Kevin Cooney, Dan Dunkin and Scott Huff talk SOL football.
Back for its fourth season, the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features high school football beat writers Kevin Cooney and Dan Dunkin. Cooney, the Phillies beat writer, covers schools in the Intelligencer area while Dan Dunkin – who has been covering sports at the high school and professional level for 25 years - covers teams in the Courier Times area. Both share their perspective on the teams in their coverage area. To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the web site http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/
SuburbanOneSports.com: Were there any surprises in last week’s district semifinal games?
Kevin Cooney: "I think last week's games played out exactly the way we all thought they would. Neshaminy forced Abington to try and beat them with the pass, and they couldn't. That was pretty much the story of that game. In the other game, it was North Penn wearing down Perk Valley. They were able to take away Rasaan Stewart and find a way to get the job done just by kind of imposing their will. It was one of those rare occasions where if you set out a pool beforehand and if you did a bracket - I would say 90 percent of the people probably had the bracket following this course. You might have had Pennsbury in there instead of North Penn, but that's pretty much the way it went to the letter. Now we're at this final game, and this is kind of just the 'same time next year.'
"Six times in 10 years these two teams meet in the district playoffs and four times it was the district final. Since 2004, North Penn is 2-1 in district title games. Neshaminy won in '04, and then Dick Beck won in '08 and '10."
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about the Neshaminy-North Penn district title game?'
Kevin Cooney: "I think it comes down to the running backs. You look at D'Andre Pollard and the numbers he's put up this year and what Nyfease West has done since the St. Joe's Prep game. Those are two guys that have made huge impacts all season. Maybe the wild card in this is which quarterback plays better. Austin Shearer has played very well down the stretch for North Penn, but I don't think he's seen a defense that plays the way Neshaminy plays defense at this point. If you want to give a plus or check mark to one side of the ball, Neshaminy's defense is probably the strongest of the bunch, and that's not saying that North Penn can't win, but on paper, I think the edge goes to Neshaminy's defense. The two offenses are similar, and I don't think the special teams will be a factor.
"I would say it's a matter of does the Neshaminy defense stop Austin Shearer and Nyfease West. If they do, then Neshaminy will win the game, but it's easier said than done.
"These are the two hallmark programs. Ridley can make a claim to it, Pennsbury thinks they can make a claim to it, and Pennridge has been there, but for consistency, it's these two programs, these two that have won a state title. I think Beck and Schmidt are a lot alike in their mentality towards the game.
"A couple of things are strange about it: 1) You don't see the bad blood that you do in some of the others. The site (Souderton) has come up for dispute, but that's kind of small stuff. It's not a major crisis. 2) If you look at all the games they've played against each other, there haven't been a lot of close ones. The history has been that the team that wins - wins big.
"North Penn has had Neshaminy's number recently. Schmidt has kind of used that as a rallying cry this week, but I think we're due for a good one. I think we're due for a really good game. Maybe I'm hoping more than being realistic.
"I'm going with Neshaminy just on the belief that I think their defense is the strongest unit on the field."
SuburbanOneSports.com: Your thoughts about the North Penn-Neshaminy match-up in Friday’s district title game.
Dan Dunkin: “North Penn has had Neshaminy's number in recent years in the postseason. They have beaten them the last four times they've met in the playoffs from 2008-11, but that means nothing now. What you have is two very well- coached teams, perennial powers in the SOL. It's a fitting conclusion to this season. I think Neshaminy matches up better with North Penn than they have in years. You have two teams still improving, which is very difficult to do this late in the year. I think they're both on the comeback trail with a lot of momentum. I put Neshaminy in that category because things could have really gone south for them after that devastating loss to Pennsbury, but they've really regrouped. They've blown out three straight opponents in the playoffs, and they looked like the dominant team we grew accustomed to during the season.
"North Penn has been on the comeback trail, of course, much longer. They were 0-3 after that brutal non-conference schedule, and they've won 10 in a row, so these teams have a similarity in that they've overcome some things, and they're playing their best football now. Both teams have very strong running games.
When I look at this, it's a very close matchup. Both are very physical teams. I think Austin Shearer of North Penn has really been underrated as a quarterback. I think he's come on very strong down the stretch and been extremely efficient as a compliment to their running game. I look at this game, though, and I give Neshaminy's defense a slight edge. I think they're better than North Penn's defense. I think North Penn will make big stops on third downs, but they will bend - Pennsbury bent them. They recovered the second half against Perkiomen Valley last week after giving up close to 300 yards in the first half, allowing only 55 in the second half. They make adjustments. I just think Neshaminy has a sounder defense, plus Neshaminy junior running back D'Andre Pollard just has been so difficult to contain. No one has really stopped this kid or their offensive line and their run blocking. The 147 yards he had against Pennsbury were his fewest in the last 11 games. I think with Pollard, along with Denny Lord and Blake Sullivan at fullback, and their other weapons - it's similar to North Penn because they've got a lot of depth in their running game too with Nyfease West and Luke Berry. I think it comes down to this - can North Penn slow down Pollard enough to force Neshaminy to beat them in other ways, which I think Neshaminy can do. But they haven't thrown it real consistently lately. I think Mark Schmidt knows that Dick Beck is real good at taking your strength away. Schmidt is very good at keeping a defense guessing. I think you've got a classic match of wits here as well. I think it also comes down to Neshaminy's defense and their offense being able to make a few more plays in their passing game, and I think they're going to win 28-24.
