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Back for a third season is the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football,’ featuring 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 - will cover 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: Neshaminy upset Central Bucks South last week. Share your thoughts after watching that game.
Kevin Cooney: “You look at the way Neshaminy was able to keep CB South’s main figures on offense under wraps. They kept John Pileggi to 50 percent passing, and here’s a guy who’s 60-70 percent on the year. You look at what they did with Josh Adams, who had some decent runs but was never really able to bust out. With the exception of that one drive at the end of the first half, they really kept the lid on South, and that’s a testament to their defense. Right now Neshaminy is playing with a lot of momentum, they’re playing with a purpose. It seems there’s an emotional high that’s going on right now with that team. Are they the most talented Neshaminy team I’ve seen? No, but they have a way of rallying to the moment and have done that since week four. For them to get to the district semifinals in a wide open bracket is pretty remarkable.
“Their running back, Nate Hall, had a big night, and they kept feeding it to him. Look, Neshaminy’s offensive game plan is not very complex. It’s funny. You look at the two teams in that game. One team plays this futuristic spread offense, video-game style, and the other runs the old dive-off-the -tackle with maybe the occasional rollout for the quarterback, and which one was more effective? Quite honestly, you look at the numbers in that game, and that could have been a much bigger win for Neshaminy. They stalled a couple of times in the red zone, and that hurt them, and that’s something they’ll have to fix this week. You can’t get into the red zone and turn the ball over. You have to finish drives. “
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy is on the road for the third straight week. Your comments on Friday night’s game at Coatesville.
Kevin Cooney: “It’s funny. Neshaminy has some good history down in Coatesville. They’re 2-0 in the playoffs down there. They won there in 2004 and I’m thinking it was 2007 that they went down there and won. The question is – at some point, does the air come out of the balloon? When you’ve played this many must-win games – they’re 7-0 basically in must-win games. They really didn’t have to win the Pennsbury game because they knew they were in the playoffs at that point, so you’re talking 7-0 basically in elimination games. It’s a tough way to live, but right now in this district, it wouldn’t surprise me if they got through and went to the finals.
“I really like Neshaminy’s matchup this week. It’s tough when you get to this time of year. We haven’t seen a lot of Coatesville obviously because nobody up here plays them. What I like about Neshaminy right now is that they’re just playing with a swagger, they’re playing with a purpose. We’re so used to seeing the best team win it, and it’s become that way the past couple of years. I’m not sure there’s a best team in this tournament. I think there are different degrees of what teams can do, and right now, I think Neshaminy is playing with so much emotion. I think there’s an undercurrent there of ‘been through the wars,’ and they can overcome pretty much anything because they’ve overcome so much. Will that last? It could all go up in one week, but right now, I like the direction they’re going.
“Neshaminy is like the trendy stock, and I think it’s pretty foolish for anyone to pick against them. They’re not going to be intimidated, and that’s the other part. They’re not going to be intimidated going on the road the third straight week.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: The story of the week is unquestionably the fact that Spring-Ford and Pennridge will both be playing Thanksgiving Day games – Spring-Ford against Phoenixville on Wednesday night and Pennridge at Quakertown on Thursday morning.
Kevin Cooney: “You know, I get the tradition part of Thanksgiving Day. I even get to the economic part that takes pace. This boils down to the main argument involving Thanksgiving games in general and especially Thanksgiving games involving league teams that haven’t played during the regular season. We have said for a long time that you had to come up with a solution in case this happens. We’re now beyond 20 years of district playoffs that go past Thanksgiving. The idea that nobody found a solution to this is ridiculous.
“We’ve put so much of an emphasis on safety issues in this sport, and these educators are supposed to think these things through. Now we are forcing one school to play two games in three days in this brutal collision sport, and to me, I think it is ridiculous. This is why league games should be played in the first 10 weeks of the season. Look, if Pennridge and Quakertown want to keep the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive, I understand that, but in this age of playoffs, what should happen is you should have a regular season game that takes place during that 10-week period. If you don’t make the playoffs, then you come back with a second game and you present a trophy or something for the Thanksgiving tradition.
