PIAA Class 6A Semi-Final Preview: A Look At Central Bucks South

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

Michael Pietrangelo | November 30, 2023

Central Bucks South v St. Joe’s Prep, Saturday, December 2, 1 pm @ North Penn

How they got here (click to see 6A bracket):

2023 Schedule

The Titans continued their winning ways this past week after beating Downingtown West in the District 1 Championship 27-7. The win was the first district title in school history. Head coach Tom Hetrick and his record breaking  squad pounded the rock against a very stout West defense to the tune of 286 yards. Senior running back Anthony Leonardi paced the backfield with 164 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Corey Moore added 61 yards and two touchdowns of his own. Junior quarterback Owen Pinkerton completed his only pass for 11 yards and added another 54 on the ground. The defense was lights out, limiting the offense to only one score. Junior Danny Gies intercepted Quinn Henicle twice in the effort and Junior Jimmy Wade and senior Sean Moskowitz each had a sack.  The Titans now face an uphill battle as they squareoff against perennial power and nationally ranked St. Joe’s Prep, a team that has won the State Championship 7 times in the last 10 years.

Key’s on Offense:

The line needs to win upfront in the trenches. The running backs will have to continue to be lights out. When you’re great at something, you don’t switch it up and do something else. Pound the rock and pound it some more! The Titan’s offense has rushed for 4,196 yards & 54 touchdowns through 14 games. Yup, you read that correctly these Titans are averaging 300 yards (299.7) rushing per game. The senior laden offensive line which is anchored by Monmouth commit Collin Goetter, Rolan Hess, Nick Conte, Nick Micewski, & Kieran Padgett has paved the wave for two backs to hit the century mark and a third with potential to do it. Anthony Leonardi is 76 yards(1,924) shy of the 2,000 yard mark, Corey Moore has 1,020 and Owen Pinkerton needs just 66 (944) yards to eclipse the mark.

Key’s on Defense:

Semaj Jones has scored 100 touchdowns so far in his high school career. Of those, 25  have come this season. The secondary hasn’t faced an arm like this and must limit the deep throws. The line must win in the trenches and make Jones uncomfortable.  The defense has only giving up slightly under two scores a game at 12.7 points to opposing offenses. While Central Bucks West dropped 40 on them in their only loss, the Titans defense only gave up one score or less in six games. Ironically as the competition has gotten stronger throughout the playoffs, so too has the defense.  The defense has yielded less points in each previous round. In round one they gave up 20 to Coatesville, Round two they gave up 19 to Spring Ford, round three saw them allow 14 to Central Bucks West, and finally last week they only gave up 7 to Downingtown West.  Senior linebackers Sean Moskowitz(92)  & Adam Oscar (91) lead a strong defense and have combined for 183 total tackles, 16 TFL, 5.5 sacks, & an interception. Senior Danny Gies leads the team with 5 interceptions.

Coach Hetrick says:

Mayhem: “What is the game plan for your team to stopping the potent Hawks offensive attack that is averaging a whopping 40.4 points per game?”

Tom: “We need to get aligned to their formations, avoid splash plays and play good team defense.”

Mayhem: “The Hawks defense is yielding only 9 points per game to opponents, what’s is going to be key for your team to limit their success?”

Tom: “We have to execute efficiently.  We can’t do things to shoot ourselves in the foot.  They play very sound and physical defensive football.  We have to continue to do what we do.”

Mayhem: “This team continues to break and set school records as the season progresses, can you describe and speak on the team that stepped on the field back in week 1 versus the team taking the field this Saturday?” 

Tom: “After last year we had to replace 6 guys on offense and 7 on defense including our entire Defensive Line.  We knew we had some players to insert in those spots, but most of them were inexperienced.  The Father Judge game was a test to see if they would respond.  Over the course of the season they have each gained confidence in their abilities and we are playing very solid complimentary football at this point in the season.”

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