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THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR....DISTRICT ONE PLAYOFFS. It's finally here...that time of the year that teams think about in winter workouts and extending into summer camp. Playoff Time!!! Drew Markol who does a nice job writing for the Intelligencer sports recently wrote a story on how league championships should be taken much more seriously and coveted throughout player’s lifetimes. I agree with Drew's point but it's not reality!!!
With the advent of PIAA playoffs starting in 1989, the focus has shifted to the post season and matching brains and brawn against other great teams. The prize: District, Eastern and STATE TITLES. There's just nothing like it. Ask teams that have won a district title. How does that compare to a league title? Not even close...and if you win a State Title…that team if forever etched in history.
Playoffs are huge! To some teams, it's the Promised Land signifying they had a successful season and are one of the area's BEST. To others, playoffs are expected and just the start to the much bigger PRIZE...winning the tournament title. The teams that have won district titles recently (North Penn, Neshaminy, Pennsbury, Ridley) know exactly what I'm speaking about when I say they will be highly disappointed with not reaching that TITLE GAME AGAIN.
When I coached at CB West for all those years and North Penn in 2003, our sole goal every year was to win the STATE TITLE. Anything less was a major under achievement. It was in the back of our mind the whole season....it drove us (when we won our first State Title in 1991, we wanted that feeling again). In 2002 North Penn played in the Eastern finals, and the next step was to win it all. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED with State Title in 2003!
The sad thing with this type of pressure is only one team will emerge the Champion (whether, District, Eastern or State). All others end up losing their last game of the season. It's not fair to these young men to feel this way but it's a fact of football life. All the teams, coaches and communities put so much pressure on themselves to win and win some more! The teams that are in this year’s playoffs are now practicing and plotting for this weekend’s opponent. The teams left out are home with nothing but excuses and “what ifs.”
So who has the best chance and what are my predictions for these 2008 DISTRICT ONE PLAYOFFS.
As someone who has seen 90 percent of the teams either live or on film, here are my picks to win this week. I will start with top bracket and work downwards.
Class AAAA
Game 1: North Penn (1) over Souderton (16)...not even close. NP has gotten much better as the year has progressed. Their "O" and "D" lines have improved, and the Defense can flat out run. A BIG threat to win District One and play for the Eastern championship.
Game 2: Abington (9) over Glen Mills (8)... could be a very close game. Abington has the skill guys and the coaching, but I was disappointed in their physical play vs. Pennsbury. Glen Mills will bring the wood!! Abington's QB Sam Kind needs to bring his "A" game for Abington to be the contender I thought they'd be in the playoffs .
Game 3: Upper Dublin (5) over Conestoga (12)...another game that go either way but UD is tough at home. Mastromatto will run rampant!!
Game 4: DTW (4) over Coatesville (13)...DTW won the first time and will repeat the victory
NEXT BRACKET
Game 1: Neshaminy (3) over DTE (14)...Neshaminy on a roll and getting better each week. This is just a tune-up for them. Big, fast and QB is peaking.
Game 2: Ridley (11) over Q-town (6)...wish I could see this game live ! Will be a great one. Ridley expects to win, Q-town hopes to win. That being said Q-town is tough at home but Ridley kids (even though not one of their better teams) are just flat out STREET FIGHTERS !
Game 3: Pennsbury (7) over Penncrest (10)... Pennsbury needs to bounce back after crushing loss to Neshaminy. Tough kids, fine young QB in Brandon Pepper but not much diversification on either side of the ball.
Game 4: Garnet Valley (2) over Pennridge (15)...Garnet Valley just smokes Pennridge. GV has a lot of weapons on "O" and Pennridge needs to find an answer with their defense??
CLASS AAA
Game 1: Upper Moreland (1) over Phoenixville (8)…Not even close! Upper Moreland, coached by North Penn standout lineman Adam Beech, is hot. Running back Chris Smallwood is having a monster year, and UM ‘O’ line will continue to pave the way. Add in the great defense that UM is playing, and I see a three-touchdown win for UM.
COACH CAREY and CB SOUTH RECIEVER MIKE DOTY "One on One"
Coach Carey: You played football for Germantown Academy in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. Why did you transfer to CB South?
Mike Doty: I was definitely leaving GA and I was looking for a better brand of football so I could get recruited. Also, the travel down and back was taking its toll on my family.
Coach Carey: How did you end up at CB South?
Mike Doty: My mom was moving, and we settled in the South area. It just happens that I knew Tom Johns the South QB, and we hit it off right away.
Coach Carey: What were the team’s expectations going into summer camp?
