Back for its 17th season, the popular Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features football beat writer Drew Markol. To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the Intelligencer (http://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school/) and Courier Times (http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school/) web sites.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge defeated Central Bucks East last week in one of the weekend’s big games. You were there – your thoughts?
Drew Markol: “Pennridge came in after a win over CB West and played at CB East. East took the opening kickoff, went down and scored on a nice long drive, and you’re thinking, ‘Wow, that looked kind of easy,’ but from there Pennridge just shut them down and did not allow any more points. The final was 26-7.
“Aiden Tetkowski, the junior quarterback for Pennridge, is just getting better by the week, and he threw two touchdown passes in the first half and then he had a 41-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, and they just really did a good job. Pennridge’s defense with Blake Landherr, the junior linebacker, Sean Duffy and Mike Ferguson are both senior cornerbacks, and they did a nice job taking away anything that East wanted to try throwing-wise. Mike Prices is a really good running back, and he was held under a hundred yards for the first time all season.
“East had its best chance to get back in the game right after halftime when it was 19-7, and they drove inside Pennridge’s 10, but they fumbled and Pennridge put together a long drive and scored to go up 26-7. They were deflated by the fumble. The tide turned and that led to the touchdown run by Tetkowski.
“So, Pennridge goes to 5-0, and they’re one of only four teams in District 1 6A that is undefeated, so that tells you something, and they’re doing this with maybe three or four senior starters. The rest are juniors and sophomores. Again, we talk about this every week, but it was almost a completely different Pennridge team that went to the district final last year, and they had a lot of kids graduate, and all of a sudden, the next group just comes in and they’re 5-0. They still have to play North Penn, and that game’s probably a toss-up, but in every other game they have left, you expect them to win. So, they’re probably looking at worst 9-1 heading to districts.
“Pennridge is full of confidence now. At the beginning of the year, they didn’t know. They’re all juniors with not many holdovers from last year, but they’re just getting it done. Trevor Picciotti, the junior running back was over 120 yards, and they’ve just allowed four touchdowns in five games.
“Your look at East. East’s two losses have come to Ridley and Pennridge, and Ridley and Pennridge are two of the undefeated teams in District 6A. Was East in this game after halftime? Not really, but their two losses have come again teams that are 10-0. That bodes well, but East has tough games coming. Obviously, they have West and North Penn, and CB South seems rejuvenated.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks West defeated North Penn. Your comment about that game.
Drew Markol: “West was coming off the loss to Pennridge the previous week, and now you have to play North Penn, and you’re looking at 0-2 in the conference if you lose. Then West was trailing 20-7 at halftime, and it’s not looking good. Well, they roar back to take a 28-20 lead, and then North Pen scores late and goes for two to try and tie it. They didn’t get it, and it turns into a 28-26 game that West wins, but that was another great game right there.
“Nick Miletto had a big touchdown run for West, and Josh George, the quarterback, had a touchdown run. Braylen Cape had a good game running the ball for West. For North Penn Rylei Gray had a couple of touchdowns – an 11-yard touchdown reception and a one-yard run. When you put West versus North Penn – whoever wins, you wouldn’t be surprised. They’re that close, and they’re both going to be getting high seeds come playoff time, and they might end up playing each other again like we had last year when North Penn and Pennridge were in the district final.
“That was a great game to be at. North Penn had a 20-7 lead at the half, but West just kept hanging in there and fought back, and that’s an enormous win for them – 4-1 is a whole lot better than 3-2.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks South – after an 0-3 start – is 2-0 in the SOL National after its 36-0 win over Neshaminy. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “CB South had a 15-0 lead at the half. Colin White recovered a fumbled that led to a Gavin Graham touchdown run. That put South up 15-0 at the half, and in the second half, South gets the ball, and they go 78 yards and Gavin Graham scored his second touchdown. They forced another fumble by Neshaminy, and Graham ran in from nine yards out for his third score of the game. Sophomore quarterback Trent Haviland threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Sonny Wade to make it 36-0.
“That’s a nice shutout for South. Graham also plays on the defensive front with Braden Kube, Jake Friedman and Brody Horvath. It looked like it was going to be one of those years where South might have a 2-8 kind of season. Well, now they’re 2-3, and they play East this week and can get back to 3-3 if they win. South still has to play Pennridge and North Penn, but they’re giving themselves a chance.
