Barmore from Neuman /Goretti playing for Alabama,Kyle Pitts from Wood playing for Florida,mark Webb from Wood playing for Georgia ,and pat Garrow from Conwell/Egan playing for Boston College all were solid contributors to their teams saturday.

Ok. It's the offseason already. Another great and exciting season for Pa football in the books. With that being said, I would like to pose a question to the board

In 2003, NP and Prep were 2 of the best teams in the country. And unfortunately, there was no system in place at the time for the 2 teams to play each other. At the time and for years following, fans(experts) seemed to be about in the 50/50 range of who would of won the game had they played that year.

My question is this..... after all these years, and the current Prep run/dominance, does anyone still think NP could of won that game?

I am a public school product, and thought for the longest time that Kevin Akins and the Knights would of come out victorious. They were a great HS team. However, seeing what Prep is on the state level has probably changed my mind.

This is not meant to be an anti NP post or pro Prep post. I have no affiliation to either school. Both great great star studded HS teams. Just curious to see if people's minds have been changed like mine.

Anyway, happy and healthy holidays to everyone on the board!!🎅🎅

2022 Season ending State Top 30 (Dec 19, 2022)

As always, here’s a best esti-guestimate for a Top 30 with a confession upfront that it’s pretty much impossible to do. Teams get all mixed up; Team-A beats Team-B, then Team-B beats the team Team-A lost too jumping Team-A and on and on. After looking at videos and game stats, it’s still just an opinion. So here’s a mixed bag of data, results, stats and more about the teams that might be interesting to the board. Wrote a little more about the top ten teams and less for the rest to keep it manageable.

