NorthBroadBullies said:

Jay Harris from Downingtown East in 2013 always comes to mind for me. He was one of the most dynamic playmakers I’ve ever seen in high school football. He had a full ride to play at Michigan State but decided in May before graduation that he would… become a rapper! That lasted all of 6 months before he decided to sign with Western Michigan but then decided his true calling was the rapping life so he left after being there for two months.

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That works out sometimes. Gino Fortebuono wrestled at Easton, state champ in 2001. Won Reno, Ironman, Beast of the East, ranked like #8 nationally at 130 his senior year. Steve Powell will tell you he’s on the shortlist for most talented kids he had in 40 years of coaching. Super wide open and fun to watch too. Anyway, Gino had a ton of D1 offers out of Easton, but passed them all up to go to film school in New York. Totally gave up wrestling. He was a different cat. I see his name every so often in credits on Netflix, I think he’s carved out a nice little career.

Jay Harris from Downingtown East in 2013 always comes to mind for me. He was one of the most dynamic playmakers I’ve ever seen in high school football. He had a full ride to play at Michigan State but decided in May before graduation that he would… become a rapper! That lasted all of 6 months before he decided to sign with Western Michigan but then decided his true calling was the rapping life so he left after being there for two months.

steelcurtain55. said:

Dipre was the one I remember who got busted with the juice.

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i think both were involved in the same situation

Now I’m just memory lane-ing guys. Sean Heimpel was a 6’5 190 righty for Liberty, who was their ace as a sophomore in pitching them to the PIAA final. He graduated Liberty’s all time leader in strikeouts, as a senior threw two no-hitters and fanned 106 batters in 58 innings, and in an age where high school velocity was not as crazy as it is now, sat in the low 90s with that frame.

Heimpel was so sure he was getting drafted that he didn’t take the SATs or remotely participate in the recruit process. But, he never filed his paperwork to make himself draft eligible, and didn’t get selected. He went to junior college where he was the closer for a team that was won a JUCO national title, then the ace of the team that finished runner-up at the World Series. He transferred to a Division II school in Georgia, where he piled up silly strikeout numbers, but only got himself a shot in independent ball. He got signed by the Padres out of the Frontier League, but only got a cup of coffee in affiliated baseball after putting all of those non-professional innings on his arm.

Not quite the same, but a “best that never was” from up here is Kyle Newell, defensive end/tight end out of Bethlehem Catholic.

I saw Newell play in a middle school basketball gane for Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem, when he was already about 6’4/6’5, but was essentially playing swing man. Must have had 50 points, like three in traffic dunks, just an insane display of physical ability from an 8th grader.

That fall, he started as a freshman at defensive end for Bob Stem’s last team at Becahi, the 2001 team that probably blew a chance at a state title when their all state quarterback got kicked off the team in week 9. I think Newell and Dan Kendra III were the only freshmen starters Stem ever had. As a sophomore, he put up double digit sacks for the Becahi team that lost to eventual state champ Parkland in that classic 02 D11 title game. He was their best defender on the last truly great Becahi team. Following his junior year, where he was an All State pick at defensive end, Rivals had Newell as the #59 overall player nationally in the class of 2005. He also put up over 800 yards receiving as a tight end (where NC State was recruiting him) and was a first team all state basketball player who scored 1,500 career points and led Becahi to the state quarterfinals twice. Put that all in a 6’7 250 pound frame and it seemed like the sky was the limit.

But Newell was “mercurial” at best. Basketball coach Jim Hutnik, who later coached at Easton, used to tell stories of him just disappearing for days at a time, then showing up for the bus for games and scoring 25 points and grabbing 20 rebounds, then they wouldn’t see him at practice again for a couple days. He’d do the same thing to coaches recruiting him, allegedly royally pissing off Rich Rodriguez and Joe Paterno. He also was hampered by chronic ankle injuries as a senior in football, and rivals dropped him down to a 3 star and out of the top 100. He chose NC State over Tennessee (who offered him as a freshman and was the first school really in on him), no doubt aided by Lehigh Valley native Chuck Amato being willing to gamble on him for his old friend Stem (he was one of five different Becahi players who played for Amato in the 00s). But I don’t think he ever made it to campus, and everybody I know has totally lost track of him.

