Truman football tramples all over Council Rock North

NEWTOWN – Council Rock North went toe to toe for one quarter with visiting Truman Thursday night at Walt Snyder Stadium in a gridiron duel between two Suburban One National League (SONL) rivals.

The same could not be said about the second stanza. That’s when the Tigers took control, outscoring the Indians 28-7 to take a 42-14 lead into the locker room.

Coming back from the break, CR North (1-5, 0-3: SONL) fumbled the ball at their own 28 yard line, handing the ball right back to Truman. It only took the Tigers (5-1, 2-1: SONL) five plays to punch it in from there. Quarterback Dylan Snelling’s second touchdown of the night put the visitors up 49-14 and initiated the Mercy Rule and a running clock for the rest of the game.

The Indians assembled a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped off by a 19-yard touchdown run by senior Michael Welde on his third trip to the end zone in the contest. On any other night, it would have been an impressive drive but on this one, it only drew the Rock within four touchdowns with 2:16 still to play in the third quarter.

On its next possession, Truman used only four plays to traverse 57 yards of the gridiron – a common theme by the Tigers in this game – and reach paydirt once again. On a 12-yard scoring scamper, speedster Sayyid Saunders capped the drive with his second touchdown of the night.

His first was a 48-yard TD jaunt that gave Truman a 14-7 lead after one period of play.

The Tigers looked to pad the lead after a short punt by the Rock gave them the ball at the Indians’ 27 yard line. On first down, however, CR North sophomore Tim Gibson stepped in front of an ill-advised aerial thrown by Snelling and returned it to the 35. An ensuing Truman penalty put the ball at midfield and Welde raced 50 yards past everyone to the left side pylon to tie the score at 14-all on the first play of the second quarter.

The rest of the period – and the game – belonged to the Tigers, who removed some of the sting left by last week’s 56-7 loss to Neshaminy with their fifth win of the season.

Truman junior running back Gabe Gipli sparked Truman with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter on scoring runs of 15 and 18 yards, respectively. A 25-yard TD scamper by sophomore Terrence Rodgers put the Tigers on top 35-14 with 1:28 to play in the half.

After a 3-and-out by the Indians, Truman went to the air with Snelling catching junior Javeer Peterson in stride down the left side line for a 32-yard gainer with 10.8 seconds left, then hitting him again for a 38-yard TD pass that put the Tigers on top 42-14 heading into the halftime break.

Council Rock scored its final touchdown on a 9-yard pass from backup quarterback Adam Charen to sophomore Evan Mancinelli with 39 seconds remaining in the contest.

NOTES: All 12 point-after attempts were made by the kickers – eight by Kevin Buckland for Truman and four by Billy Robinson for Rock North. After starting the season with a 14-13 win at West Chester East, North has lost five straight including three consecutive to SOL National Conference foes.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

TOP PHOTO: Truman junior running back Terrence Rodgers (32) dives into the end zone for the Tigers third touchdown of the second quarter, followed by Nick Muro (24), Robert Ranelli (21) and Jason Walter (44), defending for Council Rock North. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media) 

Truman 56, Council Rock North 28

(Sept. 28 at CR North)

TRUMAN (5-1, 2-1: SONL)            14 28 7 7 – 56

CR NORTH (1-5, 0-3: SONL)          7 7 7 7 – 28

First Quarter

T — Dylan Snelling 1 run (Kevin Buckland kick)

CRN — Michael Welde 6 run (Billy Robinson kick)

T — Sayyid Saunders 48 run (Buckland kick)

Second Quarter

CRN —Welde 50 run (Robinson kick)

T — Gabe Gipli 15 run (Buckland kick)

T — Gabe Gipli 18 run (Buckland kick)

T — Terrence Rodgers 25 run (Buckland kick)

T — Javeer Peterson 38 pass from Snelling (Buckland kick)

Third Quarter

T — Snelling 1 run (Buckland kick)

CRN — Welde 19 run (Robinson kick)

Fourth Quarter

T — Saunders 12 run (Buckland kick)

CRN — Evan Mancinelli 9 pass from Adam Charen (Robinson kick)