Week 7
11. Freedom 7-0. Well, here they are again, just like last year at 7-0, facing the exact opponents as then, heading down the back stretch to play Parkland, Easton and Liberty. The big difference this year is defense and quarterback Joe Young’s availability for the game, a game he missed last year. The Pats were essentially one dimensional then with Young sidelined for the year, and his replacement completing 7 of 22 passes for 104 yards. Still, Freedom’s defense was close to outstanding ‘tho unsupported, holding Parkland to three scores, and scoreless in the second half of a 21-13 loss. Their bend but don’t break defense allowed 295 yards rushing with total yardage stacked in Parkland’s favor, 440 to 208. While Parkland is similar to last year’s team in points scored and allowed, Freedom shows marked improvement, especially on defense allowing 10ppg compared to 17ppg last year. And with quarterback Joe Young healthy, Parkland will have their hands full, especially coming off the draining Easton game.
12. Easton 5-2. Not much to say about last week’s game with Easton’s self-destructing and Parkland’s stubborn defense leading to a 21-3 collapse. That’s all you can call it when your offense scores 41 points less than their season average, has four interceptions (4!), a fumble and three red zone scoring failures. Add to that a player like Devonte Cross for Parkland who accounted for 237 total yards of offense and a physically superior often dominating team to see the Rovers had no chance. Easton currently holds the 7 seed but another loss could put them on the brink especially with road games at Liberty who currently has the 3 seed, then top seeded Freedom before finishing at home to Nazareth who holds the 5th seed.
13. Perkiomen Valley 7-0. Perkiomen Valley may have turned the corner with this year’s edition if their 51-0 destruction of Boyertown is any indication. The Bears are struggling at 3-4 but 51-0, four first downs and 75 total yards of offense? Meanwhile, Perkiomen Valley was taking care of business, pounding out 219 yards on the ground and 310 through the air. Their very talented back David Williams rushed for 112 yards while quarterback Stephen Sturm was laser sharp, completing 21 of 29 passes for 310 yards. He threw two touchdown passes. The next two weeks see them playing at Phoenixville (2-5) then home to Upper Perkiomen (1-6) before the war with Spring Ford which will be for all the marbles.
14. Spring Ford 7-0. Right off the top the Rams got your attention beating State College (4-3) 28-25. It’s not State’s greatest team but they are competitive, indicitive of Spring Ford’s potential that will likely be realized in the postseason. With stats resembing Perk Val’s above, the Rams handled Owen J. Roberts last week, garnering 21 first downs to their 8, 235 rush yards to OJR’s 70 and 371 total yards to 157 for Roberts. Running backs Selwyn Simpson rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries while Matt Gibson had 105 on 13 carries. QB Rick Venuto continued lighting things up completing 17 of 23 for 136 yards as the Rams rolled, winning 35-14. AAA Pottstown (6-1) is next.
15, Coatesville 4-3. “Don’t be surprised to see a fiercely competitive and aggressive game (track meet?) as Coatesville fights desperately to stay relevant in the Ches Mont National and postseason picture.” That was last week’s thoughts that ring hollow now following the 22-12 loss to Downingtown East. And for the most part, they are out of the postseason picture with roughly half a dozen teams, playoff hopeful teams, positioned between them and the 16th seed. As mentioned in the East write-up above, their 12-7 lead did not hold up in the second half, compounded by losing quarterback Jordan Young to injury for the game. Still, with three winnable games left on the schedule, a 7-3 season is not out of the question. Next up is Avon Grove (West Chester East lite!) at a surprising 4-3 and 2-2 in-conference. Then comes another exciting surprise in the Ches-Mont with Bishop Shanahan (4-3, 2-1) surviving fierce graduation losses to field a competitive team this year. The closer is Rustin (5-2) of the Ches Mont-American who is right on the cusp of qualifying for Districts. So it won’t be easy with all these teams jockeying for postseason positioning.
