Back for its 14th 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: You were at the game of the week last Friday at Central Bucks West that saw the Bucks notch a 17-13 win over defending District 1 6A champion Garnet Valley. This week West will host Upper Dublin, the defending District 1 5A champion. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You look at the CB West game. You got there, and things seemed a little weird, and then I look over at West’s sidelines and see that Ganz Cooper, the three-year starting quarterback, had a pair of shorts on and a football jersey. Then you find out he injured his knee and is probably out for the season, and you’re thinking – ‘Oh man, West had these very high hopes, and now they’re losing their quarterback. He made it all go.’ So instead, they went to Cooper Taylor, who was a very good defensive back, at quarterback, and he played a really good game. The first play from scrimmage he went 62 yards for a touchdown. We find out after the game that he’s been the backup quarterback for three years, and he takes a lot of snaps at practice. The head coach, Rob Rowan, was getting both of them ready because they both play defense, and they run a lot as quarterbacks, so he wanted both of them ready. As it turns out, they unfortunately lose Ganz Cooper, but Cooper Taylor steps in and keeps everything going.
“That Garnet Valley team – there’s a reason they won back-to-back district titles and 34 straight games in district play. That’s a very good team that West beat. Garnet Valley beat West 35-7 last year in the district final, and West turns the tables on them. They both know each other so well. Conor McFadden, the wide receiver from West, couldn’t get a drink of water without having three Garnet Valley players around him. The West defense was really good, and you have to be 
against Garnet Valley because they run that veer triple option offense, and they’re really good at it. Does this win matter as much now? Psychologically for West, sure. They lost to that team three times in a row. They just did what they had to do. Garnet Valley did get the ball back with about 40 seconds to go. You knew they had to throw, which is something they don’t do a lot of, but they went back to throw on one play, and Jack Williams, the defensive end for West, who’s a very, very good player, just crushed the Garnet Valley quarterback. It was a clean hit, but that caused the ball to wobble, it was intercepted, and the game was over. That play right there just kind of summed things up. Obviously, it wasn’t just Ganz Cooper. They’ve got players all over the place, and Williams is a really good defensive lineman. Garnet Valley had to send a couple more receivers out, so they had to block him with one guy, and that doesn’t work. He got by his one man and took the quarterback out. It was just a good win for West, and now they have to turn around and play Upper Dublin.
“Upper Dublin shut out Kennett 21-0 – Kennett was an eight-win team last year, and you shut them out. Upper Dublin beat CB West last year – they beat them 35-7 in the same spot in week two. Yes, West has most of that team back from last year, and Upper Dublin lost a ton of talent, but that to me is the best game of week two without a doubt. You have the defending 5A champion in Upper Dublin against the 6A finalist. That’s pretty good.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks South edged Father Judge 13-10. Your thoughts about the Titans.
Drew Markol: “You looked at CB South playing Father Judge, and there were some shrugs, but Judge has gotten better. Going back a ways, Judge used to be really, really good and then they hit a lull, but now they’re back. They’re just in a very hard conference with St. Joe’s Prep, La Salle and Archbishop Wood, so that was not a bad first game for CB South. South rushes for 362 yards, and Anthony Leonardi, who has 200 of them, had a big run that gave South its final margin of victory. I never try to put too much stock in week one unless it’s something out of the ordinary like the West/Garnet Valley game, but football is no longer – put the pads on August 1. These kids have been training since Jan. 1. To lose in week one, it hurts, and it’s hard to bounce back. I’m sure Tom Hetrick at CB South was not happy with some things, but a 13-10 win is a win, and that’s an important thing. It was over a 6A program, so come district playoff time, that’s going to help because Judge is going to win some games. Even the games Judge loses are going to be against teams like St. Joe’s Prep and La Salle, so they’ll be fine point-wise.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn fell to La Salle 34-3 and on Thursday night will host a Quakertown squad that fell to Southern Lehigh. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You look at that La Salle team. I said this to someone the other day – if they’re in any other conference in Pennsylvania, they’re probably making it to the state final. They just happen to have to play St. Joe’s Prep in the PCL Red Division final every year, and they lose. La Salle quarterback Julian McFadden is only a sophomore, and he had 300 yards of passing in the first half. He’s already gotten offers from Maryland and West Virginia. La Salle is young too.
“North Penn was 6-6 last year, and you start to wonder, and then they go and beat Pennsbury in the first round of districts after losing to Pennsbury for the first time in forever during the regular season. That raises the question – is La Salle that good, or is North Penn down a little bit? Again, it’s the first week of the season, and yes, I think La Salle is very good. I think they’re the second best team in the state.
