2023 Football Forum
Written by: David Mika on Monday, January 7th, 2019. Follow David Mika on Twitter.
Are you ready for some football?
Welcome to the official forum on high school football for the 2023 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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September 29th, 2023 at 9:49 pm
I follow and have allegiances to Coatesville, Downingtown West, and Downingtown East, in that order. So when I looked the scores up just now, assuming they are accurate, I wondered when the last time was that all three schools pitched a shutout on the same night.
Coatesville won 28-0, marking their FOURTH shutout in six games, only this time to an undefeated opponent in WC Rustin.
East won 42-0 and West won 28-0. Over the next four weeks, the three games where these teams play each other should be very good games.
Maybe one of these three can make it all the way to lose to SJP.
September 29th, 2023 at 6:59 pm
For those wondering why I had two sets of scores in my D2 area picks, I never moved that off of the list & didn’t notice until today. My bad.
September 29th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
Surburban One League Picks
Well, had my worst week in as long as I can remember 7-5, in my defense, one was a pick-em between 2 No win teams& the coin said tails, it was wrong, & I went way out on a limb & picked 4 upsets and lost on all of them. Pennridge lost in Double Overtime (close but no cigar), Quakertown lost by 3, so it was a, would of, could of, should of, have week. Ok, that’s behind me.
This week’s picks I feel a little better about…..
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST OVER Abington This is about a sure as it gets.
HARRY S TRUMAN OVER Bensalem If Bensalem couldn’t beat a no-win team at home, well.
PENNSBURY OVER Central Bucks East This is being picked the other way by 2 of the Media I follow, this could go either way, one of my 2 upset picks for the week.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH OVER North Penn if North Penn can’t score against CB West, this could be another shoutout, seems odd picking against North Penn so much in one year.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH OVER Cheltenham well PW is 3-1, Cheltenham is 0-4, thought Cheltenham would be better with 3 high D1 recruits.
UPPER DUBLIN OVER Council Rock North well Council Rock North got their win, and Upper Dublin found their offense last week.
PENNRIDGE OVER Neshaminy Well Pennridge was a double OT 1 point loser as an underdog last week, they are going to win one of these, Upset pick #2 for the week.
SOUDERTON OVER Quakertown This is the Rte. 309 Bowl & is never easy, but Souderton is 5-0 & Quakertown is 2-3 (see note on this), this may be the game of the week to see.
WISSAHICKON OVER Springfield Wissahickon will score a bunch of points, don’t think Springfield can keep up.
WM TENNANT OVER Upper Moreland Tennant is playing some solid football.
Note: Quakertown may be as good as any 2-3 team in District 1, their opponents have had a combined record of 19-5, Central Bucks West is ranked #4 in 6A by PennLive, Southern Lehigh is ranked #8 in 5A, lost to Southern Lehigh by 7, other loss was by 3 to 4-1 Council Rock South. I expect them to play Souderton tough. But I have had Souderton as the team to beat in the Conference since the preseason & I’m sticking with it.
Games to see- Pennsbury-CB East, Pennridge-Neshaminy, Quakertown-Souderton would be my picks this week.
Get out there and support your teams tonight.
Final note: Learned my lesson, will not be picking 33% of the games as upsets again, 2 is enough.
September 29th, 2023 at 1:05 pm
@ LaSalle It might not be a good idea for a Prep guy like me to be the one to respond to your post. But here goes … The simple reality is that LaSalle as a program has regressed. Last year they had a losing record for the first time in many, many years and it’s not because they played an especially challenging schedule. Playing Calvert Hall is not the same as playing St. Frances or DeMatha (which Roman played this year). This year LaSalle got smoked by McDevitt and lost to a Malvern team that lost decisively to Tep. Last year’s three-TD loss to Roman was a clear sign to many that LaSalle is no longer #2 in the PCL. LaSalle won memorable games against SJP in 2015 and 2021, but the fact is that since 2013 SJP has beaten LaSalle 16 of the 18 times they’ve played and in recent years it’s most often been in a blowout.
September 29th, 2023 at 9:58 am
@ John – have not seen North Catholic’s Brady O’Hara in person, he’s tall at 6″6″ and about 245, he plays TE now but could end up playing tackle in college if he puts on more weight, he told TribLive the PSU coaches have been recruiting him as a TE but also talking about tackle.
September 28th, 2023 at 11:20 pm
I dont ever remember rooting against north schuylkill.
September 28th, 2023 at 2:08 pm
@Margaret, The Spartans have a big one tomorrow, will you be rooting for Wally and NS to bring it home?
September 28th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
You keep referring to no lehigh as playing up as an a school as if they were and have been an a school and they are doing the best with what they have been dealt. Do you not know there history? They have never been an a school. They wont be in the next cycle either. They have always played the colonial league teams on there schedule and in districts they have always played the schuylkill league teams they r playing now.
September 28th, 2023 at 1:28 pm
@ pa only if he robs a bank in ashland and is on the news.
September 28th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Oops. Forgot my Best of the Rest D2 game (usually the one other game I consider as the HM): Scranton Prep vs. Wallenpaupack
– Score: SP 42, Wallenpaupack 11
September 28th, 2023 at 11:38 am
Week 6 in the 6 counties of District 2. I’m combining both this & best of the rest today.
– Valley View vs. Abington Heights (LFC 1): This is a dandy of a game at The Pit, on Saturday. Valley View, even with the changes, are still a legit team. The Comets are riding momentum, especially after a nailbiter against Wallenpaupack. I’m going with CalPreps & saying AH pulls off an upset.
– Dunmore vs. Mid Valley (LFC 2): How about this. The top-2 teams in 2A go head to head in Throop. This could be a statement win for either side. I like Dunmore here.
– Old Forge vs. Lackawanna Trail (LFC 3): These two teams are the 1A finalists. Trail has the #1 seed in hand. No upset here.
– Wilkes-Barre vs. Crestwood (WVC 1): The WVC is average this year, except Dallas & Wyoming Area. This is really the only good WVC 1 game here. Wilkes-Barre & Crestwood are hunting for home field. I feel Crestwood might be in better shape to win.
– Greater Nanticoke vs. Pittston (WVC 2): WVC Division 2 is a mess, unless you’re Wyoming Area. This may be the only good game here. Both winning would get them to .500. I’ll say Pittston’s better.
– North Pocono vs. Delaware Valley (LFC HM): DV’s traditional Saturday homecoming game seems to be a good choice for this category. North Pocono is coming off of a tough loss, while DV upset Prep. DV usually wins on homecoming, so I have to go by the trends.
– WVW vs. Berwick (WVC HM): Remember when this was a bitter rivalry? It seems like an eternity since both were good. It’s an HM on here because of the classic rivalry & that’s it. Berwick’s better than WVW, or so I believe they are. They need to put 48 minutes together.
– Wyoming Area vs. Scranton (D2 HM): This is the only good crossover game on the ledger. Both teams are quite stout, & I hope this is a good game. The better team is undefeated.
– Liberty vs. Easton (6A HM): If Williamsport was better, I was going to go with their showdown against Central Mountain, but this matchup is more appealing. Both are #5 & #6 in 6A & either outcome would shake up the power ratings, a bit. I’d take that over one of the 4A games (ACC/Nazareth will be in Best of the Rest). I’d say Easton’s the better team here.
– Morrisville vs. Jenkintown (D1 1A): The top 2 in 1A are going at it. These two are the clear-cut ones to go head to head in the 1A District 1 championship to have a date with probably Trail. Appropriately, both subregionals are going at it this week, so that’s fun.
Scores
– Abington Heights 31, Valley View 26
– Dunmore 31, Mid Valley 10
– Lackawanna Trail 32, Old Forge 13
– Crestwood 30, Wilkes-Barre 19
– Pittston 31, GNA 14
– DV 35, North Pocono 24
– Berwick 35, WVW 8
– Wyoming Area 29, Scranton 24
– Easton 26, Liberty 16
– Jenkintown 23, Morrisville 19
Scores
– Scranton Prep 38, DV 17 (X)
– Trail 24, Dunmore 20
– Lakeland 23, Old Forge 16 (X)
– Wilkes-Barre 31, Berwick 24
– Valley View 42, Pittston 23
– Mid Valley 25, Susquehanna 24
– Crestwood 16, Williamsport 7
– Abington Heights 29, Wallenpaupack 15
– Nazareth 42, Liberty 21
– Jenkintown 55, Renaissance 0
The rest of the state comes tomorrow afternoon.
Best Of The Rest: Here we go!
District 2/4
– District 2
– Mifflinburg vs. Selinsgrove
– Southern Columbia vs. Montoursville
District 11
– ACC vs. Nazareth
– PM West vs. Pleasant Valley
– Saucon Valley vs. Northwestern Lehigh
District 1
– Methacton vs. Perkiomen Valley
– Rustin vs. Coatesville
– Owen J. Roberts vs. Spring-Ford
– Pottsgrove vs. PJP II
District 12
– Boys Latin vs. MLK
– Imhotep vs. Bartram
– Cardinal O’Hara vs. Neumann-Goretti
– St. Joe’s Prep vs. Archbishop Wood
District 3
– CD East vs. State College
– Cocalico vs. ELCO
– Ephrata vs. Garden Spot
– Gov. Mifflin vs. Exeter Twp.
District 5/6
– Meyersdale vs. Berlin-Brothersvalley
– United Valley vs. Penns Manor
WPIAL/District 8
– Canon-Mac vs. Central Catholic
– Pine-Richland vs. North Allegheny
– Mt. Lebo vs. Upper St. Clair
– Deer Lakes vs. Knoch
– Washington vs. Waynesburg Central
– Fort Cherry vs. Bishop Canevin
– Perry vs. USO
District 9/10
– Redbank Valley vs. Union/AC Valley
– Sharon vs. Sharpsville
– Oil City vs. Meadville
Crossover
– Bucktail (4) vs. Cameron County (9)
– Jersey Shore (4) vs. Executive (11)
– Williamsport (4) vs. Central Mountain (6)
– Penns Valley (6) vs. Clearfield (9)
– Central Cambria (6) vs. Chestnut Ridge (5)
– Somerset (5) vs. Richland (6)
– Westinghouse (8) vs. Hollidaysburg (6)
– Mastery Charter North (12) vs. Marple-Newtown (1)
– Hun (NJ) vs. Malvern Prep
– Peddie vs. Germantown
Scores
– Selinsgrove 42, Mifflinburg 16
– SCA 49, Montoursville 20
– ACC 24, Nazareth 19
– Pleasant Valley 20, PMW 14
– Northwestern 41, Saucon 13
– Perk Valley 38, Methacton 12
– Coatesville 35, Rustin 13
– Spring-Ford 32, OJR 26
– PJP II 41, Pottsgrove 9
– MLK 21, Boys Latin 20
– Imhotep 63, Bartram 13
– N-G 26, Cardinal O’Hara 13
– SJP 49, Wood 7
– State College 33, CD East 13
– Cocalico 35, ELCO 20
– Ephrata 18, Garden Spot 13
– Exeter 41, Mifflin 7
– Berlin 31, Meyersdale 29
– United Valley 42, Penns Manor 10
– Central Catholic 52, Canon-Mac 13
– P-R 31, North Allegheny 20
– Mt. Lebo 41, USC 25
– Deer Lakes 29, Knoch 19
– Washington 48, Waynesburg 12
– Canevin 39, Fort Cherry 13
– USO 42, Perry 9
– Redbank Valley 33, Union/AC 21
– Sharon 42, Sharpsville 15
– Oil City 49, Meadville 29
– Cameron Co. 21, Bucktail 13
– Jersey Shore 44, Executive 17
– Central Mtn. 23, Williamsport 6
– Clearfield 17, Penns Valley 16
– Chestnut Ridge 26, Central Cambria 23
– Richland 36, Somerset 12
– Westinghouse 41, Hollidaysburg 11
– Marple 23, Mastery North 8
– Malvern Prep 35, Hun 10
– Germantown 21, Peddie 8
September 28th, 2023 at 10:53 am
Why dont players from LaSalle get more than just a passing note here and there? They had a CB who had tremendous outings his soph season. His jr season teams just would NOT throw to his side, which means he’s a “shut down” corner, right? I am guiding my son through this program now, and i’d like to know the truth, if there is anyone on this board able to share, about this program. Is this a good program? Do power conference coaches pay any mind to LaSalle players?
September 28th, 2023 at 9:10 am
Week 6 Predictions:
Souderton over Quakertown- Soudy is undefeated so far, QTown has 3 losses to solid teams. I will take Soudy in a close one.
Coatesville over West Chester Rustin- Coatesville is kind of flying under the radar in District 1 right now since their loss to Central Dauphin. I have mentioned they have been in similar situations before and have made playoff runs and I think most people know you should never count them out. Rustin is the current one seed in D1-5A and undefeated so far, but they have faced a team with the Red Raiders speed and talent. Chesmont American teams have historically struggled against Chesmont National Big 3 (Cville and the Dtowns), I’ll take Coatesville by at least 2 touchdowns.
Pennsbury over CB East- I believe the falcons will bounce back after last weeks tough loss to CB South
Hun School (NJ) over Malvern Prep- Malvern’s defense has looked great this year. The Hun School is one of the best schools in Jersey. I think Hun will pull it out in a defensive struggle.
Germantown Academy over Peddie School (NJ)- The patriots are out to a 4-0 start, I believe they will continue that streak and enter conference play undefeated.
North Allegheny over Pine Richland- I think NA will bounce back and win a close one over the defending 5A state champs. Should be a good one, last year PR surprised everyone when Palmieri lead the 2-3 Rams to hand NA their only WPIAL loss of the 2022 season.
Erie Cathedral Prep over Erie McDowell- Both teams offenses have looked great. ECP will win in a shootout.
Kind of a slower week in D1/Philly region, though next week there are 2-3 big D1 games and then the following week Inter-AC conference play begins.
September 27th, 2023 at 3:38 pm
@Margaret Do you know if Carson Long is on TV this week?
September 27th, 2023 at 2:58 pm
Margaret,
I agree. Probably 4-6. Worst case 3-7, best case 5-5. They beat PA and if they play a good game like that they could beat JT. Not likely though. I went into this year thinking 5-5 with all the young players but that was when I thought NL would have their junior QB/safety. They play a tough 3A schedule as an A school. And a lot of team they played this year are up this year (Catty, PA, Palmerton, NW, NS, even ND). If they played an A or AA schedule like all A schools they would be 6-7 win team. They would beat PV, Shenandoah, Mahonoy and be competitive everyone else. Although, this year Lackawanna trail is very good so Dist 11 A champ probably loses to them (NL beat them last two years in state first round). Then they lose to Canton and or Steelton. Steelton is going to win state A again.
September 27th, 2023 at 2:56 pm
@Jeff H
From what I heard from PSU journalists/insiders is that the PSU staff sees Martin as a Safety/WR, which is not surprising considering most recruiting sites have him listed as an athlete.
Do you know anything about that North Catholic O’Hara kid who just committed to PSU? He is listed as an athlete, word is he will be a TE or OT for the lions.
September 27th, 2023 at 10:16 am
@ Mike S – pretty sure Hayes is being recruited as a RB and doubt they will shift him to receiver even if he is 6’1″, I could see him playing cornerback because he plays corner now and he is very good and closes quickly on the ball, but my hunch is he gets his first crack at RB since Singleton will be gone by then. Quentin Martin from BV is 6’3″, so I would assume he’s being recruited to be a receiver, he’s also very good at safety and I could see him playing that position at Penn State, he’s too good of an athlete not to play somewhere.
September 27th, 2023 at 8:57 am
@MikeS
I agree, CB West has looked great this year, especially their defense. I was surprised they have been as dominant this year considering the grad losses of Boehm and Cherubini and the injury to QB Cooper, but the backup QB has filled in his place well.
September 27th, 2023 at 12:12 am
Northern lehigh will be 4-6 best case and 3-7 worst case scenario
September 26th, 2023 at 11:49 pm
@Margaret,
Trust me. They are good. They also played because of injuries to upper classman. The junior starting QB was injured two days before opener. And Tout has had a lot of success at NL and is longest tenured coach in Lehigh valley. I trust him when he says he thinks this might be his best class. It’s a big class too. The sophomore running back is 8th in league in rushing. The freshman corner (Chris frame, another frame!) has 4 ints which leads the CL Schuylkill league. They will be a very very good A or AA team in a year or two.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Just because you start freshman it doesnt always mean your going to be good. Sometimes it means that your upperclassmen r that poor.
September 26th, 2023 at 2:27 pm
@Margaret,
Northern Lehigh will be very good in a year or two. Although they might be back up into 2A next year. They are starting 3 freshman including QB. Tout has said he thinks could be best freshman class he’s had in 17 years (he’s had some good freshman classes. 2010 comes to mind when they were freshman in 2007). They also have a very good sophomore RB in Grady Newhard. They will be on edge of qualifying for playoffs because of tough schedule and playing alot of underclassmen, but if they make A playoffs this year, they might have a shot. Minersville looks like favorite though in dist 11 A this year.
September 26th, 2023 at 12:28 pm
@John CB West still has a few tough games to go, undefeated CB South, which is part of their 3-way Backyard Brawl with CB East, and they play them back-to-back, then waiting in ambush sits Pennridge, who is better than many think. And Pennridge gets CB West after they play back-to-back Backyard Brawls. Still CB West is the best team I’ve seen this year.
September 26th, 2023 at 12:21 pm
@JeffH
For what it’s worth I checked 5 websites, they all have him at 5’10” which I hope he is, in his hope to be the next big RB at Penn State, since you are a knowledge football fan the trend for the last 5-10 years has been to the shorter RB, there is rarely a 6’1″ RB anymore, so they can hide behind the monsters playing OL today, if he’s really 6’1″ they will probably be shifting him to WR, or even DB, as those are positions where that height is an advantage as your know.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:47 am
Halfway home with the regular season. For those that don’t mind me talking about how I did…
– D2 Picks: 8-2 on the week, making me 41-9 (82%) on the year.
– Rest Of State: 29-11 (.725) on the week & 139-60-1 (69.75%) on the year.
– Overall: 37-13 (74%) on the week; 180-69-1 (72.2%) on the year.
What I got wrong
– Boneheaded Pick of the Week: Accidentally calling Quakertown CB South. Someone PLEASE correct me if my plethora of picks has something different in the scores. 2nd week in a row. Got it right, though.
– Note To Self: NEVER pick against Southern Columbia.
– DV game was just an underestimation on my end. Yes, Prep dealt with an injury to one of their star players. It may or may not have been the difference.
– Lakeland over Old Forge was a gut pick gone wrong. Both are down, so I’m not mad about this.
– WPIAL picks were bad this week. Was about 50/50 there. Props to TJ for beating Belle Vernon. Gladly will take that loss. The rest were guesses.
– Central is good. I should’ve known to pick them over Guilfoyle. An overtime thriller, from what I’ve heard.
– Matt Mahalik is solid. Getting that pick wrong doesn’t surprise me, but I could’ve easily done better with the research, especially to a team I can watch on TV.
– Pennridge/CB East & the D5 picks were pure guesses (& going with higher MaxPrep ranking). District 5 took my picks personally.
– Brashear/Perry was the last game I put on the list. I’ll keep doing only D8 game a week.
– I’m a buffoon for picking Sem over William Penn. Again, indie teams aren’t a strong suit.
I’ll try & do better in the second half.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:09 am
@Kevin X-
If CB West runs the table, they will be the 1 seed in 6A-D1, regardless if Dtown East or Dtown West finishes the regular season undefeated. The rest of CB West’s schedule is 6A teams, the Dtown teams have only 2-3 6A games left each, the rest are against 5A teams, so the Dtowns will not be able to garner enough points to be the 1 seed. There are bonus points factored in as well, but I still do not think they will be enough for a Dtown team to top CB West for the 1 seed, as long as CB West finishes 10-0.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:04 am
@ Mike S – The article on TribLive noted he was 6’1″ 198, I’m not sure of his actual height but when I saw him play 2 weeks ago he looked taller than 5’10” which is what he was listed at as a freshman. IMO he’s the best RB in the WPIAL although something to keep an eye on is his number of rushes, he’s had a ton of carries in his HS career already and he’s only a junior, reminiscent of Rushel Shell at Hopewell back in the late 2000’s, he was a tremendous HS running back but by the time his college career was over his body was shot and he only had a short stint in the NFL and CFL.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:58 am
Bucktail has been lighting up the scoreboard, it’s on my bucket list as well Margy.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:39 am
@JeffH Yeah I saw that Hayes recruit too, nice pickup, & he may have put on 15 lbs, but when did he grow 3 inches, I was just checking him out on numerous websites, including Penn State’s, 247 Sports, and other recruiting sites, all have him listed at 5’10” not 6’1″???? That’s a Huge difference.
September 25th, 2023 at 10:37 pm
I just want to introduce myself. Im margaret and im new to the forum, wink, wink. I love montrose, wally hall, aliquippa playing up 10 classes and southern in the nfl. I think northern lehigh will be good in 2 years and i hope to get to a bucktail game before i die. Also does anyone know if the conawesque valley game will be televised this week? Asking for a friend and ty before any answers.
September 25th, 2023 at 4:52 pm
Aliquippa star junior RB Tiqwai Hayes committed to Penn State this afternoon, choosing the Nittany Lions over Ohio State, Pitt and a host of other Power 5 offers. I have seen him play several times in person including 2 weeks ago against Montour and he has gained a solid 15 pounds of muscle since I first saw him as a freshman, and is now listed at 6’1″ 198 lbs. I personally think he is a more natural and instinctive RB than BV senior Quinton Martin who is also going to Penn State next year, and I predict he will end up starting at PSU over Martin once Nick Singleton moves on to the NFL, and Martin will end up playing a different position at PSU. Interestingly enough BV is using Martin more as a wideout this year than RB, as he was lined up as a receiver a lot more than RB against TJ on Friday and caught a 20 yard TD pass on the last play of the first half on a beautiful route to get open in the back of the end zone, he only had 6 rushes for 34 yards, I wonder if James Franklin whispered in the BV coaches ear about playing him at receiver!
September 25th, 2023 at 4:21 pm
@ John – yes, I was a bit surprised by State College’s margin of victory, especially with the game being at CD, thought that game was a tossup going in. Will be interesting to see the outcome of SC vs. Harrisburg in a couple of weeks with the game being at SC.
September 24th, 2023 at 10:13 am
I really need to proofread my post before hitting the submit button. To clarify, Prep’s “starting QB and one of their top players” is one in the same, one individual (Paris??), not two players.
September 24th, 2023 at 10:08 am
@ D2 Fan
I understand Scranton Prep was without (injury from last week) their starting QB and one of their top players yesterday.
September 23rd, 2023 at 6:31 pm
D2 Notes
– I doubted DV. A solid upset over Prep. Now it looks like DV is in the catbird’s seat for LFC 1…for now.
– Paupack/Abington Heights makes a case for best game of the week. Paupack was down 21-7 at the half, came back to tie at 28 & Abington Heights took it towards the end. The Comets are “officially” back.
– Trail might be the best of the small schools, in D2, as they defeated a good Dunmore team. Is this the team to beat Steel-High or Canton?
– So, Mid Valley is the 1-seed in 2A now. Big win over Susquehanna. Who saw that as an outcome halfway in?
– Wilkes-Barre is in the 6A subregional battle. They’d get home field in the first round, if the season were to end today. I’m impressed with their effort against Berwick.
– The race for the final spots in 4A are going to be fun to watch. Tunkhannock, Paupack, Honesdale, Berwick. & GNA are all within a tenth of each other in power ratings. North Pocono as the 5-seed isn’t that far off of all of those teams, either. Looking at some of the power ratings, the District 2 4A & even the Eastern Conference game battle in 4A, is exceptionally tight. I may do a weekly EC check, for those interested.
I need to look for District 8 scores, so I’ll review my week later.
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:52 pm
Couple of pretty dramatic games involving 4A teams, West A has a knack for playing Aliquippa really tough but end up losing in heartbreaking fashion, last night was the latest, tied at 15 at half with WA taking a 22-21 lead with 52 second left in the 4th quarter on a 17 yard TD pass and subsequent PAT, then the Quips answered with a 34 yard TD pass with 8 seconds left and 2pt PAT to win 29-22.
TJ fell behind BV 12-0 at the end of the first and 19-10 at half, then scored 2 late TD’s in the fourth quarter to stun BV 24-19. The first score came on a 1 yard TD run halfway through the quarter, then they forced BV to punt on their next possession and the punter dropped the snap and was tackled before he could get the punt off, and a few plays later QB Luke Kosko threw a 49 yard TD pass with a little over 3 minutes remaining for the winning TD. This is not your typical TJ team with dominant O-line and power running game, they rotate 2 QBs who threw for a combined 327 yards, and rushed for less than 100 yards, their line is decent but smaller than normal. BV was hurt by losing one of their best 2 way players in the first quarter, they will cruise through the next 4 weeks until playing EF on the last night of the regular season, same with TJ until they play McKeesport
September 23rd, 2023 at 12:59 pm
Was anyone surprised by the outcome of the Central Dauphin-State College game? State College won 31-13 and were in control most of the game. Thought it would be closer after Central Dauphin’s performance vs. Coatesville
September 23rd, 2023 at 10:29 am
@John – yep, PCC made a statement like I expected, they have a good bit more talent than NA and now they having the coaching to get the most out of their talent. PCC had been running the spread offense with 4 receivers and throwing it all over the field the first 4 games, this game they ran it down NA’s throat and outrushed them 306 to 151, including 229 yards and 4 TDs on 32 rushes by Elijah Faulkner. PCC is by far the best team in the WPIAL this year and I agree they are a top 5 team in the state, I would like their chances on a neutral field against any team other than SJP, I said on here 3 weeks ago they will go undefeated and play SJP in the final and that becomes more evident every week, although I do think Manheim Township will be competitive if they meet in the semi-finals. I don’t think the rematch with NA in the WPIAL final will be much closer, PCC is just a much better team than NA.
Peters Township also made a statement in 5A by shutting out USC 31-0, for now they are the top team in 5A and could have an undefeated regular season, their toughest remaining opponent is a nonconference game against 6A Canon-Mac in the next to last game of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the WPIAL final is a rematch of 2020 with Peters against PR. Penn Hills is certainly still in the mix, and keep an eye on resurgent Gateway, they blew out Plum on the road last night 42-7, now that they are healthy they could reel off several more wins in a row.
September 23rd, 2023 at 12:28 am
@D2 Fan
Margaret thinks she’s funny asking that
September 22nd, 2023 at 10:38 pm
@Jeff H
NA talked a lot of smack to lose by 4 touchdowns. Statement win by PCC, they are definitely the 2nd best team in 6A right now and probably top 5 in the state regardless of class. The rematch should hopefully be closer.
September 22nd, 2023 at 10:25 pm
Nice win for Wilson WL over previously unbeaten Cedar Crest. They still made too many mistakes which they’ll have to clean up if they expect to challenge mighty Manheim Township, but they proved they could beat a quality opponent on the road.
September 22nd, 2023 at 5:42 pm
@ Margaret,
I don’t think Montrose broadcasts on radio & there isn’t a YouTube feed, that I’m aware of. They’re playing against Ithaca NY. If Ithaca High football does broadcast games, ICSD athletics would have them on YouTube, but if they’re playing out of state, I don’t think they’ll have a live game there.
September 22nd, 2023 at 4:27 pm
Anyone know what radio station the montrose game is on tonight?
September 22nd, 2023 at 11:24 am
@ Kevin X
Two great questions posed.
I didn’t even consider the weather. If that’s the case, I’d say the game could be closer, like you said, within 2 scores. When I do scores, I don’t intend to get them right. It’s a gut feeling more than anything. Maybe I should start looking at that aspect to help the score part. I’d assume it’ll be a lot of rushing plays. Wouldn’t shock me if it was low scoring.
DV playing all four opponents would be easily be 4-0. Lake-Lehman or Lakeland wouldn’t probably be on the schedule, though.
As for Prep against all three opponents, they’d also be 1-3. CalPreps had them losing by 14 to Selinsgrove, which honestly would be a winnable game for Prep. Their offense & defense is good enough to compete, so if you flip that game, at best 2-2. They’d be completely inverse.
September 22nd, 2023 at 10:33 am
@ John – yep, lots of chatter from NA this week, kinda ironic they refer to PCC as the Western PA Vikings when NA has had more transfers over the last several years than PCC, including several kids from out of state, there is certainly no love lost between these teams, I think PCC makes a statement tonight that they are the favorite to meet SJP in the final in December, would take a shocking upset in the playoffs for these teams not to meet again in the WPIAL finals.
September 21st, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Several really big games in the WPIAL this week, headlined by PCC at NA, both rolling at 4-0 and putting up tons of points. I went to the game last year as it was played less than 10 minutes from my house and it was a snooze fest with NA winning 7-3, very sloppy game and probably the least entertaining I saw all year. They will probably score more points in the first 6 minutes than the whole game last year, think this will be a shootout but NA doesn’t have enough offense to keep up, something like 49-31 for PCC. .
in 5A Peters Twp hosts Upper St Clair in a battle of unbeatens, Peters has played a slightly tougher schedule thus far and last week beat a decent South Fayette team 35-0, I like Peters at home by a TD, winner becomes the favorite the win the conference and be a high seed in playoffs
4A TJ at 3A Belle Vernon – this is one of the more intense rivalries in the WPIAL, having played almost every year since the 60’s and some years twice when they met again in the playoffs, they were conference rivals for decades before BV dropped to 3A last year, BV has won the last 3 meetings, TJ holds the series lead at 37-23, this should be a great game, their game 2yrs ago at BV was an instant classic with BV winning 28-21 on a last second spectacular 45 yard TD run by QB Devin Whitlock when the game seemed headed to OT, I like BV to win again by 1 score, I’m going with a high school buddy who lives in the TJ district
Other interesting games are 4-0 Shaler at Franklin Regional, curious to see how Franklin responds after the Gateway onslaught in the 2nd half last week, Shaler hosts WH next week and if they can get by Franklin and go into that game 5-0 they have a chance to be a sleeper playoff team in 5A
in 4A Aliquippa goes on the road for the first time to play West Allegheny who is 3-1, the Quips eked out a 19-16 win last year at their home away from home at Freedom HS, but I don’t think this game will be as close, Quips by a couple of scores.
In 3A another battle of unbeatens with Knoch travelling to Elizabeth Forward, EF has been one of the best 3A teams in the WPIAL the last several years, and lost a few times in the finals, so this will be a very good test for upstart Knoch, who was 1-9 last year, EF by a 2 TDs
September 21st, 2023 at 7:57 pm
@ Jeff H
Yeah, I’d probably have CBW at #2 overall in District 1. They have a fairly moderate schedule the rest of the way and should run the table and secure the #1 seed in the D1 6A playoffs (unless one of the Downingtown’s do the same). DTE, DTW and C’Ville all get to play each other the second half of the season, so we’ll see what comes out of that annual fun.
September 21st, 2023 at 7:48 pm
@ D2 Fan
Oh, just for fun, gonna sort of, kind of, push back a teeny weeny bit on your marque game of the week up there, DelVal @ Prep. Not saying DelVal will win the game, but wouldn’t be surprised in the least if they did. At a minimum, I believe it will be a 2 score or less victory for Prep. Guess I’m a big proponent of who the heck have you played?? Would Prep be 4-0 going into this game if they played Del Val’s schedule?? Would DelVal be 1-3 if they played Prep’s schedule?? Heck, they be 4-0 as well. And the weather?? You guys up there expecting the same rain and wind that we are down here in the Philly area for Saturday afternoon?? If so, don’t know who that would help and/or hinder more.
September 21st, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Suburban One League Picks
With the conference games beginning in earnest this week, now are the games that will lead us to the Playoffs.
NESHAMINY OVER Abington Neshaminy by 2 TD’s as Abington has struggled this year.
BENSALEM OVER Council Rock North Well someone has to win, and Bensalem is at home and shown a little more life so far.
PENNRIDGE OVER Central Bucks East I really believe Pennridge is getting it together, all the Media Pundits I’ve seen have picked CB East, Not me, Pennridge at Home
PENNSBURY OVER Central Bucks South Well another upset as I’m going against the undefeated team, two reasons, CB South just played a backyard brawl last week and it’s at Pennsbury.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST OVER North Penn Probably closer than most think, North Penn has shown a little life, and CB West played a tough game last week at Pennsbury, but CB West wins.
ROMAN CATHOLIC OVER Cheltenham Catholic League school, over a team that is down a bit as their season has unraveled some.
QUAKERTOWN OVER Council Rock South Another upset pick, every media pick I’ve seen says CR South, & this may be a homer pick, as Q-town is a bit beat up, but plays at Home.
SOUDERTON OVER Truman This is a no contest, Souderton wins this going away unless their bus gets lost going to the game.
HATBORO HORSHAN OVER Lower Moreland Hatboro has been playing for the most part good football, & it’s been a long year for L. Moreland
UPPER MORELAND OVER New Hope A game between two teams that have struggled so far, Upper Moreland has played the tougher schedule.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH OVER JP McCaskey PW to rebound from last week, last year they beat McCaskey by 40, this year more like 20.
WISSAHICKON OVER Upper Dublin Surprisingly the media all agrees this is the year Wissahickon finally beats Upper Dublin, probably this year or…..?? I agree.
FATHER JUDGE OVER William Tennant I’ll keep taking Catholic League teams until proven wrong.
So, there you have it from the Suburban One League, my best guesses. Get out there and support your teams.
Barring Major Major Upsets, some real key games moving toward the playoffs
Pennridge-CB East
Pennsbury-CB South
Quakertown-CR South
September 21st, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Interesting game in District 11 3A. Palmerton – ND Green Pond.
Both teams can absolutely light up the scoreboard, so it looks like a shootout on paper. As Notre Dame is averaging 47 points a game, and Palmerton 44. Both defenses are suspect as well, so it makes for an exciting back and forth game.
Notre Dame is probably slightly better overall. Palmerton will no doubt have the best player on the field in Lehigh bound Matt Machalik. It’s that type of game where he can take it over by himself and score 5-6 touchdowns to outscore ND. Will be very interesting to watch.
BRCTV13 has the game live
September 21st, 2023 at 1:53 pm
Best Of The Rest: Got enough for 40 other interesting games across the state.
District 2/4
– North Pocono vs. Scranton
– Danville vs. Southern Columbia
– Jersey Shore vs. Mifflinburg
– Canton vs. South Williamsport
District 11
– Parkland vs. Allentown Central Catholic
– Northampton vs. ES South
– Northern Lehigh vs. North Schuylkill
– Notre Dame vs. Palmerton
– Executive Education vs. Tri-Valley
District 1/12
– CB East vs. Pennridge
– CR South vs. Quakertown
– Ridley vs. Marple-Newtown
– CB West vs. North Penn
– Owen J. Roberts vs. Perkiomen Valley
– Imhotep vs. Abraham Lincoln
– Cardinal O’Hara vs. Bonner-Prendie
Distict 3
– Lampeter-Strasburg vs. Cocalico
– Bishop McDevitt vs. Cedar Cliff
– Wilson West Lawn vs. Cedar Crest
– Harrisburg vs. Cumberland Valley
– Steel-High vs. Big Spring
– ELCO vs. Wyomissing
District 5/6
– Berlin-Brothersvalley vs. Northern Bedford
– North Star vs. Windber
– Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Central (6)
– Penn Cambria vs. Central Cambria
– Richland vs. Forest Hills
WPIAL
– Central Catholic vs. North Allegheny
– Thomas Jefferson vs. Belle Vernon
– South Fayette vs. Canon-McMillan
– USC vs. Peters Township
– Knoch vs. Elizabeth Forward
– Avonworth vs. South Park
– Deer Lakes vs. Southmoreland
District 8
– Perry vs. Brashear
– Allderdice vs. Westinghouse
District 9/10
– Port Allegany vs. Brockway
– St. Marys vs. Punxsutawney
– Sharon vs. Wilmington
– Farrell vs. Hickory
Inter-District/Non-PIAA
– State College (6) vs. Central Dauphin (3)
– Loyalsock (4) vs. Williams Valley (11)
– Haverford School vs. Garnet Valley (1)
– Wyoming Sem vs. William Penn Charter
– Germantown vs. Blair Academy (NJ)
Scores
– Scranton 26, North Pocono 16
– Danville 35, Southern 28 (Will regret this)
– Jersey Shore 50, Mifflinburg 14
– Canton 35, South Williamsport 12
– Parkland 31, ACC 20
– Northampton 36, ES South 21
– North Schuylkill 38, Northern Lehigh 14
– Notre Dame 35, Palmerton 22
– Tri-Valley 23, Executive 19
– Pennridge 32, CB East 19
– Quakertown 31, CB South 13
– Marple-Newtown 25, Ridley 20
– Perk Valley 52, OJR 20
– Imhotep 49, Lincoln 3
– Bonner-Prendie 28, O’Hara 26
– Cocalico 37, L-S 24
– McDevitt 49, Cedar Cliff 18
– WWL 28, Cedar Cres 22
– Harrisburg 49, Cumberland Valley 13
– Steel High 50, Big Spring 21
– Wyomissing 35, ELCO 12
– Berlin 23, NoBedCo 12
– Windber 31, North Star 8
– Guilfoyle 38, Central 31
– Penn Cambria 21, Central Cambria 15
– Richland 49, Forest Hills 24
– Central Catholic 48, North Allegheny 13
– Belle Vernon 34, Thomas Jefferson 28
– South Fayette 31, Canon-Mac 22
– Peters Twp. 34, USC 18
– Elizabeth Forward 36, Knoch 30
– Avonworth 45, South Park 15
– S’moreland 30, Deer Lakes 26
– Perry 24, Brashear 15
– Westinghouse 55, Allderdice 10
– Port Allegany 41, Brockway 13
– Punxsy 24, St. Marys Area 12
– Sharon 28, Wilmington 27
– Farrell 42, Hickory 22
– State College 36, Central Dauphin 33
– Loyalsock 27, Williams Valley 24
– Garnet Valley 35, Haverford 29
– Sem 21, William Penn Charter 20
– Germantown 42, Blair 26
September 21st, 2023 at 12:37 pm
Pittsburgh Central Catholic over North Allegheny- NA has been going at PCC on twitter a lot this week (calling them the Western PA Vikings). I’m going with PCC, they are loaded on both sides and look like the best team in 6A outside of St Joe’s Prep. I expect both these teams to play each other again in the WPIAL/D7 finals
Haverford School (Inter-AC) over Garnet Valley- Garnet has won 3 straight since their opening loss to CB West. Though, some of those games have been a lot closer than I expected, considering they were facing some team who they traditionally beat by more. Haverford has had two big losses to talented opponents La Salle and Imhotep, but Inter-AC schools will always have talent. Should be a close one, as much as I want a public school to win, I’m going to go with the Fords in a defensive battle.
CB South over Pennsbury- South is 4-0 to start the season and have looked like the second best team in the SOL-National behind CB West. Pennsbury has two losses against quality opponents in CB West and Coatesville, and beat a good CR South team. Pennsbury’s offense is just not the same without a stud RB like they had in Mulbah last year, so I will take CB South in a defensive battle.
Wilson West Lawn over Cedar Crest- Cedar Crest is out to an unusual 4-0 start to begin the season. Wilson has bounced back the last two games after two losses to good teams to begin the year. I’ll take Wilson by one touchdown, though I am worried about how one dimensional their offense has been.
Central Dauphin over State College- Another big game between two central pa schools. Both teams have looked solid on both sides of the ball. CD’s defense looked great against a Coatesville offense with 3 receivers with D1 offers. State College’s passing offense has been this year as well. I think CD pulls this one out in a close one.
Marple Newtown over Ridley- I think the Tigers will bounce back after last week’s tough shutout loss to Springfield Delco
Quakertown over CR South- The winner of this one has the best shot of competing with Souderton for the SOL-Continental title. I will take Qtown in a game that could go either way
September 20th, 2023 at 10:06 pm
It’s Week 5 in the area known for giving us Old Forge Pizza. This week separates the haves & have-nots. No teams are playing in division in LFC 2 & 3 yet, but LFC 1 is well underway. WVC play is in full swing. It’s time to see whee I’m going here.
– Delaware Valley vs. Scranton Prep (LFC 1): This is a must-win game for DV, if they want to be a pure threat to win LFC 1. Prep has been the better team this year. I think the better team takes it.
– Lackawanna Trail vs. Dunmore (LFC 2): Oh, this could be an electric game down in Dunmore. Both teams are the class of the field in D2’s two smallest classes. I expect this to be a nailbiter.
– Old Forge vs. Lakeland (LFC 3): Both teams are down this year, but this is an important game for the momentum of either team. Both could use the win, but I’m gonna take a risk with the Chiefs here.
– Berwick vs. Wilkes-Barre (WVC 1): I’ll admit it. None of these games were purely appealing. However, this should be considered MUST-WIN for Berwick. I don’t think that’s the case. WBA has some players!
– Pittston Area vs. Valley View (WVC 2): This was the only notable game among WVC 2 teams. It’s a big game for Pittston. I know they likely don’t have a shot, but I’d love for them to be a sleeper here.
– Susquehanna vs. Mid Valley (LFC HM): A very overlooked game in 2A this weekend. The Spartans & Sabers are #1 & #3 respectively in the 2A standings. The winner will have good momentum heading into division play, something that both teams honestly need. I think the team from Throop wins & wins close.
– Crestwood vs. Williamsport (WVC HM): Speaking of Comets: This isn’t a glitzy-glamorous game for the area, but I think it has to be one of the best games in the WVC involving WVC teams. Both need a 2nd win to help their cases in playoff races. I like Crestwood here, but I think it may be low scoring. I just have a hunch.
– Abington Heights vs. Wallenpaupack (D2 HM): An overlooked game in District 2 happens to be at Lake Wallenpaupack on Friday. Abington Heights is riding some momentum, with a big win over Western Wayne. The Purple & White are going the other direction after a surprising 2-0 start. I think it’ll be close, but Abington Heights pulls away late.
– Liberty vs. Nazareth (EPC 6A): #2 vs. #4 in the 6A rankings go head to head on Friday. This could be a massive game, if Nazareth slips up. I don’t think it’ll be the case, however.
– Renaissance vs. Jenkintown (D1 1A): These games count now in 1A. The head to heads are starting to show up. Jenkintown should have this. Renaissance may be the weakest team in the state.
Scores
– Scranton Prep 38, DV 17
– Trail 24, Dunmore 20
– Lakeland 23, Old Forge 16
– Wilkes-Barre 31, Berwick 24
– Valley View 42, Pittston 23
– Mid Valley 25, Susquehanna 24
– Crestwood 16, Williamsport 7
– Abington Heights 29, Wallenpaupack 15
– Nazareth 42, Liberty 21
– Jenkintown 55, Renaissance 0
The rest of the state comes tomorrow afternoon.
September 20th, 2023 at 5:36 pm
Margaret, IF you want to talk football, talk football. Stop with the negative comments.
September 20th, 2023 at 3:01 am
Just a heads up for those in the Lackawanna football conference region ,
BIG show down this friday night between
Undefeated Lackawanna Trail and 1 loss
Dunmore which came to the hands of a very talented Mount Carmel Area squad
The game will be played at Dunmore on
Friday Night
Also an interesting game between
Scranton Prep and Delaware Valley will be this weekend aswell …
Can the Warriors get back on track after playing all these far away teams ?
Or are they truly having a down year ?
If they want the ( W ) they will have to stop very well balanced Scranton Prep offense ,and a very
stingy Prep defense.
Scranton Prep makes every team they play earn every bit that they gain .
My picks
Lackawanna Trail 17
Dunmore 14
Scranton Prep 33
Delaware Valley 12
Good luck to all your teams ..
God bless ,stay safe .
September 19th, 2023 at 8:34 pm
@Dave
Agreed…What a great tribute by Shik!
September 19th, 2023 at 7:42 pm
I just want to give a shout out of recognition to the team and coaches of Shikellamy, for their respectful display in honoring the memory of Max. Well done, guys.
September 19th, 2023 at 6:52 pm
I love wally hall, if he coached somewhere else.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:01 pm
@JCo
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I completely agree with you about your comment about Margaret, my feelings is truly that every one of those players on every one of those teams puts in tons of hard work no matter if they’re 0-10
At the end of the season, or 16-0
At the end of the day we all know football is extremely demanding on the body on emotions on school work on relationships the list goes on. no matter if you’re the best or you are the worst. Growing up playing football I always remember the dedication that had to be put forth obviously putting focus on school was number one and then obviously the many hours of working out weight lifting and conditioning and then obviously the season keeping up with school so that I can keep on the team that was the regulation set forth by our school district which I completely agree many others I’m sure do the same some do some don’t, and then jobs at home to keep everything running smooth so no matter who we are talking about isn’t the meat and potatoes still football at the end of the day ?
doesn’t matter what caliber of team it’s still football. And no doubt it is exciting to talk about the good schools for sure and especially when they’re facing another good schools to see who will win and successfully continue their season sure I agree with that but please don’t cut the schools that don’t matter to you down just like I had to put aside my jealousy for
Southern Columbia and I’m a man to admit it lots of people won’t !!
what I would like to see is a national documentary made on Southern Columbia that would be very impressive WVIA did do a wonderful job with that documentary called “Roar” it was very well put together and very deserving it’s kind of hard to believe that someone’s first comment was about Susquehanna and Montrose and in that same criticizing comment nothing was said about Max you have to wonder sometimes where priorities lay at the end of the day………
( it’s still only a game ! )
September 19th, 2023 at 3:29 pm
@ Kevin X – agree with your picks for top teams in the eastern districts as of now, CB West looks like a serious contender in D1, and Manheim Township has been extremely impressive in D3, I think if they played McDevitt that would be one heck of a game. The usual powers are the top teams in D7 & and D10, with PCC (6A) and ECP (5A) respectively, with Westinghouse (2A) again being the best team in D8, the Pittsburgh City League, and State College (6A) the best team in D6. Huge game this week with PCC traveling to NA, will have more on that matchup later in the week
September 19th, 2023 at 3:14 pm
@JCo – I agree, there are several similar stories in the WPIAL this year, in fact 21 teams have already matched or surpassed their win total from all of last season after week 4, most notably Waynesburg who was 0-10 last year and is off to a 4-0 start. In their first 4 games last year they were outscored 147-28, this year against the same opponents they have outscored the opposition 93-16, and the school and community are buzzing about the turnaround. Knoch is another school that was 1-9 last year and off to a 4-0 start and have a good chance to make the 3A playoffs. Its stories like this that make HS football so exciting, not just talking about the blue blood programs all the time.
September 19th, 2023 at 3:09 pm
High school football is awesome. I’m not sure how someone could have such a negative outlook on mostly all teams/players/coaches. Btw North Schuylkill and Wally has won a very competitive district the past 3 of 5 years
September 19th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
Margaret, I don’t blame your thinking one bit, but I have to agree with JCo.
Being from a generalized area who has just one powerhouse program (DV) & the rest being average to bad, it doesn’t hurt to discuss the programs from time to time & what games are going on for them. It’s a reason why my mini agenda on here is league realignment & competitive balance.
I feel for teams that can’t consistently be above .500, mainly for programs that never see winning seasons in any sports. I see the Pocono teams, Allen/Dieruff, CMVT, Montrose, Shen Valley, both Diocese of Scranton teams, & a host of others & I feel bad for them. They may thrive in one random sport (like Allen & Cross in basketball), but in the most popular sport in the state, they’re always struggling to put together wins. I get why, usually due to funding & economic related things, & participation. I want these teams with not-so-great histories to have that one year (or group of years) where it clicks.
Being an alum of a school that basically has the “Jeff Fisher mantra” of being average, but with decent talent, (3-7 to 7-3 on a good year), I can understand some of the struggles of other teams & want them to be underdogs. When my school won the district about five years ago, things clicked with an experienced team. We had that one magical season, & the rest has been inconsistent. I dream of having one of those state title runs that the powerhouses have. I don’t expect a Southern type dominant run, but I’d love to see a state title or two for a team up my direction.
I think that’s the best part of this forum. A lot of us here like to talk about the good teams, myself included, but bringing up the stories & conversations about have nots is awesome. I’m a newbie here, but I appreciate you guys letting me talk a lot about the teams we don’t pay attention to. I’m sure the people running this forum may feel the same way.
September 19th, 2023 at 11:18 am
@Margaret: What a dumb comment. Giving attention to overlooked programs is the best part of these comments. Maybe you should stop wasting space with your incessant Wally Hall complaining, every one of those comments is essentially the same.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:11 am
Oh Margy
September 19th, 2023 at 8:27 am
Id rather talk àbout cardinal brennan football than susquehanna and montrose, so as mad as you get about southern being good, i get mad about someone wasting spacing talking about montrose.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:42 am
@D2 fan
I completely agree that would be fantastic if Susquehanna or Montrose or even going a little deeper out Tunkhannock had successful seasons that would be great for the players and the community and all the families.
@ Southern Columbia
And I would also like to at this time apologize for being a jealous brat regarding Southern Columbia it’s quite a football machine for sure they are well oiled well put together and amazingly coached the truth of the matter is because their culture is so strong for football and they work so hard year after year no matter who goes through the system they believe in their coach and what he represents and it’s not just him all of the coaching staff aswell.
It truly is an amazing program LOL should be one of the( Seven Wonders of the World )but again I humbly ask of all of you who were offended to accept my apology .
I was definitely off track and it was not acceptable for my opinions if any of you on here do play for Southern Columbia keep up the great work you should be really proud of yourselves to be the best High School football program in the country hands down !!!!
regardless of what people’s opinions are about larger schools throughout the states clearly nobody comes close to Southern Columbia so I tip my hat to an amazing program and say I am sorry
years back I had an opportunity to communicate with a few coaches from Southern Columbia and also some players I have to say they are the most polite respectful team and coaches I have ever met.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:19 am
R.I.P MAX #4 Jersey shore (forever a Bulldog)
Words can’t take the agonizing pain away that the family and friends and Community are experiencing at this moment , keep strong in the Lord for in his word it says there is a time and a season for everything and he knows the timing of Our Lives from beginning to end.
Psalms 23
2 Corinthians 1-7
You are all in our prayers .
God bless everyone close to this tragedy
And also everybody in this forum.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:11 pm
My heart aches for the Engle family, his Jersey Shore teammates and the Jersey Shore community. Simply put, an unfathomable tragedy.
September 18th, 2023 at 7:46 pm
@D2 Fan – PT is down this year by their standards, they lack playmakers on offense, they have been shut out twice and only scored 7 against McKeesport, I’m still trying to figure out how they managed to put up 28 on WH a few weeks ago. PT may still make the 5A playoffs, but they won’t be a factor and will likely lose in the first round if the make it. Also keep in mind that BV was 4A for years before they dropped down to 3A for this cycle due to enrollment, they are one of the bigger 3A schools, so there’s not a huge disparity in numbers between them and the 4A and smaller 5A schools. Really looking forward to the BV vs. TJ game on Friday, that’s the game I’m going to, I’ve seen Quentin Martin 4 times in person in his career, including twice in his sophomore year against TJ, these 2 schools are longtime conference rivals and should be a very good game that could go either way, BV has won the last 3 meetings including 21-7 last year, I’m expecting a sellout crowd at BV and the place will be rocking.
I saw Aliquippa in person last week and as usual they are very good, they may have the best running back tandem in the state outside of SJP, their backup Jon Tracy would start for 95% of the teams in the WPIAL, and their passing attack looked more polished than past years, so I’m using the BV game as a measuring stick to see whether I think TJ has a legit chance to beat Aliquippa in the playoffs. TJ likely won’t be tested again until they play McKeesport on the last night of the regular season.
September 18th, 2023 at 7:04 pm
My top teams is each of the Eastern PA districts regardless of classification after 4 weeks:
District 1: Downingtown East (6A)
District 2: Scranton Prep (3A)
District 3: Bishop McDevitt (4A)
District 4: Southern Columbia (2A)
District 11: Parkland (6A)
District 12: St. Joe Prep (6A)
I’m only seeing the District 1 top dog possibly changing by the end of the regular season. Any western guys (or anybody) have a western list or different top eastern team(s)??
September 18th, 2023 at 5:21 pm
@ Jeff H.
Ah, I remember you telling me that a month ago. I honestly thought a 5A program, & one of the best in the class, would’ve been a tougher out.
@ Distract 2 LFC
I guess I am making a mountain out of a mole hill there. I’m just impressed with the record, so far & hope it’s a sign of things to come. Football in Susquehanna County hasn’t been that good, so if they could be competitive, that’d be such a great story.
Also…
I’d be remiss if I didn’t send condolences to the Engel family after hearing the news of Max’s passing the other night. Such a heartbreaking story.
September 18th, 2023 at 11:37 am
@D2 fan – Belle Vernon is better this year than their state championship team from last season, they returned 16-17 starters, I thought their game against PT game would be a little closer but BV winning did not surprise me at all, they play their last nonconference game this week against TJ at home, and if they beat TJ they will roll into the state playoffs undefeated. The big shocker of the night in the WPIAL was previously winless Moon upsetting #1 ranked Penn Hills 14-13, guess PH had a big letdown after beating PR last week. And Gateway may have salvaged their season with a 37 point explosion in the 2nd half to stun Franklin Regional 44-24, as QB Brad Birch threw 3 TD’s to Woodland Hills transfer Steven Jenkins who is going to Bowling Green, its the fist time all season those 2 have been on the field together, as Birch missed the last 2 games after a car accident prior to the WH game in week 1.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:02 am
Going to be a very emotional scene in Jersey Shore tonight, for their game that was postponed Friday, due to the passing of their player that collapsed in the previous game.
September 17th, 2023 at 10:25 pm
@ D2 fan
Don’t be so hard on yourself about your
Lakeland- Susquehanna pick.
However Susquehanna isn’t that great , their only wins came to two perennial losing teams teams
And then to Lakeland who is a known perennial winning program and defending District 2 AA
Champion from last year who beat Dunmore 20-14
for districts and also beating Dunmore a historic
55-14 thumping at Dunmore in the regular season.
The District game however was much different when Lakeland’s quarterback Domenico Spataro The Scranton Times player of the year was injured early in the championship game and also Dippre was also injured aswell.
From that 12-1 season last year the Chiefs lost 14 players to graduation.
Definitely hard to bounce back from that ..
And to that NO Susquehanna isn’t for real.
September 17th, 2023 at 7:06 pm
Wj I think that north schuylkill is better than any team they will play in the regular season and they already lost once. 8-2’or 7-3. Wally halls defenses can stop u for -10 yards on 3 drives but then give up a 78 yard td pass on 3rd and 30. They dont blitz, they dont ever improve. There lb should be wreaking havoc in the backfield instead hes playing both ways and getting 2 carries in the 1st half and 12 in the second. Why even put him in if you dont use him. Why dont you play the wildcat with flail or have flail and chowansky back there. Why do you throw downfield so much when your qb was so inaaccurate. Why did you put weitz in the backfield for 1 game last year. Why do you have so many players play there senior years and take a step back instead of forward? Yeah wally halls my hero
September 17th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Combining the two things I’d post after a busy week of games.
D2 Fan’s D2 Notes
– DV is back on track after a pounding against Wallenpaupack. This was the easiest game on the league schedule. It’ll only get tougher there.
– Berwick decided to do the same thing & got back on track with a MUCH needed win against Williamsport.
– Crestwood finally won, which is a positive. It was against struggling Valley West (man, they’re not the same team they once were).
– Dunmore is still the king of 2A after a quality 20-16 win over Riverside.
– Scranton Prep shut out Scranton High with a big 34-0 win. I think they’re the team to beat in the gauntlet that is Lackawanna Division 1
– Is Susquehanna for real? Surprising win for me. I thought Lakeland would win that, for some reason.
Now, as for how I did this week, for those who like to follow along. This week was the best one yet with my picks. 8-2 on the week in the D2 games to watch, with the lone incorrect picks being Montrose, which was a coin flip game & a desperation Division 3 game & the 1A game, which was a shot in the dark. As for the rest of the state, I had my best week yet! 34-7 on the week, giving me a season best 82.9% for the week. 42-9 on the week, giving me an 82.3% success rate.
– D2 Games To Watch: 33-7 (82.5%)
– Best Of The Rest: 110-49-1 (68.75%)
– Overall: 143-56-1 (71.5%)
– Boneheaded pick of the week has to be Lakeland/Susquehanna. Susquehanna is for real, this year, I’m guessing. Wow.
– Bonheaded Pick #2: Put DuBois twice on my original predictions. The loser was meant to be Bradford. I did get it right, at least. I’m sure someone caught it.
– Belle Vernon winning isn’t too surprising of an upset, but a surprising result to a casual WPIAL follower. I thought Penn-Trafford was the better team heading in.
– Imani/Steel Valley? I tried.
– Wilmington & Forest Hills picks looked great, in hindsight. Can’t get them all right, especially as LHAC & D10 knowledge isn’t that great.
– Chalk up my Haverford/La Salle pick as being no savant on Inter-Ac & Indies.
– The Montrose pick was a theoretical coin flip. Neither team is a world beater, nor a winning program.
– The D1 1A game came back to bite me. I mean, I’m not going to lose sleep over it, but I could’ve done a better job there. Tried something different & didn’t work.
You know the drill. I’ll try & do a bit better next week. I want a 90% overall week, but I think anyone would agree that getting an 82% success rate for the week is pretty solid!
September 17th, 2023 at 10:53 am
Margaret you’re back! Your thoughts on North Schuylkill this year?
September 16th, 2023 at 9:12 pm
Achieved a first this weekend, three live games in three consecutive days. The last two, Cheltenham @ Perk Valley and Fr. Judge @ PJPII gave me bad case of yellow flagicitis. I assume just some rest, give it a few days and it will pass, and I should be good to go for next Friday.
September 16th, 2023 at 5:39 pm
@margaret
Should have known not to open my mouth.
Terrible performance all around from MCA. No clue why they kept running a hurry up offense and the defense couldn’t stop one kid running the ball. They will be lucky to make it to the district final to lose to Southern again this year.
September 16th, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Since 2018 mount carmel has now lost only to southern, north schuylkill and milton. Not a bad 2 1/2 football teams to lose too.
September 16th, 2023 at 12:21 pm
Manheim looks great. I thought they would beat Spring Ford, but to score 63 on them was something I did not expect. I still think Spring Ford is a solid team, that no one in District 1 should sleep on. But Coach Brubaker needs to fix that defense if they want to make a playoff run.
September 16th, 2023 at 9:50 am
There’s a great video clip of Braeden Wisloski’s 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Terps last night on the web. I’ll bet that has to make Coach Roth smile!
September 15th, 2023 at 3:59 pm
@Maynard Plumm
Thank you so much , Lol
I embrace your comments , gave me a lil
Chuckle , although not as much of a nod wink and a small chuckle regarding all those
“PAWSOME” comments about hard work and determination and yada yada yada gotta love it.
although it is truly bandwagon season and for the homers of course I understand your view….
It really is kind of funny though that all of you took from that comment section about SCA that I was pointing at them for potentially using any substances they shouldn’t be ,if you reread that I said all athletes across Pennsylvania should be tested not just SCA so after you reread that I did not just say SCA I said all schools so if the shoe fits lace it up bro.
Dude never did I ever say that southern Columbia doesn’t work hard it’s true I get it .it’s their job description they eat sleep and drink football that’s the only thing they’re ever going to do the rest of their lives when college is over that’s it, I get it they are football machines and then they will all come back and work in Catawissa and then start families cool beans.
So you could all relax and just chill I will formally say yes your Southern Columbia Mighty tigers are wonderful there you have it YAYYYYY !!!!
The only thing I take very seriously is I never pointed any finger at any school in particular I said they all should be tested
Good luck to all your respective schools tonight especially SCA
GO GET’TEM TIGERS !!!
I might just play some eye of the tiger song while watching WNEP Sports waiting for Southern’s score
GREEEEAT and maybe some frosted flacks
Tony the Tiger style
September 15th, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Dist LFC, many factors go into SC Success, having one of the best, if not the best HS HC in Pa history helps, not having any area private schools in the area also helps. In addition, as some have pointed out, changing demographics in many coal mining towns have families moving into the SC School district. I recently drove through Mt Carmel after many years and it was sad to see a once thriving town disintegrate like that. I do wonder if some redshirting is going on up there, a tactic that Berwick and Mt Carmel used in the past. My son wrestled a couple kids from S. Columbia in age related elementary tournaments years ago and was very surprised to see the same kids 2 years behind him when they hit High School.
September 15th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
@Jeff H from what I can tell by just searching the web, it looks like Columbia Montour Vo Tech and Dobbins Randolph Vo Tech are the only schools that have their own football teams. The latter looks like two separate Vo Tech schools in the Philly area that must have an agreement to have a combined team. I’d expect that all other schools within the state would be affected by this new rule since their Vo Tech students would be eligible to play on their own teams. Someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I really couldn’t figure out which Philly schools would be sending students to those two Vo Tech schools. It could be interesting to see if this rule has an impact. It seems from reading a few articles that there were some schools that were counting those students as eligible to play and others that were not, which is why the PIAA decided to be more specific about this rule.
September 15th, 2023 at 11:27 am
@Dist LFC: Yours is the worst kind of yellow journalism. To outright accuse the kids @ SCA of steroid use with no evidence whatsoever is gutless and slanderous. @Brian is right. Your stated posture and baseless accusations are pathetic, and smack of childish jealousy. Wow, you must be so proud.
September 15th, 2023 at 11:18 am
@ Brian – thanks for the detailed explanation as it pertains to SCA, I’m curious which of the smaller schools will be affected by the new vo-tech rule, guess we’ll find out when the new classifications are unveiled later this year
September 15th, 2023 at 10:46 am
I will piggyback on what @Irish1 and @Brian were saying.
I can speak to Perk Valley as my son played there. Their continued success is due to the culture built by old coach, Scott Reed (now at PJPII) and current coach, Rob Heist. They have built a PROGRAM that the boys are proud to be part of and look forward to their turn to keep the success going. This seems so simple but I have witnessed so many teams that used to be very strong that have really fallen off, my alma mater for one down in the Chesmont league. There are plenty of teams that have a great group of kids come thru and have a couple good seasons and then fall off for a couple seasons so the consistency of certain programs is truly a testament to what goes in “behind the scenes”. PV has amazing community support as well that makes it easier for their players to “buy in” to continue the success.
September 15th, 2023 at 10:41 am
@MCA75 I think you’re correct on both counts. SCA has seen an influx back in the 80s with Centralia being bought out, which is the first increase in population I remember seeing. We definitely have families that have moved to the Elysburg area in particular from both Shamokin and Mount Carmel as jobs just seemed to dry up in coal country. The death of places like Shamokin is pretty sad to see from when I was young. What were active areas are now filled with buildings that are condemned and empty. It makes sense that people would leave these dying towns. Most of those students though have been in the district their whole lives, but their parents or grandparents did originate from coal country. I think the boys themselves, however, dislike when people suggest they’re from coal country since they never lived there themselves.
I absolutely agree with you that Roth has a strength in the fact he can field an almost completely different defense from his offense. Southern can often be a second half team then because they wear down their opponents. When there is a player that goes both ways such as Garcia is now, the fans start to worry it’s too much…which is kind of funny since nearly every other team they play has most of their players playing both ways.
September 15th, 2023 at 9:52 am
Since 2018, Mt. Carmel has only lost to North Schuylkill (all close games)and you guessed it, Southern Columbia. MCA would likely have made some noise in the state tournament a few times but faced SCA in the district final every year (except 2020 which was COVID shortened and MCA season cancelled).
I’ve said this before many times but people outside may not realize the what happened in the area over the years. People left Mount Carmel and Shamokin (who could blame them) and many who stayed moved to Southern Area. Look at many of the names on SCA roster the last couple years. Their dads were the stars of the 90s for Mt. Carmel and Shamokin. It also doesn’t hurt that they occasionally somehow get a good player here or there from another district.
I can’t argue with what @Brian said about SCA being in the weight room and having a great coach and system. However I think their biggest strength is being able to develop kids enough that they are able to have mostly 1 way players which is a huge advantage for a small school. In many recent games with SCA, MCA has kept in close in the first half only to get worn down in the 2nd.
September 15th, 2023 at 8:48 am
Disrtact 2 LFC
No one cares about your picks.
September 15th, 2023 at 8:20 am
@ Jeff H I read that article as well. That rule wouldn’t affect Southern Columbia. First, they don’t send that many students to Vo Tech. Second, the rule is regarding students who could still play for their “home district” because their school doesn’t offer sports teams. Columbia Montour Vo Tech actually is a full time Tech school. They offer their own sports teams and those kids aren’t eligible to play for their home districts. So, in this case, the rule shouldn’t apply to the few kids going to Tech from Southern. Even if you did add in those couple of kids, it wouldn’t increase Southern into the 3A category as their population they send to Vo Tech is quite low and they’re at the low end numbers for 2A. I think Columbia Montour Vo Tech is probably not the norm of Vo Techs in that they do offer their own sports teams, however, that’s because the school districts that send kids are so spread out it has to be a full day program and those kids would never be able to return to their home districts to participate in athletics on a daily basis (they are bused by the home districts, but arrive later and stay later every day to put a full day in). Cyber students and home school students could participate in Southern’s athletics and would be counted with this rule, but they have few, if any, students in that category.
September 15th, 2023 at 7:42 am
@ D 4 LFC WOW! You actually believe that the only way a program could be that successful is that they’re on steroids?!! I hope to hell you’re not a coach or teacher if that’s your opinion. What a great lesson to teach young men: You will only win consistently if you take roids. You should be ashamed of that belief, but I fear that shame just isn’t in you.
I work in a school that used to be a power house. Let me tell you why they’re not anymore: The kids don’t buy into the program and they don’t put in the work that they do at SCA. Plain and simple. The entire community and the kids buy into Roth’s program. It has to start from the ground up and it has to be year round. There is a huge amount of pressure on those kids to continue that winning condition. They grow up watching the big kids playing and winning and want to do the same thing. Roth has taught them that they can’t do that if they don’t put in the work year round. The fact that you don’t believe it and you refuse to watch Roar because you have already made up your mind about it being steroids, transfers or some other lame excuse is quite sad. It says far more about you than it does about the young men in that program busting their butts all year long to make sure they’re not the team that lets down the community. I’ve worked in other districts and I’ll tell you it’s not the same. The work ethic isn’t there in other schools and for other coaches. If your team and your community don’t buy in, you’re not going to reproduce this. To say that they should be penalized and hobbled so that other teams that don’t put in this level of work is a bad lesson to give to these kids.
Perhaps you should stick to analyzing teams you know something about rather than disparaging a group of young men based on rumors and inuendo just because they’re consistently successful.
September 15th, 2023 at 7:13 am
@Distract 2 LFC, i dont really know much about S Columbia other then they win alot,. Its a long way away from District one where I am. As far as CB West goes a coach like M Pettine doesnt come along very often and when that district split into three high schools the talent was spread out even more, so its easy to see why they arent what they used to be ,but they are still a respectable program. There are many factors that play into why once powerful programs arent quite what they used to be. Doesnt mean that they were once cutting corners or anything like that. I can point to a program like Perk Valley that used to be a doormat for many years,,then that area got built up with new homes and now PV is a power. Norristown is the direct opposite.. Norristown was a power program with over 500 wins and turned out plenty of division one talent thru the years,but changing demographics have resulted in it now being a shadow of what it once was. Times change and parts of the state change. Mt Carmel is still a good program but its doubtful they can ever be what they once were being from the coal area. Those schools much like the ones from the old steel towns rode the wave of those industries.
September 15th, 2023 at 6:19 am
Workman like effort by Q-Town last night. They got the job done. Little disappointed in the crowd turnout with a perfect night for a football game. Thursday night, Eagles game, both?? Thumbs down to the P-W student section for bailing in the 3rd qtr. Guess they did see the writing on the wall tho.
September 15th, 2023 at 2:06 am
Lackawanna Football Conference
District 2 picks
Susquehanna 22
Lakeland 7
Western Wayne 17
Abington Heights 14
Scranton 22
Scranton Prep 18
Dunmore 31
Riverside 8
Mid Valley 28
Old Forge 12
North Pocono 14
Valley View 13
Lackawanna Trail 33
Honesdale 20
September 15th, 2023 at 1:59 am
Imagine how far some of these ns teams could have went with rick geist
September 15th, 2023 at 1:57 am
Wally hall? Wally hall? Why do you play a soft defense. Why dont you get after people and hit. You have the players. Why do you think you need to throw 50 times in a row? Imagine having carroballo, flail and chowansky back there together. Or having chowansky and flail back there. Imagine mixing up run and pass. Imagine putting flail in the wildcat. Imagine improving as the season goes on and not losing games you shouldnt lose
September 14th, 2023 at 10:38 pm
Garnet Valley edged Haverford High 14-13 tonight. Last week, they did not pull away from Penncrest until late. They definitely look beatable. They play Haverford School (Inter-Ac) next week who were getting blown out by La Salle 28-3 late 3rd quarter last time, but still could be a close game. They also have to face Strath Haven and Marple Newtown later in the season, does anyone think their Central League winning streak will come to an end this year?
September 14th, 2023 at 7:49 pm
Not a lot of big time matchups this weekend in the WPIAL, D2 fan highlighted most of the games I will mention, next week there are several marque games
PCC vs Mt Lebo – may seem like a good matchup on paper but Lebo won’t be able to keep up with the PCC offensive machine, this game won’t be close and could be a mercy rule game like last week, will end up something like 49-21
3A Belle Vernon vs. 5A Penn Trafford – BV continues their big boy non-conference schedule after beating McKeesport in OT last week, if you like hard hitting defensive football and line play this is the matchup for you, this game could go either way, PT is tough at home and they beat them last year at BV, but I’ll pick BV in a close, low scoring game 17-14
5A Peters Township vs. 5A South Fayette – first conference game for both teams, SF blew a 17 point 2nd half lead against Montour last week and lost 42-35, Peters is rolling at 3-0 but they haven’t played anyone of note yet, I think Peters wins a pretty close game on the road.
4A Aliquippa vs. 4AMontour – also the first conference game for both schools, Montour is 3-0 with nice nonconference wins over Mars and SF as mentioned, I think they keep it interesting for awhile but the Quips end up winning by 3 scores, Montour is the third best team in this conference behind the Quips and CV.
2A Steel Valley vs. 2A Imani Christian – another big conference matchup, can SV bounce back after a very surprising loss last week to Seton LaSalle, winner of this game is the favorite to win the conference and be a high seed in the playoffs, I like Imani to win by a TD
September 14th, 2023 at 3:52 pm
Suburban One League
Rough week last week, even though Council Rock South didn’t beat Pennsbury, they played them very tough, really Surprised, and then again not, that Souderton beat CB East, Souderton has been highly touted all season but hasn’t played up to it until last week.
So, we start with Divisional games and finish with the last of the Crossovers.
PENNRIDGE OVER Abington, – and regardless of what everyone says, this may not be close, I got a feeling Pennridge is getting their MOJO Back. 2 TD’s or more.
UPPER DUBLIN OVER Bensalem- I’ve seen UD favored by as many as 28 points, don’t think that’s going to happen I see it 14-17 pt win.
CB EAST OVER CB South – everyone has CB East, and I’m taking a deep breath, after they disappointed me last week, this is going to be a great game to view, 3-7 pt difference.
SOUDERTON OVER CR North- which Souderton shows up? Doesn’t really matter Souderton easy.
CR SOUTH OVER HS Truman- as long as there is no letdown after a strong effort against Pennsbury, CR South by 3 TD’s
HATBORO HORSHAM OVER Wm Tennant- two neighboring schools, I’m so surprised HH could be off to a 3-1 start, after almost dropping the sport a few years ago, closer than most think, 7-10pts.
NORTH PENN OVER Neshaminy- can’t even believe I’m picking North Penn, they are a shell of the team they were even 2-3 years ago, but North Penn by 7 to 10 pts.
CB WEST OVER Pennsbury- I keep seeing the local Pundits saying this is a close game, I think CB West puts the hammer down & it’s 14 pts at least.
CROSSOVER GAMES (non-divisional)
PERK VALLEY OVER Cheltenham- this is easy, Cheltenham played Saturday, finished Monday, has 2 days off and has to play PV, PV by 3 TD’s
QUAKERTOWN OVER Plymouth Whitemarsh- this is going to be an excellent game, I’ve got Quakertown pulling this one out by 3pts, the media Pundits seem to be split on this game.
So, there you go from the SOL, hope everyone enjoys the great weather and gets out and supports the team of your choice.
September 14th, 2023 at 2:17 pm
@Kevin X
My argument was not against the Dunmore lady hoopsters as you say.
I only used them as an example because in the Scranton Times news article it was reported that the PIAA was forcing the Dunmore girls basketball team to move up a classification because of their “quality of play” and that was the exact wording of the article , so my argument was that if Dunmore had to move up then Southern Columbia football team should then have to move up as well, because of their quality of play not so much how many players they have this debate will be endless. All I know at the end of the day is whatever is in that water down there it’s something special if you know what I mean !
nobody’s going to tell me that just because of hard work and determination a team’s going to go and win 11 state championships sorry don’t believe it and I never will ! and something like 27 straight District titles overall 30 some.
It’s funny because the other gentleman that was trying to basically guard his wonderful tigers was saying that it’s about jealousy and not teaching young men how to win the correct way sorry I don’t buy into it WVIA can make all the documentaries they want but something’s not right in Catawissa and there’s a lot of people that know it !
There are lots of other programs that were very successful and fell off the Earth and that very well happens for instance look at Berwick –
Mount Carmel- Central Bucks West -Tyrone Blackhawk- Manheim Central these were all perennial powers that are no more you’re not going to tell me all of a sudden the football Community just gets up and says we’re done even when coaches pass on or move forward that Community Drive to keep winning would still be there, so all I’m saying is like I said I don’t buy into it and there’s lots of people who don’t because they’re likely is something not right nobody’s going to come on and change my mind so I will step aside respectfully not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings so if you are a tiger’s fan or just like to be on their bandwagon congratulations I’ll say it now to another state championship season and on to many more LOL it’s actually quite hilarious not honorable.
Just a thought I also feel the PIAA should mandate that all athletes no matter what team or sport they play should be tested for performance enhancing drugs , just saying and I said ALL teams not just SCA.
Good day mates
September 14th, 2023 at 1:51 pm
@ D2 LFC
Tread lightly my friend, SCA has always been a third rail on this forum (I’ve been zapped numerous times). Looks like you stepped in it/on it this time 🙂
An ooops, my bad, for me. I should not attempt any further discussions of girls basketball and football in the same post 🙂
September 14th, 2023 at 12:50 pm
Best Of The Rest: I guess it’s 50 combined every week for me. I added SC/Altoona to make up for the cancellation last week.
District 2/4
– Lakeland vs. Susquehanna
– Loyalsock Twp vs. Danville
– Towanda vs. Canton
– Selinsgrove vs. Shamokin
District 11
– Allentown Central Catholic vs. Freedom
– Saucon Valley vs. Bangor
– Williams Valley vs. Minersville
– NW Lehigh vs. Pen Argyl
District 1/12
– CB South vs. CB East
– CB West vs. Pennsbury
– Quakertown vs. Plymouth-Whitemarsh
– Downingtown West vs. Avon Grove
– Springfield vs. Marple-Newtown
– Lansdale Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti
District 3
– Governor Mifflin vs. Exeter Twp.
– Central Dauphin vs. Chambersburg
– Cedar Cliff vs. Hershey
District 5/6
– Altoona vs. State College
– Bald Eagle vs. Tyrone
– Meyersdale vs. Windber
WPIAL/District 8
– PCC vs. Mount Lebanon
– Belle Vernon Area vs. Penn-Trafford
– Peters Twp. vs. South Fayette
– Steel Valley vs. Imani
– Canon-McMillan vs. Bethel Park
– Montour vs. Aliquippa
– USO vs. Westinghouse
District 9/10
– Bradford vs. DuBois
– Port Allegany vs. Cameron County
– Hickory vs. Wilmington
– McDowell vs. Erie
Inter-District & Non-PIAA
– Mifflinburg (4) vs. Central Mountain (6)
– Spring Ford (1) vs. Manheim Twp. (3)
– Forest Hills (6) vs. Chestnut Ridge (5)
– Bucktail (4) vs. Otto-Eldred (9)
– Haverford (Ind.) vs. La Salle (12)
– Malvern Prep (Ind.) vs. Imhotep Charter (12)
– Roman Catholic (12) vs. DeMatha (MD)
– St. Joe’s Prep (12) vs. Don Bosco Prep (NJ)
– Episcopal vs. Hill
Scores
– Lakeland 42, Susquehanna 12
– Danville 36, Loyalsock 21
– Canton 41, Towanda 20
– Selinsgrove 38, Shamokin 19
– ACC 34, Freedom 23
– Bangor 34, Saucon Valley 13
– Williams Valley 21, Minersville 18
– NW Lehigh 42, Pen Argyl 19
– CB South 23, CB East 20
– CB West 34, Pennsbury 14
– Quakertown 27, Plymouth-Whitemarsh 10
– Downingtown West 23, Avon Grove 14
– Marple-Newtown 24, Springfield Delco 23
– N-G 45, Lansdale 18
– Exeter 32, Governor Mifflin 23
– Central Dauphin 29, Chambersburg 13
– Cedar Cliff 28, Hershey 22
– State College 48, Altoona 10
– Bald Eagle 35, Tyrone 12
– Windber 42, Meyersdale 12
– PCC 38, Mt. Lebo 21
– Penn-Trafford 45, Belle Vernon 24
– Peters Twp. 24, South Fayette 15
– Steel Valley 41, Imani Christian 31
– Canon-Mac 34, Bethel Park 33
– Aliquippa 40, Montour 23
– Westinghouse 55, USO 0
– DuBois 34, DuBois 15
– Port Allegany 46, Cameron County 18
– Wilmington 42, Hickory 10
– McDowell 34, Erie 13
– Mifflinburg 28, Central Mountain 21
– Manheim Twp. 34, Spring-Ford 14
– Forest Hills 21, Chestnut Ridge 14
– Bucktail 29, Otto-Eldred 19
– Haverford 28, La Salle 16
– Imhotep 31, Malvern Prep 28
– DeMatha 38, Roman 13
– St. Joe’s 35, Don Bosco Prep 28
– Episcopal 34, Hill 23
September 14th, 2023 at 11:45 am
Just read an article on TribLive about the PIAA changing the formula for how they count school enrollments. Since 2016 public schools had to count only 10% of all their students who attend class in an alternate setting like vo-tech, charter, cyber charter or home school, now starting for the next 2yr cycle schools will have to count 100%. The PIAA admits this will have a much bigger impact on the schools in the smaller classifications than larger schools, and will have no impact on private schools. I know there has been debate on here for years about Southern Columbia and their vo-tech connections, I have no details whatsoever and have not looked into it, but if SCA or any other school was benefiting from the 10% rule we’re going to see some smaller schools moved up in class starting next year.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:34 am
My predictions for some of the bigger games this week are:
Manheim Township over Spring Ford- Should be a great game. Spring Ford’s offense lead by QB Zollers and WR Scott has been amazing this season but have not faced a team like Manheim yet. I am going with Manheim due to their blowout win over Harrisburg last week, but this game could go either way.
