Check www.SuburbanOneSports.com for complete coverage of all three district playoff games involving SOL teams.
By Scott HuffYou can forget all about those extraordinary numbers registered by Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Michael Vick in the Birds 59-28 win over Washington on Monday.
Please consider these remarkable digits put up by Central Bucks West senior running back Rashaad Williams in the Bucks 42-28 first round PIAA Quad-A District One playoff victory over Coatesville.
427 rushing yards – repeat – 427 rushing yards – and five – repeat five - touchdowns.
“I turned to one of our coaches during the game and said something about Rashaad being close to 300 yards,” said Central Bucks West head coach Brian Hensel. “And he told me that he went over that number a while ago.
“The number of yards that he got running the football pop right off the stat page,” understated Hensel. “And we needed every one of those yards, and every one of those touchdowns.”
The magnificent performance by Williams did not come at the expense of an opponent that was grossly overmatched by the Bucks. The feat came in a district playoff game – a highly competitive playoff game.
“When the game was over, I was really shocked at the number of yards that I got,” said Williams. “The line blocked great in front of me, and I have to give them a lot of the credit.”
The excellent CBW offensive line includes Justin McAuliff, DeShea Womack, Tyler Maconaghy, Anthony Ponente, Dan Sergeyey, and Max Stella.
“We blocked very well at the line of scrimmage, and we blocked very well downfield,” said Hensel. “And Rashaad really knows how to take advantage of those blocks.”
Williams dialed long distance on no less than four of those TD runs. Williams scored on runs of 75, 53, 48, 39, and three yards.
Central Bucks West (9-2) will take its playoff show on the road this week as the Bucks travel to Newtown to meet the host Council Rock South Golden Hawks (10-1).
Rock South head coach Vince Bedesem knows all about the talent of Williams.
“Williams has incredible vision and can make you miss in the open field,” said Bedesem. “He has speed second to none in the area, and when he gets into the open field, it is lights out.”
The Friday Night Lights, though, will definitely shine on Walt Snyder Field when the Hawks host the Bucks.
PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs
Central Bucks West (9-2) at Council Rock South (10-1) – 7 pm
Last week:
Central Bucks West (No. 10 seed) ‘upset’ Coatesville (No. 7) by a 42-28 score. The Bucks generated 547 yards of total offense – 509 yards coming on the ground. Rashaad Williams rushed for a staggering 427 yards and five touchdowns, while Jake Poeske rushed for 65 yards on nine carries. Quarterback Ward Udinski completed five of seven passes for 38 yards.
Council Rock South (No. 2 seed) held off a determined Souderton (No. 15) by a 24-17 score. Golden Hawk quarterback Billy Fleming scored three touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 75 yards on 17 carries. Fleming completed two passes for an additional 34 yards. Ben Solis kicked a 36-yard field goal for the Hawks.
Season stats:
Central Bucks West – Rashaad Williams has rushed for 1910 yards on 215 carries and has scored 19 rushing touchdowns. Jake Poeske has rushed for 657 yards and an 8.4 average per carry. Ward Udinski has completed 79 passes for 1302 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bill Bell is the leading receiver with 28 catches for 535 yards and six touchdowns.
Council Rock South – Mark Damirgian is the leading rusher with 938 yards on 126 carries and 19 touchdowns. Quarterback Billy Fleming has gained 821 yards on 147 yards and has also scored 19 touchdowns. Brian Donnelly has added 431 yards rushing and has scored three touchdowns. Fleming has completed 33 of 64 passes for 474 yards and three touchdowns.
Central Bucks West head coach Brian Hensel says – “We played very well last week, but we are going to have to play just as well this week,” said Hensel. “Our offense absolutely saved us last week, and as a defensive coach, we are going to have to be much better against Council Rock South.”
Council Rock South head coach Vince Bedesem says – “We came away very impressed with Central Bucks West,” said Bedesem. “They are very explosive and we are going to have to take care of the football against them.”
Notes:
Central Bucks West has won six straight games since its 38-21 loss to North Penn on October 8. The only other loss for the Bucks came against Souderton on September 24 – 34-24. CB West finished its regular season in third place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference.
Council Rock South won its first nine games of the season – five by shutouts. The only loss of the season by the Golden Hawks came three weeks ago when CRS lost a 45-35 contest to Abington. CR South finished its regular season as tri-champions in the SOL National Conference along with Neshaminy and Abington.
Prediction: Council Rock South Golden Hawks 31 – Central Bucks West Bucks 21
Abington (9-2) @ Neshaminy (10-1) – 7 pm
Last week:
Abington (No. 5 seed) defended its home field advantage with a convincing 47-7 victory over Cheltenham (No. 12). Quarterback Julien Ireland completed four passes – all for touchdowns – and passed for 138 yards. Ireland also rushed for 124 yards. Running back Ray Schreiner led the Ghosts with a game-high 127 yards and a touchdown. DJ McFadden caught two TD aerials; while Josh Lee and Tim Salley caught one TD pass each.
Neshaminy (No. 4 seed) defended its home field advantage with a convincing 41-13 victory over Upper Dublin (No. 13). Quarterback Charlie Marterella completed 10 passes for 209 yards and fired four touchdown passes. Sean Ulmer led the Skins with a game-high 157 yards rushing and a touchdown. Dwight Williams caught two long distance TD passes – one for 72 yards and the other for 48 yards. Justin Andrews caught five passes that included an 18-yard TD pass.
