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.
881 Responses
@phillyboy
CALPREPS.COM
Your source for high school football scores, standings & rankings
PROJECT A MATCHUP
neutral field
[2003] North Penn (Lansdale, PA) 34, [2003] St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, PA) 22
The problem with the North Penn ’03 team was most of the star players wound up in jail at the end of the season. All lost scholarships.
Great team, but a total embarrassment!
They got a carryout special going on at Dominos right now; large 2 topping for $5.99 a pop. Decided to break out the old North Penn – PCC DVD to enhance the experience. Man o man, are you KIDDING me?! It had been a while since I’ve seen that game. That ’03 North Penn team was a beast, the last hurrah of the late great Suburban One. I give a hearty honorable mention to the ’16, ’08, and ’10 teams but ’03 was on another level. It was a true power team with elite talent at several skill positions. Hearns was a great running QB who could heave the ball quite nicely as needed thank you very much. Then you had Kevin Akins and Casertano in the backfield, are you KIDDING me?! Got that Casertano screen pass play etched into my memory, dude was like Daryl Johnston. Then you had role players like Laky and Halberstadt who could take it to the house. Then you had the formidable defense with Carey at the helm.
From time to time heads of state will extend a formal apology for past misdeeds and news anchors will sometimes apologize for a recent faux pas. Well I’m here to tell you that phillyboy needs to set something straight. A while back I opined that ‘the ’03 SJP team might have won if they had played NP that year.’ Even when I wrote that it didn’t feel right, have had some misgivings about it ever since. So I hereby retract that statement. Although that Prep team was very good, I say there’s a better chance than not that NP would have taken them.
I think Phillyboy got it right.
Two LL League Alumni now NFL Head Coaches….. Congrats to Matt Nagy and Frank Reich!!!
Honestly, the real issue to me is the number of teams that makes the playoffs. 4 classes, 6 classes, I’m kind of indifferent on that front. Just make the playoff format worthwhile and meaningful. If doing that requires contracting the number of classes, then do that.
In case anybody was wondering what phillyboy’s take is on PA expanding to 6 classes: I don’t like it, I’m not feeling it one iota. I was against it from the get-go and still am. Don’t fix it if it’s not broken. 4 classes was very fine. No way in the world it should be any more than that. Heck, if anything you could make a case for 3 classes; small, medium and large schools — but 4 was okay. Here’s the deal, in the east they can get away with the extra classes, albeit watered down, due to the sheer abundance of larger schools. But out west the weakness of it is really exposed. Come on man, let’s be real, the highest classification in the WPIAL is a shell of itself. Before, there was depth, a larger pool of quality programs. Now it’s basically PCC, NA and PR. McKeesport, Gateway, Upper Saint Clair etc. should still be in the same classification. They should go back to 4 classes. It’s okay, they experimented, made a mistake, humbly recognize it and duly make the correction, no harm no foul. And while I’m at it, 2 other things to undo: no way the first game of the season should be in August, and WAY too many teams qualify for the playoffs. Don’t get me wrong, I love the playoffs and all, don’t mean to be a party pooper, but the quality starts to plummet when it’s too much. Just look at the NBA or NHL playoffs, talk about overkill, yikes, that’s some boring stuff until maybe the final. They need to lessen the amount of playoff spots and if a team doesn’t qualify then so be it, win your games or beat it. Play your Thanksgiving game and see you next year.
There are approximately 95 schools in each football classification for an approximate total of 570 football schools in PA. Again this is football only. This comes directly from the PIAA classification website for the 2018 – 2019 seasons.
FYI…. Wikipedia isn’t always correct 🙂
Link below
http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/Report_18_19_and_19_20_Football.pdf
Buddy said:
2000 high schools in Cali., 1800 in Tx.
All other states under 1000.
This was all in argument for 5 classes in Pa, instead of 6 ( like Cali & Tx).
I still believe we have 1 class too many.
@Billy – did you try reaching out to Eddie Walker or Bob the video guy at Berwick??? I got some games from both of them in the past and they were older Berwick games. Might be worth a try, both of really cool guys.
@ kevin X
Here is what you are missing: Buddy said there were 1500 to 2000 HS in FL. and TX. and under 1000 in PA., Sooooo, I looked up how many HS in PA both public and private and the wiki page said there was about 1500 in PA. That’s were you came in.
Sorry Billy I do not have that game and the only person I knew that might have an oldie like that said no as well. He had the same idea as I and that is sending a message out to someone like Bo Orlando. 07′ or 08′ was the last time I spoke w him but he’s still out at McDowell. Maybe somebody from the Coughlin side of the ball might be sitting on a vhs copy in their attic but I don’t know anyone from there, sorry again.
