The Prep beat Wood 17-14 on a Chadha field goal with a minute left. Wood was up 14-6 with 7-8 minutes left but the Prep offense got some life and the defense made a couple of plays.

I expected a close game, especially since Samaj Jones didn't play again this week. Anyone know how likely it is that he'll be back next week? Picariello did fine, but Jones adds more firepower. Barlow must be out for the season and nearly all the receivers are sophomores. Is the offensive line healthy? I didn't hear Harris mentioned at all tonight. Sounded as if the Wood defensive line dominated SJP's for most of the game.

I have a hard time imagining Roman pulling another big upset tomorrow. So LaSalle will very likely be the clear favorites next week. I hope the weather is dry.

Putt'm up.

Putt'm up

Gasoline, meet fire, but a wild story out of District 6, where Bishop McCourt faces the steepest recruiting penalties thought to ever have been levied by the PIAA.

Some quick backstory - Bishop McCourt was tabbed for recruiting violations four or five years ago and their wrestling coach was forced to resign for breaking PIAA rules, so it seems like a lot of the steepness of the penalty is McCourt being tabbed as a repeat offender (and seemingly flying in the face of PIAA enforcement).

What makes the story complicated is the Erik and Mason Gibson angle. Erik was wrestling for Forest Hills (local public school - coached by former Penn State All American Jake Strayer) when he was called a racial slur by a teammate during a tournament. His family was unhappy with the way it was handled by the coaching staff (namely, that it wasn't handled) and filed a complaint against Strayer with the school district.

This is where things get kind of wonky. The Gibson's uncle is Bill Basset, who was running the Ranger Pride club out of the Forest Hills room and coaching their junior high team. Erik and his younger brother Mason are elite, national caliber wrestlers (Mason was a PIAA runner-up as a freshman and is arguably the top rated recruit in the class). Basset's son Bo is currently in 8th grade, but won the Cadet World Title in freestyle over the summer, and has a level of hype for a middle school kid that I have never seen before (and also think is mega-unhealthy, but that's for another thread). When the Gibson incident went down, Bill Basset left Forest Hills middle school program to take the head coaching job at Bishop McCourt. His nephews and kids came with him to McCourt, as did a slew of other Forest Hills wrestlers - Erik Gibson had his transfer blocked by District 6 last week, but Mason, as a freshman, was able to wrestle. And, pretty much every wrestler in District 6 who lives within driving distance of Altoona is starting to transfer in to McCourt. They also have had families move into the area from Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio to train with Basset and wrestle at McCourt. What's interesting from an enforcement standpoint is I think a lot of these wrestlers who have moved in are still in middle school (I know Sam Herring and Jax Forrest - both Super 32 medalists last week - are from the South) and I don't quite know how the PIAA is allowed to enforce that. I'm not sure what is in the "200 pages of evidence" against McCourt, but the intermingling of club athletes and private high schools is something that has altered the competitive landscape of high school wrestling for years.

Pennsbury falls to 0-10 after dropping an absolute heartbreaker to Neshaminy at home on Senior Night. For the second week in a row, the Falcons lose on a last-minute 2-point attempt - last week giving up a 2-pointer to Abington, and this week failing on the two after mounting a ferocious fourth-quarter comeback.

Neshaminy did a great job of stuffing the FB dive, especially in the first half, but all either team could muster was a field goal before the break.

Pennsbury forced a three-and-out on the Skins' first drive of the second half, but Pennsbury muffed the ensuing punt. Neshaminy then went to the bag of tricks on first down, completing a 31-yard half-back pass for a TD and a 10-3 lead. Later in the third, after a great Pennsbury punt to the Neshaminy 11, the Skins capped an 89-yard drive early in the 4th with a 25-yard TD run to build a seemingly comfortable 17-3 lead.

But PHS would not go down that easily. Taking over with 10:57 to play, the Falcons marched 65 yards to cut the lead to 17-10 with 3:10 left. Key plays included FB Mulbah finally breaking a dive for 18, WB Czerniak sweeping right end to convert a 4th and 2, QB McGurring scrambling right to convert a 4th and 12, and a Mulbah 9-yard TD pass from McGurrin as he rolled left to cap the drive.

Pennsbury stopped three straight Neshaminy runs, burning all three timeouts in the process. After a Skins punt to the PHS 38, the Falcons took over with about 2:30 to go. Mulbah took a 3rd and 10 dive to the Neshaminy 46. A few plays later, McGurrin to SE Secoda for 20 put the Falcons at the Nesh 15. McGurrin then scrambled right and out-of-bounds to the 9. On the next play, Mulbah took a pitch left, broke a tackle at the 14 and swept into the end zone to get the Falcons within 1 with 41 seconds left. HC McShane immediately held up 2 fingers. On the try, McGurrin rolled right but was immediately harrassed by the DE and lofted a floater pass to the end zone that was broken up by the Nesh DB.

With all hope still not quite lost, senior kicker Burgfechtel grounded the kickoff to the right and got a perfect hop. But the hop somehow eluded one of the Falcons sprinting past, and Neshaminy recovered as the sprinter crumpled to the ground in disbelief. One kneel-down ended the game. Speculation on Pennsbury's coach for next year began in earnest as the clock hit 0:00.

I'll try to add some game stats on Tuesday.

Another new No. 1 emerged this week on the heels of North Schuylkill’s first loss of the season. Ascending to the top spot in none other than reigning 3A champion Central Valley.

There were some additional changes throughout the other classifications as the state capped its 10-week regular season.
Our updated state rankings are sponsored by Renewal by Andersen of Central Pa. Teams are listed with district, record through Nov. 1 and previous ranking. NR-not ranked.

Wrapped it up early to get it out there with hopefully few typos. As always, feel free to jump in or on and enjoy. Looks like a wild ride in 3!

District-3 Playoffs, all classifications: Nov 5, 6 games.

6A (8 teams, highest seed home)
The big news in the Harrisburg area is Central Dauphin (5-3) and Cumberland Valley (5-5) both missed the playoffs. Central Dauphin had no eye catching wins although they beat Carlisle 24-21 and Berks Catholic 41-22 at home while losing to Cumberland Valley 24-14 and Wilson 27-21 away and to CD East 31-14 at Landis Field where both play. Cumberland Valley had a far more difficult slate losing to Manheim Central 35-7, Central York 21-3, CD East 17-10 and Harrisburg 45-7 while beating Spring Ford 23-19, Carlisle 27-24 and Central Dauphin 24-17.

Other Mid Penn Conference notes:
MPC teams from District-6 including State College and Altoona who play in the MP-Commonwealth and Juniata who won the MP-Liberty will playoff in District-6.
6A #1 State College 5-5 bye
6A #3 Altoona 4-6 at #2 Williamsport 5-5 of District-4, Nov 5th at Williamsport
4A #1 Juniata 8-2 vs #2 Bellefonte 2-7 Nov 6th at Mansion Park, Altoona

November 5th games, Quarterfinals (Harrisburg plays Nov 6th)
#1 Central York 10-0 vs #8 Manheim Township 6-4
Central York enters the postseason undefeated for the second straight year with a huge offense averaging 41ppg, led by quarterback Beau Pribula. He has been unstoppable this year, completing 78% of his passes for 2078 yards. The bad news is they’ve lost star middle linebacker Carter Glassmyre, their best defensive player for the year against Dallastown from a defense allowing 13ppg. Still, they throttled York 60-14 last week to enter the playoffs on a run, averaging 53ppg the last 6 games. Manheim Township comes in with a talented but young team with three point losses to three of the best teams in the district; Dallastown, Harrisburg, Hempfield. They enter the postseason with a bit of a limp, losing two of the last three including last week at Wilson 27-21. They also have a fine quarterback in sophomore Hayden Johnson (69%, 1911, 25/6) and will sling it. Like Central they are balanced, and big enough at 33ppg with a D allowing 20.
#4 York-Wm. Penn 7-2 vs #5 Wilson 7-3
With a back like Jaheim White at 1896 yards rushing, the Bearcats are a threat to score every play. Even in the slop of last week’s blowout loss to Central York, he got over 200 yards rushing. Qb Sam Stoner is also a threat at 68%, 1644 yards. But which York team will show up, the one that lost to Governor Mifflin 55-6 and Central 60-14, or the one that gave 9-1 Coatesville their only loss of the season, 44-39, at Coatesville. While York comes in off a blowout by Central, Wilson comes in on a five game winning streak including wins against Hempfield and Township. They’re a mugger with FB Jadyn Jones (6-1, 210, sr) at 948 yards and Qb Brad Johnson (6-1, 215, sr) bashing you for 693 yards but are rarely a passing threat.
#2 Harrisburg 9-1 vs #7 Carlisle 7-3
These two met back on Sept 25th in Harrisburg where the Cougars prevailed 34-14. Since that loss, Carlisle turned it up a notch winning 4 of their last 5 (lost to CD by 3), then another few notches last week getting a 28-20 win at 3rd seeded Central Dauphin East. Harrisburg is also rolling, winning 6 straight to clinch the Mid Penn-Commonwealth title undefeated at 6-0. In the first encounter, Harrisburg held Carlisle to 212 yards and 8 first downs, slamming their runners hard allowing 76 rushing to their 238 rush yards and 358 total. Bottom line and despite their youth, Harrisburg has more weapons.
#3 Central Dauphin East 7-3 vs #6 Hempfield 6-4
Except for Central York who Hempfield lost to 35-21, East High will put more speed and talent on the field that can beat you on any given play than anyone on Hempfield’s schedule. Then there’s their swarming-gang tackling defense that gives teams fits. Plug in tandem, quarterbacks, Terrence Jackson-Copney and Tony Powell, running back in Marcel McDaniels (1272ry) and one of the best receiver corps in Mehki Flowers (6-1, 195, 811py) and Tymere Thornton (6-5, 210, 542py) to see the Panthers are a complete football team. But, this is new turf for them with a first year coach and coming off 3-7, 3-7 and 0-6 seasons. For the Black Knights to be competitive in the postseason, they’ll need more from the running game to compliment a solid but modest passing game from Cam Harbaugh (57%, 1617, 12/4 ratio) who is also their leading rusher at 592 yards. Both have played top shelf schedules and won’t be intimidated by circumstance.

