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
@phillyboy:
Yea, the usual suspects next year.
Pennsbury was very young this year, they will be a force. Neshaminy every year. Not sure if Pollard is a senior, I sure hope so! As a NP fan, we don’t need to see him again! NP will be decent, but they will now be in the same division as the above big boys. Will make it tough.
If they ( NP) has the same non-league games ( first 3 games) as this year, they may not make the playoffs. Of course, I thought that for this year too.
@phillyboy
I apologize for responding to your inquiry to Buddy, but Sub One is my life, so I thought you wouldn’t mind my input. The realignment for 2014 puts NP, Nesh, Penns, Pnrg, Soud, CB South, Abing,and Bens in the same conference. If a team goes 7-0 in this conference they will have to be good. Pennsbury does have about 14 starters back including QB and I think two RBs. Pollard returns for Neshaminy, but will he have the cast to be as good as this season? They graduate a lot. Josh Adams at CB South will be a senior and his injury this year definately deflated the Titans’ 2013 tour. Abington has been really solid lately, and they had two major injuries impact their season. Very early, I feel it may be a NP-Pennsbury year; but I can’t predict the weather by looking out of the window, so who knows?
@ Buddy
Any very early thoughts as to what D1 teams show promise for next year. Been hearing that Pennsbury has a lot coming back. And I read in the paper that Neshaminy’s star back Pollard is a senior but was told at the Neshaminy/Prep game that he’s only a junior. He’s the real deal. And maybe North Penn will surpise.
@Jive
This is no surprise when it comes to the PIAA. They do not want to enforce rules they have created because it may upset the masses. This will be a reoccurring issue that appears to have no end in sight. Basketball is already lopsided because of this happening. Wait till it happens in droves with football. If you check the rivals.com site, some of these athletes don’t even have their updated transfer school in yet and it shows the previous school the player attended. I find that quite humorous. These players want to know what D1 is then let them understand D1 rules and regulations. If you are in a committed and play for a D1 school ie Temple and you decide to transfer to another D1 school ie Maryland, you have to sit out a full year. The PIAA should teach these kids that concept.
Well gang, I’ve been gone for over a week now ( yea, I know, who cares), but I didn’t know the results of Sundays games until today ( that’s right , I don’t have one of those “smart” phones. Have enough trouble figuring out my simple cell phone).
Shocking results, but in summary, D12 in general, PCL specifically, did real well. And for you guys that know me, it pains me to admit that! But they sure did!
Can’t wait for next year! Seems that the same teams will be loaded again. Don’t expect to see any major power shift for at least a couple of years.
Fun year to have watched. See yu-all next year!
@Jim B,
I rolled out the 1-3 predictions. I think the only reason I had one right was because I didn’t want to flip flop on Prep. I called them in week 1, had I not picked them then, I probably would have picked 0-4 also.
@tsaf,
Update on the kid from MC&S basketball. After PIAA put their tail between their legs, D12 doesn’t want to be the bad guy. Kid played in his first game of the season yesterday. Of the 9 kids in their rotation, at MC&S, 2 were at the school last year. They have 7 new transfers. A quote from the Phila Daily News was something to the effect of, “they have the most college recruitable team in the city”.
Robbyv
Yea, you got me. I was 0-4 on my picks. Oh well for me. Glad I didn’t make any wagers on the games.
But, d6football was also 0-4, and RevTweak was 1-3. Why not call them out also “Robbyv”? Why just me?
You can “LOL at “Jim B”, but what kind of name is “Robbyv”? I can’t seem to recall seeing you ever post anything on this forum. At least I have the guts to post my picks up here. What have you contributed?
