from easternpafootball site.

Great season for AP.

from easternpafootball.
Great season for BM

NM

Interesting development in the Lehigh Valley 2A scene. As the headline indicates, the head coach of this year's D11 2A champ resigned this afternoon after 7 years on the sidelines. H

Notre Dame went 11-2 this year, after going 19-82 from 2005-2014. The transformation was largely aided by the closing of Pius X and Notre Dame being the "refugee" program for most of the Pius players. This also included Pius X head coach Phil Stambaugh, who took over at ND's quarterbacks coach.

I'm assuming Stambaugh will quickly be promoted and this was in the works as soon as he took the job. He played at Pius, then was an FCS All American at Lehigh and got a cup of coffee in the NFL with the Jaguars then played in NFL Europe before coming back to the Valley and taking over his alma mater.

The rumor mill up here was that Liberty was interested in Stambaugh when he was available, but he's been a Catholic school his entire life and ND with him as the head guy would be very interesting. He's a spread guy and quarterbacks whisperer, and always had great talent at the position at Pius. But only so many kids want to play Single-A football, and less kids from the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton/WesternNJ area want to go to the slate belt to do so. Notre Dame is located in Easton on the border of Palmer and Bethlehem Towmship and plays in a better league and bigger division. I'd think that would be a more palatable option for kids who want to play for him, and it'll be interesting the kind of talent Notre Dame gets.

Parkland (12-1) at LaSalle (9-3)

LaSalle State Playoff Appearances: 7 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015)
Parkland State Playoff Appearances: 11 (1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
LaSalle State Playoff Record: 12-4
Parkland State Playoff Record: 14-9
LaSalle vs. D11: 4-0
Parkland vs. PCL: 0-3
LaSalle State Titles: 2009
Parkland State Titles: 2002

Last Time They Met

LaSalle absolutely hammered Parkland, 28-7, in the 2012 PIAA Quarterfinals at Northeast High school in Philadelphia. LaSalle sacked Parkland quarterback Tim Baranek an incredible 12 times, including five by defensive end Jon Naji. The Explorers held the Trojans to just 189 yards of total offense, 72 of which came on the last play of the game, and forced eleven punts. Parkland had three 1,000 yard rushers that season in Baranek, Eli Redmond, and Jarel Elder, but factoring out Elder’s 72 yarder as time expired, the three were held to 89 yards on 48 carries. Chris Kane picked apart the Parkland secondary for 188 yards and two touchdowns, completing passes to six different receivers, led by a 5 catch, 120 yard day by Sean Coleman, who caught both TD passes.

Parkland Last Week

The Trojans had no problem with Wyoming Valley West, racing past the Spartans for a 63-21 win. Parkland was leading 14-7 and driving to take a two score lead when Devante Cross threw an interception to Sean Judge at the goalline, who took it back 100 yards to tie the game at 14 with eight minutes left in the first half. The halftime score was 49-14, as Parkland piled up five touchdowns in seven minutes, thanks to a bomb by Cross to Nolan Ridway, a 77 yard Cross TD run, a pick six by defensive tackle Noel Brouse, and recovered fumble on a kickoff, and a crazy final play of the first half where Kenny Yeboah caught a jump ball then lateraled to Zach Bross who took the ball the final 11 yards for the TD. Then, on WVW’s first play of the second half, Jahan Worth scooped a fumble and ran in back, giving Parkland a 56-14 lead and capping a 42-0 run in a shade over nine minutes of game time. Each team would score a TD in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin. After WVW’s opening 77 yard TD drive, they gained just 97 yards the rest of the game, with 44 of those coming on Devon Weidman’s TD run with 3:29 left.