“This idea that you must play this game, and it’s a league game, by the way, and if you don’t play it, you don’t win the undisputed league title is outrageous. There’s a point where I understand – you love rivalries and you don’t want to deprive the kids on Quakertown. But there's also a common sense point too.
“In a way, Pennridge is kind of getting lucky when you flip it to a different aspect here. Pennridge is a little bit lucky because Spring-Ford also has to play a Thanksgiving game. Now they’re playing Wednesday night against Phoenixville, so it may not be a huge competitive disadvantage, but it’s the principle of the matter. It is why the league has to step up and take that option of playing a league game on Thanksgiving Day out of the equation. If you don’t like it, go schedule somebody else for Thanksgiving. The league has to step in and enforce this. It’s ridiculous that two teams are able to do this who are in the same conference and leave conference titles hanging in the balance. That, to me, is wrong, and it must be addressed by the powers-that-be in the Suburban One League, and if Pennridge or Quakertown fight it, it’s the league office’s decision.
As a kid, I loved the Thanksgiving rivalries- Washington/Ryan, Frankford/North Catholic, Judge/Lincoln, but I think there’s a point where you have to grow up. If the school wants to play Thanksgiving, that’s great, but there should be a clear line in the sand that realizes these games don’t mean as much anymore. They just don’t. The playoffs are a much bigger deal than a rivalry game. How many of these rivalry games are really competitive anymore? It sounds awful to say it, and I know there are a lot of people who disagree, and there are a lot of people who, quite frankly, wish the state playoffs would take a backseat to the Thanksgiving Day games, but the genie is out of the bottle, and we’re not going back there, so I think we have to acknowledge the realities of the day.
The realities of the day are – late November is now known more for playoffs than it is for Thanksgiving. That collective mindset we had from 1971 has changed about Thanksgiving Day games, and it is time that someone realizes it.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts the Pennridge/Spring-Ford game itself?
Kevin Cooney: “Obviously, if you’re Pennridge, the second half of the Pennsbury game had to keep you a little worried. It’s almost strange. Both Pennridge and Spring-Ford were almost carbon copies last week. Both teams jumped out to big leads and let the other team back in the ballgame.
“Spring-Ford has been a big offensive team, but you’re not sure about their defense at this point. It comes down to how Pennridge deals with their weapons. Pennridge is tough to beat at this point, especially when you get on a little bit of a sloppy track at Poppy Yoder. If we’re going to get rain later in the week, that obviously works to Pennridge’s advantage. There’s not really an experience factor. I think Pennridge will win, and we’ll have a Pennridge-Neshaminy final. This will be interesting. This is not a classic District One year, but I think that would be the best matchup, to be honest.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy’s defense silenced Central Bucks South’s high-powered offense in last Friday’s district game. As the writer who covered that game, share your thoughts.
Dan Dunkin: “Pennsbury’s running game did not click consistently the last three games, and that came back to bite them. It happened in the first half of the Pennridge game. Pennridge certainly has an exceptional defense. They get a lot of credit for slowing Pennsbury down and really controlling that first half because at the same time, Pennsbury did a pretty good job of controlling Mike Class in the first half. Pennridge showed they had more weapons than just Class. Their quarterback, Alex Krivda, did a good job. Their other skill position guys made some timely plays. They had a lead at halftime, and that grew. Class got loose in the second half early, and it really looked over for Pennsbury. It really did at 28-7. To their enormous credit, they came back and controlled the rest of the game. It was just too late. They figured out the Pennridge defense. They altered some blocking schemes at halftime, soon their running game got going again. Tommy Hose really did a terrific job. I would have liked to see him get a few more carries than he did. He had 46 yards on six carries, but he was just a punishing runner, breaking tackles. The line was giving the guys a little bit more daylight. As I wrote, Tommy Hose was the best player on the field the second half. He was amazing. I feel for a kid like that who gave his guts, and they didn’t win it.
