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Back for its sixth season, the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features Kevin Cooney and Drew Markol. Cooney, the Phillies beat writer, will handle the Bucks County Courier Times coverage area and also is part of a panel each Friday night on the WNPV/Intelligencer Scoreboard Show. Markol is the football beat writer for the Intelligencer area. Both are regular contributors on the weekly Game On show, and to view this week’s show, click on the following link: http://www.theintell.com/videos/hsgameon/ To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the Intelligencer/Courier Times web site http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/
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SuburbanOneSports: In one of the marquee games last weekend, North Penn defeated Pennsbury 27-20. Your thoughts about that game and those two teams.
Kevin Cooney: “This continues the dominance North Penn has had, but I think if you’re Pennsbury, there are some good things you took out of it. One is the fact that you battled to the end. You’re in the game, you have a shot to win it. For Pennsbury, it’s a bad matchup right now. I don’t know if it’s anything more than that at this point. All these years, we’ve thought – well, maybe it’s the Knights being in their heads and all that. I’m not sure I buy that anymore. When you see how North Penn can beat you with the pass, they can beat you with the run, and they play representative defense, so they’re able to stop the run. They’re the one team that can kind of match up physically with Pennsbury, and that’s what happened.
“If you’re Pennsbury, there’s that question – how do we beat these guys in the playoffs, but I don’t think you go in feeling defeated. I think you’d feel like you have a shot.”
Drew Markol: “I’m not much for psychological stuff in high school football because the names always change. After a year or two, there’s so much turnover, but when you have two storied programs like that, and one of them – North Penn – has beaten Pennsbury 15 straight times – this precedes even before Dick Beck 
took over at North Penn, it’s remarkable. Pennsbury is always good. They’re the defending district champs, and they’re always a district threat. To lose to another team 15 times in a row, it’s a little hard to fathom, and you’ve got to think there’s a little mental thing there. Who knows – maybe they’ll play each other again in the district playoffs. It could happen, and if it does, you have to give an edge to North Penn because the last time Pennsbury beat North Penn – probably some of their players weren’t even alive. We’re going back a long way.
“Again, North Penn – kind of like Quakertown – is able to throw the ball, and we know they can run. They’ve got that three-headed monster attack. Nyfease West has been banged up, but if he gets healthier, they’re going to be that much better, and with junior quarterback Reece Udinski – he’s throwing the ball all over the place. Ricky Johns is their main threat, but against Pennsbury, he completed passes to six receivers. It’s not like he’s throwing the ball to Johns every time, and you get a team that can spread the ball around like that – you have six guys catching passes and you can run – how do you defend that? The answer is you don’t. Would I be surprised if North Penn was playing for a district title? No.
“Those are two good teams. Let’s not discount Pennsbury here. They’re good, and they can bounce back. No one is going to want to play them either. I don’t think they’re quite as good as last year – they’re not as explosive, but could that Pennsbury-North Penn game have been a district semifinal preview or a district final preview? It could have been.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy will travel to North Penn on Friday night. Your thoughts.
Kevin Cooney: “Neshaminy’s in a spot – they’re going to have to beat either North Penn or Pennsbury. I think the odds are stacked against them because I think North Penn is playing that well right now. Again, it’s the balance idea. If Neshaminy misses the playoffs, it’s all going to come back to that Pennridge game. That Pennridge game is probably going to be the game that’s going to send them home.
“Look, there’s a lot of good things about the Neshaminy program right now. It’s a lot more stable. A lot of the stuff that was there last year is gone, but if they make the tournament, they’re going to have to earn it. I’m not sure this is the spot where it happens. If it’s going to happen, I think it’s going to happen next week against Pennsbury because it’s such a rivalry game and kind of the feeder to the fire at that point. There’s still a little bit of wiggle room that you can get one or the other. I just think this is a bad spot for Neshaminy.”
Drew Markol: “I think North Penn will wear Neshaminy down size-wise, but what Neshaminy can do – Neshaminy’s Mason Jones can throw the ball with receivers Denzel Hughes and Zach Tredway, and if I’m them, I would try and throw the ball because teams aren’t used to defending the pass. You’ve got nothing to lose. For Neshaminy, you’ve got to beat either North Penn or Pennsbury to get in the playoffs. That’s a very tall task because, on paper, you’re the underdog in both of those games. North Penn is on this roll. It’s a tough task for Neshaminy, but you have to beat somebody, and you might as well get that win out of the way because you’re coming down to play your archrival next week when they’re fighting for a seed, and that’s going to be hard too. That’s going to be an interesting game.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Your thoughts about both Quakertown and Council Rock South after last week’s 35-14 win by the Panthers.