“South has co-coaches with John Cataldo and Bart Szarko, and to their credit, this season could have quickly gone south, no pun intended, when you’re 0-3, but now they bounced back and have put themselves almost back in the conversation. If they beat East this week, they’re back in the conversation for sure and then you start thinking – maybe a playoff spot, which after an 0-3 start is pretty impressive.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Quakertown upset Council Rock South last week for its first win of the season. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Quakertown was 0-4 playing a Council Rock South team that won the Continental Conference last year, and Quakertown rallies back for a 24-21 win, scoring in the final 20 seconds of the game. It was junior quarterback Carter Tucholski scoring on a 13-yard run that gave Quakertown the lead for good. There’s a win that could be a turning point. Now you’re only 1-4, and you’ve got work to do, but at least you beat a good team in South. They’re not as good as they were last year, but they’re still pretty good, and that’s a good win.
“Quakertown had a 14-0 lead in this one, and Council Rock fights back to make it 21-17 in the third quarter, so it looks like another tough loss for Quakertown, and they’ll be 0-5. Tucholski brings them back, scores the touchdown and they get the win. I think that was enormous. It’s got to be if you’re Quakertown. Think about it. You lost to that team last year, you’re 0-4, you build a lead and then you lose the lead, and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, here we go again.’ And that’s not what happened. That’s a credit to George Banas and his kids for hanging in there and getting the win because if anybody needed a win, it was them for sure. That was really a big win.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Your thoughts entering SOL American Conference play this week.
Drew Markol: “We look at the American Conference – they start conference play this week, and probably the biggest game in the conference will be this week when Wissahickon, which is 4-1, goes to Upper Moreland, which is also 4-1. Wissahickon beat Academy Park 22-14. Ryan Kim for Wissahickon caught a touchdown pass from Evan Dixon and then scored on a 64-yard run midway through the fourth quarter for the final scoring, and that made it 22-14, so Wissahickon comes in on a high note to play Upper Moreland.
“Upper Moreland lost 33-6 to West Chester Henderson and just got kind of taken apart, so they’ll be looking to bounce back in a game that’s going to go a long, long way to determining the American Conference championship.”
SuburbanOne Sports.com: Upper Dublin pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win over Bensalem in a game the Owls appeared to have won. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Bensalem led 14-6 but Upper Dublin pulled out a 14-13 win. Bensalem had the ball, and they fumbled near midfield. Ty Greenberg recovered it for Upper Dublin, and then they go down and have the game-winning drive . On fourth-and-long, Upper Dublin quarterback Lawson Tyler throws a touchdown pass to Jabriel Epps in the back of the end zone, and Upper Dublin goes for two and makes it when Tyler threw a pass to Braeden Skahan, and all of a sudden it’s 14-13 in the final seconds.
“It was just another tough loss for Bensalem with a crazy ending. Upper Dublin is a young team, and they pick up their second win, and now they’re 2-0 in the SOL Continental Conference. There are some tests coming up for them with PW and Souderton and Council Rock South and Quakertown, but those kind of wins – a last-second win – that spikes a team’s confidence. And for Bensalem, this is another tough loss. First year coach Mitch Cohen will turn that team around, but it’s going to take time You have these kind of growing pains, and those losses really, really hurt, and you just hope you can keep your kids focused and not have them get down on themselves.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Any games to watch this weekend?
Drew Markol: “You look at Central Bucks East and Central Bucks South. You’ve got 3-2 East and 2-3 South, and the winner of that game has put themselves in a good spot as far as being in the district race. Can South stop Mike Price for East, and South has Gavin Graham, who – as good a running back as he is for South – might be an even better defensive lineman. That’s a game that two weeks ago when South was 0-3 and East was 2-1 – you didn’t think much of this game, but now it’s a pretty big game.
“In the Continental Conference, Plymouth Whitemarsh and Souderton are both 2-0 in conference play. This game is going to go a really, really long way to decide the conference champion. PW is undefeated, and Souderton started out 0-3, but they won their last two games against Council Rock North and Council Rock South. I give the edge to Plymouth Whitemarsh just the way they’re playing, and it will be telling as far as the conference is concerned.
“So, we have the American Conference between Wissahickon and Upper Moreland and the Continental between PW and Souderton in week six. We’re going to find out an awful lot about who’s getting the trophy after week 10.”
Drew’s Picks
(Winner in bold)
Academy of New Church at Lower Moreland
Bensalem at Quakertown
Central Bucks East at Central Bucks South
Central Bucks West at Abington
Delaware County Christian at New Hope-Solebury
Neshaminy at North Penn
Pennsbury at Pennridge
Plymouth Whitemarsh at Souderton
Springfield Twp at Harry S Truman
Upper Dublin at Council Rock North
William Tennent at Hatboro-Horsham
Wissahickon at Upper Moreland
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