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: CB West edged North Penn in a key contest last Friday. You were there – your comments.
Drew Markol: “We’ll start in the National Conference – a game that most people thought was going to be really, really, really close, and it was. It was Central Bucks West 17-14 over North Penn, and West beats North Penn for the fourth straight time. Not many teams can say that. It was just a great game.
“West took a 14-0 lead in the first half, and they had all the momentum, but North Penn scratched back and made it 14-7 on an Aiden Ashley touchdown run. They tied it up with a short 
touchdown run from Christian Johns-Wallace, and it’s 14-14. West is relying on Ryan Clemens, who does so much for them. He had scored one of their touchdowns, and Devon McGowan had the other one in the first half.
“West is driving late in the game for what looked like the winning score, and they fumbled. North Penn recovered it in its own end zone, and you’d think, ‘Okay, well, we’re going to overtime.’ North Penn gets the ball on the 20 with about three minutes to go, and the junior quarterback for North Penn, Matt Bucksar, got hurt about two series earlier. He left the game, North Penn couldn’t move the ball, so they had to punt, and West moved right down the field with no timeouts, setting up Clemens - who plays running back, linebacker, kick returner, punt returner – lines up for a 33-yard field goal with six seconds to go, and he nails it, and West wins 17-14 in just a great game between two teams that are going to make a lot of noise in the upcoming district playoffs. They’re both really good.
“You think about West, which lost on the last play of the game to South when South scores a miracle touchdown when Danny Gies caught a touchdown pass in the end zone on a great catch. North Penn also loses to South (14-6). I think those three teams are really, really close. There’s a reason they’re three of the top four seeds in the power rankings in the district playoffs.
“At some point, South, North and West or a combination thereof are going to meet again in the playoffs, and it will be really good stuff. If West were to play North Penn again in the playoffs, which is possible, I’d expect the same kind of good defensive game and just really, really close again. This one was entertaining. You could tell you had two good teams that are starting to peak at the right time.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Plymouth Whitemarsh won a dogfight against Upper Moreland. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “In an American Conference game last week, Plymouth Whitemarsh beat Upper Moreland 21-14, but most people – including myself – thought it might be a little more lopsided in favor of the Colonials, but Upper Moreland battled, and PW didn’t get the lead on them until the fourth quarter. Upper Moreland responded to that by driving down the field, but Upper Moreland threw an interception. Chase Rarrick from Plymouth Whitemarsh picked off a pass on his own five-yard line, and that sealed the win. It gave Plymouth Whitemarsh at least a share of the American Conference title. As Dan Chang said after the game – Upper Moreland had only lost to Springfield Twp, and they’re a really good team as is Plymouth Whitemarsh, but it just goes to show you – this is why you play them. I hate that saying, but Springfield Twp beat Upper Moreland, PW mercy-ruled Springfield Twp, so you think – okay, it doesn’t bode well for Upper Moreland, and then we get a great 21-14 game, which is cool.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Friday will include a lot of rivalry games. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “You have CB East at CB West. It’s a great rivalry game. This is a situation where you have kids in the middle schools – some of them go to East and some of them go to West. A lot of them grew up playing youth leagues together, and they know each other. That one means a whole lot to both teams – I think a little more than some schools.
“You look at the Council Rock North/Council Rock South rivalry. Well, the kids who go to one middle school in Council Rock – all those kids go to Council Rock North. The other middle school – kids who go there, they all go to Council Rock South. You don’t have any mingling in the middle school level, which helps get the rivalry started. The same thing with CB South with West and East. The middle school the South kids go to – there are no East or West kids there. But with East and West, you do have middle school kids that go to different schools, and the rivalry just grows and grows.
“It’s no different this year – if you’re West, you want to win to stay in that top four. If you’re East, you have to beat them to get in. It’s always spirited, and there’s a different feel to it. West, on paper, is the better team, and West has beaten them, I believe, six straight times. A couple years ago, West beat East in the final game of the regular season and also played them the first week in the district playoffs and beat them twice in a row. That’s always a good one.
