Souderton holds off Pennridge in a classic at Helman Field

EAST ROCKHILL >> Tre Samuels’ leaping interception in the final minute sealed a heart-pounding 38-33 victory over rival Pennridge Friday night.

“I saw the bubble,” the Souderton Area senior said with a big grin. “I knew (Pennridge quarterback Zak Kantor) wasn’t throwing the bubble because he saw me rushing him. I saw his arm cocked back and I just jumped.

“My legs did it for me and I just exploded. I had no control over my bounce as you saw. I floated in the air.”

Afterwards, Samuels and the rest of the Indians still had not come down to Earth. And for good reason. Their inspired victory at Helman Field delivered the Big Red their first victory over their rival since 2013, and lifted their Suburban One League Continental Conference record to 2-0.

“It was very emotional,” said Samuels, surrounded by family and friends. “We had been beaten by these guys for so long. We were really fighting for this moment in practice all week.”

Inspired play spilled into all three phases.

Souderton scored on four of its five first-half possessions: “We have not executed offensively – in practice or in games – anywhere near like we did tonight,” coach Ed Gallagher said.

A field goal before the half by William Leyland wound up being critical, and then two interceptions by the defense – the first by Ethan Smerecki, the second by Samuels – locked it up for Big Red.

Said Smerecki: “Pennridge is always that team we’re looking for on the calendar. So this game means so much to our team.”

Deandre Wakefield broke free on Big Red’s first series, scoring on a 33-yard run to quickly make it 7-0. Pennridge tied it on its second possession, a 59-yard run by Ryan Garner (155 yds, 3 TD’s) deadlocking the contest at seven apiece.

Souderton (2-3) came right back.

It was Wakefield again, scoring on a 30-yard run to make it 14-7 early in the second quarter. Wakefield’s third TD, in which he battled through a tackler and stretched the ball over the goal line, provided the visitors a 21-7 edge.

Pennridge (1-4, 0-2 conference) trimmed it to 21-14 when Garner scored on a 16-yard run, but Souderton boosted its lead up to 10 at the half when Leyland’s 38-yard field goal split the uprights, making it 24-14 at the break.

It was a contest in which the Indians’ Wing-T would run rampant all over the Helman turf: Wakefield powered for 133 yards and three scores; Goods sprinted for 86 and a TD; Nick Guthre added 60 and quarterback Andrew Vince 45.

All that was left to do was withstand a third-quarter resurgence by Pennridge.

“That’s a big, physical, strong football team,” Gallagher said of the Rams, coached by his former player, Cody Muller.

“(Cody) has them believing. Their kids really like him and I think it’s gonna go well.”

Pennridge controlled the third quarter, touchdown runs by Cole Urich and Ryan Garner giving the Rams their first lead of the game at 27-24.

“Unfortunately, it was too little, too late,” Muller said. “In the first half, we didn’t do anything we were supposed to do. (In the third quarter), we played our game.

“If you look at our season, in our four losses, we were bits and pieces. One quarter looks great and then the next quarter looks terrible. We haven’t put four quarters of football together.”

On what it was like going against his former coach, Muller said: “I love Coach Gallagher. We talk every week almost.

He said it best: he’ll help me 358 out of 365 days a year.”

The game lived up to a week of anticipation.

Determined to regain the lead, Souderton marched 70 yards in nine plays, the biggest chunk coming when Guthre came bursting through a trap and was on his way to a 48-yard dash down the left sideline.

A twisting, second effort by Vince on a QB sneak on 4th-and-1 kept the drive alive, and two plays later Vince faked a handoff and went sprinting to the corner, his four-yard run propelling Big Red to a 31-27 lead with 9:22 to play.

After a punt by each team, Pennridge faced a 3rd-and-15 at its own 22. Kantor tried to hit a pass over the middle but Smerecki was waiting.

“We stepped up when we had to,” he said of the defense. “We know what it feels like now. We know how to respond.”

Smerecki’s interception set up Goods’ touchdown, and Souderton had a 38-27 cushion with 3 minutes, 20 seconds to play.

The Rams made things a little more tense when Kantor hit Connor Pleibel for a 37-yard gain, setting up a one-yard plunge by Shane Hartzell to tighten it to 38-33 with 1:38 to go, followed by an onside-kick recovery by Pennridge.

But with a minute to play, Samuels would seize the moment.

“Our defense stepped up and Tre made a great play,” Gallagher said. “That was one heck of a football game.”