The other big what-if with Newell is, he went to Becahi for what ended up Stem’s last season. His freshman and sophomore years, Becahi was awesome, top 3 team in the state, major contender. But they slipped to under .500 the last two years as Stem’s big recruits cycled out to college and they didn’t backfill behind Newell’s class. Meanwhile, Newell’s home school Liberty hired Tim Moncman and started their run, going 10-2 and was ranked in the top 6 in the state during Newell’s senior season with a sophomore Dan Persa. They may have been able to beat Easton and make a state run a season earlier with Newell on the roster, rather than miring away at a bad Becahi team. Which is not what the plan looked like when he picked schools in 2001. Moncman and his staff also probably were more prepared to help guide a kid like Newell than the Becahi staff was. Life is funny.

Stalker said:

We'll see what's left of St. Joe's after St. Eds pounds them. Hope they survive. And about the Quips. I doubt they get out of the West and maybe not the Wpial with a big surprise lurking.

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crazy- apparently "court was in session" today, in Beaver County Court- as per Pgh media- Harlan-trib and White-PG. Crazy. If they "stay" for now? That would require changing like 20-30 team schedules??

BradlyPitt said:

Monroe Weekly of Aliquippa

he picked Pitt over Miami when Miami was the big powerhouse in college football back in 2001

I think he got busted with steroids at Pitt, and then ended up in prison for armed robbery

i wonder if he's still in prison today

who can forget him punting the basketball into the rafters when the quips lost the basketball state championship, he punted better than Pressley Harvin

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Dipre was the one I remember who got busted with the juice.

DripDrop said:

Another Erie guy from when I was in school was Roosevelt Benjamin for erie central. He was on those 93 and 94 teams that made it to the western finals. The 94 team lost to eventually champs McKeesport 13-14. Benjamin was getting recruited by lots of major D1 schools but they found drugs in his locker. He went on to star as a starting basketball player on those 90s George Junior teams that were so talented. As good as a basketball player he was he was an even better football player. Later on after highschool he ended up getting in trouble again and eventually arrested for selling drugs to an undercover agent in a giant drug sting in Erie. To this day I say he was one of the best athletes to ever come out of Erie.

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Benjamin tried to play football at Clarion but I don't remember him doing much. He looked the part but he seemed kinda slow.

Monroe Weekly of Aliquippa

he picked Pitt over Miami when Miami was the big powerhouse in college football back in 2001

I think he got busted with steroids at Pitt, and then ended up in prison for armed robbery

i wonder if he's still in prison today

who can forget him punting the basketball into the rafters when the quips lost the basketball state championship, he punted better than Pressley Harvin

sammyk said:

Brian Davis RB Wash High

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I don't think he got in trouble, he just didn't want to play football

could be wrong because that was before my time

We'll see what's left of St. Joe's after St. Eds pounds them. Hope they survive. And about the Quips. I doubt they get out of the West and maybe not the Wpial with a big surprise lurking.

I'm not that sure about what's coming back. They always seem to have a few players but lately "a few" just doesn't seem enough.

HSFB99 said:

Mole, I didn’t realize how severe the recent struggles were; 10-20 over 3 years is rough for a program with that kind of tradition. What’s the outlook on the 24 squad? Will they right the ship?

