Scott Huff’s first football notebook of the season highlights Norristown, Quakertown and Truman. Check back on Friday for Huff’s “SOL Players to Watch.”
By Scott Huff
The Pennridge Rams versus the Emmaus Green Hornets.
Those high school teams on the same gridiron may not exactly bring the feud between the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s to mind – or maybe they do this year as the two teams square off on the legendary turf at Poppy Yoder Field in Perkasie on Friday night.
The last time that current Emmaus head coach Randy Cuthbert coached a scholastic football game was as the head coach of Pennridge in a PIAA Eastern semifinal game last season – at Yoder Field – in a loss to Spring-Ford. Pennridge head coach Jeff Hollenbach – who took over for Cuthbert – also preceded Cuthbert as the Ram head coach. Hollenbach coached PHS to a pristine 73-25 record over his eight seasons (1997-2004), while Cuthbert finished his eight seasons (2005-2012) with the Rams with a solid mark of 54-43.
The blood began to boil when Cuthbert – who coached the Rams to a perfect 7-0 record and a Suburban One League Continental Conference championship in 2012 – suddenly left the PHS program to coach the sleeping giant from the Lehigh Valley. There was discussion of having both the Rams and Hornets find new opening night opponents, but that discussion did not actually lead to a change in schedule.
“There is no question that it is going to be a big-time atmosphere and a huge crowd at Poppy Yoder Field for a non-league game,” said Hollenbach – a 1971 graduate of Pennridge High School who took his abundant quarterbacking skills to the University of Illinois and had an NFL shot with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “The players are excited knowing that Randy is on the other sideline, but they are also getting the message that it will be the Pennridge players playing against the Emmaus players.
“Randy might have a little bit of an advantage in knowing the personnel on both teams having coached here last year and at Emmaus this year,” added Hollenbach. “I saw them scrimmage both Coatesville and Southern Lehigh, and it was tough to get a handle on how good a team they have. Coatesville might have one of the best teams in the state, and Southern Lehigh doesn’t have near that talent level.
“Emmaus is very athletic, and we are going to have our hands full with their speed,” continued Hollenbach. “I see a lot of the old CB West power game in their offense. This game is going to be a huge challenge for us.”
And that enormous challenge will be met on much more than one level.
Panthers and Tigers and Eagles --- oh my!
The 2012 Suburban One League football season was not at all kind to this collection of creatures as Quakertown, Truman, and Norristown all finished at the bottom of their respective conferences with a collective conference record of 1-20. But that recent history has not dampened the optimism that exists on all three summer practice fields as the 2013 season kicks off this weekend.
“Things should be a lot better this year than last year,” said Quakertown head coach George Banas after a season that saw the Panthers finish 0-7 in the SOL Continental Conference. “The players have worked very hard in the offseason, and we have looked good in the 7-on-7 drills this summer.
“Last year we were on our fifth quarterback by week three due to injuries, and we were down three linemen,” added Banas. “We don’t expect that to happen again this year, and we know that we can compete in our league and make the games a lot closer.”
Last season, the Panthers (1-10 overall) were outscored in the conference by a 238 to 59 point margin – an average defeat of 34.0 to 8.4. The closest setback was a 14-13 loss to Hatboro-Horsham and the largest defeat was a 42-0 loss to Central Bucks South.
“We are feeling good about our team this year,” said senior running back/captain Matt Stoneback. “We know that if we play hard, we have the talent on this team to win games this year.”
“Our goal is to win more games than last year and be above .500,” said Banas. “We haven’t won a game in a year, and we want to start out the season with a win.”
Last season Quakertown opened the 2012 season with a 51-20 victory over Upper Perkiomen. The Panthers have a rematch with the Tribe at Upper Perkiomen in the 2013 season opener for both teams on Friday night.
“Our goal is to win a Suburban One League conference game for the first time in two years,” said Truman head coach Ed Cubbage after a season that saw the Tigers finish 0-7 in the SOL National Conference. “A win over any one of the big boys in our conference would be a breakthrough game for our program.
“We’re happy where we are right now at the beginning of the season,” added Cubbage. “We’re excited about our season, and our seniors are ready to compete with the great teams we have in our conference for one more season.”
