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Welcome to the official forum on high school football for the 2026 season.
During the off-season let’s talk about players, recruiting news, teams, and everything about high school football.
During the season each week let’s talk about match-ups and how teams did. Let us know what player(s) stood out each week.
2,275 Responses
The Pac goes 4-2 in the Districts with Spring Ford, Upper Perk, Pottsgrove and PJP winning. OJR got blown out by Plymouth Whitemarsh. Perkiomen Valley lost to CB West 56-42, look out for PV next year, they will be loaded returning most of their starters and have a ton of talent coming up from the Jr High. Upper Perk beat Academy Park. Just looking at Pope John Paul’s sideline…..it looked like 30% of the kids were in street clothes which included several 2-way starters, I knew they were in trouble, they ecked out a 34-31 win over a mediocre at best Chichester team. I can’t see them staying within 2 touchdowns of Pottsgrove next week in the 4a District 1 final. Besides Pottsgrove, I don’t see the PAC winning any of their matchups next week. What the heck happened to Shamokin? They were ranked #1 in 4A and then lost their last 3 games and the games were not close! I heard their QB got hurt a few weeks back, were they just over rated or was the team decimated by injuries?
Defense in District One took the night off. But that was OK.
Never ever underestimate one Mr. Richard Beck
Class 4A
– Prediction: Cathedral Prep over O’Hara
– Sleeper: Dallas, Shamokin (if healthy)
Predictions
District 11 (Champ: Blue Mountain over Becahi)
– #1 Blue Mountain over #8 Bangor 48-7
– #5 Lehighton over #4 Pottsville 26-16
– #3 ACC over #6 Saucon 49-7
– #2 Becahi over #7 North Schuylkill 38-7
District 1 (Champ: Pottsgrove over PJP)
– #1 Pottsgrove over #4 Shanahan 26-21
– #2 PJP over #3 Chichester 45-0
District 12 (Champ: O’Hara over Gratz)
– PCL: O’Hara over Bonner 27-16
– PPL: Gratz over BLC 25-15
District 3 (Champ: Susq. Twp over West York)
– #1 West York, #2 Hanover, #3 Susq. Twp, #4 Big Spring, #5 L-S, #6 Littlestown BYE
– #8 Weiser over #9 ELCO 28-16
– #10 N Leb over #7 Susquehannock 24-21
WPIAL (Champ: South Fayette over Montour)
– #1 South Fayette over #8 Kiski Area 36–14
– #5 Char Valley over #4 New Castle 20-19
– #2 Montour over #7 Shaler 45-6
– #3 McKeesport over #6 Blackhawk 27-16
D8/9: Clearfield over USO 30-10
District 10 (Champ: ECP over McLane)
– #1 GM over #4 Harbor Creek 31-16
– #2 ECP over #3 Oil City 41-8
District 4 (Champ: Shamokin over Shik)
– #1 Shik over #4 Selinsgrove 27-17
– #2 Shamokin over #3 Shore 29-14
District 6: BYE Week
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5A
– Prediction: Imhotep over Pine-Richland
– Sleeper: Twin Valley
District 1 (Prediction: Delco over Chester)
– #1 Chester over #16 M-N 49-6
– #9 Strath over #8 I’boro 27-7
– #4 Garnet Valley over #13 WC East 35-14
– #5 Upper Moreland over #12 Henderson 28-16
– #2 Delco over #15 Kennett 49-10
– #7 Upper Perk over #10 Academy Park 27-15
– #3 Great Valley over #14 Rustin 28-13
– #6 Wissahickon over #11 U’ville 31-13
District 6/9: H’burg over DuBois 27-13
District 11 (Prediction: Solehi over PME)
– #1 Solehi over #4 ES South 29-14
– #3 PME over #2 Pleasant Valley 33-10
District 12: Imhotep over Bel Air 49-7
District 3 (Prediction: Twin Valley over Solanco)
– #1 TV, #2 Northern, #3 Solanco, #4 Spring Grove on BYE
– #9 Cocalico over #8 Dover 26-15
– #5 Exeter over #12 Hershey 41-14
– #7 Ephrata over #10 Lower Dauphin 35-14