Mike Doty: We had huge expectations!! Our team tested really strong in the weight room, and we had a lot of guys that really could run. Then the injury bug hit us right away, especially with Alex Taing who was slated to fill Eric Reynolds shoes at running back.
Coach Carey: Mike, what were your personal goals for the season?
Mike Doty: I wanted to help South win and have an impact on both sides of the ball. I also wanted to get in the public eye to get college interest.
Coach Carey: Talk about the season - your highs and lows.
Mike Doty: Lowlights: First game of the season - lost in overtime to CR South with us ending on their one-foot line. Losing to Quakertown on a last-second field goal. Also, not making the playoffs. Highlights: Beating both CB East and CB West and winning our last game of the season.
Coach Carey: You had a phenomenal year - 57 catches and over 1,100 yards receiving! To what or who do you credit your success?
Mike Doty: I credit a lot of success to strength coach Joe Hallman. When I arrived at South, I was 185 lbs and a step slow. Through his training methods (power lifts, tire flips, car pulls, etc.) I was able to gain 10 solid pounds and improve my forty yard sprint by 2 tenths. It made a big difference in my on field performance.
Coach Carey: Who is recruiting you at the present time?
Mike Doty: Most of the Atlantic 10 schools (Villanova, UMass, Richmond, etc.) along with Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers. My highlight film has been out for awhile and I’m starting to set up visits.
Coach Carey: What do you need to improve on to be a great receiver at the college level??
Mike Doty: No doubt about it...I need to keep getting faster and, of course, stronger. I can catch with the best of them.
Coach Carey: Your brother Kevin is a freshman tight end at Lafayette and your sister Caroline (Kevin's twin) is a freshman guard at pre-season #1 ranked UConn. Who is the best athlete of the bunch?
Mike Doty: LOL...I'm not going to answer that. We all have our strengths!!
Coach Carey: Who would win in "one-on-one” basketball???
Mike Doty: (Again laughing).....There was a time when Caroline beat both me and my brother...but come on?? She's a girl. Seriously, we don't play anymore because the games end up in fights!
Coach Carey: I hear you’re looking forward to playing basketball this year at South.
Mike Doty: Basketball is one of my favorite sports. I've play AAU ball up until last year. It should be fun, but football’s my game in college.
Coach Carey: Mike, what do you do to relax?
Mike Doty: Just hang out with my friends, chill and watch TV.
Coach Carey: Mike, what music is on your iPod??
Mike Doty: Little Wayne, Nas and other rap
Closing comment: If you didn't get a chance to see Mike Doty play this year, you sure missed out. One of the best receivers I've ever seen in my 27 years of coaching. At 6'4" 200 lbs, Mike caught everything that was thrown anywhere near him. Spectacular catch after catch (57 for 1,100 yards). Possesses good speed with moves that made every catch a potential "touchdown.”
READERS’ QUESTIONS!!!!!!
Rob M. from Plumsteadville… “Coach, you were right on with your call on the Neshaminy vs. Pennsbury game. What’s your call with Quakertown vs. Ridley?”
This could be a really great game to watch. Both teams have explosive personnel on offense and are well coached. The difference to me is the Ridley defense. Coach Waller (Ridley head) and Coach Batty (Ridley D-coordinator) have both been in the playoff wars for years. They bring tons of defensive movement and many difference blitz packages. Their D-line, although on the small side, will be very quick, and everyone on defense will just flat out HIT YOU! When I coached at North Penn, we played them in the playoffs, and they really hit our players. They move so fast on “D” that it looks like they have 13-14 guys playing on the field. I don’t see Q-town having a lot of success running the football. QB Ryan Tincknell has some nice receivers in Eric Fath and Tony Latronica, and Q-town will need to air it out to be successful. Also, Q-town will need to play its best game of the season to win …..But that’s what the playoffs are about.
Tom “House” S. from Newtown…. “Coach Carey, neither Council Rock schools made the playoffs this year??? Any thoughts on these two schools?”
Tom, I’m actually very surprised that CR South did not make the playoffs this year. Lost four games - all in conference play. Saw them vs. Neshaminy, and they had a great chance to win that game. Killer loss to CR North in last game of season kept them out of playoffs. South, coached by Vince Bedesem, is knocking on the door to joining Neshaminy, Pennsbury and Abington as the top teams in the National conference.
As for CR North, coach Tom Coates, who coached on my CB West staff, is starting to build a program. He must increase his roster numbers and find a way to stay injury free to join the big boys of that conference. Huge win over CR South in final game will help with enthusiasm in off-season workouts. I wish Coach Coates the best!
That’s it for now!! If you’re at the North Penn vs. Souderton game this Friday, stop by the WNPV radio booth and say hello. Until next week……keep the hits coming! There’s no game in America like high school football.
COACH CAREY