“Shawn Pepper – that was part of the story too – didn’t really break loose until late in the game, and then he had that great 44-yard run that looked like it was going to tie the game. Pennsbury just didn’t get its act together offensively until the second half, and that was too late. Another thing - quarterback Breon Clark made some nice throws. I thought he would be the difference in the game. He showed that kind of potential. They had one drive where they didn’t score in the second half, and Pennridge had real good coverage on the receivers, but then he completed some other balls. He really shows a strong arm. Albeit, had the kid hit the extra point – who knows what would have happened in the extra session. That was unfortunate, but he’s done a lot of good things for that program. He’s been a heck of a kicker. It happens. I feel for the kid, but there are a lot of other reasons they were in that position.
“The personal fouls came back to bite Pennsbury. The one Pennridge kid told me after the game that they knew Pennsbury averaged about three personal fouls a game, so part of their game plan was just to walk away and not get involved and let them throw the flag at Pennsbury. That did add to one drive that ended up being a touchdown in the first half, so that was a poor mistake by them. I like the chip they play with on their shoulder and the edge that they have and the physicality they show, but you have to harness that, and you can’t let it go over the edge in a big game like that, so that was a mistake. You’ve got to keep your head in a game like that, but there were a lot of factors that contributed.
“The fact that Pennridge’s defensive line was more physical than Pennsbury’s O-line in the first half was a factor. Pennridge’s defense was the key. Even though Pennsbury came back and outplayed them in the second half, that first half set the tone for the game and made it a mountain to climb for Pennsbury.
“Looking back, if they played seven games – and they don’t do that in football, it would be a seven-game series. They’re very closely matched teams. Pennsbury had an excellent year. I think they’re going to be gnashing their teeth a little bit because they had a real opportunity with that squad to go far in the state playoffs. I really believe that. That was a very good team on both sides of the ball, and I think they’re deeper, I think they’re more physical, and I think they’re more athletic. I still think they’re better than Pennridge, but that night they weren’t, and that’s all that matters. There are a lot of times in playoff games where the best team in the big picture doesn’t win in the snapshot of that night. Pennsbury made it a great game. History won’t reflect this, but they showed a ton of character coming back from 28-7 on the road with all that against you – they could have tied that game. That’s pretty remarkable. Too bad it didn’t go to overtime.
“You know what – Pennridge deserved it, and they had a lot of kids step up on defense when they had to early and then late too when they kept Pennsbury out of field goal position on that last possession, and that was important. Who else better than Mike Class to make the sack to end the threat.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about the Pennridge-Quakertown Thanksgiving Day game in light of the fact that Pennridge will be playing Spring-Ford on Saturday in the district semifinal?
Dan Dunkin: “I think it is utter BS that Spring-Ford has to play their Thanksgiving Day game and then turn around and play a playoff game and also that Pennridge has to play their Thanksgiving Day game. Now here’s the deal – I’m a traditionalist, and I hate to see a lot of traditions die in our crazy, modern world, but common sense apparently takes a vacation here. These Quakertown people and these Phoenixville people need to chill out and realize if it was them playing a playoff game would they want their kids out there playing two days before. Is that safe? Does that make sense? Is that fair? No.
“When you sign up to play Thanksgiving games, this can happen, but there ought to be an agreement between the schools that says, ‘If we’re in the playoffs or you’re in the playoffs, we postpone it.’ I mean, come on. These principals and ADs have to get their heads out of their rear ends. It’s just ridiculous.
“What’s up with Quakertown? What are they thinking about? Do they care about that school or those kids at all? How can they do that? It’s not safe. It’s ridiculous. It’s almost like congress. How can you not work something like this out? What is up with that? I just think it’s stupid, stupid. You could play your starters a quarter here and a quarter there as a last contact practice, but you can’t go all out. You’ll have nothing for Saturday. It’s just insane. That’s going to make the Pennridge-Spring-Ford game interesting. If there are injuries in the Pennridge/Spring-Ford game, it’s crazy.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: You picked Neshaminy to beat Central Bucks South, and you were right. Your comments after watching that game last Friday.
