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 defeated North Penn for the first time in 12 years. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “It was a 6-3 game at the half in favor of Pennridge, and in the second half, Penridge scored four touchdowns. Noah Keating, the senior quarterback, runs for three of them, throws for another one. North Penn has a couple of fumbles. I've been covering North Penn football for 30 years, and they just self-destructed, and Pennridge ran them over in the second half. It was hard to believe what they did to them.
“Noah Keating is like 6'3", 215 - he's a big kid, and he was running right up the middle against them for chunks of yardage. The touchdowns - it was like a quarterback sneak where he's almost ready to fall down, and then he realizes, ‘All right, well, nobody's hitting me,’ so he just kept running.
“One of the big turning points was end of the first half. North Penn had a first-and-goal on the Pennridge five. They ran three running plays and didn't score. Pennridge had the lead and all that momentum going into the half. Dick Beck, the North Penn coach, blamed himself saying he should have ran a play action or something, but I think they thought they could just jam it down Pennridge's throat, and they couldn’t. That was enormous that they held them like that. It was like – ‘Wow, we got ourselves a game,’ and then it turned out we didn’t have a game because Pennridge blew them out in the second half.
“Pennridge came in at 4-0, but it was always like, ‘Wait until they play North Penn. That’s the litmus test.’ Well, they passed, they absolutely passed. Ryan Rowe, the linebacker, is going to Princeton. He was making tackles all over the place. Will Dougherty, the running back, got good yardage. Sean Leuthe is a good wide receiver.
“Luis Nunez, their fielder goal kicker who struggled last year, kicked 36- and 41-yard field goals. On the second 36-yarder, Pennridge gets hit with a false start, so they've got to move the ball back. And you're thinking, all right, well, now they'll punt. Well, no, they kept him out there, and he made it. And he made all his extra points. So, Pennridge has got a lot of good things clicking. They're 2-0 in the National, and North Penn is 0-2 in the National. I couldn't tell you the last time that happened.
“So, this week CB East is at North Penn. North Penn is at 3-2. This is a district finalist from last year with a lot of players back, and CB East is no pushover. Of course, CB East lost Mike Price, a junior running back, to a knee injury, but they still shut out Pennsbury, which is struggling, but they’re playing good defense. The season is unfolding like I wasn't sure it would unfold.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks West edged Central Bucks South 25-21 in another key National Conference battle. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Last year, CB South beat CB West on a Hail Mary. This time Nick Miletto - who's a very good linebacker and also had a rushing touchdown in that game – intercepted South’s Hail Mary pass to end the game. Then you have Louie Cipollo, the West quarterback, who’s getting better every week. He had a couple of rushing touchdowns and ran for over 100 yards. He threw a touchdown pass.
“CB West lost its season opener to Easton, and they had the ball with a chance to go ahead, and they fumbled. Easton is 5-0, so West’s only loss is to a pretty good Easton team. Since then, they’re 4-0, and they look like CB West again.
“You look at CB West going to Neshaminy this week. Neshaminy had the blip a couple weeks ago when they lost to Cheltenham. They come back and rally to beat North Penn late for the first time in a long time. And last week, they took care of Abington. Neshaminy's quarterback, senior Michael Eckart, threw five touchdown passes against Abington, and he can run. Carter Clee, the running back, is really good. The Sassano brothers are catching passes. Neshaminy's got it going, and now they've got to play CB West. That’s the game of the week, without a question.
“Both teams are 4-1, but they're both 2-0 in conference play. And, you know, that one's worth watching because both teams are riding high. You have two good quarterbacks with Louie Cipollo for West and Michael Eckart for Neshaminy. And Nick Felus, the first year Neshaminy coach, is doing a great job. Think about that - the winner of that game will be 3-0 in the National Conference and probably tied with Pennridge for the top spot. Now you're 5-1, and you win one more game, you're in districts for sure. You win three more games and you're going to get a pretty good seed. There’s a lot riding on that game, and both teams are coming in pretty hot. So, let's see what happens.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Bensalem notched a big 38-30 win over Cheltenham. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “We’ve talked every week about how the Continental Conference is wide open, and I believe it is. I'm still not sure who the best team is. Is it Souderton? Is it CR South? We’ll find out. But you look at Bensalem, that game was a two-point game after three quarters, 18-16. It’s that close, then Cheltenham went ahead 23-18 after a James Smith touchdown, but Aidan Mayfield for Bensalem scored a touchdown on a kickoff return to give Bensalem a 24-23 lead. I say it every week, but he's the best running back in the SOL, not just the conference.
