Friday Night Highlights: Playoff Edition! Scores, stats, recaps from the first round
The playoffs are here and we sure had a wild opening weekend!
See how your favorite District One and Philadelphia Catholic League teams fared right here — and be sure to check back for updates as Saturday and Sunday's games go final and all weekend for final scores, stats, game recaps, photos and highlight videos.
District One Class 6A
First round games:
No. 1 Central Bucks West 27, No. 16 Cheltenham 12
After a scoreless first half, the top-seeded Bucks took control with a 24-point third quarter en route to the victory at War Memorial Field. Ryan Clemens (22 carries for 99 yards) ran for 6- and 41-yard touchdowns, as well as kicked 26- and 29-yard field goals. Cooper Taylor connected with Devin McGowan on a 32-yard TD pass. Tre McLeod had given Cheltenham a 6-0 lead with a 53-yard scoring run early in the second half. Speedy West senior Conor McFadden didn't play after the opening kickoff.
CB West (11-0) will host No. 8 Garnet Valley (9-3) next Friday night in a rematch of last fall's district title game, as well as this year's season opener. West won the opener 17-13, while Garnet Valley secured the 2022 district crown. See photos from the game here!
No. 3 Souderton 21, No. 14 Pennsbury 14
There were just three points scored in the first half, but that sure wasn't the case for the final three minutes of play. Jordan Brensinger rushed for a 52-yard touchdown and then ran for a successful two-point conversion that put the Falcons up 14-7. But Ryan Sadowski countered with a 15-yard run to tie it 14-14. With two minutes to go, Danny Dyches made a huge play on defense, grabbing an interception to give Souderton’s offense another shot. On the ensuing drive, Sadowski ran 27 yards into the end zone for the game-winning score. The season came to an end for the Falcons (5-6), who had many close games this season.
See photos from the game here!
No. 4 Spring-Ford 42, No. 13 North Penn 35
This first-round matchup featured everything you could want in a playoff game: an epic comeback, an underdog nearly pulling off an upset, and plenty of offense. The Knights rebounded from a 21-0 deficit to score three straight touchdowns to tie the game by halftime. The second half featured both teams trading touchdowns and lead changes.
Amir Major had a monster game, scoring four touchdowns for the Knights. Major put the Knights on the board with a 45-yard run, then scored on a 28-yard screen pass from Matt Bucksar. In the second half, Major scored twice more, on runs of 1 and 7 yards. Unfortunately, Bucksar had to leave the game with injury late in the fourth, which led to a stalled Knights’ drive. Spring-Ford’s Mike Bendowski scored the final TD in the final 30 seconds to give the Rams the win in a heartbreaker for the Knights.
No. 5 Central Bucks South 21, No. 12 Coatesville 20
The Titans held off a pesky Coatesville team, with Sean Moskowitz preventing a two-point conversion attempt in the final minute of play. Coatesville scored first, with Matt Ortega throwing a TD to Amir Hackett. But Anthony Leonardi quickly hauled in a 70-yard TD reception from Owen Pinkerton to tie it. Leonardi later scored on a 55-yard run to give the Titans a 14-7 halftime lead. After Hackett scored again to tie it up, Corey Moore scored a 28-yard rushing TD to put the Titans back on top. Coatesville scored again in the final minute, but couldn’t convert a two-point attempt.
No. 7 Perkiomen Valley 36, No. 10 Quakertown 26
Vince Micucci threw three touchdown passes as the Panthers held Perk Valley close until the fourth quarter, when the Vikings scored 21 straight points to take the win. Anthony Ferrugio hauled in two of Micucci’s touchdown passes, and Aiden Burgy caught a 28-yard TD reception. Ferrugio also returned an interception for a TD. The Panthers have another game to look forward to, as they will visit Pennridge in their annual Thanksgiving game.
No. 6 Downingtown West 17, No. 11 Council Rock South 0
District One Class 5A
First round games:
No. 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh 42, No. 13 Hatboro-Horsham 7
No. 1 Chester 44, No. 16 Upper Moreland 0
District One Class 2A
Championship game:
No. 1 Bristol 7, No. 2 New Hope-Solebury 6
Kendell Cottrell didn’t have four touchdowns, like he often does. He had one in Friday’s Class 2A championship game, and it helped the Warriors secure the title. After a scoreless first half, Cottrell (129 yards) rushed for a 62-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half. Nuke Beauplan kicked the PAT, which would turn out to be the game-winning point.
Lions’ senior Colin Fudala ran for 70 yards on 17 carries and scored New Hope-Solebury’s only touchdown. He also had an interception late in the fourth quarter that gave the Lions a chance, as well as pickinf up a sack.
Bristol will play West Catholic next weekend in a PIAA qualification game, while the season ended for the Lions (4-6), who improved on last year’s 2-7 record. See photos from the game here!
District One Class A
Championship game:
No. 1 Morrisville 20, No. 2 Jenkintown 0
The Bulldogs won the District One Class 2A championship, and they did it in record-breaking fashion. Junior running back Raymond Holman rushed for 268 yards, breaking the school’s single-game rushing record, per coach Mitch Cohen. The previous record belonged to standout Juan Jones, who had 249 yards in a 1997 game. In addition, Holman became Morrisville’s single-season rushing leader. Holman has rushed for 1,770 yards this season, breaking Jones’ school record of 1,609 yards in ’97.
In addition, the Bulldogs’ defense was stellar in the shutout, forcing four turnovers and holding Jenkintown to 131 yards. Alex Brown led the way with 11 tackles, while Icole Quirmolue had two interceptions and Zayden Gomez grabbed one. Shakur Dismukes had seven tackles and Ky'iere Rankins added six tackles.
Freshman Izire Caraway started the Bulldogs offense off with a touchdown run on their opening drive, and Holman followed with two rushing TDs.
Morrisville will play Lackawanna Trail next week in a District 1/2 subregional PIAA qualification game.
Philadelphia Catholic League
PCL Class 6A
Semifinal games:
No. 2 La Salle 49, No. 3 Father Judge 14
Stevie Davis scored three touchdowns, and the Gavin Sidwar-Julian McFadden connection was alive and well in the Explorers’ no-doubt-about-it win. Davis scored the first two touchdowns of the game, on a 4-yard run followed by a 48-yard rushing score. McFadden caught two TD receptions (10, 34 yards) from Sidwar, with Joey O’Brien and Davis each adding rushing scores. O’Brien also caught a touchdown pass from Sidwar, as the Explorers took a 42-7 halftime lead.
The Explorers will play St. Joe’s Prep in the PCL Class 6A championship next Saturday.
PCL Class 5A
Championship game:
No. 1 Roman Catholic 43, No. 2 Archbishop Wood 6
PCL Class 3A
Championship game:
No. 1 Neumann-Goretti 18, No. 2 Conwell-Egan 7
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: High School Football: District playoff roundup for Bucks County teams