LaSalle Last Week

The Explorers took it to Simon Gratz in a 42-15 win to give the Philly Catholic League its seventh consecutive D12 title. Nick Rinella made a massive play early, souring a long Amir Gillis run by catching the Gratz QB and punching the ball out of the end zone for a LaSalle touchback. Tw plays later, Chris Ferguson hit Winston Eubanks for an 80 yard touchdown and the route was on. The Explorers were up 28-0 before you could blink, adding a defensive TD, and a a Nick Rinella 7 yard TD run set up by a 60 yard burst from Syaire Madden, and a long drive to open the second quarter capped by a Ferguson to Rinella 17 yard touchdown pass. Madden carried 19 times for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and the LaSalle offensive line dominated from whistle to whistle. Chris Ferguson was a crisp 7-10 for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

When Parkland Has the Ball

The two match ups to watch are Parkland’s offensive line and the LaSalle defensive line, and LaSalle’s defensive backs against Parkland’s receivers. Up front, LaSalle has played exceptionally well in their run here at the end of the season. Garrett Zobel and Anthony Piscopo are a pair of wrestlers with great hands and speed off of the ball. Jimmy Morrissey and Matt McDermott both get snaps at defensive tackle, and at 290 and 270, they’re a load for any interior linemen to handle. And Chris Maloney had a break out last week against Gratz, and is a very talented sophomore. Maloney and Piscopo are the runts of the group at 6’2 205 and 5’11 215. Zobel (6’2 240), McDermott, and Morrissey are all college sized defensive linemen.

Parkland has good size and talent up front, led by Syracuse commit Noel Brouse at left tackle (6’6 270). Brouse and right tackle Steve Feher (6’5 265) are off the assembly line tackles, with long arms and athleticism. Brouse has to be chomping at the bit after missing last year’s state playoff game with a separated shoulder suffered in the D11 final. Left guard Patrick Ferry is as improved as any player I’ve seen this year. At 6’3 315 and a state powerlifting champion, he’s what you’d order at guard, and as he’s come into his own, Parkland has really tailored their running game to the left side of their offensive line with Brouse and Ferry. Alex Van Woert (5'11 210) and Andrew Parry (6'0 230) will have to play bigger than they are on the interior as well.

In the receiving game, unlike the last time these two teams met, Parkland likes to throw the ball. This year, Parkland has four receivers with at least twenty catches, led by Kenny Yeboah’s 56 grabs for 914 yards and 12 TDs. It’s a modern offense, heavy on short throws, designed QB runs, and zone read. But where Parkland is a tough match up for any team is the size of their receivers. Yeboah, who will play tight end at Temple, is 6’6 220 pounds, Zack Bross is 6’4 195, and Nolan Ridgway is 6’2 185. Yeboah is as good as any high school kid at using his body and going up and getting the football, and if Cross recognizes him in one-on-one coverage, it’s an automatic read for him to run a go-route and throw a jump ball. LaSalle oozes athleticism in their secondary, but only Isaiah Jones is six feet tall. John Steinmetz is one of the best defensive coaches in Pennsylvania, so they’ll obviously have a plan, but the Trojans will want to take advantage of the shorter defensive backs. Even if they’re not throwing it up to Yeboah, Bross and Ridgway both like to work in traffic in the middle of the field where they can use the body to pick up solid gains. If LaSalle can get a pass rush, it obviously goes a long way.

When LaSalle Has the Ball

LaSalle has one of the biggest offensive lines left in the state tournament, and their path to victory seems to be bludgeon the Trojans up front then go over the top as they creep up their safeties. Chris Ferguson has a big arm and a handful of receivers who can really run and like all LaSalle teams I’ve watched, they’re adept at using their running backs in the passing game. But their strength lies in the hog mollies up front, the smallest of whom is 6’2 250. Syaire Madden was a great offseason pick up, who is crazy strong, runs hard and has the speed once he gets to the second level to really hurt you. And he’s on the second level more often than not, as the push he gets from his front is tremendous. He commented after the Gratz win last week that he was five yards downfield before anybody could touch him. The blocking schemes aren’t overly complicated, they mostly seem to want to beat you off the ball and physically dominate one on one. McDermott is an all state candidate at guard, as is TJ Garvin (6’4 265) at tackle and Morrissey in the middle.

