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Back for its sixth season, the popular Intelligencer/Courier Times ‘Let’s Talk Football’ features Kevin Cooney and Drew Markol. Cooney, the Phillies beat writer, will handle the Bucks County Courier Times coverage area and also is part of a panel each Friday night on the WNPV/Intelligencer Scoreboard Show. Markol is the football beat writer for the Intelligencer area. Both are regular contributors on the weekly Game On show, and to view this week’s show, click on the following link: http://www.theintell.com/videos/hsgameon/ To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the Intelligencer/Courier Times web site http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/
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SuburbanOneSports.com: Neshaminy rolled to a win over a fourth-seeded Spring-Ford squad that was 10-0. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “It brings me to my question about the Pioneer Athletic Conference and the level of 
competition they’re facing - and for good reason. Neshaminy is pretty good and has been playing better lately than they had earlier in the season. They almost beat North Penn, and they beat Pennsbury, but to do that to an undefeated team in a game that was never much of a game and you’re the fourth seed – you’re undefeated and playing at home, that’s got to hurt.
“Good for Neshaminy. Neshaminy does have a little cache with its name, but if you’re 10-0, you should have a bunch of confidence, and you’re playing a team that had to win the last game of the season just to get into the tournament. Spring-Ford fell behind 24-0 – wow, that just shows you the level you have with Neshaminy, North Penn and Pennsbury versus some other conferences.”
Kevin Cooney: “Let’s be honest, Neshaminy must have felt as though it got a little bit of a bye last week. I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but Spring-Ford and the Pioneer Conference, to me – that was easy. Remember, Neshaminy has played North Penn better than anybody has since the stretch when they played Downingtown West in week three.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Quakertown came back to defeated Central Bucks East 7-6 in last week’s opening round district game. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “The score wasn’t too shocking after a 24-23 game the week before. It was very windy, and it made it very hard to throw the ball. These teams were both content to jam it down the other team’s throat. It was a good game – good defense on both sides. Quakertown didn’t make mistakes, and CB East did. East had a big fumble, and on the touchdown they scored, they had a bad snap on the point after. Their quarterback – Jack Lamb – is the holder, and he made a great play just to knock the snap down and pick it up. He almost completed a two-point (conversion) pass. If that happened, we’d be talking about CB East playing Neshaminy.
“Quakertown coach George Banas said they needed to play a clean game, meaning no turnovers, no penalties, nothing stupid, and that’s what they did. If you do that in a close game, you’re going to win, and that’s what they did. Now they get to play at home. I’m sure they’re thinking after they lost to CB East at home to end the regular season finale that there would be no way they’d ever get another home game, but all of a sudden, on Friday night, Neshaminy as the 13th seed wins and Quakertown as the 12 seed wins, and boom, now Quakertown has another home game. That’s a nice advantage for Quakertown to play at home.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Quakertown will host Neshaminy in an all-SOL game on Friday. Your comments.
Kevin Cooney: “Neshaminy right now just has a lot of things going for it. From a character standpoint, that was a huge, huge game for Quakertown last week. If you had lost that game and you basically lost your last 
three after appearing to be on your way to dominating everything in the Continental Conference – give George Banas and his guys a lot of credit for winning a grind-it-out game on the road like they did, a defensive game.
“I think though I’ve got to lean toward Neshaminy. I think this is the game of the weekend, to be honest. I think this is going to be the best game of the weekend. Look, there are not a lot of guys on Neshaminy from two years ago when they went to the state semis, but there is a little bit more experience.
“Quakertown played that stretch the last four weeks of premiere teams, if you will, between Council Rock South, CR North and CB East twice, but I think you’re kind of looking at a different level when you play the National Conference. Fairly or not, I’m just in a mindset they have to show me they can beat a National Conference team. I think that’s going to be the big test as we move forward for both Quakertown and Upper Dublin.
“They have had terrific years, and this is not meant as a slight – I think some people think I pick on people too much, and it’s not meant as that, but when you have covered this as long as I have – and I hate sounding like an old man, but you need to be shown that one of the teams that is not in the traditional power block can come up and win a playoff game like this. That’s kind of where I am with Quakertown.
“How much do they have left in the tank after going through this wringer of the last four weeks, and can they beat one of the powers? Ultimately, I just don’t think it’s their time. I think we’re heading towards Neshaminy-North Penn next week.”