5A (14 teams, highest seed home)
November 5th games, First round
#8 Warwick 6-4 vs #9 Gettysburg 7-3
Except for the “Hail Mary” 30-28 loss to Penn Manor Sept 17th at home….!!....Warwick is a 7-3 team with competitive losses to good teams. They gave 9-1 Manheim Central and 9-1 Lampeter Strasburg their only loss of the season with a 7-point loss to Central Dauphin East and 6 point losses to Hempfield and Cocalico. Scoring 30ppg while allowing 22 makes them an entertaining bunch with standouts at quarterback Jack Reed (58%, 2072, 16/4), running back Christian Royer (1075ry) and wide out Cooper Eckert (982py). Gettysburg’s defense failed big time against the 2nd tier quality on their schedule losing to Cedar Crest (5-4) 52-14, Waynesboro (8-2) 55-49 and Kennard Dale (9-1) 62-22. Warwick comes in hot, winning 3 of their last 4 games to share the LL-2 with Cocalico and Manheim Central, while Gettysburg came in 2nd in the York Adams-2, winning their last 3 games and 6 of their last 7. That’s a L O N G bus ride of 80 miles to Lititz and probably an even longer ride home for Gettysburg who has not seen a big and balanced team like Warwick this year.
#4 Spring Grove 8-1 vs #13 Twin Valley 6-4
Spring Grove is a newcomer to the postseason, last appearing in 2013. Since then, they’ve had one winning season. But here they are with the top rushing offense in the York Adams featuring Zyree Brooks with 1633 yards before last week’s game where he had at least a 74-yard Td run in the 35-0 rout of South Western. The shutout exemplifies their strong defense (4th in the YA) that allowed 16ppg; 12 minus the 48-17 loss to Central York. Twin Valley of the Berks-2 got to 6-4 with the 37-34 upset of Conrad Weiser before losing to Fleetwood (6-4) 26-9, Wyomissing (10-0) 56-7 and Gettysburg (7-3) 31-28 last week. Qb Evan Myers is solid at 56% for 1360 yards with most of his throws going to Trey Freeman who has 1070 yards, a healthy 20.98 yards per catch average. Spring Grove has advantages in the home field, a tougher schedule and Zyree Brooks.
#5 Waynesboro 8-2 vs #12 Boone 5-3
Waynesboro has a grinding running attack with Aiden Mencia (1039) and Mikel Holden (505), a 2nd place finish at 6-1 in the competitive Mid Penn-Colonial and a 5 game winning streak entering the playoffs. They opened the season with a competitive loss to Spring Grove (see #4 SG above), with their other loss coming against MP-Colonial champ Shippensburg 33-14. Boone (5-3, 2-1) of the Berks Section-1 has not played the last two weeks, with Covid-19 preventing games against the two best teams in their conference, Governor Mifflin (8-0, 3-0) and Exeter (6-3. 3-1). Interesting! Prior to this they had uncompetitive losses to Wyomissing 41-14, Berks Catholic 40-7 and a competitive loss to Twin Valley 19-10. As a veteran team, Boone has some players but are a mild disappointment with the Twin Valley loss and blowouts to Wyomissing and Berks Catholic. Otherwise, they routed Garden Spot, Conestoga Valley, Ephrata, Muhlenberg and Reading by an average score of 35-10.
#7 Exeter Township 6-3 vs #10 South Western 6-4
Exeter is one of the top 3 loss teams in the district, knowing the losses came to Central York 35-28, Hempfield 17-14 and of course a blowout by Governor Mifflin 54-21. The wins of note were Wilson 42-14 in a shocker and Berks Catholic 33-21. They’re led by first year starter Qb Colin Payne at (59%, 1368, 13/5), D1 receiver Jeff Schlaffer (31/572), a 6-6, 210 junior, and TE J.R. Strauss (6-3, 215, 18/328). The backs are quick and powerful in Eric Nangle (848), Cabraun Woody (372) and FB Ty Yocum (340). Together they score 40ppg with a defense at 18ppg. With Boone bailing last week, Exeter should be healed and rested, ready to take down a swooning South Western team coming off a pounding by Spring Grove 35-0 last week, York 70-24 two weeks before that and a 60-0 fiasco to Central York two weeks before that. They’ve lost to every winning team on their schedule since getting out to a 3-0 start.
#3 Shippensburg 10-0 vs #14 New Oxford 6-4
Make that 14 straight wins for the Mid Penn-Colonial champ Greyhounds counting last year’s 4-0 finish. More impressive is their defense allowing 9ppg, a defense built around their defensive end and Minnesota recruit Anthony Smith (6-6, 265, sr) and 6 other return starters. At 30ppg with the clock eating Wing-T supported by running backs Amari Kerr, Traevon Kater Nathan Bean and Diesel Koser, they’re a frustrating opponent. New Oxford is a lesser version of Ship with a good D at 13ppg that held up well until losing to Conrad Weiser’s big attack 48-26 and Gettysburg 27-10, both on the road recently. In fact, things have gone south since the 4-1 start. Conversely, impressive wins against Big Spring (8-2, 34-14), Waynesboro (8-2, 33-14) and Northern (6-3, 21-3) says the Hounds roll here.
#6 Cedar Cliff 8-2 vs #11 Lower Dauphin 6-3
The Colts are getting things done with one of the top running backs in the district in Jontae Smith with 1711 yards, quarterback Ethan Dorrell at 56% for 1220 yards and the versatile Trenton Smith at 680 yards in receptions. Smith was leading the conference in rushing until Dion Bryant of Milton Hershey got 468 yards last week, bringing his total to 1921 yards. About the Colts; their O-Line is a good one, led by LT Claude Godineaux (6-1, 310), Center Gabe Kocher (6-1, 240), LG Jacob Sheaffer (6-0, 265), Hunter Garced (6-3, 265) and Logan Heiple (6-0, 230). All that averages out to 33ppg and a defense allowing 23. The game against Lower Dauphin is a dreaded rematch with a fellow Mid Penn-Keystone Division member. They played Sept 24th at Hershey Park Stadium where Lower Dauphin lost 48-20. Weird game where Cedar Cliff scored 21 second quarter points and Lower Dauphin falling victim to a big plays by special teams, a muffed punt for a touchdown and a kickoff returned for a score, plus a pick! The Falcons will feed Cedar Cliff a steady diet of Jaquan Murphy (6-1, 250, sr) and speedster Jacob Kauffman (5-10, 165, sr) who is way underrated motoring for 1244 yards. This should be a good game as most rematches are.
November 12th games, Quarterfinals
Warwick-Gettysburg winner gets #1 Governor Mifflin 8-0
Exeter-South Western winner gets #2 Manheim Central 9-1

4A (10 teams, highest seed home)
November 5th games. First Round
#8 Northern York 6-3 vs #9 Octorara 7-2
Northern York, which is not in York is really Northern York County which everyone back there calls Northern. Anyway, the Polar Bears have always been a tough, physical, pounding team from the Mid Penn-Colonial Division where they came in 3rd behind Waynesboro and Shippensburg. They lost to both; 6-0 last week to Waynesboro and 21-3 to Ship a month ago. The other loss to help measure them was to Spring Grove 39-7 (York Adams). Like many from the Colonial, they have a modest run oriented offense at 23ppg with good defense allowing 14ppg. Their opponent this week is Octorara, the 2nd place finisher in the Lancaster Lebanon-4 behind Columbia. They are a huge and diverse offense at 38ppg with one of the top dual threats in the playoffs in Weston Stoltzfus. He’s thrown for 1254 yards and 20 touchdowns without an interception at 67% while rushing for 448 yards and 7 more touchdowns. Mike Trainor is a solid running back with 1006 yards at 10 yards per carry. The defense is one of the best in the LL at 15ppg. They’re inexperienced in the postseason but will be a handful for Northern.
#7 Conrad Weiser 7-3 vs #10 Big Spring 7-3
Conrad Weiser fields one of the more exciting teams in the district and postseason because of quarterback Logan Klitsch. He’s thrown for 2063 yards with a Td/Pick ratio of 20 to 6 at 67%, and is their leading rusher at 658 yards. His top receiver Aanjay Feliciano has a 19.6 yards per catch average for 1076 yards. If these guys played any kind of defense, and at 30ppg they don’t, they’d be a very high seed. Still, they’re exciting with Klitsch at 6-3, 195 being a legitimate runner who crushes people and happens to throw well. Their opponent Big Spring finished in a tie with Steel High in the Mid Penn-Capital behind Boiling Springs. They averaged 40ppg with a balanced offense and a defense allowing 20ppg, but had power outages against Shippensburg losing 34-14, and in the season finale losing at Middletown 7-0. They have good skill people in quarterback Ethan Eisenberg (59%, 1370, 19/9), running back Dillon Wakefield (5-11, 215, 1081) and the versatile Logan Schmidt (543ry, 545py) who at 5-9, 150 can motor. That’s good stuff. But with Conrad Weiser 5-0 at home averaging 50ppg, they may be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome until thinking about CW’s defense that allows 30 points per game.
Quarterfinals Nov 12th
Northern-Octorara winner gets #1 Bishop McDevitt 8-1
Weiser-Big Spring winner gets #2 Lampeter Strasburg 9-1
#4 Berks Catholic 6-4 vs #5 Cocalico 6-4
#3 Kennard dale 8-1 vs #6 Donegal 7-2

