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: The news broke this week that Central Bucks South lost Josh Adams for the season. Talk about the impact of that loss not only on CB South but the Continental Conference.
Kevin Cooney: “South still has Pennridge, South still has CB West on the docket. Can Dave Rackovan run that offense the way he likes it? Can he stay in the spread and hope he has a running back that can run the ball 19 times and get 150 or 200 yards a game? That’s a big question.
“South was one of those teams that honestly was living a little bit on a danger line even with Adams. I thought last week’s loss to North Penn really set them back. They had already lost to Coatesville, but you figure with Adams, maybe they split that grouping of tough games with Pennridge and all that. We’re also robbed of the Class-Adams duel one more time. I think it really hurts.
“It’s funny. We all walked into this thinking this was the year of the running back, and here we are in week seven, and Adams is done. Mike Class’s numbers are down. It hasn’t materialized the way we thought, and that’s where we are.
“I’ll actually give (Dave) Rackovan a lot of credit. There are some coaches who would have milked this out, knowing Josh was out and said, ‘Well, we’re not sure yet.’ The fact that he was honest and said, ‘He’s done’ – he deserves a little bit of a gold star for that.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Considering recent events, what are your thoughts about the Pennridge – Central Bucks South game?
Kevin Cooney: “This week’s Pennridge/CB South game was supposed to be Class and Adams one last time. This was a great game last year, but it’s lost a lot of its luster. For Pennridge now, it’s a matter of survival. They still have CB South on the docket, they still have North Penn up ahead. You look at things a little differently for Pennridge. You look back at what happened two weeks ago. They’re 4-0 after beating Academy Park, which was a nice road win, but then they lost to CB West and then they lost to Souderton.
“You look back at some of those early wins. They kind of held on against Academy Park. That’s a good win, but that could have gone either way. They fell behind big against Emmaus, and that could have gone either way. They could have easily been, with a snap of the finger, 2-4, and we’re not talking playoffs.
“For Pennridge, this is your season game. It’s going to be an emotional night because how does South react after losing Adams? Are they deflated? For Pennridge, how do you respond after losing two straight. You got a lot at play here, and not much of it is positive. There’s a lot of suddenly negative energy around this game.
“Getting ahead early is going to be a huge thing for either team. If Pennridge comes out and can force the play from ahead, calm themselves down a little bit and throw South into that desperate mode of having to throw all the time, that changes things one way. If South jumps ahead, how does Pennridge react playing from behind? Will they stick with the running game? That’s a big factor right now. I really believe the first one that jumps out 7-10 points is going to have a huge upper hand in this.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks West beat Central Bucks East in a rivalry game on Friday and has put itself in a position to play for the conference title. Your thoughts about the Bucks.
Kevin Cooney: “West still has CB South, but they’ll have an injured South. They’ve already beat Souderton, they’ve already beat Pennridge. They’ve gotten off to a good start, they feel very strongly about things, they have a lot of confidence, and now they see blood in the water with Pennridge. They see blood in the water with South, and quite frankly, you probably still look at North Penn with a little bit of ‘Hey, they’re not as good as they’ve been.’ It’s going to come down to that next to last week when West and North Penn go at it.
“This is how quickly this thing has changed. It’s a strange season in the Continental. I think we have an idea where it’s going, but each week has brought a different twist and turn. It’s been kind of fun. There have been a lot of competitive games, but we’re not exactly looking at teams that will probably win a state title here.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn is off to a 3-0 start in the SOL. Talk about the Knights.
Kevin Cooney: “North Penn has kicked the zombie dirt off themselves. They’ve found a way to get to 3-0 in the conference and get back to .500, but they still have some work ahead of them. The heart of their schedule is coming up. Pennridge is still tough, no matter what’s happened the past couple of weeks. You have West at the end. The one thing I think Souderton showed last week – Souderton is still fighting. It’s easy when you’re 0-5 to think, ‘Just roll over, it’s time to quit. We’re not making the playoffs.’ So much is geared to the playoffs in the culture now in districts, but it was nice to see a team play for pride and get it done, especially late in a huge game. That’s a good sign for Ed Gallagher and his program. They have some underclassmen playing because of injuries, and that’s a big sign for them.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Looking at the big picture – what are your thoughts about the SOL heading into week seven?
