Times Herald Week 9 football preview capsules
UPPER MERION AT WISSAHICKON
TIME: Friday, 7 p.m., Wissahickon High School
RECORDS: Upper Merion is 2-6, 0-5 after losing to Springfield, 33-20. Wissahickon is 1-7, 0-5 after losing to Cheltenham, 30-14.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Upper Merion won, 14-7.
OUTLOOK: The Vikings saw a 20-14 halftime lead disappear a week ago in a loss to Springfield, while the Trojans got run over by the Panthers and their QB Branden Mack.
This week, the Vikings, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, need to establish a consistent way of moving the ball and have to keep the Trojans offense off the field.
Wissahickon, meanwhile, hasn’t tasted victory since Week One, and would love to sit at the banquet table one more time before season’s end.
NESHAMINY AT NORTH PENN
TIME: Friday, 7:30 p.m., North Penn High School
RECORDS: Neshaminy is 6-2, 4-1 after defeating Bensalem, 41-8. North Penn is 6-2, 5-0 after defeating Pennsbury, 27-20.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: North Penn won, 17-13.
OUTLOOK: In how many big games have these two programs clashed over the years?
This isn’t a huge, championship-type skirmish, although the Knights can clinch at least a share of the SOL National crown with a victory.
The Knights are balanced offensively with the emergence of QB Reece Udinski as a major passing threat, while Neshaminy still prefers the overland route behind the talents of RB Will Dogba and QB Mason Jones.
UPPER PERKIOMEN AT PERKIOMEN VALLEY
TIME: Friday, 7 p.m., Perkiomen Valley High School
RECORDS: Upper Perkiomen is 2-6, 2-5 after defeating Pope John Paul II, 38-10. Perkiomen Valley is 8-0, 7-0 after defeating Phoenixville, 42-0.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Perkiomen Valley won, 56-7.
OUTLOOK: The Vikings, in their final conference test before playing for the championship next week, meet an Indians team that tasted victory for only the second time this year one week ago. QB Zeke Hallman leads the UP offense with 897 passing yards, but has thrown a conference-worst nine interceptions.
PV has taken care of the ball all year and enjoy a plus-six turnover ratio.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH AT CHELTENHAM
TIME: Friday, 7 p.m., Cheltenham High School
RECORDS: Plymouth Whitemarsh is 6-2, 3-2 after defeating Hatboro-Horsham, 31-28. Cheltenham is 4-4, 3-2 after defeating Wissahickon, 30-14.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Plymouth Whitemarsh won, 29-0.
OUTLOOK: The Colonials took a huge step in continuing beyond the regular season by surprising Hatboro-Horsham last week, but still need to win out to make the playoffs a reality.
Meanwhile, the Panthers got some help for QB/RB Branden Mack last week when teammate Yasin Abdul-Haqq cracked the 100-yard mark on the ground while adding a touchdown.
We don’t get a vote when the coaches decide a league MVP, but if Nafeese Nasir of PW isn’t the SOL American MVP this year they shouldn’t give out the award.
HATBORO-HORSHAM AT UPPER DUBLIN
TIME: Friday, 7 p.m., Upper Dublin High School
RECORDS: Hatboro-Horsham is 4-4, 4-1 after losing to Plymouth Whitemarsh, 31-28. Upper Dublin is 8-0, 5-0 after defeating Upper Moreland, 35-7.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Upper Dublin won, 41-21.
OUTLOOK: The Cardinals are a win away from clinching another SOL American crown, but face stiff competition in the Hatters, who were nipped at the wire last week by PW, and likely won’t be in the friendliest of moods when they reach Cardinal Stadium.
A look at two of the SOL American’s top quarterbacks in UD’s Ryan Stover and H-H’s Casey Walsh.
Enjoy.
FATHER JUDGE AT LA SALLE
TIME: Friday, 7 p.m., Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
RECORDS: Father Judge is 5-3, 1-1 after losing to St. Joseph’s Prep, 35-13. La Salle is 4-3, 1-1 after defeating Roman Catholic, 49-14.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: La Salle won, 31-7.
OUTLOOK: Judge gave a Prep a run last week and trailed by only a point entering the final quarter.
But a pick-six turned the game around and what was a close game wound up looking like a blowout.
Judge has one of the top running backs in the city in Yeedee Thaenrat (111 carries, 742 yds.) and an improving passing game led by QB Rob King (54-for-128, 651 yds.)
The Explorers, after back-to-back losses to quality opposition, got back to their winning ways last week, but realize this won’t be an easy cruise past the Crusaders.