Drew Markol: “When you talk with the Quakertown kids, they’ll tell you they’ve been out-sized in just about every game they’ve played, and they’ve been able to deal with it. Neshaminy is big as usual and likes to try and run it down your throat, but another thing Neshaminy can do is they can throw the ball, and they have a couple of different targets. You want to be diversified. CB East was keying on Quakertown’s Kyle Baskin, so he couldn’t get the ball, and I’m sure Neshaminy will put Denzel Hughes on Baskin to try and slow him down.
“I picked Quakertown – it’s close and could go either way, but Neshaminy has tradition on its side. You hear that name and you haven’t played them – they haven’t played since 1934, but as perennial district contenders go, Neshaminy is one of them obviously. That’s another hurdle for Quakertown, plus they have to bounce back from the high they were on. That East game was huge - beating East after losing to East, but you have to forget about that game and get ready for this one. It will be interesting to see how they will handle that.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: North Penn manhandled Unionville in an opening round game and will now travel to top-seeded Downingtown East. Your thoughts.
Drew Markol: “I’ve never seen Dick Beck more relaxed at a game so early. They could play a thousand times and North Penn would beat them a thousand times. Unionville kids didn’t know what hit them, and all of a sudden, they’re just steamrolled.
“Downingtown East was obviously looking past Plymouth Whitemarsh – you’re losing at halftime and you’re the number one seed and PW is the 16th seed. Was that a case of Downingtown East being exposed a little bit or was it a case of them overlooking Plymouth Whitemarsh? I don’t know. They had a huge psychological game the week before against Downingtown West – two unbeaten teams and you have the rivalry there within your own school district. Sometimes it’s hard to bounce back from that.
“North Penn hasn’t lost since losing to Downingtown East, and that was eight games ago. They’re playing pretty well obviously, and when they lost to them, people said there might have been a controversial call, but you can’t worry about that stuff. The North Penn kids know they were in it the whole way the first time they played them, and they’re playing better, which is what North Penn seems to do as the season goes along.
“Is this a possible district final being played in the quarterfinal? Yes, the winner here might go and win it all. We’ll see.”
Kevin Cooney: “Obviously, on paper, this is the game of the weekend – we’ve all been saying this is the district final. Downingtown East – the way they struggled last week – if I’m a Cougar fan, I would be pretty damn concerned because PW has some North Penn tendencies, if you will, because of Dan Chang coming from the Dick Beck coaching tree, but he doesn’t have the same caliber of athletes, he doesn’t have the same caliber of versatility that North Penn is able to bring. The one area where – if I’m North Penn I’m a little concerned – is how do you match up along the line.
“North Penn’s offensive line has been really good given where everyone thought it was going to be. Can they do it another week? Can they open the holes up for Ostopowicz, West and Isabella to just pound away and to give Udinski passing room? If they do that, I think North Penn will go on the road and win this game and maybe win it easier than people think.
“Again, to me, this is the district final. The only team in this tournament I can see beating Downingtown East is North Penn, and vice versa. The only team I could see North Penn losing to is Downingtown East. I think right now I’m just going to go with the team that’s a little bit hotter, and that’s North Penn.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pennsbury defeated second-seeded Downingtown West and now will travel to Perkiomen Valley. Your thoughts.
Kevin Cooney: “Here is the interesting thing – you see Pennsbury lose two out of three games at the end of the year, and you see them struggle against Pennridge, and you say, ‘Well, there they go.’ But by falling to where they did, I thought they had a favorable bracket. I thought that their style matched up against Downingtown West. Now you get Perk Valley that is from the Pioneer Conference, and let’s be honest, they’re the ‘show me’ in this tournament. Show me that you can do it.
“If Pennsbury is able to run Mike Alley and if they’re able to keep grounding it and if they don’t turn the ball over and get the low to mid-20s in points, they make life very difficult on teams because they’re so physical that they can grind it out. I know Perk Valley has had some offense and everything, but I just don’t see where Perk Valley’s defense is going to be able to manage the size and the skill that Pennsbury has, which will set up a fascinating game next week.
