Pennsbury, Morrisville football fighting to make playoffs
Three teams are almost certainly in, three teams are out and three are on the bubble. That’s pretty much the outlook for the nine Lower Bucks County football teams in terms of making the playoffs.
As the regular season rapidly nears its conclusion, Neshaminy and Conwell-Egan have already assured themselves of a playoff spot. Barring a complete meltdown, the same holds true for Bristol.
Truman, Council Rock North and Council Rock South will not be playing in the second season, while Pennsbury, Bensalem and Morrisville still have playoff aspirations.
Bensalem currently sits 17th and will be a big underdog against Neshaminy, but the Owls will have a good shot at finishing up with wins against Council Rock North and Truman. This would give the Owls six wins and as quite possibly their first ever playoff berth.
As for Pennsbury, it must win at Council Rock South this week and then faces virtually a must-win game against Abington. The reason it will be a game the Falcons have to win is because their last game is against Neshaminy.
Finally, Morrisvillle currently sits third out of three teams in Class A. But keep in mind the Dawgs do have games remaining against the two teams (Jenkintown and Delco Christian) who are above them.
Pennsbury (4-3) at Council Rock South (1-5), Friday night, 7 p.m.
Pennsbury has won two games in a row and should be able to make it three. Although Pennsbury’s offense is still inconsistent, it has gotten a little better. Rock South is struggling. After a near miss against Abington, the Golden Hawks have sort of gone backwards and were shut out on their home field against Bensalem last week. What Pennsbury really needs heading into Abington is to show it can play well on both sides of the ball for four quarters.
Neshaminy (7-0) at Bensalem (4-3), Friday night, 7 p.m.
The Owls rebounded from the double overtime loss to Pennsbury with a solid 21-0 win over Rock South. Obviously, its defense looked good and perhaps it can make some headway against Neshaminy with its power running game. The Redskins, however, are cooking. Last week they were supposed to face a test against a C.B. South team that came to Heartbreak Ridge with one loss. Instead, Neshaminy crushed the Warrington team.
Delco Christian (2-4), at Bristol (3-2), Friday night, 7 p.m.
Following a week off, the Warriors should be able to resume their season in style. Among the common opponents are Jenkintown, which beat Delco Christian,12-0, and lost to Bristol 26-0. Delco Christian also had a competitive game with George, which Bristol ran off the field. This could be headed for the mercy rule.
Cardinal O’Hara (6-0) vs. Conwell-Egan (5-1), Friday night, 7 p.m. at Truman
With just one loss between them and similar scores against the opposition, this is arguably the game of the night. Something clearly has to give here. Both teams have shut out their last two opponents. Cardinal O’Hara, has given up only 26 points in six games all year. This will be the biggest test yet for the Eagles on offense, but you could say the same holds true in reverse. They cannot play again because O’Hara is a 4A and Conwell-Egan is a 3A.
New Hope-Solebury (5-1) at Morrisville (2-4), Friday night, 7 p.m.
Although its 2-4 record might not look like much, there’s been a very positive development with the Dawgies. Namely, their defense, which has yielded just 34 points in its last five games. Mo’ville also got a big game last week from Braeden Alward, who scored two TDs against Nativity BVM. The problem, of course, is New Hope-Solebury represents a big step up in terms of the teams Mo’ville has played. This point was earlier driven home when New Hope beat Bristol in the game of the year in the BAL.
Truman (2-5) at Abington (4-3), Friday night, 7 p.m.
Truman battled hard against Pennsbury last week, but still fell to 2-5 after its standout quarterback Jordan Freeman was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury. This is not the type of defense to face when you are trying to get your offense untracked. Abington held Neshaminy to 21 points and lost to C.B. South by Plymouth-Whitemarsh by just a touchdown in low-scoring affairs. The Ghosts can also smell a playoff berth.
Central Bucks East (5-2) at Council Rock North (1-5), Saturday, 7 p.m.
It just doesn’t get any easier for the Indians. C.B. East’s only losses are to C.B. South and North Penn, and its defense held its own against both of those opponents. Rock North has been more competitive in its last three games, but line play remains a problem on both sides of the ball.
PIAA Power Points
CLASS AAAAAA
- North Penn (7-0) 1290; 2. Neshaminy (7-0) 1190; 3. Periomen Valley (7-0) 1170; 4. Ridley (6-1) 1080; 5. Coatesville (6-1) 1020; 6. Central Bucks South, 5-2) 990’; 7. Downingtown (East (5-2) 970; 8. Central Bucks East (5-2) , Plymouth-Whitemarsh (6-1) 970; each; 10. Spring-Ford (5-2), Penn Wood (6-1), Pennridge (4-3) 860 each; 13. Haverford (5-2), Garnet Valley (5-2) 840 each; 15. Souderton (4-3) 820; 16. Abington (4-3) 790; 17. Bensalem (4-3), C.B West (430), 780 each; 19. Pennsbury (4-3) 750; 26. Truman (2-5) 520; 28. Council Rock North (1-5) 420; 30. Council Rock South (1-6) 400.
CLASS AAA
- Kipp DuBois (6-1) 1040; 2. Conwell-Egan (5-1) 820; 3. DelVal Charter (5-2) 940; 4. New Hope (5-1) 760;
CLASS AA
- Bristol (3-2) 640; 2. West Catholic (3-4) 690; 3. Bishop McDevitt (2-4) 540; 4. Strawberry Mansion (2-4) 530.
Class A
- Jenkintown (3-2) 570; 2. Delco Christian (2-4) 510; 3. Morrisville (2-4) 420.
Contact Rick Fortenbaugh at rfortenbaugh@trentonian.com, or @RickFort7 on Twitter
