who can do the same thing. We’re on a roll right now.”

Montgomery hauled in five balls for 110 yards. “Kenny is great out of the slot and we felt today was going to be a big day for him,” Drakeley shared. “He is a nice shifty, receiver with great hands. Trey obviously is a deep threat and at 6’4”, he can go up and get any ball he wants. He was bringing over a safety tonight, which opened the field for the other guys.”

CB South, the defending SOL National champions, won their opening 12 games before falling in District semi-finals last season. South graduated a lot of talent but they return Cape- who ran for over 700 yards last year- and leading tackler Jack Bartolillo.

The Titans were able to run effectively. Graham and Cape each had 11 carries, picking up 91 and 64 yards respectively. Defensively, Titan linebacker Sean Bulicki and Wood senior Bill Davis heard their names frequently called as tacklers.

Wood had an unsightly 2-8 record last year…but had two wins and two one-point losses in their last six regular season games. Head coach Brian Goettner showed Friday that the 2025 version of Wood football looks very different than its predecessor.

Next Friday, Wood plays their home opener against Cardinal O’Hara while South hosts Souderton.

Special teams.

With four minutes left in the second quarter in Friday’s District One 6A quarterfinal and both offenses stuck in neutral, CB South head coach Tom Hetrick reached into his bag of tricks on 4th and 10.

Punter and backup quarterback Cade Crim lined up deep to kick and instead tossed a shovel pass to Braylen Cape, who raced 60 yards for a touchdown that put #1 South (12-0) up 14-0 against #8 Plymouth-Whitemarsh. The Titans cruised to a 35-0 win, earning them a semi-final date with #4 North Penn next Friday.

Those teams were pretty special after all.

“We have faith in our defense. If for some reason that play doesn’t hit, our defense has been playing very good football all year,” Hetrick shared. “We took our chances. Nobody is thinking you’re going to do that when there are ten yards to go. Cade Crim has a lot of moxie. He got the ball to Braylen Cape, who has been making plays for us all year.”

“I was ecstatic,” Crim shared when Hetrick called it. “We’ve been practicing that play the entire year. With playoffs, a big game and only 7-0, it was the perfect time to run it and we got a big momentum swing.”

Crim’s prior beautiful 42-yard punt set the stage for South’s first touchdown. He pinned the Colonials at their own four.

“I never punted before this year,” Crim admitted. “The special teams coordinator talked to me early in the year. Our starter was playing both ways and we needed another guy. The punt today just flowed off my foot.”

When P-W went three and out, giving the Titans a short field, South took advantage. Three plays later, quarterback Owen Pinkerton raced 20 yards for a score.

P-W twice marched deep- inside the Titan 22- in the second quarter. But South’s defense twice repulsed them, first by forcing a fourth down incompletion and then with Brandon Zubyk getting a huge fourth down sack on the Colonials’ next drive.

The Titans, who have allowed zero or single-digit points in their last seven games, held P-W to just 121 total yards.

“They are a tough, physical team. Our cornerbacks have great eyes and our defense is constantly getting pressure,” said Jimmy Wade, who joined Eddie Bowen, Nick Micewski, and Dan McCusker as Titans on the SOL National first-team defense. “Coaches draw up some great schemes and executing them gets the job done.”

The defense “really made it hard for their quarterback,” added Hetrick. “We were sound in the run game and we had bodies on bodies. We were covering guys on the back end and our front three and four were having a night.”

South could not have opened the second half any better. They used three runs of 14 yards or more to rip off a five-play, 62-yard drive. It ended with Wade’s eight-yard rushing touchdown.

“We lost some depth when Kaden Kube went down so I had to step up at running back,” said Wade, who ran six times for 67 yards. “I like it. I’m a fan of it.”

Wade knocked down a P-W fourth down pass and the Titans marched 41 yards in five plays. Pinkerton, who led the Titans with 88 yards on 17 carries, ran it in from the four with 52 seconds left in the third to put South up 27-0. The quarterback went over 1,000 rushing yards in last week’s playoff win over #16 Spring-Ford.

Cape ran it in from six yards and Matt Harmon scored the two-point conversion on a reverse with 9:31 remaining to start the running clock. Cape, who had 134 yards on 13 touches, has rushed for 600 yards and nine touchdowns in the last seven games.

“We made a couple of adjustments,” said Hetrick, who had high praise for P-W linebacker Kevin Hegarty. “Football is a game of individual plays. You just have to keep grinding and keep your nose down. I was real happy with our ability to stay the course.”

#3 CB West (10-2) will also be playing in a semi-final next Friday. The Bucks punched their ticket to #2 Downingtown West with a 35-21 quarterfinal win over #11 Downingtown East. Knotted at 14 at halftime, Vance Morelli returned a blocked kick 70 yards for a score and Ryan Clemens added a 50 yard touchdown run to put West up 28-14. Noah Miller scampered 45 yards for his second touchdown of the night early in the fourth quarter to extend the Buck lead to 35-21.