District 1: SOL
Upper Dublin 11-2; The Cards had a nice hand last year, playing it all the way out to the district semifinal where they lost to Pennsbury 25-14. If there were ever any doubters they probably stepped to the side following the previous two weeks where they rocked Council Rock North (6-5) 48-14 then toppled the Golden Knights of Rustin decisively, 41-23. Not that anyone was paying attention but the road wins at the very top of the season against Coconut Creek and Truman said they had enough team speed-athleticism to stay with many if not most D1 teams. But could they bang with the big boys? The 34-28 home win against Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-3) suggested they could against that huge O-line (avg-269) and good runing back in Nafeese Nasir. But it wasn’t an overwhelming win. Then again, the Colonials were likely the best seven win team to miss the postseason with Truman a close second. So while Pennsbury got all the acolades, deservedly so, the Cards were none the less a legitimate team, proving as much by putting the Falcons in a rare 14 to 13 half time hole. The second half saw the Cardinal defense battered from the unrelenting blows of running back Charles Snorweah who was unstoppable, rushing for 298 yards in 48 carries. Still, it was a historic year for Upper Dublin, setting a school record with 11 wins. This season could witness their breaking that record with nearly the entire team returning. Senior quarterback Ryan Stover (6-4, 200) is back after completing 161 of 244 passes for 2187 yards. That’s 66% with a Td/Pick ratio of 21/9. Four of his five leading receivers are back with RB Kaleif Lee (5-10, 190, sr) who gained 1057 yards last year and caught 12 passes for 138 yards. Most of the D returns led by their top three tacklers, LBs Henry Winebrake (6-0, 220, sr, 105 tackles), Stacey Gardner (5-10, 205, sr, 91 tackles) and SS Evan Scott (6-0, 170, sr, 63 tackles). DEs Will Derr (6-4, 120, sr) and Kane O’Connor (6-3, 220, sr) return with most of the secondary. The team doesn’t have a lot of size-bulk and will miss NG Tamir Bailey (5-10, 225, 25 stops). Last year’s production was again large, averaging 35ppg, the same as the previous year. The D was also improved at 17ppg over 18ppg in 2013. With this year’s returns, they should at least meet those levels. The schedule looks manageable with three straight homers; Delaware Valley (10-2, Milford), Truman (7-5) and Abington (6-5). The Warriors are doing some major rebuilding but Truman and Abington come in with veteran, senior quarterbacks in dangerous Mark Lopez for Truman and David Kretschman for the Ghosts. If they can get past those three unscathed, they’ll go undefeated.
Upper Moreland 8-4; Upper Moreland continued their inconsistent ways by having a winning season followed by a losing season. Their season ending records since 2008 have been as follow; 11-2, 5-6, 8-4, 2-10, 7-5, 5-7 and last year’s 8-4 season making the outlook appear bleak for the coming season! They began the season on a 4-0 run until the loss at Cheltenham (6-6), 28-21. Subsequent losses to Plymouth Whitemarsh 33-20, Upper Dublin 28-7 and the 25-20 squeaker past Springfield Township (6-7-AA), a tough little deuce playing with the big boys said this wasn’t the year for big things, despite having a solid back in Tyler Whitmore (6-0, 195) who rushed for 1948 yards, a force at tackle in Connor Dolan (6-5, 275, jr) and a sprinkling of good players throughout the lineup, egs….DE Ryan Norton (6-1, 215, jr), TE/P Colton Hooker (6-0, 195, sr) and DL Isaiah Williams (6-1, 225, sr). QB Josh Abrams also graduated after completing 67 of 114 passes for 1166 yards, a 59% completion rate. He rushed for 452 yards on 78 carries. The AAA district postseason saw them run into a Bishop Shanahan (8-4, 3rd seed) team that except for the Downingtown East win, played their best game of the season taking down the 6th seeded Golden Bears, 37-7. Interesting to note their 29ppg average on offense was the best since the 2001 10-1 team that scored 36 a game. Too bad they couldn’t match that offense with a defense that was mediocre at best allowing 21ppg., especially with a back like Whitmore.