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Back for a second season is the Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football,’ featuring high school football beat writers Kevin Cooney and Dan Dunkin. Cooney, who recently was named the Phillies beat writer, will continue to cover schools in the Intelligencer area while Dan Dunkin – who has been covering sports at the high school and professional level for 25 years - will cover teams in the Courier Times area. Both beat writers share their thoughts about some of the opening week games and also look ahead to this week.To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the web site http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Dan, you were at last week’s Bensalem-Pennridge game. Talk about that game.
Dan Dunkin: Bensalem is a nice story. They’re off to a 2-0 start under first-year coach Kevin Kelly, and I think they could make a little noise in the SOL National. They just have a new mindset there. He has done a very good job in a very short time of establishing a mindset and philosophy. There are some kids he inherited – a lot of seniors that really want to end on a good note and set the tone for the program going forward, and they’re doing that so far. They have a good-sized offensive line, they have a very good little running back in C.J. Lebesco, a pretty shifty and talented quarterback in Kevin Hopkins and a receiver who can go up and make plays and made two great ones in that game – Davonte Newkirk. Another kid – H. Terrence Snetter – ran back a punt 86 yards for a TD. They have some weapons, they’re interesting, and I think Kevin Kelly has a chance to establish something at Bensalem going into the next few years. It’s starting now, and I think some young kids are going to latch onto this as freshmen and stay committed, and that’s how it builds.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury rebounded from a tough loss to Easton to defeat Harrisburg. Comment on that win.
Dan Dunkin: I thought last week was a must-win for Pennsbury. Even though it wasn’t mathematically, I thought it was psychologically after they got shut out by Easton. They went on the road against an always tough and talented Harrisburg team, and to the Falcons' credit, they gutted it out and won 16-14. They did it with defense – they stopped the Harrisburg quarterback with a gang tackle at the one-yard line right at the end of the game. Tommy Hose is a good linebacker and a good all-field pursuer. They have a pretty good-sized defensive line led by Dylan Pepper – no relation to Shawn. Their DBs and their linebackers were the guys who really made that last stop. They expect to be good defensively.
I talked to Galen Snyder this week, and he is very happy with how his team competed and gutted it out. I think Pennsbury is showing some mental toughness now that they’re going to need going forward because Shawn Pepper is out and will probably be out again next week with a leg injury. Bruce Campbell is a very capable backup running their offense. They’re getting their running game going. Sometimes it takes a while at Pennsbury with that wing-T to get everything in sync. As Galen said last week, it takes a while, but he likes what he’s seeing. They have good potential defensively.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy was expected to beat Hatboro-Horsham. Comment on the Redskins’ big win.
Dan Dunkin: Neshaminy has gotten off to slow starts the last two weeks. They have scored a total of 10 points in the first half. They controlled Souderton in the second half in week one, and last week, they only had a 3-0 lead at halftime against Hatboro-Horsham, but their defense forced four turnovers in the second half, and they won 27-0. That tells you a lot. Joe Bianchino has been efficient as a first-year starter at quarterback. Sean Ulmer is having a good season as everyone expected as a runner and receiver. Their linebackers and their front four on defense are starting to gel, and when that happens, I expect them to be really good defensively.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock North had a big win in its first week but struggled in a 42-6 loss to Central Bucks South last week. Your thoughts as the Indians will face Hatboro-Horsham this weekend.
Dan Dunkin: It’s a crossroads game for Council Rock North. Hatboro-Horsham will be a really tough test for them. They have a very versatile offense that Neshaminy was able to control. North doesn’t have the horses to do that, but they can be competitive in that game if they can control the ball somewhat offensively and keep their defense off the field.
Just a week after they started the season with a much-needed win, they got destroyed last week. I’m interested to see how they bounce back. It’s a home game. Hatboro-Horsham is not a world beater. They should play with a lot of emotion, and we’ll see. I think it’s a hugely important game for them coming off that terrible game.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Truman hasn’t scored in its two losses. Your thoughts about that program?
