In this eighth edition of Coach Carey’s blog, ‘The Way I See It,’ the former coach takes a closer look at last week’s SOS.com's featured game pitting Pennsbury against Neshaminy as well as several other key SOL contests. He also shares his thoughts on some of the opening round games of the District One Class AAAA Tournament this weekend.
SOS.com: You attended the Pennsbury-Neshaminy game – what are some of your thoughts about that key SOL contest?
Coach Carey: It was a great atmosphere. I got there 40 minutes before the game, and there were thousands of people already there. The atmosphere was electric! Two top teams from the Suburban One and District playing for the National Conference championship.
Pennsbury came out strong and capitalized with a TD in the first five minutes of the game after they recovered a Neshaminy punt return fumble at the Redskins’ eight-yard line. (No 10-yard rule??) Pennsbury again drove down inside the Neshaminy five-yard line only to fumble the ball away at the two.
Neshaminy could not move the ball offensively and - for some reason - looked very, very sluggish. When Pennsbury fumbled at the two-yard line, I figured it would come back and haunt Pennsbury…well, almost! Instead of going into halftime up 21-0 they went in up 14-0.
Pennsbury let the door open and Neshaminy came roaring back. I figured coach Mark Schmidt would do a great job with second half adjustments, and he and his staff did just that. Neshaminy really controlled the whole second half. Their defense played much better, and their offense really had success throwing the ball. Their fullback, Corey Majors, had some nice runs up the middle, and Neshaminy just revved it up. Majors made some nice runs, but most of the credit goes to Neshaminy’s offensive line in the second half. They did a real nice job of trap blocking.
Neshaminy controlled the tempo the second half. The Redskins had an opportunity to tie it with eight minutes to go. They scored but had a procedure penalty that pushed them back five yards on the extra point. They missed the extra point, and it’s 20-20. They held Pennsbury to a three-and-out, got the ball back with three-and-a-half minutes to go, drove the length of the field and ended up trying a 35-yard field goal that they missed. They really had two chances in the last three minutes to win the game, and that forced overtime.
Pennsbury went into the game saying they were not going to let Bryan Dean hurt them. Their linebackers, their D-ends and secondary keyed on Dean, and he had a tough night.
Going into overtime, Pennsbury won the toss and elected to go on offense. On the first play, Neshaminy roughs quarterback Brandon Pepper out of bounds at the end of running a load option. Two plays later, Neshaminy gets another half-the-distance penalty on a face mask on Pepper. You can’t be doing those things, especially in overtime. Then QB Pepper punched it in from about the six-inch line on a quarterback sneak. Neshaminy takes over, gets down to the five and has a third-and-goal from the five. They throw two passes into the end zone, and both are knocked down.
Neshaminy owned the second half, and I’m sure it’s a really tough loss for them to swallow because it hurts them seeding-wise, but everybody is undefeated in the playoffs. The Redskins need to put that game behind them quickly and focus on the upcoming Ghosts.
SOS.com: Coach Mark Schmidt has been employing the two-quarterback system, and it’s been effective. What are your thoughts about that?
Coach Carey: Yes, Neshaminy has been using the two-platoon system at quarterback. I think it’s helped them because it’s kept such a competitive situation between both kids. I can only imagine that they’re both competing and working their butts off at practice. They really have been a good combination when you look at their stats combined, and that to me it what counts. You look at the QB position – what’s that position yielding? The down side is maybe you don’t have all that continuity you would have with one guy, but they’ve thrown for almost 1,200 yards. The up side is you have a junior – Charlie Marterella – who is now ready to take the reins in 2010.
It’s a preference of the coach. It seems like it’s something that’s happening more and more today than ever before. You see different guys jumping into the quarterback spot in the wildcat offense and others that have used another QB for certain running situations. I know CB South has done it a little bit, and there are a few colleges that are doing it. Again, there are pluses and minuses. I personally like to have one guy call the shots, but it sure would be nice if I had two great QBs on my team at one time.
SOS.com: In Quakertown’s win over Souderton, Quakertown’s players acknowledged they used your comments about Souderton being more physical as motivation. Your thoughts?
Coach Carey: That was huge win for coach Donnelly and his staff. If they’re going to use my opinions, more power to them. We at CB West used and fabricated press clippings many times – anything to be a master psychologist to get your players to play at a fever pitch.
Nobody in football likes to be told they’re not physical because that’s the nature of the game. It’s a physical game. Almost all coaches use the lingo –“if you don’t want to be physical, maybe this game’s not for you.” When I threw that out there, I think it probably hit a nerve, but in reality, when the game started, nobody from Quakertown was thinking, ‘Hey, we have to be more physical.’ I think they played a great game…now the coach will demand that effort AGAIN.
