By Joe Stokes

 The 2008 high school season has reached week nine and as the cold nights arrive the hunt for a playoff spot is getting red hot. The top ranked teams on Ed Thomas’ Southeastern Pa Top Ten faced some tough competition last week and a few squads on his list suffered hard fought defeats and must now fire it up for a final playoff push. 

Cardinal O’Hara (D-12) ran into a buzz saw when they were unable to stop the running attack of St. Joe Prep and suffered a 34-0 defeat. The Lion defense just could not cope with the high flying Hawks running duo of Garrett Compton and Mike Yeager. The loss dropped O’Hara out of the top 10 and gives them a lower seed in the upcoming post season. 

Over the last two seasons a little bit of observation and a lot of luck have allowed this writer a prediction record of 105-36. This season is has been a little tough but a 28-12 prediction record going into the ninth week is fine given how competitive these teams have become this season. 

Last weekend North Penn, Penncrest and St. Joe Prep all won as predicted while the Springfield upset of Haverford and the Glen Mills win over Chester pulled my record down to 3-2 for the week. 

The Central League features an old rivalry with playoff ramifications when two time AAA Pa State Champion Strath Haven travels to last years AAAA District One Champion Ridley. These two teams have suffered a rare season chasing undefeated Garnet Valley in the Central League race. Ridley Green Raider quarterback Andrew Pidgeon is back to early season form and will help Ridley stay close to the league leader Garnet Valley with a hard fought victory. 

Prediction:    Ridley  26  Strath Haven  21 

The North Penn Knights are 8-0 and just keep rolling through their opponents so far this year. The red hot Hatters from Hatboro-Horsham will cool off this Friday. 

Prediction:   North Penn  35  Hatboro-Horsham  14 

Time to talk about a young team that has worked its way to number eight on the Southeast Top 10 list. Abington finds itself prime for a playoff run behind the leadership of Junior quarterback Sam Kind. They have a tough battle with Pennsbury this Friday but will keep the magic season going with a close win. 

Prediction:    Abington  28  Pennsbury  24 

Here is the rest of the fearless forecast: 

Prediction:    Father Judge  31  Cardinal O’Hara  14 

Prediction:    Salesianum (Del)  24  Interboro  13