Are you ready for some football?
Welcome to the official blog on high school football for the 2013 season.
During the off-season let’s talk about players, recruiting news, teams and everything about high school football.
During the season each week let’s talk about match-ups and how teams did. Let us know what player(s) stood out each week.
2,248 Responses
@ Jim B are you serious with Berwick? First of all they already did the fake punt in a blow out once this year so if your excuse was that they needed it on film, they already have it. #2 you say its going to be in the back on the coaches minds for the teams they have left to play but the teams that they play from now until the end of the regular season are so bad that they will probably never have to even punt in a game. And even if those teams were good you don’t think that they would be prepared for a possible fake punt??? you’re just making excuses for coach curry.
@doug your right valley view is terrible but i not on here talking about all the A titles yes A not b titles that they won in the past and handing out tickets to the state title game base on some scores you saw on TV so what the answer have you seen any of these teams play ?
@RRMark, it’s old.
You state that schools the same size as IC can’t field a team with the same roster size.
Why, because you say they can’t?
You’ve already stated that IC should only have 1 feeder program; kids from other programs would have to attend other schools. Who are you to tell me or anyone else where I can send my child to school?
Hate to tell you but IC will only get stronger in the future. Coach Crosby is very involved in Philly youth football and city youth will want to play for him. Don’t forget, Coach Crosby has been at IC a little over 1 year; the bulk of this squad was there when he arrived.
As a fan, you’ve already quit on your Rough Riders; it’s a good thing the Wyomissing folks didn’t quit last year. Whining on here all year about IC may make you feel better but a real fan would know there’s always a game to be played; they would relish the opportunity to take down the mighty Goliath.
I remember HD Woodson from Washington DC coming up to play Berwick in the 1990’s. They had an all-world QB named Byron Leftwich (maybe you have heard of him). And Curry and Berwick beat them.
Woodson, Glen Mills, St Ignatius, Bishop McDevitt, etc etc. Berwick always wanted to play the best.
Imhotep should get credit for scheduling Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) and LaSalle. But much of their schedule is cupcake city. It’s like a patisserie. The bottom line is they have not won anything yet. If they start winning state titles handily then maybe they should consider moving up a class or two voluntarily. If I’m not mistaken, I think a school is allowed to move up a class but, of course, not down a class.
@ tsaf77
Just curious, specifically how did Berwick fare against the out of state powers like Iggy and St. Xavier?
Just a point towards those that say Berwick played cupcakes. George Curry was one of the first coaches in the state/country to schedule out of state powers in the late 80’s and 90’s to the schedule. All of Berwick’s non-conference games were renowned from Ohio’s St. Ignatius, St. Xavier etc. to others from surrounding states. Do some research before you make comments as ignorant as that. They weren’t USA Today #1 twice because they played cupcakes.
CB West was also a great power in the late 90’s with ’98 arguably being their best team.
@ joe
What it did show is that Easton is more of a one player team than I thought.
Emmaus is a pretty good team though. Would Easton lose to Northampton without Simpson? No.
However, if teams like Whitehall & Parkland stop Simpson, they win.
If your team is a one man show ( like Easton with Simpson, Pennridge with M.Class, CB South with Adams), your in a world of hurt at Playoff time.
Good defense will hold your ” superstar” in check.
@Jim B let it go if his thinking is that d2 only sent Ron Polous to a major collage it that time period it shows he has no real knowalge of football of that period in this area % wise to population we probalty sent more than D1
@MARKd
I watch plenty of football and have played in the glory days . I know facts when I see them
when BERWICK beats a very solid wyoming valley west team trust me there’s nothing left to talk about except how much you don’t like or respect a solid BERWICK team .
and as far as my CHIEFS yep our rebuilding team did lose trust me there’s no shame . hey how about your valley view cougars getting HAMMERED by a half and half SCRANTON team 35-7 lol good one bro!
haha and then most def your coug’s WILL get smashed by Abington Heights and DEF Scranton Prep
haha Coach Danoto will run circle’s around
them.
as for my LAKELAND CHIEFS having won the
District 2 “AA” Championship 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006
and the Division Championship 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1987
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2010
also beating a completely healthy RIVERSIDE
team who was HAMMERING EVERYONE in 2010 on their way to the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP with Clairton
may I say RIVERSIDE was winning late in the state championship game 24-0 before losing 36-30 …going to RIVERSIDE and LAKELAND Winning 21-20 in week 9 and claiming the division title the vikes went 14-2 one loss coming from BEAST CLAIRTON the other was LAKELAND
So trust me you can be a clowny browny and make fun of my Chiefs but trust me its water on a ducks back buddy . as long as Lakeland does their best were proud of them ALWAYS !!! GO CHIEFS
almost forgot good luck saturday at the PIT
you’ll need it.
as for me having BERWICK and SOUTHERN COLUMBIA
as close second favorite’s I respect coach Curry and coach Roth and wish them the very best .
have a great week and God bless
Everyone,
Please stop bashing Berwick for calling a fake punt up 36-0. A blowout win is the PERFECT time to call a fake punt. Two reasons Curry called that play. Number one, it’s a no risk situation to practice what could be a very useful play in a real time game situation. Number two, every opponent Berwick plays going forward now has to prepare for the fake punt. Berwick put the play on film, and it now will be in the back of their opposing coaches mind.
