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Back for a third season is the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football,’ featuring high school football beat writers Kevin Cooney and Dan Dunkin. Cooney, the Phillies beat writer, covers schools in the Intelligencer area while Dan Dunkin – who has been covering sports at the high school and professional level for 25 years - will cover teams in the Courier Times area. Both share their perspective on the teams in their coverage area. To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the web site http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/
SuburbanOneSports.com: Your thoughts about an unusual week in high school sports, most notably SOL football where numerous games have been rescheduled because of Hurricane Sandy.
Kevin Cooney: “I think one of the biggest elements we will have this week is questions about what goes on in the wake of Sandy. As we sit here at 4:30 p.m. Monday, and the storm is pounding away, you kind of get the feeling that they won’t be going back to school before Wednesday, so there’s a dynamic at play here.
“They are missing practices to put in game plans, which runs into the line of endangering lives. Do you postpone the games until Saturday? Or do you postpone this week? This is a by-product, in my mind, of the season going too long. The reason I say this is because the district deadline is Saturday night. All games have to be completed by Saturday night to count for the playoff standings.
“Since the schedule is 16 weeks long, and you have to play that long because you have this bloated playoff system, you now have no wiggle room. If it was 15 weeks – you hate saying it, but they could tell everybody in the state right now, ‘Take a week off. We’ll come back next week when everything has quieted down.’ You’d then end up playing that week before Christmas (the state final). Now you’re in a position where you can’t do that, so now it’s a scheduling mess.
“Is it going to be fair that some teams will play 10 and others will play nine? Take for example Neshaminy. Neshaminy played Northeast. If they can play this week but Northeast can’t because of storm damage or legality concerns, those power points Northeast has don’t go towards Neshaminy’s total. The end of this week could be really fascinating depending on how schools handle this, especially in places like Neshaminy andSouderton – teams that are in the playoff hunt and teams that really could have a lot to lose in a short week. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this plays out.
“I can’t imagine that they would allow teams to play on one day of practice. I don’t know if there’s a rule set up that you have to have two or three practices before you can play. Will we see teams going to gyms on Tuesday if they think the weather has cleared out? Perhaps. It’s going to be interesting to see how the level of play goes and how game plans are developed.
“It’s the worst week this could happen. By Friday, this could be totally irrelevant, but it could be a side issue looking ahead here.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about last weekend’s Continental Conference games?
Kevin Cooney: “The most interesting game to me was the way Central Bucks East really pushed Pennridge. Pennridge looked like a team that had a bit of a letdown, and they’re not good enough to have that. They’re really not. It’s understandable in a way because of having to play three straight games at home and the three emotional wins. I think they got caught looking ahead, and they really can’t do that. You don’t want to get in bad habits with two games to go. It’s big for Pennridge to get that third seed, it’s big for them to avoid certain matchups that could be bad for them. I don’t know if this could happen, but a National Conference team, a Pennsbury or Neshaminy - I don’t think that would be a good matchup, so they’re going to have to play real hard this week, and they have to hope the chips fall right for them. They’re a good team, but we’ve seen a lot of teams that have gone in as high seeds, but in retrospect, they’re almost seeded too high for their own good. We have seen four seeds that probably would have been better off at seven or eight because of matchups. I worry about that a little bit with Pennridge. I think they’re good, but again, they’re not North Penn last year where you liked North Penn in every matchup, and they’re not Ridley, they’re not Downingtown East.
“Souderton did what it had to do against Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and North Penn showed me a little bit because it would have been easy for them to pack up the ship and go home. Now there’s anticipation of what could happen this week because you see there’s a little fight left in them.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: What games this week have playoff implications for SOL schools?
Kevin Cooney: “If Souderton beats North Penn, they’re in districts. If North Penn wins, Souderton is out. There’s a wild, wild, wild card scenario where if six teams lose North Penn is in, but realistically, they’re cooked.
“It seems like Souderton is in this spot every year. They’re 6-3 going into the last week, and this is a huge game for them. The cards are lined up for Souderton. It’s a home game, North Penn is virtually playing for nothing except pride, and they’ve shown signs of playing pretty well after the Pennridge loss. We thought Souderton got over the hump when they beat Neshaminy, but you have to win a game like this. You really have to win a game like this if you want to be a big-time program. I don’t think that’s unfair to say.
“One thing North Penn has done – North Penn has done a pretty good job of shutting down the good running backs. They did a good job on Pennridge’s Mike Class, they did a good job on CB South’s Josh Adams, and last week they did a good job on CB West’s Sherrod Higginbotham. This week it’s Anthony Williams.
“Souderton has to show they can beat you with the pass. What I’m expecting North Penn to do is load up the box, try to stop Williams, and try to avoid allowing Souderton to go outside. If they do that, I think North Penn wins this game. If Souderton doesn’t find a way to beat them with the pass, I think North Penn wins this game. There will be no week 11 game for North Penn. They’re not going to schedule Upper Dublin just to play it out. This is it. I think we’re going to see a little more fire in their belly than you may think. Also, do they want to finish fourth or fifth in the division. If they lose this game, they could finish tied for fourth. That’s not the way North Penn rolls.
