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GHOST STORIES: When you think of District One and talk about the top teams, invariably you hear about North Penn, Neshaminy, Ridley, Pennsbury or Garnet Valley. After I watched Abington play Council Rock North, if there are discussions about the top teams in District One this year, you must include the Abington Ghosts. Now at 7-1 and with a giant game looming this Friday, October 24, versus Pennsbury, Abington continues to impress both in the team and coaching aspects.
I caught up with head coach Tim Sorber and asked him to give me an overview of his team. Tim told me his expectations going into the season was one of caution since he lost his great quarterback, Kevin Morton, and running back Kahil Pittman from last year’s team. Together these two guys amassed close to 3000 total offensive yards.
Coach Sorber stated that Abington started out slow in their scrimmages but as junior quarterback Sam Kind and sophomore running back Julien Ireland started to get comfortable, things started to click on offense. Kind has been extremely steady at quarterback, making great decisions and taking care of the football. He’s got nice feet and a strong arm for a junior. His accuracy is impressive. Ireland is a young, fast and talented running back whose best days are ahead of him. He’s starting to be patient and let the blocking develop, and he can flat out run by you.
Sorber said that from the start his wide receivers were a major team strength, led by junior Anthony Hensley and senior Dom Massey. Going four deep at this position, they are fast, have great hands and can scoot with the ball after they make the catch. Wow, what a group!
Up front in the trenches, Abington is led by Rutgers signee David Osei. At 6’4” 250 lbs, Dave is a road grater that was opening some huge holes for the Abington backs. His running mates in the “O” line who are also making a difference are junior offensive tackle Nick DiSandro, 6’4” 260 lbs, and junior tight end Gialiano Presta, 6’3” 250 lbs. Some big boys!!
Defensively, the staff at Abington made a huge change in philosophy in the offseason. After visiting Temple, Villanova and speaking with some area high school coaches, they disbanded their 4-4 cover 3 defense and introduced the 3-3 stack cover 3. They committed to this “D” and love the versatility with three down linemen (nose guard and two down “D” ends that align in four techs) and three linebackers that stack these D - lineman.
With outside backers that play contain to sliding out in pass coverage, you have a defense that as coach Sorber says “is different, not the norm that teams see week in and out. It also gives us the flexibility to blitz from a lot of different areas and slant our defensive linemen either way.”
All defenses have to have good personnel to be successful, and Abington is NO different. Led by senior nose guard Tim Clark, 5’8” 205 lbs, and defensive ends senior Dave Lovett, 6’0” 220 lbs, and senior Dave Van Putten, 5’10 233 lbs, Abington’s defensive line is fast and big. Aiding the D – line is senior linebacker Ryan Rozniakowski, 5’9” 180 lbs, who is active and seems like he’s in on every tackle and two great cover corners in senior Cassio Harris and junior Kevin Deal. The Abington “D” has been very consistent in their play and have been yielding a measly seven points a game.
If you look at Abington’s team, they look great in uniform! I asked about their in-season lifting program, and coach Sorber jumped at the opportunity to talk about it. Abington lifts before practice on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for 20 minutes each session. That they lift before practice is something I experienced when I coached at North Penn on their 2003 state championship team. It does promote rapid strength gains as the players are fresh and not tired from practice. Abington focuses on Bench, Squat, Cleans and Jammer (which is a tremendous ground-based piece of equipment). Coach Sorber says many of his kids are gaining strength as the season progresses. That’s awesome and not done often in high school football.
Coach Sorber thinks this is a special team! With 65 on the roster presently (not a lot for the size of the school), Sorber said the team has great senior leadership and chemistry. There are 16 seniors, and they all play at different times in the game. Coach Sorber was quick to point out that he believes a lot of Abington’s success stems from the great coaching staff he has. He mentioned Coach Conlin (long time D-coordinator and right hand man) and Jeff Gutgesell (former CB West player and coach). These coaches along with the rest of the staff put long hours in game planning for the next opponent. With Pennsbury and Truman remaining on the schedule, Abington looks to gain a high seed if the chips fall their way. Take them one at a time Sorbs ….you’re doing a fantastic job and, in my opinion, the sleeper to win it all in the District One playoffs. Update: Abington wins 38-13 vs. Bensalem to go 7 and 1.
GAMES OF THE WEEK: SOUDERTON vs. CB SOUTH This was a great game to watch as Souderton comes back to score a TD and win in the last 1:30 of the game. With WNPV doing the game and Kyle Berger and myself broadcasting this event - of course it went down to the wire. It’s been like that for us here at WNPV all year… Exciting games!! Souderton was coming off a 32-0 lost to Hatboro-Horsham the prior week, and South was still recovering from its loss to Quakertown. It set the stage for two determined teams, and it was either’s game until the final gun.
