BUCKS FOOTBALL ADVANCE: Crunch time for SONL clubs like Pennsbury, Neshaminy

With the Lower Bucks County football regular season now in the home stretch, it’s looking more and more like yet another in a very long line of monster showdowns between long-time rivals Pennsbury and Neshaminy is in the works.

Following last week’s action, both teams remain with just one loss and barring an upset, they will both take 8-1 records into their annual regular-season finale at Falcon Field.

Should that happen, it will be winner take all for the Suburban One National League title because both of their losses were in out-of-conference play.

At this point, it appears Pennsbury might have the slightly more difficult task of getting to 8-1.

First, it must take on a Council Rock South squad on Friday that has a somewhat deceiving 3-4 record in that it has played a lot of people tough. Pennsbury will then play an away game at Abington, which gave Neshaminy all it could handle two weeks ago.

Neshaminy, meanwhile, has Bensalem on Heartbreak Ridge before heading to Council Rock South.

In addition to the league title, of course, what will probably also be at stake between Pennsbury and Neshaminy is a very high seed in the playoffs.

Neshaminy sits third on the chart and Pennsbury is fourth. If your power points are in the top four of the 16-team bracket, you are guaranteed at least two home games if you win your opener.

Council Rock South (3-4) at Pennsbury (6-1), tonight, 7 p.m. >> Following its 47-32 win over Truman in which quarterback Zach Demarchis ran for five touchdowns and passed for another, Pennsbury has clearly established it has one of the most potent offenses in the district. Still, the Falcons had better not take Vince Bedesem’s team lightly. The Rock South option offense has come around and when it’s working it can chew up much of the clock. The Falcons are a clear favorite, but this is far from automatic.

Bensalem (4-3) at Neshaminy (6-1), tonight, 7 p.m. >> Although the Owls have lost three in a row, they are still very much in the playoff hunt because they will be favored against Rock North next week before taking on Truman. Should it win both of those games it will have six wins and could very well quality. Bensalem currently sits 19th on the chart. Ranked No. 2 in The Trentonian’s Large School ratings behind Pennsbury, Neshaminy is coming off yet another dramatic win in which it scored with :17 remaining on a fourth-down play before beating Central Bucks South (5-2) in overtime. Bensalem has some offensive weapons, but its defense is really starting to struggle.

Jenkintown (4-2) at Bristol (5-1), tonight, 7 p.m. >> John Greiner’s team is on a roll and there’s no reason to think it’s going to stop here. Jenkintown is coming off a win over Morrisville, which has a bye this week. Bristol has scored 91 points in the last two weeks and after scoring a 50-6 victory over Valley Forge in which Eric Bell ran for 187 yards on 13 carries and scored four touchdowns.

Conwell-Egan (3-4) at Cardinal O’Hara (5-1), tonight, 7 p.m. >> The Eagles looked good on both sides of the ball last week in a 30-3 win over Bishop McDevitt, but face a very difficult task here. O’Hara just crushed Lansdale Catholic, 31-0. The week before, Lansdale Catholic beat Conwell-Egan, 31-21, though the Eagles practically gift-wrapped a Crusaders win with five fumbles, three of which came in the second half. You do the math.

Truman (5-2) at Abington (3-4) 7 p.m., tomorrow, 7 p.m. >> Despite its loss to Pennsbury, Truman still has an excellent shot to make the playoffs for the first time with games against Souderton and Bensalem rounding out the schedule. As Pennsbury found out, Truman is scary on offense and capable of a long-distance play at any moment. This should be a fun game to watch because a high-scoring shootout would appear to be in the works.

Council Rock North (1-6) at Central Bucks East (3-4), tomorrow, 1 p.m. — A loser of six in a row, Rock North will again have its hands full. Last week, the Patriots put 43 points on the board in a loss to surging North Penn, which pulverized Central Bucks South, 40-7, just the week before. The plain truth of the matter is there just aren’t very many easy pickings in District 1 Class AAAAAA football.

PIAA District 1 Power Points

Class AAAAAA (16 teams qualify)

1. Garnet Valley (6-0) 167; 2. Downingtown East (7-0) 154; 3. Neshaminy (6-1) 152; 4. Pennsbury (6-1) 151; 5. North Penn (5-2) 151; 6. Perkiomen Valley (6-1) 158; 7. Pennridge (5-2) 141; 8. Quakertown (6-1) 138; 9. Central Bucks West (5-2) 137; 10. Haverford (6-1) 135; 11. Coatesville (5-2) 135;; 12. Central Bucks South (5-2) 134; 13. Truman (5-2) 132; 14. Upper Darby (5-2) 128; 15. Owen J. Roberts (5-2) 117; 16. Penn Wood (5-2) 108; 19. Bensalem (4-3); 23. Council Rock South (3-4); 31. Council Rock North (1-6).

District 1/12 Class AAA

1. School of the Future (5-0) 184; 2. New Hope (6-1) 1175; 3. Kipp DuBois (3-4) 110; 4. Conwell-Egan (3-4) 91.

District 1/12 Class AA

1. Neumann-Goretti (5-0) 204; 2. Strawberry Mansion (5-2) 150; 3. Bristol (5-1) 148; 4. West Catholic (4-3) 131.

District 1/12 Class A

1. Jenkintown (4-2) 131; 2. Delco Christian (4-3) 125; 3. Morrisville (3-4) 95.