Back for its 14th 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.
Join Jeff Nolan for the WPHT High School Football Scoreboard Show as they recap the night of high school football on Friday at 10 p.m. on 1210AM/WPHT and the Audacy app.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton defeated Quakertown 35-14 in a key SOL Continental Conference game. You were at that game - your thoughts?
Drew Markol: “Souderton goes to 6-0. Sophomore quarterback Ben Walsh returned. He was kind of limited – they relied on senior Ryan Sadowski, the running back, to carry a lot of the load, and he did. He had three touchdowns, ran for 159 yards. When Walsh did throw, he always looks for Danny Dyches, the senior, 
who made a couple of nice catches, and he turned them into some nice yards after the catch. Souderton is just on a roll. They have a big game against Council Rock South coming up, I believe, next week, and they have to play Upper Dublin, but they’re looking like the class of the Continental Conference. Someone asked me the other day – if you had to rank them in the district, where would you put them. Playoff rankings aside, I think they’re in the top five. They may be ranked fourth in the rankings – there’s a lot of factors that go into that, but they’re legit. They’ve won 17 straight games at home. They haven’t lost at home since 2019. Think about that – the seniors now were in eighth grade then. It’s crazy. That’s a homefield advantage. A lot of times in high school, it doesn’t really matter, but for them, it seems like a great place to be. Let’s say they stay at number four in the district rankings – they’re getting a couple of home games in the playoffs. Seventeen in a row at home - that’s more than a fluke.
“This week Souderton is going to play a Warwick team that has lost five in a row. They’re 1-5, but it’s just because Souderton has to fill in a spot. With Hatboro-Horsham playing an independent schedule, they have a week to fill. I’m sure they’re fortunate they found a game this late in the season.
“Quakertown had a lot of injuries. Their quarterback, Vince Micucci, is a warrior. I’ve seen him a lot the past two seasons. He gets battered around by defenses, and he just keeps ticking. It looked like he injured his hip against Souderton, and he had to come out right at the end of the first half. He didn’t play in the second half. Losing him – he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the area. He’s an enormous part of that team and really, really makes them go. Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said after the game – ‘Micucci is the best quarterback in our league.’ For Quakertown to lose to them like that, it makes it hard. Quakertown gets Bensalem this week, and Bensalem has been struggling.
“Bensalem went the first couple of weeks without scoring a point, and on Friday, they beat Truman in overtime. Thomas Bailey, the Bensalem sophomore running back is also a defensive back, is a very good player, and he had an interception in the overtime to seal that win. So Bensalem comes in with a little bit of confidence against Quakertown. For Quakertown at 2-4, they have to win out and hope they get into the district playoffs, and that’s not easy to do.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury picked up a must-win at Central Bucks East in what was a big game for both squads. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “It was a good job by Pennsbury with its 16-14 win over East. Pennsbury was 2-3 going into that game. If you sink to 2-4, you really made it hard on yourself as far as trying to qualify for the district playoffs which is pretty much the holy grail for all these teams, so they can say they made the district playoffs. Sixteen out of 33 teams do, so it’s not actually the greatest mountain climbed when you make it to the district playoffs, but it’s the system we have. Pennsbury needed that game, and East, frankly, needed that one too because they have big games coming up as does Pennsbury. Now you have East at 3-3, and if the season ended today, they’d have the 16th and final spot in the district tournament and they’d have to play the number one seed, which is looking like it’s CB West, their archrival they still have to play in week 10 of the season.
“That game held a lot of weight for both of those teams trying to get to the tournament. Look at the way that game ended. Jack Donnelly, the all-state tight end for East, returns a fumble 99 yards when Pennsbury thinks it’s going in for a touchdown. That was a 14-point swing – instead of Pennsbury going on top 10-3, East takes a 14-3 lead and still led 14-10 after Pennsbury quarterback Nathan Beighley ran it in 70 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, sophomore Angelo Periera nails a 27-yard field goal to make it a 14-13 game. Pennsbury gets the ball back on their own eight-yard line with under three minutes remaining in regulation, and on the first play, Eric David bolts 75 yards, setting the stage for a 35-yard field goal by Periera – his third of the game – to give the Falcons a 16-14 lead as time is about to expire.