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That really is a pronounced drop off. Add to that the fall of North Penn and Pennsbury (Abington?) to see how dramatically the SOL has declined recently. The Skins and Knights WERE the SOL for years!
(Skinner Man; fired buddy's Mossberg 500-12GA this week. Scary weapon, 470-some grain. Better hold on!)

sammyk said:

Next stop St. Joes Prep. Lets go Quips

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SJP will still mercy rule them unless they get lucky like PR and Mt. Lebanon and play them when they are young and rebuilding

and when they get mercy ruled, they'll still pretend SJP had major unfair advantages and the Quips are so "courageous" for playing a much bigger school

Mole, I didn’t realize how severe the recent struggles were; 10-20 over 3 years is rough for a program with that kind of tradition. What’s the outlook on the 24 squad? Will they right the ship?

I was looking up whatever happened to dapree Bryant the other day. The football player/ basketball star at coatsville who I believed signed to play football at Villanova. He was arrested for playing with a gun at a party and shooting one of his friends. Also Chuck carr who I believe is the all time district 10 rushing leader was shot and killed in Farrell last year.

JACKY6996 said:

Wow so with all those kids already there now this article has another from seton la salle and a freshman from Central Valley. That’s like what 10 or 11 now since january. Over half their line up is going to be moveins next year. Ridiculous.

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Next stop St. Joes Prep. Lets go Quips

Yeah, but for every YaYah story, there’s also a James Middleton.

James played tailback and point guard at Easton, was the best offensive weapon as a junior on the 2010 team that lost to LaSalle in state quarterfinals, and was the leading scorer on their basketball team ranked in the top 10 in the state that winter. He came back the next year and had 1,100 yards from scrimmage in 9 games, but got kicked off the football team after an ugly fight in school that caused him to miss the postseason (Easton lost 28-21 to Nazareth, and common wisdom is with James they win their third straight D11 title and get another crack at LaSalle, who beat Nazareth 41-33). James came back for basketball season, but was permanently suspended again in January and missed a run to the state quarterfinals, which again, could have been deeper with their best player. He was incarcerated when he got his diploma that June.

The story gets better. After some time in the wilderness, James got his life together and got an opportunity to play basketball at Delaware CCC. That turned into an associates degree and an opportunity to transfer to a four year school and get a degree. He finished out his college career both as a player (nearly an 1,000 point scorer) and a college graduate. He works in juvenile justice for Northampton county now, and after coaching women’s basketball at LCCC, he took the job last year as Whitehall’s girls coach. Having known James since he was a little kid, couldn’t be prouder of how much he’s done to change his narrative.

2020sports said:

well- kinda all public now- this article kind of sums things up!! crazy, 5 transfers, maybe all good players

WPIAL to hold hearings for 2 Aliquippa football transfers, approves 3 others | Trib HSSN

A WPIAL hearing will decide the eligibility of two Aliquippa football players who transferred from rival Central Valley.

tribhssn.triblive.com

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Wow so with all those kids already there now this article has another from seton la salle and a freshman from Central Valley. That’s like what 10 or 11 now since january. Over half their line up is going to be moveins next year. Ridiculous.

poor kid had no chance with a name like "YaYah"

Elijah Fields out of Duquesne seemingly had a lot of talent but kept getting into trouble and even posted a picture on twitter of what appeared to be drug money he had while he was at Pitt

will people finally stop feeling sorry for them or do they need a dozen more transfers for that to happen?

even Mark Madden was calling them victims of "racism" HAHAHA

Another Erie guy from when I was in school was Roosevelt Benjamin for erie central. He was on those 93 and 94 teams that made it to the western finals. The 94 team lost to eventually champs McKeesport 13-14. Benjamin was getting recruited by lots of major D1 schools but they found drugs in his locker. He went on to star as a starting basketball player on those 90s George Junior teams that were so talented. As good as a basketball player he was he was an even better football player. Later on after highschool he ended up getting in trouble again and eventually arrested for selling drugs to an undercover agent in a giant drug sting in Erie. To this day I say he was one of the best athletes to ever come out of Erie.

sammyk said:

I say let the quips do what they do. Someone needs to beat St. Joes Prep.

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well- kinda all public now- this article kind of sums things up!! crazy, 5 transfers, maybe all good players