Here is Part 3 of 4, the Mid State final PRs of 2018’s better teams; those making the playoffs and others having a year that made the ratings, crunching numbers for 147 teams. NE and SE PA teams are already posted with Western teams in the pipe line. Used year ending points for/against, home/away, classification values, wins, etc. Pretty basic stuff to arrive at an estimate. Flawed for sure but if nothing else it’ll give some stats and grad/return info for ’18 and ’19. Added some thoughts and comments. As always, feel free to jump in or on.

1 Harrisburg 221.83. 6A-D3, 13-2
Back in the day Harrisburg Central and Harrisburg Technical fielded great teams until Central became an all-girls school in 1919, the same year Tech at 12-0 fielded a team christened the National Champ after defeating Portland, Maine 56-0 in a post season title game. They outscored their opponents 701 to 0. A few of those defeated were Chester 93-0, Baltimore Poly 89-0, Bethlehem Prep 63-0, Naval Prep 79-0 and Steelton 70-0. Tech eventually closed with population growth necessitating two new schools christened William Penn and John Harris in 1926 where they remained until merged in 1971 to form Harrisburg High. The games between William Penn and Harris High were legendary, played at Island Park Field, now City Island. One of Pennsylvania’s greatest coaches, George Chaump, was instrumental in sustaining Harrisburg’s success following a one year stint at Shamokin in 1961, going 5-6, his only losing season before coming to John Harris where he developed nationally recognized teams, going undefeated for three years while compiling a 58-4 log from 1962-1967. From there he went to OSU (68) as an assistant to Woody Hayes, Tampa Bay, IUP then Marshall, where he created their great program, and finally the Naval Academy. That’s the long way of saying Harrisburg High is knee deep in football tradition. Two state finals appearances the last three years speaks to that. Chaump is also given credit for introducing the Slot-I to the Mid-State which previously ran the T or Wing T. Coach returned to the area in 1997 leading Central Dauphin to a 57-14 record (97-02) before returning to Harrisburg High from 2003 to 2010 going 62-29. He retired following an 8-13 run at CD East with a 190-66 career won-loss. Bringing it back to the present, Cal Everett, a Harrisburg grad in 1998 became head coach in 2011, going 63-26 since then and 35-7 the last three years with those two PIAA final appearances. The beat goes on! But it started on a sour note this year getting shellacked by Coatesville 37-6 at Severance! Not much worse than losing the home opener to another state power on your turf. So they went on a tear, winning the next 12 games before re-matching with Coatesville, winning by an average score of 41-8. 41-8! You didn’t have to be an astute observer of the game to see something special was brewing winning games by 33-pt margins playing teams like Cedar Cliff (10-3) 46-13, Central Dauphin (9-4) 20-5 and 16-6, State College (12-2) 32-17, Chambersburg (7-4) 28-13 and Wilson (8-4) 36-12. When they beat Central Dauphin for the second time, us natives felt they had more than enough for Coatesville, at least to hang, ultimately winning 27-24. And we felt they’d do much better than 40-20 against St. Joe’s although the game was competitive. The Hawks simply had more. Winning another Mid Penn Commonwealth may not be in the cards this year graduating their stellar quarterback Kane Everson who made the O go! Linebackers Andre White and Jain Burney were highly instrumental to the success on that side as were their quick DEs Brian Yates and Dionte Nichols; all four graduated. Looks like a significant rebuild.
2 Manheim Central 193.73, 5A-D3, 14-1
Manheim Central opened the year in Harrisburg ripping a mid-level Mid Penn-Keystone Susquehanna Township team 44-0 and never looked back, rolling out 13 straight until losing to Penn Hills 36-31 in the 5A state title game. Following Hanna, wins against Warwick (9-3) 27-20, Wilson (8-4) 20-10 and Cocalico (10-3) 41-23 told you they meant business and were primed for a run at States. Excepting Warwick and Wilson from the well regarded Lancaster-Lebanon Section One, they breezed through the schedule, winning by an average score of 42-13 until losing to Penn Hills. The Barons won about every way you can win a game in that one, outrushing PH 193 to 136 and out distancing them in passing yards 252 to 195 for a 445-331 total yard advantage. But total yards don’t count as much as turnovers where MC uncharacteristically had three red zone interceptions and four total to seal their fate. So for the second straight year they made a run, having lost to Gateway 31-28 the year before in the semifinal. Next year looks to be another in a long line of strong seasons with the return of quarterback Evan Simon who passed for 2753 yards and rushed for 661. Top receiver Colby Wagner returns after snagging 26 for 832 yards with Ben Wagner who caught 22 for 449 yards. Tyler Flick is gone along with his 1831 rush yards plus wide-out Will Rivers’ 708 yards on 33 receptions. The line needs rebuilt graduating Cayden Warner (5-10, 250,), Tyler Dougherty (5-10, 295), Brett Wolgemuth (6-1, 260) and Josh Painter (6-0, 280). OL/DL Troy Kolk (5-11, 225, 78 tackles) returns plus two to the secondary and 3 LBs. With 25 LL-Section titles and 18 district titles in 22 appearances, you know they’ll make their presence felt once again in the district, perhaps beyond.
3 State College 191.95, 6A-D6, 12-2
SC put together their third straight double digit winning season only to have it end awkwardly with another thorough defeat at the hands of Pine Richland. The Lions were a nice blend of veterans and underclassmen who were flat out impressive for most of the season before losing to Pine. But it began well, defeating district rival Mifflin County (6A, 6-5) 35-12, then on the road to defeat a decent St. Augustine Prep-NJ team (7-4) 19-7. For linkage purposes, SAP’s other losses were to St. Joseph-Hammonton (10-2) 30-8, who won the Non-Public Group 2 title, Williamstown (12-0) 14-7, who won the South Group 5 title, and St. Joseph Regional-Montvale (10-2), who defeated Bergen Catholic (10-2) 13-0, fresh off their 35-17 win over Don Bosco Prep. Connecting the dots can be misleading but it is interesting. State went on to win their next four before losing at Harrisburg 32-17. Here they were missing DE Cole Urbas (6-3, 190, sr), C/DE Jason Cameron (5-10, 220, jr) and DT Titus Thompson (6-1, 220, sr) to injury. Also missing were OL James Pone (6-5, 210, sr) and Isaiah Edwards (6-0, 210, jr. 806 ry) who did not play? From there they won out, beating Central Dauphin along the way before losing in the quarterfinals to the 6A defending state champ Pine Richland, 56-33. Needless to say, State’s battered D-Line (Urbas, Thompson still out) was no match for Pine’s exceptional O-Line, headed by Andrew Kristofic who