3A (8 teams, highest seed home)
November 5th Quarterfinals
#1 Wyomissing 10-0 vs #8 Northern Lebanon 4-6
Wyomissing vs Northern Lebanon is going to get real ugly real fast with Wyo overwhelming all their opponents by a combined score of 250 to 35 in the first half alone. They average 46ppg allowing 9, with wins against Pottsville (8-2) 42-14 and Southern Columbia (9-1) 41-20 and have an array of quality backs in Thomas Grabowski (103-766), Andrew Eisenhower (64-563), Amory Thompson (54-557) and Charles McIntyre (40-344) running behind a massive/mobile O-Line. Qb Ben Zechman is at 64% with no picks for 552 yards. Northern Lebanon’s offense is pedestrian at 20ppg, averaging 96 rushing a game and 128 passing with wins over Pine Grove (1-9) 13-7, York Tech (0-9) 33-6, Lebanon (0-10) 27-0 and Pequea Valley (1-8) 42-7.
#4 West Perry 5-5 vs #5 Middletown 5-4
Good luck figuring this one out with both team stumbling through the season with no rhythm. Middletown played a slightly more aggressive schedule losing to McDevitt (4A, 8-1), Juniata (4A, 8-2), Steel High (1A, 7-2) and Boiling Springs (3A, 9-1), then ended the season with a 7-0 win over Big Spring (7-3). They were more of a mystery this year with Brett Myers stepping down after a highly successful eight year run (73-22), guiding the Blue Raiders to three straight (2016-18) finals appearances. New Coach Scott Acri formerly headed the Susquenita program the last 6 years. Add to that the transfer of Qb Tony Powell to CD East to know it’s been an awkward year of transition. While this year’s team struggled against the top teams they looked good in losing to Boiling Springs 26-23 three weeks ago then beat Big Spring last week. Maybe they’ve turned it around. Across the field, West Perry pulls no punches coming straight at you trying to run you out of the stadium. Trent Herrera leads them with 951 yards (230 last week) with quarterback Marcus Quaker rushing for 585 yards. They’re tough at home going 4-1 with wins against East Pennsboro and Mechanicsburg, two talented but inconsistent 5-5 teams, and the impressive 25-14 win against Juniata (4A, 8-2).
#2 Boiling Springs 9-1 vs #7 Lancaster Catholic 4-6
Boiling Springs is going to be a tough out for many teams having demonstrated the ability to go with the athletic/quick teams, beating Middletown and Steelton, and banging with the bruisers, beating Bermudian Springs and Big Spring. Excepting the late-scheduled-covid related anomaly of the 39-34 loss to Mechanicsburg, the Bubblers have defeated everyone by an average score of 45-14. They won the Mid Penn-Capital last week beating Steel High in Steelton 29-28 on a 2-point conversion toss. They’re ground pounders led by seniors Joey Menke at 929 yards, Aiden Metzger at 524 yards and the competent Colin Lunde under center. Lancaster Catholic’s stats look good at a glance averaging 27ppg until digging to see 58% of the points (155) were scored against teams with a combined won-loss of 8-30. They play in the LL-3 but have faced their share of tough hombres losing to York Catholic (2A, 8-0) 24-7, Columbia (2A 8-1) 60-41, Lampeter Strasburg (4A 9-1) 42-14 and Donegal (4A, 7-2) 27-0. Any way you cut it they’re in big trouble here with Boiling Springs going 5-0 at home with a winning margin of 44-10.
#3 Hamburg 6-3 vs #6 Bermudian Springs 5-5
Hamburg comes into the postseason off a win but not a lot of mo, losing to Berks-2 bullies Conrad Weiser 28-7 and Fleetwood 28-26 in a tussle, then edging downtrodden Schuylkill Valley (2-8) 21-13 last week. Not too confidence inspiring but they got here and will open at home. They’re balanced with Qb Xander Menapace (6-4, 195) at 60% for 692 yards with a 7/2 ratio and Diohnny Ruiz (5-10, 190) rushing for 1098 with Pierce Mason (5-11,190) at 541 yards. Bermudian Springs battled through the season on a major rebuild, surviving at 5-5 and winning their last 3 games. They were close to 7-3 with losses at New Oxford (6-4) 7-0 and Fairfield (4-4) 14-13, games they would likely have won at home in York Springs. They resemble Hamburg with quarterback Ethan Beachy (5-8, 165) at 68% for 940 yards with a 11/2 ratio. FB Chanse Boyer (5-8, 180) is at 883 yards for the season with Ricky Pancana (6-0, 165) at 763 yards. The Eagles don’t have their typical bulk this year making it look like an evenly matched game with Hamburg’s size in the backfield and home field tipping the scales.

2A (4 teams, highest seed home)
#1 York Catholic 9-0 vs #4 Susquenita 5-4
This one will likely go like the Wyomissing-Northern Lebanon game projects unless Susquenita does an about face from performances against Big Spring, Boiling Springs, Upper Dauphin and Juanita, teams with a combined 32-9 record, where they lost on average 50-14! York Catholic’s Qb Levan Mcfadden is a dual threat at 576ry and 532py with Andrew Adams toting it for 1009 yards. The offense is balanced scoring 30ppg with a shutdown defense allowing 10. They’re the York-Adams-3 champ and the real deal over the years at 50-13 since 2016. Nita is in big trouble here scoring 20ppg and allowing 35 not counting the 70-18 win against Halifax who suited 17 players.
#2 Columbia 8-1 vs # 3 Upper Dauphin 8-1
It’s too bad these two have to meet in the first round as both are exciting teams that could win districts. Columbia has the best dual threat in the district in Robert Footman who exceeded Stoltzfus’s stats at Octorara. Footman threw for 2548 yards at 60% with a 29/9 ratio, rushing for 440 yards and 14 more touchdowns! They won the head-to-head with Octorara 48-46 to secure the LL-4 crown. At 44ppg, they are explosive. But the D is a liability at 29ppg yield. They’re extremely hard to guard with Footman under center and 4 capable receivers with 20 or more receptions; Dom Diaz-Ellis (40-793), J’von Collazo (33-602), Artie Poindexter (37-426) and Jayden Boone (20-386). That’s a lot of people to keep track of. Thanks to the guys at Lancaster Online for all the stats. Their opponent this week is Upper Dauphin who finished 2nd in the Mid Penn-Liberty, a game behind the only team to beat them, Juniata (4A, 8-2), the top seed in the District-6 tournament. UDA has a big offense at 36ppg supported by an impressive defense allowing 14. The Trojans are real simple. They line up and come at you with a ton of running backs, headed by Brady Morgan with 688 yards and Christian Snyder with 683. Three other backs have at least 200 yards. Quarterback Wil Laskowski is an asset at 65% for 750 yards with a 7/3 ratio to keep opposing defenses looking. Footman and the Crimson Tide will be a new experience for Upper Dauphin who has to hike 60-plus miles all the way downriver, hugging the Susquehanna the whole way.

1A (2 teams, highest seed home)
#1 Steelton Highspire 7-2 vs #2 Delone Catholic 6-4
The big question coming into this one is how will proud Steelton Highspire respond after losing two straight games? Keep in mind they’re coming off a home loss to Boiling Springs where the Bubblers converted a 2-point conversion to win 29-28. This followed the unusual 49-14 loss at Big Spring. Who knows how they come out here. Quarterback Alex Erby leads the entire Mid Penn throwing for 2674 yards at 75% with 34 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Running back Daivin Pryor needs to get more press with 817 rush yards at 10.4ypc. Like Erby, wide out Tyrone Moore leads the entire Mid Penn with 1053 yards in receptions, a 19.1 yards per catch average. Good luck keeping up with this receiver corps with Rell Ceasar at 40 catches for 588 yards, a 14.7 average, and Jaieon Perry at 442 yards on 20 receptions, a 22.1 average. They need to get it right with their old nemesis Delone Cathoic up next. The two have fought many battles recently with Steelton winning last year 23-13 and Delone taking the previous two years, 39-27 and 54-19. The Squires also won 28-13 in 2012 in districts before losing to powerful Bellwood Antis (13-2) in double overtime 33-26. They’ll have to play like that here just to keep up with their run oriented offense scoring a meager 19ppg. Their strength is defense, allowing 15ppg, putting them 5th in the York Adams behind Central York at 13.1ppg. They’re probably catching the Rollers at a bad time but never underestimate this tough little Catholic school from McSherrystown who has gone 117-47 since 2007.