Season stats:
Abington quarterback Julien Ireland has rushed for a team-high 1082 yards on 188 carries and has scored 18 rushing touchdowns. Ireland has completed 71 passes for an additional 607 yards and nine touchdowns. Ray Schreiner has rushed for 636 yards and has scored six touchdowns. DJ McFadden is the leading Ghost receiver with 381 yards on 14 receptions and six touchdowns.
Neshaminy quarterback Charlie Marterella has completed 101 passes for 1558 yards and 16 touchdowns. Dwight Williams has caught 34 passes for 647 yards and seven scores, while Justin Andrews has caught 33 balls for 470 yards and three touchdowns. Sean Ulmer is the leading rusher for the Skins with 984 yards and 10 scores, while Anthony Woodroffe has rushed for 823 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Abington head coach Tim Sorber says - “Corey Majors is the best linebacker that I’ve ever faced as a coach,” said Sorber of the Neshaminy middle linebacker headed to Villanova next fall. “He has a combination of speed and strength that you don’t often see at this level.
“The challenge of our coaching staff is to get them ready this week for an excellent football team,” added Sorber. “We need to swarm to the football on defense, and be mentally sharp on offense.”
Neshaminy head coach Mark Schmidt says – “Julien Ireland is a much-improved quarterback over the one that we saw in the fourth week of the season,” said Schmidt of the Ghost quarterback in reference to the Skins 28-10 win early in the year. “He has gotten very efficient running the offense, and looks much more comfortable.
“Abington has been good all season on defense,” added Schmidt. “It should be a good game, but we always seem to play good games with Abington.”
Notes:
Abington has won its last seven games since its 28-10 loss to Neshaminy in week four. The Ghosts have averaged 38 points per game since that defeat, while the first team defense has permitted an average of eight points all season. Abington finished the regular season as tri-champions of the Suburban One League National Conference with both CR South and Neshaminy.
Neshaminy has won its last four games after opening the season with six straight wins. In those last four games, the Skins have averaged 38 points per game. The lone loss of the season came when the Redskins dropped a 28-21 contest to Council Rock South. Neshaminy finished as tri-champions of the SOL National Conference along with CR South and Abington.
Prediction: Abington Galloping Ghosts 31 – Neshaminy Redskins 28
Downingtown East (9-2) at North Penn (10-1) – 7:30 pm
Last week:
Downingtown East (No. 6 seed) opened its PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs with a 42-7 win over Owen J Roberts (No. 11). Cougar running back Drew Harris raced for 210 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 40, 41, & 56 yards. Quarterback Trey Lauletta completed eight passes for 104 yards and fired a pair of TD strikes to Tyler Kroft.
North Penn (No. 3 seed) had its hands full with Penn Wood (No. 14) before coming away with a 20-6 first round playoff win. Senior running back Craig Needhammer scored all three touchdowns for the Knights on runs of 21, five, and 42 yards and rushed for a game-high 187 yards. Dominic Taggart rushed for 75 yards and added 83 yards on five receptions. Quarterback Corey Ernst completed 11 of 16 passes for 214 yards.
Season stats –
Downingtown East running back Drew Harris has rushed for a season total of 1831 yards on 260 carries and has scored 25 touchdowns. Quarterback Trey Lauletta has completed 72 passes for 1047 yards and 13 touchdowns, and has also rushed for 339 yards and eight scores. Tyler Kroft – who has committed to Rutgers – is the leading receiver for the Cougars with 37 catches for 615 yards and eight touchdowns.
North Penn senior running back Craig Needhammer is the leading rusher for the Knights with 1002 yards and 13 touchdowns. Dominic Taggart has rushed for 660 yards and has scored 11 touchdowns, and has also caught 27 passes for 520 yards and six scores. Brandon Mercer has 20 receptions for 338 yards while Gerard Wendowski has caught 20 balls for 221 yards and five scores. Quarterback Corey Ernst has completed 98 passes for 1547 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Downingtown East head coach Mike Matta says – “Everything about North Penn impresses me,” said Matta. “They are always very well coached by Dick Beck, and they are always a very physical football team.
“Dominic Taggart can make a big play from anywhere on the field,” added Matta. “We are going to have to know where he is at all times.’
North Penn head coach Dick Beck says – “Drew Harris is a game-breaker,” said Beck of the Cougar running back. “We can’t let him beat us with the big play. We have to make him earn every yard.
“The most dangerous player, though, might be the quarterback,” added Beck in reference to East quarterback Trey Lauletta. “He gives us a lot to prepare for because he can hurt you with both his arm and legs.”
Notes:
Downingtown East fell to a No. 6 seed when the Cougars were upset in its last regular season game of the season against West Chester Henderson – 30-24. The only other loss of the season for East was a 30-21 loss in the opening week of the season against Allentown Central Catholic – 30-21. The Cougars were the co-champions of the Ches-Mont League.
North Penn has won its last 10 games of the season. The Knights lost the opening week of the season against La Salle – 27-10. North Penn was unbeaten in the Suburban One League Continental Conference and was crowned champion for the third year in a row.
Prediction: North Penn Knights 28 – Downingtown East 20
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