signed with Notre Dame and Michael Dorundo who signed with Duquesne. But they did expose cracks in Pine’s defense with quarterback Tommy Friberg throwing for 301 yards. Actually, he kept them in the game and will “walk on” at PSU. Sophomore talent Dresyn Green had 99 yards rushing while Keaton Ellis pulled in 6 receptions for 200 yards. This is the second year PR defeated SC, beating them 49-21 in 2017. Looking ahead to 2019, if they can find a quarterback, and they always do, they’ll again be a load with many returning to key positions. The line returns OG Ramsey Kifolo (6-2, 310), C/DT Jason Cameron (5-11, 220), OT Logan Lieb (6-1, 265) and Addison Darcy (6-3, 260), the latter two getting time per injuries. Running back Isaiah Edwards (6-1, 210) returns with Dresyn Green (5-8, 160) with 1012 rush yards, QB/RB/WR Brady Dorner (6-0, 180), DEs Nathan Lusk (6-3, 215, 69 tackles), Kevin Kurtzinger (6-2, 215, 45 stops), DT Sam Stoll (6-3, 245, 38 tackles), super soph SS Sam Snipe (6-1, 210) with 102 tackles, LBs Jim Manyak (5-11, 215, 83 tackles), Kyle Domico (5-8, 175, 56 tackles) and Joe Nastasi (5-11, 190, 29 tackles). The secondary returns 4 including Dresyn Green with 30 tackles. The schedule is favorable playing Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley and Harrisburg at State College.
4 Central Dauphin 190.22, 6A-D3, 9-4
In District-3 and for a surprising chunk of the Mid-State, Central Dauphin is one of the few schools recognized by its initials. Maybe it just rolls off the tongue easily, or maybe it’s because of the success they’ve had on the football field. Whatever the reason, when you say CD, people know who and what you’re talking about. In many instances you’re talking about the perennial favorite to win both the Mid Penn-Commonwealth Conference, no small feat in itself, and the district title.
Although the Rams haven’t won a state title since 2011’s 15-1 team, they are always in the hunt, going 66-22 since then and 100-29 the last 10 years. Last year’s team had aspects of greatness with a strong defense and decent special teams. But it was unsupported by a balanced, diverse offense. FB/LB Adam Burkhart’s (5-11, 215) contribution was significant gaining 1279 yards on 205 carries as was Qb Noah Hoffman (6-0, 200) with a 65% completion rate for 1268 yards. But neither were supported in the backfield or on the flanks. The loaded 2011 team had a full house in the backfield, Zayd Issah (6-4, 220) rushing for 1345 yards, speedy Drew Scales (5-8, 175) with 953 yards and a battering ram of a fullback in Adam Hollinger (5-10, 210….like Burkhart) gaining 699 yards on 96 carries, with Issah and Scales integral to the passing attack. Qb Brandon LaVia had a 16/9 Td/Pick rate for 1490 yards. Last year’s team had nothing to match that with no breakaway speed in the receiver corps leaving Qb Hoffman with an 8 to 6 Td/Pick ratio. But they had their moments beating Wilson (8-4) 23-7, Berks Catholic (10-3) 7-0, Central York (8-3) 49-21, Chambersburg (7-4) 35-14 and Manheim Township (10-2) 27-0. The last three year have witnessed the ascendency of Harrisburg (11-4, 11-1, 13-2) and that’s who got them last year, 20-5 and 16-6 in the post season. Other losses came to State College and Township. 9-4 isn’t bad but it’s not CD football despite being a decent rebound from 2017’s 6-5 anomaly. Like last season, the coming season is full of questions, primarily at the quarterback position. Tyrese Fuller and Max Mosley will battle it out for the spot with Daniel Ficca (36/114) and Timmy Smith (36/150) in the backfield. DE Amir Walton (6-1, 220) may test out at FB. He along with OL/DT Bryce Thoman (6-5, 265), Marques Holten (6-0, 235), standout OL/DE Cameron Sansone (6-1, 225), RB/SS Timmy Smith (5-9, 190), last year’s soph LB Malachi Bowman (5-11, 175) with LB Elijah Vargas (5-9, 175) and LB Tyrese Fuller (6-3, 180) plus WR/FS Nick Chimienti (6-0, 180, calls the D, lead receiver 39/599) will give them another strong defense. And wow, does the O have new young talent to fill in on the line, egs, Jamaal Bellamy (6-2, 270, jr), Kyle Hower (6-2, 295, jr), Chad Layton (6-2, 275, jr), Kyle Yeager (6-3, 275, so) with Bryce Thoman (6-5, 265, sr) a return starter. As always, give CD a quarterback and look out!
5 Southern Columbia 183.83, 2A-D4, 16-0
Quick shout out here to West Catholic (12-3) for advancing to the 2A state semifinal after slugging their way through a difficult regular season slate of Pottsgrove, Paramus Catholic, Cardinal O’Hara and Bishop McDevitt, before a lengthy post season run that saw them defeat Mahanoy, McDevitt again, always tough Dunmore and an undefeated Richland Township team by an average score of 35-13 before losing to Southern Columbia 42-6. Quite a year. About Southern, the win over West Catholic moved them into the final where they won their 9th state title and 2nd straight. Make that back-to-back 16-0 seasons. Here’s a fast recap of their title history. They won gold in 1994, 2002 through 2006 and again in 2015 and 2017. Their run from 1998 through 2006 is unparalleled, appearing in 9 straight title games, winning silver from 1998 to 2001 and gold thereon. Other silver medals came in 1995, 1996, 2011 and 2016, for a total of 17 finals appearances and 9 state titles. Their won-loss the last ten years is 130-15. The scary thing about Southern is their relative youth, and their ability to make good teams look bad. Aside from West Catholic, they beat a strong Mount Carmel (10-3) team 41-7 with MCA’s other losses coming to historic power North Schuylkill (11-2) and Southern in a rematch. They also defeated previously unbeaten York Catholic (12-1) 56-23 who allowed but 113 points last season before beating West Catholic (12-3, see above). And finally, they routed District-10 powerhouse Wilmington (13-2) 49-14 in the final.
About 2019; like St. Joseph’s Prep and Downingtown West, and to a lesser degree State High and Manheim Central, they return a pile of starters for 2019. Qb Stone Hollenback is gone after completing 64% for 1737 yards with a 28/4 Td/Pick ratio. But their #2 is back in Preston Zachman (6-2, 205, 29/44/597, 66%, 8/1 ratio), who stepped in for Hollenback who missed almost half the year. All the backfield returns; Gaige Garcia (5-10, 210, 205/2042, 13/284 pass yards), his younger brother Gavin Garcia (5-8, 165, 101/ 1179, 6/139 pass yards), Ty Roadarmel (5-11, 190, 74/417) and super receiver Julian Fleming (6-3, 210, 78/1524) who also had a 41 punting average. Two starting lineman return in OL/DL Lear Quinton (6-2, 220), OL/DL Cole Schankweiler (6-0, 280), two to the secondary and quality senior linebackersCal Halladay (6-1, 190, 131 tackles) and Max Tiller (6-0, 190, 123 tackles) plus Wade Kerstetter (5-11, 180, 74 tackles), their outstanding sophomore backer of last year. Unless another Double-A rises to the occasion, it looks like Southern will be the strong favorite to snag yet another state title.