Souderton gained over 300 total yards against them but had some key turnovers. That’s been their Achilles’ heel during the year. It was a great win for Quakertown. They get into the playoffs again for the second year in a row, and that’s a real feather in the hat of coach John Donnelly and his staff. Their staff works as hard as anyone in the Suburban One.
For coach Ed Gallagher and his staff, who had a fine season, there were a lot of variables that had to happen for them to get into the playoffs, and they all fell in line. The only one that didn’t come together was that Souderton had to win. It’s sad for him but great for Quakertown.
Quakertown has to go to Avon Grove and play a long distance away game. Quakertown has the ability to win that game, but somehow Donnelly and his staff have got to get their defense playing at a high level CONSISTENTLY. Then they’ll have a shot at winning that game.
SOS.com: Justyn White (CBE, RB) was spectacular in Central Bucks East’s big win over Central Bucks South. Your thoughts on that game?
Coach Carey: In a game that South was a big favorite, CB East + Justyn White exploded, aided by a great job by the East staff that is working together as co-head coaches. East was a team I saw two weeks ago that was mercy ruled by Souderton and looked in total disarray. For them to come back and beat CB South is awesome for East and a credit to their seniors and coaching staff. They have a great junior RB in Justyn White. I saw the film and the “O” line created some great holes, but this is a guy that breaks the second, third and fourth tackles. He also scored five touchdowns. It was a team effort and was aided by some timely play by the CB East defense. I think it punctuates how disappointing a season CB South has had. With the talent and numbers they have at South, they should be producing many more wins.
SOS.com: Central Bucks West did not win a game in SOL play. How does Coach Hensel convince prospective players that his program is on the rise?
Coach Carey: I absolutely think CB West improved this year over the last couple of years. I talk to Coach Hensel and his staff at least once a week. They are determined to turn this program around. The team has extremely high morale, they’ve kept their numbers, and they really played a lot of teams tough this year. I think that’s a credit to the staff. I think they’re a couple of players away from having a .500 season, and then you can build on that. Let’s not forget – their season isn’t over. They play Archbishop Ryan this weekend, and there would be no better culmination of the year than to get a win.
SOS.com: Comment on the Council Rock South – Council Rock North game.
Coach Carey: I said in my blog the previous week that this was a game that absolutely was going to come down to the end and could go either way. As it was, it came right down to the final couple of minutes. You have two teams that have a lot of good players, you have two coaching staffs that have a plan for success. They’re both in the playoffs, and I’m very happy for Vince (Bedesem) and extremely happy for Tom (Coates) who coached on my staff in 2000.
There’s no doubt that Brandon Cottom, the junior running back from Council Rock North, is a special, special player. I’m glad to see Rock North acknowledge that by the number of carries and touches they gave this young man this past weekend. They still want to stay diverse, and they know that as a staff. You’re not going to line up and just pound North Penn with Cottom. You’re going to have to keep them on their heels, but Cottom is a special skill guy that can make things happen.
I saw Cottom in middle school. He received the opening kickoff and ran it back 90 yards. They held them on defense, and then tossed him the ball on 57 pitch out of the ‘I’ – he went around the end and went 65 yards. He was not just bigger than everybody else, he was faster than everybody else on the field. Defensively, he was playing middle linebacker and was making tackles all over the field. He had a concussion that slowed him last year (his sophomore year), but he’s going to be a special player. I know Pitt, UConn and many other D1 schools are very interested in him.
It says a lot about Cottom. He’s only a junior, and I think he’s finding himself. He’s starting to totally let his ability take over. He’s a really unique and bright kid who is talented in many areas outside of football (another story!). The next step in Brandon and Council Rock North’s development is to take on a very good North Penn team and win. Getting close at this stage just doesn’t cut it. There are no moral victories! You’re out to win!
SOS.com: Your thoughts about the upcoming North Penn-Council Rock North game.
Coach Carey: North Penn’s ultimate goal is to get to the state finals. Coach Dick Beck and the players will not speak to that, but it’s in everyone mind…it’s the monster that’s been created with that great program. Beck and the team will be focused and ready for Rock North.
If you’re Council Rock North, you can’t cry that you’re the number 16 seed. You can only rejoice and realize you’re going to have to face North Penn sooner or later – let’s face them initially. Rock North’s school of thought has to be ‘Let’s win.’
After seeing all the National Conference teams many times, I think Council Rock North, without a doubt, has the best athletes on offense in the National Conference. The question will be – can their defense slow down North Penn’s offense? That’s a big question mark. They scrimmaged each other during the summer, and both teams were much different at that time, but North Penn pretty much had their way in the scrimmage. North Penn and Council Rock North are both much better at this time of the year. For CR North to have a shot, their defense is going to have to play better than they’ve played all year, a notch above their Abington win.
