Souderton rallies past CB East to remain unbeaten

FRANCONIA >> In a thrilling homecoming game, the hometown Souderton Indians survived an upset bid from the visiting Central Bucks East Patriots by a final score of 38-24 Friday night.

It was an offensive struggle for Souderton in the first half losing four fumbles in the first quarter including on the opening kickoff.

Fortunately the score was tied at 17-17 at halftime with both teams getting two touchdowns and one field goal.

After the Patriots recovered a Souderton fumble on the opening kickoff, quarterback Anthony Giordano ran 18 yards for a 7-0 lead.

Souderton, however, came back with a 17-yard run from running back DeAndre Wakefield to make it 7-7 after the first quarter.

The Patriots got the lead back in the second quarter thanks to a 41-yard field goal from Michael Smigley.

The Indians got their first lead of the night when Wakefield exploded for a 52-yard rushing touchdown and a 14-10 lead.

Late in the second quarter, the Patriots once again got the lead with a short run from Giordano.

Despite some troubles with turnovers, Souderton made the score 17-17 with a last second 34-yard field goal from William Leyland.

With a lot of turnovers and a tied game at halftime, Souderton head coach Ed Gallagher was honest with how his team would come back in the second half.

“I just told them at halftime to keep their composure and we don’t really have to do anything different,” said Gallagher. “We just needed to keep better care of the football in the second half.”

Taking care of the ball better is exactly what Souderton did in the second half as the Indians did not turn the ball over once to outscore the Patriots 21-7 in the second half.

Highlighting the game for Souderton was running back Nick Guthre as he scored three total touchdowns including a 38-yard rushing touchdown and grabbing a 36-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Vince.

“When we get momentum, we get more confident and that’s what happened in the second half,” said Guthre. “When we are at home and the crowd starts getting into it, it makes the game so much easier for us and get away with the win.”

Guthre finished the game with three touchdowns and 185 all-purpose yards in the victory.

Wakefield also had a stellar performance finishing the game with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

“This is not the first time that our team woke up in the second half,” said Wakefield. “We did alright in the first half, but we did a lot more better after halftime.”

Vince had a good passing game in the victory finishing 5-for-9 for 73 yards and one touchdown.

“When we had those turnovers in the first half, our defense came up big for us and that’s why we were tied at halftime,” said Vince. “Central Bucks East has a dangerous offense, so it could’ve been a lot worse for us.”

“Guthre is a huge energy boost for the team when we are down,” added Vince. “He is a big reason why we got this win today.”

With the win, the Souderton Indians remain perfect at 6-0 with only four games left to go in the regular season.

Gallagher was thrilled for his team despite a close upset bid from the Central Bucks East Patriots.

“I can’t describe how I feel about this win,” said Gallagher. “It was an outstanding feeling and outstanding run for these kids because they work hard everyday to be able to do what they can do.”

Souderton looks for its seventh win next Friday when they travel to North Penn in a highly anticipated matchup against the Knights (5-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Souderton 38, Central Bucks East 24
CBE 7 10 0 7 -24
S 7 10 7 14 -38
CBE – Giordano 18-yard run (Smigley kick)
S – Wakefield 17-yard run (Leyland kick)
CBE – Smigley 41-yard field goal
S – Wakefield 52-yard run (Leyland kick)
CBE – Giordano 3-yard run (Smigley kick)
S – Leyland 34-yard field goal
S – Vince 36-yard pass to Guthre (Leyland kick)
CBE – Cassidy 31-yard run (Smigley kick)
S – Guthre 7-yard run (Leyland kick)
S – Guthre 38-yard run (Leyland kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
S CBE
First downs 9 12
Rushing yards309 151
Passing yards73 112
Total yards 382 263
Passing 5-9 11-23
Penalties 4-33 7-55
Fumbles lost 4 0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Souderton: Guthre 7-134, 2 TD; Wakefield 10-122, 2 TD; White 6-32; Goods 2-12; Bui 1-6; Vince 5-3. Central Bucks East: Giordano 12-58, 2 TD; Cassidy 4-50, 1 TD; Volko 17-43.
PASSING – Souderton: Vince 5-9, 73 yds, 1 TD. Central Bucks East: Giordano 11-23, 112 yds.
RECEIVING – Souderton: Guthre 2-51, 1 TD; Smerecki 1-11; Kutzler 1-6; Goods 1-5. Central Bucks East: Cassidy 5-71; Volko 5-30; Vogelsong 1-11.