District One-6A Playoff Preview: Semifinals
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Michael Pietrangelo | November 14, 2024
Aye, we’ve completed another round of playoff football. The 6A quarterfinals saw number one seed Central Bucks South (12-0) blank number eight-seed Plymouth Whitemarsh 35-0. In our second game, number three seed North Penn (10-2) defeated the fifth-seeded Fords of Haverford (10-2) 29-21. Game three pitted number two seed Downingtown West (11-1) vs seven-seed Owen J. Roberts, and the Whippets won 41-7. Our final matchup saw a battle between the eleventh-seed Downingtown East Cougars (6-5-1) and three-seed Central Bucks West (10-2), where the Bucks won 35-21. Our semifinal matchups feature a unique scenario where not only are they from the same league, but three of four come from the Suburban One-National. “I think it’s pretty cool that three of the four teams left come out of the Suburban One League National (Conference),” said Titans head coach Tom Hetrick last Friday after his victory over PW. He added, “Maybe there is a better conference, a collection of seven or eight teams in Pennsylvania, but I think our conference is up there.” This week, my fellow writers Willie McGonigle, Marcus Sic, and I compiled the below information about our final four squads. Winners move on to the District One Championship.
The Matchups
#4 North Penn Knights @ #1 Central Bucks South Titans
#1 Central Bucks South (12-0, 7-0)
About the Titans: The reigning District One Champs remain undefeated and are looking to continue their success in the district and make a deep run into the State Playoffs. In round one, the Titans dispatched the Spring-Ford Rams 49-7. Last week, the Titans shut out the Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 35-0. Senior quarterback Owen Pinkerton led all rushers with 88 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Sophomore standout Braylen Cape carried the ball 12 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. He also hauled in a 60 yard touchdown pass on a fake punt. Senior Jim Wade, stepping in for injured Kaden Kube, handled the rock six times for 67 yards and a score. On the defensive side of the ball, Wade led all tacklers with six total tackles. Senior defensive end and prolific pass rusher Eddie Bowen had a double sack night, which brings his season total now ten. This Titan offense is currently averaging 32.3 points per game. The offensive attack is led by none other than senior quarterback Owen Pinkerton. The dual-threat quarterback has completed 56% of his passes for 1,178 yards and 14 touchdowns while only throwing three interceptions. He also leads the backfield with 164 carries for 1,104 yards and fourteen rushing touchdowns. Sophomore Braylen Cape (97-673-10 TDs) and Senior Kaden Kube (65-333-2 TDs) share time in the Titan backfield and round out the dominant rushing attack, though Kube has been sidelined with an injury the past three weeks. A trio of seniors leads the receiving corps: Danny Gies (27-613-8 TDs), Matt Harmon (17-324-3 TDs), and Dan McCusker (10-132-2 TDs). The defense, which only yields 6.5 points per game, is led by Junior linebacker Jack Bartolillo, who leads all tacklers with 72 total tackles. Senior defensive end Eddie Bowen is second on the team with 68 tackles and the team sack leader with ten. Senior Matt Harmon leads the secondary with four interceptions.
#4 North Penn (10-2, 5-2)
About the Knights: Round one saw the fourth-seeded knights take care of 13th-seeded Ridley Green Raiders 24-14. Junior Matt Pownall handled the workload by carrying the ball 27 times for 207 yards. In the quarterfinals, the Knights etched out Haverford 29-21. Pownall again was the force behind the motion as he rushed 18 times for 138 yards and two scores. Pownall also caught three balls for 59 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, he also had an interception. During the regular season, the fourth-seeded Knights out of SOL-National finished 8-2. Their two losses were to conference foes CB South (14-6) and CB West (17-14) to finish third. The Knights average 29.3 points per game while yielding a respectable 12.3 points per game to opposing offenses. The Knights’ offensive attack is led by Junior quarterback Matt Bucksar, who has completed58% of his passes for 1,468 yards. Additionally, he has 418 yards on the ground. Bucksar’s favorite targets are senior TE Aiden Eves 24-387-4 TDs, Junior Mason Franek 20-308-4 TDs, and senior Jackson Schurmann 15-283-3 TDs. Junior Matt Pownall has carried the rock 133 times for 753 yards and 2 scores. He hauled in an additional 430 yards on 24 catches and 3 TDs. Senior Josiah Coleman has carried the ball 89 times for a team-high 699 yards and 7 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Christian Johns-Wallace leads all defenders with 85 total tackles. Senior Cole D’Ambrosio is second on the team with 80 tackles and junior Nate Schepian follows with 55.
#3 Central Bucks West Bucks @ #2 Downingtown West Whippets
#2 Downingtown West (11-1, 2-1)
About the Whippets: The Whippets are back in the District 1 semi-finals after a decisive victory over an overmatched O.J. Roberts team 41-7. The West defense proved to be dominate over the PAC 10 foe, allowing only 52 total yards in the first half while creating three turnovers. Even though the Whippets controlled the first half, out gaining the Wildcats 252-14, their offense had trouble finishing drives leading only 14-7 at half. In the second half the defense remained dominate holding O.J. Roberts to a mere 10 yards rushing, the offense kicked it into gear scoring 27 in the second stanza.
This is the second straight year the Whippets have advanced a far as the semi-finals, last year they made it to the District finals, losing to this year’s number one seed Central Bucks South. To make it to this year’s finals they will have to go through a tough CB West squad, that much like West depends heavily on the run game.
#3 Central Bucks West (10-2, 6-1)
About the Bucks: The Bucks shut out round one opponent #14th seeded Pennsbury Falcons 17-0. Senior running back Ryan Clemens went over the century mark again this season on the way to the victory. In round two, the Bucks beat Downingtown East 35-21. Senior quarterback Noah Miller carried the rock 27 times for a game-high 171 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back and SOL-National Player of the Year Ryan Clemens rushed for 105 yards on only twelve carries and two scores. The Bucks’ offensive attack averages 26.2 points per game, while their defense only yields 11.5 points per game to opposing offenses. The offense is led by the one-two combo punch of Senior quarterback Noah Miller and senior running back Ryan Clemens. Miller has combined for 1,771 yards (1027 rushing) and (744 passing) and 20 total touchdowns (11 rushing & 9 passing). Clemens is averaging 6.9 yards per carry while rushing for 1,515 yards and thirteen touchdowns. He is also Miller’s favorite passing target, as he has hauled in 283 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, Clemens leads all tacklers with 80 total tackles. Senior Nick Miletto is second on the team with 72 total tackles. Junior Gavin Todd is third on the team with 65 tackles. Jeff Cappa leads all defenders with seven sacks. Todd and Cappa are tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with twelve. Senior Vance Morelli and sophomore Lou Cipollo lead all defenders with two interceptions.
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