Final 4 reflects dominance of SOL
SOL dominated decade of 2010s
When the bracket for The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media Football Team of the Decade tournament was revealed last month, the field featured eight Philadelphia Catholic League teams, seven from the Suburban One League and one from the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Now that we are down to the Final Four, the PAC is eliminated and the PCL has just one of its eight representatives left standing.
That leaves three SOL teams — making up 75 percent of the semifinals after accounting for 43.75 percent of the initial field. Two of the four SOL teams that have been eliminated so far were bounced by league rivals.
This should come as no surprise for a couple of reasons. The SOL features some of the biggest high schools in the state — like North Penn and Pennridge — which helps with voting to decide the winner of each matchup. The league also features some of the best teams in the area that found a ton of success in the always-competitive District 1 playoffs throughout the 2010s.
The Knights have been a premiere program in District 1 for the entire decade and got off to a fast start. They won the District 1 -4A championship in 2010 and 2011, beating SOL schools Council Rock South and Neshaminy in the 2010 semifinals and final
and Neshaminy, Pennsbury and Council Rock South in the final three games of the 2011 district playoffs.
Pennridge surpassed North Penn for the SOL Continental Conference’s top spot in 2012. The Rams beat SOL schools Abington and Pennsbury to reach the District 1-4A semifinal, where they lost to Spring-Ford two days after a Thanksgiving Day game. On the other side of the D14A bracket, the SOL’s Wissahickon and Neshaminy both made postseason runs before losing to eventual champion Coatesville.
In 2013, the District 1-4A semifinals featured three SOL teams — Abington, Neshaminy and North Penn. An all-SOL title game ended with Neshaminy beating the Knights, 42-7
Springfield Montco of the SOL American Conference
won the District 1-2A championship in 2014. Pennsbury won the 4A title, beating Upper Dublin in the semifinals.
The Cardinals got their revenge in 2015, beating Pennsbury in the semifinals before knocking off North Penn for the District 1-4A title. The Knights beat Neshaminy in the semifinals, making it an all-SOL Final Four. In District 1-3A, Upper Moreland reached the championship, but came up short against Academy Park.
District 1 moved to six classifications in 2016. North Penn was the only SOL team to advance past the second round and went on the win the championship over Garnet Valley, 4838. It was the Knights third district championship of the decade.
Upper Moreland and Upper Dublin represented the SOL American well in the 2017 District 1-5A playoffs. The Golden Bears reached the quarterfinals and the
Cardinals advanced to the semis. In 6A Pennridge and Pennsbury both reached the semifinals, but neither SOL school got to the championship game.
Upper Dublin won its second district championship in four years when it brought home the 2018 5A crown, beating a surprising Cheltenham team in the quarterfinals. North Penn represented the league well again in 6A, but fell to Coatesville in the championship game.
Last season saw more success from SOL teams in the district playoffs. Cheltenham had its best season in school history, winning the SOL American title, District 1-5A crown and coming within four seconds of beating Archbishop Wood for the PIAA-5A state championship. Upper Moreland reached the 4A championship game while North Penn, Central Bucks West and Plymouth Whitemarsh all advanced to the quarterfinals in the 6A classification, but none moved to the semifinals.
North Penn’s 2010 team is still alive in the Team of the Decade tournament, along with 2012 Pennridge and 2015 Upper Dublin. La Salle’s 2012 squad represents the PCL in the semifinals.
Vote to decide which teams will meet in next week’s championship. Polls are posted on Twitter @
ReporterSports and run through noon Saturday. First round
16 Pennridge 2012 def. 1 Archbishop Wood 2011
8 North Penn 2011 def. 9 Archbishop Wood 2016
5 Upper Dublin 2015 def. 12 Cheltenham 2019
4 La Salle 2010 def. 13 Upper Dublin 2018 4 La Salle 2012 def. 3 Archbishop Wood 2017
6 North Penn 2016 def. 11 Archbishop Wood 2019
10 North Penn 2010 def. 7 Archbishop Wood 2013
15 Pope John Paul II 2019 def. 2 Archbishop Wood 2014
Quarterfinals
16 Pennridge 2012 def. 8 North Penn 2011 5 Upper Dublin 2015 def. 4 La Salle 2010 14 La Salle 2012 def. 6 North Penn 2016 10 North Penn 2010 def. 15 Pope John Paul II 2019
Semifinals
16 Pennridge 2012 vs. 5 Upper Dublin 2015
14 La Salle 2012 vs. 10 North Penn 2010