@ Phillips
I didn’t realize the person you stated was QB. I thought he was a DB? See I said South Fayette’s QB was the top QB prospect in the state at #21 in the nation.
ok, there’s like a million “soldier returns” videos, but this one is football related and cool! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSNLs8iep3I#t=24
Staf77 : south feyette’s quarterback is not the best player in pa that is John Reid
@ 17th & G
In your hypothetical situation you did not mention how well performance schools are determined. Are they determined based on the same educational rigors? Are the students with special needs accounted for in all of your schools? Do their core subject areas offer the same educational experience, because you are talking state and federal money here. Sure federal money is minute in the whole budget but it can account for a full academic program. The state allotment makes up probably 50% of the school budget on averages. More affluent districts usually get more funding from Local Taxes which you have failed to mention. The State and Local districts are not going fork over money to private schools if they do not have a say with accountability.
Secondly, you are basing this concept off of what the PSAC Colleges do? It’s a lot different when colleges recruit the “kids they want” to attend their schools. Public education means Education for ALL! Private schools can pick and choose the kids they want which is why many have entrance exams to attend. If you don’t pass, you can’t CHOOSE that school. Secondly, they don’t have to let you in the school for whatever reason they deem not letting you in. Public money for education also can not be used to fund private, nonsecular schools. It is PA Law.
You seem to have a gripe against teachers for some reason. Realize the jobs that are asked of them before you send them to the gallows. Sure there are a “minority” that do not uphold the standards however most teachers are professionals that get the most they can out of their students. It is proven that most of the educational/developmental issues students have are outside of school. Parents are less involved today in the development of their children then they were years ago and that may be more of an explanation to the failings of schools.
sorry doug d watch the tape it changed the entire game please don’t lecture on sportsmanship when fairness is sportsmanship. old forge was gifted that win.
@ Jay -Southern Columbia Fan
Hello fellow football fan .
I’m a bit set back about your comment on the
Old Forge vs Southern Columbia game suggesting the game
Was gifted to Old Forge is such a disrespect not only to
OLD FORGE but also to SOUTHERN COLUMBIA
the both teams played solid games and should be respected and left alone .
In all due respect the REFS were very unjust to the
BLUE DEVILS too but what did they do …?
They dug deep and stepped up their game.
As a Lakeland Chiefs football fan I too have seen games go to
The other team ending our season 1 game shy of the
P.I.A.A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP but let it be known we don’t throw low punches about the facts …..why?
Because that simply de values our opponent and that’s not how we at LAKELAND or how OLD FORGE rolls ! sportsmanship is not only being awesome WINNERS it also applies to how you handle losses , that my friend is a true
CHAMPION because it will carry onto future life
Experiences that no win or loss can ever take away from
The future adults who will be running our world.
Remember life’s not all about what you win
It’s what you’ve learned while trying to achieve your goals.
Ending with that statement.
I would like to say congrats to Southern Columbia on a
Solid game vs the Blue Devils.
I just had to communicate with you about this matter
Only because OLD FORGE and LAKELAND have respect for each other they are our LACKAWANNA FOOTBALL CONFERANCE brothers.
NOBODY MESSES WITH FAMILY WHERE WE COME FROM!
It’s called Class some people have it and some people don’t
Best of luck finding it, put your mental filter on
And you too can find class .
MERRY CHRISTMAS fellow fan
and May God bless your mind body and spirit
-peace
Not to make excuses, IC got their butts kicked on Sunday at Hershey. Just some facts though, IC didn’t practice the week leading up to the game. The field they practice on was frozen over from the snowstorm the previous week. Adversary is something that needs to be overcame. The media already gave IC the title, giving SF bulletin board material. They were better that game, hats off to them!
Ima explain why imhotep got 41-0 when you have to practice in your lunch room cause no one has a field for you to practice on cause of the weather. When they let wood practice in a indoor feild and let prep practice at eagles indoor feild imhotep only had one practice tey couldn’t get no ones feild so they used there lunchroom couldn’t use gym I heard cause ball season started but when you have one practice out the week things like that happen. Everybody could have saw that imhotep was off its game and wasn’t focus by the first couple plays. When imhotep played lasalle spread offense imhotep took control of that or mayb the ECA game they barely lost to national ranked team with just as much talent as them. In not using this as a excuse for there lost just wanted to give you info on that week for the state game
@ Jive
This is the problem the PIAA poses all of the time. They don’t want to make rulings that will become “past practice” to politically help out their “good ole’ boys” network in other districts. This case shouldn’t have been appealed to the PIAA. The PIAA should only intervene when they catch a District not following the PIAA rules.
