Back for its 16th season, the popular Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features football beat writer Drew Markol. To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the Intelligencer (http://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school/) and Courier Times (http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/) web sites
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge escaped with a 22-21 win in its game against 16th seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh. You were there - your comments.
Drew Markol: “I’m sure the Pennridge coaches tried to tell their team that this would not be an easy game. They looked at PW, and they had three losses, but they played some really good non-league competition. Plus, there are some good teams in the American Conference that can play with anybody in the SOL.
“PW had nothing to lose. I mean, they had a fake punt where they threw out of it. And they threw out of a reverse. Again, you're a 16 seed. Nobody expects you to win. But they gave Pennridge a scare and a half. And talking to Kyle Beller, the Pennridge coach, afterward, he said, ‘Yeah, as a coaching staff, we knew how good they were. We didn't want to play them. At the last second, it changed where we had to play them instead of somebody else. And we're like, uh-oh, because that's a really good team.’
“But Pennridge hung in there. They forced a turnover. Nolan Worman, the defensive lineman, fell on a second fumble, which gave Pennridge the ball back about halfway through the final quarter. And they drive down and have a fourth-and-goal on the one. They give the ball to Ryan Rowe, their running back and good linebacker, and he scores. Then Rowe runs off the field, thinking they're going to kick the extra point and go into overtime. They send him back out, trying to go for two. They give it to Rowe again, he runs the same play around the left side and runs it in for the two-point conversion, and Pennridge wins by a point,
“Pennridge – which trailed 14-7 at halftime and 21-7 in the third quarter - buckled down on defense in the second half. The wind was a factor, but I don't think it was a huge factor. But for a one versus 16, that's as good as you're going to get as far as both teams. James Cain for Plymouth Whitemarsh had a big rushing game. He really played well and had a 57-yard touchdown run. PW deserved a better fate than being a 16th seed.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge will host Downingtown East in Friday’s quarterfinal game. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You look at the field now. With Downingtown West, the defending district champion out of the tournament, it's really wide open. Downingtown East, the number eight seed, played Spring-Ford in the 8-9 game, and they beat Spring-Ford by four points, 20-16. That's usually the best game, and that was a pretty good one. So, you have Downingtown East coming in, and they have a sophomore running back, Juelz Chiron-Robinson, who's really their go-to guy. He had 144 yards and a touchdown last week against Spring-Ford. I saw him last year as a freshman. He was kind of undersized, but he's bulked up.
“Pennridge against PW - they were just bigger physically up front. But that won't be the case in this game. Downingtown East will be just as big or bigger than Pennridge. But I think Pennridge’s players now realize that anybody can beat anybody. And I think they'll play better than they played last week, knowing that they have to step up their game. And there's a golden opportunity here for Pennridge being the number one seed. They can host the district final if they get there, which is nice. Downingtown East is making that long ride on a Friday night, which is no fun. That will be another close one. This is a test for Pennridge. I think they'll win, but it won't be easy.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock South defeated Haverford and now has to go to Coatesville. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Council Rock South did a nice job in their win last week. They played Haverford High at home, and Gavin Lacey, the junior running back, had 168 rushing yards and scored a touchdown. Nate Szydlik, the linebacker who was all-state last year, returned an interception for a touchdown. He also had a 75-yard touchdown run. They just did a good job in the 5-12 game and won 27-7 and just did what they had to do.
“Now they have to play Coatesville, and everybody knows the long history of Coatesville football. They're always good and have numerous district championships. They're always in the field. That's a tough place to play and like we said about Downingtown East coming this way – now Council Rock South's got to make that long ride, and that'll be a tough one for them. Again, it's a 5-4 game, so it's supposed to be tough,
“Coatesville always has really good players. Their standout now is a junior offensive/defensive lineman named Max Hiller who's one of the top-rated players in the nation as a junior, and he's a five-star recruit already. He hasn't picked a school yet, but they run behind him. The quarterback, Max Ortega, is the son of a coach, and he’s a good player.
“This is a tough test for Council Rock South, but hey, they played with everybody. We always go back to it - their only loss was to North Penn in a really close game. North Penn's my favorite to win it all. And Council Rock South was right there with them without Szydlik playing. So, maybe we're underrating them a little bit, but if you go down to Coatesville and win at Coatesville, you've done something.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn and Souderton both had big wins over Boyertown and Ridley, respectively, and now North Penn will host Souderton in an all-SOL game. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Souderton hosted Ridley, who was number 10. Ridley's another one of those schools. Not quite the pedigree of a Coatesville, but they're always there. They’re always a tough team. And Souderton beats them 23-6. Hunter Smeltz, the wide receiver, had 125 yards receiving, and he scored a touchdown. And Timmy Meehan, the other receiver, had a big game too. And Ben Walsh, the quarterback, has been quarterbacking for a long time for Souderton. He did all that with the wind that we had last week. I don't know the weather for Friday, but if we get a calm night, that just aids Souderton that much more because they can run and throw it.