– #6 Conestoga Valley over #11 N’eastern 38-13
WPIAL (Prediction: P-R over P-T)
– #1 P-R, #2 P-T, #3 USC, #4 North Hills on BYE
– #8 Trinity over #9 Latrobe 28-17
– #5 West A over #12 Gateway 31-14
– #7 TJ over #10 Moon 24-17
– #6 Woody over #11 Armstrong 38-7
6A
– Prediction: PCC over Roman
– Sleeper: State College
District 1 (Prediction: DTE over CB West)
– #1 D’Town East over #16 Truman 50-0
– #9 Coatesville over #8 CB South 31-21
– #4 S-F over #13 Q’town 30-14
– #5 P-W over #12 OJR 38-15
– #2 CB West over #15 Perk Valley 38-16
– #10 CB East over #7 Ridley 26-13
– #3 Pennridge over #14 North Penn 35-21
– #6 D’Town West over #11 CR South 31-7
D12 (Prediction: Roman over Northeast)
– PCL #1 Roman over PCL #4 All Rise 41-19
– PCL #3 La Salle over PCL #2 SJP 26-20
– PPL: Northeast over Lincoln 31-14
D11 (Prediction: Nazareth over Parkland)
– #1 Naz over #8 Emmaus 48-21
– #4 Freedom over #5 Easton 23-19
– #3 Parkland over #6 Northampton 24-7
– #2 Whitehall over #7 Stroudsburg 49-7
D7 on BYE (Prediction: PCC over North A)
D6/8/10 (Prediction: State over McDowell)
– #2 McDowell over #3 Altoona 27-10
– #1 State College over #4 Erie 55-6
District 3 (Prediction: McDevitt over CY)
– #1 CY, #2 Manheim Twp, #3 McDevitt, #4 WWL on BYE
– #9 Cumb. Valley over #8 Penn Manor 38-16
– #5 H’burg over #12 William Penn 42-14
– #7 Cedar Crest over #10 Hempfield 43-17
– #6 Mech over #11 Dallastown 42-14
@D2 Fan – you might want to reconsider your sleeper in 4A if you can call a team that has Kemon Spell a sleeper. McKeesport has flown under the radar after starting the season 2-3 but they are firing on all cylinders now on hoth sides of the ball and have improved significantly since I saw them twice back in early September. They dominated a decent Blackhawk team tonight racing to a 35-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 48-16 victory. I think they are now the favorite to win the WPIAL and expect them to win the rematch with Montour next week don’t be surprised if you see them at the Chap next month they will be a very tough out.
@D2 Fan – I agree 4A is pretty wide open, but I would be absolutely shocked if ECP wins, this is not one of their better teams and they may very well lose to General McLane in their district like they did in the regular season. I think whoever wins D10 (and I’m picking McLane) will lose to the WPIAL winner in the quarterfinals, and the WPIAL winner will play the Dallas/Shamokin winner in the Western finals, assuming Shamokin gets out of their district which is no sure thing if their QB is still out. In 4A I think the winner of the D11/D12 game in the quarterfinals is the favorite to win the title, expect that to be a pretty evenly matched game.
As for picks tonight I would be very surprised if Char Valley wins at New Castle, I see NC winning that game by 2 scores
In 5A I think the WPIAL winner (which I expect will be either PR or USC) will give Imhotep all they can handle in the final and may very well win that game, I have Tep on upset alert against Southern Lehigh in the quarterfinals after being rusty for not playing for 2 weeks, if anyone in the East can beat Tep I think its So Lehigh and not the D1 winner the following week.
In 6A agree with your PCC vs. Roman final, although don’t count out SJP, I don’t see them losing to LaSalle this weekend like you predicted, that would be a fairly big upset based on how LaSalle has looked this year, but you never know what will happen in a rivalry game like that.