The Parkland defensive front is undersized, save for Brouse at defensive tackle. Losing Billy Danko to an ACL tear really hurts in a game like this, as the 6’2 240 senior was having a great year and could provide much needed extra beef on the interior of their defensive line. In his place, they’ve moved sophomore Jahan Worth from middle linebacker to defensive tackle. Worth is only 5’11 220, but like Ferry he’s a state powerlifting champion, and unlike most defensive tackles he runs a 4.6 40. Parkland’s gets a ton of production from their defensive ends, DJ Hohman and Palmer Kerch, both of whom are tiny (5’11 195 and 5’1 205), high motor guys. If they get swallowed up by the LaSalle front, they’ll be able to ball control the Trojans to death. Ferry may get some snaps on the line if they’re getting pushed around, as may senior Andrew Bennett (6’4 260). Brouse can play inside or out (he played end all of last season), and they’ll likely move him around.

Parkland’s linebackers have been very good all year, particularly Erik DiGiralomo, and the front four is going to have to keep the LaSalle line occupied so DiGiralomo and company can come up and make plays. Not many teams have run on the Trojans (other than getting bizarrely gashed by Liberty), and only Liberty’s Gunner Anglovech has broken the 100 yard barrier, and since the Liberty loss, Parkland’s opponents are averaging 3.6 yards per carry in 7 games.

Where Parkland’s defense has been vulnerable this year is to the deep passing game. Those same big receivers make for a big secondary, but neither Yeboah, Bross, or Ridgway are real burners. Devante Cross has been getting fully two-way duty in the playoffs, and while he’s an excellent defensive back (and will play there at BC), wearing him out on defense is a recipe for success if you’re LaSalle. I’m not sure the big boys can run with Rinella, Eubanks, and Headon if they can get off the line and Ferguson has time to air it out. LaSalle also does a nice job getting Rinella matched up with linebackers, and I don’t think any of Parkland’s trio can run with him. And Ferguson can really spin it.

The Pick

In the middle of the season, I was down on Parkland, particularly after their listless first half against Liberty. Down the stretch, they’ve looked much better, dominating in seven straight games, and looking much more like the team that was in the top 5 of every preseason state poll. But LaSalle has played a better schedule, is riding the high of beating their archrivals and two time defending state champs, and has the offensive and defensive lines to go up against anybody in the state, including Pittsburgh Central Catholic. At the end of the day, I can’t find a reason to pick a D11 team to beat a PCL team in the state tournament until I see it happen.

LaSalle 31-21

Chad, you are a bully. Every year, you have beaten up the smaller, weaker kids in the school yard (Phoenixville 58-7, Upper Perkiomen 53-7, Methacton 82-0, and Pope John Paul 56-0) and humiliated them. It must make for an interesting “handshake” at midfield, and we are sure you have made many friends across the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Yet, at the end of the grading period, you seem to get “jumped” by the real heroes of the school yard and you get your nose bloodied during the District 1 Playoffs. Have the Coatesville and Neshaminy night terrors ended? History doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. You are not unique. We have seen you before my friend. Arroyo Valley once beat Bloomington High 161-2 in girls basketball. Arroyo Valley played a full-court press for the entire first half and led 104-1 at halftime. “This was our last game before we started league play, and we were going to come out playing hard”, said Arroyo Valley’s coach. It’s funny how people justify their behavior. After the game, Bloomington coach Dale Chung said, “People shouldn’t feel sorry for my team. They should feel sorry for his team, which isn’t learning the game the right way”. Chad, take a look into the mirror. Do you like what you see? The Football gods do not. The Football gods aren’t Spring-Ford, Millersville, or Cocalico High friends, family or graduates. We’re local high school football fans who respect the game. The 82-0 Methacton score caught our eyes and it bothered us.


