Scott Huff highlights the three SOL teams still alive in the District One AAAA football playoffs.
By Scott Huff
‘We Are # 1’
Who???
Each week I attempt to put together a Top Ten rankings for the teams in the Suburban One League. Some weeks are easier than others, but usually the #1 team is the least of my concerns. But not this week – not at this critical point of the season – there was a tough decision to be made.
Why???
The three SOL teams that have to be considered are - in alphabetical order - Neshaminy, North Penn, and Pennsbury – and each team has its own impressive resume.
Neshaminy (11-1) – the Redskins have the most wins of the trio and has beaten PIAA Quad-A District One playoff teams Downingtown West (39-0), Abington (31-14), and Council Rock North (42-20) during the regular season. Neshaminy showcases the talents of junior running back D’Andre Pollard who has rushed for 2366 yards and 32 touchdowns and a terrific defense that shut out all of its non-league opponents. The Skins have advanced to the district semifinals with convincing wins over both Unionville (41-7) and Spring-Ford (56-27).
North Penn (9-3) – the Knights have the least number of wins of the threesome as NP opened the year with losses to La Salle (34-7), Archbishop Wood (49-3), and St. Joe’s Prep (35-6). However, the Knights have been relentless ever since with a perfect SOL Continental Conference championship run that included a huge 50-14 victory over district one playoff bound Central Bucks West. North Penn – behind the balanced offense provided by senior quarterback Austin Shearer and sophomore running back Nyfease West - opened the District One playoffs with a 31-0 destruction of defending District One champion Coatesville.
Pennsbury (10-2) – the Falcons lost their first game of the season to Easton (38-28) and their last game of the season in the District One quarterfinal. In between, Pennsbury ‘ground and pounded’ to 10 straight wins that included a perfect record in the SOL National Conference and a conference championship. That regular season run included a 37-0 pounding of District One semifinalist Abington. The Falcon foursome of Charles Snorweah, Ronquay Smith, Raheem Thompson, and Breon Clark gobbled up huge chunks of rushing yards over the course of the season. Pennsbury opened the District One playoffs with a 55-20 rout of Upper Darby.
How to choose???
The formula that I chose was in the head-to-head meetings.
North Penn will earn my #1 rankingby virtue of its 31-21 victory over Pennsbury in the PIAA Quad-A District One playoff game played on Falcon Field. The Knights – despite having the most losses of the group – could still meet Neshaminy this season in the District One final. North Penn must defeat Perkiomen Valley (10-2) this week, while Neshaminy must defeat Abington (10-2) this week for that meeting to take place.
Pennsbury will earn my #2 rankingdespite its 31-21 loss to North Penn and having less wins over the course of the season than Neshaminy. Huh? The Falcons soared to a convincing 31-3 victory over Neshaminy in what proved to be the SOL National Conference title game. Pennsbury – which started 14 underclassmen and will be a preseason #1 for next season – has played its final game of the season.
Neshaminy will earn my #3 rankingdespite having the most wins of the three teams. The lone loss of the season came in that 31-3 crushing loss to Pennsbury – the same Falcon team that lost to North Penn. The senior-dominated Redskins will have to chance to claim the #1 spot in my rankings (like anyone really cares) if Neshaminy would meet North Penn in the District Final – and beat the Knights.
And the beat goes on …
The Defense Doesn’t Rest
The three surviving teams from the SOL in the semifinals of the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs – North Penn, Abington, and Neshaminy - all had one thing in common. The Knights, Ghosts, and Redskins all registered key defensive plays in critical situations in their respective victories.
“The difference in the game for us were the two key stops in the first half,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck after his Knights collected a 31-21 win over host Pennsbury. “Pennsbury went right down and scored on the first drive, but we were able to score on our first drive. And then we got a 3-and-out on their second possession, and we scored again. That stop was huge.
“And then they had the first-and-goal right before the half with us up 13-7,” added Beck. “We came up with that goal line stand, stopping them on fourth down on the two-yard line. We knew we couldn’t stop them completely, but we turned the game around with those stops.”