6 Bishop McDevitt 174.57, 4A-D3, 12-2
McDevitt should be PA’s “Close but no Cigar” poster child for the last nine years with their record of way too many close call losses. They lost in the state finals in 2010 and 2011, had a semifinal loss is 2012, lost in the final in 2013 then had consecutive semifinal losses in 2014 and 2015. Not sure if they’re the gang that couldn’t shoot straight or the one that ran out of ammunition first. They fell to Earth in 2016 going 7-5 then rose to 10-3 the following year before losing in the quarterfinals. And finally, last year’s team that seemed locked and loaded for a mission got waffled by the eventual champ Cathedral Prep 48-7! But, they did win a 2A title in 1995 beating Burrell (13-2) 29-0. Check it out below. Lansdale Catholic gave them a heck of a game that year losing 12-7. McD’s team had nice size.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=016P3W6kRT0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxFIDp-_0dE

Last year’s shortfall makes you wonder what it might take for McDevitt to ever get over the hump and win another state title. They had a quarterback in Chase Diehl (signed Duquesne) who completed 66% for 3744 yards with a 43 to 6 Td/Pick ratio. His top receivers Nazir Burnett (Syracuse) with 1746 yards on 78 passes and T’nyis Becker (ODU) with 1005 on 52 yards also graduate. CJ Reyes Diggs (Edinboro) graduated with 1606 yards rushing. OL/DL Logan O’Grady (6-2, 295), Carter Christopher (6-3, 285, 45 tackles), Bryce Barnes (6-0, 280, 37 tackles), DEs Tate Myers (6-0, 230, 81 tackles), Karson Martz (6-2, 190, 24 tackles) and Marquin McAuthor Melendez (6-0, 240, 51 tackles) are gone plus LB Dray Donley (6-0, 230, 45 tackles). The offense was their most productive at 43ppg since 2009. Hard figuring how that team lost to Cathedral by 41 points, making you think if they can’t do it with that group?
7 Berks Catholic 172.92, 4A-D3, 10-3
Since the merger of Reading’s Holy Name and Reading Central Catholic in 2011 to form Berks Catholic, the Saints have gone 88-16 (85%) and 73-10 (88%) since 2013. All were double digit winning seasons to essentially own the Berks Inter-County-2, winning five of eight titles and five of the last six. Super tough Wyomissing, another Reading power, has been their only conference challenge, going 85-19 (82%) since 2011 and winning the 2A title in 2011, defeating Imhotep (14-1) 35-13 at Benjamin Johnson Memorial Stadium (Germantown), then Aliquippa (15-1) 17-14 in the final. Back to Berks Catholic; they had some impressive games last year, getting edged by Central Dauphin 7-0, beating McDonogh 14-13 then losing to Malvern Prep 42-32 before losing in the district final to McDevitt 41-31. Quarterback Terrance Derr graduates (1243, 56%, 17/4) and FB/LB/DL Brandon George (959 rushing). But they return Abdul Macfoy (227/1013 rushing) and some impressive sophomores of last year, particularly Colby Newton (27/295 rushing). The D is almost a total wipeout losing 645 tackles while returning 226. But it’s BC and always tough going against their strong history shown above. And they’re not afraid to step up in class to play teams like CD, Exeter, McDonogh and Malvern Prep, making them nearly unbeatable in conference action and one tough hombre in the post season.
8 Cocalico 172.80, 5A-D3, 10-3
Cocalico is probably the best team you’ve never or rarely hear of playing in the Lancaster Lebanon Section-2 with Manheim Central, Solanco, Lampeter Strasburg, Lebanon, Elizabethtown and Garden Spot. They’re located in Denver which straddles the PA Turnpike (I-76) almost equidistance between Reading to the Northeast and Lancaster to the Southwest, and they play good football there! With a record of 87-37 (71%) the last ten years, they’re the only credible conference threat to Manheim Central. They had an exciting team last year that got your attention real quick opening with wins against Conrad Weiser (9-3) 21-13, Cedar Cliff (10-3) 31-21, Governor Mifflin (7-5) 35-21 and Elizabethtown (6-5) 41-14. Weiser’s Scouts were a sizeable, veteran team that was well coached while explosive Cedar Cliff would go on to beat McDevitt (12-2) 50-43, Exeter (6-5) 50-6 and Warwick (9-3) 33-23 before losing to Manheim Central. They caught Governor Mifflin early, restocking with a bunch of youth that eventually jelled, finishing 7-2 after a 0-3 stuff. Keep your eye on GM next season. And E-town, who they stomped 41-14 had a freaky Qb in Cole Patrick (6-4, 185, sr) who could light things up (60%, 2570), but not this time. They lost the next two against Manheim Township (10-2) 36-24 and Manheim Central (14-1) 41-23, then blew out the next six by an average score of 51-17 including York’s explosive Bearcats (11-2), Coach Ortega’s old team, 61-35, before losing in the rematch to Manheim Central 48-14. Look for the Eagles to get off to another good start the coming season with the return of most of their offense, particularly Qb Noah Palm who rushed for 1310 yards in the Flexbone and passed for 773 more. Ronald Palm returns at one of the running back positions after rushing for 636 yards and catching 11 passes for 272 yards. He’ll likely replace Garrett Longenecker who rushed for 1259 yards. The big concern is replacing four starting lineman; LT Colin Hall (6-0, 280), RG/DT Josh Hoover (6-0, 240, 36 tackles), C Chase Ochs (6-2, 240) and RT/DT Tristan Motter (6-3, 290, 39 tackles). But their top lineman, LG/DT Brock Gingrich (6-3, 280. 68 tackles) returns. Six starters return to the defense that needs to tighten up from last year’s 23ppg yield. Like to see them with more balance but they should be solid with a good core on offense to again challenge for Section-2 honors and another high seed in the postseason.
9 Cedar Cliff 170.66, 5A-D3, 10-3
Way back in 1988 Cedar Cliff played in the inaugural 4A title game, losing a hard fought encounter to Pittsburgh Central Catholic 14-7 at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium. Upper St. Clair won the WPIAL that year, defeating Central 7-0 but declined the invitation to play in the tournament when school administrators felt “States” was a lesser prize. In the semifinal, Cedar Cliff eliminated Neshaminy 24-0 who were coached by John Chaump, the brother of George Chaump (see Harrisburg above). In AAA that year, Berwick was still a factor, beating Aliquippa 14-7 in the final after getting past powerful Middletown 16-12 in what many felt was an upset. In the Double-A classification Bethlehem Catholic beat Wilmington for the title 26-11. Cedar Cliff’s neighbor also in Camp Hill, Camp Hill High, won Single-A defeating Cambridge Springs 18-7. Heck of a year for Camp Hill! And so it was.
Cedar Cliff has been all over the map historically, fielding high quality teams for years only to disappear for many more. But now they’re on the move again, going 78-34 (70%) the last ten years with a 51-16 log the last six years. Last season was a mini version of their historic trend of instability opening with a 30-0 shellacking of Governor Mifflin, followed by a tough loss at Cocalico 31-21 and the rout by Harrisburg 46-13. Two weeks later they beat McDevitt at their place 50-43, early on the front end of a nine game winning streak that took them to the district semifinal where they lost to Manheim Central 42-20. For 2019 they’ll try to replace the backfield of Qb Chris Dare (2110, 68%!, 29/6), all everything Bobby Whalen (946 yards receiving, 407 rushing) and Jaheim Morris who banged out 1905 yards and caught 17 passes for 140 more. Those were special talents that will be hard to replace. But they have history of putting BIG offenses on the field. From 2012 through last year they’ve had a year ending offensive average of 39, 39, 38, 41, 41, 33 and 38ppg. Always good seeing the Colts and Susquehanna Township field strength to give McDevitt a run for the money in conference action.
10 Wilson 167.23, 6A-D3, 8-4
After not having more than two losses in a season from 2008 through 2016, going 97-12 in the process, Wilson’s back-to-back 8-4 campaigns are unusual and way out of character for one of the top programs in the state. Wilson has been a power for years. But not at the level coach Doug Dahms achieved in his 13 years, garnering 145 wins against 28 losses. That’s an 84% winning percentage and good luck finding many teams topping that at the big school level over the same period. Some egs; Pitt Central Catholic144-26- 85%, Archbishop Wood 150-29-84%, Parkland 134-39-77%, Garnet Valley 134-29-82%, North Allegheny 131-30-81%, Bishop McDevitt-Harrisburg 150-33-82%, North Penn 142-33-81%, St. Joseph’s Prep 127-35-78%, McKeesport 108-36-75%, Cathedral Prep 150-28-84%, Manheim Central 137-33-81% and Governor Mifflin and Central Dauphin both at 124-40-76%. Wilson is right up there in good company for a team that never won a state championship. They got close back in 1989 losing to Upper St. Clair in the final 12-7 And they had four semifinal appearances, losing to Pittsburgh Central Catholic in 2016, Pine Richland in 2014, North Allegheny in 2012 and Bethel Park in a crazy and memorable 3 overtime game, 38-35. While they’re definitely the real deal they’ve yet to seal the deal. Playing in the LL-1 has its challenges (Manheim Township, Warwick, Hempfield) especially with the recent mandated cross over against Manheim Central plus non-conference games against Spring Ford, Central Dauphin and another Reading powerhouse and bitter rival, Governor Mifflin on the south side in Shillington. 2018’s team was sluggish by their standards, averaging 26ppg, the lowest year ending average since 2007, while trying to replace Iggy Reynoso, their all-time leading rusher with 4778 yards and 79 Tds. Talk about a void entering 2018. Defensively, they did not allow over 12ppg (year-end average) except once from 2006 through 2015. But from 2016 through last year, they allowed on average 20, 19 and 18 a game. The D suffered a tremendous setback against Governor Mifflin the 2nd game of the year losing MLB Nick Johnson (6-1, 230, sr), the quarterback of the D, for the entire season with a broken leg. Again, by Bulldog standards, quarterbacking was an issue with Anthony Futrick completing only 54% of passes for 1494 years with a 14/9 Td-Pick ratio. This is pop gun stuff for Wilson that was masked to a degree with a decent rushing attack spearheaded by Elijah Morales and Avanti Lockhard at 1125 and 407 yards respectively, and Coach Dahms spreading the ball around to five primary receivers getting at least 21 receptions each. That, combined with an aggressive not great defense got them past Governor Mifflin 42-28, Spring Ford 33-22, Manheim Township 16-14, Hempfield 26-16 and Red Lion 36-0. They were blown out by Warwick (9-3) 38-12, Central Dauphin (9-4) 23-7….except on scoreboard, and Harrisburg (13-2) 36-12. Despite returning center Adam Vanino (6-0, 250) and tackle Nate Keller (6-1, 265), the O-Line was also an issue with CD sacking Futrick four times and Manheim Central getting to him five times. The better quarterbacks had their way with them as well with Warwick’s sophomore gunslinger Joey McCracken throwing for 530 yards against them! Coach played a lot of young talent last year giving them a solid nucleus on defense and the lines with the priority in 2019 being the quarterback.

