Burr Blur: Hollomon Leaves CCSU As All Time Rushing Leader
At 5’8” 170 pounds, Central Connecticut State (CCSU) running back Rob Hollomon will never be confused with a bruiser like John Riggins or Christian Okoye. But what was Jimmy Johnson’s famous credo? “Speed kills.” Jimmy must have seen Hollomon play. Hollomon, who starred at West Catholic, will graduate as CCSU’s all-time leading rusher. Barring injury, […]
On and Off Field at Juniata: The Buck Stars Here
On October 15th, 2011, Juniata freshman quarterback Ward Udinski scampered 13 yards for a touchdown. It gave his Eagles a 7-0 first quarter lead at conference foe Ursinus. You have to appreciate the significance of that touchdown…the only one Juniata would register as they fell 21-7 to the Bears. You have to appreciate how that […]
In Scouting, Pennridge’s Lewis is Chief Chief
On the first play of last September’s Eagles-Chiefs game, Kansas City’s Quintin Demps busted out one of the longest kick returns in his career. It set the tone for Kansas City head coach Andy Reid’s 26-16 triumphal return to South Philly. Who knew that Demps, a former Eagle, had it in him? He hadn’t had […]
First Rounder Green Now Preaches Faith and Hope
“For me, and for other people you always expect it to be a certain way,” said William Green. “It” is the National Football League and Green knows all about the NFL. The Cleveland Browns’ first round draft pick in 2002 after his stellar career at Boston College, Green played in the NFL for four seasons. […]
Pennridge Shows Class in Turkey Day Win
Through out his career, he was the Class of the SOL Continental. Is it any surprise that Mike Class would come up huge in his final game as a Pennridge Ram? Especially when the game was at home, against arch-rival Quakertown, in a Thanksgiving rivalry that goes back to 1930? Senior Class’s 225 rushing yards, […]
A-Ward Winner: West Standout Now Stars as Juniata QB
Juniata junior quarterback Ward Udinski is majoring in mathematics and management. It’s the ideal combo for a player who, again, is managing a 180 degree turnaround. A former C.B. West star, Udinski is the best dual-threat in the Centennial Conference. His 662 yards on the ground rank among conference leaders; he also completed 166 of […]
Pirates Come Up Just Short vs. S. Lehigh
On a crisp night last Friday, host Palisades went into halftime having thoroughly outplayed Southern Lehigh in a battle of two 7-1 Colonial League foes. The Pirates held the ball for 18 minutes compared to the Spartans’ six. Palisades recorded nine first downs versus Southern Lehigh’s three. And the Pirates’ potent ground attack out-gained the […]
Football: Big Plays Mar Strong Q’Town Effort
To run in the October 3rd Bucks County Herald Looks can be deceiving. The North Penn Knights (2-3) have a losing record.…thanks to opening the season with three losses against three state title contenders. The Knights rolled to their second straight impressive SOL Continental win, a 28-7 victory at Quakertown (3-2) on Friday, but the […]
Football: Killer “Ds” Lead South Past H-H
To run in the September 26th Bucks County Herald CB South (3-1) opened SOL Continental play Friday night by notching a 30-16 road win over Hatboro-Horsham (2-2). The “W” happened because two “Ds” got “A” grades. The first D was running back Dion Clifton, who picked up 196 of the Titans’ 342 yards on 24 […]
Rock Slide: CR North Rolls over Hatboro-Horsham
Maybe it was the oddity of playing on a Monday Night, a game re-scheduled when thunderstorms wiped out the originally scheduled Thursday kickoff. Maybe it was the near full moon. Maybe it was just great execution. Regardless, Council Rock North (3-0) put together big play after big play- including arguably the most bizarre first quarter […]
Catty Pulls Away from Palisades
To run in the September 19th Bucks County Herald To beat the #6 team in the state, you have to play near perfect football. Palisades (2-1) did not play a perfect first half when they hosted Catasauqua (3-0) on Friday. But the Pirates played a very, very good one- committing no penalties, keeping the Rough […]
Lions Roar Early, Often in Second Straight Rout
For the September 12th Bucks County Herald Scoring touchdowns on the first two plays that they touched the ball, the New Hope-Solebury Lions (2-0) cruised to a 49-7 home conference win against the Morrisville Bulldogs (1-1) on Friday night. The win featured huge contributions from all three phases of Coach Jim DiTulio’s team. Offense? Quarterback […]
Rams Rally; Reign in Randy’s Return
For the September 5th Bucks County Herald Before Pennridge and Emmaus even kicked off Friday night in Sellersville, there were enough sub-plots to challenge any editor’s word count. “They started a little slow this week,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Hollenbach, “but by the time we got to 7:00 we were good to go. And we […]
