Back for its 10th season, the popular Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features football beat writers Drew Markol and Todd Thorpe.
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SuburbanOneSports.com: Seven SOL teams will be competing in the District One 6A tournament. Your thoughts.
Todd Thorpe: “There were a lot of huge games out there last week. You start with Abington at CB West. Both teams had clinched a conference title, but they were playing for a high seed in districts. It really had a playoff feel. CB West puts up 45 points and pulls away from Abington, which is another impressive win for West. They head into districts as the two seed. I don’t know if a two seed has ever been as doubted every week as much as they are. They head to districts, and you say, ‘Ridley has such a great playoff tradition,’ but West has just defied all odds all year, beating Abington. Especially since 
Abington has been playing so well in the previous weeks. It was just huge for them, and they should be very confident going in, and Abington has to look at it as a wake-up call – ‘You know what, we didn’t play our best game, but that’s going to recharge us now for the playoffs.’ Abington gets a home game with PW. There are no secrets when you play teams that are so close by. I would imagine the Abington-PW game should have a lot of juice to it. It’s two teams coming from different sides of the aisle. They both had losing records last year, but PW coming off two one-win seasons in a row is really one of the most under-told stories there is in District One this year. To be 8-1 and in the playoffs is phenomenal for them. Their only loss was a close one to Cheltenham (28-24), and we know how good Cheltenham is. That’s another interesting game.
“Then you go down into the ‘As the SOL Continental Turns’ where it was just another crazy weekend of games. CB South goes on the road and really handles Souderton. South was doing it with injuries at quarterback, running back and tight end, and they still find a way to win. Three weeks ago, a lot of people – myself included – thought they were in a lot of trouble because they lost that game to CB East. They turn around, and they go into the playoffs with wins against North Penn and Souderton in back-to-back weeks, so they should be flying sky high right now you’d think. They have a home game in the playoffs and have completely caught a lot of people off guard, but Sean Smith had a great year at wide receiver. They go into the playoffs sky high. Certainly, they got the one game they probably didn’t want, and that’s a rematch with North Penn, but that’s still an interesting game. The first time they met, South had to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win that game. It should be a wild one. North Penn got back on the winning track against William Tennent, which was important. North Penn at CB South in the eight-nine game might be the most intriguing first round game in my opinion.
“Souderton was in a pretty good position, and they lose at home to CB South in a game – if they’d won – they would have a share of the conference title. They had a great season and they’re still in the playoffs, and because of Downingtown East beating Coatesville, Souderton has to go to Coatesville in the opening round. They’re the two-time defending District One 6A champion with a Division 1 quarterback in Ricky Ortega, a Division 1 wide receiver in Dapree Bryant. That’s just a tough matchup for Souderton in the first round. You know Coatesville is going to be playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder going into that game too. If you’re Souderton, you’ve got to hope maybe Coatesville is overlooking you a little bit, take advantage of some mistakes, keep it a game and hope to win it in the fourth quarter. I think that’s a real tough task for them, but that’s their best bet. That’s how they have to approach this game – ‘Every time Coatesville makes a mistake, let’s jump on it, and let’s have a real, real conservative plan and not let this game get too far away from us’ because Coatesville is going in there thinking they’re going to blow you out and they’re going to run you off the field. They do that hurry-up, the quarterback throws it all over the place. It’s a tough matchup for Souderton, but you know what – the way this season has gone, you never know.
“Lastly in 6A, the one game that did affect the playoffs was Neshaminy at Pennsbury, and that game happened to be where I was. It was really kind of an impressive second half for Pennsbury. The way they ran the football. They said, ‘We’ve got a bigger line, we’ve got a running back combination that works hard, we’re just going to pound the football,’ and that’s what they did. Neshaminy put up a gutsy effort. Neshaminy played hard. Neshaminy has a much improved defense from earlier in the year. Pennsbury over-willed them at the end just by sheer size and depth. They were able to pull away for the win. Defensively, Pennsbury was coming off a rough, rough outing against Abington, but they played really, really well against the run against Neshaminy’s running backs and really shut down the run. Pennsbury has almost as daunting task as Souderton as we just mentioned. They have to go play at Downingtown West. Downingtown West is the number one seed. They’re not unbeatable – Coatesville beat them. It’s going to take a really, really special defensive effort out of the secondary and the pass rush of Pennsbury if they’re going to have a chance to win that game. They will really have an uphill battle against a quarterback that can really spread them out and fling it. Pennsbury has had trouble against dynamic quarterbacks all year. They’ve struggled against that type of quarterback, and they’re going to have to come up with a herculean effort. I have no doubt they’ll have a game plan to do so, and then if you get in a situation where your ground game is successful, you can control a lot of clock, and who knows? It’s tough to say. I think it’s a tough battle for them, but they’re a tough-nosed team. They’re a lot better than a 6-4 team. This is probably an 8-2 team when you consider the schedule they played. I think they go out there thinking they have a puncher’s chance if they play their game and see what happens. Like we said with Souderton, their best chance is to hope they get into the fourth quarter and have a chance to do something. Their approach is a little different. They’re going to try to pound you up front, and we’ll see if they can do that against a very, very good 6A team.”
