LOWER GWYNEDD – When Jonathan Ingram could not pound his way through the line and over the goal line, the Cheltenham quarterback opted to find a different route into the end zone.
“When they were pushing me, I knew we weren’t going to get in,” Ingram said. “So I’m like all right let me take it into my only hand so I just bounced it back to the outside.”
Ingram popped out of the crowd then proceeded to get around the right edge to score from two yards out with 50.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter to cap an impressive half of football from the visiting Panthers Friday night.
Adam Rodgers returned an interception for a touchdown on the game’s second snap. Ingram and Tre McLeod, meanwhile both ran for a pair of TDs as Cheltenham did what it needed to give itself a chance to earn a spot in the District 1-6A playoffs. The Panthers raced out to a 32-0 halftime lead and cruised from there, topping Wissahickon 39-12 in the SOL American Conference contest.
“You got to give a ton of credit to Cheltenham, that’s a really good football team,” Trojans coach Rory Grave said. “They’re really well coached. They got a ton of talent over there. So all the credit goes to them, they beat us today without a doubt
Cheltenham (5-5, 4-1 SOL American) came into Friday ranked 18th, just a bit out of the 16-team playoff field but in earning a fourth consecutive victory the Panthers bumped up to 16th and final spot. With Lower Merion, ranked 17th hosting Conestoga Saturday, playoff positions are still not yet set.
“It’s a great feeling,” Ingram said. “We didn’t start the season off good at all but we turned it around, we believed in our self, everybody believed in each other and we’re here where we are now.”
Wissahickon (6-4, 2-3) entered Week 10 14th in Class 6A and despite a second straight loss, at the moment it would still qualify for the tournament as the No. 15 seed. The Trojans, which won just one game last year, made their most recent district appearance in 2020.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Graver, in his second season at Wiss. “We’re a little undermanned at this time with injuries and stuff like that but our guys show every day, they compete, they play extremely hard. I’m really proud of our seniors, our senior leadership this year has been phenomenal.
“Like I was telling those guys, they have nothing to be ashamed of, they’re going to be defined as being winners, they kind of have changed the narrative about our football program so I can’t be more proud about our seniors there.”
McLeod, who has verbally committed to Charlotte, finished with a game-high 119 yards rushing on seven carries. Ingram added another 62 yards on five carries while completing 8-of-16 passing for 155 yards and an interception.
“Just stick to the gameplan,” Ingram said. “Just go through the progressions, stay calm and just hit your reads.”
Cheltenham’s season began with their matchup against rival Abington Aug. 25 being suspended in the third quarter after a Cheltenham student was found to have brought a gun to the game at Abington.
The Panthers then could not find a win in a tough nonleague schedule, falling to Chester, Wilson West Lawn, Perkiomen Valley and Roman Catholic before they were handed a fifth straight defeat by Plymouth Whitemarsh 42-13 in their SOL American opener Sept. 29.
Cheltenham has not lost since, with three of the four wins coming on the road. The Panthers were also awarded the win in the Abington game – they led 14-7 when it was halted – to sit at .500 with a chance to return to districts after missing out last year.
“Coach had a talk with us and we just kept it real with our self,” Ingram said. “We knew where we were and we knew we had to get better so we just changed our mindset.”
Quasir Sampson paced Wissahickon on the ground with 19 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown – a one-yard score at 9:24 in the third that made it 32-6.
The Trojans collected another touchdown in the fourth when Cole Rogers reached the end zone on a two-yard run with 2:36 remaining. The 12 points were the fewest this season for Wissahickon, which had scored at least 28 points the previous nine weeks.
“Their defense has a ton of speed,” Graver said. “Ton of speed and upfront they’re physically strong so again I think their overall team speed, it kind of hurt us in some of the stuff we like to do but again lot of credit to them, they’re a very good football team.”
Cheltenham’s defense was first to put points on the scoreboard Friday, as Rodgers intercepted a screen pass and dashed 18 yards for a pick six just 47 seconds into the game.
After forcing a Wissahickon punt, the Panthers made it 13-0 on their first drive. On a 3rd-and-11 from the Cheltenham 25, Ingram connected with Jared Higginbotham for a 40-yard completion and the next play McLeod sprinted 35 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead at 7:03.
Ingram made it 20-0 in the second quarter, scrambling out of the pocket on a 2nd-and-18 at the Wiss 48 then kept going, cutting across to the right side of the field and getting to the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown at 8:33.
“Pocket broke down and I was just trying my best to escape,” Ingram said. “Then I just saw nothing but turf.”
Wissahickon’s following drive ended in a turnover on downs at the Cheltenham 37. The next snap, McLeod went around the left side and then bolted down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown run with 6:22 left in the half.
“He’s a phenomenal running back,” said Graver of McLeod. “The quarterback’s phenomenal. And even behind the quarterback, they got three or four other guys that can run the ball as well. They got some great receivers, so again a really talented football team there.”
Cheltenham had a TD pass negated due to a holding call while the next play Wissahickon’s Amari Nash made an interception on a downfield throw at the Trojans’ 15 at 3:05. Wiss, however, went three-and-out and gave the ball back to the Panthers 45 yards from the end zone with 2:28 to go before the break.
Three runs from McLeod had Cheltenham at the 22. Ingram found James Smith for a nine-yard completion down to the two, with Ingram bouncing the QB sneak around the right side on the following play for a 32-0 lead.
Cheltenham tacked on its final touchdown to make it 39-6 when Higginbotham ran in from a yard out at 8:53 in the fourth.
Cheltenham 39, Wissahickon 12
Cheltenham 13 19 0 7 — 39
Wissahickon 0 0 6 6 — 12
Scoring
First Quarter
C — Adam Rodgers 18 interception return (kick blocked), 11:13.
C — Tre McLeod 35 run (Andrew Saint John kick), 7:03.
Second Quarter
C — Jonathan Ingram 48 run (Saint John kick), 8:33.
C — McLeod 63 run (kick failed), 6:22.
C — Rodgers 2 run (kick blocked), 0:50.4.
Third Quarter
W — Quasir Sampson 1 run (pass failed), 9:24.
Fourth Quarter
C — Jared Higginbotham 1 run (Saint John kick), 8:53.
W — Cole Rogers 2 run (run failed), 2:36.
TEAM STATISTICS
C W
First downs 16 15
Rushes-Yards 37-288 47-192
Passing yards 155 81
Total yards 443 273
Passing 8-17-1 10-21-1
Punts 1 3
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 16-137.5 6-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Cheltenham: Tre McLeod 7-119, 2 TD; Jonathan Ingram 5-62, 2 TD; Pharaoh Brooks 14-59; James Smith 5-35; Elijah Stehman 2-6; Jared Higginbotham 3-5, TD; Deion Evans 1-2.
Wissahickon: Quasir Sampson 19-88, TD; Kareem Lee 9-43; Nolan Pounds 6-26; Dom Harvey-Sheppard 5-15; Jason Murray Jr. 5-13; Cole Rogers 2-4, TD; Ryan Kim 1-3.
PASSING
Cheltenham: Jonathan Ingram 8-16-1, 155; Mehki Wyche 0-1-0, 0.
Wissahickon: Nolan Pounds 10-21-1, 81.
RECEIVING
Cheltenham: Jared Higginbotham 4-84; James Smith 2-56; Matthew Baptiste 1-11; Arthur Gordon 1-4.
Wissahickon: Aidan Westcott 4-51; Dom Harvey-Sheppard 3-17; Quentin West 2-15; Kareem Lee 1-(-2).
INTERCEPTIONS
Cheltenham: Adam Rodgers.
Wisb =sahickon: Amari Nash.