Beck cited the defensive standout players of the game for the Knights as Nick Wright, Nick Muth, and Kris Akins.
“Garnet Valley went for it a lot on fourth down, and we were able to come up with some stops in the fourth quarter,” said Abington head coach Tim Sorber after his Ghosts moved on in the playoffs with a 26-21 victory over the top-seeded Jaguars. “We got two turnovers in the second half, and we were able to have them turn the ball over on downs.
“We gave up some yardage on defense, but we didn’t give up the big plays,” added Sorber. “(Defensive coordinator) Kevin Conlin has the philosophy – which I agree with – that works on the idea of having the other team making mistakes with the ball. Limit the big plays – make them earn everything.”
Sorber cited the defensive standout players of the game for the Ghosts as Daron Boone, Juawine Sowell, and Jake Clark.
“We played really well defensively in our last game,” said Neshaminy head coach Mark Schmidt in reference to the Redskins 53-27 victory over Spring-Ford. “Any time you can get six turnovers (four interceptions and two fumble recoveries) your defense has had a great game. And both Matt Magdelinskas and Devon Brown returned interceptions for touchdowns.
“We were very physical on the defensive line of scrimmage,” added Schmidt. “We rotated 7 guys on that line, and they all did a great job of putting pressure on the quarterback and tackling the runners.”
Schmidt cited the defensive line rotation of Luke Carrezola, Dorian Arthur, Alex Nicholas, Dan Johnson, Mike Palmer, Blake Sullivan, and Shane Corbett.
Exit Door
Pennsbury was shown the exit door in the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs with its 31-21 loss to North Penn. But the loss did not diminish the success the young Falcons had during the 2013 season.
“Losing to North Penn was tough, but looking back on the season as a whole makes it a little better to take,” said Pennsbury head coach Galen Snyder. “We had a very young team (14 starting underclassmen), and they will come back with a lot of experience and success. We will get away from the game a little and then get back in the weight room in January,
“The Abington-Neshaminy game should be a real battle in the semifinals,” added Snyder who has coached and scouted both the Ghosts and the Redskins this season. “Neshaminy has a lot of experience and is very strong and physical; but Abington is fired up after beating Garnet Valley and won’t back down to anybody.”
Pennsbury beat both Neshaminy (31-3) and Abington (37-0) convincingly this season.
Central Bucks West was shown the exit door in the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs with a 60-20 loss to Perkiomen Valley. But the loss did not diminish the success the Bucks had during the 2013 season.
“You never want your season to end the way that our season ended against Perkiomen Valley,” said Central Bucks West head coach Brian Hensel. “We finished the season with nine wins, and not too many teams in the entire state of Pennsylvania and say that they won nine football games in a season. But at the very least the season was a positive step in the right direction for this football program.
“The North Penn-Perkiomen Valley game should be a very interesting (semifinal) game,” added Hensel who has coached against and scouted both the Knights and the Vikings in recent weeks. “Perkiomen Valley likes to play the game very fast, and North Penn is much more methodical. (PV quarterback) Rasaan Stewart is the best individual skill player that we saw this year and one question will be can North Penn stop him defensively. But if North Penn can control the ball – they can control the game.”
Central Bucks West lost to both North Penn (50-14) and Perkiomen Valley (60-20) decisively this season.
Panther Pride
Quakertown (7-4) prepped for its Thanksgiving morning showdown with neighborhood rival Pennridge (7-4) on Poppy Yoder Field with the knowledge that the 2013 season will be at the very least a winning season for the Panthers.
Q-town gained that assurance after its win over Phoenixville in a non-conference game played at Alumni Field last Friday. Last season the Black Cats finished the season a dismal 1-10.
Sophomore running back Rob Burns came up with some impressive numbers for Quakertown rushing for a game-high 120 yards and scored 2 touchdowns, while Micah Ruch also rushed for 108 yards for the winners.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. North Penn Knights (9-3)
2. Pennsbury Falcons (10-2)
3. Neshaminy Redskins (11-1)
4. Abington Ghosts (10-2)
5. Central Bucks West Bucks (9-3)
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 (7-4)
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