Mayhem’s Game of the Week

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

Michael Pietrangelo | September 22, 2022

The Game:
Pennridge Rams @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Friday, September 23, 2022
Kickoff: 7pm @ Patriot Stadium
2804 Holicong Rd, Doylestown, PA 18902

The Details:
Pennridge Rams
Head Coach: Chuck Burgy (1st Season as HC)
Last Season: (8-5) overall (6-2) Conference
League: Suburban One-National Conference (6A)
This Season: (2-2) overall (1-0) Conference
Last Week: Beat Abington 34-0

Rams Notables: The Rams are riding a 2-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 69-0 in that span. Overall, this season they have outscored the opposing team 104-55. Head Coach Chuck Burgy and his Rams seem to be catching steam as they charge into Patriot stadium this Friday night. The boys upfront in the trenches have been aggressive and have been paving the way for their running backs who feature one of the premiere backs in Suburban One League, Brennan Fisher who is committed to Army West Point, has carried the rock 67 times for 577 yards (8.6 yds per carry) and 7 touchdowns. I caught up with Brennan this week and we discussed what was key for his team to be victorious, especially with the Patriots being undefeated and this is what he had to say, “So it’s no question CB East is a very good and well coached team I’ve seen the film, but nothing shows that we can’t beat them. Our offense definitely needs to step it up and fix the little things this week including myself. We made some mistakes last week that against a team like this will give them momentum. If we can play the way I know we can play from the second, we get the ball until the clock runs out there’s no reason, we won’t be onto 400+ yards.” While the offense has been dominant let’s not forget the defensive side of the ball. The rams are yielding an average of only 13.7 points per contest and over the last two weeks haven’t given up any. Fisher added, “Defensively it’s been 2 games with no scores whatever there doing out there hopefully they continue to do. It’s no question they have a good offense and a good running back. If they stop that which they’ve been preparing for since Monday it will be a great night for us.”

Central Bucks East Patriots
Head Coach: John Donnelly (12th Season)
Last Season: (6-5) overall (4-3) Conference
League: Suburban One-National Conference (6A)
This Season: (4-0) overall (1-0) Conference
Last Week: Beat CB South 21-7

Patriots Notables: The Patriots dealt with injuries last season which resulted in a 6-5 campaign overall and a 4-3 finish in the conference. Last season the Rams came out victorious 17-7. Fast forward to today and they are boasting a 4-0 record overall and 1-0 in the conference heading into Friday night’s battle at Patriot Stadium. The Patriots potent offense has accounted for 131 points in 4 games and their defense has only given up 41 points. That’s an astonishing 32.75 points per game for the offense while only allowing 10.25 points per game on defense. Let us not forget the big fellas up front but lead back Ethan Shine is a big reason why the offense has been so effective. The bruising back has accounted for 753 yards on 85 carries and 12 TDs. For those of you following along at home, that’s a menacing average of 8.9 yards per carry. While I was speaking with Ethan earlier, I asked him what the keys to victory were this week as his team prepares to defend their undefeated record at home and he said, “We just got to play how we’ve been playing this whole year. Play hard defense and allow minimal points the whole game. We’ve dominated in our first four games so far, we just gotta keep going with that same intensity.”

Mayhem’s Prediction: This one is tough for me. Don’t let the records fool you for either team. I could see Pennridge controlling the game with a dominant running attack that has been known to wear teams down, that is if the East defense allows it to get rolling. I could also see Ethan Shine running all over the place like he has thus far because nobody has had an answer for him but expect the Rams to have prepared mightily. The difference in this contest could come down to which teams passing game has the advantage and which QB can thread the needle. Patrick Keller has an arm and has completed 67% of his passes for 522 yards & 7 TDs but Pennridge has a solid secondary that doesn’t give up much through the air. Patrick Burdick for Pennridge hasn’t had to throw the ball nearly as much but the last game I was in attendance saw him complete  6 of 9 for 91 yards  & 1 TD so I know he can throw if needed. In my opinion home field advantage takes it this week. Pennridge 20 CB East 21

* I want to thank Kim Supko for supplying the action shots of both players. Please stop by her website to see all the wonderful moments she captures. https://kimsupkophotography.smugmug.com/

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