Continental stacked again in Suburban One League as North Penn, Neshaminy look to duplicate unbeaten marks
North Penn’s Ricky Johns tries to turn up field past Prep’s Ricky Goodson and Dejuan Dandridge Dec. 3, 2016. (Bob Raines–Digital First Media)
The Suburban One League Continental Conference once again is packed with playoff-caliber squads, including defending champion North Penn, which ran through the conference a perfect 6-0 last year. Amazingly, the Knights, Central Bucks South, Central Bucks East, Pennridge and Souderton Area all found their way to the postseason out of the stacked Continental last fall.
They may just find their way back yet again in 2017.
“We know North Penn’s gonna be good. CB South will be tough,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Hollenbach. “Souderton looked good in seven-on-sevens and they have some athletes.
“CB East, CB West, Tennent — you know they’ll be a handful.”
For the defending champion Knights, ranked No. 3 in the PA Prep Live preseason Top 20, Norristown quarterback Steve DePaul, a rising junior, transferred in and is stepping in for Reece Udinski, who had a record-setting season last year as a senior.
Khan Jamal transferred in from Plymouth-Whitemarsh and he’ll be one of the running backs for the Knights and will start at linebacker. The North Penn secondary is strong and led by Justis Henley. Owen Thomas, a verbal commit to Villanova, is a stabilizing force at linebacker.
”Well, like every year, expectations are high,” Knights coach Dick Beck said. “The kids, they put a lot of time into it. It’s not a ‘show up in August’ kind of thing.
“This has been going on since January. We have a very good group — like we did last year — of guys that love to play, like to make the commitment and put the time in. And it helps that they have ability. They’re fast and tough and smart and strong. And I think that’s what’s going to give us the edge, but we’ll see.”
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An American crowd
Last year in the Suburban One League American Conference, both Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin battled to 6-1 finishes and a share of the conference crown.
This year, it may be even more crowded at the top.
“It’s good football from top to bottom,” said Quakertown coach George Banas, who has guided his team to the playoffs in two of the past three seasons. “I really think Hatboro’s gonna do well. They have a lot of skill kids and Mike (Kapusta) will have them coached up well.
“I know he said there wasn’t a ton of numbers down there but I told him, I said he’s got the right 22,” Banas said with a smile. “So that’s all that matters. I look at them as being a front runner for the conference. PW and Upper Dublin are always extremely tough. Upper Moreland is right there. Cheltenham’s a wild card with a new coach. It’s interesting, it really is.”
Hatboro-Horsham, with a sensational group of backs and an experienced, double threat under center, is pushing to improve even further on its 5-2 conference mark of a year ago.
“I think that we have some questions to fill as far as the offensive line goes,” Kapusta said. “We only have one returning starter and a couple guys that got playing time last year as back-ups are looking to step up into roles.
“We’re moving the tight end from last year to guard so we’ll have a new tight end. So a lot of those blockers up front are new, so until you have them tested on a Friday night, you’re not really sure what you’re gonna get. But from the looks of things, I think we’re gonna be pretty solid up front.”
Along with some promising targets downfield.
“The receivers are new, but the receivers had a heck of a summer,” Kapusta said. “Again, they’re untested, but they get a couple Friday nights under their belts and we’ll see what happens. But right now it looks like they’re gonna be affective players for us.”
Hatboro-Horsham has a heavy dose of speed coming out of the backfield.
Of his running back group, Kapusta described them as: “Fast, strong, slashers. We’re not gonna be cutting back or bouncing outside and all of that. We’re down hill, one, two-cut type runners. Go right at people.”
Quakertown also went 5-2 in the American last year and is a much more experienced group this fall.
“We lost four starters on both sides of the ball. So a lot of people got plenty of playing time last year,” Banas said. “We really grew towards the end of last season and made a pretty good run.”
Ryan Nase takes over the coaching duties at Cheltenham, making his introduction to the SOL.
“I’m new to Suburban One and District One — I’ve been a District 12 and Inter-AC guy really my whole life,” said Nase, who was an assistant at Penn Charter the past four seasons. “I have had the opportunity to see teams play similar opponents and of the areas where I think we’re not quite there yet is I don’t think we have the numbers and the depth of a lot of teams we’re gonna play.”
Unique venues
Abington’s only loss in the National last year came to unbeaten Neshaminy. The Ghosts and Skins, ranked No. 12 in the PA Prep Live preseason Top 20, are set for another showdown this fall in a loaded conference.
“It’s anybody’s game at this point,” Abington coach Kevin Conlin said. “There are so many good coaches. There are so many good players. You always have Neshaminy and Pennsbury but Council Rock South is gonna run downhill. They have a great running back coming back and a tough offense.
“Bensalem probably has the best quarterback coming back (Drasaun Moore) — they look fantastic, running their triple option and that kind of stuff. Truman has a whole new system put in place with a whole new coaching staff so they look great from what I’m hearing. It’s anybody’s game right now. We know we’re in for a dogfight, which is what I love. It’s why I came back to coaching.”
And he’s at just the right place.
“People are like, ‘Wouldn’t you rather be in another league?’ And I’m like ‘No. I get excited when we go to Pennsbury and Neshaminy,’” Conlin said. “And Truman and Bensalem. Because those teams are really good and it’s really good to get involved with those teams. Those are the most fun places to play.”
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