Scott Huff looks ahead at the District One football playoff picture and also recaps all of last week’s games. To view photos of the CB South/CB West, CR North/CR South and Neshaminy/Pennsbury games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
The regular season is now behind us, and often lost in the glare of the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs is the fact that Suburban One League Conference champions have been crowned.
In the Suburban One Continental Conference, the major surprise was the fact that North Penn did not repeat as conference champion after its total domination in recent years. Pennridgehas yet to be crowned as outright champion as the Rams have yet to play Quakertown, but a Ram loss in that contest would be beyond inconceivable.
Pennridge (9-1, 6-0) was able to win the conference with a sweep of both Central Bucks South (9-1, 6-1) and North Penn (6-4, 5-2)in games played at Poppy Yoder Field. The Rams were the lone team to defeat CB South with a 21-10 victory and followed that victory with a 28-21 win over the Knights. Pennridge also swept Central Bucks West, Central Bucks East, Souderton, and Hatboro-Horsham.
Central Bucks South stunned North Penn the week before the Pennridge loss. The Titans defeated the Knights 36-29 but could not continue that momentum the next week with the 21-10 loss to the Rams.
In the Suburban One National Conference, the usual suspects hovered at or near the top of the conference standings all season long. This year it was Pennsbury (8-2, 7-0) that was able to run the table and earn a conference title with a perfect conference season. The Falcons earned a critical 7-0 victory over Neshaminy (7-3, 5-2) and a key 35-9 victory over Abington (7-3, 5-2).
Neshaminy tied for second place in the standings with Abington despite the fact that the Redskins defeated the Ghosts 21-14. Neshaminy also had a 20-17-conference loss early in the season to William Tennent.
Abington was able to defeat each team in the conference – William Tennent, Council Rock North, Council Rock South, Bensalem, and Truman - with the exception of Pennsbury and Neshaminy.
In the Suburban One American Conference, the Colonials of Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-1, 7-0) were able to defend their conference title with a perfect record in conference play. PW was able to collect huge wins over both Wissahickon (35-21) and Cheltenham (34-28) to secure the title.
Wissahickon (7-3, 5-2) tied for second place in the standings despite a 20-6 loss to Cheltenham. The Trojans swept the remaining five teams in the conference – Upper Dublin, Upper Moreland, Upper Merion, Norristown, and Springfield.
Cheltenham (7-3, 5-2) tied for second place in the standings despite a 20-6 win over Cheltenham. The Panthers suffered a damaging 28-21 loss to Upper Moreland in conference play.
Okay, now we can look at the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs. All first round games will be played this Friday with 7 pm kick off times.
The Suburban One League will have seven teams slotted in the 16-team tournament with three teams from the SOL National – Pennsbury, Neshaminy, and Abington – two teams from the SOL Continental – Pennridge and Central Bucks South – and two teams from the SOL American – Plymouth Whitemarsh and Wissahickon.
Pennridge(# 3 seed) will host Abington (# 14) at Poppy Yoder Field. The Rams (9-1, 6-0) completed the season as the SOL Continental Conference champion while Abington (7-3, 5-2) finished in a second place tie in the SOL National Conference.
Pennsbury (# 6) will host West Chester Rustin (# 11) at Falcon Field. The Falcons (8-2, 7-0) completed the season as the SOL National Conference champion, while WC Rustin (8-2, 5-1) finished in second place in the Ches-Mont American Conference.
The winners of the Pennridge-Abington / Pennsbury-WC Rustin games will meet in the second round. The remaining higher seed will host the game.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (# 4) will host Neshaminy (#13) on the turf at Plymouth Meeting. The Colonials (9-1, 7-0) completed the season as the SOL American Conference champion, while the Skins (7-3, 5-2) finished in second place in the SOL National Conference.
Central Bucks South (# 5) will host Haverford (# 12) at Titan Field. The Titans (9-1, 6-1) finished the season as the second place team in the SOL Continental Conference, while Haverford (8-2, 6-2) was the fourth place finisher in the Central League.
The winners of the Plymouth Whitemarsh-Neshaminy and Central Bucks South-Haverford games will meet in the second round. The remaining higher seed will host the game.
Wissahickon (# 16) will be on the road to play at Downingtown East (# 1). The Trojans (7-3, 5-2) finished in second place in the SOL American Conference, while Downingtown East (10-0, 9-0) was the champion of the Ches-Mont National Conference.