Marple Newtown over Springfield Delco- Marple Newtown looks like the best team in District 1-5A so far. In my opinion, they are probably the team in the Central League with the best chance of upsetting Garnet Valley this season. They have some good athletes at the skill positions as well. Though Springfield Delco is by far better than their three previous opponents, so this game should be close.
Quakertown over Plymouth Whitemarsh- Quakertown has had two tough losses against good teams to start the season (CB West and Southern Lehigh), but if they play how they did against North Penn, they should beat PW.
CB East over CB South- CB South has raced out to a 3-0 start, blowing out Truman and CR North. CB East is coming off a tough loss vs. Souderton, though I think they will rebound and come out on top in a defensive battle.
CB West over Pennsbury- Pennsbury defense is solid and should keep the game close. CB West looks like the best team in the SOL and possibly all of District 1, I expect them to pull away at the end.
Imhotep Charter over Malvern Prep- Malvern’s defense will be able to keep this game close, but I do not think it will be enough to overcome Imhotep.
DeMatha Catholic (MD) over Roman Catholic- Roman is loaded this season and probably the best Philly Catholic Team outside of St Joe’s Prep. DeMatha is a consistently top 100 team in the nation and plays in the ultra-talented WCAC conference. I expect a good game between the two.
Parkland over Nazareth- Both teams are clearly the best teams in the Lehigh Valley and favorites to win D11-6A. Both have been dominant thus far and are strong on both sides of the ball. In my opinion, this game will determine the EPC South champion since I do not see any other team in the Valley being either of these two. I have Parkland coming on top in a close one though, expect a rematch between these two in D11-6A playoffs.
Bethlehem Freedom over Allentown Central Catholic- ACC is coming off a last second victory over Emmaus last and is one of the better teams in 4A statewide. Freedom was able to keep it close with one of the best teams in 6A in Nazareth last week. I think Freedom will pull off the upset.
La Salle over Haverford School- La Salle has lost back-to-back after their week one win over North Penn. Haverford lost to Imhotep 35-0 to start the season and rebounded against last week against a struggling Academy Park team. I think the Explorers will win in a defensive battle.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:46 am
@Dennis
According to the easternpafootball season preview, Southern Columbia has 2 returning starters on the offensive line (1x Jr and 1x Sr) so its not all freshmen. The others might be freshmen or just first year starters but you can’t tell since they don’t post an updated roster online that Im aware of. Southern is good again regardless but I’ve seen this posted before and it doesn’t appear to be true.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:43 am
@Distract2LFC it is obvious you’re not familiar at all with the Southern Columbia program. I might suggest that there is actually a documentary made by PBS called “Roar” that actually addresses some of the rumors you mention. I’ll try to enlighten you a bit though.
First, I have no idea where you came up with the “trade program” that you claim is a “talent feeder to their team” and is “where they get all their quality players from.” This is the first I’ve heard that particular claim, but I’m going to guess you’re confusing your rumor mill. Southern has students that can attend Columbia/Montour Area Vo Tech, which is a trade school that is full time. It’s been suggested over the years that Southern is lowering their numbers by forcing kids to attend Vo Tech so that they don’t count towards their total count for the PIAA. This claim is preposterous for several reasons. First, of the “sending schools” in those two counties, Southern sends few kids to Vo Tech. You also couldn’t force a kid to attend Vo Tech. They have to apply to the school and can also be sent back to the sending school if Vo Tech does not feel they are worthy of the placement or there are behavioral problems. Southern is also on the low end for 2A and almost at the 1A classification. There is no way the couple of kids that they send to Vo Tech is keeping them in 2A. They’d have to be sending a much larger population for that to be true, which would make their elementary population much larger than it actually is.
If by “feeder” to their team you mean the elementary level football programs, you would have a great point. The coaches at that level teach their players the Wing T offense and use many of the same plays that the high school team is using. Those kids grow up familiar with the offense and defense used by the Tigers and it really isn’t as much of a learning curve when they reach the high school level.
You suggest that the PIAA was playing favorites when it didn’t make SCA move up. You must be unfamiliar then with the rules as SCA does not have the transfers that are necessary to make them move to 3A. Many of the kids playing on that team I remember growing up with their parents. There are not a ton of kids transferring into the school to play football like we see at many of the private schools that are even pulling kids from outside the state to play on their team.
You suggest they should move up to 4A. How did you come up with that classification exactly? What teams nearby would SCA play that would fill their schedule in 4A? How far would they have to travel since they literally have a school in the country hours from a major city. Who wants to travel that far to play Southern and why should Southern’s kids have to travel that far each week to play a game? They have enough trouble filling their schedule with teams willing to play them. Even Berwick wanted to get out of their agreement this year and not play them because they didn’t want the loss. For a team that is, by numbers, almost a 1A school, you want them to bump up because you feel it’s fair…what exactly is fair about penalizing a team because they work harder and therefore win more often? Because, quite frankly, that’s what it boils down to. If you’re familiar at all with SCA’s program, you’d know that these kids eat, sleep and breath football. They are in that weight room the day after they win states. They are in there every day all year long and they spend the time working on their game all year long. It’s not a sport they pick up in the summer thinking about again. It’s a sport that is a commitment to them.
The PIAA classifications are based on school size and should definitely consider the kids that transfer. I personally think private schools should play in their own league as that’s not fair. But to argue that a team who’s dedication has led to continual success and continual buy-in by the next generation should be punished for their success is a really crappy lesson to teach to young men.
You argued that they played a team in South Carolina as your reasoning that they’d be able to play with big name teams, but it seems you’re not aware that the 2019 team that did so was a step above any SCA team that ever passed through that school. They were not the norm and shouldn’t be used to judge all the teams that ever played for Roth. That particular team probably could have won states in higher classifications, but that doesn’t mean that every other team at Southern should be held to that unreachable standard.
Perhaps rather than teaching your kids to quit if they think they can’t beat a Southern, you should use Southern as an example of what that level of hard work can lead to if you choose to dedicate yourself to the game. What lesson do you wish for football to teach these young men? Roth has taught them that hard work, team work, and determination can lead to success. It’s sad the adults who think that such a program couldn’t exist within the rules and there must be cheating…and that we must find a way to make that team less successful.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:38 am
@ D2 LFC
One quick follow-on……
“I have no idea why they would not move up they truly have Ballers every year personally they should be in class 4A there’s no way they should be in 2A.”
You are talking about the Dunmore Lady Bucks hoopsters. Yes, they do have ballers. But three letters on why they don’t want to move up to 4A: P C L
If their enrollment figures fall within the 2A parameters (they are 3A now), then yes, they should play in 2A, unless they choose to play higher.
September 14th, 2023 at 8:14 am
@ D2 LFC
Interesting you used the two best examples of the egregiousness of the PIAA Competition Formula of one team that has never been promoted and should be, and one school that was that should not have been. I’ve been following this Competition Formula (or whatever they call it) since its inception, and it still gives me a combo of a headache and upset stomach whenever i try to understand it. I think when I attempt to inject outside common sense into the methodology and purpose, that is when my symptoms reach their peak.
September 14th, 2023 at 6:07 am
@Distract 2 LFC, first you have the catholic schools all figured out when you really dont know anything about them. Then you go on and on about S Columbia but finish by saying you are big fan of their success after saying they get most of their talent by funneling in players thru a school program. Talk about damning with faint praise. I guess we should all be thankful for all those squeaky clean public schools in District 2
September 13th, 2023 at 10:52 pm
Week 4 has arrived in Talkback 16 Country! A new format for me this week, since conference play is up & running in D2. I’ll showcase a game in every division. LFC 2/3 aren’t playing for a week, so I’ll feature the best or a random matchup. A LFC & WVC honorable mention, D2 crossover (if applicable), & the two sub-regional showdowns of note fill out my 10!
D2 Games To Watch (+ Subregionals!)
– Scranton Prep vs. Scranton (LFC 1): Whenever Scranton’s top teams square off, it’s usually a good matchup. However, the Prep team is running on all cylinders. Easy win.
– Dunmore vs. Riverside (LFC 2): This game could be a huge implication game for 2A. The winner of this may get the 1 seed. I think Dunmore will do their thing & take it from Riverside.
– Holy Cross vs. Montrose (LFC 3): Montrose, while opting out of D2 playoffs, is playing a fairly winnabl game. The rest of the LFC 3 teams are playing mediocre teams.
– Wilkes-Barre Area vs. Hazleton (WVC 1): This game is huge for 6A standings. It could decide who is the team missing the playoff in a DEEP 6A field. I think Wilkes-Barre has some studs on offense, & it may be the thing that gets them the dub. I’ll go with the Wolf Pack here.
– Greater Nanticoke vs. Wyoming Area (WVC 2): GNA is on this list a lot. That’s because they’re a team that can surprise. I’m not making this upset of the week, but if GNA stumbles, just imagine the huge shot of confidence they’ll get.
– Wallenpaupack vs. Delaware Valley (LFC HM): This is a fairly one-sided rivalry between the two Pike County D2 teams. Both teams are coming off of tough losses against 6A teams. DV’s going in the wrong direction. The “get right’ game is real with these two teams. I’ve seen the Buckhorns get blown out 70-0 some years & hold their own others. I fear it’s the prior. DV can’t afford to go 0-4.
– Berwick vs. Williamsport (WVC HM): This is the only decent game in WVC 1 that isn’t WBA/Hazleton. A Berwick team that’s had a rough three weeks against a Williamsport team that neds to keep up in the 6A playoff race. I think Berwick turns it around here. It’ll be hard times at the Columbia-Luzerne line if they drop to 0-4.
– Western Wayne vs. Abington Heights (D2 HM): BIG game at “The Pit” Saturday. The winner of this game will have some great momentum. AH is stronger than in years’ past. Western Wayne’s a solid 2-1. I’ll take the home team here
– Nazareth vs. Parkland (EPC 6A): The Top 2 in the 6A standings will go head to head here. A huge win for either team. Parkland is the better team here.
– Renaissance Academy vs. CMVT (D1 1A): Don’t laugh at this. Hear me out. Jenkintown is playing New Hope-Solebury, who based on CalPreps would get blown out. The Drakes haven’t had the luck in the last few years, except for an oddball 6-3 win last time out. Morrisville gets Lower Moreland, who they’ve had success against. As for Renaissance, this is their first game since losing to some team named Vaux Big Picture. CMVT, like Lower Moreland, is 4A, but they’re bottom of the barrel in D4. CalPreps favors Renaissance by one point. I’d take a huge risk with the closer game, & will go with the projection outright. I feel this will be the more competitive game. If I’m wrong, so be it.
Scores
– Scranton Prep 49, Scranton 14
– Dunmore 23, Riverside 19
– Montrose 21, Holy Cross 14
– Wilkes-Barre Area 32, Hazleton 22
– Wyoming Area 38, GNA 12
– Delaware Valley 42, Wallenpaupack 10
– Berwick 31, Williamsport 16
– Abington Heights 24, Western Wayne 20
– Parkland 31, Nazareth 24
– Renaissance 21, CMVT 20
September 13th, 2023 at 9:25 pm
Loyalsock is 3A and let’s see how good they are this week against another 3A school in Danville. They didn’t look all that impressive at home against a very average, at best, 3A school in Berks Catholic week one.
I believe one of the out of state catholic schools Scranton Prep is playing next year is Canisius up in Buffalo. Wonder if that is a Pegula connection game.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:42 pm
@Dennis
Thank you I appreciate that information about watching them for free at least their home games anyways. Yes this year should be interesting Mount Carmel playing them a good friend of mine has a son who plays for Dunmore and I went to that Mount Carnel game Dunmore actually held their ground at halftime 14-7 but after that Mount
Carmel’s wind was too strong for them.No pun intended lol sort of
I think Dunmore still has a good chance if they could just pull it together and work as a team.
From a Chief good luck the rest of your season
September 13th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
@ Distract 2 LFC Southern Columbia just destroyed a very good 4A team in Loyalsock with a freshmen O line. Should they play up probably. We will see how they stack up with the other 4A schools they play this year. And they still have to play Mt. Carmel yet. The season is young but boy they look pretty good. This comes from a Dunmore bucks fan. You can watch them on YouTube for home games at no charge.
September 13th, 2023 at 2:55 pm
@Kevin X
I completely agree with the others about Scranton prep I think that would be great changing up the competition. The only drawback is making sure they are playing quality Catholic schools and not schools that are comparable with District 2’s
Holy Redeemer and or Holy Cross not all Catholic schools are created equal as we all know some Focus their interest in other sports not all in football but if they are going to be playing quality teams I tip my hat to them that’s great .
I take partial credit for poking the bear they’ve never done that in the history of their school someone must have been reading my rustling of the leaves and thought it was a good idea lol .
whatever gets the job done I wish them the best though out of state can always be very interesting.
On the other topics that have circulated many years for instance Southern Columbia football I believe they still have a trade program at their school that basically is a talent feeder to their team so that’s where they keep getting all their quality players from let’s face it if it wasn’t for that they wouldn’t be state champions that many years in a row and over all something like 11 state titles
That’s not even normal but on the flip side I have to say kudos to coach Roth because no matter how he got the players he still focuses them on Winning State titles either way they’re still winners , so congratulations on that note but to be honest the PIAA DID SUGGEST !!! they wanted them to move up in classification years ago and Southern Columbia refused so how does that work?
The PIAA did the same thing to the Dunmore girls basketball team because they were destroying everybody in the lower classifications and Dunmore did not want to move up and when they opposed it the PIAA made them move so where’s the disconnect with the PIAA and
Southern Columbia?
I have no idea why they would not move up they truly have Ballers every year personally they should be in class 4A there’s no way they should be in 2A.
The PIAA has a formula to acclimate teams to their skill level of play and Southern Columbia should absolutely be forced to move up for the fairness to all the other teams could you imagine being a team down in District 4 and just thinking wow we have to play this Mega buzzsaw who is the Perennial winner of the District championship every single year basically there’s no chance for any other team to snag that, to be honest I would probably just fold the football program or at least pull out of District 4 if I was any teams down there I would put up a protest and just not play them there’s no fairness and equality in that at all !!!
when you’re playing a perennial Buzz saw with diamond bit blades every year even if they do get their players from the trade program they run for a tiny school in Catawissa PA they still play BIG TALENT FOOTBALL what’s fair is fair.
If they could break out of their comfort zone and play the team down in South Carolina and destroy that team from South Carolina years ago by the way that South Carolina team was the champions for how many years down that way why can’t Southern Columbia just man up and do that other times if they can play teams down south why can’t they bump up the 4A that makes no sense okay I’m finished I’m going to put my poking rod down hopefully the bear has awoken and but in this case the mighty tiger with diamond bit teeth. Keep in mind I’m not a hater of Southern Columbia I think it’s fantastic how many times they won the state championship I imagine that would be very hard no matter who you have on your team great coaching for sure and the players themselves how many times over they have to keep themselves in shape it’s great dedication but it’s the the details that surround it that’s all I’m talking about.
September 12th, 2023 at 2:41 pm
Week 3 Picks Recap.
Thanks to ES South/Pleasant Valley being rained out, it had to wait until today.
– I went a PERFECT 10-0 in District 2’s noteworthy picks, to go to 25-5 (83.3%). Emmaus almost killed that perfect record for me.
– As for the rest of the state, a 26-12-1 (71.25%) record, to go to 76-42-1 (~64%). I’ll explain the tie in the next part. One game was cancelled, but I’ll give the team with the more important battle love.
– Overall, this week was 36-12-1 (~73.5%), & I’m 101-47-1 (~67.8%) on the season.
Notes
– Jersey Shore & Selinsgrove played to a 21-21 tie, due to a serious injury by a Shore player in the 4th quarter. Hope whoever that was is alright. Not sure how to treat it in my picks, but I’ll give it a half win for now. They at least played.
– Should’ve included Wyo/Trinity. Great come from behind win. Now if a lot of these other teams in the state could take some notes, that’d be great.
– This week, my head scratching loss was Coatesville/Central Dauphin. Not that bad of a loss, but quite a shocking result. Coatesville seems like a better team, but what do I know?
– Lancaster-Lebanon teams took my picks personally. Got both wrong.
– Montour over South Fayette. I have zero clue how good Montour is. Is this a sneaky team in 4A?
– Getting the Penn-Trafford pick wrong was bad judgement on my part. I went with the higher rank.
– The other incorrect picks (Roman & Reynolds losses) were just due to lack of knowledge, & ES South/Pleasant Valley was a coin flip game.
– State College/Hollidaysburg was cancelled. Man, wish I didn’t add that game & did Wyo/Trinity. I’ll do SC-Altoona next week, just for the extra pick. It may mean jack squat, but it could depend for 6A & the last team in.
And last but not least, FINALLY! I got my D1 1A pick of the week correct. Prior history was the best move. I doubt Week 4 will do the same.
I’ll try & do better next week in the non-D2 stuff. One day I’ll have a perfect week there.
September 12th, 2023 at 9:35 am
Shout out to formal Central Valley standout Jordan Whitehead with 3 INTs last night against Josh Allen and the Bills on MNF. He was the star of their 2014 team that started the season 15-0, including beating Bishop McDevitt 26-21 in the semi-finals, before they lost to Wood in the 3A final 33-14. They also beat West Alleghany twice, who was undefeated and ranked #1 in most state polls when CV beat them in the last game of the regular season 28-17 and again in the WPIAL final 35-28, this was the year CV announced their presence on the state level after being formed in 2010 with the merger of the Monaca and Center school districts.
September 11th, 2023 at 10:13 pm
WBCB1490.com livestreams Pennsbury, Neshaminy amd Conwell-Egan games.
September 11th, 2023 at 2:00 pm
@ JCo & Kevin X
Absolutely agree that they should dial it down a tad. I feel those level District 1 & the EPC games should be on the schedule. I don’t remember the East Stroudsburg games with DV. Keep in mind, I’m probably the youngest person here, so some of my knowledge of before-2010s PA football is a bit low.
I didn’t hear about the Scranton Prep news. That is a major step in the right direction. I’d assume it’d be among the likes of Moore Catholic in NYC or Group A Jersey schools, which they could be fairly competitive with, except for the national powerhouses.
I feel Valley View, Old Forge, & Trail should do similar & find a few strong teams to the west to schedule. Valley View hosting a home & home with Shore would be cool. I’d be curious to see how the two other teams can compete with the 1A or 2A teams in the WPIAL (doesn’t need to be powerhouses, either).
@ Jeff H, I know of a few.
– WQMY out of Williamsport has NEPA games in District 2 & 4. They are the MyNetworkTV affiliate for Scranton.
– I believe WHP is the CBS affiliate for Greater Harrisburg HS games (please correct me if that’s a different channel).
– Blue Ridge 13 & 11 do, which are only able to be accessed by BRC customers (or the rare game on PCN)
– SEN is the big one that does the state games at the end of the year with PCN. They are only accessible to customers of Service Electric & recently Blue Ridge.
– Astound in the Lehigh Valley does one, I know. They simulcast their game on PCN, but it doesn’t matter unless you have their channel.
– I don’t know if Black Diamond Sports Network in Coal Country has a live feed.
– Webb Weekly Live’s website has some of the Williamsport games, which I think do air on their local Comcast feed. They’re pretty good, but I miss the Gary Chrisman era. It felt so nostalgic.
– Check out NEPA Football’s website, as I think they do some live feeds of D2 football games. They usually have radio feeds.
– SFBN out of Philly covers District 1 & 12, I know. I talked to the lead guy there earlier this year & he explained to me how the D12 basketball playoffs worked (was curious as a few local teams were matched in first round).
I’m sure I’m missing one or two. I also wish there were more live broadcasted HS football games. Some of the newspapers should broadcast games, if they have resources to.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:53 am
Here’s a question for the board, are any of the high school games in eastern or southeastern PA televised on local TV? I know PCN usually does a game of the week, but I’m wondering about any local stations. One of the local stations in Pittsburgh does a WPIAL game of the week, this past week it was naturally the PH vs. PR game I attended, which because of the myriad of TV timeouts and some cramping issues the game that started at 7pm didn’t end until 10:15pm, absolutely ridiculous for a HS game to take longer to play than the average NFL game. It’s great to show a local game to give these teams some more exposure, but they need to do a better job of streamlining things so these games don’t take 3+ hours to play, there’s no flow to a game with so many frequent TV timeouts.
September 11th, 2023 at 7:48 am
@ D2 Fan
I’ll continue to tip my hat to the Del Val program for taking on all challengers early in the season (and any other school that does). Maybe tho they can dial the competition level back a notch or two. The Selinsgrove team and game appeared to be competitive, but maybe trade the likes of Harrisburg and DTE for teams such as Q-Town, Pennridge, Souderton, etc. (schools I’m more familiar with down my way) who play several non league games/teams in the early season. Also a little less and easier travel for the road games. I remember that Del Val did play Pennridge a few years ago, as well as Upper Dublin (I was at that game with UDub, kind of ugly for DelVal if I remember, an early drinking night).
I understand Scranton Prep is following in Del Val’s footsteps and stepping out of their D2 comfort zone and have scheduled two out of state catholic schools next year. I never heard of them, and I don’t remember off hand who they are.
September 10th, 2023 at 4:43 pm
@D2 Fan: It could be good timing for Del Val to schedule some closer non-con games, with the EPC teams now having open dates. I remember when ES South and Del Val played each other frequently, that was a good series that I’d love to see revived.
September 10th, 2023 at 9:27 am
@ Jeff H,
Yes, wear down they did! Wyo’s rushing totals were 57/419. I’m sure the Trinity DL guys were tired on Sat AM. No on runs the Wing T like Wolfrum and Wyomissing.
September 10th, 2023 at 8:37 am
@ EmanD3
Why?? Why are the picking that game up Monday afternoon?? Is it really worth it for Cheltenham to trek back up to Reading from North Philly to continue a 26-0 beat down in mid 2nd qtr. in game that is destined for a running clock?? Nice that they agreed to play on short notice, gave it a shot, but regroup and get ready for a district game at PV Friday night.
@ Foleman
I may be joining you heading west Friday. Slime pickings for good games in District One Friday night, with most games being played Thursday due to the Jewish holiday Saturday. Not getting overly excited about a Cheltenham @ PV game Friday night at the moment.
September 9th, 2023 at 11:43 pm
@EmanD3- guess technically I was right when I said Wyomissing would wear down Trinity in the 2nd half, but what a great game, I kept checking scores while at the PR vs PH game and saw Trinity maintaining their big lead and then was shocked when I saw the final score and the amazing comeback by Wyomissing. I said I thought Trinity was the biggest threat in the east to SCA and they may be, but with the way they handled a very good Loyalsock team last night it certainly appears they are a big favorite to win their 7th state title in a row.
September 9th, 2023 at 11:25 pm
Observations from last night’s games in the WPIAL. Penn Hills confirmed their status as the favorite in 5A with a 26-20 victory at PR, there were 3 lead changes in the first half which ended with PH leading 18-17, then a 60 yard TD run late in the 3rd quarter by QB Julian Dugger and subsequent 2 point conversion pass put PH up 26-17, and they held on for the victory. Dugger hurt PR with his feel more than his arm, rushing for 150 yards and 2TDs, and also throwing for 2 TDs, he has improved significantly since I first saw him play in 2020 as a freshman against Woodland Hills. PR hurt themselves with 4 turnovers which lead to 2 TDs for Penn Hills. PR’s kicker Matt Argilo is a serious weapon, all 5 of his kickoffs were at least 5 yards deep in the end zone, and he made 2 field goals, including 1 in the first half from 48 yards that gave PR a 10-6 lead, it’s a huge advantage in HS football to have your opponent starting at their own 20 yard line after every kickoff. These appear to be the 2 best 5A teams in the WPIAL and very likely they meet again in the playoffs.
Don’t be fooled by the final score in the PCC- Bethel Park game of 62-46, it was 35-6 at the end of the first quarter and 62-20 at half, with QB Peyton Wehner throwing for 5 TDs and rushing for 2 more, and they put it on cruise control from there. PCC plays Mt Lebo next week and they will win that game comfortably, setting up the big showdown in 2 weeks with NA. Scoring 62 pints in the first half against a decent team like BP is mind boggling, this PCC offense is the replica of the PR offense in 2017 with Phil Jurkovec, only they have more talented receivers.
Belle Vernon outlasted McKeesport in OT 21-14 in a very physical game, BV plays Penn Trafford next week, who got their first win of the season 28-26 at the Wolvarena, after jumping out to a 21-0 lead at halftime and withstanding a furious 2nd half comeback effort by WH.
Avowworth rolled over Sto-Rox who is down this year, after their impressive victory over Central Valley last week they appear to be on a collision course with BV in rematch of the 2022 3A WPIAL final.
2A is wide open with Steel Valley’s loss in OT to Seton LaSalle, there are several good teams in 2A, but I don’t think whoever emerges will beat either Farrell or Westinghouse in the state playoffs.
1A is also wide open with Union losing to unranked Cornell 30-14, there are 4-5 teams who have a legitimate chance to win 4 playoff games and the WPIAL title, 1A is the class with the most teams in the WPIAL, similar to 6A in D1.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:52 pm
WWL, up 26-0 after 1st Q, over Cheltenham. I thought Cheltenham OL might cause some issues for the Bulldogs..but not so much. Supposedly WWL all league WR wasn’t playing again tonight. I was wrong. First time he touched the ball this year he goes 74 yds for the score, then another 34 yd TD catch as well..he’s a difference maker!
September 9th, 2023 at 6:46 pm
D2 Fan’s Notes From Week 3. Not a lot, because most of the games were blowouts.
– What do you guys think about Delaware Valley? Is it time for DV to take a step back from their tough scheduling? I fully expect them to destroy Wallenpaupack next week & would be stunned if the Purple & White pull off a statement win (I know the rivalry all too well), but it piques my interest. They play these non-con/non-district games & it hasn’t helped in the playoffs.
– Could Berwick go winless this year? 0-3 to start the year (when was the last time that happened?), after a loss to Abington Heights.
– On the other hand, is Abington Heights officially back? They’ve had some down years since 2017, but they look pretty good!
– Western Wayne is winning the games they have to. 2-1 on the year & the clear #2 in 3A. Absolute pounding against Old Forge.
– Crestwood must’ve had a dream season last year, because they’re starting off not that hot. I believe the team is younger, so growing pains are happening. Let’s see what they’re made of in division play. There’s time to turn it around, & I’ll give them credit that they’ve been in games.
– Holy cow. So many blowouts. District 2 desperately needs to allow for more inter-district scheduling or something. This is why I want to do a CalPreps based Week 0 schedule experiment to see what the most ideal non-conference game for each team would be. It’s obviously hard to know exactly with graduation & dropping participation numbers, but I’d love to see what would offer the most competitive games.
Seeing how my picks do will wait until Monday, as a Pocono game will have to be continued (a tie game at 6 for East Stroudsburg South & Pleasant Valley).
Spoiler: Yours truly had a perfect week (somewhere) & finally got the monkey off his back in one of his picks!
September 9th, 2023 at 5:57 pm
Manheim Township and Spring-Ford have been obliterating teams this year, I might even make the 1 hour 20 min drive next Friday to see that game….although Friday traffic is brutal heading West on a Friday. MH beat Hburgh last year but Hburgh got them back in the playoffs, wouldn’t surprise me to see them meeting up once again in D3 playoffs. Central Dauphin has an absolutely huge offensive line that will make them dangerous in the playoffs. PJP wont be challenged until the PAC 10 Championship against Spring Ford or Perkiomen Valley. What is in the water in S. Columbia? All freshman on the offensive line and they blow out Loyalsock, you would think an up and coming program would poach one of their coaches and mimic what S. Columbia does. Many top legendary coaches from top programs will probably hang it up in the next few years-Woolfrum at Wyo, Dahms at Wilson, Keeley at Berks Catholic, it will be interesting who takes their place.
September 9th, 2023 at 5:24 pm
@EmanD3
I think Wilson will handle them. Cheltenham has a bunch of talent, but they can’t seem to put it all together.
Looking forward to the Manheim-Spring Ford game next week!
September 9th, 2023 at 4:54 pm
Manheim beat Harrisburg 38-6 today. Was surprised by the outcome, even though Harrisburg usually has an early season loss and they tend to get better as the season goes on, but still losing by 31 was unexpected. D3 guys, is Manheim Township that good this year?
Another Surprising score was Coatesville vs Central Dauphin, Central Dauphin won 35-13. Coatesville came out slow and dug themselves a 21-7 hole, then failed to score from the CD 5 on the last play of the first half. Then to start the second half Coatesville threw 2 ints in their own territory that lead to 2 short CD touchdown drives, not trying to take anything away from CD, they were clearly the better team last night. I am somewhat not surprised by the outcome since Coatesville usually has an early season loss in years of transition, like years with a new starting QB. This situation is similar to 2016 (Ortega’s freshman year), where they lost early on to Cumberland Valley 42-21, then figured things out at QB and went undefeated in Chesmont, beating a Downingtown East 42-7, who had 3 D1 seniors on defense, and made it to the 3rd round of playoffs before losing to the eventual district champ North Penn. What I am trying to get at is, don’t count Coatesville out, they have a talented roster and their staff has been in this situation before (2016, 2019, 2021 are all examples), and they were able to overcome early setbacks to win the Chesmont and make a deep playoff run.
Salesianum (DE) over Bonner Prendie 36-0 was surprising as well. I do not know a ton about either, but I know Bonner has PSU commit Williams and two others with FBS offers. Considering they had beaten the NFL Europe Academy in Dublin by a decent margin last week, I thought this game would be closer.
Lastly, PJP and Spring Ford look to be the frontrunners in their divisions of the PAC. Both of them dominated last night. I do not see anyone in the Frontier division beating PJP, the only team that could beat Spring Ford in the Liberty division is Perk Valley, but we are still a couple weeks from that game. I think PJP will be able to make a playoff run in 4A this year.
September 9th, 2023 at 4:48 pm
WWL with a tough loss against CD last week, 36-35. Missed a 39 yd FG in reg. to end it. Then scored first in OT, but let CD score from 4th & 3, then give up a 2pt. conversion. Cheltenham has a big Sr. laden OL and WWL missing their all league WR..must win for them
September 9th, 2023 at 4:41 pm
I guess Manheim Township is for real. Pounded Harrisburg today, 38-6!! There was a lot of pre season hype about MT. I guess that was put to bed. After 3 games, outscoring their opponents 129-12. MT QB the real deal!
September 9th, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Was very impressed with how easily Southern Columbia handled Loyalsock especially with their O line all freshman and only one sophomore and one senior. Again we will see how they handle Danville.
September 8th, 2023 at 10:48 pm
Rough weather night in District 3. Storms in all directions. Many games will finish or start Saturday. Our game at Cocalico was finally stopped for lightning. Many of these games should have been moved to Saturday.
September 8th, 2023 at 10:37 pm
Wyomissing down 34-14, with less than 2 minutes left in 3Q…win, 35-34 @ 2-0 Trinity. Amazing game. Wyo., 400 yds on the ground!
September 8th, 2023 at 9:30 pm
Matt Seneca is happy he left Whitehall. Whitehall 27-0 over Easton.
September 8th, 2023 at 8:58 pm
PJP wins lightning shortened game up 35-0 with 4 min left in first half. PJP hasn’t given up an offensive td in three games. Pac 10 has three very good teams in PJP, SF and PV.
September 8th, 2023 at 5:25 pm
I do think Wilson should win over Cheltenham – albeit not based on a lot of info. Wilson has a fair number of talented players- not 4 or 5 star guys, but a lot of players who will take it to the next level. The QB is pretty good and they have decent receivers. The early season losses were mainly because of the huge losses the defense suffered through graduation. Cheltenham has apparently just played one game – a loss to Chester- which I doubt is a better team than Central Dauphin. We’ll see what happens.
September 8th, 2023 at 3:54 pm
I see someone said that Wilson has picked up Cheltenham, ok, what happened to the Lincoln vs Cheltenham game scheduled for tonight? Did that get cancelled too? What is the Philly Public League doing? No one is going to want to schedule them anymore, & if I’m an AD somewhere, I don’t need that hassle. For the guy who thinks this may be Wilson’s 1st win, Cheltenham has at least 3 legit Div 1 recruits, so it may not be easy.
September 8th, 2023 at 2:09 pm
Jason your speaking my language! I can’t believe this illegal alien/murderer hasn’t been caught yet. Maybe we can go the local zoo’s have them not feed the lions for a couple of days and let them loose in Longwood Gardens, a nice snack for the lions.
September 8th, 2023 at 11:29 am
@Hitman66 – agree coach Plack has built a strong program at Peters, they were very good in 2018-2020 during the Donovan McMillan years, but they haven’t been quite as strong the last few years since I watched PR wipe them out in the 2020 WPIAL final. I haven’t seen any of the south hills teams yet in person but will at some point this season, I think Peters is the favorite to win that conference over BP and USC, but for now I’d rank them below PH, PR and Woody in WPIAL 5A, I think they win this game comfortably tonight over Trinity.
September 8th, 2023 at 11:08 am
@D2 Fan
I don’t know as much about D3, compared to D1 and D11, but Trinity looks like they have a solid team. Messiah Mickens is one of the best sophomores in the country and just committed to Penn State, so he could keep them in just about any game. They also have a class of 2025 WR/DB who has picked up 2 FBS offers recently. Though, Wyomissing is big up front. I don’t enough about the two either to give a great prediction, but I suspect it should be a close game.
September 8th, 2023 at 9:42 am
Another interesting game in the WPIAL this week is 5A Peters Twp (2-0) @ 4A Trinity (2-0). These Rt 19 neighbors couldn’t be much further apart on the football field. Trinity is making strides, but hasn’t really played anybody…..and tonight they get what might be the best 5A team in the district! Peters has finished state ranked in 4 of the past 5 years for our scouting rankings and on MaxPreps (and finished #1 in the state in the final MaxPreps 2019 tally), but they don’t get much hype/respect in the local published rankings. The reason is they don’t really pass the “look” test (are smallish for a 5A team)…..but they certainly pass the “play” test. Coach Plack has built a strong reloader program in what was traditionally not a football school. Peters is a strong favorite in this game, but it should be a measuring stick to see how far Trinity has come.
September 8th, 2023 at 8:16 am
@ Irish1 and Foleman
Well that worked out nicely for Wilson, they get some better 6A competition and a home game to boot!!! And maybe even dodging some iffy weather.
Ahhh, changing the play at the line tonight, heading down to Delco for my second look see of Roman at EA. Wasn’t planning on seeing RC again until the end of the season against SJP and/or LaSalle. Had the DelVal @ DTE game on my week 3 early season road map before the season started, but that game has lost its luster for me and my FNL partner in crime. Always enjoyed games on Inter-Ac campuses. I have much closer to home CBE @ Soudy and CBW @ Q-Town as last minute back games if need be.
September 8th, 2023 at 2:32 am
@KevinX
Imagine Danelo Cavalcante actually showing up at the Kennett football game lmao. He might blend right in so I take back the lmao. I live very close to that wooded area and me and two of my “rougher-type” ex-military buddies want to go in past the perimeter and bring the guy out — dead or alive. The law enforcement agencies that have allowed this to go on for nine days now are completely inept. Yes it is a large area. But those of us with a good knowledge of it and knowing where the cameras are that caught those stills of him know more or less exactly where he’s holing up. Also it just rained so I’m sure he’s good for water for a few more days on top of whatever food he stole during his 1-2 burglaries in the area.
We would have him unconscious in cuffs or hamstrung with rope using no weapons aside from bowie knifes, a cattle prod/stun gun, maybe a Flashbang, and either my trusty Kukri or badass Roman Gladius (yes I’m serious) and then just drop him at an officers feet along the perimeter they don’t seem to leave like “here ya go, you got him, great job” lol. Def No firearms. Can’t risk him obtaining one so that option was out. Heavy canopy may make flare gun an iffy option too. Tough luck for him, I would drag him like Achilles dragged Hector however far was necessary, minus the hooks through the lower legs.
Anyway… We already planned it all out on maps and planned a triangulation technique that would maximize the chance of capture but called it off for… reasons. A law enforcement friend of a friend suspects there’s more at play. Gang $hit, complicity… all I can and should say… moral of the story is that some people really suck, man. Other takeaway? There is NO excuse for this man being on the loose for nine days. 200-250 man search party? HAH YEAH. Really doing a great job. Enjoy that overtime. (Another reason).
I write all of this because this is how much value I place on high school football… To the extent that I’d attempt to apprehend a murderer just so a game could be played as scheduled! No but seriously, this is my home area and all the people living near there don’t deserve this. Even up in my neighborhood people are on edge. Meanwhile I’m having a smoke holding a Remington and wishing I could gear up and finally put an end to this.
Also Downingtown West looks great and I’m interested to see how well Matt Ortega, Jr. follows in Ricky’s footsteps.
– JM
September 7th, 2023 at 10:51 pm
@D2 Fan
Salesianum is legit. They are consistently one of the best teams in DE. It is tough to gauge them against PA teams since they rarely play them. Though their middle school teams use to play and compete with the inter ac middle school teams
September 7th, 2023 at 8:47 pm
@ Jeff H
I almost added Trinity vs. Wyomissing to my Best of the Rest, but the rankings on MaxPreps didn’t really make it as appealing to me. I don’t think the Shamrocks can pull off an upset, but I like your thinking.
Didn’t even think about Shaler/Plum at all, but based on how 5A works, I think that may be the sneakiest game out west.
@ John
Great pick with Perk Valley/Smyrna. I saw that on the master schedule & it looked intriguing. Didn’t realize they were class of the field in Delaware. I just don’t know much about either team to make a pick.
@ Anyone that’s in the know of the Brandywine Valley teams, how good is Salesanium? They’re facing Bonner-Prendie this weekend.
September 7th, 2023 at 7:57 pm
I’m curious what you D3 guys think of the matchup between Wyomissing travelling to Camp Hill to take on 2A Trinity. I think Wyomissing has a big advantage in the trenches, I know Trinity has a lot of speed and skill and perhaps the best player in the state in the class of 2026, but I’m thinking Wyomissing wears them down in the second half and wins, anyone like Trinity to pull the upset? Trinity may be the biggest threat in the East to SCA this year, their streak has to end some year, doesn’t it?
September 7th, 2023 at 7:50 pm
Not very many marque games in the WPIAL this week, by far the most significant is the conference showdown of Penn Hills at Pine Richland, which is the game I’m making the 45 minute drive north to see. Penn Hills won 33-28 last year on a number of big play TD’s, this was before Coach LeDonne came to his senses and put Ryan Palmieri at QB and proceeded to win 12 games in a row en route to the state title. Penn Hills in the meantime managed to lose to North Hills and then Woodland Hills 7-3 on the last night of the regular season to miss the playoffs altogether. Hard to go against Pine at home, but PH has more experience and a significant advantage at QB and the skill positions. winner has the early lead in the toughest 5A conference in the WPIAL, neither of these teams play WH until the last 2 games of the season.
Another big game is 3A Belle Vernon hosting 4A McKeesport, I was at the game last year won by the Port 14-6, their defense totally shut down and frustrated Quinton Martin and held him to his lowest rushing total of the season by far. BV avoided the shutout with their only score midway through the forth quarter on a quick pass to a wideout who broke a tackle and ran 80+ yards for a TD. This game is at BV and I like them to win in a close, low scoring game.
PCC plays Bethel Park, BP is solid but I’d be surprised if they keep this game within 3 TD’s, NA travels to Erie to play McDowell, and I don’t think they have too much trouble with this game
Woodland Hills hosts Penn Trafford who is 0-2, PT won this game last year 48-14, but they have only scored a total of 7 points in 2 games and I don’t think their offense will do much better against Woody’s defense, not sure the last time PT started 0-3, and they play Belle Vernon next week, could be a long year for them.
An under the radar game in 5A is 2-0 Shaler vs. 2-0 Plum, either or both of these teams could sneak into the 8 team district playoffs, particularly Plum who is in the same conference as Gateway, Penn Trafford and Franklin who all appear to be a bit down this year, they have a very good rushing attack, while Shaler has a good QB and a balanced offense. Shaler’s problem is they are in the same conference as PR, PH, and WH, and only the top 2 are guaranteed to make the playoffs, although the third place team will almost certainly get 1 of the 2 wildcards, Shaler did beat WH on the road last year and they have good numbers returning, should be an interesting matchup.
September 7th, 2023 at 6:12 pm
My predictions for some of the bigger games this week are:
Perk Valley over Smyrna (DE)- Smyrna is the defending Delaware state champion and usually have a few D1 players. They are big upfront, but they lost 2 D1 RBs from last year and their QB and 3 leading receivers. I think Perk Valley wins in a close one.
Spring Ford over Cumberland Valley- The eagles look really down this year, especially on offense. Spring Ford should win this one.
Downingtown East over Delaware Valley (5A-D2)- Cougars should take care of business against Delval for the third year in a row.
Downingtown West over Neshaminy- Neshaminy looks down again, as long as the Whippets don’t come out flat, they should win this one.
CB West over Quakertown- This one may be closer than some expect, but the Bucks have been rolling this season and look like the best team in the SOL.
CR South over Pennsbury- Should be a close one, but this looks like CR South’s year to win the SOL Continental.
Coatesville over Central Dauphin (D3)- Central Dauphin is still a good team, but not the powerhouse they once were. I think the Red Raiders will be too much for them to handle.
North Penn over Upper Dublin- Should be a tight one, both teams had a rough game last week and lost a lot of talent from last season. I don’t see the Knights starting the season 0-3 though.
CB East over Souderton- The Patriots look strong again. Souderton has not yet lived up to the preseason hype, squeaking by a Pennridge who had just been blown out by Downingtown East.
Nazareth over Freedom- The EPC South or D11-D2 6A district looks to be a two team race between Parkland and Nazareth this year. The Blue Eagles should handle business.
Harrisburg over Manheim Township- This one of the best happening statewide this year and will be both teams first big test of the year. I think Harrisburg wins in a close one.
Bishop McDevitt over La Salle- La Salle’s defense might keep them in the game for a bit. But, McDevitt is probably the best team in the state outside of St Joe’s Prep.
September 7th, 2023 at 5:35 pm
@kevin x @ foleman, looks like Wilson picked up Cheltenham they are playing Sat night.
September 7th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
Looks like Wilson Bulldogs have secured a game with Cheltenham. Good because Cheltenham is 6A. I’m guessing that Wilson should win this game, but who knows?
September 7th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Week 3’s Best Of The Rest. 50 picks combined between the two sets. As always, if I missed a good game, let me know.
District 2/4
– Dunmore vs. Susquehanna
– Jersey Shore vs. Selinsgrove
– Southern Columbia vs. Loyalsock
District 11
– East Stroudsburg South vs. Pleasant Valley
– Southern Lehigh vs. Bangor
– Northwestern Lehigh vs. Blue Mountain
District 1/12
– CB East vs. Souderton
– CB West vs. Quakertown
– Ridley vs. Strath Haven
– Conestoga vs. Springfield
– Archbishop Wood vs. Northeast
District 3
– Harrisburg vs. Manheim Township
– Hempfield vs. Central York
– Manheim Central vs. Cocalico
District 5/6
– State College vs. Hollidaysburg
– Bald Eagle Area vs. Penns Valley
– Windber vs. Tussey Mountain
– Westmont Hilltop vs. Richland
District 8 & WPIAL
– Penn-Trafford vs. Woodland Hills
– Penn Hills vs. Pine-Richland
– Central Catholic vs. Bethel Park
– McKeesport vs. Belle Vernon Area
– North Catholic vs. Aliquippa
– OLSH vs. Clairton
– South Fayette vs. Montour
– Perry Traditional vs. Westinghouse
District 9/10
– Central Clarion vs. Union/AC Valley
– Punxsutawney vs. Redbank Valley
– Reynolds vs. Sharpsville
– Sharon vs. Hickory
Crossovers
– Coatesville (1) vs. Central Dauphin (3)
– Pope John Paul (1) vs. Berks Catholic (3)
– La Salle (12) vs. Bishop McDevitt (3)
– Steelton-Highspire (3) vs. West Catholic (12)
– North Allegheny (7) vs. McDowell (10)
– Salesanium (DE) vs. Bonner-Prendie (12)
– St. Joe’s Prep (12) vs. Lakeland (FL)
– Roman Catholic (12) vs. Episcopal (Ind.)
– Archbishop Spalding (MD) vs. Imhotep Charter (12)
– Delbarton (NJ) vs. Malvern Prep (Ind.)
Scores
– Dunmore 38, Susquehanna 7
– Jersey Shore 44, Selinsgrove 23
– Loyalsock 35, Southern Columbia 28 (Going to regret this pick)
– ES South 23, Pleasant Valley 19
– Whitehall 31, Easton 25
– Solehi 34, Bangor 20
– CB East 28, Souderton 14
– CB West 35, Quakertown 21
– Springfield 24, Conestoga 18
– Strath Haven 29, Ridley 24
– Northeast 28, Archbishop Wood 23
– Harrisburg 38, Manheim Twp. 13
– Central York 41, Hempfield 24
– Manheim Central 38, Cocalico 12
– Bald Eagle Area 34, Penns Valley 20
– State College 38, Hollidaysburg 10
– Windber 32, Tussey Mountain 28
– Richland 39, Westmont Hilltop 21
– Woodland Hills 29, Penn-Trafford 21
– Penn Hills 24, Pine-Richland 16
– PCC 42, Bethel Park 11
– Belle Vernon 35, McKeesport 13
– Aliquppa 31, North Catholic 19
– OLSH 36, Clairton 21
– South Fayette 27, Montour 26
– Westinghouse 35, Perry 7
– Central Clarion 31, Union/AC Valley 21
– Redbank Valley 45, Punxsy 20
– Reynolds 28, Sharpsville 26
– Sharon 14, Hickory 13
– Coatesville 42, Central Dauphin 23
– PJP 38, Berks Catholic 20
– McDevitt 37, La Salle 13
– Steel-High 23, West Catholic 14
– McDowell 29, North Allegheny 19
– Salesanium 35, Bonner-Prendie 23
– SJP 49, Lakeland FL 7
– Episcopal 28, Roman 22
– Imhotep 38, Spalding 12
– Malvern Prep 35, Delbarton 16
September 7th, 2023 at 10:39 am
@ Foleman
Guessing the Henderson/Kennett game was cancelled due to the unwanted tourist who is overstaying his welcome at Longwood Gardens. That game has been rescheduled for Saturday morning (11a) at Henderson.
@ Foleman and Irish1
Maybe a very small silver lining with regards to the Wilson/MLK cancellation?? Looking like a decent chance for rain and storms tomorrow night, so that now may play into things for all games, or at least make the game not as enjoyable, especially for any fans in attendance. Also, it wasn’t a home game for Wilson, and now they (and their fans, who already travelled to Upper Dublin 2 weeks ago) don’t have to travel to the G-Town SS in NW Philly on a Friday evening and play at that mediocre facility. It does probably mess up Wilson with regards to their playoff points and standings. Don’t know how D3 compute their ratings, but this may push Wilson out of any home playoff games, maybe even the 6A playoffs if they loose another game and go 6-3. Think only 8 6A teams make the D3 6A playoffs??
September 7th, 2023 at 7:56 am
Wow! Now teams are cancelling games because it’s too hot out! Or is it they want to avoid a certain beating! How does this affect Wilson and Henderson’s playoff points? Do they even get points for a forfeit? Wilson has already lost 2 games and needed the points for the District 3 playoffs. Maybe Wilson and Henderson can play each other.
September 7th, 2023 at 6:10 am
Cancelling games because its hot out at the last minute, good reason to not schedule games with the philly public league in the future.. Season goes by fast as it is, most teams only get ten games after working all off season. Seems like if they were intent on doing something maybe they could have pushed them back a day or two,the heatwave is suppose to break in a few days.
September 6th, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Week 3 has arrived in Dunder Mifflin’s neck of the woods. A better slate of games up here.
Update: I’m counting ECP/Canisius (after Jeff H. brought it up, last week), due to the mistake that I made with William Penn Charter/Neumann-Goretti (a game that didn’t exist). I said that I wouldn’t doubt ECP & was right. I would’ve used the same score, to be fair.
Heading into Week 3 at 65-35 overall, & 15-5 in my games to watch up here.
Week 3 Notables Among D2 & Subregionals
– Scranton vs. West Scranton: I’d be a fool to not showcase the Battle Of The Bell this week. Both teams can use a win here. It’s going to be Scranton taking down their in-city rival, in my humble opinion.
– Crestwood vs. Wyoming Area: Crestwood has to win this to turn their season around, but Wyoming Area is looking like a threat in 4A. I feel the better team is the latter. This may be the “trap game of the week”, though.
– Lackawanna Trail vs. Greater Nanticoke: GNA almost took down Old Forge, then. Just imagine if they pulled it off here. That feels less likely, to be fair. This pick is to give props to a GNA team that almost did something crazy.
– Riverside vs. Lakeland: A sneaky showdown with two of the Lackawanna League’s best. Riverside has a better team & feels like a good pick, but don’t count out Lakeland.
– Western Wayne vs. Old Forge: The Wildcats took a brutal loss last week. Not to fear, they have a better team than the Old Forge one that’s rebuilding.
– Abington Heights vs. Berwick: This is a quality crossover game in NEPA. Berwick’s start hasn’t been all that great & Abington’s looked a lot better than in recent years. Berwick needs this win to turn around their season, but I’m going with the Comets here.
– Downingtown East vs. Delaware Valley: DV may stare 0-3 in the face again. This one is a tough matchup against the powerhouse Downingtown team. I don’t like their odds, but I’m hoping they play tough. They’ll have a real “get right” game next week against the Buckhorns.
– Emmaus vs. Allentown Central Catholic: Time to see these two return, as this is the marquee 6A subregional game for D2 fans to watch for. Emmaus could have a date with any of the three teams up north, but ACC seems to be a team to watch. This game is going to be a major decider as to how the seeding could end up.
– Stroudsburg vs. Northampton: This could be important for the three WVC teams, as the Mounties can take a game here & steal a spot from the D2/4 teams. Northampton will be a top seed, so a win (or loss) could set the stage for who the D2/4 teams play. Northampton always looks good, so it’s an easy pick. Stroudsburg’s never a slouch, though.
– Jenkintown vs. Lower Moreland: This week, it’s the Drakes that return to the District 1 A game to watch. They’ll make a trip over to Huntingdon Valley in a game that feels like it’s beatable. Morrisville challenges, Jersey indie, Pennington, & I want to avoid this, as I’m not knowledgeable on them . I’ll go the opposite to see if my problem is that I just don’t know the 1A teams well. Lower Moreland has a win streak going against Jenkintown, so I’ll go off of recent history. If I lose, I’m going to use CalPreps with this featured game for the rest of the regular season.
Scores
– Scranton 28, West Scranton 13
– Wyoming Area 24, Crestwood 20
– Lackawanna Trail 42, GNA 13
– Riverside 22, Lakeland 13
– Western Wayne 35, Old Forge 16
– Abington Heights 21, Berwick 15
– D’Town East 38, DV 10
– ACC 35, Emmaus 26
– Northampton 42, Stroudsburg 20
– Lower Moreland 23, Jenkintown 17
Starting next week, I’ll highlight a game in each division that has importance in D2, another key game in each league or two, a crossover, the D11 subregional’s best game(s), & the D1 1A game to watch.
Best of the Rest coming soon.
September 6th, 2023 at 5:32 pm
The WC Henderson/Kennett game is at Kennett, so that might be an issue of a little bad guy on the lamb in the area as opposed to the heat.
September 6th, 2023 at 4:58 pm
Wilson West Lawn @ MLK Friday and WC Henderson/Kennett Thursday both postponed/cancelled. What do you guys think, just these two games, or is this just the beginning of cancellations/postponements??
@ Neutral Observer
They are a PIAA member school for other sports, so guessing they would be allowed. Hell, their field hockey team has won the “A” PIAA state title 4 of the last 5 years.
The Inter-Ac schools choose not to. They operate athletically just fine the way they do and I believe they like it like that.
Kind of like ice hockey, there is no desire to mess up a good thing that is working (and they can make and play by their own rules).
September 6th, 2023 at 3:36 pm
RE Wyoming Seminary:
I may be wrong, but I think Sem has post-grad students so I’m not sure Sem is even allowed to be in the PIAA.
Isn’t that why the Inter-Ac schools in the Philly suburbs are not in the PIAA?
September 6th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
RIP DREW GORDON!
Next SUBURBAN ONE LEAGUE this week
CB SOUTH over CR North EASY
ABINGTON over H S Truman EASY
PENNRIDGE over Bensalem EASY Good game for Pennridge to get on track after good showing against Souderton
CB EAST over Souderton Should be a good game, CB East OL too much for Souderton,, Souderton hasn’t lived up to pre-season billing thus far
CB WEST over Quakertown May be closer than most expect, CB West coming off two big games and Pennsbury next week, let down? Quakertown coming off huge win & 1st game at home.
LINCOLN over Cheltenham Lincoln has played two tough teams very tough, strictly a hunch.
CR SOUTH OVER Pennsbury CR South is good folks and Pennsbury may be peeking ahead to CB West. Will CR South make me look good 2 weeks in a row?
HATBORO HORSHAM OVER Springfield win #2 for the Hatters
DOWNINGTOWN WEST Over Neshaminy EASY
UPPER DUBLIN Over North Penn they beat them last year in Lansdale, they will beat them again at home
INTERBORO Over Upper Moreland ??? I know little of either team
UPPER MERION Ove Wm Tennant should be easy
LOWER MERION Over Wissahickon in a pick up game
There is the SOL (Suburban One League) picks of the week
September 6th, 2023 at 11:18 am
@McD 65. After Gil Brooks started the whole resurgence of the PCL, Drew Gordon finished the job with his State Championship. High times in Wyndmoor, Pa. RIP
September 5th, 2023 at 12:34 pm
FYI to the PCL followers,Drew Gordon , former QB from Bishop McDevitt D-12 ,former Villanova QB and former Lasalle HS HC passed away. Prayers to his family.
September 5th, 2023 at 12:35 am
A couple of quick thoughts on the Prep vs. Sem comments…
1.) Sem couldn’t play the local public schools and expect to win if they tried. Northwest had to leave D2 and join the Heartland Conference (D4) because they were getting outsized and did not amount to any winning season (I could recall.) Luzerne County’s smallest public school (outside of Northwest) is Hanover Area, which is the only 3A school in Luzerne County. For Sem to do this is a pretty steep ask for a football program to play 10 weeks (plus playoffs.) How do you go about scheduling games? Mash a bunch of D4 schools of similar size (which has some of the best 1A/2A schools in the state, by the way) with some D2 to mitigate this problem? Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
2.) Part of the allure of Sem’s track record for colleges is to get athletes signed to D1 or selective D3 colleges (think Wash U in St. Louis, Johns Hopkins, or MIT.) (As a reference, Danville is the closest public school that signed as many D1 athletes as Sem and even that was a once-in-a-blue-moon occasion.) This is due to 2 non-revenue sports programs of theirs being world-class (field hockey and wrestling) that take a sizable portion of the signings each year. Many of those kids do not come from the local area, which helps explain the 25% of the international student population. (As a tangent, there was a field hockey match I could remember Sem sweeping Donegal solely using a player on the German national field hockey team.)
Prep doesn’t align closely with the type of highs that Sem gets, even with the number of district titles Prep gets in non-revenue programs. So yeah, talk about a huge difference with a way bigger budget that Frank mentioned.
September 5th, 2023 at 12:18 am
@Frank G
I understand what you mean brother
September 4th, 2023 at 9:06 pm
Prayers for Mason Martin, his family and the Karns City High football community!
September 4th, 2023 at 1:23 pm
@ John and JCo,
I expected LaSalle to beat Malvern and certainly to score more than seven points. Also a bit surprised by the score of the Tep-Haverford School game, though not by Tep coming out on top. Probably a mistake to make a lot out of results this early in the season.
September 4th, 2023 at 12:41 pm
@JCo
That is a surprising score even though Wood is really down this year. Another PPL program that is looking pretty good is Abraham Lincoln, they have had two surprisingly close losses to two great teams. They lost to one of the best teams in District 1 in Downingtown West 32-27. But Lincoln turned the ball over like two times giving Dtown West a short field to score, and dug themselves into 23-0 hole in the 1st quarter. But the rest of the game they outplayed with the Whippets and contained their offense that has at least 5 future Division 1 players on it. Lincoln also kept it close with an elite Roman Catholic team, only losing 28-14.
September 4th, 2023 at 10:55 am
A really interesting score from last week: George Washington 25, Archbishop Wood 15. Wood seems way down this year, even compared to last year, but still a massive win for a PPL program that’s currently in the third tier of the league.
September 4th, 2023 at 10:31 am
@District2 LFC
Sorry if I came across as a grammar policeman. You were perfectly clear in that message except at the end.
It’s good to get different points of view. I can see how a small school in the Scranton area can feel really aggrieved if two or three kids who would make a real difference to their program go to SP instead. Several factors like demographics (especially in he Scranton area) and the push to get offers from colleges earlier and earlier–a problem that begins with the colleges–are changing the environment of high school football just about everywhere. I just think too much is attributed to the boundaries / no boundaries issue. But I know the situation is different in different parts of the state.
September 3rd, 2023 at 11:50 pm
@ Irish 1 & Frank G
Hey guys no hard feelings about the previous topic and no hard feelings to Scranton prep either I would also like to apologize to one of you who said about my grammar it was never my strong suit so if you can get by it so be it.
Having two family members who graduated from Scranton prep with high honors and also having many friends from Scranton prep that are alumni’s who are doctors and lawyers LOL of course but they are all very nice and that’s no cut to any of the alumni or the school district but all I was referring to about throwing fundraising parties they truly do this to raise money for scholarship money for students to attend who regularly can’t afford it and that in itself is awesome that they do that for the students who can’t afford it I think that’s fantastic. The one gentleman was saying that all that money would be going to paying teacher salaries and such not the case for Scranton prep I was just saying this factually because I know one of the people who just held a fundraiser for this purpose and it’s to get the students who are especially athletes to attend Scranton prep who can’t afford it but to be honest yes I think it sucks for all the area schools who they take all their athletes who genuinely would be good assets to their teams plenty of good linemen were drained from lots of area schools like Lackawanna Trail Valley View
Dunmore Lakeland etc……
Well anyways The Beat Goes On as Cher would sing it, no hard feelings to anybody such is life it is what it is don’t care anymore best of luck to your respective teams gentleman have a good season
September 3rd, 2023 at 4:38 pm
@ Frank G……thanks for attempting to enlighten some of the many people on here who have no clue about catholic schools and what they are about and how they operate. Have to admit some of the comments have an anti Catholic vibe at times.As a someone who went thru twelve years of Catholic school I get kind of tired of these type of comments. Some people seem to think because of the tuition they charge that somehow means they are rolling in money. Tuition goes to pay teachers salaries and building expense etc . Schools like Pjp have to put together fund raising campaigns for years just to maybe be able to get lights at some point for the football field. My personal favorite is when someone talks about the coaches being in it for the paycheck. Anyone who knows anything about coaching at a typical Catholic high school knows they get very little if anything to coach,they coach cause they love to coach. Meanwhile many of those poor old public school districts with multi million dollar budgets and state of art facilities have to muddle thru lol.
September 3rd, 2023 at 4:24 pm
District 2, comparing an elite Boarding school to a local catholic school doesn’t make any sense. 25% of Wyoming Seminary students are international, they have over 60 million dollars in their bank account and at 60K+ for room and board I’m sure some families could use the help with that pricetag. I’m sure you have heard of Sem’s world renowned wrestling program. I believe in the not so distant past, the Scranton area had 3 catholic schools, 2 of which closed and merged with Scranton Prep. Even with that consolidation Scranton Prep is still a 3A School population wise. Changing demographics in that area is causing a decline in both football talent and numbers for area High Schools. As someone pointed out the Lackawanna conference hasn’t been very successful in the PIAA playoffs in a long time. Evan Kraky at Lakeland, Ron Solt at Coughlin, The Ismael Brothers at Wilkes Barre Myers left a long time ago and talent like that is never coming back to that region..
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:45 pm
@Foleman, I agree with you about last year’s game pjp outplayed PV for large part of the game. Some strange play calling in the second half of that game. Think the QBs at both PJP and SF, make the difference both juniors similar in size. Pjp big strong up front good RB ,and a kicker that gets alot of touchbacks forcing teams to go the length of the field. Not sure if the D1 lineman they have will be eligible for playoffs since he transferred this year. They are also well coached.
September 3rd, 2023 at 2:40 pm
@ District 2 LFC
I had a really hard time understanding your last paragraph–punctuation would help–but I got your drift.
Wyoming Seminary, like most of the other private schools you list, is a boarding school. So the students who attend it have little if any connection with the communities in and around Wilkes-Barre. So what would be the point of playing local high schools? Scranton Prep has no boarders and all of its students come from easy commuting distance of Scranton. So it means something for them to play Dunmore, West Scranton, etc.
Also, tuition at Wyoming Seminary is $30,000 and room and board is $33,000. No surprise that they can afford to travel regularly to CT and MD, etc.to play away games! Tuition at Scranton Prep is just over $15,000 with lots of students getting financial aid. You may not believe it, but they don’t have the funds to send a football team hundreds of miles away every other week.
You know a whole lot more than I do about high school football in the Scranton area now than I do. But I do have to wonder why, with the occasional exception of Dunmore (and even they haven’t made it to a state final in the last many years I’ve been following the PIAA), no schools from the area have made any noise outside District 2. Can that really be because Scranton Prep takes lots of talented kids from other schools?
Finally, I wonder if, while there are obvious advantages to having no boundaries, there are any disadvantages Scranton Prep has in relation to other local schools. Are there academic standards that restrict admission or that see some students leave? Are their facilities equal to that of local public schools?
September 3rd, 2023 at 12:00 pm
For those that followed along with my picks, Week 2 was better for me, but I still need to do a better job to get closer to an 80% overall win rate.
– In the D2 Games to Watch, I was 8-2, with a trap game & District 1 1A’s best being the two I got wrong.
– As for everything else, a slightly better job, going 26-14 (65%).
Season-To-Date
– D2’s Best: 15-5 (75%)
– Best Of Rest: 49-30 (62%)
– Overall: 64-35 (64.64%.)
Things I got wrong
– Biggest stunner for me was not getting the West Catholic pick right. I guess Northeast is pretty good. At least the Roman pick was correct.
– I technically said Western Wayne vs. North Pocono was a trap game, so I was right on that. I’m cool with that being the lone loss among District 2 teams.
– Not complaining about the Jenkintown pick at all, since the PPL is so hit or miss with these crossovers. I wish 1A was more fluid down there. If they had a team consistently 8-2 to 10-0, it’d be a bit easier.
– Southern Lehigh’s usually very good, but I thought Notre Dame was great, so that’s why I picked them. Is Solehi the team to beat in 5A once again in D11?
– I guess CB West is stellar this year, as they normally are, & I’m not a savant on D1, so my Suburban One League picks were…I’m not going to say it because I’d get kicked off this website.
– Getting both Downingtown picks wrong doesn’t shock me. Probably could’ve done East over State College, but SC’s usually a power.
– Will gladly take the loss with PCC/St. Iggy. Any of these out of state games are usually a coin flip for me, involving good teams.
– I’ll be honest, the rest of the picks I got wrong were a bit of a coin flip, or my lack of knowledge in D10. Would’ve been an easy win to use ECP over Eisenhower in D10. I did say I wouldn’t doubt them against Canisius Prep, so I got an unofficial pick right.
– I made a bad choice not including Canevin vs. GCC. I don’t know why I dropped it from my original list, but that may’ve been the best all-1A matchup in state. I didn’t even see the state rankings, so shame on me.
– I think WPC/Neumann-Goretti didn’t happen. I could’ve sworn that I saw it on the Master Schedule this week. Did they cancel that game or was it never actually a thing? The crazy part, this is the 2nd time that the master schedule on here either gave me wrong info or I’m looking at a different team. Looks like I’ll do another indie game next week.
Anyway, I’m either a jinx with my best of the rest, or these games not in my area are a lot harder to pick than I thought. I may use CalPreps to sim a projection & see if I buy it, if this remains the pattern. I’ll try & do better next week.
September 3rd, 2023 at 9:48 am
Irish, Spring Ford will have to get passed Perkiomen Valley this year, I think they will, both teams could be undefeated when they meet in the PAC 10 Championship which would be a first. Thought PJP should have won it last year, they pushed PV all over the field but came up short on the scoreboard.
September 2nd, 2023 at 10:42 pm
Pjp has outscored first two opponents 67-7, Spring-ford looks strong. Long way to go but if both teams stay healthy that could be a great title game matchup.
September 2nd, 2023 at 9:43 pm
Just a thought
On the discussion we were all having about public versus private schools here is an idea just as an example of course here up in the Lackawanna Football Conference District 2,
We have a few private schools one that stands out successfully has been the Cavaliers of Scranton Preparatory,
When I say successfully I mean clearly just locally they do nothing in States, but do well locally. what I’m trying to get at is just a few miles south near Wilkes-Barre PA I believe that they are located in Kingston to be honest a town over the bridge from Wilkes-Barre but this team is called Wyoming Seminary
Here is their schedule they don’t even compete in the PIAA and they are a very small school nowhere near the size of Scranton prep and nowhere near the money preppies raise at their fundraisers for scholarships and all the fundraisers that all the former preparatoryans hold for all the quote on quote scholarships that’s getting off track but it’s factual.
Wyoming Seminary football schedule
New England Preparatory School athletic Council League
9-9 Capital prep Harlem (NY )
9-16 Kiski school
9-22 William Penn Charter
9-30 Suffield academy ( Connecticut))
10-7 Beacon Hill ( VA)
10-14 St Francis Academy (MD)
10-20 Rock Creek Christian Academy (MD)
10-27 Blair academy (NJ)
11-4 Hun school ( NJ )
11-11 Trinity Pawling school ( NY )
So if Wyoming Seminary has the guts to play all out of state teams I can’t understand why Scranton Preparatory can’t do this as well instead of playing all of these Public Schools sort of seems like they’re not brave enough they certainly have the money to travel you can clearly tell that and if they didn’t have enough they have all of their former alumni who throw parties for them all the time to raise money for quote on quote scholarship money AKA to support the football feeder program that’s hilarious to be honest if they think they’re that big and bad let them compete against other private schools and see how well they do!!!
The challenges is on Coach Terry Gallagher and staff I dare you to leave the Lackawanna Football Conference and do what Wyoming Seminary is doing any real private school would do this look at the Philadelphia Catholic League same deal it’s only fair the only reason you won’t do that is because you don’t want to get hammered every week so instead you won’t do that you will just play all the schools that use their players from inside their boundaries of their school district as you guys use your feeders from all over the place not cool not cool good luck in state playoffs well at least the first round LOL
September 2nd, 2023 at 5:55 pm
Some thoughts out of District 2 this weekend
– GNA was close to sending shockwaves all across the area, losing by 1 to Old Forge. They did lead a good chunk of the game.
– Wallenpaupack doubled their win total from last year, in a hard fought game against Hazleton, 28-21. They may not be a 4A playoff team, but they’re looking gritty.
– Trap Game it was for the Wildcats, as they lose a lower scoring affair. Credit to The Rick on NEPA Football getting the upset right.
– Delaware Valley should consider going back to reality, as this non-conference schedule isn’t helping too much. A close loss to Selinsgrove & a huge blowout by Harrisburg. D’Town East will give them fits.
– Berwick is going to have a long season. The conference play should be better for them, but I don’t know what the season will be for the Bulldogs.
– Credit to Dunmore for at least hanging in there a tad against Mount Carmel in the first half.
Waiting for a few games tonight to finish up before I get to see how I did with my picks. District 1 took my picks almost personally.
September 2nd, 2023 at 4:08 pm
@phillyboy Never said Beck was a bad coach, he knows his football as well as anyone, the problem is he has lost or is losing his kids> Unfortunately the Fire is gone.
September 2nd, 2023 at 4:00 pm
@Kevin X 1st Upper Dublin’s last year’s team would beat this year’s CB West, they just wouldn’t have beat them by 28 like last year. Next Upper Dublin will beat North Penn at Upper Dublin next week. Finally The Dick Beck of 2003 is as good a coach as the 2022 version of Stover, unfortunately, he’s lost the kids. Oh & please these guys aren’t volunteering their time, they are getting paid for it.
@Paul White, same thing, North Penn loses next week at Upper Dublin, and yes Upper Dublin lost a ton, but they are a program they reload a down year is 6-4, 7-3, which after you lose 7 3rd year starters, a Big 33 All-State QB, and 7 total playing college ball this year, it’s a reloading year.
September 2nd, 2023 at 12:04 pm
The Coatesville vs DTown games and the Battle of the Brandywine (DTown East vs DTown West) are going to be great games this year. All 3 teams are undefeated right now with each having a win over a quality opponent. Coatesville beat Pennsbury week 1, DTown East beat one of the best 6A schools in the state in State College last night, Dtown West beat Perk Valley by 3 TDs last night as well.
DTown East almost blew the game last night. Were up 28-7 in the third quarter and were driving until two lost fumbles lead to State College scoring drives. State College brought it to 28-26, but a missed FG as time expired. The new RB Harris looks to be just as good as Horvath, and he also won’t have as big as a load because the other RB #30 is solid as well. The O-Line looks much improved compared to last year. The main concern with the cougars would be their pass defense. It isn’t bad, but needs improvement especially considering Coatesville and DTown West are both pass happy teams with a lot of talent at WR.
September 2nd, 2023 at 10:35 am
Upper Dublin may beat CR North and Bensalem but that may be about it. I think you can pencil in NP’s first win next week. UD just lost too much from last year.
However, not sure I’ve ever seen a UD team so ill-prepared and disinterested in playing a game before.
September 2nd, 2023 at 9:20 am
Regarding North Penn, have always appreciated Coach Beck and still do. The dude’s a cool cat, a player’s coach, almost reminds me of a union boss a la John McNesby (head of the Philadelphia FOP). He’s had a ton of success but just one chip. He’s been there now, what, 22 years. Just seems like it is what it is at this point. Wasn’t one of Newton’s laws ‘objects at rest tend to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force’. On the other hand maybe Coach Beck senses a lack of meaningful cooperation and support from the school district/community and is like ‘whatever’, numb to the routine as it were.
September 2nd, 2023 at 8:31 am
@ Jeff H
Nope. I’m sure I’ll get some blowback from this, but I don’t care. I’m probably coming from a very different perspective, but I don’t care if they go 0-10, unless he (or the coaching staff) is doing something nefarious, egregious, or simply gives up (and this goes for any high school coach in any sport), and I don’t see or hear any signs of any of this, at this time, I don’t see making a change just because the hand that your are dealt isn’t living up to past experiences. And this non recruiting talk is childish. Kids in the district have the opportunity to attend school (if they are admitted) and play football at 3 (or possibly more) very good private high schools in the area (LaSalle, LC, and GA). They have a choice. Choice is good. I like choice. It is hard enough these days to get good, decent and dedicated responsible adults to give their time to working with these kids (how’s that officials thing going??). There is a lot more than wins and losses and “Championships” in my high school athletics playbook.
Yes, 1979 was the last time Q-Town beat NP. I was at a game last night where the defending District One 5A champion got mercy ruled in the first half. Now that is not good look. Shall we relieve Stover and his staff of their duties as well??
September 2nd, 2023 at 8:05 am
Would have been nice to see last year’s Upper Dublin team play CBW last night.
@ MikeS
Yes, NP has a very good chance of beating UDub next week.
September 2nd, 2023 at 7:00 am
@Buddy Oh North Penn will win some games, maybe 4-6, 3-7, won’t beat Upper Dublin, CB East or CB West, Pennsbury, CB South, so what’s that 3-7. Quakertown is probably a little better than you/most people give them credit for. They lost to AAAAA Southern Lehigh who’s a top 2 in District 11, on Opening Stadium home game on a Pick6, Southern Lehigh just beat a very good Notre Dame Green Pond by 40. But Quakertown is young and a year away from being very good again. That all said I spent some time checking Rosters around the top Non-Boundary schools and found 15 kids with roots back to the North Penn School District on either Varsity or JV teams. How do you compete, when 15 kids leave your school district to play elsewhere? You wonder why North Penn isn’t as good as they used to be, heck put 10 of the 15 kids back on North Penn, and you have a whole different team. Unfortunately, the coaching staff is not keeping them home, they have lost their interest.
September 2nd, 2023 at 6:45 am
@Jeff H Not sure it’s not that they didn’t play two good opponents in a row. Quakertown got beat by a Southern Lehigh AAAAA team that is probably the best in District 11, on an Opening the New Stadium night, & Southern Lehigh just killed Notre Dame Green Pond (a very good team) by 40. That said I truly believe it’s time for a dismantling of the coaching staff, they aren’t retaining the kids in the school district, don’t seem to have a lot of interest in the kids. I was at the JV Game with Quakertown, & Quakertown’s whole staff was there, I was told None of the North Penn staff (other than the JV coaches) were there. BTW Quakertown won the JV game too.
September 2nd, 2023 at 12:39 am
@ Kevin X – i know you said earlier this week you were\t on the bandwagon to get rid of Dick Beck, but after the debacle last night against Qtown I wonder if any doubt is starting to creep in, I read on another board NP hasn’t lost to Qtown in 44 years, I realize they don’t play every year and not even sure how often they have played in that time span, but to lose by 3 TD’s to a team that hasn’t beaten you since the 1970’s is not a good look. NP hasn’t played defense in the last 6-7 years, you can’t win consistently, or contend for district titles, without playing defense. I am not familiar at all with the defensive coaching staff, have they had the same coordinator for the last several years, or what’s the story? Seems to me at the very least they need a total overall with their defensive coaching staff if not the head coach.
September 2nd, 2023 at 12:07 am
Well, looks like my prognosis and predictions for 5 of the 6 WPIAL games I highlighted were pretty accurate, but I whiffed on the CV game, as Avonworth pulled one of the biggest upsets of the night with a 28-20 win. I was right about the Woody vs. Gateway game showing which team was a contender and which was a pretender, WH totally dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and coasted to a 27-0 shutout, after jumping out to a 20-0 lead at halftime on three TD receptions by super sophomore wideout Scoop Smith from 22, 30 and about 40 yards on a halfback pass. This kid is 5’6′ and when wet maybe 150 pounds but he’s the fastest guy on the field and a dynamic player, he’s being recruited by D1 schools in both football and basketball. It didn’t help Gateway that starting QB Brad Birch didn’t play, but it wouldn’t have mattered, Gateway’s line play is substandard for 5A and there’s no chance they contend for the WPIAL title, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don\t even make the playoffs. I thought in the preseason Penn Hills, Pine Richland and Woody were the 3 best teams in the WPIAL in 5A, and from what I’ve seen thus far that appears to be the case, all 3 are in the same conference, and next week Penn Hills travels to PR for the game of the week in the WPIAL. Some publications in this area had Gateway preseason #1 in the WPIAL, and PennLive had them at #3 in the state, apparently these guys didn’t do their homework, you can have all the fast skill players you want, but if your line play is substandard you’re not going very far in the WPIAL, on virtually every passing play the Gateway QB was running for his life and took a pounding.
I thought PCC had a chance to beat St Ignatius in Cleveland tonight, but very surprised they won 47-6 on the road! I said they were extremely impressive against a good WH team last week, and with this win tonight they are rolling and brimming with confidence. Huge game in 3 weeks on the road against NA, I really like PCC this year and think they run the table in the regular season and will end up playing SJP in the final in December, and they will be competitive in that game, not saying by any stretch they will win, but they have the athletes and skill to make that a very interesting game, we’ll see what happens, but if PCC ends up in the final in December you heard it here first. The new coaching staff appears to have reignited the program which had become a little stale under long time coach Terry Totten, they massively underachieved last year going 7-5, I think PCC is one of the best 5 teams in the state.
September 1st, 2023 at 11:20 pm
@Scott Hagy – thanks, I appreciate that, I too agree there are improvements that can be made, great conversation among lifelong, diehard HS football fans!
September 1st, 2023 at 5:32 pm
@Kevin X I had a feeling, as I just couldn’t see the Qtown QB have 2 games in a row like he had against Southern Lehigh, but it was North Penn in Lansdale, just didn’t have the guts to pull the trigger. Q-town is going to be an enigma all season, they are pretty much a young team, who like I said is a year away. Q-town played 6-7 Sophomores & Freshman in significant roles last night. CB West will beat them even if Qtown plays well, Souderton I think does too. Upper Dublin & PW should be good games & don’t sleep on Council Rock South, I think they are a sleeper, I see Quakertown as anywhere from 5-5 to 7-3. I did a little homework and did some Roster searching, between the top 4-5 non-boundary schools, I found 15 players from the North Penn School District, now that is Varsity and JV, which is the same as the CB schools, divided by 3. But how do you compete when 15 of your top players are not going to your school? I lay that on the Coaching staff, I was at the Q-town-NP JV game today, and all the Q-town coaches were there, maybe I don’t know the NP coaches, but was told they weren’t there. You better show some interest in your kids, or you are going to lose them.