Just saw this so will concentrate on things that didn’t take place tonight and nibble on some D1/PCL stuff. But first, I agree with Jeff….ECP??? Umm, no.
I plan on going down to the Bonner/O’Hara game tomorrow, second time seeing O’Hara, first for Bonner. I’ll have a better idea if either can make a deep run in 4A.
In D1 5A I’ll take Springfield, not going out on the limb there, but over Garnet Valley, not Chester. Not on the Chester bandwagon, they have been favorites for several years now, and have always come up short in the D1 playoffs when they actually have to play someone. Add this year they have a key player or two ineligible due to transfer rules, so just not seeing them.
D1 6A I’ll take CBW to come out on top (over DTE). And for a little upset game tomorrow, Council Rock South over D-Town West. P-W flattered CRS tonight, and CRS has been playing very good of late as well.
Finally, La Salle is not beating SJP on Sunday (another game I plan on checking out).
Small School Predictions
Class 1A
– Prediction: Bishop Guilfoyle over Washington
– Sleeper: Steel-High
Non-D2 Predictions
– D3: Steel High & Delone on BYE
– D1 Final: Morrisville over Delco Christian 35-6
– D12 Final: Belmont over Girard College HS 33-16
D4 (Prediction: Line Mtn over Montgomery)
– Montgomery, Line Mtn, Muncy on BYE
– #4 Canton over #5 Northwest 45-0
D3/D5 (Prediction: Steel-High over Conemaugh)
– #1 Conemaugh over #4 NBC 33-6
– #2 Meyersdale over #3 Windy 23-13
D6 (Prediction: BG over Bishop McCort)
– #1 Bishop Guilfoyle over #8 NoCam 45-7
– #5 Juniata Valley over #4 Moshannon Valley 32-15
– #3 McCort over #6 Glendale 31-18
– #2 Homer-Center over #7 West Branch 38-6
D9 (Prediction: Brockway over Keystone)
– Keystone BYE
– #5 Redbank Valley over #4 Ridgway 38-21
– #2 Brockway over #7 U/A-CV 33-23
– #3 Port A over #6 Smethport 46-16
D10 (Prediction: Mercyhurst over Wilmington)
– #1 Wilmy, #2 Mercyhurst Prep on BYE
– #4 Lakeview over #5 Saegertown 44-20
– #3 Camb. Springs over #6 Maplewood 29-14
WPIAL (Prediction: Washington over Clairton)
– #1 Washington over #16 Frazier 49-7
– #9 Burgettstown over #8 Beth-Center 30-20
– #4 Fort Cherry over #13 Avella 31-8
– #5 Laurel over #12 GCC 27-23
– #2 Shenango over #15 Serra 37-16
– #10 Monessen over #7 Jeannette 29-21
– #3 Clairton over #14 Union 33-7
– #6 Cali over #11 Northgate 37-14
2A
– Prediction: Farrell over Dunmore
– Sleeper: Southern Columbia
Yes, this is the year I think that Southern gets had at the state level. Dunmore’s defense is on another level & I think it’s time for a D2 team to take it to them this year. I know I’ll be wrong, but let’s see what happens. Maybe it’s Westy in the semis instead.
