Blog Post

SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennridge is traveling to North Penn for the National Conference opener. Your thoughts about those two teams.

Drew Markol: "For North Penn, this will be a tougher league season. With the teams they had to play, it kind of mirrored last season where they were 0-3. Now they're 1-2, but they have to go into the new-fangled National Conference, and it would help them to win it all or just lose one, but now you have to beat a very good Pennsbury team, you have to beat a very good CB South team, you have to worry about Abington, and we don't know if Neshaminy has figured things out, so it looks like a little tougher conference road. If they get to 6-4, will that be enough to get in, or do they need 7-3. If they need 7-3, that means they have to go 6-1 in the conference, and that could be hard.

SuburbanOneSports: Norristown is 2-0 after losing 18-straight games. Can the Eagles fly to a perfect 3-0 start against Plymouth Whitemarsh this week?

Scott Huff: "Norristown is going to have its hands full with the move to the SOL Continental Conference for the regular season, and the Eagles will also have their hands full with PW even though the Colonials are 0-2. The win over Upper Merion wasn't too unexpected, but the 14-13 win last week over Wissahickon was somewhat of a surprise. Norristown scored on a pair of outstanding defensive plays and a missed extra point by the Trojans. Not a dominating performance - but that's how they keep score. First year head coach Jason Powel has said and done all the right things so far. Beating PW? I don't think so - not this year.�

SuburbanOneSports.com: Truman earned a convincing win over Bensalem in its season opener. Your thoughts about those two teams.

Dan Dunkin: "I think Truman can be one of the best stories of the season, continuing where they left off last year. They were 6-6, and it was their first .500 season in 12 years. There's a lot of momentum in the program, the foundation laid by Ed Cubbage before he left to find a fulltime teaching job. His staff remains intact, and Jon Craig is a great choice to take over as head coach. He's been there four years as a defensive coordinator primarily and is just a terrific young coach. He has a lot of energy, he learned at lot at Neshaminy where he coached under Mark Schmidt, and he's continuing what Cubbage and that whole group started.

uburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock South will play Pennsbury in the season opener for both teams. Your thoughts about that former conference rivalry.

Dan Dunkin: "I give Vince (Bedesem) credit for playing both Neshaminy and Pennsbury in the first year of the realignment. I really respect that. I think South is on the way back internally, not on the scoreboard yet and certainly not in this game, but they're rebuilding from within. They're a very, very young team with only nine seniors this year, but after two consecutive two-win seasons after going to the district final game in 2011, Vince refocused the staff and everyone else. They have a good group of young players. I just think they're recommitted.

Suburban One Sports: The Eastern Region Final is Saturday with Neshaminy playing St. Joe Prep. Who wins?

Scott Huff: "I like Neshaminy.

"There is no question that there is a stark contrast in style between the two teams. Neshaminy is a 'run-first' team while the Prep is a 'pass first' team - and both are very successful at what they do best.

"Neshaminy can control the football for long periods of time with the electric Pollard the featured back. However, Blake Sullivan and Lord provide excellent power running options for the Skins. The offensive line (see above) has been extremely effective in opening up huge holes for the Neshaminy running backs. Quarterback Tyler Wombough does not have impressive numbers, but the senior has been very good at not turning the ball over and directing the offense.

"St. Joe Prep is a fast strike team that showcases the talents of quarterback Chris Martin. The talented senior has thrown for 1770 yards and 22 touchdowns in the 11 games that he has played this season. Martin missed the two games prior to the Hawks 21-10 win over Parkland last week with a knee injury, but he looked great playing in a brace throwing for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about the Neshaminy-North Penn district title game?'

Kevin Cooney: "I think it comes down to the running backs. You look at D'Andre Pollard and the numbers he's put up this year and what Nyfease West has done since the St. Joe's Prep game. Those are two guys that have made huge impacts all season. Maybe the wild card in this is which quarterback plays better. Austin Shearer has played very well down the stretch for North Penn, but I don't think he's seen a defense that plays the way Neshaminy plays defense at this point. If you want to give a plus or check mark to one side of the ball, Neshaminy's defense is probably the strongest of the bunch, and that's not saying that North Penn can't win, but on paper, I think the edge goes to Neshaminy's defense. The two offenses are similar, and I don't think the special teams will be a factor.

Suburban One Sports: Neshaminy continued to win at home in the districts with a big win over Spring-Ford. What are your thoughts on the Redskins?

Scott Huff: "I think the 31-3 loss to Pennsbury served as a big-time wakeup call for Neshaminy. All head coach Mark Schmidt had to do was show his team that game film, and the seniors on that team were determined not to make that game their collective legacy. Neshaminy at the beginning of the season was being touted as the elite team in the Suburban One League, and the last couple of weeks the Redskins are playing like that team with huge wins over Unionville and Spring-Ford in the district playoffs.�

SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn notched a shutout win over Coatesville. Your thoughts about that game.

Kevin Cooney: "Obviously, it's a continuation of what we saw from North Penn the final seven weeks of the season. They were very physical, they were strong along the offensive line, and they able to take advantage of mistakes and gett better each week defensively, especially in the back end.

"Obviously, Pennsbury is their biggest challenge. There's no secret that Pennsbury is going to try and run the football, but they have enough of a passing game to keep you a little off balance.

"This is a great style fight, if you will. You're seeing a very, very physical team in Pennsbury going against a team that's gotten more physical as the season has gone along. I think that's what makes this so compelling. For North Penn, you can almost see the finish line. If you get by this game, you could see another district title.

SuburbanOneSports.com: One of the most intriguing first round matchups is the Coatesville-North Penn game. Your thoughts about that game.

Kevin Cooney: "You're talking about the last two district champions in this game, and that's a rarity. It's going to be interesting. A lot more of this game will depend on how healthy Coatesville is. Their running back (Worley) is hurt, and how will they react coming out of the Downingtown West game (a 24-7 Coatesville loss). Whereas if you're North Penn - it sounds strange to say this, but you haven't been tested in a long time. Not since that 0-3 start.

SuburbanOneSports.com: The game National Conference fans have been waiting for is finally here. Talk about Friday's Neshaminy-Pennsbury game.

Dan Dunkin: "It only took 10 weeks to get here, and this sets up as a great game. Both teams have been building very impressively to this point, improving every week, taking care of business; very, very few lapses, blowing everybody out. Right off the top, I really like both defenses a lot. I would be surprised if it's a high-scoring, high-stat game. I think both defenses are too good. They're quick, they're both difficult to run against. It's going to put more pressure on each passing game to an extent. Both teams have terrific running games.

"Neshaminy's a senior-dominated defense and offensive line. These kids have really grown over their three or four years. So far, it's had the look of a special season, and Friday night will have a lot to say about that.

"You couldn't have more on the line for a regular-season game.