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Back for its fifth season, the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features high school football beat writers Drew Markol and Dan Dunkin. Markol covers schools in the Intelligencer area while Dan Dunkin 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 Intelligencer/Courier Times web site http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury advanced to the district final with its win over Upper Dublin. Your thoughts about Pennsbury’s performance.
Dan Dunkin: “To Pennsbury’s credit, which they have done the last two weeks, they pitched a shutout in the second half and made some really good adjustments at halftime. They have not been overly impressive in the playoffs because they have yet to put a complete, dominant game together, but sometimes you have to give the other teams credit. Like championship-caliber teams do, they get through the ugly spots and the spots when they’re not playing that well, and when they have to do it, they really execute and totally outplay the other team as they have in the second half of the last two games. That bodes well for them and sets them up well for what should be one heck of a championship game.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Your thoughts about Upper Dublin after Friday’s game.
Dan Dunkin: “Upper Dublin had a heck of a season. They are absolutely the real deal. I know some people – including me – knocked their conference a little bit, but they were a notch above. They proved themselves all year and even more so how they hung in there and played Pennsbury really well and legitimized themselves as a really good team. Bret Stover did a great job coaching them. I enjoyed watching them on both sides of the ball. They have good athletes and a lot of quickness on defense, and offensively, they’re very creative. Bret Stover’s son Ryan is an exceptional quarterback, and they have a lot of weapons.
“They had Pennsbury on their heels early. They called a smart game and mixed the run and the pass well, and that made it an interesting game.
“Upper Dublin has a lot to be proud of. It’s onward and upward for that program. The Stover kid is coming back, and he’s got a great future.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury will face undefeated Coatesville in Friday night’s District One Quad A championship game. Your thoughts about that game.
Dan Dunkin: “I agree with Galen Snyder: I was at their practice this week, and he said he thinks it’s going to be a heck of a game. I think we’re going to remember this game. I think it’s going to be extremely competitive, physical and close, exciting and down to the wire. I know most people are picking Coatesville. I’m not.
“It would be easy to pick them based on their very prolific passing game, and the way they stretch defenses. Jordan Young is an exceptional quarterback. Pennsbury has had issues defending the pass in recent weeks, and this is really going to test them. But this Coatesville offense isn't as explosive as the Coatesville offense two years ago when they went to the state final.
“Coatesville’s defense is what concerns me more for Pennsbury, to be honest with you. Their quickness on defense, led by their great defensive end who is being recruited by many Division One schools – Amir Ealey - really poses some concerns for Pennsbury. Again, you can see a scenario that we always see with Pennsbury when they go deep in the playoffs and they meet a team with equal or better athleticism – they lose, and I wrote this today, because their passing game isn’t enough of a priority. Teams slow down their running game, and then they have issues offensively.
“Having said all that, my hope for Pennsbury is that they crank out a few more passes – I’m talking maybe a total of 8-10 in this game – to back Coatesville off. I think Pennsbury's offensive line is so good and so nasty, they’re going to win this battle over four quarters. Coatesville might stop them a few times, but I think Pennsbury keeps pounding and wears them down eventually. They’re going to keep punching them, and they’re going to do what Pennsbury does – they just have to mix the pass in some to make the run more effective.
“Charles Snorweah can break big plays against anybody. They’ve got talent on this Pennsbury team to stay with Coatesville, and he leads it.
Defensively, Pennsbury has enough speed in enough spots to not be exposed by Coatesville’s passing game. I believe this Pennsbury team, which is very physical and edgy, is really going to get after Coatesville. If they’re allowed to play right-to-the-line tough by the officials, it’s going to give Coatesville a lot of trouble. They’re going to get in receivers' faces, they’re going to punish them when they get the ball, and that’s what they’ve got to do. I think they can hold their own, but they can’t give up many big plays. If they make Coatesville grind it out, I think that favors Pennsbury. They’re a tougher team.