I think tonight you are going to a good game but have to believe that CB West has some revenge to hand out, after getting whooped by 35 last year by UD.
September 1st, 2023 at 4:32 pm
@ et al
re. North Penn, been following over 25 years, by far the worse NP squad I ever seen. I believe LaSalle is decent team, but you can see their losses
coming up (possible Malvern this weekend). Q-town won’t go undefeated as someone mentioned below, CB West will be tough this weekend.
Quite possible North Penn doesn’t win a game this year. If they play William tenant, maybe.
September 1st, 2023 at 10:38 am
@ MikeS
I was at the NP game last night, and it was funny, NP ran the opening kickoff back for a TD, and thought, OK, the LaSalle game is in the rear view mirror. Not so fast…… Outside of a nifty 50 yard pass, catch and run from NP right before half, that cut the lead to 8 at HT, those two plays were basically it from NP the whole game. Was obviously hoping for a competitive second half, but most of the action was from the trainers attending to cramping. They are young, so hopefully there will be improvement as the season progresses.
I will have to find another game this year with Q-Town. Maybe even next week vs CBW, or another Thursday game in a few weeks with P-W, or down the line with UDub.
Speaking of UDub and CBW, looking like I’ll be heading over to Doylestown for that one this evening.
September 1st, 2023 at 10:08 am
@ Jeff H. – you make good points and I enjoy the info you contribute to the Forum. I still think improvements can be made to the system though.
September 1st, 2023 at 10:02 am
I guess the North Penn lose to Quakertown takes the shine off of the La Salle win last week. Definitely get a better reading about La Salle from this weekend’s game against Malvern.
September 1st, 2023 at 7:00 am
@KevinX Yes, I said that North Penn was going to have a long year earlier, and am not surprised that Quakertown beat them, by 21 in Lansdale is the surprise! I also noted that QB Miccuci, who threw for 2 interceptions last week, after only 6 in 12 games (&1300 yds) last year, wasn’t likely to have another game like that. He didn’t he threw for 5 TD against North Penn. Quakertown is going to be a tough team to figure this year, if they bring their “A” game they can win almost all their remaining games, but…. I think they are a year away from being pretty good. North Penn is going in the wrong direction, & it’s their coaching staff, to me it looks like they have lost the kids.
September 1st, 2023 at 12:48 am
@ Kevin X,
Thanks for the insight. I knew Malvern has been good for years, but I’m not surprised about the other two. I fell in the trap for Life Christian last week, as I thought they were a good team in VA. It is what it is, though. Rookie mistake.
I absolutely forgot that game happened during the pandemic. The only D2 vs. Independent one I remember was Riverside vs. ANC, because of the Holy Cross shutdown that happened a few years back, before they came back. Wish there were a few more of those up in the north or D11. I’m surprised that Wyoming Seminary or Blair Academy (NJ) doesn’t play a game or two with the smaller schools in D2 or D11. Seminary as a PIAA team in most sports, but independent in football’s strange to me.
@ Jeff H.
I somehow passed through District 10 & didn’t even notice that. I probably would’ve traded the Eisenhower game for that, but I should keep an eye on the small school battles. I’d never bet against ECP against New York teams, though. Wish there’d be more of those games against the two states, honestly. If PA wanted to get some 8-man teams rolling, it’d benefit a few smaller programs that can’t compete or can’t get a consistent roster.
I tried to lean towards small schools this week, out west & included Allderdice/Altoona, since Altoona was a former WPIAL team. Can’t believe I didn’t see Penn-Trafford vs. McKeesport at first. That should be a fun game!
August 31st, 2023 at 10:20 pm
Gonna be a long year in Lansdale. Maybe the LC Crusaders can be the knights in shining armor…….
August 31st, 2023 at 8:49 pm
@ Scott Hagy – roster size can vary significantly from year to year for a variety of reasons, so I’m not sure how you take roster size into account for classification purposes for a 2yr cycle, seems a bit far fetched to me. Some teams also dress all their JV players while others only dress their varsity. I’m certainly not saying the current system is perfect by any means, there are a lot of changes that could be made, but I don’t think splitting the publics and privates into separate playoffs is the solution and would quite possibly make the situation worse, because the rich (i.e privates) would likely get better and the publics will get worse, which is what happened in NJ when they went to separate playoffs, the private schools got better and the public schools got worse. Outside of SJP in 6A the good public schools can compete with the private schools in all 5 classifications, and the state playoffs have proven that, just 2 yrs ago we had the instant classic Aliquippa vs. McDevitt game, and the rematch last year. In fact, since the move to 6 classes in 2017 here’s the breakdown of the state title winners by classification
6A – privates 5, publics 2 (SJP)
5A – privates 3, publics 4 (Wood)
4A – privates 4, publics 3 (ECP 3, McDevitt 1)
3A – privates 0, publics 7
2A – privates 0, publics 7
1A – privates 2, publics 5 (Bishop Guilfoyle)
Due to the transfer/success rule, BG, ECP and Wood were all moved up a class, and none of them has won a state title since then. Before they were moved up BG lost a 1A final to Farrell in 2019, and also in 2019 ECP lost to TJ in the 4A quarterfinals after beating them in 2015-17. I don’t often agree with the PIAA and think they screw a lot of things up, but the success rule has had its intended effect of trying to level the playing field for the privates that accept a lot of transfers, and the rule requiring a transfer after the 9th grade to sit out the playoffs also helps. This to me is not a system that is completely broken and needs a total overhaul. I have witnessed a lot of tremendous state playoff games between Erie Prep and WPIAL teams over the decades, including one of the best HS games I ever saw in 1999 when ECP came back to beat Woodland Hills with a late TD 27-23, there were no less than 5 future NFL players in that game, both of those teams along with CB West were ranked in the USA Today top 10 in the country, and it would have been a shame if those teams didn’t get a chance to prove who was the best on the field.
Before D12 and the PCL were admitted to the PIAA playoffs in 2008 there was a lot of speculation and debate about who had the best team in the state, I remember in 2003 when NP won their only state title SJP was also very good that year, and there was a lot of debate on boards like this about who had the best team. SJP has grown into a national power in the last decade, but they were still beaten twice in the state finals by a public school, I still maintain if SJP opted out of the state playoffs all this public vs private debate would become a whimper.
August 31st, 2023 at 8:26 pm
What has happened to Academy Park? They used to be a really good team, also seeing their Head Coach has some health issues, a walks around with a cane.
August 31st, 2023 at 7:53 pm
Here’s a 6 pack of the better matchups in the WPIAL this weekend, starting in 6A with the first conference matchup of the young season
NA vs. Canon Mac – CM had a nice shutout win last week 14-0 at Penn Trafford, while NA was mercy ruling a totally overmatched Taylor Allerdice team from the City League, NA likes to play an inferior opponent in week 0 and treat it as a glorified scrimmage rather than taking on a school of their caliber. Canon Mac is solid and I think they keep this game close for awhile but NA wins by 2 scores.
6A Mt Lebo vs 5A Bethel Park – these neighbors and bitter rivals both had impressive wins last week under new head coaches, BP beat North Hills 33-10 while Lebo shocked a lot of people around here, myself included, by dominating Gateway 28-7. My Mt Lebo buddy was at the game and said they dominated the line of scrimmage and had Gateway QB Brad Birch running for his life all night. BP won this game last year at Lebo, I think Lebo controls the line of scrimmage again in this game and wins by 1 score, this should be a very good HS football game
5A Gateway at 5A Woodland Hills – see above for neighbors/bitter rivals, except these schools got blown out by 6A teams last week, this game will give us a good idea of which of these teams is a contender and which is a pretender. WH has a very good offensive line and solid D-line, and if they can control the line of scrimmage and run the ball on Gateway’s defense and limit the big plays from Gateway’s offense I like their chances to win, although that may be my bias showing, in any event I will be there. Gateway beat Woody last year 21-0 in a game that was much closer than the final score as they scored 2 very late TD’s.
5A Penn Trafford at 4A McKeesport – think McKeesport has too much team speed for PT, and their triple option offense is tough to defend, McKeesport beat them last year and even though they graduated a lot the Port typically reloads each year and I like them to win this game something like 21-10.
4A Armstrong vs. 4A Aliquippa – first game in the newly refurbished “Pit”, Aliquippa played all their home games last year at Freedom HS while their field underwent a total renovation, Kraft/Heinz donated a ton of money for the rebuild that’s now been renamed “Heinz Field”. These 2 played last year in a game won by the Quips 28-14, but Armstrong has to replace a lot of starters from last years team including the best QB in the WPIAL in Cadin Olson who is now at Penn, they do have the advantage of having played last week while Aliquippa didn’t, but the Quips have too much firepower and expect them win by a larger margin than last year.
4A Central Valley at 3A Avonworth – I believe CV is the only PA team to beat an OH team last week with their thrilling 36-35 victory over Austintown-Fitch from Youngstown. Avonworth is one of the better 3A teams in the WPIAL and may keep it interesting for a half, but CV will end up winning this game by at least at couple of TD’s.
August 31st, 2023 at 6:26 pm
My picks for pigskin friday
Key games to press the restart button
for any chance to salvage a productive season
( * )
DISTRICT 2
Lakeland 21 ( * )
Carbondale area 8
Abington Heights 23 ( * )
Wilkes barre area 19
Western Wayne 28
North Pocono 12
Scranton Prep 32
West Scranton 14
Valley View 24
Berwick 18
Scranton 30
Wyoming Valley West 27
Old Forge 31 ( * )
Nanticoke area 17
Lackawanna Trail 44
Lake Lehman. 12
DISTRICT 4
Southern Columbia 67
Shamokin 7
DISTRICT 12
St Josephs Prep 48 ( * )
St Peter’s Prep. 0
DISTRICT 11
North Schuylkill 35
Blue Mountain 10
Bangor 31
Jim Thorpe 14
DISTRICT 1
CB WEST 24
Upper Dublin 21
Strath Haven 28
Springfield Delco 12
Best of luck to all the teams
“eyes to the sky ” when wrapping and tackling no unnecessary injuries ( play smart ) !!
August 31st, 2023 at 4:56 pm
@ Scott Hagy – roster size can vary significantly from year to year for various reasons, so I’m not sure exactly how you would calculate roster size to factor into a school’s classification for a 2yr cycle. No one said the current setup is perfect, far from it, but I think splitting publics and privates into separate playoffs would result in the rich getting richer (i.e. privates) at the expense of the public schools and exacerbate the current problems, not improve them. That’s exactly what happened in NJ when they went to separate playoffs, the private schools got better and the public schools got worse. In every classification except 6A the top public schools can compete with the top private schools, the state playoffs have proven that, just 2 years ago we had the instant classic Aliquippa vs. McDevitt game, and the rematch last year. I have been to some fantastic state playoff games over the decades with Erie Prep against a WPIAL school, and it would be a shame to discontinue that by splitting into separate playoffs.
August 31st, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Well time for some SOL picks, & doubt I will do nearly as well as last week, so here goes
Wissahickon @ Hatboro Horsham, well love to see Hatboro Horsham win their second game in a row, but not this week, WISSAHICKON
Souderton @ Pennridge I’m a little disappointed in Souderton so far, too much reading the headlines about being the team in the Continental Division, doesn’t matter SOUDERTON
Pennsbury @ William Tennent Pennsbury starts their return, after getting throttled by #5 Coatesville PENNSBURY
Bensalem @ C B East lets just say it’s going to be a long night if you are a Bensalem fan CENTRAL BUCKS EAST
Harry Truman @ C B South another long night for the visitor to the Doylestown area CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH
Council Rock South @ Neshaminy oh boy like I said several weeks ago CR South is going to get someone, is tonight the night? COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH
Upper Dublin @ C B West oh this is going to be a gr8 game, if CB West has a letdown, nah revenge on last years 35 point drubbing CENTRAL BUCKS WEST
Quakertown @ North Penn I suspect this game is going to be a nailbiter, can’t imagine Miccuci throwing 2 more INT after only 6 all last year, if this was in Quakertown, but….. NORTH PENN
One out of the SOL
Perkiomen Valley over Downingtown West
There you go from the Suburban One League!
August 31st, 2023 at 2:25 pm
@ Jeff H. – I fully realize that Classification is based on male enrollment. IMO, that should obviously be a major factor, BUT considering the reality that private schools have an advantage in drawing players, that should be factored in as well – And yes, again IMO – roster size should be considered in assigning classification. Not trying to ruffle feathers, but I suspect there’s a fair number of people who aren’t happy with the current setup.
August 31st, 2023 at 12:18 pm
Best Of The Rest Picks
I found enough quality games to reach 40 picks + the one make up for the gaffe of last week, being in District 12, using some rankings elsewhere. If I miss a matchup of notoriety anywhere, let me know, & I’ll include it, just to give it a crack.
Also, forgive me if I’m bad with making picks with Inter-Ac & similar independent teams. Nowhere close to my strong suit. May use CalPreps for future indie picks.
Best Of The Rest
District 2/4
– West Scranton vs. Scranton Prep
– Line Mountain vs. Danville
– Troy vs. Montoursville
District 11
– Northern Lehigh vs. Northwestern Lehigh
– NDGP vs. Southern Lehigh
District 1/12
– Upper Dublin vs. CB West
– Perkiomen Valley vs. Downingtown West
– Pennridge vs. Souderton
– Academy Park vs. Coatesville
– Abraham Lincoln vs. Roman Catholic
– West Catholic vs. Northeast
District 3
– Central Dauphin vs. Wilson West Lawn
– Donegal vs. York Suburban
District 5/6
– Bald Eagle vs. Central Cambria
– Tussey Mountain vs. Southern Huntingdon
– Westmont vs. Bellwood-Antis
District 7/8
– Gateway vs. Woodland Hills
– Central Valley vs. Avonworth
– Aliquippa vs. Armstrong
– Clairton vs. Washington
– Sto-Rox vs. Steel Valley
– Rochester vs. OLSH
– Allderdice vs. Altoona
District 9/10
– Brockway vs. DuBois
– Central Clarion vs. Port Allegany
– Cambridge Springs vs. Eisenhower
Inter-District & Out Of State
– Downingtown East (1) vs. State College (6)
– Selinsgrove (4) vs. Juniata (6)
– Spring-Ford (1) vs Father Judge (12)
– Executive (11) vs. Berks Catholic (3)
– Penns Valley (6) vs. Bedford (5)
– Windber (5) vs. Curwensville (9)
– Clearfield (9) vs. Forest Hills (6)
– Morrisville (1) vs. ANC (Ind.)
– Neumann-Goretti (12) vs. Penn Charter (Ind.)
– Imhotep (12) vs. Haverford (Ind.)
– La Salle (12) vs. Malvern Prep (Ind.)
– St. Joe’s Prep (12) vs. St. Peter’s Prep (NJ)
– PCC (7) vs. St. Ignatius (OH)
– Eastern (DC) vs. Steel-High (3)
– Episcopal (Ind.) vs. Cardinal Hayes (NY)
Score Predictions
– Scranton Prep 35, West Scranton 10
– Troy 28, Montoursville 21
– Danville 48, Line Mountain 13
– Northwestern 42, Northern Lehigh 13
– Notre Dame GP 35, Southern Lehigh 31
– Upper Dublin 24, CB West 20
– Perk Valley 30, D’town West 19
– Pennridge 29, Souderton 28
– Coatesville 35, Academy Park 12
– West Catholic 45, Northeast 13
– Roman Catholic 63, Abraham Lincoln 16
– Wilson West Lawn 34, Central Dauphin 14
– Donegal 26, York Suburban 19
– Tussey 45, SoHudCo 13
– Bald Eagle 38, Central Cambria 19
– Westmont 26, Bellwood-Antis 14
– Gateway 42, Woodland Hills 23
– Central Valley 28, Avonworth 16
– Aliquippa 52, Armstrong 13
– Washington 34, Clairton 21
– Steel Valley 45, Sto-Rox 20
– Rochester 23, OLSH 21
– Altoona 21, Allderdice 7
– Brockway 37, DuBois 27
– Central Clarion 35, Port Allegany 17
– Eisenhower 35, Cambridge Springs 20
– State College 24, Downingtown East 16
– Executive 28, Berks Catholic 24
– Selinsgrove 38, Juniata 17
– Father Judge 29, Spring-Ford 13
– Penns Valley 35, Bedford 17
– Windber 35, Curwensville 14
– Clearfield 38, Forest Hills 23
– ANC 42, Morrisville 6
– Imhotep 38, Haverford 27
– N-G 21, William Penn Charter 20
– Malvern Prep 24, La Salle 21
– SJP 45, St. Peter’s 26
– St. Ignatius 27, PCC 16
– Steel-High 24, Eastern 23
– Cardinal Hayes 55, Episcopal 20
Also, I apologize if these are long. There’s still plenty of non-league games going on, so there’s a bunch of quality games to choose from.
August 31st, 2023 at 11:14 am
@ D2 Fan – as for big schools out West PCC plays St Ignatius in Cleveland tomorrow and ECP travels to Buffalo to play Canisius from NY. To say PCC looked impressive last week against a solid Woodland Hills team would be an understatement, their defense is very stout, and their offensive play calling showed more imagination and creativity than PCC has shown in years. This will be a great test for them and I’m curious to see how they perform, Ignatius will likely be the best team they play until the state playoffs. Right now I make PCC the favorite in WPIAL 6A ahead of NA, they play on 9/22 so we’ll know soon enough. I’ll post my thoughts on some of the key WPIAL games later.
August 31st, 2023 at 11:00 am
@Scott Hagy – the classifications are based strictly on male enrollment in grades 9-11 and not the number of players on any given team. I think it’s great if a 3A school or a school at any level has 60-70 players, we need to encourage more participation in sports, not put a limit on team rosters, this isn’t the NFL. Schools that have a great coaching staff and a winning tradition will naturally have a bigger turnout from the student body than schools that are mediocre or worse and have no tradition. I’ve seen plenty of big schools in the WPIAL with a relatively low numbers of players, and smaller schools with large numbers, are you saying a 3A school with 60-70 players should be forced to play up in class just because they have more players suited up than their competitors?
August 31st, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Kevin X…I am covering the games in Delaware this weekend, I said to them maybe next friday would be better.
August 31st, 2023 at 10:14 am
Are the rumors true, that one Dave Mika will be a guest on tomorrow night’s WPHT 1210am Scoreboard show??
August 31st, 2023 at 10:10 am
@ D2 Fan
Far from an expert, but I have been following the Inter-AC more closely the past few years. I try to get to a few of their games each year, it helps that many of their league games starting in mid October are on Saturday afternoons, so it makes for a nice Friday night/Sat. afternoon double dip, weather and other fall weekend scheduling permitting. Different atmosphere at these games as well. Like being at a small ivy league college game. Always feel under dressed 🙂
Anyways…….6 teams/schools in the league, starting their seasons this weekend, no playoff or post season games, non-PIAA schools, and I think possible 5th year graduate kids playing (not sure how that works/rules). Last year the top three teams being Haverford/EA/MP, in that order order. I see those 3 being the top 3 again this year, with maybe MP being on top (but who knows, a very competitive league). MP’s QB got hurt mid year last year, and is back as a junior, and he’s a nice dual threat QB. Two big games this weekend, Haverford and Imhotep down in DE, and LaSalle and Malvern Prep down the Jersey shore. Should be a nice barometer for all 4 teams involved. Imhotep played the latest version of Bishop Sycamore last weekend, and LaSalle, well, we all know about that game last Friday. Next week, EA host Roman, that one looks interesting as well, and I may check that one out in person if I don’t do the DelVal/DTE game.
Do you remember a few years ago (think the covid shortened 2020 season??) when Malvern Prep played Valley View??
August 30th, 2023 at 11:41 pm
@D2 fan
I completely understand my friend ,
All is well.
August 30th, 2023 at 7:21 pm
Week 2 has arrived in NEPA. I’ll be frank. This isn’t the best week of games we have this year, but I can still give 10 that stand out. There’s five good in-district matchups, two big crossovers, & three games among the related subregionals.
10 Prime Matchups To Watch Involving District 2 & their Subregionals
1. Dallas vs. Crestwood: HUGE game for WVC Division 1 in Week 2. Winner of this could be the division winner when it’s all said & done. This is where I have Dallas winning, as they happen to be the better team.
2. Mount Carmel vs. Dunmore: This would be a “Best Of The Rest” game in a typical pick post, with other districts. We know MCA is the better team, so my hope is that it’s a good game. District 2 needs to see how they stack up.
3. Valley View vs. Berwick: This is a quality matchup in 4A. Berwick needs a get right game, or else it’s a long season. Valley View could use momentum. I like the Cougars here.
4. Montrose vs. Susquehanna: Susquehanna had a highly convincing win last week against Holy Redeemer. There’s the Battle For The Bluestone rivalry this week, which’ll be the start of Montrose’s season. The Meteors wants to be competitive again, but I believe the Sabers may be the better team.
5. Old Forge vs. Nanticoke: This has a chance to become a good game up here. I’ll go with Old Forge here, but GNA winning this could send shockwaves across D2.
6. Western Wayne vs. North Pocono: This may be the best Lackawanna League showdown of the week, although West Scranton/Prep may be better. I’m sort of biased adding it, because this is a local rivalry that feels just a bit competitive every year. Wildcats are the better team & they’ll take as much of the momentum as they can get. I wouldn’t be that shocked if I get this wrong, as this is a trap game for WW.
7. Delaware Valley vs. Harrisburg: Not one, but two notable out of district showdowns in D2, this week. The Warriors along Route 6 host Harrisburg in a showdown of two of 5A/6A’s best! The better team is down I-81, but maybe DV will have some unfinished business after the tough loss on Friday.
8. Parkland vs. Freedom: This is a game that can determine the #1 seed in 6A. Parkland is very good, but can Freedom challenge? The Trojans will keep a perfect season rolling.
9. Nazareth vs. Emmaus: Both teams are the best of the best down in the valley. This is a quality game that could also play a key for the #1 seed, & who could be a matchup for the District 2/4 6A teams.
10. Kipp-DuBois vs. Jenkintown: The last game here is my District 1 noteworthy battle. Although they’re against the odds in the Subregional, it doesn’t hurt to see who can be the team to stun Trail or Old Forge. None of the three teams are playing anyone that could be a major implication win. Morrisville takes on ANC (who I don’t think they’ve ever beaten, while Renaissance Charter will be idle until it plays CMVT in a couple weeks. Neither of those games move the needle, but from the looks of it. Jenkintown has the best odds to win. I’ll add the other game to “best of the rest” to see if I made the right choice, being the game I’ll make up for last week & my mistake.
Note: The Inter-Ac & Indie teams are programs that I have zero knowledge on, so please guide me on what I should expect in 2023, as I’ll also have the Haverford game here & a couple others. I’ll try to even pick an Inter-Ac game every week in the best of the rest, if it’s quality.
Score Predictions
– Dallas 23, Crestwood 19
– MCA 35, Dunmore 14
– Valley View 28, Berwick 19
– Susquehanna 27, Montrose 20
– Old Forge 35, Nanticoke 17
– Western Wayne 31, North Pocono 17
– Harrisburg 38, DV 13
– Parkland 24, Freedom 20
– Nazareth 35, Emmaus 21
– Jenkintown 49, Kipp-DuBois 7
Best Of The Rest picks are yet to come. I have to find some good non-WPIAL games out west.
August 30th, 2023 at 2:25 pm
mcd65 – I stated that Max Prep listed 288 players; I didn’t say that was their final roster. Yes, I remain skeptical about Prep and the other private schools which clearly draw players beyond their general neighborhood. They have a big advantage which the PIAA should address. Certainly roster sized should, IMO – be a factor they should consider. For example a few schools are allowed to play in 3A yet have 60-70 player rosters. Then they beat up on other 3A schools with barely half those numbers. Not good.
August 30th, 2023 at 10:29 am
@ Distract 2 LFC,
I was just using Lakeland as an example, based on what happened last week as a general statement. You could replace that matchup with several more here in the eastern half of the state. I definitely know how successful they are as a program, what happened the last couple of years, & that they’re rebuilding this year. It was just a generalization, & the one notable mercy rule blowout from up here last week. I should’ve maybe used Wyoming Area/Tunkhannock instead.
August 30th, 2023 at 7:39 am
Scott H. St. Joe does not have students from Maryland and Delaware . You stated Roman had like 288 players on their roster and now your skeptical about the Prep . Both are untrue of course. There are folks on here that have the correct information if you ask the question .
August 30th, 2023 at 5:47 am
My last post was at D2 fan
NOT Kevin X
Regarding competition
August 30th, 2023 at 5:39 am
@Kevin X
In regards to the other conversation you were having with the other person about competition and when you said about the Monroe County teams being basically Mercy ruled the second they step on the field.
I don’t know much about Monroe County but I do know quite a bit about the Lackawanna Football Conference So when you say that you would rather see a better game than Scranton prep blowout Lakeland did you forget about last season when Lakeland blew out Scranton prep Lakeland was winning at halftime 33-7 and won 41-14
The Chiefs also own Scranton prep in the overall series with a record of 26 and 16 also not sure if you know this but Scranton prep has not reached the PIAA Eastern final and while I’m not certainly bragging about the Chiefs reaching the Eastern final at least they reached the Eastern final when they faced off against Northern Lehigh only losing a very close battle 10-7 then northern Lehigh the following game played Aliquippa in the state championship and almost beat them and need I say Lakeland has more championships overall than Scranton prep even back when they were both in the BIG 11 Conference. The Chiefs also gave
Mount Carmel a scare in the state playoffs back when Mount Carmel was on a state championship winning streak when Lakeland had PIAA State passing leader Evan Kraky .
I guess my point is not to brag about lakeland’s history but rather don’t be so down on the Chiefs When comparing them to the Scranton prep Imports.
Plus I know a lot of you public forum enthusiasts only care about who’s winning state championships but I can guarantee you one thing I would rather stay consistent and keep winning championships even if a team has to go through a building season to get back to the championship winning ways then go and win a state championship and not get back to it after winning 30 years ago and then be muddling through the years I’d much rather be consistent winning league and districts rather than win a state championship 30 years ago and then never do it again and never have consistency one team I can reference is the Hanover area Hawkeyes I believe they want it back in 1990 or at least in that general area of time and then going forward you don’t hear from them they don’t even have a plaque in their High School area acknowledging it which is crazy to me I think the school should have acknowledged it back then at least to give credit to the guys well I’m done talking your ears off have a good one ya’ll
August 30th, 2023 at 12:27 am
@Scott and Ryan It’s amazing how the “SJP has players from four states” myth gets re-circulated. Here are the facts. SJP (because of its academic reputation and its location) has ALWAYS drawn students from SE PA and Jersey. When I attended (in the late 60s / early 70s) we had a couple of students who took the train in from Reading every day and one who took the train from Trenton, but the vast majority came and come from the city, the parts of Delaware, Montgomery, and Bucks counties closest to Philly, and the parts of Camden and Burlington Counties (in south Jersey) closest to Philly. A few students come from Chester County and more are coming from parts of south Jersey further from the Prep but still within daily commuting distance. A handful of students each decade have come from Delaware. I can think of only two football players who lived in Delaware–one (Chambers?) who played end for one year as a freshman over ten years ago but who then transferred to a Jersey school when his family moved there and one (Armen Ware) who went to elementary school in Philly and then moved with his mother to northern DE when he started high school . I think she commuted to work every day in Philly. Ware graduated about 7 years ago. No players from DE since then. I have never heard of a kid from MD attending the Prep let alone playing football for the school. I admit to not knowing where each player sleeps every night, but I do know the school does not have a dorm and I know that the school and the football program go to a fair bit of trouble to facilitate transportation–much of which consists of car-pooling, using parents and a few seniors with driving licenses–for players who live at particular distances from the school.
At least a few other PCL schools (including Roman and N-G) have had students from Jersey but never as many as the Prep has had. (My understanding is that about 25% of SJP students come from Jersey.) All this was widely known when the PCL joined the PIAA.
There is no doubt that being able to draw students from an area with such a large population is a significant advantage, but I would add two other things to consider. First, there are many other private schools in that area that also place some emphasis on sports: all the other PCL schools, including LaSalle, all six Inter-Ac schools, and other private/Catholic schools in outer regions of SE PA (e.g., Shanahan, JPII, and Holy Ghost Prep) and in south Jersey (Bishop Eustace, Camden Catholic, Holy Cross, St. Augustine, etc.). Second, there are obvious difficulties in running a football program in a school that has significant academic demands–it loses promising players every year during and after freshman year–and logistical challenges. Not everyone wants to go to 6:00 am practices in the summer, especially when the practice field is 20 miles away and not everyone want to have a 20 mile commute at the end of practice on a school day. Note that I am not saying everybody at SJP is an especially bright outstanding student, but it has academic demands and standards that deter some from even applying and that result in transfers out–and not just by athletes but certainly including athletes.
August 29th, 2023 at 4:39 pm
@bkg – exactly correct, I’ve been pointing out for years there are not enough big private schools in this state to effectively fill a 16 team bracket, and you’re right, the only 2 in the entire western half of the state are ECP and PCC, along with McDevitt in Harrisburg, every other school would be from the PCL or a D1 team like Bishop Shanahan or PJP II. Or as you mentioned to balance things out you would have to include Allentown CC and Berks Catholic, or North Catholic from the WPIAL in 4A, but they aren’t even much of a factor in 4A , maybe even schools like Scranton Prep. How fair is it for smaller or mid sized private schools that have never won a state title or even made the finals to have to play in the large school bracket because of a lack of teams? I realize North Catholic won the 1A title in 2013, but they have been 4A for the last several years due to enrollment and they usually get beat pretty handily by the 4A public school powers like Aliquippa, TJ and McKeesport when they play them.
August 29th, 2023 at 4:20 pm
@ Kevin X
Being from the Pike-Wayne area myself, I tend to tip my cap to them for being the only team that ever goes out of the area regularly each year. I wish the weaker teams in the area would do this with similar competition. Maybe the new division format in EPC will allow this to come true. They are rivals to my school, but I have more respect for them than a lot of people would think.
In District 2, the most notable ones I can think of are the two you mentioned. I think Dunmore can count for this year. A big test for them this week against Mount Carmel. Berwick regularly has at least one or two Heartland games a year. There was also Hazleton, who played Harrisburg one year (I believe) & Donegal in a home & home. I think it’d absolutely help our district to have all of the good teams travel to District 3-4 or even WPIAL for a change.
You posed a fantastic question that I’ve been wanting to bring up myself for quite some time. I honestly feel that every Week 0/1 (whatever you consider it) game should be outside of district, if travel isn’t too, too much of an issue. There’s so many excellent inter-district games that are very intriguing in the first week, & more great games would be better. I’d rather that than seeing Prep blow out Lakeland or the Monroe County teams being flat out mercy ruled the second they come on the field.
I’d love to make a list someday using CalPreps of all of the best possible matchups that would work with PA teams using out of district matchups.
@ D11 Matt
I fully trust Tout with developing these players & hearing that it’s one of the best classes they’ve had makes me stoked.
@ Anyone that can answer,
Could anyone give me some info on Inter-Ac teams or the indie teams. I’m putting a handful of the Week 2 games as predictions, so I want to make sure I don’t seem like a yo-yo who knows nothing.
August 29th, 2023 at 4:13 pm
At Frank G. – You sure about St. Joe’s? I was told they had kids from Jersey, Delaware & Maryland. They may not be “boarders,” but they could be housed by nearby families. If I’m wrong, then so be it- but I remain skeptical.
August 29th, 2023 at 1:35 pm
Anyone notice Thomas Edison beat Jenkintown last week? It’s been a few years since they won a game, but how long has it been since they defeated an opponent from outside the city? A good sign of progress.
@Jeff H: You pointed out Erie Prep had to be moved up to 5A to stop winning state titles. Being a private school isn’t a guarantee of domination, since public schools are more plentiful and there’s always a chance that one of the many has a special year. But you can be reasonably sure that in any given year, Erie Prep will be a contender. Down years don’t have as much impact.
I don’t have any issue with public schools playing private schools during the regular season. By all means, teams should challenge themselves. I just think that if the postseason was split, it could be organized to suit both forms of schools, rather than trying to have “one size fits all”.
@bkg: Sure, the large-private division would be very Philly-heavy. But I don’t think it’s a problem if the playoffs have “usual suspects”. I think it would be fantastic to see matchups like Erie Prep vs. PCC, SJP vs. McDevitt, develop into rivalries. It would certainly serve Erie Prep better than having to wait through two bye weeks before having to play a state quarterfinal. Perhaps 3 8-team brackets would suit private schools better, but either way the concept works, IMO.
August 29th, 2023 at 1:33 pm
@Frank G : Did you really just say that SJP has players for the Philadelphia Area? They have players from 4 different states.
August 29th, 2023 at 12:51 pm
@JCo – as far as the public/private argument that gets rehashed multiple times each season, the only private team in the state the publics can’t compete with on a regular basis is SJP. so I have a hard time seeing why there’s a huge need to split the publics and privates because of 1 school. None of the other privates in this state dominate the way SJP does, Erie Prep has not won a state title since they were moved up to 5A, and in fact TJ finally got over the hump and beat them in the 4A quarterfinals in 2019. McDevitt won their fist state title last year since 1995, although they did have several runner up finishes between their titles. Pittsburgh Central Catholic has 4 state titles since the state playoffs started in 1998, with their last one in 2015, so it’s not like PCC dominated the state prior to the SJP era. I know for a fact none of the big schools in the WPIAL have a problem playing PCC, most of them relish the opportunity to play and beat them despite their advantages, I think the same is true in district 3 for the most part, no one really complains about McDevitt’s advantages and it’s just more incentive for the good public schools to try and beat them. If SJP opted out of the state playoffs I think all this public vs. private debate would go radio silent for the most part because it’s not nearly as much of a factor in the other 5 classes.
@ Mike S – couldn’t agree with you more about the importance of active and engaged coaches in keeping their players, it’s all about coaching and the culture within the program, most schools in the WPIAL with good coaching staffs rarely lose kids to PCC, it’s the mediocre schools with little or no tradition where PCC gets the vast majority of their players
August 29th, 2023 at 12:27 pm
JCo……just my opinion, your 16 team big school bracket for private schools would be difficult to do. competitiviness on a year to year basis would not change much as long as st. joe prep is around. i think the bracket would be heavy with philly schools. offhand, i can only think of two western schools that could occasionally compete: erie cath. prep and pitt cent. cath. mcdevitt (hbg) would be included. enrollment number would have to be low to fill remaining 16 team bracket. now you’re including the likes of scranton prep, allentown c.c.,,berks cath. all good programs, but doubtful to compete consistently on this level. it could easily be the same 16 teams every year with no qualifying rounds needed. i certainly don’t have the answers, just my opinion
August 29th, 2023 at 9:50 am
@Scott You seem to equate SJP with IMG in having players from all over the country. All of SJP’s players come from the Philadelphia area and none are boarders. IMG’s players come from all over and, as far as I know, all are boarders. That could look like an unfair advantage for IMG, but that’s obviously not how SJP thinks.
August 29th, 2023 at 9:28 am
District 2 I watched Scranton Prep play against a Public School- Wyomissing in the PIAA playoffs and was surprised at how easily Wyo demolished them. Wyo scored every time they had the ball. I guess the talent pool in the Scranton area is not what it used to be. One of the great mysteries in PA football is how Wyomissing-a 3A school, has all of these 280 lb lineman year after year, yet the largest School District east of the Mississippi-Reading SD, located right over the Bridge from Wyomissiing can’t seem to find any large lineman. Wyo won its only State Championship with a Quarterback who was from Fleetwood stashed in a Wyomissing apartment.
August 29th, 2023 at 9:20 am
@FrankG: I don’t think schools like McD, PCC, Erie Prep… or even smaller schools like Guilfoyle… are excluded from the public/private debate. SJP is a lightning rod because they’re the best by far. But the debate encompasses all non-boundaries.
Also, key to distinguish that not all public schools in Philly are operated by the School District of Philadelphia. For the purposes of the discussion, I think it’s fair to say that charter schools that aren’t operated by the District (for example: Imhotep, Boys Latin, Belmont Charter) should not be considered on level footing as typical public schools.
August 29th, 2023 at 9:20 am
@ scott H. Many teams do not update their rosters. They have carry over from previous years. Roman does not have the players you mention on their squad this year. Wood claims about 177 ,I know this is 3 years worth of roster LOL. No team has what you mention.
August 29th, 2023 at 9:20 am
Scott Hagy, the 288 number is way off, Roman’s true numbers are 1/2 of that. 90-95 players max, same number they had as last year. Wilson did not have the athletes in the secondary to keep up with Roman’s speedy receivers. Plus Beals-Roman’s QB is probably the best QB Wilson will see all year. Cam Jones graduating is a big loss for Wilson, I know Edison Case is injured but that’s not an excuse. We will see how Wilson’s defense, which was a big question mark rebounds against Cental Dauphin, neither team wants to go 0-2 to start the season as this will have major playoff implications.
August 29th, 2023 at 8:50 am
OK, my intent was NOT to start the schools with Boundaries vs those without, my point is the schools with good active coaches often keep their kids home, CB East had 2 transfers back this year, Garnet Valley/Upper Dublin are both very strong, the common denominator is they all have a Coaching staff in place that are active, North Penn does not! Cheltenham is another school where when they changed coaching, the kids left without boundary schools to come back to play including 2 D1 recruits. It’s the Coaching folks not the recruiting! North Penn if as one of the largest school districts in the state, want to get back to being consistently at or near the top, needs to bring in a Coaching staff, that are active in keeping the kids home. The current coaching staff doesn’t even have enough interest to go to their own Middle School, Freshmen and even JV games, COME ON MAN! Show a little care!
@Scott Hagy- I’ve found MaxPreps to be very inaccurate and getting worse, they are dependent on local reporters which if the coaches or someone in the public doesn’t send in the current information they are in trouble. I suspect but have not looked & I’m not going to waste my time, but you may have 2 or 3 years of rosters rolled into one. Just be careful what you believe on MaxPreps.
August 29th, 2023 at 8:47 am
@ FrankG
Two small minor corrections for you….
First, just last year Prep (not to be confused with “The Prep”) was eliminated by Neumann Goretti (not a public school as you well know) in the round of 16. As far as making the state quarterfinals, good question. Maybe a few years ago when the D2 winner played the D4 winner. I’ll defer to the D2 and Prep historians for that.
Second, jumping into your conversation with PB, public school districts in PA are required by law to offer transportation to private school kids who live in their district if the district offers transportation to their public school kids in the same grades (ultimately at the taxpayers expense).
August 29th, 2023 at 8:30 am
@ D2 Fan
Sorry, forgot to add this to my multi post last night.
Whatever the results of Del Val’s games are the next two weeks, I will always tip my hat to the program for going out of their District 2 comfort zone and seeking quality competition early in the season. Your thoughts on if other D2 should follow their footsteps and find some out of district opponents?? Seems Wyo Area is the only other D2 team doing this, playing SoCol the past few years.
@ Scott Hagy
Please, and this goes for everyone, take anything you see on MaxPreps with a world record size grain of salt. I saw that too and it appears just to be list of players of the team in the last several years. Name never removed or updated.
August 29th, 2023 at 7:55 am
@FrankG
I get what you are saying and I do understand completely especially about the crowd size that compares to years ago when semi-pro football was popular even way back when it was the Scranton Eagles then changed to the Electric city Chargers
With the Scranton Eagles the Memorial Stadium was always full Fast Forward many years for the Chargers it looked like you were watching a freshman football game I do get it times change but one thing is for sure private verse public should not be because there are clear advantages and disadvantages across the board we will never see eye to eye on this issue ever I’m sure and that’s okay have a good day brother.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:48 pm
@District2 LFC
A few points:
1) Odd that given the advantages you say Scranton Prep has that, as far as I can recall, they’ve never made it to a state semi-final and have always been eliminated by a public school team. Have they even made it to a quarter-final?
2) At least in SE PA the situation is different in a few key respects. None of the public schools in Philly have boundaries, which most obviously helps schools like IMHOTEP. Then there are the large number of private (some Catholic, some not) school, most of which put a lot of emphasis on sports. There are the 14 PCL schools and the six inter-ac schools as well as Catholic schools a little outside the PCL area (Shanahan, JPII). None, of course, have boundaries. It appears things are also different–though not as different–in the Lehigh Valley, the Harrisburg area, and Pittsburgh. I haven’t heard anyone really complaining about the advantages McDevitt or PCC have, even though both have been quite successful.
3) I know there’s a feeling that if the private schools recruited less–a lot less–then things would go back to the good old days, e.g, the powerful public school teams in Bucks County (especially Central Bucks West), the Ridley and Strath Haven teams in Delco, etc. (When I was a young child I even went to Blakely Bears games in their golden era, so I know why some people are nostalgic.) But here’s the thing: all the private schools could close tomorrow and high school football would not be anything like what it was 30-60 years ago, even 20 years ago. There have been so many changes in terms of how many kids are playing, what kids are playing, who and how many attend games, etc. that the future isn’t going to be like the past regardless. I travel a lot in far upstate NY and northern New England and have noticed how many public schools (in areas where there are no private schools or at least private schools that are very competitive in sports) have either no football team or football teams that play to crowds of 100-200 people. I know PA is different but not entirely different.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:38 pm
I wasn’t at the Wilson/Roman game, but I noticed on Max Preps that they had an astounding 288 names on their roster…..seems absolutely ridiculous for any school – let alone one allowed to compete in 5A. I’m curious as to how many they suited up. I certainly feel strongly that the PIAA should examine their policies regarding private school inclusion when they obviously are drawing – if not outright recruiting players from states outside PA. Was interesting watching the game between IMG, Florida and St. Joes. Listening to where so many of the players came from it was like they were colleges- not prep schools.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:01 pm
@ D2 LFC
Interesting posts. I do have my opinions on this subject (probably not like them, certainly disagree), but not feeling like going down that rabbit hole at the moment. There will be a time.
@ Jeff H.
Not a close follower of the NP program, more of a casual observer of many of their athletic teams, including football. Like with the above topic, maybe I’ll weigh in more later, but the short of it I am not in the camp of ousting Coach Beck, contrary to the current vibe currently taking place on this board. Newsflash to some of you, LaSalle has a really good team this year, with probably the best Sophmore QB in the state. Let’s see how it goes Thursday night with Q-Town. Also, NP is only 2 years removed from an undefeated regular season.
@ ScottyB
Had the PV/DTW game on my short list for Friday as well. Removed Soudy @ P-Ridge. Maybe I’ll end up in D-Town Friday as well. Wondering now how good of a game Upper Dub will give CBW. UD lost a good number of players from last years very talented team.
August 28th, 2023 at 8:24 pm
@D2.
Yep, Northern Lehigh’s coach Tout has said that he thinks the incoming freshman class could be his best freshman class he has coached in his 17 years at NL and maybe best ever in his time at NL (and that includes the 03 team that reached Hersey and lost to Revis led Aliquippa when tout was a young assistant). It’s also a huge class in regards to players for them. But playing that many freshman due to injuries won’t bode well for this year but look out in a year or two. They should be back as a threat statewide in A soon enough.
August 28th, 2023 at 4:57 pm
@Frank G
I completely understand what you are saying,
But it’s off track of what I was referring to
What I’m saying is it’s completely not fair for public schools to have to compete with private schools on the basis that private schools are allowed to have talent from up to an hour or two away from their school….and public have talent within a few mile range…
Which means the talent pool is much smaller for the public schools thus giving the private schools a greater advantage overall….to be honest the advantage only goes to the private schools whose coaches know how to recruit…because their are some private schools that are not competitive at all because the coaches are only there for a paycheck and not championships .
This is the most comprehensive split any reasonable person would understand the only people who oppose it are of course the fans and family members of those who are playing for the private schools.
When you said earlier that public schools do not own them I never said they did that was only a suggestion to solve the problem if they don’t want to separate public and private schools throughout the year and also the state championship then they should play where they live .
I will give you a perfect example up in the Lackawanna Football Conference there are a few Catholic schools there’s Holy Cross there’s Scranton prep and down the line in the Wyoming Valley Conference this Holy Redeemer out of these three private schools Scranton Preparatory is more successful at scouting and bringing in Talent no matter if it doesn’t benefit the student athlete in the classroom or not they still obtain them and give them a quote on quote scholarship which was created for families of low-income that have students that otherwise would not be able to go but of course there’s twists and turns through all situations and they worked it through the system very nicely I guess for them I truly completely disagree with it but such is life
I give Scranton prep as an example for the unfairness and here we have a public school the Lakeland Chiefs who on average have competitive years and do have many championships under their belt however last year’s 12-1 season for the Chiefs had a plethora of senior Talent their quarterback was the athlete of the year for the Scranton Times and many other athletes were in the running, okay so now step back a little bit Scranton prep who just reloads with all of their recruits from all over the place and beats Lakeland 70-7 and Lakeland that only brought back two athletes from that Stellar year one lineman and I believe the other was a defensive back Scranton prep was loaded the preparatoryans or as I like to say the Scranton prep Imports won the game 70-7
The Prep players were saying it was payback from last year when Lakeland beat them 41-14
I get it !
pay back is necessary for all teams but I guess I’ll go off the track a little bit to put up 70 points against the team that only returned two starters from last year let me just say……
NO- C L A S S (Coach Terry Gallagher !!! )act like you’ve been there brother trust me there will be teams down the line that will HAMMER you guys hard and most likely will be a Catholic School in the state playoffs unless Western Wayne stops you which I hope they do.
GO WILD CATS
August 28th, 2023 at 12:27 pm
Many of you on here who follow D1 have started to wonder if it’s time for Dick Beck to be replaced at NP, seems to me from afar he’s kinda been coasting on his laurels the last several years and as the late Chuck Noll used to say about players past their prime perhaps it’s time for him to get on with his life’s work. For those of you who follow the program closely have there been any rumors of him retiring or being forced out, and who are some of the candidates who might be in line to replace him?
August 27th, 2023 at 11:16 pm
@ D11 Matt
That’s the analysis I was looking for! I do agree that small schools seem to have the hardest of times rebuilding, just in general. Well, except if you’re Southern Columbia, because they reload no matter what. There must be something in the water, or the Big Ben’s soda (If you know, you know).
I had zero idea that Palisades was rebuilding & young. It makes sense now. It seemed like a neat game on paper, based off of last year. The same goes for Tri-Valley. This 1A battle now looks really interesting.
I knew Northern Lehigh did lose a few more from last year’s quarterfinal team. I expected they’d take a step back, but seeing how they have a lot of underclassmen makes me feel that it’s not going to be a season like the last two. I just hope they find a way to be competitive in their division, because there’s some quality 3A teams there.
As always, appreciate the insight on teams down there!
@ JCo
I’d be all-in for a bowl game at the end of the year, if there’s a split. ESPN could get the rights & put a massive spotlight on PA, which doesn’t have the luster other states do (or at least of what it used to be). Unless you’re in CA, TX, GA, FL, & the Carolinas (& respectfully so, with them all being pure hotbeds), you’re just out there if you’re a Top 25 team in the country or one of those Week 0/1 deals like Southern had in 2019.
August 27th, 2023 at 7:56 pm
@ District 2 LFC
Our fundamental disagreement is over the notion that kids somehow belong to the public school district in which they live. I went to a Catholic elementary school. My parents of course paid local taxes to the public school system, but I never set foot in a public school–except for one year in kindergarten. I’m sure you’d agree it would have been absurd for me to have been forced to play on the local public high school team. Of course, lots more players now on private school teams went to public elementary or middle schools, but I would still maintain that to require them to play for the team of the high school they never attended would be ridiculous, and I doubt the coaches or the players (who do go to the local public high school) would be very happy to have them representing a high school they don’t attend.
August 27th, 2023 at 7:51 pm
On the topic of public/private… yes it gets rehashed on here very frequently. But I continue to believe that a split would benefit both boundary schools and non-boundary schools. The non-boundary schools wouldn’t have to deal with things like PIAA’s competitiveness formula, or massive playoff brackets, or being bound to PIAA districts. Just split into a large-school and small-school division by male enrollment, and have a 16-team bracket for each division. I firmly believe that it would be more interesting to fans all around.
If the state really wants, they can set up a Pennsylvania Bowl between the winner of the largest public class and the large-school private class. Maybe, having a single game with extra attention could secure broadcasting rights.
I don’t really expect any of this to actually happen. But a split, done right, would be a game-changer for Pennsylvania high school football for everyone involved. I 100% believe that.
August 27th, 2023 at 7:09 pm
@D2, some D11 insight.
Palisades is young this year and Bangor returned a lot. As you know solid programs that are small schools go through rebuilds as they can reload as much as big schools (however there are exceptions). Minersville should be solid in D11A, but Tri Valley Lost a lot. They should compete but like Northern Lehigh, they lost a lot of multi year starters at skill positions. Speaking of Northern Lehigh (my alma mater), I expected father to be decent even though they lost some skill players because they returned a lot on the lines. However, they play a very tough 3A schedule as an A school and it’s relentless. They don’t have many easy games. They play Notre Dame North Schuylkill, Northwestern, etc. And this year most teams they play are up. So I expected they to win about 5 games and then have a chance in playoffs against A schools again. But, they lost their junior starting QB/Safety to a season ending knee injury last prior prior to season and then lost a two way lb/RB and then in second quarter of opening game had another LB/WR taken out. That’s brutal for them. They were playing a 5’6 freshman QB and had all underclassmen in secondary. That killed them. And the schedule won’t be forgiven. They will have to grind it out this year. Making playoffs will be tough for them playing that many freshman. But should be good for future years.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:12 pm
FrankG, excellent point, if their is no discount or break on the property taxes for those who send their kids to private schools, couldn’t the private schools at least be able to use the public school facilities rent free? That’s completely reasonable. Especially in states like NJ and IL that have the highest property taxes in the nation. No doubt Jersey is one of the best states in the country for quality of life, creature comforts, culture, the whole thing, but to have to pay, what, about 8k per year for the average house — not happening. Regarding Prep’s lack of a field, right, there is the issue of urban density. Phladelphia’s apogee population-wise was about 2.2 million in the mid-50’s. That dropped to 1.5 mil (now 1.6) over the course of the next several decades. You mean to tell me they couldn’t have cobbled together some real estate parcels close by the campus during that time for a field/stadium. Heck, as recently as the 90’s you could still get a 2 story row house for $5k in some instances in the greater Prep/Girard College/Temple area. Too late now, but if Temple ever builds their on-campus stadium at 15th and Norris maybe that’s the ticket.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
@Kevin X……
lol yes !
It’s almost laughable that it’s 2023 and the
Public private situation is still not delt with
No matter what people say defending it
it’s still ridiculously unfair .
For a school to obtain athletes from anywhere
they desire and to give scholarships to those
who play a sport is Crazy !
and is not fair to the regular students who earned their way into a Preparatory school and takes their
education future seriously .
Trust me it happens my two nieces graduated with honors at a Preparatory school and said lots
of athletes are not quality in the classroom as they are on the gridiron …..
How I think it should be handled is ALL students of private schools should play sports at the schools where they reside if not then make separate playoffs and only play other feeder programs in the regular season aswell.
Look at how many state championship titles
have been stolen from all the solid public schools
over the last several years .
At the end of the day money and people in powerful positions in life will always be a roadblock of changing the current situation !!
Keep in mind I’m not against private schools just how current situation stands
August 27th, 2023 at 10:58 am
Yea, NP has 3 middle schools ( Penndale, Pennfield & Pennbrook). Penndale might be a junior high, not sure. From my understanding,
NP is 2nd largest public school in Pa. (behind Reading). Beck is just phoning it in. I’m sure he gets paid well. He might be
damn near fireproof because of his previous success. Many of us believe a change is due. Don’t think it will happen soon, unfortunately.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:31 am
My first predictions of the season were, in a word, troubling. For those that kept score,
– I went 7-3 in the District 2 games to watch. Two losses were within one score in coin flip games, so I can’t be mad.
– In the best of the rest, I was 23-16, a .590 success rate.
– Through 49 games, I’m 30-19, batting .612. I’m either a jinx or awful with picks. It was that way when I did predictions last postseason, too. I need to be better.
– Somehow I had West Catholic vs. Northeast for this week. That game is next week. Well, I’ll throw in an extra game next week to make up for the one I missed. I have a plan for that.
My biggest mistakes
– We don’t talk about my Imhotep pick, but we can about them getting RedditCFB’s Cobra Kai Award for the biggest blowout victory of the week. That’s probably the worst pick I’ve ever made.
– NFL UK was such a bad pick by me, too. I just didn’t know anything.
– Crestwood game was a theoretical coin flip. I think I flipped my pick before I sent it out. Not even mad about that one.
– I don’t know what the heck I was thinking with the Bangor vs. Palisades pick. I thought Palisades was really good. Should’ve read the summaries before.
– As for DV/Selinsgrove, I’m impressed with the Seals. Wasn’t aware of their game.
– The Morrisville loss was more of lack of my small school knowledge down south.
– Loyalsock beat Berks? I didn’t expect that. I ask the same question Kevin X did with DV.
– Is Bishop Guilfoyle down this year or is BEA actually good? That’s one I was confident with.
– A little surprised with ACC. I underrated them, I guess. I guess it’ll be the 8-2 season for the Kids this year.
– Minersville either looks legit this year or Tri-Valley isn’t as strong as they look to be.
– The rest of my wrong picks were ones I felt could’ve gone either way, or had absolutely zero knowledge of. I’m no savant on District 5 or 9 at all, & even the Ohio teams.
Just like Tony Kornheiser says on PTI, I’ll try to do better next time.
August 27th, 2023 at 8:28 am
What is going on with Berwick? Surely they are a better team then that.
August 27th, 2023 at 8:19 am
@Buddy Hensler I was talking to the mom of one of the North Penn kids, after the game he was talking with 5 LaSalle players who he played with at Penndale Middle School (that’s only one of North Penn’s middle schools), so North Penn is losing a ton of talent to the Catholic Leagues, that said he doesn’t seem to really want to keep them either. He hasn’t been showing up at Middle School, Freshmen, JV games & the kids see that. I personally think he’s given up trying to keep the talent there. North Penn has the smallest OL/DL I’ve seen in years, there doesn’t seem to be cohesion among the staff. I don’t get it. It’s time to change the coaching staff, bring in some aggressive young coaches, who actively are trying to keep the kids at home. Dick Beck is living off his State Championship from years ago and the School Board is allowing it. How far will the mighty fall before they attempt to fix it? Oh, they will get some wins, after all they are the largest school in the SOL, but a school with that many students, should consistently be at the top.
August 27th, 2023 at 4:41 am
@phillyboy
You don’t have to go back 15 years for the NP/LaSalle game to be competitive. 5 years is far enough back. Not sure what’s goin’ on.
Mabe Beck has lost it. Maybe the kids aren’t coming out for football like before. Don’t know. Painful to watch though..
August 27th, 2023 at 2:14 am
@ Kevin X
I follow DV a good deal. I honestly didn’t expect Selinsgrove to pull that off. Harrisburg’s going to crush them. The Cougs are just the better team. Downingtown East has had their number in the last few years, too. Knowing DV, it feels they’ll go undefeated in district play, as that’s usually how it shakes out.
The best way I can describe last night was that they basically had a game like Belle Vernon vs. Neumann-Goretti, but with much more scoring. They had a 4th & goal from the one & couldn’t capture it. I think Selinsgrove was just the better team. I don’t know if they’re good enough to beat the Shore, but that’d be something!
I wish I can give more analysis, but Times-Tribune newspapers are under a paywall & I don’t think Yahoo Sports has they’re free to read article with that game just yet.
District 2 just doesn’t match up well with other teams in the highest classes, it seems.
Also, & this goes to @ Distract 2 LFC, I don’t mind stirring the pot, just a tad.
I’ve always been a separate playoffs believer. I’m so against it that I wrote a paper about it in college, a few years ago. My opinions are about the same as those who feel the same way, so if a few of you already said something about how you feel about it that’s against it, I’d probably echo it.
Also, I wouldn’t say my knowledge is deep, but it’s decent enough. Then again, I follow the other teams more than mine probably because I went to a school that’s been very average in football. We got a district title a few years back, but we play in a gauntlet every year. To be fair, my Prep knowledge is from 2014 & beyond, which was around the same time they started being the somewhat elite team they are.
I have to go back to see how my predictions on all of the teams fared later. I know I made some rough picks & whiffed a bunch. One in particular was frustratingly surprising because of how bad of a blowout it was for the team I gave a loss to.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:38 am
Thanks Kevin X. But I was only trying to get the results from the local scrimmages in the Berks County area that we didn’t get any media coverage for this year. I don’t know why. GO BULLDOGS.
August 26th, 2023 at 11:01 pm
@Phillyboy Rental charges for public high school fields have gone way up–a big reason SJP and LaSalle no longer play at P-W. You could, of course, get into an interesting discussion about whether private school teams (made up of players whose parents pay public school taxes but whose children don’t cost the public school system a penny) should have to pay the full cost (and sometimes more) of using the public school facilities when the public school itself is not using them.
The answer to your question, at least as it applies to SJP and Roman is simple. Unlike Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic and O’Hara, they are by no means in suburban areas where the land needed and the space for parking are available. You could also ask why Temple plays where it does.
August 26th, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Kevin X, dag, they had the audacity to charge $10 at the Roman game. I guess they had to pay rent for the facility, but still that’s high. Wouldn’t have suggested that game had I known. What gets me, on a larger level: how do Roman, LaSalle and SJP not have their own field a la Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Catholic or even Cardinal O’hara? Don’t they have a few billionaire alumnists type o’ thing that could finance it? Btw, 15 years ago I would have said to check out NP/LaSalle. What’s going on at NP, for years they bent without breaking. Seems like they finally broke. That’s a program that’s full on going through the motions.
August 26th, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Kevin X,
I was thinking at heading to Kottmeyer next Friday for the annual Perk Valley/Dtown West battle. Should be a good one per usual.
August 26th, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Very disappointing performance by Wilson against Roman. I expected Roman to win, but I thought it would be closer. Wilson has injury issues, but no excuses, guys have to step up. It’s possible Roman is an elite team this year – we’ll see. I expect Wilson will look much better against Central Dauphin next game.
August 26th, 2023 at 1:31 pm
@Kevin X- I don’t know too much about Delval or District 2, but it does not look great for them the next two weeks. Harrisburg will probably blow them out. Dtown East as well, they were close with Dtown East last year, mainly because East’s Starting QB and Backup QB were injured, so all Dtown East did was run Horvath out of the wildcat. Now East has a healthy QB and a 2-3 RB rotation including a FBS commit Harris and return 4 out of 5 O-Lineman from last year, I do not see how Delval will come out with a victory.
August 26th, 2023 at 1:08 pm
What has happen to Pennridge’s program? I knew they were probably not going to beat Dtown East, but to lose 43-0 (37-0 at half), and only able to have 19 yards of total offense is wild to me.
August 26th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
@kevin….nope! Just said PA because this is a pa football site haha. I’ll be rooting for prep tonight.
August 26th, 2023 at 10:52 am
Also, while its fresh in my mind, and hopefully others as well, any of you guys upstate in District 2 and/or 4 can give me a read and review of the Del Val/Selinsgrove game?? Are the Seals that good?? They going to give Jersey Shore a challenge in 4A D4 this year?? Moreover, what is up with DelVal?? Injuries?? First game out of sync ness?? Was I drinking too much of the preseason Kool-Aid hype surrounding them?? They are looking to get smoked the next two weeks (Harrisburg and DTE). I actually had their game at DTE as my first trip of the year to Kottmeyer in two weeks. Should I be re-thinking that??
August 26th, 2023 at 8:27 am
Mike S, congratulatins on your predictions !!!!! 100 %
August 26th, 2023 at 8:23 am
Mike S. My guess is that the Doylestown paper had done the article prior to Coopers diagnosed injury. He was injured earlier ,but appeared to be ok until an MRI was done. I believe he is scheduled for surgery this week. He is still walking around and looked ok but isnt. He was at the GV game but of course not dressed.
August 26th, 2023 at 8:13 am
@ Wilson4ever
That’s fine, to each his own. You enjoy. There is a handful of scrimmages today you can check out.
@Mike S
The article was probably written weeks ago. Today’s print media is in shambles. An editor, nah.
@Roman Catholic
Seriously?? $10??
@mcd65 & @PB
Picked the wrong game. Maybe I’ll check them (CBW) out next weekend against Upper Dub.
@Distract 2 LFC
You really want to go down that road and stir up that hornets nest??
@D11 Matt
“Good luck to all the teams playing this weekend in PA!” Was that a subtle jab at St. Joe Prep who are playing tonight in Jersey (not PA)?? 🙂
August 26th, 2023 at 2:36 am
Kevin X. No you relax dude!!! I just happen to love scrimmages and they are certainly part of the football season. They can be very interesting if two powerhouse collide. There is nothing wrong with trying to find out scrimmage results if the media drops the ball on reporting results like they normally did in the past. GO BULLDOGS.
August 26th, 2023 at 2:07 am
Kevin X! NO YOU RELAX DUDE!!! Sorry but I just happen to love scrimmages as much as regular season games. Good ones can be very interesting and they are still part of the football season. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that or trying to find out about results in our local area if the media drops the ball and doesn’t report anything. We all love high school football here. right? GO BULLDOGS.
August 25th, 2023 at 10:03 pm
CB West dominated Garnet Valley even if the score doesnt indicate it.They ran at will and Ganze Coopers replacement Cooper Taylor was very good.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:48 pm
Dtown West wins 32-27 over Abe Lincoln. Game was surprisingly close, considering Dtown West got out to a 23-0 lead. Perk Valley vs Dtown West next week will be an interesting matchup.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:44 pm
@ Jeff H.
Thank you! Had to do a little research to find the key western games. I may have under-pointed Imani, but scores don’t entirely matter to me. Hope it’s a great game, though.
@ JCo
I almost considered Pleasant Valley/Becahi as a sneaky good game. It seems to be a much closer to even matchup than the rest of them. I hope one team up north just goes “enough!” & decides to pull off a monumental upset.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:38 pm
@ D2 fan
I appreciate your deep knowledgeable views
on high school football,
What are your views on the old yet logical debate
about public vs private ?
A state representative friend of mine had many conversations with me agreeing there should be definitely a separate schedules for both public and
private.
He said lots of interest has been on this matter
in legislation to change the way the system works because it’s clearly not fair to the public kids who play on teams that use players from a small jurisdiction area of their School District versus a private school that can use kids from Miles and miles away sometimes 2 hours away for instance Scranton prep they never used to be as competitive as they are in the mid-2000s to current status because other coaches in the past never capitalized on the ability to quote on quote recruit players but coach Gallagher and staff have really honed in on the ability to do so in the same sentence I will
say he is a solid talented coach who finds ways to win.
Years back PREP set there sights on the very
talented London montgomery who at the time
played for the North Scranton Jr Vikings as a
youngster….while “coaches went to practices and
games” they also learned of other talent aswell
such as current PREP WR – DB Tae Weeks.
And as much as this is very well publicly known
it’s not completely wrong because as a private school they have every right to do so.
As much as I completely am opposed to this practice atleast the student athletes get a solid
education as long as they are ” actually learning “.
To me it’s completely wrong and unfair to the schools who use the players they have in their school district…I chuckled when you said before
that Scranton Prep is always good…years back
before this new direction of obtaining players Prep
was traditionally a mid grade team at times just bad.
I realise this practice is normal with private schools
But it doesn’t mean it ok to do.
There should be a separate State Championship
Aswell .
Any thoughts on this age old debate ?
August 25th, 2023 at 5:33 pm
@Jim Watt it’s being played at North Penn HS, but technically is a Home game for LaSalle.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:16 pm
@mcd 65 As they say VERY INTERESTING! Why would the hometown Doylestown paper have him playing, & oh you and I’ve corresponded for a while, so I believe you, the questions is but why?
August 25th, 2023 at 5:03 pm
Abe Lincoln (Philadelphia) is giving Dtown West a game. It is 23-20 Dtown West at halftime right now. West was leading 23-0 in the first quarter but according to twitter Abe Lincoln has scored 20 unanswered points.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:36 pm
Mike S. Yes Ganz Cooper is out with an ACL tear.
August 25th, 2023 at 3:54 pm
We made it! Football is back! Great time of the year, with HS and some college starting this weekend and pro starting in two weeks. It’s great having football to watch for next five months. Good luck to all the teams playing this weekend in PA!
August 25th, 2023 at 3:05 pm
Where is LaSalle North Penn game being played this evening? It’s listed as a home game for LaSalle but they don’t have a home field.
August 25th, 2023 at 1:46 pm
HHhhmmm, just read the Doylestown Intelligencer’s “Let’s Talk Football” which is a weekly article about the SOL, National Division primarily. The article is dated yesterday 8/24/23 and states speaking about CB West that, “Plus, they return Ganz Cooper, the only four-year starter at quarterback West has ever had”, so I have to believe the hometown paper would know if their star QB had a torn ACL. Have to believe it’s an incorrect report.
August 25th, 2023 at 12:34 pm
Always find it interesting that the SOL Continental is considered the weak sister of the SOL, when 3 years ago league champ Souderton was District 1 champs, 2 years ago Quakertown lost the District 1 championship game to a pretty Good Garnet Valley, Last year Continental Champs, Upper Dublin, lost in the State AAAAA semifinal game to Imhotep Charter 21-14. It’s been Souderton, Quakertown & Upper Dublin, back & forth for a number of years, and looking forward, as it looks the same, I have Souderton this year, followed by guess who, Quakertown I think is a year away. Upper Dublin losing their Super 7, including Big 33, All State QB is in reload mode. Yet, the National & American Divisions get all the ink.
I saw someone wrote that the CB West QB has a torn ACL, which is hopefully not the case, as he is/would be the 1st 4 yr starter at QB in CB West history and is instrumental in their run at a SOL National & District 1 title. With him I have them upsetting Garnet Valley at home tonight, without him not so much. I suspect it’s going to be a long year for North Penn, oh they will get their wins as the largest school in the SOL & a State Championship Coach in Dick Beck, but they are in rebuild mode. CB East is intriguing, as they have the best OL in the league, with a DIV 1 player coming back and two DIV 1 transfers coming in, & All-State TE they will be a player. Pennsbury is going to be strong. We’ll find out more about Pennsbury tonight as they take on state ranked Coatesville. Quakertown plays at Southern Lehigh, who’s one of the better AAAAA teams in District 11. It’s a New Stadium home opener for Southern Lehigh, so will emotions take them to a home opening win against Quakertown, I suspect this will be a very competitive game.
Well everyone have a Great season.
August 25th, 2023 at 10:44 am
@D2 Fan – nice work identifying the few marque games in the WPIAL tonight, those were the exact same 4 games I was going to mention, I’ll elaborate a little bit on each game
5A Gateway vs. 6A Mt Lebanon – Gateway beat them last year in the season opener 21-6 in a game I attended, Lebo in rebuild mode this year with new coach Mike Collodi, I expect Gateway will win this game by 2 TD’s like they did last year, and Gateway QB Brad Birch will throw for 300+ yards and a few TD’s
5A Woodland Hills vs. 6A PCC – these long time rivals have not met since the move to 6 classes in 2016, their last meeting was in the WPIAL 4A semi-finals in 2015 when WH had Miles Sanders as a senior and were undefeated and ranked #1 in the state (after SJP got upset by LaSalle in the PCL playoffs a few weeks earlier), PCC won that game 24-6 en route to the state title, WH outgained them by a 2-1 margin, but PCC returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a TD, and had a 90 yard pick 6 near the end of the first half to make it 17-0 when a WH TD would have made it 10-7 at half. Both of these teams have new coaches this year after longtime PCC coach Terry Totten retired and Tim Bostard was fired at WH after compiling a 30-35 record in 6 yrs after replacing the legendary George Novak. PCC has the most D1 players of any school in the WPIAL, whether or not they are the best team remains to be seen, all 3 of their starting LB’s are being recruited by Power 5 schools, Anthony Specca has already committed to Penn State, the other 2 have not decided yet. WH has one of the best OL’s in the WPIAL, but they will probably struggle to sustain long drives against PCC’s defense, I’ll be there and would love to see WH pull the upset but I don’t see it happening.
On an interesting side note PCC was originally scheduled to play nationally ranked St. Edwards from Cleveland tonight, but they backed out of that game to play WH instead, they play St. Ignatius from Ohio next week, and appears they didn’t want to risk starting 0-2 with a new coach so they cancelled on St Ed’s to play WH to get a win, certainly some locker room bulletin board material!
4A TJ vs 5A Franklin Regional – as I mentioned a few days ago I think TJ is the biggest threat to Aliquippa in 4A this year, as I expect Central Valley and McKeesport will not be as good as they have been the last few years. Franklin was a surprise winner of their conference last year which includes Gateway and Penn Trafford, but WH dominated them 21-0 in the first round of the playoffs. Good test for both teams, I like TJ but think it will be a fairly close game.
1A Clairton vs. 2A Westinghouse – these 2 schools played in the opener last year with Westinghouse winning 40-8. I think this game will be a good bit closer but Westinghouse still wins
Regarding your Steel High prediction I think that game will be a lot closer and would not be surprised at all if Imani wins. Westinghouse announced their presence last year in week 2 when they travelled to Steel High and dominated them, and I have a feeling Imani announces their presence as a 2A sleeper in this game, if I lived in the area that would definitely be a fun game to attend.
August 25th, 2023 at 8:38 am
@D2 Fan: No, you’re pretty much right regarding the EPC crossovers. The other top teams in the North are mostly stuck playing the elite of the South (ESS vs. Nazareth, Sburg vs. Freedom). If Pleasant Valley continues on their upward trajectory, they might be able to give Becahi a game, but they lost several of their main skill players so I’m not holding my breath.
I have my issues with the future alignment of the EPC, but I am very glad for this to be the final year of the week 1 crossovers.
August 25th, 2023 at 1:22 am
A District 2 fan should also give his thoughts on D2’s best matchups & some of the interesting games across the state.
10 Notable District 2 Related Games This Week
1. Crestwood vs. Valley View: Easily the game of the week up here. I’m curious to see if the D2 4A champs will have the same success this year. Winning against Valley View is a good indicator, as the Cougars are with a new coach & a younger roster, so it may be a bit of growing pains.
2. Old Forge vs. Dunmore: These are two of the best programs in the smallest classes. This has the makings of a great game. I feel Dunmore is going to take it, as Old Forge is a rebuilding team.
3. Lakeland vs. Scranton Prep: Lakeland lost a lot of talent, but this is a great test for them to start the season. Prep is always very good, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a cakewalk for them, either. Game played at Dunmore.
4. Wallenpaupack vs. Honesdale: Neither team is a world beater, but this is a great rivalry in District 2, although one-sided in recent years. It means a lot to me, as an alum of one of the schools. This year’s will be played at Western Wayne. This feels like a coin flip, as Paupack got their lone W last year against them, while Honesdale had a strong .500 regular season last year. I’ll go with recent series history over “what have you done for me lately”. Also, quick shoutout to Coach Mark “Doc” Watson, as it’s announced that this is his last season (18 overall) under the helm for the Buckhorns.
5. Scranton vs. Wilkes-Barre: I always think these two going up against one another is notable. Two big cities going head to head in a newer “rivalry”. I think Scranton takes it, & starts a potential sleeper season off on a high note.
6. Carbondale Area vs. Greater Nanticoke: These two teams could have some quietly decent seasons. I think Nanticoke starts off potentially one of their best seasons in a while with a stepping stone win.
7. West Scranton vs. Riverside: It was going to be between this & Abington Heights/Dallas. I went with this because of the old rivalry. I know Riverside is the better team, but this is a trap game, too.
8. Southern Columbia vs. Berwick: I expect to see Southern blow the doors off of the Bulldogs, but I’m putting it here because it’s two of the best programs in PA history.
9. Morrisville vs. New Hope-Solebury: Why do I have a District 1 game here? Because of the Class A subregional. This has major implications, as whoever Trail or Old Forge play could be dependent on who wins this week. Sure, an entire season has to be played, & New Hope is 2A, but this may be the game that gives Morrisville the edge. I’ll try to find a game each week with the most importance in the subregion.
10. Central Catholic vs. Northampton: I’ll do the same thing with District 2/4/11 6A. In a week where everyone in the EPC South is stuck playing an equivalent of a cupcake game in the SEC, this is the headliner. It’s no secret Northampton’s always the best of the North, so I think they’ll take a hard fought win against the 4A Western Semifinalists from last year. Pocono natives, correct me if there’s another eye-popping game in the EPC that may be close.
Score Predictions
– Crestwood 28, Valley View 24
– Dunmore 27, Old Forge 13
– Scranton Prep 35, Lakeland 13
– Wallenpaupack 16, Honesdale 10
– Scranton 28, Wilkes-Barre 20
– Nanticoke 27, Carbondale 16
– Riverside 28, West Scranton 16
– Southern Columbia 38, Berwick 14
– Morrisville 26, New Hope-Solebury 7
– Northampton 28, Central Catholic 21
Best Of The Rest
District 2/4
– Abington Heights vs. Dallas
– Danville vs. Bloomsburg
– Lewisburg vs. Shamokin
District 11
– Bangor vs. Palisades
– Minersville vs. Tri-Valley
– Palmerton vs. Lehighton
District 1
– Garnet Valley vs. CB West
– Pennridge vs. Downingtown East
– Perkiomen Valley vs. Chester
District 3
– Central York vs. Central Dauphin
– Cocalico vs. Warwick
– Kennard-Dale vs. Wyomissing
District 5/6
– Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Bald Eagle Area
– Northern Bedford vs. Southern Huntingdon
WPIAL & District 8
– Gateway vs. Mt. Lebanon
– PCC vs. Woodland Hills
– Thomas Jefferson vs. Franklin Regional
– Westinghouse vs. Clairton
District 9/10
– Central Clarion vs. Brookville
– General McLane vs. Slippery Rock
District 12
– Archbishop Wood vs. Archbishop Ryan
– West Catholic vs. Northeast
Notable Inter-District
– IMG Academy @ SJP (12) (in Ocean City NJ)
– Central Valley (7) vs. Fitch (OH)
– Pine-Richland (7) vs. Pickerington North (OH)
– Archbishop Hoban (OH) vs. Cathedral Prep (10)
– Neumann-Goretti (12) vs. Cincinnati Elder (OH)
– Life Christian (VA) vs. Imhotep (12) (in York)
– Bonner-Prendie (12) vs. NFL UK (in Dublin)
– Imani (7) vs. Steel-High (3) (in York)
– Wilson (3) vs. Roman Catholic (12)
– La Salle (12) vs. North Penn (1)
– North Schuylkill (11) vs. Mount Carmel (4)
– Juniata (6) vs. Troy (4)
– Pope John Paul (1) vs. Chambersburg (3)
– Berks Catholic (3) vs. Loyalsock (4)
– Upper Dauphin (3) vs. Williams Valley (11)
– Williamsport (4) vs. State College (6)
– Delaware Valley (2) vs. Selinsgrove (4)
– Avonworth (7) vs. Grove City (10)
Score Predictions
– Dallas 35, Abington Heights 17
– Danville 35, Bloomsburg 10
– Shamokin 20, Lewisburg 16
– Palisades 33, Bangor 19
– Tri-Valley 27, Minersville 10
– Palmerton 49, Lehighton 20
– Garnet Valley 42, CB West 21
– D’town East 31, Pennridge 16
– Perk Valley 21, Chester 17
– Wood 27, Ryan 19
– West Catholic 45, Northeast 13
– Central York 34, Central Dauphin 23
– Cocalico 23, Warwick 14
– Wyomissing 42, Kennard-Dale 14
– BG 42, BEA 13
– Northern Bedford 34, SoHuntCo 15
– Gateway 27, Mt. Lebanon 21
– PCC 45, Woodland Hills 20
– TJ 42, Franklin Reg. 23
– Westinghouse 28, Clairton 20
– Central Clarion 31, Brookville 14
– Slippery Rock 28, McLane 27
– IMG 42, SJP 16
– Fitch 28, Central Valley 27
– Pine-Richland 42, Pickerington North 28
– Cathedral Prep 49, Hoban 21
– Neumann-Goretti 35, Elder 20
– Life Christian 23, Imhotep 19
– NFL UK 35, Bonner-Prendie 7 (I literally don’t know what NFL UK is or how good they are)
– Steel-High 38, Imani 21
– La Salle 21, North Penn 16
– Roman Catholic 24, Wilson WL 14
– MCA 34, North Schuylkill 16
– State College 31, Williamsport 9
– Delaware Valley 38, Selinsgrove 6
– Troy 31, Juniata 13
– PJP 28, Chambersburg 8
– Berks Catholic 35, Loyalsock 13
– Williams Valley 27, Upper Dauphin 9
– Avonworth 22, Grove City 19
If I miss any notables, please let me know. I’ll see what this weather nerd can predict. Also, I won’t have that many every week. It’s Week 0/1. You’re due for a lot of inter-district games.
August 25th, 2023 at 12:58 am
@ Distract 2 LFC
Thank you! I’m looking forward to that Dunmore/MCA game, hoping for a great game, but I feel the same way. Those Coal region teams are always on another level. And I feel like the idea should be sent into District 2 on competitive balance. It just feels inevitable to me that a merger could happen. I’ve been thinking about that idea since at least 2019.
August 24th, 2023 at 8:47 pm
Jeff H. – lots of solid info on a lot of teams – good work. Only quibble is your prediction about Doug Dahms’ eventual successor at Wilson. Much more likely to be Chad Henne, not George Eager – although I would admit Eager is a pretty good HC
August 24th, 2023 at 8:22 pm
@D2
Bravo
Except don’t get to pumped for the Bucks
Mount Carmel will serve Dunmore a second
serving of bitter humble pie like last year FACT !