Watching Belle Vernon completely beat down McKeesport last night they have to be the favorite to take gold in Hershey. The defending state champs central valley IMO is the biggest favorite in Hershey this year. Don't forget they have a giant win over a great Aliquippa team. Mt Lebanon also has a very good chance of winning it all especially with st Joe's being young and down this year. Plus coach Palko has been there before and will have his team ready. I think the wpial brings home 3 gold's in December. In 5A I don't think anyones standing in governor Mifflins way and 2A Farrell looks equally as strong. 1A is the most wide open in the state.

#1 Parkland (9-1; EPC South Champs) vs. #8 Pocono Mountain West (6-4)
Born Index Line: Parkland favored by 35.5
The Trojans are a heavy favorite after a 9-1 regular season – their lone loss coming to 4A Allentown Central Catholic back in week 4. The Trojans have been a defense and run first team – running back Dahlir Adams has 1,063 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine games, and Parkland has 27 sacks on the year, led by Brock Boyer’s six. Parkland has not been dynamic in the passing game – no receiver has more than 285 yards and they’re averaging barely over 100 yarsd per game. That said, Ty Tremba got hurt in the season opener against Easton and missed eight weeks of the season. He’s back now, and the senior three-year starter could add an extra dimension. For PMW, Jaden Bowens posted his second straight 1,000 yard season, going for 1,003 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. But the Panthers lost their crossover games by a combined score of 97-7 agianst Bethlehem Catholic and Whitehall, who finished in two of the bottom three slots in the EPC South. Parkland is a lot better.

#4 Nazareth (7-3) vs. #5 Emmaus (7-3)
Born Index Line: Emmaus favored by 6.5
The Blue Eagles will host Emmaus in a rematch of their week eight matchup, moved to Saturday and played without fans due to a bomb threat from a Nazareth student, and won by Emmaus 35-7. In that contest, the Green Hornet defense suffocated Nazareth, and pairs of touchdowns from Jared Groller and Josiah Williams.

Nazareth is the two-time defending D11 6A champ, but almost completely replaced their 2020 lineup. Junior quarterback Sonny Sasso has been one of the best in the Valley, throwing for 1,735 yards and 15 TDs while completing 57% of his passes. His favorite target is sophomore Mason Kuehner, who has 42 catches for 654 yards and six scores. Nolan Lobb has been out with injury, but has 416 yards on 23 catches and five scores, including a 13 catch, 264 yard performance in a shoot out loss to Parkland. Tyler Rohn has given them a steady hand at running back, and the senior has 866 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. The defense is led by three year starters Broc Bender and Chase Levey at linebacker, and a dynamic duo of huge defensive linemen in Matt Burton (6’3 275) and Sean Kinney (6’2 300).

Emmaus has been the best defense in the Valley, giving up 8.6 points per game, with three shutouts and five other games yielding a touchdown or less. Jared Groller and Aiden Garrett have been the best linebacker duo in the conference and Trevor Gitski has emerged at defensive end in his first year as a starter. Offensively, they’ve gotten a little from a lot in the run game, wher Tylik Jarvis ran for over 100 yards in their first three contests, but has been slowed by injury, and Groller and Sam Moratori have picked up the slack, combining for 952 yards and 14 touchdowns. Josiah Williams has filled in admirably at quarterback after incumbent starter Jake Fotta was lost for the season to an ACL tear in camp. Williams has thrown for 1,353 yards and 12 TDs, leaning heavily on senior receiver Jaiden Robinson (28-435-5). Robinson also has a pair of return touchdowns on the season.

This one feels like it will be very different than Emmaus’s regular season win, which came under highly unusual circumstances. The Green Hornets have dropped a pair of games to finish the season, while Nazareth bounced back quite nicely. The match up will be the Nazareth offense against the Emmaus defense, and if the Blue Eagles can take better care of the ball and get a little bit going in the passing game to take the pressure off of Rohn, Meanwhile, Emmaus got the ball rolling with some wrinkles to Groller (throwback screen to the fullback, quick hitter trap plays) and got the Nazareth defense on its heels. Then a muffed punt and it was off to the races. Look for Harold Fairclough to get creative on offense to open things back up for Emmaus.

#2 Northampton (10-0; EPC North Champs) vs. #7 Pleasant Valley (5-4)
Born Index Line: Northampton favored by 24
This is a rematch of a 35-12 win by Northampton in week 7. The Konkrete Kids have been the class of the EPC North under first year head coach John Toman, and are the only EPC North team that won any crossover games with the EPC South – beating Whitehall and Bethlehem Catholic.

The Konkrete Kids run a variation on the Wing-T, which Toman has been operating since his highly successful run at Southern Lehigh. Cooper King has thrown for 1,087 yarsd and 14 toucdowns on the year, while Caden Henritzy leads all rushers with 593 yards and 9 TDs. Their only tight games have been their opener with Bethlehem Catholic (17-14), 5A top seed East Strdsoubrug South (21-20) and their cement rivalry with Whitehall (7-0 last week in a monsoon). By no means are they the #10 team in the state (as they’re ranked by Pennlive), but they’re solid and should win handily here.

Pleasant Valley has done a nice job coming back from the abyss, going 3-27 from 2017-19. Quarterback Rob Papaleo leads the Bears with 797 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns as he directs their triple-option attack, while also throwing for 435 yards and six scores, nearly all to wideout Ryan Blass (18-370-4). They are sliding into districts losing three of their last four, but clinched a spot with a regular season finale win over Stroudsburg, 14-10, needing a Blass interception in the end zone to seal their playoff spot late in the fourth quarter.

#3 Freedom (7-2) vs. #6 Easton (5-3)
Born Index Line: Freedom favored by 8.5
This is a rematch of Freedom’s 31-17 pasting of Easton in week 3. The Patriots went up 31-3 at halftime, despite a pair of red zone turnovers that could have had things in mercy rule. Easton bucked up in the second half, but the game was already in hand. Braelin Moore dominated the game with four sacks and two forced fumbles. Freedom also did that without EPC leading rusher Deonte Crawford.

The Patriots lead the EPC South in scoring at 32.1 points per game, and actually have the highest Born Rating in D11 despite being the #3 seed. They’re riding a six game winning streak since a 2-2 start with losses to Emmaus and Parkland. Brian Taylor is probably the first team All EPC quarterback, throwing for 1,229 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for another 356 and five TDs. Crawford is a lightning fast scatback, who has 1,206 yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging nearly six yards per carry. Jalen Fletcher, Ethan Neidig, and Owen Johnson is the best receiver trio in the Valley, and they’re really good up front, led by the Virginia Tech bound Moore and three year starter Juan Feliciano. Defensively, Moore is the likely defensive player of the year in the Valley and his a wrecking ball as a combo defensive end/tackle (where he’ll likely play in college). Safety Owen Johnson is elite on the back end, a 215 pound junior who can really come down and hit. Freedom’s defense has long been a chaos agent under Jason Roeder, and this group is no exception – they’ll give up some big plays, but in turn for a lot of turnovers and make plays in the backfield.

Easton has played significantly better since getting embarrassed at Freedom. The biggest question Friday will be the health of running back Marcus Williams, who left their week eight win over Liberty at halftime with a high ankle sprain. Williams is the best offensive weapon in the Valley by a longshot – he averages over nine yards per carry and is still fourth in the league in rushing despite missing two and a half games with his injury and Easton getting two games cancelled for COVID. In his absence, junior Aiden Hutchinson has 493 yards and a pair of scores, while more has fallen on senior quarterback Cole Transue. Who has 803 yards and 8 TDs on the year, including a 203 yard performance in their win over Emmaus. Defensively, they’re looking to get healthy, with leading tackler Michael Hynes being in and out of the lineup with injury, plus Williams is their top defensive back. Javon Frutchey and Sean Wilson have been the strength of the defense from their defensive end spots, with the 6’5 265 pound Wilson looking more and more like an FBS recruit.

Other Classifications

5A: East Stroudsburg South should be a heavy favorite, drawing sub .500 Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, and Wyoming Valley West as the other three teams in the field. This is the most acute sign of way too many classifications. Not a lot of intrigue here.

4A: The age old question – can a Colonial League team knock off one of the Catholic schools from the EPC South. Giving it a try this year is Northwetern Lehigh, 10-0 for the first time in school history and ranked #4 in the state behind superstar quarterback/linebacker Justin Holmes – who has the first 1,000/1,000 season in school history. They get a tough first round matchup with Wilson – who defeated Notre Dame (GP) in their rivalry game last week and features all four legs of the 3A state finalist 4x100 relay team at their skill position spots. On the other side, Pottsville spent a lot of year in the state top 10 - until a week 8 22-14 loss to Northwestern Lehigh where Holmes had 159 yard rushing and the strip sack to clinch it- and is fresh off of a mud soaked win over previous 3A state #1 North Schuylkill. They’ll host the ACC Vikings, who are the only team to beat 6A top seed Parkland, but have stumbled against other top tier competition in 6A. They’ve played the toughest schedule, and have the best player in all state defensive tackle Lavon Johnson (6’4 320).

3A: The bloom is slightly off of the rose with both top seeds losing their season finale – North Schuylkill to Pottsville in double overtime, and Notre Dame (GP) to Wilson in a shoot out. North Schuylkill also blew the doors off of ND in the regular season, which takes some of the drama out of the rematch. They also killed the Crusaders for the 2020 D11 title. Those teams should walk over Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua this week, however.

