In addition to the SOL Featured Game pitting Council Rock South against Central Bucks South, SuburbanOneSports.com also will be covering Friday night’s Souderton/Neshaminy contest and Saturday night’s North Penn/La Salle game.
Souderton at Neshaminy
Friday, Sept. 2, 2011, 7 p.m.
Broadcast live on WBCB 1490 AM
Last year’s records: Neshaminy 6-1 SOL, 12-2 overall, Souderton 6-1 SOL, 7-4 overall
Last year: Neshaminy 21, Souderton 19
Neshaminy coach Mark Schmidt’s keys to the game: “We have to get off to a good start. Last year we didn’t get off to a good start. We fumbled on the first play, and they scored. Our team had a few more seniors and a returning quarterback, so we were able to right the ship a little bit. We kind of just hung around, and Souderton came roaring back, and we were lucky enough to hang on
“We just have to come out and not give them something that gets them going. Once they get going, they’ll be tough. They have so many weapons, and don’t sell that defense short – they do a good job.
“Offensively, we really won’t do much different. We try to do what we’re capable of doing. We have (running back) Sean Ulmer back, and a couple of our wideouts are back. A couple of linemen are back - during the course of last season, Alex McKenzie played six games for us at center for us, but because of injuries, some younger guys are getting more playing time. We just have to come out Friday night and really try not to play on our heels. We have to play with our weight going forward. Souderton really tries to force the issue, and we can’t let that happen.”
Players to watch: “The two guys that have played great for us are Sean Ulmer at running back - and he’s also a heck of a D-back - and Kiser Terry at defensive end. Those two guys have had two good scrimmages and a good three weeks of work. We have Justin Andrews, Chris Kutsubos, John Bell and Bobby Marterella back, and Joe Bianchino, our quarterback, just has to go out there and manage his game. I think we have enough people to create. We just have to make sure he doesn’t try too hard. I think that’s important.”
Coach Schmidt says: “Last year’s game was a terrific game that came down to the wire. We were able to win that game, and that was a whole lot of emotion for us, and they had a couple of real hard losses after that game. It took them a while to get rolling, but obviously, once they did – and you knew they would – they made a run and made the playoffs. They were a good team, and this year they’re probably better.
“We have a lot of uncertainty, but it’s exciting. I’m hoping to see these guys go out and play well. I haven’t had a group that cares as much. It’s a great group of guys. Our first week of camp was terrific. We kind of got stuck in the mud a little bit with injuries and some illness. Being young and missing time – one thing you don’t want to do is miss repetitions. You hope you have enough prep time for a team like Souderton. You don’t want to have too much because you don’t want to overload the young guys’ brains.
“There’s a lot to be said for experience, and obviously, Ed (Gallagher) has got it. He’s got experience at the right places. We have experience at some places and not others. It just has to be that way.
“We’ll see what happens. It’s nice that people care about us (and think we’ll be good), but if we lose a couple of games, we might as well be gum on the bottom of a shoe.”
Souderton coach Ed Gallagher’s keys to the game: “We have to stop the big plays. Last year there were a couple of big plays they were able to execute in a situation where I thought we had them stopped, and now all of a sudden we were lining up for an extra point. We have to limit the big plays with them. They have some really good weapons that we have to try to slow down.
“From an offensive standpoint, if we can keep them off the field and do a good job of controlling the ball – if we can get a lead, that would certainly help. We had a lead last year, but we didn’t hold onto it. If we can get out in front, it’s going to be a little bit easier to do what we want to do offensively.”
Players to watch: “I’m really looking for (quarterback) Tanner Allem to step up and have a big senior year. He gained a lot of confidence last year starting every game as a junior. He can go into this first game knowing he played very well against Neshaminy last year and gave us an opportunity to win. He will go in with some confidence, and I really hope that he plays within himself and doesn’t put too much pressure on himself. We need him to be consistent and play the way he’s capable of playing, and we need our backfield to play the way that they’re capable of playing as well.
“We have all our backs back from last year – Tyler Scholl, Javon White and Joe McNamara, so there are going to be high expectations for what they do. I don’t know what their numbers are going to look like at the end of the year, but they certainly should be better players this year. That’s all I’m asking. I don’t care if they run for more yards or get more carries, but they certainly need to play like seniors.”