The case you have presented is a clear case of moving districts for athletic reasons. Once you start letting one or two, the flood gates will open and the PIAA won’t have a leg to stand on.
Transferring should face a penalty of no sports for one season and we will see who actually transfers for academics vs athletics. That is the most fair way to do it. Transfer rates would fall dramatically if that were the case.
@PCL Football
Well, Imhotep played itself out of the game with mental mistakes. Don’t think the S. Fayette team doesn’t have athletes. Their QB is the top prospect at his position out of PA for next years class. He very well may be the best QB prospect in PA right now. That alone places S. Fayette at huge advantage. Not to mention, IC didn’t really see passing of that caliber the whole season and not at practice. When your up by 2 or 3 TD’s by the end of the 1st quarter, it is easy to get another DB in the game and stop the pass because you know it’s coming. S. Fayette is all pass and their QB got better during the playoffs by averaging over 300yds/gm in the post season. Plus, lets remember they are kids and after getting shocked in the 1st quarter by being the team that was down by 2 TD’s puts you in unfamiliar territory and reveals flaws in coaching. Like never preparing to come back from a 2 or 3 TD deficit. I am not making excuses for IC as they should have been better prepared however 41-0 was more of a fluke. If they played again IC may lose, but not like that. That was the worst game I have seen them play. I remember after the La Salle game, I made a comment saying they were undisciplined “on the field” with the little mechanical flaws and I got ripped apart for that statement. Well those little flaws showed up in their biggest game.
@ Greg Little
I agree they have excellent athletes and I got ripped apart in saying that winning in HS is easy when you have talent like that. I have said it many times like good ole’ Mack Brown “It’s not about the X’s and O’s, it’s about the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s.” The best recruiters will win most of the time. IC also lost to the top QB recruit in PA. #21 QB in the nation actually for 2015. Look it up on Rivals. You can’t cover a receiver for more than 3 to 4 seconds in man and S. Fayette’s QB had time. If you give a kid who is that good time, well you will get torched just like IC did. IC plays a lot of man because they have the athletes and it is easy to teach. Zone takes time and reps to get your kids on the same page, especially a rotating zone. Coaching is important in developing a scheme and preparing your kids especially at the championship level. However, unbalanced talent will win almost every time. Lets be honest, IC could have beat over 1/2 the teams in the state without even practicing. Did IC have more talented players than S. Fayette, yeah they have about 3 major D1 recruits and probably 2 more mid-major recruits. S. Fayette also has a major D1 recruit behind the center. It kind of counter balances the recruits IC has because of how important the QB position is. That coupled with not being prepared for the QB I guess is a coaching flaw that IC displayed. They had to do more than just “show up” for this game.
Performance driven school districts.
All education taxes are levied per household across the board based on a % of the value and the state gathers $75% of those taxes. The state decides the cost per student in which each district receives. Use $11K as an example.
Each district signs a two (2) year contract on the number of students they have in the district. That number is guaranteed for the two year contract! So on Day (1) of the contract the district has 1000 students at $5500 per student and they are guaranteed 5.5 million.
Each student is given a voucher for $5500 to use in a two year contract. After two years that student has the ability to change districts. Every year you have a new influx of students so the two year contract is actually tracked annually because of the new student base and the success of the school district. So you just follow the money spend.
If a student decides to use the voucher towards a state approved non-public school (Friends, Christian, Jewish, Prep, Catholic or……) they can do so and the balance falls on the parent or guardian. Your school district is automatically given credit for your residence and is guaranteed your base district allotment.
Simple plan. Good Academics better following. Schools become subject specialist ie..math, science, languages. Special needs could become a specialty. Trade schools with sports or academic schools that become more focused on sports. Some districts might choose to drop sports because they become such an academic power house. With all this in mind schools stop catering to the teachers and start focusing on the consumer (student) decisions based on the consumer demands not demanding teachers.
