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Welcome to the official forum on high school football for the 2025 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.
1,632 Responses
Any Zollers injury update?? Hoping for the best, expecting, unfortunately the you know what.
Kevin X…Once I hear back from the coach I will let you know. It’s heartbreaking to see a player get hurt.
D2 Notes After Week 4. Not a whole lot. It was status quo.
1. Prep Spoils A Del Val Homecoming: I didn’t get to watch or follow along, but this game looked like a fun one. Prep outlasted DV, 28-25, in a thriller that puts DV in an 0-4 hole once again. I’d be afraid if I’m Paupack next week. They’re going to blow the doors off of them, to gain confidence.
2. Dallas Is Off The Schneid: It didn’t come easy, but Dallas is in the win column after another battle. Dallas was trailing heading 14-0 early in the game & I had to question if Dallas is just having that kind of year. Dallas took out frustrations & seemed to be in control late, but the fourth quarter made it feel like a slugfest. They won 41-33. The easy part of their schedule is coming up, with Pittston, North Pocono, & WVW before Crestwood, who might actually be the one challenger in WVC 1.
3. A Signature Win: New Paupack coach Matt Nawrocki got a signature win last night by beating his alma mater of North Pocono in a bit of fourth quarter heroics. Trailing 14-7 at half, it felt like Paupack was going to continue their LFC 1 losing streak. A late TD by Paupack was the difference on offense, but the defense was the side that sealed it, as they had a goal line stand on 4th & 1 at the 5 to win it. Paupack keeps their #1 seed, at least for another week, but the schedule gets much harder, as they have in-county rival DV & Prep in back to back games. I don’t see them being a top tier team in 4A. They have a young team with senior playmakers, but they aren’t ready for primetime yet. I’d be beyond shocked if they pulled it off next week.
4. WVC/LFC Struggles: I read somewhere that the WVC had a combined 9 wins heading into this week. I said how the league is very weak this year, but we’re now in conference play for most teams, so that’ll help out a lot. However, I deep dove into the crossover games to really show how the LFC is dominant. LFC teams won all but two games against the WVC: Hazleton over now 0-4 West Scranton & Wyoming Area over Lakeland. That makes me wonder: Is there a need in the next cycle for any crossovers in other leagues for the WVC to be better challengers? This feels a bit like some of the EPC talk we’ve had, but we’re talking about an entire league one-upping the other like it’s the Big Ten & the MAC. It seems like a regular occurrence these days up my way. Who knows? We could see a shift in 2025 & this point then becomes moot.
5. Back To Western Wayne: A great win for the Wildcats, as they shut out Crestwood, 21-0. There is something really brewing in South Canaan & I think they are in great position to be the #1 seed & run the table heading into the playoffs. Old Forge comes to town next week, which they should beat. After that, I’m only slightly concerned about a Week 9 tilt against Mid Valley, but I think if there’s a team that can challenge Prep, WW might have a better chance than in years past.
I was 9-1 this week on area picks. I missed the subregional game of the week, as Nativity took down Tri-Valley. Shakes up the 1A leaderboard a bunch. I might give a super early look at the playoffs in each class, if there’s any interest. If not, I’ll have to look at the rest of the state & see what was interesting this weekend.
@Jc The team is North Schuylkill. Those numbers are the points given up in their first 4 games.
Blue 30, 35,29,36 hutt, hutt hike. My trivia question is what team would use this cadence and why? Winner gets a $50 gift certificate for Long John silvers in shamokin
@Mark d
I absolutely agree with you Abington Heights has definitely come along way from just a few short years ago when They had some rough years before those years. They were very dominant. Always back-and-forth with Valley View that is for sure But now clearly seems they are back
And that I say I’m very happy for them and also Valley View to continue to be strong It just makes the area a lot more competitive Moving forward in states
Speaking of going through some rough years Dunmore Is definitely having one of those years being 0-4 Now They will definitely have to regroup and rebuild. It’s so strange. I don’t think I’ve ever remembered that happening to the Bucks At least in recent history The same goes for Lakeland Last year they went 1-9 And now they are 2-2 Trying to get back on track with lots of freshman and sophomores filling the roster
It’s crazy to think Years back in AA It was always Lakeland or Dunmore in the championship game I remember reading Donnie Collins article from the Scranton Times saying that
Lakeland and Dunmore were the two most winning small school programs in the area and now it seems they are both gathering their bearings. I am confident they were both regain Their winning ways
It’s also strange seeing Dallas go through the same drought
And as we all know in recent conversations, look at Archbishop Wood also Berwick is 0-4
It’s definitely strange for sure .