Kevin Cooney: “If you’re ranking them one through five, you’d have to go – Neshaminy, Pennsbury. The winner of the Neshaminy-Pennsbury game is not just favored to win the National Conference, but I think they’re going to have a pretty good claim to being the favorite in the district. You look at Coatesville and Downingtown East – I don’t know if they’re going to be as battle tested as Neshaminy or Pennsbury going down the road. Pennsbury’s one loss is to Easton, and Easton, if not one, is two in the Lehigh Valley. You take this and go ‘wow,’ this is a real good mix right now. Those two teams and Abington with Reynolds not being out for a long period of time helps. How effective he’s going to be remains to be seen. And then Upper Dublin. Upper Dublin has been a huge eye opener. I think by the time we get to weeks nine and 10, there’s going to be a little jaundiced eye cast their way because who exactly have they played in that conference, although this is not a year where anyone in the Continental should be throwing that stone out. It’s competitive football, but it’s not picture perfect football.
“Plymouth Whitemarsh has the look of a team that’s getting on a roll. They’ll be a dangerous 13-14 seed somewhere down the road. Dan Chang is a pretty good coach.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: You’ve talked about the pending realignment. Share your thoughts about this year’s matchups as the season heads into week seven.
Dan Dunkin: “Next year can’t come soon enough. It will be more fun to do football in that new big conference, because with North Penn involved and Souderton and Pennridge, you’ll have at least five good teams in the conference every year, including Neshaminy and Pennsbury. So there won’t be nearly as many bad games.
“What’s pointed out this year – the last year of the conferences as we know them – legitimizes even more the realignment because there just aren’t many good, competitive games in the National Conference, bottom line. It points out they need more equitable distribution of teams. I think next year will be really refreshing. It’s a change that’s really been needed for a while, and it’s going to make it very competitive and exciting pretty much week to week.
“I respect these smaller schools going against the bigger schools, but it’s just not going to happen on an even semi-regular basis where they’re going to be competitive against those schools. Tennent beat Neshaminy last year, and a credit to them, but that’s just not going to happen very often. More than ever, I think because of the way these schools, especially the big schools, do the year-round training, and they have great commitment from their kids, their depth and their talent just makes it harder for an upset to happen.
“They have less of a problem with that in the Continental. Souderton pointed that out by beating Pennridge. Souderton rarely has a bad year, this being an exception, but to their credit, they rise up and surprise somebody.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Last week’s marquee National Conference matchup was the Pennsbury-Abington game. Your thoughts about Pennsbury’s big win.
Dan Dunkin: “Craig Reynolds wasn’t supposed to play, but he had over 100 yards. That game on paper was a tremendous game before the injuries to Anthony Lee, their quarterback, and Reynolds. It was almost a toss-up game – I was going to favor Pennsbury, a slight nod. But to do what the Falcons did and put up 37 points and shut them out really shows much more how good Pennsbury is getting than it shows how much Abington lost with Lee being absent and Reynolds not 100 percent. All the credit to Pennsbury for doing that kind of damage because Abington still has a lot of good players. They have a big offensive line and a fast defense. I think Pennsbury got a lot of people’s attention. Pennsbury’s running game is so deep. Their wing-t is firing on all cylinders with terrific line play, and their defense is really coming on strong, and that’s a defense where they replaced nine starters.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy picked up another impressive win. Your comments about the Redskins.
Dan Dunkin: “Neshaminy just continues to impress – no lapses, taking care of business, putting teams away, dominant defense. I talked to some coaches this week about that defense, and they are really impressed with the speed and physicality of that defense. Their offense is doing what their offense always does. Now they have a lot more stability this year at quarterback. Tyler Wombaugh is doing an excellent job. D’Andre Pollard is as good a running back as there is in the area. The kid’s been doing it – 140, 160 yards every week. Their line is excellent. A couple of coaches have told me they’ve got it all. They do, and that’s the last coaching staff anywhere that would let the players get ahead of themselves, so every week they’re focused on getting better.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: William Tennent came back to earn an emotional win, rallying from a 21-7 deficit to defeat Bensalem. Your thoughts about those two teams.
Dan Dunkin: “I think Bensalem is better than their record. Their pair of running backs – Ian Pisarchuk and Alex Archangeli – are impressive, tough, second-effort backs. Where they have had problems is they’ve had some breakdowns on defense and given up big plays at critical times. It’s been unfortunate because they’ve been in a position to win a couple more games. I think that George Pegram is a capable quarterback. They have a fine tight end in Melvin Forkpa. They still have four games to make a little noise. They’re a competitive group of kids. They just have to make fewer mistakes.
“Bob Rosenberger is doing a good job in his first year at Tennent. They’re 10 points away from being 4-2. They had a great win over Bensalem, dealing with the sadness of Alex Perks’ mom passing away two days before. He had a tremendous game – a great credit to that kid. They’ve got really good depth at running back. Their ‘O’ line is big, and they’re all juniors. Rosenberger has them in the weight room year-round. He’s got them playing – they’re competing, and that’s good to see. It’s a tough draw with Pennsbury this week, but what I like about him is his mantra is ‘No excuses.' We don’t care if we’re a small school in the big conference – no excuses, none. I think the move to the conference with schools more their size is really going to help them. In the meantime, he’s establishing a mindset there that it doesn’t matter, we’re going to compete against anybody.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Bensalem will travel to Council Rock North on Saturday. Your thoughts about that game.