Drew Markol: “Once Quakertown kind of got adjusted to South’s triple option, they just slowed them down and then poured it on on offense. That’s a good defense Quakertown has, and people were wondering about their schedule – there’s nothing they could do about it. It just fell the way it fell, and they really didn’t play an upper tier team. I wasn’t wondering because I’ve seen them a lot. People were wondering how they would do, but they’re just good in all facets of the game. To slow down that CR South offense and to turn it on like they did where they put up 35 points against a pretty good South defense, it just shows you that they’re legit, and they’re a district playoff contender.
“When you have Rob Burns running the ball like he can, you don’t have to throw it, but Quakertown coach George Banas, who knows what he’s doing – he knew all along what he had in Tom Garlick. At their practices, they work on the passing game, and they needed it. They have receivers like Kyle Baskin who caught the nice touchdown pass to tie the game (14-14). It’s just another weapon you pull out when you need it, and you couple that with Rob Burns in the backfield, and that’s a pretty hard thing to stop.
“I’ve talked to George about that, and he said, ‘We can throw it fine, but we haven’t had to, so I’m not going to tip my hand.’ This week they’re playing CR North. The two of them played a wild game last year that Quakertown came back and won. For Quakertown’s defense, you’re going from CR South with that triple option and now you go to Council Rock North where they’ll throw the ball. Brandon McIlwain has a hand problem, which limits his ability to throw, but I just think Quakertown is too much for them with the roll that they’re on. They knew this stretch – CR South, CR North and CB East next week – is the big thing. They want to get that second seed in the district tournament because you’re looking at three home games, and in order to keep that two seed, you’ve got to win out because if you lose, you’re not getting the two seed and you drop to four, five or six, and who knows what you’re getting in the first round or second round. They have a lot to play for.”
Kevin Cooney: “I think what it says about Quakertown is exactly what a lot of us thought. They are multi-faceted. The Tom Garlick edition at quarterback gives them a whole new dimension – he’s someone who has been through playoff games. They’re the cream of the Continental Conference crop. They should go undefeated, they should be the two or three seed in the tournament behind the Downingtown East-Downingtown West winner.
“This week Quakertown plays CR North, and in theory, Brandon McIlwain is a huge wild card. He upsets the apple cart, but if you look at it realistically for CR North, you have to win both of your last two games to have a prayer. Here’s the interesting scenario. We’ve talked so much about CR North and CR South. I think this is a dangerous spot for South. South should win this week against Norristown, we all agree, but let’s say CR North loses to Quakertown, and they’re pretty much eliminated. Then you’re going to have Brandon McIlwain’s final game at CR North next Saturday, and the only motivation for him is to knock CR South out of the playoffs. To me, that sets up as a really delicious kind of subplot here, and that’s a dangerous, dangerous thing. When you give McIlwain focus, that’s bad enough. When you give him – I’ve got one more hurdle to go and this is my last impression I’m leaving on people, that is a huge thing. That could be a real dangerous spot for CR South.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Kevin, you were one of the three ‘Game On’ panelists who picked Council Rock South in last week’s game against Quakertown.
Kevin Cooney: “George Banas has done a great job, and he enjoys having that sort of thing to rally his team around, and that’s fine. That’s a coach’s prerogative, and I get it. You want a motivational factor, you want to have something you’re using for your kids as a rallying point, and that’s fine. I think the questions everyone had prior to that game were totally legitimate. When you look at the two non-league schedules, it’s clear CR South played a better non-league schedule. Does that mean Quakertown’s a bad team? No. I think the prevailing wisdom was – well, maybe since Quakertown hadn’t been pushed yet, that would be something that would work against them. People pick games. That’s what reporters do. Dick Beck, Galen Snyder, Mark Schmidt, and every good coach has heard his team picked against for years and years and years. It’s not a personal referendum against them. You can go to that card so much before – even to your team – it may get old. That’s the one risk I have playing this us-against-the-world card, and just because people pick against you doesn’t mean they’re against you.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton defeated Abington 42-41 in a wild game. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “When you’re Abington and you’re losing games, bad things seem to happen, and when you’re winning games, it’s the reverse. If you’re expecting to lose, something will go wrong. For a team like Abington that’s struggling, it’s hard to not have that mentality that you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. If you think that way, sometimes things go wrong, and this is what happens. To Souderton’s credit, they fought back. Blake Gular had a huge game for them and scores the winning touchdown after Abington returns the kickoff to take the lead. You think when you’re Abington and you return the kickoff – which doesn’t happen every day – that ‘Okay, this is it. We’ve finally broken through the wall.’ For Souderton to bounce back, it’s a credit to them. You look at the numbers, and Souderton put up 476 yards of offense, but Abington had 397. That’s a lot of offense. What a wild game. Again, when you’re losing, bad things seem to follow you like a black cloud, and you just need to break through at some point. That can be hard to do when things haven’t been going your way.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Central Bucks South. The Rams will travel to Souderton on Friday night for a battle of neighboring rivals. Your thoughts?