Honest “projection”
Mount Carmel 33
Dunmore 7
August 24th, 2023 at 4:59 pm
@D3 Commish – Apparently Wyomissing has not had the requisite 3 transfers to be forced to move up in addition to their success on the field, they also have not won a state title since 2012 so I don’t begrudge them for not moving up in class, especially with McDevitt in 4A. I will also point out that Aliquippa did not voluntarily move to 4A, and fought the PIAA on that decision, they also fought and won their appeal when the PIAA tried to force them up to 5A 2yrs ago for this cycle. They have voluntarily played up a class or two for decades, but to be fair they did protest the move up to 4A prior to the 2020 season, although it hasn’t hurt them on the field, in 3yrs in 4A they lost an OT classic to TJ in the WPIAL title game, and have a state title and runner-up in the last 2 years.
August 24th, 2023 at 3:17 pm
District 3 Preview
Mifflin –
They have some OL/DL guys returning but if the report is true that Mykel Ford transferred to Roman that will be a big loss, as he was their best player. They will be slightly improved from last year but still not a great team.
I believe Mifflin moving to the LL Section 2 will prove to be a great challenge for them for this reason – Historically their pass defense has been horrible and has cost them several District titles and probably a state title. For example, in 2017 D3 5A final against MC they could not stop Evan Simon, and again in 2020 against Pine Richland with two separate 20 point leads they could not stop simple go routes. The latest was 2021 D3 5A final against Exeter, even with 50 mph winds. My point is MC, Exeter & Warwick all try to throw the ball and until GM improves their pass defense they will struggle. Their offense runs a Wing-T so they rarely practice against a good passing game.
Manheim Township –
Intriguing team here. Evans has been circling this senior class for three years now and he finally gets his chance. They have a lot back on both sides of the ball, starting with Hayden Johnson at QB and Landon Kennel at WR. They are both low level D1 players and are the most advanced pass-catch combination in the state. Although not overly athletic, if I needed a 3rd and 6 this duo would be my first option. They also have an almost unstoppable fade route utilizing Kennel’s 6’3” frame. Johnson is one of the most accurate QB’s I have ever seen.
After this, they have some other tall WR’s and a hard-nosed RB in Clancy, but their team speed is average at best. Not sure if Nick Good will be available at RB as he is coming off a knee injury last year.
Defense also has a lot of guys back with some height but also not super athletic.
The biggest question mark is the inexperience on the OL and DL as well as overall talent on both lines. Julian Larue, a McCaskey transfer last year is the most physical of the bunch.
Lastly, Coach Evans has been there for 12 years now and most of his teams have a strong QB but fade down the stretch. They made it to the D3 final last year but that was mostly due to the teams they played, as they avoided Wilson and Central York and Harrisburg until the final. He does have one D3 title in 2017.
Exeter
They lost a ton from last year (the most accomplished class in school history in all sports) so a repeat of the two previous years is a long shot. Zandier is a tall athletic TE heading to Coastal Carolina, and they have some other nice pieces but they will not beat MC this year. Most likely will finish 2nd in LL Section 2 and win a couple games in Districts.
Their coach, Matt Bauer, is phenomenal and should be coaching in college somewhere.
Wyomissing-
What a run this school has been on for several years and they are loaded again this year. They have another Power 5 lineman in Caleb Brewer who is heading to Penn State and a bunch of other great athletes, including a freshman RB named Justice Hardy, who will be a Power 5 recruit in no time.
How does a 3A school that graduates 150 kids a year have two Power 5 lineman in consecutive years? As well as about ten other lower level D1 players? This is the same school that complained loudly when Berks Catholic was kicking their butt, and went so far as refusing to play them again, but now that they have created a pipeline of D1 talent everything is OK.
Also, how are they still 3A after their recent success? Have some courage and move up….. or are they now afraid of Bishop McDevitt in 4A? Aliquippa has moved from 1A to 4A but SC and Wyomissing still have not moved up in class. What are they afraid of?
Wilson –
Wilson has a lot of experience returning on the offense and specifically the OL. They have a nice WR / TE group and QB. They need to establish a RB after graduating the amazing Cam Jones.
Defense will be a work in progress, but that school always finds a way to make that happen.
They will battle with MT for LL Section 1 and overall, I have them slated 2nd in D3 6A behind Harrisburg.
Side note – I’m told they have a super athletic Freshmen class led by TE-DE Michael Glover, who will play as a Freshman.
Hempfield-
Last year was one of their best teams in school history as they won LL Section 1 and beat Wilson for the first time in 17 years and MT for the 2nd straight year. They lost a lot to graduation but do have Deyvid Palepale a stud OL/DL heading to USC and QB Jackson Landis returning.
I see them giving MT & Wilson tough games but falling a bit short of repeating as section champs.
Side note – Their head coach George Eager is a great young coach and will have lots of options if he chooses to pursue them. Future prediction – He will replace Coach Dahms at Wilson when he retires.
Manheim Central-
They have a bunch returning at skill positions including Hahn at QB, Enterline at WR and Armold at RB. Need to rebuild the lines but Hahn is very good at that. Most years, with this talent returning they would be the favorite to win D3 4A but not with McDevitt in the same classification.
To my knowledge MC has never won a D3 title when in the same classification as McDevitt. Can anyone confirm that?
Last little nugget – Stone Saunders, the Jr QB at McDevitt heading to Kentucky, is from Manheim but did not trust that he would get a fair shake at MC with Hahn’s kid at QB, so he transferred to McDevitt.
Cumberland Valley –
Solid team returning but they did lose a strong Sr class. The first game against MT will tell a lot but in two games last year they could not stop MT passing game. They did split the games but were severely outgained.
Harrisburg-
They are the class of D3 6A again. They lost a bunch but have a bunch back. Sean Lee at QB, Elias Coke D1 So. WR heading to PSU, and Kevin Brown So. OL with D1 offers. Coach Cal has turned this program around.
Have a great shot to return to the state final where they get to lose to the scam artists known as St Joe Prep.
Central Dauphin-
Aiming for a bounce back year after a 3-7 year. Expect a solid year but I don’t know enough about their team. Great program and coach.
Central York –
Another solid team with some returning, but not enough to challenge MT, Wilson or especially Harrisburg.
D3 6A Prediction:
Harrisburg
Wilson
MT
CY
D3 5A Prediction:
Up for grabs – from a talent perspective they slot under 3A this year.
D3 4A Prediction:
McDevitt
MC
No one else is close.
D3 3A Prediction
Wyomissing
No one else is close
August 24th, 2023 at 2:39 pm
I feel for these kids who lose eligibility hearings because of adults. Archbishop Ryan transfer QB lost his hearing to play for the Raiders. It was found that coaches on Archbishop Ryan staff were illegally recruiting him away from his previous school. It is terrible when kids get caught in the crosshairs of adults who refuse to play by the rules and practice integrity like they preach. This is not the first time this has happened and I am sure it won’t be the last. Now the young man pays the price because of adults misleading him.
August 24th, 2023 at 12:24 pm
@Kevin X – yep, the SJP vs. IMG game is the third of a quadruple header on ESPN/ESPN2 at 7pm, 7 of the 8 teams playing are ranked in the top 15 nationally, the 4pm game is St Thomas Aquinas vs. St John Bosco from CA who was ranked #1 at the end of last season, and the nightcap at 10pm has #1 Mater Dei against Carlsbad, CA, who is unranked but QB is going to Alabama, definitely an amazing HS lineup on Saturday on TV and will try and catch some of those games I watched some of the HS game on ESPN last Friday between GA powerhouses Carrollton and Langston Hughes, lots of scoring and Langston held on to win 39-34 by stopping Carrollton 3 times inside the 5 yard line in the last 15 seconds, the Langston QB is going to Ohio State, and the Carrollton QB is the top ranked prospect in the class of 2026 and just a few days ago committed to USC, I can’t believe Kirby Smart let him get away.
August 24th, 2023 at 12:24 pm
My District 1 6A Top Ten-
1. Downingtown West- Return 5+ D1 Seniors on offense. A little concerned about the defense though.
2. CB West- Big losses include Cherbubini and Boehm on offense. Also heard their QB tore his ACL. Still return a lot on both sides of the ball, and should be the main contenders in SOL National
3. Coatesville- Main loss is QB Harrison Susi. Also lost some on the O-Line. But still return two D1 WR/DBs, and return a good portion of the defense including all state DT Hall. Ortega always puts out a contender. Has been one of District 1’s most consistent programs.
4. Garnet Valley- Always has a great program regardless of graduation losses. Probably District 1’s most consistent program.
5. Downingtown East- Main loss on offense is Horvath. Also lose a few multi year starters on defense. But still return a solid core on both sides of the ball, including 4 of 5 starters on the O Line and just got a FBS Transfer Running back in Harris. Has been one of District 1’s most consistent programs.
6.Perk Valley- Lose a lot to graduation, but return a QB and few others on both sides of the ball. Should be the one of the frontrunners for the PAC title.
7.Spring Ford- Return D1 QB in Zollers, also return a solid core on defense. Should contend for conference and could make a deep playoff run.
8.CB East- Lose a lot on offense in QB Keller, RB/LB Shine, OL Powers. But return some studs as well, including D1 and all state TE/LB Donnelly. Also heard they got two D1 transfers on the O-Line as well
9.Pennsbury- Lose their main back in Mulbah, and lose a good portion of their front, but Snyder is a great coach and should field a competitive team this season.
10. Cheltenham- Return a lot on both sides. Were talented last year, but did not seem to be able to put it together. Have a D1 running back in Mcleod as well, definitely not a team who should be taken lightly.
August 24th, 2023 at 10:48 am
I think I should give my District 2 projections for this year. I may do my thoughts on the favorites in the other districts later, but I’ll leave thoughts here. I don’t deep dive into teams as much as others here do, so I go off of my gut feelings, returning depth, & past success over analysis.
Lackawanna 1
– Favorite: Delaware Valley
– Sleeper: Scranton (They had a pretty solid year last year, so a few upsets could get the job done)
Lackawanna 2
– Favorite: Dunmore
– Sleeper: Western Wayne (Whoever wins the division will be dependent on head-to-head & common opponents not in Division 2, so a stumble by Dunmore could benefit WW)
Lackawanna 3
– Favorite: Lackawanna Trail
– Sleeper: Riverside (They brought a good amount back this year, & could be the favorite. I’ll just go off of recent success & make them a sleeper)
Wyoming Valley 1
– Favorite: Dallas
– Sleeper: Berwick (While not the Berwick of old, they’re still a good team).
Wyoming Valley 2
– Favorite: Wyoming Area
– Sleeper: Nanticoke (Yes, this may be their best chance to win a division title in quite some time)
Playoff Teams
– 6A (2/4/11): Williamsport & Wilkes-Barre, joining D11’s Parkland, Emmaus, Freedom, Nazareth, Northampton, & Easton
– 5A: Delaware Valley, Pittston, Scranton, & Abington Heights
– 4A: Dallas, Crestwood, Berwick, Nanticoke, Valley View, Honesdale, Wyoming Area, & North Pocono
– 3A: Scranton Prep, Western Wayne, Lake-Lehman, & Carbondale
– 2A: Dunmore, Lakeland, Riverside, & Mid Valley
– 1A: Lackawanna Trail & Old Forge (Default)
– Best Chance for Eastern Conference Qualifiers: West Scranton (4A) & Montrose (3A), & Mid Valley (2A)
Predicted District Champs
– 6A: Parkland (Best 2/4 Team: Williamsport)
– 5A: Delaware Valley (Sleeper: Scranton)
– 4A: Dallas (Sleeper: Crestwood)
– 3A: Scranton Prep (Sleeper: Western Wayne)
– 2A: Dunmore (Sleeper: Riverside)
– 1A: Lackawanna Trail
Who do I think has the best chance to go the farthest, before the season, of the teams I mentioned?
1. Dallas (or the eventual 4A Champ) would be my guess, as long as they can get past the District 12 winner. They’ve done it before, so it wouldn’t shock me. It may highest because they could be the last team standing, once the Elite 8 gets going.
2. Dunmore’s (or the 2A champs) probably second on this list. It’s the team that could make it to the Eastern final, but I have them below Dallas because if Executive returns, it could be a repeat of last year. They could easily be #1, with a date against Southern Columbia (maybe a Mount Carmel), if not for that.
3. Scranton Prep would be my 3rd choice. It depends on who they face, & if District 12 is a road block.
4. I’d say Lackawanna Trail would be 4th. It depends on who they get. District 3, 4, & 11 have a few great teams every year.
5. Delaware Valley, for similar reasons to the below. If they got past Whitehall last year, I’d have them much higher.
6. For obvious reasons, 6A would need pure insanity to see a district champion from the northeast this year. The EPC is miles better than the WVC.
August 24th, 2023 at 9:29 am
@D2 fan
I like your way of thinking, you should submit
your ideas to the P.I.A.A
August 24th, 2023 at 2:09 am
My predictions for friday night
lots of upsets .
( DISTRICT 12 )
ARCHBISHOP RYAN. 22
ARCHBISHOP WOOD. 21
LIFE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (VA) 14
IMHOTEP CHARTER. 12
WEST CATHOLIC 28
NORTHEAST. 23
NEUMANN- GORETTI. . 35
CINCINNATI ELDER (OH) 7
( DISTRICT 3 )
KENNARD DALE. 21
WYOMISSING AREA. 20
IMANI CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 31
STEELTON HIGHSPIRE. 24
( DISTRICT 4 )
BERWICK. 17
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA. 14
NORTH SCHUYLKILL. 28
MOUNT CARMEL AREA. 17
LOL
some of these will make you say
WHAT ?
Just remember ladies and gentlemen
It’s not always who has the most talent
……it’s who wants it more DRIVE IS EVERYTHING
August 24th, 2023 at 2:05 am
@ Mike S
How did I miss the 5A fun fact? That’s quite impressive & shows just how stacked that class is year in & year out.
I definitely forgot about Mars. I’ll have to keep an eye on them. Kasperowicz is one of the best coaches out west. It definitely will be a difficult test for them once they get to the playoffs. I’m sure Coach K accepts the challenge. If he can come up with a game plan to beat SJP, then I think he has an opportunity to do the same with the 4A powerhouses. It’s a possibly much taller task just because of how good those three teams are in 4A.
August 24th, 2023 at 1:57 am
Some District 2 news you may have missed.
Williamsport is bolting from the Wyoming Valley Conference after this year, to join the Heartland. They hope to keep their relationship with the WVC in Non-Conference in the future, especially with the 5A/6A teams & Berwick.
With the Williamsport move, I feel that means we’re getting one step closer to a football league merger. The best way is to make five divisions. If I were running the show up here, I want to avoid having an odd number of teams in a league. I’d make a call to East Stroudsburg North to join at least the Lackawanna League from a competitive standpoint. Southern Lehigh takes their spot in the EPC & Executive joins Colonial-Schuylkill.
The large schools can go by region & small schools would go by competitive balance.
Large School (5 Divisional, 2 Crossovers, & 3 Open Dates (At least one game out of district)
– Blue: Abington Heights, Delaware Valley, Honesdale, North Pocono, Valley View, & Wallenpaupack
– Red: Pittston Area, Scranton, Scranton Prep, Tunkhannock, West Scranton, & Wyoming Area
– White: Berwick, Crestwood, Dallas, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, & WVW
Small School (7 Divisional Games & Up To 2 Crossover Division Games & an Open Date against non-district OR large school league team)
– Black: Carbondale, Dunmore, Lackawanna Trail, Lake-Lehman, Lakeland, Old Forge, Riverside, & Western Wayne
– Gold: ES North, GNA, Hanover Area, Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, Mid Valley, Montrose, & Susquehanna
August 23rd, 2023 at 6:41 pm
The IMG/SJP game will be on ESPN2.
August 23rd, 2023 at 4:03 pm
@D2 Fan – I agree it was very exciting to finally see a Pittsburgh City League team do well and make it to Hershey (or I should say Cumberland Valley!), it’s been 3 decades since any team in the City League was relevant on a state wide basis, back to the days of Rod Rutherford and Perry Traditional Academy. Westinghouse does have some talent returning but they were a senior heavy team last year, so it’s pretty unlikely they make a run again this year.
Another note on 5A, no WPIAL team has repeated since the move to 6 classes in 2016, the WPIAL 5a champs in order were West Alleghany, Gateway, Penn Hills, Gateway, Pine Richland, Penn Trafford, and of course Pine Richland last year, so the question is can PR buck the trend and be the first team to repeat in 5A. I personally don’t think they will, Ryan Palmieri was dominant for them last year so they have a huge hole to fill at QB, to say nothing of replacing him on defense. Whoever wins WPIAL 5A will be an underdog to Erie Prep in the state playoffs, I hate to say this but I think we could very well see an ECP vs. Imhotep state final in 5A, particularly now that Tyseer Denmark is no longer at Roman.
Another team to keep an eye on in 4A is Mars, they are in year 2 of the Eric Kasperowicz regime, and in his second year at PR in 2014 they went 15-1 and lost 49-41 to SJP in a very good state final. I expect Mars will have a very good regular season and maybe only lose a game or two, but they do play in a pretty weak conference and are not playing anyone close to the caliber of Aliquippa, TJ, or McKeesport during the regular season, so they will have a huge step up in competition come the playoffs.
In 3A I don’t see anyone in the West beating Belle Vernon assuming they stay healthy, I think there’s a good chance we see a rematch in the 3A state final between BV and Nuemann Goretti.
August 23rd, 2023 at 3:46 pm
@mcd 65 I think you picked a good game, call me nuts, but just got a feeling the CB West will find a way to beat Garnet Valley at home. North Penn will get beat easily by LaSalle, Pennridge will get beat by Downingtown West. Quakertown if it was home game….., & not at Southern Lehigh, who’s opening a new stadium, but Southern Lehigh is going to be one of the top 2 or 3 AAAAA teams in District 11, plus the home opener, hhhhmmm emotions of new stadium win out, Southern Lehigh by a nose. Father Judge vs CB South could also be an interesting game, Philly Catholic League teams are generally very good, CB South is supposed to be good, equals good game. Have an enjoyable year
August 23rd, 2023 at 3:40 pm
@ Jim Watt – I never said Wood didn’t deserve to win, but when you lose a 4 star recruit that went to LSU and had offers from every Power 5 team in the country and was a force on both sides of the ball I don’t think you can say that didn’t have an impact on the game, who knows, maybe Wood would have won anyhow had he been healthy, but I saw him totally dominate games in person on several occasions and I think Gateway more than likely wins that game with a healthy Derrick Davis.
August 23rd, 2023 at 3:28 pm
SOL One Continental Well looks to be Souderton’s year, a number of skill people and Linemen, coming off a 9-3 District 1 playoff year. Wish I had heard how they did in the scrimmage with Parkland as that may have answered some questions, but they are my pick. Quakertown and Upper Dublin are my next two, Upper Dublin, lost their Super Seven including their Big 33, All State QB, so even though they generally reload, & as AAAAA State Semi-Finalist I think they end up 3rd. Quakertown is the tough team to figure, they could be 1st or 4th, 6-6 made the Dist 1 playoffs, but they only had 2 returning starters last yr. and they played 7 playoff teams, yes finished 1-6 in those games, but 4 of the 6 they lost big, that said, they have a good QB, good skill people, and they played a lot of young people. So do they take the next step? It will be up to the line play, I think yes, so have them slotted at #2, Council Rock South, has a bunch coming back, took a step forward last year, & honestly I am expecting them to surprise someone this year, could they move into contention, not out of the realm of possibility, 5th Harry S Truman, 6th Council Rock North 7th Bensalem & Hatboro Horsham 8th.
In the National, I like CB West, next group is CB South, Pennsbury & North Penn. North Penn is the enigma, last year they returned most of their Offense, had a Georgia recruit WR/DB & still ended up 6 & 6, so this year they are in rebuild/reload mode, so do they surprise in the other direction and do better than everyone thinks? Another one of those I could answer better if I had heard how they did against Wyomissing scrimmage, but less comments than previous years.
August 23rd, 2023 at 3:20 pm
I will be heading to the CB West/ Garnet Valley game. Roman losing denmark is huge !!!!! @ Philly Boy ,The Ocean City stadium only holds about 2800 or there abouts so if your going get there in the afternoon LOL. IMG is really loaded as usual as is the Prep.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:06 am
Kevin X, I’d go with WWL vs. Roman. You got an intriguing matchup of a quality 6A pulic from a different region against a PCL stalwart. Just a cushy saunter across the northern suburbs on a late August, Friday night — that’s the ticket. What I’m wondering about is the SJP game this Saturday night at Ocean Cit, NJ against IMG Academy. Talk about a monster opener — shut up! Does anybody know if you can just show up and buy a ticket and what the parking situation entails? Thanks.
August 23rd, 2023 at 7:28 am
Mmmmm, that takes a little luster off the Roman/WWL game for me. But even with that said, I have 3 games on my radar for Friday night. Help me choose….
Wilson West Lawn/Roman Catholic @ Upper Dublin
Garnet Valley @ CB West
North Penn/LaSalle @ Crawford
@ Wilson4ever
Dude, relax. Scrimmages are in the rear view mirror. Move on. The stuff that actually matters begins in a few days.
August 23rd, 2023 at 4:10 am
If any fans in the Reading-Berks County area attended and scrimmages in our area last week please report and post something about the results and your opinions on what you thought about the overall scrimmage you saw. There wasn’t enough information reported by the media in our area last week. Thank You.
August 23rd, 2023 at 3:49 am
We need Reading-Berks County schools and fans to respond with some posts on some of the scrimmage results from last Saturday 8/19/23 if you attended them. We have great teams in our area and all our fans deserve to know the results if you were there or heard anything before we begin the 2023 football season. There were some greatly anticipated match ups and the football fans in the Reading-Berks area would love knowing how of our schools made out in these scrimmages, Please report any scrimmage information you may have. Thank You.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:37 am
Here are my much anticipated predictions for week #1
for district 2 football, you all have been patiently waiting for LOL
WEEK 1 FRIDAY
RIVERSIDE 34
WEST SCRANTON 17
ABINGTON HEIGHTS 22
DALLAS 14
DELAWARE VALLEY 44
SELINSGROVE 21
DUNMORE 48
OLD FORGE 7
WALLENPAUPACK 12
HONESDALE 10
LACKAWANNA TRAIL 52
MID VALLEY 12
CRESTWOOD 24
VALLEY VIEW 8
WESTERN WAYNE 48
LAKE LEHMAN 7
CARBONDALE AREA 27
NANTICOKE 12
NORTH POCONO 14
WYOMING VALLEY WEST 12
SCRANTON 32
WILKES BARRE AREA 20
SATURDAY
HANOVER AREA 21
HOLY CROSS 17
SUSQUEHANNA 14
HOLY REDEEMER 0
LAKELAND 17**
SCRANTON PREP 14
**(UPSET OF THE WEEK)
with a tip of my hat……………
…………………….that’s all folks
August 22nd, 2023 at 11:51 pm
Can anyone in the Reading-Berks County area report on some of the scrimmages they may have seen in our area especially many of the ones that were hyped up? We have been getting results from a lot of schools in our area and their fans for years. We’ve also had an abundance of great teams and great reporting for years. Why the silence this year? It sure would be fun to hear about how our Berks teams are doing going into the 2023 season if anyone went to some interesting scrimmages they could report on.
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:49 pm
Can anyone in the Reading-Berks County area report on any big important scrimmages they saw? Hardly anything was posted about our area this year and we would like to hear about how more of the other schools in our area did including some scrimmages that were supposed to be hyped up. Thank you.
August 22nd, 2023 at 5:26 pm
Kevin,Yes he did.
August 22nd, 2023 at 1:36 pm
Did Tyseer Denmark transfer from Roman to Imhotep??
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:17 am
@ Jeff H
Thanks for the insight!
3A seems like it isn’t as competitive, due to the great teams that moved up to 4A. I’ll be curious to see if they can repeat.
I love following the 1A teams come postseason time, so the Union Area team was such a cool story to follow. I always forget about Rochester being one of the better teams in class. Bishop Canevin seems to be a solid team year in & year out. I’m always used to Jeannette & Clairton as the best teams, so maybe we’ll see either or them make a run again. I’ll definitely keep an eye on Imani, especially with some Division 1 talent in the horizon.
I didn’t realize that was a senior heavy team at Westinghouse, last year. I’m hoping the winning tradition continues. Seeing a city league team from Pittsburgh make a run was fun. I’d love to see them try to make another run, but I’m with you, Steel Valley (or WPIAL champ) vs. Farrell may be the more likely outcome once we reach Thanksgiving.
Interesting to see some of the teams in 5A that you mentioned. I completely forgot about Penn Hills. They’ve been super consistent, over the last 5-6 years. Gateway’s always a scary team out west, so I’ll be excited to see how it shakes out.
I’ve learned in 4A, over the years, that you never can count out Thomas Jefferson. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them take the district crown to stop the dominance of Aliquippa.
August 22nd, 2023 at 10:16 am
Regarding Wood versus Gateway, if you lost a game because of one player you didn’t deserve to win
August 21st, 2023 at 1:04 pm
@Kevin X – not to take anything away from Wood and their 2019 championship but the stars were definitely in alignment for them that year, if 4 star recruit Derrick Davis doesn’t sustain a severely sprained ankle in the WPIAL championship game against Peters Township the week before I’m not sure they would have beaten Gateway in the semi-finals with a healthy Davis, he was a significant force on both sides of the ball.
@ D2 Fan – if you want a true sleeper in the lower classes in the WPIAL keep an eye on Imani Christian, they have 2 kids that are high level D1 recruits and have offers from Pitt, Penn State, WVU and several other schools, the linebacker is a junior and the RB only a sophomore, they return a lot of starters and still may be a year away, but they have a lot of talent for a 2A school. They play defending 1A champ Steelton Highspire in the York showcase this weekend so that will be a good barometer for them.
August 21st, 2023 at 10:39 am
@ McD 65
I saw that Wood picked up a game on 9/23 vs the High School of the Future, 4A school out of the PPL. Home game at Tennant Sat. afternoon. Per Wood’s web site, they still have an open date for the weekend of 9/15-16 (and week 10). I see on this site a posting from Olney High School (I assume they are the same as Olney Charter) that they are looking for a game that same 9/15-16 weekend. They had a game with Germantown Academy scheduled for that weekend, and now off (or was that game recently scheduled??). Per the GA website, no GA football games are scheduled for that weekend. Anyways…..maybe GA or Olney, if either are willing and able, can schedule Wood 9/15-16??
I saw Wood in a scrimmage a few years ago vs. Imhotep. They did not look good. From there that year, they went on to win the 5A PIAA Championship against Cheltenham.
August 21st, 2023 at 10:23 am
@D2 Fan – I live in the Woodland Hills district and have followed WPIAL football closely for the last 50 years, so I’ll give my input on answers to your questions and then WPIALGuy can add his thoughts, I’ll answer the last 2 first because they are more straightforward
Belle Vernon has most of their kids back including of course Quinten Martin so it would be a shocker if they don’t roll to the WPIAL 3A title, they may lose a game or two like they did last year to a 4A or 5A school before conference play starts, but they are head and shoulders better than all the other 3A teams in the WPIAL. Union will be very good too but 1A has a lot more depth than 3A, Rochester is going to be good, and so is Bishop Canevin, they might be the favorite, there are several other solid teams as well
Westinghouse graduated a lot, so they will take a step back this year, I think Steel Valley is the team to beat in the WPIAL in 2A, and that’s the team Westinghouse beat last year in the Western Finals, if the House gets that far and I don’t think they will I would take Steel Valley in that hypothetical rematch, this year I think it will be Farrell against the WPIAL winner in Western 2A final
As far as other teams in the WPIAL in 6A it’s PCC and North Alleghany and a huge drop off from there, Penn Hills is the favorite in 5A, they have the best QB in the WPIAL in 4yr starter Julian Dugger, and a lot of other skill and speed, Woodland Hills will be good, those 2 and PR are in the same conference which is going to be a war because only the top 2 are guaranteed a playoff spot, although 3rd place is eligible for 1 of the 2 wild cards available. Gateway is also very good and 2 starters from WH transferred to Gateway this summer, and those arch rivals play in week 2 in a nonconference game, so that will be interesting, those 4 teams are the best in 5A, but Penn Trafford or Franklin Regional could make some noise, both USC and Bethel graduated a lot so expect them to not be as good this year.
In 4A I think TJ will be the biggest challenger to Aliquippa in 4A this year, I don’t think McKeesport will be as good as the last few year as the graduated their top RB and several other starters.
As previously mentioned 3A is all Belle Vernon, 2A is Steel Valley, Beaver Falls should be good, would expect one of those 2 to win 2A, and several good teams in 1A, I would say Bishop Canevin is the preseason favorite
August 21st, 2023 at 1:57 am
Lol,
It feels like it’s 1978 and my
CB radio mic has been disconnected
But my speaker is working fine
Hahaha ,
you guys are a tough lane
to merge into even with my imaginary blinker on .
It’s all good fellas have fun
Best of luck to all of your teams
August 20th, 2023 at 1:13 pm
WILSON-COATSVILLE SCRIMMAGE. What Scott Hagy said in his post was pretty accurate from what he saw from his limited time he was there. I am going to make some very minor changes from what I tried hard to recall overall. I always try to be as objective and accurate as possible but that can be very hard sometimes in scrimmages because the coaches try manipulate things to get a better look at things for their teams even if it doesn’t end up looking positive sometimes and possibly leading to a score against their own team. (Non game conditions 1 TD for Coatsville and 0 TDs for Wilson) & (Game conditions 1 TD each for both teams). I hope this is more accurate but it is hard to be 100% accurate when watching scrimmages. Good luck to both of these teams for healthy and successful seasons and great scrimmage by both of these proud programs. GO DAWGS.
August 20th, 2023 at 10:26 am
@ WPIAL Guy, I have three questions, & if someone beat me to any of them, then similar minds must think alike.
1. Who are some sleeper teams to keep an eye on in the WPIAL? I know Quips, Central Valley, Central Catholic, & Pine-Richland are going to be themselves (& quite a few I’m missing), but I’m curious to see who are some teams that may dethrone them. I know I only have the 4-6A teams, but the same question applies for 1-3A.
2. Will Union Area & Belle Vernon be as good as they were last year?
3. Although not a WPIAL team, what are your thoughts on Westinghouse? Will they be a force again this year, or did they lose any talent to where they may take a step back?
August 20th, 2023 at 1:13 am
WILSON-COATSVILLE SCRIMMAGE. I thought Wilson looked better in the non game condition portion with more longer drives and much more run stuffing plays and harder hits, (One TD each in this portion) But I honestly thought the game condition portion was pretty even. The only bad thing for Wilson in this portion was a backup QB that kept throwing long and high into a strong wind leading to two interceptions and one TD. No QB should ever try doing this because it can only lead to bad things.(One TD for Coatesville on the ill advised passes by the Wilson backup QB and 0 TDs for Wilson in this portion) Overall it was a very competitive scrimmage. Good job to both teams. They should both have great successful football seasons. GO DAWGS.
August 19th, 2023 at 8:51 pm
CB West ran very effectively against Wood,without their starting QB who is injured and their top wr. West was well prepared,Wood
was not. West is not big ,but they appear well coached and have decent speed overall. Wood on the other hand has some big lineman and a stud RB ,but they are definitely not the Wood of old. Hopefully The new coaching staff can move them forward because from what I saw against West they will struggle again this year.
August 19th, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Only caught the late stages of Coatesville/Wilson. From what I saw, difficult to say who had the upper hand. In the Game situation portion Wilson scored a TD on an interception and Coatesville took advantage of an interception of a back-up QB to gain favorable field position – which they eventually turned into a TD. I was told that Wilson clearly dominated the earlier action which I did not see.
August 19th, 2023 at 9:56 am
Hope people are going to leave scrimmage observations, love to see them
August 18th, 2023 at 8:38 pm
Been very busy and have not frequented this forum much in the offseason. Now that the season is right around the corner, i wanted to come by and ask if anyone had any wpial related questions for this year??
August 17th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Flipping a coin for which scrimmage this Sat. in Berks County.
Coatesville @ Wilson
NP @ Wyomissing
Should be two Slobberknockers!
August 17th, 2023 at 11:53 am
Just a thought
Remembering back prior 1988 when the Eastern Conference football championship was the premier game that was the goal of having a solid winning season to reach the EC championship and Win It
Now fast forward and the game has been reduced to a runner-up game of a mediocre season to some that is the Pinnacle of their season I get it I understand it but for those who worked hard to achieve at times undefeated seasons and to claim that trophy for the trophy case in their school trophy case to now be mixed in with teams that can enter that bracket of championship caliber with records of three and seven or a five and five record just doesn’t seem fair or even just . picture it this way if the PIAA decided to diminish the district championship down to a runner-up game how do you think that would make all those people who fought tooth and nail to win and at times having undefeated seasons doing it I think you all agree not too good my idea is to have the Eastern Conference Championship name retired as it should have been when the districts came out I think the name of the current Eastern Conference Championship should be called something like the NEPA Bowl or something similar in a society where players get trophies Just for participating I think personally that’s damaging because it takes the work ethic away keep in mind in no way am I cutting any team down that reaches the Eastern Conference Championship now down at all because let’s be honest some teams will never ever reach the district championship and Or Win It and get in the state playoffs it’s just not in their nature or their team history this is just mere thought and public opinion poll let me know what you think respectively I’m not throwing mud on anybody it’s just something to put into the pot of stew to talk about
August 17th, 2023 at 8:02 am
Should have added that I screened District 1 teams. I think the most interesting is Souderton @ Parkland, Souderton has alot of pieces coming back from a 9-3 team and Parkland is fresh off a District 11 championship, so I think that scrimmage is going to be a good indicator. Quakertown @ Perkiomen Valley is another interesting scrimmage, as Quakertown only had 2 starters coming back from 2021, got to play 7 playoff teams & somehow still made the District 1 playoffs, this year they have more experience back including their QB, Perkiomen Valley is going to be very good again. Have heard about Wilson WL in recent posts, going against the always good Coatesville, should also give a glimpse of what their season may be.
August 16th, 2023 at 2:47 pm
Looking forward to the Wilson/Coatesville scrimmage. Should be interesting. Wilson definitely has a challenging schedule, but should have enough talent to have a good season.
August 16th, 2023 at 12:17 pm
Friday 8/25 Wilson/West Lawn at Roman, then CD the following week. Should find out early what The Bulldogs are made of. A lot of “O” back from ly, including QB, 2(WR), TE & 3(OL)…but only 4 back on “D”. Plus you don’t replace a Cam Jones on both sides of the ball/special teams…I think CD is the sleeper in the Mid Penn this year. Lots of D1 talent on the lines..no 3-7 record this year. Go Bulldogs!
August 14th, 2023 at 9:28 am
Well, time for the preseason scrimmages to begin. I’ve picked out what I think will be some of the better ones involving top or potentially upcoming teams
All scrimmages I believe are 10am on Saturday, but please check the schedules of any teams you are interested in
Cheltenhem @ Pennsbury Cheltenhem has a number of DI recruits including 2 in the top 300
Coatesville @ Wilson WL
Garnet Valley @ Downingtown East Year in & Year out two of the better District 1 teams
North Penn @ Wyomissing
Pennridge @ Southern Lehigh Pennridge new coaching staff vs Dist 11 top AAAAA contender
Quakertown @ Perkiomen Valley Both teams expected to contend in their respective Leagues/Divisions
Souderton @ Parkland Much is expected of Souderton, will be interesting to see how they stack up against a District 11 power.
Upper Moreland @ Pope John Paul II two of the better school’s year in
I’m sure there are more, find one and get out. Who are you all going to see?
August 11th, 2023 at 10:25 am
WQMY 53 has posted their Friday Night Rivals schedule.
Notable games include
– Dunmore vs. Mount Carmel on September 1st
– Southern Columbia vs. Loyalsock on September 8th
– Delaware Valley vs. Valley View on October 13th
Those are some pretty decent matchups, in my opinion. Also, there’s quite a few Lackawanna League games. I don’t see any Northern Tier or Colonial-Schuylkill games, which would’ve been great.
August 7th, 2023 at 10:26 am
Per the Morning Call, the EPC is indeed changing its scheduling format in the 2024 season. The divisions will be based on county:
Lehigh: Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Dieruff, Emmaus, Parkland, Whitehall
Northampton: Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Nazareth and Northampton
Monroe: East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Pleasant Valley, Stroudsburg
Teams will have the ability to schedule non-conference. Easton vs. Northeast (Philadelphia) is already confirmed.
Overall I view this as an improvement, but this is going to be very difficult for Dieruff and Allen. To me, this puts the hypothetical Allentown combined football team on the fast track, as I can’t see how they’re going to compete otherwise. It’d be much better for everyone involved if they were in the Monroe division, and if the other Lehigh teams combined with Northampton.
August 5th, 2023 at 12:01 am
@D2 fan…Solehi would work …I only mentioned Bangor because I remember an article in one of the Allentown papers about the thought of Bangor and Phillipsburg possibly joining
August 4th, 2023 at 8:41 am
3 weeks…….
(2 for Utah 🙂 )
August 3rd, 2023 at 5:50 pm
I’ve long wondered about Southern Lehigh’s position regarding joining the EPC. It would certainly be a big step up in competition, but they generally have to go through EPC teams in districts. It would make sense.
Bangor probably doesn’t want to abandon Pen Argyl if they can help it. If Solehi made the jump, perhaps they’d consider it, but Solehi would need to take the leap of faith first.
The ESNorth question has a lot of possibilities but no clear solution. An independent football schedule is certainly an interesting option, and it’d be a good way to get some D2 teams in. ESN vs. Montrose would be fascinating, though North would probably be the favorite. Full Lackawanna League membership might be tougher, but certainly worth investigating if a co-op isn’t on the table. In the end I think the most likely outcome is that they stay in the EPC, but hopefully steps are taken to ensure they don’t have to get their doors blown in against EPC South programs for 2 weeks every year.
I have to wonder: if an Allen/Dieruff football co-op does come to pass, and things haven’t gotten better at ESN by then, the EPC might “nudge” them to co-op with ESS to keep the EPC at an even number of teams. Part of the reason for the mandatory crossovers was to make scheduling easier, and I can’t imagine the conference wanting to deal with 17 teams long-term.
August 3rd, 2023 at 5:04 pm
@ Michael D, I want to give my $.02 on your proposals, although thar part of the reply was meant for JCo, I think.
I seriously doubt Eastburg North would drop to Colonial-Schuylkill. The travel to Pottsville & Blue Mountain would probably be too much (we’re talking close to a 2 hour drive from Bushkill). The Lackawanna League might be easier for them, from a conference realignment standpoint. At least the travel would be similar, & even in other sports, they can still play the other Monroe County teams.
Or they could go play an independent schedule, like we’ve seen Montrose, James Buchanan, Albert Gallatin, & Midd-West have done in recent years. I think Montrose fared a bit better as an indie, last year. I have no clue if that’s the same for this upcoming season. Allen & Dieruff could even go that route, if they really wanted to. There should be more indie teams in football, especially some of the good teams.
Instead of Bangor, would Southern Lehigh work better? I mean, they’re competitive in about every sport & win district titles in classes that have EPC teams there. Honestly, if you add them & invited DV & keep somehow find a way to keep North, you’d still have a great 20 team league. If North were to leave & those two did expand, then maybe Bangor would be the next best choice.
August 2nd, 2023 at 9:43 pm
@JCo…Thanks for the insight buddy……I still would love all 3 to happen…just think it would make the EPC even stronger than it is…maybe even add 2-3 more teams if set on 18….would love to see P’burg join but NJ state playoffs would probably prevent that in making them ineligible for that state…Also glad someone responded as when i read my one post I wanted to add that I do realize South has a very competitive and stable program and also realize that Pocono West has been in Districts recently…..never meant to assume that all the programs were struggling…Any chance North would go to D2 or look at Colonial-Schuylkill if they’re now 4A? Maybe a school like Bangor could go into EPC?
August 2nd, 2023 at 8:47 pm
I have a LOT to catch up on here.
@ JCo
To answer the first comment about travel. You make a great point, but I can counter an argument here, especially being very close to the area, myself. I calculated a few distances to some schools in D2 & 11. The average distance to most District 2 sites are about the same as most of the EPC teams down in the valley. It actually has an inverse effect on PM East/West, & be almost neutral for Stroudsburg & ES South, save for the ones that are a short drive down 33. ES North would average maybe 10-15 minutes closer for some Lackawanna League teams. It takes them about an hour to travel to Lackawanna County, while Allentown may be a 75 minute trek.
I think the EPC North dropping to 8 & having a South 1 & South 2 division would work wonders for the entire league. I feel the North division should make a scheduling co-op with both Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley conferences, & even Colonial/Schuylkill’s 4A/5A teams (Southern Lehigh & Bangor play in levels of the north teams). I don’t think there’s a 10-team league in the PIAA that’s big enough, but a PAC, Suburban One, or Berks/L-L Co-Op scheduling agreement would do the trick.
@ Maynard Plumm
The reasons for the dissolvement of the league make sense. I knew the travel was an issue.
@ Michael D
To answer that question, I’m sure it could. There’s only 34 schools, counting Williamsport from D4. I guess you could with this.
D2 Large 1: Abington Heights, DV, Honesdale, North Pocono, Paupack, Prep, Scranton, Valley View, West Scranton
D2 Large 2: Berwick, Crestwood, Dallas, Hazleton, Pittston, Tunkhannock, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, WVW
D2 Small 1: Dunmore, Lakeland, L-L, Mid Valley, Old Forge, Trail, Western Wayne, Wyo Area
D2 Small 2: Carbondale, GNA, Hanover, Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, Riverside, Montrose, Susquehanna
As for Mount Carmel getting a District 2 invite, I’ll say this. I’m not opposed to the idea, & I’ll go as far as saying if you include them, you have to also include Southern Columbia. I think the idea of moving the the Large School division is a very interesting thought. Honestly, both should play up to 3A, as that’s a battle tested classification.
As for Allentown, I never absolutely considered it. I mean, a merger isn’t the worst thing for them. I had zero thoughts of combinations for PMSD & ESASD teams. Great question to pose, there!
@ Anyone who wants to chime in.
Would it be feasible for East Stroudsburg North to break away from the EPC & be an equivalent of the two Keystone Central teams (Central Mountain & Bucktail)? An apples to oranges comparison, but The way the population is trending down & how they aren’t as competitive in sports, in a league they’re way outmatched for, overall, it’s food for thought.
I’m also curious if anyone here would be opposed to an idea of East Stroudsburg North as a Lackawanna League team & maybe instead adding Delaware Valley to the EPC (they can compete in a LOT of sports, & have very successful Lacrosse & Volleyball teams)? The travel wouldn’t be ideal for DV, but they have to deal with it with volleyball & lacrosse anyway. It may actually be closer to some teams than some they go to in District 2. DV would also make the North Division a lot better & who knows if they can actually be a team that beats a South team in football.
One more question: Would Allen/Dieruff fare better if they were football-only for Colonial/Schuylkill & play against their 4A/5A teams? I know they’re 6A, but from an overall competition standpoint, would they be able to compete against Lehighton, Bangor, Pottsville, or maybe teams of that size?
August 2nd, 2023 at 3:44 pm
Kevin X, From what Im hearing ,the program is still a mess. I heard their starting QB transferred to Ryan compounding the huge transfer losses of a year ago.At least 3 brothers of former very good players have decided not to attend Wood and attend The Central Bucks schools. Dave Armstrong has a massive rebuilding job if its at all possible. Something very strange happened there IMO. I dont have the answer and hope someone can chime in here. I followed Wood for many years since all 3 of my kids went there ,and to watch what happened is very disturbing. Any input ??
August 2nd, 2023 at 3:38 pm
Kevin
I may have ES North and South mixed up, but from what I can find, the first year for the ES split was 2000. In 2000 and 2001, the “new” school played 20 out of 21 games against D2 opponents and was a member of the Northeastern Football Conference D3 (South AA) . In 2001 they also played Fleetwood. Apparently they were AA at the time, so I guess this route was the best way to schedule similarly sized schools.
Before the split in the 1990’s, ES played several WVC teams, including Coughlin six times. I remember watching James Mungro run wild on the turf at WB Memorial back in 1995.
August 2nd, 2023 at 2:39 pm
@Michael D: honestly, as an Eastburg native, I wouldn’t mind it. East Stroudsburg North has really had a tough time in most sports lately, and the rivalry was always more like a big brother/little brother deal. Back when East Stroudsburg split, there was massive growth happening in the area, so the district put the new school complex on a cheap tract of land in Pike County. That growth completely stopped between 2010 and 2020, and has even reversed in some areas, which was way sooner than the district projected. So that’s why they’re now a AAAA school, far away from any population centers, which makes it difficult for them to maintain student engagement, and they’re mostly outmatched in a conference against larger teams, even against the other Monroe teams. A co-op for varsity would offer the North players the chance to play in a more stable program and have a greater chance to succeed.
Slightly off-topic, I would love to see the district redevelop the old Fernwood resort and move the North high school there. From a sunk cost perspective, I don’t think the district is willing to sell off the North campus completely (though it’s probably the smartest option), and I’m not sure if the South high school has the capacity for the entire district. But just having the school be more accessible for students and community members would make a big difference.
As for the other programs, Allentown seems to be the closest to actually consolidating their football programs. When Allen’s most recent coach resigned, he mentioned that the middle schools had benefitted by combining, and felt that the high schools would benefit as well. Considering the issues with facilities that Dieruff has experienced the past few years, and the lack of success both teams has had, it probably makes more sense than not. The Pocono Mountain programs are a bit trickier… they’ve been more evenly matched than South/North, and the more historic school (East) is the one that has had less success lately. I think they’re the least likely to enter a co-op, though perhaps a particularly dry period could change things.
August 2nd, 2023 at 7:35 am
Do any of you Wood and/or PCL/D12 guys know if Wood picked up any more games this upcoming season?? They still appear to only have 7 scheduled, which if stays that way, that will be back to back season of only 7 regular season games. And will the likes of Roman and Imhotep in D12, not looking like a potential deep playoff run.
@Maynard
ES South was part of District 2 years ago?? Or were they just playing in that league as an invitee or at-large or an associate member or whatever you might want to call it.
August 1st, 2023 at 9:55 pm
@D2 fan….I’ll ask….any chance of your EPC co-op idea involves merging the Allentown football programs together and likewise with the 2 East Stroudsburg and 2 Pocono Mountain programs…I wanted to post that but was afraid I’d get put on blast for that….just wonder if they could turn into 3 solid football programs unless there really hated rivals of one another…it’s not like there’s no programs in the state already that merged their football teams (although I will assume some of them were numbers issues)
August 1st, 2023 at 8:33 pm
@D2 Fan…wouldn’t this still work without those EPC teams involved…….two divisions of nine w/one crossover based on your large school teams? I wasn’t factoring them in when I first posted but I did like them included just for football purposes…If this were to ever happen…in your opinion would there be an interest to D2 in inviting Mount Carmel in large school?
August 1st, 2023 at 3:32 pm
The Northeastern Football Conference existed in 2000 and 2001. It was abandoned for several reasons. The two most prevalent reasons were poor game attendance and travel. Here is the breakdown of the divisions, and the division champions.
D1 (AAAA) – Abington Heights, Del Val, Hazleton, Scranton, Williamsport, WVW.
Champions- 2000 WVW 5-0, 2001 Williamsport 4-1 & WVW 4-1
D2 (South AAA) – Berwick, Dallas, Lake Lehman, Pittston, Wyoming Area, WB Coughlin
Champions – 2000 Berwick 5-0, 2001 Berwick 4-1 & Wyoming Area 4-1
D2 (North AAA) – Crestwood, Honesdale, North Pocono, Tunk, Wallenpaupack, West Scranton
Champions – 2000 Paupack 5-0, 2001 North Pocono 4-1 & West Scranton 4-1
D3 (South AA) – East Stroudsburg South, Hanover, Montrose, Nanticoke, WB GAR, WB Meyers
Champions – GAR 5-0, Meyers 5-0
D3 (North AA) – Dunmore, Lakeland, Mid Valley, Scranton Prep, Valley View, Western Wayne
Champions – 2000 & 2001 Lakeland 5-0
D4 (A) – Bishop Hafey, Bishop Hoban, Bishop O’Reilly, Bishop O’Hara, Carbondale, Lackawanna Trail, Northwest, Old Forge, Riverside, Susquehanna
Champions – 2000 Trail 8-1, 2001 Trail 8-1 & Riverside 8-1
July 30th, 2023 at 6:26 pm
@D2 Fan: I don’t really see a D2/EPCN super conference happening unless the Monroe teams separate completely from the EPC. That’s partly due to the distances involved, but also partly because they’d really be leaving Allen and Dieruff out to dry. I cannot imagine the conference allowing something like this to happen if they didn’t have a plan for the Allentown programs. And I don’t really think the Monroe teams would seek to leave the EPC unless Monroe County becomes part of D2.
But also, I don’t really think it’s necessary. The optimal solution is staring the EPC right in the face: move Northampton to the EPC South and run with a 10-team South and an 8-team North. Allow teams to schedule non-conference games. That way, 1) you’re not forcing Emmaus and co. to make the trek up to Bushkill to beat ESN by 80+ points, 2) the North teams have a couple weeks to schedule D2 teams, and 3) the South has the flexibility to schedule marquee matchups against D1/D3/D12 if desired. It should be a win-win.
July 30th, 2023 at 10:59 am
You’re welcome, @ Michael D
Yes. You’re thinking of the NEPFC. I don’t recall the years it was, but it only lasted at least two years.
I’m trying to find an old article to see why it was disbanded. My guess would have to be logistics. That’s always the drawback with this. However, with Colonial-Schuylkill & District 9 adopting similar ideas recently, I think it’s not impossible.
I’d honestly love for this to happen. There’d be a ton of teams that’d benefit greatly from this. I’m all for that or a similar idea to Jersey’s NJSFC, where you take all “Eastern Conference” teams from D2-4-11 & do divisions based on classes with the bowl games. Travel would be a bear, if you’re on polar opposites, in some cases.
Also, I just realized I forgot North Pocono. Since I made a few omissions, I’m gonna revise it, so I don’t confuse the others who want to add to the conversation. It’s hard to keep track of almost 40 teams, & when you move teams around, you sometimes forget things.
Large School
– Red: Delaware Valley, ES North, ES South, Paupack, Pleasant Valley, PM East, PM West, Stroudsburg
– Blue: Abington Heights, Honesdale, North Pocono, Pittston, Prep, Scranton, Valley View, West Scranton
– White: Berwick, Crestwood, Dallas, Hazleton, Tunkhannock, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, WVW
Small School
– Silver: Dunmore, Lakeland, Lake-Lehman, Old Forge, Riverside, Trail, Western Wayne, Wyoming Area
– Gold: Carbondale, Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, GNA, Hanover, Mid Valley, Montrose, Susquehanna
Since I forgot North Pocono, I dropped Central Mountain from the original proposal. That was the long shot of the idea, anyway.
Two other adjustments
1. Since DV would run away with the “Pocono” division every year, I’d swap Honesdale & DV, to help competitively. Both do have to travel a decent amount for division games, to begin with.
2. I never included Allen & Dieruff to my idea, but if I was responsible for this, I’d throw an invite to them. You’d probably have to make four large school divisions to make it work. For the sake of logistics, they can stay in the old LVC.
Scheduling for this would be the following.
– All divisions have 7 Division, 2 Crossovers, & 1 extra Non-District game.
– These non-district games would be against Eastern Conference programs, but teams can get exemptions to play in Florida, WPIAL, or Philly.
– For a rivalry like Honesdale-WW, Dallas-LL or Pittston-Wyo, it can count as a division crossover, although they’re two “separate” leagues. Same if WW, GNA, or Lakeland want to play some 4A competition.
– I’d also allow for a team to forgo a second crossover to play a second non-conference game. Only to help with a competitive standpoint. A good team like DV can play a better team in Philly or the Lehigh Valley, & a team like a Montrose to play a like opponent (CMVT, a NY team, or Shen. Valley to name a few). I’d assume most would take advantage of the crossovers anyway.
July 29th, 2023 at 5:12 pm
Thanks D2 fan….sounds good to me……I know they tried a ways back (Northeast Football Conference or something like that)…any idea why it didn’t work? I think your breakdown of divisions is perfect……maybe someday it could happen….who could one float around the idea to? Lol
July 27th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
@ KevinX
You’re right. It’s not as if hurricanes are common in PA, even around the end of summer. But, increasingly, really bad storms–some the offshoots of hurricanes–have been causing problems. A couple of years ago, the trio of games at Rutgers on Labor Day weekend were all cancelled or moved because of flooding caused by torrential rains. Not long ago, an early September SJP-Bosco game was ended in the second quarter by lightning–same for an SJP-DeMatha scrimmage at the end of August on what for most teams was a regular season weekend. (Obviously my frame of reference is SJP, but there must be lots of examples involving other schools.)
Maybe this is the most important point. Lots of people on here have been noting that hs football games, at least in SE PA, have been drawing fewer and fewer people–students, family members, people in the community, etc. One reason, not the main reason, may be that often a team plays two regular season games before school starts–when just about everyone not directly connected to the football team is in summer mode. HS football used to be a fall sport, often including a very community-focused Thanksgiving game. Now, increasingly, football kind of stands apart, with fewer and fewer players involved in other sports or school activities, partly because, as you point out, it’s a year-round commitment for many. Same for basketball–as you say.
As a player I enjoyed practicing and playing in October and November much more than I did in August and September. And as a fan, I prefer a crisp November day or evening–we very rarely get snow and ice in November or early December any more–to a sweltering late August / early September day or evening.
July 27th, 2023 at 1:53 pm
I forgot Mid Valley, too. Oops. Replace CMVT in my last one with them.
Apologies Dave, for any potential spamming. I had to adjust a few things while making it & forgot a team or two. It dawned on me immediately after I posted.
July 27th, 2023 at 1:49 pm
I forgot all about Wyoming Area. How dare I disrespect the 2019 3A champs like that? They’d be a smaller 4A, but they play an average 3A schedule, most seasons.
Small School would then be
– Silver: Dunmore, Lakeland, Lake-Lehman, Old Forge, Riverside, Trail, Western Wayne, Wyoming Area.
– Gold: Carbondale, CMVT, Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, GNA, Hanover, Montrose, Susquehanna
July 27th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
@ Michael D
A little late to the party on this one, but I think it would work wonders for District 2 to make a super conference. I’d also try to work with the EPC to make a deal with the Monroe County programs that seem overmatched against all Lehigh Valley teams.
I’m thinking this
Large School
– Red: Delaware Valley, ES North, ES South, Paupack, Pleasant Valley, PM East, PM West, Stroudsburg
– Blue: Abington Heights, Honesdale, Pittston, Prep, Scranton, Tunk, Valley View, West Scranton
– White: Berwick, Central Mountain, Crestwood, Dallas, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, WVW
Small School
– Silver: Dunmore, Lakeland, Lake-Lehman, Old Forge, Riverside, Trail, Western Wayne
– Gold: Carbondale, Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, GNA, Hanover, Montrose, Susquehanna
For the big schools, I went geographic areas, as it goes Pocono, Scranton, & Wyoming Valley.
The small school divisions are adjusted to help teams that struggle in their leagues to play who they can win against, & the other pits all of the competitive teams together. GNA is 4A, but is a smaller school, overall, that doesn’t have that much success against WVC I schools.
I also added Central Mountain, as they can play like class opponents. I know that the travel would be a bear, but it’s an idea I could see. Plus, it gives Williamsport a somewhat natural rivalry. If not that, I’d move Western Wayne to the Large School section & add CMVT from the NTL.
I may or may not share my idea for an idea for a EPC co-op, if the Lackawanna/WVC doesn’t merge. I have some bold ideas when it comes to that.
July 26th, 2023 at 10:07 am
@ FrankG
I do not disagree with you at all. Except for the hurricane part. Seriously?? Hurricanes?? Maybe the occasional nor’easter, but you are going to have some type weather issues in PA every month of the year for every sport.
From a former player, parent, guardian, etc., point of view, feel free to call me out on any issue because I was not, nor currently, any of them.
From a long time observer, these kids are involved in their respected sports year round it seems (I am so done with the Tweets of all these AAU or off season basketball updates, can’t believe people care). So like its been said for football, 7x7s, various camps, personal/individual working out and training, unofficial get togethers, other off season activities, playing other sports, these guys (and girls) I think are a much more well oil machine then kids were back in the day.
From a fan view, I’m still back and forth about the season starting the weekend before Labor Day weekend. Not really in full football mindset until after Labor Day. But when I’m doing a real good Michelin Man imitation at a playoff game in late November or early December, kind of long for those early season games wearing t-shirts, shorts and sandals.
A little early for me to climb back on my playoff soap box, but if the PIAA wants to push the regular season start date back a weekend or 2, go for it, but chop a week or 2 off the playoffs, if they still want to contest a 10 week regular season. At a minimum, get rid of week 11, AKA mercy rule weekend, where we get to enjoy watching 9-1 teams throttle 2-8 teams.
July 26th, 2023 at 7:37 am
I stand corrected, first regular season games in Utah are Friday the 18th, those games the prior week games are scrimmages (fun, but useless fact, they call them “endowment” games). 9 week regular season schedule.
July 25th, 2023 at 8:32 pm
@ Kevin X And in Utah you have to join a club to get an alcoholic drink! No interest in making Utah our model in anything.
There’s a reason there’s never been much interest in playing or watching football in real summer weather. And here’s something else for the mid-Atlantic states: mid August to mid-September have always been the prime time for hurricanes and the tropical storms some hurricanes become. There are going to be more of them and the ones we get are, on average, gong to be more severe. When it comes to football, give me a typical October or November day or evening anytime over August weather.
July 25th, 2023 at 6:45 pm
It is with great sadness to announce that legendary former Head Football coach of the
Dunmore Bucks Jack Henzes
Has passed away… his success at Dunmore will be difficult to match going forward .
May God truly bless his family and the Dunmore community rest in peace coach
July 25th, 2023 at 6:43 pm
@Kevin. Yep, a lot of southern states have school starting first or second week of August which means Football season starts mid Aug as well and playoffs start mid October. By end of Nov (thanksgiving) state championships are happening or done.
July 25th, 2023 at 5:47 pm
And then there’s Utah, which commences their high school football regular season August 10th (regular season ends second weekend of October).
July 24th, 2023 at 2:01 pm
BC, that’s kind of my thought, you have a week of heat acclimatation, so yes you can do some walk through’s & start installing your offense, but it’s not like the real thing, then you get a week, then you have a scrimmage, 5 more days of practice (assuming the weather is good) and you tackle the first game that counts for Playoff position, not sure how you do all that. Also agree with FrankG, that the season begins and ends 1 week too soon. Some states have the week of acclimation and then 3 weeks, Pa it’s one of acclimation and 2 weeks of practice, Colleges are beginning this week. But more concerned about the safety of the kids, it’s one thing to throw the ball around and walk throughs, a completely different thing getting hit.
July 24th, 2023 at 8:57 am
MikeS. 100% not enough time. Have never been happy with this new schedule that took out a week of scrimmages. And with school’s like ours starting mid August, you miss out on all kinds of practice time. Last season (counting heat acc) we had a total of 21 practices before our first game because we couldn’t even have real 2 a day’s. Had to split what should have been time for 1 practice in to 2 small practices to even get to 21.
From first day of Heat ACC to the first game day, 19 total days is NO WAY enough to be prepared physically or mentally.
July 24th, 2023 at 12:56 am
@MikeS I couldn’t agree with you more. When you compare the timelines you cite for hs teams with the time NFL teams have between the opening of camp and 1) the first “pre-season” game and 2) the first regular season game, the absurdity is obvious. But of course, how much those timelines reflect reality is another matter. When I was in hs a long, long time ago most of us had regular summer jobs and had our first football practice the evening of Aug. 15. Now there are 7 on 7 competitions in the spring and all sorts of camps and informal workouts from late spring on.
Still, I think it’s a mistake to start the season before Labor Day weekend, in part because of safety issues. To me it’s ridiculous that lots of teams in PA play their last game before Halloween when November is much better suited to football than August.
July 24th, 2023 at 12:24 am
Here is a continuation of my prediction for district 2 high school football
The Valley View cougars
The Cougars will have a new head coach for 2023
Scot Wasilchak
Scot replaced George Hawanitz who is stepping away from coaching so that he may watch his son Adam continue his football career at the University of Pittsburgh.
Scot comes from a family of talented head coaches starting with his father the late Jerry Wasilchak Coach Jerry was a legend at Lakeland High School, leading the Chiefs to 4 Eastern conference championships when they actually meant more than they do now you couldn’t go any further that was pre-1988 when the state championship was formed 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977,
Jerry also LED Lakeland to seven Suburban championships 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979. Then went on to lead the Chiefs to the BIG 11 championship titles 1980, 1981, 1982.
Scot is also joined by his brother Jeff as an assistant for the Cougars who is no stranger to coaching success Jeff was the head coach at Lackawanna Trail High School football and also for Lakeland High School football.
Jeff led Trail to 7 districts 2 A titles
As Scot and Jeff were growing up as youngsters
Their father would bring them to the football practices and games to help out at Lakeland where they learned all of their brilliant coaching Talent this is also where coach Scot received his two nicknames from the Lakeland football players Scrappy and scrap iron these nicknames would ring true to this day for his toughness of the game
Coach Jerry,
Was a legend in a league of his own he always taught class along with Smash Mouth football he and the other coaching staff would always have sport coats with slacks for class he always made sure every player’s cleats were white and clean for the playoffs every player would wear dress clothes “Dress for Success” his more notable saying was
( GOTTA BELIEVE )
Scot was an All-Star athlete at Valley View with his jersey being retired on the wall he excelled at running back and defensive back
The Cougars went 10-3 last season beating Rival Scranton prep in a very close game to the end
22-16 as much as prep lost standout Penn State football commit London Montgomery to an ACL injury that ended his before it began Scranton prep still boasted plenty of Talent last season they narrowly lost to State Powerhouse Neumann Goretti in the state playoffs 22 – 14
Preps only losses came to the hands of
Lakeland 41-14
Scranton 21-9
Valley View 22-16
Neumann Goretti 22-14
Valley View has enough chemistry returning to make a solid run they have a solid weight program that will get everybody ready for this upcoming season and with the solid coaching staff in place expect Valley View to do big things in the Lackawanna football conference and into districts
Best of luck Scot and Jeff continuing your father’s coaching Legacy ————GOTTA BELIEVE !
July 23rd, 2023 at 11:41 pm
My next projection for the 2023 High School football season,
The Valley View cougars
July 23rd, 2023 at 8:28 am
Was just looking at the preseason for all/most of the football teams in Penna. Heat Acclimatation begins Aug 7th for a full week with 5-3-5-3-5 hour maximums, so on Aug 14th most teams begin full contact practice, then have 4-5 days and then their first scrimmage, followed the next week by start of their regular season schedule. I know this has been going on for a long while but is 1-3 weeks enough to institute offense/defense/special teams, get the kids into Football shape, get a real look at incoming new players? Personally, I’m thinking that’s not enough time and we should be moving up the Heat Acclimation week one week, so that the players can have 2 full weeks before their 1st scrimmage and 3 before the regular season starts. I think with a little more time to get ready & be in Football shape, we’d see less injuries and a higher level of football. Obviously, this is the way things have been forever, so am I missing something?
July 22nd, 2023 at 4:07 pm
As the 2022 HS Football season came to an end for the Abington Heights Comets one might think a 3-8 ending was dismal …..Not fast to judgment.
I would confidently say many of those games that were lost were only by a mere few points with a touchdown deciding the final the Comets have found their much needed fire that once made teams fear playing them …Are they the teams of the mid 90’s to early 2000’s ? Not yet, to that I confidently say I would not look past AH for 2023
They have regained that winning desire that in recent years fizzled out the Comets will be ready to challenge for the league title and possibly districts as a faithful Lakeland football former player and enthusiast I always enjoyed going over to the pit on those gorgeous Saturday afternoons with the trees that swallow the stadium up with their bright colors as the Giants of the Midway would make their way down long hill like a fine oiled machine…. I feel it !!! it will be here again,
to the players of Abington Heights keep up the good work fellas never let that drive leave your hearts teamwork is everything.
God permitting there are other teams I will comment on in the upcoming days that I feel that will contend for the Lackawanna football league and possibly districts
God bless
July 22nd, 2023 at 2:56 pm
Any Chance of reinstating a super conference in football for District 2? I believe it was tried years ago but never knew why It didn’t work…seems like its working well in District 11 (I could be wrong)…..any thoughts?
July 20th, 2023 at 4:21 pm
@Kevin X – thanks for sharing that article on the new OH law, this seems to be more of an issue in the eastern part of the state and of course the PIAA playoffs. I went to a WPIAL game every Friday last year at various stadiums and all accepted cash for tickets at the gate, I’m not aware of any schools in western pa not accepting cash. The problem on this side of the state comes when the PIAA playoffs start, because as you know you can’t pay cash at any PIAA event, I went to several PIAA football and basketball games this past year and all ticket sales are online only, and that’s not going to change unless the state legislature passes a law like this which unfortunately I doubt will happen.
July 20th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Hopefully this is finally the last season of Northampton in the EPC North. Moving them back to the EPC South and getting rid of mandatory crossovers is LONG overdue.
July 19th, 2023 at 11:00 am
Wilkes-Barre Area seniors Mekhi Nelson and Naquon Johnson have both transferred to a prep school in Connecticut.
Both were WVC all star selections last season. Nelson rushed for over 1,600 yards and is getting D1 looks.
July 13th, 2023 at 5:43 am
@ Kevin X, what Ohio did is great. Love the part where it says if a school doesnt take cash they are required to give the person a free ticket. Hope pa gets around to doing this,but I doubt it.
July 13th, 2023 at 5:33 am
Got it. TY
July 12th, 2023 at 11:09 pm
@David
Just a heads up , I just emailed you my contact
information regarding District 2 reporter
July 12th, 2023 at 10:06 am
WOW!!! Well done Ohio!!!! Your turn PA state legislators………..
https://www.wcpo.com/sports/high-school-sports/ohsaa-schools-required-to-accept-cash-for-tickets-concessions-in-october
July 12th, 2023 at 8:46 am
I forgot to change the year. Thank you for the reminder.
July 12th, 2023 at 8:26 am
David Mika, did I jump the gun? haha
July 12th, 2023 at 7:19 am
Now…LOL
July 11th, 2023 at 9:05 am
How soon are you going to make the annual switch from 2022 Forum to 2023 Forum?
July 11th, 2023 at 1:47 am
@D Mika , Thank’s will be in touch soon,
July 10th, 2023 at 4:52 am
Here is my email. Dave@easternpafootball.com Thank you!
July 9th, 2023 at 3:23 pm
Thank’s David, I appreciate it,
Also the other day ,I tried to send you some information
about what we were discussing. The site seemed
a bit slow I may resend in a few days.
Thanks again
July 9th, 2023 at 5:31 am
Chris is working on all the schedules. I will see when he is going to do Lakelands.
July 8th, 2023 at 6:43 pm
@ David Mika
Just wondering if your staff will be doing the graphic schedules for all the school’s or just a select few ?
Trying to get Lakeland District 2 AA….
The others look fantastic !!!! awesome job brother
I’m hoping my Chiefs can regroup after getting hit
extremely hard by graduation this year
July 6th, 2023 at 4:15 pm
@ Buddy
LaSalle/NP game is at Crawford.
LaSalle has an aptly named nickname in the Explorers. Seen them have “home” games at Springfield Montco, Wissahickon, Upper Dublin, P-W, Crawford (only against NP) and Franklin Field (St. Joe’s).
July 6th, 2023 at 3:53 pm
Where’s Margaret to start the bashing of North Schuylkill football? Lol.
Looking forward to this season. Should be a great one.
July 6th, 2023 at 7:16 am
@Buddy…Lasalle at different times has used Springfield-Montco or PW for home games. I believe they did put in lights and turf at their campus location several years ago but Im not sure if they use that on a regular basis.
July 5th, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Where does LaSalle play their home games?
July 5th, 2023 at 4:12 pm
At D11 Matt
I’m from District 2 .
I like your picks , it would be nice to see Whitehall bring the gold home .
I remember long ago in the late 90’s
When Abington Heights was a powerhouse
And did very well only until they hit the
Central Bucks West WALL like most teams did back then …
They also played Whitehall and I remember the Zephyrs always gave AH great games in the playoffs….
Best of luck to your projected teams brother
July 5th, 2023 at 12:02 pm
Since we are only a month away from start of heat acl., A little preview of what I think will shape out in D11 this upcoming season with contenders.
A: Northern Lehigh, Tri Valley
Both these teams have good programs. Northern lost skill players from another deep state run, but they return a lot on lines and should be in mix for another dist title.
AA: Executive Ed, Palisades, Catty
AAA: Notre Dame, North Schuylkill, Northwestern Lehigh (same top three in AAA).
AAAA: Beca, Central
AAAAA: Southern Lehigh, ESS, Whitehall
AAAAAA: Parkland, Emmaus, Freedom, Naz
Basically same teams as last year. Hopefully we get a good surprise or two of some teams.
July 4th, 2023 at 8:05 am
Congratulations , Henry on your new journey at Southern Columbia High School.
May God truly bless you at this new position.
And may you lead by example as you have on the field as a player and as a coach.
Stay focused
July 4th, 2023 at 7:02 am
In todays breaking news
Henry Hynoski has stepped down as Shamokin’s head football coach to accept the HS principal job at Southern Columbia.
Former Lewisburg head coach Marc Persing will take over for the Indians. Move expected to become official at Monday’s school board meeting.
July 1st, 2023 at 2:23 am
I would like to make one small correction
On one of my posts from the day about the Eastern conference titles Lakeland won , I mistakenly put 81….it was 1987 …. just one year shy of the official PIAA state championship bracket just to think we may have had one state championship in our trophy case amongst all the other championships that would have been outstanding
Lakeland went 13-0 that season , and at the seasons end we were ranked third in the state
Only behind larger AAAA and AAA powerhouses
We played Williamsport for the EC playoffs
Then faced Tunkhannock who very surprisingly beat the mighty BERWICK BULL DAWGS to face us in the championship game Lakeland won 28-15
Fun fact Berwick went on to win the state championship the following year in 1988 and then the rest follows with their Dynasty.
rest in peace George Curry
Some might think why bother to make the correction well my friends it’s very important because so many of those championships that I wrote in the prior message that Lakeland captured there were lots of Blood Sweat and Tears that went into those Championship seasons and every one of those years every one of those players still matter to this day in our football community we are a tight knit family up here at Lakeland once a chief always a chief
Have a safe holiday
June 30th, 2023 at 12:04 pm
Good Morning David,
Thank’s for getting back so quickly.
I completely understand I may be of
Assistance to you I know the District landscape very well, and know who is the top projected teams from the rebuilding ones .
I’m familiar with many of the perennial rival matchups that draw large crowds no matter the records aswell.
God permitting I will reach out to you in the near future also happy 4th of July to all and may God bless all of our military and veterans who put so much on the line for all of us to enjoy the simplicities of life such as high school football and other sports without our veterans and Military our landscape of life would be much different if any of you know a veteran or see one out and about take time and thank them for their service they truly do appreciate it when people thank them it’s the least we can do.
June 30th, 2023 at 6:43 am
I do have a reporter up there covering District 2. I am looking for one more reporter.
June 30th, 2023 at 2:44 am
Hello all
First I would like to congratulate all of the state champions throughout all of the sports for 2022 great job on your dedication to Excellence.
My next comment is only for a suggestion and also a tip of my hat to say thank you to all of the eastern PA high school football volunteers and staffers for all the hard work and dedication this is a great place to go for a lot of useful information.
To David Mika the PIAA District 2 representative
Is there any way of possibly covering the Lakeland Chiefs football team a little bit more I only ask this because this past year we had another Stellar year no we did not reach the state championship but the guys put in a lot of hard work with a 12-1 record it seems as though your coverage of Scranton prep and also Valley View and Dunmore were far superior and more concentrated than we ever could get with lakeland’s Rich tradition of Championship history I kind of think it’s strange it is this way
Beginning in the early 1970s the strong history began
Eastern Conference titles 72,75,76,77,81
Keep in mind these are titles pre-1988 before the state championship was organized this was the furthest you can go Eastern Conference Championship was the elite Championship back in the day now it is a runner-up game for teams that have 5-5 season
Division titles
71,72,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,87,
00,01,02,03,04,05,06,10,18,19,20,21,22
P.I.A.A District 2
00,02,03,04,06,20,22
Keep in mind many of these championships came in seasons playing Valley View cougars and the Dunmore Bucks and the Riverside when the Vikings were more potent and dominant like for instance 2010 Riverside was dominating everybody what an outstanding team the Vikings had lots of talent nobody could do anything against them we were on a rebuilding year but we still mustered up enough to beat them for the league championship 21-20 as they went on to play the Clarton bears and almost beat them 36-32 in the state championship game .
Riverside it was in class A and we were in class AA
That particular season
And what an amazing season to remember in 1980 for the BIG 11 championship
LAKELAND VS VALLEY VIEW
Beating the king of the mountain 43-8
Frank Pazzalia was always a high caliber coach as he led the Cougars too many championships including the 1992 State title and then of course who can forget the mighty BUCKS led by all-time great coach Jack Henzez leading the Bucks to a State championship Win In 1989
What an honor it was from 2000-2006 to sweep Dunmore going 11-0 vs the Bucks through that time frame
But to this I say don’t forget about the Lakeland Chiefs the red white and blue we may not be going to the state championship every year but we hold our ground in District 2 .
June 28th, 2023 at 5:05 pm
NP plays at LaSalle 1st game, where do they play?
June 19th, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Mykell Ford transfers from Governor Mifflin to Roman Catholic. A local sports reporter recently reported this. Big pickup for Roman and a big loss for Mifflin as the 6’0 260lb lineman had 60 takles and 12.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore for Governor Mifflin. Ford was all Berks and 1st team DT in the Lancaster Lebanon League, also heard he’s been tearing it up at summer camps. It’s interesting that this is the 2nd big time lineman from the suburbs that found their way to Center City Philadelphia. Austin Ramsey-Owen J Roberts transferred in a couple of years ago and is an incoming freshman at Kentucky.
June 8th, 2023 at 10:55 pm
Recent 1951 Mythical State Championship Post featuring a Ted Silary Tribute:
Now let’s move on to ’51…..
1951 PA Scholastic Football State Champs (Mythical)
1951 might best be described as “The Year of the West” — not “West” as in Western PA, but rather “West” as in “West”inghouse, “West” Catholic and “West” Scranton!!! All 3 of those then-large schools made what was perhaps their greatest-ever impact on the statewide football stage during the fabulous ’51 campaign.
Pittsburgh’s Westinghouse gets our lead AA position for PIAA schools, but not far behind was a West Scranton team that purportedly “won” a pre-season scrimmage against ultra-loaded Class A claimant Swoyersville.
And if there was a post-season poll that included non-PIAA teams, Philly’s West Catholic High would’ve certainly challenged for the top — the Burrs set a then-record for points and victory margin in Philadelphia City title contests…..blitzing Bok Vo-Tech 42-0! [See TED SILARY TRIBUTE below]
Also stellar in 1951 AA was a barely-challenged Erie Cathedral Prep juggernaut that defeated powers from 4 states…..including the legendary “barnstorming” Mooseheart program from Illinois, 37-13! A 1951 West Catholic vs Cathedral Prep Diocesan State Championship would’ve been an evenly-matched all-time classic! Rounding out our very crowded AA field are 2 WPIAL schools, undefeated Uniontown and once-beaten District and Saylor Ratings champ Farrell.
Previously-mentioned Swoyersville (B playing up to A) was legendary in 1951, but not legendary enough to get the lead slot over Ridley Twp! (LOL) The Green Raiders dominated a strong schedule, with only perennial AA toughie Lower Merion staying reasonably close (28-14) in their game for suburban (Philly) bragging rights. Western Conference champion Conemaugh Twp joins them in a stacked Class A group, along with fellow unbeatens Lewistown and non-PIAA Johnstown Catholic from the District 5/6 Region. WPIAL back-to-back champ New Brighton and the “Zinc Lads” from Palmerton in the Lehigh Valley round out the group.
Class B is once again headed up by Kulpmont, but the Wildcats have plenty of company at the top. Boiling Springs’ best-ever team and WPIAL co-champions Wilmerding and Jefferson Twp are right there as well. Conshohocken (“Conshy”) and Jessup were also deemed worthy after navigating difficult schedules.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Class C grouping…..and they were exceptionally-strong this time around. For example, lead entry Beaverdale dominated strong B program Adams Twp (8-2) by a 20-0 count, while Class A top claimant (and .500+ Saylor) Conemaugh Twp had a much-rougher time with them (a 34-32 nailbiter). Beaverdale would go on to end powerful Bellwood-Antis’ 20+ game win streak in what was probably the most-hyped Inter-County Conference Championship game of all-time…..B-A was defeated 14-7 @hollidaysburg in a fiercely-contested classic!
Scotland School was also top rung, losing only a 14-13 heartbreaker to Class B top claimant Boiling Springs on the Bubblers’ home field. Included among the C Class Cadets’ victories was a 14-7 win over tough AA rival Chambersburg, a team that gave strong Class A Gettysburg (8-0-1) its lone blemish when the squads battled to a 20-all tie! Royersford’s schedule wasn’t as tough, but the Eagles came through it with “flying” colors — winning all games by at least 3 scores!
And finally, we have created another special category…..but this one should only be temporary. That’s because we’ve basically green-lighted Kanty Prep for a top claim in either the B or C Class — trouble is, we don’t yet know where to classify them for 1951 at this juncture! But we don’t want to hold things up any further, so we’ll just mention them and move on for now. We’ll update the thread like always if/when the additional data comes in. Kanty was a clear C in 1950, and was a B-enrollment school in 1952. Either way, they’ll eventually come in as #23 on our top claimant list, which is a clear record that we don’t expect to ever surpass for any other year!
