Cheltenham tops Norristown for third win of season
WYNCOTE –The Cheltenham High School football squad only earned two wins last year. Now the Panthers have three wins in four games as they cruised to a 17-7 victory over visiting Norristown last Friday night.
A rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown, a field goal, and a nearly perfect defense helped the Panthers improve to a 3-1 overall record to start the 2018 season.
Cheltenham struck the scoreboard first when Sidiqq Williams scored a touchdown on a long 33-yard run to put the Panthers up 7-0 early in the first quarter.
“When I got the ball, I trusted my offensive line to open up a hole for me,” said Williams. “When I saw the little hole, I just took a big cut and scored.”
“Norristown knew almost every running play that we were going to do,” added Williams. “They had a good rushing defense but we found some ways to break through.”
The Panthers increased their lead in the first quarter with a 33-yard field goal from Justin Grady after a pass was dropped in the end zone on third and goal.
Cheltenham eventually got the second touchdown in the second quarter with Adonis Hunter threw a four-yard pass to Jamir Barnes to increase the lead to 17-0 at halftime.
“I was really happy with the defense making the game easier,” said Hunter. “They were defending the pass and the run well and they kept getting turnovers, so I didn’t have any worries tonight.”
Norristown was able to avoid a shutout in the final minute of the game when Nick DiNolfi connected to Christian Thomas on a 17-yard pass for a touchdown.
Cheltenham head coach Ryan Nase was thrilled for his team getting the big third win of the season, especially after a tough loss at Abington High School last week.
“The defense really took pride into getting the shutout,” said Nase. “They were upset after giving up the late touchdown, but they made it tough for Norristown to run inside against us.”
The win also keeps Cheltenham unbeaten at home as it has won two games at home against Council Rock South and Bishop McDevitt earlier in the season.
Cheltenham 17, Norristown 7
N 0 0 0 7 -7
C 10 7 0 0 -17
C – Williams 33-yard run (Grady kick)
C – Grady 33-yard field goal
C – Hunter 4-yard pass to Barnes (Grady kick)
N – DiNolfi 17-yard pass to Thomas (Gutpelet kick)
C N
First downs 7 15
Rushing yards 96 88
Passing yards 66 172
Total yards 162 260
Passing 6-15 14-31
Penalties 9-65 8-68
Fumbles lost 0 2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING: Cheltenham: Barnes 9-45; Williams 2-30, 1 TD; Sykes 9-28; Hunter 4-(-7). Norristown: Watson 11-59; Wallace 5-19; Wilson 2-14; Haynes 3-2; DiNolfi 1-(-2); Cummings 1-(-4).
PASSING: Cheltenham: Hunter 6-15, 66 yds, 1 TD. Norristown: Watson 10-30, 103 yds; DiNolfi 4-5, 69 yds, 1 TD.
RECEIVING: Barnes 3-35, 1 TD; Emfinger 2-25; Edwards 1-6. Norristown: Thomas 5-55, 1 TD; Randall 1-33; Wilson 2-29; Cummings 2-20; Beccles 1-20; Tucker 1-15; Hill 2-0.