2A: The top seed is Northern Lehigh, whose only losses came to Northwestern Lehigh, Notre Dame, and North Schuylkill. They won’t see any of those schools in the playoffs, and have throttled all of the 2A competition they’ve seen, including a 43-14 win over #2 seed Palmerton in the regular season finale. Matt Frame and Trevor Amorim are having all state years at running back and receiver, respectively, and Dylan Smoyer’s 19-5 TD/INT ratio is a harbinger of playoff success. They should roll into their first state playoff appearance in years, and given the layout of the brackets, could make a run to the Final Four – their deepest run since the 2003 state finalists.

1A: Tri-Valley is the favorite as the #3 team in the state, and cemented that with a 14-0 shutout of second seeded Williams Valley (#10 in the final PA Football News rankings) last week. They should rematch for the D11 title.

This game was even more one-sided than the score might indicate, and a little surprising considering the trouble East gave North Penn last weekend. After an impressive opening drive by East, and a 2 point conversion, West scored 5 consecutive TDs to make it 35-8 early in the 4th quarter. On East's next possession, West cleanly intercepted a pass (West CB had inside leverage the whole way, and ball was thrown inside). Official on the far side of the field (East's sideline, 50 yards away) threw a flag for pass interference. The official who was within a few yards of the play did not. Terrible call. East finished that drive with a TD and then West drove down inside the East 10 yard line and kneed it out for the win.

A few points:

1. East failed to get a single defensive stop in the game.
2. West had its best throwing day since switching to the wing-t. Two TD passes from Cooper to McFadden, who continues to cause trouble with his speed, a circus catch by Cherubini, and an additional catch each by McFadden and TE Goldrick. McFadden totaled 3 catches for 114. Creeping safeties into the box to stop the run is becoming dangerous for teams defending West.
3. The game was very physical and chippy especially late. East had multiple injuries that could affect them next week.
4. East is a hostile environment for this game. Parents, alumni AND East coaches all over the West players with lots of choice words, before and during the game.
5. West finishes 8-2, in sole possession of second place in the SOL National, after being picked to finish last. Very good regular season, with at least seven sophomores getting starts, six regularly and lots of juniors on the field. Solid pipeline in place currently. 3/4 of the backfield plus the single wideout are returning.
6. Great matchup next week vs Pennridge again, this time at War Memorial. Should be a terrific game.

I've noticed that some games scheduled for tonight have been postponed till later in the weekend because of predicted rain. This seems an increasingly common occurrence. I know memory can play tricks but my memory tells me that such postponements were very rare many years ago. We played in rain, even heavy rain. Am I wrong?

In their first morning game since the 2007 Thanksgiving game against Bishop McDevitt, La Salle broke free from a pesky Archbishop Wood team in the second half to win, 20-0, celebrate Senior Day with their parents, go 8-1 in the regular season, and were awarded the Red Division Catholic League Championship hubcap, which now goes to the regular season winner. Here’s how the 11 AM game at Wissahickon High went down:

The Explorers won the toss, and deferred to the second half. With a strong wind at his back, Santi Sturla boomed the kickoff well into the end zone. Senior QB Trey Holsman handed off to workhorse senior running back Ricardo Delgado, who went through a big hole up left tackle for 7 yards, as soph DL Kieran Campbell and DB Del Jackson took him down. Delgado got two more up left guard, as Chris “Tacony Tough” Thompson stopped him. On third and one at the 29, FB Erik Meakim pushed the pile forward for 5 yards and a first down. Delgado gained just two up the middle, as Thompson laid the wood on the Wood back. Delgado then was hit immediately for no gain, ad DL Dan Ford and DB Mekhi Johnson combined on the stop. On third and 8 at the 36, Holsman made a nice pass on a slant by Andrew McHugh on the right side for a first down to the La Salle 46, and the Vikings were driving. Delgado gained two yards up left guard, as DL Darold Dengohe and LB Sean McFadden took him to the wet turf. Delgado got three more up the middle, with stop by Thompson and McFadden. On third and 5 at the La Salle 41, Delgado got five up left tackle for a first down despite a tackle by Dengohe. Delgado, always able to gain the last one or two yards, leaned forward up left tackle for 8 yards before LB Abdul Carter stopped him. RB James Bermudez tested right guard, but gained nothing on stops by the trio of Dengohe, LB Matt Wills, and Campbell. On third and two at the La Salle 28, Bermudez got a first down to the La Salle 21 through a hole at left tackle, as Jackson made the tackle. Bermudez gained just two off right tackle, as Johnson made a really good tackle. Holsman then rolled left, and threw in the middle to WR Markus Dixon, who dropped the ball. On third and 8 at the La Salle 19, Holsman threw left, missing his receiver, and Del Jackson made a diving interception, stopping the Wood drive, and getting the ball back at the La Salle 12, with 4:03 left in the period. The Vikings controlled the ball for almost 8 minutes, and had nothing to show for it.

Sam Brown went off left tackle, but was stuffed for a yard loss. On play action, QB Alan Paturzo found FB EJ Wentz over the middle for a first down to the La Salle 24. Paturzo scrambled to the right, and tossed the ball out of bounds. Paturzo swung a pass to the right to Brown, who gained 4 yards before being brought down by a good low tackle. On third and 6 at the 28, Paturzo, under a big rush, threw deep to the left side to Brown, who got his hands on the ball, but the pass was broken up as he hit the ground. Sturla’s punt was almost blocked by the Viking rush, but the ball rolled out of bounds on the Wood 25, with 2:32 left in the scoreless initial stanza.

Archbishop Wood’s offensive line, well-coached, had an advantage against the straight-up La Salle defensive line in their first drive. But the Explorers would make an adjustment, slanting some of their rushers, and sending some linebackers to neutralize the Viking O-line. Bermudez was hit immediately for no gain by DL Tim Fiedler. Soph Mekhi Wharton entered the game at QB for Wood, and scrambled up the middle for two yards before Ford took him down. On third and 8 at the 27, Wharton hit WR Ron DiPietro on a look-in, but the ball was dropped by DiPietro, right before Carter blasted him on a big hit. Freshman Leo Ricci came in to punt, and his short boot was downed at the Wood 42, with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

In great field position, La Salle’s Paturzo dropped the snap, and scrambled for a 2-yard loss, as the quarter ended at 0-0. Paturzo found Brown on a drag pattern on the right side, but a good tackled limited Brown to a 1-yard gain. On third and 11 at the Wood 43, Paturzo was sacked for a 9-yard loss on a big rush by the Viking line. Sturla’s punt was almost blocked again, but was downed on the Wood 17, with 10:35 left in the half.

Delgado got three up the middle as Carter and Campbell, who played a great game, combined on the hit. Delgado then was hit immediately for a 1-yard loss by Campbell and Dengohe. On third and 8 at the 19, Holsman bobbled the snap, and was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Dengohe and Thompson. Ricci’s punt was shanked, and downed on the Wood 32, as La Salle had a chance to break the scoreless tie, with 8:37 left in the second quarter.

Brown ran hard up left guard for 5. In a hurry-up, Brown was stopped for no gain up right guard, but Wood was hit for a personal foul, and La Salle had a first down at the Wood 14. Paturzo found Ryan Sorge on the right side for 4 yards, and Wood was hit for yet another personal foul, this time a face mask, and La Salle had a first and goal at the 5. Ryan Moore came in at the wildcat, and patiently went up right guard and into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. Sturla added the extra point, and La Salle got on the board first, taking a 7-0 lead, with 7:42 left in the first half.

Sturla’s kickoff to the 10 was returned by McHugh to the 19, with tackles by Matt Mitchell and freshman Jimmy Dolan. Delgado went up right guard, and crawled his way to a first down at the 30, with tackle by Johnson. Wharton came back in at quarterback, and he handed off to Delgado for a yard, as Fiedler and Campbell knocked him down. Delgado tried left tackle, and got two before Carter and Ford made presidential hits on him. On third and 7 at the 33, Delgado was taken down for no gain on an ankle tackle by Carter. Ricci again got off a short punt, but the punt rolled about 25 yards before being downed at the La Salle 15, with 5:16 left in the half.

Paturzo hit Wentz on a left-side screen, and Wentz and his blockers made a big push to get the ball to the 32 for a first down. Brown hit left tackle for three. Paturzo threw to the right to Nole Henry, who got the edge on the sideline for a first down to the Wood 48. Brown was stopped for no gain on a sweep to the left. Stevie Davis came in and gained three yards up left tackle. On third and 7 at the Wood 45, the Vikes jumped offsides. Brown gained 6 yards and a first down, but La Salle was flagged for a holding call, bringing the ball back to midfield. On third and 12, Paturzo was sacked on a big rush by Wood for a 9-yard loss. La Salle was then called for a procedure call. Sturla’s punt to the Wood 33 was returned by McHugh to the Wood 41, with 2:09 left in the half.

Wharton was back in at the helm, and he handed off to Bermudez for a 1-yard loss, as Dengohe and McFadden broke through. Wharton rolled right, but before his pass, he stepped out of bounds on the Viking 33. On third and 18, Wharton bobbled the snap, and Carter, charging on a blitz, speared him for a 4-yard loss. Ricci got off a good punt to the La Salle 33, where Moore fielded it, but was boxed in for just a one-yard return, but Wood was hit for another face-mask penalty, and La Salle had the ball on their own 48, with 51 seconds left till halftime.

Paturzo’s pass to Moore was deflected and caught, but for a two-yard loss. Paturzo then threw deep to Moore, but the ball was intercepted by Dave Piotrowski on the Wood 25, with 37 seconds left in the half.