1 St. Joseph’s Prep 12-1, 6A State Champion
This one was easy, and that’s before they crushed Harrisburg 42-7 in the 6A final. The win gives them their 7th State Title in the last 10 years, having also won gold in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2014 and 2013. They also won Silver medals (runner up) in 2021 and 2017 meaning they’ve come in 1st or 2nd nine of the last ten years. This past season saw them manage another difficult schedule, losing only to St. Thomas Aquinas (13-0) 48-37, before winning out with 12 straight defeating St. Peters-NJ (7-4) 55-20, Erasmus-Brooklyn (11-2) 14-7, Gonzaga-DC and LaSalle x 2 (not their best editions at 5-6), Roman (9-3) 42-0, Northeast (9-3) 49-6, Parkland (9-5) 55-21, Garnet Valley (13-1) 48-7 and Harrisburg (11-3) 42-7. They did this with a young group that averaged 40ppg and allowed 14 with many from both sides returning next season, notably Qb Samaj Jones (2263-62&, 28 Tds, 641 rush yds) with most of the running backs and receivers.
2 Bishop McDevitt 13-1, 4A State Champion
This is the strongest McDevitt team I’ve seen (seen a few), with LeSean McCoy’s 2005 team that lost to McKeesport 14-13 with McCoy sidelined with an injury in the conversation along with quarterback Matt Johnson’s 2010 team that lost to Allentown Central Catholic 28-27 in the final. Their schedule while far from daunting, saw them play two teams that made finals appearances, losing to Imhotep (10-3) 19-14 in the opener, and defeating Aliquippa (13-1) 41-18 in the final. No one does that to Aliquippa. Other wins came against LaSalle (5-6) 56-7, Manheim Central (11-2) 40-0 in the district final and Crestwood (13-2, D2) 35-0 in the state semifinal. At 49ppg average, this was a record setting offense with an aggressive defense at 9ppg. Like SJP, they return key skill personnel next season in sophomore Qb Stone Saunders (3583-69%, 54/5), another new and outstanding tailback broken in in freshman Maurice Barnes (6-2, 195, 43/312) and the #2 receiver Rico Scott with 1184 yards in receptions.
3 Pine Richland 13-3, 5A State Champion
Like St. Joe’s and McDevitt, Pine Richland has an extraordinary quarterback in Ryan Palmieri who made all the difference this season. After a 1-3 start, he was moved back to quarterback where they went on a 12 game winning streak, capped by a hard fought 28-14 win in the 5A final against Imhotep. Palmeiri was outstanding, completing 4 of 4 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 196 yards on 31 carries for 2 touchdowns and getting a 40-yard Pick-6! On the year he completed 72% for 934 yards with a 7/3 ratio. He was also the #7 rusher in the WPIAL at 1733 yards with 24 more touchdowns. Since 2014, they’ve been on one of the best runs in the state with finals appearances in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020 and this year, winning Gold in 17, 20 and 22 along with the runner- up Silver Medal in the epic 39-38 double overtime loss to Manheim Central on a blocked extra point in 2003. The program is rolling again with Coach Jon LeDonne making them viable after the disruption of 2021 with statistics improved across the board. As with St. Joe’s and McDevitt, look for them to continue putting quality teams on the field despite losing Palmieri to graduation with running back Ethan Pillar (198/1059) returning along with quarterback Kanan Spencer (initial 2022 starter) and 3 of 5 linemen including current juniors Ryan Cory, Logan Alexander and Jonathan Smith with Brady Carrigan, Jack Beam and Isiah Kerns graduating.
4 Cathedral Prep 5A 8-3
Can’t forget a solid Prep team that lost to Archbishop Hoban-OH (14-2) 47-14, the Div-2 runner up, St. Frances-NY (6-4) 28-26, then Pine Richland 21-14 in the playoffs, failing to hold a 14-0 lead in the quarterfinals. You wonder how the game played on Nov 25th might have gone had Prep not been idle since Oct 28th per the awkward playoff format? But the regular season saw them wallop archrival McDowell 41-0 which matches the intensity of an Army-Navy game in that city. Awesome rivalry! McDowell went on to take State College to 3 overtime periods in states before losing 57-50 at their place. Cathedral actually overachieved this year with a young team, doing it with first year coach Mike Krahe replacing the legendary Mike Mischler. Looks like the program is in good hands. For next year, they return quarterback Luke Costello (51%-1201, 15/4), who took over for the injured senior Carter Barnes and their leading rushers led by Dajoure Hollingsworth (853) and Suhtaun Lewis (718). The defense returns 7 starters and many experienced players.
5 Imhotep 4A 10-3
Their only regular season losses came against Archbishop Spalding-MD (11-1, MIAA-A champ) one of the better MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic) teams 20-13 and Malvern Prep (8-2) 17-13 of the Inter-Ac. Wins of note were against city rival Northeast High (9-3) 28-0; Roman Catholic (9-3) 14-6 who defeated Wilson, Trinity and Perk Val; Whitehall (8-6, D11) 55-7, who beat Parkland and Allentown Central Catholic; and Upper Dublin (14-1) 21-14, who beat Central Bucks West, North Penn, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Souderton and Rustin for comparison/linkage purposes. That’s a nice spread helping to get them to the 5A finals where they lost to Pine Richland 28-14 after giving up 21 unanswered second half points. Since 2013, they’ve won Silver Medals in 2013, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 2022 with a Gold Medal in 2015. Looking at just a short list of this year’s recruits alone wanted by major college football powers suggests there might (should?) have been a few more Gold Medals in that group. Some egs; returning starters DE Zahir Mathis, CB Kenneth Woseley, CB Naim Dantzer and DT Jahsear Whittingham are a few. Linebackers Semaj Bridgeman and Rahmir Stewart are two more who graduate. Offensively there’s one of the top sophomores in the country in running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman and junior quarterback Mikal Davis. Bottom line, who’s complaining about 7 finals appearances the last 10 years!
6 Upper Dublin 5A 14-1
This was their best team since 2015’s 14-1 group that averaged 41ppg and allowing 10. This year’s offence was at 33ppg and their best defense EVER at 8ppg. They had notable wins against Central Bucks West (9-5) 35-7, North Penn (6-6) 32-28, Souderton (8-3) 34-3, Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-3) 30-0 and Rustin (11-2) 21-7 before losing to Imhotep 21-14 in the 5A semifinal. They’ll enter 2022 without standout quarterback Colin O’Sullivan who threw at 64% for 2835 yards with a 35 to 5 Td-Pick ratio! Also gone are 4 of their top 5 receivers taking 133 receptions, 20 touchdowns and 1973 yards with them. The D was hit hard returning 4 starters while graduating 536 tackles. That’s some big losses. But a mild surprise to the Suburban One faithful shows a 10 year won-loss of 97-24 to puts them atop the league ahead of North Penn at 93-28. Looks like they know how to rebuild in Fort Washington.
7 Roman Catholic 5A 9-3
A lot of talent on this team winning on the road against Wilson (8-4) 46-15, Perkiomen Valley (11-2) 26-10 (upper tier D3, D1 teams), and a lesser but interesting/building 2A Trinity (10-5, D3, Mid-Penn) program, 41-14. A competitive 10-0 loss to Malvern Prep was also away, putting 5 of their first 6 games on the road. Then a 31-14 win against inconsistent LaSalle (5-6) before the blowout to St. Joe’s 42-0 and narrow loss to Imhotep (10-3) 14-6. They stayed competitive in most games with a stubborn defense that allowed 12ppg by year’s end. That’s their best defense since 2007’s 12-2 team allowed 11, the year they beat St. Joe’s 10-9 in the PCL-Red title game. Hard as it is to believe, 2022 was also their first winning season since 2012.
8 Harrisburg 6A 11-3
6A ‘Public School Champ’ Harrisburg was crushed in the final by a fired up bunch of Hawks 42-7, revealing the gulf between St. Joseph’s Prep and many PA public schools. But it doesn’t diminish the quality schedule Harrisburg played to get here, beating Wilson (8-4) 32-21, Central York (10-2) 44-7, Cumberland Valley (9-4) 30-14, Manheim Township (9-4) 44-6 and State College (13-1) 27-7. What’s scary about that ‘gulf’ is that this was a good football team by many mesurables. Next year’s group will likely be strong but diminished losing FB Mahkai Hopkins and Kyle Williams, both over 1000 rush yards, Williams with another 577 in receptions. The defense loses their record sack DE Terrell Reynolds. But sophomore quarterback Shawn Lee (1662-68%, 568ry) and their #2 receiver freshman Elias Coke 25/372 to name a few and at least 7 to the defense return. They were a young team at many positions this season.
9 State College 6A 13-1
These guys were on cruise control for most of the season blowing through their first thirteen opponents including some of the better teams in the state verses Downingtown East (9-4) 32-31, Harrisburg (11-3) 20-6 and Cumberland Valley (7-4) 48-21 before taking down the best of the west defeating McDowell (10-3) 57-50 in triple overtime and WPIAL power North Allegheny (11-1) 28-7 before losing to conference rival Harrisburg 27-7 in the playoff rematch. They fielded an interesting dual Qb system with Finn Furmanek and Owen Yerka that worked without telegraphing with both effective throwers and runners. Yerka (54%-481, 5/2, 347ry) returns with frosh hot shot D’Antae Sheffey (5-11, 185) who rushed for 1729 yards. Key losses are OL Michael Dincher (6-2, 295), TE/DE Stephen Scourtis (6-4, 240, 104 tackles) and linebackers Will Stone (67 tackles) and John Scott (105 tackles). They played a lot of youth on defense (4 sophs, 2 jrs) who return 427 tackles to a defense that was improved to 17ppg from 23.
10 Aliquippa 3A 13-1
Like State College above, the Quips breezed through the regular season unscathed defeating quality teams in Armstrong (10-2) 28-14 and their exceptional quarterback Cadin Olsen who threw for 3199 yards (63%, 43-13 ratio), McKeesport (11-2) 42-7, Central Valley (11-2) x 2, 35-14 and 34-7, and the “Jekyll-Hyde” team from Allentown Central Catholic (9-6) 31-10. Then they ran into a team from Harrisburg that matched their size, speed and physicality with a superior passing game, and a whole lot of attitude, losing 41-18 to Bishop McDevitt. But it was a good season, winning their 19th WPIAL championship with a team that before McDevitt, battered opponents with good quarterback play and special running backs operating behind a massive line. The backfield featured Qb Quentin Good (51%-1929, 23/6), and running backs Tiquai Hayes (250/1959) and Jon Tracy (128/818), doing their thing behind guards Jason McBride (6-2, 298, sr) and Nico Eberhardt (6-2, 286, sr), tackles Naquan Crowder (6-3, 341, sr) and Kamari Matthews (6-4, 332, jr), and center Braylon Wilcox (5-11, 248, jr). The entire backfield returns.
