Council Rock South @ Pennsbury Friday 6:30 PM http://livestream.com/accounts/1274087

Garnet Valley @ Unionville Friday 6:40 PM http://www.garnetvalleyfootball.com/Gamecasts/Gamecast.htm

Montour @ Central Valley, September 4, 7 pm: PCN TV Network

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1. Pittsburgh Central Catholic 11-2
Although they have good numbers returning especially on defense, the offense still has concerns. Not at QB with Michael Navarro returning (45/67, 581py, 67%, 11/0 Td-Pik), but because an integral piece of the offense is gone, S/WR John Petrischen. Apart from being Navarro’s favorite target (18/354), his returns often gave them great field position with four returned for touchdowns. Most teams learned to kick away from him. He is largely the reason they beat Penn Trafford, running for 212 yards out of the Wildcat on 17 carries. Incidentally, the Viking defense allowed over 300 yards passing in that one. The week before against Woodland Hills, the offense was essentially non-existent, scoring one touchdown and seven first downs while gaining 126 yards of total offense, none through the air. The rest of the scoring came by way of the defense scoring two on a fumble (Rashad Wheeler 25-yds) and a pick (Kurt Hinish 32-yds) and a 55-yd punt return by Petrischen in a 28-0 win. The Wildcat opens things up (last two games) but they need to find another Petrischen to be less one-dimensional, especially with their stiffest competition played on the road; Bethel Park, North Allegheny, North Hills and Pine Richland. About that defense, eight are FBS recruits (Div-1 scholarship offers), two are FCS recruits. Those garnering the most attention are DLs CJ Thorpe (6-4, 305, jr), and Rashad Wheeler (6-1, 285, sr), cornerback Damar Hamlin (6-2, 190, sr), junior linebacker David Adams (6-2, 220), senior backer Ron George (6-2, 215) and DB Bricen Garner (6-2, 185, sr). Pick a “name” university and that’s who’s recruiting these players! DL Kurt Hinish (6-3, 280, jr) and DB Ron Jones (6-1, 190, sr, committed to Toledo) are being recruited by Toledo and other Mid-American level teams. Linebacker Chase Hawthorne (6-0, 215, sr) and DB Braxton Swann (6-1, 180, sr) got the attention of Patriot and Ivy League schools so the table is set for an extraordinary year by the defense who should set up the offense in good field position, scoring a few Tds along the way.

2. Penn Trafford 11-1
Given the concerns above there may not be that much difference between these two top teams, regardless how much Central Catholic’s D1 players have been lauded and promoted. They were on the field last year against this team (except Ron George) in a game whose score belies the competitive nature of that contest. Performance still trumps potential so we’ll see how it unfold if there is a rematch. Making a long story short, the Warriors resemble last year’s Pine Richland group, loaded on both sides of the line with a veteran quarterback in Brett Laffoon (6-2, 200, sr, 2005py, 409ry, 66%, 28/2), a pile of running backs and a veteran receiver corps led by the diminutive Tim Vecchio (5-10, 170, sr) with 1022 yards on 43 receptions. If they can replace some holes in the lines they are set. They had some big wins last year, putting a physical crush job on McKeesport, holding the vaunted Tiger attack to 121 total yards and Khaleke Hudson to 53 yards at McKeesport. Hudson finished the year with 1773 yards. Also beat North Allegheny in the Wpial quarterfinal 35-31 before losing in the semifinal to Central Catholic 52-34. This was a very back and forth game, sealed with a fourth quarter touchdown. Quarterback Laffoon was 15 of 25 for 218 yards in that one with one Td in a crazy game of on-side kicks, 2 recovered by PT, Flea Flickers and the Wildcat. The coming season sees them opening with Kiski, then Connellsville before playing McKeesport at home. With health, they stand a good chance of running the table again, securing another high seed. They are battle tested and veteran, having played in two straight semifinals.