Find out what colleges are recruiting Nicholas Dawkins, Jared Jenkins, Derek Ambrosino, Aasim Muhammad, and Ali Barkley now!

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Parkland offensive tackle Nicholas Dawkins
What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have been talking to over 50 schools and I have offers from the likes of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Kansas, Indiana, Temple, UConn, Army, UMass, William and Mary, Dartmouth, and Howard.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have been to Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Lehigh, Lafayette, and Pitt. I will in the future be visiting most of all the schools that have offered me.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Growing up I watched a lot of professional sports, so I never really had a favorite college growing up.”

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Freedom quarterback Jared Jenkins
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I plan on playing football in college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“The colleges recruiting me include New Hampshire, Richmond, Lafayette, Central Connecticut State, Lehigh, UPenn, Stony Brook, Buffalo, Ohio, Holy Cross, and Columbia.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, Lehigh, Rutgers, and Lafayette.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes, I plan on visiting many schools in the future, including Buffalo soon.”

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

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Wyoming Area tight end Derek Ambrosino
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I’m still undecided on whether or not I want to play sports in college. I’ll evaluate the decision more as the summer and fall approaches. If I decide to continue my athletic career in college, I will play football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“A few schools are interested in me coming to their camps in the spring and early summer. That includes Syracuse, Boston College, Lafayette, Villanova, and Delaware.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Not yet, but I’m definitely going to go on a few visits in the coming months.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I’ve been a big Penn State fan my whole life. I love State College and enjoy the electric atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium.”

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Chester linebacker Aasim Muhammad
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes, I would love to play sports in college. When I reach the next level, I want to continue playing football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I don’t really know much about any colleges recruiting me, which kind of gets to me, but I will continue to be humble and patient. I know they will come because I am working my way to gain interest.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I’ve made several college trips to schools such as the University of Maryland, Morgan State, and Howard University.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes. I have plans on making a whole lot more trips.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I had two favorite colleges growing up. I grew up a fan of Duke basketball and a fan of Oregon football.”

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

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“UConn, Pitt, Rutgers, and PSU.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“I’ll have to say UConn is recruiting me the hardest as of right now.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, Rutgers, Pitt, and PSU.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Pitt again and Buffalo so far.”

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How did the high school football season go overall?
“The season didn’t go very well. We went 2-8 and struggled a little bit. We had a lot of injuries.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“My plans are to work harder than I’ve ever done. I want to take it to another level and stay focused.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“I’m trying to improve on being more of a vocal leader on the team, working on staying low when I run the ball, and running with a purpose this year.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel my team will do good if we stay together as a family and if we keep working hard, we should be in good shape.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“Nobody really gets a break in this league because there are good teams that can get knocked off on any Friday.”

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

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“UConn, Pitt, Rutgers, and PSU.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“I’ll have to say UConn is recruiting me the hardest as of right now.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, Rutgers, Pitt, and PSU.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Pitt again and Buffalo so far.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“This season did not go according to plans as far as a team, but there is more improvement coming in the future. Individually, I felt like I had a great year, but I still want to build off of it carrying into next football season.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“My plans are to continue to bulk up. I will dedicate myself into the weight room, study my mistakes from this past season, and dominate 225 on the bench.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“As a player I want to improve on a lot of things such as technique, being a leader, studying everything because I know I have a high potential in being a better player overall.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I am confident in the returning players coming back, my coaches, and the newcomers. We are all building good chemistry early on and getting along well. We all have one mindset and one goal in mind.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“I feel everyone will be tough opponent because records from last season doesn’t matter to me. Anybody and any teams are capable of playing well on any given day and I would not take any of our opponents for granted.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes, I would love to play sports in college. When I reach the next level, I want to continue playing football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I don’t really know much about any colleges recruiting me, which kind of gets to me, but I will continue to be humble and patient. I know they will come because I am working my way to gain interest.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I’ve made several college trips to schools such as the University of Maryland, Morgan State, and Howard University.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes. I have plans on making a whole lot more trips.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I had two favorite colleges growing up. I grew up a fan of Duke basketball and a fan of Oregon football.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“This past season was a successful season at Wyoming Area. We finished 11-1 with our only loss coming in the district semifinal against Lakeland. Lots of guys got valuable experience throughout the whole year and performed very well, especially some of our underclassman.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I’ve been maintaining a consistent lifting schedule at 5 AM for the past few months for 3-4 days of the school week. I play lacrosse in the spring, which helps a lot with athleticism and conditioning for football.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“This off-season, I’ve been trying to put on around 5-10 extra pounds and increase my explosiveness through speed training. When the weather gets a bit warmer, I plan on running routes and working on my hands and my footwork out on the practice field to make myself more valuable in the pass game.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel our team will be solid again for the 2019 season. We only lost 3 starters on defense and we have all but one of our skill players returning on the offensive side of the ball. Although our entire o-line is graduating, we have a young group of guys on the o-line that can make tremendous improvements during summer workouts and scrimmages leading into the season.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“I think that Scranton Prep will definitely be our toughest challenge this season. They lost quite a few starters from the 2018 state semifinalist team, but they’re a competitive, well-established program that puts good teams on the field every year. Dunmore is going to be a competitive game late in the season before district playoffs. Lake-Lehman and Nanticoke are also two Wyoming Valley Conference teams that were young last year and that have the potential to be good teams as well.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I’m still undecided on whether or not I want to play sports in college. I’ll evaluate the decision more as the summer and fall approaches. If I decide to continue my athletic career in college, I will play football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“A few schools are interested in me coming to their camps in the spring and early summer. That includes Syracuse, Boston College, Lafayette, Villanova, and Delaware.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Not yet, but I’m definitely going to go on a few visits in the coming months.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“I’ve been a big Penn State fan my whole life. I love State College and enjoy the electric atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“We had an extremely successful season. We had a 12-2 record, winning the conference and the first District 11 Championship in school history. In doing so, I currently hold several QB school records. The records are single season passing TDs with 29, career passing TDs with 46, career passing yards with 4,950, and single season passing yards with 2,660. I was named 1st All Area QB and Lehigh Valley Live Player of Week 7.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I am currently finishing up with wrestling season. As soon as wrestling season is finished, I will be hitting the weight room and speed workouts 4-5 days a week along with footwork and throwing drills.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“My focus of improvement is on my footwork, speed, and ability to be more of a running QB.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I anticipate having another very successful season. We have a solid core of returning varsity players.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“Parkland is always a tough team to play, as well as our two rivals Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty.”

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

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“The colleges recruiting me include New Hampshire, Richmond, Lafayette, Central Connecticut State, Lehigh, UPenn, Stony Brook, Buffalo, Ohio, Holy Cross, and Columbia.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, Lehigh, Rutgers, and Lafayette.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes, I plan on visiting many schools in the future, including Buffalo soon.”

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

How did the high school football season go overall?
“My high school team went 7-5 this year and lost in the first district semifinals. This was mediocre and we don’t do mediocre here.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“Therefore, we have been tirelessly working in the weight room. We are working on exceeding on the field and going undefeated. Right now, I have been lifting every week day, and I have been working out with my trainer, Mike Cerimele. He is a Penn State football alum and 3-year starter.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“I’m really trying to improve on my pass sets as a lineman. This is one thing I need to master, going against speedy defensive ends in a wide stance. It has been a struggle in the past, but I have been working for that not to be an issue.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“I think Freedom and Easton will be some rough games. They always put up a fight and it’s a dog fight with those teams.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have been talking to over 50 schools and I have offers from the likes of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Kansas, Indiana, Temple, UConn, Army, UMass, William and Mary, Dartmouth, and Howard.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have been to Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Lehigh, Lafayette, and Pitt. I will in the future be visiting most of all the schools that have offered me.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Growing up I watched a lot of professional sports, so I never really had a favorite college growing up.”

