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: Central Bucks West capped a perfect regular season with a win over Central Bucks East and heads into the District 1 6A Tournament as the number one seed. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “East fought for a bit against West in that archrivalry game. It was tie at halftime. West came out after halftime and answered an East touchdown and was able to pull away for a 24-7 win. West goes to 10-0. East had to win to get into districts. They just didn’t have enough to beat West. It’s the sixth straight time West has beaten them – East hasn’t beaten West since 2018.
“West is playing Cheltenham in Friday’s district opener. In the early part of the season, you’re looking at August and September, and Cheltenham is struggling 
mightily, and you’re saying, ‘It’s not Cheltenham’s year.’ Okay, that happens, but sure enough they kept playing. They had the game against Abington where they had the issue of a gun being brought to the game, and that game was suspended and was never finished, but Cheltenham – who was winning that game – received a forfeit, so that helped, and they got in as the 16th seed, which is tough going against a 10-0 West team. I believe we’ve seen one number 16 beat a number 1. To get there after what they went through in the early going is a testament to Cheltenham hanging in there.
“Garnet Valley, the defending district champion, is the eighth seed. They play Owen J Roberts, the ninth seed, and on paper, that’s always supposed to be the closest game – the eight versus nine. If Garnet Valley wins, you have a rematch of the district final in the district quarterfinals back at West. They played on opening night – that was a good game. They went back and forth. That was a battle the whole way. That’s a game you look at and say, ‘Wow, that could be a district final,’ and if form holds, you’re going to get that in the quarterfinals. That’s pretty cool. That will be good.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton finished its season 10-0 for the first time in program history. The third-seeded Indians will host #14 Pennsbury in an opening round game. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Souderton is 10-0 and they win the Continental Conference, but they have a tough game in Pennsbury. Pennsbury is seeded 14th, and Pennsbury just edged Neshaminy 28-24 to solidify that spot. I could see this game going either way. I believe the common opponent for the two teams is Council Rock South. I saw that game – Souderton beat South 7-0, and Pennsbury beat South 28-19. This is not a typical three versus 14. Souderton plays very well at home, and they have a long winning streak going, but they’re going to get a test right out of the gate in the first round. If you look at it, that might be the best game of the whole first round.
“You have two offenses that love to run the ball. Souderton throws it a little bit better than Pennsbury with Ben Walsh, the sophomore quarterback, and Danny Dyches, the senior receiver for Souderton, is tremendous. He’s a threat whenever he gets the ball. Nate Beighley does so much for Pennsbury. He returned a kickoff the other night 99 yards for a touchdown against Neshaminy. As a quarterback, he’ll run 20 times a game, he returns punts. I see a lot of teams trying to pound the ball. Who can stop the run? If you’re Souderton, you want to make Pennsbury throw, so get ahead of them. If you get ahead of them, it’s very hard for such a run-dominated team to come back, but they showed us something in their win over Neshaminy. For Pennsbury, you wonder if there a bit of a letdown because you came back against your archrival. Remember, Pennsbury lost in this spot last year in the opening round. They were the third seed, and they lost to North Penn. Now the tables are turned, and they go in as the 14th seed. The expectations for a 14th-seed are not high, but this could be pretty good. It could come down to the last couple of seconds.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks South, the fifth seed, will host Coatesville in the opening round. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “In the minds of the high school kid, Coatesville is kind of like a North Penn. It was always Coatesville or North Penn - one or the other - playing for a district title or winning a district title. Coatesville comes in as the 12th seed against a CB South team that is 9-1. South had to bounce back from their loss to West in week nine, and they did. They took care of Pennridge 42-14. Now I understand it’s not a vintage Pennridge team, but Pennridge had given some teams a pretty good fight. So, South comes in kind of rolling, and that Coatesville mystique – I don’t think it’s as great on the road as when you go down to Coatesville and that giant stadium is packed. It’s a 5/12 game. If you’re South, you’re like – ‘All right, we’re going to win. We’re big up front, and we can play with anybody.’ That will be a good one too. There are a couple of these first-round games that look pretty good.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Quakertown, the 10th seed, travels to #7 Perkiomen Valley. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Again with Quakertown/Perk Valley, that’s a 7/10 game and another one that can go either way. Perk Valley has a nice program. They played West really tough in the district semifinals. That game went back and forth down to the wire before West won. Quakertown beat Upper Dublin last week 21-17, which was a nice win for them to clinch the 10th seed. Quarterback Vince Micucci, a senior, is as good as anybody around, and when you have that ‘X’ factor, a guy like him, you’ve got a shot. I don’t think Quakertown is fearing Perk Valley. If I had to pick it, I would probably pick Quakertown. I have to think about it, but your 8/9, your 7/10 – they’re supposed to be good games. That’s how this thing is supposed to work.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock South, the 11th seed, will travel to #6 Downingtown West on Saturday night. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “For Council Rock South as 11th seed, that’s a tough one. Downingtown West cannot be thrilled after Downingtown East beat up on them in their rivalry game last week, so they’re looking at this and saying, ‘If we can beat Council Rock South, we’ll get the Souderton-Pennsbury winner in the quarterfinals,’ and they might think that’s a winnable game too. I’ve heard people say that it’s going to be a Downingtown East/Downingtown West, but that can’t happen because they’ll meet in the semifinals because they’re both on the bottom half of the bracket. There are people who are saying that they’re the two best teams in the tournament. I haven’t seen them play. All I know is CB West is pretty good – they’re 10-0, and they went to the district final last year.