3. Central Dauphin 11-3
A lot of bodies return from last year’s district runner-up including QBs David Payton (5-9, 180, sr, 48/91/517py/53%, 0/1, 670ry) and AJ Millar (6-2, 175, jr, 36/82/421/44%, 6/5, 133ry) and their outstanding running back Raleigh Sirb (5-9, 190, sr, 1352ry). Additionally, Mike Burgwin (5-9, 185, sr) transferred in from Central Dauphin East bringing his rushing abilities to add to an already talented backfield. The missing piece might be Terrell Gabriel (5-9, 205, jr) who has grown into the fullback position, a key position in the Ram attack. Another transfer, Chad Cortez (6-3, 195) from McDevitt had 12 receptions for 318 yards last year. The line returns four of six including Paul Wakefield (6-1, 295, sr), Steven Veronikis (6-5, 225, sr), Evan Childs (6-3, 275, jr), (C) Ethan Morrow (5-10, 270, sr) and Thomas Whitcomb (6-4, 290, sr). And the anomaly that was last year’s platoon system at quarterback will likely end with Coach McNamee going with one quarterback. Millar is the thrower and younger of the two but with great experience while Payton has diverse skills that were almost lost at quarterback. On the other side they return one of the top D-Fronts in the state; DEs Reid Albright (5-10, 210, sr, 101 tackles), last year’s spectacular freshman Micah Parsons (6-3, 225, so, 14saks, 27TFL), Rashaun Gabriel (6-1, 210, sr, 67 tackles), DLs Evan Childs (6-3, 270, jr, 10 tackles), AJ Perez (6-3, 275, sr, transferred back from East) Leonard Guzman (5-11, 215, sr, 12 tackles) and Joe Williams (6-5, 290, sr). Also back at LB is Mike Betz (5-11, 210, sr, 87 tackles, 10saks) and Adam Thornton (5-10, 205, sr, 106 tackles). The secondary returns two plus Burgwin. Last year’s team lost twice to Wilson, 14-12 and 21-10 in the playoffs. The other loss was in-conference to Cumberland Valley (9-3) 7-0. If the passing game develops as expected, and it’s been a Ram strength over the years, the sky is the limit. This, combined with recent, quality transfers, a defense that could be one of their very finest and the usual Ram excellence on special teams has them poised for very big things.

4. Woodland Hills 8-3
Another loaded addition here that returns QB Jeremiah Jones (6-1, 205, sr, 843py, 48%), running back Miles Sanders (6-0., 195, sr, 1132, 11.67ypc, 18 Tds, PSU) Joe-El Shaw (6-1, 230, sr, 696, 10 Tds), WR Jaymond Dunn et al….and a behemoth line featuring Wilford Clark (6-0, 300, sr), Tearl Grey (6-2, 260, jr), Amon Youngblood (6-4, 325, jr), Eric Mitchell (6-2, 290, sr), and Miguel Cobbs (6-1, 260, sr). Went two deep last year although Clark and Cobbs played both ways. Also played a lot of sophs in the secondary to ramp up the speed with good experience-depth everywhere. They sailed through last year’s schedule going 6-0 scoring 344 points before losing to West Allegheny 42-41ot, then shut out Mount Lebanon the following week 47-0 before losing to arch rival Penn Hills 22-15. For a team priding itself on defense, allowing (yr end avg) 15ppg, 9, 12, 14, 14, 15 and 13ppg from 2008 through 2014, last year’s 28-0 loss to Central Catholic had to be an tough pill to swallow. The schedule is amenable with two home games to kick it off, Peters Township and Bethel Park, followed by road games at Shaler and Baldwin. Then its home to Upper St Clair. It doesn’t get much better with four of their toughest five games played at home; Bethel Park, Upper St Clair, West Allegheny (11-2, AAA-Wpial finalist) and Mount Lebanon. Tho its at Penn Hills, it’s often a coin toss when these two tangle. Excepting West Allegheny, all the comp should be improved over last year so the homers won’t be givens with Bethel, USC and Lebo returning good numbers. West A isn’t depleted but are looking to replace quarterback Andrew Koester. Like Central Dauphin, the Wolverines will probably have to find a passing attack to get through Districts and beyond.

