Anna Marks - an avid sports fan who is the editor of Bensalem High School’s newspaper, The Parliament – is once again picking the winners! SuburbanOneSports.com welcomes submissions by aspiring student writers.
And then there were 8!
If you’re joining us for the first time, you picked a good week—we’re fresh off an undefeated second round slate of predictions and looking to keep the streak alive as the road to St. Joe’s heats up. The district field was halved again on Tuesday as only one first round team, #13 Cheltenham survived the bye teams. While eliminated from District One Title contention, the rest of the first round teams and #4 Central Bucks South headed down to the District One purgatory, the Playback Round where teams fight for 9th, 10th, 11th place for the right to go to states. It’s going to be a fun round so let’s get into it:
6A Tournament:
#1 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. #8 Garnet Valley: Both teams secured pretty decent victories over their opponents in Round 2, especially PW who ran over #17 Central Bucks East. PW went on at a super fast pace (as they have done all year), and after CB East wasn’t able to catch up early, the game was in PW’s hands. As I’ve examined Garnet Valley, I’ve seen that they struggle to find their groove early, which I think will play right into PW’s game. PW can dominate at all levels of offense and suffocate teams with their defense, and I see them doing no different tonight. 60-45 PW
#5 Souderton vs. #13 Cheltenham: The one who barely survived an upset team vs. the one who got upset. Souderton has been dominant all year, winning the SOL Colonial Division and getting a close win over Neshaminy. On the other hand, Cheltenham put their foot down in Warrington, securing an upset against #4 CB South. Like I’ve mentioned, Cheltenham is a gritty team who isn’t afraid to guard teams hard and force them to make mistakes, as they did with CB South. Upon examining Souderton, especially in the last game against Neshaminy, I noticed their vulnerability at allowing the ‘Skins to enter the paint and tear through their defense. Their win was surely not a fluke though as they made clutch shots when it mattered and battled to the end to secure the close win. With Cheltenham’s ability to play hard, disciplined defense and penetrate through defenses nicely, I’m calling for another upset. 72-69 Cheltenham
#3 Coatesville vs. #6 Abington: Both teams dominated in their opening round as their offenses pushed them to victory. Abington cruised against past #22 CR South and Coatesville did the same against #14 Chester. While Abington’s strong offense consists of junior Xander Grasty (16 ppg) and senior Faizon Garland (10 ppg), Coatesville has ESPN 2028 #3 forward Colton Hiller, who has helped Coatesville dominate the Ches-Mont League this season. I think Coatesville’s offense will be too much for Abington to handle. but with a strong offense as well, Abington will keep it close. 78-70 Coatesville
6A Playbacks:
#17 CB East vs. #24 Pennsbury: Slated for a double header with both their girls’ teams, CB East and Pennsbury are definitely ready for a fight. While these teams struggled at the end of the regular season, they have taken to the tournament as their redemption story. Pennsbury got the biggest upset win in the first round over #9 Lower Merion and showed strong against #8 Garnet Valley. The Falcons have continued to show that a seed is just a number and have proven teams wrong in the process. After a strong win over #16 Downingtown West, CB East was subjected to #1 PW, who suffocated their offense. In their matchup earlier this season, CB East edged out Pennsbury, 48-38 as CB East did well in stopping the Falcon offense. I see the same happening tonight. 53-50 CB East
#4 CB South vs. #21 Neshaminy: A tight matchup for sure, CB South and Neshaminy feature strong offensive personnel that have kept them alive in the tournament. Neshaminy pushed the pace hard against #5 Souderton, but I believe they began to not be able to keep up with their own pace toward the end. One thing that was glaring for me for sure was the underdog mentality that they have kept with them throughout the tournament. On the other hand, CB South suffered the only upset of the second round over a team that outpaced them. Furthermore, their defense wasn’t able to handle the speed as Cheltenham frequently found a way to penetrate the paint. With Logan Gale at offensive forefront for the ‘Skins, I see another upset brewing in Warrington. 67-63 Neshaminy
#14 Chester vs. #22 Council Rock South: It’s been a great run for both of these teams in the tournament. CR South had a huge opening round upset and Chester handled business against #19 Wissahickon. One thing that stands out to me about Chester is their extremely fast transition pace and interior strength. They have the ability to outmuscle their opponents down low and also play tough defense. In contrast, CR South has a great transition offense as well and their fast pace won them their first round game. It’ll be close, but I got Chester’s bigger size and pace to send CR South packing. 65-60 Chester
5A Tournament:
#1 Holy Ghost Prep vs. #4 Upper Dublin: Both are two of the strongest teams in District One. The Firebirds and Cardinals have dazzled all season. Upper Dublin, the SOL Tournament Champion, has been clutch in key moments, most notably in their buzzer beating win over #1 Plymouth Whitemarsh in the SOL semifinals. Holy Ghost Prep has been an outsider who has decimated SOL teams all year and prevailed in a lot of close games. In Holy Ghost’s District 1 Finale (joining PCL next year), I see the Firebirds continuing their success tonight in a close one. 75-72 HGP
5A Playback
#8 Harriton vs. #5 Upper Moreland: As I’ve mentioned in the earlier predictions, Upper Moreland adds a balanced attack despite their smaller frame allowing them to compete with a lot with 6A opponents. Harriton has been successful this postseason after beating Pottsgrove and going toe to toe with #1 Holy Ghost Prep. They bring more size to the table than Upper Moreland which I think can really give them the advantage this game (especially considering UM’s last game). I got Harriton. 56-49 Harriton
- Log in to post comments
