This week’s notebook features Pennsbury, CB South and Upper Merion and recaps the SOL action last week.
By Scott Huff
The Suburban One League Challenge will take place this Saturday afternoon with 11 boys’ games on the schedule. Set your GPS and take in a couple of these SOL games at various locations.
There will be a SOL double-header scheduled at Upper Merion as Souderton plays Abington at 1:00 pm and Upper Merion plays Council Rock South at 4:00 pm.
There will be a SOL double feature scheduled at Wissahickon as Neshaminy plays Springfield at noon and Wissahickon plays Pennridge at 4:00 pm.
There will be a SOL double dip scheduled at Central Bucks West as CB East plays Upper Moreland at 12:30 pm and Central Bucks West plays Truman at 3:30.
There will be a SOL double-header scheduled at Council Rock North as William Tennent plays Central Bucks South at 1:00 pm and Council Rock North plays Cheltenham at 5:30 pm.
Bensalemwill play Quakertown at Bensalem at 2:00 pm; North Penn will play Norristown at North Penn at 4:00 pm; and Upper Dublin will play Hatboro-Horsham at Upper Dublin at 4:00 pm.
Good luck to all.
SOL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Central Bucks South Titans
Central Bucks South (8-4, 5-1) continued its chase of first place Pennridge (11-1, 6-0) in the conference standings and captured a pair of victories last week over Souderton and Quakertown in an extremely competitive SOL Continental Conference.
“We might have played our best game of the year against Souderton,” said CB South head coach Jason Campbell in reference to the Titans 51-45 victory. “We were finally able to finish some scoring opportunities inside, and winning those games kept us in a good place.
“There is no doubt that things are going to be tight in our league the rest of the season,” added Campbell. “Every single team in our league is dangerous. Any team really can beat any other team.
“We have a huge game to close out the first half of the season on Tuesday (1/13/15) when we play Central Bucks West,” continued Campbell in reference to the Bucks (10-3, 4-2). “If we want to stay in second place, we have to beat a very good West team.”
CB South has been the definition of team for the entire season.
“We rotate nine or ten players every game, and there really isn’t one player that has carried us,” said Campbell. “Josh Brodie has done a nice job of running the offense and keeping us going in the right direction.
“Alex Karras is only a sophomore but has been starting for us lately and has looked good,” added Campbell. “And Sean Gallagher has done a great job coming of the bench.”
The remainder of the impressive Titan rotation includes Tim Waddington, Chris Hones, Ryan Joerger, Tommy Doyle, Bryan Meyers, Jason Rewert, and Ian Vogt.
CB South has a challenging non-conference game left on its schedule when the Titans meet SOL National Conference power Pennsbury (10-3, 5-1) next Saturday (1/24/15).
“We like to ‘play up’ with an opponent like Pennsbury toward the end of the season,” said Campbell. “They have one of the top teams in the district – and it gives our players a good idea of what it would be like to play in the district playoffs.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL Continental Conference
Pennridge remained unbeaten in conference play with a pair of wins last week. The Rams opened the week with a 58-43 victory over North Penn as Joey Molettiere scored a game-high 20 points. Pennridge closed the week with a 55-41 win over Hatboro-Horsham as Molettiere scored a game-high 17 points.
Central Bucks South kept pace with Pennridge with a pair of conference victories. The Titans opened the week with a 51-45 win over Souderton as Josh Brodie scored a team-high 11 points. CB South closed the week with a 67-51 victory over Quakertown as Sean Gallagher (18) and Tim Waddington (17) paced the winners.
Central Bucks West kept pace with both Pennridge and CB South as the Bucks captured a couple of conference wins. CB West opened the week with a 42-32 win over Hatboro-Horsham as Cal Reichwein scored a game-high 17 points. The Bucks followed with a 36-34 win over CB East as Reichwein led CBW with 16 points.
Quakertown split a pair of conference games last week. The Panthers opened the week with a 60-35 victory over Central Bucks East as Griffin Schmidt scored a game-high 17 points. Quakertown closed the week with a 67-51 loss to Central Bucks South as Schmidt scored a team-high 14 points.
Souderton split a pair of conference games last week. The Indians opened the week with a 51-45 loss to Central Bucks South as Evan Slone scored a game-high 14 points. Souderton closed the week with a 45-40 victory over North Penn as Slone scored a game-high 16 points.
Central Bucks East had a tough week as East lost both of its conference games. The Patriots opened the week with a 60-35 loss to Quakertown and closed the week with a 36-34 setback against district rival CB West. Justin O’Neil led CB East in scoring against Quakertown with eight points.
Hatboro-Horsham had a tough week as the Hatters lost both of their conference games. Hatboro-Horsham opened the week with a 42-32 loss to Central Bucks West as Brian McEachern led the Black and Red with 13 points. The Hatters closed the week with a 55-41 loss to Pennridge as McEachern led H-H with a team-high 14 points.
North Penn had a tough week as the Knights lost both of their conference games. North Penn opened the week with a 58-43 loss to Pennridge as Joey Richards scored a team-high 12 points. The Knights closed the week with a 45-40 setback against Souderton as Richards again led NP in scoring with 16 points.