So I wonder if the other potential team is Penncrest or Glenn Mills? It sounds like Smith is already experiencing low numbers at Penncrest unless I read the quote wrong. Either way 8 man football is just a band-aid; true it's better then nothing, but the game is in serious trouble.

8/30 Marietta in Marietta, Georgia
9/6 St. John's College DC at Rutgers
9/14 IMG(home) site TBD

8/17 Scrimmage DeMatha most likely South Philly super site
8/22 Scrimmage St. Joseph Regional most likely South Philly super site

after IMG than a bye, than PCL

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This will show our age but in your opinion which was the best era to coach in: 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's or 10's. I feel the 90's were. Players (& parents) still had a little of the 80's mentality, the tension and politics of in district high school mergers of early 80's were resolved (for the most part) and playoffs were established.

Marietta info….2/24/19.

Their Head Coach Richard Morgan is known as the guy to turn programs around, doing as much at Alcoa, TN, going 38-6 in three years and at Oscar Smith in Chesapeake, VA, taking them from a mediocre team to one of the best in Virginia from 2002 to 2015, going 164-20, the winningest team in 8A at that time. In 2009 he began scheduling state and national powers including Venice-FL, Pickerington Central-OH, Gilman School, Byrnes-SC and Booker T. Washington-FL. He did the same last year at Marietta in his third year going 0-4 against state powers Rome (13-1, 5A, 41-51 score, state champ 2017, 2016, runner-up 2018) and Grayson (10-3, 7A, 31-38, ¼ finals loss to Lowndes), Good Counsel-MD (6-4-1, 28-40) and St. Johns-DC (9-1, 14-21, won Washington Catholic regular season, lost to Zaga in final). No one shut them down with a super young group that really got it together the 5th game of the year against St. John’s on the road, showing real improvement and almost winning. Games/highlights are on Youtube.
Coach’s record to date is 3-7 in 2016, 8-5 in 2017 and 5-6 last year, with a stated goal of becoming a national power.
For 2019, key returnees are Qb Harrison Bailey (6-4, 220, sr, 64%, 2809, 29/6, Tenn), TE/DE Arik Gilbert (6-5, 250, sr, 88/1210, 64 tackles, AL, GA, Clem, MI, FL, everyone has offered), WRs Taji Johnson (6-3, 210, sr, 51/661), Kobe Stewart (6-2, 180, sr, 33/473) and running back Kimini Vidal (5-9, 200, sr, 152/954), OT Jake Wray (6-5, 300, sr, Ohio St), OL/DE BJ Ojulari (6-2, 230, sr, 104 tackles, UGA), OG/DT Labarron Kennedy (6-1, 215, sr, 37 tackles) and OL Will Pieroni (6-0, 250, sr). Other starters are LB/SS Peter Warrick (6-3, 190, sr, 63 stops), LB/CB Andre Stewart (6-0, 175, soph, 24 tackles), FS Rashun Bass (6-0, 180, sr, 49 tackles), SS/CB Daniel Martin (6-1, 170, sr, 31 stops), Davarian Harvey (5-9, 170, sr, 15 tackles). They played a lot of sophomore and junior lineman; Matt Castaldo (5-11, 280, jr) and Clay Doyle (6-1, 220, jr). Graduations of note are LBs Kareem Hobbs (6-0, 225, 42 stops), CJ Swan (6-0, 220, 64 stops) and DT John Dollar (6-1, 215, 17 tackles). Bottom line on bodies, they appear to return the entire offense and seven starters to the defense, both DEs and a DT, the entire secondary and one backer.

Once again Marietta was selected for the 2019 Corky Kell Classic against Rome in the opener despite going 5-6 last year, albeit against a National schedule. The CK is in its 28th year, viewed as a prestigious classic featuring powers like Colquitt County 14-1, Rome 13-1, Walton 10-2, Milton 13-2, North Gwinnett 10-3 et al. Go to http://www.corkykell.com/ for more. Some of my Georgia cousins need all the help they can get!

About their quarterback Harrison Bailey, he’s committed to Tennessee but everyone is after him including LSU, Bama, OSU, OU, Fla, UGA, Michigan and others. Coach Richt (UGA, now retired from the U), offered him a scholarship as a freshman where he completed 57% for 2812 with a 21/7 Td to Pick ratio in 10 games. In 2017 in only six games he completed 62% for 1824, 20/5 ratio, missing the last seven games with a shoulder. Last year he played in ten games, was injured (upper body?) vs Hillgrove (Week #9, now 100%) yet completed 63% for 2809 yards with a ratio of 29/6. 247 Sports has him at #4 nationally at Pro Style, behind DJ Uiagalelei (6-4, 240, St. John Bosco, CA-Clemson), Jay Butterworth (6-6, 190, Liberty HS, Brentwood, CA-Stanford) and Jack Miller (6-4, 210, Chaparral, AZ-Ohio St).

Marietta is going to air it out vs St. Joe’s and will have a game up on them playing Rome Aug 22nd (Thursday) in the CK opener. But the Hawks have a veteran front returning with three of four defensive lineman and two linebackers. Both Corners, Zach Bouggess and Michael Alexander will have graduated plus Safety Nicolas Rios. Almost the entire offense returns. See the SE PA Final Power Ratings for more. Marietta’s defense was sieve-like last year allowing 30ppg. But it was against a SJP like National Schedule (Rome, OLGC, Grayson, St. Johns). Otherwise they were 5-2 against teams with a combined 44-35 record scoring 35ppg while allowing 25. Against the very best played they were 0-5, losing to Rome (13-1) 51-41, Good (6-4-1, tied AB Spaulding) 40-28, Grayson (10-3) 38-31, St. John’s (9-1) 21-14 and Hillgrove (12-1) 48-24 by an average score of 40-28. They’re not there but were close last year.

Linkage: Here are linkage games meaning results of teams Marietta played that link to SJP. Eg, Marietta lost to Good Counsel 40-28 who lost to St. Joe’s 34-27. As a point of comparison to surmise how they may tie in to other teams Nationally, OLGC also beat Gonzaga 38-31 while losing to St. John’s 31-10 and DeMatha 32-2. Another team Marietta lost to is Grayson 38-31, who lost to Bergen Catholic 34-22, who lost St. Peters 34-7 who lost to SJP 35-27, etc, etc, etc. Marietta also played St. John’s who don’t link directly but played a brutal National Schedule to give you other comparisons, beating Johns Creek-GA (9-2) 49-0, Hoover-AL (9-4) 42-14, Central-Miami (11-3) 37-35 5 ot and Christian Brother’s-MO (13-1) 59-49. Hawks should take this one unless they misfire offensively in their game #1 against an explosive team at home who is one up on them.

Find out what colleges are recruiting Isaiah Gaddy, Ethan Smerecki, Randy Fizer, Justin Gec, and Isiah Rico now!

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

Neumann & Goretti linebacker Isaiah Gaddy
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“In college, I want to play football and give basketball a try.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“Texas A&M, NC State, Kent State, Fordham, Tennessee, and Alabama A&M.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, Penn State and Tennessee.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes, whoever will have me.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“The University of Florida.”

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Souderton tight end Ethan Smerecki
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?
“No colleges have reached out or tried to recruit me, so my options are definitely wide open.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My dream college is Ohio State, but I also like West Chester University and Widener.”