With 5 minutes left and South trailing 21-14, QB Tom Johns threw a perfect five-yard out pattern to Mike Doty, who made the catch and side stepped the tackle and sprinted 55 yards to the end zone. South pulled trickery on the extra point play when they lined up to kick it – and threw a pass for the two-point conversion to put South up 22-21. Souderton took the kickoff, and with precision running by running backs Justin Powell, Peter Jenne and Kyle Lynch and nice throws from QB Denis Passeralla to tight end Cody Muller, they marched down the field to the eight-yard line. Souderton then pulled some trickery (with great blocking by the “O” line) by aligning in “stack right up formation” with Powell at the tailback position. When the football snapped, both QB Passeralla and RB Powell acted like Justin was going off right tackle, but the QB slipped the ball to “stack man” Lynch for a 31 trap and an untouched eight-yard score. Wow, great call by coach Ed Gallagher for the win. SOUDERTON 28, CB SOUTH 22
NESHAMINY VS CR SOUTH : I have been anxious to see both of these teams as CR South has been playing real well, and Neshaminy, well, is just NESHAMINY…..they’re good every year…they just reload! This game showed me a lot about both teams. With Neshaminy at 5-1 and South at 4-2 entering the game, to say this was a “big” was an understatement! What a first half battle. Rock scored first on a nice drive, and Nesahminy then recovered a Rock fumble at Rock’s 30-yard line. QB Brian Titus then hit wide receiver Tyler Orr with a pass to Rock’s 10-yard line. Jay Colbert scored from one yard out to tie the game at “7.”
Rock then proceeded to mix in the pass and the option to move the ball down the field. With time running out and the clock ticking, Rock South scored with 15 seconds left in the half. Missing the extra point sent the teams into the locker room at 13-7 Rock. Rock South had two big opportunities to really pressure Neshaminy early in the third quarter. Neshaminy fumbled the opening kickoff (Rock recovered at Redskins 45) and after one first down had to punt. Then forcing Neshaminy to punt, Rock again got the ball at Neshaminy’s 45 only to fumble it away. TWO GREAT CHANCES THAT TEAMS HAVE TO CONVERT IF YOU WANT TO WIN THE BIG ONES!
Neshaminy then marched 75 yards with RB Quilan Arnold and FB Colbert running at will behind great blocking by the “O” line of the Redskins. Colbert scored from 11 yards out to tie the game at “13.” Another Rock punt gave Neshaminy the ball at their 18-yard line, and again Coach Schmidt elected to pound the ball at Rock. Impressive blocking and RB Arnold burst off right tackle for a 22-yard TD to put Neshaminy up 20-13. Rock could not get started on the next possession and had to punt the ball to Neshaminy.
With 5:15 left on the clock, Neshaminy took over on their 24-yard line with the thought of “LET’S GET TWO FIRST DOWNS” and ice this game. Not to happen….the Redskins had to punt after a three-and-out! ROCK WAS GIVEN THE PERFECT CHANCE TO WIN OR SEND IT INTO OVERTIME. Again Rock took over at the 45-yard line of Neshaminy, and with 3:00 showing on the game clock had plenty of time to do damage. Running, passing and aided by a Neshaminy penalty, it was first and ten from the Redskin 10-yard line with 50 seconds left. After a pass caught in the end zone was called back, Rock South shot itself in the foot numerous times and finally threw an “INT” at the goal line, which the Redskins ran out to the 20-yard line…. GAME OVER! NESHAMINY 20 – ROCK SOUTH 13
My thoughts on these teams are that CR South and coach Bedesem are building a real nice program that runs an offense that is tough to defend (you just don’t see it often). He has a lot of tough kids who will hit you. They need to learn to take opportunities and finish the game. If they get into the playoffs, I can’t see any team who would want to play them.
Neshaminy is an interesting team. The Redskins are well coached (Coach Schmidt is one of top two coaches in District One), and they are getting better each week. The offensive line is a strong point with “3” very good backs in Dean, Arnold and Colbert. The QB and receivers are steady, and the defense is strong up front. My concern is there seems to be a lack of great team speed. That is a concern, but this team is peaking at the right time. I wouldn’t bet against a Mark Schmidt team. I think there’s a possible Neshaminy – North Penn District final. You want to bet??
QUAKERTOWN vs. CB EAST: Boy was I wrong with my football pick. WNPV does a weekly football poll, and although I lead the other forecasters in total wins, I couldn’t be more wrong on this game. I picked East to win, but it was Quakertown’s night. Let me tell you folks something that is a secret, Quakertown is for real and is soooo young it’s scary for opponents next year. Led by junior running back Tony Latronica (22 carries for 100 yds and two TD s), who is fast (I mean real fast!!) and junior quarterback Ryan Tinknell (8-for-15, 185 yds, 3 TD’s), this is a team that has improved by leaps and bounds. Add in the mix of senior Eric Fath, 6’3” 235 lbs, tight end/ fullback/linebacker who has committed to Liberty, junior LBer Rob Basile (runs great, tackles hard) and stud DT’s seniors John Reimer, 6’ 4’’ 265 lbs, and Josh Barndt, 6’ 265 lbs, you can see why Quakertown is 6-2 with a one-point lost to Hatboro-Horsham
With the score tied at 20-20 coming out of halftime…it was all Quakertown the second half. They moved the ball with a balanced running attack and some timely Tinknell passes. Their defense was outstanding, holding East’s great running back Devon Passman to six second-half yards!! Think about that??? Passman AVERAGES close to eight yards a carry for the season. Quakertown’s defense was swarming, hitting hard and picking off passes. Great job by coach Donnelly and his staff. QUAKERTOWN 27 – CB EAST 20.