“But you've got to do it against a North Penn team that's really playing well. Again, North Penn is my favorite to win the whole thing. You think about it, they got smoked by Pennridge 34-10 in Week 5, and since then they've won six in a row. They beat Boyertown 42-14 last week in a no contest, and they're averaging almost 35 points a game in those six games. They just got it clicking. They were up 35-0 at the half last week against Boyertown. Matt Pownall led them last week with 165 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. Rylei Gray is another really good back. He had a touchdown. Matt Bucksar, the quarterback, has plenty of experience. The offensive line has been playing really well.
“The best thing that happened to North Penn was Pennridge smoking them because I think that woke them up, and now they're in a good spot. They're the second seed, and the way this is supposed to work, you're going to get a Pennridge-North Penn final, one versus two. It doesn't usually work that way, and I don't think it will, but if you're North Penn, I'm sure you'd like another crack at Pennridge.
“This game will be interesting because both teams can throw the ball, which you rarely see from high school teams, and they're right around the corner from each other, so it's a nice rivalry, a nice short ride for Souderton and nice for the SOL to get a quarterfinal matchup of two pretty good teams.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy upset Central Bucks West in an all-SOL contest. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You look at Neshaminy, they go back to CB West last week. They had beaten West at home during the regular season, but West hadn't lost at home all year. West goes up on Neshaminy 14-0 after one quarter, but Neshaminy comes back for a 28-21 win. Their senior quarterback, Mike Eckart, who's been fabulous all year, ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He threw for 235 yards and another two touchdowns. Neshaminy scores points, and they scored 28 or more points in eight of their games. They got 28 last week against a good CB West team. I had picked West to win that game. I thought West would turn the tables, but Neshaminy took care of them. And now Neshaminy, the 11th seed, gets another home game because their opponent, Owen J. Roberts, beat Downingtown West, the defending district champion, 10-7.
“Downingtown West had the ball on the one-yard line, the last play of the game, and Owen J stopped them to preserve the win. So now the number three seed and the defending district champion is out. So you really have opened up the field to anybody. And if you're Neshaminy, the last thing you expected was to get another home game, but now you do. So you don't have to make the long ride down to Downingtown West. And if you win this one, next week you play the Souderton-North Penn winner - teams you're familiar with. So it really fell well for Neshaminy last week as far as these district playoffs go.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: It was a rough day for the SOL’s 5A and 4A teams. Wissahickon, Upper Moreland, Upper Dublin and Springfield Twp all went home. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Perhaps the most surprising was that Wissahickon, the number five seed, played 12th-seeded Unionville at home. They had a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and everything looks like it's going well. And then the next thing you know, Unionville scores 27 straight points, and the game's over.
“Wissahickon had a great season. They were 9-2. They lost to PW in overtime. And then they lose this game. I wasn't there, but it sounds like one of those cases where you get up 14-0, you kind of take your foot off the gas a little bit, and you get a little complacent. The next thing you know, the other team gets some momentum going, and then you're in trouble. It was 14-13 at the half, but Unionville, to its credit, scores two touchdowns in the third quarter to go ahead, and that's that. Dom Harvey-Sheppard had a good game for Wissahickon. He had 143 rushing yards. He caught six passes. Quarterback Evan Tolmie threw for 150 yards in the TD, It was just one of those cases that just maybe they got a little ahead of themselves, and Unionville got some momentum, and that was that.
“Then you look at Upper Moreland – they’re up 21-7 at halftime. Upper Moreland is the 13th seed at number four, Strath Haven. Larry Hughes had a couple of touchdown catches for Upper Moreland, and they're up two touchdowns halfway through the third quarter, but then Strath Haven scores twice to tie it up, and then they scored two more times in the fourth quarter to pull away, but Upper Moreland had them on the ropes, and it just got away from them. In this case, it's kind of the reverse of Wissahickon. You had Upper Moreland, you're playing at Strath Haven, which is always a good program. You're a 13 seed, you're not supposed to win that game, but you had a chance to do it, but Strath Haven kind of woke up in the last 20 minutes of the game and was able to pull away, but that's a pretty good game effort by Upper Moreland to put up a fight like that because it really wouldn't surprise anybody if Strath Haven's in the district final.
“Upper Dublin and Springfield Twp went up on the road against the number one seed in Class 5A and 4A, respectively, and both of them saw their seasons end as well.”
Drew’s picks
(Winner in bold)
Downingtown East @ Pennridge
Council Rock South @ Coatesville
Souderton @ North Penn
Owen J Roberts @ Neshaminy
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