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Kevin Cooney, Dan Dunkin and Scott Huff talk SOL football.
Back for its fourth season, the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features high school football beat writers Kevin Cooney and Dan Dunkin. Cooney, the Phillies beat writer, covers schools in the Intelligencer area while Dan Dunkin – who has been covering sports at the high school and professional level for 25 years - covers teams in the Courier Times area. Both share their perspective on the teams in their coverage area. 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: North Penn notched a shutout win over Coatesville. Your thoughts about that game.
Kevin Cooney: “Obviously, it’s a continuation of what we saw from North Penn the final seven weeks of the season. They were very physical, they were strong along the offensive line, and they able to take advantage of mistakes and get better each week defensively, especially in the back end.
“Obviously, Pennsbury is their biggest challenge. There’s no secret that Pennsbury is going to try and run the football, but they have enough of a passing game to keep you a little off balance.
“This is a great style fight, if you will. You’re seeing a very, very physical team in Pennsbury going against a team that’s gotten more physical as the season has gone along. I think that’s what makes this so compelling. For North Penn, you can almost see the finish line. If you get by this game, you could see another district title. Coming from 0-3 to this point would be a real remarkable finish. Probably next week they’d have a team (Central Bucks West) they beat up on just three or four weeks ago, and then you can look at maybe Neshaminy or Garnet Valley in the district final.
“For Pennsbury, North Penn is the one program that has kind of befuddled them. Look, a lot of years North Penn had the superior talent, but even in that year 2006 when Pennsbury won the district and went to the state semis, they lost to North Penn in the regular season. This is the one program that has kind of been a thorn in their side. They haven’t played on a regular basis since 2008, but there was a playoff game two years ago (a North Penn 27-3 win). This is a team – if you’re going to be a district champion, it eventually goes through in most minds, and for Pennsbury, this is why this is such a huge, huge statement for them. If you could beat Neshaminy and North Penn in a span of three weeks, you’re doing pretty well.
“This is the de facto district title game. If circumstances happen that somebody gets hurt and beats North Penn or Pennsbury somewhere down the line – sure, but on paper, this is the best matchup of the tournament. Whoever wins this game is going to be the chalk pick to win the district, no question, especially if it’s Pennsbury. If North Penn wins, they will have a lot of momentum, but they will still be looking at Neshaminy down the road. I think some people would say how would they match up against Neshaminy because you didn’t see that matchup yet. For Pennsbury, all the suspense would be taken out of it because we’ve seen what they did against Neshaminy, and I think they become the clear favorite at that point.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Central Bucks West handled Plymouth Whitemarsh. Your thoughts about the Bucks.
Kevin Cooney: “West’s offensive line and running game has been too much for teams to handle, except for North Penn. I think the one thing – West has played a real physical brand of football all year. Usually at this time of year, those teams really are successful. And for PW – this is what happens to the American Conference. They get worn down by the size and the numbers and the level of competition, but quite honestly, when you have a 2A and two 3A teams, it’s tough to really get a feeling for where they are. Here we are with CB West looking like they have a really, really nice bracket.
“I said last week I was not in love with Rustin as the two seed, and now West gets another home game, and it’s great for the program. They’re in a tough spot. It used to be you were the kings of the castle. When you were at CB West, you were royalty. When they split the district up into three instead of two, that made life more difficult, especially because of that Warrington area you saw South develop. You see North Penn develop across the way, which is the old West program in a way because of the connection with Mike Pettine and Dick Beck. To the south, you have Archbishop Wood who goes and wins a state title.
“West has almost been in a little bit of a vice. Everyone is asking, ‘What’s wrong with your program? Why isn’t what it used to be?’ Well, if you get to the district semis, you can’t expect more than that. Brian Hensel’s program has already had a remarkable year. If they get this win over Perk Valley, it puts them at another level, and I think that’s great for the long term future of the program.
