#WissNation
One Half Was All Wissahickon Needed To Win Over Simon Gratz
By: Noah Stomsky | September 14, 2023
Using one word to describe the game, brutal. Wissahickon found themselves up 44-0 at the half and that's when they stepped off the pedal. The final score of 44-28 doesn't actually tell the full story. Wissahickon's Jaden Randall took a bad hit and landed weirdly on his shoulder in the first drive of the game sidelining him for the remainder of the game, so QB Nolan Pounds stepped in and delivered. Dropping all 44 of Wissahickon's points in the first half, this would be a game to forget for Simon Gratz.
"Jaden, he would've done the same thing tonight if not more, I gotta say that and then it's the rest of the team it's the guys around me; I really didn't have to do much tonight. They make it very easy for me, me and Jaden. Obviously my prayers are there for Jaden but h'’ll be ok," Pounds said on taking over tonight after Randall's injury.
Randall going down was scary. Barley being able to walk, holding his knee, and unable to move his arm, you would've thought he tore something. Luckily once on the sideline, he could walk fine and wanted to get back out there a quarter later. However, once Pounds took over, he shined in his half finding Amari Nash eighteen-plus yards in the back of the end zone put Wiss up 8-0 with the two-point conversion. Pound's last touchdown came at the hands and abilities of Jaden McLean. A 44-yard pass down the middle of the field was as simple as it would get. Wissahickon was up 30-0 once McLean scored with 6:55 in the half. Wissahickon had sealed the game by now but still wanted more.
Wissahickon's freshmen Quasir Sampson at running back and Ryan Kim at kicker each had themselves a day. Sampson took over the role of starting running back and was nicknamed "Nick Chubb" by fans showing signs of the way Chubb plays. Getting low and running the defender over, he can beat you with power or with speed. With a two-touchdown performance after having a career game with a 177 yards and 2 touchdowns against Lower Merion, Sampson is showing the district his talents, and he has three more years to improve. Kickers do'’t get much notice until the play, but Kim should've been looked at closer during film hours. Three onside kick recoveries on six tries is a higher recovery percentage than most teams ever get. Quentin West and Kareem Lee also contributed scores for Wissahickon in their forty-four-point half outburst.
"It feels great, I'd just like to thank my team I couldn't do it without my team,” said Sampson on how he feels taking this "starter" role as a freshman.
For Simon Gratz, Hyneef Thomas appeared when it was a little too late in the final moments for Gratz. Three touchdowns for him all within 7:20 remaining in the third with a running clock. Simon Gratz had issues but Hyneef was a bright spot in the many issues. Tray Parson also added a score for Gratz at the three-minute mark remaining in the game. Simon Gratz takes on Northeast High School next Friday at Gratz Supersite at 7 p.m.
Wissahickon advances to 4-0 on the year for the first time since 2006. Next Friday they take on cross-town rival Upper Dublin away at 7:00. Upper Dublin has had the upper hand winning the last eleven meetings. Last season Upper Dublin handled Wissahickon with ease winning 47-0, For this year, it may not be as easy for UD.
"We don’t care about that at all, were focused on one week at a time and now we gotta really big challenge coming up next week," Coach Rory Graver said on advancing to 4-0 for the first time since 2006.
"We gotta play our best football," Pounds said on taking on UD.
"They a great team, we a great team. It's gonna be a dogfight," Sampson said on looking forward to Upper Dublin.
"Upper Dublin's a really good team, we gotta be at our best and were gonna give it everything we have, they're the district one reigning champions so it's gonna be a really big test for us," continued Coach Graver on possibly beating UD for the first time since 2012.
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