We are sure you watched many exciting college games during your days as a Marauder. Are you aware how many times Dr. Gene Carpenter posted 82 points on an opponent during his 31 year career? The Hall of Fame coach won 220 games, but never once did he ever embarrass an opponent by 12 touchdowns. "Every coach wants to know that education and character are a big part of his position, a big part of his responsibilities," you said. "Football is just an extension of that. Our common goal is helping kids.” Can you please explain how winning 82-0 over an undermanned PAC opponent is helping either team? Are these the “skills for life” that you want to give your kids that you refer to in the 8/24/15 Pottstown Mercury article? I guess you forgot about the District 3 initiative that you participated in to improve student-athletes' behavior and sportsmanship, a program aimed at pursuing victory with honor ... a program focused on respect, responsibility, citizenship, fairness, caring and trustworthiness. The Football gods will tell you what many are thinking, your self-indulgent behavior is an embarrassment to the very program you represent.


Chad, this is NOT the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Your squad hasn’t faced a Suburban One team over the last six regular seasons. One of our favorite sayings is “water eventually finds its’ level”. That said, many were anxious to see how the #4 SF seed would perform in the District 1 playoffs. Certainly shivers went down your spine when you saw #13 Neshaminy matched with you in the bracket. An “upset” lost to the boys from Bucks County in the first round to end the season. Sound familiar? It’s like deja-vu, all over again. The previous three times you were bounced from District play, you surrendered 56, 59, and 60 points. The scales of Divine Justice always balance—if not here,then hereafter. If possible, those earlier “blow out” wins seem even more hollow today, don’t they Chad? Three words from the Football gods….Sweet PoeticJustice. We realize you are “building” a program, but please understand Spring-Ford was great before you arrived on the banks of the Schuylkill River. The program was established on the backs of tough and talented coaches and kids from Spring City and Royersford. The program has always been respected and admired well before you put your fingerprints on it. The “Great Scotts” of the 80s and 90s (Highley, Davidheiser and Helverson) won with dignity and respect. We ensure you that those Ram legends would never lose a big game in the same fashion you have. Check the video tape and record books. Those individual and team records under Ted Nypaver and Marty Moore speak for themselves. Annamarie’s faithful may be impressed with your charade, but the Football gods are not. We have found you guilty of fraud. Here is the good news for you, Chad: it’s not a final verdict. You can reverse course and win with class. Actions speak louder than words. We, The Football gods, are watching…

This Johns kid-is he related to the CB South Johns (the QB) who is at UVA?

Week 13 Stats
Played - 4
Eliminated - 0
Survived - 4


Picks
North Penn - 2
LaSalle - 1
Upper Dublin - 1


Eliminated


Survivors/Teams Used
16th&Georgetown - LaSalle, Neshaminy, North Penn
Joe_Kane - Wyoming Valley West, Simon Gratz, LaSalle
newman107 - Simon Gratz, Neshaminy, Upper Dublin
Relayer - LaSalle, Wyoming Valley West, North Penn

Use this thread to make your picks for Week 14. I will take North Penn.

Well it seems like you have a bit of an ax to grind. Not very well thought out though. I would like to hear your thoughts about a PV team that beat Methacton 60-0 and also won a few other games @ 56-8, 51-0, 42-0, 45-0 all while keeping starters in through the end of the 3rd Q. Our demise in districts is a function of lack of competion not the football gods cursing a coach, staff and football family that is dedicated to providing life lessons for our student athletes. It's not 1984 any longer - get a grip.

Any thoughts on this game? Question for the board. What is the makeup of the UD team? Seniors? Juniors? Is this the culmination of them playing together for three years or are they at the start of a run?

Central Dauphin over Cumberland Valley
Central Catholic over State College
North Penn over Upper Dublin
LaSalle over Parkland
Prep over TJ
Bishop McDevitt over Susquehanna Twp
Saucon Valley over Selinsgrove
Imhotep over Academy Park
Aliquippa over Karns City
Hickory over Central
Dunmore over West Catholic
So Colombia over Berks
Farrell over Kane
Clairton over Berlin
Old Forge over McDevitt
Guilfoyle over Camp Hill

Week 13 rankings
1. Upper Dublin 13-0. If there were still doubters maybe now they’ll be silenced (temporarily?) after Upper Dublin shutdownthe defending district champ Pennsbury 24-14. You’ve got to stay disciplined against Pennsbury’s Wing-T and the Cardinals did, holding them to 52 yards rushing and 9 first downs. As comparison in the second game of the year against LaSalle, the Explorers held them to 144 yards rushing. The Cardinals were just as impressive on the other side of the ball against a veteran defense rushing for 176 yards on 43 carries. This allowed them to ball control with sustained clock consuming drives. Quarterback Ryan Stover was their leading rusher gaining 86 yards on 10 carries and completing 11 of 20 passes for 142 yards. They outgained the Falcons 318 to 180 in total yards. In winning, they advances to their first ever district final where they’ll play North Penn Saturday in Souderton.