Dan Dunkin: “I favor Bensalem because of their physical nature and their pounding pair of running backs, Pisachuk and Archangeli. North has become overly reliant on a terrific quarterback, Brandon McIlwain, and they just haven’t shown much of a running game. McIlwain does most of their running. They’ve been vulnerable against the run themselves. They make big plays, they’ve got speed. You can’t fall asleep against CR North, but as far as moving the chains and grinding it out, that’s not the kind of game that favors them, and I think Bensalem wins the game."
SuburbanOneSports.com: Springfield beat Upper Merion 33-31 last week in a real shootout. What are your comments about the game and both the Spartans and the Vikings?
Scott Huff: “Scoring everywhere in football seems to be on the rise – whether it is on the high school, college, or professional level. And this game was no exception as the teams ran all over the home field of the Spartans with no less than five lead changes – and Upper Merion missed a field goal on the final play of the game that would have given the Vikings the victory. The Springfield victory does a great deal to enhance the Spartans hopes of making the PIAA Class AA District One Playoffs, while the loss was a damaging one for the Vikings hopes of gaining a berth in the PIAA Class AAA District One Playoffs. Neither the Spartans or Vikings will be able to compete with either Upper Dublin or Plymouth Whitemarsh for a conference title, but both teams should be more than competitive with the remainder of the conference. Springfield features excellent offensive weapons in running back Martin Worgan and quarterback Brandon Doyle, while Upper Merion showcases offensive firepower in running back Dequan Mitchell and quarterback Carmen Fortino. Scoring points for the Spartans and Vikings will not be a concern – however, keeping teams from lighting up the scoreboard might be a huge concern for both.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: It seems that both Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh have separated themselves from the rest of the conference. What is the road ahead for both?
Scott Huff: “The Game of the Year in the American Conference will come on October 25 when Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-0) will host Upper Dublin (3-0). Of course, both the defending champion Colonials and the Flying Cardinals have two games to win before that meeting – PW will face Upper Merion (1-2) and Norristown (0-3) – while Upper Dublin plays both Upper Moreland (2-1) and Springfield (1-2). The focus for both PW head coach Dan Chang and UD head coach Bret Stover will be on those opponents the next two weeks – neither will be caught looking too far ahead.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: The biggest game of the week in the conference should be the Upper Dublin-Upper Moreland game. What are your thoughts on that game?
Scott Huff: “Upper Moreland has the offensive ability to knock off either Upper Dublin or Plymouth Whitemarsh, but the Golden Bears have yet to impress on defense. Charlie Hooker has been incredible, completing 70 of 82 passes for an astounding 85.4 percent, while running back Tyler Whitmore has been equally impressive with 734 yards rushing (8.2 average) and nine touchdowns.
“Upper Dublin has showcased an imposing running attack that has featured three backs. Quarterback John Derr surprisingly leads all rushers with 500 yards (9.1) and six touchdowns; running back John Lee has rushed for 345 yards (6.3) and six touchdowns; while running back Kyleif Lee has rushed for 335 yards (6.8) and a team-high 10 touchdowns.”
Upper Moreland will have to outscore Upper Dublin if it wants to register the upset. I don’t think that can – or will.
Prediction: Upper Dublin 42 – Upper Moreland 27.
SuburbanOneSports.com What are your thoughts on the remaining three American Conference games?
Scott Huff: Plymouth Whitemarsh will remain unbeaten in the conference with a win over Upper Merion. Quarterback Connor Hanlon will either keep the pigskin himself or will simply hand the ball off to a punishing Colonial running attack that features Jose Vega and Brian Afflick in an effort to keep a decent Upper Merion offense off the field. Prediction: PW 49 – Upper Merion 20.
Wissahickon should be able to get back in the win column in its game with visiting Cheltenham. The Trojans have proven to be able to score points – 34 last week in a loss to Upper Dublin. Cheltenham was competitive early in its game with Upper Dublin but could not match the talented Cardinals in the final three periods. Prediction: Wissahickon 38 – Cheltenham 21.
Springfield came up with its first conference win of the season last week against Upper Merion 33-31, and winless Norristown was edged 21-20 by Upper Moreland. The Spartans won their only conference game last year against the Eagles 18-6. Norristown can’t lose every game this year – can it? In an upset, of sorts, the final score will be - Norristown 28 – Springfield 24.
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