Back for its 15th 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.
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn defeated Downingtown East 28-25. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “When you look at all the games from last week, that North Penn win definitely stands out. They hosted a Downingtown East team that was undefeated last year before they lost to Downingtown West in a shocker in the district semifinals. That’s a really, really good team that’s in a lot of the state-wide top 10 polls, and North Penn beats them 28-25.
“Junior quarterback Matt Bucksar had a six-yard TD run with three or four minutes to go that gave them the lead for good. You think about it – he started last year as a sophomore. North 
Penn had Ryan Zeltt there forever as the quarterback, and now, all of a sudden, here comes Matt Bucksar, who is also very dangerous running the ball, and he has a good arm. To have a junior quarterback who has experience from playing as a sophomore is enormous. He’s obviously taken the step up you wanted him to take. I know their coach Dick Beck was raving about him. Dick Beck is not one to rave about many players, but when he does, you take notice. That was a huge game. They were at home, but still, when they start the game, it doesn’t really matter where you’re playing, you’re still playing a really tough team, and Bucksar stepped up in a big way. If I’m Dick Beck, I’m thinking – we’re in pretty good shape here.
“It was just a nice win for a North Penn team that was 6-5 last year and was not a typical North Penn team. They lost a close one in the first round of the district playoffs, but that’s a sign right there that North Penn is probably back in a big way.
“Christian Johns-Wallace, the linebacker, had an interception, and he also plays running back, and he scored a touchdown. That was one of the most impressive wins in the district, for sure, and probably the state too. That was a win that I’m sure raised some eyebrows, but then you think about it – it’s North Penn, and they may well be back.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks South returns after a historic run to a District 1 6A title, and the Titans shut out Archbishop Wood 35-0. You were there – your comments.
Drew Markol: “Archbishop Wood is now down to Class 4A. You see the score 35-0 – that game was scoreless after a quarter, and the play was even. South was running the ball in the first quarter, and the first two passes that Owen Pinkerton, their senior quarterback, threw – one went to Matt Harmon and one went to Danny Gies, and they both went for touchdowns. One was 26 yards and one was 39 – beautiful passes. I think South realized – hey, we have to open up a little bit, and they did. Then they scored two rushing touchdowns in the quarter. Jimmy Wade, the senior linebacker/running back, had one of them. All of a sudden, it’s 28-0.
“Wood fumbles on its opening possession of the third quarter, and South goes down and quickly scores. Then the mercy rule kicked in. Am I making too big a deal about a 0-0 first quarter? Probably. It’s the first game of the season for everybody, and you’re still working things out. Once South got its feet under them, they looked pretty good. A shutout is a shutout. I believe they had three shutouts last year, and now they have one already this year. That defense is good. Eddie Bowen is a very good player, you have Wade at linebacker, and Gies plays defense in the secondary. They’re good at every level.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton – which won the SOL Continental – fell to Spring-Ford 31-14. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “Souderton had a school record for wins last year with 11, and they got to the district quarterfinals. They have a lot of players back. In the loss to Spring-Ford, a new name – junior Elijah Hampton – had nine catches, including a touchdown, and junior quarterback Ben Walsh is a good player, but you’re playing a Spring-Ford team that’s a good team. That is a district title contender. They’re always good, and that’s an area that’s growing and getting an infusion of young people. They’re bringing up those kids to the high school, and that’s why they’re good at everything. Their quarterback, Matt Zollers, is a University of Missouri recruit. Nothing against Missouri, but he had offers to go to even higher levels. Missouri is a pretty good team, but that’s how good he is. You look at it, and now Souderton has to turn around and play CB South and then they play CB West next week. Ed Gallagher, the Souderton coach – we talked about this in the preseason. It’s a rough non-league schedule. We’ll see what happens. Could they be 0-3 after three weeks? They could be, or could they be 2-1. Yes, they could be that too. It will be interesting. I think Souderton will be okay.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury fell to Northampton 24-2 in Friday’s opener. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “With Pennsbury, it’s hard to tell. They lost Nathan Beighley, who was such a big part of their offense for a couple of years, but they got big performances from senior Jordan Brensinger and sophomore Hex Walker. Both ran for over a hundred yards, and Walker, a transfer from Conwell-Egan, had 97 yards rushing in the first half. They have a big offensive line with seniors AJ Cartusciello and Rocco May, and they were able to run the ball What really hurt Pennsbury was they fumbled three times at really inopportune times. We don’t know much about Northampton. The fumbling – can that be cured? We’ll see. I still think Pennsbury will be okay.