D11 (Prediction: Schuylkill Haven over N Lehigh)
– #1 Haven over #4 Catty 40-6
– #3 Northern Lehigh over #2 Shen Val 33-14
D3 (Prediction: York Cath. over Upper Dauphin)
– #1 YC over #4 Newport 27-16
– #2 UDA over #3 Columbia 44-16
D1/12 (Prediction: West Catholic over Bristol)
– D1 Final: #1 Bristol over Renaissance 40-7
– D12 Final: West Catholic FFT W
D4 (Prediction: Southern over Bloomsburg)
– #1 Bloomsburg BYE
– #4 South Billtown over #5 WR 24-17
– #2 Southern over #7 Towanda 56-6
– #3 Troy over #6 Hughesville 45-6
D5 (Prediction: Berlin over North Star)
– #1 Berlin on BYE
– #2 North Star over #3 Everett 35-6
D8/9 (Prediction: Westy over Karns City)
– Westy on BYE
– D9 Final: #1 Gremlins over #2 CC 24-20
WPIAL (Prediction: Canevin over Seton LaSalle)
– #1 Canevin, #2 SLS, & #3 Apollo-Ridge
– #9 Beaver Falls over #8 McGuffey 38-6
– #4 Steel Valley over #13 Freedom 34-7
– #5 Western Beaver over #12 Chartiers-Houston 38-19
– #10 Riverside over #7 Ligonier Valley 23-19
– #6 Neshannock over #11 South A 28-8
D6 (Prediction: Richland over Mt. Union)
– #1 Mount Union over #8 Penns Valley 56-7
– #4 River Valley over #5 Marion Center 35-20
– #2 Richland over #7 SoHud 55-8
– #3 Bellwood-Antis over #6 BEA 20-14
D10 (Prediction: Farrell over Greenville)
– #1 Farrell & #2 Greenville BYE
– #5 Iroquois over #4 Girard 23-14
– #3 Sharpsville over #6 Seneca 35-7
3A
Prediction
– Prediction: Avonworth over Mount Carmel
– Sleeper: Northwestern Lehigh
D5/8/9: Punxsy on BYE
D11 (Prediction: NWL over NDGP)
– #1 NW Lehigh over #8 Panther Valley 48-0
– #4 Executive over #5 Palmerton 35-17
– #3 Jim Thorpe over #6 Tamaqua 39-16
– #2 NDGP over #7 Salisbury 58-0
D4 (Prediction: Mt Carmel over Mifflinburg)
– #1 MCA over #8 Wellsboro 55-7
– #4 Montoursville over #5 Lewisburg 30-18
– #2 Mifflinburg over #7 Danville 34-21
– #3 Athens over #6 Loyalsock 21-17
D3 (Prediction: Wyo over Annville-Cleona)
– All teams on BYE
D12 (Prediction: Wood over Bartram)
– PCL Final: Wood over Carroll 35-21
– PPL Final: Bartram over Audenried 20-14
D10 (Prediction: Hickory over Sharon)
– #1 Hickory, #2 Sharon on BYE
– #5 Fort LeBeouf over #4 Corry 39-19
– #3 Grove City over #6 North East 38-16
D6 (Prediction: Central over Cambria Heights)
– #1 Central over #4 P-O 38-14
– #2 Cambria Heights over #3 Central Cambria 32-16
WPIAL (Prediction: Avonworth over PBH)
– #1 Avonworth over #16 Deer Lakes 48-6
– #8 Freeport over #9 West Mifflin 44-16
– #4 BVA over #13 Shady Side 52-8
– #5 EF over #12 Highlands 34-7
– #2 PBH over #15 Burrell 50-0
– #7 Quip over #10 Waynesburg 49-6
– #3 Hopewell over #14 Mt. Pleasant 49-7
– #11 Beaver over #6 North Cath 27-23
@D2 Fan – good to see you back with your predictions, I’ll offer my thoughts on your WPIAL picks.
In 1A I like your picks, although Jeanette/Monessen is a tossup and I would lean towards Jeanette at home
2A – I like Ligonier Valley to beat Riverside, and I also think McGuffey beats Beaver Falls at home, McGuffey is a feel good story, after going winless the last 2 years in 3A their enrollment dropped them back to 2A where they went 7-3 and only lost to Canevin by a TD, they have a high scoring offense and have scored 40+ in 4 of the last 5 games and I expect them to beat BF at home.
3A – I would be very surprised if Beaver beats North Catholic as their starting Qb is ineligible for the playoffs due to transferring, NC has won 7 in a row after stating 0-3 and I think they win this game comfortably. I’m not ready to pick against the Quips at home, but Waynesburg is very solid this year, and this Quips team is just average at best, expect it will be a much closer than you predicted and maybe only a 1 score type of game, if there is an upset in 3A tonight that will be the game.
Small school outlook, theme is possible rematches in each class.