Coach Gallagher says: “This is a huge game. You hate to put too much pressure on the kids, but you also don’t want to sugarcoat it when it is going to be that big of a game. We can’t afford to start out 0-1. We have done that the past couple of years, and we’ve been digging our way out of a hole. Neshaminy is a very difficult place to win, 
but we need to go down there and play well and get off that field with a win. We don’t really have a lot of nice ways of putting it. You certainly don’t have many must-win games in week one, and it’s certainly not a must-win game. It’s silly to call it that, but it’s certainly a game that’s going to set the tempo for our season. It’s going to go a long way in determining where we end up.
“Last year we played them tough and then we lost a couple of close games to a couple of good teams, and now we’re 7-3 with the 15th seed. That is not good. It’s not where you want to be.
“I think it’s going to be interesting, and I really feel we’re going to be a good football team, but it’s hard to go into the first game like we are. If you lose that first game, you lose a lot of steam. It really is a critical game in terms of how our season is going to go. We beat them three years ago (14-13), and they went 9-1. That was their only loss, and we snuck into the playoffs at 5-5 because of that win. This game does go a long way, and they’re looking for the same thing. It’s really a big first-week matchup.”
North Penn at La Salle
Saturday, Sept., 3, 2011, 6 p.m., at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
Broadcast live on WNPV 1440 AM
Telecast live on Comcast SportsNet
Last year’s records: North Penn 7-0 SOL, 13-2 overall, lost to La Salle in the Eastern Final, La Salle 13-2, lost to North Allegheny in the state title game
Last year: December 11, 2010 – La Salle 38, North Penn 35 (Eastern Final), September 3, 2010 – La Salle 27, North Penn 14
North Penn coach Dick Beck’s keys to the game: “We have to get pressure on their quarterback (Mike Magarity). We can’t let that kid sit back and throw like he did against us last year. They have the same quarterback, and their number one receiver – Sean Coleman - who killed us in those two games last year is also back. We have to figure out how to stop them on third-and-medium. If we don’t do that, it’s going to be another long game.
“We also have to convert third downs. Last year we scored 35 points on them and made a couple of big plays, which was good. It’s all going to come down – can we run the ball with any consistency? If we can run the ball with consistency and our guys can come off the ball, then I think offensively that’s when you become successful because they have to start cheating a little bit and moving their guys up. Then you can start throwing play action”
Players to watch: “I think our linebacking corp (Ralph Reeves, Matt Smith and Dan Wynne) is the strength of our team with Shane Watson gaining 20 pounds in the offseason and weighing 225 at D-End and all the guys up front like Derek Brandt, a 220-pound kid, and Josh Cook, a 230-pound kid who is 5-11. Dan Gevirtz has looked great at corner. Kris Akins is going to start at safety – is he going to be ready to step up and make the plays? We’re expecting a lot out of Taylor Everett who also plays the other corner position.
“(Quarterback)Corey Ernst who threw for over 2,000 yards is going to be asked to play some defense too – if 
something is going wrong in the secondary, he’s going to be the first guy into the game. Corey started two games at corner for us as a sophomore, and Gevirtz has been starting since he was a sophomore, so I’m hoping they can carry both Aikins and Taylor (Everett), who are both first-year starters, especially early on.
“In the backfield, I love this Kyle Makefield kid. He’s a big kid – he’s 5-11, 195 pounds, and he has decent speed. I think he has to run with more confidence, and what I mean by that is he has to lower his shoulder and go after it. James Fielder is going to play fullback. I like James, and when these guys get some varsity carries under their belts, I think they’re going to be fine.
“On the O-line, we have returning starters T.J. Smink (6-2, 280) and John Garland (6-4, 320). We have George Shipp who is a 6-1, 215-pound kid who is going to play one guard, and Joe Potkovac is going to play tackle – he’s a 6-1, 235-pound kid. Josh Cook will play the other tackle. With those five guys, who are pretty good-sized kids and run pretty good, and our two tight ends – Shayne Watson (6-2, 225) and Ralph Reeves (6-0, 230), we have some big bodies. They can block and catch the ball. I think they can run the ball on most people, but if we’re not balanced, I don’t think we’ll be as successful as we could be.”
Coach Beck says: “You’re running basically the same stuff year after year, but you try and mold your offense around what your abilities are. You have to reteach it every year to the new kids. Some kids pick it up and you can be very complex with them, and other kids struggle a little bit. We’re still getting a feel for these guys.”
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