PA High School Football: CB South’s Hetrick on season expectations
Central Bucks South’s Tom Hetrick on following two unforgettable high school football seasons in 2025
Heat acclimatization for most Pennsylvania high school football teams in the Bucks County area begins Monday, Aug. 4, with scrimmages Aug. 15 or 16 and the first PIAA games scheduled for Friday, Aug. 22.
With the season fast approaching, here are 25 questions whose answers will be revealed in the next five months.
But we’re not waiting for those answers. The Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer sports staff is working on the fall sports season and this kicks off our preseason coverage.
We’ll have team previews, videos, galleries and our ever-popular polls leading up to our first Friday night football game day on Aug. 22.
1. Can three Bucks County, Montco teams reach the District One 6A semifinals again?
A year ago, top seed Central Bucks South, No. 3 Central Bucks West and No. 4 North Penn comprised three-fourths of the 6A district semifinal field. North Penn edged CB South 21-19 to make the district title game, with CB West falling to eventual champion Downingtown West 28-23.
2. How many Bucks County, Montco teams will win 6A district playoff games?
District One finalist North Penn, CB South and CB West won at least twice in the 2024 playoffs, but none of our other schools advanced in 6A districts.
3. Who will win Suburban One League football championships?
No SOL National school has won a second title since the league switched to the current alignment. Central Bucks South (2024), Central Bucks West (2023), Pennsbury (2022), North Penn (2021) and Pennridge (2020) are the past five champions.
In the SOL Continental, Quakertown, Souderton and Upper Dublin tied for the 2024 championship following championship seasons from Souderton (2023), Upper Dublin (2022), Quakertown (2021) and Souderton (2020). Plymouth Whitemarsh has won the past four SOL American crowns.
4. How many all-state selections will come from Bucks County, Montco?
There were five in 2024, with La Salle junior receiver/safety Joey O’Brien, La Salle junior quarterback Gavin Sidwar and Council Rock South junior linebacker Nate Szydlik on the 6A team, Lansdale Catholic senior linebacker Chris Ulmer (Monmouth) and Morrisville senior running back Raymond Holman (Morgan State) making it in 2A and A, respectively.
In 2023, three Courier Times/Intell players were all-state picks for the second year in a row.
5. Who will open the season as No. 1 team in our big- and small-school rankings?
A year ago, Central Bucks South (big school) and Bristol (small school) started the year at No. 1. Loaded La Salle can make a strong case for the top spot among big schools this time and district finalist North Penn is another quality candidate.
6. Can La Salle get past St. Joseph’s Prep in the Philadelphia Catholic League?
The Explorers outlasted perennial power Prep 35-34 in four overtimes during the regular season, only to drop a 21-14 decision to the Hawks, who were on their way to a fifth PIAA 6A title in six years, in the PCL championship game. Led by senior receiver/safety Joey O’Brien and senior offensive lineman Grayson McKeough, who are headed to Notre Dame, Missouri-bound senior quarterback Gavin Sidwar and other Division I commits, this could be La Salle’s year.
7. How many games can La Salle win?
The Explorers were 10-1 last year and could end up 15-0 if everything falls into place. The school won a 4A state championship in 2009, when there were only four PIAA classifications.
8. How about the rest of the Philadelphia Catholic League?
Lansdale Catholic is coming off an 8-5 season in which it advanced to the 2A state playoffs. Conwell-Egan went 8-4 and reached the 3A state tournament. Archbishop Wood is looking to improve under head coach Brian Goettner, who took over on an interim basis after Dave Armstrong resigned three weeks into a 2-8 campaign.
9. What school will have the most players picked to the Courier/Intell first team?
A year ago, La Salle had four first-teamers, three of whom (Joey O’Brien, Grayson McKeough and Gavin Sidwar) are back.
10. How will 1st-year coaches at Neshaminy, Truman, New Hope and Morrisville fare?
Nick Felus succeeds Steve Wilmot at Neshaminy, which is coming off a 6-5 season in which it made the 6A district playoffs. Frank McArdle replaces Cordero Newkirk at Harry S. Truman, which went 1-9, and Dale Smith takes over for Ian Bell at New Hope-Solebury (2-9). Corey Keen succeeds Mitch Cohen at Morrisville, which was 9-4 last fall.
11. Who will win the Central Bucks Cup in 2025?
The CB Cup, awarded to the top Central Bucks school in head-to-head meetings, went to CB South (2-0) in 2024 after CB West claimed it in 2023 and 2019-21. All three schools finished 1-1 in 2022. CB East last won it in 2018.
PIAA High School Football Video: CB South defeats CB West in thriller
It came down to the final play of the game. Owen Pinkerton’s 39-yard TD pass to Danny Gies gave CB South a 22-17 win over CB West and the 2024 CB Cup.