“That’s one of those potentially season-changing games. Now Pennsbury goes to Pennridge this week, which in your mind has to be a winnable game, and all of a sudden, you’re 4-3. You’re going to play Neshaminy at the end of the season. That’s a game you should win. I know it’s an archrival, but it looks like Pennsbury is better. If you get two more wins or one more win, you’re making the playoffs. That’s a huge win for Pennsbury and just a tough loss for East. I know they’re both 3-3, but they are different kinds of 3-3.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks South improved to 6-0, winning a wild one at North Penn. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You look at the CB South game – CB South is 6-0, and how big is that CB South/CB West game in a couple of weeks? CB South goes to North Penn and puts up 50 points on them. I’ve seen CB South a couple of times, and nothing really jumps out at you. They have a very good defense. That’s it – they don’t allow much. On offense, Anthony Leonardi is a pretty good running back, and he quietly piles up the yards, but they’re not dynamic. It’s not like they throw the ball all over the field. They just grind you down, don’t make mistakes. They’ve got a heck of an offensive line, led by Collin Goetter, who’s going to play at Monmouth. He’s 6-4, 290, and he’s a mauler on the offensive line. That, to me, is one of the surprises of the season – we’re in October now, and they’re undefeated.
“North Penn will host East this week. East has got to bounce back from the tight loss to Pennsbury. You talk about a team that has to win out -it’s North Penn. North Penn won six games last year to get into districts and got in as the 13th or 14th seed. They’re 2-4 and they absolutely have to win the rest of their games to get to 6-4 and then hope they get in. Again, they’re looking at a very low seed. It’s been a struggle for North Penn. They’ve allowed a lot of points – they allowed 38 to Quakertown, 50 to CB South last week. North Penn has been so good for so long, it’s hard to fathom their struggles. It’s asking a lot to be good every year, but that’s what they’ve been. Every year they’ve been good. Now they’re struggling a bit. These teams that have lost to them season after season are saying, ‘Now’s our chance to get them.’ North Penn is not only playing their schedule, they’re playing their past, which is hard.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Springfield Twp rallied from behind to knot the score and then defeated Wissahickon 29-28 in overtime. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Give Springfield credit. That’s not easy. It’s been a rejuvenation for Wissahickon, they’ve got the homecoming and a big home crowd. They’ve been down for so long, and they have a lead, and Springfield came back in the fourth quarter with a 55-yard touchdown by CJ Johnson to tie it.
“Wissahickon got the ball first in overtime and scored. Springfield gets its chance in overtime. They score and go for two, which you’ve got to like and is probably what the Commanders should have done in the Eagles game on Sunday. Springfield has nothing to lose, and junior quarterback Jack McGuckin runs it in for the two-point conversation for an enormous win for the Spartans. I like it. Okay, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but you play to win. Don’t go any further if you don’t have to, and they didn’t. They got it decided and they walk away with the win. I’m sure a lot of Wissahickon folks weren’t happy, they had a big crowd, but give Springfield credit for that – that’s how you do it.”
Drew Markol’s picks
(Winners in bold)
Upper Dublin @ Council Rock South
Abington @ Central Bucks South
Bensalem @ Quakertown
Central Bucks East @ North Penn
Central Bucks West @ Neshaminy
Cheltenham @ Springfield Twp
Harry S Truman @ Council Rock North
Hatboro-Horsham @ New Hope-Solebury
Lower Moreland @ Harriton
Pennsbury @ Pennridge
William Tennent @ Plymouth Whitemarsh
Souderton @ Warwick
Wissahickon @ Upper Moreland
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