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-3; The Colonials put another offense out there that once again had no difficulty scoring points. Going from 2013 back to 2010, the production has been impressive, scoring 31, 30, 29 and 27ppg. Last year’s averaged 29ppg. The won/loss over that period was 38-15. They began last season the same way they did the previous year, losing their first two games. Last year witnessed their losing to Souderton (?, 4-6) 21-14 and Abington (6-5), 23-8. In the preceding season that produced an 8-3 campaign, they opened with losses to Perkiomen Valley (10-2) 33-0 and Abington (10-4) 34-12, giving them bad starts in both years. Although they recovered last year, winning seven of the last eight, they missed the playoffs. They went 8-1 the previous year after those opening losses, making the playoffs but getting crushed by Central Bucks West (9-3) in the first round, 50-36. The year before they were eliminated by Neshaminy in the first round 42-21. In 2011 they lost to Central Bucks South 49-24 so when they do get to the postseason, the results have been disappointing. Given the results culminating in 8-3 and 7-3 seasons (and beyond) suggests a less than difficult schedule. This is borne out looking at year-end records of teams played following the 0-2 openings each year. 2013’s team played against teams with a 51-48 combined record while last year’s team played opponents with a cumulative record of 42-52. A win is a win but as we all know, a won/loss rarely tells all. The Colonials will enter this season with enough weapons to again field a productive offense with the return of quarterback Anthony Mirabile (5-10, 180, sr, 24/39/300), running back Nafeese Nasir (5-9, 175, sr, 157/1262ry) and fullback Jake Winterbottom (5-11, 190, sr, 109/769), who did a good job replacing Jose Mora-Vega. Considering the unsettled nature of the quarterback position, things turned out well. Mirabile started in the Abington game when senior Noah Allanoff went down with an injury. He shared some time with Jimmy Rodgers (23/38/329py, 229ry) until Rodgers essentially took over by the Upper Moreland game in week six until the end of the year. The problem this season is that apart from TE Luke Mascio (6-2, 220, sr), the entire line that took over some games graduated. Gone are Virginia signee LT Ryan Bischoff (6-5, 305), RT Joe DeSanto (6-3, 270, the Archbishop Carroll transfer, West Chester U), OGs Brett Highland (6-0, 240, Ursinus College) and Steve Kovacic (6-1, 275, Wilkes Univ) and Center Anthony Casselli (5-11, 250, Albright). To avoid a third straight 0-2 start, they need to get out the gate well, with a new OL, on the road against a experienced Souderton team and Abington group who may not be cooperative to that agenda.
Wissahickon 2-8; With non-losing seasons (two .500 seasons) nine of the last eleven years, last year came as a surprise, garnering only two wins, Philadelphia Central and Springfield-Montco. Following the Springfield win they were sitting on a 2-1 mark. Thereon, things went south after the loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh. Should say the bottom fell out with the Trojans finishing out on a six game losing streak by a combined score of 180-71. The offense was small at 19ppg, (second lowest in twelve years) with minimal support from the D that allowed 25ppg. Injuries, particularly to running back Josh Smith (knee) against PW (missed next vs UD), hobbling him for the rest of the season combining with inconsistency under center with Mike Marino (5-9, 160, sr) giving way to then sophomore Mike Schoenleber (5-9, 170) against Cheltenham in game #8 set the stage. Last year’s returning starters to the OL graduated, Jason Casio (5-11, 215), Kyle Stein (6-1, 185) and Drew Bright-Bailey (6-0, 285) and the workhorse combo at running back in Josh Smith and Josh Trunk. This year’s schedule mimics last, with one big exception, they have three consecutive road games following the opener at home to Philadelphia Central; Norristown, Souderton and Springfield. Then they have Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin back-to-back. All totaled, they’ll face eight veteran quarterbacks, and struggle to avoid a second consecutive losing season.
