Now, football gets serious in Suburban One League
It’s the opening night of football in the Suburban One League (SOL) and there’s no doubt from a local standpoint what the feature game is this week.
Front and center Truman at Council Rock South in a game that could very well go a long way in determining how the Sub One Continental Conference will shake out.
Although the Suburban One National gains much of the attention in these parts because it includes Pennsbury and Neshaminy, the Continental is also a very competitive and quality league.
Defending champion Quakertown, William Tennent and Central Bucks East are all of to 3-0 starts. Truman, meanwhile, is 2-1 and looking to live up to its pre-season billing. Rock South is 1-2, but could easily be 3-0 after near misses against Pennsbury and Neshaminy.
In addition, both of Council Rock North’s losses were to very strong teams and Norristown (2-1) is only five points away from being undefeated.
Look for a lot of wars in the Continental and the team that wins the title will certainly have earned it.
Harry S. Truman (2-1) at Council Rock South (1-2), Friday night, 7 p.m. at CR North
Truman beat Bensalem, 21-7, last week after getting smoked by powerhouse Upper Dublin in game two. Rock South dropped a 27-25 heartbreaker at Neshaminy despite a monster 248 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns by Brendan Patterson. This should be a good one. Rock South is the bigger team, but Truman has the edge in the speed department. If Rock South’s offensive line makes it possible to limit Truman’s possessions, an important win should be in the works. Rock South is a playoff-caliber team, but it simply can’t afford three losses this early in the season.
Souderton (2-1) at Pennsbury (2-1), Friday night, 7 p.m.
Pennsbury looked like its old self last week by crushing Council Rock South, 41-19, in a game that wasn’t even remotely as close as the score would indicate. Souderton is also coming off a win, but a 21-14 victory over winless Central Bucks West is nothing to get excited about. This game won’t be on the schedule next year because of yet another league realignment. In the meantime, it’s hard to imagine Pennsbury not having its way with this team at Falcon Field.
Central Bucks South (1-2) at Bensalem (3-0), Friday night, 7 p.m.
CB South got off to good start, but has since fallen to Council Rock North and Central Bucks East. The one thing it has done pretty well is score points, which stands in stark contrast to what Bensalem has done in its three losses. The Owls did play Truman pretty tough last week, though, and there’s no reason to think they won’t improve as the season goes along. This is a good chance for Bensalem to get its offense going, but it’s still got a long way to go.
Calvary Christian (0-3) at Bristol (1-2), Friday night, 7 p.m.
The Warriors are coming off a loss at Kensington in which they arrived late for the game and got off to a very slow start. Calvary Christian is winless, but it has been fairly competitive in all three of those losses. Led by quarterback Josh Reichenbach, the son of the head coach and former Philadelphia Eagle player Mike Reichenbach, CC can throw the ball a bit. Look for Bristol’s running game to control the game, though.
Lower Moreland (0-3) at Morrisville (2-1), Monday, 7 p.m.
The Dawgs have been one of the pleasant surprises so far and there’s a good chance victory No. 3 is in the works this week after going winless all of last season. Lower Moreland is 0-3 and just got ripped by Pennington, 37-0. Lower Moreland has also been outscored 120-6. Morrsiville piled up 455 yards in total offense last week with Mike Sacco showing good passing accuracy and Zymer Williams running for over 100 yards.
Saunders Trades & Tech (2-1) at Conwell-Egan (2-1), Saturday, 2 p.m. at Truman
How this game got on the schedule is a bit of a mystery. Saunders is from Yonkers, N.Y., and only has seven games listed on its entire schedule. It does have two wins, but one wonders about the quality of its opposition. This is not the case for Conwell-Egan, which is coming off a 20-10 road loss at Upper Moreland. The Eagles had injury problems in this game and once again sputtered on offense with their only TD coming on a kickoff return.
Council Rock North (1-2) at Central Bucks East (3-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.
The teams have a common opponent with Rock North beating C.B. South, 36-29, and C.B. East coming off a 40-27 win over C.B. South last week. Rock North was not at all competitive against Pennsbury last Friday night, but was up against one of the best defenses in the entire district. A playoff qualifier the last two years, this is pretty much a must game for the Indians in terms of their post-season hopes.
Neshaminy (2-1) at Abington (0-3), Monday, 7 p.m.
Tim Sorber has had a lot of quality teams at Abington, but this doesn’t appear to be one of them. Not only are the Ghosts 0-3, but they have also been ripped for 99 points. Neshaminy moved into a commanding position to return to the playoffs after missing out last year by winning two of its first three games. With a balanced offense featuring quarterback Mason Jones and running back Will Dogba (153 yards, three TDs last week), here’s a great chance for Neshaminy to relax, have some fun and go into cruise control in the second half after three tough non-league games. The game is on Monday because of the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia.
Contact the author at rfortenbaugh@trentonian.com, or @RickFort7 on Twitter