16. Council Rock South 5-2. At this point in some ways you can call the Hawk’s a veteran team. Last year’s young ones have matured into a solid unit, full of confidence, blowing teams out by an average score of 43-14 and tied with Quakertown atop the Continental at 4-0 on a four game winning streak. Nine points separates them from 7-0 with losses to Pennsbury 13-6 and Neshaminy 27-25, early in the season. They are currently tied with Neshaminy for the 12th seed with good control of their destiny hosting co-leader Quakertown (7-0, 4-0) Friday. Quakertown won a tight one last year 19-7. A glance at their schedule shows this to be their toughest opponent to date while the Hawk’s have been battle tested by the aforementioned teams and a good Central Bucks East (5-2) team. This should be one of the most competitive games of the weekend.
17. Wyoming Valley West 7-0. The Spartans completed their second consecutive shutout blanking Crestwood 33-0. This one wasn’t as easy as the score suggests with Valley West holding a narrow 7-0 halftime lead in a fierce defensive battle. With Crestwood only able to gain 92 yards of offense, the weight of the Spartan attack soon took its toll with 26 second half points to seal the deal. They currently hold the 2nd seed in the D-2/4/11 playoffs that on the surface looks good. But, this year’s field is a highly competitive group meaning their 2 seed will likely draw a dangerous Easton, Stroudsburg or Nazareth team. A home game this week against Hazelton (3-4) should get them a step closer to an undefeated season with road trips to Scranton (4-2) and Williamsport (4-3) remaining.
18. Central Bucks East 5-2. Here’s another good story this year and a mild surprise in the SOL-Continental being a very tough out and competitor for conference honors. At 2-2 it’s an uphill battle but Quakertown or CR South will lose this weekend making things tighter. Incidentally, Council Rock North is still very much in the race at 3-1 (4-3 overall) making the Continental a highly competitive race. Back to East; with a 2-1 road record, an overtime 16-10 win at Pennridge and a close call loss to CR South 32-26, we’re talking about a legitimate team here. They’re at Truman (2-5) Friday who is reeling with four straight losses by a cumulative score of 153 to 30.
19. Pennridge 4-3. Here’s another tough out with the Rams giving just about everyone fits with tight losses to Central Bucks East in ot, and Pennsbury last week 38-32. Only North Penn handled them, winning 31-7. If they have anything left after last week’s all-out, they could run the table, defeating Central Bucks South (3-4), Souderton (3-4) and Bensalem (0-7). As always, CB South is often a tough nut to crack, especially at home. They usually score a lot of points, averaging 30 per game through last week. After that comes Souderton who is an overtime loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh in the opener away from a perfect slate at home. None of these games will be easy.
20. Neshaminy 5-2.The Redskins are sitting right about where they want to be given their two losses and conference record of 3-1 behind co-leaders Pennsbury and North Penn, both 4-0. They’ve won all their road games (4-0) which bodes well with North Penn and Pennsbury lurking downline, but last week set them up for a good finish beating Souderton 21-10. The week before that they beat Central Bucks South 21-14 on the road. While these aren’t overwhelming wins, they are wins and that’s all that matters at this point. In point of fact and while they are not a flashy team, they are a solid team with size and skill on both sides of the line. Quarterback Mason Jones (6-2, 180), only a junior, is getting it down, completing 56 of 106 passes for 798 yards. He’s complimented by receivers with size in Zach Tredway (6-3, 180, jr) with 22 receptions for 384 yards and Denzel Hughes (6-2, 180, sr) with 18 catches for 242 yards. Running back Will Dogba (154 vs Souderton) is a workhorse with 211 carries for 1065 yards. Winless Bensalem is next followed by those road trips to Lansdale and Fairless Hills.