Spring-Ford (# 7) will host Garnet Valley (# 8) in Royersford. The Rams (9-1, 6-1) were the second place finisher in the Pioneer Athletic Conference while Garnet Valley (8-2, 7-2) was the second place finisher in the Central League.
The winners of the Wissahickon-Downingtown East / Spring-Ford-Garnet Valley games will meet in the second round. The remaining higher seed will host the game.
The long and winding road to Hershey on December 15, 2012, for the Quad-A title begins this week.
Let’s not forget Upper Moreland as the Golden Bears made the eight-team field in the Class AAA District One playoff field.
Upper Moreland (# 7 seed) will be on the road as the Golden Bears face Academy Park (# 2). Upper Moreland (6-4, 4-3) was the fourth place finisher in the SOL American Conference, while Academy Park (9-1, 5-0) was the champion of the Delaware Valley League.
Interboro (# 3) will host Phoenixville (# 6) in a first round game. The Bucs (8-2, 4-1) finished the season as the second place team in the Delaware Valley League, while Phoenixville (6-4, 4-3) was the fourth place team in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
The winners of the Upper Moreland-Academy Park / Interboro-Phoenixville games will meet in the second round.
That Was The Week That Was In The Suburban One League
Saturday Afternoon Fever
In the SOL National Conference, Pennsbury (8-2, 7-0) completed an unbeaten conference season and won an outright conference championship as the Falcons won a defensive tussle with Neshaminy (7-3, 5-2).
The lone touchdown of the game came in the second period when Shawn Pepper scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Falcon quarterback Breon Clark. Pennsbury managed just 155 yards rushing and 70 yards passing against a solid Redskin defense. Daquan Mack rushed for a team-high 52 yards for the winners.
Neshaminy could generate only 155 yards of total offense against a solid Pennsbury defense. Tailback Nate Hall led the Skins in rushing with a game-high 53 yards, while Denny Lord added 24 yards on eight carries. It was the first time the Skins had been shut out all season.
Also in the SOL National Conference, Council Rock North (5-5, 4-3) scored two fourth period touchdowns to rally to a 13-7 victory over district rival Council Rock South (2-8, 2-5).
The Indians closed to within 7-6 early in the fourth period on an 83-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Brandon McIlwain to senior wide receiver Brandon Knotts. The winning touchdown came on the next offensive series for the Indians when A.J. Nielsen scored on an 18-yard run.
Council Rock South took a 7-0 lead in the first half. The only scoring play for the Golden Hawks came on a 12-yard touchdown pass from junior Greg Paprocki to senior Christian Crane. Senior running back PJ Steinmetz led all rushers with 100 yards on 23 carries.
In the SOL Continental Conference, North Penn (6-4, 5-2) knocked Souderton (6-4, 4-3) out of the district playoffs with a dramatic 11-10 come-from-behind victory at Alumni Field in Souderton.
North Penn scored 11 fourth period points to secure the win. Brandon Mandas cut a 10-0 lead to 10-3 with a 27-yard field goal, and Kyle Mayfield scored on a 39-yard pass from Mike Berstecher late in the fourth period to cut the lead to 10-9. The Knights gambled and went for two – and the gamble paid off with a victory as James DeSimone scored on a reverse for the 11-10 win.
Souderton led 10-0 going into the fourth period. Jeff Wolf booted a 28-yard field goal for the Indians, while Jarrett Reinhold scored on a 1-yard run. The Souderton offense was held to just 170 yards of total offense. The Indians will play Boyertown next week to close out their season.
In the SOL American Conference, Wissahickon (7-3, 5-2) earned an invitation to the Quad-A district playoffs with a 55-13 victory over Upper Moreland (6-4, 4-3).
Wissahickon running back Dan Murphy turned in a spectacular outing with five touchdowns. Murphy – who rushed for a game-high 180 yards on 20 carries – scored on touchdown runs of 2, 5, 23, and 5 yards. Murphy also scored on a 46-yard scoring pass from quarterback Randy Frankenfield. Dave Stellato (9 yards), Josh Smith (15 yards), and Josh Trunk (3 yards) all scored solo touchdowns for the Trojans.
Upper Moreland – which will venture into the Class AAA playoffs – scored a pair of touchdowns in the loss. Dan Cummings closed the Wissahickon lead to 14-7 when he returned a kick off 92 yards for a touchdown. Robert Knox – who rushed for a team-high 98 yards – also scored for the Golden Bears on a 65-yard run.
Also in the SOL American Conference, Cheltenham (7-3, 5-2) closed the book on its SOL season with a 21-0 victory over visiting Norristown (1-9, 1-6).
