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: Central Bucks West handed Pennridge its first loss of the season. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Pennridge went down to West. They were 7-0 overall, one of only two unbeaten teams in the district in Class 6A. Pennridge loses to CB West, and Coatesville also loses, and they were the other unbeaten team. So, there are no longer any unbeatens in District 1 6A.
“West was 3-1 in the SOL National, and they get the win. They were down 14-7 at the half, scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to win and put themselves right now in a tie for first place in the National with Pennridge and Neshaminy, so we have a three-way tie in the SOL National.
“Pennridge, Neshaminy, CB West are all 4-1. If you look at the district power rankings for the playoffs, Pennridge is still number one, and North Penn is the next highest-ranked SOL team at number three, even though they are not in the tie for first in the SOL National.
“The win over Pennridge was a must-win for West to keep them right in the thick of the SOL National race. It also has them fourth in the district power rankings for right now after eight weeks, which would give them two home games if the seedings held. They’d have to go on the road for the semifinals, but they can worry about that later. That was a good win. Pennridge came in flying high at 7-0 and had a 14-7 lead at the half, but West fights back.
Nick Miletta, West’s junior linebacker, had a big night on defense, and he scored a touchdown on offense. West has a new quarterback in Josh George, who has played the last couple of games, and he’s played very well. Louie Cipollo had been the quarterback, and they were doing very well with him also. They moved Cipollo to running back, and he scored a touchdown in the win. George also had a short touchdown run, and they turned a 14-7 halftime deficit into a 28-14 win to put themselves at 6-2 and 4-1 in the National Conference and in a tie for first with a big game at North Penn this Friday coming up.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: West’s win over Pennridge sets up a big game with North Penn on Friday. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You look at the game on Friday, and West beat North Penn 17-14 in the same spot last year, and North Penn ended up going to the district final. They're two very good teams. I mean, it's a coin flip. I picked CB West to win, but it could go either way. North Penn has just plenty of weapons with senior quarterback Matt Bucksar, Rylei Gray, Matt Pownall and Mason Franek. They seem to have found their groove. They looked a little sluggish a couple weeks ago, but since then, they took care of CB East, CB South, and then Pennsbury the other day. I think North Penn is finding its place and they will be a tough out. So, regardless of the winner or loser Friday between West and North Penn, that loser is going to be a tough out in the district playoffs as is the winner. Who knows? Maybe they’ll see each other again in the playoffs.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy defeated Central Bucks East in a wild game. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You take a look at the Neshaminy/CB East game. Neshaminy scored on its first six possessions. Michael Eckart, the senior quarterback, had four touchdown passes, and both teams are going up and down the field. Neshaminy was up 41-22 game, but then East started coming back. It was 41-35 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Neshaminy hadn't punted yet, and East held them on downs and forced the punt. and Neshaminy's punter was punting from his goal line. It was a bad snap. He made a nice play to get the punt off, but it gave East the ball inside the Neshaminy 40. East tried a halfback option that Neshaminy kind of bit on. They had an open receiver, but the throw was just short, and I believe it was Tristan Rivera from Neshaminy came back and made a nice play to pick off the pass. If the pass had been a little bit longer, East would have scored and tied it at 41 and could have gone ahead with the extra point. So, it was just a wild game back and forth.
“You look at East - they have a sophomore quarterback in Hunter Pulford. He wears number 45, he’s a tough runner, and he's getting better and better. They've had a bunch of injuries, but Liam Hoey came in for them last week. He had been a receiver, and he scored a couple rushing touchdowns and led them in rushing. They have to go to Pennridge this week. They're 14th in the power rankings, and the top 16 teams get in, so they'd like to go a little bit higher because I think right now, they would play North Penn if the first round were this week. But it won't be easy to beat Pennridge, then they play CB West in their rivalry game a week from Friday. So, two toughies, but they have to most likely win one of them in order to solidify a spot. And somehow if they win both, they'll be in really good shape. But East was absolutely game. They were right up there with Neshaminy and fought back and put up a bunch of points but just came up a little short.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: In a battle of unbeaten Continental Conference teams, Council Rock South beat Souderton. Your comments.
Drew Markol: Last Thursday, Souderton played Council Rock South at Council Rock North, and it really was just a defensive struggle. They were back and forth. Souderton came in scoring a ton of points, but South was able to shut them down. They could do very little. It was 7-7 in the closing minutes when South quarterback Marley Emerson threw a touchdown. pass to Joey Madara in the back of the end zone to make it 14-7 with a little over a minute to play.
“Souderton gets the ball, moves to about midfield, but Madara comes up with a sack on fourth down to end it. So just an enormous win for Council Rock South. Last year they were 4-6 and were just kind of obviously treading water and not doing much. Well, now they 7-1. Their only loss was a tight one against North Penn early in the season, and they're right in the thick of the district power rankings too.
“They have to go to Quakertown Friday and then they play Council Rock North in their final game, in their annual rivalry game. If they can win those two games, they're going to win the Continental and then have a top eight seed, for sure, in the district playoffs. So, there's a lot on the line for the Golden Hawks, but they're playing well. They were playing well without Nate Szydlik, their all-state linebacker, who missed a couple games early but now that he's back, it's just another weapon and they're just rolling right along now.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Cheltenham defeated Upper Dublin 28-21 in double overtime. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Cheltenham is just kind of an enigma. They're 3-5. But they get a nice double overtime win over Upper Dublin last week. They beat Neshaminy early in the season when everybody thought Neshaminy was the team to beat in the area. But again, they've just treaded water since, but their win over Upper Dublin puts Upper Dublin in a tough spot. Upper Dublin's now 3-5 too. That was a tough loss for them.
“In that game, the game was tied at seven at the half and then 14-14 at the end of regulation. This was a heck of a game. After both teams scored in the first overtime, Isaiah Simpson scored, and that gave them the 28-21 lead. And then the Cheltenham defense stopped Upper Dublin when it had the ball in the second overtime, to preserve the win.
“It was a good win for Cheltenham. They've beaten some good teams, but they've lost some games they probably should have won. I'm sure, like a lot of teams in their spot, they're probably kicking themselves.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Upper Moreland extended Wissahickon to overtime before falling last week. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Upper Moreland plays Wissahickon, and they lose 28-27 in overtime. Wissahickon, a week earlier, had gone to overtime with Plymouth Whitemarsh and lost a close one. In overtime, Justin Valentin, who went over 100 yards in the game, scored on a one-yard run. Upper Moreland went for the win and went for a two-point pass that was unsuccessful. I give them credit for going for the win there. They could have kicked the extra point to keep the overtime going, but they go for the win and they don't get it. But it was a whale of a game, it really was.
“Wissahickon quarterback Evan Tolmie finished with over 300 yards passing, and Quentin West had five catches. Wissahickon is 7-1, and the only loss came in overtime to Plymouth Whitemarsh, so it tells you how good they are. Upper Moreland plays Plymouth Whitemarsh this Friday. If they can find a way to beat them, they put themselves back in a really good spot.”
Drew’s pick
(Winner in bold)
Pennsbury @ Abington
Bensalem @ Upper Dublin
Central Bucks East @ Pennridge
Neshaminy @ Central Bucks South
Central Bucks West @ North Penn
Harry S Truman @ Cheltenham
Council Rock North @ Souderton
Council Rock South @ Quakertown
Wissahickon @ Hatboro-Horsham
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Upper Moreland
Springfield Twp @ William Tennent
Bristol @ Lower Moreland
New Hope-Solebury @ Executive Education Academy
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