Holsman, back in at QB, tossed to Dixon for 6 yards in the middle, with Carter on the stop. Holsman then threw deep on the right side to Dixon, who dropped the ball. Holsman rolled right, and threw downfield, but soph Kolby Hampton intercepted the ball on the La Salle 49, with 5 seconds left in the half. Paturzo scrambled right and threw out of bounds, and the half ended with La Salle on top, 7-0.

The Explorer defense had made adjustments that stifled the Viking running attack, and exposed the weakness in their passing attack. La Salle needed to get their own running game moving, and that meant getting the ball to senior Sam Brown, who could break a long run off at any time.

Wood chose to kick into the wind to start the second half, hoping to keep La Salle off the board with their defense in the third quarter, and having the wind advantage in the fourth. Ricci’s kickoff got to the 10, where Amir Anderson returned it right up the middle to the 35. Paturzo handed off to Brown up the middle. Brown found no room, and slid to the left, and to the left a little more, like someone looking for a parking space at Montgomery Mall on Thanksgiving Friday. Brown then took it to the outside, and got the edge down the sideline, putting it in fifth gear as he sped away from the Viking defenders for a 65-yard touchdown run. Sturla’s extra point was good, and the Explorers ruined the Wood directional strategy just 21 seconds into the second half, now leading 14-0.

Sturla, with the wind, kicked the ball out of the end zone. Bermudez gained four up the middle, with Fiedler, making more plays, on the tackle. Wood was then called for a procedure penalty, setting them back 5 yards. Holsman tossed a screen pass to McHugh on the right side. McHugh changed course and headed to the left, but DB Hampton stood his position and made a great tackle for a 4-yard loss. On third and 5 at the 15, Holsman bobbled the snap, and was sacked by a rampaging Dengohe for a 3-yard loss. Ricci’s punt rolled dead on the La Salle 46, with 8:54 left in the third period.

Brown swept the right side for 9 yards. Brown, gained a half yard up the middle. On third and a half, Brown went off left tackles for a first down to the Wood 39, as La Salle was now going with their meal ticket. Grown gained 3 up the middle. Paturzo then rolled right, and hit Moore on the right side for a first down on the Viking 24. Brown got two off right tackle. Moore, in the wildcat, went off right guard, and patiently veered outside to the Wood 13 for another first down. Brown, showing patience as well, got 5 yards up left guard to the Wood 8. Brown then went off right guard, and got down to about the 3, but the ball was pried out of his hands before he hit the ground, and the Vikings weathered the storm with a fumble recovery at their own 2, with 3:50 left in the third stanza.

Meakim gained 5 yards up right guard, as Fiedler made the tackle. Delgado gained 4 more off left tackle, with Thompson and McFadden on the takedown. With third and one at the West 11, Delgado churned for two yards and a first down up the middle. Delgado gained two more yards off the right side, as Thompson and Fiedler made the tackle. Wood was moving the ball with short gains, and La Salle needed to force them into passing downs. Delgado notched 4 more up the middle, with Dengohe and Fiedler combining on the hit. With third and 4 at the Wood 19, the Vikings were called for another procedure penalty, forcing a passing down. Holsman was then sacked for a 3-yard loss by the soph O’Connor, really stepping up his game this day. That ended the third quarter, with La Salle leading, 14-0. Ricci’s punt rolled dead on the Wood 48, and La Salle would seek to administer the death knell to the Viking chances at a victory.

Wentz countered up the middle for no gain. Brown swept the left side, but was swarmed by a determined Wood defense for a 1-yard loss. On third and 11 at the Wood 49, Paturzo threw a pass into the right flat to Wentz, who took the ball up the sideline for a first down at the Viking 38. Brown took a pitch left for a yard. Davis took a pitch to the left side for 8 yards. On third and 1 at the 29, in a jumbo formation, brown went up left tackle to the 26 for a first down. Brown took a pitch to the left for 4 yards, as the clock continued to run down in the fourth quarter. Wentz went up right guard for 2 yards, setting up a third and 4 at the Wood 20. Paturzo went into a double count, drawing Wood offsides for a first down at the 15. Brown found no room up the middle for a 1-yard loss. Abdul Carter came into the game on offense for the first time all year, and the student body buzzed in anticipation of an alley-oop pass to the 6’-4” defensive star. But La Salle was called for a procedure penalty, and Carter went back to the sideline. However, wildcat Moore came in, and made a great fake on an option handoff, taking the ball through the line, zigzagging his way through to the right flag for a 16-yard touchdown that put La Salle up by three scores. Sturla’s PAT knuckled wide of the uprights, but La Salle now held a commanding 20-0 lead, with just 5:16 left between them and a Catholic League championship.

Sturla’s kickoff to the 9 was returned by McHugh up the middle to the 22, tackled by Colin Dunlap. Wood started their drive with a procedure penalty. Bermudez went up the middle for six, with Campbell making another sure tackle. Wharton was in at QB, and he overthrew Dixon on the left side, setting up a third and 9 on the 23. Wharton, on a scramble, found Dixon over the middle, and Dixon made a diving catch for a first down at the Wood 35. Nehemiah Shine went off right tackle, but fumbled the ball, and Campbell, playing his best game made the recovery for La Salle on the Wood 36, with 4:19 left in the game.

Senior Connor Mehlmann came in at QB, and he handed off to Dom Martin for a 1-yard gain. Martin tried right guard, but was hit immediately for a three=yard loss. On third and 12 at the Wood 38, Martin was swarmed again on a sweep right for a 3-yard loss. With no one back to receive the punt, Sturla got the kick off without a block, and the ball was downed on the Wood 9, with 2:58 left in the game.

Delgado went off left tackle f or 9 yards, with Campbell and Ford on the tackle. Wharton then threw deep down the right side, but McFadden had good coverage, and the ball fell incomplete. Wharton threw to McHugh for a first down, with Kevin Hawley on the tackle. Wharton scrambled up the middle for no gain, with Hawley again on the takedown. Wharton tossed to McHugh on the left side, and McHugh cut to the middle for a first down at the La Salle 49, with Carter and McFadden on the hit. Delgado gained 7 yards up left tackle before being taken down by Campbell. Wharton threw an incomplete pass, stopping the clock. On third and 3 at the La Salle 42, Wharton’s deep pass up the middle somehow found its way through La Salle’s prevent defense to “number 20” (not on the roster) for a first down at the Explorer 9, and the shutout was in jeopardy. There were just 50 seconds left in the game. On play action, Wharton was sacked for an 11-yard loss by the blitzing McFadden. Wood called its last timeout with 40 seconds to go. Wharton passed to the right side, but McFadden, also playing a great game, intercepted the ball, ran up the left sideline to about the La Salle 48, and the Vikings would stay scoreless. The Explorers were hit for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, probably for celebration. Paturzo kneeled down once, and the celebration started in earnest as the clock wound down. La Salle defeated Archbishop Wood, 20-0, to run their record to 8-1, and clinching their first Catholic League championship since 2015.

Notes

The success of this season started last year, as the team battled to a 5-1 record against independent opponents during the COVID season. The team was on a mission this season, with great energy, excitement, and enthusiasm, and the sight of them holding up the championship hubcap was a long time coming. The loss to Roman was shocking, but proved not to affect their standing, or their playoff opponent, which will be, of course, Roman Catholic, giving the Explorers an opportunity at avenging that loss. And the playoff game will be played at the scene of the crime, Springfield High School, at 1 PM on this Saturday, November 6.

It was great that the Wood game was moved to Saturday to avoid playing in the driving rain on Friday night. St. Joseph’s Prep and Father Judge decided to play in the rain that night, and the Hawks won a 21-13 game that featured no passing attempts. St. Joseph’s Prep will battle Archbishop Wood in the playoffs, and the Vikings can stay in this game if they win the line play against the Hawks.

This game was certainly a great day for the seniors, who celebrated Senior Day with their parents prior to the game. But it was also a day that La Salle got to showcase their future, with great games by sophs Kieran Campbell and Kelby Hampton.

This team will head into the PIAA playoffs with eyes wide open, as the COVID season of 2020 featured no playoff games. The “one and done” nature of the playoffs almost insures that the season will end with a loss, unless the team ends up in Hershey and wins the state championship. Too far to look ahead, though – avenging the loss to the Cahillites of Roman Catholic should be the only thing on their minds.

Does anyone know if the Conestoga vs Ridley game is live streamed tonight at 7pm? LINK???

I began listening to tonight's game against Judge mid-way through the second quarter, so I'm not sure whether Samaj Jones was injured earlier in the game or didn't start the game because of injury. Anyone know if he is likely to return next week? I also hope Heard (injured late in the game) is back next week.

Sounded like the conditions were awful--perfect for a big upset. The Prep is probably relieved to come away with the 21-13 win.

Pennsylvania high school football Week 9 rankings​

Updated: Oct. 26, 2021, 5:15 a.m. | Published: Oct. 26, 2021, 5:15 a.m.

La Salle College’s Stevie Davis takes off on a touchdown against Bishop McDevitt in their week 1 high school football game at Bishop McDevitt. August 27, 2021 Sean Simmers |ssimmers@pennlive.com

By Eric F. Epler | eepler@pennlive.com

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Our updated state rankings are sponsored by Renewal by Andersen of Central Pa. Teams are listed with district, record through Oct. 24, and previous ranking. NR-not ranked.