11 North Allegheny 6A 11-2
The Tigers beat McDowell (10-3, D10) 29-18, Pitt Central Catholic (7-5) twice, 7-3 and 35-21 and survived some speed bumps in Seneca Valley (6-4) 27-26, Penn Trafford (6-5) 20-13, Mt. Lebanon (5-6) 20-6 even Canon-McMillan (5-6) twice, 35-21 and 7-0 who had their moments in the well balanced 6A-5A WPIAL. Had losses to high quality Pine Richland 28-17 and State College 28-7. The offense at 26ppg was their lowest since 2006 and an issue. But the defense at 13ppg, an Art Walker hallmark, kept them in most games where the offense failed in wins against Central Catholic 7-3 and C-Mac 7-0. In the end State College stressed them too much in the quarterfinal that wasn’t quite as bad as the 28-7 final score indicated. Weird game. Bottom line, they won their first Wpial title in 10 years advancing them to the state quarterfinal.
12 Emmaus 6A 10-2
Emmaus stood out in a number of categories, with wins against Freedom (10-3), Allentown Central Catholic (9-6), and Parkland (9-5) muted by a 6-point loss to Nazareth (9-2) and a 1-point loss to Freedom in the D-11 semifinal; another dreaded rematch. Credit to Freedom for stopping the 2-pt conversion at the end. Would like to have seen Qb Jack Fotta (63%, 2081, 23/3; 71-365 for 10 Tds rushing) get deeper in the playoffs the way Palmieri did for Pine Richland.
13 Garnet Valley 6A 13-1
The Jags blew through regular season unchallenged, excepting CB West 14-7 in the opener then handled Ridley (8-4) 35-7, Springfield (8-4) 20-7 and Haverford (6-5) 25-7 with playoff wins against Spring Ford (8-4) 30-27ot, Downingtown East (9-4) 28-17 and CB West 35-7 again before losing to St. Joseph’s Prep 48-7. Quite a first year for Coach Eric VanWyk who was a G-Val varsity assistant for 10 years under Mike Ricci, and a G-Val grad in 2008, playing college baseball at LaSalle. A favorable schedule saw all the teams above at Garnet Valley except Haverford and SJP.
14 McDowell 6A 10-3
McDowell fielded their most productive offense ever, averaging 43ppg. Everyone had trouble stopping the Trojans except crosstown rival Cathedral Prep who throttled em 41-0, outgaining them 387-188. 13 penalties for 125 yards prevented any momentum. Even North Allegheny was in trouble through the third quarter, behind 18-15 at home before pulling out a 29-18 win. And State College probably doesn’t want to see them any time soon after 3 overtime periods before eking out a 57-50 win at home in the PIAA 1st round. The big offense masked a leaky D at 23ppg that prevented more.
15 Downingtown East 6A 9-4
Funky bunch here with a 1-point season opening loss to State College, a 4-point loss to Coatesville, then a 3-point loss to Downingtown West before flipping the losses to Coatesville 31-15 and D-West 28-17 in ‘districts’, then losing a tough one (up 17-14 entering 4th) at Garnet Valley in the district semifinal 28-17. Probably low in the tanks for that one following rivals Coatesville and D-West. This is one of the top programs in the area with an 82-34 record the last 10 years. Except for the Covid-2020 season at 2-3, they haven’t been below 9 wins since 2013. Like so many teams across the state throughout the classifications, it was close but no cigar season.
16 Central Valley 3A 11-2
Fielded another potent team that defeated Avonworth (11-2), West Allegheny (7-4) and Thomas Jefferson (8-4), but fell short against Aliquippa twice, 35-24 and 34-7 in the WPIAL final for their only losses of the year. They were a notch down from previous teams that got to the finals the last three years, winning ‘Gold’ in 20 and 21. Their 4-year record is 51-4 (!) with an offense averaging 43ppg and a defense at 10.25 points a game. Some kind of program.
17 Wyomissing 3A 13-1
The Spartans rolled over their first 13 opponents with a massive O-Line and a stable of running backs garnering impressive wins against Cocalico (10-5) 38-7, Lampeter Strasburg (9-3) 21-0, West Perry (11-2) 63-7 and Danville (12-2) 21-19 before running into a red hot Neumann Goretti (11-4) team that beat them 20-17 in a mild upset.
18 Southern Columbia 13-3 2A State Champion
Southern’s path to their 6th straight state title (8th straight appearance) and 13th overall mimicked Pine Richland’s by getting off to a bad start at 5-3. It fooled you since they were losing to good football teams beginning with tradition rich Loyalsock (11-2, 3A) with a veteran team 27-10, then Danville (12-1, 3A) 49-14 who looked like the next 3A state champion (49-14!?), and finally Mount Carmel (12-1) who beat them in Catawissa 35-21. Coach Roth worked his magic with a few returns from injuries enabling an 8 game run to the final where they beat a worthy opponent in Westinghouse (14-1, D8) 37-22.
19 Crestwood 4A 13-2
Big line, big ground game but little threat from above holds them here instead of higher with two wins against Valley View (10-3), an assortment of capable but flawed teams (Wilkes Barre, Hazelton) and the ‘attention getter’ against Philly’s Bonner-Prendie (11-2) that shot them up in the rankings before the semifinal loss to Bishop McDevitt.
20 Exeter Township 5A 12-1
Instant Karma for Exeter looking unbeatable their first twelve games with a big and talented OL (Anthony Caccese 6-6 285, DE commit) and versatile offense before the upset to Cocalico 34-14. Last year’s team stunned the state and Governor Mifflin upsetting the Mustangs in the district final 31-28.
21 Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast (Bonner-Prendi) 4A 11-2
Crestwood’s running game of 193 yards doomed Bonner who couldn’t get it going, rushing for 90 in a 21-14 loss at Northeast High (Charlie Martin) in the quarterfinals. Bonner was the real deal with a 14-12 loss to undefeated Haverford School (10-0) and a strong win against Neumann Goretti (11-4) 26-14.
22 Belle Vernon 12-2, AAA State Champion
The Leopards toughened up against Big School bullies 4A McKeesport (11-2) and 5A Penn Trafford (6-5) early in the season, losing narrowly 14-6 and 14-13 before winning 11 straight including wins against TJ, Elizabeth Forward, Freeport, Avonworth and Central Martinsburg who have a combined won-loss of 50-13. They put an exclamation on the season with a goal line stand that turned away one of Philly’s finest in Neumann Goretti (11-4) 9-8.
23 Saints Neumann-Goretti 3A 11-4
The Saints recovered from a 3-3 start with an 8-1 finish earning a berth in the PIAA 3A Final where they fell short at the goal line minus running back Shawn Battle (suspended) to Belle Vernon 9-8. Impressive playoff wins against Northwestern Lehigh (11-3) and formerly undefeated Wyomissing (13-1) got them there.
24 Steelton Highspire 14-1, A State Champion
Steel High won their second state title in three years with a 22-8 ‘short-handed’ victory against Union (12-3, D7) 22-8. The suspension of top receiver Durrell Ceasar (45/668/10Tds) allowed them to show off their talent with Jaeion Perry catching 7 passes for 122 yards. These guys just had too many weapons as demonstrated in wins against Dist-7 Bishop Canevin, D3 Trinity, D5 Windber, D11 Northern Lehigh, D3 West Perry and D4 Canton who collectively have a won-loss of 68-15. Rollers!
25 Rustin 5A 11-2
Stumbled vs Kennett (8-4) 24-14 (?) then breezed through an unchallenging slate until the 5A district final won in overtime 28-27 at Strath Haven. Lost in next game to Upper Dublin (14-1) 21-7 in a competitive game excepting inordinate penalties by Rustin (13/110). This was their first 11-win team since 2010’s 11-2 team that was shocked by Neshaminy (12-2) 33-7 in the district semifinal.
26 Strath Haven 5A 12-1
Nice team with a great back in Anthony Crawford setting the all-time single season rushing record rushing at 2089 yards. The Panthers’ promising playoff drive was stopped in overtime on a mishandled snap going for 2 in a 28-27 loss to Rustin in the 5A district final. Too bad, as this was their best defense at 11ppg yield since 2006 that allowed 8.
27 Central Bucks West 6A 9-5
The Bucks were seeing double this year losing twice to Garnet Valley (13-1) 14-7, 35-7, beating North Penn (6-6) twice 35-14, 44-35 and defeating Central Bucks East (8-3) twice 21-14 and 42-26, the team I was soft on in preseason. Oh well. The 35-7 loss at Upper Dublin (14-1) revealed them (no pass threat) as did Pennsbury’s Galamama Mulbah gashing them for 234 yards in a ‘exposing’ 26-21 loss. But a second 9-win season in a row says it’s going in the right direction.
28 Perkiomen Valley 6A 11-2
Nice year with a sophomore quarterback in Patrick MacDonald at 64%, 1222 yards but a poor 11/2 ratio. But it was good enough to beat Downingtown West (9-2) 30-29, Spring-Ford (8-4) 7-6 and Pope John Paul II (10-2) 21-14 in the regular season and Souderton (9-3) 27-14 in the postseason before losing to CB West by a point, 14-13. Roman (9-3) completely outgunned them 26-13 in the regular season.
29 Cocalico 5A 10-5
Like a number of outstanding teams this year, teams like Pine Richland, Southern Columbia, Imhotep and others, Cocalico also survived a rocky start at 3-3, then finished strong with a rebuilt team, winning out with a 34-14 surprise at Exeter to win the 5A District-3 title (no small feat) before losing to Pine Richland 34-12 in the 1st round. Nice rebuild!
30 Upper St. Clair 5A 10-3
Anyone knowing anything about USC’s history knows they’ve been in a funk for years with a number of ‘near miss’ teams. But it might surprise to know it’s been more like a draught with this season being their first double digit winning season since 2013’s 11-1 team. An offense averaging 29ppg was a big improvement over last year. Where they separated was (surprise, surprise) defense, hitting a nine-year low of 14ppg. But the D failed them against Bethel Park (10-2) 27-14, Canon McMillian’s (5-7) scary bunch 28-24 and Pine Richland 34-3 in the Wpial title game.
TIE
Bethel Park 5A 10-2
Like USC, Bethel emerged from the funk of a 6 year run of 31-28 football and into the bright lights of their first 10-win season since 2009’s 10-2 team. They did it with solid quarterbacking from Tanner Pfeiffer (64%-1438, 14/8, sr), a ‘committee of 3’ rushing for 787 yards, 651 and 578, the latter by sophomore Ryan Petras who also caught 44 passes for 579 yards. All others graduate. The 17-7 loss to USC in the WPIAL semifinal, another dreaded rematch, kept them from getting a crack at Pine Richland in the Wpial final.

