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MDW is back, and so is the Wed. Night Check-in!!!!

What HS game or games will you be attending this first weekend of the HS football season?

As always, MDW will be following the Knights, so I will be at Crawford Stadium for their annual season opener vs. LaSalle. Note that all NP home games now have a 7:00 PM kickoff which is a change from the 7:30 starts in the past.

Still checking the docket for a Saturday game....

Unbelievable!!!!!

Gary Johnson and his running mate William Weld were on CNN last night for a town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper. I checked all news sites this morning (CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NBC, MSN). Not even a sound bite or review of any kind. Not even an acknowledgement that it happened. The media wants what they want and that is a reality show between Hillary and Trump. Absolute disgrace!!!

SJP's Roster

Looked over SJP's just-posted roster for 2016 and noted a few things.

As I think most knew or expected, Davion Kidd-Jackson is now elsewhere, and Aaron Angelos, who was quite highly regarded as a freshman QB in Florida and who played a bit of varsity and more JV at QB last year for the Prep isn't on this year's roster. It seems he's now at a school in California. Now that's moving around.

I saw the names of two juniors, Sean Duffy and Raymond Cobb, who weren't on last year's roster. And there are four freshmen on the varsity roster, two of whom are huge for that age. The freshman roster is also posted. Here's the link to the varsity roster: http://www.prepfootball.org/roster/

Any information on Mike Carey?

I don't believe Mike Carey applied for any of the head coaching openings in the area. In speaking with others around the Doylestown area no one seems to have an answer on weather Carey will return to Wood or another program this year. One individual said he understood Carey was seriously considering returning to Wood , but has not finalized his decision. Does anyone have additional information on this subject,? Thanks.

Denied 5th year by PIAA?....

So let me understand this right..

Roman for Freshman & Sophomore year

Transferred to Haverford for Sophomore (repeat) & Junior year

Transferred to Judge for Senior year (2016)


Expected to play football for his 5th Season was just Denied PIAA eligibility 7-0 ruling per my source.
Good for the PIAA.

You can't say your going to Haverford for 2 years then going to Judge, which what was said to some Roman players a few years ago


How can a parent let this happen and move there kid to 3 schools just for Football? I can see if you moved or financial reasons or went to another state but this is all in Philly & PIAA. Parents are the blame for this one, only the kid gets hurt in the end..... He’s only an Average player if that.. If he was a star he would be playing College right now......Only thing to do now is hit the books

St. Edward Part 2....vs Pine Richland

I guess the question coming into this season for 2nd year coach Tom Lombardi is….can he pull another rabbit out of the hat, replacing high quality grads like he did the year before. 13-2 followed by last year’s 14-1 record with back to back Division 1 titles isn’t a given even at a school like St. Edward. With only two starters returning, lineman Kyle Payne and Justin Herold (see below) it appears Coach has an enormous reload ahead. Having said that, he found first year starting quarterback Jimmy Keefe who was productive (see above) and who knows how the loss of record setting running back Cole Gest plays out. The lines lost big numbers and the D was hit hard. Everyone and his mother got playing time last year so experienced players like running backs Curtis Szelesta (5-9, 190, sr) and Darnell Shields (6-0, 180, sr), DL/DE Antonio Hills (6-1, 215, sr), Justin Herold (6-1, 245, sr) and Lorenzo Ritson (6-1, 220, sr), LB Mitch O’Hara (5-11, 190, sr), OL’ers Kyle Payne (C, 6-3, 305, sr), Steven Sevanick (5-11, 275, sr) and Jacob Sminchak (6-3, 285, sr), et al are in the wings. Although many got PT and countless reps, the schedule featured a number of tight games (1, 2, 7, 7, 8, 10, 11….-2 SJR loss) where they were forced to play 4 quarter football. The last time they had this level of talent was 2010’s 15-0 team that also won a state title. But now, with back-to-back title teams graduating, they could follow-up in a “down” year going 8-4 as they did in 2011 But even in a down year they field powerful stuff. The 2011 team beat Glenville (8-3, 17-14), Penn Hills (5-5, 47-6), Mooney (11-3, 34-7), Jefferson-Tampa (6A 7-3, 52-13), Moeller (9-4, 42-27) and Cleveland Heights (9-1, 28-14). The losses came to St. Xavier (10-4, 17-10), Div-1 champ St. Ignatius (13-2), 20-17 in both games and Don Bosco’s special 11-0 team, 38-7 that allowed just 92 points.