Palisades’ Stanell Eyes Record Breaking Fall for Hamilton
Hyperinflation during the American Revolution made our currency useless. So much so that “it ain’t worth a Continental”, for generations, meant something with zero value. But for the Hamilton Continental football team, senior running back and former Palisades star James Stanell is worth his weight in gold. “James is a high character young man who […]
NFL recap Week Nine
NFL Recap: Area Alumni Thrive on Sundays By Don Leypold Here is a recap on how Eastern Pennsylvania alumni fared on week 9 in the National Football League. Matt Ryan (Penn Charter/QB/Atlanta) completed 24-of-34 passes for a season high 342 yards as the Atlanta Falcons remained perfect, improving to 8-0 with their 19-13 win […]
NFL Recap: Area Alumni Thrive on Sundays
Here is a recap on how Eastern Pennsylvania alumni fared on week 8 in the National Football League. Matt Ryan (Penn Charter/QB/Atlanta) completed 22-of-29 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons went on the road to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 30-17. Matty Ice and the Falcons remain unbeaten. Bernard […]
DE Morgan a Keystone of Titans’ Defense
He may be an emerging force in The League, but don’t expect Tennessee Titan DE Derrick Morgan to Big League his hometown. The Coatesville product has started the last 17 of Tennessee’s games after being selected with the 16th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. The selection capped an All-American career at Georgia Tech. In […]
Coaching Legend Moore Talks Faith, Football in Bucks County
Three consecutive national championships. The fifth winningest active coach in Division I. Author of arguably the biggest upset in college football history…certainly in the last decade. Six consecutive conference championships, with the hopes of adding a seventh this Fall. Really, is there anything “Moore” that Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore needs to do […]
Inspiring Teens is ex-NFLer’s Life’s Work
By Don Leypoldt Do you know how long it took former NFL defensive back Steve Fitzhugh to realize that he had a platform? One day. His first day of training camp with the Denver Broncos. “I was a nobody. A free agent from Miami of Ohio,” Fitzhugh recalled. “I get to the practice field and see a huge […]
Persa-verance: ’06 Henry Winner One of College Football’s Best
Note: Originally appeared in the Maxwell Football Club’s program for the 26th Jim Henry Banquet held January 13, 2011 By Don Leypoldt Remember the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den? Daniel Vaughn (Dan) Persa, the 2006 Jim Henry Award winner, former Pennsylvania 4A Prep Player of the Year and current dual-threat, stand out Northwestern […]
Pennridge Outlasts Q’Town in Snowy Turkey Day Classic
To run in the December 1st Bucks County Herald This was the Thanksgiving menu in Quakertown: Turkey. Cranberries. Generous helpings of defense. Two big scoops of Jesse Knepp. A slice of snow and a ladle of Americana. Senior tailback Knepp broke off touchdown runs of 63 and 51 yards to lead his Pennridge Rams (7-5. 3-4) to a 22-12 […]
Will(iams) Power: West Football Upsets C’Ville in Districts
For the November 17th Bucks County Herald See Rashaad run. Run Rashaad run. If you want a complicated storyline, read Hugo. The storyline of 10-seeded C.B. West’s (9-2) 42-28 Friday night upset at 7-seed Coatesville (8-3) was simple: senior tailback Rashaad Williams ran for 420 yards and five touchdowns as the winningest program in Bucks […]
Big Ben’s Sparks South Football in Senior Night Win
For the November 11th Bucks County Herald It’s common knowledge around the SOL Continental that the C.B. South Titans (4-6, 2-5) can score. Five times in 2010, they hung 34 points on an opponent. And it’s common knowledge that junior Matt Johns, who completed 17 passes for 203 yards in the Titans’ 38-27 Friday Senior Night season finale […]
Lions Fall Short to Morrisville in BAL Battle
By Don Leypoldt For the November 4th Bucks County Herald Friday night’s home contest versus Bicentennial League rival Morrisville was a good news/bad news game for a New Hope-Solebury Lion team in the midst of an up and down season. The 33-20 loss was the bad news. The 20 point output- the most in NH-S’ […]
Football: “New” Seniors Play Clutch Roles for West, Pennridge
To run in the October 28th Bucks County Herald Facing third-and-six on C.B. West’s opening drive Friday night while hosting Pennridge, senior QB Ward Udinski calmly found classmate and WR Bill Bell for a 20 yard gain. Two plays later, RB Rashaad Williams sprinted 25 yards through a crease for a touchdown. It was all […]