In terms of sheer talent, Imhotep can go toe to toe with anyone in the state/most of the region/a good chunk of the country almost every year. And almost every time I see them play, they are almost always the most undisciplined and sloppy team that I see play. The self inflicted wounds and the constant shooting themselves in the foot is almost astounding some times. And this isnt the first time I've seen this happen to them in Heshey(CV). Just goes to show you how important coaching is at this level. Doesnt seem like they have much of a gameplan offensively and havent made any noticeable adjustments on either side of the ball

This is not to take anything away from PR. They are playing great football right now. Also, there is a good amount of football left and anything can happen. But I always get so excited to see these next level kids play together and almost always come away disappointed after watching them

Final rankings for 2022…

For all the debating that happened this season, it was mostly settled on the field. My top 2 teams remained steady pretty much all season while a few teams like Pine-Richland, Belle Vernon, and Neumann-Goretti jumped on the radar with playoff runs. I would love to see a SJP-McDevitt game as I think McDevitt has the talent to give Prep the best game out of anyone else in the State. (I'd still take Prep by 21 but maybe it would be closer longer). So now onto 2023. Anyone have any thoughts on a Way-To Early Top 10 regardless of classification???

1. St. Joe’s Prep 12-1 (12)
2. Bishop McDevitt 13-1 (3)
3. Pine-Richland 12-3 (7)
4. Harrisburg 11-3 (3)
5. Imhotep Charter 10-3 (12)
6. Aliquippa 13-1 (7)
7. Belle Vernon 12-2 (7)
8. State College 13-1 (6)
9. Garnet Valley 14-1 (1)
10. Neumann-Goretti 11-4 (12)

I'll pick up the West season in the playoffs, after an up and down year that started with some sloppy games and a lot of injuries, but ended on a high note with the big rivalry win and upset over CB East. Having to go back on the road to East for round 1 wasn't ideal, but West jumped out to a 28-0 lead at the half and wasn't really threatened the rest of the way. They got good news right after the game ended, and would get a bonus home game against North Penn who had knocked off Pennsbury.

Not easy to beat Dick Beck twice in a year, but the shootout that followed was worth the price of admission. NP led 32-28 at the half, but West would limit them to only 3 in the second half to pull away to a 44-35 win, with over 500 yards of offense, 330 of them on the ground by Eli Boehm. At one point West scored on two consecutive 80 yard plays after touchbacks, interrupted only by a 65 yard TD run for North Penn for their own one-play drive. Game was iced by an acrobatic interception by McFadden.

