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
@ Jive Turkey
I think you pretty much nailed it. It’s going to take an almost clean game for La Salle to take Prep. Not saying it couldn’t happen. Might be a different story in November but right now Prep takes it.
Also worth noting… North Penn lost to one city Catholic school and 2 suburban Catholic schools (Warminster and Wyndmoor) that could very well be district 1 schools geographically. Move the suburban Catholic schools to district 1 and see where things stand. Yeah, a Lansdale team really makes sense in the PCL… Yet Pope John Paul II (Royersford) is in the Pioneer where Lansdale Catholic used to be. Might as well throw throw some city public schools in district 1 for S’s and G’s. Those might not be considered cupcakes by the district 12 crowd.
@HS FB FAN,
I too am looking forward to Prep and LaSalle. This is just my opinion from watching both teams play a couple times. I don’t see a heavyweight battle. I think the heavyweight (Prep) is gonna put it on the middleweight (LaSalle) pretty good. Having my kid at a different Catholic school makes me a fan of neither, just giving my honest opinion. Any thoughts on the game from everybody else?
I threw the North Penn info out there knowing there would be a bite, and who would bite. I don’t think NP is good at all this year, they way they were manhandled by their D12 opponents proved that. They beat CB South last week. CBS has lost 2 games this year, #2 ranked Coatesville and NP. If NP makes the playoffs, that would be a sad indictment on D1. In my opinion the only team in D1 that has any kind of shot at doing anything is Neshaminy. Just because C-Ville is ranked highly, that doesn’t mean they are what people expect them to be at the end of the year. I was high on C-Ville earlier in the year, then they played D-town East, another not so great D1 team, and only won 14-7. Maybe people are moving out of the burbs, and back into the city? Doesn’t sound like it makes sense, but there has to be a reason the better teams in D12 would own the better teams in D1.
@ the quiet One. Wyomissing QB sat out for 13 games last year, was eligible 1yr from date of his transfer. His first game was the game prior to IC game.
I thought this was a football blog?
Looking forward to heavy weight battle between prep and LaSalle!
@ jive
North Penn’s last 3 games were against certainly not power-houses ( as opposed to their first 3 games).
Their real tests will be next week against Pennridge, then the following week against CB West.
They must win out to even think about playoffs.
It will surprise me if they can do that.
Easton AAAA of course.
@Mark D
D11… AA Catty and AAA Becahi are the only ones I can say with any confidence, barring unforeseen circumstances. But I will go with Easton and Mahanoy Area in A. Will root for Emmaus in AAAA.
All right guys let talk fooball D11 and D4 guys who we going to see in the playoffs i posted who look like the teams in D2 who looking like the teams from your districts
@tsaf77
Man, how do I answer all that? Kids are in charter schools all over the state, your opinion about Charter schools is what it is but this is a high school football forum not a political awareness debate forum. Only thing I can say is several charter schools closed last year due to funding, same as public schools.
If you want to say charter schools are not public schools, so be it, but they play in the public league. A public league that allows kids to play for them who don’t live in their district (Washington, NE, Lincoln etc can all receive kids who live anywhere from down near the Linc to up near Franklin Mills).
You know what, how about we talk football. No, how about you come spend a week with with them as they prepare for next week’s game. Or come Friday night when they play Bonner.. Come get to know the kids with their funny ways, braces, laughter, Iphones, video game challenges, homework stressing, horseplaying but polite mannerism (they’re kids). Come get to know IC like I did and you will see how the program is. who cares if they all go to a charter school when two schools in their neighborhood just closed. What are their options when there is only one high school in their area that does not have an academic requirement to attend (Central)? We can’t blame the kids for this city putting its budget shortfalls on the backs of kids who can’t march and strike for themselves. They are products of a dysfunctional educational system that cuts their academics every year. Charter schools may not be affected by the cuts but they are affected by the outcome of the cuts. Every kid in Northwest Philly can’t afford to go to the Prep and O’Hara like you and your relatives; so what is a child to do?
Lastly, my comment about packing the house for their games merely informs you how they are able to budget their program, bus fees, ref fees, and yes field fees. Come hang with the kids one day at Lonnie Young Rec. Come shake their hands and see how they greet you with a firm handshake and eye contact. Believe me, when you do, you will support. That’s all I’m saying tsaf, come see them for yourself. Come see them for yourself..
@ TS AF the qb from wymisson didnt sit the whole year. Yeah the team that beat ic last year, he sat only for 11 games and all of a sudden he can play against Ic in the simi-finals so do your home work on that.
@tsaf77
I heard that each kid on the football team pays around 250 each year 1000 for all 4 years you do the math.
Everybody is playing nice right now, what’s going on? I was looking through the team schedules and couldn’t help but notice something that really stuck out. North Penn played 3 D12 teams in their first 3 games. 0-3, outscored 118-16. Since then they have had it pretty easy. They started their D1 schedule and have gotten their record back to 500. Going 3-0, and outscoring their D1 opponents 90-35. Just something that I thought my D1 friends would be interested in.