Instant Classic?: West Football Nips East
For the October 21st Bucks County Herald The wind- Old Glory flew straight out at times in War Memorial Stadium on Friday night- and an equally stiff C.B. East Patriot defense ensured that C.B. West quarterback Ward Udinski would have difficulty winning with his arm. So he went with his legs instead. Udinski’s two rushing […]
C.B. East Nips Pennridge as “Ds” Dominate
For the October 13th Bucks County Herald Pennridge head coach Randy Cuthbert starred at running back at Duke. C.B. East head man John Donnelly played tight end at New Hampshire. On Friday night, Donnelly’s Patriots (3-3, 2-1) went to Pennridge and beat the Rams 7-0 (3-3, 0-2). One would never guess that offense was the […]
49 Point Bucks: West Football Rolls Over South
For the October 7th Bucks County Herald It would be unfair to call C.B. West’s Friday 49-7 statement win at C.B. South “lucky sevens.” True, the Bucks had seven possessions. And on plays as dramatic as senior RB Rashaad Williams’ 96 yard touchdown run and as mundane as QB Ward Udinski’s one yard scoring sneak, […]
East Football Pulls Away from H-H
For the September 30th Bucks County Herald Football, really, is a pretty simple game. Folks can talk B gaps, three-techniques and zone read options. But if a team outmuscles their opponent, like the C.B. East Patriots (2-2, 1-0) did in their Friday home 42-20 win over the Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (2-2, 0-1), that team will usually […]
Cheltenham Bests Quakertown in Panther Battle
For the September 23rd Bucks County Herald So close. The Quakertown Panther offense came so very close. Three times, on a soggy Thursday night at Cheltenham, the Q-Panthers had first and goal. Yet Quakertown managed just six points out of those red zone incursions. So close. The Quakertown Panther defense came so very close. For over three quarters, Quakertown checked Cheltenham’s two blurs: […]
Kid-Knepp-ed: Pennridge Runs Past Owls
For the September 15th Bucks County Herald On host Pennridge’s fourth play from scrimmage- their first play after Ram senior fullback Brandon Cope ran 34 yards for a touchdown- Bensalem stopped senior tailback Jesse Knepp for a one yard loss. Hope Bensalem enjoyed it while it lasted. Knepp would run for 231 yards on his […]
Julian Is Jubilant as Lions Get New Den
For the September 9th Bucks County Herald After a sixty plus year absence, New Hope-Solebury finally christened their own home football field on Friday night. And thanks to Julian Kaminoff, they may already need to re-sod it. The NH-S junior running back ran wild, scoring six touchdowns in four different ways to spark a 42-0 […]
Pennridge’s Roberts On Rebound for Pittsburgh
Published in the September 2nd Bucks County Herald The 2009 football season didn’t exactly go as planned for Tristan Roberts. The 6’1” 235 pound former Pennridge star worked his way up the depth chart for Pittsburgh: impressing the coaches in 2007 as a redshirt freshman on the scout team. Appearing in every Panther game in […]
Bills’, East’s Scott Shows Passion On and Off Field
“Published in the August 26th Bucks County Herald” “It’s really important for students to be well rounded, especially in your adolescent years,” believes Buffalo Bill safety and former C.B. East star Bryan Scott. Scott was talking about the arts, yet the eight year NFL veteran could also be describing his versatile career. Herald readers remember […]
New Faces in Old Places- Four New Football Coaches To Debut
To run in the August 18th Bucks County Herald On September 3rd, Randy Cuthbert starts his sixth season leading Pennridge’s football program. Making him the Dean of Upper Bucks football coaches. By far. C.B. East, C.B. South, Palisades and Quakertown will all have new head men when the 2010 football season kicks off. Head coaches […]
1980 It was Easy Being Green
By Don Leypoldt The University of Pittsburgh is a “city school” by any definition. But from 1977 to 1980, the Oakland campus morphed into Green Acres. 32 seasons ago, the defending national champion Pitt Panther defense plunked a true freshman into a starting role. Hugh Green left four years later with the 1980 Maxwell Award […]
Ex-Eagle Star Logan Still a Safety For Troubled Kids
By Don Leypoldt Randy Logan walked into a mess. The collegiate All-American, the team captain at Michigan who was voted the Wolverines’ MVP his senior year, found himself starting in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 1973 opener. Across Pennsylvania at this time Pittsburgh’s notorious “Steel Curtain” began to re-define great defense. The 1973 Eagle defense was not […]
Pennridge Nips Quakertown in Turkey Day Thriller