Perk Valley was the opposite, a nail biting 14-13 win in the snow with West limiting PV to 129 yards of offense. PV scored only on a couple of short fields after an interception and then a shanked punt. It was a fantastic defensive effort, but unfortunately West lost two way all-league player McFadden to a broken collarbone near the end of the game. PV had a very good defense, and some excellent big guys up front. Definitely one of the best wins in the Rowan tenure.

West would have to play Garnet Valley without 5 defensive starters and their most explosive offensive weapon. The game was closer than the final score indicated, with a few big turning points... In the second quarter West had first and goal at the 3, trailing 7-0, and jumped offside on the first play. What followed was a comedy of penalties that pushed West back to near the 30 by 4th down. GV got the stop and drove down the field, helped by a bad 15 yard late hit penalty, for a 14-0 lead at halftime. At the time West had the momentum, forcing back to back punts in the second quarter. Next big blow was Clemens breaking his ankle during that West drive, losing another two way starter, and would have to play the second half down 6 starters on D. West came out in the 3rd quarter forcing a punt and then put a scoring drive together featuring a highlight reel catch and run by Boehm who threw two GV players to the ground with consecutive stiff arms. 14-7 - another GV punt and it looked like West was taking control of the game. They ran a play action to Boehm, who was wide open, uncovered down the middle of the field... Cooper was hit just as he threw and the ball didn't travel very far, intercepted. GV scored on the next play from around 25 yards out. That was it... West seemed to lose their fight after that. Season over.

SOL NATIONAL: The year of the RB in the SOL National / Return of Coach Snyder

PENNSBURY (Way up) 7-0, 9-2: Probably the best case scenario to have their legendary coach back at the same time you have a generational FB to run the ball. A couple teams had good chances to knock them off, with West fumbling the ball away for a scoop and score on what looked like a sure West TD for a 14 point swing in the final seconds of the first half, and then Pennridge looking like they might pull it off… but good teams make plays to win close games. Big questions next year are how do you replace the production of Galamama Mulbah (2000 yards) and does Coach Snyder go back to pure wing-t or does he retain some of the option offense he integrated into it this year? I’d assume they add more bodies from the school population and the weight program continues to pay dividends. I’m going to make the very safe prediction that they stay close to the top of the league for years to come.

CB WEST (Slightly down) 5-2, 9-5: West had their chances to make a run at the conference, but ultimately didn’t play consistent enough football to pull it off. At some point early in the season, (week 3 or 4 maybe?) Coach Rowan elevated Coach Goldrick back to OC (he was last the OC in 2019, Sanderson took over in 2020 and 2021 but retired) and the offense seemed to bounce back and forth much of the year between traditional wing-t and a lot of I-formation with Boehm at tailback. There seemed to be teams that just couldn’t stop the wing-t and then against other teams West spent the majority of the game in I-formation running straight downhill. They didn’t seem to have an obvious replacement at FB for Mancini, who had followed Fallon. Defense put up some fantastic efforts, with a very young and very undersized group across the board. DTs were both around 175 pounds, and only one of the three LBs weighed that much. They continued to play very physical football despite that, a credit to both the players and Coach Rowan instilling that style of play. Credit also to Coach Gehringer for the work he does with the o-line. They return in the neighborhood of 16-17 starters including Ganz Cooper for his 4th year at QB, Jack Williams at DE/TE, the big LT Hayden Mulligan, Cooper Taylor a hard hitting SS, Conor McFadden (the fastest player in the league) AJ Gerace at DT, Matt Cleland at OLB / punter and Ryan Clemens, a budding star at CB and RB(and kicker). Junior safety Jack Fleisher is hopefully also back from an ACL tear suffered against Quakertown. Returning underclassmen got to play in 4 playoff games this year, and those who were on the field in 2021 as sophomores have now played in 6. If they can stay healthy, and find a way to replace the 1650 yards from Boehm and probably 700 from FB Cherubini…they should be near the top of the league once again.

CB EAST (Up) 5-2, 8-3: East was having a fantastic run of a regular season until their old nemesis ruined the party. Ethan Shine (1900+ yards rushing), Liam Powers (OL, Penn State) and Pat Keller at QB led a strong senior class to their best regular season in memory. They certainly out-performed what I expected, they were bigger and better up front than they’ve been recently. What jumps out however is 5 straight losses now to West, and no playoff wins in at least the past decade? I’m sure the East faithful would like more to show for it than just leading the league in “all-league” players. Will they spread it out next year like they did in the past? Or stay with the run-heavy scheme they’ve used while they had Shine in the backfield and a big O-line? Joe Collins is a very good two way lineman who will lead the returning starters. Shine and Keller graduating leave two big holes to fill.

NORTH PENN (Down) 4-3, 6-6: One of the best offenses in the SOL, with 4 year starter Zeltt, Yazeed Haynes transferring in from N-G (Georgia) and an army of RBs; they never could pull together the defense for long enough stretches to challenge this year. After knocking off Pennsbury in round 1, they looked like they might make some noise in District 1 but ultimately couldn’t stop West and Boehm. At some point does Beck look to bring in a DC to try to straighten out their defensive woes? Can they replace the best QB in the league? They’ll reload like they usually do but clearly something has to change defensively as it has been their achilles heel for a long time now.

CB SOUTH (Slightly Up) 4-3, 6-5: South always seems to have a good team but much like East, can’t break through and win the big ones, especially in the playoffs, where they haven’t had a win during the current HC’s tenure. I really thought they’d knock off Souderton but offensively just couldn’t sustain anything in an uninspired 10-0 first round loss. They always seem to play West tougher than East does, and pulled off a big win against them at home this year. They’ll need to replace a solid senior QB in Szarko and slot receiver Donnelly, but they are always very good offensively and in the last couple years seem to be playing much better defense. They return a fair number of players, including big sophomore tackle Goetter and LB Moskowitz. I expect them to be top 3 in the league in 2023.

NESHAMINY (Slightly Up) 2-5, 4-6: This one is a head scratcher. They had a very very talented d-line, great size, some quality skill… but can’t seem to make anything out of what appears to be a very good roster. The opening sequence of the game against West seemed to sum up their year: Jet sweep right, gain of 8. Jet sweep left, no gain. Jet sweep right, loss of 6. Punt. They are losing studs like Buckys DE (Army), Dunkley DE (Duquesne), Zach TE and their back Barnett (1200 rushing yards). Time to change things up? New scheme, new blood on coaching staff?