“Abington has to win to stay in it, but they have William Tennent, so they’re going to win. It’s a wild card week because you don’t know how teams will respond to the short week of practice and all that. There are two games of drama – North Penn/Souderton to determine whether or not Souderton gets in and Neshaminy/Pennsbury with the National Conference title at stake. This is a big week for Pennsbury. Pennsbury has played really well, but you want to see how they handle a team that’s given them problems in the past. It’s for a division title and all that, and this is a big game for them to send a message to the rest of District One.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: The big game in the National Conference this week is the Pennsbury/Neshaminy. What are your thoughts about those two teams?
Dan Dunkin: “I wrestled with this one, and I usually do with Neshaminy and Pennsbury. Pennsbury has been consistently good and strong since their very tough non-conference schedule. I think we can all say that it did benefit them. Galen Snyder thought it would, and even though they went 1-2 during that stretch, they played two top 10 teams in Easton and Downingtown East. They competed right there with Downingtown East.
“Pennsbury really took off during the conference season. They have not played a bad game. They have been a more diversified offense than they have in the past because of their big-play capability and their ability to throw the ball now if they so choose. Shawn Pepper, to me, is the player of the year in the conference. He’s had so many breakaway runs and is such a versatile performer. Breon Clark, their sophomore quarterback, can really run it. He’s going to be a fine player in the next couple of years too as he smooths out his passing and they incorporate that more in their offense. Pennsbury, on both sides of the ball, is a strong team. To me, they’re a threat to go far in the playoffs.
“Neshaminy righted the ship in the last three or four weeks since their surprising loss to William Tennent. They have a multi-dimensional offense that has served them well. They can pass from a variety of angles, and Nate Hall leads a really deep running game. Their defense was leaky at times, but as Neshaminy does, they fix things, and they usually are playing their best ball heading into late October and November.
“I think just from the usual rivalry and emotional standpoint and with everything on the line, this will be a good game, a very heated, competitive game. Both teams are in the district playoffs, and essentially, it’s a matter of seeding, and certainly there are some bragging rights, and the conference championship is up for grabs. Both teams have a lot of incentive. Pennsbury won’t forget what happened to them last year at home against Neshaminy when they lost a game a lot of people thought they were going to win and had to share the league title. Neshaminy spoiled that, and that’s stuck in Pennsbury's minds for a year, but really when they take the field, the incentives are pretty even with these teams. The history is so long and storied. But I’ll take Pennsbury in this game. They’re just a more consistent team, they’re stronger up front.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock North and Council Rock South will be battling in a classic neighborhood rivalry. Your thoughts about that game?
Dan Dunkin: “I thought about picking South in that game. Again, you can throw the records out. This will be a smash-mouth very competitive game. South may even play its best game of the year, but when it comes down to a few plays having to be made – the quarterback from CR North is that kind of a kid. He’s a difference maker, and I keep looking at Brandon McIlwain as the difference in this game. He’s the kind of kid that will turn the tide if it’s close, so I look for CR North to win this.
“It’s kind of a bittersweet year for CR North. They are still a respectable program. I know a lot of people were looking for them to go 6-4 or better this year and improve by a game or two, but their future looks pretty good. They want their season to end on a high note.
“For South, it’s been an unfortunate and rough year for them. They have a lot of proud seniors who want to finish on a high note, but I think North’s quarterback and defense will be the difference in a close game.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about some of the other National Conference teams?
Dan Dunkin: “I think there are some environments in high school football where you could take Nick Saban and you just couldn’t win for a long time because it’s the mindset, it’s the economic situation, it’s the administration, it’s the prioritizing or lack thereof. Football is such a different animal. It takes five or six years to turn it around at least if you've been losing a long time. Kids have to stick with it, and when it’s been bad for a long time, it’s tough to turn it around. You can get some good athletes, but it takes more than that. It takes such a wide and consistent commitment.
“In places like Bensalem and Truman, there are some good players out there, and I think both coaching staffs are doing a heck of job, working their tails off trying to change the culture, but it’s a long haul, man. When you’ve had losing, losing, losing for a long time, it saturates deep, and you have to start changing that culture when they’re in sixth grade. Seventy-five percent of those kids have to stick together through their senior year. It takes six, eight or 10 years sometimes. I would like to see them get results for their efforts. I think it’s going to come, but you need to remind people it’s going to be a long slog because you can have 10 or 12 terrific athletes and some kids who can play both ways and build more depth, but if there’s 25 kids that are into it and 25 that aren’t, it’s not going to happen. It’s got to be important to everybody, and year-round, every year.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: William Tennent has had four major injuries in four weeks with the most recent loss of senior Jeff Ledford. Talk about that situation.
Dan Dunkin: “Boy, that was a tough break. Jeff Ledford is a great kid, a terrific football player, and capped by what he did this year. He stepped up for Joe Lutz as quarterback the last three games, and he did a great job running the ball, throwing the ball and leading the team. He’s a terrific leader. Jeff had a fine, fine career, and I hope he goes on to play in college. He has some gifts, and one is that intangible of leadership. It’s just so unfortunate and shows what a brutal game football is. It just has no mercy. A kid comes in and does a stellar, step-up job like that and then gets hurt right before the end of his senior year. It’s just not fair, but Tennent can look back at that great win over Neshaminy and build on that and build on the fact that they had adversity and they still competed. The younger kids – the ones coming back and the ones down in middle school – can look at that and say, ‘Well, maybe we can take Tennent further if we stick with it.’ They had some really fine, committed athletes in Ledford, Jenkins, Pat Lydon, Lutz and guys like that who are going to be gone now. Other kids have to step to the fore, but those kids set an example for others to follow that could help take Tennent further in the coming years.”