District 1 6A East Semifinal Preview: #5 CB South @ #1 CB West
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Michael Pietrangelo | November 16, 2023
The Who:
#5 Central Bucks South Titans @ #1 Central Bucks West Bucks
The What:
Mayhem’s Game of the Week
The When:
Friday, November 17, 2023
Kickoff: 7 pm
The Where:
375 West Court Street Doylestown, Pa 18901
Last 3 meetings: (*Playoffs)
10/20/23- CB South 29 @ CB West 40
10/21/22- CB West 14 @ CB South 27
9/03/21- CB South 20 @ CB West 28
The Team Deets:
Head Coach: Rob Rowan (6th Season)
League: Suburban One-National Conference(6A)
Last Season: (9-5) Overall (5-2) Conference
This Season: (12-0) overall (7-0) Conference
Last Week: Won, 28-27 over #8 Garnet Valley
Buck’s Notables: The Bucks got it done in round two with their nail-biting overtime victory 28-27 over #8 seed Garnet Valley who they also beat in week one of the regular season 17-13. In the victory senior quarterback Cooper Taylor was a one-man wrecking crew. He rushed for 190 yards with 4 scores, had a key interception on defense, and blocked a PAT in overtime to help secure his team’s victory. Senior running back Ryan Clemens rushed for 147 yards and was a perfect 4/4 on PATs. The Buck’s offensive line, which is comprised of Senior Hayden Mulligan, Junior Finn McGowan, Junior Christian Pudlo, Junior Cole Patterson, and sophomore Gio Pellegrino continues to pave the way for the Bucks’ dominant rushing attack. The Bucks are averaging 30.8 points per game on offense while only yielding an average of 11.6 points per game. The Bucks dispatched the Titans in week nine 40-29 behind a 318-yard rushing effort. The only difference in this matchup is the absence of West’s Conor McFadden to a torn ACL, who rushed 8 times for 111 yards & two scores. I chatted with Senior Offensive & Defensive linemen Hayden Mulligan about the upcoming game. My first question was simple. I wanted to know if the win over the Titans in week nine added some confidence in his team or added pressure. he simply replied, “I don’t think it’s going to change how we play or prepare it’s the playoffs so it’s a new season to us.” My next questioned revolved around the opposing quarterback Owen Pinkerton who put up over 300 yards & 4. scores in the loss. I wanted to know what the plan was for them to limit the big plays from the junior QB. He confidently replied, “We just have to play our game and limit there big plays.” My second to last question was what a win would mean for him and his guys. He said, “Winning would be amazing we have been through a lot this year and I just wanna do it for everyone that can’t play. And also showing that we can run it back from last year.” My final question is one that I love asking to all the student-athletes i speak with. What’s your greatest football memory? Hayden replied with a smile, “My greatest memory has to be our second game against East last year in the first round of the playoffs it was just an electric game.”
Head Coach: Tom Hetrick (10th Season)
League: Suburban One-Continental National(6A)
Last season: (7-4) Overall (4-3) Conference
This Season: (11-1) overall (6-1) Conference
Last Week: Won, 35-19 over #4 Spring Ford
Titan’s Notables: The Titans are on a three-game winning streak since their week nine loss to the undefeated Bucks. In round two the Titans took care of business when they handed number four seed Spring-Ford a 35-19 loss. South rushed for 353 yards & four scores. Senior running back Anthony Leonardi paced the Titan backfield with 141 yards followed by senior Corey Moore who had 123 yards & 3 TDs. Quarterback, junior Owen Pinkerton added 89 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball senior Adam Oscar, junior Jim Wade, and senior Sean Moskowitz led the team in total tackles with six a piece. Wade had three TFLs and Moskowitz had one TFL. Jack Mauz had a fumble recovery and touchdown on the opening kickoff. In week nine, despite all that was thrown at him, junior Owen Pinkerton threw for 104 yards & two touchdowns. He also ran for 218 yards & two more scores. Leonardi rushed for 118 yards and caught a 58-yard pass for a touchdown. The Titans are averaging 33.3 points per game and are yielding 13.1 per game to opposing offenses. I spoke with head coach Tom Hetrick earlier in the week and had a few questions. First, I wanted to know if the Bucks being a rival and the fact that they beat them earlier in the season created extra motivation or pressure for him and his squad. He responded, “West is a great team. That was definitely a tough loss in week 9. There is a good, healthy rivalry between our two schools.” Hetrick continued, “At this point in the season, I’m not sure who your opponent is matters when it comes to motivation. Making it to the District 1 semi-finals with a chance to make it to the Finals is a great motivator. There are a lot of great football programs in District 1. I’m proud of what my guys have done this season to make it this far. The only pressure we focus on is the pressure to execute our game plan.” My next question revolved more around the outcome of their last meeting and how they planned on limiting the Bucks success. Tom replied, “They have some dynamic players. They are well coached and they execute very efficiently. At the end of the day, playing good defense against anybody involves getting lined up, reacting to what you see, putting your feet on someone and tackling. We have to do those things consistently Friday night.” My final question was simple, What would a win mean for you and your program? Tom responded,“This is the furthest a South team has made it into the District playoffs in our 20 seasons. There are a lot of great football programs around here with long histories of success. Making it through that gauntlet to the District 1 Finals for the first time would certainly be a great achievement.” I also sat down with Senior Offensive linemen and Monmouth Commit Collin Goetter. For my first question I pried a bit and tried to find out if the week nin loss had any effects on this week. Collin responded, “I think it’s business as usual, but We’re looking forward to the rematch.” Sticking with the last game theme I then asked him on what the defense needed to do to stop the Bucks from repeating their prior performance. Collin said, “I think our defense will need to do what we’ve done all season and spend the week obsessing on the game plan and techniques, and being prepared.” Being that the team has never made it this far I then asked what a win would feel like. Collin replied, “A win for our team, would mean a lot just from the fact that this is a legacy game farthest south has ever been, along with earning another week of play and practice.” I ended the chat on a lighter note and asked him to recall his fondest football memory and his response was as expected. He thought momentarily and said, “My greatest football memory on the football field would have to be the win against Coatesville this year or the win against Spring-ford last week as we just controlled the whole game with ground and pound.”
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