PENNRIDGE (Way Down) 1-6, 2-8: The turning point of their season probably happened in the off-season when Coach Rowan decided to stay at West and subsequently Phil Picciotti transferred to IMG. The coaching transition ended up being fairly smooth with the existing staff mainly staying in place, and expectations were still very high, with a big, talented senior class even without Picciotti. There is just no reason that this roster should be a 2-8 team. A D1 back in Fisher (Army), lots of big bodies on both sides of the ball, physical backers, etc… They now go into next year having to replace a ton of seniors. They did lose a couple of close ones to East and Pennsbury, which perhaps hinted at their talent but ultimately only beat Bensalem and Abington. Hard to be overly optimistic about the coming season.

ABINGTON (Down) 0-7, 2-8: They will be replacing Head Coach Kevin Conlin in the off-season, who guided them to some memorable recent seasons. 2019 was a nice year and 2020 would have been another good team if they weren’t limited by Covid. This year’s team seemed talented at times, but also unorganized and undisciplined, from the time they walked on the field for warmups. Only managed to beat bad CR North and Truman teams. I thought Conlin was a very good coach but maybe it’s just time for a change there. They are in a tough geographic area to lose players to privates, but still seemed to have a solid roster. They have a dynamic freshman QB to build around, if he decides to stay for the next three years.

How did the high school football season go overall?
“I think the season went great, overall we ended the regular season 8-2. Every week we got better and better so I was happy with how we did.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“My plan is to prepare for my senior season. I'll be lifting 5-6 times a week to get bigger, faster, and stronger.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“We will lose a couple key seniors this year. But we will have 28 seniors returning this. We should be right back to where we were this year. But this time we plan on finishing it off.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“The toughest competition I would say would be ArchBishop Hoban.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“The toughest player would be Charlie Bubonics, the quarterback from Solon Ohio.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes I want to play sports in college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“Akron and Kent State have been recruiting me.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“Akron and Kent State have both been about a tie in recruiting me.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have visited Edinboro, Kent State, and Akron.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I plan to visit Kent State, Akron, and Miami Ohio soon.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I haven’t had a favorite college team growing up.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“The regular season went well but the loss we had in the district championship was disappointing. I had a good season but I still need to keep improving.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I have wrestling practices every day and I’m lifting about 4 times a week.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I think our team can do really well next year and I’m excited for it.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Our schedule isn’t out yet, but Canton or South Williamsport will probably be the toughest teams we will play.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“I’m not sure what individual will be the toughest player we face next year.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I would like to wrestle or play football in college, but if I had to choose it would be football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“No colleges are recruiting me right now, I’ve just had some questionnaires and stuff.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“No school is recruiting me hard.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I haven’t made any college trips yet.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I don’t have any plans for trips.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“Penn State.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“We started off good as a team l, but we got embarrassed in our last game of the season for the district championship. I myself thought I performed well especially since I was coming off of 4 tears in my labrum. Hopefully I win all-state.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“For workouts I need to get faster, so I am going to do speed training and I plan on lifting at least five days a week. I plan on throwing shot put in the spring.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next season I feel we should be able to win the district championship and make a far playoff run.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Canton will be the hardest team on our schedule. They were the team that embarrassed us in the district finals two years in a row.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“I’m not sure who is the toughest individual. I know I will have to go against some good lineman in the playoffs though.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes I want to play sports in college. I want to play football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I haven’t been recruited heavily, but I have gotten a good amount of camp invites. I got a camp invite from Notre Dame, Monmouth, Wake Forest and a couple more smaller schools.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“I wouldn’t say any college is recruiting me more than any other.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I went to the Penn State camp, and I know this isn’t a college camp, but I went to The Show by Nextgen at IMG. I placed in the top five lineman for the classes of 2024 and 2025.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I plan on going to a good amount of college camps this year. I’m not sure what camp yet but I know I want to go to the Kutztown camp for sure.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I had two favorite college teams growing up. They were Ohio State and Stanford.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“Overall the football season is going great for us. We started the year 1-3 after falling to very good opponents in Roman Catholic, Wyomissing, and West Perry but we were ultimately able to rally together as a team and are currently 10-4 going into the Eastern State Final against Southern Columbia next week.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“Being in the state playoffs we are kind of just trying to stick to our routine with practice, film, and lifting, but this offseason I definitely have plans to hit the weight room hard and participate in 7on7 tournaments as much as I can to stay sharp.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel that next season our team will be just like our team is now. Overall, we are a younger team with only a few seniors leaving and the more young guys we have getting experience, the better off we are. We try to produce a winning attitude with winning habits here at Trinity so I really don’t think the change in years will have much effect on us.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Every year we look forward to our matchup against steel high. Every time I’ve played them it has been nothing short of a battle between two tough teams. There is also the personal stake in that game every year being from Steelton like Coach Hill and myself, so we definitely circle that game on our calendars every year.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“We are not exactly sure what our schedule will look like next season, but again keeping with the theme of our matchup with Steel High, some tough individuals we will face off against are the Erby twins.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“It has always been a dream of mine to play football at the next level. Ever since I was a kid it has been my goal to suit up to play quarterback in college and that has really been something that motivates me to work hard and do my best every day.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I’ve been recruited so far by a good handful of schools from D3 to D1. To name a few: Wilkes, Alvernia, Waynesburg, Robert Morris, Mercer, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, Penn, and Umass.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“I wouldn’t say any specific school is recruiting me the hardest. It’s all kind of equal interest right now. But my recruiting is 100% open as of right now.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I’ve made trips to Ohio State, Alvernia, Wilkes, Robert Morris, Delaware, and Old Dominion.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“This offseason I definitely have plans to go on more recruiting trips and try to narrow down my choices a little bit.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“Growing up I was always a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan. My grandpa was a Buckeyes fan, my mom was a Buckeyes fan, and I just kind of followed suit.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“Overall it wasn't the season we imagined but it was a great learning experience and we got a lot better throughout the year.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I’m starting up basketball now and am still lifting and working out.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I believe we will have a good season next year, we need to get in the weight room in the off-season and put in the extra work.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Next year Canton will be tough. They are a very good program and are a really good team.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“There are many players that are good and will be tough to play against.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I want to play football in college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have texted and contacted a bunch of coaches.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“N/A.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I went to Penn State and Towson for camps in the summer and plan to go to many more next year.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I plan to make a few trips next year.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My favorite college team has always been Notre Dame.”