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Red Lion wide receiver Randy Fizer
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I see myself being a college football player after my high school career is over. It’s something I’ve always imagined myself doing and I will continue to put a lot of hard work into.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I haven’t had any colleges really looking at me, but I know with the season that I had my sophomore year that it’s going to happen soon. I’m getting my name out there and putting in the hard work and controlling what I can control throughout the process.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have not made any college trips yet, but I plan on attending a couple this upcoming spring and summer.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“The highest-level colleges are always the one that I’ve always wanted to play for, but if I have to pick one in particular, I’d have to go with Penn State University. It’d be a true honor too play at a college that I’ve always looked up too.”

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

Mercyhurst Prep defensive end Justin Gec
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes, my goal is to play sports in college. It has always been a dream of mine from a young age to play collegiate level football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have been talking to a few schools, such as Akron, RMU and Fordham.”

What college is recruiting you the hardest?
“Akron has been showing me a lot of attention. Coach Brian Cochran and I have a great relationship.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, I have been to visit two schools. I went to Kent State on a visit to watch a game and I am going to Akron for junior day.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“Growing up, my dream school was Michigan. As a family, we are huge Wolverines fans.”

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Parkland running back Isiah Rico
Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I am planning on playing football in college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I haven’t really been recruited by any schools. I have just been invited to camps in the summer.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“No, I have not made any college trips yet.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“I’m hoping to have college visits during and after my junior season, when I have a full season of varsity tape under my belt.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My favorite school growing up was always the Miami Hurricanes. I liked watching how hard they always played and the history behind great teams with great players like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.”

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Jordan Laudato is ranked the #1 DE/15th overall on PennLive, and he’s not even in your top 125?Has started Varsity both ways DE/TE since he was a freshman.

#82, 6’5”, 215 lbs.
Henderson High School

PennLive #1 DE for 2021
2018 All ChesMont 2nd Team DE/HM TE
2018 DLN All-Area DE HM

2018 DE Stats:
12 QB sacks
10 QB hits
41 tackles
28 tackles for a loss

2018 TE Stats:
22 rec.
253 yards rec.
11.5 ypr

...in 8.5 games.

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How did the high school football season go overall?
“The high school season was productive up until I broke my jaw in the fourth game. I had three touchdowns, two rushing and one punt return prior to my injury and was making my first start as a sophomore the game I was injured in.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I participate in two other sports outside of football. In the winter, I play basketball for the school. During spring, I do track. I still lift and keep up with the football workouts during these seasons. I also work with two trainers, Brandon Byrd and Jason Brader, during the off-season to work on more football specific workouts.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“As a player, I’m aiming to improve my speed and explosiveness mostly for the season along with other technical footwork.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel my team will be very successful this coming season. I believe we will be able to capture the district title and move on deep into states.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“Our toughest competition will be Freedom, I think. They beat us last year in the district semis so that’s definitely is a game I’m looking forward to. Although it will be a tough game, I firmly believe that we’ll be able to beat them.”

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

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I haven’t really been recruited by any schools. I have just been invited to camps in the summer.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“No, I have not made any college trips yet.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“I’m hoping to have college visits during and after my junior season, when I have a full season of varsity tape under my belt.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My favorite school growing up was always the Miami Hurricanes. I liked watching how hard they always played and the history behind great teams with great players like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“Overall in my opinion, the past high school season went well. As a team, we grew very much and learned a lot. We were successful but not as successful as planned while losing in the D10 semifinals. Overall, I was very happy with the season.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“My plans for the offseason are to work hard in the classroom and also in the weight room. I am not playing another sport this winter, but I will be competing in track and field this upcoming spring.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“As a player, I am really trying to improve my speed and my first step off the ball.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next season as a team, I believe that we will do well. We obviously don’t have the same talent that we had the last season, but we work hard and together. I believe we will be a contender this upcoming season.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“Our schedule for the upcoming season hasn’t been released yet, but I believe that in our region Fairview always provides a good game for us. Out of our region, obviously Sharron as they eliminated us from playoffs last season.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes, my goal is to play sports in college. It has always been a dream of mine from a young age to play collegiate level football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have been talking to a few schools, such as Akron, RMU and Fordham.”

What college is recruiting you the hardest?
“Akron has been showing me a lot of attention. Coach Brian Cochran and I have a great relationship.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, I have been to visit two schools. I went to Kent State on a visit to watch a game and I am going to Akron for junior day.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“Growing up, my dream school was Michigan. As a family, we are huge Wolverines fans.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“It was great overall season finishing 8-3 overall. Winning a County Championship for the league and then getting a playoff game to continue our season.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“My plans now until next season is to constantly be in the weight room and become the best receiver I can be day in and day out.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“As a player, I’m just trying to put on as much weight and strength as possible. I want to get into the weight room as much as I can. Then obviously improving on my route running and catching to become the best wide receiver I can be.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Our team is losing a lot of seniors, but I don’t feel it’ll affect us at all. We have tons of experienced players and true leaders that I feel won’t affect the team at all. I see us being in the same position we were this year too next year.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“We have a lot of competition on our schedule every year. We play a lot of solid teams. One we will be looking out for is William Penn High School, which we beat last year. We also shared the county championship with them so we will be looking to get that game just like we did previously.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I see myself being a college football player after my high school career is over. It’s something I’ve always imagined myself doing and I will continue to put a lot of hard work into.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I haven’t had any colleges really looking at me, but I know with the season that I had my sophomore year that it’s going to happen soon. I’m getting my name out there and putting in the hard work and controlling what I can control throughout the process.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have not made any college trips yet, but I plan on attending a couple this upcoming spring and summer.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“The highest-level colleges are always the one that I’ve always wanted to play for, but if I have to pick one in particular, I’d have to go with Penn State University. It’d be a true honor too play at a college that I’ve always looked up too.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“This past season didn’t go as we were hoping, but it still wasn’t bad. We started 0-3, but then compiled a couple of wins and very close losses with teams that have dominated our league for years. That gives us hope for coming seasons.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“Our football team works out three times a week, and I also go to the gym by myself as much as possible.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“As a player, I’m really trying to improve my overall strength, while also working on my agility and football IQ. I’m also trying to work on route running on the offensive side of the ball too.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I have a really strong feeling about next season. We have multiple very talented upper classmen, but we really need to work on our depth too.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“Pennridge is already circled on my calendar. That’s the team I most want to beat next year.”

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?
“No colleges have reached out or tried to recruit me, so my options are definitely wide open.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My dream college is Ohio State, but I also like West Chester University and Widener.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“The season could have been better, but it brought our team closer together and opened our eyes for the upcoming season.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“I plan on getting bigger, stronger, and faster and to help the team prepare for our upcoming season.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“I want to work on staying disciplined, becoming a team leader, winning a state championship, and staying on top of my books.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I think we are going to dominate and win a state championship.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“We don’t have our schedule right now.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“In college, I want to play football and give basketball a try.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“Texas A&M, NC State, Kent State, Fordham, Tennessee, and Alabama A&M.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Yes, Penn State and Tennessee.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes, whoever will have me.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“The University of Florida.”

Word is going around wrestling circles that Wyoming Seminary, a boarding school in Kingston, PA, may be joining the PIAA in wrestling and football. This would really test the boundary vs. non-boundary issue, particularly in wrestling.

In 2010, Wyoming Seminary made a significant commitment to wrestling, hiring former Binghamton assistant coach Scott Green as their head coach and expanding their reach nationally for wrestlers. Green is one of the best coaches in high school wrestling and has helped build Sem into one of the best programs in the country. It is a particularly sought after place for their offseason training in the Olympic styles (Freestyle and Greco). In 2014, Wyoming Sem won National Preps, snapping Blair Academy (NJ)'s 33 year stranglehold on the title. National Preps is the "state tournament" for boarding schools and private schools that are not members of their state athletic associations.

Here are the wrestlers that Sem has used in major tournaments and duals this year, with hometowns (from the Wyoming Seminary website). National rankings are in front of wrestlers who have them.