5. Wilson 14-1
They’ve won seven straight LL-Section-1 titles, fifty consecutive LL games and two straight district titles. Their won-loss since Coach Doug Dahms came aboard in 2006 is 107-16. All that’s missing is the illusive state title. While they’ve had some great teams and close calls, they haven’t been to the final since 1989 where they lost to Upper St Clair 12-7. Maybe this year, where they return a healthy number of starters and a lot of experience to boot. Quarterback Jake Klein (6-1, 200, sr) is experienced and will get the nod replacing graduated Jake Templin who had a solid season (126/249/1768/51%, 30/12 Td-Pick). For the Bulldogs, almost all the running backs return, including standout senior Shane Dantzler (5-9, 175, 1659ry) and five of the top six receivers. The line will feature senior Nick Kline (6-2, 265) who missed all of last year with an injury. Prior to last year he was considered their best lineman. He’ll be supported by MLB/OT Ike Schannauer (6-1, 245, sr), DL/OG Ben Harris (6-0, 210, sr), Jake Morris (5-11, 245, jr), Pete Weidner (5-10, 230, sr) and TE Alex Twiford (6-3, 225, sr). These returns should give the new quarterback every chance of success. Given Wilson’s tradition at that position, they will be fine. Defensively, a strong nucleus of starters and co-starters returns led by linebackers Ike Schannauer (105 tackles) and Foday Jalloh (6-1, 190, sr, 56 tackles). Jon Fox (6-0, 195, sr, 52 tackles) returns at SS with Ben Harris also playing DL. Jake Gehman (6-1, 190, sr, 39 tackles) and Tom O’Brien (5-11, 175, jr, 25) return to the secondary at CB and FS. They open with arch rival Governor Mifflin (complete rebuild) and Central Dauphin East, both on the road before the home opener in what is possibly a preview of the district final against Central Dauphin. It’s a bad spot for CD playing Bulldogs in their home opener but what a game that should be. SRO at 6,000 to 7,000 so get there early! Others will emerge in the super competitive District-3 but look for Wilson and CD to lead the pack.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootb...in_received_most_votes_among_team_captai.html

Pretty impressive for a local!!!

Yeah, I am back right here in Lansdale ready for another HS football season. As in the past, its always interesting and sometimes there are board gatherings from this..

What game or games will you be attending this weekend?

MDW will be at Crawford to see the LaSalle Explorers take on the North Penn Knights!!!

See you at the game!!!!!

Back for what I think is my fourth year of my District 11/2/4 power rankings, and the second year where I will try to put them out weekly. It won’t be a pure Quad-A ranking, as Bethlehem Catholic and Allentown Central Catholic are so enmeshed with the Quad-A schools in the Lehigh Valley that ranking them provides some context for what’s going on in the Valley as a whole. Therefore, I’ll consider 3A schools in the region as well, though I admittedly don’t follow it as closely.

In my preseason list, I have also listed every District/Subregional title won by each team since the start of state playoffs in 1988 (D11 has been holding a District tournament since 1985 I believe), with bolded and underlined years they also won the state championship, underlined for state finals appearances, and italicized for eastern final (final 4) appearances. Returning starters are broken in to (offense/defense).

Parkland is the obvious favorite, coming off of three consecutive subregional championships. They’re ranked #3 in the Harrisburg Patriot-News poll, #5 in the PaFootballNews poll, and will likely be a top 5 team when this website’s ranking comes out. Bethlehem Catholic slots in second in my rankings. In 3A, they are #6 in the Harrisburg Patriot-News poll and #7 in the PaFootballNews poll. They’re the only teams in the state rankings at this point. Freedom, Wyoming Valley West, and Easton are all teams to watch in the Harrisburg Patriot-News 4A poll, and Crestwood, Scranton Prep, and Lehighton are all 3A teams to watch. PaFootballNews has Saucon Valley, and Scranton Prep as teams to watch in 3A and does not have any D11 or D2 teams on their 4A watch list.

