Reporter Week 5 Preview Capsules: Souderton, Pennridge collide at midway point

Pennridge looks to end a three-game skid while Souderton Area will try to duplicate last week’s winning performance when the two rivals meet in a Suburban One League Continental Conference battle at Pennridge’s Helman Field Friday.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Souderton got off to an 0-3 start but put a lot of things together last week in a 35-16 victory over William Tennent. The running attack included three touchdown runs by Deandre Wakefield, and on defense, Souderton plugged things up for most of the night.

“We’re hoping to keep building on that,” Big Red coach Ed Gallagher said, “because Pennridge is gonna bring a lot to the table. They’re huge.”

The Rams came to life in the second half of last week’s clash with defending conference champ North Penn, hitting big plays in the passing game and getting some nifty grabs by Shane Hartzell.

Pennridge fell 42-20 to drop to 1-3 but has a big, powerful offensive line and backs like Ryan Garner to carry the football. Both squads would love a win here, as the season hits the halfway point.

“We have a chance to make some noise in our conference,” Gallagher said.

Souderton also hit some key plays in the passing game last week, as Andrew Vince found five different receivers throughout the evening.

“Andrew’s a really good quarterback,” Gallagher said. “He can throw, he can run, and we’ve been able to execute decently in the passing game. We gave him some time (last Friday) to throw and he hit some things, and the receivers did a nice job.

“We held onto the ball. We had struggled with some drops in the first couple weeks but (last Friday) we caught the ball and ran with it afterwards. We got some good yards after the catch, both our backs and receivers.”

Upper Dublin at Penn Charter
Time/Place: Friday, 4 p.m., at Penn Charter.
Records: The Cardinals are 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the SOL American. Penn Charter is 3-1 overall and 0-0 in the Inter-Ac.
Last Week: Upper Dublin earned a 34-7 victory over Hatboro-Horsham. Penn Charter prevailed 35-6 over Central.
Last Meeting: The two teams did not meet in 2017.
Players to Watch: Mason Novak was part of a fierce pass rush for the Cardinals last week. Terence Thompson is a solid middle linebacker for the Quakers.
Prediction: Upper Dublin 26, Penn Charter 17

Boyertown at Methacton
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at Methacton.
Records: The Bears are 1-3 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Liberty Division. The Warriors are 0-5 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Liberty Division.
Last Week: Boyertown lost 64-6 to Berks Catholic. Methacton was defeated 12-6 by Pottstown.
Last Meeting: The Bears rolled, 54-14, over the Warriors.
Players to Watch: Blaise Caroselli is a hard-hitting linebacker for the Bears. The Warriors have a tough defender of their own in linebacker Gary Knox.
Prediction: Boyertown 19, Methacton 14.

Central Bucks East at North Penn
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at North Penn.
On Twitter: @mpcabrey.
Records: The Patriots are 2-2 overall and 0-0 in the SOL Continental. North Penn is 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SOL Continental.
Last Week: CB East lost a tough one, 35-34 to Pennsbury. North Penn was a 42-20 winner over Pennridge.
Last Meeting: North Penn won a shootout, 57-43 over the Pats.
Players to Watch: The Patriots have a tough runner in the elusive Jake Ventresca. The Knights have a great ground attack of their own and a versatile QB in Solomon Robinson.
Prediction: North Penn 42, CB East 21.

Central Bucks West at William Tennent
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at William Tennent.
On Twitter: @ADRobinson3.
Records: The Bucks are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SOL Continental. The Panthers are 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the SOL Continental.
Last Week: West lost 27-21 to Central Bucks South. Tennent lost 35-16 to Souderton Area.
Last Meeting: West won 28-7 over the Panthers a year ago.
Players to Watch: Luke Benson should get plenty of balls thrown his way at the tight end spot for the Bucks. The Panthers counter with a speedy, shifty runner in Eddie North.
Prediction: CB West 17, William Tennent 14.

Phoenixville at Upper Merion
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at Upper Merion.
Records: The Phantoms are 2-2 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Frontier Division. The Vikings are 2-2 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Frontier Division.
Last Week: Phoenixville lost 20-9 to Chichester. Upper Merion was blanked, 21-0, by Owen J. Roberts.
Last Meeting: The Phantoms won 35-17 over the Vikings a year ago.
Players to Watch: Connor Patania can air it out for the Phantoms. Zaire Savage is a playmaker at wide receiver for the Vikes.
Prediction: Upper Merion 28, Phoenixville 27.

Plymouth Whitemarsh at Upper Moreland
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at Upper Moreland.
On Twitter: @emor09.
Records: The Colonials are 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the SOL American. The Bears are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SOL American.
Last Week: PW prevailed, 28-14 over Wissahickon. Upper Moreland was thumped, 49-14 by Quakertown.
Last Meeting: Upper Moreland blew away the Colonials, 41-7.
Players to Watch: Mike Paciello gets it done at linebacker for PW. Upper Moreland has running back Caleb Mead to break off big gains.
Prediction: Upper Moreland 19, Plymouth-Whitemarsh 7.