Find out what colleges are recruiting Karson Dominick, Caleb Wray, Kenny Hampe, Austin Johnson, and LaMonte Fuller now!


......................................................................................................

Q&A with North Penn-Mansfield quarterback Karson Dominick​

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I want to play football in college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have texted and contacted a bunch of coaches.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“N/A.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I went to Penn State and Towson for camps in the summer and plan to go to many more next year.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I plan to make a few trips next year.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My favorite college team has always been Notre Dame.”


......................................................................................................

Q&A with Trinity quarterback Caleb Wray​

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“It has always been a dream of mine to play football at the next level. Ever since I was a kid it has been my goal to suit up to play quarterback in college and that has really been something that motivates me to work hard and do my best every day.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I’ve been recruited so far by a good handful of schools from D3 to D1. To name a few: Wilkes, Alvernia, Waynesburg, Robert Morris, Mercer, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, Penn, and Umass.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“I wouldn’t say any specific school is recruiting me the hardest. It’s all kind of equal interest right now. But my recruiting is 100% open as of right now.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I’ve made trips to Ohio State, Alvernia, Wilkes, Robert Morris, Delaware, and Old Dominion.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“This offseason I definitely have plans to go on more recruiting trips and try to narrow down my choices a little bit.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“Growing up I was always a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan. My grandpa was a Buckeyes fan, my mom was a Buckeyes fan, and I just kind of followed suit.”


......................................................................................................

Q&A with Muncy offensive guard Kenny Hampe​

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes I want to play sports in college. I want to play football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I haven’t been recruited heavily, but I have gotten a good amount of camp invites. I got a camp invite from Notre Dame, Monmouth, Wake Forest and a couple more smaller schools.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“I wouldn’t say any college is recruiting me more than any other.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I went to the Penn State camp, and I know this isn’t a college camp, but I went to The Show by Nextgen at IMG. I placed in the top five lineman for the classes of 2024 and 2025.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I plan on going to a good amount of college camps this year. I’m not sure what camp yet but I know I want to go to the Kutztown camp for sure.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I had two favorite college teams growing up. They were Ohio State and Stanford.”


......................................................................................................

Q&A with Muncy running back Austin Johnson​

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I would like to wrestle or play football in college, but if I had to choose it would be football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“No colleges are recruiting me right now, I’ve just had some questionnaires and stuff.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“No school is recruiting me hard.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I haven’t made any college trips yet.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I don’t have any plans for trips.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“Penn State.”


......................................................................................................

Q&A with Cathedral Prep offensive lineman LaMonte Fuller​

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes I want to play sports in college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“Akron and Kent State have been recruiting me.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“Akron and Kent State have both been about a tie in recruiting me.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have visited Edinboro, Kent State, and Akron.”

Do you have plans for any trips soon?
“I plan to visit Kent State, Akron, and Miami Ohio soon.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I haven’t had a favorite college team growing up.”


......................................................................................................

Find out what some of the top players in the state are saying about football now!


......................................................................................................


Q&A with North Penn-Mansfield quarterback Karson Dominick
How did the high school football season go overall?
“Overall it wasn't the season we imagined but it was a great learning experience and we got a lot better throughout the year.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I’m starting up basketball now and am still lifting and working out.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I believe we will have a good season next year, we need to get in the weight room in the off-season and put in the extra work.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Next year Canton will be tough. They are a very good program and are a really good team.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“There are many players that are good and will be tough to play against.”

......................................................................................................
Q&A with Trinity quarterback Caleb Wray
How did the high school football season go overall?
“Overall the football season is going great for us. We started the year 1-3 after falling to very good opponents in Roman Catholic, Wyomissing, and West Perry but we were ultimately able to rally together as a team and are currently 10-4 going into the Eastern State Final against Southern Columbia next week.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“Being in the state playoffs we are kind of just trying to stick to our routine with practice, film, and lifting, but this offseason I definitely have plans to hit the weight room hard and participate in 7on7 tournaments as much as I can to stay sharp.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel that next season our team will be just like our team is now. Overall, we are a younger team with only a few seniors leaving and the more young guys we have getting experience, the better off we are. We try to produce a winning attitude with winning habits here at Trinity so I really don’t think the change in years will have much effect on us.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Every year we look forward to our matchup against steel high. Every time I’ve played them it has been nothing short of a battle between two tough teams. There is also the personal stake in that game every year being from Steelton like Coach Hill and myself, so we definitely circle that game on our calendars every year.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“We are not exactly sure what our schedule will look like next season, but again keeping with the theme of our matchup with Steel High, some tough individuals we will face off against are the Erby twins.”

......................................................................................................
Q&A with Muncy offensive guard Kenny Hampe
How did the high school football season go overall?
“We started off good as a team l, but we got embarrassed in our last game of the season for the district championship. I myself thought I performed well especially since I was coming off of 4 tears in my labrum. Hopefully I win all-state.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“For workouts I need to get faster, so I am going to do speed training and I plan on lifting at least five days a week. I plan on throwing shot put in the spring.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next season I feel we should be able to win the district championship and make a far playoff run.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Canton will be the hardest team on our schedule. They were the team that embarrassed us in the district finals two years in a row.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“I’m not sure who is the toughest individual. I know I will have to go against some good lineman in the playoffs though.”

......................................................................................................
Q&A with Muncy running back Austin Johnson
How did the high school football season go overall?
“The regular season went well but the loss we had in the district championship was disappointing. I had a good season but I still need to keep improving.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I have wrestling practices every day and I’m lifting about 4 times a week.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I think our team can do really well next year and I’m excited for it.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Our schedule isn’t out yet, but Canton or South Williamsport will probably be the toughest teams we will play.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“I’m not sure what individual will be the toughest player we face next year.”

......................................................................................................
Q&A with Cathedral Prep offensive lineman LaMonte Fuller
How did the high school football season go overall?
“I think the season went great, overall we ended the regular season 8-2. Every week we got better and better so I was happy with how we did.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“My plan is to prepare for my senior season. I'll be lifting 5-6 times a week to get bigger, faster, and stronger.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“We will lose a couple key seniors this year. But we will have 28 seniors returning this. We should be right back to where we were this year. But this time we plan on finishing it off.”

What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“The toughest competition I would say would be ArchBishop Hoban.”

Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“The toughest player would be Charlie Bubonics, the quarterback from Solon Ohio.”

......................................................................................................