1. Parkland
District Titles: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2007, 2002, 1998, 1996
Returning Starters: 10 (5/5)

Preseason Chatter: The Jahan Worth/Nolan Ridgway dynamic is most interesting to me. It looks like Ridgway, who ran for 610 yards and 10 touchdowns last season after earning the job during the year, has been moved to slot receiver and that Worth is going to be the feature running back. He’s a tremendous athlete (I’m skeptical of Hudl profile numbers but Worth’s are gaudy, and he had an impressive freshman year in both wrestling and powerlifting). Ridgway leads all returning running backs in the EPC South in yards, so Morgans and the staff must be very confident in Worth. One thing is for certain, they need a more dependable running game if they’re going to win a state championship. Against St. Joseph’s Prep, Easton, and Whitehall, their running backs carried the ball 36 times for 132 yards and no touchdowns, and almost 1/3 of those yards came from one Preston Saylor 40 yard run. Factor that carry out, and Parkland running backs averaged 2.6 yards per carry in the four toughest games on the Trojan’s schedule where Parkland went 1-3 (with the lone win being in a game where they did not score an offensive touchdown). Everybody on these boards laments teams that don’t throw the football, but the reverse is just as dangerous and something Parkland needs to address this season.

This Week: Parkland plays the Dieruff Huskies. While Dieruff is a program heading in the right direction (their numbers are up, they’ve been on the edge of a .500 season the last two years), but they’re not on Parkland’s level. Parkland should have it well in control by halftime.

2. Bethlehem Catholic
District Titles: 2014, 2013, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1992, 1990, 1989, 1988
Returning Starters: 14 (7/7)

Preseason Chatter: Head coach Joe Henrich does not seem happy with the way camp went. He has been publically critical of his team so far, and that will be a dynamic to watch. I’m interested whether that is a motivation technique or genuine concern. Recruitniks will find the Golden Hawks to be the most interesting team in the Lehigh Valley because they have a bunch of skill guys holding Division I offers (FBS for Joe Jay Smith and Elijah Fineran, FCS for Julian Spigner and Noah Stewart), but with Beca the last two years, the losses haven’t been about lack of talent. They should cruise through 3A in District 11, but they need to be more disciplined and play much better defense if they have any aspirations of playing deep into December. If they can block, they’re going to score a ton of points, as very few teams in the state have a receiving corps like Beca and Spigner, an All State selection last year, is an accurate and polished quarterback to get them the ball.

This Week: Liberty. See EPC Game of the Week post.

3. Freedom:
District Titles: None (District Finals: 2008)
Returning Starters: 11 (4/7)

Preseason Chatter: The Freedom defense is getting plenty of hype coming in to the season. Last year’s unit forced 33 turnovers in 12 games and they’ll need to replace ballhawks John Callahan (hybrid/strike) and Jake Young (free safety) to have the same kind of success. But they have a boatload of experienced guys ready for more snaps, two outstanding individuals in Cordell Cotto and Brady Hornbaker, and there has been a clear shift to a "rip the ball" philosophy. The offense apparently looked sharp against Central Dauphin, and Joe Young seems to be fully recovered from his hip injury, which did not require surgery. It would not shock me if Young ends up a Division I recruit, as he has the size (6’3 180), accuracy (70% completion percentage last year) and athleticism to play at the next level. If he has a big junior year, expect him to be on a lot of radars.

This Week: Freedom opens with East Stroudsburg South, who is expected to be much improved from last year. ESS quarterback Jeff Cirillo had a very promising freshman year, but last season was marred by injuries. He should give the Freedom defense a nice early season test before getting in to their Lehigh Valley schedule.

