By Scott Huff
‘One is the loneliest number…’
Three Dog Night
Cheltenham is the lone Suburban One League team to survive the PIAA District One quarterfinal round. The No. 1 seeded Panthers clawed No. 9 Unionville by a 35-21 score in a Class 5A contest.
The Blue & Gold broke open a 21-21 tie in the first half to race to the victory. Jamir Barnes rushed 18 times for 141 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in the win and also caught a TD pass from Adonis Hunter. Nate Edwards returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score.
Cheltenham will now face the No. 4 seeded Kennett Blue Demons in the semifinal round. Kennett advanced to the semifinal round with a 20-14 overtime victory over No. 5 Strath Haven.
The Panthers will host the game on Friday @ 7 pm and a win would place them in the title game against the winner of the game between No. 3 Academy Park and No. 7 West Chester Rustin.
*See Snapshot below.*
The SOL casualty list in the Class 6A tournament included No. 2 Central Bucks West, No. 9 North Penn, & No. 11 Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The SOL casualty list in the Class 4A tournament included No. 4 Upper Moreland in the championship game.
*See Exit Door below.*
The battle for 6A league supremacy
The PIAA District One 6A final four features two of the elite leagues during the course of the 2019 year – the Ches-Mont League & the Central League.
No. 1 Downingtown West (Ches-Mont National Conference tri-champion) will host No. 12 Haverford (Central League) in one semifinal game, while No. 3 Garnet Valley (Central League champion) will host No. 7 Coatesville (Ches-Mont National Conference tri-champion) in the other semifinal tilt.
Garnet Valley has won 11 straight games after a 42-19 loss to Downingtown West in the first game of the season.
The Jaguars blasted Owen J Roberts 43-0 in the opening round game and followed with a 56-21 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in the quarterfinals.
Haverford has won 10 straight games after losing its first two games of the season. The Fords lost to Archbishop Carroll 14-7 in the season opener and followed with a 35-28 loss to Garnet Valley.
Haverford opened the playoffs with a 49-14 rout of No. 5 Spring-Ford and followed with a stunning 35-12 victory over No. 4 Downingtown East.
Downingtown West advanced to the district semifinal with a 40-31 victory over No. 9 North Penn.
The Whippets opened the playoffs with a 63-35 win over No. 16 Pennsbury. The only loss during the season for Downingtown West was a 29-21 loss to No. 7 Coatesville.
Coatesville advanced to the district semifinal with a 41-24 win over No. 2 Central Bucks West.
The Red Raiders opened the playoffs with a 49-18 rout of No. 10 Souderton. The only loss during the season for Coatesville was a 28-24 loss to No. 4 Downingtown East.
The Suburban One League was a collective 3-12 against teams from the Ches-Mont (1-10) & the Central League (2-2) during the 2019 season that included both regular season and playoff games in all classifications.
Ouch!!
The SOL collected two wins in the playoffs against the Central League.
CB West defeated Ridley (42-7) in the opening round of the 6A playoffs, and Cheltenham defeated Springfield-Delco (41-7) in the opening round of the 5A playoffs.
The lone win against the Ches-Mont League was Cheltenham’s victory over Unionville (35-21) last week in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
In head-to-head with the Ches-Mont - One is the loneliest number.
Haverford Fords Trivia?
Haverford has been the surprise team in the 6A field as a No. 12 seed and is nicknamed the Fords.
What is a Ford?
Haverford has the Model T Ford as it’s “mascot”.
How many different ‘letter’ production of Ford automobiles – such as the Model T - were built between 1903 & 1927? (a) 5 (b) 7 (c) 9 or (d) 20?
Exit door
Central Bucks West was shown the exit door by No. 7 Coatesville as the Red Raiders rolled to a 41-24 victory. The Bucks led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, led 17-13 at halftime – but were outscored 28-7 in the second half.
Jack Fallon rushed for a team-high 179 yards on 23 carries, while Jack Neri scored 2 touchdowns for the Black & Gold. Fallon finished an excellent season with 1691 yards and 24 touchdowns.