2. Parkland 12-1. What can you say about a game like this? Parkland simply overwhelmed Wyoming Valley West in every aspect of the game, coming away with an unprecedented fourth District 2/4/11 finals win by the score of 63-21. 35 second quarter points blew the lid off this one after the score was knotted at 14 all early in the quarter. A mercy ruled 49-14 half time score with Valley West’s quarterback knocked out of the game allowed the starters to sit the second half and watch the show. Devante Cross had one of his more impressive outings rushing for 168 yards and two scores while completing 5 of 8 passes for 138 yards and 3 scores. 308 total yards in one half! Erik DiGirolamo rushed for 112 yards on 16 carries. District 2 and 4 for that matter aren’t known for their AAAA programs at least not anymore but 63 to 21? Wyoming Valley West came in with their best team ever with more wins at 12-0 and the highest scoring team in their history at 46ppg. You have to go back to 2000’s 10-2 team to find a better defense (9ppg) than this year’s that allowed 12ppg. They had no trouble with less than typical Delaware Valley and Berwick teams then beat Nazareth 51-34 and Liberty 55-35 in the preliminary rounds. The tip off was the 34 and 35 points allowed to Naz and Liberty, well above the 8ppg allowed in previous games. So it was a blow out but of unexpected proportions (at one point scoring 49 straight points) with the Trojans amassing 504 total yards to Valley West’s 174. The win advances them to the quarterfinals for the 4th straight year where they’ll play the District-12 champ LaSalle.

3. LaSalle 8-3. PCL champ LaSalle’s winning streak reached five with the easy destruction of PPL titleist Simon Gratz (10-3) in the District-12 final. Syaire Madden put on quite a show rushing for 178 yards on 19 carries for 2 scores, supported by a stubborn defense that limited the high scoring Bulldogs to 14 points. At the end of the day this was a “walk in the park” with the Explorers rolling 42-15. All in all it’s been quite a year for LaSalle winning the PCL under the guidance of first year coach John Steinmetz, their longtime assistant. Replacing highly successful coach Drew Gordon, quarterback Kyle Shurmur (2562 yards, 30 Td), running back Jordan Meachum (142 carries, 866 yards) and wide out Jim Herron (72 receptions, 934 yards) was no small task. They returned 7 to the offense and 5 to the defense but those were tremendous losses to the program. Chris Ferguson (6-4, 220, sr) really stepping in and up after shadowing Shurmur since his sophomore year. He transferred in from the quarterback factory at Upper Dublin in 2013. Kidding but that’s some pretty good talent UD is cranking out at the position knowing Ryan Stover’s exploits the last two years. Another strong return for LaSalle whose cupboard was far from bare was their great senior line consisting of center Jim Morrissey (6-3, 290), guards Matt McDermott (6-2, 275), and Conor McCracken (6-3, 270) and tackles TJ Garvin (6-4, 270) and Ryan Schutta (6-2, 255), giving them one of the top lines in their classification. Soph Liam Trainer (6-2, 220) completes things at tight end. RB/CB’s Nick Rinella, Jared Walls, Chestnut Hill Academy transfer Syaire Madden (5-9, 190) and WR/DB Winston Eubank (6-0, 170, sr) give them an unheralded offense. Senior DL’s Anthony Piscopo (DE….5-10, 200, sr), and DT Jim Morrissey give them a veteran presence with sophomore’s Chris Maloney (DE….6-0, 210) and DT Garrett Zobel (6-3, 245) along with Piscopo giving them quickness and experience up front they’ll need against Parkland.