"North Penn will hit a big play on you, but they're not as likely to do that as they have been in the past. They can grind out a 10 or 15-play drive and score, but that's hard to do against Neshaminy. Neshaminy's defense is not as likely to give up long, methodical scoring drives, whereas their offense - Pollard can break it. They have a couple other kids that can as well like Hamiid Pack, Denzel Hughes, Cole Creighton. I think they just have more big-play people.
"It's going to be a classic, tight game. It's been nine years since Neshaminy won a district final. If they lose, it will be because they've put it on the ground or threw a couple of interceptions.
Suburban One Sports: You saw Neshaminy beat Abington 35-14 last Friday. What were your thoughts on the Redskin victory?
Scott Huff: “I thought that Abington would have a chance to defeat Neshaminy, but the Ghosts were going to have to play almost a perfect game - and that didn’t happen.
“Abington came up with a bad stop in the first quarter – huh? On a fourth-and-nine from the 29-yard line, the Abington safety made the ‘mistake’ of intercepting a pass on the Ghost 2-yard line. Poor field position resulted in the first Neshaminy touchdown – a 1-yard burst by Denny Lord.
“On the ensuing kickoff return, Abington fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Devon Brown, giving the Redskins another short field. One play later, D’Andre Pollard darted 39 yards for a score, and that 17-second gap between touchdowns in the first quarter was too much to overcome.
“Pollard rushed for over 200 yards in the game – 170 of those yards coming in the first half when Neshaminy steamrolled to a 28-0 lead.
“But the Neshaminy defense was even more impressive, allowing just 44 yards of total offense and two first downs to the often explosive Abington offense.
“Neshaminy was clearly the better team in all three aspects of the game – offense, defense, and special teams. If there was a team that played close to a perfect game, it was those Redskins that played that nearly perfect game.”
Suburban One Sports: North Penn moved on to the district final with a 40-19 win over Perkiomen Valley. Surprised?
Scott Huff: “No. North Penn has been the best team in the area the last 10 games, and the fact that they had to come back from a first half deficit might have been the only surprise. The Knights have reestablished themselves as one of the elite teams in not only the area – but also the entire state. Hard to imagine that North Penn was outscored 118-16 by the Philadelphia Catholic League in the first three games of the season in losses to La Salle (34-7), Archbishop Wood (49-3), and St. Joe Prep (35-6).
“The Knights are 10-0 in their current winning streak – North Penn is also 10-0 with Nyfease West in the starting backfield. The talented sophomore became an answer of sorts for the Knights this year – an answer to a question that head coach Dick Beck didn’t even have about this 2013 team.”
Suburban One Sports: What are your thoughts on the North Penn – Neshaminy District One championship game?
Scott Huff: “Both North Penn and Neshaminy have quite a bit in common – all things that have made them the elite teams in the area.
“Both feature terrific underclass running backs and punishing senior fullbacks.
“Neshaminy has junior D’Andre Pollard who has rushed for over 2500 yards and has scored 32 touchdowns, while North Penn showcases Nyfease West who – while playing three fewer games – has rushed for over 1400 yards and has scored 11 touchdowns. Neshaminy fullback Denny Lord is a touchdown maker for the Skins with 11 touchdowns, while North Penn fullback Luke Berry has crossed the goal line 13 times for the Knights and rushed for over 900 yards.
“Both have physical offensive and defensive lines. The best of the best for Neshaminy is senior Luke Carrezola, while North Penn features the talents of Connor Gill. Both offensive and defensive lines for both the Knights and the Skins are big and mobile and can take over games.
“The placekicking for both teams is handled well by underclassmen. Junior Matt Ammendola broke a North Penn record this year with a 56-yard field goal, and Neshaminy freshman Dylan McDonald has been excellent under pressure.
“The only slight advantage for North Penn might come at the quarterback position. North Penn senior Austin Shearer has shown a great deal of improvement throwing the football since the beginning of the season and gives the Knights a more diversified offense. Neshaminy senior Tyler Wombough, though, has done exactly what has been asked of him this season - he does not turn the ball over and directs the Redskin rushing attack with efficiency.
“The one thing you can count on is that you can’t count on anything in a match up with the quality that these two teams will bring to Indian Field in Souderton.”
Prediction: How about North Penn 27 – Neshaminy 24?
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