North Penn was shown the exit door by No. 1 Downingtown West. The Whippets were eliminated by the Knights in the playoffs last season and were able to avenge that loss.
Sophomore Khalani Eaton finished a terrific season for North Penn. Eaton finished the season with 1396 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. Eaton, who scored 2 touchdowns in the loss, averaged 8.0 yards per carry this season.
Plymouth Whitemarsh was shown the exit door by No. 3 Garnet Valley in a 56-21 loss. The Colonials had upset No. 6 Abington by a 56-42 score in the opening round of the playoffs.
PW senior Brian Dresnin rushed for a team-high 157 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss to the Jaguars. Dresnin finished the 2019 season with 1513 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Upper Moreland was shown the playoff exit door by No. 3 Bishop Shanahan as the Golden Bears were shut out by the Eagles 35-0 in the PIAA District One Class 4A championship game. The Purple & Gold had advanced to the title game with a 37-14 over No. 1 seed Springfield (Montco) in the opening round.
The season is not over for Upper Moreland as the Golden Bears will play its traditional Thanksgiving morning contest with Hatboro-Horsham. That game is still two weeks away on November 28th.
Ugh!
Answer to trivia
(C) – 9 There was the Model A; the Model B, the Model C, the Model F, the Model K, the Model N, the Model R, the Model S & the Model T.
Now you know – even if you didn’t care.
And the beat goes on…
PIAA DISTRICT ONE CLASS 5A
SEMIFINAL SNAPSHOT
7 PM
No. 4 KENNETT BLUE DEMONS (10-1) @ No. 1 CHELTENHAM PANTHERS (11-1)
Last Week:
Kennett advanced to the PIAA District One Class 5A semifinals with a 20-14 overtime victory over No. 5 Strath Haven in the quarterfinals. Quarterback Sam Forte threw 2 touchdown passes and also scored the game winning touchdown in OT on a 10-yard run.
Cheltenham advanced to the PIAA District One Class 5A semifinals with a 35-21 victory over No. 9 Unionville in the quarterfinals. The game was tied 21-21 at halftime, but the Panthers outscored the Indians 14-0 in the second half. Jamir Barnes rushed for a game-high 141 yards and scored 3 touchdowns and also caught a TD pass from Adonis Hunter.|
Season Resume:
Kennett finished the regular season as the 2nd place finisher in the Ches-Mont American Conference.
Cheltenham finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League American Conference.
Offense/Defense Points Per Game:
Kennett has scored an average of 26.4 points per game. The Blue Demons have allowed 10.8 points per game.
Cheltenham has scored an average of 35.3 points per game. The Panthers have allowed 14.2 points per game.
Signature Wins:
Kennett has signature wins over No. 7 West Chester Rustin (12-7), No. 9 Unionville (27-13), No. 13 Chichester (31-0) & No. 5 Strath Haven (20-14).
Cheltenham has signature wins over No. 10 Upper Dublin (41-7), No. 11 (6A) Plymouth Whitemarsh (28-24), No. 16 Springfield-Delco (41-7) & No. 9 Unionville (35-21).
Losses:
Kennett lost its only game of the year to No. 2 West Chester East (43-14).
Cheltenham lost its only game of the year to No. 6 (6A) Abington (19-7).
Winner Gets:
The winner of the Cheltenham/Kennett game will play the winner of the game between No. 3 Academy Park and No.7 West Chester Rustin for the PIAA District One Class 5A championship.
FOOTBALL FORECAST
PIAA District One Semifinals
Friday - 7 pm
CLASS 5A
No. 1 CHELTENHAM PANTHERS 28 – No. 4 KENNETT BLUE DEMONS 14
No. 3 Academy Park Knights 24 - No. 7 West Chester Rustin Golden Knights 21
CLASS 6A
No. 1 Downingtown West Whippets 42 – No. 12 Haverford Fords 28
No. 7 Coatesville Red Raiders 35 – No. 3 Garnet Valley Jaguars 28
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