1951
Class AA (Large Schools)
(PITTSBURGH) WESTINGHOUSE (9-0); WEST SCRANTON (8-0); Uniontown (10-0); Farrell (9-1)
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: (Philadelphia) West Catholic (10-0); (Erie) Cathedral Prep (9-0)
Class A (Mid-Sized Schools)
RIDLEY (TWP) (11-0); SWOYERSVILLE (11-0); Conemaugh Twp (10-0); Lewistown (9-0); New Brighton (10-1); Palmerton (8-0)% (tie)
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: Johnstown Catholic (8-0)
Class B (Small Schools)
KULPMONT (10-0); BOILING SPRINGS (10-0); WILMERDING (9-0-1); JEFFERSON (TWP) (8-0-1); Conshohocken (9-0); Jessup (8-0-1) (tie)
Class C (Smallest Schools)
BEAVERDALE (10-0); SCOTLAND SCHOOL (8-1); Royersford (8-0)
Class B or C ??
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: (Erie) St John Kanty Prep (7-0)
% – Denotes cancelled game.
TED SILARY TRIBUTE: In closing, I’m posting a special tribute to a fallen comrade. The PA Scholastic Sports Community lost a legend a few weeks ago when Philadelphia HS sports guru Ted Silary passed away on May 18th at 72 years of age. I originally thought it would be fitting to honor Ted in this 1951 post not only because of the timing, but also because of how dominant West Catholic was during that particular year (After all, so much of our Philly research has come from Ted’s records @his infamous website). However, another special reason has been discovered — ironically, Ted’s birth year was 1951 (March) ….. so now it just totally makes sense, irregardless of other factors. So “Thanks, Ted” for your immeasurable contributions. RIP.
LINK to Ted Silary Archive Website: tedsilary.com/
LINK to Philadelphia HS FB City Title Game Recaps: tedsilary.com/FBCitytitlegames.htm
1951 West Catholic City Title Game Write-Up:
1951
At Franklin Field
West Catholic 42, Bok 0
Jack McEachern rushed for 118 yards and a TD and passed 6-for-12 for 75 yards and another TD for West, which never punted en route to completing its first perfect season (10-0) since 1943. Art Dettra ran for two TDs and John Bauer kicked six PAT. The Burrs won the total offense battle, 341-71. Bok advanced to the West 13 late in the first half, but was immediately pushed back to the 37.
June 6th, 2023 at 1:40 am
The fun thing with basketball is, that for any first round game (not championship games mind you) this weekend, a single game will cost you, out the door, nearly $10. Inflation or greed?? But I’m sure that hard earned money will be well invested to see teams such as the ones below in action with the potential for some instant classics in the games that they are involved in:
7-17 Nativity BVM (A girls)
8-16 Weatherly (A girls)
10-14 Jenkintown (A girls)
5-18 Jamestown (A girls)
8-16 Lancaster Mennonite (AA girls)
3-7 Belmont Charter (AA girls)
8-7 Mast II (AA girls)
8-12 Pickett Mastery (AAA girls)
12-14 Clairton (AA boys)
9-13 String Theory (AAA boys) (cool name tho)
10-14 Bedford (AAA boys)
9-15 Bishop Shanahan (AAAA boys) (who are playing 9-10 Audenried, so at least the equal mediocrity should make it competitive)
Etc…….
Yet the defending 6A girls state champs, Plymouth Whitemarsh (23-4, I think), are not involved because they picked a bad time to loose 2 of their 4 games this year, the last two they played as they played themselves out of the D1 playback bracket. But that’s OK, as we get to see 15-12 Garnet Valley out of D1 6A instead. And I’m sure many will have no love loss for seeing a St. Joe Prep team not making the state playoffs, but they may just be a top 10-15 boys team in 6A in the state this year, but, hey, that’s the way District 12 decides their state reps (it’s a Philly thing), without a true district playoff. So we get to see Central out of the D12 PPL instead.
Enjoy the next 3 weeks of PA high school hoops playoffs. Please choose your first round games wisely, I know I will. Once the participation trophies are handed out this weekend, it should actually be a very good tourney going forward.
May 10th, 2023 at 1:57 am
@Kevin, I guess as a D11 guy, I’m just used to d11 finding host schools. They even require dist championships to have a neutral site since 2018. I heard NL (I’m an alum) had a problem with steelton hosting the quarterfinals a week after they hosted the first round (2 home games on state playoffs). They didn’t have to even get on a bus until eastern final. And I heard they were not happy with the facilities. No showers available? For a state quarterfinals game, where NL had to travel an hour and 45 my minutes on a bus? It is what it is. However, starting at state quarterfinals, it should be neutral in football and basketball, and every sport for that matter.
March 10th, 2023 at 2:11 pm
@Kevin, I guess as a D11 guy, I’m just used to d11 finding host schools. They even require dist championships to have a neutral site since 2018. I heard NL (I’m an alum) had a problem with steelton hosting the quarterfinals a week after they hosted the first round (2 home games on state playoffs). They didn’t have to even get on a bus until eastern final. And I heard they were not happy with the facilities. No showers available? For a state quarterfinals game, where NL had to travel an hour and 45 my minutes on a bus? It is what it is. However, starting at state quarterfinals, it should be neutral in football and basketball, and every sport for that matter.
March 9th, 2023 at 12:31 pm
@D11 Matt, I agree its not right for any of the sports at the state level. I think its even worse for basketball because the home court is really a big advantage just because of the crowds in a packed gym. Its a more intense atmosphere then football I think in most cases. For every year prior to covid they never had a problem finding neutral courts to host. I think they just said we did it that year lets just stick to it and the heck with fairness. Its just that some schools may not be able to make a run to states many years so seems like they should get a more level playing field.
March 9th, 2023 at 10:22 am
@ Irish1
Like Matt said, they do that for football as well. Don’t know about other team sports, guess I’ll pay attention this spring with baseball and lax. Why, my guess is simplicity and money. You have 192 basketball games being played over two days this weekend. I would think it would be much easier just saying if your the team on the top of the bracket for the first round, you can host if you have a PIAA suitable/approved gym/facility. Probably cheaper too not have to spend the time negotiating all these potential neutral sites and then compensating a school/district for the use. I personally have little problem with it. Yes, I’d like to see some better geographical common sense in these brackets, but maybe that is asking too much. Also would love to see a human element/selection committee type system to seed and select the teams (for football as well), but that is a delusional pipe dream. As far as Williamsport (D4 6A boys champ goes, ummmm, they are the only 6A school in D4. They were in a 6 team sub regional with D2, and they lost to D2 Scranton in that final, so they are actually a second seed out of 6 school regional playoff. Coatesville has to travel north to #1 seed Scranton. At least these games are on a Friday and Saturday, and not mid week like the round 2 games will be next week.
@ Foleman
True. There are 4 4A boys teams in D1, and only one with a winning record (12-10). Shanahan beat that 12-10 school (some charter school I never heard of) and got in. Love to see the PIAA implement a rule where a team has to have at least a .500 record to participate in states, even if you are a so called district champion, and this would go for all sports.
@ Matt
I disagree. I think a lot schools and school districts don’t want to be bothered or take the responsibility.
March 9th, 2023 at 7:14 am
@Irish,
It has been that way for football as well. They used to just let first round home team host, but last season they had state quarterfinals with home teams hosting. They say it’s because it’s hard to find neutral hosts. I find that untruthful. They find them for state semi finals.
March 8th, 2023 at 6:20 am
@Kevin X, I know they played first round state playoff basketball games at schools home courts during the covid year,but I dont understand why they are still doing that. There is no way schools should get a home game once reaching the the state tournament. In 6A the district 4 champ has to play at Lower Merion and its the same with many of the other games. To me its just the PIAA taking the easy way out rather then having to come up with neutral courts like they used to prior to covid. Its just an unfair advantage for teams that shouldnt exist in the state tourney.
March 7th, 2023 at 5:21 pm
Imhotep jus got the best QB FRESHMEN IN THE NATION ( JOE MCLEISH ) jus committed to Imhotep from 8th grade kid had a Michigan offer in 7th Grade crazy how Imhotep keeps collecting talent. Zahir Mathis #6 Junior in the nation DE. I know Imhotep doesn’t finishes its season but boy do they send kids D1 that place is a factory for D1 talent.
March 7th, 2023 at 9:04 am
KevinX, I’m thinking that most of the teams with losing records that are participating in the playoffs are playing due to the fact that their are very few small schools in the District. In District 1, the majority of schools are 6A and 5a. Only a handful of 4A Schools in District 1 and Shanahan had to play many schools that were much larger Class wise.
March 7th, 2023 at 8:52 am
J.D. Okuniewski is named the new Head Coach at Daniel Boone. Looks like Another Good Ol Boy hire by the Boone Administration. Okunieski’s dad was involved in the program for many years and coached locally at Exeter. JD is a former Boone football player and teaches at the High School. I would love to know how many applicants interviewed for the job. Boone has some talent returning so JD should get off to a good start next year.
March 6th, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Very quiet around here. Since that is the case, I will take some liberties and dust off my football on-line ticketing and playoff rants and direct them to PA high school basketball. State playoffs in boys and girls hoops start this weekend. And once again, tickets for all games, all rounds, will be available on-line only. I bit the bullet (are you still allowed to use that saying??) last fall, and pulled the trigger (and that one??) and got tix on-line for a few football games, mostly D1 6A playoff games. And yes, it was painless enough and it worked out fine, but I still held my nose firmly while plugging in my credit card info and hitting the submit icon. The fun thing with basketball is, that for any first round game (not championship games mind you) this weekend, a single game will cost you, out the door, nearly $10. Inflation or greed?? But I’m sure that hard earned money will be well invested to see teams such as the ones below in action with the potential for some instant classics in the games that they are involved in:
7-17 Nativity BVM (A girls)
8-16 Weatherly (A girls)
10-14 Jenkintown (A girls)
5-18 Jamestown (A girls)
8-16 Lancaster Mennonite (AA girls)
3-7 Belmont Charter (AA girls)
8-7 Mast II (AA girls)
8-12 Pickett Mastery (AAA girls)
12-14 Clairton (AA boys)
9-13 String Theory (AAA boys) (cool name tho)
10-14 Bedford (AAA boys)
9-15 Bishop Shanahan (AAAA boys) (who are playing 9-10 Audenried, so at least the equal mediocrity should make it competitive)
Etc…….
Yet the defending 6A girls state champs, Plymouth Whitemarsh (23-4, I think), are not involved because they picked a bad time to loose 2 of their 4 games this year, the last two they played as they played themselves out of the D1 playback bracket. But that’s OK, as we get to see 15-12 Garnet Valley out of D1 6A instead. And I’m sure many will have no love loss for seeing a St. Joe Prep team not making the state playoffs, but they may just be a top 10-15 boys team in 6A in the state this year, but, hey, that’s the way District 12 decides their state reps (it’s a Philly thing), without a true district playoff. So we get to see Central out of the D12 PPL instead.
Enjoy the next 3 weeks of PA high school hoops playoffs. Please choose your first round games wisely, I know I will. Once the participation trophies are handed out this weekend, it should actually be a very good tourney going forward.
February 28th, 2023 at 12:44 pm
@foleman Boyertown isn’t the only place with dirty politics running the football program. Pennridge ousted their HC after an extremely late hire and a five-month season. AD there doesn’t have a very good track record. The same type of scenario – kids vouched for him, the guy was a long-time teacher there, etc. They just board-approved the next guy last night…I wonder how long he’ll have on the job. Why would anyone want to coach high school sports?
February 23rd, 2023 at 8:54 am
Justin Konnick is being pushed out after 1 year as Boyertown’s Head Football Coach. The guy breathed life into an underperforming dead in the water 6A football program and the kids loved him. I have no idea what he did that the school board and AD want him out. He received over 1,000 positive comments on change.org Nothing surprises me about this, the politics that go on in Boyertown has been going on for decades. Their AD is not getting a lot of support from the Boyertown fanbase over this.
https://papreplive.com/2023/02/17/konnicks-status-as-boyertown-football-coach-in-question-after-call-for-resignation/
February 16th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
PJP opening the season on the road at Chambersburg High instead of LC followed by Ryan, West Philly, and Judge
February 6th, 2023 at 2:09 pm
Here are the new rules for 2023 high school football: Biggest change is that fouls behind the LOS (think holding) will now be enforced from the previous spot (like college and pro).
Clarified That Towels Do Not Have To Be The Same Solid Color For Each Player [1-5-3a(5)a 4, 5 (NEW)]
Player towels may contain one manufacturer’s logo and/or one school logo neither exceeding 2¼ square
inches. Towels must be a solid color but now do not have to be the same solid color for each player. Towels
may not be ball- or penalty-flag colored.
Clarified When A Player Is Inbounds After Being Out of Bounds [2-29-1]
This change clarifies when a player is inbounds after being out of bounds. There is no change to any foul or
subsequent penalty provisions, or any rules related to illegal participation or the provisions regarding eligibility
to catch a pass.
Added A List Of Criteria To Help Identify Players Who Should Be Defined As Defenseless Receivers [2-32-
16d, 9-4-3g]
This change adds to the list of criteria to help identify players who should be defined as defenseless receivers
related to application of unnecessary or excessive contact. This clarification should help game officials and
coaches by defining allowable contact against defenseless receivers.
Intentional Grounding Exception Changed [7-5-2 EXCEPTION 2a, c (NEW)]
This change permits the exception for intentional grounding to the first and only player to possess the ball
after the snap ends.
Removed “Intentional” From Pass Interference in TABLE 7-5 [TABLE 7-5(2)c (DELETE), 7-5 PENALTY]
By removing “intentional” from pass interference, this change puts the rule in line with how it is already
enforced which is a 15-yard penalty.
Changes In Basic Spot Penalty Enforcement [10-4, 6]
This change restructures and clarifies the amendments to Rule 10 to eliminate the excessive penalty
enforcements for offensive fouls that occur behind the line of scrimmage. This revision stipulates the basic
spot for enforcement of fouls behind the line of scrimmage is the previous spot rather than the spot of the
foul. Current penalties for illegal kicking, batting and participation fouls, and provisions for offensive fouls
occurring in the end zone that may result in a safety remain intact
January 11th, 2023 at 10:02 am
Perk Valley 2023 non-conference schedule:
Week 0 – @ Chester
Week 1 – @ Downingtown West
Week 2 – vs. Smyrna (DE) – Finished 12-1 in 2022
Week 3 – vs, Cheltenham
January 7th, 2023 at 6:53 pm
@foleman, no I didn’t know about any transfere, that is big news .Adding a division one recruit to a team already bringing back alot is huge. @ Kevin X ..I think one reason PJP and Shanahan haven’t played may be since they are both 4a schools and don’t want to possibly end up with a rematch in the playoffs. Scheduling these days is hard to figure out sometimes. Sadly I think the Turkey day games are just a memory.It would be a good matchup.
January 5th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
@ Irish1 and Foleman
Do you guys know why PJPII and Bishop Shanahan never hook up in the regular season?? Seems like such a natural rivalry. Maybe even a future Thanksgiving day match-up.
January 5th, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Irish 1, I’m hearing that PJP got a big time transfer from Wood, it has to be offensive tackle Kevin Heywood, who used to live in Pottstown, I guess his family moved back to the area. My niece said the transfer is really tall, Heywood is 6’7 so he fits the description, Penn State is recruiting him hard.
January 4th, 2023 at 7:34 am
PJP’s non conference schedule next year Lansdale Catholic, Arch Ryan, West Philly, and Judge. Would have liked to see one or two suburban teams on there for a little variety,but being a 4A school Im sure its not easy getting bigger public schools on the schedule, since everyone wants to build up playoff points. Interesting that every home game except one listed as 7pm start time. I know the school has a campaign to raise money for lights, hope this means its going well.
December 28th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
As a follow-up to my prior post a quick google search that took about 5 seconds shows that over 98% of the student body at Westinghouse HS is minority, with over 93% being African American. Now maybe some of you SCA supporters and apologists will understand why many of the rest of us thought the “Whip Westinghouse” sign was in bad taste. Notice I did not say it was racist, others may have made that comment, but accusing someone or something of being racist is thrown around so frequently today it’s lost some of its meaning, just like Peter Pulisky falsely accused me.
December 21st, 2022 at 12:40 pm
@Peter Pulisky – I only stated facts, Westinghouse is an inter city school in a poor minority neighbor that is majority African American, how is reporting the facts a stereotype? I never put them down in any way, they had an excellent season and in prior posts I complimented the coach and kids on a great year, I saw their last 2 games in person against Farrell and Steel Valley and was rooting for them to win, like much of the rest of the state, so please explain to me how that is racist? Are you implying a “Whip Westinghouse” sign with a drawing of a bullwhip was not in bad taste given SCA was playing a team primarily of African American student athletes? My point is it wouldn’t have taken too much research to find out the team SCA was playing had mostly African American players, so please spare me your righteousness.
December 21st, 2022 at 10:09 am
@ D2 Fan
Thank you for your kind comment on my article. The purpose of it was exactly what you suggest, to promote thought and discussion on the issues. Thanks again.
December 21st, 2022 at 12:51 am
@ Brian
That’s been the way I see Berwick. Government is more Columbia County, & associates that direction. Although, I do partially associate it with Luzerne via the zip code.
I will admit, It’s very interesting to me that they play in District 2, & in the WVC, especially since it likely makes logistical sense to play in District 4 & the Heartland. I’d be curious to see how they’d fare in the league. Speaking of which, I think Northwest Area made a great decision moving to District 4, from a logistics standpoint. They’re so small of a school for the WVC, so I thought it was a smart decision on their end. Northern Tier & that other Mid-Penn league seem to be working out just fine for them.
@ Jeff H
Yeah, I wasn’t even around for those titles. Didn’t think of them as a prior powerhouse. I don’t think I know a lot about HS basketball before 2000 outside of my local stuff, the Kobe years, Chester’s run, & the Carbondale/George Republic upset. I’m not as much of a PIAA historian, but always curious to learn more about that stuff.
@Phillyboy,
We must be! Haha. I used to collect a bunch of atlases & maps from across the country. I still collect a few from time to time. You can’t go wrong with a good ol’ fashioned truck atlas.
Also @KMac,
What a great article you wrote about the playoffs! I might have a proposal or two of my own for the whole playoff & districts dilemma. I might come up with something after Christmas on what I’d fix, because you’re sorta on the path of what I want to do.
December 20th, 2022 at 10:02 pm
@ Jeff H. You literally insisted that a inner city impoverished district is typically made up of primarily african americans. That is not only a terrible stereotype but far more racist than anything sca ever did. Stereotypes are why racism wont die. Keep feeding it fool. Dont put them down because they are inner city and impoverished. They are people too. How dare you make that comparison to african americans.
December 18th, 2022 at 10:22 pm
@ Brian – let’s have St Joes Prep move to inter ac because they win so much but when SCA does, no big deal.
Can’t have it both wins when it comes to winning
December 15th, 2022 at 9:52 am
Might as well weigh in here…
The righteous indignation toward that Southern sign is contrived and misplaced, and falls under the category of “let’s find something to complain of bc well, that’s where we are now as a society.” Optics, to quote @WPIALGuy, are exactly what you choose to perceive based upon your pre-conceived baggage, bias and filter you bring to the sign. I wholeheartedly do not believe that the assumedly 16 year-old girl who created that sign was scheming “gee, how can I most effectively marginalize and oppress the typical Westinghouse kid with my super-sneaky words of hate?!” Really now, @WPIALGuy, do you honestly believe that was her intent?! If you do, then I absolutely feel sorry for you. Maybe there is no hope for us collectively as representatives of the human condition. Me? I choose to feel otherwise. Back in our day, I recall cheerleaders making little candy bar pins for us that said things like “Whip the Whippets” “Scalp the Indians” Cage the Panthers” and yes, even, god forbid, “Cage the Black Panthers.” I can assure you that in my admittedly pretty much predominantly Caucasian world, I was NOT sitting in 6th period Trig, wondering how my little sign was going to hurt/opress/marginalize my opponent. I was just nervous about how I would measure up against the opposing team’s feisty and talented point guard. Point being, a kid made that sign. She was not thinking of the admittedly horrific traits of the Confederacy and the history of the Reconstructionist South when she, yes possibly thoughtlessly wrote “Southern State of Mind.” And if you think she was, well then again, I kinda feel sorry for you. And to @814fball (aka Sour Grapes) Really, dude? Suspend the WHOLE program because of the admittedly stupid TikTok video?!? I dont know those 2 boys (yes, BOYS), but I can imagine they’re feeling pretty ashamed right about now, and are deeply embarassed by their actions. Maybe I’m being too pollyanna-ish right now, but I’m guessing they are learning the right lesson to be learned in this situation. I guess you’ve never done a stupid, thoughtless action in your teenage life, right?! You were always nice and thoughtful to everyone, right?! Never made fun of anyone when you were 16 or 17, right?! If you proclaim such on this site, well then I’m thinking ol’ Margaret has a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge to sell our readers…Everyone just take a breath, and then exhale. Jeez, we’re talking about KIDS…lids, like we (sometimes yes, stupidly) were once upon a time…Sorry for rambling; thank you for listening. Now bring on the Hoops Season!
PS: @Jeff, do you remember that Central Columbia team that won the 81 AA title? One of the best ever, to my now admittedly fading recall.
December 15th, 2022 at 9:08 am
Rob Flowers is out at Daniel Boone. Flowers had a 17-29 record in 5 seasons which included 2 winning seasons, they were 2-8 this year. The kids loved Coach Flowers but they lost their share of close games. Daniel Boone has been mostly a doormat in football for as long as I can remember, they had one good run under Coach Dave Bodolus 15 years ago, they were also a 6A program at one time and now are at 4A with the school population dropping every year. I believe the Boone administration thinks they can return to the Bodolus years, that’s a pipe dream.
December 14th, 2022 at 3:48 pm
@TigerAum79 – please don’t insult our intelligence, we know the definition of alliteration, the fact is the “Whip Westinghouse” sign was clearly in poor taste and the adults should have realized that and never put it up in the first place, I won’t go so far as to say racist, but no doubt in poor taste, And common sense says an inner city school in a poor, minority neighborhood is going to be primarily made up of African American players, so I’m not buying it that the folks in Southern Columbia didn’t know the makeup of the team they were playing.
With that being said it is a shame all we’re talking about are the racial overtones and not the game itself, because it was an excellent high school football game, intense, physical, and played the way the game should be played. I agree the SCA offensive line wore down a very good defense in the 2nd half. I knew Braeden Wisloski was a very good player, but he’s better than I thought and put on one heck of a performance, it’s special players like him who put a very good team over the top, you could say the exact same thing about Ryan Palmieri of Pine Richland, those were the 2 individual performances who stood out to me over the weekend.
December 14th, 2022 at 3:29 pm
@ D2 – Uniontown’s last state basketball title came in 1981, they also won state titles in 1925,1962 and 1964, they have won 8 WPIAL titles, the most recent in 2002, they did make it to the PIAA finals that year but lost to Harrisburg 69-82 before a sold out crowd at Hershey Park Arena, they also lost in the 2000 finals to Chester.
December 14th, 2022 at 1:02 pm
@Ryan I think you miss the point that both of those schools are putting transfer students on their teams. SCA doesn’t move up because they’re playing in the class they belong. I’m going to throw another one out at you that you might also not like, but they actually might technically be a A team by numbers. SCA counts the Millville boys numbers in with their numbers because of a student that participates in another sport (not on the football team). However, once you allow one kid from another school, you need to count all of their enrollment. So, more than likely, SCA is already playing up by playing AA. Do you really think AAA was that much better than AA this year or even most years? What is your reasoning to move them up? Are you just going to keep moving them up until they lose? What lesson are you trying to teach by making them play schools with much larger enrollments and who also pull kids from other geographic regions? They work hard all year long to be successful. I’d argue that individually there were more talented teams this year in AA, but SCA just worked harder to win. I’m not sure why them having a harder schedule throughout the year to prepare to compete in the class they belong in (or, most likely one above where they belong) is somehow hurting anyone. Please explain your intentions and what you think moving a team up is teaching these young men? It seems that the goal is just to see them lose. If they win at AAA, I guess that means they keep moving up? You realize there really are no AAAA teams within a a reasonable driving distance from the farm country that is SCA I hope.
December 14th, 2022 at 11:13 am
@TigerAlum79
That is crazy to say they didn’t the race of the Westinghouse team.
I understand you’re from SCA, so you will defend them but the comments that have been made are silly.
Question is why Southern Columbia will play AAA teams and maybe a AAAA team during the regular season but won’t move up to play better competition. ALiquippa Imhotep but play up for better competition, yet SCA after winning 6 straight titles won’t.
December 14th, 2022 at 11:13 am
@ TigerAum79 –Wow, didn’t know there was a vowel counterpart word for alliteration, right on.
@ mcd 65 –Was actually wondering about SJP possibly playing IMG, Mater Dei, or Aquinas again because next year’s version might be the peak for this group, scary thought. So it’s not the time to hold back, if there’s ever a time to schedule the absolute best, this may be it insofar as national championship ambitions are concerned. Btw, the game may be played at Ocean City? I assume it’s the NJ variety, not MD. That could make for a nice outing coupled with a Borgata buffet at AC.
@D2 Fan –We’re kindred spirits, man, I’m a huge map nerd as well. Of course, Google maps is incredible, but to this day I still proudly use my giant Rand McNally trucker atlas where every page is laminated in conjunction with a big dollar store magnifying glass, lol.
December 13th, 2022 at 8:33 pm
@D2 Fan Being from the Columbia County area, I never thought of Berwick as being part of Luzerne. Technically they are part of Columbia County. In fact, commissioners for the county often are elected out of Berwick. I always think more Wilkes-Barre-Scranton area for Luzerne. Berwick has a different vibe to it than Luzerne, IMO.
December 13th, 2022 at 5:34 pm
@Wpialguy – The sign shown at a pep rally was a simple play on words. “Whip Westinghouse” . One of my best friends coaches the 7-8 grade team and he assures me the person who made the sign did so because the they wanted to use an “Alliteration” (Alliteration Definition = Alliteration is a literary device where each word in a string of words starts with the same consonant (as opposed to assonance, in which a vowel sound is repeated)). They likely did not even know the racial make-up of the Westinghouse team, let alone mean it in some racist way.
The original twitter video made by the two 10 graders (non-starters) did not have any words at all on it. If you have any link, you can see their mouths don’t even speak. Somebody took it and dubbed speech over it. WHO did this – who can tell in this internet day and age? It was not the SCA team.
Look at any of the comments made by the SCA starters and posted in the media after the game. They all said that Westinghouse played harder and hit harder than any team they faced all year. So please, stop the ridiculous banter. There was respect all around.
If Westinghouse’s QB had a better day and hit some of those long balls, things would have been different. But in the end it was the play of SCA’s O-Line that made all the difference. They sustained blocks just a bit longer in the second half.
December 13th, 2022 at 4:23 pm
@ Jeff H
Yeah, I noticed that it’s fairly split between the two counties. I didn’t realize most people out west considered Belle Vernon to be more Westmoreland. I’m a big map nerd, so that sorta interested me a bit.
It’s strange how that happens. Then again, PA is so unique with school districts. It doesn’t completely fall in the same umbrella as other states, like NY or OH where it feels like the boundaries aren’t 100% in the townships, or down south where every county is its own district. Although, we have that, to some extent, with the small counties (Forest, Cameron, Sullivan, Mifflin, & Juniata. That doesn’t include Philly. That doesn’t include Philly, which is just a city county).
Since I’m on the subject: Curious to know where you guys would consider Berwick to be. It’s a D2 school with a Luzerne/Columbia zip code. I’d lean more Columbia than Luzerne, but I’m curious if others liken it to the latter.
I didn’t know Uniontown was a basketball power. It must’ve been a bit before I was born, because I don’t remember ever seeing them make a run in my lifetime. I probably would’ve remembered a late 2000s/2010s run.
December 13th, 2022 at 4:05 pm
Hey never too early to look ahead to next year. So we know St Joe Prep will be very good next season along with some of the usual suspects. Who else out there looks like maybe they could make a run? Maybe a team that was a little young this year but returns a lot a guys next year and could make a run. One team im keeping an eye on is Westinghouse. Wanna see if they can keep things going next season after a great run to the champ game. Another is NG. It seems like they have a few younger players would could make an impact next season. …fire away…would like to hear some peoples thoughts
December 13th, 2022 at 11:28 am
@D2 Fan – the Belle Vernon school district straddles Westmoreland/Fayette counties, about half the district is in each county, the high school and football field are in Westmoreland County, so most people in Western PA consider them a Westmoreland County school and not Fayette. You’re right no Fayette county school has ever won a PIAA football title, however, Uniontown has won 4 PIAA basketball titles and has a very rich basketball tradition. Fayette County is pretty rural, so there’s not very many districts in the county, I think less than 10 total.
December 13th, 2022 at 11:12 am
I understand St Joe Prep is opening with IMG academy in Ocean City next year. I see Malvern Prep is looking for games and I thought it would be a dandy double header if Malvern were to play one of the North Jersey schools like Bergan Catholic or Don Boscoe Prep.
December 12th, 2022 at 9:19 pm
@Foleman,
You’re right, Albie built something good at Tep but he left for some reasons I don’t know about. Everywhere he goes, he wins.
Alot of parents can’t afford or basically don’t want to pay for high school, so they send their kids to public/charter schools for free. If NG was free or let’s say half the costs of what it is now, they’ll be loaded every year.
And NG isn’t a football school, they’re Basketball program gets all the attention. There’s good athletes that goes to Northeast, I’m surprised they didn’t come to NG. Again, MONEY. I think financial aid (FACTS) should shell out more money to students.
December 12th, 2022 at 5:25 pm
610, why do all of these great players go to TEP vs NG? If its economics, I can understand, however, Albie won a State Championship at TEP while the rest of Coaches hired after Albie left choke every year. NG better school, Albie better coach, if he could get 1/4 of the players that matriculate to TEP to play for NG they would win multiple state championships.
December 12th, 2022 at 2:30 pm
814fball, that sign wasn’t at the school. That sign was at a community pep rally and had nothing to do with the school. The video was stupid and should have not been made, that kid will be held accountable.
The sign however, is being made out to be more than it is. No difference than when they play shamokin and say scalp the indians.
December 12th, 2022 at 2:27 pm
@814fball Let’s see now you cannot say “Whip Westinghouse” on a banner. And you absolutely cannot say “Beat Westinghouse” on a banner. God forbid you cannot say “Cage the Bulldogs”.on a banner either. Not much you can say on a banner. Maybe PIAA should ban all banners! Let’s not also forget the Westinghouse fans chanting during the national anthem with hats on.Oh I forgot that is an expression of freedom of speech which is OK. Where does this end. It starts with the parents in the stands not the kids on the field.
December 12th, 2022 at 2:16 pm
@mcd_65
Having Battle is a plus but we could’ve of beat BV without him. A lot of nerves, MISTAKES were made offensively. We move on, learn from it and now they’re getting ready for 7on7 season.
December 12th, 2022 at 2:14 pm
@Brian,
There were cops, in and outside the stadium. Everyone was tailgating at 10am, cops were cool, they knew what were in our cups. No metal detectors or some type of security where someone with a wand is checking people coming in the stadium. Like I said, the stadium is nice. Is that where the HS Championships going to be for now on? I wish our game was at night.
December 12th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
@814fball You’re a bit late to this conversation, obviously. If you look back, we’ve already figured out that the sign was hung at a community pep rally, not at the school and that it was removed immediately once a parent decided it might be in bad taste. They use alliteration in all their signs and Westinghouse later said they also thought “Wreck Westinghouse” was in poor taste, as well as one they use at all major events that refers to winning as a Southern way of life. It has nothing to do with racism or the deep South, but how things are done at Southern Columbia. Westinghouse didn’t know about any of that prior to the game, so screaming F U N****** at SCA sidelines was not in retaliation for something they knew nothing about.
You also missed the part where there was obviously a TikTok thing going around because numerous teams made similar videos as those two boys at Southern. In the case of the others, it was their whole team, not just two bench warmers. Those two bench warmers have gotten punished for their actions by the coach, but will anything be done to the members of all the other teams? These two underclassmen were following what starters at other teams were doing because they probably thought it was the cool thing to do. What punishment did those that are supposed to be role models get for their videos? The N word used in rap songs is a whole other discussion, but these kids think in songs it’s acceptable because it’s become ordinary to them. So far, I’ve heard of no other teams getting punished except SCA’s two kids. You want to punish the whole program for the actions of two underclassmen that didn’t play? Seems you might want to re-evaluate what you have against the rest of the program. Do you punish everyone in a group if just a few who do something wrong?
I accused Westinghouse of blowing this out of proportion in order to try to do exactly what you seem to want, which is to change the outcome of the game. They probably have seen the similar videos. They also were then trying to say that SCA was all racist, down to a kid in a black Southern coat and signs that had no racial connotations. They’re grasping at straws because they have free time to divert their energy to excuses after losing. They spent a great deal of time on social media taunting before the game and the only racial slur that anyone remembers during the game on either side came from their sidelines, not SCA’s. Should we assume that everyone at Westinghouse is racially biased against white people and suspend their team based on that? Perhaps they’re too focused on race if they felt the need to call a predominantly white team the N word and now think everything is about race when clearly it wasn’t intended to be on SCA’s side.
December 12th, 2022 at 1:08 pm
@WPIALguy – the time to beat SJP is when they are young and a great, senior dominated team comes along, like Lebo last year and PR in 2017, both of those years they were young after graduating a tremendous senior class in 2016 (Swift, etc.) and 2020 (McCord, Harrison Jr., etc.) No one is going to touch SJP next year with their returning starters, maybe in 2024 there will be a team that emerges that can challenge them when their current junior class graduates, but I expect SJP to win 4 out of every 5 state titles for the foreseeable future, they have of course won 7 of the last 10, and no reason to think that type of dominance won’t continue.
With that being said it will be very interesting to see who PCC hires as their next coach, because if they get the right guy and he brings in the right staff I think they can challenge and perhaps beat SJP in some years.
December 12th, 2022 at 12:58 pm
@610 – BV was the consensus preseason #1 because the WPIAL has dominated 3A since the move to 6 classes, and BV was clearly the best 3A team in the WPIAL when they moved down from 4A. I said at the beginning of the season on this board Belle Vernon would win 3A when the question was posed about newcomers who would break through this year. I thought that was a great game, a real defensive struggle on both sides, and both teams played their hearts out. I figured it was going to be a one score game because BV does not have an offense that puts up lots of points against good defenses and NG certainly has a very good defense (the 2 games BV lost they scored 6 and 13 points against very good defenses in McKeesport and Penn Trafford). As you saw BV does have an excellent defense, to not allow a 2nd half touchdown since their 14-13 loss to PT in week three is incredible, and their goal line stand to preserve the win was legendary. That was the type of game where it was a shame either team had to lose. My question is why doesn’t NG have a kicker, couldn’t they recruit a kid from the soccer team to kick? The same issue caused Clairton a state title in 2014 against BG when they didn’t have a kicker and lost 19-18, after scoring 3 TDs and not converting any of the 2 point conversions.
December 12th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Don’t forget mount Lebanon just beat St. joes prep last year. I know it’ll be tough but it is possible to beat them
December 12th, 2022 at 10:50 am
@610 How was the security for your game? For the 2A game, it definitely could have been improved. Unlike at Hershey where they kept the two sides apart, this venue often had them intermingling. There was not a metal detector like we had at Hershey and anything and everything could be brought into the game (saw alcohol and could smell weed at one point). There were probably more security guards outside and inside the game than at Hershey, but the restrooms and food vendors were all shared and there wasn’t really a security presence at either. I could see this going poorly with some of the animosity you see at some games. The field was beautiful, but not sure what they could do to fix some of those potential issues. I saw they brought some extra security from Pittsburgh schools, but I wasn’t sure if there was much for other games as well. I could definitely see the benefits of the separation that Hershey allows.
December 12th, 2022 at 8:46 am
I’m curious to know how many viewers watched it on PCN network. Unless your team ifrom home, there isn’t much incentive to travel when you can watch all 6 games for 15 bucks from home.
The 5A numbers do and and don’t surprise me. The Pine Richland side looked filled but Tep doesn’t have a huge following. They always bring just 2-3 hundred.
December 12th, 2022 at 8:37 am
@Brian,
did you happen to see the sign that was hung in the Southern Columbia gym for their pre-game pep rally? You should probably look into that before accusing Westinghouse of anything. That combined with the racist tiktok made by a couple SC players and the PIAA called for an internal investigation — I think much more needs to happen because the sign at pep rally was EGREGIOUS and DISGUSTING. Suspend their program.
December 11th, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Attendance figs:
1A 2,139
2A 2,416
3A 1,676
4A 3,769
5A 1,717
6A 4,012
15,729 total for the 3 days
December 11th, 2022 at 5:02 pm
@JCo I think your idea is great in theory. I would say based on the sentiment of people on this site and what we have seen this year, teams would opt out of the “bowl game” with SJP and happy to say they won state. To me in theory is the same as winning their district, city etc. You proved your the best from you locale, but not the best in the state. The bowl would be designed to say who is the best in your state at 6A, which is what the state championship game is.
Interestingly enough I saw someone on twitter state he thinks SC can beat SJP.. WOW. So if we have that with 1A School, I can imagine what 6A would be like without the actual game.
I must say the Harrisburg band, cheer leaders and flag carrier where rocking, cheering the entire night. WELL DONE!
GV put on quite the show for the state playoffs. Must better game experience than Hershey. WELL DONE!
December 11th, 2022 at 4:56 pm
@610, If Battle played NG would have won no doubt IMO.
December 11th, 2022 at 12:02 pm
Just my take on the Southern Columbia/ Westinghouse game. It was one of the best, hardest fought games I believe I have ever seen. Both teams left it ALL ON THE FIELD. The emotional energy was electric and intense, not because as one young lady on Twitter claims was racially driven, but because the Tigers were not heavy favorites as in previous years. I too was a bit complacent in recent years. But this year’s version of the Tigers went into this game against a Westinghouse team that seemed to have everything going for them, as underdogs. Donta Green is an excellent head coach and will only improve with experience, as has Jim Roth. My father, wife, grandson and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
December 11th, 2022 at 11:12 am
Two items for thought:
SJP’s game against La Salle was their toughest test of the playoffs. You think La Salle prefers going out early? Or would they prefer having a chance to test themselves against other privates in eastern PA and not face SJP until a later round?
Parkland probably gave SJP their toughest test of any public. They might have been the best public in the state. Would a game between Harrisburg and Parkland have been more interesting than the game between Harrisburg and SJP? I’d say probably. Then whoever wins that can play SJP in a bowl game, so we know for a fact both teams are getting their best test. I can see both those games being draws.
Again, this is not about making things easier for public teams. This is about making Pennsylvania football better overall.
December 11th, 2022 at 10:13 am
My take on the game between NG vs BV. I hope you guys l believe in constructive criticism.
-Congrats to BV, hell of a stop on the goal line. I like games that come down to the end.
-I like the Stadium
-Why was BV the consensus #1 in the beginning of the year, what is it about them that made everyone on here thinking they were going to blow out NG? Well alot yall had us losing every playoff game.
-NG kept Martin in check, I believe he had and I’m being nice, probably between 70-80 yds rushing and receiving combined with a TD.
-NG play calling wasn’t good, I think the coach should’ve of kept pounding the ball up the middle because BV couldn’t stop it. He got away from what was working. NG’s offense was only clicking on the last drive of the game
-QB threw 3 interceptions in the first half. Coming into the game, he only threw 4 INTs all year. BV didn’t convert any points from the turnovers.
-I don’t know why NG didn’t have someone spy on Martin on the drive BV scored a TD. It look like the same play Wyomissing did to put them in the lead in our semifinal game.
-As for BV QB, anytime he dropped back, he only looked for Martin.
-NG offense only had 1 possession in the 3rd quarter. BV did a good job of using the clock.
-The people at the game, watching on a stream at home and college coaches got a treat. It was a good game
-I spoke to the QB after the game and he took it hard because he wanted to do it for the Senior class. I told him that the stance at the goal line didn’t cause us to lose, there were alot of factors that costs us the game.
-Hopefully we see BV again next year.
December 11th, 2022 at 9:11 am
District 3 could put an all-star team of the best 6A players in the region and they still would not beat St. Joe Prep. 37 players on Harrisburg says it all. Northeast, who Prep played in the State playoffs had even less and the school has 3,600 kids in the school. I read that in 1970 Pa had 75,000 HS football players, today 25,000 players, The football talent level and participation in Pa is way down and the top players are headed to winning programs. I really can’t blame them for going to the Prep, Prep’s academics are top notch. I don’t see the 6A Pubs challenging Prep in the near future.
December 11th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Now it looks like Belle Vernon posted the exact same video on tik tok after their win. What do i know.. maybe kids are just unbelievably stupid nowadays. Social media, the downfall of society.
December 11th, 2022 at 8:47 am
If westinghouse would have won there would be nothing. Its ok to lose gracefully. Not paying attention to the national anthem to means you dont care about this country so why would all the rest of the things in this beautiful country pertain to you. You disrespect the most sacred thing in this country please dont cry disrespect elsewhere
December 11th, 2022 at 8:35 am
@WpialGuy the more I learn, the more this looks like something made out of nothing and blown out of proportion. The video is actually using a song multiple other teams used after winning in TikTok videos. If you’re going to punish the two kids who didn’t even play in the game for mimicking older kids, you need to punish the ones they’re imitating too. In the other videos it’s actually starting players, not bench warmers.
The N word was used at the game, but not by SCA. A member of the National Guard came out to not only talk about the disrespect during the National Anthem, but to say he heard the Westinghouse side scream FU N***** towards the SCA side. You can’t claim afterwards you have a problem with the use of the word if you’re using it yourself as a taunt to the other side. SCA didn’t repeat this racial slur, but I don’t think you get a free pass to scream it at a bunch of white kids if you want to keep race out of the picture.
Since the original complaint, they’ve gone on to say that sign, plus one that said A Southern State of Mind (which SCA uses in games against white players and has nothing to do with racism), one that says Wreck Westinghouse and a picture of a cheerleader with a black “Southern” coat on all claiming they’re examples of racism. Some are calling for the game win to be given to Westinghouse. So, what’s the motive here?
Kudos to their assistant coach who stated that nothing he heard from the field or his players during the game was about racial slurs being used on the field. Thankfully someone is being honest on that side.
Still waiting to hear why this is a bigger deal than a threat of violence. Seems more like a ploy to try to steal a win they don’t deserve.
December 10th, 2022 at 10:48 pm
What a ballgame in 3A. The goal line stand of a lifetime by Belle Vernon to hold off Neumann to win the championship. Without a doubt the game of the weekend.
December 10th, 2022 at 10:05 pm
Brian you are awfully defensive.
1. They are not “my team”. I am reacting to things i saw on social media.
2. I did not attend the game because frankly i live on the west side of the state and also work, so it is not to my liking the piaa even holds games during weekdays.
3. I didn’t know about the national anthem.
4. You need to understand the optics better. Whip Westinghouse may not seem bad, but when there’s an actual picture of the whip, and Westinghouse is majority black, and southern Columbia isn’t exactly the most diverse place, people will question.
5. Obviously someone in the SC community took the original picture of the sign and posted it because how would anyone from Westinghouse or elsewhere even see the sign. If someone in the own community thought the sign was wrong it probably shouldn’t have been put up.
6. The sign by itself might not have gained a reaction, but combined with the video and you have a clear argument.
December 10th, 2022 at 9:58 pm
I think the sign, I’m sure which was made by cheerleaders, wasn’t intended as a racist thing. The whip drawing maybe not a great idea though. Like when they play shamokin and say scalp the Indians, or club the seals when they play Selinsgrove. Whip westinghouse was a play on words that I really don’t think was intended in the way people are taking it. People are also taking issue with a sign that said “southern state of mind”. Saying it in conjunction with the other sign are clearly racist. It’s not, southern state of mind is something they’ve says for a long time. It implies a winning state of mind if that makes sense. Nothing racial.
The tik tok video was pure stupidity. That kid screwed up. And he should be held accountable for that video.
December 10th, 2022 at 9:51 pm
My observations on the remaining five games.
Didn’t catch much of the Aliquippa game, but that was a tough loss for them. I didn’t think it would be a rout like that. Don’t be shocked if we see it become a trilogy next year, but the fan of parity in me would love a new face or two. I think Bishop McDevitt is returning a lot of players next year, so they may be primed for another run.
Good victory for Steel-High. They should’ve blown out Union, based on the eye test (they’re the better team), but it was a lot closer than anyone else would’ve guessed. Still wish it was Northern Lehigh, because that would’ve been just as neat of a matchup. If it was Canton, it would’ve been intriguing for a grudge match.
That Pine-Richland/Imhotep game was pretty good. Only caught the second half, though. I said earlier I the week how I trusted Pine-Richland in these kinds of matchups, & it showed. Palmieri might’ve had the best performance of championship weekend.
I didn’t get around to watching the 3A final (yet), but from the looks of it, it seemed like a classic. Gotta say. Holding a team to a goal line stand that late into the game, at the goal line, is incredible stuff. Congrats to Belle Vernon.
A question, if anyone can answer. Before anyone corrects me on semantics, I know the high school is in Westmoreland, but the zip code is Fayette, so I must ask: Is this the first state title in football for a Fayette County school. What about first title in anything? WPIAL faithful, correct me if I’m wrong.
I don’t have much to say about 6A. Kinda wish they’d go down the IMG & St. Frances route, but the likelihood of that happening is the equivalent to six classes being removed. I wonder how much of a game Garnet Valley or even a Parkland would’ve made it if they made it. The world may never know. I’m more impressed that I got the right score for SJP. Just needed 10 more from the Cougs.
Overall, every playoff game was intriguing this year. The 4A & 6A games being the more lackluster or the group. Not entirely surprised about that outcome. Private school teams are almost always too much for most public programs.
Now the season is officially over in PA, save for any all-star games & awards that haven’t been done yet. Then again, the former is usually done in the spring, so it’s just accolades. Look on the bright side, we only have 258 days left until football season kicks off again in the Keystone State, but who’s really counting?
December 10th, 2022 at 9:34 pm
The 3A champions post the exact same style video
https://youtube.com/shorts/RwJMtDNVmkk
December 10th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
@78CatFan I’ve now seen the video. It’s not first string players in it. It’s music in the background, not anything they say as they don’t say anything. Definitely dumb on their part, but I’m sure Roth is addressing it.
I’ve also seen this being blown up by some at Westinghouse. A picture of an SCA cheerleader with her black cheer coat on is somehow proof she’s racist because it says Southern on the back. Are we supposed to now change the name of the school because they find it racist? Seems more like they’re deflecting after a week of hyping they could sleep through the game and still win. And yet we’re hearing about this while they’re keeping the threat silent. Where’s the priorities?
December 10th, 2022 at 6:23 pm
The tiktok was a player from SCA with his hands in his face with laughing audio in the background and then he lifts his face up with a sign that says 2A state champs. And at the end of the video, it says “gotcha n word”. How stupid can you be to post something like that on social media?? These kids are ridiculous
December 10th, 2022 at 5:04 pm
I think Southern Columbia are just big Devo fans.
Does this now mean that Downingtown West will have change their nickname??
This is kind of reminding me of the PJPII GBB incident from a few years ago. Still waiting to see that video 🙂
December 10th, 2022 at 5:04 pm
What’s the context of the TikTok video? Was it music being played?
December 10th, 2022 at 4:21 pm
@Ed I learned the sign wasn’t from the game nor the school. It was at a community pep rally and was removed immediately when discovered. The school can’t control everyone in the community’s actions. Catawissa actually used to be the state seat for the KKK, so to think an old racist still lives in the community would not be a far stretch. However, that certainly doesn’t mean the team itself is loaded with racists. You are correct that Roth would not let that slide. I have not seen a Tik Tok that was racist, but Roth definitely would have strict consequences. As I said before, one of their most beloved team members is black, so I can’t imagine they as a group would promote anything racist. I also read where the Westinghouse coach said that nothing racist was said on the field. I’d assume a racist group of kids would follow that up on the field, which leads me to believe this isn’t coming directly from team members.
December 10th, 2022 at 3:19 pm
I can recall a sign back in the mid 70’s that read, “Whip the Whippets.” The Whippets were the team from Freeland, Pa, now part of Hazelton school district. No one batted an eye, nor should they. This is more “woke” bs. Folks upset at this banner probably would have found fault with Beat Bulldogs too. Stop creating issues where there’s none.
December 10th, 2022 at 2:27 pm
My goodness now sca is racist because they had a banner that said whip Westinghouse with a whip. Oh no not that. Every week southern has banners that tailor to the school name or mascot. They’ve had trample the tornadoes but nobody thinks they’re going to actually trample over them with something. Smash the shamrocks for Trinity, nobody thinks that they’re really going to slap someone. Maul the marauders for BG. Nobody thinks they’re going to actually maul someone. It’s called use of alliteration and pumping your team up. As for Southern state of mind. That wasn’t just made up for Westinghouse. I mean they are the Southern Columbia Tigers and they have an exceptional state of mind when it comes to football mentality and has nothing to do with the song. That phrase has been used for years as has SOCO crazy but I guess they should be put in an institution since they’re crazy. Stop grasping at straws to take attention away from the fact that your team lost.The only people who are bringing up the race card are the ones who were expecting to come in and beat the pants off of southern and didn’t. Would you rather their sign say something like bulldoze the bulldogs or would you’ve been offended thinking they’re coming there with bulldozers? As for the video, yeah I’m not a fan of that. This race card stuff is for the birds.
December 10th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
@Brian. I seen pictures of the whip westinghouse sign. And I saw the tik tok video. The sign, although seems racist, may have been made by a kid that doesn’t know any better, but than how did it make it up on a wall? How did no adult see it and think it was in bad taste?
The video there really is no excuse for. And if that kid is on the team, he needs removed and held accountable. It is true that we have freedom of speech and can say what we want, but it’s also true that words have consequences and these kids need to learn that.
I do know that Roth hates ANY distraction at all to the goals of the team. And he won’t tolerate it.
December 10th, 2022 at 11:55 am
@Wpialguy Just wondering if you attended the Westinghouse Southern game? I watched it on PCN. I did hear the disrespect on the Westinghouse side during the Anthem. I lost all respect for the Westinghouse fans at that point also. In this case a few bad apple’s did spoiled the whole bunch. If there was any disrespect on the Southern side you can be sure it will be dealt with by Roth and the school administration.
December 10th, 2022 at 11:49 am
The sca game was one again a testament to the coaching staff at sca. Over the years I’ve seen them beat teams with more talent so many times. Their team play and execution are second to none. Both those teams yesterday played their hearts out. Defenses came to play and were hitting fast and hard. Coaching won that game.
Yes Wisloski is a great rb and Barnes compliments him well. But I think westinghouse had a more talented team. I think mca was more talented this year as well. Westinghouse has great team speed and that took away getting to the edge, but sca always has great line play and still opened holes in the middle for the rbs. If you want to beat sca, you need to utilize more than one good player, sca will negate your best player. Westinghouse tried too much with their qb and sca knew they would. All I heard leading up to this was how dominant and fast westinghouses defense was, but I don’t think people realized that sca’s was even better.
Congratulations to both teams for getting to this game and both played a great game.
December 10th, 2022 at 9:33 am
@Wpialguy And please send proof of what you saw to SCA. Their administration as well as Roth would take care of such behavior. I just doubt it happened. One of their most loved players is black. Why would they make posts and signs that would be hurtful to him? Surely someone has pictures if such a thing happened.
December 10th, 2022 at 9:28 am
@Wpialguy Racial undertones? How is repeating the words they used in any way racial? Dude, you’re grasping at straws now because a team that supposedly couldn’t be beaten was pounded by SCA. I saw no sign. What I saw were a Westinghouse player getting into the face of Barnes at the coin toss and having to be removed by the officials. I saw classless fans cheering through a young lady trying to sing the National Anthem. I saw fans do a cheer that culminated in them giving the middle finger to the SCA sidelines. Prior this week some of the Westinghouse players seemed to make it their job to taunt SCA players on social media. Perhaps they should have spent more time practicing to handle smash mouth football. You can be sure Roth would discipline his players if there were any racist or unsportsmanlike conduct on their part. What is Westinghouse doing to fix the classless behavior we witnessed?
December 10th, 2022 at 9:09 am
The sign said “whip Westinghouse” with a picture of a whip drawn. Also there is a tik tok going around with the use of the N word. I didn’t hear about the national anthem stuff
December 10th, 2022 at 8:45 am
Thru the 1st 4 games im not that surprised by who won. Each team was certainly capable of winning their respective games.
1A Steel was the better team but Union was certainly scappy but it seemed so much of their game relied on the QB who was certainly good. Steel just had a few more players on their side.
2A was maybe the most physical HS I’ve seen in a while. Both defenses were crunching bones out there. Gonna be a lot of sore players this morning.
Credit to SC for sticking to their game plan. Westinghouse was very impressive. Definitely question their coach going for it in their own end so early.
4a McD was very impressive. Certainly didn’t see them handling the Quips like that. The Quips RB not being 100% didnt help them for sure. That Mcd nose takle is a complete game wrecker.
5a im at a complete loss to describe Imhotep. Ive never seen a team with so many superior athletes at so many positions continually come up short in the title game. They seemed powerless to defend anything PR was doing. PR just kept grinding. They were a pleasure to watch.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:30 am
Just looking at things if southern was in 3a this year they wouldnt have won 2a in my opinion.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:11 am
Roth’s Coaching won that game, he is the best in the business, what in the world was the Westinghouse Coach thinking going for it on 4th and 2 at their own 26? Too many HS Coaches are now trying to emulate Doug Petersons riverboat gambling style, I saw the the PJP coach do the same thing against Perkiomen Valley in the PAC 10 Championship and it probably lost the game for them. Newsflash for HS coaches, this isn’t the pros. Seen Southern Columbia many times, they run the Wing T to perfection, pound, pound, pound, their guards are fullbacks in disguise with all the trapping/pulling they do, they just wear down opposing defenses. Plus, look at SC’S players physique’s, I would hire their strength coach in a second. Roth said SC’S offseason training program is the most important part of his program.
Palmieri? Pine Richland’s QB is one of those special HS players that make a good team great, he was fun to watch.
December 10th, 2022 at 7:57 am
@Wpialguy WHAT DID THE SIGN SAY? BECAUSE I DID NOT SEE THE SIGH THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. I DID LEAVE RIGHT AFTER THE GAME WAS OVER SO I MIGHT HAVE MISSED IT. AND I DO NOT SUPPORT ANY RASISM AND IF THERE WAS ANY I WOULD HOPE THE COACH WILL DISCIPLINE THE PLAYERS. BUT LETS ALSO TALK ABOUT THE DISRESPECT THAT WESTHOUSE HAD WHEN THE YOUNG LADY WAS SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM. THE WESTINGHOUSE FANS WERE CHANTING AND WOULD NOT EVEN TAKE THERE HATS OFF.
December 10th, 2022 at 6:14 am
Where’s the guy talking about Westinghouse going gangster now with obvious racial undertones??? Did you see the video or sign from southern Columbia after the game??? Classless and racist. For all the love you people give southern Columbia on this board and say such a great coac that guy is. Maybe he should teach his players respect and how to win with dignity.
December 10th, 2022 at 2:15 am
I think if southern didnt score those last two touchdowns they may have went to overtine or lost by a point or won by a point, but the game would have been much closer. The stadiium looked to have stands like the others and it seemed to be a 100 yard field so it had many of the same things, nice goal posts too.
December 9th, 2022 at 10:59 pm
I would just like to put the transfer stuff aside and promote credit where it is due. If you grew up in the coal region and were a successful athlete it meant you were motivated and self determined…..period. a lot of those people come from this area. It is also known if your a driven self motivated person circa 30 years ago you likely moved away (5 miles) from the 3rd world coal region into a nice district (over the hill) both academics athletics. (15k for a row home vs 115k for a nice ranch house and some land in southern district) you can complain that it is recruiting all you want but the matter of fact is coach roth gets the best athletes because their motivated parents decades ago made something of themself and got out of poverty. He is a great coach but he also gets the best people out of those regions because they are motivated and determined. It is not recruiting. He lives the best of both worlds. However can you hardly blame the people who moved out of the coal towns to better themselves. Keep talking recruiting if you want but understand the economics and culture of the coal/farm region. The best make it out, some dont………
Statistics dont lie thats why you see the successful names of years ago playing for southern.
Its not recruiting, its what everyone would do if they could
December 9th, 2022 at 9:07 pm
D2 fan. Southern would have no business being in 3A this year. They wouldn’t have even made it out of districts and many felt they wouldn’t even make it out of districts this year after they lost to mca in the regular season and would have to play them again in districts. Moving up in class because you keep winning doesn’t do justice in any way shape or form for competitive sports. It sends the message that if soMeone is too good they should move up so that teams not as good has a chance. Imagine when someone beats southern in the playoffs the magnitude of it will be. Southern moves up and loses its they’re not that good etc etc etc. the only way moving up should ever be an issue is with nonboundary boundary schools that can have anyone from anywhere go to their school. It’s not like southern dominated and mercy ruled they’re eat this year. The 15 point win today was much closer than the scoreboard and the mercy rule win against BG was misleading if you watched the game or were there. BG was driving to take the lead late 3rd and ended up having a fg block and their wheels fell off after that. They scrapped and clawed for this state title and proved doubters wrong To be the best you have to beat the best not force them to move up. That’s not beating the best that’s hoping someone else makes changes to a system so others to penalize success.
December 9th, 2022 at 8:59 pm
@MikeS
McDevitt scored and the Quips answered. The team traded a couple of possessions until McDevitt intercepted a pass and returned it inside to 10 midway through the 2nq quarter. They scored and then forced a fumble and scored again with 3 minutes left in the half to go up 20-6 at halftime. After that it was all Crusaders in the 3rd quarter as they built a 34-6 lead nearing the end of the 3rd quarter. The Quips were in real danger of being mercy ruled 41-6 until they intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards for a TD with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter to make it 34-12. After that each team scored a TD for the final score. McDevitt had intercepted an overthrown pass and was in the red zone as time expired. McDevitt doubled the Quips yardage, 278-140, and had 3 turnovers, all interceptions. The Quips had 4 turnovers, 2 fumbles, 2 interceptions. The Quips had 20 yards total passing. Each team ran for about 120 yards and had roughly the same amount of penalties.
December 9th, 2022 at 8:30 pm
Ok, just got home from the AA game. First of all, it never gets tired. Sorry, not sorry. Secondly, great tailgating. No hassles. Stadium was very nice.
Alright, where to begin…
@ Marg: Pls tell me you had a few belts of Irish Coffee before you posted that stream-of-consciousness missive…
@D2: Knoebels is indeed a national treasure. I spent the GNP of a small third-world country in Playland from 76-83. Viva la Evel Knievel!
@NEPA: It’s the well water…
@GaryZ and JeffH: Not gonna lie, first half caused much nervousness, yet at the end, SCA just did what it always does; that is, the collection of rings.
Westinghouse fans were really nice; good dudes. Classy all around. Lots of fun today.
December 9th, 2022 at 5:42 pm
Congratulations Southern Columbia. Coach Roth and staff are the absolute best. Many people counted them out I did not. From a Dunmore bucks fan.
December 9th, 2022 at 5:01 pm
I’ve been quiet all playoff. I’m sure you wanted to hear from me, because I did the ultimate jinx.
Told you guys I’d take the blame if Southern won. Blame me for talking about Westinghouse, or even discussing theme. I should’ve just picked Southern, & said Southern. Sharpie, & it would’ve done the job. I should just shut up & stop talking in this forum, because I know the other teams are gonna lose. Haha.
All joking aside, my true thoughts. I thought going for it on 4th at your own 26 that early on was the ultimate head-scratcher for me. I would’ve punted far & aimed it out of bounds, if I was the coach. I knew that moment would cost them the game. You don’t give Southern that good field position, not even with a great defense.
Not gonna lie, we need new blood in 2A. It does get boring to see Southern win every year, or making the finals in the East. If I was student in the district, I’d honestly be bored. It’s like yeah, we won, but winning 6 in a row is boring. I’d rather see someone else win. That’s just my opinion. Then again, I went to a school that goes 3-7 to 6-4 every year, & has only won a District once. I’d dream to have Roth or one of the good ones coach up here & change the culture of the area football scene, because it’s not good.
The only thing that gives me enough resistance to avoid hating the dynasty is that they’re so close to Knoebels. I pass by it every time, so it feels cool to pass by greatness every time I go to the greatest place in the world. Hopefully they get to success factor requirements & they play 3A, or have the guts to play 4/5A. Kennedy Catholic did in basketball at 6A, & I gained more respect for them, even though I am one of the ones who think they should play separate playoffs.
Now, I did read somewhere (might’ve been Bob Greenberg) that the success factor rule is remaining the same for the next cycle, so that’s probably not gonna happen. That’s a shame, to be honest. That probably means we won’t see either Southern or Aliquippa move up next year, assuming both make it back to the respective rounds they need to.
I’ll break down my opinion on the other games later, but you guys can blame me for Westinghouse losing.
December 9th, 2022 at 4:11 pm
Read two different sports articles on the McDevitt-Quip game, & boy were they different, one I got a feeling the game was a total blowout, and the other the Quips were in the game till late, anyone actually at the game, that can give a real report? For that matter someone at all the games that can give a completely nonpartial report on the games?
December 9th, 2022 at 3:48 pm
The Southern machine does it again. 6 years in a row. What a program. Most, including myself, thought this was the year the might not make it…..but we were wrong.
December 9th, 2022 at 3:44 pm
How about those SoCo Tigers , and the best Coaches in the land Jim Roth and company !!
December 9th, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Absolute fantastic job by Coach Roth and his staff. An absolute coaching masterpiece all around. A lot of people wrote Southern off this year, and they turn around and dominate through the playoffs once again.
What a game this afternoon against Westinghouse. Will probably go down as the game of the weekend. In good ole farm boy fashion, they wore em out.
December 9th, 2022 at 3:16 pm
Southern dominating Westinghouse to another championship. Not a southern fan, but when the city boys meet the farm boys, we know who wins! Congrats southern!
December 9th, 2022 at 10:22 am
#55 on McDevitt had one of the all-time best performances in Championship history last night.
I Don’t know if they win that game without him. He was that good.
December 9th, 2022 at 9:48 am
@Foleman & EmanD3man – agree with both of you, very impressive win by McDevitt, I thought the Quips defense might be the difference, but turned out to be McDevitt’s, their D line and linebackers were tremendous last night, Robell was a beast up front. I do think they are the second best team in the state and would be competitive with SJP, and agree they would beat Tep if they played them again. Would not be surprised at all if these teams meet again next year for a rubber match, could be similar to ECP-Tep from 2015-18.
December 9th, 2022 at 9:31 am
After watching the video that the “thrown punch” was committed by Shawn Battle, the PIAA need to review it and reverse the call of the suspended. Absolutely no punch was thrown. What a joke.
The Zips were missing their starting center. They will be back.
Did anyone see that Harrisburg only has 37 players on their roster? While SJP has 85
December 9th, 2022 at 8:00 am
Nice W for McD….not sure they got a lot of love west of Harrisburg, but D3 knew how loaded they were! Everyone talks about Saunders and his weapons on O, but they were very underrated on the D side of the ball. Quipps QB was under pressure the whole game, and I think that surprised them. McD loses 8 guys on O next year, including their whole OL, but they still have Saunders for 2 more years and a 1300 WR returning in ’23, so they will be a force next year as well. Saunders has thrown for 8 TD’s the last two state finals, and he’s only 15…so be prepared…plus Erby, the QB from Steel High is back too, and he’s a beast. Nice job D3…2/2 so far
December 9th, 2022 at 7:25 am
McDevitt was on a mission all year and has been preparing for Aliquippa for a while. QB Saunders was a freshman last year and the sophomore version was amazing. Thier was a huge difference in talent and production between the Quipps QB and Saunders. Robell was a one man wrecking crew. McDevitt is probably the 2nd best team in the State behind Prep, I would take them over TEP if they played again, TEP beat McDevitt early in the season.
December 8th, 2022 at 10:35 pm
Bishop McDevitt routs Aliquippa 41-18. McDevitt scored on its1st play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. After the Quips scored to make it 7-6 it was pretty much all Crusaders. McDevitt built a 34-6 lead late in the 3rd quarter before the Quips scored 2 quick TD’s aided by interceptions but McDevitt righted itself in the 4th quarter to claim the title.The Quips were a step slow or late most of the night. McDevitt had more talent, more speed, and more play makers on both sides of the ball. I’m not sure how good the teams that Aliquippa played were but they certainly weren’t prepared for the likes of this McDevitt team. Either Aliquippa was extremely overrated or McDevitt was extremely underrated because this was pretty much a no contest from the start as McDevitt scored on their 1st play from scrimmage via a slant pass that went for 70 yards and continued to score at will most of the game. While the Quips did make a few plays on offense and defense it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the Crusader onslaught. Despite 3 interceptions, Stone Saunders (5 TD passes), Marquese Williams, Tyshawn Russell, Rico Scott and rest of the McDevitt offense, especially the passing game, were too much for the Quips to handle while Crusader DL Riley Robell wreaked havoc with the Quips offense.
The Mid Penn Conference goes 2-2 Thursday in the State Championships as Steel High wins the 1A title also. A 3rd Mid Penn title will be much harder as Harrisburg goes up against bully SJP on Saturday.
December 8th, 2022 at 7:11 pm
If a team is forced to move up in the state playoff, say from AAA to AAAA how do they ever move down.
December 8th, 2022 at 6:28 pm
For those attending the championship games at Cumberland Valley, let me know what you think of the campus and stadium. I know there are some big campuses and stadiums in western PA. Does this venue remind me of any other schools, east or west PA, where you have attended games?
December 8th, 2022 at 5:54 pm
I think the 42 cass township team beats the 68 mt. Carmel team by a safety
December 8th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
@Wpialguy Cumberland Valley will have virtual classes for the high school on Thursday 12/8 and 12/9 is a scheduled Staff in-service day, no school for all students. Nice to have these games here at my alma mater. They did a great job on the new artificial turf field and lights. There is a red light on a pole at the end, maybe both ends, of the field that is somewhat annoying during night games. I think seating capacity is about 8,000 with plenty of room for standing. Not sure if they will put the bleachers in at the north end zone.That should be more than enough though. One thing I noticed is that there is no light on the new scoreboard at the south end to identify which team has the ball. Not sure if they fixed that but wasn’t fixed last I saw.
December 8th, 2022 at 10:28 am
@ Brian
I sincerely could care less. You said the PIAA would investigate and do it quickly. Whatever. Hey all I said was NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. If it does I’m wrong. Post it if it does. Congrats on 26 years as a teacher. I’m bout to watch some games. I’m good on your critiques of me and my ability as a teacher. Post it if this investigation into someone saying “go gangster.” Anyway, enjoy the games @Brian.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:33 am
@GaryZ
Let me rephrase what I said, I’m sure Martin is a great player. But when I said NG players don’t know who the RB from BV is, what I’m saying is, they look at him as just another player. NG is not just going to focus on 1 player, NG has done great against the run all year, especially against Wyomissing and NL. I’m excited for both teams.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:24 am
I keep picking against Union every week, and they keep winning, but I think the magical run ends today, Steelton has too much offensive firepower even without one of their key players and I think they win another high scoring game like the last 2 weeks, I’ll say 35-28.
I think Bishop McDevitt has a good chance to avenge last year’s loss, but its very tough to go against Aliquippa, their defense has been outstanding the last several weeks, I think they slow down McDevitt’s rushing attack and do enough to contain their passing game to win another high scoring game, I can see the final score being similar to last year, 34-27, expecting a really good game between 2 of the best teams in the state outside of SJP. I agree with Gary Z, the Quips have played much tougher competition in the playoffs and dominated them defensively, they will be by far the best team McDevitt has played this year since they lost to Imhotep in the opener.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:09 am
Steel High 28- Union 21
This game is hard one to pick, but I am gonna go w Steel High. I certainly hope I’m incorrect. I think S-H makes a play or two more than Union. I believe Union may play better team football, and their coach will have them prepared. But my gut says Steel High in a close one.
Aliquippa 35- B.M. 21
This one should be fireworks. I believe the ‘Quips have the better talent and team. They are close with each other, I feel the ‘Quips got a better team all around, plus they have played some really good competition in WPIAL and blown them off the field.
Hopefully day 1 is great games. Good luck to all the teams, it’s an accomplishment just getting here.
December 8th, 2022 at 7:35 am
@Gary Z Please find for me where I told you that there would be swift action by the PIAA. I never said that dude. I may have said there should be actions by the PIAA as this sort of thing will set a precedent. If there would be violence in a game where there was a known threat to the PIAA, they’d be opening themselves up for lawsuits. What we’ve seen so far is that they’re letting it up to the PSP to do an investigation and they’re increasing security. IMO that’s not enough. For you to dismiss the threat like it means nothing is questionable since you don’t even know who the source of the threat was. I do think it should have been made known that this threat existed as parents are going to choose whether to let their kids attend this game. Do I think that the PIAA would make a decision to keep it quiet so their attendance remains high? Sure as shit I do. Do I think you as a teacher should take a threat to a high school event more seriously, yeah, that too. BTW, I have 26 years in education and have certainly learned that schools need to take these threats seriously because this society isn’t the same as when you and I were in high school. Adding more security and metal detectors might make it safer inside the stadium, but what does it do to increase safety in the parking lot? It sounds like the PIAA is going to pick profits over doing what is in the best interests of the kids once again and for that I’m definitely highly disappointed. Am I shocked though? Heck no. It seems to go with their past decisions. That doesn’t mean it won’t eventually come back to bite them in the backside.
@Brian C I too agree SCA should not be forced to move up in classification merely because they are winning. It sends the wrong message to players that hard work and success will mean you are penalized. That’s not a good lesson to teach kids.
December 8th, 2022 at 6:16 am
Two questions… does Cumberland Valley have school in session during two of these games??
Also, i believe there’s going to be a slight uptick in attendance this year cause Cumberland valley community will come out for games. That alone will make the piaa thump their chest that they made the right decision.
December 7th, 2022 at 11:41 pm
@Jeff H.
Great analysis and breakdown in that post. I agree 100% with your thoughts. I will also tip my hat and give SCA even more respect than I already do if they beat Westinghouse.
December 7th, 2022 at 11:35 pm
@610
By me saying that N-G coaches n kids DEFINITELY know who Q. Martin is, does not mean I think they will sit around and talk about his 5stars or ask for an autograph. What I hear from you, is exactly how they need to handle both situations. But I promise you, they will be aware of everywhere he is, and always account for him. You are right, they gotta play with what they have and not get caught up in the hype. I wanted to add that. Again congrats to you and your family. AWESOME EXPERIENCE. Memories for the rest of all your lives.
December 7th, 2022 at 11:27 pm
@610
You got it, next man up attitude. 100% correct. However that is more so applicable to the NFL. You just don’t replace a kid like battle. Here is how him not playing the game will go. Now BVA does not have to constantly focus on where he is at. I will use Quentin Martin (theRB) from BVA, just cause I’m more familiar w him, being from the WPIAL. N-G will not punt or kick to him. They will account a Safety n CB to him when he splits out, they will be aware when he is in the backfield. When N-G is on O, they will be aware when he is at Safety on obvious passing downs. N-G will know and adjust when he is at LB. That’s how a Q. Martin or Battle effect the game. All 3 phases. It allows you to focus attention other places, you know the saying, ‘ can’t be strong in 2 places.’ Now I am not saying Battle not playing means a loss, NOT AT ALL. However, it made things a lot easier for BVA. Athletes of that caliber don’t grow on trees. Yes, N-G knows who Quentin Martin is. THEIR COACHES DO AS WELL. Just by not referring to the kid by name, says a lot. Kids like that literally impact all 3 phases from the jump. As a Coach, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I did not make the kids aware of him and where he is at all game. Again, one player will not decide this game. But a kid of Battles ability n especially Q. Martins ability, effect the game big time. Same works if they don’t play, their is def a little thought in all their heads, that their DUDE, is not playing. I want a good game, hope we get one. @610, good for you and your Son. A great lifelong memory playing in this game. Hope you all enjoy every minute of it, so few kids get this experience. Hope your boy does well, and best of luck to both teams. Here’s to a good game.
December 7th, 2022 at 10:35 pm
Looking forward to a lot of good games this weekend. Its a shame a few teams best players are out.
Here are my picks:
Steel High 41 Union 21
Steel High star player out, I think they still win convincingly
Southern Columbia 35 Westinghouse 31
SCA has a tough run defense but has shown to be vulnerable in the pass at times. SCA has almost no passing game but doesn’t matter since nobody has been able to stop their run game in the playoffs. If SCA avoids shooting themselves in the foot with penalties (which they have had a ton this year), I think their experience in this game and their coaching staff will be the difference.
Belle Vernon 24 Neumann Goretti 20
NG start player out, I think they lose a close game
Bishop McDevitt 31 Aliquippa 28
Imhotep 28 Pine Richland 21
SJP 48 Harrisburg 14
December 7th, 2022 at 10:30 pm
Jeff H, wyomissing beating southern last year was without Southerns Qb who was out with a broken neck from the mca game earlier in the year plus one of the Running backs in their wing t was playing on a bum ankle. Southern wasn’t at full health. Not saying southern would’ve won but when your 10th grade Qb threw 4 picks in his first ever start against a top ranked 3A team it makes for a long night. I would’ve loved to see that game played with both teams 100%. Also, I never said the A or AA team this year could beat the AAA team this year. This is one of Southerns worst teams since 09. However a few years back southern mercy ruled Wyoming area who won the state title that year so yeah southern would’ve won the AAA title that year and southern thumped jersey shore who was in the AAAA state quarters or semis. The southern team this year and next year wouldn’t be able to compete at the state level. They lost bad to Danville in AAA. Southern is right where they’re supposed to be.
December 7th, 2022 at 9:17 pm
I am not the brian that has been commenting on the social media thing. I’m the brian commenting on the sca should move up thing. Hope that clears it up somewhat.
December 7th, 2022 at 8:34 pm
@Brian – none of the 1A teams would have beaten Central Valley the last 2 years, nor Aliquippa in 2018, all were very good teams (Aliquippa beat Middletown 35-0 in the final and had a few DI players on that team), I think 2020-21 CV might have beaten SCA, or at least been a very competitive game, after all Wyomissing beat them last year, and CV beat Wyomissing. Belle Vernon is very good, you will see that on Saturday, I don’t think this SCA team nor Steel High would beat Belle Vernon, and I think Westinghouse is better than Belle Vernon, I’ve seen both of them play this year, although I saw BV early in the season and they are a much better team now than when I saw them against McKeesport.
My point with SCA moving up is not for them to lose or “punish” them for their success, but to play teams more commensurate with their talent, it gets old watching them mercy rule teams in the state final year after year, as a neutral fan I would have much rather seen them play CV in 3A the last 2 years than blow out the schools they did in 2A, in general it’s not good for the game when 1 team wins titles year after year in any sport, not just HS football. If the PIAA passes the new success rule next year SCA is going to be playing in 3A for the 24-25 cycle whether they want to or not.
With that being said they are playing a really good team on Friday that looks more like a 4A or 5A team than 2A, I never count out SCA with their track record and coaching, even with their regular season struggles this year I knew the playoffs would be a different story, but if they manage to beat Westinghouse I will be very impressed and tip my hat to them, because they haven’t played a team like this in the final since Steel Valley mercy ruled them in 2016.
December 7th, 2022 at 7:41 pm
My son just told me that Shawn Battle (NG) isn’t playing, so what does that mean for Neumann-Goretti, next man up. They played over a little of a quarter against Wyomissing without Battle. They’ll be good.
The team don’t know who the RB from BV is or care about how many offers or stars he has. He will get the same treatment as Scranton Prep, Northwestern Lehigh and Wyo recieved. I want to see a good game from both teams.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:59 pm
@EITHER Brian
I am just going by what I know, and how such matters are handled. I know one Brian questioned my ability to be a teacher for 24 years, which is fine. I am not making this a competition. But ‘one of the Brian’s’ said there would be swift repercussions and also explained to me how the instagram machine works as well. Said it before, to whatever “Brian” claims their words… please post it when the PIAA hands down these swift penalties and repercussions. I say it does not happen. NOT AT ALL. If I’m wrong, I will own up to it and acknowledge your the smarter man. Brian whoever, please post what you said WOULD HAPPEN when it does.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:06 pm
@ GaryZ
Apparently he had 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, one being a late hit out of bounds and the other a slap to an opposing player.
December 7th, 2022 at 2:15 pm
Been thinking a little more regarding SCA v Westinghouse. Obviously comparing teams by using team x played team y and the outcome was z and so I think the winner will be…..has plenty of holes. That said I’m going to do exactly that and use Steel High as the somewhat ‘common’ opponent linking Westinghouse to Trinity and therefore SCA. First let me begin by using the Easternpafootball season previews for Steel High and Trinity.
Steel High went 9-3 last year and returned 9 on offense and 10 on defense including 2021 3200 yard passer Erby. That seems like a great nucleus to bring back. Trinity also returned a nice nucleus – 9 on offense and 6 on defense – but that was from a 3-6 team.
In week 7 Steel High beat Trinity 35-28 in OT. On the surface it would seem like a well contested game. In week 2 Westinghouse beat Steel High 39-18. Again, without digging, this would seem like a well contested ball game.
SCA beat Trinity 42-7 and to be honest the game wasn’t that close. I read somewhere that the Shamrocks had 15 yards of offense in the first 3 quarters and then SCA pulled their starters. This doesn’t necessarily change my mind in regards to SCA being the underdog. That said, sometimes there is merit to comparing scores/games and extrapolating. The 2016 Steel Valley team was a machine, they mercy ruled every team they played. The scores say Westinghouse has not performed to that degree of domination. This will be a good game.