“As is Neshaminy/Pennsbury. Pennsbury wins 28-24 last year over Neshaminy. Neshaminy beat them the year before. They’ve been playing that rivalry game since 1930. I believe the all-time series is something like Pennsbury 43-38-7 or something like that. It’s really close. Now if you’re Neshaminy, you’re the eighth seed in the district rankings, and you have a chance to knock your archrival out of the playoffs because they’re sitting at 16. You’ve got to think Neshaminy is well aware what a win will do besides the bragging rights. If you’re Pennsbury, you win that game and you get in and you knock Neshaminy out of the eight spot and cost them a home district playoff game, so that’s another good one that’s going to be interesting.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton travels to Upper Dublin Friday for a game with a whole lot of implications. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “Souderton and Upper Dublin are in different classifications, but the Continental title is on the line here. Souderton is still kicking itself from blowing that big lead against Quakertown a couple of weeks ago where they led 28-0 after one quarter and eventually lost 35-34. If they win that game, they go into Friday’s game – like Upper Dublin – undefeated in the conference with the winner getting the title outright. Instead, a Souderton win over Upper Dublin gives us a three-way tie with Souderton, Upper Dublin and Quakertown. In the district playoffs – if we can keep all that straight, Souderton sits at number 10. The game has a lot of implications. In the 5A power rankings, Upper Dublin is number five. If they get a win over a good Souderton 6A team, they could jump into that top four, and they would be able to host two district playoff games.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: A lot is at stake for a lot of teams Friday. Your comments.
Drew Markol: “We’re in the final week of the regular season. If we take a look at the 6A District 1 playoff situation, CB South – 10-0 and the defending district champs - is the top seed, and they play Pennridge this week. You would think they would win that game, and they’ll have the top seed in the district playoffs, which means they will play every game at home, including the district title game because the highest remaining seed hosts the final.
Then you have CB West at number three and North Penn at number four, so they’re in, and they’re in a good spot. If they can stay there, West would have to beat East, and North Penn plays Abington this week. Abington is 1-8, so let’s assume a North Penn win. It keeps those two in the top four, which is important. Again, if you’re the fourth seed, you get to host in week one and week two also, so you get two home games if you’re a top four seed. That’s a good place to be.
“Neshaminy currently sits at number eight in the rankings, which would give them a first round home game if they stayed there against the ninth seed, which right now is Plymouth Whitemarsh. But Neshaminy would have to beat Pennsbury, which right now is at 16. It makes that interesting because not only do you have the Neshaminy/Pennsbury rivalry, which goes back forever, but if Pennsbury loses that game, they’re out of the district playoffs. If Pennsbury wins that game, they’re in, and they hurt Neshaminy because Neshaminy will drop down and not get that first-round home game. Right behind Pennsbury is Pennridge and CB East. Pennridge – after losing to CB East last week – is still ranked ahead of East in the power rankings. CB East and Pennridge are both 4-5.
“The only thing we know for sure is that CB South, CB West, North Penn, Neshaminy - after going 4-6 last year and made a really nice turnaround – is in, and Plymouth Whitemarsh and Souderton are in. I’m not smart enough to do all the math. That’s why the district has Kyle Berger, the North Penn athletic director, to figure out the math for them because nobody knows how to do this except him. I’m guessing here, but a Souderton win coupled with a Neshaminy loss to Pennsbury could put Souderton maybe up to eighth. Then they would get a home game. You have Quakertown at number 12, and Quakertown plays Cheltenham this week. Cheltenham doesn’t have a great record, but they’re better than their record. They’re 3-6, a 5A team, but they’ll give Quakertown a game.
“This Friday – the final week of the regular season - is really, really important for so many teams, and it should be like this. What the district power rankings look like today will be a lot different looking next Saturday or Sunday morning when they do the final numbers.
“Again, if you’re CB South, CB West, North Penn, Neshaminy, PW, Souderton and Quakertown, just win. If you win, that will keep you where you are or move you up, but you’ve got teams like Pennsbury hanging onto that 16th spot. They need to beat Neshaminy to get in. Pennridge has to pull an upset, most likely, against CB South, and CB East at 16 – it’s the same thing. If you can beat West that sits at number three right now, then maybe they get in. Last week was not the most exciting game-wise across the SOL. This Friday – and all the games are Friday – they will get the final numbers, and we can figure this all out because district playoffs start next Friday.”
Drew Markol’s Picks
(Winners in bold)
North Penn @ Abington
Bensalem @ Harry S Truman
Central Bucks East @ Central Bucks West
Pennridge @ Central Bucks South
Quakertown @ Cheltenham
Council Rock North @ Council Rock South
Upper Moreland @ Hatboro-Horsham
New Hope-Solebury @ Lower Moreland
Pennsbury @ Neshaminy
Plymouth Whitemarsh @ William Tennent
Souderton @ Upper Dublin
Wissahickon @ Springfield Twp
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