Hopefully this game will be streamed online. Biggest game of the year in the wpial and the state next week. It's a winner take all for the big 8 title and the number one seed in the 4a playoffs. Belle Vernon is the number 2 team in the state and McKeesport is coming off the giant win over Thomas Jefferson on Friday. Should be one hell of a game. I'm taking McKeesport in this one 28-21.

Kevin Clancy became the winningest coach in District 1 and Southeastern Pennsylvania with Strath Haven’s 42-6 decision over Lower Merion last Friday.

For years the Delaware County wins leader, Clancy has 327 victories on his résumé. Clancy had previously won a record 94 consecutive District 1 games at Strath Haven. Prior to coaching the Panthers, Clancy was the head coach of Archbishop Carroll.

Last week Clancy passed Mike Pettine (326) for most career victories in Southeastern Pennsylvania. He is 10th all-time in career victories for Pennslvania football coaches, three behind Bob Wolfrum, who led Wyomissing Area’s program since 1987.

District-3 Top 20: (Oct 29, 30 games 2021)
All are 6A unless marked otherwise, last week’s rank in parenthesis


1 Governor Mifflin 5A 7-0 (1)
For the second time this season Governor Mifflin’s had a game cancelled because of Covid-19. Last Friday’s game with Boone fell by the wayside as did the conference game with Reading October 2nd. If all goes well this final weekend of the regular season they’ll travel to Berks Catholic (6-3, 3-1), the other side of Reading, where a BC win would result in a 3 way tie with Exeter (6-3, 3-1) defeating Boone. Don’t hold your breath. Top rated and defending Single-A state champ Steel High losing to Big Spring last week reminds us anything can happen on any weekend in football. Still, it’s hard seeing any team in any classification beating Governor Mifflin. And that’s why they play the games and have the playoffs. Whatever happens this weekend, Governor Mifflin will have the top seed in the 5A field of 14 and get a bye.

2 Bishop McDevitt 4A 7-1 (3)
McDevitt moved into the two slot on the strength of another overwhelming win, demolishing Red Land 56-14. It was 49-7 at the half. It’s hard seeing a loss in their future with so many weapons. Defensively, they’ve matured into a strong unit allowing 56 points all year, 21 coming against LaSalle where only two scores were by the offense. RL was held to -8 rushing. Freshman quarterback Stone Saunders completed 8 of 12 passes for 202 yards with touchdown passes of 33, 54, and 48 yards. To date, he completed 69% for 1883 yards with 31 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Marquese Williams had 114 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, bringing his totals to 991 yards and 12 touchdowns. Mario Easterly scored on 33 and 54-yard touchdown passes, finishing with 7 receptions for 121 yards. His season total is 33 receptions for 622 yards and 10 touchdowns. They finish the regular season at home Friday against Hershey (1-8, 1-5). Coming into games of Oct 22-23, they had the 3 seed in the 4A field of 10 in a tight race with #2 Berks Catholic and #1 Lampeter Strasburg for the top spot.

3 Central York 8-0 (2)
Central York finally got a challenge, going on the road to Dallastown where the Wildcats played them hard, down 14-6 at the half and 21-14 into the third quarter. Everyone knows about Penn State recruit Beau Pribula of Central York. But few know about Dtown’s Owen Strouse who completed 15 of 21 for 176 yards with a touchdown to Larry Johnson, another PSU recruit. Ominously, the Wildcats rolled out 252 yards passing and 116 rushing, mirroring Exeter’s big output week-1 in a 35-28 loss to Central York. There may be some cracks but the bottom line shows Central York defeating solid teams/programs like Exeter (6-3) 35-28, Cumberland Valley (4-5) 21-3, Hempfield (5-4) 35-21, Spring Grove (7-1) 48-17 and now Dallastown (5-4) 31-21. York High (7-1, 5-0) is next at Central (8-0, 5-0) Friday. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Central had the top seed in the 6A field of 8 with York at #4 and likely moving up with Central Dauphin losing to CD East.

4 Harrisburg 8-1 (4)
Harrisburg had another good game with State College last weekend. Nothing new about that with these two often locking horns in tight games. State may have come in with some attitude, fighting for a .500 season with a young group and remembering last year’s 41-6 loss. The year before that, SC won 21-6 and again in 2016 35-28. This one proved to be the best of the bunch, going into the fourth quarter tied up at 7 all. Harrisburg took a 15-7 lead on Mehki Hopkins 4-yard score before State put together a scoring drive late in the fourth quarter with quarterback Jack Morris punching it in from the 1-yard line with 6 seconds left. His 2-point conversion attempt fell incomplete with Harrisburg recovering the subsequent onside kick, then running out the clock for a 15-13 win. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Harrisburg had the 2 seed in the 6A field of 8 behind Central York. That’s where they’ll stay with a win at Chambersburg Friday unless York upsets Central York. Although State High is in the MP-Commonwealth, they are in District 6 where they will playoff with Williamsport, Altoona and Mifflin County.

5 Central Dauphin East 7-2 (5)
East combined a strong passing game with a solid ground game to befuddle sister school Central Dauphin 31-14. Tandem Qbs Terrence Jackson-Copney and Tony Powell were essentially unstoppable with Jackson-Copney completing 7 of 12 for 102 yards and Tony Powell good on 6 of 9 for 108 yards. Each had a touchdown toss. Mehki Flowers caught 9 for 84 yards and a score with Tymere Thornton snagging 3 for 80 yards and a score. The ground game was in the good hands of Marcel McDaniels who rushed for 178 yards, taking his season total to 1191 yards. CD was held to 130 rushing. East High finishes out at home against another Commonwealth foe playing Carlisle (6-3, 3-3) Friday. It’ll be a hard fought game with the Herd holding the 9th seed in a field of 8. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, East had the 5th seed.

6 York (William Penn) 7-1 (7)
York won their seventh straight game, routing Northeastern 58-14 to set up a showdown Friday with Central York for the York Adams-Division One title. With Central holding the top 6A seed and York at 4, the game has significant postseason implications. Against Northeastern, the Bearcats stars stood tall with running back Jahiem White rushing for 245 yards and 4 touchdowns and quarterback Sam Stoner completing 11 of 19 passes for 274 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jacquez Simmons had 3 receptions for 105 yards. All 3 were touchdowns. Since losing the opener to Governor Mifflin 55-6, York defeated their last seven opponents by an average score of 55-20. This included road wins at Coatesville 44-39 and Dallastown 36-20. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, York had the 4th seed in the field of 8 but could move up a notch with Central Dauphin losing last week.

7 Central Dauphin 5-2 (6)
After ripping off five straight wins following the season opening loss at Wilson, including narrow wins the last two games against Carlisle 24-21 and Altoona 42-38, the Rams met their match, losing to arch rival Central Dauphin East 31-14. With a D yield of 26ppg, this is clearly not your typical Ram defense. But with a prolific offense averaging 37ppg coming in, their defensive shortcomings were masked. Against East, the defense was exposed, allowing 228 rush yards and 202 passing. East pressured them all night, allowing only 8 completions in 20 attempts by Qb Max Mosey. The ground game was stuffed as well, checked at 130 yards. Up next is another old nemesis in Cumberland Valley, as talented a 4-4 team as you’ll find in the district. This is often a tight game with 4 of the last 5 decided by 6, 1, 6 and 3 points. CV fighting for a .500 season only adds to this battle between East Shore and West Shore powers. Coming into games of Oct 22-23 CD had the 3rd seed in the 6A field of 8.

8 Wyomissing 3A 9-0 (8)
Wyomissing had another dominating win last week defeating Schuylkill Valley (2-7, 1-4) 49-0. They rushed for 292 yards with Drew Eisenhower leading the way on just 4 carries gaining 144 yards and a touchdown. He also had an 84-yard kickoff return. Quarterback Ben Zechman completed 3 of his 6 passes with 2 going for touchdowns of 5 and 12 yards. Schuylkill Valley was held to 75 yards of offense. They conclude the regular season at home against Conrad Weiser (6-2, 4-1). With CW’s high end dual threat quarterback Logan Klitsch heading an offense averaging 41ppg, the Scouts could be a problem. But they have no signature wins, whereas Wyo has that in spades with routs of Pottsville and Southern Columbia. They’ve nailed down the top seed in the 3A field of 8 regardless of Friday’s results.

9 Manheim Central 5A 8-1 (11)
The Barons are rolling now, winning their last 3 games by an average score of 47-7, including shutouts against Elizabethtown 42-0 last week and Conestoga Valley 63-0 the week before, giving them 4 shutouts for the year. They are currently at 3-1 in the LL-2, with Warwick (4-4, 2-1), a game behind Cocalico (6-3, 4-0) who they play Friday in Manheim. About last Friday’s game, Etown was manhandled, 366 total yards to 128, 38 on the ground. Jaden Weit ran for 86 yards on 16 carries with Qb Judd Novak gaining 44 rushing and throwing for 166. Owen Sensenig had 6 receptions for 92 yards. Cocalico might want to take this one off after beating MC last year 35-19. But, you’ve got to give them credit reversing a 2-3 start and winning their last 4 games, including last week’s upset of Warwick 27-21. Coming into games of Oct 22-23 the Barons had the 3rd seed in the 5A field of 14.

