Davin Ridall<\/a> | August 30, 2026<\/p>\nPHILADELPHIA \u2013 They do say that defense wins championships, and while it may not have won them a championship today, it definitely was the deciding factor in Sailsbury Township\u2019s victory. Thanks to a strong defensive performance led by Jadiel Gonzalez, the Salisbury Township Falcons blanked South Philadelphia on the road 27-0 to open the season.<\/p>\n
After forcing a punt on the Falcons opening drive, the Rams took over and started to move downfield. Not long into the drive, Nathan Quap had his pass picked off by Jadiel Gonzalez. An opening drive interception for South Philadelphia was just a preview for how the game was going to go for their offense.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez\u2019s interception gave Salisbury Township excellent field position, and not too long after they were able to capitalize on it. Jazavier Oquendo scored his first of two touchdowns on the day, giving the Falcons a 7-0 lead early on in the game.<\/p>\n
South Philadelphia\u2019s defense played well early on in the game, for the most part holding the Falcons offense at bay. The problem that lingered throughout the game was the lack of offense. The Rams struggled to move the ball all game, and whenever they did, they could not get any points out of it. They had multiple opportunities near or past midfield, and could not convert on any of them.<\/p>\n
Late in the first half, Oquendo found his second touchdown of the day, giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead heading into the halftime break. After not scoring any touchdowns in his sophomore season, he was able to score twice in the first game of his junior season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a lot of these young guys out there for the first time, fresh faces that haven\u2019t played a lot of varsity,\u201d Salisbury Township Head Coach Kevin Dizenzo said about his young roster. \u201cWe\u2019ve been watching them through our system now for two years, they had successful JV seasons, I think they came out and played their tails off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Halfway through the third quarter, Falcons quarterback Keaton Frye had to come out of the game after a sack, an injury that he did not end up returning from during the game. This allowed for backup quarterback Iovani Lopez to step into the game and deliver a touchdown pass to Jadiel Gonzalez.<\/p>\n
While the story of the game was Salisbury Township\u2019s defense, the player of the game was easily Jadiel Gonzalez. On top of a recieving touchdown, Gonzalez ended up recording three interceptions, including a pick six, in the first game of his junior season.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Wimberly is our brand new secondary coach, clearly it showed today,\u201d Coach Dizenzo said about his team\u2019s defensive performance. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome to see a guy like Jadiel come out there and get three interceptions. Now he\u2019s going to end up fighting Alexander Morin for the interception king.\u201d<\/p>\n
After it was all said and done and the final horn sounded, Salisbury Township earned a 27-0 shutout victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels great man, I\u2019m super hyped right now,\u201d Jadiel Gonzalez said after the game. \u201cWe kept our physicality and intensity up in practice so far this year, we were really focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salisbury Township with the victory improves to 1-0 on the season, while South Philadelphia drops to 0-1 with their loss.<\/p>\n
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