In this first edition of coach Carey’s blog, ‘The Way I See It,’ the former coach takes a look at the opening week of the SOL football season.
SOS.com: How surprising was North Penn’s 42-10 win over Liberty?
Coach Carey: It’s not a surprise to me that North Penn won because I thought it was an even match going into the game. I was surprised by the discrepancy in the score and how badly North Penn beat up Liberty as the game went on.
It was a great matchup to have the state champ from last year in a rematch of last year’s state semifinal game. High school football is about who the next stars are going to be. Liberty lost eight or nine players on defense and eight or nine on offense and, of course, return the player of the year (Anthony Gonzalez).
North Penn probably had four or five returners back defensively and two or three back on offense, but a lot of new names came to the forefront. I thought it was an even match going in, but by halftime, it was obvious to me that North Penn had basically reloaded in some of the areas weapon-wise that they lost, and Liberty was not able to do that. They had a bunch of sophomores playing who were not even close to the level of the kids who graduated.
SOS.com: What did coach Dick Beck do to prepare his team so effectively for that early-season showdown?
Coach Carey: What you have at North Penn, in my opinion, is the best situation for a high school coach – maybe in the State of Pennsylvania – to lead to success. You have one of the top schools size-wise in enrollment. You have the great tradition that has formed there, so the kids at the midget level want to play. You have three big junior high schools. I think he told me he has 100 football players in ninth grade playing right now. He had 75 kids come out in the sophomore class. Combine that with one of the top coaches in the state – it’s tough to find an equal to Dick Beck on game day. He’s fabulous as a game day coach. I had an opportunity to coach with him when he was on my staff and then I was on his staff the year they won the state title, and he may be the best coach in Pennsylvania on game day.
Going into the Liberty game it was obvious he had them well scouted and knew where he wanted to attack Liberty – that was to get on the edges, get on the corners, get to Liberty’s defense, sneak a trap in here or there, and he did it marvelously. Defensively, they went in with a game plan. Liberty was starting to gash them offensively early in the game, and Dick changed his defense somewhat, started bringing more blitzes and played to his strength, which is team speed. They had just tremendous team speed defensively. One of the key things coach (Mike) Pettine taught both me and Dick Beck as coaches is – get your best personnel that can run and get them on the field. Dick does that year in and year out, and he has a great talent pool to pull from.
SOS.com: What are your early-season observations about some of the other SOL schools?
Coach Carey: I did have a chance to see some scrimmages, and I’ve talked to a lot of coaches. I think one of the games that caught me a little by surprise was the Neshaminy-Souderton game (a 35-6 Redskin win). Souderton is an up and coming program. Coach Ed Gallagher has done a fabulous job there. Last year they beat Neshaminy 14-13 at Souderton.
I expected a much tougher game down there at Heartbreak Ridge, but Mark Schmidt looks as though he’s reloaded again. He’s a great coach also in his own right. He had some people returning, but he’s really brought in some competition for positions. He has two quarterbacks alternating – Brian Titus and Charlie Marterella. He has two running backs alternating – Bryan Dean and Ricky Williams, and they’re playing better than I thought they would this early in the season.
Neshaminy always moves the ball on people. If you want to be a great team down the line, you have to play great defense. That, to me, has been something Neshaminy could do better at.
SOS.com: What are your thoughts on Abington this season?
I think everyone is expecting Abington to have the best team they have had maybe in Tim Sorber’s tenure there, and this is a team skill-wise that’s as good or better than anybody in Suburban One and maybe even District One. They’re just loaded at the skill positions. He’s a little thin and has to develop some guys on the offensive line, but he has a couple of good guys coming back.
The Achilles Heel at Abington over the years is that teams could just gash them offensively. Last year I thought they did a lot better, but when they ran against a team like North Penn that came out with a tight end and a wing – a double tight – that really put Abington’s three-five in a bind. They have to do a better job with their defensive ends overall. That will be the key for Abington.
To me – do you want to be 7-3 or do you want to be 8-2 or 9-1? That’s all well and good to tell people you’re 9-1, but success comes with being successful in the playoffs, and that will be the key. Can you win in the playoffs against big teams? Some of these guys can get to the playoffs, and then they falter year after year, and normally, it’s because they can’t stop people consistently.
SOS.com: Any observations about Pennsbury and Council Rock South?
Coach Carey: I think Pennsbury – the early prognosis is they’re one of the top four teams in District One. Everybody is expecting a lot from them. They’re playing a really soft non-league schedule - opening up with (Conwell) Egan and playing Frankford this week, but they’re a team that’s going to be very physical. Coach (Galen) Snyder was a physical player, and the team emulates him.
They have a Division One wideout, Eric Williams, who just committed to my alma mater – the University of Pittsburgh, and we’re excited about that. They have (Dante) Devine coming back at running back, but the straw that stirs the drink down there is Brandon Pepper. I think he’s a winner, and I think that’s the difference this year for Pennsbury. He reminds me of a somewhat smaller quarterback that took them to the Eastern final four or five years ago. Pepper is a kid that really puts a lot of pressure on the defense with his ability to run or throw. More than that, he’s just a darn great competitor.
Vince (Bedesem) has done a great job down at Council Rock South, but I looked at this year as a rebuilding year. He came out of summer camp with a lot of injuries, but he has that real good quarterback – Billy Fleming. With the triple offense they run – not many people see it, and it’s tough to practice against because you can’t simulate it, but they’re always competitive.
The key for them is can they get in the playoffs and do some damage? I’m not sure they have enough depth at this point, but you never can count them out.
SOS.com: Any other thoughts?
Coach Carey: When you look at the Continental League with North Penn and Quakertown – I think Quakertown has a chance to be a top 10 team in District One this year. They’re loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, a lot of veterans coming back, and they have a real good scheme. Again, I think their success will be determined on how well their defense plays.
When you look locally – the team, to me, that is the biggest disappointment is Central Bucks South. That’s a team that gets 110 kids out for football, huge numbers every year. Besides the year they had the superstar running back, Eric Reynolds, they have been wallowing around .500. They might be lucky to get to .500 this year. They took it on the chin big time against Council Rock South. To me, that’s a disappointment.
Look for regular contributions from Coach Carey, who – in addition to his blog – will be making video contributions as well.
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