Scott Huff grades the leagues after the opening round of districts and also highlights last week’s top offensive performances.
By Scott Huff
The first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs is in the record books – and the early grades are in for the respective leagues/conferences in the district.
Suburban One League National Conference – [A]
There were four teams from the SOL National Conference that began district play – and three of them came out with impressive victories. Pennsbury (10-1) soared to a 55-20 win over Upper Darby (8-3); Neshaminy (10-1) captured a convincing 41-7 win over Unionville (8-3); Abington (9-2) was terrific in a 55-25 victory over Upper Dublin (9-2); and only Council Rock North (7-4) was on the short end of the score with a competitive 35-21 loss to #1 seeded Garnet Valley (11-0).
Suburban One League Continental Conference – [A]
There were two teams from the SOL Continental Conference that began district play – and both were big winners. Central Bucks West (9-2) was able to earn a second round home game with a remarkable 50-26 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-3). North Penn (8-3) was a road warrior as the Knights sent home defending District One champion Coatesville (9-2) by a 31-0 score.
Pioneer Athletic Conference – [A]
There were two teams from the PAC-10 that began district play – and both were impressive lower seed winners against Ches-Mont League opponents. Spring-Ford (9-2) was a big-time 43-21 winner over Downingtown West (9-2). Perkiomen Valley was a 15 seed that easily handled #2 seed West Chester Rustin (10-1) by a 26-6 score.
Central League – [C]
There were two teams from the Central League that began district play – one winner and one loser. Garnet Valley (11-0) was the #1 seed and defeated Council Rock North (7-4) by a 35-21 tally, while Upper Darby (8-3) fell to Pennsbury (10-1) by a 55-20 margin.
Suburban One League American Conference – [D-]
There were two teams from the SOL American Conference that began district play – and both were on the losing end of some lopsided scores. Upper Dublin (9-2) closed out its season with a 55-25 loss to Abington (9-2); while Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-3) had a rough night against Central Bucks West (9-2), losing 50-26.
Ches-Mont League American Conference – [F]
There were two Ches-Mont League American Conference teams that began district play – and both lost. West Chester Rustin (10-1) was a #2 seed and was easily defeated by Perkiomen Valley (9-2) by a 26-6 score, while Unionville (8-3) was routed by Neshaminy (10-1) by a 41-7 margin.
Ches-Mont League National Conference – [F]
There were two Ches-Mont League National Conference teams that began district play – and both lost to lower seeded teams. Coatesville (9-2) was the defending district champion and lost to North Penn (8-3) by a resounding 31-0 score while Downingtown West (9-2) saw its season come to a close with a 43-21 loss to Spring-Ford (9-2).
The PIAA Quad-A District One second round playoff games will be played Friday with the following matchups: [#8] Abington Ghosts (SOL National) @ [#1] Garnet Valley Jaguars (Central League); [#12] Spring-Ford Rams (PAC-10) @ [#4] Neshaminy Redskins (SOL National); [#15] Perkiomen Valley Vikings (PAC-10) @ Central Bucks West Bucks (SOL Continental); and [#11] North Penn Knights (SOL Continental) @ [#3] Pennsbury Falcons (SOL National).
And the beat goes on …
Suburban One League National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Council Rock North Indians
Council Rock North (7-4) saw its fine season come to an end when the Indians were defeated in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs by #1 seed Garnet Valley (11-0) – 35-21.
“We played them tough and I was extremely proud of our effort,” said Rock North head coach Adam Collachi. “We will get away from the game for a few weeks, and then we will be getting ready for our move to the new conference next year.”
Council Rock North along with Council Rock South, William Tennent, and Truman will make the move from the Suburban One League National Conference to the Suburban One League Continental next season. The Indians will join Central Bucks West, Central Bucks East, Norristown, and most likely Quakertown to form the new eight-team conference.
“I have a lot of pride playing in the National Conference, and I wished the best of luck to (Neshaminy head coach) Mark Schmidt, (Pennsbury head coach) Galen Snyder, and (Abington head coach) Tim Sorber,” Collachi said. “I hope they continue to win playoff games, but I’m glad we won’t be playing them for at least the next two years during the regular season.”
Rock North – in addition to playing Garnet Valley last week – played Abington in the regular SOL National season this year. Garnet Valley hosts Abington in the second round of the playoffs, and Collachi offered this ‘scouting report.’
“I love Abington’s athleticism and the fact that they have playoff experience,” said Collachi. “Garnet Valley has numbers and can send players in waves and wear you down.
“It should be a great high school football game between two good football teams,” added Collachi. “I do like Abington’s chances, though.”
Suburban One League National Conference ‘Honor Roll’ Last Week
D’Andre Pollard of Neshaminy rushed for 245 yards and scored 4 touchdowns as the Redskins routed Unionville 41-7 in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
Charles Snorweah and Ronquay Smith of Pennsbury each scored 3 touchdowns as the Falcons soared to a 55-20 victory over Upper Darby in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs. Snorweah rushed for 250 yards, while Smith added 130 yards for the winners.
Craig Reynolds of Abington set the single season rushing record for the Ghosts as he rushed for 135 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first half of Abington’s 55-25 victory over Upper Dublin in the first round of the PIAA District One playoffs.
