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: North Penn won the District 1 6A title with its 21-14 win over Pennridge. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You look at last week’s district final - Penridge being the top seed in the district tournament and North Penn was number two. There was a huge crowd at Pennridge for the game. Pennridge had beaten North Penn during the regular season. It was 34-10, but Pennridge only led 6-3 at the half of that regular season meeting and then scored four touchdowns in the second half to win 34-10.
“That happened to be the last time that North Penn has lost. I believe it's up to nine wins in a row now. In the district semifinals, they avenged the loss to Neshaminy by beating Neshaminy 35-7, and then they get to Pennridge. They avenged that with a 21-14 win. North Penn got out to a 14-0 lead. Rylei Gray and Matt Pownall had touchdowns.
“Pennridge is a team that doesn't score quickly. So, when they fall behind, it's hard for them to rally, and they couldn’t. North Penn has played very good defense during its nine-game streak, allowing very few points. In those nine wins, I think they've probably put up about 300 points. What they're averaging is outrageous offensively and defensively. They've been very stingy.
“Dick Beck, North Penn’s coach, made some changes, and they got faster on defense. He told me last week that one of the best things that happened to them was losing to Pennridge in the regular season because it woke them up. They realized the changes they had to make, and that's what they did. And he gets an eighth district title in 24 seasons, which is pretty impressive, his first since 2016.
“That’s a team that made the district final last year and lost. So now this year they come back, and they win it. They had the two losses in the regular season, to Neshaminy and to Pennridge, and they avenged both losses. So that's got to feel good for them. And now they play La Salle on Saturday at CB South on Saturday afternoon at 1, and it's a state semifinal.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge will now host Quakertown in Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “For Pennridge, you’re looking for your first district title. Now fortunately, they get a chance to play Quakertown on Thanksgiving. They've lost four in a row to Quakertown, so obviously none of the seniors on the team have ever beaten Quakertown. Quakertown's only won five in a row in the series once. That was back in the late 1940s, early 1950s. So, they would love to make it five in a row.
“Pennridge has a big lead in the all-time series, but Quakertown has played better as of late. And if you remember, Quakertown missed out on the playoffs. They were supposed to play Cheltenham in the regular season finale, and they couldn't play Cheltenham because of a hazing incident at Cheltenham. So, Quakertown had to find a game, and they had to play Chester, and Chester was undefeated at the time, and they lost to Chester. And that probably kept Quakertown out of the district tournament, so they haven't played since Oct. 24, which is a long time for a team. You could rightfully expect a little staleness, maybe a slow start from Quakertown because they haven't played in a month. Whereas Pennridge has been playing, and Pennridge was a win away from having to play Thursday and probably playing Saturday because they said they would play both Quakertown and the state semifinal if they won the district title.
“It's a nice consolation prize for Pennridge to get another game because not many schools play on Thanksgiving anymore, regrettably. They have a chance to not end on a sour note with the loss to North Penn in the district final. And you'll get another big crowd like you had for the district final. They’ll have a huge crowd on Thursday morning. They're back home again. So, again, it's a nice little prize for Pennridge to get a chance to keep playing.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn will face La Salle in a state semifinal on Saturday. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You look at La Salle - they are just loaded from top to bottom. They're in the Catholic League with St. Joe’s Prep, and they lost to Prep in the Catholic League championship game for years and years, and Prep would go on and win state titles. Well, this year, La Salle beat them in the regular season, and then they beat them in the Catholic League 6A championship game, so that ended Prep's run of three straight PIAA state titles.
“Last week, La Salle goes up to Easton for the state quarterfinals. They're playing a 13-0 Easton team. The game was scoreless after the first quarter, and Easton held the ball for about 11 minutes of that quarter but just could not score. La Salle scores and kind of breaks things open. In the second quarter, they kick off, and Easton fumbles the kickoff. La Salle picks it up and runs it in, and it’s 14-0. All of a sudden, it’s 28-0 at halftime. Then La Salle gets the ball to start the third quarter. They score right away, 35-0, and the mercy rule kicks in, and they win 49-7. It was very impressive how quickly they were able to score and go from a tight game to a blowout.
“La Salle’s senior quarterback, Gavin Sidwar, who's going to Missouri, threw for like 250 yards in that win. They've got two players going to Notre Dame. Joey O'Brien, who's a receiver/defensive back, was the Pennsylvania player of the year last year. He's just a threat every time he touches the ball. They have a big lineman who's about 6'8", 340, Garyson McKeogh, a kid who lives in Sellersville and is going to Notre Dame. It’s just up and down their lineup. The tight end, J.P. Oates, is going to James Madison. There are just weapons all over the place, and their offensive line probably averages about 6'4", 280, 290.
“It’ll be a very uphill climb for North Penn. As good as North Penn is – in this spot, it's always tough for the public schools when they face the private schools because there are no boundaries for the private schools, so they bring in kids from all over the place. They get the top players from all over the district, and they put together these teams that are really hard to beat.”
Drew’s picks
(Winner in bold)
Quakertown at Pennridge
North Penn vs La Salle at CB South
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