Honorable Mention
Stroudsburg 6-1, home to Bethlehem Catholic
Nazareth 5-2, at Whitehall
Hatboro Horsham 4-3, home to Plymouth Whitemarsh
Unionville 5-2, home to Kennett
West Chester East 3-4, home to Sun Valley
Father Judge 5-2, at St. Joseph’s Prep
Northeast 7-0, at Edison
Franklin 6-1, at Roxborough
Garnet Valley 5-2, home to Marple Newtown
Upper Darby 6-1, at Strath Haven
Haverford 6-1, at Radnor
Ridley 5-2, at Penncrest
11. Freedom 7-0. Well, here they are again, just like last year at 7-0, facing the exact opponents as then, heading down the back stretch to play Parkland, Easton and Liberty. The big difference this year is defense and quarterback Joe Young’s availability for the game, a game he missed last year. The Pats were essentially one dimensional then with Young sidelined for the year, and his replacement completing 7 of 22 passes for 104 yards. Still, Freedom’s defense was close to outstanding ‘tho unsupported, holding Parkland to three scores, and scoreless in the second half of a 21-13 loss. Their bend but don’t break defense allowed 295 yards rushing with total yardage stacked in Parkland’s favor, 440 to 208. While Parkland is similar to last year’s team in points scored and allowed, Freedom shows marked improvement, especially on defense allowing 10ppg compared to 17ppg last year. And with quarterback Joe Young healthy, Parkland will have their hands full, especially coming off the draining Easton game.
12. Easton 5-2. Not much to say about last week’s game with Easton’s self-destructing and Parkland’s stubborn defense leading to a 21-3 collapse. That’s all you can call it when your offense scores 41 points less than their season average, has four interceptions (4!), a fumble and three red zone scoring failures. Add to that a player like Devonte Cross for Parkland who accounted for 237 total yards of offense and a physically superior often dominating team to see the Rovers had no chance. Easton currently holds the 7 seed but another loss could put them on the brink especially with road games at Liberty who currently has the 3 seed, then top seeded Freedom before finishing at home to Nazareth who holds the 5th seed.
13. Perkiomen Valley 7-0. Perkiomen Valley may have turned the corner with this year’s edition if their 51-0 destruction of Boyertown is any indication. The Bears are struggling at 3-4 but 51-0, four first downs and 75 total yards of offense? Meanwhile, Perkiomen Valley was taking care of business, pounding out 219 yards on the ground and 310 through the air. Their very talented back David Williams rushed for 112 yards while quarterback Stephen Sturm was laser sharp, completing 21 of 29 passes for 310 yards. He threw two touchdown passes. The next two weeks see them playing at Phoenixville (2-5) then home to Upper Perkiomen (1-6) before the war with Spring Ford which will be for all the marbles.
14. Spring Ford 7-0. Right off the top the Rams got your attention beating State College (4-3) 28-25. It’s not State’s greatest team but they are competitive, indicitive of Spring Ford’s potential that will likely be realized in the postseason. With stats resembing Perk Val’s above, the Rams handled Owen J. Roberts last week, garnering 21 first downs to their 8, 235 rush yards to OJR’s 70 and 371 total yards to 157 for Roberts. Running backs Selwyn Simpson rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries while Matt Gibson had 105 on 13 carries. QB Rick Venuto continued lighting things up completing 17 of 23 for 136 yards as the Rams rolled, winning 35-14. AAA Pottstown (6-1) is next.
15, Coatesville 4-3. “Don’t be surprised to see a fiercely competitive and aggressive game (track meet?) as Coatesville fights desperately to stay relevant in the Ches Mont National and postseason picture.” That was last week’s thoughts that ring hollow now following the 22-12 loss to Downingtown East. And for the most part, they are out of the postseason picture with roughly half a dozen teams, playoff hopeful teams, positioned between them and the 16th seed. As mentioned in the East write-up above, their 12-7 lead did not hold up in the second half, compounded by losing quarterback Jordan Young to injury for the game. Still, with three winnable games left on the schedule, a 7-3 season is not out of the question. Next up is Avon Grove (West Chester East lite!) at a surprising 4-3 and 2-2 in-conference. Then comes another exciting surprise in the Ches-Mont with Bishop Shanahan (4-3, 2-1) surviving fierce graduation losses to field a competitive team this year. The closer is Rustin (5-2) of the Ches Mont-American who is right on the cusp of qualifying for Districts. So it won’t be easy with all these teams jockeying for postseason positioning.