On the flip side of things look at Western Wayne a team that had 3 consecutive seasons going 0-10 and just not competitive at all to now are a powerful football machine
SO HAPPY for them and their community
And also Mid Valley on average a middle of the road team with 2 championships in their school history and now they are still undefeated GREAT JOB SPARTANS
This should be an awesome display of power in the AAA
District playoffs with SCRANTON PREP- MID VALLEY
and WESTERN WAYNE all having strong performance seasons
Good luck to all
@ Foleman sorry to hear about the Spring- Ford QB I was at the game but left before that. That’s such a tough break for a great player. You are right lots of drops by SF. Thought West QB looked good throwing and also running.
@ District 2 football. Yeah, it was a nice win. I’ll tell you what is a good old-fashioned. Big 11 game. They were hitting one of the more physical high school games I’ve seen in a long time Abington’s a tough team. No, it’s one of those games where it’s a shame either team had to lose. I think valley views gonna get better every week once they get that tailback Going into the offenseitl, make a big difference And right now the defense is hustling and hits hard. Warning teams down the road though Abington’s gonna be a tough out.They’re physical that quarterback throws a great ball.He’s on the money with it all the time
@Mark d
Congrats to the Cougars on beating a solid
Abington Heights team .
V V is back to their winning ways ,
I think Valley View is a strong contender for districts
Sad news out of Royersford, Springford QB Matt Zollers was carted off the field by ambulance after a sack with 5 minutes to go in the 4th quarter in their game with Downingtown West. The tackle happened right in front of me, his foot did a complete 360, I hope I’m wrong but it looked like his ankle was completely broken. Poor kid, it looks like his season is over. SF was trailing 21-12, SF receivers dropped several passes, a couple of those throws were TD’S, SF called a bizarre behind the back QB handoff to a RB on 1st and goal from DTW 2 yard line which led to a fumble. What looked like one of the top teams in District 1, at least on paper, is now 1-3 and now without the best player in the area.
District 2 Football , I just want to give you one correction Is valley view twenty eight abington heights Fourteen
Five more picks, plus two switches. Greater St. Louis football is not an area I know well, so I’ll use the info given to my advantage, but I’m keeping the pick. The other game is a D9 tilt that I felt was wrong. Thanks to Jeff for reminding me of some extra games. I kinda half asked my research & missed out on some good games out west.
Bonus 5
– Belle Vernon vs. McKeesport: BV 33, McK 14
– Avonworth vs. Thomas Jefferson: TJ 38, Avonworth 20
– West Philadelphia vs. Father Judge: All Rise 30, Bel Air 14
– Haverford HS vs. William Tennent: HHS 23, Tennent 15
– Conwell-Egan vs. Lansdale Catholic: LC 30, CEC 19
Quick Switches
– Same score, but Karns City over DuBois.
– Imhotep 31, ESTL 24
Everyone picking winners and losers of the games reminds me how tough it can be to know who is good and who isnt early in the season these days, when everything is so rushed with the high school football season. Gone are the days of a full preseason camp along with at least two scrimmages many times three. CB West is a good example they open the season with a win over Easton a win that is looking better each week,but then lose to a Souderton team that lost to Spring-Ford in the opener the same Spring-Ford team that was mauled by Easton. But if the modern version of the high school football season means more games where the outcome isnt easy to know ahead of time I can live it. Enjoy Friday night lights everyone.
@D2 Fan – I agree with all of your WPIAL picks, although I do think the Quips will beat Mars by a lot more than 10 points, Mars is not as good as I anticipated. One thing to note is All State RD Tikey Hayes is questionable tonight, but they have a D1 backup running back to replace him, and I don’t think they will miss a beat, I see the Quips winning this game by at least 3 scores and maybe more.
You did miss a couple of intriguing matchups, in 4A Belle Vernon travels to winless McKeesport (which is hard to believe given their recent success), after blowing a 28-7 halftime lead last week against TJ I think McKeesport gets their first win tonight, if they don’t they are staring at an 0-5 start because next week they play Upper St Clair who is rolling. Speaking of TJ they host 3A Avonworth, who jumped to a 14-0 lead last week against the Quips before losing 46-20, I think this game will be a lot closer than their game against Aliquippa but I see TJ winning 31-21.