@RevTwek would love to see a history of the big 11 if you ever come across something like that please post it here .Berwick and Prep if it come down to that i know i will be their, on paper it a classic. Berwick hasent seen a defense like Preps but Prep hasnt seen a offense like Berwicks
@Jive, yeah Imhotep had to pay for the super sites. I’m not one of those offended by calling the schools public, that’s where the funding comes from. And yeah, I’ve seen the BBall players. Haven’t hooked them up yet.
@tsaff77, didn’t have to worry about getting the d-1 offer, my child has a full academic ride. See the poor under performing school does educate. Imagine that. As for your question about why pay when I can send him to play at the unsafe, undisciplined, poorly coached (no knock on current staff, just what was there when my child was in HS)local school. Hmm, I think you can figure that one out. And by the way, your local HS kid who transfers doesn’t have to sit out unless the coach or administration from the school he’s leaving wants to challenge his reason for leaving. Same rules apply across all of the PIAA. Sorry to hear about the kids near you needing to pay to play. In Philly the public schools don’t have that problem. It’s clear your problem is with charter’s in general. Why direct that towards the athletic teams? Call your state senator/congressman and complain to them instead of this and other message boards about the kids competing for the schools.
@ Mark D,
I agree Lakeland’s coach is a top notch person. Just doesn’t have the athletes right now. He was a proven winner at Lackawanna Trail by taking that program from the bottom and making it a perennial state contender. Give him talent and he can mold a winning team. There are many quality coaches from District 2. From Curry, Henzes and Pazzaglia to the new coaches on the block at Abington Heights, Old Forge and all the rest in between.
Facts, I have no ill will towards the kids. I give you a lot of credit for supporting the kids that need it most. You have a good amount of kids in our city that come from single parent households, and a positive male voice can go along way. As with tsaf77, I have major problems with charter schools. I may be wrong in the long run, but they have become quite a burden on our city, our tax payers, and public education. The few bad apples ruins the bunch rule seems to apply to charters. Since charters have become viable in Philadelphia we have had to deal with corrupt administrators, falsifying of state test scores, and a lottery system that has miserably failed. Administrators of some schools were lining their pockets with state money, money that was supposed to go towards the children’s education. The test score tampering was real bad, and Imhotep was a major contributor to that. In my area of the city, unless you have a politician buddy, don’t apply, you’re not getting in. Will these things turn around? Who knows. One thing we know for sure is that we have half empty public school buildings, and a $300M education deficit. If all of the kids, that are now in charter schools, were in public schools would we have full buildings and better funding? I don’t know if we would or wouldn’t, but I know where we stand now, and it’s not good.
@tsaf77 i agree you dont see that here in D2. Dont get me wrong Lakeland has run a fine program for years.Iknow their coach and wish he was at Valley View, but Lakeland fans seen to have a habit of always bring up the past it drives me nuts to be honest eveytime i talk to a Lakeland fan they bring up the game in 80 ! Lakeland fans you 12 and 24 aganist Valley View at least pick on some one you beat !
@ Facts
I am not trying to debunk the kids at IC as they should all have the same educational/athletic opportunities as all schools across the state. That is fair.
The Charter method bothers me because Charter schools are not held to public standards and most people believe they are equal to public when this is not true. As for the PCL, I call them out however they are private and parents pay tuition for their kids to go to the PCL along with paying taxes to public education. So I therefore have no substance to argue. My relatives attended St. Joes and O’Hare so I know about the PCL and the recruiting that “doesn’t take place.”
Charters are not private and are using public funds but are not held to the same standards. Sure they are tested through PDE however where is accountability for poor testing. The 5 year contract deal is worthless for accountability. I haven’t seen one Charter removed and most are failing worse than Public. Now with the Keystone exams in place, it is going to all of sudden improve most charters?
As for funding, it is a shame the school does not fund it’s athletics as the Charters do not pay for transportation. The Philly Public Schools have to front the bill. It’s PA Law. Charters also only have to staff 75% of its teachers with accredited degrees. I am not even sure if that counts with PA Licenses. So they are also saving money by paying 25% of the staff without proper degrees. Public schools can’t do that. Again it is PA Law. Find out the Per Pupil rate for students at IC. The money comes from the Per Pupil rate of the student from their original district, in this case Philly SD, unless a kid out of Philly SD got it because that is also possible if there is room. The per pupil rate includes transportation costs, yet the Charter does not provide it! This Per Pupil rate almost triples for a student that has an IEP. Isn’t it ironic that Curriculum for Charters comes from a company that is owned by the PA Dept of Ed’s 2nd in command who was appointed by the Governor. Hmmmm sounds a little skeptical.
I also found nothing in PA Law that says only 9th grade students have a lottery to get in. It actually states any “grade” that is subject to filling. The Charter can also pick a student that has family already there or for “other” circumstances. Those are only some of the reasons why I don’t care for the Charters and am tired of people calling them PUBLIC! They aren’t fully public until they are held to the same standards as Public.