Dan Dunkin: “Told you so! All you CB South people who were talking trash – have a nice winter. Have a nice winter. The tougher, better prepared, more physical football team won a huge game. I’m happy for Neshaminy. All the crap they’ve been through – their coach, their staff, their kids. Good for them. Great performance, tremendous defensive performance, great game by Nate Hall and the O-line, great game by all their kids to gut that one out. That is a classic example of mental toughness, preparation, them against the world, and there they go. Nice job, Neshaminy. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
“Coatesville is going to be a tall order. I think they’re better than CB South. From what I’ve been reading, they’re very athletic, and they may be one of the two or three hottest teams in the whole state right now. It’s going to be tough. As one coach said in a publication a couple of weeks ago when he was talking about Coatesville, he said that they’re similar in scheme to Downingtown East, but they’re a whole different ball game - a lot more athletic, bigger, faster, more physical, so there you go. Their quarterback Emmett Hunt is playing lights out.
“The thing about Coatesville is their coach did a really good job of utilizing their talent for the right kind of scheme and not trying to shoehorn them into a scheme. Initially, they wanted to be a power running team this year, and then they noticed teams were really jamming the box on them and putting eight guys on the line of scrimmage, so they decided to spread the field. That opened their passing game up, and voila, that opened their running game. They got the best of both worlds. They have a terrific running back with their receivers, now they’re just this extremely balanced animal – spread, no-huddle offense.
“Neshaminy saw Downingtown East in a scrimmage, so they know all about this style of offense. And they did a job on a similar offense in CB South. The thing about Neshaminy is their confidence should be at a high, yet at the same time, they’re a bunch of grounded kids. They’re not going to get a big head over what they did to CB South. I think they’ll keep using this as an opportunity. They know what they can do, they know this is a bigger challenge this week. They have to play as well defensively and even better than they did last week. That doesn’t mean they have to hold them to seven. It will probably be a little higher scoring game than 14-7 last week but not super high scoring.
“Coatesville has been hammering people. They’re on an eight-game winning streak after losing 35-34 to Downingtown East. Everyone is talking about their offense, but their defense is good. This is again on Neshaminy’s defense and their running game. It worked beautifully against CB South. They did exactly what they needed to do. Their running game controlled the ball – Nate Hall had almost 300 yards, and their defense played tremendous. They’ve got to have a similar package in this game with probably a little more twists in their offensive game – a couple passes here, a couple of Denny Lord runs there and Justin Andrews getting loose. They can’t expect 270-some yards from Nate Hall again. The kid is great, but it’s going to have to be a little more diversified offense probably, but Neshaminy’s defense can do it.
I’m picking Neshaminy. The thing is – and we get into this all the time – when you have the Suburban One National and to some extent the Suburban One Continental against the Ches-Mont, the Suburban One is always more physical. I think physicality again will be the difference here. Neshaminy has the speed on defense, and they’re really going to have to be on their toes. Coatesville has some better individuals. CB South’s Josh Adams is as good as any running back in the state, but as a group, Coatesville’s skill position guys are really good. Neshaminy is going to have to play disciplined. Their defensive line is going to have to play exceptional and give pressure, their linebackers and their secondary – it’s going to have to be a collective effort. They’re going to have to be physical at the point of attack with the running back and the receivers coming off the line. They’re going to have to hit 'em hard, and they love doing that. Neshaminy will hit you. That’s why they beat CB South. It was a man’s game, and they won it. There’s no reason they can’t go into an extremely hostile environment and do it again. Neshaminy brings it. They always have. They have a physical trademark. They play the game the way it’s meant to be played. The question is – to hit Coatesville, you’ve got to catch them, so they’ve got to keep these guys in front of them. That quarterback – if they pressure him and don’t get him, he’s going to bust loose and make big plays with his feet and with his arm. They’re going to have to play disciplined, keep guys in front and gang tackle when they can, and they’re very capable.”