“This game is the great mystery. We don’t know much about Perk Valley. Obviously, they were pretty physical against Rustin. Can they do it two weeks in a row on the road? That’s what is tough about North Penn’s job. If North Penn is going to go, they’re going to have to do it all on the road, and that’s a tough thing to ask. I would lean towards CB West. I think Marvin Todd is just on fire right now.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Abington had a big win over Upper Dublin and now travels to Garnet Valley. Talk about the Ghosts.
Kevin Cooney: “I think I said last week that I thought this was the easiest game on the board. You feel bad for PW and Upper Dublin because, quite frankly, there’s not much they can do. You’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t. You can’t go play a non-league schedule and get your brains beat in because then you don’t make the tournament.
“The one thing we’ve talked about, and it’s been a nice run for an Abington team that hasn’t had its starting quarterback since week four or five. The one thing I want to see out of Abington is another person step around Craig Reynolds. If they’re going to beat Garnet Valley, if they’re going to go on the road and win, they’re going to need strong quarterback play, and they need a second option to develop because you could see every Garnet Valley linebacker and d-back looking at Craig Reynolds and just spying on him. It would be like seven spies. Now he’s good enough to still make an impact even with that, but if they’re going to win, I think they’re going to need a second option to step up.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy had a big win over Unionville. What are your thoughts about Neshaminy heading into the second round?
Kevin Cooney: “I really like how this bracket is shaping up for them. Obviously, Spring-Ford is a team that had a really good playoff run last year when they made it to the district final. At this point, I think it’s Neshaminy’s bracket to come out of. I’ll say Neshaminy wins probably by about 10.
“One of the underlying plots in this whole thing is that the Ches-Mont just absolutely imploded last week. The Ches-Mont had a worse week than the web designers for Obamacare. It’s a league we’ve kind of taken for granted that they’d be strong. Daquan Worley’s injury kind of changed everything. For Downingtown West to go out like that and Rustin and Coatesville, that’s ugly.
“Meanwhile, the PAC-10 goes 3-0 in districts. Go figure. Two in 4A and one in 3A.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury will host North Penn in an interesting second round game on Friday. Your thoughts about that game.
Dan Dunkin: “This is a classic matchup. The last time these two teams played in 2011 was the district semifinals, and North Penn won fairly handily. That was a great North Penn team that went all the way to the state final and lost. I don’t think this North Penn team is as powerful. They are very, very good, of course, to do what they’ve done with essentially every game being a playoff game since they lost their first three non-conference games, and then ran the table to get in the playoffs.
“I know it’s going to be very physical - Pennsbury coach Galen Snyder's words. I do think the winner of this game is the favorite to win the district. I picked Pennsbury and Neshaminy in the final.
“North Penn’s defense has played a lot better lately. They’ve gotten a lot out of their running game. They have several kids that can run it. They have Austin Shearer, who has played well lately at quarterback, but I like the way Pennsbury has been on an upward trend for weeks now. They haven’t had to play with much urgency until they beat Neshaminy. That opened everybody’s eyes, and then they pounded Upper Darby last week in the first round. I think their running game is deeper than North Penn’s. I think for the first time Pennsbury really matches up well across the board with North Penn – physically, speed-wise, and their defense is so quick. I just think that’s such a significant factor.
“So when I shake it all out, I picked Pennsbury to get to the district final, and I’m sticking with them. I think it’s going to be a heck of a game. Dick Beck has been there many times. Galen Snyder has had a lot of big games. They’re big rivals. It’s everything you could want in a second-round game, to have the interest of the entire Suburban One community. I think it’s a huge statement game for Pennsbury. Next year they’re going into a new league with North Penn, Neshaminy and other big schools.
"I think Pennsbury wins a close one."
SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy had a strong second half to earn a big win over Unionville. The Redskins will face Spring-Ford on Friday night. What are your thoughts about that game?
Dan Dunkin: “Neshaminy recovered well from that very disappointing loss to Pennsbury, although it did take their offense a half to get untracked against Unionville. That’s a little bit concerning.
