Are you ready for some football?
Welcome to the official forum on high school football for the 2018 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.
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Some potential barnburner playoff games this weekend (tongue firmly planted in cheek if you don’t realize):
D2: Abington Heights (2-8) @ Valley View (10-0)
Carbondale (3-7) @ Dunmore (7-3)
Hanover (3-7) @ Wyoming Area (10-0)
Honesdale (3-7) @ Dallas (9-1)
Scranton (1-9) @ DelVal (7-3)
W-B GAR (1-9) @ Scr. Prep (9-1)
D3: Fairfield (2-7) @ Halifax (9-1)
D4: CMVT (4-7) @ Jersey Shore (5-5)
Line Mtn. (4-6) @ SoColumbia (10-0)
D11: Blue Mtn. (3-7) @ Becahi (7-3)
D12: And maybe the Game of the Weekend: Roman Catholic (0-9) @ SJP (7-0)
Please just call these games (and many others that I decided not to list) simply what they are, and that is, nothing more than an easy money grab!!!!
Just for fun…
Mike’s Eastern 6A Top Ten
1) St. Joseph’s Prep
2) Coatesville
3) Harrisburg
4) Downingtown West
5) Manheim Township
6) Central Dauphin
7) North Penn
8) Garnet Valley
9) Emmaus
10) Bethlehem Freedom
Honorable Mention
Downingtown East, Wilson, LaSalle,Truman, Perkiomen Valley, Parkland, Neshaminy, Easton, Chambersburg, Red Lion
Mike’s State 6A Top Ten
1) St. Joseph’s Prep
2) Coatesville
3) North Alleghenny
4) Harrisburg
5) Pine Richland
6) State College
7) Downingtown West
8) Manheim Township
9) Mt. Lebanon
10) Pittsburgh Central Catholic
Honorable Mention
Seneca Valley, Central Dauphin, North Penn, Garnet Valley, Emmaus, Bethlehem Freedom, Downingtown East, Wilson, LaSalle, Truman, Perkiomen Valley,
I’m torn on the idea of teams opting out of the playoffs.
Obviously, teams that finish 0-10, 1-9, 2-8, etc. have no business making the playoffs. Might as well hand out participation trophies right at the start of the season. I’m all on board with the idea of fewer teams making the playoffs and BYE weeks.
Having said that, I think that since the current situation is what it is (those teams with losing records do make the playoffs), that opting out sends a bad message to the kids. “We’re probably going to lose this game, so let’s not even play it.”
@D3 Mike – you couldn’t be farther from the truth. A bye in week 10 or 11 absolutely helps a team if they make it to week 14. Any extra week of rest is huge going into a playoff stretch, not just for the following week. We call it “heal time”. It also gives the players an extra week to scout. Coaches love to get players into the AV room and sit w/ Hudl studying the guys who will be covering them, tackling them, and blocking them. That “heal time” carries into weeks 12, 13, and 14.
@artist – that would be pretty cool to see games there. I was a huge fan of the early years (during the 90’s) when the PIAA said they were going to make a HUGE push to have the Eastern Finals at Lehigh University; sadly however they only scheduled two games there and that was it. Both games were a HUGE HUGE success nearly selling out the stadium – Lehigh doesn’t even do that!
Fans begged the PIAA to keep games there but it was, as usual, one excuse after another.
@Jut & D3 Mike – just to follow up on Mike’s comments District 7 has 24 teams in 5A, and were also allotted 4 weeks by the PIAA, but instead of giving the top teams byes they went with a 16 team field with no byes, so as a result we have 5 teams in the 5A playoff field with losing records, including the aforementioned #16 Kiski at 3-7 vs. #1 Gateway at 10-0 which will almost certainly be a mercy rule game, those teams were in the same conference last year and Gateway won 61-21, this game is likely to be even worse because Gateway has a much better defense this year and there’s a distinct possibility Kiski will not score in that game My feeling is its an awful lot to ask high school kids to play 16 weeks in a row, not even the NFL does that anymore, so any time a district can give their top teams with state title aspirations a bye I think it’s good for everyone.
@Jut it’s up to each district to structure it’s playoffs within the allotted weeks.
For example, D3-5A has 28 schools and they were given 4 weeks by the PIAA. They could have chosen a 4 round tournament with 16 teams but to lessen the likelihood of teams with losing records in the playoffs they settled on a 14 team bracket, with the top 2 seeds having first round byes.
Byes really only benefit a team the following week, and it’s mostly from extra film time for the coaches. Having to play a team in week 14 that had a bye in week 10 disadvantages no one.
@Jut – each district is responsible for how they conduct their district playoffs, all the PIAA does is slot them into the state tournament after their district playoffs are completed, other districts could have byes too for the top teams if they wanted to, but most have decided it’s more important to have more teams make the playoffs than give the top teams byes. I think D3 has the right idea in giving their top teams a bye this week, and hope other districts follow their lead in the future, there are way too many mediocre or below average teams that make the playoffs in many districts.