4. Wyoming Valley West
District Titles: 1997
Returning Starters: 14 (8/6)

Preseason Chatter: They might be the biggest sleeper in the east. Now, I knock District 2 (and MVC) football with some frequency, and I’ll believe any of the northern teams winning the subregional title when I see it, but the Spartans bring back a ton. Although they’ll need to break in a new starter at quarterback, Devon Weidman, Sean Judge, and LJ Wesneski each caught at least 30 passes last year, which will certainly ease the transition. Wesneski in particular is an All State candidate at tight end who holds a number of FCS offers. They also bring back three of five offensive linemen, including big time sophomore tackle Chris Bleich, a 6’6 315 pound behemoth who will be the most highly recruited player out of District 2 since Geno Lewis. Defensively, ends Wesneski and Chris Reese combined for 14 sacks last year and middle linebacker Billy Davidson is a classic, high motor, physical high school linebacker. They’re going to need to find a quarterback, but WVW’s recent run under center gives me confidence in the programs ability to develop one.

This Week: They open with Wyoming Area as heavy favorites.

5. Easton
District Titles: 2010, 2009, 2004, 2003, 1993, 1991, 1990
Returning Starters: 8 (3/5)

Preseason Chatter: They’re obviously going to run the ball, it’s Easton, but they may look more like the 2010 and 2011 versions of Easton that relied on the arms of athletic, senior quarterbacks as their primary offense. Like those teams, it’ll probably be running back by committee rather than one or two bell cows. The closer parallel is the 2011 team, which like this season, had an entirely new group of receivers and tight ends. Defensively, they might be very good. They have all sorts of athletes up front and in the secondary, and Easton’s had good linebacker play since the McKinley administration.

This Week: Easton hosts Pleasant Valley, who they beat rather soundly in both their season opener and first round playoff game last year. Both teams lost a ton of players to graduation, though PV running back Austyn Borre is back and should break the 4,000 career yard barrier this season (and has an outside shot at 5,000). If Easton’s defense can bottle him up, they should roll.

Apologies if this has been covered in a previous thread, but can one of the Western PA enthusiasts shed some light on scheduling rules/regulations for the WPIAL? Specifically, why do none of the teams play games outside of the WPIAL? In AAAA Sections 1 & 2, there are 8 teams per section and 9 regular season games. Perusing the WPIAL master schedule, it looks like the games outside of a particular section are played against another section in the same class - e.g. Central Catholic (Section 1) plays Bethel Park (Section 2) and Connellsville (Section 3) in its non-Section 1 games.

I understand that a team must pay every other team within its own section, but is this it a WPIAL requirement that games outside of one's own section be played within the same class of the WPIAL? It's very different from the scheduling conventions in Eastern PA (e.g. out-of-state games; games between classes; etc) and I was just curious why.

http://www.wpial.org/general/stuff/foot/15-16 ftb grids all.pdf

In between classes and thought that I would post the every day crap that football coaches go through. Many of you know of the struggles that the team I coach has had over the past two years but after many nights drinking scotch and gray hairs we have arrived at "we are OK Ville". We are now competitive and are sitting at 1-1. But anyway one of the reasons we have made the jump is due to increased participation, we went from 26 varsity players in 2013 to 51 in 2015 and from 66 overall to 108 . Now other than hearing you guys stink we hear hey why isn't my son playing. I had an email of a parent the size of the book Gone with the Wind on what she thinks and why her son does not play. It was rather interesting reading to say the least. But as we sit on the cusp to possibly going from OK ville to good I realized this is what coaches go through year after year. Crazy but who wants to be a football coach

Any word on the front runners to replace Clement? From poking around on the roster, Davion Kidd-Jackson is not listed on their Hudl or MaxPreps roster for the year. Is he still at SJP?

It looks like they have a new guy who moved here from the Tampa area? Aaron Angelos? Some quick google work shows he threw for 1,200 yards at a 2A school in Florida as a freshman last year. Is the anticipation that he's the guy?

* Trinity (Euless) beat De LaSalle 26-21, USA Today's #1 team....not! Wipe out City for the Valley Girls where the surf was definitely not up trying to take one in Texas.

* #4 St. Thomas Aquinas (7A champ) beat #2 Booker T Washington (3A champ, 3 straight) 35-3 snapping a 41 g winning streak. STA (Lauderdale) love beating Miami schools who feel they play the best football in state and did this one thoroughly, 424 tot yds showing them what real team speed is.