4. St. Joseph’s Prep 7-3. With the heartbreak of the 29-28 loss in the PCL title game two weeks ago, some will say that was the state title game….if ….LaSalle wins the next two games then takes gold in Hershey. To do so they will have defeated one of Parkland’s most talented teams, a D-1 representative that is firing on all cylinders in Upper Dublin or North Penn and whatever comes out of the West where Pittsburgh Central Catholic is the odds on favorite at 5:9. Kidding but they are the heavy favorite to beat whatever the Mid Penn Conference throws at them. Here a playoff peculiarity (bizarre actually) sees a Mid Penn Conference opponent, State College (9-3) out of District-6, who competes in the MPC-Commonwealth Division with District-3’s Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley, Harrisburg et al, aligned with District-6/8/9/10 playoff teams, with a bye week! State College plays Central Catholic this weekend while Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley bang heads in round two with the first round going to CV 24-21. Catholic should get past State High then flip the coin in the bitter rivalry game between Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley with a lean to CD.

5. North Penn 11-2. Parkland wins 63-21, LaSalle wins 42-15 then North Penn does much the same defeating Neshaminy 28-7! What do we gotta do to get a competitive playoff game around here? I guess go to Fort Washington where things at least looked like a tight game on the scoreboard despite a significant statistical advantage going to Upper Dublin, 318 to 180 yards with the Falcons getting a paltry 52 yards rushing! Since losing to Downingtown West September 18th, the Knights have been reborn, completing essentially a second season with ten consecutive wins. This one was about domination as well with running back Nyfeese West running for 228 of North Penn’s 338 yards rushing. Quarterback Reece Udinski was on target completing 8 of 14 for 128 more yards for a total yardage figure of 466. Their defense was suffocating, holding the Redskins to 192 total yards of which 38 were rushing yards. Looking to this week’s game against Upper Dublin says the Cardinals haven’t faced a team like the Knights. An argument could also be made the same holds true for North Penn who have not had to defend a quarterback with running skills equal to his abundant passing skills. Conversely, UD hasn’t faced a team with as many weapons to defend as North Penn.

6. Wyoming Valley West 12-1. Talk about a season ending with a loud thud! Sometimes when you get in the cross hairs of another team that cannot do a thing wrong, there is a corresponding ineptness in your response. That was the case here as the Trojans have demonstrated their ability to play with District-11’s teams in the past. For example, the 2012 team (10-2) lost a narrow one to Easton (11-3) 35-34, the same Easton team that beat Pennsbury (10-2) 38-28, Beca (8-5) 49-35, top seeded East Stroudsburg South (11-2) and Parkland (12-2) 24-0 that year. Showing the unpredictable nature of high school football, Easton then lost to Parkland in the D-2/4/11 final 42-0. Go figure. Sometimes there is no explaining a loss like the one Wyoming Valley West experienced against Parkland. Too bad as the loss may detract from the regular season and playoff wins allowing others to forget what an extraordinary season it was.

7. Neshaminy 9-4.Neshaminy’s season came to an end in the district semifinals losing to North Penn 28-7. That was a hard loss but when measured against last year’s 4-6 record, their first losing season since 2003, it was quite a ride under the guidance of first year coach Steve Wilmot. A look at the schedule shows a sputtering offense that never really got into a rhythm at 24ppg verses last year’s 21 but wait til next year when quarterback Mason Jones (1524 yards), running back Will Dogba (1489 yards), fullback Hayden Rooney and wide out Zach Tredway (#1-692 yards) return as seniors. The line returns at least three, importantly center AJ Sanko, not counting a number of juniors that rotated in. About the defense: with few exceptions, notably North Penn last week, the defense was right there against quality teams such as Downingtown West, Pennridge, North Penn (regular season), Pennsbury, Spring Ford and Quakertown. The defense allowed 22ppg but against a respectable slate of teams where 8 of the 13 finished above .500. That will be the focus next year where over 410 tackles will have graduated.