December 7th, 2022 at 12:11 pm
@Jeff H There’s been nothing in the papers here either. The school administration here says it’s an “ongoing investigation” and so far the PIAA has responded by saying there will be heightened security. So, it seems both the PASP isn’t moving too quickly on this, nor is the PIAA making any decisions that takes a stand against threats. “Go gangster” could mean a multitude of things, but I don’t believe any of those things are being positive role models of prosocial behavior.
BTW, it appears there are two Brians on here…which probably means only he and I know who wrote what.
December 7th, 2022 at 11:14 am
SCA/Westinghouse. Lots of chatter about this game. On paper the House holds all the cards. I watched some videos of their highlights.
SCA has a very tall order to fill on Friday. Very tough task at hand for SCA.
December 7th, 2022 at 9:44 am
@Phillyvs everyone…Tep plays a very aggressive style defense in coverage and on offense their line holds all the time. You could literally call a legitimate penalty on them almost on every play. Not a fan of penalties but if any team attracts the flag its Tep.
December 7th, 2022 at 9:43 am
@ Brian,
You’re right. It’s not a bold prediction by any means. Usually I’d go with experience in a matchup like this. Southern’s been there & done that, but I think Westinghouse the better team. Can’t wait to watch on Friday.
You’d be right about them being the underdog, based off of CalPreps: They have Westinghouse winning by 13.
@ PhillyVSEveryone
I mixed that matchup up with Cathedral Prep. I mean, either team is usually in the 4/5A finals each year, it seems, so I’m not surprised that I messed that up. My bad. I should’ve checked first.
December 7th, 2022 at 9:15 am
It is a shame that a couple of the teams best players won’t be playing in the championship that just sucks. And that is an overall bad look for the player, team, and coach too. They’re fantastic athletes but it’s not a good sign for the players at the next level. If they continue that kind of attitude, they won’t sniff the field in college.
December 7th, 2022 at 8:35 am
I just read that Steel High is gonna be minus one of their star players. Kid seemed to be one of their most potent weapons. It’s a shame to hear about, this case appeared to be a little different from the N-G player who can’t play. I read an article, that honestly was kind of confusing as to the exact reasoning for being ejected. Maybe someone knows something on here. These teams being minus a stud athlete, definitely effect my predictions. But mostly it’s a darn shame for the teams, and players involved.
December 6th, 2022 at 11:48 pm
I been looking at some of the teams from the East, preparing for my picks. This is shaping up to be a really nice final. Hopefully I didn’t jinx that. Looking forward to these games. I was disappointed to hear the stud from N-G will not play because he got ejected. Looking forward to seeing him vs Quentin Martin, the 5Star Stud from BVA. Hopefully still a good game. Looking forward to Union vs Steel High, and SCA vs Westinghouse as well as the rest. Hoping we get some really good games, picks tomorrow. Good luck to All the teams.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:07 pm
@OC21 I don’t have that information readily at hand, but it seems to me that schools like St. Edward’s (Ohio), Duncanville, Westlake, and North Shore (Texas), STA, Miami Central, and American Heritage (Florida), Bishop Gorman (Nevada), and Mater Dei, John Bosco, and Serra (California) are in their state championship games within their classifications pretty much every year. Anyone can look at any ranking of high school football teams in the U.S. and note that there are a whole lot more Catholic schools on the list than the proportion of Catholic schools in the country might lead you to expect–though public schools are still the slight majority in the current USA Today ranking. We could go into all the reasons for this, but that would take lots of time. Plus, I don’t pretend to know them all, though I’m pretty sure of some.
For kids in the Philly area who are very keen on football and who show some talent (and for their parents) SJP offers a combination that no other school in the area offers: proven academic strengths, an active and supportive network of alumni (who show their support of the school and its students by donating substantially to the scholarship / financial aid fund), excellent coaches (most of whom have been there for many years), lots of exposure because of high-profile (sometimes nationally broadcast) games, and an impressive record of former players going on to play not just in top tier D1 schools (Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Virginia, etc.) but in very good–especially academically–D2 and D3 schools (Harvard, Princeton, Penn, Amherst, Colgate, etc.). It also, by intention and by its location, makes it easy for students of quite different backgrounds to feel at home.
Is it for everyone? No. (I know a very active alumnus who sent one of his sons to LaSalle because of their program for students with learning disabilities.) Is there a danger the football program–and the students in it–will become a world of its own within the school? Yes–and I am not keen on the current practice of having the football players going on their own service trips instead of mixing with other students on such trips. But from what I’m told and from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, the danger is understood and being actively combatted.
Who knows? Harrisburg might win this weekend. And next year maybe a team from the WPIAL or the Lehigh Valley will knock off SJP. Not sure that even if both things happen the charge of unfairness will disappear.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:03 pm
D2 fan going against southern isn’t that bold of a move this year. Many thought they wouldn’t be here after how they started and the injuries they had. Here they are and Westinghouse is going to be tough it knock off. This might be as tough as trying to beat the Farrell teams in the mid 90s or steel valley that was loaded with all that D1 talent. In fact southern may be the underdog in this one.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:00 pm
This has nothing to do about the right thing to do. This has to do with the type of society we’ve become that we want someone who is successful to change what they do so others can have a chance. It’s the participation trophy mentality. Kudos for aliquippa for playing up. That’s their choice. Moving up to 3A won’t matter much most years as I have always felt 3A was the weaker class and most years the A or AA would beat them. Not this year but many of the years so had southern moved up and won 3A the past few years you’d want them up to 4A and keep on going until they eventually get to 6A against st joes prep. Before you say no way on 3A/4A they played jersey shore for a few years and handled them easily and jersey shore has been to the state quarters semis and finals recently. So it’s not so far fetched. Anyways playing up in class isn’t the right thing to do. A public school that can stay consistent for so long without recruits and transfers being the reason says a lot for the program and community. The only reason people want them to move up is so they get beat, don’t keep winning, and that other AA teams in the state can have an easier chance to win instead of the AA teams knocking them off. Southern lost to 2 AAA teams this year and 1 2A team that they beat in the rematch in districts. I guess st joes prep should go independent and play small colleges by this logic because it’s the right thing to do.
December 6th, 2022 at 7:08 pm
@D2 Fan when was that first meeting between Imhotep and Pine-Richland I follow the Philly Pub and Catholic leagues pretty closely and don’t recall Tep playing PR before.
There seems to be a bias against the Philly teams around here. Many seem afraid of big bad SJP who haven’t broken any rules, and continues to dominate. Tep and NG seem to get the undisciplined “city team” stereotypes applied to them. I wonder how many people who make these claims have actually seen these teams play. I had one of the head refs in District 12 tell me the other day how bad the refs from both Tep and NG’s games last week were and how many calls they were blowing or how the refs were injecting themselves.
My point is let’s let the kids show up and perform this weekend. I’m obviously biased (see my name) in the three games Philly teams are in, but I want to see great games in all 6 classes.
December 6th, 2022 at 6:04 pm
@FrankG two of the four states you mentioned are probably the two biggest high school football states in the country. Texas and Florida I don’t know for sure but can almost guarantee that both of those states have multiple teams that are nationally ranked. I just read an article on Twitter from Joe Santoliquito about the chip game coming up and he wrote “ The hawks top the list of large school state championships 6. Two at 4A and 4 at 6A . Prep has been involved in every Class 6A state championship. Wow! I don’t have the facts but is it like that in any of the states you mentioned?
@JeffH I’m pretty sure the catholic league joined the PIAA in 2007. The dates you mentioned were just prior to that. They started recruiting kids from the public schools. Every team is beatable on any given day but for a team to make it to the final round every year and usually with ease is concerning. Something is wrong and it needs to be fixed. Overhaul the whole system? They need to be playing up a level. Like I said , join the NJ private league.
December 6th, 2022 at 5:15 pm
Predictions
Steel-High/Union Area: You’d think Steel-High has the advantage, but Union Area is playing good team football. I’ll go with the better program. Clock strikes 12 for the Scotties, as they’ll get steamrolled 45-17.
Bishop McDevitt/Aliquippa II: The Sequel will be hopefully be up to the likes of The Godfather Part II & Terminator 2. Regardless if it’s good, or a dud, it’s Aliquippa’s world & we’re just living in it. I got them 42-21 to defend their title.
Southern Columbia/Westinghouse: I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna to go against Southern. This historic season might need its own media installment. A documentary, feature film, 30-for-30, Peacock original, whatever. Westinghouse is my pick to win. I’ll gladly take fault for the jinx, if it’s the other way around, but a story like this is what the PA football scene deserves to have. Westy over SCA 31-28, & I’ll say it’s done in OT.
Imhotep/Pine-Richland: 2nd meeting in 3 years. I trust Pine-Richland a lot more. Imhotep has the better players, but P-R always plays great team football. I think the better “team” will pull away late. Rams over Panthers 38-27.
Neumann-Goretti/Belle Vernon: I’m gonna take Belle Vernon. They feel like the better team. I don’t know much about either side, so I’ll keep it short. I’ll say 35-20 Leopards. Watch this be a 42-7 blowout for Neumann-Goretti, & we all complain about private & public once more.
St. Joe’s Prep/Harrisburg: I don’t have much else to say. In the style of Seth Davis’ jinx of Virginia in March Madness, a few years ago: St. Joe’s. Sharpie. 42-17 Hawks over Cougars.
December 6th, 2022 at 4:07 pm
@Brian – there has been absolutely nothing in the media in the Pittsburgh area regarding this alleged threat on Twitter, I would think if something was going to come of this there would have been some mention of it by now. And what exactly does “go gangster” mean, do you think the Westinghouse kids are going to carry a gun or knife on the field and use it after the game if they lose? Do you not think the PIAA already has significant security measures in place for these games? We’ll see what happens, but I’d be very surprised if anyone is suspended for this game because of something they may or may not have said or implied on Twitter, like Gary Z I’ll be the first one to admit I was wrong if the PIAA does something.
Regarding Aliquippa, you are right about the number of transfers because many of these kids come from broken homes and move around quite a bit, but the difference between them and SCA is they have voluntarily been playing up in class for decades, because they know its the right thing to do for their program, at some point don’t you challenge your kids and voluntarily move up a class to play better competition in the state playoffs? One of the main reasons the PIAA is considering dropping the 3 transfer criteria and just moving schools up based on success alone is because SCA continues to play and dominate 2A every year and not voluntarily move up, I can hear all the whining now if this new rule passes, how unfair it is, punishing kids for winning, blah, blah, blah.
December 6th, 2022 at 2:50 pm
@Brian
Brian I never said it was not a stupid thing to do, making an alleged. I’m simply saying please lemme know when the PIAA brings about the swift action to said kid. That’s all, I really don’t care about what you think of me, and asking me if I know this or that. Just lemme know when the PIAA takes the action you stated. Please. Good day.
December 6th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
First off sca and Roth are not cowards. First in class A it was move up to AA and you’ll never win. You’ll never beat Mt. Carmel etc. well they move up to AA and have been in all but 1 state title since moving up. They don’t move on because of being cowards they stay in their class piaa puts them in. They petition to stay in AA because they don’t have the transfers/recruits. They petition because piaa counts any new student on the roster as a transfer so all in coming players are considered a transfer when they’ve all been at southern. Aliquippa has moved up because of their transfers they get. They’re in an area where people move in on a regular basis. Not the same like southern. Next nobody in the sca camp feel this is a shoe in against Westinghouse. Many of sca people didn’t think they would be this far this year. This is not one of better teams but they’re playing well and gel at the right time. I think southern is in for a dogfight and may lose by multiple scores. However I could also see them winning a close game too because they have proven many wrong this year.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:56 am
@OC21 – Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s there were several PA public schools that were nationally ranked, including North Hills, Penn Hills, CB West, Woodland Hills, Gateway, etc., in fact in 1999 there were 3 PA schools in the USA Today top 10 with CB West, Woodland Hills and ECP. I don’t dispute anything you are saying about SJP being a national program and draws the most talent of any school in the state, but they are beatable, since the move to 6 classes they are 4-2 in the state final. There may come a day when SJP decides to opt out of the state tournament, and I like your idea of them competing with the Jersey privates for a SEPA/NJ title, but that’s going to be for the school to decide because I seriously doubt the PIAA is going to ask SJP not to participate.
The fact is outside of SJP the current system is working ok, since the move to 6 classes in 2016 public schools have won 24 titles and the private schools have won 12, in the largest 3 classifications the privates are 10-8, in the smallest 3 the publics lead 16-2. Only 4 privates have won those 12 titles, SJP with 4, Wood and ECP with 3 each, and BG with 2 in 1A. All 3 of the later schools were forced to move up a class due to the success rule, and none of them has won a state title since being moved up, so despite it’s flaws the current system is not too bad. I have stated on this board several times in the past that I think it would be a disaster for HS football in this state to split into public and private championships, are we going to totally overhaul the system because of 1 school?
December 6th, 2022 at 10:10 am
@OC21 I am extremely interested in your response to FrankG and all those other nationally ranked teams that play in state playoffs. The “not fair” narrative really falling short with this information because it’s establishes what occurs in other states as well.
@Vaugh Jones- I was a prep outsider and rival with my older son. My younger son chose Prep on his own. Being a Prep parent my eyes were open to so many lies people outside prep spread and I was very disappointed in myself because I believe them and even spread them when I was an outsider. FrankG laid it our perfectly for you and all that information is available on the website. Don’t believe the hype. There isn’t a school in the United States where tuition is paid that some particular aid is offered for academics or athletics to students so let’s also stop acting like this is something to even discuss.
December 6th, 2022 at 9:55 am
@Gary Z I do question that your response is such and that you’re a teacher. Do you not go through the same mandatory drills and procedures for threats of violence and for intruder drills that other schools go through each year? Do you not realize that a Twitter account is actually linked to an individual? That isn’t a random threat whose owner can’t be located. It’s specific and it’s easily traceable. The idea that the PIAA has no responsibility to do anything is utter BS. They ARE responsible for the safety at this game. In previous cases like the one Foleman mentioned, the PIAA was able to let the schools involved decide what the penalties would be. That is not a similar scenario here. This isn’t a case where the school that is hosting can make a decision to keep the players and fans safe, but is being hosted at a neutral field. The game itself in this case is under the control of the PIAA, not either participating school. If the PIAA does nothing about this to ensure the safety of those in attendance, who do you think would be sued if there actually was violence after an open threat on social media? You aren’t being realistic if you don’t realize the society we live in now is very quick to sue. The PIAA as we know it would go bankrupt and cease to exist if they were to be held accountable for the safety of those in attendance if such violence occurred and they did nothing. You’re expecting every parent who has a child in attendance to trust your opinion (of a student whose identity you don’t even know) that this was a blind threat and won’t be carried out? I don’t know about you, but any time our school ever had a threat we found a number of parents kept their kids home from school for their safety if school wasn’t cancelled. Your blind faith in the morality code of a student you and I know nothing about doesn’t instill great faith in me that this was just an empty threat. To think you had issue with me calling posting something like that “stupid” is laughable at best. You must be the same teacher who says there are no such things as “stupid questions.” In this case, threatening another school online prior to a game is, most definitely, stupid.
December 6th, 2022 at 8:35 am
I think it’s time the PIAA institutes a rule and punishment for threats by players on social media against other HS Players or teams. I know in some cases it’s difficult to investigate, however, something needs to be done. I found out what happened when a threat on a Pope John Player came from someone who was either a player or fan from Phoenixville. I won’t discuss the details online but it was flat out sickening what was posted which included personal info about the kids family. The game had to moved with only family members allowed to watch. As far as I know, no investigation by anyone-school, police etc happened. Whoever posted that threat should be in Jail.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:56 pm
@Vaughn Jones From what I hear, about 60% of Prep students receive some kind of financial aid, so –no–most families don’t pay the whole $26,000 in tuition. And SJP does accept transfers after freshman and sophomore years and those students do not have to have taken Latin before coming to the Prep. I understand they do have to take Latin after they arrive. (The Prep no longer requires any student to take Latin for four years, but they do require two years of Latin.)
December 5th, 2022 at 10:44 pm
@OC21 Last I saw SJP is ranked #25 by USA Today. I also saw on the list that St. Edward’s (Ohio), Duncanville (Texas), St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida), Bishop Gorman (Nevada), and many other schools are ranked higher in the poll and are playing in state playoffs and are not segregated into a classification with other “privates”–in the cases where they are private schools. Last year I don’t think the Prep appeared in any top 25 list. In 2019, having lost to Marietta and to IMG, they were certainly not near the top of any list if, in fact, they were nationally ranked at all. I can’t imagine they were “nationally ranked” at the end of 2017. They certainly weren’t in 2015. And I think they lost three games in both 2013 and 2014. Can’t imagine they were “nationally ranked” in those years either.
I get it. SJP has been the dominant big-school program in PA for a decade. They also have an advantage–their ability (because of their location) to draw students from nearly all of the Delaware Valley–that very few other PA schools have. They also have some disadvantages, most obviously the lack of an onsite practice field. They also have requirements that are higher than those of many other schools–a reason they lost two starters before the season began.
Yes they recruit students from “multiple states,” but that number is two. They have always had many students from South Jersey, and, like all private schools, they have to recruit to stay open. There are other PCL schools that get students from Jersey. I don’t know about public schools. I know of two students at SJP in the last ten years who lived in Delaware: a wide receiver named Chambers who played his freshman year at SJP but then left the school. The other was Armen Ware, a lineman who went to elementary school in Philadelphia and who decided–with his family–to go to the Prep for high school when his family moved to northern Delaware.
If you are not from the Philadelphia area you may not know that SJP is far from the only school that recruits students, including those who play football and basketball and, yes, in some cases especially those who play football and basketball. (They also make special efforts to recruit those with very high academic promise and those from disadvantaged backgrounds who show academic promise.) The Prep competes with all the Inter-AC schools, all the PCL schools, and with public schools in recruiting these students. And it’s not as if there aren’t schools in Jersey that are trying to recruit many of the students SJP is also recruiting.
One thing I guarantee if SJP leaves the PIAA. Within two years and maybe even within one there will be claims from some public school coaches and supporters that team x or team y could beat SJP if only … (I’m not taking a win over Harrisburg for granted.)
December 5th, 2022 at 9:50 pm
@Brian
I get it, your implying I’m naive. I’d say I’m realistic, and I am applying a little common sense. Please post when this “blows wide open” and the PIAA hands down these swift “repercussions.” I’m not trying to be smart. In reality the PIAA has nothing to do with it, if this threat of going ‘gangster’ is true. It would need to be forwarded to the PA State police. The PIAA is not a criminal investigation unit, they govern sports not law. When you post that this has blown wide open and we all know the repercussions… I will acknowledge I am wrong and your the smarter man. I assume your a teacher as well. In all seriousness, let’s see what the PIAA CAN DO. I want to see the repercussions that come swiftly. I bet that there are not any repercussions or major developments before the kickoff this week. Remember the PIAA is not a criminal investigative body, has to be turned over to State Police. But if I am wrong, I will certainly own up to it. That’s something you can count on.
December 5th, 2022 at 9:41 pm
My understanding is that kids can’t just transfer into SJP unless they have 3yrs of Latin and 4yrs of Spanish along with 26k, So most times they have to work with kids who came in as a freshman.
Now to me that seems like a disadvantage. Congratulations to all the teams playing this upcoming weekend.
December 5th, 2022 at 9:29 pm
@Brian
I’m not shocked by anything kids say. I refrain from referring to kids as stupid though. Maybe the HS you teach at that’s ok, not for me, or the District I teach at. What do you think the PIAA can/will do? Prove its not a dummy account and then formally sanction a kid for saying they will go gangster after they lose? Come on, I’m not the smartest guy, but do have a Masters Degree and 24 years teaching. Do you honestly think that there is some plot for after they lose to do something “gangster.” I don’t. Nobody knows who the account even belongs to. I will tell you right now what the PIAA will do… ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. To hard to prove, and common sense allows adults to get an idea of the situation. Come on now.
December 5th, 2022 at 7:35 pm
@Jeff H
SJP is a nationally ranked team year in and year out. In what other classification do you have that. None. There is no other team like SJP in the state. I’m sure if each classification had a school like SJP there would be a lot more complaining going on. I find it hard to believe that even one other school in the state recruits the way they do from multiple states. As I said nothing against the school or the kids. There are some phenomenal athletes on that team. All I am saying is a team that has multiple D1 players on their roster year in and year out should not be playing in the state tournament. Why can’t they play in the private school division in NJ. A lot of good teams and most on their level. Not far to travel.
December 5th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
@GaryZ. Oh, I’m certain you’ll be reading and hearing about it. This is a new investigation. You think the PIAA made any decisions on their first day back to work after this just occurred just this weekend? Adults have viewed the tweet and reported it. In today’s day and age, anything you put on social media is permanent and can be located despite the fact the poster removed it.
I’m surprised you work with kids and don’t think they’re dumb enough to do this. I too work with kids and I absolutely believe kids say stupid crap online thinking only their friends will see it and think they’re cool.
I’m quite certain this story is going to blow wide open this week. There’s no way the PIAA can keep it quiet. They’re only going to have a few days here to come to a conclusion and decide what repercussions will occur. You’re absolutely wrong in implying that this is simply trash talking. Trash talking and threats of violence at this level are completely different. I’m not naive enough to think kids don’t say dumb crap they shouldn’t. I’m sure the PIAA doesn’t want the cat out of the bag before they decide what they’re going to do, but this investigation will have to be pretty speedy.
December 5th, 2022 at 5:33 pm
@Brian
I have no connection to Westinghouse, other than watching them in the same 7v7. Just seems odd that one kid, got a screenshot from “several” Westinghouse players… and they were already launching an attack for after they lose. Come on. Plus after they made said contingency plan for losing, they said “go gangster.” Sorry, I work with HS kids all year. They don’t talk like that, actually sounds more like someone who has no idea thinks an inner city kid would talk. I check on a lot of student athlete accounts, there is trash talk for sure… but saying after we lose, we will “go gangster.” That is really corny if said House players made that comment. Again sounds more like an older person saying what they think kids from that environment would say. Who knows, I may be wrong. But please show me where this is, so I can read it. If it’s brought to SCA attention, they have to make it known. I have been a teacher in PA for 24 years, I know how it works. I am not calling anyone a liar but show me something. Plus Westinghouse players don’t strike me as the type of kids who already are making revenge plots after they lose to SCA. When I watched them in 7v7, and in person… pretty darn confident group. I could be wrong, just throw some direction as to where we can read about this or read about the validity of it. I am being serious, when people say things like threats were made. We should see some proof, at least something. How could they do quickly prove what kid(kids) made the “go gangster” threat after we lose. Seriously.
December 5th, 2022 at 4:57 pm
@Brian
In all seriousness, is this in the paper? Was a police report made? Seems odd a kid or kids would say “go gangster.” But kids are kids. I’m not being a smart arse here, but what should the PIAA do to these kids. They may or may not be players, who knows who actually posted it, if it got posted.idk. I mean some SCA kid took a screen shot, and “shared it.” Idk how you really boil this down. Just seems to cast a wide net w little facts. I may be wrong, but it’s SCA and once parents here about it. I would assume it would be everywhere n all over the place. I’m not calling nobody a liar. But that seems a little bit all over the place. I don’t think anyone needs to worry. I know the term “hood” was used, but they are HS kids about to play a HUGE GAME. Your right violence occurs at football games and everywhere else. I just don’t think kids talking trash is more than that. If this actually happened.
December 5th, 2022 at 4:56 pm
@OC21 – every year we hear the same whining and moaning about the advantages the private/non-boundary schools have. I assume you realize 5 out of the 6 champions last year were public schools, the only private/non-boundary winner was BG in 1A. In 4A, 5A and 6A you had public schools beat non-boundary schools in the final, and you will likely see some public schools beat non-boundary schools this weekend, we’re guaranteed to have a public school winner in 1A and 2A. There are 4 new schools in the finals this year that have never been there before, 3 public schools in Union, Westinghouse and Belle Vernon and Neumann Goretti from the PCL, so we’re not getting the same teams every year. There were also 4 newcomers last year and 2 of them won gold in Penn Trafford and Mt. Lebanon. Obviously there are some great programs in every classification that have a good chance to get to the finals each year, both public and private, that’s more due to coaching and the culture at the school than anything else.
@TheJoneses – you are absolutely right, this is all about SJP and we hear the same crap regurgitated every year and it does get old. Only in 6A is there a perceived problem with the non-boundary schools due to SJP, in no other classification do we have an issue, I guess people have short memories and forget how good the game was last year between Aliquippa and Bishop McDevitt, I for one am excited to watch those 2 schools clash again, I’ve had Dec 8 circled on my calendar for awhile in anticipation of this rematch. I also guess people forgot SCA blew out private school Serra Catholic in the 2A final and no one said anything about the advantages of the private schools after either of those games.
December 5th, 2022 at 4:39 pm
@CoalRgn
Very astute post for the first of the year, I only post during semis and finals. You definitely did your homework and watched tape. Your assessment was on point, and the comparisons spot on! Westinghouse is really aggressive but almost oddly disciplined. Their DC really knows his craft, he is highly thought of in the WPIAL, so is the HC. Great post and analysis. Just like @Jeff H. I am not saying they are unbeatable, or can speak on what some kid posted to another kid… but they can really play. Yes 100% they can go 4 quarters of hard nosed football. Just go Google Westinghouse football highlights. They played a 6A 2X’s, and Butler which is a 5or6A. Also chose to schedule Steel High and Clairton consecutively. They can play 4 quarters. I didn’t think they could make BerlinBrothers Valley look easy and they did. Thought Steel Valley would be the biggest test, not so much. Hey let’s see what happens, I am betting on The ‘House to be able to play 4 quarters at a very high level. Best of luck to both teams.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:52 pm
@CoalRgnFtballFan – very good synopsis of Westinghouse on both sides of the ball, it’s crazy to say this but I too think SCA is the underdog in this game, they are going to have a lot of trouble sustaining any long drives on this defense. This Westinghouse team is comparable to Steel Valley 2016 in terms of size and speed, I think their defense is better than that SV defense, as I stated in a prior post their closing speed to the ball is tremendous. I also agree coach Roth and staff have done a great job this year because this team in the regular season certainly didn’t look like they’d be back playing for a 6th straight championship.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
@ Dennis – I’ve watched Westinghouse play the last 2 weeks and trust me, they bring it for all 4 quarters, their defense is extremely impressive, Southern Columbia may end up winning, but this is the best team they have played in the state final since 2016, and I bet coach Roth would admit that after he watches the tape. I expect this to be a highly competitive, hard fought game and one of the better ones this weekend, I also think the Aliquippa-McDevitt rematch will be a tremendous game, Pine and Imhotep will be very competitive, and so will Belle Vernon and NG, I think there are going to be several compelling games this weekend.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:36 pm
@Brian I agree with you 100000 percent. There’s only one correction need to be made. You didn’t state the tweet mentioned a gun. Let’s please careful when we put our personal inference in as a matter of fact.
Note I am not saying you cannot make the inference as to what they meant by going gangsta. I am saying don’t say they threatened to use a gun because it changes everything. They will find him and that kid should not be allowed to play in the game. Period.
December 5th, 2022 at 11:45 am
B.S. with cowardice! As a Dunmore bucks fan you better be able to play 4 full quarters with Southern or you are going to pay the price. I hope it is a close game. My question is can Westinghouse play hard nose football for 4 quarters.we will see. You can have all the strength and speed but can you play 4 quarters. Southern has strength and speed also. This will be the best game of the championships.This game will be a toss-up. Good luck Southern from a Dunmore bucks fan!
December 5th, 2022 at 11:10 am
@Jay I 100% disagree with you. SCA is playing in the class set by the PIAA based on the number of boys they have available in their school to pull from. Their schedule is not filled with single A or even mostly AA schools, but with many AAA schools and schools that are more competitive so that it can get them ready for the playoffs. This year’s team was not expected to get this far. Those kids turned their whole team around at the end of the season and started playing greater than anyone expected they were capable. They aren’t a bunch of D1 recruits like we saw in the 2019 team. They’re a bunch of kids from a small school that spends their entire year in the weight room and are dedicated to the sport. What you’re implying is that other schools aren’t capable of the same level of success if they have the same number of kids to pull from…why not? Why should a school that hasn’t put in this kind of effort to stay at that level of play be crowned the champion when there is a better team who had the same limitations that moved up to play bigger schools? Is our lesson for kids that they should be penalized for putting in the hard work? If they stay in AA if their enrollment falls to A, would that make you happy, or do they have to keep moving up classes until they don’t make it into the playoffs? Does your job penalize you for being more productive and working harder than others they employ? Athletics in schools are supposed to help teach life lessons…what life lesson are you looking to teach by forcing a successful school to move into a classification above where they should be? I’ve yet to hear a good argument for why they should be playing in a classification that doesn’t apply to them.
On a related note, I recently read an article that Westinghouse’s coach wants his players to first be respectable men on and off the field and that he wants them to change the image that comes with living in “the hood”. I was very inspired to read that he had high expectations of these young men. I was then a little more than disturbed to learn over the weekend that several of their players make a Twitter post threatening to “go gangster” on the SCA sidelines if the result of the game isn’t what they wanted. Time will tell what the PIAA will do with this threat, but this is certainly not a team I’d be rooting for after hearing this. The PIAA needs to set a precedent and come down hard on this before it gets out of control. There have been too many instances where the schools playing have been left to decide how this type of situation will be handled. The threat was removed from Twitter, but it was saved by an SCA player who then shared it with others. SCA’s administration was notified and I’m sure that today the PIAA will have this matter on their plate to deal with. I certainly hope they keep in mind that they moved the game to a less secure facility than Hershey and that another school will be in session when this game is occurring. Long gone is the day when you can threaten to use a gun on anyone in a school environment and have no repercussions. These young men should have been made well aware of that over the course of their education and their actions should be made into a example so that these types of threats don’t continue to happen in the future. There have been several shootings at school football games this year, so I don’t think any of us should just see this as an empty threat and ignore it. I’m very disappointed that these young men thought this was an acceptable thing to do and I’m interested to see how their coach handles it despite what the PIAA decides to do. In my eyes, it will speak volumes on his character and if that article was telling the truth about his intentions as a coach.
December 5th, 2022 at 11:02 am
@GaryZ – Totally agree with you on Westinghouse’s defense, their physicality, play recognition and closing speed is tremendous, I’m pretty sure Southern Columbia has not faced a defense like this all season, no disrespect at all meant to Mt Carmel and all the other teams they have played. Westinghouse’s defense gave up 13 points combined the last 2 weeks to 2 of the best offensive teams in 2A in the state in Farrell and Steel Valley, and the only time SV scored on Friday was when the House fumbled the second half kickoff and they recovered at the 6 yard line, otherwise they were never in the red zone the rest of the game. I don’t foresee SCA’s offense putting together too many long drives on this team, I feel very confident in saying SCA will be playing their best opponent in the finals since they lost to Steel Valley in 2016.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:15 am
First post of the year – Thought I’d add my 2 cents. I believed from the summer through week 8 that MCA would represent the East in the state final. That said, after week 8’s game my tune changed. MCA may have beat SCA, but the team I saw play could not compete with the top teams in AA. Locally, there was chatter than SCA wouldn’t make it past the 2nd round of districts (Troy). Based on how they had played through the regular season, that wasn’t a stretch to imagine. In my opinion this is the SCA coaching staff’s finest job. This team is not remarkable. But they are playing well together and the chemistry has come around. In my opinion, making it this far was a surprise to most if not all fans of the program.
That said. Westinghouse is impressive. From what I’ve seen, their defense is very fast and very aggressive – very impressive. Their offense is solid. I believe SCA would have to play a nearly perfect game to win. It’s a must they limit/eliminate penalties and turnovers to be in the game. I have no doubt the SCA coaching staff will have the defense in position and alert for the Westinghouse tendencies, but being able to stop them is another question. Offensively I just don’t know if SCA will be able to get to the outside.
Farrell was hyped last year. I knew they would not present a challenge to SCA – and in fact didn’t make it to the state final. This team is different. Completely different. The only team I can compare them to that SCA has played in recent times is the 2015 Aliquippa team – but Westinghouse is superior to that team. By a wide margin. That team relied on a strong ground game and big play (heave the ball downfield) pass game. Westinghouse seems to run a disciplined spread offense with a very good QB who doesn’t rely on deep fades, but hits seams and intermediate routes efficiently. I have to think SCA is not just underdogs, but underdogs by a fairly wide margin.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:00 am
@Frank G- I agree no way the Inter-AC welcomes the Prep. Malvern was able to travel once when Coach Brady was there, but that’s about it. I have only EA and Malvern play Friday nights. The Erasmus Hall game was a great game. I met some of their players during the St Peters prep game at Rutgers as they were scouting. Great group of kids. Talked to a few after our game against them and they admitted prep were tough, but were more excited to show what they are made of. I am hoping this is a 2 year agreement between the schools.
I was very sad UD didn’t come away with the win. Colin had a great career there. I’m hopeful he ends up somewhere. I know Boston college has shown a lot of interest. I think he is scholarship player.
December 5th, 2022 at 9:41 am
I am so sick of people sounding so immature and saying “its not fair”. The definition of fair is “in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate.”. EVERYTEAM competes by the same rules in the PIAA. They are governed by the same rules. PERIOD.
Public or boundary schools have enrollment policies enforced by their districts. Schools like Northpenn has established policies that allows a work around the boundary. The athletics department at each school has decided to participate in the PIAA.
I won’t generalize like others and say private schools because if we’re honest when this is said what’s really meant is SJP.
A private non-boundary the school. Family’s from all areas always sent their son’s there because it is a great academic institution. Always has a high percentage of students from Nj attend. The athletics department decided with the rest of the PCL they wanted gain membership into the PIAA, at which time was granted membership.
No rule or policy states where a student lives impacts the schools ability to participant in PIAA sports.
People through recruiting around and it’s been established public schools recruit.
What PIAA rules or standards does SJP operate under that other schools do not. Yes SJP has a talent pool greater than many schools for football players. I am certain we can find schools that have a better talent pool for other sports.. It’s such a sad state of thought and I am seeing the children adopt this train of thought, which I think is sadder.
Congrats to NG who put the pundits to sleep with their win and not, “roll over” or get run over by Wyoming.
December 5th, 2022 at 8:21 am
@OC21 At least a few years ago Catholic (non-boundary) schools and public schools competed against one another in the playoffs in Ohio and Florida–maybe other states too. I know they don’t in Jersey, but I’m not sure that’s a situation you would want to duplicate in PA.
December 5th, 2022 at 7:09 am
@Jay
I agree on SCA with you, 100%. I will not use the word cowardice though. I think it’s about rings and banners more than testing themselves. I DO NOT blame the kids. Coaches and Administration, yes I blame them. Roth is a great coach, but DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY UP. That is common knowledge based on their response and appeal to avoid moving up. I would say the same about Aliquippa if they did not play up 3 classes, and I have coached for 21 years in the WPIAL. Because if they played where they would in Class A, games would be ridiculous. Same if they played in 2A or 3A. They would just humiliate teams. I really excited to see SCA n Westinghouse play. The ‘House is from Homewood in Pittsburgh, very high crime rate, low income and really no facilities. Hard not to root for them. I said it before, they are NOT Farrell or Wilmington. Just look at the teams they chose to play to fill open dates. They want to be tested, and have answered the call each time. I saw them in 7v7 in summer and watched them a good bit. This team is loaded everywhere. They are great on O, but those LB’s and the D are just phenomenal. I have not seen a D that hits that hard and plays w that much speed in 10 years. I am putting my picks up later, in no way am I taking a shot at the kids or fans from SCA. They don’t have a say in the matter, Roth and the Administration do. I don’t buy into the travel argument either. Let’s see what happens Friday. Best of luck to both teams.
December 5th, 2022 at 5:30 am
@610 “Just give credit where it’s due and move on”… it’s a lot more complicated than that, get real man.
I’ve lost almost all interest in PA HSFB a because of the lack of fairness with public vs private and the recruiting. I keep an eye on it out of habit but it’s lost a lot of allure for me. I love seeing new teams in the state final like NG and both 3A teams.
Someone asked below why shouldn’t SC move up… the answer is pure cowardice… the audacity of that team to appeal a bump to 3A or even remotely whine about it when they’ve enjoyed so much success at 2A absolutely screams cowardice to me. Just my humble opinion, whoever disagrees let’s hear it.
Good luck to all 12 teams this upcoming weekend. I won’t be watching.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:03 pm
I have never seen a sports league or tournament where there are two different sets of rules for the teams playing in the league or tournament. In this case non boundary schools against boundary schools. How can you tell one team they can get kids from anywhere they want but the other teams can only draw from an area around their school and expect to have a fair league or tournament. NEVER in my life have I seen that at any level except in the state of Pennsylvania. Nothing against the schools that recruit or the kids. It’s the PIAA and from what I am told the politicians that control the PIAA. Only they can make the change. When the same schools are dominating and going to the state championship every year obviously there is problem. The PIAA has to come up with a solution to make it fair and the politicians have to let them do it.
December 4th, 2022 at 6:08 pm
As another season of HS football comes to an end, my 2022 Championship picks.
A: Steel High 28- Union 14 (steel with back to back wins with under a min left against Northern Lehigh and Canton gets them to the final and they have been best A team all year but had close games last two weeks which should help them if it’s close).
AA: Southern 26- W House 20 in OT. Could be best game of weekend. Southern looked like this could be the year they don’t make it to state championship but they got healthy and a Roth led team isn’t going away that easy. I’m not picking against Roth team who hasn’t lost a playoff game since 2016 Final. In fact, they haven’t had a playoff games within 2 scores in those 6 years. They might Thursday.
AAA: NG 18- BV 28.
AAAA: Aliquippa 35- BM 21
AAAAA: Pine-Richland 23- Tep 16
AAAAAA: Prep 38- Harrisburg 21
I think AA and AAAAA have chance to be best games.
December 4th, 2022 at 3:41 pm
@Pennsyltucky Proud, thanks, the team did great.
@mcd 65, so penalties is what you got from Imhotep/NG winning their games too advance to the State title game. WOOOOW
It seems like there’s no love for Philly HS teams, alot of people make excuses or have something bad to say. The best HS football team in PA is SJP, I didn’t go to SJP, I went to Norristown.. Just give credit where it’s due and move on.
Yesterday’s game between NG/Wyomissing, that wasn’t a Hail Mary play, secondary was sleep. Wyo rushed for 145 yards on 45 carries, Shawn Battle had 190 on 19 carries.
And there’s nothing wrong with the turfs at either supersite, yes the goal post is bent but Wyomissing’s kicker didn’t have no issues kicking a FG and 2 XP.
I want everyone who didn’t give NG a chance against Wyo, keep that same energy when we play BV.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:42 pm
I get so frustrated with both Imhotep and Neuman/Gorretti and their amount of penalties each game. Its obvious after years of displaying a lack of discipline that Coaching has to be at the core. I know Albie does a great job getting his players into college ,but it would be nice to watch them play with more cohesion and less stupid mistakes. I may be a bit harsh with this ,but damn I hate not seeing better results from these two.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
It’s time for the PIAA to make a change. Private schools need their own class. What is so hard do 5 classes of public school and one for private. When it comes down to it simply just not fair private schools have no rules they can recruit and they do affectively. Anyone that argues that either has a kid that goes there or has been a fanboy of the school. If you’re not going to change it then let public schools be able to recruit also. Furthermore I’m sure that’s why the games are out of Hershey and at Cumberland Valley now because you can’t fill the stands because no one comes to watch a private school Unless you have a family member on the team. Public schools put a lot more fans in the seat because they have a town behind them also. Most public schools will get a D1 athlete every 5 to 10 years if they’re lucky private schools that recruit well and are always winning state championships have 5+ on their team every year. I’m sure they’ll be comments like oh he’s crying because his team didnt win I didn’t even have a team in the fight this year I just have enough common sense to know that it’s not even close to a level playing field.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:29 pm
Uh oh, that only leaves North Penn 🙂
Maybe I should look on the sunny side of life and toss out some schools that maybe outdid themselves. Off the cuff: Crestwood, Executive Education, CB West, Pennsbury. I’d even toss in Scranton Prep after loosing arguably the best RB in the state in their scrimmage. Others????
December 4th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
Correction to my last.
D3 vs D12 in the Third to last paragraph line; not D13, of course.
December 4th, 2022 at 11:47 am
@ Brian,
Good questions. Like I said, I know it will never happen, especially since it brings up the same issues Aliquippa had with 5A.
To answer the first question, I don’t think they’d need to commute much. They already have 4A in their conference, & play a couple of them every year. I know it’s really only Shore who’s good in class, but they can still play in-league, at minimum. They got good District 2 teams nearby (VV & Dallas, especially). I’m not saying they should go independent. I’m not saying they should play all Philly teams. They can still be in the league. I wouldn’t doubt that a good D3/11 would entertain the idea of a home & home. Why not Middletown? Manheim? McDevitt? If the EPC had non-con, why not Beca/ACC? The commute might be a pain, but it’s not like they’ll have one every week.
I’ll say this, if I was a coach or AD at a really good D2/3/11 school & saw Southern came up to our classification, I’d be licking my chops & entertain the idea of a home & home to them. Win or (most likely) lose, it would be a great experience. You know, I sorta believe that Wyoming Area state title season was helped in part of that scheduling change. It gave them some lessons.
My thinking is more for the playoffs. I think for the playoffs, they’ll have a slightly tougher road. With the bracket Shore was in, you could make the argument that it could go either way in the ACC game (never count out the EPC South teams). Assuming they made it past, Aliquippa probably would be the roadblock. 5A is a mystery. Depends on the subregional & bracket. They’d be the lone 5A team in D4, barring something very crazy. They’d wipe the floor with D6/8, & maybe D2’s region.
I did not realize they were that close to 1A. I’m curious to know how they would stack up against all of the 1A teams that came out to states. My gut is they’d beat anyone out West. Canevin would’ve maybe given them the toughest game, if they survived. The East is a mystery.
“Why shouldn’t they?” is a good question. I do think that the schools should step it up to beat them. Crazy how D4 hasn’t caught up to them. You’d think more teams would be like “enough’s enough!”
My hope is that, regardless of outcome, they get enough points to be in 3A. Looking at this year, they got beat by good 3A teams in their district, & Wyomissing would stack up nicely against them. Maybe one of the 3A private schools, too.
Also @ Kevin X,
Lakeland wasn’t entirely overrated. The injury bug got them at the wrong time. I think a healthier team would’ve made it all they way to Southern. I don’t think they’d have the team to beat them, but they were really good.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:55 am
Random musings on the coming state championships.
First, a new house for the next four years – Cumberland Valley High School stadium in, or near, Mechanicsburg. It is about 20-26 miles west of Hershey on the other side of the Susquehanna, about a half-hour or 45 mins further west. Not significant in time or distance and the stadium appears to be able to hold the crowds that have attended these games in recent years. Of this years entrants, Harrisburg and Bishop McDevitt have certainly played there.
I like to see “new faces” among the entrants and this year we have four first-time entrants – from the West side Union (1A); Westinghouse (2A); Belle Vernon (3A); and from the East – Neuman-Goretti (3A). This makes the 3A game between two first-year entrants. And Westinghouse from D8 is that district’s first entrant in 24 years and only the 2nd team ever from District 8. And NG is the first new team from D12 since 2013 when Imhotep first appeared.
That said, we have five returnees from last year in St. Joe’s, Imhotep, Bishop McDevitt, Aliquippa, and Southern Columbia. This makes one rematch from last year in 4A – McDevitt versus Aliquippa. The remaining three teams return from prior years other than last year and include Harrisburg, Pine-Richland, and Steelton-Highspire, commonly referred to as Steel High.
As to matchups I think the 2A bout between D4’s Southern Columbia’s top participating and championship holder school and D8’s Westinghouse could be a classic. Opinions have been that it will just be “another day at the office” for SCA, but Westinghouse brings a strong opponent to the table. First, they are responsible for the one loss on the 1A entry Steel High’s record this year. And their defense has allowed three TDs to Steelton in beating them and two TDs each in only two other games; otherwise no more than 8 points to 11 other opponents including 6 playoff games. Impressively in the playoffs they met undefeated Berlin-Brothersvalley, who had shutout 8 of their 11 opponents and allowed 6 tds in 11 games, and Westinghouse prevailed 59-7! I do not see any easy win for either side here.
Prevailing opinion seems to be that the Hawks of St. Joe’s Prep will not be troubled winning their next Chip. This may be truth in fact as there is no doubt that they appear on the field as “men among boys” to most opponents, and match their size with talent, coaching, mindset, routine, speed, and lots of prospects for D1 college ball.
Again, just from all I read and see, Aliquippa is also given a strong nod in the 4A contest. The Quips have been here 8 previous times in several classes and are 4-4 overall. However, it has been said that this is their strongest outfit in years.
In 5A we have Imhotep versus Pine-Richland. From what I read the key is for the PR outfit they took a 1-3 season start and have greatly improved since that time; peaking at the right time is the adage. Imhotep is certainly no stranger; however wins have not flowed to them in that they are 1-5 in their 6 prior outings across 4 classifications.
The 3A match will be two “newcomers” versus each other in Neuman-Gorreti vs Belle Vernon. I have seen BV mentioned as the “strongest D7” competitor in some cases. NG is a bit of an enigma to me. I happened to see one of their losses and they were far from impressive in that, marred by mistakes and penalties in their own backyard South Philly site. However some speed was certainly apparent for them.
As to participating districts, only 5 of 12 districts are here in 2022. There are two D7-D12 matches; two D7-D3 matches; one D3-D13; and one D4-D8. Representatives are four from D7; 3 each from D3 and D12; one D4 and one D8 vs each other.
I hope all teams do their best, play smart and clean, escape injury, and may the best effort in each game get the gold.
I won’t lay any predictions out there as I often say, “My brain is where knowledge goes to die!”
December 4th, 2022 at 9:49 am
@ Pennsyltucky Pride
I do not see SCA dealing with the size, speed and overall skill of Westinghouse. Potent passing n running the ball, Great QB. O-Line is huge. The D plays so fast n physical, plus hit like nobody I have seen in 10 years. This is not Farrell or Wilmington, trust me. Think more of Steel Valley who SCA couldn’t handle. Not saying it will be a game like that one. But ‘The House beats SCA Thursday. My humble opinion.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:47 am
Man oh man, what’s up with Garnet Valley? 48-0 at the half, eesh, obviously Prep unloaded their bench in the second half. Otherwise they literally could have hung a C note on them. And that’s the best District 1 has to offer? You know what would have been hilarious, if they ‘opted out’ like some teams did against Erie Prep. I’m half kidding but you know what, I’m darn near half serious. If your prospect is to play a team that’s literally a hundred points better, an utter humiliation, heck, a protest forfeit might be a little more gratifying. Because let’s be real the final score, 48-7, is a total fraud, had the starters remained for the entire game they would have hit triple digits — that’s what’s salient.
Otherwise, is there any chance SJP could enter the Geico Bowl Series after the state final, would the PIAA be cool with that if they received an invite?
December 4th, 2022 at 9:42 am
@EmanD3
I’ll mark you down as a no. Fair enough, some good points.
I have no ill will or animosity towards Wyo. Totally neutral, no dog in their fight.
To be clear tho, as Foleman stated, that was no Hail Mary at the end. They did show great moxie retaking the lead in the final two minutes after NG went ahead, albeit with the usual help from NG shooting themselves in the foot with penalties. But after taking the lead, to let a team score with 30 seconds, with one time out, and arguable one of the top 3 offensive players in D12 on the sidelines, is not good look. Yes, they were very lucky to be even playing yesterday. Great season, great run, regroup for next year.
@ ScottyB
Yes it was and it is.
@ Henry
Your proposal??
December 3rd, 2022 at 10:44 pm
@D2 Fan, what kind of commute would SCA need to make on a weekly basis to play 4A and 5A schools? Please, look at the geography and tell me which city hours away you think wants to travel there or that they should travel to?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they’re presently only sitting a few kids above single A and their enrollmentis dropping. This present team is one nobody saw making it past the district championship, but now that they improved they should play schools four times their enrollment? The logic is kind of lost on me. Why shouldn’t the other 2A schools up their game if they can’t compete?
December 3rd, 2022 at 8:00 pm
Past time to separate the recruiting schools
December 3rd, 2022 at 7:41 pm
@ Pennsy… I think of the Schuylkill as more of an east west rather than a north south river, but I realize that depends on what part of the river you’re looking at, In any case, Germantown and Chestnut Hill are part of what I guess you could call NW Philly. My point is that the Inter-Ac schools, with the exception of MP are 15-20 minutes from one another by car. They’re a long way–not just geographically–from Mayfair, Ridley, Lansdale, etc. SJP gets students from all over the Delaware Valley. I don’t think that’s at all true of the Inter-ACs. The PCL covers a much larger gedographic area than the Inter-AC and I think that appeals to the Prep.
December 3rd, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Imhotep’s offense is meh, honestly they should’ve lost to Upper Dublin, UD out played them the second half.
Coaching has to be better for Imhotep if they win it all.
Find it funny that not one person had a problem with Prep losing in the final, but win they win it’s issue.
December 3rd, 2022 at 6:55 pm
@610: Congrats, I tip my hat to NG. Good luck to your son next week.
@Frank G: Of the 6 Inter-Acs, 3 are on the W side of the river (Hav, MP, EA) and 3 are on the E side of the river (GA, PC, SCH), just as a clarification on your geography.
I believe Westinghouse will give SCA a run for their money, but in the end, SCA will do what it does best; that is the collection of rings.
December 3rd, 2022 at 6:53 pm
Congrats to former District one and Downingtown West standout, Will Howard on leading Kansas State to the Big 12 Championship today. Always great to see local kids performing well at the next level.
December 3rd, 2022 at 5:42 pm
Just watched the last TD by NG, NG was at Wyo’s 44 yard line, Wyo had 7 in the box and 2 safeties about 10 yards off the ball while covering no one with their Cornerbacks covering NG’S receivers one on one with a few seconds to go. My God, I knew where the ball was going the minute the ball was snapped, Wolfrum said it was a blown coverage which is an understatement. Lucky for the Wyo defensive coordinator this isn’t college or the pro’s, he would be unemployed the minute he got off the bus.
December 3rd, 2022 at 5:31 pm
@ Matt, I’m a Prep alumnus too and see where you’re coming from. I also think that if other years were like this year, your argument would be stronger but in every year but the really odd Covid one (2020) the Prep has not had the series of blowout playoff games that they’ve had this year. Maybe next week’s game will be different. I’d rather it be a game where the outcome isn’t known before halftime and I think the Prep players and coaches would agree.
About what you’re suggesting: I’m not sure it’s possible for the Prep to leave the PCL for one sport and stay in for all the others (where it does not dominate except for rowing, a sport in which only a few PCL schools compete). And I wonder whether LaSalle and Roman would want them to leave for football since, at least in LaSalle’s case, the game with SJP is by far the biggest game of the year.
As for joining the Inter-Ac, the main obstacle would be the Inter-Ac’s culture, which it is very proud of and attached to. Their football teams don’t travel, seem to play nearly all their league games on afternoons (not so difficult for families since they are all in the same geographical areas–on the western side of the city and in the western suburbs (e.g. none in Bucks or Montgomery counties), and appear to want the football season to end by mid-November–Malvern’s last game this year was Nov. 11. And I just can’t see the six Inter-AC schools (which have been the same for a century) welcoming SJP to their tea parties.
The problem with trying to play an independent schedule is that all the schools that you might think of and that are within 150 miles (the North Jersey Catholic schools like Bergen Catholic, Bosco, St. Joe’s Montvale, and St. Peter’s Prep and the the DC area schools like St. John’s, Good Counsel, DeMatha, and Gonzaga) are members of leagues and so pretty much all their weeks in October and November are filled with league games (regular season and playoffs). Of course the Prep has played most of these teams at least once, but always in September when schools have some availability. Some schools (like IMG in FL and St. Frances in MD) are willing to fly around the country for games against high-profile (and sometimes not-so-high profile) opponents, but the Prep thinks one long trip a year is pretty much its limit, which I think is sensible.
It’s interesting to note that the team that beat SJP at the start of the year (St. Thomas Aquinas) is in a league with public schools and not all of their victories are by large margins, Remember also that Erasmus Hall, a public school from Brooklyn, gave the Prep a very good game in early September.
December 3rd, 2022 at 5:14 pm
GUYS, OMFG!!! WHAT A GAME, IT REALLY LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING FROM A MOVIE.
December 3rd, 2022 at 5:46 pm
He threw a punch and got ejected from the game. I think if that happens you can’t play the next game.
December 3rd, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Congrats to NG!!!! Huge win .@ Dave Mika, so whats with Shawn Battle possibly being ineligible for the biggest game in schools history ?????
December 3rd, 2022 at 4:40 pm
@ Kevin X
When a team like Wyo, who is 41-3 the last 3 years, with 2 state title appearances and a semi final appearance, loses on a Hail Mary with 8 sec left, from 45 yds….I would doubt anyone but you thinks they were overrated this year. Sounds to me like you just don’t like them for some reason. It’s a crappy way to lose, but it is what it is….know they know what Danville felt like last week
December 3rd, 2022 at 4:31 pm
From Paul Roberts who was covering the Wyo/NG Game:
Paul Roberts
@PaulRobertsCuse
·
16m
I’ve been covering high school sports for nearly 25 years. Don’t know that I’ll ever see a more thrilling finish than Wyomissing vs. Neumann-Goretti.
A tip of the cap to both teams. Outstanding effort!
3 Touchdowns scored in the last 2 minutes of the game, you just don’t see that in High School Football. 610 Fill us in!
December 3rd, 2022 at 4:25 pm
The season is over among District 2 teams. It was a tall task for Crestwood to beat McDevitt, anyway. No one thought they’d make it that far, so I tip my cap to the Comets on a great season.
Other observations
– I honestly thought Port Allegany would have the advantage over Union. It’s mind-blowing how the #11 seed in 1A WPIAL will play for a title in Mechanicsburg. When was the last time that low of a seed ever made it that far? I feel like it’s recent, but I don’t think it happens that often. Steel-High is going to be a tough matchup for them. Then again, what do I know? Union Area is playing great team football right now.
– That Wyomissing/Neumann-Goretti outcome was a stunner. Would Belle Vernon be favored in that one?
– Westinghouse/Steel Valley looked to be a great game. I hope Westinghouse can match up with Southern Columbia. Then again, Southern will likely mercy rule their way to another state title.
– I know it will never happen, but I honestly think Southern should pull a Kennedy Catholic like move & play 4/5A in the upcoming two-year cycle. I’d love to see what they do against higher level competition. If Quips can do what they’re doing in 4A, I wouldn’t be shocked if Southern did the same at that level. I’m sure the same issues with Aliquippa would fall into Southern’s hands, when it came to why they protested the success factor move, but voluntarily moving up to a higher level could make their state playoff run a bit more of a challenge.
Before I go,
– Heck of a career for the Canton seniors. Hate that both of Steel-High’s last two wins were against those two teams. Both would’ve been great representatives for East PA 1A.
– Central (Martinsburg) gave Belle Vernon a much better fight than I thought they would. Can’t wait for how the Mountain League teams will handle the LHAC, moving forward.
– ACC looked like they made it a game early, but Aliquippa might be the best program in the state not named St. Joe’s (& that’s coming from someone who absolutely can’t stand private schools playing in the state playoffs, & even wrote a paper on it back in college).
– Didn’t really follow along on the other games, but fingers crossed Harrisburg & Pine-Richland stun the world.
December 3rd, 2022 at 4:19 pm
Kevin X…That is a good question. Based on the rule he may not be.
December 3rd, 2022 at 4:10 pm
Will NG’s Shawn Battle be eligible to play next Saturday??
December 3rd, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Do I have permission to add Wyomissing to my list of most overrated teams in eastern PA this year?? They will join Lakeland and North Penn.
Ironic that I sat thru a scrimmage between two of those teams back in August.
December 3rd, 2022 at 3:42 pm
I want to hear all about this Quinton Martin guy????
December 3rd, 2022 at 3:30 pm
NG WON!!! SOOOOOOO………
December 3rd, 2022 at 2:02 pm
10-8
Wyo
Halftime
December 3rd, 2022 at 12:07 am
@ Paul White
Yup, 100%
December 2nd, 2022 at 11:46 pm
I like the teams who will represent the West. Got my picks right, didn’t see Westinghouse pulling away from a VERY GOOD Steel Valley team that easy. That team has speed to burn, size and a NASTY D, that really likes to hit. Pine Richland was just to big, to fast and to strong for Cocalico. Not to mention, P-R is so well coached. Union didn’t shock me, coaching makes a difference, they are well coached. The ‘Quips did what the ‘Quips do, make it look easy. Belle Vernon looked awesome in second half, shutting out Martinsburg. Loving the fact that 4 WPIAL Teams and 1 Pgh. City League team will be representing the West. All 5 teams are very good, I like are chances. But not making my predictions yet, some good teams from the East.
December 2nd, 2022 at 10:53 pm
Good game between Upped Dublin and Imhotep tonight. UD had its chance to take the lead at the end but fumbled the snap on 4th down on TEPS 25 yd line.
Imhotep has a lot of nice players but they aren’t as good a team as they should be with the talent they have. Offense is meh. They get by with individual talent. I’ll pick Pine Richland in the final
UD was probably giving 70 lbs a man up front but did a nice job defensively against TEPS o-line despite the size difference.
O’Sullivan is a very good QB. He’s fun to watch..
December 2nd, 2022 at 8:15 pm
Packed house at West Mifflin for the 2A semi final between Westinghouse and Steel Valley. Estimated crowd of over 4,000.
December 2nd, 2022 at 3:06 pm
@ Wpialguy
Meaning???
I myself will be down at Wissahickon HS for Imhotep/Upper Dublin. If the game wasn’t a few minutes away, I’d find myself at the Souderton gym for their annual tipoff tournament. Been seeing a lot this week of people getting bent out of shape with basketball and the winter sports season is starting today, raining on their football parade and feeling for all of the poor football players who won’t be playing basketball this weekend. They make it sounding like there with be 4 players on the hoops roster and that when the plethora of kids coming off of the football season that they won’t be ready to play basketball. Maybe someone also needs to remind these folks that the girls winter sports season starts today as well, zero to do with football. Amazing and hilarious.
December 2nd, 2022 at 1:26 pm
I will preface this by saying I am an SJP alum. So, I do love to see their success. They most definitely recruit, but at this point, with how much success they have had, if you are a stud 8th grade football player why would you not want to go there? Basically, if you start you will go D-1 and you are essentially guaranteed at least 1 state title over your 4 years.
That being said, I think if SJP really wants to achieve what seems to be their goal of being a perennial national power like the Bishop Gorman’s, IMGs, or Mater Dei’s of the world, they would be better served leaving the PIAA. As much as I love winning state titles, it is getting to the point that it seems like they need a new end of year goal. While there are other teams in the state that can challenge them, it seems like it takes other school’s “once in a decade” type of team to compete with them. Even I have to admit it seems a little unfair for a school to go up against the talent and size assembled by Prep. If you look at their roster, their back up o-line is all 6ft+ 250lbs+. That is insane for a high school team.
I think that the best move for Prep, and what from what it sounds like would really appease the rest of the state, would be to remove themselves from the PIAA. I know the PCL has a tremendous amount of tradition and Prep is one of the founding members. While that would be sad to lose, escaping the PIAA would allow for them to schedule even more national programs. Ideally, they could join the Inter-Ac, which would also help the academic prestige, which is important to Prep. Inter-Ac might not be interested however, and some kind of independent status might also work.
Interesting to see if Prep would consider such a move. As someone who went there, the school’s philosophy is essential to always keep accepting new harder challenges. I would think at this point they have to be close to realizing the rest of the PIAA isn’t able to keep up and other challenges could await.
December 2nd, 2022 at 11:41 am
@610 – BV has plenty of other very good high school players, but when you have the top ranked recruit in the state he tends to overshadow everyone else on the team. BV is going to have their hands full with a very good Central Martinsburg team who has a QB who has thrown for 3,768 yards this season with 50 TD’s and set the state record last year with 57 TD passes, so Martin is going to be a very important factor in the secondary this game.
There is no doubt NG is an underdog against Wyomissing, but that doesn’t mean they can’t upset them, look at Union in the WPIAL, they were a #10 seed and no one thought they were going to get to the district final let alone beat Bishop Canevin last week, same with Cocalico, they were a #12 seed and very few thought they would upset Exeter.
December 2nd, 2022 at 11:21 am
610, Wolfrum has coached against 2 Crosbie coached teams-TEP and NG and I love Albie, however, the total combined scores of those 2 games was 77-19. Wyo scored 6 straight TD”S 42 points against NG last year, it looked like men vs boys out there. However, never underestimate the power of emotion, NG will remember last years blow out and is playing on their home turf. I am expecting a closer game than last year but only 1 team has beaten WYO the last 3 years Central Valley, and they were one of the best AAA teams I have seen in a long time.
December 2nd, 2022 at 10:54 am
Here are my picks coming from the West.
Union over Port Allegheny
Westinghouse over Steel Valley ( honestly think this is for the State Champ.) Teams are so close, could flip a coin. Happy to see either win, both from the Westside. But would enjoy seeing the ‘House finish the dream season.
Belle Vernon over C. Martinsburg
‘Quips over Allentown C.C.
P-R over Cocalico
Yes I am bias to the WPIAL/City League, but honestly feel this is how it shakes out. Next week is different, deal w that tomorrow. Best luck to all teams East n West.
December 2nd, 2022 at 8:53 am
@Paul White.. Almost, there have a been few students to attend NP and not pick up move. They provided a multiple occupancy form, which basically means you have someone who actually lives in the NP school district sign a form saying they live there and at their normal address with the their parents. One utility bill to substantiate the residency in the district and magic happens.
Unsure how many other districts have this policy. It was big in Philadelphia when I was kid. So NP, No move and no tuition. “Not comparable by a long shot”.
December 2nd, 2022 at 6:16 am
Does every other state hold their state semi finals on basketball season opening night? I mean… what are we doing here?
December 2nd, 2022 at 5:32 am
@Pennsyltucky Proud, I backhanded slap Danville?!? I never said they were a bad team, all I said is majority of their wins were shutouts and as I looked at their schedule and scores, I thought, what is their competition like. If you read my comment, I never said any team was bad, every team plays soft teams.
If Wyo beats NG 100-0, hey, the better team won. Then I would pick Wyo to win the CHIP, so I can say, we lost to the Champs. But if NG beat Wyo, then was it luck or Wyo was out coached?
If NG and BV wins, everyone is going to pick BV to win. Then all I’m going to hear is about BV’s running back. Is that all they have because that’s the only player people on this forum talks about.
NG isn’t going too lay down for any team.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:16 pm
My picks for this weekend:
1A Canton over Steelton 41-35, Port Allegany over Union 21-20
2A Southern over Trinity 41-20, Westinghouse over Steel Valley 28-21
3A Wyo over NG 35-10, Belle Vernon over Central Martinsburg 31-20
4A McDevitt over Crestwood 40-7, Quips over ACC 35-14
5A Upper Dublin over Imhotep 21-14, Pine Richland over Cocalico 28-14
6A SJP over Garnet Valley 42-7, Harrisburg over State College 35-21
December 1st, 2022 at 9:52 pm
@Jeff H I still bet on UD because Colin O Sullivan is a winner. I love the way he plays. I hope I am right.
December 1st, 2022 at 9:34 pm
@Foleman… The Private Schools in the area are different today than they were 25-30 years ago. Most of the Catholic Schools had boundaries and there wasn’t this mindset that you had to play for certain teams to get noticed and recruited by colleges. The Catholic league teams that played in the 70’s-90’s were good but they wouldn’t stand a chance against the typical Prep and LaSalle teams that are put on the field today. Same for the inter-ac teams. They are much more competitive today. Top players from D1 get plucked away by these schools and dilute the talent pool.
How people think is irrelevant. The record of who’s winning the past 20 years speaks for itself. The Publics are at a disadvantage. If the Prep wants me to play for them, I just go there at a discounted tuition. If North Penn wants me, my family needs to sell their house and move to their township. Not comparable by a long shot.
December 1st, 2022 at 7:56 pm
@610 Good luck to your son but you’re backhanded slap against Danville was so wrong. Danville had an incredible team this year. I will be curious to see if NG does better against Wyo than Danv did. I suspect as @NEPA said, NG will fare no better against Wyo than it did against SCA about 5 yrs ago. But that’s why they play the game.
December 1st, 2022 at 5:14 pm
@Bones – I saw him play 3 times last year and once this year against McKeesport and he is a stud, no doubt about it, he’s all over the field on defense and I think that’s where his future is at the next level, but he’s a pretty dynamic running back as well, he can change the game on 1 play, and don’t even think about punting of kicking off to him as you’re playing with fire, he had a great punt return for a TD last week at Acrisure Stadium against Avonworth in the WPIAL final.
@610 – I’m not familiar with the NG coach but Bob Wolfrum with Wyomissing is one of the best coaches in state history and his record speaks for itself. Finishing up his 36th season he is 350-86-1, and the second-winningest active coach in Pennsylvania. He has won ten district titles, been to the state semifinals six times and finals three times, winning it all in 2012 and losing the last two years, to Central Valley. Wyomissing did hammer Cocalico this year who won the D3 5A title and is still playing this week, they also beat a pretty good Lampeter-Strasburg 4A team, as well as Berks Catholic and Pottsville, so it’s not like they’ve played a bunch of cream puffs every week. Good luck to your son and team this week but I think they are going to be overmatched by Wyomissing.
December 1st, 2022 at 4:54 pm
@Foleman – I agree with you, it’s a mystery to me why DI hasn’t won a state title since Lansdale Catholic won 2A in 2004. Even when the PIAA flipped the brackets for 2 years so D12 (i.e. SJP) played the WPIAL winner in the semi-finals in 2018-19 the DI winner still lost to the D3 winner in the semi-finals. Like you mentioned the PCL and Inter-AC were siphoning off kids prior to D12 joining the PIAA in 2008, so there’s got to be other explanations for why DI football has not been as competitive on a state wide level for quite awhile. North Penn in 2016 was very good, and so was Coatesville the next few years, but neither of them could quite get over the hump. Maybe UD will surprise everyone and beat Imhotep, I do think that game is going to be a lot closer than most people expect, but GV is probably going to get mercy ruled again by SJP, we’ll see.
December 1st, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Why are yall taking shots at players and coaches? What makes Wyomissing coach better than NG coach? Are you guys writing NG off because of what happen last year, a lot of you had Scranton Prep and NL beating NG and no one said anything NG won both games. When they played NL, alot of you were saying , “Cade Christopher is going to run all over NG”. From what I saw, he probably had close to 50-60 yds rushing and 1 TD, he got hurt in the game and I hope he’s doing ok. As far as Wyomissing, who did they beat this year, their toughest game this year was Danville, so what does that tell you about their competition. They shutout 9 out of 12 opponents during the regular season. Alot of people get fooled by records, I look at competition. When you guys get a chance, look at Danville and Wyomissing schedule, look at the scores. Don’t get me wrong, everyone plays bad teams, that’s just what it is. BV also, they have 2 loses but look at who they played, they shutout majority of the teams they played. If Wyomissing beat NG, the best team won. And if you haven’t figured it out, I have a kid who plays for NG.
December 1st, 2022 at 4:06 pm
@Jeff H. Looking forward to the Belle Vernon Wyo matchup. Haven’t seen much of Quinton yet but just looking at highlights, he’s an absolute monster. For how big he is, he can still change directions really well and still run away from people. And he’s only a junior haha
December 1st, 2022 at 2:18 pm
@All the SJP haters. NE PA basically Any can beat SJP (A Philly Team) because they don’t want to get hit by running down hill on them. I couldn’t help to have fun with that comment.
On another note I was surprised hearing from a parent from Texas that he feels we in PA and Ohio hit differently (better) than in Texas. I was shocked since Texas is considered a hot bed for football.
December 1st, 2022 at 1:54 pm
@mcd 65. I’m not insulting the players by any means. Goretti is not used to power football (the kind that Wyo will bring to the table tomorrow). They’re used to just outrunning everyone and not getting smacked in the mouth every down. Over the years, it’s very apparent that once you get a team like that down, they will quit and roll over. Seen it with Southern Columbia and Wyo over the years. Just go back to last year’s matchup when Goretti went right down the field and scored on their first drive. Wyo gets the ball and goes right down the field and scores then they get a stop and its 35 straight points and a mercy rule. If you get them down and continue to pound the football, it’s over.
December 1st, 2022 at 1:03 pm
Paul White “I think a lot of people in District 1 value the district championship more than ever” There’s the problem, if you don’t think you are good enough to beat the best, you will lose. District 1 had several State Champs back in the day-N.Penn, Strath Haven, Lansdale Catholic, Neshaminy, CB West-(4) Downingtown when they were 1 school. District 1 has more 6A and 5A schools than anywhere in the State, they should be churning out Powerhouse teams every year. What happened? The Catholic League and Inter-Ac were around then too and it didn’t affect the Pubs, something changed over the years and I don’t have an answer for what happened to District 1 football.
December 1st, 2022 at 12:55 pm
I too see Wyomissing winning this game by at least 2 scores, if not more, but let’s wait until we crown them state champs, they will still likely have to beat Belle Vernon in the final, and district 3 is 0-5 against WPIAL teams in the 3A state final since we switched to 6 classes in 2016, with Middletown losing the first 3 and of course Wyomissing losing the last 2 years to Central Valley. Assuming Belle Vernon does win this week the rest of the state will get introduced to Quinton Martin, who is the top ranked recruit in the state of PA in the class of 2024 and can pretty much pick wherever he wants to go to college.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:56 am
@ NE PA, I agree with you about Wyomissing beating NG by a wide margin ,Your comment about not wanting to be hit is insulting and just ridiculous. NG does not have the coaching to get them beyond a first round imo.. Do some home work on their players success at the Division ! level. They certainly didnt get there not wanting to be hit. Make your point without insulting players. Thanks
December 1st, 2022 at 11:02 am
I think a lot of people in District 1 value the district championship more than ever. They realize with the private schools in the way in getting to the final, it’s unlikely they get there. Most people expect D1 to lose in the semis
December 1st, 2022 at 9:10 am
@EmanD3 I believe Wyo will run Goretti into the ground fairly easily. Once Wyo gets the wing-t going, I believe at some point Goretti will say they’ve had enough and pretty much lay down. Very similar to last year and previous years. Most of those teams from Philly just want to outrun you and don’t want to get hit. But once they meet a team like Wyo/Southern Columbia who will just come at you all game running downhill, it gets apparent that they don’t want to tackle anymore. And I believe Wyo is just simply a better team, more disciplined and well coached.
December 1st, 2022 at 8:42 am
EmanD3, NG had the same guys last year and got run over by Wyo, unless their coaches can some how find a way to slow down the WingT Wyo probably wins by at least 2 TD’S. Even with all of that talent NG lost to the 3 best teams on their schedule while Wyo blew out the District 3 5A champ Cocalico and beat a tough Lampeter squad and a very talented Danville team. Wolfrum is one of the best coaches in the State and has beat very talented teams in the past like Alliquippa and Imhotep so he will have a plan for NG. I think Wyo brings home the Gold this year.
December 1st, 2022 at 5:57 am
@EmanD3 Wyo will play team ball and NG will hang for a quarter and get wore down and frustrated just as SC exploited them several years ago. Wyo 42- NG 14
December 1st, 2022 at 12:24 am
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the Wyomissing/Neumann Goretti game on Friday?
I saw NG has six D1 guys and their D is giving up 48 yds rushing per game, and 2.1 yds per rush. Plus barely giving up 110 yds total/game. Pretty impressive!
Wyo is averaging 326/game on the ground. Have punted 13x in 13 games. They have two RB’s over 1,000 and another with 850. Their last two games they have rushed for 950 yds and 11 TD’s. Those two teams had a combined record of 23-1…sounds like it could be a real slobberknocker! Something has got to give.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:44 pm
What everyone is missing in this whole debate about setting up brackets and separating publics and privates is the individual districts would have to give up having their own championships, which I know the WPIAL and I assume district 3 and district 1 in particular would not be in favor of doing, I can’t imagine the WPIAL ever agreeing to a system that would eliminate the WPIAL playoffs which they have been holding for decades longer than the state tournament. The PIAA has to manage its tournament around the district playoffs, and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon, if ever.
I think the vast majority on this board agree it was a big mistake for the PIAA to go to 6 classes in 2016, but I doubt they will ever admit that, you could fix many but certainly not all of the problems that plague the tournament now if you went back to 4 or at most 5 classes.
November 30th, 2022 at 10:01 am
@FrankG the JCo is mentioning is one I have heard as well. I have no idea why people think that. Way to run the history.
@Philly_Plug215 I like that idea also. Teams that don’t give into the narrative are teams the either beat SJP/LaSalle or perform at very high level and make it a great game.
November 30th, 2022 at 6:32 am
PIAA needs a ranking bracket instead of east and west so many missed opportunities for a great tourney instead of east and west take top 16 programs that have no problem drawling kids in or getting kids to play for them like Quips Tep Hawks Pine PCC Lasalle Roman NA Mcdevitt etc these schools have no problem obtaining high level players that’s why Quips (1a-2a) school can play 4a and compete. Again Tep is a (3a) school plays competitive in 5a not because they recruit but because kids actually wanna play there and the same can be said bout any of the schools listed above. Not only would these schools compete @ a high level but the games would be more exciting. Let the traditional power houses slug it out against each other for a PIAA open division title. This league will also be a non boundary league. PIAA should only have 5 division making the 5th an open division. Also if there is another school dominating in 1a-4a the success factor should move them into the 16 man tourney in the open division and the worst team in the open division moves back to its respectable classification. For instance if Parkland dominated 4a and won its title 3 years in a row they would move to 5a open division and let a team struggling in open division drop down to play in there respectable classification. The way it set up now Philadelphia talent pool gets watered down bad from Philadelphia city championship. Teams like Roman and Lasalle get sniffed by SJP AND TEP when really they should have been in the tourney to add a competitive play. Only way I see PIAA football getting better.
November 29th, 2022 at 10:17 pm
@JCo I don’t know where you get the idea that the LaSalle-SJP game was ever considered the “real final.” From 2008 to 2012, LaSalle was the PCL rep in the big school classification and only in 2009 did they win a state championship and in only one other year were they in the final. In 2013, SJP was considered by most the decided underdog in the state final against PCC. In 2014 they beat LaSalle in a blowout but had very close games against Parkland and P-R. In 2015 LaSalle won the PCL again but lost to Parkland in the quarter-finals. Are you getting the picture? No reason to think of the PCL championship as the real state final. In 2016 SJP won a very tight semi-final game against North Penn–a much closer game than the earlier LaSalle game. In 2017 there was all the anticipation of playing Coatesville and P-R, the latter in unquestionably the “real” final. In 2019 the PCL championship game against LaSalle was a blowout, but the semi-final against PCC was a classic. In 2020 and 2021, the Prep blew out LaSalle again in the championship games, but of course M-L won the “real final” last year.
I agree that the public-private debate is more nuanced than many recognize.
November 29th, 2022 at 6:16 pm
In the discussion about the role of privates, I want to provide the following perspective: in many years, the game between SJP and La Salle was considered the “real final”, and yet the champion still had to slog through multiple additional weeks to be declared the state champion, and the loser goes home early. This is a game that deserves to be played much closer to the actual final. A private-only bracket would allow more of eastern PA to be mixed together, allowing schools to play across boundary lines for the right to advance. These games would be hotbeds for potential college recruits. Sure, there might be more travel per game, but that can easily be offset by simply having fewer total rounds.
The public/private debate is more nuanced that just the publics avoiding perceived heavyweights. The private schools could stand to benefit quite a bit as well.
November 29th, 2022 at 2:22 pm
@Pennsyltucky Proud – must be a REAL Minimal as 2 of the parents are single moms, and one has several kids, parents don’t have it & she’s really struggling, so it’s got to be bare minimum. That was my conversation with her, how do you afford it? “Well it doesn’t cost me a dime” is what I was told.
November 29th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
@D2 Fan – I agree with all your picks, so that’s probably the kiss of death for some of these teams!
In 6A I’ve been saying all year it would be Harrisburg vs. SJP, and with the way Harrisburg has played the last several weeks I think they beat SC and avenge their regular season loss, just like they did with Manheim Township last week
In 5A Pine Richland is on a roll and I think they beat Cocalico by a few scores this week and have a legitimate chance to beat Imhotep in the final, never thought I would be saying that a couple of months ago when they started 1-3 and looked disjointed on offense
In 4A the much anticipated rematch happens, I think both Aliquippa and McDevitt are better than last year, and that should be a tremendous game next week
Belle Vernon has been the favorite to make it from the West all season, just like Wyomissing in the East, no surprises there
Westinghouse vs. Steel Valley will be a battle and the game I am going to see since it’s being played 10 minutes from my house, its’ been 20 years since a WPIAL team played a Pittsburgh city league team in the state semifinals, I said yesterday I think Westinghouse will win, goes without saying So Columbia will be there for the 8th year in a row
In 1A the dream run has to end for Union sometime, upset winners in the WPIAL finals sometimes struggle the following week in the state playoffs, as it’s tough to come back from the emotional high of winning at Acrisure Stadium (still feels weird typing that and not Heinz), Bishop Canevin lost in this round last year, and I think Union loses to Port Allegany, hard to go against Steelton, I’ve thought all year they were the best team in 1A.
November 29th, 2022 at 12:56 pm
After all of the jinxes, this is who I see making it to Mechanicsburg next week
1A: Steel-High vs. Port Allegany
2A: Southern Columbia vs. Westinghouse
3A: Wyomissing vs. Belle Vernon Area
4A: Bishop McDevitt vs. Aliquippa
5A: Imhotep vs. Pine-Richland
6A: St. Joe’s vs. Harrisburg
I’d love to see Crestwood, Upper Dublin, & Garnet Valley take a page from Union Area & take down the private school powers, but this isn’t the year.
If I’m wrong, so be it.