“One of the things I like to do – when you look at these non-league games, I want to see what Northampton does this week. That way you can say – Pennsbury lost. They had a bunch of fumbles, but they played a really good team. One thing to note in that Pennsbury game, Walker Murrray, the senior linebacker, had 15 tackles which I believe is tied for the most of any player in the state last week. He also had a sack and forced a fumble that was recovered for Pennsbury’s only points on a safety. You never not want to get in the end zone opening night, but turnovers happen. Can Pennsbury turn it around? I think Pennsbury can.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Upper Dublin defeated Wissahickon 38-21 in a rivalry game. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Upper Dublin was trailing 14-10 at the half. They lost running back Shyne Roberts to graduation, and he was a huge part of the offense. In Friday’s win, Bret Stover, the coach, got contributions all over the place, and that’s a good thing. Any coach will tell you – when you don’t have to rely on one or two players all the time and you have the ability to go different ways, that’s a good thing. Ron Shepherd had a huge game at running back, finishing with over 160 yards. Quarterback Kevin Etkin didn’t throw a lot of passes, but he was efficient and completed nine passes.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy notched a dramatic overtime win over Emmaus in Friday’s opener. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “You look at Neshaminy – they had really big expectations for their junior running back Carter Clee, and rightfully so. He dislocated his elbow early in Friday’s game, and they went to sophomore Nahsir Moore, who scored a touchdown and ran for 110 yards on 14 carries. He gave them a big lift. They won it in overtime after Emmaus all-state kicker Will Buck, a Cornell recruit, shanked a 30-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation that would have won it. Emmaus, ironically, scored a field goal on its first possession in OT, and then Neshaminy used a double pass with Nick Sassano, who’s a wide receiver, got the ball, and he threw it to Chris Long for a seven-yard touchdown to give Neshaminy a 20-17 win. That was a nice win. Emmaus is usually a pretty solid team. They’re in the shadow of Parkland like everyone else up in District 11, but that’s normally a pretty solid team, so that bodes well for Neshaminy, for sure.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks West defeated Easton 21-12. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “West had a win over Easton. Senior Vance Morelli returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. He also had a rushing touchdown. There’s another guy who didn’t get that much time last year, but he stepped in. West just continues to have these guys that step in and play. One of the guys who’s also been around for a long time is senior Ryan Clemens. He had over 80 yards rushing. He had been a three-year starter in the secondary on defense, and now he’s moved to linebacker. He’s only about 5-7, maybe 175 or 180 pounds. He had seven tackles, and he had a sack in that win.
“That was a good start for West. Easton is coming off a bad season, but they’re a perennial playoff contender in the Lehigh Valley. They’re coming off a three-win season, so you don’t know – is that a trend or are they pretty good again.
“Parkland is the really dominant team in District 11. Easton’s town got old. That’s what happens. That’s what happened to Neshaminy and to Pennsbury. You’re no longer building new houses, so nobody’s moving. That’s why Garnet Valley became so good. They’ve just been growing and growing, building houses and getting young couples in there with young kids.
“Upper Dublin will play Central Bucks West Thursday. I think you learn more about teams in week two than you do in week one. West has to go play at Upper Dublin. It’s a big game for both teams.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Quakertown took it on the chin in a 31-13 loss to Southern Lehigh. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Southern Lehigh has become Quakertown’s opening game. Southern Lehigh has the big tight end, Andrew Olesh, who is going to Michigan. He had over 150 receiving yards. Quakertown didn’t have an answer for him. You run into these teams with a big-time player – you look at Souderton and Spring-Ford with the quarterback. Now Quakertown gets to play Pennsbury on Thursday night as part of the SOL crossovers. They’re both 0-1, and they need a win. I think Quakertown will be fine.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: In the SOL American, Upper Moreland and PW got big wins while Springfield Twp gave Pope John Paul II a tough game before falling.
Drew Markol: “I think Upper Moreland is going to be okay. They won’t beat PW, but they’ll be okay.
“Springfield fell to defending District 1 4A champion Pope John Paul II but gave the Golden Panthers all they could handle in a 34-27 loss. Senior quarterback Jack McGuckin, who battled injuries as a junior, was on top of his game. He threw for 252 yards and ran for 86 yards. Spartans’ coach Chris Shelly is hoping for a rematch with PJP in the district final.”
Drew’s picks (Winners in bold)
Central Bucks West @ Upper Dublin
North Penn @ Council Rock South
Pennsbury @ Quakertown
Harry S Truman @ Abington
Bensalem @ Pennridge
Cheltenham @ Central Bucks East
Central Bucks South @ Souderton
Council Rock North @ Neshaminy
Hatboro-Horsham @ West Chester Henderson
Kipp-Dubois Collegiate Academy @ Lower Moreland
Bristol @ New Hope-Solebury
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Wilson HS (West Lawn)
Kensington HS @ Springfield Twp
West Chester East @ Upper Moreland
Methacton @ William Tennent
Archbishop John Carroll @ Wissahickon
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