By Don Leypoldt To run in the December 6th Bucks County Herald Pennridge junior RB Jesse Knepp was the hero on Thanksgiving when his Rams hosted Quakertown. Knepp ran for exactly 200 yards. Wait, Knepp may have to cede the hero crown to Panther DB Kurtis Roberts. Roberts returned a punt 62 yards for a […]
Avon Grove Advances to District Quarterfinals
By Don Leypoldt To Run in the Nov. 19th Bucks County Herald Perhaps it was in honor of being the 5 seed. Or perhaps it’s because Avon Grove (10-1) boasts several extremely talented running backs. Either way, the #5-seed host Red Devils scored on their first five possessions en route to a 41-14 victory over the #12 […]
East Football Pulls off “C.B. Sweep”
By Don Leypoldt Just one word can describe C.B. East’s (3-7, 3-4) 35-21 frigid Friday home win against brother school C.B. South (3-7, 3-4). White-Wash. Though it might have been Senior Night, Patriot junior RB Justyn White stole the show by running for 321 yards and five touchdowns on 31 carries. The win gives the […]
Southern Lehigh Bests Palisades 30-14
By Don Leypoldt To run in the Nov. 5th Bucks County Herald How hot was Corey Sroka on Friday night at Palisades? So hot that even when the senior Southern Lehigh quarterback made a rare miscue, it turned into a touchdown for his Spartans. Facing a 4th down at the P-35 midway through the fourth quarter, Palisades standout […]
Pennridge Football Marches Past West
By Don Leypoldt To Run in the 10/29 Bucks County Herald Ian Walbridge was stopped dead in his tracks, wrapped up by three C.B. West defenders. But the Pennridge senior RB somehow squirmed free and raced 27 yards for an opening touchdown. Not a bad analogy for Pennridge’s (4-4, 2-2) season. After their loss to C.B. East on […]
Different Exit, Same Result for North Penn
By Don Leypoldt To run in the October 22nd Bucks County Herald Professional wrestling- hardly the source of profound axioms. But credit Ric Flair for spouting one truism- “To be The Man, you gotta beat The Man.” For the last two years, “The Man” in the SOL Continental has been the mighty North Penn Knights […]
Q’Town Offense Too Much in Win Over South
By Don Leypoldt To run in the 10/15 Bucks County Herald Central Bucks South Titan quarterback Matt Johns (10 for 22, 236 yards) threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns while his southpaw counterpart, Quakertown Panther Ryan Tincknell (6 for 10, 97 yards), tossed a pair of touchdowns and a two-point conversion pass of his own… […]
Welk’s Big Night Sparks South Football to Win
By Don Leypoldt To Run in the 10.8 Bucks County Herald C.B. South DB Matt Welk might make for a great film critic after graduation. “We’ve been practicing (C.B. West’s) plays all week,” noted the senior. “We’ve been scouting them and watching film. All of the plays, I was just reading the quarterback and playing […]
Hatters best East football in Defensive Battle
By Don Leypoldt To run in the September 30th Bucks County Herald It’s a shame one of the heavyweights had to lose the fight. In the home corner was the Hatboro-Horsham defense, which forced three turnovers and held C.B. East to just 27 yards on their first five drives. On the visitors’ side was a […]
Pennridge Football Stays Hot in P-W Win
By Don Leypoldt To run in September 23rd Bucks County Herald Call it Four-ward progress. Pennridge (2-1) senior running back Ian Walbridge, #4 in your program, gashed Plymouth-Whitemarsh (0-3) for 220 rushing yards and two long touchdown runs in the Rams’ convincing 42-6 win on Thursday night. Football games last 48 minutes, but it took […]
New Hope-Solebury Falls to Bristol in Inaugural Game
By Don Leypoldt To run in the September 16th Bucks County Herald Bristol Borough was founded in the late 1600s. That makes for a lot of history. It was appropriate then that both New Hope-Solebury (0-1) and Bristol (2-0) made history of their own in the borough during Friday night’s rainy Warrior 29-14 win. When […]
Q’Town Football Mercy Rules Methacton in Opener
By Don Leypoldt To run in the September 9th Bucks County Herald Bold things are expected of the Quakertown Panthers this year. It’s bold when the Philadelphia Inquirer proclaims you as one of the top dozen AAAA teams in the region. It’s bold when they put two senior Panthers- running back Tony Latronica and linebacker […]
Ruch Solid: Quakertown alum starting on gridiron for Rutgers
This ran on the July 29th issue of the Bucks County Herald. Rutgers’ Dec. 4 game against Big East foe Louisville last season was the evening’s only national prime contest. Wow, did they take advantage of the spotlight. The Scarlet Knights pulverized Louisville, taking a 49-0 lead at the half and winning 63-14. Rutgers put […]