Upper Dublin 11-2; The Cards had a nice hand last year, playing it all the way out to the district semifinal where they lost to Pennsbury 25-14. If there were ever any doubters they probably stepped to the side following the previous two weeks where they rocked Council Rock North (6-5) 48-14 then toppled the Golden Knights of Rustin decisively, 41-23. Not that anyone was paying attention but the road wins at the very top of the season against Coconut Creek and Truman said they had enough team speed-athleticism to stay with many if not most D1 teams. But could they bang with the big boys? The 34-28 home win against Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-3) suggested they could against that huge O-line (avg-269) and good runing back in Nafeese Nasir. But it wasn’t an overwhelming win. Then again, the Colonials were likely the best seven win team to miss the postseason with Truman a close second. So while Pennsbury got all the acolades, deservedly so, the Cards were none the less a legitimate team, proving as much by putting the Falcons in a rare 14 to 13 half time hole. The second half saw the Cardinal defense battered from the unrelenting blows of running back Charles Snorweah who was unstoppable, rushing for 298 yards in 48 carries. Still, it was a historic year for Upper Dublin, setting a school record with 11 wins. This season could witness their breaking that record with nearly the entire team returning. Senior quarterback Ryan Stover (6-4, 200) is back after completing 161 of 244 passes for 2187 yards. That’s 66% with a Td/Pick ratio of 21/9. Four of his five leading receivers are back with RB Kaleif Lee (5-10, 190, sr) who gained 1057 yards last year and caught 12 passes for 138 yards. Most of the D returns led by their top three tacklers, LBs Henry Winebrake (6-0, 220, sr, 105 tackles), Stacey Gardner (5-10, 205, sr, 91 tackles) and SS Evan Scott (6-0, 170, sr, 63 tackles). DEs Will Derr (6-4, 120, sr) and Kane O’Connor (6-3, 220, sr) return with most of the secondary. The team doesn’t have a lot of size-bulk and will miss NG Tamir Bailey (5-10, 225, 25 stops). Last year’s production was again large, averaging 35ppg, the same as the previous year. The D was also improved at 17ppg over 18ppg in 2013. With this year’s returns, they should at least meet those levels. The schedule looks manageable with three straight homers; Delaware Valley (10-2, Milford), Truman (7-5) and Abington (6-5). The Warriors are doing some major rebuilding but Truman and Abington come in with veteran, senior quarterbacks in dangerous Mark Lopez for Truman and David Kretschman for the Ghosts. If they can get past those three unscathed, they’ll go undefeated.
Upper Moreland 8-4; Upper Moreland continued their inconsistent ways by having a winning season followed by a losing season. Their season ending records since 2008 have been as follow; 11-2, 5-6, 8-4, 2-10, 7-5, 5-7 and last year’s 8-4 season making the outlook appear bleak for the coming season! They began the season on a 4-0 run until the loss at Cheltenham (6-6), 28-21. Subsequent losses to Plymouth Whitemarsh 33-20, Upper Dublin 28-7 and the 25-20 squeaker past Springfield Township (6-7-AA), a tough little deuce playing with the big boys said this wasn’t the year for big things, despite having a solid back in Tyler Whitmore (6-0, 195) who rushed for 1948 yards, a force at tackle in Connor Dolan (6-5, 275, jr) and a sprinkling of good players throughout the lineup, egs….DE Ryan Norton (6-1, 215, jr), TE/P Colton Hooker (6-0, 195, sr) and DL Isaiah Williams (6-1, 225, sr). QB Josh Abrams also graduated after completing 67 of 114 passes for 1166 yards, a 59% completion rate. He rushed for 452 yards on 78 carries. The AAA district postseason saw them run into a Bishop Shanahan (8-4, 3rd seed) team that except for the Downingtown East win, played their best game of the season taking down the 6th seeded Golden Bears, 37-7. Interesting to note their 29ppg average on offense was the best since the 2001 10-1 team that scored 36 a game. Too bad they couldn’t match that offense with a defense that was mediocre at best allowing 21ppg., especially with a back like Whitmore.