I agree with JCo and Kevin X, I think the Imhotep vs. East St Louis game is a tossup that could go either way but I like East St. Louis to win a close one, and I think Easton beats Becahi by a couple of TDs
East St. Louis is no joke. I would be shocked if that game was a blowout in Imhotep’s favor. I think that’s a loss for Imhotep.
I would also take Easton over Becahi, but can’t disagree with any of your other D11 predictions.
@ D2 Fan
Mmmm, hard to find much, if anything, to disagree with you on your SEPA picks this week. Maybe I’m just still a little salty over my Spring-Ford pick last week 🙂 But we’ll go on the record with two thoughts. I don’t see Imhotep beating East St. Louis by 4 scores. In fact, I’m going to take East St. Louis to outright win that game. If you the #1 ranked team in Illinois by MaxPreps (Yeah, I know, it’s MaxPreps) and travel half way across the country to north Philly, you aren’t doing that in anticipation of a four score beatdown. If they don’t win, it will at least be a two score game or less. And this one maybe is a little bit of an upset special, as I’ll take Perk Valley to trip up Coatesville this evening.
PCL/Inter-Ac double header for me this weekend. Roman at Malvern Prep tonight, and going to try to make it down to the LaSalle/Haverford tilt tomorrow afternoon in maybe one last tee shirt, shorts, and sunscreen game.
My predictions For this week
DISCLAIMER ALERT for the following !
The thoughts or views there within are solely of mine
District 2 Football NOT those of District 2 ,
Thank you .
Mid Valley 21
Honesdale 17
Mount Carmel 17
Southern Columbia 12
Lackawanna Trail 48
Dunmore
Jersey shore 23
Shamokin 21
Abington Heights 28
Valley View 12
Delaware Valley 17
Scranton Prep 14
Rest of the State’s Best Games. I didn’t expect to have this much, but there are some good games across the state. D11 & D1 are loaded. Please note that my Thursday predictions were made before game time.
District 11
– Bethlehem Catholic vs. Easton: Beca 29, Easton 19
– Emmaus vs. Stroudsburg: Emmaus 42, S’burg 13
– Freedom vs. Nazareth: Freedom 27, Naz 26
– Northampton vs. Liberty: N’hampton 21, Liberty 19
– North Schuylkill vs. Southern Lehigh: Solehi 34, NS 27
– Northwestern Lehigh vs. Blue Mountain: NWL 33, BM 14
– Saucon Valley vs. NDGP: NDGP 34, Saucon 7
– Minersville vs. Williams Valley: WV 28, Minersville 14
District 4
– Southern Columbia vs. Mount Carmel: SCA 35, MCA 21
– Shamokin vs. Jersey Shore: Shore 35, Shamokin 13
– Athens vs. Troy: Troy 34, Athens 12
District 1/12
– CB South vs. CB East: CBS 32, CBE 17
– Coatesville vs. Perk Valley: C’ville 28, Perk Valley 14
– D’Town West vs. Spring-Ford: DTW 34, S-F 21
– Neshaminy vs. North Penn: NP 31, Nesh 18
– Norristown vs. Rustin: WCR 35, Norry 21
– OJR vs. Avon Grove: OJR 21, AG 13
– Pennsbury vs. Pennridge: P’bury 31, Pennridge 14
– PJP vs. Shanahan: PJP 33, Shanahan 19
– Radnor vs. Strath Haven: Strath 31, Radnor 19
– Frankford vs. Ben Franklin: Franklin 23, Frankford 16
District 3
– Cedar Cliff vs. McDevitt: McD 28, CC 22
– Susq. Twp. vs. West Perry: West Perry 31, Susq. Twp. 21
– Central York vs. Spring Grove: CY 30, SGA 14
– Conestoga Valley vs. Ephrata: Eph 34, C’stoga Valley 24
– Exeter Twp vs. Governor Mifflin: Exeter 33, GM 13
– Garden Spot vs. Cocalico: Cocalico 26, GS 19
– Dallastown vs. South Western: SW 24, D’Town 14
– Biglerville vs. Delone: Delone 32, Biglerville 8
District 5/6
– Penn Cambria vs. Bedford: PC 33, Bedford 14
– Windber vs. Meyersdale: Windy 22, M’dale 13
– Everett vs. Northern Bedford: NBC 21, Everett 14
– Bellwood-Antis vs. Central: Central 28, B-A 17
District 9/10
– DuBois vs. Karns City: DuB 22, KC 17
– Port Allegany vs. Brockway: PA 37, Brockway 14
– Erie vs. McDowell: McDowell 22, Erie 7
– Sharon vs. Hickory: Hickory 27, Sharon 23
– Reynolds vs. Sharpsville: Reynolds 26, Sharpsville 17