Always respected how the WPIAL plays their championship games at the Steelers stadium. Couldn’t imagine the eastern finals ever being played at the Eagles stadium. As it is, they’re gouging Temple to rent their stadium despite the fact it was partially subsidized by taxpayer money. Speaking of that, if Temple gets their on-campus 35,000 seat football stadium built at 15th and Norris I could see PIAA playoff games being played there. They’ve hinted it will be community friendly. To be able to take a half hour walk to a PIAA semifinal would be pretty cool.
I fine it so funny. That for years district 12 schools got byes during state championship or had a week off of some sort. This year it’s distinct 3 in every class. Even the classes that that don’t have a bye. They have the top teams with byes. I find this unfair. What makes that district so more deserving of a bye then other districts?? Is it because the PIAA is out of district 3? Will next year some other district get the byes? Can someone explain it to me
Kevin:
Your scenario does not correct the problem of 6A teams in D7. They would still be woefully short.
5 classes should correct that. That said, too many teams in the playoffs? I agree.
@ Kevin X – as I’ve previously stated completely agree too many teams make the playoffs statewide, your solution for the WPIAL in 6A sounds logical, but being from Pittsburgh I can guarantee you the WPIAL would never agree to that because that would mean they might not have a district 7 6A championship at Heinz Field, that tradition has been going on for decades and they are not going to change for the sake of the PIAA no mater how much sense it makes. The move to 6 classes already has interfered with all the WPIAL championships being played on the same day at Heinz, the last 2 years 3A-6A were at Heinz and 1A and 2A were at Robert Morris college the following weekend, in this 2 year cycle several 6A teams dropped to 5A, so now we have a 16 team field and 5A championship will be played at Norwin high school and not Heinz, with the 2A being played at Robert Morris. In my opinion the short term solution is for less teams to make the district playoffs and give the top seeded teams a bye week, but good luck getting the various districts to agree to that, especially the WPIAL.
Anthony had a seizure after the Schuykill Valley game a few weeks ago and a brain scan showed that he has malignant anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare and deadly form of Brain Cancer. His world and the Myers Family has been turned upside down. Anthony is a fantastic kid and the Myers are a wonderful family, both parents are educators and big brother Nico is a Sr Center and defensive tackle on the team. A fundraiser is being planned for Nov 17th at the planetarium in Reading. I will fill everyone in when I get the details.
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/community-tackles-devasting-cancer-diagnosis-for-berks-catholic-player
@ NO
Yep, that makes sense. Hopefully they aren’t on any sort of probation or disciplinary action. Wish more teams would use some common sense and wake up and smell the java, and opted out.
Which leads me to…..
@ Buddy
Six classifications are fine, the problem/issue is that you have way too many teams in the post season across all classifications. Aprx. 2/3rds of all teams are playing this weekend in some form of playoff post season games. Ridiculous. Hell, you have 3 teams in D12 that are playing in playoff games that haven’t won a game all year!!!!! Unbelievable. I’ve climbed high atop this soapbox before, and guess it is that time of year to do it again, as I’d advocate cutting the brackets down to 32 deserving schools/teams (with teams at least having a better than .500 record), and 5 weeks of post season play. Add an 11th week if you want another game, schedule more contingency games, bring back the old Thanksgiving Day games, whatever, if you need or want another game, just not in the playoffs/post season. As far as D7 and 6A, make it a regional 8 team bracket with D6, D8 and D10. I guess that though would mess up the purity of traditional WPIAL only playoff and possibility of a non D7 champion.
@Buddy – only 9 teams in 6A in the WPIAL, most of the traditional power schools are in 5A, including Gateway, Penn Hills, McKeesport, Upper St Clair, Woodland Hills, Bethel Park, North Hills, etc. I completely agree the PIAA expanded too far, I have argued for the last few years they should have added 1 class, not 2, every time they expanded in the past it was 1 class at a time, went from 3A to 4A in 1980, so were due to add another class, just think they went too far going to 6, but I don’t think they’ll ever admit that and go back to 5.
@D3 Mike – completely agree with you about the expanded district playoffs, it’s been a problem in the WPIAL for years even before expansion, not sure how blowouts and mercy rule games in districts benefit anybody, perfect example in the WPIAL in 5A is #16 seed Kiski at 3-7 taking on #1 Gateway, which will be very ugly, Kiski lost 47-0 to a mediocre 4-6 Woodland Hills team, imagine what Gateway is going to do to them, they could literally put up 100 if they wanted to, instead it will probably be 49-0 at half and they’ll sit their starters for the 2nd half, I think it’s much better for all involved to give the really great teams a bye and not have some really bad teams make the playoffs just to be canon fodder, it’s better for kids at both schools, and better for the game in general.
@d3 Mike – thanks for the info on BC, didn’t realize they are so young in the secondary, think one of the keys will be how much pressure they can get on Chase Diehl, if they can get consistent pressure that can help mask some of the inexperience in the secondary. I’m guessing Malvern’s OLine is better than McDevitt, but I’m not sure, skill guys are probably comparable. I just have a hunch this is Berks year to take the next step and get to the state final, I certainly could be wrong, the fact they played a much tougher non-conference schedule has them better prepared than years past for a long playoff run. Also agree the Middletown and Lancaster Catholic match up should be a very good game. In the larger classes I’m not sure if any team is going to seriously challenge either Manheim Central or Harrisburg, in 5A I think the team that might give Manheim a run is Warwick, assuming they can get past Cedar Cliff, think CD is the only team in 6A that might pose a challenge to Harrisburg in the final.