Read Lou Holtz’s autobiography. That’s is right from his playbook. Holtz faked punts in blowouts many times.
Had the opportunity to catch both PCL 4A games this past weekend. Looks like another great LaSalle/SJP match up in 1.5 weeks. SJP RB #7 is a freshman and looked like Gayle Sayers against Roman. That is saying alot, simce Romans Kelly and Chaney can chase down cheetahs. LaSalle is loaded with skill players on offense. Shurmur will need to make quicker decisions against Preps fast 7-8 man rush. It is going to be a high level state game, let alone a league game.
I know it is a week premature, but the rest of PCL 4A is not of the caliber of LaSalle/SJP. Although the remainder of PCL 4A is better than the recent past.
@The Facts,
Sure, there is more to winning than talented athletes. Imhotep has model coaches and a model program. But size and speed matter too. You keep bringing up all those youth programs Imhotep has at its disposal. They can exploit that talent pool for all its worth. The best athletes out of that bunch all want to go to Imhotep to get more interest from colleges. The other charter schools in Philly don’t seem to care as much about football. Might as well put St. Mary Charter School for the Blind up there too, lol. So to list all those other schools is pointless if the best players with a choice of area schools to attend don’t want to play for them. But Imhotep is probably the only school of its size in the nation with 90 or whatever players on its roster. ONE THIRD of its total male enrollment. That would be like Parkland High up here in the LV with nearly 1300 male students and a football roster of 430 of the best players taken from all of the Lehigh Valley. I think they would win a few games. Imhotep does not belong in AA playing teams that can only field say 35 or 40 football players from a town population of 6000! Anyone who says otherwise is smoking something.
@ Buddy
but as a slight hater of emmaus i get what you mean. they seem to think they won something other than the 5th regar seasom game. they are 3-2. they need to realize they will probably lose to easton in the playoffs if simpson is not on the sideline.
@ Buddy
Yes Simpson was hurt but it was still an impressive win. Does it make them top of district? no way. but it certainly makes what looked to be Eastons district championship to win much more intersting. to be honest i had already thought of easton as pretty much a lock to be the D11 rep but not so sure now. not saying they cant or wont but still very interesting.
@Theories&Solutions,
Where I do agree that going half speed is a disaster waiting to happen. Half speed equals full hurt. This is why I think the score is a disgrace. The back-up QB threw one pass, a TD pass. There is no good reason on this planet, that you can give me, as to why that kid threw the football. Clock was running, with mercy rule in effect. You use your full 30 seconds in between plays and let it run. You don’t put up 22 in the 4th quarter. There is absolutely no way that can be defended. I don’t care if it were their freshman that put up 22 in the 4th, coaches could have and should have controlled it!
WITHOUT A DOUBT,
From 1988 to 1997, D2 had 10 state titles. They were, by far, the most dominate district the first 10 years of state playoffs. How can you say Berwick played a cupcake schedule when their district won so many playoff games and titles? Just curious, how many titles did D1 have in that same period?
Now, 1998 to present is a whole different story.
Don’t crown yourself anything yet Emmaus.
I’m sure you know why you beat Easton right?
Boy do these SE guys can’t get it right about Eastern High School Football. Half of the season is over and the worms are coming out of the can. Leave it on the field after game 10. Then the real talk begins when match with equal or better teams. Only the strong willed, well prepared, well condition athletes will prevail onward in the playoffs. But to talk about all this nonsense now is just plain childish especially for mature adults.
@ mark d & @RON
Listen, its obvious that you are upset by the reality of the facts…Mt. Carmel, Valley View,North Pocono, & Dallas could have competed with anyone in the state? Keep it real. CB West had to win the Suburban One league(also formerly the Bux Mont) just to make it to the playoffs. They would routinely roll through the playoffs because of they were so used to playing the highest level of competition every week. I can recall one year they won the State title game something like 56-7. Total domination, and they did it against the big boys. They sent countless players to major college programs and to the NFL, not one (Ron Paulas). As far as USA Today goes, they were nothing more than mythical championships at a time when high school football ratings were only in their infancy, nowhere near what they are now.