WPIAL/City
– Woodland Hills vs. Penn-Trafford: WH 30, P-T 19
– North Hills vs. Pine-Richland: P-R 33, NH 17
– Greater Latrobe vs. Franklin Reg.: GL 35, FR 24
– Mars vs. Aliquippa: Quips 34, Mars 24
– West Mifflin vs. Bethel Park: BP 38, WM 13
– Chartiers-Houston vs. Ft. Cherry: FC 23, C-H 11
– Greensburg CC vs. Clairton: Clairton 36, GCC 14
– Waynesburg vs. Washington: Prexies 25, WBG 13
– Knoch vs. Montour: Montour 35, Knoch 13
– Westinghouse vs. Perry: Westy 45, Perry 0
Non-PIAA/Crossover
– Simon Gratz (12) vs. Executive (11): EE 20, Gratz 7
– Manheim Twp. (3) vs. Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1): MT 33, P-W 15
– State College (6) vs. Cumberland Valley (3): SC 35, CV 18
– Butler (7) vs. Hollidaysburg (6): H’burg 26, Butler 14
– Allderdice (8) vs. Uniontown (7): U’town 16, Allderdice 15
– Germantown Acad. vs. Northeast (12): GA 30, N’east 13
– Roman Catholic (12) vs. Malvern Prep: Roman 29, Malvern 20
– La Salle (12) vs. Haverford: La Salle 35, Haverford 20
– East St. Louis (IL) vs. Imhotep (12): Imhotep 42, ESTL 13
– Hill vs. Episcopal: EA 29, Hill 19
@ Kevin X & Irish 1 – as a band parent for 6 years while both of my kids were in the marching band I wholeheartedly agree a good band or bands definitely add to the atmosphere at the game, not just with the halftime shows, but also all the stand tunes they play during the game to hype up the crowd. I was the drum major my senior year of high school of a very good marching band with a very bad football team, so we often had fans leave after they saw the band at halftime because the game wasn’t going so well, I think we won a total of 4 games during my 3 years in the marching band!
@ Kevin X …a great band or bands can add so much to the atmosphere of a Friday night. Have always heard Strath Haven has one of the best,and Liberty has a good one. I believe Easton has a large band also.
Tucky – Southern rolls past the Tornadoes. It’s a great day to have a great day
JC berwick right now. It just seems to be a football team who’s lost. I don’t know what you could say about them. I really don’t know what kind of type of offense he’s running. It’s not working even 5 years ago if you told me. The burwick could be 0_3 and scored 14 points in 3 games. I would ask what you were smoking
Is everybody ready for the Battle for Knoebels?! Southern v Mt Carmel this Fri! May the best men win.
Jeff H, you are correct, a few of those Wood Powerhouses were the best team in the State regardless of Classification, they crushed all comers in the playoffs. I remember watching them beat McDevitt 52-0 in the final, they could have scored 75 points if they wanted to. I knew something was going South over there during Woods last Championship when they beat a loaded Cheltenham team on the last play of the game in the 5A final, they only had 30 kids on the team, many Class A schools have more players than that.
@ D2 Fan
Watch the DTE/S-F game on YouTube the other night. Wow, S-F literally fumbled that game away. Poor kid (QB Zoellers) is going to get himself killed behind that OL. Both that game and the Rustin/PJPII games were would of, could of, should of type of games. My more incorrect prediction with those two games were that I had the margin of victory larger than what they were.
I don’t know how many points a band is worth, but I do know I’d attend a Strath Haven/Bethlehem Liberty game just for the band performances. Probably be a good game as well.
To continue the Wood article nitpicking, Wood is not a 4A school by enrollment, per the current PIAA enrollment figs, they are a 3A school by enrollment. Don’t know if they are voluntarily playing up to 4A, the PCL or D12 is having a say in it, or if it’s a residual effect from being caught up in the PIAA competition formula that has restrictions on teams moving back down after being forced to “play-up.”