Drew Markol: “That’s an old-time rivalry. You talk to the Pennridge kids, and they’ll tell you their big game is Quakertown on Thanksgiving, but Souderton is not that far behind because they’re neighboring districts, they’re rivals. They hear all the stories from their fathers and grandfathers about when they played against Souderton way back when and vice versa.
“If you’re Souderton, what would you like to do? You’re not going to make the playoffs, but wouldn’t you like to knock one of your rivals out of the playoffs? Absolutely. You’re coming off an emotional win over Abington, and now you can take out a rival. There shouldn’t be any trouble getting up for that game. That’s an interesting game.
“Pennridge has to win. That’s an elimination game.”
Kevin Cooney: “For Pennridge, this is their whole playoff scenario, but the one thing I saw out of Souderton was just the way they have that three-headed monster at running back with Blake Gular, Koby Kahn and Jamar White – it’s different looks. You have speed, you have power, and you have a guy who’s a hybrid, kind of a Darren Sproles- type where he can come out of the backfield and catch passes. There’s a history here of Pennridge playing Souderton and seeing their season kind of disintegrate just a couple of years ago. Souderton’s not a great team, but they’re good enough that if you somehow think you’re through the turbulence of your schedule, you’re going to get tripped up. I think that’s one thing they have to be really on the watch for this week. I think Souderton could make that a game because that’s a rivalry game too. There would be nothing better for Souderton than to send Pennridge home.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: William Tennent – coming off a win over Norristown – will face Truman. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Tennent was 3-0 in its non-league games, but the Continental was very hard for them, and to be able to bounce back with some very young guys doing it against Norristown was a good win. Norristown’s been hot and cold, but that seems to be Norristown’s MO, but regardless, it doesn’t matter what their MO is. Tennent could have bailed on their season, but they didn’t. No one expected them to beat Norristown. You see the score, and you’re like - wow, that’s a testament to new coach Leo Plenski and his team for not packing it in and saying the season is over. With that boost of confidence, you go and play a Truman team that had the lead over CB East at the half. Truman has been depleted by injuries at some key spots and East is a playoff teams, so Truman obviously hasn’t quit either. For both teams, they’re looking at it this like – hey, we can win this, and that’s a nice feeling the week of practice knowing you have a chance.”
SuburbanOneSports: Springfield came up with a huge 33-20 win last week against Upper Merion. The Spartans are a Class AA school – where do they stand in regard to district playoffs?
Scott Huff: “The Spartans will be in the four-team PIAA Class AA District One playoffs - most likely as either 
a # 2 or # 3 seed.
The opponent should be Bristol – and the final two weeks of the season will determine who will have the home field. Right now, Springfield is 3-4 for 630 points and an average of 90.0 – while Bristol is 3-5 for 600 points and an average of 75.
“The final two games of the season will be a severe test for the Spartans. Springfield will meet a Class AAA school – Upper Moreland (6-2) and a Class AAAA school in Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-2). The final two games for the Warriors could be wins as Bristol plays Valley Forge Military (1-6) and Lower Moreland (2-6) – a pair of Class AA schools.
“Stay tuned.”
SuburbanOneSports: Upper Moreland lost just its second game of the season last week to unbeaten Upper Dublin. The Golden Bears are a Class AAA school – where do they stand in regard to district playoffs?
Scott Huff: “The Golden Bears will be in the eight-team PIAA Class AAA District One playoffs – most likely as either a # 2 or # 3 seed.
“Upper Moreland is ranked # 2 after the eighth week of the season with a 6-2 record that gives them 940 points. The Golden Bears trail only unbeaten Academy Park in the AAA field who is 8-0 with 1020 points. Pottstown is the # 3 team in the field with a 6-2 record and 900 points.
“The final two games for the Golden Bears should be victories. Upper Moreland will play Springfield (3-4) and Wissahickon (1-7) to close out the SOL American Conference season.
“Stay tuned.”
SuburbanOneSports: Upper Dublin is one of six teams in District One to be unbeaten with 8-0 records. Where do the Cardinals stand as far as the other unbeaten Quad-A teams in the district?
Scott Huff: “Fourth.
“Downingtown East (1080 points), Downingtown West (1070), Quakertown (1040), Upper Dublin (1020), Spring-Ford (990), and Perkiomen Valley (970) are the remaining unbeaten teams.
“If Upper Dublin can finish in the top four in the district it would guarantee the Cardinals two possible home games in the 16-team PIAA Quad-A field. Upper Dublin will close its SOL American Conference season against Hatboro-Horsham (4-4) and Upper Merion (2-6).
“Stay tuned.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Who wins this week in the SOL American Conference?
Scott Huff: “How about / Upper Dublin 49 – Hatboro-Horsham 13 / Plymouth Whitemarsh 35 – Cheltenham 28 / Upper Moreland 31 – Springfield 17 / and / Upper Merion 27 – Wissahickon 20/?”
*The opinions expressed in ‘Let’s Talk Football’ are not necessarily those of SuburbanOneSports.com.