Central Bucks East in position to take advantage of significant, rare opportunity

Two wins in its final five football games would almost surely result in Central Bucks East making the 16-team PIAA Class 6A District One playoffs for the ninth time. But the Patriots have set their sights higher.

Off to a 5-0 start for just the fourth time in the school's 53-year history (1979, 9-0; 1996, 9-0; and 2000, 6-0), CB East would like nothing more than to secure the Patriots' fourth league or conference championship (also 1979, 2001 and 2005).

"I've been a part of three teams at the school and it's the first time I felt it was special," said senior middle linebacker/tight end Joe Maeglin. "It definitely feels different. We have very good chemistry. We're all confident and not really nervous right now."

"Everyone's aware of how great of a start we've had," said third-year starting quarterback Pat Keller. "We've tried to downplay that in our locker room … Coach (John) Donnelly likes to say it doesn't matter who we're playing — they're in our way. We want a victory each week."

Coming off of a 16-13 double-overtime win over Pennridge, the Patriots face their biggest challenge of the 2022 season Friday night (7) against 4-1 Pennsbury at Harry S. Truman. CB East and Pennsbury are the lone 2-0 teams in the Suburban One League National Conference, with East No. 1 in the District One 6A power rankings and Pennsbury No. 5.

Perennial conference champ North Penn (Oct. 7), Abington (Oct. 14), Neshaminy (Oct. 21) and Central Bucks West (Oct. 28) round out the Patriots' regular season. All but the Neshaminy contest are at home.

"We know we have a lot more work to do," said senior two-way lineman Liam Powers.

"There's a lot of important games coming up," added Maeglin. "We definitely want to keep the streak going."

East has outscored opponents 147-54 largely due to a stingy 4-4 base defense and the running of senior back Ethan Shine. Shine has already accumulated 1,035 rushing yards (a 207 average) and 13 TDs in the five games. He has two of the eight-highest single-game totals in school history with 248 yards against Pennridge (fifth) one week after racking up 217 (eighth) in a 21-7 victory over previously unbeaten Central Bucks South.

Teams have tried to stack the box, but the Patriots' offensive line has still managed to create holes for Shine and he has done the rest.

"Ethan Shine has been incredible," said Donnelly, who is 65-71 in 14 years at East. "He's a high-character kid, a great leader and captain."

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Also a terrific linebacker, Shine had 14 tackles, including three for loss, vs. Pennridge and junior linebacker Dan Voglesong contributed 14 tackles. Junior safety Dean Blackwell leapt to make a huge touchdown-saving tackle at the 1-yard line on fourth down in the second overtime against Pennridge, which preceded Jack Corrigan's winning 30-yard field goal. The depth up front helps, too, because it allows defensive line coach Zach Nelsen to keep the players in his rotation fresh and productive.

Keller has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes. For the Patriots to remain successful, Keller and the other offensive skill-position guys like junior tight end Jack Donnelly, senior running back Tommy Day and junior wide receiver Miles Demby are going to have to make enough plays to keep opponents honest.

"The way Shine runs helps me in the passing game so much," said Keller, who raved about the line. "People are geeked up for the run to stop him. And the defense has been amazing this year — some of the best defense I've ever seen."

East's first goal each year is to capture the CB Cup, which goes to the Central Bucks school with the best record against its two intradistrict rivals. The Patriots, who last won the CB Cup in 2018 when this year's seniors were in eighth grade, would get it back this year by beating CB West.

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A year ago, 11th-seeded CB East finished 6-5 and dropped a 42-21 road decision to Perkiomen Valley in the first round of the 6A district playoffs.

Interestingly, East began 2019 with three straight victories before falling to visiting Pennsbury 21-14. The Patriots are eager to find out what happens Friday, as well as over the following four weeks and perhaps beyond this fall.

"We're just hoping we can keep this going and see where it takes us," Powers said.

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Central Bucks East planning to take advantage of rare opportunity