Dan Dunkin: I’m disappointed for Truman. I wrote a story before the season how their numbers were doubled from last season. They have 52 kids on their roster, but that has not translated into any kind of success, which is not really surprising because the lion’s share of their players are freshmen and sophomores, and it’s going to be awhile. Their top running back, Larry Winton, has been held in check. He doesn’t have a lot of room to run. He gained 1,200 yards last year – he’s on pace for about 440 this year. They’re still playing a lot of kids two ways. They do have some skill position kids but they’re not able to isolate them and get them out in space where they can make a difference, so until that happens, they will struggle offensively.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Tennent is 0-2 after last week’s loss to Central Bucks West. What are your thoughts about that program heading into week three?
Dan Dunkin: Tennent, as expected, is having a lot of trouble producing offense. Connor Geiger is a fine two-way player, but he can’t do it alone offensively. Upper Merion is playing at Tennent this week – it’s a winnable game for Tennent, but they’re going to have to score 17-20 points.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock South trailed Father Judge 14-0 and 21-7 but rallied for a 35-34 win. Comment on the Golden Hawks’ performances so far this season.
Dan Dunkin: Council Rock South is a combination of an excellent system, really good talent, timing with their tough offensive line and confidence most of all. They know they’re going to win. They came off of 11-2 last year – this program is rolling now. Brian Donnelly, who took over for Billy Fleming, is off to a tremendous start. He has over 400 yards rushing already. He was a running back exclusively last year, and he’s running the ball a lot as a quarterback. They have such confidence in him, and he has confidence in everyone around him. They have a bevy of really good running backs to pitch the ball to in their triple-option offense, and their offensive line is pretty well seasoned and deep. They go out every week to try to steam-roll people. They have a good swagger to them. It’s not arrogance. It’s just confidence born of hard work and past results. I look for them to continue to improve.
I think a lot of people thought – well, South has turned it around, but they’re going to taper a little bit because they don’t have Billy Fleming at quarterback. Well, guess what? I think we could all be wrong about that.
SuburbanOneSports.com: How do think the conference will shape up?
Dan Dunkin: The big three in the conference – Rock South, Neshaminy and Pensnbury - are still the curiosity piece. I predict all three of them could make the playoffs. Rock South is rolling even better than expected. Neshaminy will get it going more offensively, and I think Pennsbury will, too.
Abington is really good. Their quarterback who transferred from Cheltenham – Ken Cropper – is really key for them. The key things to remember about Abington are – their coach has gotten them in a position after 12 years where they’re pretty good every year now. He’s built a system. They have Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Council Rock South all at their place – how did that work out? They’re explosive.
SuburbanOneSports.com: After watching Central Bucks West beat William Tennent last week, share your thoughts about those two squads.
Kevin Cooney: The thing about West is we all kind of wondered how they would make up for the loss of Rashaad Williams. Quite honestly, they’re doing it with a patchwork committee with Sherrod Higginbotham and Jake Poeske, but they have some talent.They can block pretty well – their line did a good job last week. Are they as good as they were last week? I wouldn’t go that far, but I think they can still make some noise in a division that I’m not sure is as good as it was last year. North Penn is good, but they’re not as good as they were when they had all those guys. Souderton struggled a little bit with Perk Valley. I think West will be in the middle of the hunt all year.
As far as Tennent, I think part of the problem is they can’t stay healthy. If you can’t stay healthy and you don’t have a lot of numbers, it’s a bad mixture. Right now Biz Keeny has to find enough healthy bodies. He had five starters missing last week, and some of them look like they could be pretty severe injuries. If they don’t get healthy quick before they get into the National Conference schedule in week four, they’re going to be in for a long year. SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks South had a big win over Council Rock North. Was that win a statement about South’s improvement or the fact that Rock North is continuing to struggle?