“This game presents a challenge for their defense because Jarred Jones apparently is the real deal running back for Spring-Ford. A lot of people have been talking about him. The only two games Spring-Ford lost this year he did not play. They’re a very big school. They have a huge roster like Neshaminy. They’ve got depth. They’ve got speed. They’ve got three receivers that can go get the ball. I talked to Mark Schmidt, and they definitely are alerted to this kid. So the Neshaminy defense again is the big key. They’ve got to keep this thing manageable. I think a fair amount of points are going to be scored. I think the defense, especially in the second half, is really going to have to hold the fort, and the offense is going to have to start earlier for Neshaminy. If they do what they did in the last game and don’t get really cranked up until the second half, it’s going to be too late in a game like this. They’re going to need good play from everybody. I like Neshaminy to pull away in the end and win this thing, but it’s not going to be easy.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock North gave top-seeded Garnet Valley a battle. Your thoughts about that game.
Dan Dunkin: “It was an upbeat finish for Council Rock North because against a number one seed – Garnet Valley – they really hung in there virtually the whole game. It was pretty interesting to see because they were out-sized, they didn’t have near the depth Garnet Valley does. Yet they were able to make a couple of stands around the 20-yard line and keep the score manageable at halftime. Brandon McIlwain worked his magic in the second half – he led them on a 97-yard drive, and he had an 80-yard touchdown run another time, and suddenly, you look up, and they’re only down a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter, and you’re going, ‘Whoa, this could be an upset.’
“They lost 35-21, but I think it was a real positive finish for them, an emotional springboard they can use going into next year. Now, they’ve got to get more numbers, they’ve got to get more kids. They can use that to ‘recruit’ – in the legal sense of the word – more kids to play and also going into a more balanced conference for them with the realignment. I was surprised that they kept it that close.
“On the other hand, I came away thinking Garnet Valley is not a number one seed. Their schedule didn’t give them an impressive resume, and they didn't look particularly fast or physical.
“Still, that doesn’t diminish what CR North did. They were the big underdog, and they can be proud of that effort. I know Adam Collachi and his staff were. They should feel good about that. There are no moral victories, and I’m not saying that, but they can take a lot of positives out of it. He admitted after the game that they have things they have to clean up – learn how to stop the run, tackle better and all that stuff, but they stood up pretty well defensively in that game considering how outsized they were and they were going against the number one seed and a power running game.
“I’ll be interested to see how North does next year in the new conference with McIlwain, who’s really something special. When you have someone like him to build around, it makes for a lot of excitement in your program.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Abington will travel to Garnet Valley for a second-round game on Friday. Your comments about that game.
Dan Dunkin: “I’m picking Abington in an upset. I don’t believe in Garnet Valley. I think (Tim) Sorber is one of the best coaches around. They’ve had many injuries, including at the quarterback position, but Kretschman did some good things. (Craig) Reynolds is one of the best running backs. Jordan Neely ran back two kickoffs last week. I think Abington’s speed on defense is going to give Garnet Valley a lot of trouble. And their explosiveness – they scored 55 points against Upper Dublin. They’re playing with house money, and I think they’re going to walk in there, make a statement and win the game. I just do. I don’t think Garnet Valley has a versatile enough offense, and they don’t have enough speed on defense. For Abington, it’s a very winnable game.”
Suburban One Sports: You saw Upper Dublin lose to Abington 55-25 in the first round of the playoffs. What were your thoughts on how the Cardinals played?
Scott Huff: “Everything that could go wrong went wrong for Upper Dublin in the first period of the game. Any time you are down 34-3 at the end of the first period – a lot went awfully wrong.
“Abington junior Jordan Neely took the opening kickoff and returned it through the Upper Dublin kick return team for 85-yards and a score to put the Cardinals down just 12 seconds into the game.
“Upper Dublin put a nice drive together on its initial drive of the game – but the Cardinals had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Mike D’Ambrosio to cut the lead to 6-3. And then Upper Dublin had to kick off again to Neely – who again torched the Cardinal return team by running 89 yards for a second touchdown – and things went downhill from there. Two turnovers resulted in short fields for Abington – and it got ugly fast.