Souderton at Pennridge
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at Pennridge.
On Twitter: @khunter10.
Records: Big Red is 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the SOL Continental. The Rams are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SOL Continental.
Last Week: Big Red got its conference schedule off to a good start with a 35-16 victory over William Tennent. The Rams fell in their conference opener, 42-20 to North Penn.
Last Meeting: The Rams handled the Indians a year ago, 34-3.
Players to Watch: Deandre Wakefield got rolling last week for the Indians, scoring three rushing touchdowns. Shane Hartzell made some great grabs at receiver for the Rams.
Prediction: Pennridge 28, Souderton 21.

Wissahickon at Hatboro-Horsham
Time/Place: Friday, 7 p.m., at Hatboro-Horsham.
Records: The Trojans are 0-4 overall and 0-1 in the SOL American. The Hatters are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SOL American.
Last Week: Wissahickon lost 28-14 to PW. Hatboro-Horsham fell 34-7 to Upper Dublin.
Last Meeting: The Hatters were 21-12 victors over Wiss a year ago.
Players to Watch: Wiss defensive end Tyler Caso can put the heat on the opposing QB. Jake Schalki helps anchor down the defensive line for the Hatters.
Prediction: Hatboro-Horsham 32, Wissahickon 20.

Archbishop Spalding (Md.) at Archbishop Wood
Time/Place: Saturday, 1 p.m., at William Tennent.
Records: Archbishop Spalding is 1-0-1 overall. Wood comes into this one 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the PCL Red.
Last Week: The Cavaliers blew away Bishop Moore (Fla.), 41-18. The Vikings won 22-20 over Pope John XXIII.
Last Meeting: The two teams did not meet in 2017.
Players to Watch: Jayon Venerable had 167 yards rushing last week for the Cavs. Wood counters with a tough defensive front anchored by Connor Bishop.
Prediction: Archbishop Wood 21, Archbishop Spalding 14.

Spring-Ford at Norristown
Time/Place: Saturday, 1 p.m., at Norristown.
On Twitter: @ADRobinson3.
Records: The Rams are 3-1 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Liberty Dision. The Eagles are 1-3 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Liberty.
Last Week: Spring-Ford won a thriller, 33-27 over Exeter in overtime. Norristown lost 17-7 to Cheltenham.
Last Meeting: The Rams won big, 49-6, over the Eagles.
Players to Watch: Spring-Ford quarterback Ryan Engro is a threat with both his arm and legs. The Nick DiNolfi-to-Christian Thomas connection is a good one for the Eagles.
Prediction: Spring-Ford 27, Norristown 12.

Upper Perkiomen at Pope John Paul II
Time/Place: Saturday, 1 p.m., at Pope John Paul II.
Records: The Indians are 1-3 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Frontier Division. The Golden Panthers are 4-0 overall and 0-0 in the PAC Frontier Division.
Last Week: Upper Perk lost 24-21 to Fleetwood. PJP rolled, 42-14 over Schuylkill Valley.
Last Meeting: The Indians were on the winning end, 41-14 over PJP.
Players to Watch: Tyrese Reid is a dynamic runner for Upper Perk. The Golden Panthers’ ground game gains big chunks with running back A.J. Natale.
Prediction: Pope John Paul II 24, Upper Perk 10.

KIPP DuBois at Germantown Academy
Time/Place: Saturday, 1:30 p.m., at Germantown Academy.
On Twitter: @khunter10.
Records: KIPP is 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the Philadelphia Public League, 2A Division. GA is 3-0 overall and 0-0 in the InterAC.
Last Week: The Lions fell 35-14 to George Washington. The Patriots held off Father Judge, 31-21.
Last Meeting: The two teams did not meet in 2017.
Players to Watch: Zhymir Ball is an explosive runner for the Lions. The Patriots’ Trae Vance has three straight 100-yard rushing games.
Prediction: Germantown Academy 30, KIPP DuBois 12.

Lansdale Catholic at West Catholic
Time/Place: Sunday, 3 p.m., at Maguire Field, Drexel University.
Records: The Crusaders are 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the PCL Blue. The Burrs are 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the PCL Blue.
Last Week: LC lost 55-28 to Conwell-Egan. West Catholic edged Archbishop Carroll, 36-35.
Last Meeting: The Burrs were a 40-28 winner over the Crusaders a year ago.
Players to Watch: Danny Dutkiewicz is a solid runner and pass defender for the Crusaders. Jacir Savoy is a versatile threat for West Catholic — he caught the two-point conversion pass last week to win it for the Burrs.
Prediction: West Catholic 28, Lansdale Catholic 21.