@RRMarks
RR, I swore when I dropped you off your rant you were finish crying over spilled Hennessy. OK, once again because you just provided the EasternPa Community with FIVE (count em…5)reply post and neither of them responded to the FACTS that:
THE FACTS:
-The 2012 4A Championship was played by two Public Schools..
-The 2012 2A Championship was played by two Public Schools..
-The 2012 1A Championship was played by (wait for it, wait for it) two Public Schools (one with the all-time win streak)..
-The 2011 4A Championship was played by two Public Schools..
-The 2011 1A Championship was played by two Public Schools..
This, RR, clearly blows your Charter and Catholic advantage theory out of the water.. Now, did you read the rest of my FACTS? I clearly showed you how (even asked you to Google it) there are a number of high class productive youth programs in the district of Imhotep. These youth programs have the BEST youth Coaches in the country (PROVEN FACT BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF TEAMS THAT GO TO FLA EVERY YEAR). But, they don’t all go to Imhotep, they are spread out throughout the whole city.
IMO, Imhotep is good because of excellent coaching. I truly believe, just like CATA and the Quips, if a kid is an average player, these coaches can motivate them to win. Some of the GREAT staffs are able to do that. It’s not magic, it’s coaching.
Now, here’s another theory to sip your cognac on. School of the Future is a charter school. Are they included in your charter and Catholic school advantage theory? How about this:
Would you include the School of the Future in your equation of unfairness?
How about Roman Catholic?
How about Delaware Valley Charter?
How about Egan Catholic?
How about Boys Latin Charter?
What about Bishop McDevitt?
How them Gratz Charter Bulldogs?
What about Furness Charter who is a 4A school that is a combined total of (wait for it, wait for it) FOUR HIGH SCHOOLS for 3 different Districts.. WHEW!!!
Now, RR, check their current standings here–> http://tedsilary.com/FBstandings13.htm <– and tell us in one post (your sporadic-ness is disturbing) do these schools have an unfair advantage..
@ Jive
I completely agree with what you are saying about the PCL teams and success compared to Imhotep. These teams are great teams but do fall under the same perimeters.
The question is, where does Imhotep fall, some people on here actually call them a Public School, which is comical. Public funding does not justify public school academic assessment standards or boundary limits. I agree with you that they should fall under private/charter category.
I am not by any means downgrading their success. I feel it is a disservice to them playing for an “AA” title when they should be playing for an “AAAA” title based on their recruiting and abilities as players.
Not taking anything away from the coaches at Imhotep or other PCL schools or across PA for that matter. Coaching goes as far as talent will take it. If you don’t believe that then you have never coached HS in PA for very long. The greatest coaches in our state namely the George Curry’s and Mike Pettine’s etc. have all had their wars with attrition within their squads and believe it or not had down years. You can only do so much as a coach but you can do more with talent than without it. There is a reason why these coaches are coaching High School kids and not major colleges or pros where they then show their vulnerability.
@RRMarks great I’ll root for Catty to face Imhotep in the semi finals then. As I said before, you live where you live by choice. The population of your area must not be able to support multiple youth programs to feed your school sports, or if they do you haven’t educated me to that fact. But in the big city of Philadelphia, there are many youth teams and the kids from those teams have choice in where they attend HS, be it LaSalle, St. Joe’s Prep or even High School of the Future. Now if these kids happen to want to go to a school with competitive athletic programs so that they can better their chances of attaining a college scholarship so be it.
Still waiting to hear an argument as to why a team should be forced to move up in divisions because they are successful and have a bigger pool. All I hear is whining from a kid pulling up in an old beat up Chevy Nova who can’t get the girl cause the rich kid pulled up in the Benz. It is what it is until a real argument is presented.
@rrmarks sound like your hate for the top is aimed the wrong way. Every high school team in the city also have a pick of the litter. I’m sorry if there’s one only one pop warner organization in these area. You see there so many done here because coaches get tire of the same structure or command and branch of and start a new team. Well I say to u tell the unhappy coaches up there to do the same. That’s all simple, easy as pie but don’t think for a minute imhotep get all the horses. There are kids that dont want to go to imhotep because they are afraid of hard work and want the job givivg to them. RR marks like I said before just because u are a star at the pop warner level doesn’t mean u will be the same in the high-schools level its coaching.
@tsaf77,
I think recruiting has a great effect on a teams success. The only reason I brought it up was because it seems every excuse is coming out of the cupboard to bash this team. If you’re gonna give Wood a pass on recruiting for the past 5-6 years, don’t start yelling from the rafters now. I’m not a fan of Imhotep, but the constant excuses as to why they are better than other teams is brutal. Same things have been said about LaSalle over the past few years, and I defended them too.