Council Rock North football baptized by CB South

DOYLESTOWN – Visiting Council Rock North came away from its season opener knowing its defense pitched a shutout in the second half against Suburban One Continental Conference rival Central Bucks South.

Unfortunately, the Titans (2-0) racked up 28 points before the intermission in a 35-6 drubbing by CB South Saturday afternoon, Sept. 3 at War Memorial Stadium. While the Titans began their season last weekend in a 13-6 triumph over SOL National Conference rival Abington, this was the Indians’ very first game under head coach Matt McHugh and with senior quarterback Evan Devine under center.

North’s last game was the middle of last November in its district playoff battle with Upper Darby.

“We have a lot of inexperienced varsity football players out there and it certainly showed in the first half,” said McHugh “The fact that we haven’t had a real hit in a meaningful game – sometimes, it can take a little while to knock the rust off.”

CB South wasted no time taking advantage of the Rock’s innocence. Titans junior quarterback Jack Johns hit classmate Colin Dompert with a 43-yard pass reception in the first quarter that put the ball within striking distance at the 3 yard line. Senior running back Nate Norris did the rest, plunging in from there to give an early 7-0 lead to CB South, which was also visiting CB West’s home field as their turf gets replaced.

After an interception by Titans linebacker Daulton Veight, senior quarterback Sam Thompson ripped off a 55-yard TD run, putting his team on top 14-0 by the end of the first quarter.

“Defensively, offensively, we were moving the ball in the first half; we just couldn’t stop them up front,” said McHugh. “They were scoring at will in the beginning.”

CB South added two more scores before the break with senior Tyler Watson registering a 13-yard TD run and Norris going in from the three once again.

A Titans’ fumble at midfield near the end of the first half gave the Rock a chance at breaking into the scoring column before the break and a nifty pass from Devine to senior tight end Jason Walter along the right sideline put the Indians within striking distance.

With 18 seconds left and no timeouts, however, North could not break the plane or stop the clock before the intermission.

“We had to burn a couple timeouts early due to that lack of experience at the varsity level,” explained McHugh. “We had to burn a couple timeouts just because of formations. We want to make sure our formations are correct; we don’t want to take negative plays.”

“If we had a timeout there, we would have been in better position to make a play and go for the score.”

On its first possession after the break, North finally did get on the scoreboard when Devine raced around the right end and beat a defender to the corner.

“It was my first touchdown on varsity football so it felt pretty good,” stated Devine.

The quarterback’s joy didn’t last very long, however. That’s because CB South senior kick returner Casey Sloms gathered a kickoff on the fly and raced 80-plus yards for a touchdown, giving his team a 35-6 edge and sending the score to its final.

“Give credit to them; they ran the ball well,” said McHugh. “They were running that zone-read real well and we weren’t able to keep containment and they kept it around the edge.

“They’re a well-coached team and they had a good game plan coming in.”

For its part, the defense held the Titans off the scoreboard in the second half, something McHugh and company would like to see their team build off of. After the game, the coach talked about what was said at the halftime intermission.

“We talked about playing 48 minute of football. We talked about coming out and making certain adjustments on the defensive front to try and help our backers be able to make plays,” explained McHugh, who guided the offense last year at Upper Moreland.

“Other than that, they came out and were ready play based off of us preaching the fact that you have to play 48 minutes.”

From here, it doesn’t get any easier for McHugh and his crew. The Rock hosts Coatesville 7 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 10 at Walt Snyder Stadium then travels to division rival Neshaminy – which is unbeaten at 2-0 with wins over Roman Catholic and Pennridge – on Friday, Sept. 16. The Red Raiders were district finalists in 2014 and the Skins went as far as the district semis last season. Coatesville (1-1) opened with a win over Simon Gratz but lost to Cumberland Valley.

NOTES: Devine was told he’d be the opening-day starter a few weeks ago after classmates Kevin Brandbergh broke his hand in a preseason practice. The injury will likely cost Brandbergh the remainder of the season. Senior running back T.J. Ayer – who sustained an injury playing special teams vs. CB South – was seen on the bench after the break with his right arm in a sling.

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

Central Bucks South 35, Council Rock North 6

(Sept. 3 at CB West)

CB SOUTH 14 14 7 0 – 35

CR NORTH 0 0 6 0 – 6

SUMMARY

First Quarter

CBS — Nate Norris 3-yd. TD run (Ridolfo kick)

CBS — Sam Thompson 55-yd. TD run (Ridolfo kick)

Second Quarter

CBS — Tyler Watson 13-yd. TD run (Ridolfo kick)

CBS — Nate Norris 3-yd. TD run (Ridolfo kick)

Third Quarter

CRN — Evan Devine 4-yd. TD run (kick failed)

CBS — Casey Sloms 80-yd. kickoff return (Ridolfo kick)