November 29th, 2022 at 11:42 am
@JC you also made some good points. The bowl games are the best Idea I have heard yet. It gives the non-happy side an avenue to win a championship of sorts and then you have one for best team in the state (bowl game). I like it.
I am sure everyone sadly believes public schools don’t recruit. If the public HS coach says to any 8th grader somethin on the lines of ,” that will be you in year when you come play for me”. Guess what that’s called. You guessed it. Sure you can say they wouldn’t have to do it if there weren’t other options, but who really wants their to not be other options. 2 sons, 2 experiences, HS coaches recruit. Period. I don’t need to guess, assume or fabricate a story. Now people can be naive and think this is few and far between and you can also believe your pictures are stored in cumulus clouds you see floating by in the sky.
November 29th, 2022 at 11:20 am
It must be state playoff time because we are back on the separate playoffs to make things fair. Does anything if it was deemed unfair when the PCL joined the PIAA it would have gone through? I was thinking about this two weeks ago when SJP was facing Northeast. The public league teams, parents, players get hit the hardest. They loose to the SJP or LaSalle year in and year out. The last public school district 12 Champion was in 2008. No MT Leebo, no Pine Richland, no parkland knocking out LaSalle in 2015. Yet they play on. No tweets saying we play a school that recruits and “we actually have to go class”. I found the second part hilarious. I guess it’s easy for someone to say they don’t care enough. Once you make a more for the privates, the charter schools will have to be next, but since there is currently only one school fitting that mold, and they don’t always come home with the trophy, I guess there’s time there.
@KevinX laid out so good points on this as usual.
November 28th, 2022 at 6:45 pm
@BigBoy: I’m not trying to antagonize but merely trying to edify here. Those big Catholic schools (LaSalle, SJP) charge close to 26K/yr, not 10K. For perspective/reference, the Inter-Acs cost approx 43K/yr now. I believe @814FB was chirpin’ the other day about BG in Altoona charging 13K/yr. Well, the Inter-Acs (MP, GA, etc) were charging that for Pre-K back in the mid-00s. BUT, and again not trying to antagonize but merely to clarify, @Mike S, even the “free-riders” hv to pay a little or as these schools define it, “what it is deemed they can afford.” If those undefiined Cath schools charge not one cent, then that is news to me.
PS: Was heartbroken for Danville.
November 28th, 2022 at 6:15 pm
@JCo
You may have mentioned only ECP, but the great majority of what I read here and elsewhere about how unfair mixing the private schools and the public schools focuses on SJP–not Scranton Prep, Bishop McDevitt, Bonner-Prendergast, PCC, ACC, etc. Isn’t this the case? As far as I can tell, few if any are saying that ECP’s problem would best be addressed by having them play only other Catholic schools in the playoffs. The change that would solve lots of problems with the playoffs would be going back to four classifications. Going to five would help, but not as much.
And tell me how going to separate public and private playoffs will make PA teams more competitive when playing teams from other states. Are Jersey’s public school teams better because they have “public” and “non-public” classifications?
November 28th, 2022 at 6:07 pm
@ JCo
My two disclaimers, I have no problem with a separate playoffs for public boundary schools and private/non boundary schools. But one, hoops first. Second, still waiting on a reasonable, fair, workable solution for football. I’ll accept your reasonings (to a degree, rebuttals below), but they don’t move the needle for me as “issues” to proceed with separate football playoffs.
First: There are 24 5A and 6A schools in the WPIAL, 29 total in D7, D8 and And D10. If you can’t figure out scheduling with that many schools, that’s on you. A good number of 4A WPIAL teams that could be in the mix as well. That’s not a statewide private/public issue.
Second: I don’t disagree that the competition formula has basically been a joke as implemented. But the PIAA is in the process of removing the transfer clause from the equation. Then it will be a straight forward success is success formula for everybody. We’ll see if it passes on the third and final reading, as it became fairly close on the second reading. I’ll guarantee you tho, if Southern Columbia wins another championship, it will pass. If you still want to tweak it for private/charter schools, use a multiplier factor like Alabama does.
Third: This is lovely, so in your proposal you’d probably end up having ECP playing PCC every year in the first round of a large school private playoffs, it there is any geographically sense worked into that bracket. Then based on recent history, SJP winning that bracket year after year for the foreseeable future. Exciting. It’s time for the WPIAL and western large schools to come to grips with reality that demographics are changing, and not in their favor with respect to large schools (unless they actually start consolidating), and work out western sub regional brackets for 5A and 6A.
Forth: Who cares at that point. What about the rest of the schools/classifications??
November 28th, 2022 at 5:38 pm
@BigBoy, well I agree with you whole heartedly except for one point, and that is “Yes contrary to what everyone believes, every kid’s family pays something” NOPE I KNOW 3 young man that go to Catholic Schools and unless the parents are lying on all three occasions, they pay NADA, ZIPPO, NOTHING, & you know what I don’t think all 3 parents are lying.
November 28th, 2022 at 5:11 pm
@FrankG: I did not mention SJP in my post. In fact, there was a team I namedropped, but you conveniently ignored it. Seems like your mind is on SJP specifically. So my answer is yes, if SJP were taken out of the mix, my position would not change. We’re talking about playoffs here, travel is going to happen. If publics are that concerned with losing these showdowns, then shrink the playoffs and schedule in time for “bowl games” across public/private lines. There are creative solutions to this.
@BigBoy: The “loser’s mentality” argument is lazy and tired. This is about allowing both publics and privates to reach their fullest potential without worrying about transfers, competitive balance measures, or whatever else people will complain about. The top teams in Pennsylvania REGULARLY lose to the top teams in neighboring states, we can’t pretend that having combined playoffs doesn’t play a factor in that. This is about coming up with creative solutions for the betterment of Pennsylvania football, not sticking with the old ways for tradition’s sake.
November 28th, 2022 at 1:29 pm
The “boundary / non-boundary” playoff talk needs to stop. It facilitates a loser’s mentality. Do Catholic schools recruit? Absolutely. And ya know what? Too bad. It’s not going to change.
Places that complain about losing kids to charter/catholic schools need to sit down and look at their own programs and ask themselves “what are we doing to lose kids to schools where they have to pay $10k a year?” And yes, contrary to what everyone believes, every kid’s family pays something.
I’ll use Parkland as an example. As soon as St. Joe’s beat LaSalle to get into the quarter finals, Parkland already began with the sob stories of how it’s not fair that they have to play them. “Their players are so big and fast, they all come from New Jersey, blah blah blah.” Instead of trying to rise to the occasion to win a big football game, it automatically turns to ‘let’s blame the catholic schools because we cant win’. Parkland has roughly 1700 boys in grades 9-12. I dont want to hear any part of anything being unfair to them. Get better. It’s plain and simple. Teach your kids to overcome adversity, not become a victim.
November 28th, 2022 at 12:49 pm
@Jeff H.
I agree w your assessment of Westinghouse, the team is absolutely loaded. Huge upfront, speed to burn at all skills. I was VERY IMPRESSED W that D. Those LB’s are grown men. The entire D flys to the football, and those kids HIT! Very interested to see them vs Steel Valley. Either way being a Coach in the WPIAL, happy for either team who wins. Should make for a great game. Yes, either team should be the favorite regardless of who they play in finals. Can’t wait to watch this. Best of luck to both teams.
November 28th, 2022 at 11:23 am
@ JCo
I wonder if the issue you are addressing is private vs public or SJP vs publics. If SJP were taken out of the mix (or decided themselves not to take part in the PIAA playoffs) would you still be in favor of such a big change? The solution you propose would separate Bishop McDevitt, PCC, ACC, BC, Scranton Prep, etc. from all the schools in their areas when it comes time for the playoffs, even though, as far as I can tell, nobody is saying there’s something unfair about these schools playing public schools at various stages of the playoffs. Your solution would also have private schools –with the exception of PCL schools in some cases–travelling very long distances for all playoff games.
Also, think of how your plan would have played out last year. Garnet Valley was very keen to play SJP and many thought they were the favorite in the game. Something similar for Coatesville in 2017, North Penn in 2016, and Neshaminy in 2013.
November 28th, 2022 at 11:01 am
@Scotty B…..yes should be interesting to see who both PJP and PV schedule to start the season next year. Its fun to see some new teams now and then.
November 28th, 2022 at 10:18 am
@Kevin X:
*Large Western PA publics have had issues with scheduling as the number of 6A and 5A publics have diminished. A 4-way split of the publics would reduce the level of segmentation.
*Separating publics/privates for the playoffs would reduce the level of nonsense when it comes to trying to enact competitive balance rules, because now you’re comparing apples to apples. You can use different eligibility sets that suit private schools without having to worry about how they impact public schools, and vice versa.
*I almost guarantee that Cathedral Prep’s “extended bye” would not have happened in a private-only bracket. The bracket would have been set up in such a way to prevent this from the beginning.
*There could still be a “state championship” between the 6A public champion and the Large private champion, but at least this way you know it’s the best of the best of both. Nobody’s getting eliminated early by running into a buzzsaw.
There’s nothing wrong with playing across private/public lines in the regular season, but keeping everyone together is like putting a square peg in a round hole. It just doesn’t provide maximum benefit to anyone.
November 28th, 2022 at 10:15 am
Wpialguy and I have been saying on this board all year to keep an eye on Westinghouse from the Pittsburgh City League/District 8, and on Saturday they totally dominated Farrell 34-6 to advance to the western finals against an undefeated Steel Valley team. Westinghouse has a great defense, holding Farrell to minus 3 rushing yards and only about 60 yards of total offense. Farrell was playing without their primary offense weapon in receiver Kylon Wilson, who was ejected from last weeks game and therefore ineligible to play in this game, and without him Westinghouse’s defense just totally shut down Farrell’s offense. I think Westinghouse beats Steel Valley this week and has a good chance to beat SC in the state title game to win the City League’s first state title since Perry Traditional Academy in 1989.
@EmanD3 – the WPIAL team had to travel 2+ hours to get to Altoona for those games as well, so it’s not like Altoona is close to the WPIAL schools either, this week Aliquippa has a 3+ hour bus ride to Bald Eagle HS in Bellefonte to play ACC.
@Kevin X – these sites are picked in advance, and I’m assuming Altoona is the site of the 6A game anticipating it would be a WPIAL team against the D3 winner like it is in most years, more often than not the 6A Western final game is at Altoona, last year Mt Lebo beat State College there, and in 2019 SJP beat PCC in OT after the epic TD catch by Marvin Harrison Jr. on 4th and 10 in the closing seconds of regulation to force OT.
November 28th, 2022 at 8:30 am
@ Kevin X
I agree! Maybe the PIAA should cough up some more $ to host these games. I heard CV HS in D3 got over $1 mill to host the state championships for 4 years? There has to be a better way, prior to the finals, I would think….in 2012 and ’16 Wilson West Lawn had to travel 150 mi. to Altoona to play in the final 4. It was almost a 6 hr. drive, round trip, just for the fans. Imagine what that is like for the players/coaches and staff..
Heck, I can drive to Cape May at the Jersey Shore in less than that time….It’s tough on a lot of teams.
November 27th, 2022 at 10:02 pm
@EmanD3
Where do you suggest they play the game?? Better question, what suitable facility is available and willing to host?? N-G is on the top of the bracket, they get the better part of the deal, this year. Next year when the brackets are flipped, the same game will be/should be somewhere in D3. Schools/facilities are not knocking one another over to get to the front of the line in order to host a game this time a year. Fall sports are done, they shut them down. Focus is now on winter sports. How do you think Harrisburg feels having to travel out to Altoona?? Logic would have it you would think that their game with State College would be somewhere off of Rte. 322 between the two schools.
@ JCo
What are the “lot of issues” that would be solved at once??
November 27th, 2022 at 6:13 pm
I understand why Wyomissing had to drive 75mi. to Danville last week…but why do they have to drive 50 mi. to Philly SS to play NG, who is only 14 mi. away? For the Final 4 it should be a bit more neutral….just my opinion
November 27th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
@Brian: I am in favor of splitting privates into separate brackets. Boundary AAAA, AAA, AA, and A, and Non-Boundary Large and Small. I think it solves a lot of issues at once.
November 27th, 2022 at 12:11 am
@Paul White. No, as I said before I had no dog in the fight. I wasn’t at the game and my comment from before could’ve been misled by the announcers of the game who were stating how chunks of turf were missing from the field and the goal post was messed up. My point is if that’s the case, then the piaa shouldn’t allow a state playoff game to be held there.
November 26th, 2022 at 9:48 pm
@MCA75 SCA’s stands were all collectively holding their breath as we got updates on the Danville game. That final 7 seconds had to be a ton of pressure on that kicker. We all let out a collective sad sigh when we heard his kick went wide. Poor kid. Though the stats looked as though Wyo was pretty dominant throughout the game, we know from experience that Danville can score quickly on you. We were all rooting for them. Wyo is just a beast of a team.
I’ve honestly never heard of Trinity before this postseason. Though I’d never heard of the Executive charter one either. I still feel these private schools need their own league. I’m sure I’ll get crap for that opinion. Lol
November 26th, 2022 at 9:01 pm
The South Phlly supersite is your basic turf field. It just doesn’t have your typical custom painted end zones and midfield because its used by more than one school. I was there a couple times. Nothing wrong with it. Calling it a dump is a reach. Sounds like somebody didn’t like driving from Lehigh County to lose.
November 26th, 2022 at 7:10 pm
@Brian I can honestly say I have never heard of anyone trying to take anyone out and if they did, I obviously don’t condone it. I still think its highly improbable to take someone out that way but ok.
I saw the highlights from the SCA/BG game and was glad to see no nonsense like last week. For next week, It looks like Trinity’s losses were all to tough teams but I’d be surprised if this game is close for SCA.
Also, its a shame for Danville to lose like that on a missed FG. I really feel for the kicker.
November 26th, 2022 at 6:22 pm
The state playoff game between Neumann Goretti and Northwestern Lehigh was played in a dump. They were saying on the broadcast how bad it was and how in the world could the piaa allow a state playoff game to be held there. It looked horrible, horrible playing surface, goal post was bent. I don’t have any dog in the fight, but I’m sure fans that made the trip from Northwestern Lehigh to the super site in Philly weren’t happy
November 26th, 2022 at 4:59 pm
Any snowballs chance in you know where it can be arranged for a true District 1 Championship game next weekend between Upper Dublin and Garnet Valley?? Gonna be ugly otherwise for D1.
November 26th, 2022 at 4:19 pm
Hell of a game by Northern Lehigh. They were in control and were eating clock until end of third qtr and then Steelton’s offense started getting big plays in very little time. They came back down 8 with 3 min to go and tied but too much time left with 27 seconds. Steelton scored TD with 4 sec left. Northern did what they needed to do….long drives and score and get a few stops. Just came up a little short. Steelton Canton(if they win) should be another great game next week in A eastern finals.
November 26th, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Crestwood manages to beat Bonner-Prendie. D2’s lone team rolls on. Tall task for them to beat McDevitt, & possibly Aliquippa. Looking likely at a rematch of last year’s final.
Also, gutted for Northern Lehigh. They were so close to forcing OT, but Steel-High steals it at the end. They played a fantastic game.
Not a fan of the home field advantage in states, because I would’ve liked to have seen how this would’ve played out on a neutral site. Feel like the outcome would’ve been a bit different.
Rough weekend for District 11, overall. This is why I think the EPC should play non-league games. Actually, maybe all of District 11 needs to go non-conference/district for a week. Saving grace for D-11 was Central Catholic, who I hope can challenge Aliquippa. Maybe the EPC South’s battle tested schedule can rival the powerhouses of 4A WPIAL.
My jinx managed to get Northern Lehigh, Cathedral Prep, North Allegheny, & almost got Wyomissing, this weekend. I should just stop talking about teams, or making predictions. Then again, I am a weather enthusiast, so I have to love making predictions.
Lastly, shoutout to Westinghouse. What a story! I’ll shut up before I say anything about their next matchup.
November 26th, 2022 at 2:02 pm
@814fball I think it’s a shame you only saw that game with a negative light. I saw many SCA players help BG players up after the plays. I also had to chuckle when your QB lost his towel on a play and Carter gave it back to him and patted him on the butt like he was from his team. To say that your team lost players and SCA didn’t is also not true. Defensively we lost one of our best players on the first play of the first game. Garcia would have reaked havoc on your QB all night had he been able to play. You play with what you have. Your line was getting pushed all night and I don’t see that one player as making a big enough difference on either side to change the results.
BTW, after the game one of your fans stopped to tell us how impressed he was by SCA and how he felt they were superior in almost every area of the game. I told him your QB was definitely superior and you do have some great receivers. He felt this year’s BG team just didn’t really play as a team this year. He said you have a great group coming up in two years. I didn’t disappoint him by telling him that’s a group coming up in SCA that is also undefeated, so perhaps we’ll meet again in two years.
Your comment that SCA should be forced to move up is just old at this point. They continue to do well with a declining enrollment. They couldn’t be forced to move up because they don’t have the transfers from out of the district that you do. I personally disagree with the practice of simply penalizing a team because they’re successful. It teaches that hard work and dedication have penalties. What kind of lesson is that to them or other teams? Are we giving away participation trophies next?
November 26th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
814fball. You keep saying is a shame I didn’t know how many great football players bg has this year. Well guess what, at this point in the season all the remaining teams have great players. That’s how they got to this point. You are right though that sca is not as good as they have been. This is definitely a down year for them, this is the year to knock them off, too bad bg couldn’t do it this year. I’d say this is the weakest sca team in the past decade, but they are playing the best ball they have this year.
And I never said anything about bg recruiting. All private school can recruit, sca usually still goes through them. All schools that can and do recruit should play up a class to even things out a little. Especially small schools where one or two players can really have a big difference on a team. bg is playing where they should.
November 26th, 2022 at 11:52 am
814fball. Injuries and sickness really aren’t an excuse. Sca has had a key player out the whole season. He’s not only a great all state linebacker but also was a running back this year. He won’t be back until next year. They also were without barnes most of the year. BG had a good year, but they were outplayed and outcoached. Imagine how much worse it could have been if sca cleans up their penalties. Sca had more speed on the field and played more physical. Sca’s coach says after they beat mca that the mca line was the best they’d see this year, and with how much sca was in the bg backfield i would tend to agree so far. When’s the last time you seen a football taken off a rb and returned the other way for a touchdown? That physicality resulted in some penalties, but also resulted in a win.
And say what you want about sca not moving up, you realize that their enrollment is so small they couldn’t field a freshman team this year. And their enrollment is falling every year. They weren’t forced to move up because they do not have the number of transfers required to force the move. There’s more to the rule than just winning. This is a common complaint we hear when sca mercy rules a team that thought they could just show up and beat sca. BG really is a one man show by what I seen. I’m sure the team is full of good players, but you really only need to stop the qb and you stop the whole offense. They had a great season and should be proud, not bitter.
November 26th, 2022 at 10:48 am
@814fball. Guilfoyle was outplayed, plain and simple. You can recite all the excuses you want but after watching the game in person and the highlights on the news it’s clear as day. Defense wins championships and Southern has one heck of a defense.
As far as the comments about Guilfoyle only having one player. I agree they have many other players but only one that they rely on. A simple look at their stats shows you this.
November 26th, 2022 at 10:45 am
814 football I dont care that you have no air conditioning and 5 kids had a cold. I wonder if you were to snap.your fingers and gwt all your hurt players back if southern could get garcia back to in your world of make believe
November 26th, 2022 at 10:36 am
I might be wrong but dont they still use a success and transfer formula to bump you up a class? If bishop guilfoyle is such a close tight nit group you would think they would have backing from alumni and have fundraisers during home footaball and sporting events that would get you ac in the school and help with tuition for students that it could help. If you dont have anything like this maybe its not so tight knit and u dont deserve an ac unit. Please bring the pics that you have as evidence that you dont recruit of kids that mostly all of us dont know and couldnt decipher who is who. Its ashame your not recruiting, your allowed to to an extent in pa.
November 26th, 2022 at 10:20 am
@815 You can make all of the excuses in the world for BG losing to SCA but what it comes down to is that SCA outplayed them, outcoached them and didn’t cry when they were down in the first half. And as far as all of the injury’s and bad colds go, every team has them and you have to learn how to play with adversity. SCA lost one of their best players on the first game of the season and another one half way through the season but they did what they had to do to make the team better with the players they had. BG had plenty of good players but they didn’t hold up against the run after being pounded the entire game. Maybe you should try a better conditioning program so you can last a whole four quarters. Watch the Eastern final next week and maybe you can get some tips from SCA on how to get there and win. And, BTW, losing by more than 30 points is more than just a loss, it’s a trouncing.
November 26th, 2022 at 10:09 am
@814fball OK I will bite! What were the many circumstances beyond OUR control that contributed to SCA win. BG was clearly out played on all sides of the ball. Officials were fair…. Alot of sour grapes on your part. This comes from a Dunmore bucks fan. But I do follow district 4 football.
November 26th, 2022 at 8:55 am
Caught the PR/CP live stream last night. Hats off to PR. Looks like they were able to expose the limitations of CP’s passing game. CP lived and died (mostly lived) by just tossing it up to its playmakers running go routes or wheels out of the backfield. While I believe those plays were there last night, it seemed to me that the plan was to make the QB as uncomfortable as possible to affect those passes. And live with the results. And it worked. CP had opportunities there but it looked the PR was able to get just enough pressure to force the QB to miss on some of those throws. If that didn’t happen, might’ve been a completely different game. Good gameplan and execution. Gotta give them their props.
November 26th, 2022 at 1:22 am
@Ed ok I have to redo what I originally wrote because something messed up with my computer.
For starters, we don’t just have “one good player.” We lost another good player you apparently don’t know exists last week to an ACL injury which ended his high school football career (he does have college programs interested in him though). Additionally, 5 of our starters came down with a respiratory virus and strep throat earlier this week. Had we been healthy, we would have won that game. SCA isn’t as good this year as people seem to think.
I also want to clear up some things I’ve read far too many times to count regarding BG. Obviously private schools “recruit” students otherwise the school wouldn’t exist. What doesn’t happen at BG is the “recruitment” for football program. Do you know what the yearly BG tuition costs? It’s close to $13k/year. The school does not even have air conditioning that works properly, do you think they have money to hand out to kids specifically for football? (Hint: the answer is no. No, they don’t). Every starter this year has played on same teams with each other going back 6-7 years—the majority of them have parents and grandparents who are BG alumni. I mean; if you want to consider the exchange student from Spain who never played one minute of American football recruited—that would be a stretch—especially if people knew how not great his English was and coaches were using google translate to teach him how to kick (he turned out to be a heck of a place kicker and was decent with field goals—made 39 yard FG during Richland game). There were many circumstances beyond our control that contributed to SCA’s win. I wish those who speak poorly of BG could spend a couple weeks observing how much effort and dedication these boys have to the game and the program. It’s a shame people don’t give them the credit they deserve. They exceeded expectations winning four district titles in a row, especially this year’s at 2A when we are still technically a 1A school looking at enrollment.
To circle back though—it’s a shame you just aren’t aware of how many good players we had this year, because there are most certainly more than what your limited information told you.
November 26th, 2022 at 1:04 am
@Ed I think I responded to you but I don’t see my comment yet.
November 26th, 2022 at 1:00 am
@Ed my son plays for BG and we most definitely have more than “one good player.” Just to set the record straight, we lost one of the many other good players we have last week to a knee injury that ended his high school playing career. Several others also came down with an upper respiratory infection and a couple even had strep throat diagnosed earlier in the week. It’s a shame how many people don’t give BG the credit they deserve. I try to stay silent about it mostly, but I’m so fed up at this point with a lot of things that have been said about the team.
Let me be clear: obviously private schools recruit students otherwise the school would not exist. The current roster has no kid recruited for sports and the starters have played on teams together since elementary school (and I have photos that prove that). We did have an exchange student from Spain who joined team but had never touched a football his entire life and ended up being an amazing kicker for us (has a soccer background). The coaches were literally using Google translate this teach him how to place kick and to kick field goals because his English skills weren’t so great. BG is still essentially a 1A school and the fact we were moved to 2A based on success factor and SCA was able to appeal and win their move to 3A is downright criminal. Their sportsmanship left a lot to be desired as well and even while we were losing we continued to help their players up. Did they do the same? No.
Am o bitter about this game? Absolutely. Because we could have beat them with a 100% healthy team. Regardless, I’m proud of our kids and feel bad because if people when aren’t close to the program would see how much time, effort and dedication they put into their seasons is something special. And they can still hold their heads high winning their 4th district title in a row—with the last at 2A when they had so many people praying for their downfall this year. It’s amazing how awful grown adults act towards kids who just love the game.
November 26th, 2022 at 12:27 am
@MCA75. Yes, I played and I think you’re delusional to think it’s hard to break a player’s neck. How many neck injuries have you seen over the years? I’ve seen plenty. Was it easier for them to break Rankin’s leg? You make it sound like we’re playing touch football here. I find it a bit too much of a coincidence the number of times MCA players have threatened to hurt a player who then ends up injured in that game. Odds aren’t that great that the kid they labeled would always be the one taken out by coincidence. This is honestly the first year I didn’t see them throwing cheap shots after the play ends, so maybe they can shed that reputation…but it’s definitely their reputation.
My panties weren’t in a bunch, but I also didn’t hold the other team to the level where celebrating their achievements meant they shouldn’t be cheered on in future winnings as you did. I just thought for a guy who’s school has lacked as much class as yours has, perhaps you might want to lower your expectations of the opponent. When you come to a game with F you as face paint, you haven’t exactly been taught good sportsmanship and you might just be trying to pick a fight. Perhaps you can have some influence on the program to earn them a better reputation. F you face paint, I hate Southern postings and claiming you’re going to take out specific players isn’t just kids being kids. Maybe your new coach can fix the environment that makes that acceptable.
Congrats to SCA on a great game. Hopefully they can decrease the penalties and stop shooting themselves in the foot, they may need those yards in a tougher battle if they want that gold medal again.
November 26th, 2022 at 12:21 am
Wyomissing 21, Danville 19
Yes, Danville is a good team, and yes they missed a 33 yd fg with 10 sec. left, but let’s put this game into perspective. The bottom line is, Wyo played better on both sides of the ball. Danville never once.had the lead. Their 1100 yd rusher had 36 yds on 6 carries, their 1100 yd, all state receiver had 4 catches for 21 yds. Wyo actually did some self imploding in the 2nd half to keep this game close. Stopped on 4th down at Danville 1/2 yd line when up 21-6. Fumbled on Danville 20, missed a 29 yd fg., mis-handled the snap on 3rd and 5 at midfield, with 1:32 left and no Danville TO left. Her are some stats:
Plays.. Wyo 59 Dan 32
1st downs.. Wyo 22 Dan 11
Rushing yds.. Wyo 325 Dan 96
Wyomissing 3 RB’s ran for 157, 109 & 61
The bottom line was that Wyo won the trenches on both sides. Danville Ave. 50 a game scored 19. Danville D with 8 shutouts and giving up 4.8/game gave up 21 pts and 325 on the ground. I only brought this up because their was a lot of chatter after the game about how well Danville played, “should have won”, etc….but no one mentioned how well Wyomissing played? It was a great game all around, but actually wasn’t as close as the final score. Props to the Danville D though, they had to be gassed after that game.
November 25th, 2022 at 10:41 pm
Union wins its first WPIAL title since 1959 (tie with Avonworth). That 26-0 blanking of Canevin has to be one of the biggest upsets ever in our state!
November 25th, 2022 at 9:56 pm
814fball, BG showed up to play tonight, but by the sounds of it all they really have is one good player to stop and you can win. He is a great player, but as you seen tonight, like I said in an earlier post, it’s about team playing. I think Sca had a lot more speed on the field than bg. It’s going to take a team effort to beat sca. And this is the weakest sca team in a decade or so. This is the year to knock them off. Congratulations to bg for a great season and for getting to this point.
Danville and Wyomissing was a heartbreaker, those kids battled back and just lost the game by a wide left field goal. What a great game. And a lot of people had Wyomissing winning big in this one.
November 25th, 2022 at 9:53 pm
@Brian If you ever played football, you know it would not be an easy thing to intentionally injure someone’s neck even if you wanted to. Pretty sure you’re the one who’s panties got in a bunch when I said I wasn’t gonna root for Southern. I didn’t say it was the entire team but like your opinion of MCA, a few bad apples ruin it for the whole bunch. Really seemed to make big impact as I listened on my couch tonight lol. And sorry, I don’t pay attention to the student section to see what kids have painted on their face. Isn’t this just kids being kids talking trash?
Also a quick YouTube search shows the Garcia’s being at Shamokin until at least 2013.
@814fball you were so confident and you let me down! If you would have paid more attention to the genealogy of our area, you might have realized what you were up against!
November 25th, 2022 at 9:47 pm
SCA again has shown why they have won 12 state titles. They put 42 points on a good BG team and will be playing for another Eastern title next week. For all those who counted them out, think again. They got off to another slow start but after the half they completely dominated BG. The Tigers are winners and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, they have beaten three of the best 2A teams in the East. Go Tigers!
November 25th, 2022 at 3:21 pm
@Ed
@814
Well let’s see what happens if we see S.Valley n SCA. That’s my bet, SV vs SCA. I think S. Valley wins by 4 TD’s. Should be fun, wish both the best. But of course I am pulling for D7, WPIAL.
November 25th, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Union stuns Bishop Canevin in 1A. This might be the break that Northern Lehigh, Steel-High, &/or Canton needed to have a legit shot at winning the state title.
Not sure how they’ll fare against Port Allegany or Reynolds, but that has to be the stunner of the PIAA playoffs.
November 25th, 2022 at 2:46 pm
814fball, they just beat an mca team that was the highest scoring mca team in history. They have a state gold medalist in the 100 with wisloski. Don’t to fooled into thinking sca doesn’t have speed.
Sca’s biggest strength is how well they execute and play as a team. Several years ago they beat a nuemen goretti team that was loaded with d1 recruits, and was definitely more talented than sca. Don’t underestimate the coaching staff at sca. There’s a reason they have 12 state titles, and superior talent isn’t really one of them. Look at their history, how many d1 guys did they ever have, and how many went on to play in the NFL? Only one went on to the NFL, yet they mercy ruled Aliquippa in the state title have, and Aliquippa is easily one of the best programs in the state. They very well may not win a title this year, or may not beat BG, but don’t be surprised if they do.
November 25th, 2022 at 2:36 pm
Sca beat a lot of teams in the past that were brimming with D1 talent.
November 25th, 2022 at 1:36 pm
Union Area shocks Bishop Canevin 29-0. Wins first title since 1978. 1A with a Big surprise to start wpial championship day
November 25th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
814fball So I guess BG is invincible, might as well give them the state title now.
November 25th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
@814
I am sure they will see some speed. Not D1 level elite type speed. I know BG n SCA are very talented n have speed, but Westinghouse n S. Valley have a couple D1Linemen and a couple D1skill positions. Hey let’s see what happens, but I just don’t think either team from the East will see. Best of luck to all. BTW I am familiar w the speed n Athletes at BG.
November 25th, 2022 at 12:43 pm
But if a shocker in WPIAL 1A final. Union is leading bishop Canevin 20-0 after 3. Union was the 10 seed in the wpial and hadn’t made a final since like 1978 or something. This is the union located outside new castle. Their coach ran the defense for Mount Lebanon last year. He’s a Bob Palko longtime assistant. Coaching matters.
November 25th, 2022 at 11:15 am
Danville will have their hands full. It might be the end of the season for a very good Danville team. Not sure about Southern. BG has speed but will it last 4 quarters? Injuries? just too many questions on this. In 2A the west looks to tough to tame Good luck everyone!
November 25th, 2022 at 9:06 am
@Pennsyltucky Proud I can tell you what awaits the Dist 4 AA champs in Altoona — a quarterback who can outplay anyone not only due to his athleticism but his pure determination. That goes for every starter on BG’s team. SCA has their work cut out for them.
November 25th, 2022 at 8:51 am
@Margaret I don’t know about anyone else, but I really don’t care about the genealogy of that area.
November 25th, 2022 at 8:47 am
@GaryZ SCA will see speed tonight with BG — I guess you’re not very familiar with Guilfoyle this year.
November 25th, 2022 at 8:08 am
@Margaret It still doesn’t get you past the fact the SCA kids have more in common with kids who live in the rural areas of Bloomsburg and Danville than they do kids who live in Shamokin and Mt Carmel. Heck, even the language is different in these areas. It doesn’t matter that your family doesn’t farm if you live in a farming community to make the lifestyle and culture completely different than that in a coal mining community. SCA and MCA might be rivals, but that doesn’t make those schools alike in any way. I’ve actually worked at both schools and the culture is vastly different. Just because a family has their roots in coal country doesn’t mean their kids were brought up in that culture if they never lived there. That’s like the US assuming the Japanese born in the US were the same as those who immigrated from there during WWII. Where your parents or grandparents grew up doesn’t affect you like the culture of the area where you actually grew up. Kids live in the present, not in their parents’ past.
November 25th, 2022 at 7:31 am
Well, great to see a number of Thanksgiving games till survive, such a great tradition, I went to Quakertown (22)-Pennridge (6) for a half and watched half of the Easton-Phillipsburg game on TV. P-burg won. Looking for this evening’s & Tomorrow’s playoff game results. Would not be totally surprised if CB West beat Garnet Valley, after all they played earlier this year 14-7 GV. We here in Quakertown are looking forward to 2023, although anything can change, but only 1 Q-town Starter from 2021 Pennridge game was back for 2022, Q-town should have 18 starters back in 2023, and another 6-8 who had significant minutes, from a surprising 6-6, playoff team. 2023 looks Bright.
November 25th, 2022 at 3:15 am
Lol do you realize that north schuylkill’s biggest rival is mt. Carmel in football. And since you seem to be stuck in the 60’s describing these schools as coal and farming areas then we can say shamokin, mt. Carmel and north schuylkill r all closely tied together in all sports during the schuylkill league era. Just wrestling alone we can have a go with, garcias, lanes, caseys, biscoes and in hynoskis in football and these were just quick off the top of my head. And this is so they can get out of the coal mines that none of theee parents worked in and moved to the farms for a better life where none of them farmed.
November 24th, 2022 at 10:21 pm
@MCA75 your family must not talk much if you didn’t know about the broken neck as many SCA fans wanted the parents to push for something to be done. If you weren’t at the first game you also missed your MCA students wearing face art that said “F@#$ Southern” too? Seriously, you must be living under a rock or have never had other schools tell you the reputation MCA has earned. I’ve heard it from numerous other schools that they expect the cheap shots, late hits, and kicks in the pile when playing your team. Yet you got your panties in a bind because a player looked back over his shoulder while running into the end zone? My point is you live in a glass house and shouldn’t be judging teams for how they respond when this is the atmosphere your team has cultivated. Yes, I’d still cheer for MCA because I’d like to believe not all their players are like that. You, however, seemed to want to lump all SCA kids under one category for some reason as that’s what you did by saying they were show boating and you’d not cheer for them.
The Hynoskis and Garcias went to elementary school at SCA, yet people seem to think they were recruits or transplants. People move out of coal country for the same reasons they move out of dead steel towns, which is economics. It has nothing to do with football. Those kids you mentioned grew up playing ball as children in SCA’s program that starts them young. Having a parent that graduated from coal country doesn’t mean THEY are from coal country. Claiming the fact their family originated from coal country as meaning they’re one of yours is a pretty far stretch. The kids themselves didn’t grow up in coal country.
Roth also is a transplant…he can trace the families back to the 80s and has coached more sets of dads and sons than he probably can count, but he wasn’t born here either. I’m not sure Roth knows how long some of the families have lived here. He turned the program around with what was available to him in a small community and deserves loads of credit for it, but we certainly don’t see him as an outsider because he wasn’t born here. SCA community members, however, do not identify as being in any way part of coal country because we’re just not.
November 24th, 2022 at 9:55 pm
There very well may be 50 farmers and 80 coal miners lefr in the area. I hope you get caught up with life. One time in my doctors office i saw a picture of the spot where hoffa was buried. You had to walk real close to see the town on the map because it was so small of text. When i got real close the doctors fist came flying out from it and knocked me out. Turns out it wasnt hoffa it was showing where he was gonna knock me out on the map.
November 24th, 2022 at 9:25 pm
Marg: Your line about NS, MCA and Shamokin moving into Columbia Co and thinking they landed in Ibiza is pure gold. Omg. You nailed it. So…hats off to you!
PP
November 24th, 2022 at 9:04 pm
Marg: I want to slag you off but omg that Ibiza line is pure gold , not unlike a Flannery O’Connor bon mot. I was literally just reading that to my better half, and she was like “Marg has the last laugh.” So hats off to you, Marg. We shall see what awaits the Dist 4 AA Champs in the Big ‘Toona. PP
November 24th, 2022 at 5:45 pm
I hope S. Columbia makes it to the PIAA Finals. I want to see them match up w Steel Valley or Westinghouse. I am a WPIAL guy. They will see speed like they are not used to. Also S.V. has a huge line, to go with multiple D1 skill position players.Westinghouse just has so much speed and Athletes. If they make it, gonna have their hands full. Not gonna be playing a Farrell or Wilmington, but a WPIAL power in either of those schools. I don’t see Farrell pulling an upset. I think S. Valley makes it, but flip a coin… because Westinghouse outta the Pgh. City League IS ABSOLUTELY LOADED. Best of luck two all teams mentioned.
November 24th, 2022 at 4:53 pm
@Brian maybe ‘most’ SCA families don’t come from coal region roots but certainly a significant amount did in recent years, even Jim Roth admits it. And many that did have made some of the most significant contributions to your programs success. Was Southern successful before this generation of transplants and would they have been successful without them? Absolutely, they have one of the top PA coaches and strong tradition going back to the 80s. Would they have been as successful without families like Garcia’s or Hynoski’s or countless other families moving from MC and surrounding areas to the SC district? Absolutely not.
And who considers a HS football team the enemy? Most of my own family lives in SCA district. In fact, I just had Thanksgiving dinner in Catawissa Lol! Not to mention my siblings and I have had many friends (many we graduated with at MCA) whose kids played for Southern.
The dirty play is a new one for me. The fact that players were able to purposely break someone’s neck during a game is actually pretty impressive (eye rolls). Being that MCA is such a dirty team, I’m surprised you would root for them in the postseason!
@Margaret the Ibiza comment is hilarious and spot on!
November 24th, 2022 at 4:16 pm
My uncle has a pic of lou holtz wearing a go penn state sweatshirt, it didnt make it real but now u have me thinking it has to be
November 24th, 2022 at 4:14 pm
Oh ok. Mount carmel is north schuylkills biggest rival. There is 1 street in frackville that goes to Shenandoah. Ringtown goes to ns but some of the buses go thru shenandoah. At the soccer field in gordon heading to 901 in lavelle, the cut off line for tri valley and north schuylkill exists. Kids who r 2 miles from north schuylkill go 14 miles to hegins to public school. Some in wilburton go to mca some ns. Ashland, frackville, girardville, lavelle, gordon, ft. Springs, ringtown, brandonville, creswell gardens, locustdale, oakland avenue, go to north schuylkill.
November 24th, 2022 at 4:05 pm
I dont remember saying coal miners and farmers, north schuylkill, todd lane, kent lane, jarret lane, shane casey, off the top of my head i forget the southern wrestler who finished second as a freshman and then never placed again but he is north schuylkill, mca u have the garcias. The ns and sca school district meet in wilburton,aristes, and the ringtown mountain. They dont have a history other than they transferred into southern. I didnt know of any farming or coal mining. I didnt realize they made a comeback. I even know of the lanes living at knoebels cabin until they bought a house in elysburg. You must be to busy farming in numidia to know you take from the strictly coal miners, lol circa 1900. There are more jobs on the gordon mountain in distribution centers than there r coal miners and farmers in each district your talking about. You need to get the flux capacitator rebooted and come back to 2022
November 24th, 2022 at 9:54 am
@Margaret you clearly don’t actually know who lives in SCA’s district. Most did not come from coal country roots, but lived in this farming region for many generations. It seems a few who moved out of coal country (because, really why would they stay) want to claim that SCA is primarily made up of ex-coal country families, but the vast majority are not. SCA’s district isn’t coal country, but primarily a farming community. That divide “over the mountain” is a large one of great cultural variation.
The fact other schools consider SCA the enemy because they continue to beat their teams and don’t instead focus on what is making them successful and try to replicate that in their own program is the problem. Many make excuses for why SCA must be consistently winning, but if your kids aren’t ready to devote the time and effort SCA’s team does, the fault lies on your team.
BTW, it isn’t just SCA the MCA kids have purposely injured. My Dr’s office still has a picture on the wall from when they took out Bloomsburg’s QB Rankin after touting that was their plan. The area schools expect this when you play them because it’s been their reputation. I can only hope their new coach puts an end to it.
It’s also interesting you lump North Schuylkill in with Shamokin and MCA. The latter do share quite a bit of history and culture. NS does not. That district pulls from some coal country, but it’s certainly not all coal country. If you want to label and classify schools, maybe you should learn more about the history and culture of the people that populate those areas.
November 24th, 2022 at 8:03 am
The playoffs are great ,but waking up on Thanksgiving morning just isn’t the same anymore with so many of the great crosstown , public- catholic ,games played on this day that no longer exist. Been to plenty of playoff games and not too many could match the atmosphere and intensity of so many of those games.
November 24th, 2022 at 6:14 am
People have a hard time cheering for southern or mount carmel because some of there fans throw out some of the most idiotic claims and complaints against the teams they play win or lose. And the sad part is southern is just mt. Carmel, north schuylkill and shamokin people who think they moved to Ibiza. Your arguing with you. And thats how a called broken neck to the back up qb sits up there with the bambino years earlier calling his hr.
November 24th, 2022 at 5:02 am
I heard southern is threatening turf toe to the opponents punter this week.
November 23rd, 2022 at 12:15 pm
@ Irish1 – I think you are correct as the same is happening to Perk Valley. They had a multi year deal with Coatesville that ran out last season (2021) and also with Downingtown West that may also have run out, not sure if they are set to play in 2023 but I know Coach Heist likes to challenge his team in the non conference, hence adding Roman Catholic along with DTW this season. Should be interesting to see who both PJP and PV are able to fill in the open dates with.
November 23rd, 2022 at 10:17 am
@MCA75 There was a huge amount of trash talking from MCA around both games. This isn’t new. They actually said their plans to take out specific players most every year we played them. Do you remember them breaking the neck of the QB several years ago? They called that online before it happened. It explains why the backup QB looked so scared during the first game this year as that’s how he got his position two years ago.
Not all SCA fans and players were complaining about the player who had to sit out the game. He retaliated and the rules are the rules. However, the hit before that was an intentional cheap shot on BW that was way late and out of bounds. The Troy player wasn’t standing up for his friend…he was taking a cheap shot at the ball carrier. That field didn’t give much room before kids out of bounds could have been impaled on posts, so he’s lucky he wasn’t seriously hurt.
If you don’t think both teams also trash talk while on the field, you’re not very familiar with high school football. We were actually surprised MCA didn’t start playing dirty as that’s been the expectation any time they’re losing. Your team is notorious for that enough that other schools discuss it. Perhaps you shouldn’t be expecting great sportsmanship from teams your team hasn’t generally shown it to in the past.
Not cheering for the local team seems pretty petty to me, but you do you. If it were the other way around, I’d still want MCA to continue winning.
November 23rd, 2022 at 9:01 am
@Cat#1 & Kevin X – several home games out West as well, Pine Richland is playing Erie Cathedral Prep on their home field, same with Westinghouse from the Pittsburgh City League against Farrell, this started 2 yrs ago during Covid when they couldn’t find neutral site hosts due to the pandemic and still continues, pretty sure the semi-final games next week will be at neutral sites.
November 23rd, 2022 at 8:36 am
@MCA75 BG has an advantage playing at Mansion Park in Altoona — and trust me when I say that when they see people picking SCA to win, it only motivates them to play harder. People may laugh at this, but BG plays better when they are seen as the underdogs (and yes, they’ve been viewed as the underdogs most of last year and all of this year with the move to 2A). This group of starters have been on a mission to prove themselves since their season in junior high when they went 1-8. If SCA comes into this thinking that they have it in the bag, they’re going to be in for a big surprise. I’m not sure if you have seen our QB, but he has a knack for making big plays when they are most needed. It won’t be easy, but I believe we can win this game.
November 23rd, 2022 at 7:32 am
Yes, strength of schedule does become a big factor in the post season. 3A Wyomissing was up 35-0 over 5A Cocalico earlier this year, and now Cocalico is playing Exeter for the D3 final this Friday. Wyo played a good 4A Lampeter Strasburg team a few weeks ago and won 21-0, they got over mid field once. So, all of that should help Wyomissing this Friday @ Danville. The PIAA has that game at Danville this year, because in 2020 that same match up was at Wyomissing. Still not sure why they are doing that. Danville and Wyo are almost 75 miles apart? Having said that, Danville has a lot of good skill position players…WR, RB, QB, LB/TE(all SR’s). Actually their WR might be the best in the state at his position. He will be a 3x all state pick once this year is over. 4000/50 for his career. We shall see. Danville has been in one close game all year and Wyomissing was behind once all year, and that was last week, 7-0, but then they scored 63 straight with 9 rushing TD’s. This might be closer than some people think….Go Wyo!!
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:39 pm
District 1 final was at GV last year also. The next round is at a Neutral site.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:28 pm
Just wondering how does Danville get a home game in the state playoffs
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:02 pm
@Brian of course I’m disappointed in the outcome but no sour grapes here. MCA was outplayed and outcoached so there is no question SCA deserved to win.
These antics were not only against MCA, I watched multiple SCA games this year, so from my perspective its not just about social media posts. Last week SCA fans and parents were complaining about a player who wasn’t able to play against MCA because he got ejected against Troy. They said it was so unfair because he was just standing up for his teammate. Apparently they missed the SCA ball carrier standing over the Troy player he knocked down trash talking him before another Troy player stood up for his own teammate and walloped the SCA kid. Last week, the same SCA player looks around behind him running for a TD like he’s Usain Bolt and another makes a tackle and high steps toward the crowd like he’s Ray Lewis. With all those dominant teams SCA had from 2017-2019, I don’t remember those players ever acting like that.
I was actually surprised at the amount of sportsmanship between MCA and SCA during the first game this season. What I saw was players from both teams were helping each other up and MCA players hugging each other after the win like yeah we finally beat them, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I did see on a few occasions this year where MCA kids acted foolish on the field but from my understanding it was addressed by the coaches. If MCA kids were talking trash online, I hope they learned a lesson. I don’t care if its my team or yours, if I want to watch that nonsense I’ll turn on the NFL. SCA can be proud of their comeback after 3 losses, but I’ll still be rooting against them this year.
November 22nd, 2022 at 6:16 pm
Hey guys, just curious on your thoughts/opinions, assuming you have any or care, on how the PIAA (and most districts) are having the team on top of the bracket having home field during the playoffs (for the most part). Guessing we’ll be back to neutral fields for the state semi’s/eastern-western finals next weekend.
November 22nd, 2022 at 3:17 pm
@WpialGuy – agree with all of your analysis, BF vs. Steel Valley is the most unpredictable game of the 4 WPIAL championships on Friday, that game could go either way, surprised BF dominated Sto-Rox last week, I thought that game was a tossup. I also expect Avonworth to hang with BV for awhile, but too much Quinton Martin and BV pulls away in the second half, will be a big upset if BV doesn’t get to the state final.
As I mentioned yesterday I was at the Aliquippa game on Friday night and they were extremely impressive against a very solid McKeesport team, CV needs at least a few more turnovers than the Quips and to control the clock to have a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter.
I give the House a decent chance to upset Farrell, would be great for Pittsburgh to have Westinghouse face the WPIAL winner next week with a trip to the state final at stake, I also think Pine vs. ECP and NA vs. SC will be very competitive games and could go either way. I don’t see either SC or NA beating Harrisburg next week though, they were very impressive in dominating Central York last week and have been playing well down the stretch, they were my pick before the season started to face SJP in the final and I’m sticking with them.
November 22nd, 2022 at 1:29 pm
WH, I think Danville will score some points but will get worn down by Wyo’s huge offensive line in the 2nd half. Wyo 42-21
November 22nd, 2022 at 12:50 pm
@ Foleman….I think in the case of the open dates for PJP next year I think might have just be a case of those contracts running out. Berks catholic may have been a 4 year home and away,maybe they wanted to schedule someone new. Maybe Berks catholic with their new league schedule wanted to possibly lighten things up but they havent in the past. Now I could see Caroll looking to go in another direction they have been handled by PJP and are down program wise right now. I think the Judge game might have just been a one year thing, they played that In Ocean City NJ this year. I think PJP is hurt some by the Pac frontier being on the weak side when it comes to playoff time. They could benefit by a bit tougher non league schedule.
November 22nd, 2022 at 12:40 pm
@MCA75 Sour grapes much? I’d say after the way that MCA acted both before and after the first game and before the game on Friday, you could say the same about some of your own players. SCA is not the dominant team they were in the past. They should be proud to have made it as far as they have this year despite three losses. If they don’t make it any further, they can still hold their heads high. I’d hate to see your reaction to the social media posts I saw stemming from MCA after their earlier win if you think that only one side has players that are self-aggrandizing. If you didn’t see any of that coming from MCA, maybe you don’t understand why it would come back your way after Friday’s game. I’m not surprised if SCA players are pounding their chests after being told they were “over rated” when they were the ones coming into the game without a ranking of worth. MCA players are getting what they had coming to them. These are kids…you can’t expect one side to dish it out and other to then remain silent when they have the chance to retort.
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:42 am
Sounds like someone can’t handle seeing his team get whooped in the playoffs.
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:21 am
@MCA75 I’m a little biased because my kid plays for BG, but glad others are supporting them as well. They are all good kids and they have worked so hard the last couple years. It’s been a ride!
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:46 am
@814fball that makes 2 of us rooting for BG. I usually root for coal region teams in the playoffs but the self-aggrandizement by certain players on this SCA team really rubs me the wrong way.
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:00 am
Westinghouse vs Farrell
Farrell won 24-7 last year. Westinghouse is improved and playing on their home field. Would be an absolutely crazy story if a city league team wins this game and then has a state semi final vs the wpial champion. City league football teams just do not have the success Westinghouse is currently having!
Pine Vs ECP
Pine is on a roll. They’ve won 9 straight games and ECP hasn’t played in weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pine pulls the “upset”
NA vs SC
I’m not going to pretend i know anything about state college, but NA is a solid team who might’ve played their best game last week. It’ll be a close one.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:56 am
My Wpial Champ previews
Class 4A
Aliquippa has proven they are a class above the rest. A rematch of the last week of the regular season, Central Valley has to control the ball and limit turnovers. They also have to force a few turnovers. If not, Aliquippa runs away with it. Aliquippa over CV
3A
Belle Vernon has yet to play a close game against a 3A opponent this year. But don’t sleep on Avonworth. I think they keep it close for a half and Belle Vernon pulls away in the 2nd half.
2A
I think that this game is the most up in the air out of any of them. Steel Valley and Beaver Falls are both very good. My gut says go with Steel Valley but I won’t be surprised if Beaver Falls pulls it out. This game is a true toss up.
1A
Bishop Canevin vs Union Area
Union area the 10 seed and made the finals. Truthfully, i don’t expect this one to be close. Union is scrappy though. Bishop Canevin wins their 2nd straight.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:36 am
Anyone have thoughts on Wyo Danville on Friday? I’m not too sure what to make of this game. Most likely, Wyo will just be too much. Too strong up front and they run the wing-t to absolute perfection. The angles they get on blocks is almost impossible to stop.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:29 am
EmanD3, Looking at Wyomissing’s schedule and who they would play in the playoffs, I didn’t think they would have a close game until the State Championship. One thing about the playoffs, teams with weak schedules get exposed in the playoffs, I watched undefeated Solanco against Daniel Boone and came away thinking that they were just an average team with a weak schedule, same with Lancaster Catholic and it showed in the playoffs. Now you are seeing teams trying to dumb down their schedule to accumulate playoff points. Pope John Paul had 3 teams – Carroll, Judge and Berks Catholic……..how the mighty have fallen….beg off the schedule for next year. Perkiomen Valley and Pottsgrove also looking for teams to play. Say what you want about the upper level Catholic league teams, they will play the best and it pays off in the playoffs.
November 21st, 2022 at 10:24 pm
@D2 Fan I hope you jinxed SCA. I am pulling for Guilfoyle.
November 21st, 2022 at 8:35 pm
So west and east 8 teams per class
What everyone thoughts & picks
November 21st, 2022 at 8:28 pm
Ok what is picks for this week??
I enjoy all the great pa football talk
Thanks
November 21st, 2022 at 5:36 pm
I thought the D1 final was always played at a neutral field. I see it’s at GV. I always thought it should be played
at the higher seed, but I didn’t think it has been.
November 21st, 2022 at 4:54 pm
Only one D2 team left: Crestwood. I don’t think even the biggest die-hard fans of NEPA football expected that heading into the playoffs, or even this year.
Curious to know how Bonner-Prendie is. Tall task for a D2 public school to beat a PCL private school, but I’m gonna hope for the best.
Interesting observation that came to me today: Each of the District 11 champions hail from Lehigh County.
1A: Northern Lehigh (Slatington)
2A: Executive Education (Allentown)
3A: Northwestern Lehigh (New Tripoli)
4A: Central Catholic (Allentown)
5A: Whitehall
6A: Parkland (Orefield)
For the historians here (as I’m probably 20-30 years younger than a few of the people here): When was the last time one single county won districts in all four or six classes, that wasn’t District 12?
Before I go, my State Final predictions
1A: Northern Lehigh vs. Bishop Canevin
2A: Southern Columbia vs. Farrell
3A: Wyomissing vs. Belle Vernon
4A: Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg) vs. Aliquippa
5A: Imhotep Charter vs. Cathedral Prep (again)
6A: SJP vs. North Allegheny
Knowing what happened last week with who I talked about, I wouldn’t be shocked if everyone lost this week that was mentioned in the 12 here. I’m kind of a jinx, when it comes to football.
November 21st, 2022 at 12:27 pm
@QuipTown – agree Coach Warfield has done a tremendous job since he was hired in 2018, I was very impressed with the Quips performance on Friday and never would have predicted they would mercy rule McKeesport, they totally dominated right from the start. I have seen all the top 5a and 6a teams in the WPIAL and I would like Aliquippa’s chances against any of them, looks like they are headed for an epic rematch with Bishop McDevitt in a few weeks, although Central Valley will be a tough game on Friday.
@NW PA – agree the PR vs. ECP game should be very competitive, PR is on a roll and playing very well with 9 wins in a row, and game is on their home field, I think the 4 week layoff is going to hurt Prep, at least early, wouldn’t be surprised if this game is decided in the fourth quarter, think the winner likely beats the D3 champion next week and advances to the state final.
I also think Farrell vs. Westinghouse in 2A on Saturday will be a very good game and much closer than Farrell’s 24-7 victory last year.
@PhillyBoy – I think the NA vs State College game this week will be very competitive and could go either way, still think Harrisburg will be the team that gets to the final from the Western bracket and beat Manheim Township in the rematch this weekend and whoever wins the NA-SC game next week.
November 21st, 2022 at 9:24 am
Some major rumors out in the west here the Pittsburgh Central Catholic coaching staff is either a) not going to return or b) receive a major shake-up. Would without a doubt impact the balance out here if that job comes open.
November 20th, 2022 at 7:09 pm
Hats off to North Allegheny for taking care of business and advancing. I realize the consensus is that 6A is down this year in the WPIAL but they’ve built a pretty respectable 11-1 record, plodding along in consistent if underwhelming fashion. My perception is that NA is the prototypical rich suburban coed high school, kind of like the North Penn of Pittsburgh. I remember their run from 2010-2012. They pounded LaSalle in 2010. I remember the hype video — the coach’s pregame speech, pretty intense. Also, their star QB Leftwich, the son of a Pitt coach who had just relocated to Pittsburgh from Oklahoma as I remember, went to NA, not PCC — major props, major respect, goes to show there still are some individuals out there who have old school principles and critical thinking skills, enough sophistication to take the road less traveled if it makes sense. That’s the thing though, when you’re running a program organically, it’s hard to have a peak team consistently. It might require a Mars or Jupiter-like revolution whereas the Preps of the world have the Mercury cycle down pat.
November 20th, 2022 at 11:18 am
Erie Cathedral/Pine Richland should be a great game. Pine is playing their best football of the year. Cathedral should be healthy, but also hasn’t played in 3 weeks. Should be a very close game. After seeing them play several times this year I’ve noticed that most teams they’ve played have made the mistake of stacking the box and blitzing frequently to stop their run game, but Cathedral then starts running bubbles, screens, and RPO’s. They have athletes all over the field and a lot of team speed. PR probably has the advantage with their line. Whoever wins this game probably makes a strong run at the title.
November 20th, 2022 at 10:09 am
@CW,
I have been saying since preseason to watch Northern Lehigh in A. As an Alum, I am hopeful about this upcoming weekend, but the road will.be tough. They would need to be at Steelton and Canton to get to championship and then probably play Bishop C. That’s the top three in the state and have been all year. That’s as tough as you can get having to play top three. This week to have a chance they need to control clock and keep Steelton offense off field. And yes, Ramos, is a stud. He was out from week 3-End of reg season with a broken collarbone but he has returned an gave Northern Lehigh another playmaker. He had 6 tds in three games before getting injured. He was a returner starter from last year’s state semi final run. Ramos (WR/RB/CB), Frame (QB/S), and Jimenez (DE,RB) are a damn good trio for Northern Lehigh. Ramos is a shutdown corner who will cover Steelton’s top WR this week. We shall see how they stack up against a very good Steelton team.
November 20th, 2022 at 2:29 am
Hats off to the Ironmen. Great year, Purple and Orange!
November 19th, 2022 at 10:25 pm
Northern Lehigh (1a) has a state championship team this season! Well Coached! WR/RB Ramos he is a baller
Northwestern Lehigh (3a) has one of the best in the state of pa in Cade Christopher (deserves way more Recognition) great athletes & program that is very well coached. This program is gonna Open some eyes.
Allentown Central Catholic (4a)!!!!!!!!$
Parkland (6a)
Whitehall (5a)
Executive (2a)
DO NOT BE SHOCKED
These teams are gonna make some noise!
District 11
November 19th, 2022 at 8:15 pm
Jc 10/31/22 love your thoughts on northwestern
November 19th, 2022 at 5:09 pm
So I went over to the 3A D3 title game between Wyomissing and West Perry @ Wyo. WP was 11-1 and just had put up a 60+ burger on an undefeated Lancaster Catholic team last week. Plus they had 426 yds rushing. Thought they might give Wyo some issues. First drive of the game WP goes 70 yds, with a 41 yd TD pass and goes up 7-0. Little did I know that Wyo would rush for 9 TD’s and 626 yds(not a mis print), and score 63 straight. Final 63-7. Quite mind-boggling, actually. Next week 12-0 Wyo @ 12-0 Danville #1 vs #2 in Pa, should be a good game…one would think, but who knows??
November 19th, 2022 at 3:54 pm
OUCH!!! Oh for five for the D2’s LFC this weekend.
November 19th, 2022 at 3:02 pm
Northern Lehigh took care of Trail 40-7. Sets up a quarterfinal matchup with Steelton (winning 24-7 over Windber) next weekend. Northern definitely needs to control clock with long drives and end those with TDS. Keep Steelton’s offense off field.
District 11 will have all six champions playing next weekend (Thanksgiving weekend). Last year, they only had Freedom and Northern Lehigh playing that weekend. Can’t remember last time all district 11 champs were playing thanksgiving weekend….has to be years. Good year for D11 football!
November 19th, 2022 at 12:34 am
@Jeff
With Mike Warfield as the head coach Quip is on another level. How was the view from the stands? Always have faith in my Quips but was surprised by the total domination.
November 18th, 2022 at 11:13 pm
D2 Takeaways (& a bit more)
Looks like the injury bug had a bigger impact on Lakeland than anyone here expected. Shocker of the playoffs is the upset by Executive Education, 42-15. I think Lakeland was close to leading around late 2nd quarter. This likely guarantees Southern or Guilfoyle as the east representative.
Watched most of the DV-Whitehall game on BRC 13 (113 actually) this evening, & it was sort of a hard fought game for the first half. Game definitely got out of hand for DV in the second half, & they were leading at half, mind you. Zephs get Imhotep/Roman winner.
Crestwood holds on to beat Valley View & earned first district title since 2014. They’re waiting for Interboro or Bonner-Prennie, which the latter is probably not a good draw. Anyone know how good Bonner-Prennie is? or Interboro? I barely pay attention to Delaware Valley League & the small schools in the PCL.
Looks like Neumann-Goretti was the better team, as Scranton Prep season’s finished. They lost by one score. A what-if season for the Cavs. If London Montgomery was playing this year, I’d think it would’ve given them a better crack at advancing.
Also, slightly stunned with the ACC win over Shore. They advance in the West bracket (Thanks to six classes) to take on Meadville/Juniata. That’s quite a distance between those two schools.
One more thing: Classic SCA is back. I’ll be interested in seeing what they do against Guilfoyle next week. That’s gonna be a must-watch game.
November 18th, 2022 at 10:40 pm
Play-Off Score: @Helen, @DENNIS, @Brian 1
@Bub, @NE PA, @Marg 0
November 18th, 2022 at 9:50 pm
SCA routs undefeated MCA 48-18 for D4 title number 30 and 8 in a row. After a slow start the Tigers took over the game with a running game that was unstoppable. Both Wes Barnes and Braeden Wisloski ran for over 100 yards. I said before on this forum that this was a different SCA team than earlier in the season and coach Roth proved again why he holds the record for wins in Pa.
November 18th, 2022 at 9:35 pm
Proclaimed: SCA has been deemed the victor of The Battle for Knoebels. Deeded thusly for the full term of the season of Nov 2022 until Sept of 2023 to SCA shall be control of the Crystal Pool, Playland, the old skating rink, the Alamo and of course, the Whip and the Flyer.
November 18th, 2022 at 8:54 pm
It is very apparent and always will be that Wally hall gets outcoached in big games. It is unbelievable how many mistakes he makes during a big game when you have real game time decisions to make in a close game.
November 18th, 2022 at 5:01 pm
Any of you guys know if the D12 games tomorrow at the NE SS take cash or are on-line ticking only. If so have a link??
November 18th, 2022 at 2:48 pm
Aliquippa has played in the WPIAL district finals an astonishing 14 yrs in a row, no other school comes close to that sustained excellence, in this century they are 17-2 in the district semifinals. However, their streak is in serious jeopardy tonight against McKeesport, these 2 played a 2OT thriller in the semi-finals last year won by Aliquippa 27-21, and both schools returned almost all of the key players from last year, don’t be surprised if McKeesport turns the tables tonight and ends the Quips streak, definitely one of the marque games in the state this weekend in any district.
November 18th, 2022 at 2:25 pm
@Jeff I expect Tep to win. Roman has talent, but strong defenses stifle them ( See SJP, Malvern). I agree it should be a good one. I started the season picking them to go deep in 5A playoffs. This is a major test.
November 18th, 2022 at 12:57 pm
@ Jason and @ D2: Glad you liked my “Battle for Knoebels” moniker for tonight’s game! I just might have to trademark that. 🙂 Anyway, good luck to all the kids on both teams. Let’s see a clean and hard-fought game! Once upon a time MCA had what SCA wanted and now SCA has what MCA wants. Funny how life is so cyclical.
November 18th, 2022 at 10:43 am
@mcd 65 – yeah, I think it may very well be a one score game, turnovers and penalties could be the deciding factor. I’m going to the Aliquippa-McKeesport game tonight which is going to be a real battle, I’ve seen most of the top teams in the WPIAL in 5A and 6A this year and McKeesport is as good or better than any team I’ve see. I think this game goes down to the wire and could go either way, I give Aliquippa a slight edge because they have a more balanced offense than McKeesport, but Port’s defense is excellent, should be a great game.
November 18th, 2022 at 9:58 am
@ Jeff H. , Talent wise I think both Imhotep and Roman are close. Coaching could be the difference in this one. I would call it Roman ,but they sure got rolled by the prep a few weeks ago. Tep beat McDevitt at the beginning of the year so that of course gives them much deserved recognition. Should be a good one if stupid penalties dont ruin it.
November 18th, 2022 at 9:20 am
Great games as mentioned before in the northeast tonight. Danville – Loyalsock is a great rematch. North Schuylkill – Northwestern Lehigh absolute great matchup with NS’s great defense against a potent rushing attack featuring of the best runners in the district. It’ll be interesting to see how NS’s offense matches up against Northwestern’s defense, they fly around to the football and can cause havoc. I can see the game going both ways as being high scoring or a slugfest defensively. It’s almost impossible to completely shutdown guys like Christopher and Clymer for NW or NS’s guys like Flail, Tinari, and Chowansky so I think it makes for one of the most interesting games of the night. And not to mention probably the one game that everyone is waiting for in the Knoebels championship. Mount Carmel – Southern. Is this the year Mount Carmel breaks through and finally beats big brother?? I think it is.
November 17th, 2022 at 4:59 pm
Any of you guys that follow D12 think Roman has a puncher’s chance against Imhotep? Seems to me like that should be a pretty competitive game, expect Tep to win, but would not be surprised if Roman upsets them.
November 17th, 2022 at 2:58 am
@ Kevin X,
I did see that Lakeland has been a bit banged up at a few positions. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s a closer game than expected, because of that. EE had one of the most intriguing schedules of any team in the PIAA this year. Yes, Dunmore does have turf now. Looks great from the pictures I’ve seen.
@ MCA75
Lakeland/Mt. Carmel would be an excellent East final. I feel like they’ve been the best two teams in 2A East. Not sure how the whole CalPreps thing works. From what I tried to understand on the website, it looks like they use margin of victory as a tool.
@ D11 Matt
The schedule is exactly the kind they need to prepare them for games like this. It’s not gonna be easy to beat Steel-High & Canton, but this team is battle tested enough.
November 17th, 2022 at 12:19 am
Picks for the round of 16
1A- northern Lehigh over trail
Steelton over a very good windber team(close)
Penns over cambria
2A- Steel over neshannock
Sto rox over beaver
Westinghouse sets up a showdown with Farrell
Guilfoyle over penns
I think So col beats Carmel convincingly
West catholic over trinity
Lakeland over ex ed
3A- Goretti too fast and athletic for prep
N schuylkill over Nw Lehigh
Danville and wyomissing set up a monster clash for next week
4A- quippa and CV will set up a rematch nxt week
Meadville comfortably over Juniata
Jersey Shore beats ACC by 2-3 scores
Mcdevitt vs manheim for D3 nxt week
Interboro vs Bonner is a great game..Bonner squeaks by
Valley View gets revenge on crestwood for D2 title
5A – Dublin and Strath nxt week for D1 title
Tep over Roman
Whitehall over DV
6A- SC over McDowell in a close one
N Allegheny over PCC
Hemp field and Harrisburg meet next week
Freedom earns the right to get rolled by SJP nxt week
Garnet vs Perk for D1 title
November 16th, 2022 at 8:27 pm
@ D2 Fan
Good to finally hear some NEPA chatter. Missed you guys. Some responses:
Isn’t Lakeland somewhat banged up?? Thought I saw their QB has issues as well as Dippre?? They barely squeaked by a decent, not great, Dunmore team last week?? Not saying EE will pull the upset, but think the game could be closer than many expect. I have no connection to them, but what I like about them as a second year program, they went out (maybe by necessity since they aren’t in a league and don’t have any built in completion) and took on all comers. Jersey Shore, Berks catholic, a really good D1 5A Upper Moreland team. So they’ve been battle tested as well. Playing with the houses money. Also, isn’t the game in Dunmore, being played on turf?? These guys have some speed, which translates very well on turf.
I think Scranton Prep has a real decent chance of knocking off N-G. Maybe you D12/PCL guys can tell me if N-G’s QB Wharton is playing. Being a transfer from Wood, is he eligible for the post season?? I know Shawn Battle is a one man wrecking crew, but a real good and big starting QB not playing doesn’t help. The four keys to beating N-G, the first three are obvious to any team, any game, ball control, limit mistakes, limit turnovers. The forth, to beat an Albie Crosby team, get them rattled. Goad them into stupid penalties. Play with, and get into their heads. Get them complaining and whining. Works like a charm 🙂
5A – Umm, no.
November 16th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
@D2 Fan I think Lakeland could compete with either and may even be favored. Would love to see Lakeland vs MCA east final.
Also, this is the first I have heard of the CalPreps site. I’m wondering if it uses the same algorithm as the old Born Power Index which apparently took margin of victory into account in rankings/predictions.
November 16th, 2022 at 4:04 pm
@MCA75 – agree with you on Jersey Shore, I think they beat ACC in a tough, physical game and will end up playing the survivor of the WPIAL in 2 weeks, I went to the Jersey Shore-Aliquippa game last year, and JS had the Quips back on their heels in the first half, Aliquippa finally scored a TD on the last play of the half on 4th down to cut the lead to 10-7 going into the locker room, and then scored on an 83 yard TD pass on the first play of the second half and from there just overwhelmed them with their overall team speed and athleticism and won going away.
November 16th, 2022 at 2:26 pm
@D2,
As an Northern Lehigh Alum, I agree and have said all year, just like last year, the tough AAA schedule prepared them. However, they will earn if they get to state final. They would have to beat Steelton and then Canton in all likelihood to get there. They have the talent and size to do it but it won’t be easy
November 16th, 2022 at 12:07 pm
Jersey Shore vs. ACCHS should definitely be a good one. They played last season and Jersey Shore won a hard-fought game 20-7, so Central Catholic will be up for it and looking for revenge. They are physical and defense-oriented, so another low-scoring showdown is likely in the cards. I anticipate whoever wins this will have an easier time with Meadville or Juniata.
November 16th, 2022 at 11:26 am
District 2 has some very interesting games, this weekend.
1A has Lackawanna Trail taking on Northern Lehigh in what should be a fun one. Rematch of this round last year, but in 2A. Northern is my pick to rep the East in 1A. They played the schedule to make a deep run. They look like a team that can beat Canton/Steel-High.
2A has Lakeland taking on Executive Education. I don’t really know how much of a threat EE is, because they’re a charter school in the playoffs (not as potent as Imhotep, I know), but I have to give them credit winning districts at the #4 seed. I don’t see Lakeland falling to them.
Hot take: I think Lakeland can compete with Southern & Mt. Carmel, if they can get to the semis. Lakeland has beaten some really good teams, this year. They beat Scranton Prep, Old Forge, & Dunmore in the regular season (all by at least 27 pts). I know CalPreps will not favor them, but don’t be shocked if the East runs through Chapman Lake.
3A has an All-Private showdown: Scranton Prep vs. Neumann-Goretti. I’m curious to know how a LFC team like Prep can stack up with N-G. I hope it’s a close game, but gut feels it’ll be a blowout.
4A has Crestwood seeking their first title since 2014, against Valley View. I expect this to be a great game. I haven’t followed Crestwood as much as I do with Lackawanna League teams, but I think they could take care of business. Valley View does have the experience to get it done, though, & I feel this will be a revenge game for them.
5A is a case of “the more things change, the more they stay the same”, as can also be said Northern Lehigh. What I mean is that DV is a district champions, but in a new class. They got Whitehall in a EPC/LFC Division 1 showdown. DV is battle tested, so they could beat Whitehall. Then again, District 2 doesn’t always fare well against the EPC South, as seen in the playoffs this year. Then comes the fun part: Wondering if the winner of this game can stun the Imhotep/Roman winner. Wishful thinking.
@ Pennsyltucky Proud
I might have to start calling it the Knoebels Bowl. As someone who loves Knoebels, I’m shocked they haven’t put something on the line for the game. Something like winner getting the entire school a day at the park, at the end of the year would be fun & add a twist to the rivalry. It doesn’t need it, but I’d love it.
November 15th, 2022 at 11:41 pm
@DENNIS and @NE PA
The Battle for Knoebels will be epic. May the best team win!
November 15th, 2022 at 7:26 pm
One thing MCA does have going for them is Spears is back at QB (although still not 100%) which they did not have in the first matchup. Another thing is after 7 straight games played in Catawissa, the game is at the Silver Bowl. MCA has to come out strong and win the turnover battle again. I believe SCA is also without at least 1 defensive starter who was ejected against Troy. I also read another starter was hurt in the first half against Troy and wasn’t clear on whether he would be playing this week.
Another game to watch this weekend is the Danville vs Loyalsock rematch. Danville won the first game 17-14 I believe. Loyalsock struggled with Troy who just got blown out by Southern. I think Danville wins this one again and will end up having to beat Wyomissing to get to the final.
One game I am curious about is Jersey Shore vs Allentown Central Catholic. ACC doesn’t have the best record this year but looks like they lost to some of the better big schools in the Lehigh Valley. I see Jersey Shore winning this one and making it at least to the ‘Western Final’ to battle one of those tough 4A WPIAL teams.
November 15th, 2022 at 6:17 pm
I don’t think I ever recall a district semi-final where all 4 schools had won multiple state titles like we have with the 4A semi-finalists in the WPIAL this Friday. I have seen all the 5A and 6A teams in the WPIAL this fall in person and I think McKeesport is as good or better than any of them. I have thought since the beginning of the season McKeesport is the biggest threat to Aliquippa getting out of the district, and nothing has changed my mind, this has all the makings of another instant classic, like last year when Aliquippa beat McKeesport 27-21 in OT in the semifinals. In the other semi-final Central Valley takes on resurgent TJ. Most people I know are anticipating an Aliquippa vs. Central Valley rematch from the last game of the regular season, but don’t be surprised if McKeesport and/or TJ spoil the Beaver County showdown.
In 5A I think USC and PR are pretty evenly matched, and if USC’s defense can slow down PR QB Ryan Palmieri they have a pretty good chance to beat them, Woody knew he was going to run the ball on most plays last week and they still couldn’t stop him, on one drive in the fourth quarter he ran on 14 straight plays. I think Erie Prep beats either of them next week, although they are going to have to shake the rust off after not playing for the last 3 weeks.
In 6A I think PCC will beat NA and avenge their early season loss, I was at that 7-3 game, and it appears to me PCC has improved more since then than NA. I think the winner of State College and Erie McDowell has a decent chance to beat the WPIAL winner next week, both PCC and NA are solid but not great teams.
November 15th, 2022 at 6:08 pm
@ NE PA Might be the other way around. However Southern is beat up a bit. Southern is a different team then the first time around. We will see!
November 15th, 2022 at 6:04 pm
Northern Lehigh should get past Lackawanna Trail this Saturday. Both teams played last year with Northern Lehigh winning 35-14. Lackawanna did pull an upset over 7-3 Old Forge two weeks ago, so Northern can’t take them lightly. I’ll go Northern 28-7. That would set up a big quarterfinal matchup thanksgiving weekend against Steelton. Steelton would be the favorite, but Northern I think gives them a game. We shall see.
November 15th, 2022 at 5:54 pm
See a lot of discussion on MCA vs SC and NS vs Northwestern. Both should be great games. I’ll go MCA over Southern 36-35 in double OT. Northwestern (who has been playing great since Bangor loss) over North Schuylkill 28-21. Freedom over Parkland 24-14 as a bonus.
November 15th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
All about winning and advancing at this point Sir Brian. They beat a great North Schuylkill team and blew out a great Dunmore team. I know it was week 1 and 2 but they still threw them around. This week will be very tough and will probably be a grind but I think they will eventually wear Southern down in the second half like Southern is used to doing in the past years. Give them a taste of their own medicine.
November 15th, 2022 at 12:36 pm
Sorry Bub, but I’m not sure that this year’s team is as impressive as you imply. Yes, they’re the size of a college team, but do we see them dominating opponents like they’re a college team playing a high school team? What great teams did they blow out? A below par SCA team had five turnovers and that still wasn’t a blow out. They had issues with Milton. Heck, they struggled with Shik. Who has Shik beaten this year? You’re not exactly comparing apples to oranges as this year’s team hasn’t played great teams thus far. With their size, they should be able to do a Henry Hynoski and drag multiple players with them into the end zone. Sorry, I’m just not seeing it. They have a soft schedule, they start slow, and they make a multitude of errors. I think they’ll have issues when they hit a well disciplined team that will use their weaknesses against them. I guess time will tell, but I just wasn’t impressed with what I’ve seen so far. Everyone looks great when playing teams that have losing records or also don’t play anyone. MCA is 12-0, but hasn’t really hit a quality opponent to test their strengths and weaknesses. I personally think the 95 team would have beaten this team. But, we’ll see how far they get.
November 15th, 2022 at 10:22 am
@ Bub I guess we’ll see. I just don’t see them as a state champion quality team. Too many errors, lack luster starts to their games, and really struggles with teams that weren’t that impressive. This MCA team looks like the size of a college team. They should be totally dominating their opponents. That’s not really been the case. They have struggled in several games. You’re impressed with their performance with Hughesville, but who exactly did Hughesville play and beat that was any good? How did they not completely dominate Shikellamy in the first half of the game? They should have been mercy ruled by the half, at least. Shik beat nobody this year. Milton also kept it close with them. SCA turned the ball over 5 times and the game wasn’t a blow out. Truly, they may be an undefeated team, but they’ve not been a dominant team against sub par opponents. They have kids the size of Hynoski on their team. They should be able to drag multiple players down the field to the end zone like he did. I’m just not seeing that, are you?
November 15th, 2022 at 9:58 am
Who cares if this years Mca team scores the most any other team has. Where does that get you. Mca has a great team. Ultimately I think there coaching will cost them as well. Darrah is a Wally hall stooge. With the exception of southern, north schuylkill and Milton they have played very bad teams. It’s hard to tell how good Diaz is because it seems like he has big games against very bad teams but I don’t think he’s that good against the good teams
November 15th, 2022 at 9:01 am
MCA is 12-0. I read in the Shamokin Item that this years team is on pace to have more points per game and more yardage than any team in Mount Carmel football history, yes that includes all of it’s great eastern conf. champs from the 60’s and 70’s and it’s state championship teams from the 90’s – 2000’s. But @ Brian is just not impressed. He thinks this team should be even more dominating! He isn’t even happy with 41 points on Hughsville in the first half, he wanted it in the first quarter! If your married, I pity your wife….LOL.