@Buddy – D7 brackets were announced last night at 7pm, virtually all first round games will be this Friday at 7;30, may be a few in the lower classes on Saturday afternoon, I haven’t checked the full schedule yet. 6 teams made the playoffs in 6A, NA and PR have byes and will host home games next week in the semi-finals, PR plays the winner of Mt Lebo and Canon Mac, and NA plays the winner of Seneca Valley and PCC. Winner of the district title enters the state playoffs in the quarterfinals to likely play State College with the winner of that game playing SJP in the semi-finals.
In 5A 16 teams made the playoffs with Gateway as #1 seed, Penn Hills #2 and Peters Twp #3, top 8 teams have home games this week, next week and thereafter are neutral site games. Winner of the 5A district title this year enters the playoffs in the semi-finals where they will likely be playing Archbishop Wood.
@ JC Regarding D11 3A, can you say loaded bracket? Of the four teams, Notre Dame would stand the best chance of beating Conwell-Egan because of their high-powered offense. They need to ramp up their defense.
@Neutral Observer
Agreed about Nanticoke. It’s disappointing how districts keep expanding the playoff brackets on top of expanding the number of classifications. District 3 used to send 16 teams into the district playoffs. Most of the games were competitive. Now they send 38 teams and the vast majority of first-round games are blowouts. Looking across the state, half of the district brackets contain 5-5 teams, if not teams with losing records. I have no idea what sending seniors out on a mercy rule loss is supposed to accomplish.
@D3 Commish
Wyomissing has beaten BC 4 times since the school was founded in 2011 and won a state title during that time (BC hasn’t). They will probably be just fine. BTW, Wyomissing is 23-10 vs BC/Holy Name over the past 30 years… and is 102-3 vs. other Berks County public schools this century. So again, they will probably be fine. Lost in the hysteria around non-boundary schools is the fact that transfer exemptions, foundations (a la Manheim Central) and district wealth (like that at Wyomissing) lead to a greater unbalance than anything else. Across all sports, Wilson and Wyomissing have 10 state titles for every 1 won by a Berks County private school. It’s just that the advantages are less obvious and more difficult to stop.
tl;dr as soon as Southern Columbia isn’t in the state title game just about every season for an entire generation I’ll shed a tear for public schools.
D7 must really be hurtin’ for class 6A teams. They got 8 slots ( 4 games) and they have 2 byes ( i.e. 6 teams in playoffs). Terrible
Now here is a case for NOT having 6 classes. It is AT LEAST one class too many. PIAA should review this during off-season.
@ Kevin X
RE: Greater Nanticoke Area declining District 2 playoffs
Nothing from the actual team/coaches, but my personal guess (with no supporting evidence whatsoever) is that they knew they would be in the bottom half of the 4A playoffs and would rather play a win-able Eastern Conference game than get chewed up by Valley View, Dallas or Berwick.
What’s up with D7? Do they have games today?
Buddy…They have a special show on Monday….there is a game today.
are the Eastern Conference championships being played this season??? if so, anyone have the game days, location, and times. tx.
Sausmann9…Yes…We are working on that bracket
IMO the amount of Seniors playing is the often overlooked when comparing teams. Obviously they must be good players, but generally speaking Seniors beat underclassmen. For this reason I see Harrisburg and CD in the D3 Final with CD pulling the upset.
MT and Wilson are very young on defense. Both teams will peak next year and be favorites for the Final next year. Keep an eye on MT Freshman Anthony Ivey (WR) as he matures. Also Wilson Soph Class is very athletic.
CV finished 3-7. They did finish strong and almost beat SC but ended up on the short side 16-13. Look forward to them bouncing back strong next year!
5A 2nd round game should be Warwick vs Cedar Cliff – If you like passing this is the game to see. I’m picking Warwick 72 – 71. Warwick WR Trey Glass is the fastest human in the world! Winner of this game will most likely go to Manheim Central. Central plays the winer of E-Town and Mifflin in the 2nd round.
Shout out to Conrad Weiser for pulling a big upset and beating Mifflin to win the Berks 1 Division. The QB for Weiser – Alex McKenzie – is a gamer and would be getting lots of attention at a bigger school. Looks like a PSAC QB in the future.
Was at the “Backyard Brawl” for the BC vs Wyomissing game. BC won 28-7. First time there and it is a great atmosphere to see a game……. However when you look at the size of the players you see clearly the advantage of Non-Boundary Schools. Two schools a mile apart with similar enrollments and to a man BC was 6 inches taller and 50 lbs bigger. How does this happen! Wyo is better coached and has a wonderful tradition but they will only beat BC once every ten years now. This was once an even rivalry. I wonder how Ross Tucker feels about this?
That D11 3A bracket is going to be a grinder with 4 9-1 teams. Notre Dame definitely has the talent to win, but they’ll have to get through two very tough teams. The winner likely gets rewarded with Conwell-Egan.