Bristol football stays undefeated with crushing win over New Hope-Solebury

NEW HOPE — Bristol senior Styles Collier does not have the size of the usual defensive end, but he certainly can hit with the power of a big, beefy lineman.

Collier, listed at 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, had a sack, a fumble recovery amd was basically everywhere on defense for the Warriors on Friday night, including a key batting down of a pass on fourth down when the game was still in doubt.

Bristol took advantage of a number of miscues to roll to a 42-7 victory over host New Hope-Solebury in a non-league game Friday. Bristol is now 2-0 on the season, while New Hope-Solebury fell to 0-2.

The Lions ended up with five fumbles (four of which the Warriors recovered), an interception by Bristol's Trae Anthony and twice the Warriors got the ball back after scoring, on successful onside kicks.

"You are not going to beat any team with six turnovers," said Lions coach Ian Bell.

Collier flipped between outside linebacker and lineman during the contest. He thinks the hard-hitting Bristol defense causes turnovers.

"We swarm to the ball," he said. "That's Bristol football. We hit hard. We don't want you to hold on to the ball."

Collier, who would like to continue playing football in college, said a lot of film study of the New Hope-Solebury offense really helped the Warriors.

"We kind of knew what they would do by the way they lined up," he said. "The coaches had us watch a lot of film."

Despite the final score, the game was competitive until late in the third quarter. Collier made big defensive plays to keep the Lions from possibly going ahead in the second half.

Bristol held a 13-7 lead at halftime but New Hope took the second half kickoff and was driving. The Lions faced fourth down and 6 at the Bristol 34-yard-line. Lions' junior quarterback Chase Lumio had rolled to his left and looked to have a receiver open for a first down. However, his pass was batted down by Collier, who skied in the air to reach it.

"I just jumped at it," said Collier, who also plays tight end on offense. "I just had to swat it down."

The Warriors would then score two touchdowns at the the end of the third period to put the game away.

Bucks County high school football: Week 2 Scores

What it means for Bristol:

The Warriors have had an outstanding start to the season. They have outscored their two opponents by a combined score of 61-7. The defense has been solid and the offense has pulled off a number of explosive plays.

What it means for New Hope-Solebury:

The Lions were able to play with Bristol most of the game, but were hurt badly by turnovers. They showed a solid running attack with Aiden Olds and Colin Foster that will challenge most defenses. If it doesn't turn the ball over, New Hope-Solebury should be competitive the rest of the season.

Key plays

A sack by the Lions' Sam Morrin almost turned things around in New Hope's favor. He killed a Bristol drive with the takedown of quarterback Brady Slate, and forced them to punt for the only time when the game was still in doubt late in the second quarter. Morrin's play kept the Lions in the game at halftime.

After Bristol recovered a New Hope fumble in the third quarter at the Lions 46-yard line, on its first play from scrimmage, Bristol's Braylen Williams scampered down the left sideline for a touchdown. His score finally gave the Warriors some separation from the Lions for a 19-7 lead.

By the Numbers: Bristol vs. New Hope-Solebury

Bristol junior quarterback Brady Slate, a first-year starter, completed 6 of 11 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

The Warriors' wide receivers had big games: Kyleal Cottrell had 92 yards receiving while Kyree Williams had 87 yards catching the ball.

New Hope-Solebury's Aiden Olds ran for 87 yards on 16 carries to lead the Lions offense.

The Lions Colin Foster ran for 64 yards on nine carries while the game was still in doubt.

Game Balls

The Bristol defense. In two games the Warriors have given up a total of seven points.

New Hope-Solebury kicker John Nettles, who displayed a powerful leg as a placekicker and punter.

Bristol quarterback Brady Slate, who has done well even though he was put unexpectedly into this position, when last year's starter decided not to come out for the team to concentrate on baseball.

They said it:

Bristol senior Styles Collier on beating New Hope-Solebury: "We wanted to show them we could play. It's something to remember when we play them again."

New Hope-Solebury coach Ian Bell on facing the Warriors again in the District One Class AA final (they are the only Class AA teams) at the end of the season: "The players know now the bar they have to reach. We have eight more weeks to get ready. "

What’s next for New Hope:

The Lions (0-2) host Springfield-Montco (1-1) on Sept. 6.

What’s next for Bristol:

The Warriors (2-0) host Overbrook (1-1) on Sept. 6.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bristol football stays undefeated with crushing win over New Hope-Solebury