BUCKS FOOTBALL ADVANCE: Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Truman, Bensalem looking to improve playoff position
As these things go, it’s a fairly uneventful week in the Suburban One National League with not a lot intriguing football games on tap.
The one possible exception is the Pennsbury at Bensalem game, although Bensalem’s undefeated start came to an abrupt end Saturday night when it got blitzed by Central Bucks West, 41-21.
This came after Truman’s unbeaten run to start the season also came to a dramatic halt after it got ripped by Neshaminy, 56-7, earlier in the day.
Following last week’s play it left Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Truman and Bensalem all with 4-1 records. As demonstrated last year after the state added two more classifications, six wins will probably get a team into the District 1 Class 6A playoffs.
Although with the exception of the Truman-Neshaminy game all of these teams still have to play each other, there’s a very good chance all four of them can get to six wins before the regular season is finished. Rock South is also not out of the picture at 2-3 following its victory over Abington.
Pennsbury (4-1) at Bensalem (4-1), tonight, 7 p.m. >> The Owls continued to put up points last week, but their defense was exposed by C.B. West. That’s not good against a Pennsbury team that is strong on both sides of the ball and showed balance on offense Saturday in avenging its first loss against Council Rock North since 1999. The favorite target for quarterback Zach Demarchis, Falcon wide out David Burke is having an excellent season.
Neshaminy (4-1) at Abington (2-3), tonight, 7 p.m. >> The Redskins made an emphatic statement against Truman and there’s no reason to think they might stumble here. Abington is reeling and having trouble on defense. You certainly can’t knock Neshaminy’s schedule because next week it’s headed to undefeated Central Bucks South.
Pennridge (3-2) at Council Rock South (2-3), tonight, 7 p.m. >> Rock South posted an important 28-14 victory over Abington in a game in which its offense came to life. This will be a real challenge for the Hawk defense. Pennridge is the only team to beat Perkiomen Valley and it just put 35 points on the board in a loss to North Penn. As shown against Neshaminy, Pennridge is also strong against the run, meaning Rock South is going to have hit some passes to loosen up the Ram defense.
Truman (4-1) at Council Rock North (1-4), tonight, 7 p.m. >> This is the wrong time for outmanned Rock North to play the Tigers after they were handed an emphatic reality check by Neshaminy. Mike Welde is a hard-nosed runner, but the Indians lack over-all speed and this could turn into a Tiger track meet.
Lower Moreland (0-3) at Morrisville (3-2), tonight, 7 p.m. >> The Dawgs’ three-game winning streak ended in a lopsided loss in Maryland, but here’s a good opportunity to get rolling again. Lower Moreland just lost by the score of 38-24 to Delco Christian, which Morrisville beat the week before, 20-14.
Springfield-Montco (2-2) at Bristol (3-1), tonight, 7 p.m. >> The visitors have won two in a row, but the two teams they beat are a combined 0-8. Much will depend on how banged up the Warriors are heading into the game. Among those who missed last week’s game against the Academy of Palumbo was senior running back Eric Bell.
Lansdale Catholic (1-3) at Conwell-Egan (2-3), tomorrow, 7 p.m. >> After ending a three-game losing streak, the Eagles will face another difficult foe this week. Lansdale Catholic’s three losses were to quality teams in Penn Charter, Upper Dublin and West Catholic. In the loss to West Catholic last week it scored 28 points. The week before Conwell-Egan fell to West Catholic, 38-0.
PIAA Power Points
District 1
Class AAAAAA
1. Garnet Valley (5-0) 154; 2. Central Bucks South (5-0) 154; 3. Downingtown East (5-0) 148; 4. Haverford (5-0) 146; 5. Central Bucks West (4-1) 140; 6. Neshaminy (4-1) 134; 7. Perkiomen Valley (4-1) 128; 8. Pennsbury (4-1) 126; 9. Truman (4-1) 126; 10. Quakertown (4-1) 126; 11. North Penn (124) 3-2; 12. Coatesville (4-1) 124; 13. Bensalem (4-1) 122; 14. Owen J. Roberts (4-1) 114; 14. Pennridge (3-2) 110; 17. Downingtown West (3-2) 104.
District 1/ 12
Class AAA
1. School of the Future (3-0) 193; 2. New Hope (4-1) 98; 3. Kipp DuBois (2-3) 96; 4. Conwell-Egan (2-3) 86.
Class AA
1. Neumann-Goretti (3-0) 206; 2. Bishop McDevitt (4-1) 164; 3. West Catholic (4-2) 133; 4. Bristol (3-1) 132.5.
Class A
1. Jenkintown (2-1) 126; 2. Delco Christian 3-2) 90; 3. Morrisville (3-2) 90.
Contact Rick Fortenbaugh at rfortenbaugh@trentonian.com OR on Twitter @RickFort7
TOP PHOTO: Neshaminy quarterback Brody McAndrew scans the field for an open receiver during Saturday’s game against Truman. (John Blaine/ For The Trentonian)