106: Nick Fea, Middletown (NY)
106: Mark Botello, Hingham (MA)
113: #13 Troy Spratley, Factoryville (PA)
120: #8 Lachlan McNeil, North York (ON)
126: #12 Zeke Escalera, Morganfield (KY)
126: Drew Munch, East Stroudsburg (PA)
132: #5 Beau Bartlett, Phoenix (AZ)
138: #10 Jonathan Miers, Easton (PA)
145: Connor Kievman, Minersville (PA)
152: Benny Baker, Newark Valley (NY)
160: Jake Stefanowicz, Harvey's Lake (PA)
170: Cole Rees, Erie (PA)
182: #7 Darrien Roberts, Nazareth (PA)
195: Mike Doggett, Harvey's Lake (PA)
195: Austin Cooley, Fall River (MA)
220: #5 Jake Kaminski, Riverside (IL)
285: Nate Miller, Gap (PA)

The football roster includes players from 11 towns in Pennsylvania, including suburban Philadelphia and suburban Pittsburgh, plus players from Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Canada, Austria, and Germany. This does include a bunch of postgrads who would not be able to compete in PIAA events (not clearly listed on the website, so I don't know is a senior and who is a 5th year).

So my question - good addition for the PIAA? It's certainly one of the best teams in the country, but their geographic reach is also quite expansive. It seems to me that National Preps is exactly where they should be competing, but we may see them in the 3A fold (I'm assuming they'd declare up even though by size they are a 2A school) sooner rather than later.

How did the high school football season go overall?
“Our season went well. We have to improve next year.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“To go to the next level and work hard in the off-season.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player
“My route running.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“We will be better than last year.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“Oil City or General McLane.”

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

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“Grove City.”

What school is recruiting you the hardest?
“Grove City.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“Two.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Summer.”

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

How did the high school football season go overall?
“We had a very interesting year overall. I would somewhat even say we had the complete opposite happen of last year. Last year, we started out strong taking down Pennwood at our stadium along with a couple of other key victories early in the season, but then as we progressed, we dug ourselves into a hole. We ended up with a win over the playoff bound CB West at our last game, which was a great high for us to end the season with. This season we went out to Pennwood's place and got destroyed. I'm pretty sure the score was something like 42-10. I connected with my first FG of the year, so I was content with what I did, but for us to get beat that bad set us into a horrible state of mind. We then went on a couple game losing streak, getting beat by Q-Town on our own turf in a game we should definitely not have lost. The week before our game at Pennridge, we had a major shift. Our mindsets were in the trash at this point, our morale and team connection was at an all-time low, and there was fighting everywhere you looked. Some of the players on our team along with our captains noticed this and decided to do something about it. Everybody got together and talked about any "beef" we had with each other. We put everything to rest so that when we stepped on that field, there was no separation amongst the inside of our team. We began to play as one unit. We went into the Pennridge game fired up; super local team, big rivalry, and tons of people were there to watch. Our whole season was pretty much all or nothing at this point. Everybody had a great game. DeAndre popped off, I had two TB'S out of the back of the endzone along with a 38 yd FG before the half after an ice attempt, and Andrew Vince was completing passes left and right. Everything was working. We won by a super small margin, but we all did everything we could to win, and it worked. We continued on this streak for a while, and we felt like nothing could stop us. Then came the North Penn game. It was tough from the beginning, and we knew we needed to hit hard from the start, but in order to win, we knew we needed to keep going the second. That's what happened with Quakertown, and it is what stopped us from beating them. We were an amazing 1st half team. We went into the halftime at North Penn with us up by a fair amount. I hit two field goals from 38 and 40, a tie for, and a career long for me (in game of course), so I was feeling pretty good. The second half, we only scored once, and hurt us pretty severely. About 5 mins left in the 4th quarter, we had an opportunity to kick again, a 39 yarder, and I felt pretty confident about it. I missed by about 3 feet, and my heart sank. At this time, we were up 27-22, so we had room, but we needed that field goal to really secure the win, and I didn't provide. I stayed focused for the rest of the game, but that is the one thing I've been dwelling on over the offseason. We had a bunch of other things that went wrong as a team that last quarter as well. DeAndre fumbled in an open field on a breakaway, and NP scored eventually off of the recovery, there was a 2 -point conversion we missed, and a bunch of other little things happened; the kick was one of the last things we could've done to secure the win for our coach for the first time in his career over North Penn. It was pretty rough coming out of that. We were still on the high of our 4-game win streak, but it was much less now since we lost by such a small margin to a team we've never been close to ever beating under Mr. Gallagher. The end of our season was comparable to the downward slope we had in the middle of our season last year. We weren't losing horribly, most of the teams we played, we did fairly well against, and we still had playoff hopes even at the last game. We just would lose a game, and lose some of our spark along with it. We had two games left, CB West, and South. Going into west, we had a decent practice week, but I think we went into it a little too overconfident. We opened the first half with a decent lead. Just like always, our first half team mentality was showing. They had inducted one of the former coaches into their hall of fame that night and revealed a statue for him, so there were tons of people at the game who were there for that. I think that's one of the main reasons West never gave up and ended up winning over us. We got too cocky and didn’t finish. Just like Quakertown, just like North Penn. I had my first bad shank on one of my punts out of the whole year, and that put us in a hole. Overall it was a pretty bad game finishing-wise. South at the end was just a train wreck for our team. We knew going into it that in order for us go make it to playoffs still, we had to win first off, CR North had to beat South, which was statistically near impossible, and I think Pennridge needed to lose or something like that. Our hopes were bleak from the start, and most of the team didn't really feel like trying to change it. It definitely showed. I don’t think we got past the 50 more than twice the whole game except for the one or two TD's we had. Every series for us ended in either a fumble, interception, or a punt, and every series for South ended in a TD. I had pneumonia on top of everything, so I was hacking up my lungs on the sidelines in between punting and kicking off. I still had a touchback right after half, and I had a couple decent punts, one of which was tipped pretty hard when I was in the back of the endzone. I was pretty disappointed about that, because it was a perfect ball, I could feel it as soon as I hit it. We got in a bad mindset that week, and we can't continue thinking like that this off season otherwise we will get smacked come August. We had a good season overall, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary like it should have been. We had the potential, but we let ourselves fall into a horrible state of mind. North Penn went very deep in the playoffs, and we kind of realized too late that that could have been us. I definitely felt that the most out of everybody. I have always recognized that I have the ability to change the mood of our whole team whenever I go out on the field. Missing something like a PAT can do that, shanking a punt can do it, not hitting a touchback when we need one can play a part too, and one field goal can make the difference between beating a team that we haven't ever beat in 30+ years or not. That's how it goes sometimes, but we all need to get our heads up, focus on the now, and be in every present moment in order to be great next year.