“For North Penn, they’re breaking in a new quarterback, sophomore Matt Bucksar is the new quarterback. You have a sophomore quarterback, who unlike La Salle’s quarterback who played last year against North Penn before he got hurt a couple games later. You’re throwing a sophomore in there after you had a four-year starter in Ryan Zeltt, and it’s hard. North Penn has a game with Quakertown this week, and Quakertown loses to Southern Lehigh. Southern Lehigh is a 5A program, but it’s a pretty good 5A program, but still, that’s a kind of game you would think Quakertown would usually win. I know they’re hurting a little bit running back-wise, but you won’t find a more hard-nosed player than quarterback Vince Micucci. That kid – there’s the cliché ‘running through a wall,’ but he would. He’s a big kid, and he can throw it too. They’ll rely on him a whole lot. He started last year, and he’s just a determined player that any coach would love because that kid can play. I think the North Penn game could tell us a little bit. Does North Penn blow them out? Does Quakertown keep it close? Does Quakertown beat them? We’ll find out. One week of football is too early to judge a Dick Beck team at North Penn. I give them credit for playing La Salle.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton opened its season with a 21-17 win over Haverford. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Haverford has turned its program around. They’re a perennial district playoff team. That’s a good win for Souderton. Souderton has an awful lot of returning players and a new quarterback in sophomore Ben Walsh. Sometimes when you have that many returning players maybe you look past a team a bit. They got up 21-10, and Haverford scored a late touchdown. I think there are big expectations at Souderton after a nice district playoff last year. They play Pennridge this week. You look at Pennridge losing 43-0 to Downingtown East, and again, that’s a pretty good Downingtown East team which is usually the case, but still, they have a new head coach in Kyle Beller – you need to get back on the right track, but now you have to play a really good Souderton team. That’s not going to be easy for Pennridge.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Hatboro-Horsham is playing its final non-league schedule this year before returning to the SOL in 2024, but the Hatters pulled off a big non-league win over Upper Moreland in Friday’s opener.
Drew Markol: “I think the most surprising result of last week was Hatboro-Horsham beating Upper Moreland. Tom Butts, the new Hatboro-Horsham head coach, went to school there and has coached at Hatboro for a long time. Dave Sanderson is back leading the offense, and both of them were at CB West last year. What a tremendous win. Talk about a team that needed a win – Hatboro won just one game last year. They beat William Tennent, and they were 1-20 in their last three seasons, which includes the COVID season, which shortened things. You’re playing an independent schedule to try and get back in the SOL, but also you’re playing an archrival who really wants to beat up on you, and you go and beat them. That looks like it could be the start of a wonderful story. Now they have to play Wissahickon, which has struggled the last number of years, but they get a nice win last week. They put 48 points on Council Rock North for their first win in a season opener since 2017. You look at the Hatboro/Wissahickon game, and – okay, there’s a little bit of interest there. Can Hatboro-Horsham do it again? Has Wissahickon made a nice little step forward? That’s what we’ll find out.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury faced one of the state’s best teams in Coatesville in Friday’s opener. Your comments about the Falcons heading into Friday’s game against Council Rock South.
Drew Markol: “I give Pennsbury credit. They played Coatesville last year in week one, and they got beat up pretty good, and we all thought – ‘All right, Pennsbury is going to struggle again,’ and they went on and won nine in a row. So, they play Coatesville again, and Coatesville is a top five team in the state, and they get beat up again, but now can they bounce back? I think they can. It’s just another level when you’re playing the Coatesvilles, the Garnet Valleys, the Downingtowns. I give Pennsbury and Galen Snyder credit for playing those games. That’s what I like – when you have a chance to play a non-league game, make it against somebody that – if you try and punch them in the nose, they’re going to punch you back. That gets you better. Now they play a Council Rock South team that’s coming off a win against William Tennent. I just think Pennsbury is going to be just fine. Galen Snyder has that program going again. They proved last year that losing to Coatesville – you can bounce back from that.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Springfield Township opened its season with a 24-6 win over Archbishop Carroll. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You look at Springfield, and you can walk to La Salle from there. They always reminded me of the little engine that could. They’re a small school, and they lose players to other schools, but they find a way. A couple years ago (in 2016), Springfield cancelled its season, and football was gone. Now they’re back. They played Archbishop Carroll, which isn’t exactly a Catholic League heavyweight, but okay, it’s a win. As far as the regular season goes, 1-0 might be the best thing that can happen to a team because 0-1 now puts the pressure on you because if you lose again, now you’ve dug yourself a hole. You win your first game like Springfield did, and the confidence just soars – all the hard work we put in, it pays off. Good for them.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Friday’s Abington/Cheltenham game was suspended with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter when a Cheltenham student was discovered carrying a loaded gun. The game is scheduled to be resumed. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You look at the Abington/Cheltenham game, and there’s a Cheltenham student with a loaded gun. You think about the purity of high school football, and it’s just such a stark reminder that real life sometimes creeps in and is very frightening. Thank God somebody noticed and let somebody know. Could you imagine if they hadn’t? The student also had two clips of ammo. It’s just a scary situation. You hope you’re not having to use metal detectors or not letting the fans come to the games. The repercussions are just frightening. A situation like that does make you wonder sometimes when you go to a game now – what if? That’s a horrible thing you never used to worry about. You hear about these things in other places. Now this one hits close to home for everybody. It could have been an absolute tragedy. It’s very fortunate it wasn’t. This is a rivalry – did it have anything to do with football? Was it an argument somewhere else? Who knows? It doesn’t really matter because it sure sounds like the Cheltenham student wanted to settle something after the game. It’s a wake-up call all around. I’m sure athletic directors all over the area are having discussions and saying, ‘Hey, this could have been us,’ so if there’s any good that comes out of it, maybe it’s that.”
Drew’s Picks
(Winners in bold)
Quakertown @ North Penn
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Methacton
Council Rock North @ Abington
Bensalem @ Central Bucks East
Harry S Truman @ Central Bucks South
Upper Dublin @ Central Bucks West
Chester @ Cheltenham
Council Rock South @ Neshaminy
Wissahickon @ Hatboro-Horsham
Jenkintown @ Lower Moreland
George School @ New Hope-Solebury
Souderton @ Pennridge
William Tennent vs Pennsbury – at Truman HS
Springfield Twp @ Harriton
Boys Latin @ Upper Moreland
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