“I think Upper Dublin is probably going to steamroll Upper Darby. We’ve kept waiting for Upper Dublin to play a game where they get punched in the mouth. Pennsbury and Upper Dublin played in the district semis last year, and Upper Dublin was very competitive. We had Bret Stover on the WNPV Scoreboard Show last week, and he talked about the fact that his team was a little banged up and has numbers issues. They’re about 44-45 where Pennsbury is going to go deeper. If it gets to those two, is Pennsbury the perfect anecdote for everything Upper Dublin does? You have the great quarterback, but Pennsbury can rush the quarterback. Pennsbury can play very physical and knock those receivers off the line.
“Pennsbury gets to avoid Neshaminy, they get to avoid North Penn, and they get to watch everybody else beat themselves up. They can quietly take care of their business, and they can end up in the district final.”
Drew Markol: “Pennsbury loses their last game of the season to Neshaminy, which obviously they’re not thrilled with, but to their credit, they go in as the 15th seed where you’re not supposed to do anything, and they won in overtime. We always talk about how Pennsbury can’t score enough points, but they scored 63 in their game against Downingtown West last year and they scored 35 this year, so give them credit. That Downingtown West team had to be a little down after losing to East the week before, but as a two seed, you have to bounce back, and they weren’t able to.
“Granted, it was not your typical two versus 15 where the 15 is the defending district champion. That doesn’t happen often obviously, but give Pennsbury a lot of credit – just like Downingtown West, they had a disappointing loss against their rival and they bounced back on the road and won. It’s a credit to them.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Council Rock North fell to an Upper Darby team that will travel to Upper Dublin on Friday night. Your comments about that game.
Drew Markol: “Teams that are one-trick ponies in the district quarterfinals sometimes get exposed a little bit. Upper Dublin can run it with Kaleif Lee and they can definitely throw it with Ryan Stover. Last week with Brandon McIlwain – I’m sure Upper Darby rarely saw a passing attack that good. Well, they’re going to see a good one with Upper Dublin.
“That’s an interesting game. I thought Council Rock North would beat Upper Darby. I didn’t think Upper Darby would put up 10 million points.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: With its opening round win over Pottstown, Upper Moreland has put itself in a position to play for the District One AAA title. Your thoughts about the Golden Bears heading into Friday’s game against Marple-Newtown.
Drew Markol: “I’m not sure how good Pottstown was, but Upper Moreland has a bunch of seniors that have been playing together forever, and every couple years they have that team that seems to be just a little bit better.
“Upper Moreland scored 33 points against Pottstown, they took care of business, and confidence-wise, that’s got to have them flying high. Now you get Marple-Newtown who I’m sure they don’t know too much about, but the same goes for Marple-Newtown about them. They get to play again at home. I don’t think on the field it means a lot, but to the kids, it’s a nice bonus.
“Rodney Morgan is good and gives them a home run threat on every down, and not a lot of teams have that. Marple-Newtown pulled an upset if you go by the seeding by beating Pottsgrove, but who knows. They win this one and they get to play for the district title. That’s pretty cool.”
Kevin Cooney: “It’s funny - you talk about the American Conference with Upper Dublin and say ‘who have they played,’ and you look at it for Upper Moreland and say, ‘Wow, they played PW and Upper Dublin.’ They beat up PW. I’m not sure if Marple-Newtown has seen anything that quite prepares them for what Upper Moreland is going to give them.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Springfield will look to defend its District One AA title against top-seeded New Hope-Solebury. Your comments about that game.
Drew Markol: “This is an interesting game because Springfield is the defending district champion and didn’t have a great regular season, but again, they’re playing in the SOL American Conferece as a double A school, and they’re playing triple A schools and quad-A schools. Now in the playoffs, you’re playing teams more your own size, and that makes all the difference in the world.
“It’s a pretty good New Hope team. They have a very good defense. They were hoping to win the BAL, but they lost to Delco Christian the last weekend of the season, and Delco Christian is always good.
“It’s hard to gauge Springfield because they haven’t played many games against equal-sized schools. I’m sure New Hope is not taking them lightly because of their record. Again, I hate to say flip a coin, but it’s a district final, and it should be a coin flip.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Upper Dublin was impressive in its 35-3 win over Garnet Valley. You were at that game – what are your thoughts? How will the Cardinals do this week against Upper Darby?
Scott Huff: “Upper Dublin did not have any playoff jitters in its first round against Garnet Valley. Coach Bret 
Stover’s team was prepared and anxious to prove that it was one of the best teams in the district – maybe the state – and the Cardinals made a statement with the win over their Central League opponent.