“Bret Stover actually told me he was embarrassed with the way the game started – but at one point Upper Dublin cut the lead to 34-18 with the ball. But another turnover resulted in another Abington touchdown and the Cardinals were done.
“The career of senior quarterback John Derr was also done when the clock hit 0:00. Derr has been both a terrific player and terrific leader for Upper Dublin and will be missed. Upper Dublin played a lot of underclassman this year and has to be considered a favorite next season in the American Conference.”
Suburban One Sports: Last week you thought that Plymouth Whitemarsh could beat Central Bucks West in the first round of the playoffs. However, PW lost 50-26 to the Bucks. What happened?
Scott Huff: “Early in the game it looked like I might be right. PW actually led in the game 20-7 in the first half, but the Colonials could not defend the CB West running attack – especially Marvin Todd who scored 6 touchdowns.
“Ouch.
“The game came down to what was more important – size or quickness. PW had the size along both the offensive and defensive line – and CBW had the quickness in the backfield. And quickness won out big-time as the Bucks collected 50 points.
“Senior quarterback Connor Hanlon finished a wonderful final season. Not your prototypical quarterback at 5-foot 8-inches, Hanlon was a magician with the ball and deftly ran the PW offense. But the Colonial defense proved not to be up to the task of stopping a potent West attack, and PW will have to revert to its ‘Wait Until Next Year’ mantra.
“Sometimes misplaced in a playoff loss is what was accomplished during the regular season. Plymouth Whitemarsh just completed a wonderfully successful season and won the SOL American Conference title for the third year in a row – and another championship banner will be proudly hanging in the school gymnasium.
“And that ain’t bad.”
Suburban One Sports: Springfield was a one-and-done participant in the PIAA Class AA District One playoffs with a 53-7 loss to Imhotep Charter. Were there any positives to be gained from that game?
Scott Huff: “The one thing that Springfield will be able to say is that they lost to the best Class AA team in the state. Imhotep is loaded with talent – enough talent to compete for a state title on the Quad-A level – but the Spartans refused to go quietly.
“Springfield actually led 7-6 in the first half as Khalil Hopkins-Bey scored on a TD pass – and when the first half came to a close Imhotep led by a scant 12-7 margin. The Panthers, though, scored 41 unanswered points in the second half and cruised to the win.
“The match-up between Imhotep and Springfield brought into focus the private school – public league debate. Although both have similar enrollment, everyone knows that the talent/skill level is often appreciably higher in a private school situation where school borders do not exist. Anyone remember North Penn at the beginning of the season playing the likes of La Salle, Archbishop Wood, and St. Joe Prep from the Philadelphia Catholic League?”
Suburban One Sports: There is often talk about how the SOL American Conference doesn’t have the quality of opponent within the conference. The Quad-A teams (Plymouth Whitemarsh, Upper Dublin, Wissahickon, Cheltenham, and Norristown) are ill prepared for district playoffs playing two Class AAA teams (Upper Moreland and Upper Merion) and a Class AA school (Springfield). Are you buying that?
Scott Huff: “I used to be in that line, but the PAC-10 Conference this year has changed my mindset. The PAC-10 is comprised of five Quad-A teams (Spring-Ford, Perkiomen Valley, Methacton, Boyertown, and Owen J Roberts) and five Class AAA teams (Pottsgrove, Phoenixville, Pottstown, Pope John Paul II, and Upper Perkiomen).
“Anyone want to argue that Spring-Ford (9-2) or Perkiomen Valley (9-2) is not a quality Quad-A opponent in district play? Spring-Ford put a hurtin’ on Downingtown West (43-21), and Perkiomen Valley spanked #2 seeded and previously unbeaten West Chester Rustin (26-6). And neither the Rams nor Vikings finished the season in first place in the PAC-10 – that honor went to the # 1 seeded Class AAA Pottsgrove Falcons (11-0).”