North Penn & Upper Dublin will be playing in Friday’s District 1 6A and 5A semifinals, respectively. Scott Huff takes a closer look at both squads and previews both games.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
North Penn and Upper Dublin are the surviving Suburban One League teams left in the PIAA District One field. And both the No.1 seeded Knights and the No. 2 seeded Flying Cardinals will face severe tests in their respective semifinal contests.
North Penn (12-0) will host No. 4 seed Downingtown West (11-1) in a 6-A semifinal tilt, while Upper Dublin (10-1) will host a 5-A semifinal contest against defending 5-A champion and No. 11 seed Unionville (6-6).
North Penn head coach Dick Beck has been coaching the Knights for 17 successful seasons. But this is not the North Penn team of old that often devastated the opposition during the regular season – this is a skillful, unbeaten Knight team that has found ways to win each and every week.
North Penn has won two games in overtime (34-33 over Neshaminy in double overtime and 27-24 in OT to Council Rock South) and defeated Souderton 29-27 after trailing 17-0 early in the game.
In addition, there has been a seven-point win, an eight-point win, two ten-point wins, and two 11-point wins along the way to the 2018 unbeaten season – not your vintage North Penn victory point spread.
“We hear that everyone is assuming that Downingtown West is going to come up here and beat us,” said Beck. “We feel like we are the underdogs, and the kids take it personally.
“We have had some close games this year, and that helps in that we have had to play the whole game under pressure,” added Beck. “It has been that kind of year.”
Downingtown West is a talented team that has only a single loss this season – to unbeaten Coatesville (42-14). The Whippets – who lost their star quarterback Will Howard to an injury – rallied back twice last week to oust No. 5 Truman 24-22 in the quarterfinal round.
Asked to scout his own team – Beck was thoughtful.
“That’s a tough question,” the Knights’ coach said. “We have team speed on both offense and defense.
“We have dangerous running backs in Shamar (Edwards), Julian (White), and RJ (Macnamara),” added Beck. “And (quarterback) Solomon (Robinson) can hurt you a couple of ways.
“Jon (Haynes) and Eric (Spann) run well and catch the ball,” added Beck. “They are a couple of really good receivers.
“And on defense we react well and are quick to the ball,” continued Beck. “We adjust well to almost every situation.”
The above scouting report looks and sounds like a pretty darn good team to me – and unbeaten teams all seem to look and sound that way at the end of the season.
North Penn has found those ways to win all season – and the Knights will find still another way to make it to the PIAA District One 6-A finals next week.
Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover and his Flying Cardinals were flying below the radar at the outset of the season and now find themselves just two wins away from a PIAA District One 5-A championship.
“At the beginning of the season there was the usual preseason hype,” said Stover. “And we were flying below the radar.
“Nobody gave us much credit, and that raised some eyebrows on our players,” continued Stover. “It gave us some motivation – and I think we have opened some eyes.”
And what the pundits and fans have seen is an excellent Upper Dublin team that has won 10 of its 11 games and has claimed a Suburban One American Conference title.
“Unionville is the defending district one champion,” said Stover. “They are very well coached, and we are going to have our hands full.”
The Ches-Mont American Conference Indians will also have their hands full with the SOL American Conference champions.
Asked to scout his own team – Stover never hesitated.
“(UD quarterback) Mike Slivka is someone you would have to try to keep from hurting you,” said Stover. “He and (Lucas) Roselli have been doing a lot of damage. They are running behind an offensive line where CJ Stehli and Quinton Derr have been getting better each and every week.
“Our defense really flies to the football,” added Stover. “Selvin Haynes, Mason Novak, Logan Helm, and Dylan Zlotnikoff all have had good years.
“We can be a hard team to prepare for,” continued Stover. “We have had three different offensive packages the last three weeks. We will be prepared.”
And that preparation should send the Flying Cardinals well above the radar and into the PIAA District One 5-A championship game next week.
PIAA District One 6-A Semifinal Playoff Game
Friday – November 17, 2018 @ 7 pm
No. 4 Downingtown West Whippets (11-1) vs No. 1 North Penn Knights (12-0) at Wissahickon High School
Playoff Resume:
Downingtown West advanced to the PIAA 6-A District-1 semifinal with a thrilling 24-22 quarterfinal victory over visiting No. 5 Truman. DW fell behind 22-21 with 30 seconds left in the game but was able to move the ball into Tiger territory. On the last play of the game Dan Brynes booted a 39-yard game winning field goal to advance Downingtown West to the semifinals. Ryan Wetzel passed for 113 yards and a touchdown, while elite running back Tyriq Lewis rushed for a second score.
The Whippets opened the district playoffs with a 42-20 victory over No. 13 Upper Darby. The Whippets saw Lewis go over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season in the win. Lewis has now scored 25 touchdowns this season.
North Penn advanced to the PIAA 6-A District-1 semifinal with a hard fought 13-6 quarterfinal victory over No. 8 Neshaminy. Solomon Robinson erased a 6-0 Redskin lead as the Knight quarterback scored on an 8-yard run. North Penn sealed the win late in the game when Evan Spann returned an intercepted pass 30 yards for the final touchdown of the contest.