8. Pennsbury 9-4. The Falcons lost to Upper Dublin in a rarity seeing their ground and pound approach shutdown by what turned out to be another bird of prey, the Cardinal. The final score was 24-14 and that’s really as good as it got with Upper Dublin dominating the stats in holding Pennsbuty to 52 yards rushing. Still, it was strong run, advancing to the district semifinal, beating Downingtown West (9-2) 35-28 and Perkiomen Valley (10-2) 41-28 along the way, all on the road particularly in light of severe graduation losses to the offense.

9. Downingtown East 11-1. Ches Mont-National champ.

10. Easton 9-4. Thanks RoverNation05 for the won-loss correction.

Not expecting anyone other than Prep guys to respond (though of course anyone can) to a question I've been asking myself since Saturday's game.

LaSalle's defense was obviously focused on containing Swift on the ground and they did a great job doing so. He got lots of yardage on returns but I think I saw that he got only 14 yards from scrimmage. So my question is why the Prep didn't try to open up the LaSalle defense by passing more. They completed 7 of 14 passes for 78 yards but 50 of them must have come on the first play from scrimmage. Therefore they got no more than 30 the whole rest of the game, especially in the second half. Was Shaw playing hurt before he had to leave the game? Were the coaches afraid of interceptions, especially after LaSalle returned one for a TD? McCray didn't throw much when he was in and didn't look so comfortable doing so, so why didn't they use Longo? And is Angelos (who we heard has shown promise as a passing QB) still in the picture?

I suppose the fact that the Prep was in the lead for the whole of the second half until the last minute made them extra cautious, but as the game wore on it was becoming increasingly clear that the LaSalle defense wasn't letting the Prep run. I don't like quoting myself but here's what I said last week on the LaSalle-SJP thread: "One key Saturday will be how well the Prep's passing game works. It doesn't have to be great but just good enough to prevent LaSalle from focusing almost entirely on containing SJP's ground game. Even then, unless the Prep fumbles a few times, their running game alone will put a few TDs on the board."

I think I was pretty much on the money--thanks to Benny Walls--but the mystery remains why with receivers like Green and Simmons--and Swift, DuMnd, and Walls!!--the Prep seemed so averse to passing.

OK, this game deserves its' own thread.

My opinion is that like the previous match up between these two the game will come down to whomever wins the battles in the trenches. In the previous meeting, LS simply owned Parkland on both sides of the ball; their QB in many cases couldn't even hand off to the RB because he already had 3 LS linemen all over him. It was actually an incredible display since it went on the entire game.

I'm sure most of the chatter will be about Cross and Yeboah but, I think in the end, the boys up front will determine who moves on.

If I felt ambitious on Friday, one might talk me into going to McDevitt-Old Forge at Pleasant Valley or Selingsgrove-Saucon Valley at Northern Lehigh. Either is not that far from my Hunterdon County work base. Anyone heading north? JBin?

More importantly, Saturday is my focus. With my wife, stepdaughter, sister and niece heading to NYC, look out! The day will start at Nick's around 11am. Tailgating at Charles Martin Stadium should commence around noon. I will bring the entire YES arsenal, so there's an easy barometer to find us. If one hears Chris blazing on "Ritual", you're in the right spot!!

11.Perkiomen Valley 10-2.

12. Quakertown 10-3. Hats off to Quakertown who came into this one on a 1-3 slide, losing a home playoff game to Neshaminy 31-17 the week before. They could have packed it in and for a while it looked as though they might, falling behind 21-0 at the half. There are easier recovery scenarios than this one, coming back against a team of Pennridge’s caliber, but that’s what they did. The second half saw them outscore the Rams 28-0, powered in part by a strong performance from their workhorse running back Robert Burns who rushed for 139 yards on 35 carries. That effort took him over the top, setting a school rushing record of 3784 yards rushing. The win allows the Panthers to close out the season at 10-3 following last year’s 11-2 campaign.

13. Liberty 8-4.

14. Downingtown West 9-2.

15. Haverford 10-2. After losing to Perkiomen Valley 35-28 in the district’s first round, the Fords bounced back with a Thanksgiving Day win against rival Upper Darby 48-42.