* #3 Bishop Gorman (#1 last year) beat #20 Chandler 35-14. Not much of a gunfight between theses dudes with Vegas defeating Chandler, AZ easy. Wow...these guys really looked good.

* #19 St. Edward beat Gilman School 14-13. St. Ed's-Cleveland is always a load and fortunately Gilman (Balt, MD) isn't playing any of our locals this year. They follow up with Good Counsel and Paramus Catholic.

* #22 IMG Academy beat Miramar 38-14. IMG finally starting to play some real schools in Florida taking down enigmatic Miramar who fields a super team one year followed by a dud the next; 8-4 last year, then 12-1, 7-5, 13-1, 8-4, 14-1, etc, etc. IMG rebounds from last week's 19-7 loss to a consistent Florida power, American Heritage (Plantation).

Wow. Puts things into perspective. Best wishes to this young man for a speedy recovery.

http://blogs.post-gazette.com/sport...augh-diagnosed-with-leukemia-will-miss-season

there hasn't been any talk of garnet valley- how have their scrimmages gone? Is ricci still the head man? Any solid players besides field and west?

Sad news from Montclair going into Saturday's game against Neshaminy. 39 year Defensive Line Coach J.R. Sangiuliano passed away last Monday. Montclair canelled their Thursday scrimmage with St. Joseph's Regional. He leaves behind a wife and two children. Truly a sad start to the Mounties season.

Montclair is 53 -7 with three state titles with their present coaching staff and Sangiuliano played a big part in it as the Mounties D Line is usually very strong.

This Saturday's game will be a real test for Neshaminy as the Redskins try to rebound from an uncharacteristic 4 - 6 record last year as Montclair is expected to have another excellent season. Adding to Montclair's expected power will be a strong emotional component. Expect the Mounties top come out strong and their Defensive line to try even harder than usual to impose it's will on the Redskins experienced but still rather youthful line.

During their scrimmage with a very good Wayne Hills team (A team that also has multiple State Championships) Sophomore QB Tarrin Earle, 6'2, 175, stood out and showed a good arm connecting with 6'3 Senior WR Elijah J. Robinson on a long strike behind the D. They return diminutive but explosive Wr Daniel Webb, a 5'6 sophomore who accumulated 322 recieving yards, and 5 Tds on only 12 receptions. Webb also sees time at RB and rushed for 123 yards on 16 carries, adding another 3 TDs returning kicks. These two (webb and Robinson) will be a handful for the Redskins corners. Jr., Chris McCoy and Soph, Donnell Walker also are QBs with something to offer the Mounties.

The Mounties are led by senior captains Fokam Parfait, 6' 210, RB/LB, Jason Campbell, 6'3, 220 DE/TE, Nasir Walker, 6',175 WR/FS and Isiah Smith 6'1, 260 OL/DL. Their lines are rather robust and will be a real challenge. They are loaded with speed as well.

Neshaminy is not without weapons as discussed on these boards elsewhere. Mason Jones looks like the best QB Neshaminy has had in quite awhile. WR/DBs Denzel Hughes and Zach Tredway are large targets with good speed and exceptional hands. Tredway seems to never drop a ball. Look for Hughes to match up with Robinson when the Skins are on D. TE Billy Ritchie is going to have to spend most of his time blocking that aggresive and talented Mountie Dline. RB Will Dogba is very good and if the line can open some holes it will be interesting to see how well the Skins move the ball.

Last year, Gonzaga was a whole different kind of animal, high national ranking and all. This year, Montclair is more doable, but think of them as being LaSalle, St. Joe Prep, PCC level. If Neshaminy can win this game, they will be a very tough opponent this year. Winning looks unlikely though given the circumstances, location/emotion/talent

Had a nice win against a typically good Chicago Catholic program over the weekend (beat St. Rita's 37-0). I've heard Malvern has a nice team this year. I see they play some PCL teams, so could be interesting to see how they compete. Anyone with thoughts on this year's Malvern Prep team?