Last season, the Tigers (3-8 overall) were outscored in the conference by a 282-99 point margin – an average defeat of 40.3 to 14.1. The closest setback was a 34-31 loss to Bensalem and the largest defeat was a 51-2 loss to Pennsbury.
“We are one year older and we lost only three starters from last year,” said senior quarterback/captain Jake Zolna. “We are going to play hard and I think they we are going to surprise some teams this year.”
“We have competed well in our non-league games,” said Cubbage as the Tigers were 3-1 outside the SOL National Conference. “We hope to begin this season again with some wins in our non-league games.”
Last season Truman opened the 2012 season with a 13-7 victory over Lincoln of the Philadelphia Public League. The Tigers have a rematch with the Railsplitters at home in the 2013 opener for both teams on Friday night.
“To be honest with you, the players on this team don’t even talk at all about last year,” said Norristown head coach EJ Smith after a season that saw the Eagles finish 1-6 in the SOL American Conference and tied with both Upper Merion and Springfield at the bottom of the conference standings. “This group of seniors want to make a mark for themselves, and thinking about last year has nothing to do with want they want to accomplish this year.
“This is a football program that won a conference championship in 2009,” added Smith who suffered through his worst season as head coach of the Eagles. “The upperclassmen on this team know what it takes to win football games.”
Last season, the Eagles (1-10 overall) were outscored in the conference by a 184-73 margin – an average loss of 26.3 to 10.4. The lone victory of the season came in a 27-20 win over Upper Merion and the largest defeat was a 42-13 loss to Wissahickon.
“We want to come into the season playing with a lot of discipline and focus,” said senior quarterback/captain Sonny Brewer. “We want to show people that we can play Norristown football – winning football.”
“If we can maintain consistency, we have the talent to win football games,” said Smith. “We have a veteran coaching staff that believes in these kids, and now they are going to have to believe in themselves.”
Last season Norristown opened the 2012 season with a 35-0 loss to Pottsgrove. The Eagles have a new opening opponent for the 2013 season as Norristown will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Friday night.
Friday Night Lights
August 30, 2013
Council Rock South Golden Hawks @ Central Bucks South Titans
Last Year: Central Bucks South 42 – Council Rock South 7
Wissahickon Trojans @ William Tennent Panthers
Last Year: Wissahickon 43 – William Tennent 7
Central Bucks West Bucks @ Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
Last Year: Central Bucks West 31 – Upper Dublin 0
Norristown Eagles @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Last Year: Did Not Play
Fels Panthers @ Abington Ghosts
Last Year: Abington 24 – Fels 8
Haverford Fords @ Council Rock North Indians
Last Year: Haverford 23 – Council Rock North 10
Lincoln Railsplitters @ Harry S Truman Tigers
Last Year: Truman 13 – Lincoln 7
Archbishop Wood Vikings @ Bensalem Owls
Last Year: Archbishop Wood 44 – Bensalem 7
Northeast Vikings @ Neshaminy Redskins
Last Year: Neshaminy 24 – Northeast 0
Easton Bulldogs @ Pennsbury Falcons
Last Year: Easton 32 – Pennsbury 14
Boyertown Bears @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Last Year: Central Bucks East 48 – Boyertown 26
North Penn Knights @ La Salle Explorers
Last Year: La Salle 20 – North Penn 7
Emmaus Green Hornets @ Pennridge Rams
Last Year: Did Not Play
Souderton Indians @ Pottsgrove Falcons
Last Year: Did Not Play
Quakertown Panthers @ Upper Perkiomen Indians
Last Year: Quakertown 51 – Upper Perkiomen 20
Cheltenham Panthers @ Downingtown West Whippets
Last Year: Downingtown West 34 – Cheltenham 0
Lower Moreland Lions @ Springfield Spartans
Last Year: Springfield 29 – Lower Moreland 0
Mastbaum @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Last Year: Upper Moreland 32 – Mastbaum 6
Perkiomen Valley Vikings @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Last Year; Plymouth Whitemarsh 20 – Perkiomen Valley 16
Penncrest Falcons @ Upper Merion Vikings
Last Year: Penncrest 45 – Upper Merion 35
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