16. Upper Darby 10-3. The Royals responded to a second round playoff loss to Upper Dublin by keeping the focus and battling hard in a 48-42 loss to Haverford Thanksgiving Day.

17. Coatesville 7-3.

18. Spring Ford 10-1. PAC-10 champion.

19. Freedom 9-2. Eastern Pennsylvania Conference-South Co-Champ.

20. Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-3.

21. Pennridge 8-4. The red hot Rams had their four game winning streak ended at home when they failed to hang on to a 21-0 half time lead. Overcoming a 21-0 deficit against a team of Pennridge’s caliber is notable even in a rivalry game but that’s what Quakertown did, pulling out a 28-0 road win. Still, Pennridge had their moments, showing a penchant at winning on the road, going 5-0 with wins against Neshaminy 17-7 and Ridley 17-14.

22. Emmaus 7-5. Won the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference AAAA championship.

23. Council Rock North 7-4. SOL-Continental champion.

24. Council Rock South 6-4.

26. Unionville 8-3. Ches Mont-American champ.

27. Garnet Valley 7-4.

28. Ridley 7-4. The Green Raiders beat Interboro 12-0 in one of the better back yard, blue collar, neighborhood rivalries in southeastern PA. The win put a positive spin on an otherwise unsatisfactory season by Ridley standards in not making the playoffs and snapping a three game losing streak.

29. Nazareth 5-5.

30. Delaware Valley 7-4.

So is Ridley standing pat? Did the Thanksgiving win save Decker? Are they changing anything?

East

North Penn (11-2)
Upper Dublin (13-0)

Earlier said UD, but I think North Penn has enough to get it done in a close one.

LaSalle (8-3)
Parkland (12-1)

LaSalle avenged a big mid-season loss to SJP by pulling out a last second win in the playoffs. Parkland hasn't been challenged since a weird loss to Liberty mid-season. I think LaSalle wins by two scores.

West

Central Dauphin (12-1)
Cumberland Valley (11-2)

Rematch of a mid-season game that CV won 24-21. I think CD gets it done this time in another close one.


Pittsburgh Central Catholic (12-1)
State College (9-3)

Did State College get remarkably better throughout the season? Losing to SF early, but beating CV late? It doesn't really matter, this has PCC mercy-rule written all over it.

Come on, any thoughts on this game? Two local teams going at it. Where is this one being played?

Round 1
1. Dtown East over 16. PW
9. North Penn over 8. Unionville

13. Neshaminy over 4. SF
5. CB East over 12. Quakertown

2. Dtown West over 15. Pennsbury
10. PV over 7. Haverford

3. UD over 14. GV
11. CRN over 6. UD

Round 2
1. Dtown East over 9. North Penn
13. Neshaminy over 5. CB East

2. Dtown West over 10. PV
3. UD over 11. CRN

Semis
1. Dtown East over 13. Neshaminy
3. UD over 2. Dtown West

Final
1. Dtown East over 3. UD

The man did a tremendous job turning around a program that was a bottom feeder for years before he arrived. In Abington's 4 seasons prior to Sorber taking over, the Ghosts went 1-10, 1-10, 1-10, and 2-10. Abington was in the playoffs many times under Tim and always had to battle the likes of Neshaminy, Pennsbury and North Penn in the SOL. Always liked Sorber, best of luck to him.

Saw tonights game & was impressed with AP! Especially the D! Coach Vo has them on the right track again towards the next level. Hope for them that the rumors aren't true & he stays to continue what he has built. This program needs him!

Clairton as impressive as always. Should be favorites to win the states in A. Not sure they will. Guilfoyle is solid again.

Pittsburgh Central is a team WPIAL People brag about, but for as talented as they are. I'm not really impressed with them. They probably will get to Hershey, but won't win it. Think LaSalle is the favorite now after taking down St Joe's.

Probably the WPIAL best chances to win gold.

Got to think Imhotep/Wood winner will win it in AAA.