North Penn is North Penn, and I expect they will play their best game of the season this Friday night. Like the great teams from CB West + North Penn 03’…. they expected to win. When they walked on the field, they expected to win, but they also knew you had to back it up. It’s like a heavyweight boxer who goes into the ring for a championship fight. You have to have total confidence you’re going to win, but you realize that in order to win you have to knock the other guy out! Get it done!!!
SOS.com: What will be the key for North Penn in the playoffs since they really haven’t been tested in SOL play?
Coach Carey: As the competition gets better and the playoffs start, you have to raise your level of play. That’s the first thing we used to preach to our kids. When I coached at North Penn, I can still here coach Beck imploring his kids to accept the challenge…..meet a hit with bigger hit, be faster, hold the blocks longer, make plays, etc. Your kids have to realize you’re now playing the best of the best. As you go on in the playoffs you really want to be peaking each game. You will, at some point, need to play the best you’ve played all year. That could be Friday night for North Penn, that could be the district finals or it could be the state finals. Time will tell…
The same could be said for Neshaminy and Pennsbury. In order for Neshaminy to win on Friday night against Abington, I think they’re going to have to play their best game of the year. I know if you asked Mark Schmidt, he’d say the same thing – we’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game this Friday night. You have to keep raising the bar each week because the competition gets tougher and tougher.
SOS.com: The Abington-Neshaminy game is probably the marquee game of the tournament this weekend. What are your thoughts about that game?
Coach Carey: If both teams are at full strength, I expect it may be the best game of the weekend. I said before when I watched the last Neshaminy-Abington on film that it could have gone either way. Neshaminy easily could have won that game. They blocked a punt, they recovered a fumble all in the last minutes of the game, but they just didn’t punch it in at the end. I think Neshaminy with home field has the advantage. Coming off the Pennsbury loss, coach Schmidt will have them playing at their best, but Abington is so explosive. I still like Neshaminy in this one. You have Neshaminy at home and you have them coming off a loss – I don’t remember the last time Neshaminy lost two games in a row.
The flip side is when Abington is hitting on all cylinders and their defense plays the way it played against Pennsbury, then Abington is one tough, tough out. Whoever wins that game will face the winner of North Penn/Council Rock North. My opinion is that winner will be the district champ.
SOS.com: What will Council Rock South need to do to pull the upset at Ridley?
Coach Carey: I have three films on Ridley – they look very similar to the way they’ve looked in the past. They have the same defensive coordinator, who applies multiple fronts with angling, blitzing and swarming personnel. They’re not very big, but they run and can hit you. They’re very impressive defensively.
Offensively, coach Decker is following the Ridley game plan and that’s to take what you give them. They throw the ball a lot, and they have a couple of very good, young running backs. They have a lot of youth sprinkled in on both sides of the ball.
Ridley has not seen the option like Council Rock South will run on Friday night, and that could pose a problem, but I like Ridley big time in this one. It’s tough to win on Ridley’s home field.
SOS.com: Norristown will face Downingtown East at home – what are your thoughts about that game?
Coach Carey: Norristown is fortunate to get a home game. I think they’re playing a really tough opponent in Downingtown East. One has to be concerned with the schedule Norristown plays, but that being said, you play the teams that you are scheduled to play. Downingtown East has played a tougher schedule, in my opinion, and that could help them, although Norristown is loaded with talent at the skill positions. I look at that game as a toss-up.
SOS.com: Your thoughts about the Pennsbury-Unionville game.
Coach Carey: I just think Pennsbury is going to have their way with Unionville. Unionville hasn’t seen power football like Pennsbury. I see Pennsbury wearing down Unionville, plus it’s at Pennsbury’s field. My concern coming out of the Neshaminy game is the Falcons are very one-dimensional, but that’s been their game. That’s what they preach – that pound and ground. They want to run the football on you, and they want to play great defense. If you can find a way to get up on Pennsbury, I see them having difficulties coming back. My beliefs as a coach aren’t that much different than coach Snyder in that you need to run and control the football, play great defense and beat up your opponent…but you need an efficient play-action passing game at least to offset 8 and 9 in the box. We’ll see how it plays out soon.
THAT’S IT FOR NOW. NEXT WEEK I’LL ANSWER SOME OF THE GREAT QUESTIONS I RECEIVED…keep the e-mails coming to SuburbanOneSports@comcast.net. I’ll answer all your questions with an honest answer. Until later...keep the hits coming. There’s no game in America like High School Football.
COACH CAREY
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