“For Council Rock South, getting in the tournament is a really, really nice step. You’d like to see them get a first-round win, but when you’re an 11th seed, you’re going to get a road game obviously, and you’re going to play a team that’s going to hit you back. That’s a tough one, but that’s the joy of the district tournament.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn goes into the tournament as the 13th seed and will travel to fourth-seeded Spring-Ford. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “North Penn beats Abington for its fourth straight win last week. It got them into the tournament as the 13th seed. We’ve talked over and over and over. Dick Beck just wants to get into the tournament. Obviously, he’d rather be the number one seed than the 13th seed, but just getting in gives you a chance. They have to play fourth-seeded Spring-Ford in the first round, which will be tough, but they’re there. Winning four in a row isn’t going to hurt them, but I just don’t know if North Penn has enough for Spring-Ford. It’s been a while now, but Spring-Ford is just a solid, solid program. They’re not intimidated by anybody. I think in the mind of the high school kids today – the North Penn name is probably not as scary as it has been in the past because recently they haven’t been what they had been, which was playing for district titles. When I talk recent history, it’s just a few years, but with high school kids, that’s all they need. I think the intimidation factor – especially for a school like Spring-Ford that’s not in the same league with them, and they’re like, ‘Okay, we’re fourth and they’re 13th. We’re supposed to win that game.’ Again, North Penn is hot – they’ve won four in a row. Amir Majors is playing really well, their quarterback Matt Bucksar is back, but that’s a tall order for North Penn.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Wissahickon, the 15th seed, has the unenviable task of travelling to second-seeded Downingtown East, which has six shutouts in nine games. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Coach Rory Graver – just to get Wissahickon in districts, they’ve been down for so long. It’s kind of like Hatboro-Horsham. Just get into the tournament, which is something that wasn’t happening for years and years and years, and they go and make it. You get in as the 15th seed – it’s not supposed to be easy. You have to go down and play 9-0 Downingtown East. They allowed 26 points against State College early in the season in a game they won, and their other eight opponents have scored 13 total points. You do the math there, that’s less than two points a game. It’s hard to lose when you’re only allowing two points a game. That’s a tall order for Wissahickon, that’s a tall order for anyone playing them. As I said before, I’ve had people tell me that they think Downingtown East and Downingtown West are the two best teams in the tournament. Could we be heading for Downingtown East versus CB West in a number one versus number two showdown? We could be. Again, that’s a couple weeks away.
SuburbanOneSports.com: In Class 5A, Hatboro-Horsham, which is seeded 13th, will travel to fourth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Plymouth Whitemarsh has been good for such a long time. They got a four seed, so they should have a couple of home games. They get Hatboro-Horsham – who is playing an independent schedule but should be back in the SOL next season. For Hatboro-Horsham, getting into the tournament is the big thing. That program was almost gone and truly down in the dumps – no numbers, no nothing. They just fought back. Tom Butts, who went to Hatboro and coached at Hatboro, is the first-year head coach, and it was very important for them to get in, and they did. Okay, you get in as a 13 seed. It’s going to be really tough to beat a good Plymouth Whitemarsh team that won another SOL title in the American Conference, but still, that’s pretty impressive stuff for Hatboro, which was 1-21 in the last three years prior to this season. Again, Dan Chang just keeps things rolling at PW.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Also in 5A, Upper Dublin, the seventh seed, will host 10th-seeded Methacton. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “With Upper Dublin, it’s a really, really young team. Coach Bret Stover only has a handful of seniors. It’s far from a vintage Upper Dublin team, but it just shows you – they’re able to cobble together a nice season and got themselves a seventh seed. They won the district title last year. Are they going to do that again? Probably not, but you lose a ton to graduation, and then you come back and you’re back in it and have a first-round home game. That’s all right, that’s how you do it. That builds confidence and it just shows you the kind of program Bret Stover has that they can do that. As a seventh seed, they’re playing 10th seeded Methacton. Again, the 7/10 games are tight – they’re supposed to be. Would it be a surprise if Upper Dublin wins that game and moves on? Not at all.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Upper Moreland got into the Class 5A tournament as the 16th seed and will face top-seeded Chester. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Upper Moreland – after a roller coaster season – gets in as the 16th and final seed. They have to go down and play Chester. Chester has been a surprise. When you think of Chester, you think of all the success they had in basketball, but they’re 9-1. They’ve allowed points. They beat Cheltenham 22-20. They lost to Perk Valley, which is the seventh seed in the 6A tournament. They beat Downingtown West 28-19, and that’s a huge win for them. They’re the number one seed. That’s a Saturday afternoon game at one o’clock. For Upper Moreland, a team that was up and down and had some growing pains, getting in the tournament is a nice thing.”
Drew Markol’s picks
(Winners in bold)
Cheltenham @ Central Bucks West
North Penn @ Spring-Ford
Coatesville @ Central Bucks South
Wissahickon @ Downingtown East
Quakertown @ Perkiomen Valley
Pennsbury @ Souderton
Hatboro-Horsham @ Plymouth Whitemarsh
Methacton @ Upper Dublin
Upper Moreland @ Chester
Council Rock South @ Downingtown West
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