CB West looking to push past Plymouth Whitemarsh
SOL American champ PW tough challenge for Bucks
War Memorial Field will be the site of Friday night’s District One Class AAAA first-round playoff game between Central Bucks West and Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Kickoff isn’t until 7 p.m., but the excitement has been there all week.
“Playoffs bring that natural buzz,” Bucks coach Brian Hensel said.
Back in the postseason for the first time since 2010, seventh-seeded West has been enjoying the extra week of work, the extra week of preparation, the extra week of intensity — all of the extras that come along with playoff football.
It all adds up to what they hope is a successful night against the 10th- seeded Colonials.
“They have an offensive line that is absolutely massive,” Hensel said. “They have a wide receiver who can run vertically, and they can run at you with either the quarterback, halfback or fullback. We have to play disciplined football, assignment football.”
The winner of this game will advance to face either No. 2 West Ches- ter Rustin or No. 15 Perk Valley in a quarterfinal matchup next weekend.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-2) kept running last week and never stopped. The Suburban One League American Conference champs amassed 331 yards on the ground in a last week’s 27-12 win over Springfield (Montco), 207 of that yardage coming
from fullback Jose MoraVega. Vega carried the ball 26 times and scored four touchdowns.
“Vega is all over the field,” Hensel said. “He is absolutely phenomenal. We have to get a hat on him.”
The Bucks (8-2) will counter with a ground attack of their own.
Running back Marvin Todd has been gaining yards in big chunks and has reached the end zone 15 times this season. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark last week in a lopsided 45-7 win over Central Bucks South last Friday.
“Offensively, controlling the ball will be key for us,” Hensel said. “We have to be sharp with our blocking schemes and be affective. We have to be able to stem the tide of their push.”
Big on both sides of the ball, PW presents a strong challenge for the Bucks.
“Most of our wins have come against teams that are .500 or have losing records. Now, it’s the playoffs,” Hensel said. “We challenged our kids this week. We have to see what they’re made of.”