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Back for its 13th 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 and Kevin Cooney 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: Souderton defeated Pennridge in a rivalry game. Your thoughts about that game and Souderton’s upcoming game at Central Bucks East.
Drew Markol: “Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said afterwards – at the end of the third quarter when they’re up 24-6, he was like, ‘Okay, maybe I can put the headset down and relax a little bit.’ The next thing you know – Pennridge is just fighting and fighting, and they get themselves right back in the game. They make it 24-21 and Souderton’s got to recover an on-sides kick and have their quarterback, Jared Zimmerman, run out the clock by running backwards on fourth 
down, so they don’t have to punt and the game’s over. It was good fight shown by Pennridge with first-year coach Chuck Burgy. They never stopped playing, so it’s a lesson learned by Souderton. I’m sure the coaching staff at Souderton was letting the players know that if you let up – this is what can happen. I don’t expect them to do that again.
“Shaun Purvey was hobbled by cramps most of the night, but he did have a 97-yard touchdown run to open things up for Souderton. Zimmerman, Souderton’s quarterback, is a nice player. He’s got some grit to him. Joey Nase, the tight end and linebacker, is everywhere for that team. I think he’s going to become a bigger part of the offense on the receiving side, and he’s already an awfully good defensive player. Souderton has a big test this week, and I’m not sure they’ll be able to beat CB East, but nothing wrong with a 2-0 start for Souderton.
“CB East is playing its first night football game in school history when it hosts Souderton this week. They’ve had a couple of other sports play beforehand under the lights, but that’s a school that hasn’t had lights ever. They opened up in 1969, which is a ways back, so they’ll have that going for them. I do wonder – East played Chambersburg, an okay opponent in week one, and I don’t know about Bensalem yet – they shut out Bensalem last week, but they have the offense. With senior Pat Keller at quarterback – he can throw with anybody, and senior running back/linebacker Ethan Shine is just an outstanding two-way player. He was the only first team two-way player last year, and that tells you something about what he can do. He’s a load to bring down, and you flip him around, and he’s really, really good at linebacker. That’s a good game – 2-0 Souderton and 2-0 East. East doesn’t want to lose their first night game – that’s big. I’m going to pick East in that spot.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury snapped its 17-game losing streak with a no-doubt-about-it 35-0 win over William Tennent. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You have to feel good for Pennsbury. Galen Snyder is back. He left after the 2015 season to watch his son play in college. Now he’s back as the head coach again. You lose 17 games in a row – you’re dating back to 2019 when this year’s seniors were freshmen and weren’t playing varsity. I doubt if there’s a varsity player on Pennsbury’s roster that remembers a varsity win. This is good for them. Some will say, ‘Oh, they beat William Tennent,’ and Tennent – as we know - has had its share of struggles. When you’ve lost 17 in a row, I don’t think you care who you beat – you need to get some momentum going.
“Galen Snyder doesn’t mince any words. He said, ‘Yeah, we have a long losing streak, and we have to rebuild this thing. There’s going to be growing pains.’ Well, he’s absolutely right. It’s not going to be easy. Again, when you haven’t won since way back in 2019, pre-pandemic and all that stuff, this was absolutely a step in the right direction.
“Pennsbury is relying a lot on its cornerstone guys. Senior running back ‘G’ Mulbah was over 100 yards again last week, and he scored a couple of touchdowns. He’s been a guy they’ve really relied on, and their quarterback – Shane McGurrin – started for them last year and is a senior. You have those two and then you’re trying to piece things together. Even if you’re Pennsbury, when you lose 17 games, players are losing interest in coming out for the team, and it’s like a snowball effect – you have to get to weight lifting, is that happening? It takes a while to build this. You need guys like Mulbah and McGurrin to just kind of hold it together, and that’s what they’re trying to do. We’ll see what they do the rest of the year. Pennsbury has beat up on a lot of teams over the years, and there are a lot of teams out there that want to get their licks in now, so every game they play is going to be a battle, but they’ll get there because they’ve got a good coach, they’ve got a really good tradition, and those things are hard to come by, but they really help.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Upper Dublin notched a convincing 35-7 win over Central Bucks West and faces North Penn this week. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You look at Upper Dublin – off to a 2-0 start. They did a number on Central Bucks West last week, winning 35-7. It’s the same Central Bucks West team that almost knocked off Garnet Valley, lost by a late touchdown in week one to the defending 6A District One champs. Upper Dublin is head and shoulders above everybody in 5A in the district, and they’re ranked second in the state behind only Imotep Charter in most of the state polls. That’s an intriguing game they have coming up against North Penn.