SOL Continental Conference Standings
1. Pennridge Rams (11-1 overall, 6-0 conference)
2. Central Bucks South Titans (8-4, 5-1)
3. Central Bucks West Bucks (10-3, 4-2)
Souderton Indians (8-5, 4-2)
5. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (4-8, 2-4)
North Penn Knights (6-7, 2-4)
7. Quakertown Panthers (5-7-1-5)
8. Central Bucks East Patriots (4-9, 0-6)
This Week in the SOL Continental Conference
Tuesday (1/13/15)
Central Bucks East @ Souderton
North Penn @ Hatboro-Horsham
Pennridge @ Quakertown
Central Bucks West @ Central Bucks South
Thursday (1/15/15)
Central Bucks South @ North Penn
Central Bucks East @ Pennridge
Central Bucks West @ Quakertown
Souderton @ Hatboro-Horsham
SOL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Pennsbury Falcons
Pennsbury (10-3, 5-1) knew it had three elite players coming back this season, but head coach Bill Coleman knew very little else about the remainder of his roster.
“We are still a work in progress,” said Coleman. “We knew we had three excellent players coming back in Cameron Jones, Mekhi Bryant, and Derrick Woods. But we also knew that we had 11 other players that had very little varsity experience.”
Jones, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark last Thursday, is a third team All-State player. Bryant is a first team SOL National Conference player, and Woods is committed to St. Bonaventure next year.
“Cameron is making an adjustment to a new role on this team,” said Coleman. “Last year we relied on Cameron to do a lot of our scoring – but this year we really need him to be a more complete player. He is working very hard at doing those things.
“Mekhi has started for us since he was a freshman and has been Mr. Consistency,” added Coleman. “And Derrick has taken a huge step from where we was a year ago. He improves every day on the little things like footwork and attacking the glass more.”
Coleman has mixed and matched in the first half of the season finding the two complementing starters. That list of players includes Juan Perez Jones, Isaiah Carpenter, Nick Celeby, and Rob Daley.
“We came into the season with three very difficult games,” said Coleman in reference to losses to Abington (58-57), La Salle (57-44), and Neumann-Goretti (78-72). “But we’re starting to click now.
“Our goal is to win our league championship,” added Coleman. “We get Abington (9-3, 6-0) to open the second half of the season next Friday (1/16/15) – but we can’t overlook William Tennent on Tuesday (1/13/15).”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL National Conference
Abington remained unbeaten in conference play with a pair of victories. The Ghosts opened the week with a 58-31 win over William Tennent as Matt Penecale scored a game-high 25 points. Abington closed the week with a 49-42 victory over Council Rock North as Penecale paced the Ghosts with 21 points.
Pennsbury kept pace with Abington with a couple of conference wins last week. The Falcons soared to a 65-32 win over Neshaminy as Cameron Jones led the winners with 20 points. Pennsbury closed the week with a 70-21 victory over Neshaminy as Jones went over the career 1000-point mark in scoring a game-high 14 points.
Council Rock North split a pair of conference games last week. The Indians opened the week with a 43-27 win over district rival Council Rock South as Riley Thompson scored a game-high 11 points. Rock North closed the week with a 49-42 loss to Abington as Will Desautelle paced the Indians with 11 points.
William Tennent split a pair of conference games last week. The Panthers opened the week with a 58-31 loss to Abington and closed the week with a 45-41 victory over Bensalem. In the win over the Owls, John Ryan scored a game-high 16 points while Kevin Simonson scored in twin digits with 13 points.
Bensalem split a pair of conference games last week. The Owls opened the week with a 46-45 victory over Truman and closed the week with a 45-41 loss to William Tennent. In the win over the Tigers – Bensalem was paced by a 13-point scoring effort by Nick Mulvey. In the loss to the Panthers – the Owls were led by Rich Dean (12) and Neel Patel (12).
Truman split a pair of conference games last week. The Tigers opened the week with a 46-45 loss to Bensalem and closed the week with a 36-31 win over Neshaminy. TyQuan Law led Truman in scoring in both games with an 18-point performance against Bensalem and 15-point effort against Neshaminy.
Neshaminy had a tough week as the Redskins lost both of their conference games. The Skins opened the week with a 65-32 loss to Pennsbury and closed the week with a 36-31 loss to Truman. In the loss to Pennsbury – Chris Arcidiacano scored a team-high 10 points.
Council Rock South had a tough week as the Hawks lost both of their conference games. Rock South opened the week with a 43-27 loss to rival CR North and closed the week with a 70-21 setback to Pennsbury. Austin Thomas was the leading scorer for the Golden Hawks in both games.