The Knights opened the district playoffs with a 26-16 victory over No. 16 Ridley. RJ Macnamara scored a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Knights, while Shamar Edwards rushed for a game-high 105 yards on 17 carries. Solomon Robinson threw for a pair of scores – one of those scores was a 62-yard scoring pass to Edwards.
Season Resume:
Downingtown West finished the regular season as the second-place finisher in the Ches-Mont National Conference.
North Penn finished the regular season as the champion of the SOL Continental Conference.
Signature Regular Season Wins:
Downingtown West registered signature wins over Perkiomen Valley (44-33), Neshaminy (35-14), and Downingtown East (28-7).
North Penn registered signature wins over Neshaminy (34-33-OT), Pennsbury (33-7), and Council Rock South (27-24 OT).
Losses:
Downingtown West lost its only game to Coatesville (42-14)
North Penn finished the regular season undefeated.
Players To Watch;
Downingtown West
QB – Ryan Wetzel 34 c – 59 att; 673 yds; 4 TD
73 carries; 317 yds; 4 TD.
RB – Tyriq Lewis 176 carries– 1122 yds; 6.4 avg; 26 TD
Rec – Dan Byrnes 41 receptions – 844 yds; 20.6 avg; 10 TD
Jackson Luneberg 29 receptions; 635 yds; 21.9 avg; 4 TD.
North Penn
QB – Solomon Robinson 54 c – 125 att; 1038 yds; 7 TD; 9 Int.
RB – Shamar Edwards 168 att; 12227 yds; 7.3 avg; 10 TD
Julian White 97 att; 624 yds; 6.4 age; 14 TD.
Solomon Robinson 124 att; 480 yds; 3.9 age; 6 TD.
Rec – Evan Spann 12 rec; 267 yds; 22.3; 2 TD.
Jon Haynes 12 rec; 307 yds; 25.6; 3 TD.
Winner Gets:
The winner of the Downingtown West /North Penn game will play the winner of the Garnet Valley/Coatesville game on Friday – November 24, 2018 – at the site of the higher seed.
PIAA District One 5-A Semifinal Playoff Game
Friday – November 9, 2018 @ 7 pm
No. 11 Unionville Indians (6-6)) @ Upper Dublin Cardinals (10-1)
Playoff Resume:
Unionville advanced to the PIAA 5-A District One semifinal with a convincing 28-7 quarterfinal victory over No. 3 Radnor. Connor Schilling had a spectacular game for the ‘U’ with 174 yards rushing on 30 carries, while quarterback Nick Schnaars rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries and also threw a touchdown pass.
The Indians opened the district playoffs with a 9-0 victory over No. 6 seed Springfield (Delco). Schilling was the workhorse once again for Unionville with 102 yards on 32 carries and scored the lone touchdown of the game.
Upper Dublin advanced to the PIAA 5-A District One semifinal with a convincing 27-0 quarterfinal victory over No. 7 Cheltenham. The Flying Cardinals had a superlative defensive effort to shut down the explosive Panther offense. Upper Dublin featured the talents of quarterback Mike Slivka plus running backs Mason Novak and Lucas Roselli. Slivka rushed for 96 yards to lead the attack, while Novak added 83 yards and a score, and Roselli rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown.
The Flying Cardinals scored 41 straight points at the outset of the game and flew to a 41-12 victory over No. 15 Phoenixville in the first round of the playoffs. Cardinal running back Lucas Roselli scored four touchdowns for the winners, while UD quarterback Mike Slivka threw a pair of TD passes.
Season Resume:
Unionville finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Ches-Mont American Conference.
Upper Dublin was the champion of the SOL American Conference.
Signature Regular Season Wins:
Unionville registered signature wins over Great Valley (31-14), Oxford (48-12), and Kennett (10-7).
Upper Dublin registered signature wins over Hatboro-Horsham (34-7), Cheltenham (20-7), and Quakertown (14-13).
Losses:
Unionville lost games to Garnet Valley (42-3), Academy Park (19-14), Avon Grove (24-22), Haverford (42-27), WC Rustin (14-0), and Downingtown East (47-16).
Upper Dublin lost its only game of the year to Penn Charter (42-17).
Players To Watch:
Unionville
QB – Nick Schaars 18 c – 31 att; 198 yds; 3 TD
126 carries – 599 yds; 4.8 avg; 6 TD
RB – Connor Shilling 158 carries – 812 yds; 5.1 avg; 9 TD.
RB – Joe Farillo 65 carries – 280 yds; 4.3 avg; TD.
Upper Dublin
QB – Mike Slivka 84c – 135 att; 1259 yds; 16 TD; 4 INT
RB – Lucas Roselli 95 carries – 569 yds; 6.0 age; 11 TD
Mason Novak 114 carries – 508 yds; 4.5 avg; 8 TD
Mike Slivka 68 carries – 314 yds; 4.6 avg; 5 TD
Rec – Lucas Roselli 21 c – 153 yds; 16.8 avg; 3 TD.
Selvin Haynes 20 c – 294 yds; 14.7 avg; 5 TD
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