“Upper Dublin quarterback Colin O’Sullivan is a senior now, and he had four TD passes against West. I’m sure Upper Dublin is looking at the North Penn game and saying, ‘This is our chance to really show what we can do against a 6A powerhouse.’ I like the fact that they’re playing. That’s good stuff, for sure. North Penn lost its opening week game against La Salle and then they bounce back, and they handled Quakertown 49-7 last week. It looks like they’ve righted things. That’s an absolute excellent matchup this week.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Abington bounced back with a 45-13 win over Council Rock North after its first loss in seven years to Cheltenham a week earlier. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “I was at the Abington/Rock North game, and it really wasn’t much of a contest. From start to finish, Abington just smothered anything that Council Rock North wanted to do offensively, and their offense with quarterback Anthony Pronsati and then Jamie Rivera, Brooklyn Brown, Josh Brown and Josh Young - they had all sorts of positive things going on, and that game was never in doubt. Abington lost to Cheltenham in week one, but they did bounce back against a Council Rock North team that was 1-0 and playing at home. Council Rock North had a lot of things going for it, but right from the start, Abington said, ‘This one’s ours.’”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Quakertown is facing Central Bucks West in an important game for both teams in Friday’s SOL opener. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “CB West lost to Garnet Valley 14-7 in week one, so they have to figure – ‘We’re close here,’ but then Upper Dublin puts it on them by four touchdowns, 35-7. I’m sure when that happens, some doubts creep back in your mind. You need to get a win. Quakertown opened its season with a win over Southern Lehigh and then they played a very good North Penn team. Let’s not discount North Penn because they lost to La Salle in week one. That’s a very good La Salle team that lost to Malvern Prep 35-0, so you can see how good Malvern Prep is, but Malvern Prep is not in the PIAA. I think Friday’s game is more important for West. If you go 0-3, now you better win the next seven. You may get in the district playoffs at 6-4 or you may not, but if you win seven games, you should. I don’t like the term ‘must win,’ but I think it is a must win for West. They’ll need Eli Boehm, their senior running back, to do what he can do, and they’ve got junior quarterback Ganz Cooper – this is his third year as a starter, and they need these guys to step up. If you’re West, you’re up against it. You can’t afford another loss, although I’m sure Quakertown would love to hand them another one.
“Quakertown hasn’t had their running back, John Eatherton, who’s been out with an injury. I don’t think he’ll be back this week. He hasn’t played yet this season. Not having him really hurts Quakertown. He’s a dynamic running back and defensive back.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Any comments on other games this week?
Drew Markol: “We’ll see about Neshaminy, which travels to Downingtown West. They had a nice win opening weekend down at the shore. They shut out a pretty good Ocean City team and then beat Council Rock South 21-7 last week. Their strength is their defense, specifically their defensive line. They’ll be tested. Downingtown East came up and beat Pennridge, and Downingtown West is usually just as good. That’s a tough one on the road for Neshaminy. They’ll be able to see where they are as far as a litmus test goes against them.
“Pennsbury/Council Rock South is another good one. If Council Rock South hung with Neshaminy, what can Pennsbury do? Can Pennsbury string two in a row together. That’s a toss-up.
“You look at Upper Moreland - they just produce running backs in Willow Grove because Upper Moreland has another good one in Stephen Broderick. He had 181 yards and three touchdowns and had 65 receiving yards last week. Shawn Herbert the quarterback threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns. That’s the kind of balance you want. You do that, and you’re awfully hard to stop. Upper Moreland is now up in Class 5A, which makes it tougher because come playoff time you’re playing the Upper Dublins, the Plymouth Whitemarshes and teams like that, but Adam Beach is back again. He’s 2-0 and we shouldn’t be surprised.”
Markol’s Picks (Winners in bold)
Harry S Truman @ Abington
Bensalem @ Pennridge
Souderton @ Central Bucks East
Council Rock North @ Central Bucks South
Quakertown @ Central Bucks West
Perkiomen Valley @ Cheltenham
Council Rock South @ Pennsbury (at Harry S Truman)
Hatboro-Horsham @ Springfield Twp
Lower Moreland @ Jenkintown
Neshaminy @ Downingtown West
Upper Dublin @ North Penn
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Ridley
Upper Moreland @ Interboro
Wissahickon @ Methacton
New Hope-Solebury @ Lansdale Catholic