Parkland (12-1) at LaSalle (9-3)
LaSalle State Playoff Appearances: 7 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015)
Parkland State Playoff Appearances: 11 (1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
LaSalle State Playoff Record: 12-4
Parkland State Playoff Record: 14-9
LaSalle vs. D11: 4-0
Parkland vs. PCL: 0-3
LaSalle State Titles: 2009
Parkland State Titles: 2002
Last Time They Met
LaSalle absolutely hammered Parkland, 28-7, in the 2012 PIAA Quarterfinals at Northeast High school in Philadelphia. LaSalle sacked Parkland quarterback Tim Baranek an incredible 12 times, including five by defensive end Jon Naji. The Explorers held the Trojans to just 189 yards of total offense, 72 of which came on the last play of the game, and forced eleven punts. Parkland had three 1,000 yard rushers that season in Baranek, Eli Redmond, and Jarel Elder, but factoring out Elder’s 72 yarder as time expired, the three were held to 89 yards on 48 carries. Chris Kane picked apart the Parkland secondary for 188 yards and two touchdowns, completing passes to six different receivers, led by a 5 catch, 120 yard day by Sean Coleman, who caught both TD passes.
Parkland Last Week
The Trojans had no problem with Wyoming Valley West, racing past the Spartans for a 63-21 win. Parkland was leading 14-7 and driving to take a two score lead when Devante Cross threw an interception to Sean Judge at the goalline, who took it back 100 yards to tie the game at 14 with eight minutes left in the first half. The halftime score was 49-14, as Parkland piled up five touchdowns in seven minutes, thanks to a bomb by Cross to Nolan Ridway, a 77 yard Cross TD run, a pick six by defensive tackle Noel Brouse, and recovered fumble on a kickoff, and a crazy final play of the first half where Kenny Yeboah caught a jump ball then lateraled to Zach Bross who took the ball the final 11 yards for the TD. Then, on WVW’s first play of the second half, Jahan Worth scooped a fumble and ran in back, giving Parkland a 56-14 lead and capping a 42-0 run in a shade over nine minutes of game time. Each team would score a TD in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin. After WVW’s opening 77 yard TD drive, they gained just 97 yards the rest of the game, with 44 of those coming on Devon Weidman’s TD run with 3:29 left.
LaSalle Last Week
The Explorers took it to Simon Gratz in a 42-15 win to give the Philly Catholic League its seventh consecutive D12 title. Nick Rinella made a massive play early, souring a long Amir Gillis run by catching the Gratz QB and punching the ball out of the end zone for a LaSalle touchback. Tw plays later, Chris Ferguson hit Winston Eubanks for an 80 yard touchdown and the route was on. The Explorers were up 28-0 before you could blink, adding a defensive TD, and a a Nick Rinella 7 yard TD run set up by a 60 yard burst from Syaire Madden, and a long drive to open the second quarter capped by a Ferguson to Rinella 17 yard touchdown pass. Madden carried 19 times for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and the LaSalle offensive line dominated from whistle to whistle. Chris Ferguson was a crisp 7-10 for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
When Parkland Has the Ball
The two match ups to watch are Parkland’s offensive line and the LaSalle defensive line, and LaSalle’s defensive backs against Parkland’s receivers. Up front, LaSalle has played exceptionally well in their run here at the end of the season. Garrett Zobel and Anthony Piscopo are a pair of wrestlers with great hands and speed off of the ball. Jimmy Morrissey and Matt McDermott both get snaps at defensive tackle, and at 290 and 270, they’re a load for any interior linemen to handle. And Chris Maloney had a break out last week against Gratz, and is a very talented sophomore. Maloney and Piscopo are the runts of the group at 6’2 205 and 5’11 215. Zobel (6’2 240), McDermott, and Morrissey are all college sized defensive linemen.
Parkland has good size and talent up front, led by Syracuse commit Noel Brouse at left tackle (6’6 270). Brouse and right tackle Steve Feher (6’5 265) are off the assembly line tackles, with long arms and athleticism. Brouse has to be chomping at the bit after missing last year’s state playoff game with a separated shoulder suffered in the D11 final. Left guard Patrick Ferry is as improved as any player I’ve seen this year. At 6’3 315 and a state powerlifting champion, he’s what you’d order at guard, and as he’s come into his own, Parkland has really tailored their running game to the left side of their offensive line with Brouse and Ferry. Alex Van Woert (5'11 210) and Andrew Parry (6'0 230) will have to play bigger than they are on the interior as well.
