BUCKS FOOTBALL ADVANCE: Pennsbury at Truman highlights intriguing slate

Something has to give Friday with a pair of games between four teams that are all 5-1, highlighting what should be an interesting night of football in Bucks County.

In one of the more anticipated games in years, Pennsbury will travel to Truman. Neshaminy, meanwhile, faces a big road test at Central Bucks South.

There are several reasons football fans have been looking forward to the Pennsbury-Truman game.

At the forefront is the fact most of the Truman staff was coaching at Pennsbury just a couple of years ago. This includes former Pennsbury head coach and current Truman defensive coordinator Galen Snyder along with current Tiger head coach Mike LaPalombara, who previously was Pennsbury’s offensive line coach.

Adding to the intrigue is Truman is currently running the Wing-T, which churned out all kinds of yardage and victories at Pennsbury where it was well known as the “Ground and Pound’’ and resulted in two district titles.

Finally, both teams are enjoying successful seasons and seem destined to make the playoffs.

A Truman win would all but assure the school’s first playoff berth. A perennial playoff qualifier, Pennsbury is looking to return to district play after missing out last year in a rare down season.

Pennsbury (5-1) at Truman (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m. >> It’s still a little hard to get a complete reading on Truman. Is it the team that has crushed five opponents or the team that was smashed by Neshaminy, 56-7? As is usually the case, it’s probably somewhere in between. Truman’s victories did not exactly come against a bunch of heavyweights, but nor is it 49 points inferior to Neshaminy. Along with Neshaminy, Pennsbury is clearly the toughest team on the Tiger schedule. The Falcons are strong on both sides of the ball and although they have not put up Truman’s offensive numbers, they have shown the ability to complete big touchdown passes with senior quarterback Zach Demarchis having an excellent year. There’s nothing Truman would enjoy more than ending years of misery against its neighbor, so you can be sure it will be up for the supreme effort. It’s all about the lines. Pennsbury is formidable up front on both sides of the ball, and it will be up to the Tiger linemen to hold their own, especially when they have the ball.

Neshaminy (5-1) at Central Bucks South (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m. >> The Redskins are coming off a wild 33-28 win over Abington in which to most everyone’s surprise they were forced to pull it out at the end. C.B. South, meanwhile, is coming off its first loss in a game that was a bit of a surprise. It wasn’t the fact it lost to North Penn that raised some eyebrows, but rather the way it was destroyed, 40-9, after giving up more than one touchdown in only one of its five wins. Obviously, the winner is going to pick up mega power points. For what it’s worth, C.B. South did rip Abington, 34-6, in the first week of the season, but something tells us the Titans were exposed a bit last week.

Morrisville (3-3) at Jenkintown (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m. >> This could go either way. Both teams have beaten Lower Moreland by similar margins. Jenkintown also lost by the score of 29-20 to Delco Christian, which Morrisville beat, 20-13. A Dawgie win would be huge in terms of its playoff chances in District 1 Class A as they are battling it out with the Drakes and Delco Christian for the two berths.

Valley Forge (0-6) at Bristol (4-1), Friday, 7 p.m. >> The Warrior offense was back in fine form last week with 41 points against Springfield-Montco, and you can expect more offensive fireworks Friday. Valley Forge is not good. In addition to being winless, it has given up a whopping 219 points in six games.

Council Rock North (1-5) at Abington (2-4), Friday, 7 p.m. >> The Ghosts played much better last week in their five-point loss to Neshaminy, but the bottom line is they have lost three in a row. This is a great opportunity to get back on track. Rock North has trouble dealing with speed, and Abington has plenty of it. Rock North should make some offensive headway, but it’s doubtful they will do enough.

Council Rock South (2-4) at Bensalem (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m. >> This is a huge game for both teams. Rock South really needs to win to think about at least a .500 season, while Bensalem sorely needs this to nail down the school’s first playoff berth. Bensalem needs to cut down on mistakes, which absolutely killed the Owls against Pennsbury last week. Ever since its blowout loss to Truman, Rock South has looked much better and did a good job scoring four touchdowns last week in a 35-28 loss to a Pennridge squad that is good at stopping the run.

Bishop McDevitt (4-2) at Conwell-Egan (2-4), Saturday, 7 p.m. >> Although the two teams do not yet have a common opponent and McDevitt has the better record, look for the Eagles to come through here. After a fast start, McDevitt has lost two in a row, including a setback last week against a 1-5 Bonner-Prendergast team. Conwell-Egan played a pretty good Lansdale Catholic team tough in a 10-point loss and would appear to have more offensive firepower.

PIAA Power Points

District 1

Class AAAAAA

1. Garnet Valley (6-0) 161; 2. Downingtown East (6-0) 158; 3. Central Bucks West (5-1) 145; 4. Neshaminy (5-1) 143; 5. North Penn (4-2) 153; 6. Pennsbury (5-1) 140; 7. Central Bucks South (5-1) 138; 8. Perkiomen Valley (5-1) 136; 9. Quakertown (5-1) 136; 10. Truman (5-1) 135; 11. Haverford (5-1) 133; 12. Coatesville (5-1) 131; 13. O.J. Roberts (5-1) 123; 14. Pennridge (4-2) 123; 15. Bensalem (4-1) 113; 16. Upper Darby (4-2) 111; 24. Council Rock South (4-2) 78; 28. Council Rock North (1-5) 60.

District 1/12

Class AAA

1. School of the Future (4-0) 117; 2. New Hope (5-1) 105; 3. Kipp DuBois (2-4) 91; 4. Lansdale Catholic (2-3) 86; 5. Conwell-Egan (2-4) 75.

Class AA

1. Neumann-Goretti (4-0) 200; 2. Bristol (4-1) 144; 3. 2. Bishop McDevitt (4-2) 141; 4 Strawberry Mansion (4-2) 140; 5. West Catholic (3-32) 116.

Class A

1. Delco Christian (3-2) 133; 2. Jenkintown (3-2) 118;3. Morrisville (3-3) 101.