He scored earlier on a touchdown pass from quarterback Myles Annan, who's having a really nice year. Bensalem had that loss to Quakertown, but they bounced back and beat a Cheltenham team that handed Neshaminy its only loss. You look at Bensalem – they had a 21-7 loss to Quakertown, but their only other loss was against 5-0 Pennridge 36-33 in a wild game, and that's a good Pennridge defense, and they put up 33 points on them. The Quakertown loss is one they probably want back, but they lost a tight one to Penridge, so Bensalem's right there in that mix for sure.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton won the 309 Bowl against Quakertown. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Souderton fell behind 12-0 and won 49-12. I heard that score early, and I'm like, wow, it's 12-0, and Quakertown's up. It’s the 309 Bowl, and that game is usually pretty close. All of a sudden, you hear that Souderton scored 49 unanswered points, and you’re like what in lord's name happened. JoJo Sudi, the running back, had a huge game. Souderton has some different weapons all over the place. Their quarterback, Ben Walsh, is really good. He’s a three-year starter. Hunter Smeltz and Timmy Meehan are nice receivers, Sudi is a good running back, and I like Michael McCormick, the fullback. You look at it - Souderton ran for 354 yards. That's hard to do, and that's also a sign of not panicking when you fall behind 12-0. You trust your running game. Sudi had almost half of that number with just a handful of carries. He had 150-something yards rushing on seven carries. Souderton is 4-1 now, 2-0 in the Continental. Their only loss was against CB West, so that's not a bad loss. It’s just part of this Continental race with Souderton, CR South, Bensalem, maybe throw Quakertown in there, Upper Dublin, maybe not this year. But there are some new names.
“And remember, Souderton won the conference two years ago, and they tied for the conference last year. They seem to be well on their way to repeat, but they still have to play Council Rock South, they still have to play Bensalem, and but this is a big rivalry game, a big win. When you fall behind 12-0 and then just stay patient and score seven straight touchdowns, that's telling.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: The SOL American begins play this week. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Wissahickon is obviously rolling right along, but you can't count PW out either. They won 44-0 over Penn Wood and seem to be finding their stride a little bit. PW plays a really tough schedule, and it gets them ready for the playoffs. Let's face it, they've dominated the American Conference. Last week, PW had a 21-0 lead real early, and it was a mercy rule by halftime. They were up 38-0 at the half, and they're coming into their own. Mike Giangiulio had three touchdowns. Their other running back, James Cain, had a long touchdown run. Their quarterback, Cole Reilly, threw for a couple of touchdowns.
“Wissahickon is 4-0, and that could be the game of the year in the American Conference when those two play. Don’t discount Springfield and don't discount Upper Moreland. The American Conference will be interesting too. You look at PW’s record and they're 2-3. Well, look at their schedule and look at the teams they played, and you'll see they're going to be okay. They’ll never admit this, but if they go 5-0 in conference play, they win a conference title, and they've got seven wins and they head to the playoffs in good shape. That’s why you play a tough non-conference schedule to get yourself battle tested.”
Drew’s picks
(Winners in bold)
Abington @ Pennridge
Bensalem @ Council Rock South
Central Bucks East @ North Penn
Pennsburg @ Central Bucks South
Central Bucks West @ Neshaminy
Cheltenham @ Souderton
Council Rock North @ Quakertown
Harry S Truman @ Upper Dublin
Hatboro-Horsham @ Plymouth Whitemarsh
Renaissance Academy @ Lower Moreland
Morrisville @ New Hope-Solebury
Upper Moreland @ Springfield Twp
William Tennent @ Wissahickon
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