“I’m picking Pennsbury by believing in their physicality, their sufficient athleticism, their outstanding offensive line. But they do have to throw the ball some in this game to win it. I’m picking Pennsbury, 31-27.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Truman will face Conwell Egan on Thanksgiving. Your thoughts about Truman.
Dan Dunkin: “The way Truman slumped late in the year – they need something to feel good about heading into the offseason. They did have a decent year, and the program is a lot further along – they’ve come a long way the last two years.
“Truman just missed the playoffs, and it’s their fault. Would have, could have, should have. But the glass is half-full, and the program's in a lot better shape. They can look back at three or four games, and say, ‘Man, we could have been 9-3 and in the playoffs,’ and they could have. They need to win Thursday, close it out after losing a couple of tough ones late, and I expect they will. I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff and their kids.
“I unashamedly root for Truman and I always will. I love what their coaching staff is doing there. I just hope their kids through the years and their families and the community keep buying into it because it’s a great thing, it’s really uplifting.”
Pennsbury because they have enough speed in enough spots on defense to cover themselves, to not be overly exposed by Coatesville’s passing game. That’s one. I believe this Pennsbury team, which is very physical and edgy, is really going to get after this game. If they’re allowed to play really tough, it’s going to give Coatesville a lot of trouble. They’re going to get in receiver’s faces, they’re going to punish them when they get the ball, and that’s what they’ve got to do. I think they can hold their own, but they can’t give up many big plays. If they make Coatesville grind it out, I think that favors Pennsbury. They’re more physical, and they’re a tougher team.
“Offensively, they do need to mix in some passes. No, you can’t expect them to be throwing 15-20 times. That’s not who they are. They haven’t developed their passing game enough to do it this late in the season in this big a game, but I think their offensive line is so good and so nasty – they’re going to get some yards. They’re not going to be stopped by Coatesville. Coatesville might get them a few times – I don’t think Pennsbury is going to be overly dominant with the run, but they’re going to stay at it. They’re going to keep punching them, and they’re going to do what Pennsbury does – they just have to mix the pass in some to make it more effective, but I think their offensive line wins this battle ultimately in four quarters.
“Charles Snorweah can break them and run against anybody. They’ve got talent on this team, and he leads it.
“I’m picking Pennsbury by believing in their physicality, their enough athleticism to hang with Coatesville and their outstanding offensive line and the way they stick things, but they do have to throw the ball some in this game to win it. I’m picking 31-27 Pennsbury.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Truman will face Conwell Egan on Thanksgiving. Your thoughts about Truman.
Dan Dunkin: “The way Truman slumped late in the year – they need something to feel good about heading into the offseason. They did have a decent year, and the program is a lot further along – they’ve come a long way the last two years. They have a lot to feel good about.
“Truman just missed the playoffs, and it’s their fault. Would have, could have, should have. The glass is half full, and they’re in a lot better shape. They can look back at three or four games, and say, ‘Man, we could have been 9-3 and in the playoffs,’ and they could have. That’s program is in a lot better shape now, but having said that, they need to win Thursday, close it out after losing a couple of tough ones late, and I expect they will. I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff and their kids. I really do.
“I unashamedly root for Truman and I always will. Everybody can know that – I don’t care. I do root for them. I love what their coaching staff is doing there. I just hope their kids through the years and their families and the community keep buying into it because it’s a great thing for them, and it’s really lifted everybody.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: You covered the Pennsbury/Upper Dublin game. What are your thoughts about both teams after that game?
Drew Markol: "Upper Dublin has a lot of young players, and they're a year away. They have most of their skill people back, including their quarterback who is just fabulous. Ryan Stover is the coach's son, and Pennsbury had no answer for him. Upper Dublin dropped several passes if they just would have completed - to start the second half, Stover threw a beautiful pass that should have been caught. It would have converted a long third down and kept a long driving going, and if they score there - Pennsbury is very good, but it can take Pennsbury a while to score. It's hard for them to come back because they don't look to throw the ball. They gave Charles Snorweah 46 carries, but it kept working.