As for the kids, I do agree with Quite One when he stated that anyone would basically not turn away an athlete(s). IC has a great thing going for it. Similar to the PCL, the team is built in an All Star way. IC just has to be more persuasive to get the kids from Philly SD to want to go there. Lets call it what it is, old fashioned recruiting. It happens almost everywhere. But if a kid transfers to a Public School from another Public School, he may have to sit out one year from participating. I have seen that happen. The denial aspect is what bothers me and creates problems.
Reaching for dirt with HUDL, well Facts your wrong again. HUDL is not Free. Like I said depending on which package you buy (Silver, Gold or Platinum) they range from over $1000 to over $3000 each year.
I still don’t understand the comment “Do you understand they all paid to get in?” That means pay to play sports right?
Every school also has a story Facts, and they are all great success stories. I agree with you about making life better and more successful for these kids, they deserve that. They don’t deserve education thrown to the wayside for success on the gridiron. That is a disservice to these kids. There are over 70 kids on this roster. Almost all if not all are not going to live the pro dream. Their education is more important than that.
@Philly Guy
I don’t know why you pay to play at IC. PA Law states your child can play at any public school within the Public SD if the Charter does not offer the sport. IC is obviously not offering if you as parents have to pay. So why do pay instead of sending your child to play for one of the other Public Schools?
Don’t know what you mean by fully public schools. There are about 4 or 5 Public Schools near me that are Pay To Play because their funding got cut. Check to see if the Charters in Philly got their funding cut. Especially for poor academic performance. These public schools near me are actually performing well and still had funding cut. Where did it go?
I am actually worried about my tax dollars because the school is not outperforming the Philly Public SD. I guess the school should focus more on academics than the athletics it doesn’t support (through pay). The community has more power over the Charter anyway. So where are your priorities? Still hoping for that D1 scholarship.
I obviously don’t care for the charter system as it has more flaws than proven success. However, I was rooting for Imhotep to win this weekend for their kids! I will root for Imhotep if and when they represent Eastern PA in the State Championship. They are a good program with great kids.
Agree, way too much fun to stop now. I don’t care if Imhotep wears Nike or K-mart uni’s, that’s irrelevant. I’ve never seen an Imhotep player standing on the corner with a bucket and a sign, trying to guilt me into throwing in a buck in the bucket, so they’re cool with me there. Speaking of which. Has anybody seen the 2 kids, at Adams & the BLVD, asking for donations for their basketball team to get uniforms? They’ve been out there for about 6 months, every day. I think they can buy uni’s, sweats, sneaks, and a team bus with the money they have made. Never saw anybody else from the team, just the same 2, don’t look athletic, hmmm odd. That got me off track a bit. I have an honest question, for anybody who knows. That Guy Philly might know, being a former parent. I know some people take it as an insult to call a charter a public school, so let me figure out how to ask this without offending anybody. Imhotep plays at the NW Supersite. Catholic schools must pay a fee of just under $3000 to use the, publicly funded, supersites. Being a charter school, does Imhotep have to pay a site rental fee, or are they given the same benefits of publics? Publics don’t pay a site fee. If you don’t have to pay a site fee, that could afford the opportunity to put a lot more money back into the program. Which is very nice. Don’t know why the city charges Catholic teams to play there, our tax dollars paid towards them sites too!
@mark d
I agree with your D2 playoff predictions. It’ll be interesting to see how well WVW can compete with the AAAA D11 teams come playoff time. In AAA, Prep seems to be the real deal. Not taking anything away from Abington, but I’m looking forward to a possible Prep/Berwick title game. I think Prep could beat Berwick.
AA is what it is. Lehman is good, Carbondale has been a surprise. Lakeland can always make some noise, and I think Hanover might be a team to look out for. Class A, upsets aside, Dunmore/Old Forge part 2 will decide it.
Also I wish there was a list somewhere of all the final standings of the Big 11 every year – like a history of the Big 11. I wish that never broke up too; would’ve been great if it was still going. It’s like the high school football version of the SEC – tough games every single week.
@phillyboy
A d6 team recently played Maryland Christian Homeschool. 2 years ago. From talking with their players and coaches, i guess the rules are different down there. If you are homeschooled or cyberschooled you cannot participate in athletics at the school district you live in, like pa has. That is why they had program. Im not sure if this is the case with the team IC played last weekend or not. Just providing some insight into what the rules are in other states.
@17th it’s too much fun to give up so…
@tsaf77 just a note as a former Imhotep football parent, since you worry about the costs the football program incurs, thought you would like to know that the kids, not the school support the program. Unlike fully public schools, the kids must pay an activity fee for all athletics. This fee is several hundred per participant, yes for those wondering including those “all-star” transfers that you worry so much about. Their program is self supported because the school doesn’t believe in spending money on non-education expenses unless their is surplus funds at the end of the school year. Oh, and this also includes no pay for the assistant coaches and probably the lowest paid head coach in the state.
So instead of just worrying about the cost of jersey’s think about the tax dollars you are saving. Or here’s a thought contact the school and make a donation since you are so worried about the finances of the football team.