I really didn’t start collecting any games until about 86′ or so but I did lose quite a few to water damage down in GA in 95′. shoot me an email and I’ll send you an updated copy of the games I still have if you want.
The long term quality of football has been diminishing for 20 years simply because top athletes are playing other sports and there are less athletes in the game.
Just look at professional sports. Baseball and basketball have players from all over the world. Hockey has Europe and North America. These sports are getting the best out of several billion.
The NFL is getting the best out of 150 million. 40% of NFL players come from three states: CA, FL & TX.
High school football teams will continue to contract until only schools with 100 plus boys per class can survive. And the reality is 4A and below is a different game than 5A & 6A. Much smaller players.
@ jj D2 (and I suppose Buddy as well??)
OK, so what are your guys respected points?? What am I missing??
neither do all of them in Pa.
That stat was from US news & world report of 10 years ago. NO state has over 1000 except Cali. ( 2000) & Texas ( 1800). Many are just under 1000, Pa., Ohio, Fl, IN. Ill, etc.
This is all high schools ( Public, Catholic, private charter) Not all, but most, in Pa. belong to the PIAA.
@kevin X
the original topic was the number of high schools in PA. I dont think all the high schools in the other states that were mentioned have football programs.
@Kmac. All we can do is hope it gets better. The teams I was referring to are coal region teams. Not sure what’s going on. I think more families are moving towards the city for work. I also believe more and more parents are not letting their kids play football as someone mentioned below.
Phil
Ok I’ll deal with it thanks…Of course coaches and AD’s will be in favor it give more chances for trophies and more money. I’m sure it is here to stay and probably go to 8 some day for same reasons. Hershey used to be fun, now there are even fewer good games, 6 classifications certainly not the only reason, but doesn’t help. You can argue the degree to which it is watered down, but by definition going from 4 to 6 is less competition in each class, thus watered down. Look at WPIAL in 2018 vs 3 years ago. Carry on….
@ D12FAN
Let me stand corrected. I re-read your post regarding your transfer suggestion, and mis read it originally, thinking you meant a transfer sitting out in August at the beginning of practice in early August, not the start of the season of regular season games later in August, at least that is what I am assuming now. My bad. I may be able to get on board with that idea of a transfer sitting out once the regular season officially kicks-offs for his respected team in late August. I still may find this tough to swallow if you’re a senior, and this is your last opportunity of playing in any kind of organized football.
Route 54
You are certainly correct. An example down here in the big schools in Bucks County When the Council Rock School District split in 2002 each of the two teams Rock North and Rock South were getting 70 to 80 players per squad. Last season it was about 45 – 50 players per squad. I witnessed a Pennsbury practice of 108 players about 7 or 8 years back. Squad looked to be about 70 last season. It’s worse with the smaller schools.
@ D12FAN
Because life happens, people/families move. There is more to this transfer issue then that of timing. I feel your idea of sitting out the whole season once practice starts is a little draconian. Granted, its a no muss no fuss zero tolerance solution, and I’d sign up for that over what is taking place now. I was tossing out a middle of the road option when transferring early in the in season and/or after practice commences. Maybe move my date back from Sept. 30th to 15th, or after the third or fourth game, or sit out any post season games. Just tossing options out there. Really other than 2 or 3 recent high profile incidents, I don’t think this is huge issue. No one batted an eye when that kid from Norristown transferred to Methacton mid season.
Also, how do you define or describe “watered down” as it pertains to 6 classes?? I’ll keep hammering the point that it is the playoffs, being a combined district and state drawn out concoction that is currently in place where we attempt to hand out trophies left and right (really, do we need a playoff for all 3 5A teams in D2 for example??). 1 state champion out of a give or take field of 96?? Hardly watered down.
@ phil
Thank you, agreed and well said……
@D12
Going from 4 champs out of 570 teams (.007) to 6 champs (.0105) is hardly watering anything. You do know PA is still in the top 5 out of all 50 states with the most teams in a class vying for a championship, so 96 is more than plenty to be competing for a title. Besides 6 classes are here to stay. Deal with it! I travel around the state and from talking to ADs, players and coaches, they are overwhelmingly in favor of six classes.
Probably the best thing to do when playoffs begin to get to the place where there are no byes is go to a 32 team field and have four regions OR as someone stated just rank them somehow and go with it. The district concept has always been a sticking point for the playoff picture going smoothly. How ’bout this – the team that gets the deepest into the playoffs is the district champ.
@ Tom F. I’ve witnessed it myself. 3 teams I watched in 2016, 2017. You can see the numbers going down. When you see 11 on the field and 8 on the sideline, that’s bad.
Way too early for any schedules right?
Looks like Coatesville and Harrisburg may have a two-year agreement to play each other starting in Harrisburg in 2018 and Coatesville in 2019.