“Quarterback Ryan Stover showcased both his running and passing talents in the win. In the first quarter, Stover escaped the Jaguar defense and rambled 83 yards for the go-ahead – and what proved to be the winning touchdown. Ryan poses an imposing figure in the pocket – and when he runs the football, he is a remarkable dual threat. Stover finished the night with four rushing touchdowns and passed for a fifth score.
“The Upper Dublin defense was again its best unit on the field and did not allow the potent Garnet Valley offense in the end zone. The Jaguars – who dressed 116 players for the game – were dominated by the Cardinal defense led by Jack Rapine.
“Now Upper Dublin will face an Upper Darby team that torched Council Rock North 59-34 in an opening round game. The Royals spoiled a potential Ryan Stover-Brandon McIlwain showdown as running back Isaiah Bruce stole the spotlight with an unimaginable performance against the Indians with 373 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
“If the Stover led offense can generate points – and it should – and the Rapine-led defense can contain the explosive Bruce – a much bigger order to fill, the Cardinals will advance to the district semifinals against the winner of the Pennsbury-Perkiomen Valley game. Last year Upper Dublin and Pennsbury met deep in the playoffs – it could easily happen again.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Plymouth Whitemarsh ended its season with a 35-28 loss to No.1 seed Downingtown East. What are your thoughts?
Scott Huff: “Head coach Dan Chang and senior running back Nafeese Nasir almost pulled off the stunner.
“The Colonials led 21-7 in the first half and sent the game into overtime at 35-35 with a drive late in the game. The prognosticators were few and far between (maybe only in the PW community) that felt Plymouth Whitemarsh had any shot at pulling the upset. The PW detractors felt that the No. 16 seed Colonials should not have even been in the playoffs – that Pennridge with the same number of power points should have been the choice playing in the SOL National Conference and having played a more competitive schedule that included a victory over Neshaminy.
“However, Plymouth Whitemarsh got the selection, and Pennridge could not have given Downingtown East a better game than did fearless PW.
“Nasir was brilliant with 32 carries for 233 yards and two touchdowns – and also completed four of five passes for an additional touchdown. It was a wonderful performance to close the career for the talented senior. The Colonials lived up to their name and went down fighting.”
SuburbanOneSports: Upper Moreland moved on with a huge 33-6 victory over Pottstown in the AAA playoffs. What are your thoughts on the Golden Bears as they move on to play Marple Newtown this week in the semifinals?
Scott Huff: “Upper Moreland has pounded the ball on the ground against most teams this year, and the Purple & Gold has featured senior running back Rodney Morgan in most of the games.
“Morgan punished the Pottstown defense for 313 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Casey Decker rushed for three touchdowns. Decker has not thrown the ball often this year – but when he does, he gets huge results. The grueling UM ground attack opened up the Golden Bear passing attack.
“No. 6 seed Marple Newtown ‘upset’ No. 3 seed Pottsgrove 20-7 to advance to the AAA semifinals. The Tigers play in the Central League and have not played the competition that Upper Moreland played in the SOL American. Remember – Upper Moreland beat Quad-A playoff bound Plymouth Whitemarsh by a 49-35 score.
“I like Upper Moreland to move on to the PIAA Class AAA District One finals against unbeaten Academy Park next week.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Springfield moved on to the PIAA Class AA finals with a 26-12 victory over Bristol. What are your thoughts on the Spartans as they get ready to play New Hope-Solebury in the finals?
Scott Huff: “Springfield is a AA school that took some real beatings from the Quad-A teams in the SOL American Conference. The Spartans absorbed poundings from Upper Dublin (62-0), Hatboro-Horsham (63-21), Upper Moreland (62-14), and Plymouth Whitemarsh (56-0).
“But now the Spartans are playing teams of similar enrollment – and now the Spartans are winning – and winning in the playoffs.
Springfield is – after all – the defending PIAA Class AA District One champion.
“Justin Hill has had some outstanding games this season. And last week was another one of those games as Hill scored a rushing touchdown and passed for a pair of other scores in the win over the Warriors.
“Springfield has been an underdog for most of the season in the SOL American Conference – and the Spartans will most likely be an underdog again this week against 10-1 New Hope-Solebury.
“Don’t count Springfield out.”
*The opinions expressed at not necessarily those of SuburbanOneSports.com