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-3; The Colonials put another offense out there that once again had no difficulty scoring points. Going from 2013 back to 2010, the production has been impressive, scoring 31, 30, 29 and 27ppg. Last year’s averaged 29ppg. The won/loss over that period was 38-15. They began last season the same way they did the previous year, losing their first two games. Last year witnessed their losing to Souderton (?, 4-6) 21-14 and Abington (6-5), 23-8. In the preceding season that produced an 8-3 campaign, they opened with losses to Perkiomen Valley (10-2) 33-0 and Abington (10-4) 34-12, giving them bad starts in both years. Although they recovered last year, winning seven of the last eight, they missed the playoffs. They went 8-1 the previous year after those opening losses, making the playoffs but getting crushed by Central Bucks West (9-3) in the first round, 50-36. The year before they were eliminated by Neshaminy in the first round 42-21. In 2011 they lost to Central Bucks South 49-24 so when they do get to the postseason, the results have been disappointing. Given the results culminating in 8-3 and 7-3 seasons (and beyond) suggests a less than difficult schedule. This is borne out looking at year-end records of teams played following the 0-2 openings each year. 2013’s team played against teams with a 51-48 combined record while last year’s team played opponents with a cumulative record of 42-52. A win is a win but as we all know, a won/loss rarely tells all. The Colonials will enter this season with enough weapons to again field a productive offense with the return of quarterback Anthony Mirabile (5-10, 180, sr, 24/39/300), running back Nafeese Nasir (5-9, 175, sr, 157/1262ry) and fullback Jake Winterbottom (5-11, 190, sr, 109/769), who did a good job replacing Jose Mora-Vega. Considering the unsettled nature of the quarterback position, things turned out well. Mirabile started in the Abington game when senior Noah Allanoff went down with an injury. He shared some time with Jimmy Rodgers (23/38/329py, 229ry) until Rodgers essentially took over by the Upper Moreland game in week six until the end of the year. The problem this season is that apart from TE Luke Mascio (6-2, 220, sr), the entire line that took over some games graduated. Gone are Virginia signee LT Ryan Bischoff (6-5, 305), RT Joe DeSanto (6-3, 270, the Archbishop Carroll transfer, West Chester U), OGs Brett Highland (6-0, 240, Ursinus College) and Steve Kovacic (6-1, 275, Wilkes Univ) and Center Anthony Casselli (5-11, 250, Albright). To avoid a third straight 0-2 start, they need to get out the gate well, with a new OL, on the road against a experienced Souderton team and Abington group who may not be cooperative to that agenda.
Wissahickon 2-8; With non-losing seasons (two .500 seasons) nine of the last eleven years, last year came as a surprise, garnering only two wins, Philadelphia Central and Springfield-Montco. Following the Springfield win they were sitting on a 2-1 mark. Thereon, things went south after the loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh. Should say the bottom fell out with the Trojans finishing out on a six game losing streak by a combined score of 180-71. The offense was small at 19ppg, (second lowest in twelve years) with minimal support from the D that allowed 25ppg. Injuries, particularly to running back Josh Smith (knee) against PW (missed next vs UD), hobbling him for the rest of the season combining with inconsistency under center with Mike Marino (5-9, 160, sr) giving way to then sophomore Mike Schoenleber (5-9, 170) against Cheltenham in game #8 set the stage. Last year’s returning starters to the OL graduated, Jason Casio (5-11, 215), Kyle Stein (6-1, 185) and Drew Bright-Bailey (6-0, 285) and the workhorse combo at running back in Josh Smith and Josh Trunk. This year’s schedule mimics last, with one big exception, they have three consecutive road games following the opener at home to Philadelphia Central; Norristown, Souderton and Springfield. Then they have Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin back-to-back. All totaled, they’ll face eight veteran quarterbacks, and struggle to avoid a second consecutive losing season.