Since there is some debate on this, here is my P-R all-time team with the main team they played on.

Offense:
QB: Jurkovec (17)
RB: Slomka (14)
RB: Crawford (17)
OT: Kristofic (17)
OT: Hayes (20)
OG: Katic (17)
OG: Corey (22)
C: Dorundo (17)
WR: Jochem (20)
WR: Falcone (17)
WR: Merhaut (14)
WR: Gaston (14) OR Defrancis (17)

Defense
DE: Duran (15)
DE: Jackson (20)
DL: Katic (17)
DL: Dorundo (17) or Domer (20)
LB: King (17)
LB: Miller (20)
LB: Hasley (20)
CB: Burns (17)
CB: Battaglia (14)
S: White (17)
S: Palmeiri (22)

Totals By Best Team
14: 3.5
15: 1
17: 11
20: 5.5
22: 2

Also, I'd rate the 2020 groups as having the "Best supporting cast" with 2017 behind them. I have no idea about anyone before around 2012/14. Probably Walker instead Gaston/DeFrancsis

Here are the numbers:

Attendance figs:

1A 2,139
2A 2,416
3A 1,676
4A 3,769
5A 1,717
6A 4,012

The total is a bit higher than the last few years at Hershey.

We hear often that the non-boundary / private schools don't have community support and that the public schools do. The numbers suggest this may not be the case, at least in relation to people going to the games. I know few people from TEP go to games, but that number for 5A indicates there wasn't a big crowd from PR either. The same for the 3A game--NG doesn't bring many but not so many were on the other side. I'm sure the numbers for 4A and 6A were relatively high partly because McDevitt (a private school) and Harrisburg are relatively close, but it looked to me the numbers on the SJP side were pretty good--especially when you consider so many in their community had to drive all the way from the darkest corners of Jersey!

is this one of their better teams or middle of the pack?

what would the score be if they could play last years Mt. Lebanon team?

I'm pretty sure some public schools in the WPIAL allow you to pay tuition to attend. Wondering - why not lobby to school boards to open this up. Charge a premium if people want to attend. No scholarships available. Cash on the barrelhead only. Would allow great schools to capitlaize on their greatness - in the classroom or in academics.

my picks

6A - St. Joes
5A - Imhotep
4A - Aliquippa
3A - Belle Vernon
2A - Southern Columbia
1A - don't have a good guess, I'll go with Bishop Guilfoyle

Time to get some.

1. Prep (biggest blow out of them all)
2. Pine Richland
3. allquippa (will be the best game)
4. Belle Vernon
5. Westinghouse (1st pits. City league to win since 89)
6. Steel high

With a minute to go in the 2nd qtr. of California's Open Division Bowl game (at Saddleback College Stadium in Mission Viejo) the St. John Bosco Braves (Southern Champs and ranked number one in the country) are leading the NoCal Champs, the Serra Padres out of San Mateo up by Frisco, 35-0 (the Padres are ranked number 24 in the land by MaxPreps).

By the way, as I'm writing this the Padres have been driving after the Braves had pulled all their starters a while ago; however, with the "Pods" getting close all the backups were yanked and the regular crew just trotted out on the field -- no scoring on us, thank you (PS: It worked as at the half it's still 35 zip).

So No 1 is knocking the stuffing out of No 24 (national rankings).

It happens.

Meanwhile Coach Franklin and his QB coach are on a West Coast swing and they just stopped in at Serra to have a chat,

Check the Twitter:

Login to view embedded media

What a great game. A defensive battle by both teams. This one is a classic and props to belle Vernon on their goal line stop. Great job by both teams and congratulations to both teams. Neither team has anything to be ashamed of.

Updated rankings for Week 16…State Championship weekend across PA. Below the rankings are my official picks for the games this weekend. Enjoy everyone!

1. St. Joe’s Prep 11-1 (12)
2. Bishop McDevitt 12-1 (3)
3. Harrisburg 11-2 (3)
4. Aliquippa 13-0 (7)
5. Pine-Richland 12-3 (7)
6. Imhotep Charter 10-2 (12)
7. State College 13-1 (6)
8. Belle Vernon 11-2 (7)
9. Neumann-Goretti 11-3 (12)
10. Garnet Valley 14-1 (1)

Honorable Mention (no order): Erie Cathedral Prep (10), Cocalico (3), Allentown Central Catholic (11), Upper Dublin (1), Wyomissing (3), Westinghouse (8)

6A-SJP 35-Harrisburg 13

5A-Pine-Richland 24-Imhotep 20

4A-McDevitt 28-Aliquippa 27

3A-Belle Vernon 34-N-G 21

2A-Southern Columbia 28-Westinghouse 12

1A-Steelton-Highspire 34-Union 31

Relayer, I looked into the game from the perspective of ‘Power Ratings’ (the math) that is predictive mid-season on. The semis went 9-3 while the finals counting yesterday’s Steel High, McDevitt games are 2-0.
GV-UD looked interesting once you mentioned it with them being polar opposites; GV rushing 81.7% of plays, UD 59.4. They both come out with high numbers on defense despite being a no show vs SJP for GV. UD gained vs outcome with Imhotep statistically tho a lesser foe (lesser points) than SJP and on the season having better balance. Schedule advantage to GV playing (best) CB West x 2, Ridley, Spring Ford, DtEast and SJP vs Upper Dublin’s slate of Kennett 8-4 (per beating Rustin), CB West, Ply White (handled their option), Rustin, Imhotep.
No road challengers for GV, none, entire year until SJP, and UD only playing North Penn, a disappointing 6-6 but a capable opponent.
These two come out close to even with UD up 2.63 points on neutral. It looks a lot like GV’s game with Spring Ford and UD’s with Rustin.
Historically when the PRs are in double digits, 17 and up, it suggests a rout.

Semis and Finals to date
SJP 17.20 over GVal, score 48-7
Alliquippa 21.72 over Allen CC score 31-10
McDevitt 26-15 over Crestwood, score 35-0
Wyo 16.39 over Neumann….a loss, 20-17 NG won
** Note on yesterday’s McDevitt-Aliquippa typo-ed at 2.69 supposed to be 22.69.

What strikes you about GV’s success and why it works, apart from being so efficient on the ground running 82% of time is Qb Mesaros throwing well, 61% for 1289 yards, 19 Tds and ZERO picks. You don’t expect that once lulled into stopping the run. They’re hard to stop unless you have the athletes SJP and some others have. UD and GV would have been a great game!