SOL National Conference Standings
1. Abington Ghosts (9-3 overall, 6-0 conference)
2. Pennsbury Falcons (10-3, 5-1)
3. Council Rock North (8-4-4-2)
4. William Tennent Panthers (4-8, 3-3)
5. Council Rock South Golden Hawks (3-9-2-4)
Harry S Truman (4-8, 2-4)
7. Bensalem Owls (4-8, 1-5)
Neshaminy Redskins (4-6, 1-5)
This Week in the SOL National Conference
Tuesday (1/13/15)
Abington @ Truman
Bensalem @ Council Rock North
Neshaminy @ Council Rock South
William Tennent @ Pennsbury
Thursday (1/15/15)
Abington @ Pennsbury
Council Rock North @ William Tennent
Truman @ Council Rock South
Friday (1/16/15)
Bensalem @ Neshaminy
SOL American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Upper Merion Vikings
Upper Merion (2-10, 1-5) head coach Jason Quenzer would love to see his young Vikings collect more wins. But the second year coach knows that success will come in the future for his program.
“The players play the game to win – and for their sake, we need some wins along the way,” said Quenzer. “But as a coaching staff we are more concerned with improvement – and we have seen that.
“We have three sophomores that we’re building the team around,” added Quenzer. “And the future looks good.”
Upper Merion – which won its first SOL American Conference game last week with a 47-40 win over Springfield – has made investments in a sophomore class that includes Matthew Faw, Ethan Miller, and Aiden Newell.
“Matt is 6-foot, 7-inches and has all the tools,” said Quenzer. “He only saw limited time last year on the varsity level as a freshman, and he has the ability to play both inside and as a swing man. He had a great summer and came back to us greatly improved.
“Ethan simply controls the paint for us – he already has over 50 blocked shots,” added Quenzer. “And Aiden runs the offense for us as the point guard.”
Upper Merion closes out the first half of the SOL American Conference season with an away game at Upper Moreland.
“Our goal for the remainder of the season is to gain experience and get better,” said Quenzer. “And it would be nice to win some games along the way.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SOL American Conference
Upper Dublinmoved to within a game of the conference lead with a pair of wins last week. The Cardinals opened the week with a 70-46 win over Upper Merion and closed the week with a 53-43 victory over Wissahickon. In the win over the Vikings, Ryan Stover scored a game-high 14 points, and in the win over the Trojans, John Barrett scored a game-high 19 points.
Cheltenham came up with a couple of huge conference wins last week. The Panthers opened the week with a 54-48 win over Upper Moreland and closed the week with a huge victory over previously unbeaten Plymouth Whitemarsh – 59-56. In the win over the Colonials, Fatir Al-Ahad scored a game-high 20 points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh fell from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Colonials split a pair of conference games last week. PW opened the week with a 71-31 victory over Springfield and was upset 59-56 by Cheltenham to close out the week. Jimmy Murray (16) and Xzavier Malone (15) led the Colonials in scoring in the loss to the Panthers.
Wissahickon split a pair of conference games last week. The Trojans opened the week with a 57-52 victory over Norristown and closed the week with a 53-43 loss to Upper Dublin. Ron Brundage scored a game-high 14 points in the win over the Eagles, while Brandon Pace scored a team-high 12 points in the loss to the Cardinals.
Norristown split a pair of conference games last week. The Eagles opened the week with a 57-52 loss to Wissahickon and closed the week with a 39-20 win over Upper Moreland. Roy Green scored a game-high 14 points in the loss to the Trojans, while Khalif Sinclair scored a game-high 13 points against the Spartans.
Upper Merion won its first conference game of the year as the Vikings split a pair of conference games last week. Upper Merion lost the week opener to Upper Dublin 70-46 – and closed the week with a 47-40 victory over Springfield. Matthew Faw led the Vikings in scoring in both games with a 17-point effort against Upper Dublin and a 25-point performance against the Spartans.
Upper Moreland had a tough week as the Golden Bears lost a pair of conference games. Upper Moreland opened the week with a 54-48 loss to Cheltenham and closed the week with a 39-20 loss to Norristown. James Martin was the leading scorer for the Bears in both games with an 18-point effort against the Panthers and a nine-point performance against the Eagles.
Springfield had a tough week as the Spartans lost both of their conference games. Springfield opened the week with a 71-31 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh and closed the week with a 47-40 loss to Upper Merion. Sean Stovall scored a team-high 14 points in the setback against the Vikings.
SOL American Conference Standings
1. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (11-1 overall, 5-1 conference)
2. Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals (8-3, 5-1)
3. Cheltenham Panthers (6-6, 4-2)
Norristown Eagles (5-5, 4-2)
Wissahickon Trojans (6-5, 4-2)
6. Upper Moreland Golden Bears (5-8, 1-5)
Upper Merion Vikings (2-10, 1-5)
8. Springfield Spartans (2-10, 0-6)
This Week in the SOL American Conference
Tuesday (1/13/15)
Cheltenham @ Wissahickon
Upper Dublin @ Springfield
Norristown @ Plymouth Whitemarsh
Upper Merion @ Upper Moreland
Friday (1/16/15)
Cheltenham @ Upper Merion
Wissahickon @ Springfield
Norristown @ Upper Dublin
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Upper Moreland
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
2. Abington Ghosts
3. Pennsbury Falcons
4. Pennridge Rams
5. Central Bucks South Titans
6. Central Bucks West Bucks
7. Council Rock North Indians
8. Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
9. Souderton Indians
10. Cheltenham Panthers
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