Drew Markol: “It took me a while to become a believer in CB West because of who they had played, but then they went and beat North Penn. Good job by West – it’s been an unbelievable season, and they beat Abington the other night in a game that I thought was a really, really tough test because Abington is a very good team. They won the National Conference and everything, and West goes and beats them too. You can say, ‘Are teams holding back because of district playoffs?’ I don’t know. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t, but you want to stay sharp, and that’s a credit to West for going and beating a good Abington team in that spot.
“Now you look at Abington - you have the National Conference team in Abington, and the American Conference runner-up in Plymouth Whitemarsh. As big a story as West and Abington have been – both being 4-6 last year, Plymouth Whitemarsh won one game in 2017 and 2018. They only lost one game this year to Cheltenham, and Cheltenham lost to a very good Abington team. What Dan Chang has done at PW is really remarkable. Can they play with Abington? Yeah, I think so. It’s amazing what some winning and some confidence will do. That will be a good game.
“Can Abington bounce back? Were they affected much? West beats Abington and gets a two seed. If Abington beats West, do they get the two seed? I don’t know – does it really matter. I’m not one who thinks that it matters. I agree with North Penn coach Dick Beck – as long as you get in, it doesn’t matter if you’re a one seed or a 16 seed or if you’re home or away. I don’t think the home field advantage is great shakes in high school football. Maybe Abington looked at it that way and said, ‘We’re in. Regardless of what we do, we’re going to get a home game. That’s fine.’
“I think what should be most intriguing are those eight-nine games. We have North Penn at Central Bucks South. They played two weeks ago. South scored 28 unanswered points to beat North Penn 36-35 in a remarkable game, and now, boom, there’s a rematch. If they put on another show like that, it will be pretty good stuff. That’s what happens sometimes what you get in districts. I kind of like that. I’m not a big fan of the district tournament as a whole, but when you get games like that that are interesting and have a local flavor like Plymouth Whitemarsh-Abington and North Penn-Central Bucks South, that’s pretty cool. Central Bucks West-Ridley – I would bet that most of the Central Bucks players couldn’t find Ridley on a map. I know I couldn’t. That’s a game that’s sort of ‘Eh.’
“Souderton got a little unlucky. They handed West their first loss, but then they lost to CB South and now they have to play Coatesville in the first round. I was surprised that Coatesville lost to Downingtown East, so that dropped Coatesville down. The way it worked out – Souderton is an 11 seed and now they have to go to Coatesville, the defending district champions. Somebody had to go play Coatesville. It’s just hard when – two weeks ago you’re flying high and all of a sudden you’re playing Coatesville. That’s tough, but Souderton will go down there and they’ll battle them. They’ve got plenty of athletes and a really good quarterback in Andrew Vince. West is the number two seed, and Souderton gave them the loss. That will be interesting.
“Nice job by Pennsbury. They had a 0-3 start to the season, they played a lot of good teams. They went on a run and their only loss the rest of the way was to Abington. They had a nice win over CB East and then had to beat archrival Neshaminy last week to even have a shot to get in there. That was a huge win, so then they get in as a 16 seed. That’s no picnic. They’re playing Downingtown West. They’re not invincible. This isn’t like the Coatesville team of a year ago. If you’re Pennsbury, you’re like, ‘We dug ourselves out of a hole, we beat some good teams, and now we have to go to Downingtown and see what we can do.’ I give them credit for getting in. That’s very well done.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Three SOL American Conference teams will be in action in Class 5A and 4A. Your comments.
Todd Thorpe: “Cheltenham has been on a roll all year. They’re the number one seed, and they haven’t lost since the Abington game. This is a team that is feeling it a little bit this year. This is their year, and I don’t expect them to lose this week. I expect them to pull away in the second half and win this game fairly handily.