Judge vs. Ryan is at 2 Friday which is a horrible time for this rivalry everyone will be taking nooners I guess.Can't wait til we go to wildwood next season

6. Pine Richland 15-1
Silver medal winner Pine Richland graduated nearly the entire team but return many that got valuable time given the blowouts on the way to a record setting 15 win season. This year’s team will be built on that platform along with the return of OT/DL Matthew Hampton (6-4, 255, sr), OT James Williard (6-5, 270, sr), WR/SS Anthony Battaglia (6-1, 200, sr, 41/640) and MLB Grant LeMirande (6-1, 250, so). It appears that Coach Eric Kasperowicz has settled on starting sophomore quarterback Phil Jurkovek (6-5. 210) to replace Ben DiNucci who had a remarkable season completing 69% of his passes for 3886 yards. His touchdown to interception ratio was 42 to 7. Also gone is running back Conner Slomka’s 1480 yards along with receivers Michael Merhaut and D’ondre Gastion. Merhaut caught 101 passes for 1488 yards with Gastion catching 58 for 1167 yards making Anthony Battaglia’s return key. Their first two games are home with the second being North Allegheny who they edged last year in Wexford 28-24! Payback? Then it’s clear sailing for the next four except for the speed bump at North Hills that could jolt them. Seneca Valley and Butler follow before the big encounter with Pittsburgh Central Catholic. So they get their toughest games at home, North Allegheny and Central Catholic.

7. North Allegheny 8-3
NA is looking for a quarterback with Riley Truman the leading candidate to fill the bill. They return good numbers at running back with Mike Pope (5-6, 160, jr, 65/552) and Nick Provenzano (5-6, 165, sr, 48/229) back in the fold joined by receivers Griffin Sestili, Matt Sell and Ethan Maenza. As always, they come at you with a big line hinged on the play of offensive tackle Joshua Lugg (6-6, 290, jr, Notre Dame). He’s joined with Josh Morgan (5-11, 230, jr), Charles Sanders (6-1, 260, sr), Vaughn Wallace (6-3, 270, sr), Nick Burks (6-1, 245, sr), TE Griffin Sestili (6-3, 230, jr) and others. Last year’s team like Central Catholic were close, losing to Pine Richland 28-24 then Penn Trafford in the Wpial 35-31. There were some key personnel losses to graduation with linebacker Layne Skundrich, TE/DE Paul Blendinger and WR/CB Clay Byerly moving on. Byerly was their leading receiver with 27 receptions for 405 yards and seven Tds. Quarterback Jeff Clemens (6-2, 200) also graduated and is more a loss for his running ability than passing, rushing for 414 yards on 112 carries while throwing for 1182 with a 48% completion rate. It’s never been Air Allegheny but that’s still a loss. The opening schedule is again brutal playing at Seneca Valley (whole new crew) followed by three difficult games, Pine Richland, Central Catholic and Upper St. Clair. Some people enjoy these games farther towards the end of the season but they do have the benefit of giving us an early sneak peek of the area’s power structure.

8. State College 6-7
With a ton of bodies coming back from last year, the Lions are loaded for big things if they can find a trigger man. Last year’s team was super young, starting six juniors and three sophomores on defense alone. But they still managed to hold teams like Central Dauphin to 10 points and CD East and Cumberland Valley to 14 each. It was their first year under Coach Matt Lintal who replaced Al Wolski (87-42) following his 10 year stint as the head coach. Lintal’s Lions made the Quad-A quarterfinals before bowing to silver medalist Pine Richland 49-29. Prior to that, they had narrow losses to Martinsburg-WV (11-2) 27-21, Central Dauphin (11-3) 10-7 and Central Dauphin East (10-3) 14-12, facing a difficult schedule where 10 of their 13 opponents had winning records and a combined won-loss of 100-29. So things are looking good this year with State returning most of last year’s team that is clearly battle and playoff tested. The task is to find a quarterback to replace John Weakland (6-4, 195, 1744py, 56%). Do that and they’re a force.