Bottom line, they are missing key parts of last year’s team, having graduated an experienced line, one of the best running backs in the state, a smart, competent quarterback and a number of tall, athletic receivers. Defensively, they graduated aggressive-dominant defensive linemen, freeing up linebackers who also graduated. In the secondary, Tony Butler (Nebraska) embodied the overused term “lockdown” as he typically controlled opponent’s top receiver. This freed FS Kyle Fallon who along with the strong front combined to form a special defense. So….it appears St Edward while diminished, has a pretty clear trajectory upwards based on the talent that consistently comes through the school.

Projected starters:
QB Kevin Kramer 6-1, 180, sr, 5/11/59yds, 13/92ryds, duel threat
RB Curtis Szelesta 5-9, 190, sr, 68-321
WR Kordell Hoover 6-1, 170, sr, 10 receptions
C Kyle Payne 6-2, 185, sr
OG Jacob Sminchak 6-3, 285, sr

DT Joelle Keeley 5-10, 230, sr
DT Justin Herold 6-01, 245, sr
DE Antonio Hills 6-01, 220, sr
LB Mitchel O’Hara 6-01, 200, sr
OLB Matt Duffy 6-01, 200, sr
DB Michael Dowell 6-01, 190, jr (MSU offered)
DB Melvin Jackson 5-11, 165, sr, 15 passes broken up

Coach Tom Lombardi:
Lombardi enters his 2nd year at the helm following an 8 year stint at Highland where he went 61-29 from 2007 to 2014. Before this he served as an assistant at St. Edward (O/C-D/C) for 5 years and as head coach at Lake Catholic for 3 years, winning a Div-III state title in 2001. His overall won-loss through last year is 103-39. He replaced Rick Finotti (62-15, 6 yrs, 2 state titles) who moved on to Director of Football Operations at the University of Michigan. Before Finotti, John Gibbons led the Eagles to an 81-22 record the preceding 8 years.
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Oaks Christian: St. Joseph's Prep Honor Bolw Opponent

Mission Viejo HS....Sept 2, 5:00 PM.

Oaks Christian School is an independent, co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational school in Westlake Village, CA. It was established in 2000, straddling Ventura and Los Angeles (western edge) counties where they found immediate success on the field with a frosh-soph team going 7-3. The following season saw them get their first varsity win beating Silver Valley. Thereon, they made the CIF playoffs (California Interscholastic Federation) every year except 2014 when they went 5-5.
Over the years they have become one of southern California’s top teams, winning 7 CIF championships while recording a 135-21 (87%) record from 2004 to the present with 4 undefeated seasons. Their 5 year won-loss is 43-15.
Head Coach Jim Benkert is in his second year at the school, coming here initially to co-coach with Bill Redell who had 13 seasons at the helm before moving on to Director of Football Operations at OC. Redell went 142-19-1. Talk about a pipeline, Coach Redell sent 125 players to play college ball at various levels with 4 currently in the NFL. He and Benkert previously worked together at Crespi (Encino) where Benkert was Redell’s offensive coordinator from ‘82 to ‘88. With a 226-86-5 record at neighboring Westlake, Benkert is the winningest coach in Ventura County with 4 CIF championships. Westlake, a public school, is in Oak Christian’s back yard, a few blocks away where they too have been one of the top programs in the state and their bitter rival.
Interestingly, the geography of recruiting shows Oaks Christian as one of the top high schools in the west, funneling players to the PAC-12, along with Loyola of Los Angeles (oldest school in southern California), Long Beach Poly, De La Salle, Mullen in Denver and Hamilton of Chandler, AZ. Poly is one of the most famous high schools on the West Coast for athletics, once deemed by Sports Illustrated the “Sports School of the Century” for producing more professional athletes than any high school in the country. Still, Oaks produces some of the highest level prospects as evidenced by their standing as one of “the” pipelines to the PAC.