The Panthers scored three rushing touchdowns to secure the win. Ryan Phillips scored on a 26-yard touchdown run in the first period; Phillips added a 36-yard touchdown burst in the second period, and Greg Morris scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to ice the game in the fourth period. Mark Thompson led the Panthers with 105 yards rushing.
Norristown – which will close out its season with a home game next week against neighborhood rival Methacton – was led in rushing by Curtis Pardea with 60 yards
Friday Night Lights
In the SOL Continental Conference, Central Bucks South (9-1, 6-1) prepped for its upcoming PIAA District One Playoff appearance with a 34-14 victory over Central Bucks West (5-5, 3-4).
Titan quarterback John Pileggi completed 13 aerials for 255 yards and three touchdown passes for the winners – one to Josh Adams (88 yards) – another to Cale Mosher (10 yards) – and a third to Steve Veal (28 yards). Veal also returned an interception 30 yards for a score while Adams jetted for 170 yards that included a 53-yard touchdown run.
Buck quarterback John Fitz – playing for the injured Cody Riemenschneider (shoulder) – completed 19 passes for 196 yards and scored both West touchdowns on 1-yard sneaks. Running Sherrod Higginbotham rushed the ball 22 times for 111 yards.
Also in the SOL Continental Conference, Pennridge (9-1, 6-0) clinched a share of the conference title with a 54-14 rout over Hatboro-Horsham (1-9, 1-6). The game was played at Helman Field on the high school campus due to damage to Poppy Yoder Field in Perkasie.
Pennridge junior running back Michael Class ran the ball 15 times for an even 200 yards and four touchdowns. Class scored on runs of 12, 44, 3, and 70 yards. Also scoring for the Rams were Kyle Bigam (37 yards), Alex Krivda (14 yards), Tyler Kio (55 interception return), and Sifee Good (3 yards). Pennridge rolled up 500 yards of total offense.
Hatboro-Horsham running back Chris Ejimonyeugwo scored on a 60-yard run for the Hatters. Ejimonyeugwo was the leading rusher for Hatboro-Horsham with 145 yards on 10 carries. The second Hatter score came in the second half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jeff Panara.
In the SOL American Conference, Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-1, 7-0) completed its unbeaten run through the conference with a 28-6 victory over Springfield (4-6, 1-6).
Colonial quarterback Pete Giorgio was the offensive spark for the winners. Giorgio scored on runs of 13 and four yards and also fired a 13-yard scoring pass to Terry Brown. Corey Kelly scored the final Plymouth Whitemarsh touchdown on a four-yard run.
Springfield averted a shutout in the fourth period when quarterback Chris Stone tossed a 16-yard scoring pass to Brendan Doyle. The Spartans, in their first season back in the conference in decades, managed a conference win this season over Norristown – 18-6.
Also in the SOL American Conference, Upper Dublin (6-4, 4-3) captured a 24-14 victory over Upper Merion (1-9, 1-6) in the conference finale for both teams.
The Flying Cardinals were able to score three rushing touchdowns to secure the victory. Khalid Weems scored on runs of one and 17 yards while Reed Rapine scored the first touchdown of the game on a 49-yard run.
The Vikings scored on a 59-yard pass completion from Carmen Fortino to Michael Grant and on a 20-yard touchdown run by Hassan Gardner. The lone Upper Merion win of the conference season came with a 42-12 victory over Springfield.
In the SOL National Conference, Abington (7-3, 5-2) scored early and often in a 37-14 victory over host William Tennent (4-6, 3-4). The Ghosts led 37-7 at halftime.
Abington quarterback Dylan Collins threw a pair of touchdown passes – one to Kendall Stewart and the other to Andrew Pickney. Collins also scored on a 10-yard run. Running back Craig Reynolds rushed for a game-high 82 yards and scored on runs of ten and 8 yards.
The Panthers scored a first half touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Cameron Jenkins to Jimmy Lewicki. William Tennent closed out the scoring in the game in the second half when Pat Lydon scored on a one-yard run.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Pennsbury Falcons (8-2, 7-0)
2. Pennridge Rams (9-1, 6-0)
3. Central Bucks South Titans (9-1, 6-1)
4. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (9-1, 7-0)
5. North Penn Knights (6-4, 5-2)
6. Neshaminy Redskins (7-3, 5-2)
7. Abington Ghosts (7-3, 5-2)
8. Wissahickon Trojans (7-3, 5-2)
9. Souderton Indians (6-4, 4-3)
10. Cheltenham Panthers (7-3, 5-2)
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