16. Council Rock South 5-2. At this point in some ways you can call the Hawk’s a veteran team. Last year’s young ones have matured into a solid unit, full of confidence, blowing teams out by an average score of 43-14 and tied with Quakertown atop the Continental at 4-0 on a four game winning streak. Nine points separates them from 7-0 with losses to Pennsbury 13-6 and Neshaminy 27-25, early in the season. They are currently tied with Neshaminy for the 12th seed with good control of their destiny hosting co-leader Quakertown (7-0, 4-0) Friday. Quakertown won a tight one last year 19-7. A glance at their schedule shows this to be their toughest opponent to date while the Hawk’s have been battle tested by the aforementioned teams and a good Central Bucks East (5-2) team. This should be one of the most competitive games of the weekend.
17. Wyoming Valley West 7-0. The Spartans completed their second consecutive shutout blanking Crestwood 33-0. This one wasn’t as easy as the score suggests with Valley West holding a narrow 7-0 halftime lead in a fierce defensive battle. With Crestwood only able to gain 92 yards of offense, the weight of the Spartan attack soon took its toll with 26 second half points to seal the deal. They currently hold the 2nd seed in the D-2/4/11 playoffs that on the surface looks good. But, this year’s field is a highly competitive group meaning their 2 seed will likely draw a dangerous Easton, Stroudsburg or Nazareth team. A home game this week against Hazelton (3-4) should get them a step closer to an undefeated season with road trips to Scranton (4-2) and Williamsport (4-3) remaining.
18. Central Bucks East 5-2. Here’s another good story this year and a mild surprise in the SOL-Continental being a very tough out and competitor for conference honors. At 2-2 it’s an uphill battle but Quakertown or CR South will lose this weekend making things tighter. Incidentally, Council Rock North is still very much in the race at 3-1 (4-3 overall) making the Continental a highly competitive race. Back to East; with a 2-1 road record, an overtime 16-10 win at Pennridge and a close call loss to CR South 32-26, we’re talking about a legitimate team here. They’re at Truman (2-5) Friday who is reeling with four straight losses by a cumulative score of 153 to 30.
19. Pennridge 4-3. Here’s another tough out with the Rams giving just about everyone fits with tight losses to Central Bucks East in ot, and Pennsbury last week 38-32. Only North Penn handled them, winning 31-7. If they have anything left after last week’s all-out, they could run the table, defeating Central Bucks South (3-4), Souderton (3-4) and Bensalem (0-7). As always, CB South is often a tough nut to crack, especially at home. They usually score a lot of points, averaging 30 per game through last week. After that comes Souderton who is an overtime loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh in the opener away from a perfect slate at home. None of these games will be easy.
20. Neshaminy 5-2.The Redskins are sitting right about where they want to be given their two losses and conference record of 3-1 behind co-leaders Pennsbury and North Penn, both 4-0. They’ve won all their road games (4-0) which bodes well with North Penn and Pennsbury lurking downline, but last week set them up for a good finish beating Souderton 21-10. The week before that they beat Central Bucks South 21-14 on the road. While these aren’t overwhelming wins, they are wins and that’s all that matters at this point. In point of fact and while they are not a flashy team, they are a solid team with size and skill on both sides of the line. Quarterback Mason Jones (6-2, 180), only a junior, is getting it down, completing 56 of 106 passes for 798 yards. He’s complimented by receivers with size in Zach Tredway (6-3, 180, jr) with 22 receptions for 384 yards and Denzel Hughes (6-2, 180, sr) with 18 catches for 242 yards. Running back Will Dogba (154 vs Souderton) is a workhorse with 211 carries for 1065 yards. Winless Bensalem is next followed by those road trips to Lansdale and Fairless Hills.
Honorable Mention
Stroudsburg 6-1, home to Bethlehem Catholic
Nazareth 5-2, at Whitehall
Hatboro Horsham 4-3, home to Plymouth Whitemarsh
Unionville 5-2, home to Kennett
West Chester East 3-4, home to Sun Valley
Father Judge 5-2, at St. Joseph’s Prep
Northeast 7-0, at Edison
Franklin 6-1, at Roxborough
Garnet Valley 5-2, home to Marple Newtown
Upper Darby 6-1, at Strath Haven
Haverford 6-1, at Radnor
Ridley 5-2, at Penncrest
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