3A – WPIAL playoffs should be fantastic 3 legit state title contenders and several other above average to very good teams like Belle Vernon, North Catholic, Elizabeth Forward and Freeport should be some really competitive games. Hard to pick against Avonworth they are rolling but so is Hopewell expect those 2 to meet in the final and wouldn’t be surprised if Hopewell wins behind stud QB James Armstrong who I think will be the answer to the QB problem at Penn State when he gets there in 2028. He’s 6’3″ 225 with a canon for an arm, fast, elusive and can make defenders miss or run them over. The WPIAL winner will roll in the western finals over Hickory from D10 or whoever wins D6. In the east I like NW Lehigh’s chances for the third year in a row expect them to beat NDGP in D11 final, win the next game and then beat Scranton Prep to get to the final, the question is if it’s the rubber match with Avonworth or another team like Hopewell.
2A – Bishop Canevin and Seton LaSalle more than likely will have a rematch in WPIAL final for the right to play Farrell in the western final. I like Farrell to win that game they beat Seton by 3 TDs last year and they are just as good or better this year. In the east don’t think Southern Columbia will have a problem with Troy or Bloomsburg in their district but will have a stern test against Westinghouse in the quarterfinals. In the other part of the bracket expect Dunmore to play West Catholic in a game I could see going either way. I can foresee a rematch of SoCol and Farrell in the final.
1A – expect Clairton and Washington to meet in the WPIAL final and the winner will win the following week in the western finals. In the east I don’t see anyone beating BG I think they win the title this year and quite possibly turn the tables on Clairton in the final. Williams Valley from D11 could make a run but don’t see them getting past BG in the eastern finals if they get that far.
Playoffs?? Are you kidding me?? Hell yeah!!! We’ve all been patiently waiting 11 weeks for this……
Halftime:
Notre Dame GP 66, Salisbury 0
Finally time for some playoff predictions!
I’ll have some predictions for any Thursday games in their respective ones tomorrow.
But D2 for me
1A (Projection: Williams Valley over Tri-Valley)
– #1 WV over #4 Trail 33-17
– #2 T-V over #3 Marian 22-7
2A (Projection: Dunmore over Lakeland)
– #1 Dunmore over #4 Redeemer 56-0
– #2 Lakeland over #3 Riverside 28-16
3A (Projection: Scranton Prep over Wyo Area)
– #1 Prep over #4 L-L 42-0
– #2 Wyo Area over #3 Mid Valley 30-21
4A (Projection: Dallas over North Pocono)
– #1 Dallas over #8 Hanover Area 56-6
– #4 Paupack over #5 Berwick 24-20
– #2 N Pocono over #7 C’dale 38-7
– #6 VV over #3 Honesdale 21-20
5A D2 Final: AH over Pittston 20-16
6A (Projection: Williamsport over WVW)
– #1 Williamsport over West Scranton 40-8
– #2 WVW over #3 Hazleton 26-13
EC Games
– 1A/2A: Old Forge over Mahanoy 27-10
– 3A: Berks Cath over Hamburg 31-7
– 4A: Daniel Boone over Fleetwood 26-21
– 5A/6A: PMW over Allen 33-21
Best Odds to make it to “The Chap”
1. 2A: Dunmore is on another level. They’ve mercy ruled everyone thus far & the only thing standing in their way is Southern or Westinghouse
2. 3A: I can see Prep running into the semis without a problem. Northwestern Lehigh & Mount Carmel pose a threat though.
3. 4A: It’s a wide open field in 4A. I’ll say that that. Dallas or North Pocono has enough of a team to make it past the D4/D6 champ, but if it’s Shamokin at full health, it’d take a bit of a miracle
4. 1A: I’ll give Trail the benefit of the doubt. An upset here could open up a door, but they’d have to really pull something special to win. It’s still a Trail team after all. However, for the champs, they have to get past BG & Line Mountain. Not easy.
5. 5A: I don’t see Abington Heights or Pittston getting past Solehi.
6. 6A: No way the Subregional champs beat State College, PCC, or whoever reps D3.