For the upcoming game with the Hawks, Oaks had a number of impactful graduates. Gone are USC signee Michael Pittman (6-5, 205) with 24 touchdowns and 81 receptions for 1990 yards. In the post season game against ranked Bishop Amat, he caught 16 passes for 354 yards! Running back Gil Scott Jackson’s 1631 yards on 176 carries and 132 in 10 receptions is also gone. At last check he was being recruited by Ucla, Nebraska, ASU and Purdue. The line lost two cogs in Richard Cabrera (6-6, 325, Ucla, Notre Dame) and OG Jaylen Larry (6-4, 275, Oregon, Cal), but return four; OL/DT Reece Silofau 6-3, 280, so), Ryan Goodman (6-2, 265, sr), Nicolo Di Fronzo (6-3, 275, sr) and TE/DE Colby Parkinson (6-7, 230, sr). Parkinson is highly rated after catching 24 passes for 489 yards with offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, Ucla, USC, Arkansas, etc, etc.
With an 87% winning percentage over the years, the cupboard is rarely bare at OC. Wide-out Michael Owusu (6-5, 201, sr) returns after catching 15 passes for 232 with Micah Pittman (6-0, 190, so), who caught 14 passes for 190 yards. Running back Brandon LaBrie (5-10, 200, sr) is back after gaining 204 yards on 20 carries. He also caught 10 passes for 146 yards so they are set at receiver.
This is good news for one of the most exciting quarterbacks in southern California with the return of junior Matt Corral (6-3, 190, USC commit) in his third year under center. You know he’s special starting as a freshman at this school in talent rich California. He completed 168 of 247 throws for 3283 yards with a Td-Pick ratio of 36 to 6, while rushing for 414 yards on 69 carries. He returns to a system that has been explosive for years, averaging over 40ppg in 8 of the last 12 years, 50 in four of those years. Last year’s team averaged 50ppg against legitimate competition including Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Cathedral Catholic and Bishop Amat. They play in the Marmonte League (St. Bonaventure, Westlake, Moorpark) then playoff in the powerful PAC-5 Division with national powers, St. John Bosco, Mater Dei and Centennial-Corona.

Defensively, the principle losses were at linebacker and in the secondary where they lost 190 and 119 tackles respectively. Five return to the front seven with 227 tackles with the secondary returning some experience. Up front Reece Silofau (6-3, 280. So, BYU offer) had 55 tackles as a freshman last year. DE Colby Parkinson (6-6, 230) had 17 stops with OL/DL Grant Marcketta (6-3, 250, jr) and DTs Dallas Holliday (6-4, 270, jr) and Patrick Beattie (6-3, 225, so) getting time. OL Ryan Goodman (6-2, 265) also plugs in at NG with Aina Setefano (6-2, 290, sr). Brandon LaBrie (5-10, 200, sr) had 69 tackles at OLB with Bo Calvert (6-5, 220, jr) getting 58 also at OLB. Others with time are MLB Devin Calloway (6-0, 205, sr) with 28, LB Alex Haberlach (6-0, 190, sr) with 16 stops and Tony Burgos (5-9, 190, sr) with 21 tackles. 6-1, 195, junior Ben Raymond projects to SS with 11 tackles while Nick Moore (5-9, 160, sr) gets one of the corners.
Oaks Christian opens with Chaminade (7-4, 2013 state champ 14-2) while the Hawk’s open at St. Joseph Regional (8-4). Schedule wise the Lions seem to get the better end of the deal in the opener playing Chaminade who is replacing quarterback Dymond Lee (6-2, 185, 1622 pass, 417 rush, Ucla) while the Hawks play what should be a strong group from SJR who will be pumped after last year’s loss. The Green Knights look absolutely loaded for what could be a memorable year.

Sources:
The Bakersfield Californian, OCSidelines.com, LA Times.com, vctimes.com, materdei.org/football, Fresnobeehive.com, Whittier Daily News, Monterey Herald, The Press Enterprise (Riverside), Daily Bulletin (Rancho Cucamonga), Capistrano Dispatch, Sentinel Weekly (Corona), OCVarsity.com, The Beach Reporter (beach cities of LA’s South Bay), High School Football america.com, You Tube videos, Orange Lutheran online, TexasHighSchoolFootball.com, USA Today, Daily Motion Videos
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Do you think that Loretta Lynch thinks the French should also fight terror with Love?

Again, this was one of the most bizarre statements ever made by a public official. Yes, reluctant to think, act, and do, there is no response to this post, so I will only be emboldened if you DON'T reply! I'd be embarrassed to reply also, if this were one of my elected officials that I had a part in putting into office by voting for Incapabama.
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