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“Currently I am swimming, so I'm devoting most of my time to that. We have a team record for my stroke that I am chasing, and it's pretty far away from what I'm at consistently right now, but I think it's still possible. I want to leave a legacy in the pool as well as the football field, so that's what I'm focusing on doing right now since I currently don't know if I'm going to do any water aquatics next year. I'm hoping to go back to states for swim, but we have a fair amount of work to do until we can get there. As for offseason football, I've been attending lots of camps. In November, I went to a Hammer kicking camp in Jersey and hooked up with Adam Tanalski. He is one of the best coaches I've met when it comes to kicking and the social networking aspect of recruiting. I later flew out to Orlando in January to go out to his Elite camp and compete. I did fairly well, but I overworked myself on the training day and competed pretty poorly in the competition. Nonetheless, I was invited back to top 40, a camp for the 40 best kickers punters and Snappers from the 2019, 2020, and 2021 classes across the country, so I will be going back down there again in June to stay inside Universal Studios, the main sponsor of the camp. I also attended a Special Teams Solutions camp in December and placed top 5 for punting, so that was pretty fun to go compete there. I missed a 50 yarder in order to get into the final for the kicking, but I made all other 7 kicks, so it wasn’t horrible. I just wished I didn't kick last out of most people that day, because I would have been more rested. The camps have been going good, but I still have yet to go to a camp 100% rested and fully healthy, and I know that that camp needs to be Top 40 in order for me to showcase my best. As for workouts, like I said, it is mostly swim stuff, but I am still getting out to kick when I can. I am also working with Jim Cooper, the Rowan University coach whenever I can get out to his facility. In the springtime I am planning on working with Brad Caroll, Brandon McManus' old kicking coach from around the area, so I'm really looking forward to that. I've made a ton of awesome connections, and I have enjoyed the whole process so far. That's why I'm always excited for what's coming next, who I'm going to meet, or where I'm going to go.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“I need to get my kickoff step pattern down to a set amount of steps that allows me to hit the ball into the endzone whenever my coach needs it. I also need to gain muscle mass so I can hit bigger field goals, because I want to be hitting from 50 consistently next year in order to break our school record. We will see how it goes, but that's is my generic outline for my goals this short-term off-season.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“It's tough to say. Right now, it's looking slim. We don't have many people going to lifting from what I've heard, but most of the people who are key contributors to the team are playing winter sports right now; that's what makes it tough to say. Once winter sports are over, it will be easier to tell, but it's hard to say right now. On the other hand, our upcoming senior class is the same class to go undefeated our freshman year, which sets us apart from everybody already. It will be interesting to see how committed everybody is come the end of winter sports, but I'm still staying positive about it.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“North Penn and CB South I would say. I know North Penn is losing some good seniors this year, and they don’t really have anybody else to replace a couple key positions, which provides an advantage for us. CB South will be a big determinant near the end of the season on whether or not we make playoffs, because they have been the other playoff team from our league that always seems to get in our way. Pennridge is also going to be a game, because I know they will be looking to get back at us for this year, so we need to hit them back harder. Quakertown will also be a good game again. If we are able to finish better next year, we will win that game for sure, otherwise it’s going to be up in the air like this year. We should be able to handle most of the other teams on our schedule though.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“I definitely will be playing football in college. I have realized that playing polo in college is pretty far fetched, considering I'm fairly average for around this area, which is completely second fiddle to like all of California Polo, which is where most good polo players come from. That being said, it would be very hard for me to get a scholarship to any program, let alone a good program around here, along with the fact that polo programs only have about 4/5 full scholarships per year. Swimming is second to that at around 10 or so full scholarships to disperse amongst everybody on the team. That being said, football is by far the best chance I have at getting money for schooling, so that's what I'm hoping on doing. Along with my academics, the multitude of AP courses I'm taking, and hopefully some type of a football scholarship, I should be very well set off for college.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have not directly talked to any colleges about recruiting or any offers, but I have gotten a LOT of generic emails. Lots of D3 schools have been sending me Junior day information. I also have heard that the coaches at Franklin and Marshall really wanted me to come out to their campus. Adam Tanalski told me he will be talking to the coaches at Rhode Island, West Carolina University, and potentially William and Mary as well to get me set up with some official visits. I also talked with the Villanova recruiting coach the other day when he came to our school. Nothing too large yet, but my name is definitely getting out there.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I've been around the William and Mary campus, and I have been at Princeton a couple of times for Water polo, but I have not made any visits solely with the intent of going to look for football.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Yes, like I said, I talked to Adam Tanalski who is one of the best recruiting coaches in the country for special teams. He has personal connections with D1 and D2 colleges all across the country, and he is known for connecting kids with the colleges that fit right for them. He said he will be contacting West Carolina University, Rhode Island, and William and Mary to send them my film and get me in front of them on an official visit.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“We’ve always kind of been partial to our area, so I mean Penn State and Temple always come to mind whenever we think of college football. My girlfriend’s family is extremely religious for Penn State, so I went over there and watched the games a lot this past season. She is committed to Towson for soccer, so that makes me somewhat partial to Towson as well. I’ve always been fascinated by different colleges that I know people at and whatnot. One of my closest friends swims at Liberty, my cousin goes to William and Mary since my Nana lives very close, I am really good friends with the upcoming Temple Punter who just committed this year, I know one of the wide receivers at Franklin and Marshall, I am good friends with the only other great kicker who went to West Chester from our school, so I know lots of people at lots of different colleges all up and down the east coast. One of the older kids I used to swim with is now swimming at ASU on a full scholarship, so wherever I go, I will always have people close that I know.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“Overall, I thought our high school football season ended tremendously. Knowing Jim Render is an honor but being able to play for him is truly something I can’t describe. It was a privilege playing for someone so commendable. Although the outcome of the season did not go as expected, I felt I learned many incredible things along the way. Not only did I learn more about the game of football but more importantly, I learned self-discipline and responsibility. The thing that set our team apart from other teams is our staff of coaches. They knew what it took to win, and every single game was determined on whether or not our team was able to execute the plan that was established by our coaches. Our coaches gave us the best opportunity to go out and do that because every game we knew we were more prepared than the next team on our schedule.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“For right now, I am continuing to play for a W.P.I.A.L Tidal in basketball, focusing more on my body, and keeping myself healthy throughout the off-season. Also, I will continue to push myself because I know someone else like me is doing the exact same thing.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“As a player, I am trying most to improve on my overall ability to read an offense or defense and determine the best play call according to what formation the opponent is in. Also, one goal I have set for next season is becoming more of a leader and becoming more vocal with my coaches and teammates. Fortunately enough, last year our senior class exemplified great leadership and I hope to continue to lead by example throughout my time as an Upper St. Clair football player and student.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel last season will have a major impact in determining our success for next year because there is a great deal, we can learn from it. Although the season did not go as planned, I feel next season will be something special as we have a great new staff of coaches and teammates who are willing to do anything possible to win. Overall, next year I feel we can bring a WPIAL championship and State Championship back to USC.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“I feel Upper St Clair’s toughest challenge next year would be ourselves. Frank Thomas said our greatest competitor is none other than the person we see standing in front of. I feel that if we continue to listen, learn, and have a desire to play football, then the winning will just be a byproduct of all the hard work that we put in.”

Do you want to play sports in college? If so, which one?
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I would want to pursue athletics in college. I am mostly interested in continuing playing football rather than basketball, as I am more interested in the overall topic of football. As a young kid, I always dreamt of playing at a high level in athletes, but if I had to pick whether or not it be in football, basketball or baseball, around ninth grade is when I really decided I wanted to pursue football.”

What colleges have been recruiting you?
“I have been talking to a few colleges that include Michigan, Dartmouth, and Pitt. They are all extraordinary schools. For the most part because I am a sophomore in high school, talking to those schools is very important for me as a player because it familiarizes myself with the early process of recruit and distinguishes myself from other players. It perhaps adds a name for myself to alert other schools that are recruiting young football players.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“In the near future, I will be attending more colleges, but I have only made one college visit to Johns Hopkins University. My older brother, Christopher, is attending their school and is playing on their football team. Fortunate enough, I was able to go to a basketball camp at their University. I hope to visit back soon as I had a lifetime experience. As the school year comes to an end, I will eventually be attending more colleges that I am most interested in.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Recently, I have scheduled plans to go visit Michigan, Michigan State, Pitt and Penn. Fortunate enough, I am apart of Ethics 7 on 7 football team coached by Darnell Dinkins, who is a former NFL player and has really impacted my life as he has been helping me through the recruitment process. Its honor to be around Darnell and visit different colleges alongside a former NFL player.”

Did you have a favorite college growing up?
“My favorite collage growing up would be able to play football at the University of Notre Dame. The overall feature that sticks out to me the most about their school is their football program. Gathered by a speculator group of players and coaches, a person can only dream of playing for the Fighting Irish.”

How did the high school football season go overall?
“This football season was a lot of fun. We graduated a lot of seniors last year and we were trying to find an identity for ourselves early, but everything fell into place. Guys stepped up, and it ended up being a successful season.”

What are your plans now with sports and workouts?
“Right now, we lift three days a week and do speed and agility two days a week.”

What are you trying to improve on the most as a player?
“I’m trying to improve on my speed as well as my blocking, which are the two biggest things I need to work on.”

How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I feel our team is going to have a great season next year. We’re bringing back a lot of talented guys, and if we play strong for a full four quarters, then we will be tough to beat.”

Who do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule next season?
“This year our coach just added Harry Truman to the schedule, who had 10 wins last year. That should be a tough game for us.”

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 only talked to a few local schools so far.”

Have you made any college trips yet?
“I have made a few college trips and I plan to make many more in the future.”

Do you have plans for more trips soon?
“Growing up, my favorite college has always been Penn State.”