Here are the Power Ratings predictions for all the 6A Classification games this week. They’ve been reasonably accurate picking winners with some wild swings in the actual spreads. This is just for the fun of it and to get some information and views out there. Jump in!
The East
District 12 (PCL and PPL Finals)
Philadelphia Central 10-0 vs Northeast 7-2 (15.34 Central )
Two great football traditions going at it here with the math making this look easy. But Northeast has been around the block more than a few times so it might not be that easy. It’s hard getting linkage games to the world beyond the PUB although you can do some guesstimating with Central beating Wissahickon 26-21 the 2nd week of the season. Wissahickon had losses to Plymouth Whitemarsh, Quakertown and Cheltenham by 3, 12 and 13 points respectively for some comparisons to draw vague assessments. Something like that? Within the PUB, Northeast lost to Imhotep 44-8 October 28th . But they are an established PUB power that won’t be intimidated.
St. Joseph’s Prep vs LaSalle (11.36 St. Joseph’s Prep)
Here’s the first of a few rematches this weekend and we all know how they can go. But it’s still hard getting your mind around LaSalle in this one with early losses to North Penn and Malvern Prep before blowouts to St. Joe’s and Archbishop Wood more recently. Meanwhile, the Hawks have been blistering people, 52-19 since Roman. You want to say hey….it’s St.Joe’s and LaSalle dummy but it just doesn’t feel like that kind of game. Hopefully it is.
District 11
Emmaus 10-1 vs Freedom 7-4 (2.57 Emmaus)
Another rematch here in an exciting game between EPC-South foes. Freedom is vulnerable with 3 of their 4 losses coming to teams Emmaus beat. Plus, the Hornets beat them head to head at Emmaus but only by 2, 37-35. Let’s see if Freedom can build on that one where they won the second half 21-14. Scores from the Lehigh Valley, especially the EPC-South have taught us to expect the unexpected, so hold on for a fun ride to determine the District champ.
Parkland 8-3 vs Easton 6-5 (10.31 Parkland)
The District playoffs have become all about rematches with Parkland seeing if they can repeat the 28-0 win in Easton way back on September 16th . That will be tough if the Easton team that beat Freedom and Stroudsburg earlier in the year and Pleasant Valley last week shows up. Same with Parkland. Who is going to show up, the one that got it handed to them by Bethlehem Catholic 5 weeks ago or the one that took the field the last 4 weeks going 3-1 with a narrow 24-21 ot loss at Emmaus? Parkland-Easton is something like St. Joe’s and LaSalle so who knows?
District 1
North Penn 11-0 vs Spring Ford 9-2 (2.67 North Penn)
The math is looking funny on this one but why shouldn’t the Rams versatile attack be competitive. An ever shifting demography in Montco has changed the district’s landscape and power structure with Spring Ford and Perkiomen Valley fielding legitimate teams recently; Spring Ford with a 67-17 record since 2010 and Perkiomen Valley at 48-10 since 2012. About the Rams, you could make a good argument their 41-40 ot road loss at Wilson was no less impressive than North Penn’s home wins against LaSalle, Downingtown East and Pennridge. But then there’s the home loss to Perk Val. One thing for certain, it will be exciting with the Knights scoring 42ppg and allowing 12 while the big Ram attack scores 44 a game with a decent D of their own allowing 12ppg. It’s at Crawford where you feel the Knights will prevail, maybe wearing Spring Ford down late. Maybe they both run out of gas in this one.
Coatesville 10-1 vs Ridley 10-1 (9.04 Coatesville)
Like North Penn and Spring Ford, this game features teams with over-the-top impressive stats. On one hand you have Coatesville averaging 41ppg with a D allowing 15, a differential of 26 points. The Raiders are nearly as impressive with a 24-point differential, scoring 32 a game and allowing 8. If Ridley is going to keep up with that on the road, they’re going to have to go “extreme” on Coatesville, either manufacturing a lot of offense, or manufacturing none with stall ball….going to the Four Corners. In some ways this reminds of the Downingtown East game, in that for all the skills and supposed defensive prowess Downingtown East brought to the table, Coatesville made a mockery of their defense, beating them 40-7 despite the Cougars coming into the game scoring 27 a game and allowing 9. Turnovers, Special Teams and possession time look to be key in this one.
Perkiomen Valley 11-0 vs Downingtown East 9-2 (3.84 Perkiomen Valley)
Perk Val just keeps climbing the seeding chart each year since 2013 moving from a 15 seed, to 12 in 2014 and 7 last year. This year sees them at 3 getting a home game in Collegeville where they will be hard to beat. Downingtown has had some difficulty with diverse offenses (North Penn 7-23, Coatesville 7-40) while the Vikings have blown most teams out early. If you can get the Coatesville game out of your mind you can build a scenario where Downingtown keeps pace with this offensive juggernaut. But that’s hard to do especially on the road.
Neshaminy 11-0 vs Garnet Valley 9-2 (9.31 Neshaminy)
Neshaminy passed their two major tests of the year, beating Pennridge in week # 2, 31-24, then beating them again last week, 26-21 in the 1st round. The other two “name” teams, Downingtown West and Central Bucks South were dispatched with ease and by the same score, 42-14. Garnet Valley lost to 2 of their 3 most difficult opponents, Ridley, 28-20 and Haverford, 34-28 in overtime. They got quality wins on the road against Springfield 21-14 and at CB South last week 21-14. Their option style attack keeps the clock moving, making this an interesting game if they don’t fall behind. Although they score 37ppg, that average was fueled by 6 losing teams with a won-loss of 19-43.