What a turnaround season! Q-town was 1-11 last year, which will cast doubts over any program. Donnelly stuck to his beliefs, worked harder, made the kids keep believing, and early season wins have propelled them to possibly great things. Way to go Quakertown. Now take the next step…make the playoffs, get more physical and win some games. NEXT YEAR – WATCH OUT FOR THE PANTHERS!!!
EXCITING PLAYERS I’VE SEEN…..This week’s HONOR ROLL
Paul Carrezola (Neshaminy), tight end and linebacker. With my love of offensive line play, I like to focus on a player and watch his performance on a particular play. Carrezola is a freaking monster of a blocker! Neshaminy was running their off tackle power play, and Carrezola was literally caving in the side of Rock’s defense. He’s a great player who can dominate his opponent. Also has nice soft hands…I love his physical play!!! Best blocking tight end in District One…..not even close!!
Dan Shirey and Dan Wencilewicz (Neshaminy). Both of these offensive lineman are huge. Shirey at 6’3” 275 lbs, and Wencilewicz is 6’1” 285 lbs. Both are great zone blockers. Both are physical and finish blocks. Neshaminy’s success in this year’s playoffs will be determined by its ability to run the football. These guys are two of the Suburban One’s BEST!
Eric Fath (Quakertown) tight end, linebacker, fullback. At 6’3” 235 lbs, he looks like a D1 player, and WOW can he play! Rarely do you see someone his size who is so athletic. He runs a 4.5 forty, and when coach Donnelly moves him to fullback, he’s a load to bring down. Has the whole package…the leader of Quakertown’s resurgence.
Tony Latronica (Quakertown), RB, LB, DB. Tony is one exciting back who has real jets in his feet. Also, very tough running back who breaks tackles for that extra yard. Has the perfect style for running on TURF with quick feet and great agility. Top receiver for Q-town, and he’s only a junior!
Bill Fleming (CR South), QB. Only a sophomore but runs the option to perfection. Good size and good speed, makes the right decision on most plays. Tough and gets the extra yards upon first contact. Coach Bedesem must be crazy happy that he’s only a 10th grader
Rashaad Williams (CB West) RB. Another sophomore I’ve touted before. Keeps getting better for a team struggling BIG TIME. He has more moves than a break dancer and what acceleration!!! He’s a true threat to score every time he touches the ball. 13 carries for 200+ YDS vs. Pennridge this past Saturday night.
READERS QUESTIONS !!!!!
John W. from Fairless Hills……..”Who is going to win the Pennsbury vs. Neshaminy game and why?” (had a few questions on this game).
Neshaminy has a couple advantages in my opinion. First, they are playing at home which is always great…..you just feel better at home, know the lighting and the lay of the field. Second, I give the edge to Neshaminy’s coaching staff when it comes to game planning and making adjustments. Coach Schmidt and company will have Neshaminy peaking for this game and the playoffs. That being said, Pennsbury is very physical (as is Neshaminy) and has a nice array of skill guys starting with Brandon Pepper their sophomore QB. When two big physical teams play, turnovers will be crucial and could decide the game for either team. I see Neshaminy winning 21-14 with the win coming late in the fourth quarter. This will be the top game in the District One on Halloween night.
Annette S. Hatboro…..”Can anyone beat North Penn in the District playoffs?” (This is the question most asked everywhere.)
Looking at scores, it would seem that North Penn is unstoppable at this point. They have great team speed (they all run well - not just Ronnie Akins, Tyler Smith and Justin Davey), a great kicking game and the best game day coach around in Dick Beck (he makes adjustments on the field...not waiting till halftime or until he sees the film). I’m concerned about their “O” line and defensive front in terms of facing someone who can really play physical football. (Question is …..Is there anyone out there who can play physical football and also run with North Penn?.....maybe not). Also, the schedule has been brutally easy after a tough first “3” games. Will this help NP or just mask issues that will surface during playoff time? I think NP is a very good team that is the heavy favorite to win District One and face the winner of District 12 vs. D 11. That will be the game we all want to see late in November.
THE REAL TOP TEN (forget the points….these are the BEST teams now)
1-NORTH PENN
2-MALVERN PREP
3-ST JOE’S PREP
4-LASALLE
5-NESHAMINY
6-GARNET VALLEY
7-WEST CATHOLIC
8-PENNSBURY
9-ABINGTON
10-RIDLEY
That’s it for now …. Keep the questions coming to Coach Carey at suburbanonesports@comcast.com, and I’ll give an honest thick skin type of answer. Until later…keep the hits coming! There’s no game in America like high school football.
COACH CAREY