12. Who will be the best football team in Lower Bucks County?
Neshaminy (6-5) and Pennsbury (5-6) from the SOL National qualified for the 6A district playoffs a year ago and have some talented players returning. Bensalem went 5-5 (3-4 SOL Continental) and Council Rock South finished 4-6 (3-4 Continental).
Morrisville ended up 9-4, losing to Belmont Charter in the District One/12 Class A regional final. Bristol was 9-2, falling to Lansdale Catholic in the 2A regional final, and Conwell-Egan went 8-4 en route to the 3A state playoffs.
13. What is next for North Penn football?
Dick Beck and the Knights return some stellar juniors and seniors from a team that made it to the District One 6A championship game, including senior running back/defensive back Matthew Pownall, who earned first-team All-SOL National honors on both sides of the ball, third-year quarterback Matt Bucksall and junior defensive back Rylei Gray.
14. How will CR North do in Brandon Garrett’s 2nd year as head coach?
CR North went 1-9 (1-6 SOL Continental) in Garrett’s first season, defeating Harry S. Truman 16-13 in Week 5. With the returning juniors and seniors having spent a year playing for Garrett and his staff, it should be interesting to track the team’s progress.
15. How deep is the SOL National in football?
An SOL National team that didn’t win the regular season title again advanced to the district championship game in 2024. Last season it was North Penn, which finished third in the conference at 5-2. In ’23, runner-up CB South (6-1 in SOL National) won the district title.
16. What should we expect from Quakertown?
The Panthers (7-5 overall) shared the SOL Continental crown with Souderton and Upper Dublin, losing a PIAA 6A first-round playoff games to Haverford. George Banas’ team should be in the Continental mix again.
17. What about Abington and Germantown Academy?
Abington finished 1-9 (0-7 in the rugged SOL National) during Bruce Fleming’s first season as head coach but has a pretty good senior core back. GA went 4-6 a year ago, culminating in a 30-24 loss to longtime rival Penn Charter. The Patriots averaged 29.5 points but allowed 29.7 in 2024.
18. How many Bucks County, Montco RBs will be in the PCL’s top 10 in rushing yards?
There were three a year ago in Archbishop Wood senior Yasin Lowry (1,311 yards, second), Conwell-Egan senior Monty Zoryea (1,020, fifth) and Lansdale Catholic junior Nick O’Brien (718 yards, 10th), according to stats from Huck Palmer.
19. How about who will lead in tackles in the Philadelphia Catholic League?
Lansdale Catholic senior linebacker Chris Ulmer led the PCL with 108 tackles last fall, with junior teammate Braeden Smith finishing second at 105.
20. Could 2 Bucks County area schools make the state championship game?
It hasn’t happened since 2011, when star-studded Archbishop Wood won the 3A title 52-0 over Bishop McDevitt and North Penn fell to Central Dauphin 14-7 in the 4A championship.
21. How will Pennridge and William Tennent do in their coaches’ third seasons?
The Rams finished 4-7 (2-5 SOL National) and one spot from a district playoff berth in Kyle Beller’s second year as head coach, while the Panthers ended up 3-7 (1-4 SOL American) in Colin Leach’s second campaign. Can both teams make significant progress this fall?
22. What schools are closing in on football win milestones?
Neshaminy, which began playing football in 1921, is nine wins from 600 while Souderton, which started the same year, is six shy of 500. Hatboro-Horsham (1926) is 10 victories from 500 and Bristol (1919) needs 12 to get to 500. Central Bucks East (1969) and William Tennent (1944) are each six away from 300. Palisades (1971) is one win shy of 200 wins.
23. Can La Salle’s Sidwar break his own school passing records?
In 2024, La Salle junior quarterback Gavin Sidwar passed for single-season school records in passing (2,747 yards) and touchdowns (31) after throwing for 2,439 yards and 29 touchdowns the year before.
24. Can Souderton approach its record-breaking 2023 football season?
After going 7-4 (6-1 SOL Continental) and falling in the first round of districts, Ed Gallagher and his team would love a repeat of its 2023 season in which the Big Red won a school-record 11 games, secured the Continental title outright and made the 6A district quarterfinals. Having senior quarterback Ben Walsh, senior receiver Hunter Smeltz and senior fullback/defensive lineman Michael McCormick returning should give Souderton reason for optimism.
25. How will Hatboro-Horsham fare in its 2nd year back in the SOL?
The Hatters went 3-7 (1-4 SOL American) in their return to the SOL last year. H-H lost some quality seniors, but Tom Butts’ team has 2024 sophomores and juniors worth watching.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly is a sports columnist for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.