“A shorthanded Upper Dublin team has rebounded. They’ve found a way to overcome their injuries a little bit the last couple of weeks. They’ve made the playoffs despite all of that, so that’s a huge thing. Winning on the road in the playoffs against easily the best of the three West Chester schools is going to be a tough battle for them. What they do have is a lot of playoff savvy and experience. Who knows? There’s no formula when you go into these kinds of things. With a coach – Bret Stover – with that kind of experience in the playoffs, Upper Dublin is dangerous. I wouldn’t want to be Rustin.
“I don’t know what to make of Upper Moreland-Springfield Township. I’ve seen Springfield rout all these BAL teams all year long, whether it’s New Hope-Solebury or Jenkintown or Lower Moreland. They’ve just crushed those teams. Then you’ve got Upper Moreland that has a couple of good wins, but they’ve mostly been a .500 team in the SOL American. Now they’re playing in the first round of the playoffs. Springfield doesn’t play an SOL schedule. They opted not to this year, so where do they stand? How do these teams match up? I know Upper Moreland is going to be confident going into that game. They’re not going to view it as a one versus four, and Springfield wants to prove themselves - do we belong? That’s got to be their rallying cry this week.”
Drew Markol: “For Upper Dublin – it’s tough when their quarterback, Mike Slivka, got hurt a couple of weeks ago. They slumped towards the end of the season, and they get in as 10th seed. Usually, they’re a high seed playing at home, and that’s obviously not going to happen this season, but they’re back in the tournament. West Chester Rustin is a seven seed, which is kind of low for them too. Who knows? Maybe they go down there and win.
“Cheltenham wins the American Conference and only lost one game. They can look at their loss and say – ‘We lost to a high seed in the 6A tournament in Abington. We’re playing Springfield-Delco, but we can play with anybody.’ As the number one seed, they’re thinking, ‘Let’s go out and win this thing.’ Maybe they can. It wouldn’t surprise me.
“Looking at 4A, you have Upper Moreland playing Springfield Township. This is where it helps Upper Moreland playing 5A and 6A teams during the season because when it comes to tournament time, maybe this is the time when Upper Moreland can make some hay. Springfield is a top seed, but Upper Moreland has been tested by 5A and 6A programs. Now they get to play a team their size. That will be a good one too. I kind of favor Upper Moreland a little bit, but we’ll see.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks East was the 17th seed in the 16-team Class 6A field. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Only sixteen teams – I say only, but there are always teams that end up barely not making it. CB East is one of them. They kind of got done in by their non-league schedule. They played Hatboro-Horsham and Quakertown, who they normally play, and those teams had bad years, so they didn’t get many points at all from them. At the end of the season, they came up with big wins against CB South and a must-win against Pennridge in what was a pretty chippy game, but they played well. They did what they could at the end, but again, in the early season schedule, they had a close loss to Pennsbury. That game was 14-14 in the fourth quarter, and Pennsbury scored late to beat them. As it turned out, Pennsbury beat Neshaminy, and Pennsbury gets in and East doesn’t. I was at the Pennridge game, and as soon as that game ended, I had probably five or six East coaches come over – ‘Have you heard a Neshaminy/Pennsbury score?’ I said, ‘Yes, Pennsbury is up 15,’ and they all kind of groaned because they knew.
“East had been in the playoffs three of the last five years before this and went through a lot of injuries. They had bad luck with the injuries, and they had bad luck with their non-league schedule with those teams not getting the points I’m sure they hoped they would get. It all comes out in the wash. You can argue that you need to play a better non-league schedule, and then there are people that go out and try and find three total cupcakes. I don’t know what the happy medium is.
“Look at North Penn – La Salle goes and beats Roman Catholic on Saturday, and North Penn moves up a couple of spots in the district rankings because they lost to La Salle, but La Salle had a really good season. La Salle gets another win, so North Penn gets points off of that. Dick Beck at North Penn always plays a good non-league schedule to start the season. A lot of times it pays off for them, and this was another example.”
Picking the winners:
Drew Markol: “In Class 6A, I like CB West, Abington, North Penn, Coatesville, Downingtown West. In Class 5A, I’ll go with Cheltenham and West Chester Rustin, and in Class 4A, I’m going with Upper Moreland.”
Todd Thorpe: “In Class 6A – CB West, Abington, CB South, Coatesville and Downingtown West. In Class 5A – Cheltenham and West Chester Rustin, and in 4A, Upper Moreland.”
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