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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: Upper Dublin coach Bret Stover has gone on record saying you’ve provided bulletin board material since week five of the season. Your thoughts after Upper Dublin’s 46-21 win over North Penn in the District One Quad-A title game.
Kevin Cooney: “This is my mea culpa, and you know what – everything I said I believed. I didn’t do it for shock. I thought I had history on my side, and that makes what Upper Dublin has done so much more remarkable that a team from a smaller conference, a team that doesn’t have the depth other teams have – has found a way to get the job done in back-to-back weeks against the real heavyweights.
“Congratulations, they deserve everything they get. They can take every shot at me they want – it’s justified. If they win a state title, I expect a jacket – I wear a 50 or XXL.
“I didn’t do this because I have anything against their kids. I’m doing it based on the environment that has taken place within District One and the Suburban One League over the last two decades. For at least 14-15 years, it’s been dominated by four schools. It’s been North Penn, Pennsbury, Neshaminy, and, if you want to throw the Downingtowns in there. I guess Ridley was there for a bit, but it’s been a very small window we have seen it come out of. Sometimes, though, history has a way of changing, and Upper Dublin changed it this year.
“They changed it because they have a really good head coach in Bret Stover, they have a really good quarterback and a team that knew how to play its role perfectly, so congratulations to them.
“This week (Parkland) is going to be a tough test for them again, but at this point, why pick against them. I’m kind of at that point where – no mas, I can’t do it anymore.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: As someone who covered North Penn several times this year, what are your thoughts after last week’s district title game?
Drew Markol:"We've been talking at the office about the last time North Penn allowed 40 or more points - it just doesn't happen. I think it was the district final two years ago against Neshaminy. For them to fall behind and then come back, but then to have Upper Dublin steal the momentum back and blow them out in the second half is just hard to believe for as well as North Penn was playing.
"Granted, Upper Dublin was also playing very well obviously, but North Penn had the running game going, they had the passing game going, which was a two-pronged attack that they normally don't have. With Reece Udinski at quarterback - he's a good quarterback, and he has people to throw to. I thought they would just eventually just wear Upper Dublin down, but Upper Dublin quarterback Ryan Stover is so calm in the pocket - it looks like he's going in slow motion until you try to tackle him or he's throwing a pass. He can run, he can throw and move the ball around to different guys. From what I heard, they didn't throw much in the first half, and they're down 21-17, but in the second half, they put up 29 points. To shut North Penn out in the second half and score 29 points is really something. What a story with them knocking off the defending district champs in Pennsbury, and to do that to a North Penn team that I thought, quite frankly, had a chance for a state title. To do that and now they have Parkland, another big school. Parkland is the biggest enrollment school in District 11. They're about Neshaminy's size enrollment-wise with 1200 (male students) but twice the size of Upper Dublin, but that doesn't seem to bother them.
"Upper Dublin is not all Ryan Stover. Their defense is holding good offenses to low numbers. If you're Parkland, you've gotten to the state quarterfinals the past couple of years and seen St. Joe's Prep or La Salle and you've stumbled against them. Now they've finally gotten past that St. Joe's Prep/La Salle District 12 hurdle, and now they have to go up against an Upper Dublin team that is playing tremendously. They're 14-0 and the confidence they must have. Parkland is obviously aware what they did against North Penn. At this point, any team that's left in the brackets has a lot of momentum because they've won a lot of games in a row. They're all good, but for Upper Dublin to kind of take apart North Penn in the second half of what was a tight game was really hard to believe.
“When North Penn looks at it right now, especially for the kids’ sakes, it’s probably disappointing. Every kid that’s in the district final – you’re in the final eight in the state, and you think you’re winning a state title. All of a sudden that ends, and there’s no district trophy, there’s no nothing. You’ve won your league, which is nothing to sneeze at, but with the winning streak North Penn was on, they just took Neshaminy apart in the semis, and it seemed like they had everything revved up. They shouldn’t be disappointed, but it just tells you how high the expectations are at North Penn. Most teams that lose in the district final – that’s a pretty darn good season. At North Penn, you think – maybe we could have won a state title. It’s just how good that program is. Again, kudos to Upper Dublin, they’ve just gone out and taken out all comers, and they’ve won convincingly.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Win or lose against Parkland, has Upper Dublin’s win over North Penn validated their season for once and for all?
Drew Markol: “Absolutely, no matter what happens on Saturday, and they needed validation because there were always doubts surrounding them. Even though last year they got to the district semifinals and played Pennsbury tough, which they did, but they lost that one, and until you win – now they’ve done that. You beat the defending district champs in the semis, and you beat North Penn – you’re talking the heavyweights of the district you’ve taken care of.
“I’m sure they’re thinking 16-0 and a state title, but they don’t need any further validation. They validated what they can do. You’re in the final four in the state. There’s nothing wrong with that. Obviously, they’re not intimidated going against large enrollment schools. They’ve beaten the three largest schools in District One – Upper Darby, Pennsbury and North Penn back-to-back-to-back. The numbers – it doesn’t matter. I don’t really think kids worry about that anyway. I think coaches and media do because they see the different size and they just assume, but if you assume against Upper Dublin, you’re going to lose.
“Parkland has been down this road enough. I don’t think they’ll do that. They’re always big, and they’ve only lost one time themselves. They lost three times in the row in the state quarterfinals – twice to the Prep and once to La Salle. Now they’re going in and thinking the same thing – ‘we can win a state title.’ It’s just odd not seeing the Catholic League school in the Quad-A or Triple-A state final because we’ve gotten so used to it with Wood, Prep and La Salle. If the weather stays nice, that helps Upper Dublin. Good for them. They’ve absolutely validated what’s been a fabulous season, and they’re still playing in the middle of December.”
SuburbanOneSports.com: Your thoughts about the season heading into the state semifinals.
Kevin Cooney: “It’s been a bizarre year. The whole Catholic League is home except for West Catholic. It all began this year with the idea that – here we go with the Catholic League Invitational again. It didn’t turn out that way, which I think is good overall for high school football.
“I wonder if this type of year – if it’s a blip, but I would caution the PIAA – this will be the type of year where they will say, ‘Aha, the private schools don’t dominate.’ They can’t be fooled by just that small sample size. The issue is still there, and they have to take care of the main issue.”