ARCHBISHOP WOOD AT ARCHBISHOP CARROLL
TIME: Friday, 7 p.m., Archbishop Carroll High School
RECORDS: Archbishop Wood is 8-0, 3-0 after defeating Bonner-Prendergast, 38-14. Archbishop Carroll is 2-6, 1-2 after losing to Lansdale Catholic, 21-0.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Archbishop Wood won, 43-0.
OUTLOOK: The Mismatch of the Week, Part One will be at Carroll Friday night when the multi-state champion Vikings, seeking their fourth state title in five years, hit the Carroll campus.
Wood is, once again, loaded to the gills with talent the Patriots can only dream of, headed by QB Anthony Russo (Rutgers).
Carroll will attempt to hang as long as it can, but would need everything to go right just to stay relatively close.
POPE JOHN PAUL II AT SPRING-FORD
TIME: Saturday, 1 p.m., Spring-Ford High School
RECORDS: Pope John Paul II is 0-7, 0-6 after losing to Upper Perkiomen, 38-10. Spring-Ford is 8-0, 7-0 after defeating Pottstown, 34-0.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Spring-Ford won, 56-0 .
OUTLOOK: Call this one, Mismatch of the Week, Part Two.
The Rams have already won one game this year by 82 points, can they top that against the Panthers?
We’ll see, but Spring-Ford isn’t known for its mercy.
PJP will be seeking to snap a two-year, 14-game losing streak, but would be best advised to aim for next week’s meeting with Methacton.
METHACTON AT POTTSTOWN
TIME: Saturday, 1 p.m., Pottstown High School
RECORDS: Methacton is 0-8, 0-7 after losing to Owen J. Roberts, 47-7. Pottstown is 6-2, 4-2 after losing to Spring-Ford, 34-0.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Methacton won, 56-12.
OUTLOOK: The Warriors, who feature all of 27 healthy bodies, look to find something positive as they limp toward the end of the season.
The Trojans, on the other hand, are enjoying their best year in quite some time, with a tried and true formula for success – a productive ground game, led by QB Brandon Tinson (114 carries, 782 yds.) and RB Bryant Wise (97 carries, 557 yds.) and a stingy defense that ranks fourth in the PAC.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH AT NORRISTOWN
TIME: Saturday, 1 p.m., Norristown High School
RECORDS: Council Rock South is 5-3, 4-1 after losing to Quakertown, 35-14. Norristown is 3-5, 1-4 after losing to William Tennent, 17-13 .
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Council Rock South won, 28-14.
OUTLOOK: Don’t let South’s rather pedestrian record fool you.
The Golden Hawks’ three losses have come to SOL heavyweights Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Quakertown — all by reasonable scores — and their first loss in conference was last week’s setback against Quakertown, which looks like it will roll to the SOL Continental title.
South features RB Brendan Patterson and a well-balanced offense that can give D-coordinators fits.
The Eagles, coming off a disappointing loss to William Tennent, need a little more consistency from their offense.
LANSDALE CATHOLIC AT NEUMANN-GORETTI
TIME: Saturday, 10:30 a.m., South Philadelphia Supersite
RECORDS: Lansdale Catholic is 6-2, 2-1 after defeating Archbishop Carroll, 21-0. Neumann-Goretti is 1-7, 0-3 after losing to Bishop McDevitt, 41-20.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Neumann-Goretti won twice, 20-14 (regular season) and 24-12 (playoffs).
OUTLOOK: The Crusaders, in a rare Saturday morning contest, face the Saints and QB Brandon Pridgen (76-for-175, 935 yds.), who leads the PCL by a wide margin in pass attempts.
LC best bring its best pass rush and pass defense this week.
The Crusaders need to take advantage of the Saints defense, which is yielding nearly 30 points per game this season.
MALVERN PREP AT GERMANTOWN ACADEMY
TIME: Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Germantown Academy
RECORDS: Malvern Prep is 5-2, 1-1 after losing to Haverford School, 31-14. Germantown Academy is 7-0, 2-0 after defeating Episcopal Academy, 27-24.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Malvern Prep won, 49-13.
OUTLOOK: Probably the biggest game GA has played in a decade, with a chance to close in on what would be a shocking Inter-Academic League title.
But that’s a tall order for the Patriots, who must find a way to contend with the Friars ground game, led by O’Shaan Allison (125 carries, 857 yds., 10 TDs) and the passing of QB Nick Maras (42-for-64, 594 yds., 7 TDs).
Meanwhile, GA QB Kyle McCloskey (83-for-162, 1,085 yds., 14 TDs) has been on fire of late.