Brandon McIlwain of Council Rock North rushed for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns and passed for a third score as the Indians season came to a close in a 35-21 victory over Garnet Valley in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
Trysten Hunt of Truman rushed for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Tigers clawed Harriton 58-18 in a non-conference game.
Suburban One League Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Quakertown Panthers
There is no PIAA Quad-A District One playoff game for Quakertown (6-4) – but there is Pennridge (7-4) on Thanksgiving morning at Poppy Yoder Field in Perkasie.
“The Thanksgiving game is so meaningful to both communities, and the game is very special to both programs,” said Quakertown head coach George Banas – himself a Quakertown alum. “No matter what your season is like – the Pennridge game is always there to look forward to. Your record could be 1-10, but if that one win came against Pennridge, it would be considered a good season.”
This 2013 season both the Panthers (3-3) and the Rams (3-3) are members of the SOL Continental Conference. Next year, Pennridge will move ‘up’ to the higher enrollment schools of the SOL in the National Conference while Quakertown (if rumor has it right) will remain in the so-called ‘middle enrollment’ conference of the SOL – the Continental Conference.
“We will always play the Pennridge game on Thanksgiving, but it is going to be nice that both our conference schedules will be over by Week 10,” said Banas. “There is nothing better than to be able to beat Pennridge and sit at the table on Thanksgiving afternoon to eat with your family. We will prepare hard for them again this year.”
Part of that preparation will be a non-conference game this Friday against Phoenixville (4-7) of the Pioneer Athletic League - at Alumni Field in Quakertown.
“I love the fact that we added this game to our schedule,” said Banas. “It would have been a layoff of over a month, and now we get to play on the 15th and again two weeks later on Thanksgiving. It is a great time of year for both the coaches and players.”
Suburban One League Continental Conference ‘Honor Roll’ Last Week
Marvin Todd of Central Bucks West rushed for a staggering 6 touchdowns and 230 yards as the Bucks routed Plymouth Whitemarsh 50-26 in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
Nyfease West of North Penn rushed for a game-high 145 yards as the Knights marched to a 31-0 victory over Coatesville in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
Kingsley Nworu of Hatboro-Horsham rushed for a game-high 90 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Hatters topped Cheltenham 32-20 in a non-conference game.
Michael Class of Pennridge rushed for a team-high 115 yards and scored on a touchdown pass as the Rams were defeated by Archbishop Ryan 38-14 in a non-conference game.
Suburban One League American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Dan Chang has heard it all before. The Suburban One League American Conference cannot compete with the rest of the teams in District One.
“We keep hearing that, and until one of us starts winning games in the playoffs, we’re going to continue to hear that,” said Chang as both his Colonials and Upper Dublin were ushered out of the playoffs in the first round. “Any time you get into a playoff, only the team that wins the state title doesn’t lose that last game. But we still want to be a program that goes further along in the playoffs.
“I told the players after the game that they should be proud of what they have accomplished this season,” added Chang. “We were American Conference champion for the third year in a row, and our first goal was to win that title. We didn’t get that second goal – a playoff win – but we’ll go back to work on that for next year.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-3) was jettisoned from the playoffs in a 50-14 loss to Central Bucks West (9-2). PW also lost the season opener to Perkiomen Valley (9-2) from the PAC-10 by a 33-0 margin. CB West hosts Perk Valley (9-2) in the second round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs, and Chang offered this ‘scouting report.’
“Central Bucks West really impressed me with their team speed, and (West running back) Marvin Todd is a special player,” said Chang. “The thing that impressed me the most about Perk Valley was how aggressive and physical they were on defense.
“West lost to two good teams in North Penn (8-3) and Upper Dublin (9-2), and Perk Valley lost to two good teams in Pottsgrove (11-0) and Spring-Ford (9-2),” added Chang. “It should be a great game, I’m leaning toward one team, but I won’t say which one.”
Suburban One League American Conference ‘Honor Roll’ Last Week
John Derr of Upper Dublin passed for 220 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 2 scores as the Cardinals season came to a close in a 55-25 loss to Abington in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
Connor Hanlon of Plymouth Whitemarsh ran for a touchdown and passed for a touchdown as the Colonials season came to a close with a 50-26 loss to Central Bucks West in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs.
Khalil Hopkins-Bey of Springfield scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass as the Spartans season came to a close with a 53-7 loss to Imhotep Charter in the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs.
Tyler Whitmore of Upper Moreland rushed for a game-high 180 yards and scored 2 touchdowns as the Golden Bears defeated Owen J Roberts 25-14 in a non-conference game.
Marcus Heimann of Cheltenham passed for 2 touchdowns and ran for another score as the Panthers were caged by Hatboro-Horsham 32-20 in a non-conference game.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Pennsbury Falcons (10-1)
2. Neshaminy Redskins (10-1)
3. North Penn Knights (8-3)
4. Abington Ghosts (9-2)
5. Central Bucks West Bucks (9-2)
6. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (8-3)
7. Upper Dublin Cardinals (9-2)
8. Council Rock North Indians (7-4)
9. Pennridge Rams (7-4)
10. Quakertown Panthers (6-4)
10. + Wissahickon Trojans (6-4)
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