In the receiving game, unlike the last time these two teams met, Parkland likes to throw the ball. This year, Parkland has four receivers with at least twenty catches, led by Kenny Yeboah’s 56 grabs for 914 yards and 12 TDs. It’s a modern offense, heavy on short throws, designed QB runs, and zone read. But where Parkland is a tough match up for any team is the size of their receivers. Yeboah, who will play tight end at Temple, is 6’6 220 pounds, Zack Bross is 6’4 195, and Nolan Ridgway is 6’2 185. Yeboah is as good as any high school kid at using his body and going up and getting the football, and if Cross recognizes him in one-on-one coverage, it’s an automatic read for him to run a go-route and throw a jump ball. LaSalle oozes athleticism in their secondary, but only Isaiah Jones is six feet tall. John Steinmetz is one of the best defensive coaches in Pennsylvania, so they’ll obviously have a plan, but the Trojans will want to take advantage of the shorter defensive backs. Even if they’re not throwing it up to Yeboah, Bross and Ridgway both like to work in traffic in the middle of the field where they can use the body to pick up solid gains. If LaSalle can get a pass rush, it obviously goes a long way.
When LaSalle Has the Ball
LaSalle has one of the biggest offensive lines left in the state tournament, and their path to victory seems to be bludgeon the Trojans up front then go over the top as they creep up their safeties. Chris Ferguson has a big arm and a handful of receivers who can really run and like all LaSalle teams I’ve watched, they’re adept at using their running backs in the passing game. But their strength lies in the hog mollies up front, the smallest of whom is 6’2 250. Syaire Madden was a great offseason pick up, who is crazy strong, runs hard and has the speed once he gets to the second level to really hurt you. And he’s on the second level more often than not, as the push he gets from his front is tremendous. He commented after the Gratz win last week that he was five yards downfield before anybody could touch him. The blocking schemes aren’t overly complicated, they mostly seem to want to beat you off the ball and physically dominate one on one. McDermott is an all state candidate at guard, as is TJ Garvin (6’4 265) at tackle and Morrissey in the middle.
The Parkland defensive front is undersized, save for Brouse at defensive tackle. Losing Billy Danko to an ACL tear really hurts in a game like this, as the 6’2 240 senior was having a great year and could provide much needed extra beef on the interior of their defensive line. In his place, they’ve moved sophomore Jahan Worth from middle linebacker to defensive tackle. Worth is only 5’11 220, but like Ferry he’s a state powerlifting champion, and unlike most defensive tackles he runs a 4.6 40. Parkland’s gets a ton of production from their defensive ends, DJ Hohman and Palmer Kerch, both of whom are tiny (5’11 195 and 5’1 205), high motor guys. If they get swallowed up by the LaSalle front, they’ll be able to ball control the Trojans to death. Ferry may get some snaps on the line if they’re getting pushed around, as may senior Andrew Bennett (6’4 260). Brouse can play inside or out (he played end all of last season), and they’ll likely move him around.
Parkland’s linebackers have been very good all year, particularly Erik DiGiralomo, and the front four is going to have to keep the LaSalle line occupied so DiGiralomo and company can come up and make plays. Not many teams have run on the Trojans (other than getting bizarrely gashed by Liberty), and only Liberty’s Gunner Anglovech has broken the 100 yard barrier, and since the Liberty loss, Parkland’s opponents are averaging 3.6 yards per carry in 7 games.
Where Parkland’s defense has been vulnerable this year is to the deep passing game. Those same big receivers make for a big secondary, but neither Yeboah, Bross, or Ridgway are real burners. Devante Cross has been getting fully two-way duty in the playoffs, and while he’s an excellent defensive back (and will play there at BC), wearing him out on defense is a recipe for success if you’re LaSalle. I’m not sure the big boys can run with Rinella, Eubanks, and Headon if they can get off the line and Ferguson has time to air it out. LaSalle also does a nice job getting Rinella matched up with linebackers, and I don’t think any of Parkland’s trio can run with him. And Ferguson can really spin it.
The Pick
In the middle of the season, I was down on Parkland, particularly after their listless first half against Liberty. Down the stretch, they’ve looked much better, dominating in seven straight games, and looking much more like the team that was in the top 5 of every preseason state poll. But LaSalle has played a better schedule, is riding the high of beating their archrivals and two time defending state champs, and has the offensive and defensive lines to go up against anybody in the state, including Pittsburgh Central Catholic. At the end of the day, I can’t find a reason to pick a D11 team to beat a PCL team in the state tournament until I see it happen.
LaSalle 31-21