Kevin Cooney: I think for South the biggest thing is they’re not just throwing the ball anymore. They managed a little bit of a running attack with Dan Brown, and they have strung together two pretty solid efforts. They have a special teams game, and there are some things that are promising, but again, we talked about the defense last week. You want to see them do it a couple of games in a row, and you want to see them do it against a little higher caliber opponent than what Rock North is. I feel like I beat up on them all the time, but that program right now seems as though it’s dead in the water. When you consider what is going on down the street at Rock South and look at what’s happening at Rock North in just two years, I think it’s fair to wonder why. There’s always the talent fluctuation. You get that, but at a certain point, there’s negativity that just breeds in a program, and right now that is a pretty negative atmosphere.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Souderton jumped out to a 28-0 lead on its way to a 34-13 win over Perk Valley last week. Share your thoughts about Souderton heading into Friday’s showdown against Abington.
Kevin Cooney: When you play the non-league schedule they do, every game becomes big. Souderton did a lot of good things the other night, and they have done a lot of good things so far this season, but they’ve got to find a way to eliminate the big plays. The big play has really hurt them. If they give up big plays against Abington, they’re in deep trouble because Abington makes you pay for every mistake.
You saw that last week in the win Abington had over PW. Give PW a lot of credit. That’s a tough game on the road for them. For Abington to come out and handle business the way they did – Abington takes advantage of turnovers, they take advantage of penalties, and they find a way to get the job done. That’s what really good teams do. I don’t think we’ve given Abington enough credit over the years. The program is now consistent. Before Tim Sorber established this the past couple of years, they were searching for consistency, and they finally have it.
I think Souderton is looking for that too. They have to knock a big boy off. You go back to the game last year (a 16-15 Abington win) – Souderton really kind of handed the game away with special team mistakes, with turnovers and the lack of a kicking game. That really hurt them last year. I’m sure Ed Gallagher is going to point that out this week. They need a win like this going forward. If they go 1-2, they’re all of a sudden up against it already.
SuburbanOneSports: Central Bucks East fell to Norristown 36-7. What are your thoughts about East?
Kevin Cooney: Since I wasn’t there, I’m not sure where you give credit to Norristown and where you cast an evil eye toward East. This (program) wasn’t broke in a year, and it’s not going to get fixed in a year. John Donnelly has an idea what he’s doing, but it’s a culture change. They really need to change the culture and the mindset. Is it where it should be? I can’t answer that, but they need to totally overhaul what the mindset was, and quite honestly, they had to get a little tougher and a little more physical, and I think John Donnelly is doing that. When you get a game on your own home turf – or as close to your own turf as you get - and you get blown out like that, it’s not good. I can’t sit here and say it’s all sunshine and lollipops, but I’m not ready to throw them asunder yet.
SuburbanOneSports.com: A Quakertown team that is 2-0 is taking on Cheltenham that is also 2-0 in what promises to be an interesting matchup. What are your thoughts about Quakertown?
Kevin Cooney: You’re looking at a couple of teams – CB West and Quakertown - who getting to 3-0 will be huge.Quakertown and West both need to get to 3-0 to get the momentum going. You build up the nest egg and hope to get a good break going forward and maybe 4-3 the rest of the way can get you in the playoffs.
Quakertown’s ZacGravelle is a (heck) of a quarterback and can do a lot of different things, and if you can start 3-0, now you can start realistically thinking of the big picture. Just like West did last year – you can start thinking about what may be down the road. If you go 2-1, it’s a little more difficult, and some of the enthusiasm going into the league season is tempered.
Actually, week three is always so interesting because week three you really start to get a sense of who is a legitimate contender and who may not be. Week one there’s the enthusiasm of a new season. Week two there’s still a little bit of that, plus week two never seems to have good matchups. In week three, you start feeling, ‘Okay, who has the goods?’ I think that’s what we’ll find out this week. We’ll find out about West, we’ll find out about Quakertown, and we’ll find out about Souderton.
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about North Penn heading into its game against St. Joe’s Prep?
Kevin Cooney: Last week against LC was a game North Penn should win, and they should win by that score (36-6). Now we’re going to see how they play against another one of the big boys. If they come out and beat Prep, then the La Salle matchup becomes – ‘Well, it was just a bad matchup.’ If you lose to Prep, you’re 1-2, and there are questions. Maybe they aren’t as good as they were in previous years. In the big picture – does it mean a heck of a lot? It means more psychologically than it does physically on the field for North Penn.