Khan, Souderton cruise past Truman for Homecoming victory

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FRANCONIA >> Never assume a play is done when the ball is in the hands of Koby Khan.

“A lot of times you think the plays about to be over and you’re just about to go back to the huddle and he breaks a few more tackles and he’s gone,” Souderton senior offensive lineman Andrew Stein said.

Khan penchant for extending runs was on display late in the second quarter of Indians’ Suburban One League non-conference contest with visiting Truman Friday night. The bruising 6’0’, 232-pound senior spun out of the grasps of a few Tigers defenders before dashing 46 yards to the end zone.

“I mean, it’s really nice for us,” Stein said. “We get a break and it’s just fun because he just make us look good, too.”

Khan’s touchdown run in the final minute before halftime gave Souderton a 28-0 lead at the break. The Indians tacked one more TD in the third quarter as Big Red rebounded from a tough loss to North Penn with a 35-7 victory over Truman on Homecoming Night.

“We needed to get that bad taste out of our mouths,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “We’re better than we played against North Penn last week. I’m not saying we’re anywhere near as good as North Penn but we’re better than we played and I think the guys came out and they wanted to prove that tonight and they did.”

A week after falling to North Penn 48-13, the Indians (5-4, 1-4 SOL Continental) finished all four of its first-half possessions – including drives of 86 and 87 yards – with touchdowns. Big Red compiled 313 yards on the ground and on defense held an opponent to single digits for the second time this season.

“It was a good execution on both sides of the ball. I thought Mike Heath our defensive coordinator put together a good game plan to slow them down,” Gallagher said. “They got some really explosive athletes over there and our offense just took care of business. Offensive line just did a great job of grinding it out tonight and backs ran hard and we didn’t turn the ball over. That’s the key to winning football games.”

Khan finished with 203 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries while Brandon Taragna and Joe Curotto also scored rushing touchdowns. Curotto added a 20-yard touchdown pass to Oscar Hughes to at 10:48 in the third to enact the 35-point running clock.

“We just wanted to get, like Coach (Gallagher) said, a bad taste out of our mouths,” Stein said. “A team like this, with not a lot of confidence, we know we had to come out strong and we had to come out sharp and not let up and that’s what we did.”

Friday’s win gives Souderton its most victories since going 7-4 in 2012 and also moves the Indians closer to their fist District 1 postseason appearance since 2010. Souderton was 15th in the latest Class 6A power rankings with 16 teams making the district playoff field. Big Red hosts Central Bucks West Friday.

“Next week is a playoff game,” Stein said. “Even if we do make the playoffs, we’re going to be against a good team first round. So if we win next week we’re in a good spot.”

The loss was the third straight for Truman, which hosts Bensalem Friday. Tigers quarterback Dylan Snelling was 6-of-9 passing 94 yards, 75 coming on a completion to Enzo Poulson in the third quarter. Two plays later, Snelling denied Souderton a shutout with his 1-yard TD run with 23.4 seconds left in the quarter.

Javeer Peterson’s 65-yard return on the opening kickoff set Truman up on the Souderton 33, but Indians took over at their own 14 when they stopped Snelling a yard short on 4th-and-5.

“It’s like a flexbone option but they’re good at it,” said Gallagher of Truman’s offense. “They have some good athletes and unfortunately their quarterback (Jordan Freeman) got hurt two week ago. But the kid who played tonight (Snelling) played last week against Abington and they scored 35 points. He’s good. They have some really good athletes.

“I thought we did a nice job containing the receiver 10 (Sayyid Sanders) and 21 (Peterson) when they were throwing the quick screens out to them. They’re pretty explosive players and the fullback (David Akinwande) is a real good player as well.

Big Red proceeded to drive 86 yards on 11 plays, Curotto plowing from two yards out on 4th down for a 7-0 lead at 3:14 in the first quarter.

A fumble on Truman’s next series set Souderton at the Tigers 13 and the Indians capitalized – Taragna’s 12-yard touchdown run on a criss-cross counter at 11:15 in the second quarter made it 14-0.

After forcing a punt, Souderton pushed its advantage to 21-0 with an 11-play, 87-yard drive capped by Khan’s three-yard touchdown run at 4:59.

“We’ve been training all year. We knew we were strong than them. We definitely blocked really well tonight,” Stein said. “And Koby just ran the ball like a maniac.”

Truman turned the ball over on downs at the Souderton 47 and four plays later Khan had his second TD run, breaking into open space after a spin for a 46 yard score with 54.8 seconds remaining in the half.

Souderton went up 35-0 on the opening possession of the third quarter, Hughes taking a wide receiver screen from Curotto 20 yards into the end zone.

Mike Cabrey

Mike Cabrey
Mike Cabrey is the Assistant Sports Editor for The Reporter and Montgomery News. Email him at mcabrey@thereporteronline.com.

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