November 14th, 2022 at 10:03 pm
@Bub MCA should have been able to do that in the first quarter if their team were truly a state champion caliber team. This was Hughesville, who was a sub par opponent. I’ve seen MCA play and I’ve really not been that impressed. For their size, they should be dominating all of their opponents. They’ve not shown that dominance and their schedule wasn’t all that challenging. I don’t think they should be resting on their laurels.
November 14th, 2022 at 3:41 pm
@Bub
I realize it may sound silly to complain with the score but I expected MCA to come out and dominate Hughesville from the get go. This team has started off many games slow this year, which I don’t think they can afford to do from here on out. Also, yeah I have a high expectation of play at this point in the season. That was game 12, stupid mistakes and penalties (although there were some bad calls) should be minimized by now.
November 14th, 2022 at 2:51 pm
@MCA75
I guess coming out and putting 41 on a team by the half is playing flat and uninspiring to you. Yeah kinda tough to get up to your expectation of play against hughsville.
November 14th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
And I’m a big north schuylkill fan. An even bigger Rick Geist fan. I don’t adapt from shenandoah
November 14th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
North schuylkill wins. Wally and his offensive coordinators will keep it close. But north schuylkill won’t lose to a team who only runs the ball
November 14th, 2022 at 11:55 am
Margaret, I remember before that you are a big Wally Hall and NS fan. What are your thoughts on the North Schuylkill game?
November 13th, 2022 at 11:45 pm
A great game on paper for the district 11 AAA title. North Schuylkill v Northwestern Lehigh. One deciding factor in the game. Can North Schuylkill stop Cade Christopher? They’ve been stellar against the run all year it’s going to be a very interesting matchup. If they can bottle him up, they should have a good shot to beat them.
November 13th, 2022 at 8:02 pm
Every thing at 5A in D1 went as planned. The 4 best teams are still in. You could say Chester could have a top four but the game at PW wasnt even close. PW pushed them around all night. Any one of the final four could win it. I suspect Upper Dublin and Strath Haven will play in the final but Rustin seems to be playing at a much higher level since they got healthy and if one team that gets in Upper Dublins head, it’s PW. They know each other well and last years playoff was a crazy game with PW coming out on top. A lot of starters returning for both teams. I’ll give the advantage to UD but don’t be shocked if there is an upset.
November 13th, 2022 at 8:01 pm
Mount Carmel needs to start playing football from the opening whistle if they want to continue playing. If they come out flat and uninspired like they did yesterday, their undefeated season will come to an end quickly on Friday night. Too many penalties and stupid mistakes will cost them dearly at this stage of the game.
November 13th, 2022 at 7:51 pm
The only thing worse than a southern fan winning state championships is a southern fan who won’t let go and always thinks they r the best in the state no matter how much you beat them by
November 13th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Just an observation on the ongoing discussion regarding the “correct’ number of playoff seeds for District One 6A and 5A.
In 6A this year seeds 11, 12, & 14 made the second round and indeed 11 & 12 will play in the semi finals. Seems to indicate that 16 is not too many for 6A.
On the other hand seeds in 5A making second round were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 perhaps indicating the correct count for 5A is 8 seeds.
Always different year to year, but just an observation.
November 13th, 2022 at 1:17 pm
Looking forward to a couple of anticipated rematches in district 4 this coming weekend. Looks like Mount Carmel will have it’s hands full with a rejuvenated Southern Columbia. Loyalsock and Danville played a great one in the first meeting and expect the same in round 2.
November 13th, 2022 at 9:04 am
I think SCA answered a lot of questions this week in their thrashing of a very good Troy team on Troy’s home field. The return of Barnes and the adjustments to the SCA defense has made them a team to reckon with in the playoffs. This weeks matchup with MCA should be a good one for the D4 championship. SCA’s ability to stop the run was notable against Troy who had been impressive in games against Loyalsock and Canton.
November 12th, 2022 at 9:10 am
Option #1 was the correct choice. Spring-Ford taking Garnet to OT and finally giving them a game since the first game of the season.
Do I really have to wait 6 days until Downingtown East at Garnet Valley??
November 12th, 2022 at 6:28 am
The NP/CBW was one helluva game! No one could stop the other. It was NP’s to win, but like the Upper Dublin game,
they just blew it at the end. It was 38 to 35 with 71/2 min. to go, NP blew the KO from west, and west got it on the 4 yd line.
That was game. Then NP threw a pick with 4:40 to go. Their 1st meeting was 35 t0 14 West. Big improvement. If PV has
any run defense ( NP has none) , they can beat West. GV won’t get past D-town west.
November 11th, 2022 at 10:57 pm
@Buddy
You tell me. How’d it turn out tonight?
By the way, my forecasts were 100% correct but sometimes mother nature didn’t cooperate! LOL
November 11th, 2022 at 10:36 pm
Wild night here in District 1-6A
1 Seed Garnet Valley beats 8 seed Spring Ford in overtime.
Bo Horvath runs for 5 touchdowns and leads the 12 seed Dtown East to a 34-9 win over their rivals 4 seed Dtown West in the Battle of the Brandywine rematch
11 Seed CB West beats 14 seed North Penn 44-35
November 11th, 2022 at 6:52 pm
@ ScottyB
Option #3 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPMS3SzZyuc
November 11th, 2022 at 5:29 pm
@mike
Thanks, but it begs the question: how often were your forecasts spot on?
@Scotty
Yea, I know. But you got to sign up for min of 1 month for $12 per. (don’t mind that), but they say cancel anytime.
Therein lies the problem. I’ve done that with several other venue’s and played hell trying to get ahold of them to cancel.
Keep charging my card every month ’til I had to cancel the card! So, I’m a little gun-shy.
November 11th, 2022 at 5:28 pm
Pittsburgh daily rainfall record for Nov 11 was broken and there’s still 7.5 hours left in the day.
Allderdice-McDowell games was moved because Mcdowell’s field is flooded. Oh.. and the field is TURF!
November 11th, 2022 at 4:48 pm
@All concerned about the weather…
I’ve seen worse conditions with just the passage of a strong cold front. Most of the eastern half of the state should be fine through 10-11 PM, albeit a little windy. The western half is another story. Rain will pick up sometime after midnight. Looking at 0.1″ or less for most spots during game time tonight so no monsoons likely. The NE could have some showers or a T-Storm early i.e. 7-8 PM and possibly up to .25″ in some spots in that area early. Winds should be 10-20 MPH with higher gusty. Temps generally in the 60’s for the eastern half of the state. Just for the record, I am a retired meteorologist, a former NOAA-National Weather Service employee, and a former employee of the DOD’s U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory.
Enjoy the games!
November 11th, 2022 at 4:08 pm
@ Buddy
Looks like that game is only available on the NHFS Network
November 11th, 2022 at 3:09 pm
@ et al:
Anyone know if the NP/CBW has live streaming? Free of course, I know I can pay for it.
November 11th, 2022 at 3:04 pm
Like other districts lots of rematches tonight in the WPIAL, and the team that won the first matchup is likely to win most of the rematches, In 6A Mt Lebo hosts PCC, Lebo came back from a 16-0 fourth quarter deficit to shock PCC 17-16 on a walk off field goal, even though the game is at Lebo I like PCC’s chances tonight to win and get to the final next week against NA, who should beat Canon Mac by a couple of scores. In 5A the South Hills neighbors battle again, I watched Bethel Park pound the ball on the ground en route to a 27-14 win over previously undefeated USC in week 6, I have a hunch USC finds a way to win the rematch, they have played better than Bethel the last few weeks and think their comeback win last week over Gateway gives them momentum and confidence going into this one. Going to Woodland Hills vs. Pine Richland tonight, would love to see Woody pull the upset, but PR playing too well, they beat Woody 35-21 3 weeks ago and would be very surprised if they don’t beat them again, although game maybe a little closer.
One of the most intriguing games of the night is in 4A with McKeesport taking the one hour trip to Kittanning to take on Armstrong. Both teams are 10-1, Armstrong QB Cadin Olsen is the WPIAL’s leading passer with just under 3,000 yards for the season with 40 TD passes, McKeesport has one of the best defenses giving up only a little more than 6 points/game and a relentless rushing attack, These 2 teams played in the playoffs last year with McKeesport winning 35-21, I think McKeesport wins again tonight to set up a monumental showdown next week with Aliquippa in the semi-finals.
@Kevin X – that is definitely not a bad option 2 to see those schools battle for a trip to the district semi’s.
November 11th, 2022 at 2:22 pm
Mmmmm, option #2
DTW/DTE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPmsMQ7GxSw
November 11th, 2022 at 2:03 pm
@ Kevin X
If not, there is always the Battle of the Brandywine part 2, which I’m sure will be streamed.
I’m also hoping to find a live stream of the PJPII @ Interboro 4A championship game. Bucs RB Abu Kamara is 127 yards away from breaking the all-time Delco single season rushing mark, he comes into tonight’s game with 2392 yards rushing and 34 td’s.
November 11th, 2022 at 12:39 pm
D3 games postponed from tonight until Sat.
Dover @ Exeter 7:00
Ship @ Solanco 6:00
Trinity @ Annville Cleona 7:00
November 11th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
If anyone wants to read two great stories about 2 western PA teams i am posting the links below. The first is about Westinghouse.. the Pittsburgh city league team who’s now become very good. Their coach has completely changed the culture and program around in one of Pittsburgh’s poorest areas.
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/highschool/2022/10/26/westinghouse-coach-donta-green-city-league-football/stories/202210230139
The 2nd is a story about the mapletown maples. One of the smallest schools in Pennsylvania situated on the PA/WV border. Graduates 32 kids and they are 11-0 and in the wpial quarterfinals for the first time in history. These are the stories that aren’t told when newspapers decide not to cover high school sports.
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-football/2022/11/09/mapletown-high-school-wpial-football-playoffs-community-george-messich-landan-stevenson/stories/202211090079
November 11th, 2022 at 12:11 pm
@Kevin X – Westinghouse is very good and will give Farrell all they can handle in the quarterfinal round in 2 weeks, I said on this board earlier this year to keep an eye on Westinghouse in 2A, particularly after they traveled to Harrisburg in week 1 and dismantled a very good Steelton Highspire team who might win 1A.
November 11th, 2022 at 12:07 pm
@Buddy – I don’t particularly want to sit through a monsoon either, but it’s the playoffs and I’m going to see a game regardless of the weather conditions likes lots of other fans. We’ve had beautiful weather for the most part for the first 11 weeks of the season, no rain at all here in Western Pa on Friday nights, so tonight we have to deal with the elements…at least it’s not going to be very cold with temperatures in the mid-50’s, I’ve been to playoff games over the years in far worse conditions than what it looks like for tonight.
As far as rescheduling, its not as easy as you might think in a district as large as the WPIAL, there are 20 district playoff games tonight, and moving all 20 to tomorrow would be very difficult logistically, because the WPIAL is not going to reschedule some games if they don’t reschedule them all.
November 11th, 2022 at 11:21 am
Uh oh, the first D1 game change of the day, Springfield @ SH now tomorrow afternoon.
I really hope the S-F/GV remains a go for tonight, if it isn’t, it will throw a wrench into my evening plans…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTodU5yQxeQ
November 11th, 2022 at 10:42 am
I’ll just say I very much enjoyed a game last night in just about perfect November weather, and hope to, and looking like, will do it again tomorrow afternoon. Crowd probably not as big as it would have been on a nee Friday evening, but still a very nice crowd, but larger for sure then for what is being predicted weatherize. For you guys heading out tonight, your call. Enjoy. Looking like the Philly area may be getting lucky tonight with a somewhat dry window in the early evening. I tho still just don’t get it, if you could move a game a day up or back a day to avoid certain conditions, not a question of why, but why not?? Other than an immovable conflict, or personnel issues (game workers, etc.), again, I don’t get it. But so be it….
November 11th, 2022 at 10:29 am
Rooting for a Westinghouse/Executive Education 2A final!!!
November 11th, 2022 at 7:25 am
@Jeff:
What about the fans? Other than you, no one wants to sit thru a monsoon. This isn’t the NFL or college ball where it costs a fortune to
move a game. This costs nothing. One should want the best game possible, D11 felt that way.
November 11th, 2022 at 12:29 am
@ Jeff H….I understand that football is played in all types of weather been going to the games for years. But playing games in tropical storm like conditions even on turf iwhen it can be avoided doesn’t make that much sense to me but it doesn’t matter since they don’t care what I think. I was at a game for a league title in District one last year played in similar conditions on turf where the teams were actually going for it on 4th down inside their own 20 yard line in the 2nd qtr because the wind was so bad was impossible to snap the ball to the punter. Seems to me that teams work all year to get to this point to have a game affected to that extreme isn’t real smart. Hopefully it doesn’t turn out to be like that tomm night.
November 10th, 2022 at 10:10 pm
@Irish1 – why does it make no sense to play to games Friday night, particularly if they are being played on artificial turf like virtually all of the WPIAL playoff games are. All district 7 semi-final and quarterfinal games will be played as scheduled tomorrow night “It’s an outdoor-weather sport,” said WPIAL administrator Vince Sortino, who sent an email update to athletic directors Wednesday morning. “As of right now, we’re on as scheduled.” Lightening and thunderstorms are obviously a whole different matter, but rain and wind…play the games, that’s what makes football unique. By the way the WPIAL makes the decision for all WPIAL playoff games, not the individual schools, and I for one will be at the game of my choice with rain gear and a big umbrella!
November 10th, 2022 at 11:03 am
District 11
A – Northern Lehigh 27 Tri Valley 14
AA – Executive 34 Catty 7
AAA – North Schuylkill 42 Palmerton 13
Northwestern Lehigh 34 Notre Dame GP 28
November 10th, 2022 at 1:36 am
I understand football is played in the elements but playing district playoff games in tropical storm like conditions makes no sense either move them up or push them back to Saturday night. But why make a common sense decision it wouldn’t fit in with how the rest of this season has gone
November 9th, 2022 at 9:53 pm
@ Paul White
They probably got a nice early on-line ticket sale business, so they got their $$$. No refunds, so fans be damned!!! Can’t believe only one D1 game has been moved as of this posting.
I myself shall enjoy a nice early November evening overlooking SCI Graterford with Soudy @ PV, with nice pre game happy hour at the Trappe (and maybe even a post game embellishment as well, off for Vets Day Fri.) and then catch the best game of the weekend bar none Saturday with Haverford @ EA (with warm dry streaming Friday night). A good long weekend of football on tap (no pun intended)!!!
November 9th, 2022 at 9:34 pm
In response to MCA75’s statement that everyone is ready to crown SCA state champions due to one player returning from injury. No one is saying that at all. SCA is going to be a much different challenge now that changes have been made to their lineup to bolster the run defense and take the pressure off Wesloski since opponents will no longer be able to key on him. Any team that can put 69 points on an opponent in the first 16 minutes of a game obviously has transitioned to a team to be concerned about in the playoffs. The team that lost to Loyalsock is not the same team that will be playing now. Troy as you might know had it handed to them by Canton, a single A team. As I said previously, SCA will be a tough out.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:01 pm
@buddy you’re participation trophy comment doesn’t make much sense. I guess those trophies this year were for cb east, coatesville, and pennsbury. District 1 is too big to have only 8. You guys would be the same ones complaining that teams don’t challenge themselves and the games stink. 9-16 seeds win and advance every year.
November 9th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Don’t expect CB West, Great Valley or StrathHaven to move their games. Those conditions improve their chances.
November 9th, 2022 at 6:47 pm
@D2:
Yea, don’t see many ” Mud Bowls” anymore, everyone has artificial turf.
@Football guy
I’m careful about what I wish for………….. I wish for 8 team playoffs. Teams won’t be afraid to lose anymore then they are now,
and if they do, too bad. Like I said, it’s giving out “Participation Trophies” to the bottom 8 seeds (9 thru 16).
@all
OK, Souderton & PV got it right, will the others follow?
November 9th, 2022 at 4:56 pm
@JCo- So is CB West, CB South, & CB East all under the umbrella of Central Bucks School District, as is Bethlehem & Freedom, your point is? @ Buddy- yeah I did go off a little, I didn’t think Garnet Valley really ran up the score, & I had real mixed feeling about whether Quakertown should be included, but also saw some value in it. Wouldn’t be surprised if Souderton beats Perk Valley, I wouldn’t put money on it, just wouldn’t be surprised. @Phillyboy- I kept saying a “Dangerous Precedent” because that’s what it is, So someone not happy Central Bucks isn’t winning State Championships regularly, so they combine, or the Philly schools get tired of the Catholic League and decide it’s time for a “Combined” team to compete, or Bethlehem School district decides to combine Liberty & Freedom, where do you stop or who’s to say they can and can’t, just really think we’ve got enough can of worms with the PIAA without opening up another one. Thus…. I do think, that cutting the number of teams in D1 down to 8 is important, plus gives the kids heading into the playoffs an additional week to get healthy before the big games.
November 9th, 2022 at 12:56 pm
Souderton @ Perk Valley moved to tomorrow night at 7pm
November 9th, 2022 at 11:38 am
Looks like the return of one of Southern Columbia’s key players has everybody ready to crown them state champs again.
Wasn’t he in the lineup earlier in the season when SCA lost to Loyalsock 27-10? Troy only lost to Loyalsock 36-35 a few weeks ago…
Interesting matchup for MCA fans, hoping everyone stays healthy.
November 9th, 2022 at 10:44 am
You guys discussing 8 team playoffs – be careful what you wish for. If that happened, you wouldn’t have big out of conference games to start the season. Teams would be afraid to lose early, so you’d have weaker match-ups and possible blow outs. So since NP, West and other teams played difficult games and improved throughout the year, they didn’t deserve to be in playoffs and move to the 2nd round? 16 teams is great bc it allows and teams to grow and be at their best by the playoffs. You want the best team to represent the district in November/December, not the best teams from September/October.
November 9th, 2022 at 10:34 am
@ Buddy
I think some people dubbed it the “Mud Bowl” because of the poor playing conditions. A very rainy, muddy field led to a OT victory for Lakeland, winning by a score of 6-3. Believe it or not, the game was scoreless in regulation. It was hard for a lot of players to get traction because there was 2” of rain that fell before game time, leading to a very muddy surface. A lot of games up here were affected by that same system.
I’m sure a handful of players might’ve enjoyed the rare opportunity to have a game played in those conditions, even if it was a difficult surface to play on. I obviously can’t speak for every player, or even the coaches. I could only imagine how tough playcalling was.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:47 am
Buddy…All good. I emailed D1 PIAA and they said they are going to have a meeting at 9am….It’s up to the schools.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:49 am
My bad. Mis-read
Anyone hear anything about the D1 playoff games for Fri.? I see D11 moved to Thur. nite due to pending storm.
I know D12 has done same in the past. Here’s hoping.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:48 am
Steve…I agree. I am glad they added more teams this year.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:41 am
The KSFL 8man football is a great league, the PIAA should look into it, it is starting to take off. More teams should get involved. Well ran and very organized, exciting to watch.
November 8th, 2022 at 8:52 pm
Strange off the cuff topic here, but does anyone feel there could be a need for 8-man football in the PIAA?……..i know its popular in midwest states but it could help smaller schools that just don’t have the numbers to compete or maybe for larger schools where there are no numbers turnout but still may want to field a team…could also open up some small schools in the state that don’t have football to start up football (not sure if its a cost thing)…I know there is the 8-man KSFL already in the state…..any opinions?
November 9th, 2022 at 6:31 am
Buddy…It says While kids not White kids….
November 9th, 2022 at 6:30 am
Buddy….I have someone montior post. I will take care of it. TY
November 8th, 2022 at 8:48 pm
@D2
What the hell does ” played in a 6-3″ Mud-Bowl”, & white kids loved it ” mean??
@MIKA
You do monitor these comments, right?
November 8th, 2022 at 6:35 pm
All forecasts calling for heavy rain Fri nite.
November 8th, 2022 at 6:24 pm
@John
I’m a weather nerd, so I can give some insight.
Tropical Storm Nicole is supposed to affect lots of places in PA on Friday, with 2-4” of rain possible in some places. I think the heavy rain could make some fields borderline unplayable.
I read somewhere in a Times-Tribune feed on FB that Lakeland/Lake-Lehman a few years ago played in a 6-3 “Mud Bowl”, & while kids loved it, it’s also a bit dangerous with no footing.
I commend them for playing it safe. Don’t want to see any star players to have their season & career ended because of poor field conditions.
November 8th, 2022 at 3:12 pm
I’m behind. But why are games being rescheduled in the first place? Is it because of the weather forecast?
November 8th, 2022 at 2:30 pm
@Smoll:
What does Q-town’s current & future football prowess have to do with GV running up the score? You went on a bit of a tangent there eh.
However, 100% agree with dropping down to 8 team playoffs instead of the current 16 team playoffs in D1. Used to be that way and it was fine.
Teams like Q-town, and yes, North Penn, and some other teams should have not made the playoffs. Over-saturation. it’s like giving out
“Participation trophies ” for having a losing season, like in little league baseball & Connie Mack football.
November 8th, 2022 at 2:02 pm
Games are being moved to Thursday night…Here is what I have so far…
– Delaware Valley (6-5) @ Scranton (8-3) 07:00 PM
– Notre Dame GP (9-2) @ Northwestern Lehigh (9-2) 07:00 PM
– Parkland (7-4) @ Northampton (11-0) 07:00 PM
– Dunmore (8-3) @ Lakeland (11-0) 07:00 PM
November 8th, 2022 at 1:37 pm
So how many games are actually going to be played Friday night as scheduled?? This should be fun 🙂
November 8th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
MikeS — It seems that some of these big public school districts have been availing themselves of phillyboy’s thought process. They must have been secretly absorbing his insights, good on them. They can even act like it was their own original idea, no fuss no muss. But why on earth are you triggered by the merging of two football programs that are in the SAME district? How many times are you going to refer to it as a ‘Dangerous Precedent ‘? Goodness gracious, I feel like I’m reading a 6abc Action News article.
Those programs have obviously been struggling for many years, gives them a fighting chance going forward. Why are you so against a pragmatic solution to a chronic problem? Are you afraid Allentown SD might actually be able to compete? The merger may be a few things, but I don’t think dangerous is one of them. Btw the precedent was already set a few years ago with Erie High.
November 8th, 2022 at 12:11 pm
@ Buddy Hensler
When Perk Valley hit 56 in the 3rd quarter they started emptying the bench and then OJR scored the games final 13 points. PV almost blew a 20 point lead @ OJR during the regular season so it appeared they were not playing around this time with the Wildcats.
November 8th, 2022 at 9:47 am
@MikeS they’re not separate school districts. Allen and Dieruff are both part of Allentown School District. And you might be surprised how many of the Philly public schools are co-ops.
It’s clear we will not agree on this, so I am not particularly interested in taking this any further. Ultimately it’s up to the district to decide what is best for its students.
November 8th, 2022 at 7:58 am
@Buddy Hensler – Garnet Valley played their 2nd and 3rd teams the vast majority of the second half, which was then a fairly even game, but you do realize, Quakertown had 3 starting seniors in their starting 22 right, so 19 of those kids will be back next season. Also, from what I’ve been told Quakertown’s JV & Freshman teams had 1 loss and 1 tie, so I suspect they may be alright next year. Even though they got smoked there was some value for this young team to get some playoff experience. Similar to the 2020 season and then last year when they went 14-1. Now on a personal thought, I think it ought to get cut down to top 8 instead of top 16, which gives each team a week off, like most other districts, and yeah, I get North Penn and CB West both won & would have been left out, I just don’t think their body of work was strong enough to be in. I mean Erie Cathedral Prep doesn’t play until the Quarterfinals of the state tournament, should be a very healthy football team, all healed up from the bumps and bruises of the season, big advantage there. Also puts more value on in season games.
November 8th, 2022 at 7:44 am
@JCo My problem is with the mergering of two of the largest school districts to be able to compete. You have schools like Nazareth, Quakertown, CB West that would have 1/4 of the numbers of students to draw from and compete in 6A. It’s the combining of the 2 I object too. If you can’t draw enough kids to compete, then maybe you need to drop the program. I mean if they were closer to 500 students each than over a 1000, maybe, a big maybe but maybe. It’s a Very Dangerous Precedent to allow 2 of the larger school districts to combine in order to be competitive. I get they are city schools, but so is Bethlehem, & Philly schools etc, & I don’t hear them crying to combine. Just a Dangerous Dangerous Precedent. I also understand you’d like to see Allen-Dieruff to be competitive again, but mergering sports programs is not the correct way. Dangerous Precedent.
November 7th, 2022 at 5:13 pm
@MikeS: Allen and Dieruff already are in the North division and still finish well below .500 every year.
November 7th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
Two interesting games in the D11 AAA bracket. North Schuylkill v Palmerton. NS is much better overall but arguably the best player in the district will be running the show for Palmerton. Machalik is very hard to contain and he can throw the ball all over the field. NS will without a doubt get pressure on him, but bringing him down could be a different story. If they contain him, they should have no problem winning the game. Palmerton also struggles on defense. NS shouldn’t have much a problem running their offense especially on the ground. Flail can have another big game if they can get him the ball.
Northwestern Lehigh v Notre Dame. Another interesting game with two completely different types of teams. Northwestern Lehigh will look to control the game on the ground and manage the clock. I think Christopher is going to have a huge game as ND will most likely struggle against a team who is mostly a power run team. On the other hand, ND looks to air it out and score as much as possible. Northwestern Lehigh hasn’t been giving up too many points, it’ll be interesting to see if they can contain their air attack. If Lehigh can get a few stops, I think they’ll be able to control most of the game on the ground and win a pretty high scoring game.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:15 am
@Hammerhead, I think it set a very dangerous precedent, if it was two borderline sized 6A schools, but assuming the schools are even close to what I found online, with Allen at over 1450 male students and Deriuff with over 875 male students, that just opens it up to mega schools athletically. You mean you can’t find 15-18 players out of a class averaging 330 students, for 60-72 players, really maybe they need to either go to the North Division or devaluing football. I think combining schools of that size just is a very dangerous precedent. You are not talking about a school of 500-550 male students in grades 9 thru 12, you are talking schools two to three times that size. Something REALLY wrong. Drop down but don’t combine
November 5th, 2022 at 3:20 pm
Someone please tell me that garnet valley played their 3rd & 4th stringers after half time. Maybe suited up some
parents from the stands for the 4th quarter. Otherwise…………shame. Same could be said for Perk Valley, to a lesser extent.
November 5th, 2022 at 9:24 am
Nothing earth shattering in D7 as most of the top seeds had byes this week, but two defending wpial champs were eliminated.
In 2A #5 seed defending champion Serra Catholic was ousted by Washington.
In 5A Penn Trafford was eliminated by Pine Richland.
One big surprise was Woodland Hills winning. They snuck into the playoffs the last week of season and will now play Pine Richland in the semis.
One very good game next week is McKeesport vs Armstrong. Two teams that were under seeded at 4-5 now playing each other in the quarterfinals. Winner will get Aliquippa after they dispose of Montour.
The other 5A semi final is a big rivalry game. Bethel park vs Upper St Clair.
2A and 1A continue to be competitive.
November 5th, 2022 at 12:22 am
Finally got my butt down to the ‘Ville for a game this year. Worth the hour plus drive to witness another scintillating rendition of the Bo Horvath Show.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:52 pm
Also, another here was a pretty big upset tonight in District 11 6A. Parkland beat Nazareth 42-14. Nazareth was without QB Sasso (who is one of the best HS wrestlers in the country), but I still was surprised by the outcome. They play EPC North champion Northampton next week, which should be a good game. EPC North teams have traditionally struggled with EPC South teams, but this should still be a good one, considering Northampton blew out a Whitehall team that beat Parkland, but they struggled tonight against a Stroudsburg team who they beat by 40+ in the regular season.
Emmaus v. Freedom in the other D11 semifinal should be another good one. A rematch of week one where Emmaus beat Freedom 19-13. Definitely one of the biggest games on the eastern side of the state next week.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:17 pm
Hey Yall.
Was busy last week, so could not post playoff previews.
But huge night in District 1 6A. 2 of my 3 favorites to win the district were eliminated in the first round (Downingtown West, Coatesville, and Pennsbury). 12 Seed Downingtown East knocked off 5 Seed Coatesville. These really should of been playing each other in a later round. Both teams seeding got messed up with the whole Downingtown West Coatesville game cancellation and Coatesville having to forfeit. We all knew the Cougars were better than the 12 seed, but still I thought the Red Raiders would pull out a victory, considering they were up 15-0 with 3 minutes left in the first half, and I am pretty sure Downingtown East has never beaten Coatesville in the playoffs. This sets up a second Battle of the Brandywine this year, since Downingtown West beat Conestoga. Should be another great one, I think its already been mentioned but DTW WR Hangey, cannot play in the playoffs due to PIAA transfer rules.
Also, 14 seed North Penn knocked off 3 seed Pennsbury. This is not surprising. I did think Pennsbury would win though and we all knew North Penn was better than the 14 seed and had been playing better football down the stretch. Sets up a rematch with 11 seed CB West next week.
Looking back at D1-6A rankings last week, all three teams I had ranked in top 3, 1. Coatesville, 2. Pennsbury, 3. CB East lost tonight. Really surprised about CB East losing back to back weeks against CB West. I know CB West was better than their record showed, but I did not expect CB West to win the Week 10 since they were coming off a tough loss to CB South. And tonight was even more surprising considering CB West was leading 28-0 at half.
We are in for a great slate of second round games in D1-6A.
November 4th, 2022 at 9:47 pm
Feel good story of the year out here in the west… Latrobe wins their first playoff game since 1968 in 4A. Play TJ in the quarterfinals next week. I’ll have more on the first round in the morning.
November 4th, 2022 at 9:22 pm
SCA is back to being a tough out. They led Line Mountain 69-0 with over 8 minutes left in the second quarter and the subs played the rest of the game. They will take on Troy next week at Troy. Barnes and Wesloski were unstoppable and Barnes only played offense. The run defense was improved by several adjustments this week and as I said previously this is a different SCA team with the changes that have been made and I wouldn’t want to be any team playing Southern over the next few weeks. Yes, they will be playing a few more weeks.
November 4th, 2022 at 6:20 pm
Even if Allen and Dieruff combine programs, they still won’t beat any of the other teams in The EPC south. I don’t see the harm in letting them combine.
November 4th, 2022 at 5:02 pm
Happy Participation Trophy Weekend everyone!!!!
November 4th, 2022 at 10:52 am
SCA has Barnes back for the playoffs and this will be a different football team with him in the mix. Teams won’t be able to focus on Wisloski now and Barnes bolster the defense as well as the offense. Other changes to the defense will also make them very dangerous in the playoffs.
November 3rd, 2022 at 11:15 pm
@Mike S: They’re both inner city schools with struggles that other schools could only dream of. Both teams’ football programs have struggled with numbers for a while. Comparing them to Central Bucks is highly disingenuous and a bad faith argument.
November 3rd, 2022 at 7:29 pm
@ ScottyB
Nope.
Only game that I would even consider that would be an upset of the 5 that you listed would be OJR over PV, which is not going to happen. Even #14 North Penn over #3 Pennsbury I would not really consider an upset. NP is playing pretty well of late (finally) and I’m still not sold on Pennsbury. Only other 2 games in D1 6A that I would consider an upset would be Garnet and DTW getting knocked off.
November 3rd, 2022 at 3:29 pm
@JCo REALLY ALLENTOWN needs to consolidate to field a competitive football team, You mean Allen HS with a male enrollment of the north side of 1400, and Dierfuff HS with an enrollment of over 850 need help to compete? You’ve got to be kidding? They need an enrollment of over 2250 to be competitive with schools smaller than either one of them. I’m at a loss, maybe the 3 Central Bucks schools should consolidate, as their enrollment would be less than Allentown consolidated, you wouldn’t touch them. Revive the program or drop the program, if there isn’t any interest, maybe the best thing to do is just drop it.
November 3rd, 2022 at 1:50 pm
***My mistake on the first matchup, should read DTE @ Coatesville***
November 3rd, 2022 at 1:21 pm
With 5 of the 8 games in 6A pitting league rivals against one another, any potential upsets?
DTW @ Coatesville
CB South @ Souderton
OJR @ Perk Valley
North Penn @ Pennsbury
CB West @ CB East
***Also just read that DTW will be without Junior WR, Dean Hangey (24 Catches, 610 yard, 7 td’s) due to the PIAA transfer rules. Could be huge in their potential next game against the winner of Ville/DTE.
November 3rd, 2022 at 12:16 pm
And then you have the Butler Poop Show out in the west/NW part of the state…….
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:10 pm
Mel Thomas, the coach of two years at Allen, has resigned. Interestingly, in an article with the Morning Call, he suggested that it would be beneficial for Allen and Dieruff to consolidate football programs, and that this had already been done at the middle school level, to some amount of success. To my knowledge, this is the most concrete indication so far of consolidation happening. If they can work it out logistically, I think this could be a tremendous help for Allentown football.
November 2nd, 2022 at 4:53 pm
Seriously…. How can the PIAA let that happen…. That’s all you need to see to know that 6 classes is one too many. Bye to the quarterfinals?? And i know that teams opted out.. but frankly you have to set up the bracket better than that.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:20 am
Gotta love that lower left quadrant of the 5A bracket.
Joke, disgrace, both, or other???
November 1st, 2022 at 1:48 pm
@WPIALguy – IMO seedings should have been Aliquippa, CV, McKeesport, Armstrong and TJ #5, I was looking forward to McKeesport vs. CV in the semi-finals, I just don’t see how you can justify TJ at #3 ahead of 9-1 McKeesport/Armstrong given their record is 7-3, if they lost to McKeesport they are likely an #8/#9 seed for finishing third in the conference, and that one win vaults them to #3? And I’m pretty sure that Armstrong-Aliquippa game was tied at 14 going into the fourth quarter and Quips scored 2 TDs in fourth, sort of like they took over in third quarter against CV the other night. I watched the Quips do the same thing against Jersey Shore in the semi-finals last year, they had Aliquippa back on their heels and ahead by 2 scores in the first half, but Aliquippa scored a TD in last minute of first half to close the gap and then came out and dominated in the second half and won going away.
November 1st, 2022 at 12:34 pm
@jeff h i completely agree about TJ. The wpial gifted them a run to the semis and simultaneously screwed Armstrong and McKeesport by seeding them 4-5… if you’re making McKeesport the 5.. at least make TJ the 4 and make them Duke it out again. Especially as Armstrong’s only loss is by 14 to the 1 seed Aliquippa.
November 1st, 2022 at 11:36 am
@WPIALGuy – agree with your analysis and the winners in each classification. I am shocked and disappointed the WPIAL committee seeded McKeesport #5, they may be the best #5 seed in the history of the WPIAL. IMO it’s a joke TJ was seeded third, yes head to head is important and they beat McKeesport 20-10 on Friday, but they lost to both Laurel Highlands and Belle Vernon, and McKeesport handled both of those teams, McKeesport also has quality wins over Penn Trafford and Gateway, so their whole body of work is far superior to TJ at 7-3. Not only does McKeesport not get a bye this week they have to play Armstrong in the quarterfinals, Aliquippa in the semis and presumably CV in the final, if I am McKeesport I am really ticked off at the selection committee because they got screwed..
I also have no clue how 3-7 North Hills was the final wildcard over 6-4 Peters Township in 5A, who lost to the #1 seed Bethel Park 27-21 on Friday, while North Hills got blown out by PR 47-0, would love to hear an explanation as to why North Hills goes ahead of Peters, makes no sense to me. Since they didn’t take Peters they had to seed Woodland Hills ahead of Penn Trafford, which is illogical since PT beat them 48-14 earlier in the season, if I’m Pine Richland I’m not thrilled about drawing PT in the first round, that’s the high seed on upset alert in the first round, if PR wins I think they win the WPIAL title then lose to Erie Prep in the quarterfinals.
November 1st, 2022 at 10:05 am
I don’t believe NW Lehigh has much of a shot to beat NS. A team that is run heavy won’t do well against NS, their front 4 and linebackers are very very solid and quick to the ball. That’s why Notre Dame always has a shot to beat them because NS struggles in pass coverage and Stambaugh runs a very good spread offense. But I do give NW Lehigh a good shot against Notre Dame if they meet because ND struggles on defense and Cade Christopher may run for 250 yards. In their last game, Southern Lehigh was without their QB and their offense was awful so I’m not putting much into that game.
October 31st, 2022 at 10:29 pm
Nw lehigh will not win the 3a title. North schuylkill or notre dame. I’m not saying they can’t beat notre dame but they won’t beat north schuylkill. Please don’t look at scores so much. Ok yes they beat a southern lehigh team 42-7 but southern lehigh is a big school playing in a small school league. They may have been the worst 8-1 team in the state. If we go by your score comparison then I could also tell you northwestern lehigh needed a late score to beat a bad pottsville team, they lost to a northern lehigh team that got crushed by ns. Bottom line is northwestern lehigh won’t beat ns. Based on talent
October 31st, 2022 at 8:54 pm
I agree north schuylkill vs notre dame. NS has the better team based off the first matchup even though they lost by two touchdowns. Avoid turnovers and the deep ball from ND and they should be alright. Offensively they should be able to run the ball against them Notre dame doesn’t stop anyone with a decent offense. It’ll come down to gameplanning
October 31st, 2022 at 8:29 pm
I think your over valuing the district 11 aaa and aa teams to boost northern lehigh up. If we base everything on how you decipher things, North Schuylkill lost 4 4tds to 1 in a scrimmage with danville . Danville beat loyalsock by 3. Loyalsock beat Troy by 1 and Troy lost to canton. And ns destroyed northern lehigh. Ns line dominated northern lehighs line. It doesn’t matter if you have a line rotation if they r being dominated. Northern lehigh beat a 3-7 jim thorpe team 14-13 in a game thorpe should have won. Steel high will beat northern lehigh. I’m not even saying canton would beat northern lehigh, but steel high most certainly will. Keep in mind the ns loss was at northern lehigh.
October 31st, 2022 at 7:13 pm
D11 finals predictions (what I think the championships and teams in them will be)
A: Northern Lehigh over Tri Valley 28-14.
AA: Palisades over Williams Valley 24-21
AAA: Northwestern over North Schuylkill 22-20
AAAA: ACC over Beca 28-21
AAAAA: Whitehall over Southern 35-14
AAAAAA: Emmaus over Freedom 14-10
October 31st, 2022 at 7:08 pm
@JC…..don’t count out Northwestern in dist 11AAA. They destroyed a 9-1 Southern Lehigh team last week.
October 31st, 2022 at 6:18 pm
I’d let u know but they only post 1% of the things I send
October 31st, 2022 at 2:45 pm
In 3a north schuylkill has the best team. I just don’t think wally hall can beat notre dame this year. He will do the exact same thing with Weitz out of the backfield and it will work but he will over use it, everytime they put him in they know he will run it, he wont use chownasky and they will only try to throw the same bubble screen to flail not realizing he can get open on other routes, the defense will continue to try and blitz off the ends and darno will run, chowansky on blitzes straight up thru the center would do some damage they never do it. There will be 0 adjustments so unless they don’t turn it over I see notre dame beating them. If they play nw lehigh I see them beating them. If northern lehigh thinks they can bully tri valley they may be in for an awakening, not a loss but a close game, but then again I have minersville upsetting them. So if they play tri valley, close game, minersville its a blowout for northern lehigh.
October 31st, 2022 at 2:18 pm
@thejoneses,
I think Northern Lehigh could win a state championship but I would put Canton, Steelton and Bishop A above them. Those might be only three A teams I would have favored against Northern Lehigh. Tri valley is a good A team but played an A schedule and Northern beat 4 out of top 5 dist 11 AAA schools. They also beat Catty who is in AA playoffs. That’s 5 playoff teams in class AA and AAA that they beat. They rotate on the lines which is rare for A. They also have been playing without Ramos who scored 6 tds in 3 games before getting hurt. There was hope he would be back towards end of regular season, maybe he will be back this week? If he is, Northern gets a returner starter and top RB back for a playoff run. Could they slip up in dist playoffs? Sure. But I don’t expect it and I expect them to reach state quarters when they would most likely play Steelton.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:19 pm
@Frank G. Good points. I haven’t looked at LaSalle enrollment numbers, but I think they are still doing well and recruiting from their usual areas. Their DB Coach has deep roots in Philly after leaving SJP, which should/could help them pull more talent there.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:41 pm
Wpial favorites heading into playoffs
6A North Allegheny, however i could see any of the 4 teams in playoffs somehow winning. Not a state championship contender.
5A
Bethel Park, Pine Richland.
Another very competitive class. Think that cathedral prep will end up beating the winner of this game in the semis.
4A
Aliquippa, Central Valley, Thomas Jefferson, McKeesport, Armstrong
I’d argue these 5 are 5 of the 6 best teams in the state in 4A. I expect Aliquippa to win, but don’t sleep on any of the others.
3A
Belle Vernon will roll to the state championship.
2A
Steel Valley, Beaver Falls, Sto Rox
I expect steel valley to win. Sto rox and beaver falls can compete. Ultimately i see Farrell, Westinghouse or steel valley making it to the state finals out of the west.
1A
Bishop Canevin is the odds on favorite. Laurel can surprise people.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:28 pm
@D11 Matt proved my point with his post about Northern Leigh. That’s a program the prepared for a state championship with it’s schedule.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:05 pm
@Phillyboy and KevinX can anyone realistically say they saw ML in 21. NOOOOOOO. So I think people thought Prep was going to have an easy go of it last year and then were jubilant when it happened. I can tell you the Prep players won’t take it for granted in 22. You don’t know until you know. ML did not have names like some of the others winners in past years and got it done. I still ask why more schools can’t be great like them. It starts with coaching and preparation in my opinion. Before anyone goes there, yes I know they all practice and prepare. It’s how you practice and how you prepare. Yes you have multi-sport players on the Prep football team. Some coaches/players see Prep and all they have in their minds are the excuses echoed on sites like this. Instead of being reminded of what teams like ML did in 21. The game was lost mentally before anyone even touched the field. I know for a fact LaSalle practices for Prep harder than any other team, which, in my opinion is why they fell in 15′ to parkland.(I’m still bitter about that game, if you can’t tell) When your preparation and dedication to win a State Championship starts in January, it shows up in your non-league schedule and results are produced in December.
October 31st, 2022 at 11:14 am
@jc Who do you have coming out of 3A. District 11 is pretty wide open this year in 2,3, and 4A. NL should roll in A but the other 3 are fairly open.
October 31st, 2022 at 11:03 am
Good point, Paul.
Just wondering: Does Roman get many players from outside the city? Is Wood right now getting players inside the city or from outside its traditional area in Bucks County? And does LaSalle have many players from outside the areas where it has always drawn students?
One of the things that has happened is that the large network of Catholic grade schools has shrunk. Not only are there fewer such schools but the schools that still exist are smaller. So kids who until 10-20 years ago would have gone to Catholic grade schools and played in CYO leagues are now going to public elementary schools and playing in other leagues. This makes some public school people think the kids are being poached or even stolen by Catholic/private schools. At the same time–for reasons having nothing to do with football–Catholic high schools, including SJP, LaSalle, Roman, WC, Wood, etc.–are now recruiting (because they have to recruit to stay open) non-Catholic students. Of course there are other factors too.
But if you look around the country–rather than just around PA–it’ll become obvious that the phenomenon is far from unique to Philly.
October 31st, 2022 at 10:58 am
@D2 Fan
I hadn’t thought of a formal scheduling agreement with D2 but that’s something I’d love to see in tandem with changing the EPC structure. I remember East Stroudsburg and Del Val used to have a good series going, as did Stroudsburg and Hazleton. Would love to see some of those games return to the early season.
You can see some of the discourse lately bemoaning the fact that SJP looks to dominate 6A this season. The D11 champ has a history of playing SJP tough, most recently Freedom’s 24-21 loss last season, but wins have been hard to come by. Would non-con games against the best of the East have helped D11 get over the hump more frequently? Maybe, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. It certainly would help more than 80-0 wins over ES North.
I think *something* is going to change; Northampton moving to the South feels inevitable, since the EPC is at the end of their two-year divisional cycle in football. But I hope we do see more change than just swapping Northampton with Liberty, Whitehall, or one of the Catholics. An 8-team EPC North feels like such a no-brainer for the coaches, players, and fans in both divisions, so at the very least, I hope we see that.
October 31st, 2022 at 10:46 am
I’m not saying this is gospel, but according to the Erie Times, it’s possible Erie Cathedral doesn’t play for 3 weeks in a row with their first playoff game being a quarterfinal showdown against the WPIAL champs. I guess a bunch of teams are opting out, which I agree with, there are way to many teams that shouldn’t make the playoffs that somehow get in. Cathedral is pretty beat up, but 3 weeks would help to get everybody healthy. That being said 3 weeks without a game isn’t good for a football team.
October 31st, 2022 at 10:26 am
If Troy doesn’t send SC home, Mount Carmel surely will.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:06 am
It’s not just the Prep that’s the problem, it’s the ten the almost 10 schools in D1 and D 12 that recruit. Prep just does it better than them. D1 has to deal with Prep, Lasalle , all the Interac, Wood. RC. It adds up.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:41 am
Northern lehigh 49 mahanoy area 6
Minersville 28 tri valley 27
Palisades 35. Cattasaqua 13
Williams valley 49 executive education 33
North schuylkill 38 Lehighton 14
Nw lehigh 28 jim thorpe 21
Notre dame 48 Saucon valley 20
Palmerton 41 tamaqua 7
Bethlehem catholic 20 blue mountain 0
Allentown central catholic 35 Bangor 7
October 30th, 2022 at 5:38 pm
@irish
No, I wasn’t at the game. And I didn’t say PV was “much” better than PJP, “just” 7 points better.
@ Foleman
Agree. It gets to be a drag. The best the East can look forward to is being in the Eastern Final (state semi-final). Then lose.
Yes, D1 is down this year. Doesn’t sound like we can count on the west to do anything either. And the beat goes on.
October 30th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Don’t think for a minute that the Prep doesn’t wish there was a Neshaminy in ’13, a Parkland and an P-R in ’14, a North Penn in ’16, a Coatesville and a P-R in ’17, a PCC in ’19, or a ML in ’21 to face in the playoffs. Of course, there could be but that’s not what the chatter on here and elsewhere suggests. Better to play a really good team, even if you lose, than to be win a big mismatch. Again, I don’t know enough to say all their games ahead with be big mismatches, but that’s what I’m hearing.
If D 1 is way down, that can hardly be the Prep’s fault. As many on here have commented, the Prep gets kids from all over the Delaware Valley–yes, including NJ–so it’s not as if some team in the PA Philly suburbs would be a whole lot better if players from that school district weren’t going to the Prep. As for District 3, 7, and 11, their being down can’t be related to SJP since obviously the Prep doesn’t get players from those districts and it isn’t credible that potential football players are not coming out because they might have to face SJP in the playoffs.
Going to six classifications was a big mistake. With all the demographic changes in PA and the decline in participation in football in many schools, going to six classifications has just watered down competition that much further.
October 30th, 2022 at 12:37 pm
Brackets have been released and they have Coatesville and both Downingtown schools in the same half of bracket. Wow.
October 30th, 2022 at 10:18 am
@ Kevin X
You’re wondering why 6A isn’t getting much love this year. Fair point, it HAS been pretty quiet insofar as the top classification is concerned, not much chatter. In a nutshell it’s what you implied, looks like SJP is going to romp through the tournament fairly easily, 6A fans are resigned to that fact. As a 6A guy it can be a little demoralizing. There’s no ’10 North Allegheny, no ’14 or ’17 Pine Richland or ’21 Mount Lebanon waiting in the wings, no hopium this year. If District 7 is having a down year, not good. District 3 and 11are gritty and have some heart, deserve a salute, but by rights, in theory, District 1 should be among the stiffest competition for District 12 each year. Don’t mean to belabor the point, but District 1 plays some pretty lousy ball. I mean come on man, lately they can’t even beat the Harrisburg or Allentown area’s best team. Unlike the WPIAL, no serious threat ever emerges from PA’s Philly burbs, total homogeneity.
October 30th, 2022 at 8:30 am
Kevin X, very few HS fans are not excited about 6A due to the fact that it would take some sort of Miracle to have any team win 6A this year that’s not named St Joe Prep. The West 6A teams are weak this year and looking at the rest of the top 6a Teams in the East-Nazareth, Hburgh, Cumberland Valley, State College, none of those teams could stay within 3 touchdowns of Prep. District 1 6A? We see how that plays out every year. Man, do I yearn for the old days of District 1 large school football-CB West, Downingtown, the Old North Penn etc
October 29th, 2022 at 11:36 pm
@buddy were you at the pv- pjp game? I kind of doubt it, so not too sure how you would have much of an idea whether PV was really much better then pjp or not. @ foleman really don’t understand some of the play calling for pjp in the second half. Pjp was controlling the line of scrimmage after giving up that early score. There was no reason to go for it on 4th and 2 from their own 25 in third qtr. They ended up giving PV a cheap td when they were having trouble moving the ball despite having great field position the entire game. Pjp out gained them 302 to 198. Pjp is well coached, but kind of felt like they thought they had to get away from what was working for them when there was no need to.Just punt and keep playing. PV took advantage of those breaks and that was the game. Frustrating way to lose.
October 29th, 2022 at 9:12 pm
Sorry guys, one more for tonight, then I’ll crawl back into my hole……..
Want to give a shout out to two local Philly area kids, Marvin Harrison, Jr. (St. Joe Prep/Ohio State) and Will Howard (D-Town West/Kansas State) who both had career days today on the national stage. I saw them both numerous times a few year ago, and one of coolest things for me about HS football is seeing guys on Friday nights (or Saturdays) and then in top college programs and if really lucky the NFL.
October 29th, 2022 at 8:26 pm
@ Helen Ann Long, sent packing back?? The bracket I saw has the game being played at Troy.
October 29th, 2022 at 7:07 pm
@ Buddy,
Mmmm, maybe slightly better (PV) at most. They were fairly equal of what I saw this afternoon.
Please help me then to get enthused about 6A in our Commonwealth. Yes, District One 6A is going to be fun the next 4 weeks, and to a lesser extent D2/11 and D3 the next few weeks, but after that??? 6A this year to me is what 2A has been the last 5 years.
October 29th, 2022 at 6:54 pm
@ Foleman
Yup, that going for it on 4th and 2 early in the 3rd I did not get at all. Probably the game right there.
October 29th, 2022 at 5:57 pm
@ foleman:
OR…………… PV is just better.
@kevin
Yes……………….me
October 29th, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Does anyone out there care about PA 6A football on statewide basis this year??
October 29th, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Perkiomen Valley 21-Pope John Paul 14 2 Bonehead decisions by the PJP coaching staff cost them the game. PJP started out the game trying to be cute with an onside kick which was recovered and returned to the PJP 40 a few plays plays later they were down 7-0 Halftime score was 7-7 Bonehead decision #2 was early in the 3rd quarter, game tied 7-7 PJP inexplicably goes for it on forth down with about 2 and half yards to go on their OWN 38 yard line! They were stuffed which led to another PV TD. It didn’t help that PJP’S QB who has completed 75% of his passes this year overthrew 2 sure TD”S and had another sure TD dropped. Once again the PAC small school division takes it on the chin.
October 29th, 2022 at 10:31 am
For those who have suggested that Troy would be favored over SCA in the playoffs, think again. SCA will have Barnes back for that game and Troy will be sent packing back to the Northern Tier.
October 28th, 2022 at 10:34 pm
Northern Lehigh finished reg season 9-1. They played top 5 in Dist 11 AAA as an A school. They were 4-1 against those AAA schools only losing to North Schuylkill. That schedule should help them in playoffs. Also should move up in state rankings with Tri Valley losing.
October 28th, 2022 at 11:21 am
@ JC Fan
All salient points here. Most of your points were ones I figured were to be reasons.
I always forget socioeconomics come into play with a lot of programs. I definitely see the comparison between inner city & both schools. The population stagnation also is showing up in Pike County a lot, which ES North mostly serves. DV & Paupack have been going down in recent years, as well. DV used to be consistently around 600 boys in enrollment, & have dropped to 5A (which is beneficial to them until they face ECP or Wood). Paupack used to be old 4A/5A in football, but it’s stagnated & dropped in recent years. Not the sharp dropoffs of the Monroe schools, but it’s noticeable in these parts. Even most of the state. It shocks me how Northern Lehigh went from low-3A to high-1A in four years. ES North possibly being a 3A school is very interesting, considering they were a 5A program for most of the 6-class era.
I did forget that ES South & Whitehall has usually been close. That’s really the only matchup I remember of the more competitive ones. I feel like ACC, when they have a down year, is the second closest. It’s been a few years since they swapped with Northampton, so I don’t fully remember their run in the two-division format. I think they held their own.
Lehigh Valley football is a religion down there, indeed. I try to watch a few of the games on BRC 13, which shows a lot of the SEN games. It’s amazing to see how invested those communities & cities are. Every divisional game feels like a marquee matchup when they’re on. Something that this area doesn’t have the same vibe with.
Your answer about District 2 is the first thing I thought of, after posting: Transportation. It takes an hour for PV, South, & Stroudsburg to head to Paupack or DV, & if you include Honesdale, that’s pushing 75-90 minutes. They would need to raise the transportation budget to do it. That’s the most likely way. It would remind me of Williamsport in the WVC. Most of their games are about over an hour away, & they are usually at/about the same enrollment as a Pocono school. The relationship & rivalries thing is one thing that’s not easy to take away. Those Allen/PMW games have been good in the past, with hoops.
Im hoping for a change in their setup, like you. Best case scenario, if they keep their two division plan, is that should make Week 0/1 (whatever people call it) as an open week, & let them play whoever. Either that or do three divisions, & let them have at least two open weeks to schedule who they please. If on either schedule, a team wants to play all ten in a gauntlet, that’s their choice. You can’t speak for every school.
If I was an EPC head, this what I would do.
1. Three division format. 8 for the Monroe & Allentown schools, & two five-team divisions for the rest. It’s basically the old Mountain Valley & Lehigh Valley without splitting.
Monroe: ESN, ESS, PME, PMW, PV, Stroud, Allen, & Dieruff
Northampton: Becahi, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, & Nazareth
Lehigh: ACC, Emmaus, N’hampton, Parkland, & Whitehall
2. Make an agreement with District 2 (I believe the district as a whole aligns 90% of the schedule), to have their 4-6A schools (3A allowed for ESN) play at least two games with North Division schools. It doesn’t matter the week, as if a school wants to play DV, they don’t have to play them in Week 1, when DV schedules a Florida game. It can all be done before Week 9, so it doesn’t interfere with any rivalries.
3. Schedule a two-year agreement with a different conference in each cycle (one cycle can be with SOL, the next with PAC-10) for one of their teams to play an EPC South team.
4. EPC South can either do a two-division round robin or have at least 5 games (division + 1 crossover) & free choice. The PAC-10 idea would work in round-robin format well because they can do it Week 1 or 10, & they can find equally close matchups. It can be set up via last year’s records.
The above leads to nine games for the North. One game can be open to any program, even if it’s EPC South (in three divisions). The South would either have their ten-game schedule filled out, or at least have six games that they know they’ll play, & four games that can lean however they please. It would offer an opportunity to do more non-league/district games if there are openings, & even allow for some District 2 teams like Hazleton, a taste of subregional play.
It would be a lot better than what they have right now.
October 28th, 2022 at 10:45 am
Regular season game of the year tonight in the WPIAL with Aliquippa taking on Central Valley, two undefeated defending state champions battling for the conference title and #1 seed in WPIAL playoffs. CV is on a state longest 36 game winning streak, and is the last team to beat Aliquippa 21-12 in week 1 last year. Aliquippa is 55-5 the last 5yrs, with 4 of those loses coming to Central Valley, including the aforementioned game last year and a 13-12 loss in the 2019 WPIAL 3A final at Heinz Field. Overall these schools have played 6 times since Central Valley was formed in 2010, Quips won the first 2, CV the last 4. Should be an awesome game, unfortunately Freedom Stadium only holds 2,500 people, they could have sold 3-4x that many tickets if they played in a bigger stadium. Aliquippa thought about moving the game to a larger stadium, but stuck with Freedom since they allowed them to play all their home games there this year while their stadium is being renovated, and the Freedom football/band boosters are getting the proceeds from concession stands, so they didn’t want to stiff those folks which is admirable, but sure would have been nice to have this game at a bigger stadium. This game could go either way, I’ll take Aliquippa in a close one to end CV’s 36 game winning streak.
October 27th, 2022 at 12:42 pm
@D2 Fan,
I think there are a few factors as to why the EPC South is so superior in football:
1) The Monroe County schools are much smaller on average; only Stroudsburg is 6A and they’re half the enrollment of Easton and Parkland. The population boom that fed Monroe County in the early 2000s has dried up at this point, ES North is now a 4A school and I wouldn’t be surprised if 3A is in its future. ES South at least proved it can hang with Whitehall in a good year, but there’s no way they could compete consistently with the top of 6A.
2) Socioeconomic factors are not in the North’s favor; Allen/Dieruff are inner city schools, ESN and PMW have economic demographics that resemble city schools, and Monroe in general isn’t as well-off as Lehigh/Northampton counties. Population stagnation isn’t helping.
3) Football (and sports in general) are a religion in the Lehigh Valley in ways that it simply isn’t in most of the North. They definitely still matter, and usually you’ll see one or two schools able to do well in other sports as well. But the amount of resources being dedicated to sports isn’t the same. The only reason Northampton is in the North at all is because they used to really struggle in the South, so they got placed in the North where they could be more competitive. Now they’ve definitely outgrown the North and resemble an out-of-place South team. Swapping them with Liberty would only restart the cycle.
As for playing in D2, the Monroe schools would probably be better off from a competitive standpoint, but it’s more of a trek transportation-wise. For PV, Stroudsburg, and ES South in particular, transportation needs would go up quite a bit. Plus, some of the schools have formed relationships and rivalries with Allen/Dieruff over the years, particularly ES North and PM West (in basketball specifically, PM West/Allen is actually a premier matchup). It’d be interesting to see but ultimately I think it’s six of one, half dozen of the other.
I know the EPC AD’s love having all the games scheduled for them. But they’ve got to realize that the current setup isn’t what’s best for the athletes. The upper tier of the EPC South NEEDS to test itself against non-conference opposition if they’ll have any hope of taking down the best of D12. The bottom of the EPC North NEEDS games where they won’t be completely overwhelmed. Hopefully, common sense wins out here.
October 27th, 2022 at 6:29 am
@ Kevin X, shame on you for expecting any of these school districts to exercise any common sense in regard to tickets. Taking the very short ride over to PJP for Saturdays Pac title game. Hopefully the game will go on without any nonsense. These days thats not a given sadly. For anyone not familar with PJP, bleachers only on one side of stadium, as the school is in the process of what will probably be a long stretch of raising money for upgrades ..lights,homeside bleachers, and possibly turf down the road. Hopefully it is an entertaining game.
October 26th, 2022 at 9:53 pm
@3GS yes Troy has proven to be a serious contender. They opted to go for two, rather than the tie and overtime, but were stopped short.
October 26th, 2022 at 6:58 pm
C’mon, a glitch?? I thought today’s technology was glitch free. I can’t wait for the “glitches” with the gadgets that scan your phone or printed at home tix as you are waiting in line forever and day to enter the stadium for a big a game.
“PLEASE SHARE: East vs West football tickets are still available. We are aware of a glitch with the online ticketing. Please attempt to buy tickets after 12 noon today. Important: you must use DASDFOOTBALL22 to purchase tickets.”
I don’t ever recall any of my five dollar bills ever experiencing a glitch before (just that they don’t buy as much as they use to).
October 26th, 2022 at 2:47 pm
It looks like Troy is a serious threat probably will be favored to beat Southern before the Mount Carmel rematch. Didn’t see any of the game but based off the score they must be a pretty tough team losing by a point to Loyalsock.
October 25th, 2022 at 8:03 pm
@ Jco,
A little late to the party on this one, but I have to agree on your EPC North thoughts.
To add on, to those that follow it down there, I’m curious to know why the EPC South is miles better than the North. I don’t remember the last time a North team not named Northampton went toe to toe & lost close, or beat a Parkland, Emmaus, Becahi, Naz. As a fan from D2, whose alma mater borders four of the schools in the North division, it makes me wonder about the gap.
I think the EPC would benefit with a divisional shakeup, or even going to the three divisions they offer in most sports. I think a reason why the 5/6A Champs haven’t gone past SJP, ECP, or Wood in recent years is their lack of out of conference.
It would benefit Beca or ACC to face D3 teams like a Lampeter or McDevitt Harrisburg. It would benefit Parkland, Northampton, or Nazareth to play a D1 or D12 school to gain experience. It would benefit Allen, Dieruff, or Eastburg North, who regularly goes 0-10 to 3-7 to play some non-competitive schools in other leagues in a Week 0/1/2 game.
Follow-Up question: Would those same Monroe County EPC schools benefit playing in District 2, whether in its own league or division with Delaware Valley, Paupack, & Honesdale or with Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, & Williamsport in the WVC? Although I think DV would run the table with those teams, those schools might fare to be more competitive, overall, against D2’s schools.
October 25th, 2022 at 3:01 pm
@Mcd 65 – yep, basic vanilla offense that can be contained by very good defenses, and a tendency to take foolish undisciplined penalties. Football is the ultimate team sport, the teams with the most talent don’t always win, you need very good coaching and discipline to go with all the talent to win state titles. I will also add that the coaching staff’s ability to make in game adjustments is a big factor, and for whatever reason Imhotep has not shown the ability to make those adjustments over the years, there’s no question the PT staff outcoached them in the final last year. Maybe this year is different, we’ll see, but for all their talent Imhotep has shown they are beatable.
October 25th, 2022 at 1:49 pm
Jeff H. , I agree ,Imhotep has had the talent every year ,but lack the coaching and discipline to win the title every year. AA Neuman/Goretti is the same. Both teams produce great individual players that continue on to excel in college .
October 25th, 2022 at 10:27 am
I know there has been a lot of talk on here about online sales only, I’ve been fortunate in going to 9 games this year at 7 different venues and bought a ticket at the gate for every game. For the regular season game of the year in the WPIAL and one of the games of the year in the state Aliquippa vs. Central Valley is all presale, no tickets sold at the gate, which is what I expected. What is a surprise is there are no online sales, you must buy in person at one of the high schools, so I need to drive 45+ minutes to Aliquippa HS some evening this week just to buy a ticket. I am still contemplating doing it for such a massive game, but I could take the easy way out and 10 minute drive to watch arch rivals Woodland Hills and Penn Hills battle for a playoff spot.
October 24th, 2022 at 7:06 pm
@John – not many people thought Penn Trafford had much of a shot last year against Imhotep, and frankly I didn’t think they would win either, but they showed the formula for keeping the game close into the forth quarter and then pulling off the upset, They only had 1 Power 5 player in Cade Yacamelli who went to Wisconsin, so there’s no question Imhoptep had way more top end talent than PT. Imhotep overwhelms lesser teams with their speed and athleticism, but their offense is pretty basic and they struggle to put together sustained drives against very good defenses, so if either of those teams has an excellent defense and can run the ball and limit mistakes and turnovers and excellent coaching they might have a chance to keep it interesting into the 2nd half, agree if Imhotep has some big plays or gets it rolling in the first half it could get out of hand. I also think RC has a decent shot against Imhotep in the D12 final, will be interesting to see how they fare this week against SJP.
October 24th, 2022 at 6:21 pm
@Jeff H-
I do not follow WPIAL and D3 as much, but I agree with you on Erie Prep. On what I heard about Erie Prep, they will probably beat the WPIAL and D3 winners. They beat a good 6A in McDowell 41-0, but they did lose to a NY school. Maybe the WPIAL or D3 champ has a shot.
I remember Imhotep and Erie Prep played in four years in row in the 5A state champ (2015-2018), till I think Imhotep moved up to 5A. It looks like we may be stuck with that, until one is moved to 6A or a really special public school makes a run.
October 24th, 2022 at 6:14 pm
@Jeff H-
As much as I want the D1 schools to win. I do not see Strath Haven or Upper Dublin beating Imhotep at all. Imhotep is arguably the most talented team in the state. I checked 247sports and Imhotep has like 4-5 juniors and seniors who are 4 star recruits. The team overall has probably 10+ kids who will play D1 football, with around 4-6 playing power 5. I just do not see Upper Dublin or Strath Haven competing with that. Upper Dublin has one P5 kid in O’Sullivan, and probably a few kids who could FCS or high level D2-D3, but nothing that compares to Imhotep’s talent. Strath Haven from checking twitter has 1-2 kids with patriot league offers I think, and maybe a few other kids who could play at that level or high level D2-D3 or maybe are going D1 in another sport, but still nothing that compares to Imhotep. I just do not see how either of them would be able to pull off a victory against that loaded of a team in Imhotep. Imhotep will also be better rested and have less wear and tear as well, they are only playing 7 regular season games and will probably have a first round bye and will most likely destroy their first playoff opponents until the D12 championship. By the time the semis roll around Imhotep will be on game 12, when UD/Strath Haven will be on game 15. I know its only 3 games by it makes a difference, considering Imhotep has had multiple bye weeks. Not trying to make a excuse for the D1 teams, its just my observation. Overall, Imhotep would probably beat Upper Dublin/Strath Haven by 3-5 touchdowns.
Upper Dublin/Strath Haven may have a shot against Roman. Roman’s offense has kind of looked shaky against their better opponents, they were shut out by Malvern. I know Roman has that Denmark kid who is P5 and a few others who are have P5 looks, so still the talent difference will present. Perk Valley (who to me is a two round 6A at best this year) kept it close with Roman, so to me there is a chance Strath Haven/Upper Dublin could do the same. Overall, Roman would most likely beat Strath Haven and Upper Dublin, but the D1 schools could possibly pull off an upset.
Not trying to take anything away from the Upper Dublin/Strath Haven. Those kids put their heart and soul into the game. They are both great teams filled with great high school football players and should be proud of their seasons and accomplishments. I just do not know how either of them would beat teams as stacked and loaded as Imhotep and Roman Catholic.
October 24th, 2022 at 5:44 pm
UGH!!! Friday Night!!! Phillies in WS Game #1 or do I get back in the saddle with Friday Night Lights after a good choice of taking a bye week last week?? If the latter……The Battle of the Brandywine (D-Town East vs. West) or Roman @ St. Joe Prep??
@ Jeff H
Since you directed the question @ John, I’ll let him take a crack at your potential 5A D1 v D12 match-up. I’ll just say that I did see 3 of the 4 teams live earlier in the season (did not see SH).
But in my sticking my neck on the line predictions from mid September (yeah, NP running the table in the regular season, maybe I should just stop typing, but naw), I did say expect to see UD, SH, and WC Rustin, with an unknown 4th team in the D1 5A final four. I’ll take a chance of now adding Chester to that 4th spot, despite seeing them against D-Town West in one of the worse HS football games that I’ve seen in my life. What I am also getting at, is don’t count either Chester or Rustin, and especially Rustin, out of being the last 5A team standing in D1.
October 24th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
North Schuylkill has a good shot to make a run to the eastern final this year. It’s set up pretty well. It’s much better than being in the bottom half of the bracket where there is Danville, Loyalsock, and Wyo who are loaded. If they can get out of the district it seems like District 12 is wide open with Neumann, Lansdale Cath, and Conwell Egan but you never know what those schools do down there. In District 2, I’m unsure about Scranton Prep and Western Wayne but it doesn’t seem like they’re powerhouses by any means. I think NS fans should be looking forward to what could be a fun playoff run. If they see Notre Dame again and they can limit the turnovers, that game should be a different story.
October 24th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
@John – curious how you think Upper Dublin or Strath Haven would match up against the D12 winner, presumably Imhotep or Roman Catholic. In the west I think Erie Prep will beat the WPIAL winner and also likely beat Exeter to get to the final, assuming they win D3 like they did last year when they shocked Gov Mifflin. Nothing against ECP or Imhotep but I would really like to see a different matchup than those 2 schools playing again for the umpteenth time and I think a lot of people feel the same way!
October 24th, 2022 at 11:54 am
@WPIALguy – I went to the Armstrong-Highlands game to see if 8-0 Highlands was a threat to the big 3, and also see Armstrong’s Cadin Olsen, the leading passer in the WPIAL the last 2 years. What I saw was one of the best passing performances from a high school QB in a very long time, as he threw for 447 yards and 5 TDs and also ran for another TD in their 56-35 win. Armstrong is a very dangerous team with Olsen at QB, and wouldn’t shock me if they make a run to the finals by knocking off one of the powerhouse teams. Olsen is committed to Penn and I think he will do very well in the Ivy League, he sure looks look a power 5 QB to me, 6-5, 210 with room to grow, good arm strength and made all the throws on Friday night, hits receivers in stride and lots of YAC when they get behind defenders. Even though I think McKeesport deserves #1 seed it will be the winner of the Quips-CV as #1 and loser as #3, with Port #2 and Armstrong #4.
Also don’t be surprised if Woodland Hills beats Penn Hills on Friday, those 2 are bitter rivals, and Woody would like nothing more than to beat PH at home on senior night and possibly knock them out of the playoffs while clinching a playoff spot of their own, assuming PR beats North Hills, I would be shocked if they don’t win that game by a couple of scores.
October 23rd, 2022 at 5:56 pm
@John, I followed the SOL (all divisions close for years), Quakertown especially early in the season was in total rebuild mode. They had 3 Senior starters back, 3 others who had lettered, Beat Southern Lehigh (District 11 #1 seed 5A at last look) in the opener, lost a couple kids, played North Penn lost a few more, a 5-5 season with 18 out of your starting 22 underclassmen, I feel is a win, get them some playoff experience this year, schedule a bunch of usually tough opponents, CBW, NP, PW add in the usual in conference Souderton, & UD plus Pennridge at the end of the year, throw in a playoff game and they should be ready to make another run next year
October 23rd, 2022 at 3:36 pm
Mr. Mika wally hall is my son
October 23rd, 2022 at 1:45 pm
Margaret gets mad watching 16-17 year olds play high school football
October 23rd, 2022 at 1:41 pm
Margaret – I agree they struggle to win the big one. Wussification? Yeah because that’s a real thing. You can talk about personnel, game plans, or game management. Those are the real things as to why they struggle to win the big one and it falls back onto Wally for some of those things.
October 23rd, 2022 at 1:40 pm
Margaret – I agree they struggle to win the big one. Wussification? Yeah because that’s a real thing. You can talk about personnel, game plans, or game management. Those are the real things as to why they struggle to win the big one and it falls back onto Wally for some of those things.
October 23rd, 2022 at 12:18 pm
I agree that PAC championship game should be a good one between two talented, well coaches teams. They know each other well as PJP is being lead by former PV coach. Scott Reed.
Something that has flown quietly under the radar is that PV has been lead by their sophomore backup QB a majority of the season after losing Senior starter Danny Koehler against DTW. He really had done a nice job.
October 23rd, 2022 at 9:21 am
Well the cancer is spreading, and spreading fast. Saw on the District One website, a new link has been added on their home page to purchase District One playoff tickets for all fall sports, including football. Plus the price for all tickets for all sports are now $7 (always remember them being the same $5 for regular season contest) plus the good old service/processing fee. To be fair, I don’t know if this is an “on-line only” situation for tickets for these upcoming playoff games, or just an option for fans, with day of game walk-up cash tickets being still available (barring a game being sold out prior).
Hey District One, instead of being just another follower, how about being a little contrarian and do something admirable, like let fans and community members (taxpayers) into these playoff games for free (sans football). You are not exacting hosting SRO crowds on a 40 degree drizzly Tuesday afternoon at 4p. Charge for the finals and get some bodies in the stands for the kids to play before for the rest of the playoff and playback games.
October 23rd, 2022 at 8:50 am
Irish1, you are right about that 2020 PJP team, they were strong at every position, probably would have beaten the PAC large school champ and would have made a strong run in the PIAA playoffs, it was sad that the kids only got to play 3 games due to covid. PJP is the underdog against PV next Saturday but they are well coached and tough. Should be a packed house at PJP and yes, you pay cash there for entrance!
October 23rd, 2022 at 2:27 pm
Margaret…..It seems you have an issue with North Schuylkill, Correct? Do you have a kid on the team?? Just wondering. If you’re going to attack a coach or kid it won’t be on here. If you want to talk football you can. Okay!
October 23rd, 2022 at 6:54 am
WH, you sound like a tball mom who doesn’t want to keep score and everyone wins. The difference between a 28 pt win and an 80 pt win is 52 points, That’s 7 touchdowns, 7 extra points and a field goal, big difference. That attitude and the wussification of ns football is why they can’t win the big one
October 22nd, 2022 at 11:34 pm
Margaret – there’s no difference between winning by 30 or 80 haha. Wally does some dumb stuff but to be mad at him for taking his guns out for the second half is craziness. Salisbury was pretty much a bye week and it’s pretty good to have one before pottsville this week who they should be able to handle and then gear up to try and make a playoff run. It’s going to be tough to make it out of the district but they will most likely be the favorite to do so but district 12 and 2 are down this year and that’s who they’d match up with after the district final.
October 22nd, 2022 at 10:38 pm
@ Buddy
I know, NP beat LaSalle in the ’16 opener and at least one other time plus they beat them in the 2011 eastern final. Actually NP beat SJP in Infante’s first two years as I remember. NP beat Prep something like 17-14 at Plymouth-Whitemarsh and 14-7 or thereabouts the next year at Crawford Stadium. I was at both of those games. Actually Andy Reid was at that second meeting. Huh huh, phillyboy and Coach Reid at the same game, smh, classic times. But that was before Infante got all his recruiting infrastructure set, hence NP’s early success against them. Buddy, things are relative, is Lansdale as nice as Doylestown, Newtown (Bucks Co ), or Narberth? No, but you’re definitely not slumming in Lansdale or Towamencin Twp., it’s staunchly upper middle class. Besides, Lower Merion has a really crummy football program, lol. Lastly, the smart people to whom I alluded at the Prep etc. wasn’t the coaches per se, but rather the powers that be, the admins, the sigma male so to speak.
October 22nd, 2022 at 8:07 pm
@Irish1-
Oh geez didn’t know that about the 2020 team, I kind of forget that year when talking about team’s legacies. Definitely think next week will be a good game. Perk Valley is pretty talented across the board, but are definitely not unbeatable. PJP II has a lot of momentum going into the game, did not expect them to beat Phoenixville like that.
October 22nd, 2022 at 8:02 pm
@MikeS-
I kind of meant before Pennridge lost Picotti, I thought they were a contender for the D1 title, definitely a contender for their conference. I don’t blame him for transferring to IMG, they have pro level coaches down there. His transfer was probably more for development and coaching than playtime. Can’t blame the kid for wanting to be the most prepared for Power 5 football.
Pennsbury turnaround is remarkable. Should be interesting to see if they can make a playoff run, they really only run the ball and seem to rely on Mulbah kid a lot. He is one heck of a running back though.
I didn’t know Quakertown had all those starters missing, makes sense, the 49-0 lost to PW seemed odd, as well as giving up 56 to CB West. Still don’t know if they will be able to keep it close with Upper Dublin next week. If they are playing all those underclassmen, they should have a good team in the years to come.
October 22nd, 2022 at 7:48 pm
@John….Pjp was not beaten easily by Spring -Ford in 2019 title game . Was 21-21 at half game went down to last 2 minutes before Spring-Ford was able to put it away. Also Pjps best recent team was the 2020 team that unfortunately was a victim of covid. That team trounced PV 38-22in a game that wasn’t as close as that final score. I don’t know if they will win next week or not PV has a nice team,but PJP has a talented well coached team that I think will play well
October 22nd, 2022 at 7:41 pm
phillyboy:
Where you been? These North Penn loses are old news. Hell, we’re entering the last week of the regular season! We didn’t lose to LaSalle every year
in the opener. When we used to play SJP……..yes. North Penn’s defense is the ineptest, by far, I’ve seen in the 24 years I been following them. Don’t know why.
NP is a huge public school, but “well to do”? Not anymore (used to be). Their loses to CB east and Pennsbury were not terrible illogical. Not bad teams.
But their lose to CB west and U. Dublin (a really good team) were. Up 11 points with UD with UNDER two minutes to play and lose! Please! If Picciotti stayed
at Pennridge, and played defense only, they still wouldn’t make the playoffs. If he transferred to NP (would have to set up residency, like Udinski did), and
played both ways, NP might be undefeated. The main difference between Public and Private schools: one recruits, one can’t. Except for the aforementioned
rare exception. I doubt the private school coaches are that much smarter, but they get paid more I’m sure, that has a tendency to make you smarter.
October 22nd, 2022 at 7:11 pm
I might as well do a District 1 5A top ten
5A D1 Top Ten
1. Upper Dublin (9-0)- Current one seed. Weapons on both sides of the ball and are lead by a Boston College commit QB O’Sullivan. Beat North Penn early in the season in a nailbiter and also dominated 6A playoff teams in Souderton and CB West. Defense is only surrendering 9 points a game and 85 points on season, 28 of those coming against North Penn. Should roll through early rounds and will most likely face the number two team in the championship
2. Strath Haven (9-0)- Current two seed. Arguably the best team in the Central League, sucks they are not playing Garnet Valley this year because that would be a great one. Have one of the best run games in the area. Have studs all over the field in RB/LB Crawford, RB/LB Fooskas, DE/RB Conner, LB Farabaugh, and QB/SB/DB Milligan. Also have a couple good O-Lineman. Should cruise through the early rounds.
3. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-2)- Started the season off at 1-2 with losses to 6A teams CB South and Ridley. But