Rick's Picks

Council Rock South and Abington will meet in a pivotal Suburban One League National Conference game Friday night.

In the 6 o'clock duel at Abington's Stephen A. Schwarzman Stadium, Tim Sorber's Ghosts (8-0 overall, 5-0 conference) will try to take a huge step toward earning their first outright league championship since 1989 and nailing down the No. 1 seed in the coming PIAA District 1 Class AAAA playoffs.

Vince Bedesem's Golden Hawks (7-1, 4-1) are tied for second place in the National Conference with Pennsbury (6-2, 4-1).

In the playoff-points rankings, Abington, with a 135 average, holds the top spot. C.R. South, with a 118.75 average, is tied for third place with Ches-Mont League American Conference member Unionville (7-1, 3-1).

The Golden Hawks' wishbone attack is spearheaded by quarterback Brian Donnelly, fullback Ryan Whitely, and halfbacks Ryan Hickey and Anthony Alimenti. The squad averages 27.9 points.

Abington's shotgun/spread offense, averaging 30.9 points, is fueled by halfbacks Ray Schreiner and Jim Shelinsky, quarterback Ken Cropper, wideout Josh Lee, and tight end Chris Ruhl.

C.R. South's 4-4 defense has been led by 6-foot-3, 265-pound tackle Andrew Cohen; 6-2, 220-pound end P.J. Steinmetz; and end-turned-linebacker P.J. Gallo. The 6-4, 235-pound Gallo, also a tight end, is ticketed for the University of Maryland.

The Abington defense, also with a 4-4 set, is keyed by 6-2, 220-pound end and Temple recruit Bryan Osei, linebacker Myles Grasty, end Ray Phillips, and rugged tackles Ryan Epps and Jake Clark.

The Ghosts have shown they can shut down the run. Against Pennsbury's "ground and pound" offense, they held the Falcons to 93 yards on 29 attempts in a 20-7 win.

For us, that spells a triumph - three days before Halloween - at the Graveyard.

Pick: Abington, 23-20.

Last week: 8-2. Overall: 68-24 (.739).

Friday

Northeast (4-4, 3-3) at Central (6-1, 6-0), 3 p.m. The Vikings have been anything but impressive in recent weeks, but we think they'll find a way to beat the Silver Division champs.

Pick: Northeast, 28-18.

Lincoln (6-2, 5-1) at Germantown (4-4, 4-2), 5. Ackeno Robertson and company will run behind 6-6, 390-pound lineman Kwame Miller.

Pick: Germantown, 30-12.

Pennridge (5-3, 4-0) at Central Bucks South (5-3, 3-2), 7. South's Dan Brown has been a playmaking terror, with 1,045 rushing yards and 23 scores.

Pick: C.B. South, 32-14.

Downingtown West (6-2, 2-2) at Coatesville (6-2, 3-1), 7. Look for Dae-Hon Cheung and the Red Raiders to hand the Whippets their third loss in four games.

Pick: Coatesville, 23-7.

Delco Christian (7-0, 6-0) at Springfield, Montco (8-0, 7-0), 7. The Bicentennial Athletic League title will be on the line in Erdenheim. We're siding with RB Clay Ewell and the Spartans.

Pick: Springfield, 20-6.

Quakertown (4-4, 1-3) at Central Bucks West (3-5, 1-4), 7. Pick: Quakertown, 23-21.

Wissahickon (6-2, 3-1) at Upper Dublin (6-2, 4-1), 7. Pick: Upper Dublin, 26-17.

Strath Haven (5-3, 4-3) at Springfield, Delco (7-1, 6-1), 7. Pick: Springfield, 26-19.

Saturday

Prep Charter (3-4, 2-3) vs. Bok (6-0, 5-0), at Southern, 4. Pick: Bok, 26-6.

Communications Tech (6-2, 4-1) vs. Imhotep Charter (5-2, 4-1), at Simon Gratz, 4. Pick: Imhotep, 29-8.

Bishop McDevitt (5-3, 2-1) vs. Neumann-Goretti (2-6, 1-2), at Southern, 1. Pick: McDevitt, 28-13.

West Catholic (5-3, 3-0) vs. Lansdale Catholic (2-6, 2-1), at Wissahickon, 1. Pick: West, 36-14.

Boyertown (3-5, 1-5) at Pope John Paul II (4-4, 3-4), 1. Pick: PJP, 28-27 in overtime.