"Upper Dublin was very impressive, and Pennsbury was just able to grind them down, which they like to do. Now when you look at the district final, it played out the way it's supposed to. One plays two. Everybody always moans and complains about the power points and everything, but this time you have to give the district credit - it worked. Coatesville and Pennsbury are the two best teams I've seen. I have not seen everybody in District One, but I've seen those two, and they're better than everybody else."
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about the Pennsbury/Coatesville game?
Drew Markol: "Coatesville has so much speed, and their quarterback - Jordan Young - is a D-1 kid. He throws a nice ball, and he has good awareness. He's a big kid, very athletic, and he can prolong plays. He does a lot of things, and they know how to win. They're always good, and they're young too. Pennsbury has a lot of seniors, but Coatesville has a good mix. Next year I wouldn't be surprised to see them back there again.
"I think Coatesville is a shade better, but who knows. I saw Coatesville early in the season, and they were a little rough around the edges because they were younger. They made some mistakes that they're not making now. They just pursue so well. When you get to the secondary against them, they will track you down, so it's hard to get that 50-yard TD run against them because you have to earn every inch.
"With Pennsbury too, they clamped down on a good Upper Dublin offense in the second half, but they're susceptible - like almost every high school team - to the pass. Upper Dublin receivers were open, but they just dropped some passes. If Coatesville can throw it just a little bit, that will make them that much tougher."
SuburbanOneSports.com: Hatboro-Horsham will travel to Upper Moreland for the second matchup between the two teams. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “I've covered that game in years past many, many times, and it always seemed to me it meant a little bit more to Upper Moreland because Hatboro had the edge in the series. The team that had the edge - they were better, they expected to win, and they normally did. So Upper Moreland, even though they beat them earlier, I don't think that's going to affect them. This is Hatboro-Horsham on Thanksgiving, and it means a lot to Upper Moreland to narrow the gap in that series. Like I said, they don't normally win, but now they're favored to do so. They're at home, they got knocked out of the playoffs. They don't want to end on a losing note. There's nothing better than for Hatboro-Horsham or Upper Moreland to beat the other on this day. I think Upper Moreland will be able to beat them again.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge will travel to Quakertown for a rematch with their neighboring rival after getting knocked out of the district playoffs by the Panthers. Your comments.
Drew Markol:"When you look at Pennridge/Quakertown - in the playoff game a few weeks ago which Quakertown won, Pennridge ran up a ton of offense on them but would make a mistake. They would have a fumble, would throw an interception and would just make that crushing mistake. In this one, I give an edge to Pennridge because the important game for both sides was the district playoff game. It was weird circumstances that fell into place where they had that playoff game. The last thing Pennridge would want would be to lose to them twice, which is great incentive. If you're Quakertown and you lose Thursday, you say, 'Well, we beat you in the district playoffs,' but if you're Pennridge and you lose again, you're like, 'Oh man, we lost to them twice. We'll never hear the end of this at our 25th reunion.'
"There is more on the line here for Pennridge, which is odd to say because like any Thanksgiving rivalry, it's huge for both sides, but in this odd case, there's more for Pennridge to show that they can beat this team. I do give them the edge because they need to win it more than Quakertown does."
SuburbanOneSports.com: Cheltenham will travel to Abington for a game between the neighboring rivals. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: "Cheltenham is a smaller school, and they want to beat the big guy if at all possible. Both teams need this game. Abington had some losses they obviously want to get back and the same for Cheltenham. Coach (Joe) Gro from Cheltenham and coach (Tim) Sorber from Abington know about this rivalry. They've been part of it forever. Again, Abington leads the series, and I think Abington has played better competition. Both of these teams are looking to end on a higher note after losing games they would want back. I give a slight edge to Abington. I think they're a little bit better, but one of the joys of Thanksgiving is that funny things happen in rivalry games, which is the way it should be.”