Crosstown Showdown: Souderton Stages Epic Comeback to Defeat Pennridge 19-14
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, pfn
Michael Pietrangelo | September 2, 2023
Perkasie- Head Coach Kyle Beller and company came out swinging in their debut in front of the home crowd. A much more impressive showing than the week prior. Beller is in his first season at the helm and is still getting to know his players and community but put on a show against crosstown rivals Souderton last night. Though sitting at 0-2, their outlook isn’t bleak. “We plan on keeping the course from week to week. The kids keep growing and getting better. They played a heck of a game tonight. We challenged them to go out and make this community proud and they did. They played hard, they played hard for everybody. It’s a process to learning how to get over that hump and tonight they took a big step forward for them to battle to the very end like they did. We have some stuff to clean up on our end but overall, I’m really proud of our guys.”
The Indians won the toss and elected to receive, though their first series would come to an end after failing to convert on 4th down. The Rams defense seemed locked in. During the Rams first offensive possession they started to move the ball down field however, Sophomore cornerback Hunter Smeltz picked off a Noah Keating tipped pass intended for Joe Gregoire. The Indians second possession would only last 5 plays. Not to be outdone by his counterparts, Senior Safety Joe Hamburger stepped in front of the Ben Walsh pass that was intended for Senior Wideout Danny Dyches for the interception. Once again, neither squad could muster much in the way of yards or points. Both squads would be forced to punt again, and the 1st quarter would end knotted at 0.
Pennridge finally got their motors turning midway through the 2nd quarter as they ate up clock and gained yards on the ground and through the air, unfortunately this drive would end at the Soudy 17-yard line after a botched pitch was recovered by Junior defensive end Jack Potson. After a QB rush and a penalty, Souderton found themselves being pushed back by the Pennridge defensive line. On the next play James McCoy took the handoff and Senior linebacker Jack Walker hit him with such force to dislodge the ball and Pennridge’s Sophomore linebacker Ian Gallagher scooped up the loose ball. Six plays later Senior running back Sam Kuhns busted through would be tacklers for the 3-yard score behind a great block by Sophomore running back Ryan Rowe. After the PAT was good and 4:02 remaining the score was 7-0. For the next 4 minutes the Pennridge defense allowed a chunk of yards but never let up. Souderton marched down the field but was stopped short of the Rams 14-yard line. Ryan Zuk lined up for a 24-yard field goal but missed wide right. The score remained 7-0 heading into the half.
Looking to spark the crowd, Pennridge needed something to pop off, especially if they wanted to extend their lead. As I paced the sideline I heard “Kuhns to the crib! I bet they won’t kick it to him”. As soon as the ball was in the air heading to Kuhns the sideline got louder and rightfully so. From the 5-yard line he raced to the right and through defenders who just kept missing and went untouched 95-yards to the house! With 11:45 to go in the 3rd quarter the score was now 14-0 after the PAT was good. The ensuing kickoff was downed at the Souderton 33-yard line. After only moving the ball 2-yards Sophomore QB Ben Walsh dug deep and found Dyches for a long 45-yard gain. 4 plays later Sophomore fullback Michael McCormick took the handoff in for a 2-yard TD. The PAT from Zuk was good and the Indians closed the gap 7-14 with 8:05 to go in the 3rd. Souderton then attempted the onside kick, and they recovered it. Sam Kuhns clearly wanted the ball back and on the very next play he swiped another Ben Walsh Pass for the interception. Pennridge moved the ball once again, however, they couldn’t capitalize and were forced to punt 11 plays later. Keeping pace with the Rams, the Indians and QB Ben Walsh dug deep down within and marched down the field with precision passing and some powerful running. The 3rd quarter would come to an end with the score 14-7 in favor of Pennridge, but the Indians were knocking on the door.
The 4th quarter started, and the drive continued with Soudy moving the chains. The drive was capped off by a 5-yard TD pass from Walsh to Junior tight end Chase Johnson. Souderton missed the PAT. They now only trailed by 1 point 13-14. Pennridge got the ball back, but Souderton remained in charge and continued to stop everything they sent the Indians way and were forced to punt again. The next series for Souderton was huge to say the least. After only 5 plays Souderton was knocking on the door of another score. From 1-yard out Senior fullback, James McCoy pounded his way into the endzone for 6 points. Souderton would attempt a 2-point conversion but were unsuccessful. Their lead was now 19-14 with 7:21 left in the contest. Pennridge would have one more chance to score but unfortunately were forced to punt after. Souderton would hold onto the ball for the remaining time and escape victorious. After the game I caught up with Head Coach Ed Gallagher and asked him how he felt after his team’s performance in their come from behind victory. He replied, “A lot better than I was at halftime. I was very disappointed. We have video that we can watch during the game & I’m watching it like, we have this veteran, talented offensive line that just wasn’t performing. We kind of challenged them at halftime and they responded. They came out and were much more physical in the second half and did a great job.” He then added, “Honestly you got to give it to Pennridge because they were aggressive and much more physical & wanted the game more in the first half. Thankfully though we were able to get our heads together in the second half and do what we had to do to get the win and we had some guys make some plays. We have some things to clean up, but we are 2-0 so we just keep getting better.”
Scoring
P-0-7-7-0-14
S-0-0-7-12-19
2nd Quarter
P-4:02- Sam Kuhns rushing TD
3rd Quarter
P-11:45- Sam Kuhns 95-yard Retrun TD
S-8:05- Michael McCormick 2-yard rushing TD
4th Quarter
S-9:25-Ben Walsh Passes 5-yards to Chase Johnson TD
S-7:21- James McCoy 1-yard rushing TD
Individual Stats
Passing
P- Keating 6 of 11-55 yds 2 INTs
S-Walsh 11 of 15- 146 yds 1 TD 2 INTs
Rushing
P- J. Arteaga 11-37 yds, S. Kuhns 9-46 1TD, R. Rowe 9-26 yds, N. Keating 4-(-6) yds
S- R. Sadowski 22-45 yds, H. Marshall 7-15 yds, J. McCoy 7-16 yds 1TD, M. McCormick 3-7 yds
Receiving
P-J. Gregoire 2-31 yds, W. Wallace 1-11 yds, A. Bell 1-9 yds, C. Clontz 1-4, C. Marshall 1-0
S-D. Dyches 7-120, M. McCormick 2-19 yds 1TD, R. Sadowski 2-7 yds
Interceptions
P- S. Kuhns (1), J. Hamburger (1)
S- H. Smeltz (1)
Sacks
S- J. Potson (1)
Player(s) of the Game:
Ben Walsh 11/15 (73 %) for 146 yards 1 TD
Honorable Mention:
Danny Dyches 7 catches for 120 yards
Student Spotlight: Cheerlead Izabella with her Swag bag from Highly Mystical Creations
Student Spotlight: Drum Major Giana Joyce
Next week Souderton (2-0) (0-0) takes on Central Bucks East (2-0) (0-0) at home and Pennridge (0-2) (0-0) travels to Bensalem (0-2) (0-0) to take on the Owls.
A special thanks goes out to Tracy Valko for allowing me to use her actions shots of Ben Walsh for my POTG award. Please giver her a follow and check out all her amazing artwork.
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