9. McKeesport 10-2
The Tigers return all their running backs and at least seven from the defense to give the Foothills the appearance of a good race. Quarterback TyWann Smith graduated but Tymar Sutton (6-0, 200) with 810 rush yards returns. Most of the primary ball carriers return, all seniors featuring Khaleke Hudson’s1644 rush yards at 6-2, 210. In support is Mark Cromerdie (5-7, 152) with 558 yards so they’re loaded in the backfield, ready to Flex it again. The line has at least four returnees, Miras Kelly (5-9, 270, sr), Lyle Petrosky (6-4, 275, sr), LB/OL Davon Brown (5-11, 215, jr) and Luke Eckels (6-0, 235, sr). Not to rain on anyone’s parade but the Tigers two losses were of the uncompetitive variety losing to Penn Trafford 28-0 and Pine Richland 42-7, while the ten wins came against opponents with a combined won-loss of 37-62. The schedule duplicates last year’s where they’ll likely open with big wins against Connellsville and Altoona (big rebuild) before the road trip to Penn Trafford. With a number of veteran teams in the Foothills led by returning quarterbacks, the competition should be stiffer playing Plum and Norwin, even Hempfield.

10. Cumberland Valley 9-3
They’ll break in a new quarterback to run the Wing-T supported by good numbers along the lines, people like seniors Chad Morris (6-1, 235), Shannon Dolan (6-0, 230) and James Koblick (6-2, 285), plus juniors Robert Goodrich (6-4, 240) and Brock Ragni (6-2, 270). A stable load of experienced backs return to help the new QB Josh Ferguson (6-0. 190, sr) transition to full time status. And a great nucleus of senior linebackers headed by Cole Kline (6-2, 215, 110 tackles) and Shannon Dolan (6-0, 230) return. Although the Eagles haven’t won a state title in years, last turning the trick in 1992 beating Upper St. Clair 28-12, they’ve been the alpha dog in the Mid Penn, winning ten Quad-A district titles and two more back when the large school classification was Triple-A. Others have challenged, most recently Central Dauphin (opened 1955) and Harrisburg High but the Eagles are always the team you have to beat in the Commonwealth. As good as the young Rams of Central Dauphin were last year and under rated Central Dauphin East, CV tied them both for Mid Penn-Commonwealth honors at 6-1, beating CD 7-0 while narrowly losing to Bishop McDevitt 6-3. The Mid Penn title always goes through this West Shore powerhouse.

Login to view embedded media they looked great.

Please post any scrimmages you know about as the season approaches. Thanks. I am officially retired & will go to any & all scrimmages----- with a folding chair of course.

Just because St. Joseph's Prep deserves their own thread....especially after winning consecutive AAAA titles.
Anyone think they'll be able to replace last year's losses and do it again? It wasn't a cakewalk last year with a great team that had close calls vs LaSalle, Parkland and Pine Richland. Any thoughts?

Kind of big coaching news around these parts. Parkland quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Jim Terwillger took a job as an assistant at East Stroudsburg University, announced yesterday.

Terwilliger is the hot young coach in the Lehigh Valley. He had a stellar career at ESU where he won the 2005 "Little Heisman" as the national player of the year in Division II, was a muti-time All American, set a bunch of NCAA passing records. He had a successful stint right out of college as the OC at East Stroudsburg South before taking over as the head coach at Pleasant Valley. There, he led the Bears to their only D11 Subregional finals appearance.

His teaching position was furloughed last year, so he was forced to step down at PV. Parkland was quick to scoop him up, as that always do when talented assistants are on the market. At Parkland, he's been the main mentor for Devante Cross, who has developed into an FBS prospect under his watch.

It will be interesting to see how Parkland adjusts. I think OC Chris Kinnade called plays, but Terwilliger certainly had his hands all over the offense last year. I wonder if they saw this coming, and that was part of the reason they went out a and got Bret Comp, who coached record setting offenses and quarterbacks at Wilson (and won the 2006 AA state title) with the Air Raide. Comp is coaching receivers, but very well could take the reigns at quarterback too.