The system is already in play and is quite successful. State college system! West Chester attracts certain students. Millersville a different. Bloomsburg, IUP, ESU all different but based on performance.
Some small boroughs get out of the education process and that allows their residents chose the appropriate school.
Little Johnny is a very smart stud soccer player and he decides on school A.
Little Tommy not so smart but a D1 hockey prospect decides school B.
Big Tony can remember what he read in 1st grade and is a D1 football prospect he decides on C.
Medium Adam is Jewish and decides wants to play sports so he decides to go to D but his brother really wants academics so he decides to go to E
Just a thought!
@tsaf,
Here’s one that I think you would find pretty interesting. MC&S basketball has a Jr. transfer this year from Strawberry Mansion. The kid is very good, to the tune of scoring 460pts in his sophomore season. Freshman year the kid played at Imhotep. He’s going on his 3rd school in as many years. I don’t have all of the facts, but here is generally what happened. Somebody opposed his transfer to MC&S. District 12 held a hearing, and ruled he will NOT be eligible to play for MC&S this season. Not liking the decision, his family to their case to the PIAA. So they truck up to Mechanicsburg for a PIAA hearing. PIAA basically rules that they don’t feel like making a decision. Their ruling was for D12 to have another hearing, back in Philly, to see if they can come to a different decision. This is a case where D12 did the right thing, and PIAA doesn’t have the backbone to support the D12 ruling. I thought this was a D12 issue, but now I know it goes much deeper. This is ongoing so there is no conclusion yet, but how does PIAA evade the enforcement of their own rules?
I am very surprised that the Pittsburgh Central Catholic coach did not come prepared to disguise his defenses and just let the Prep no huddle see what defensive set PCC was in and then the Prep coach changes the play and made no adjustment at halftime. Surely they could have shown a defensive and switch it up after Prep settled on a play. I was impressed with that no huddle as it could be a hurry up at times or just being able to change the play at the line of scrimmage. Prep didn’t seem rushed or flustered and if they had a delay of game penalty I don’t remember one.
@ Jive Turkey
One of the best comments I’ve read about transferring. I like your ideas. Unfortunately it makes too much sense for a lot of people who feel it should be a free for all.
I was terribly disappointed in Imhotep’s performance on Sunday. I hadn’t seen them play this season, but heard all the hype. It was just that…hype. I only have one question. Has anyone ever seen offsides called on the team RECEIVING the kickoff??! Holy crap that’s embarrassing.
@d6….yep…so many interesting changes for the next 2 year cycle. I can’t remember this many interesting switches in recent memory. Going to be an interesting 2014 for sure
My take on the Imhotep game was, what I think, were two major factors. The penalties were an absolute disgrace! I understand a hold here and there, pass interference, an overaggressive block that catches somebody in the back, but offsides how many times? Very poor discipline. That’s gotta be on the coach, they were not prepared. The other was QB play. The kid from SF was very, very good. If Imhotep gets behind, they don’t have the ability to throw to come back. Happened last year, happened this year. Teams behind on them stack the box, then get beat over the top. Teams ahead play 5 DB’s and challenge Tep to make throws underneath and to the sideline. That’s something they have yet to prove they can do. You can have great receivers, but if you can’t get them the ball, doesn’t matter how great they are.
@tsaf77
Wouldn’t you agree that Imhotep had the better athletes and still had 40 points put on them. And to add insult to injury they couldn’t score a single point. I love to hear the Imhotep people come on here and talk about how they beat SJP in a scrimmage and LS in the regular season. With SJP it was a “scrimmage” and LS had their top three players out. The difference between teams like SJP, LS vs IC is that SJP and LS are always playing towards December while IC gets a false reality because of who they play. 41-0 is embarrasing, all the penalties were embarrasing, and with all the athletes they couldnt cover wide open receivers. So athletes dont make a complete team and neither does “supposedly” having numerous D1 athletes. If that team was full of D1 athletes then college football is in trouble.
both Dunmore and Southern up to AA the next cycle according to the new piaa numbers?