Sterling Limousine is proud to sponsor Saturday’s Council Rock North-Council Rock South game as an SOL Featured Game. Check back for a complete game story and photos of all of the action.
By Mary Jane Souder
They call it the biggest game of the year.
Granted, a conference title won’t be at stake when Council Rock North takes on Council Rock South on Saturday afternoon. That not-so-little matter will be decided not far down the road when Neshaminy hosts Pennsbury.
Still, it’s a safe bet the atmosphere in Walt Snyder Stadium will rival the intensity of any stadium in the area this weekend when the neighboring rivals take the field to battle for the coveted ‘Rock Cup.’
“This is huge,” Rock South senior Christian Preski said. “Growing up, everyone came together for the North-South game. It’s always been such a huge game.
“It’s big every year, and to finally get that chance to be on the stage with thousands of people there is big.”
Rock North senior Bobby Bartlett echoed a similar sentiment.
“This is without a doubt the biggest game of the year for all of the seniors,” he said. “We have been looking forward to this since last year. I can’t even tell you how excited I am.”
This game pits neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, but when they walk onto the gridiron, they are the fiercest of foes.
“In every game, you’re never really friendly with your opponent,” Rock North senior Dallas Alves said. “But this is always a different atmosphere – this is pride in your school.
“To lose to North – it’s always bad, but if you win, it’s a special win.”
Rock South has had the better of the series the last six years, winning the last three and four of the last six. Needless to say, the Indians are hoping to change that trend.
“CR South has been one of those programs you kind of look to for where you’re at in the league,” Rock South coach Adam Collachi said. “It’s real, real important for us to go out on a strong note and win that rivalry game.”
“Winning this game would be everything really,” Bartlett said. “This is for all the seniors who have been here, for all the coaches who have watched this program grow.
“This could show that we really stepped it up this year. We came into the season with high hopes, and even though we’re not really where we want to be, we’re still planning on finishing strong. A win right here would really solidify that dream.”
In truth, neither team’s season followed the script they had hoped it would.
Rock South’s players – fresh off a National Conference title and a trip to the district final – undoubtedly couldn’t have imagined opening the season with five straight losses or, for that matter, going into Saturday’s game with a 2-7 record, but that’s exactly what happened.
A win on Saturday would be redemption.
“This game has a lot of meaning behind it, and to us, it means we’re not going down without a fight,” Alves said. “Even though our season has a losing record, we still have something to prove, we still have life.
“Winning this game will be monumental, not only for us seniors but for the underclassmen. Even if you have a bad season, you come off a win like this, and it’s a good start for next year.”
The Indians, meanwhile, were looking to build on last year’s 5-5 record after a 1-9 season the year before, and a playoff spot was in their sights. A 1-3 start all but killed that dream, although they never stopped competing.
“We lost two games early, and ever since then, we’ve been battling,” Bartlett said. “We’ve always been trying to make the playoffs. We never gave up, and that really shows.
“Even after the Pennsbury game, which we really believed would be our ticket to the playoffs, we didn’t give up after that (loss). I know that everyone on this team is really looking forward to this game really just to make a statement of what Council Rock North football can be and what it is right now.”
Collachi credited this year’s seniors with laying the foundation for the future.
“Really, they are the building blocks of getting this program back,” the Indians’ coach said. “Most of those guys were out there as sophomores when we were 1-9 and kind of got beat up.
“Last year, I thought we started turning the corner. We got a couple of good wins, brought some respectability back to the program. We had some higher expectations going into this year, but for whatever reason, it didn’t work out that way, but they have been the real building blocks of getting this program back to what we were striving to get it to.”
Saturday’s game will be about more than just winning the ‘Rock Cup,’ it will be about making a statement.
“It would finish the year great,” Preski said. “We’ve been working hard all year, and we deserve to finish out with a win.”
“Right now, this is our championship,” Bartlett said. “Getting our picture with the Rock Cup with the whole team around us, the coaches with us – that would really send us out with a bang.”
Kickoff for the battle of neighboring rivals is 2:30 at Walt Snyder Stadium. Expect plenty of excitement on both sides.
“Our fans really get into it,” Alves said. “It’s an atmosphere that’s hard to come by.”
A look back:
2011 – Council Rock South (12-2) 17, Council Rock North (5-5) 0
2010 – Council Rock South (11-2) 27, Council Rock North (1-9) 25
2009 – Council Rock South (8-3) 35, Council Rock North (6-5) 28
2008 – Council Rock North (3-7) 20, Council Rock South (6-4) 18
2007 – Council Rock South (6-4) 42, Council Rock North (3-7) 37
2006 – Council Rock North (10-1) 42, Council Rock South (3-8) 20
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