Liberty ranked 20th by USA-Today
Written by: Josh Funk on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009. Follow Josh Funk on Twitter.
There’s only one Keystone State team that cracked the USA-Today’s national high school football national rankings, which were released Friday Aug. 21, and for the first time in the last three pre-seasons, it’s not a WPIAL team.
Bethlehem Liberty checks in at #20 in the nation, which is its second-highest national ranking in school history. The Hurricanes climbed to #19 in 2005 under the leadership of Dan Persa before losing to McKeesport Area in the state finals.
Liberty finished the 2008 season ranked 21st in the nation after knocking off Bethel Park, 28-21 in overtime in Hershey. It wasn’t the first time the Anthony-Gonzalez-led Hurricanes have been ranked in #8’s career as a varsity quarterback. Liberty was also ranked #21 in 2007, racing to a 5-0 start before falling to Bethlehem Catholic.
Liberty returns some key players from its state championship team. Gonzalez, the defending “AAAA” Associated Press Player of the Year, is probably the most documented and written-about of the bunch, but Jarrod West, Rashad Knight, Dontae Holmes and Drew Persa all should be significant contributors.
Liberty is 62-9 since the start of the 2004 season, and has won three of the last four District 11 “AAAA” championships.
The USA-Today ranks St. Thomas Aquinas, a Florida powerhouse, as its pre-season #1. New Jersey powerhouse Don Bosco Prep is ranked 5th, and notable Ohio powerhouse Colerain, from the Cincinnati area, is 12th.
It is notable that the Gateway Gators do not enter the pre-season ranked by USA-Today for the third straight season. Gateway was ranked 10th in the preseason in 2007 and 3rd in 2008. Both seasons ended with losses in the WPIAL championship game.
Another notable team left off of the USA-Today’s top-25 list is Bishop McDevitt. The Crusaders return a boatload of talent from last year’s 10-3, 490-point scoring team. Its quarterback, running back, fullback, and two wide receivers are all Division-1 prospects either in the recruiting classes of 2010 or 2011.
In the publication’s regional top-10 rankings, three Pennsylvania teams make the cut. Liberty is ranked #2, behind Don Bosco Prep. The Ironmen went 11-1 last year.
Gateway checks in at #8, and traditional Berks County power Wilson-West Lawn checks in at #10. It is believed that Wilson is the first Berks County football team to be listed among the regional rankings, possibly ever, and the Bulldogs are the first Lancaster-Lebanon League team to appear in the regional rankings since Manheim Central finished #5 after a perfect 15-0 season and “AAA” state championship over Pine-Richland.
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September 4th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Rolled by North Penn, makes me laugh.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I moved here from Florida. I am familiar with the FL powerhouses like St. Thomas, Miami Northwestern, Lakeland, Armwood, Plant etc… I am definitely going to try to get out and see this Liberty team to see what they’re all about 🙂