10 Manheim Township 6-3 (13)
Here’s another young group that is well regarded with 3 point losses to Dallastown, Harrisburg and Hempfield preventing them being 9-0. Look out next year, districts and beyond. Soph Qb Hayden Johnson was again making throws with 11 completions to 8 receivers going for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns. The ground effort featured a committee of 6 with Isaiah Jones leading the way on 11 carries for 67 yards. Together they had 235 on 34 carries. The win keeps them a game behind Wilson (6-3, 4-0) at 3-1. That’s where they play Friday against their big rival to decide the LL-1 and postseason issues. With Township holding the 7th seed and Wilson the 8th, this could be a play-in game with Carlisle nipping at their heels but tangling with CD East.

11 Exeter Township 5A 6-3 (14)
Exeter’s Eagles exploded all over Reading, scoring five times in the first quarter on the way to an easy 49-6 rout of the Knights. Leading back Eric Nangle scored on the first possession (64 yards) and again on their second possession (15 yards) ending the game with 3 carries for 80 yards. In between those scores DE Lucas Palange (6-2, 215) blocked a punt and returned it 10 yards for a score. The defense partied hard in this one with a fumble caused by defensive tackle Joey Reedy (6-4, 215) resulting in a 1-yard plunge by fullback/middle linebacker Ty Yocum (6-1, 220) moments later. This was followed by linebacker J.R. Strauss getting an 18 yard Pick 6. Nice work by the D! Phil Garretson and Cabraun Woody were also integral to the offense, Garretson getting a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Cabraun Woody leading all runners with 68 yards and a score. The regular season comes to a close against Boone (5-3, 2-1, 5A) who currently hold the 10th seed. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Exeter had the 8th seed in the 5A field of 14.

12 Wilson 6-3 (15)
Surging Wilson won their fourth straight to remain atop the LL-1 at 4-0, a game ahead of Township (6-3, 3-1) who they play Friday at Wilson. Last week’s win was significant, defeating Hempfield in Landisville 28-21. That’s Wilson’s first signature road win of the season, coming against the team that beat Manheim Township the week before. With fullback Jadyn Jones now healthy, they are a different team. Jones dented the Black Knights for 140 yards and 2 scores after rushing for 175 the week before. Also contributing to the ground attack was quarterback Brad Hoffman who completed 5 of 8 passes for 50 yards while rushing for 132 yards on 17 carries. The week before saw him completed 6 of 11 passes for 56 yards, rushing for 195 yards on 14 carries. Shades of last year’s quarterback Kaleb Brown! This one was a battle royale, with the score knotted at 21 all with 3 minutes left in the game. No worries with Wilson going on a 78-yard drive, scoring in the final 3:18 of the game, then breaking up a Hail Mary in the end zone to seal it. Coming into last week’s games, Wilson had the 8th seed in the 6A field of 8.

13 Hempfield 5-4 (12)
Hempfield battled long and hard as they’ve done all year but came up short again, losing at home to Wilson 28-21. See the Wilson write up above. Cam Harbaugh was sharp enough completing 15 of 27 passes for 281 yards. But you need a running game battling the big boys in any district and that’s where they’re lacking this year, mustering a paltry 25 yards on 21 attempts. Wilson’s D came to play! Too bad this group couldn’t parlay a running game with Cam Harbaugh’s skills. On the year he’s at 57% for 1564 yards with a 12/3 ratio. He’s also their leading rusher with 575 yards and 6 more touchdowns. Penn Manor (5-4, 1-3) is up next. Hempfield is still in the postseason hunt coming into the Wilson game with the 6th seed in the 6A field of 8 meaning they can’t slip up at Penn Manor.

14 Warwick 5A 4-4 (10)
Warwick had no answer for Cocalico’s Anthony Bourasso who ran at will, amassing 332 yards rushing in a key 27-21 win for the Eagles, a win that put them in sole possession of the LL-2 at 3-0. Warwick’s rush defense failed abysmally knowing the Eagles were an option offense. They attempted only two passes here while rushing for 395 yards. Warwick’s Jack Reed completed 15 of 28 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Christian Royer rushed for 110 yards while Cooper Eckert had 9 receptions for 142 yards. So the offense while not overwhelming was sufficient. The defense failed as it has at times this year allowing 27ppg coming into the game. That’s bad news taking on an option offense on the road featuring Anthony Bourasso’s 1725 rush yards. Conestoga Valley (3-6) is next at CV. Warwick is still a player in the postseason with the 6th seed in the 5A field of 14.

15 Cedar Cliff 5A 7-2 (16)
In a back and forth affair featuring two of the better running backs in the district, Cedar Cliff got their seventh win of the season defeating Milton Hershey 45-33. The Colts are having a good year knowing they lost key parts to graduation. The young quarterback, junior Ethan Dorrell (5-11, 170) has thrown for 1222 yards at 56% with a 13 to 5 ratio. He was 9 of 18 for 124 yards in this one. Jontae Morris rushed for 332 yards..!..taking his season total to 1484 yards. Wide out Trenten Smith rushed for 70 yards with 47 receiving. Milton Hershey’s Dion Bryant had 262 yards rushing; 1452 for year. Too bad MH doesn’t have more. The Colts move on to the regular season final at Mifflin County (0-9) where they will likely enhance or further secure the 7th seed currently held in the 5A field of 14.

16 Berks Catholic 4A 6-3 (17)
Berks Catholic ran out to a 28-0 half time lead on the way to an easy 42-6 win against winless Muhlenberg who dropped to 0-9. They had the Wing-T purring, rushing for 404 yards against a defense allowing 42ppg. Christian Cacchione had 125 yards on 8 carries while Josiah Jordan added 132 yards on 6 carries. They retained its position in the Berks-1 at 3-1, tied with Exeter. It’s always good getting another win under your belt with Governor Mifflin (7-0, 2-0) up next. The game is in Shillington on the South side where the Mustangs are probably chomping at the bit not having played since Oct 15th per a Covid-19 cancellation of the game with Boone. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, BC had the 2 seed in the 4A field of 10.

17 Steelton Highspire 1A 7-1 (9)
In a strange game that made no sense, Steel High fell behind in Newville to Big Spring at the very start and never recovered, going into the half down 23-7. They had 5 turnovers that stopped them throughout which seemed to influence and dishearten them looking at video. Their defense was non-existent, allowing the Bulldogs 295 yard rushing….?....with Dillon Wakefield (5-11, 215, sr) plowing over and through defenders for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns. Everyone got in on the fun with Logan Schmidt rushing for 88 yards and Eli Hasco getting 45. Qb Ethan Eisenberg completed 9 of 16 passes for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for a score as the Bulldogs took down the defending 1A state champ, ending their 17 game winning streak with a stunning 49-14 win. Stunning! The win puts Big Spring at 3-1 in the Mid Penn-Capital, tied with Steel High, a game behind Boiling Springs (8-1, 4-0). Big Spring moves on to play Middletown (4-4, 2-2), while the Rollers try to recover against first place Boiling Springs (8-1, 4-0), a team that beat Big Spring three weeks ago 44-28. Steelton will be the top seed in the 1A field of 2 regardless of future game results.

18 Spring Grove 5A 7-1 18)
How about these Rockets winning their seventh straight game of the year? The run includes wins at Waynesboro (7-2) 25-20, at Northern (6-2) 39-7 and the surprising win at Dallastown two weeks ago, 28-21. With Spring Grove, you’re talking about a program that had three winning seasons the previous ten years, recording a 35-64 record. The difference this year is a running game, fueled by one of the top back in the district in Zyree Brooks. He was unstoppable last week against Red Lion, rushing for 248 yards on 17 carries, scoring on runs of 23, 24, 71 and 34 yards, taking his season total to 1586 yards. They are also playing decent defense in an offense oriented league (York Adams), allowing 17ppg. Minus the 48 allowed to Central York, they’re allowing 14ppg. That’s good stuff and has a lot to do with those road wins mentioned above. They’re at South Western in the season finale Friday looking to reach their highest win total since 2012 (8-4) and maintain or improve their 4th seed in the 5A field of 14.

19 Shippensburg 5A 9-0 (19)
Shippensburg is one of the best kept secrets in the state, going 115-47 (71%) from 2007 through last week’s game. They’re at it again this year doing a good job replacing 3-year starting quarterback Eric Manning who threw for 1835 yards in a ground oriented offense. The new starter, Junior Tucker Chamberlin has thrown for 930 yards at 58%, well supported by running backs Amari Kerr, Traevon Kater Nathan Bean and Diesel Koser. Kater had 88 yards last week on 11 carries while Kerr finished with 92 on 12 carries in a 21-6 win against East Pennsboro. The win puts them at 6-0 atop the Mid Penn-Colonial, ahead of Waynesboro (7-2, 5-1) and Northern (6-2, 4-1). The defense that returned good numbers from last season is headed by Minnesota recruit DE Anthony Smith (6-7, 275). This year they’ve allowed 9ppg, making them a tough nut to crack with their ground game. They end the regular season at home against Greencastle-Antrim (4-5, 2-4) where they currently hold the 2nd seed in the 5A field of 14.

20 Lampeter Strasburg 4A 8-1 (20)
The Pioneers won their eighth game powering over Ephrata 68-7. These guys are cranking it now, scoring 42, 42, 55, 50 and 63 points the last 5 games, winning by an average score of 41-7! They’re a run centric team that will zing it as necessary with Berkeley Wagner completing 67 passes at 55% for 1122 yards. He has a 12-6 Td/Pick ratio. At 620 rush yards with 6 more touchdowns, he is their leading rusher with great support by Giovanni Malatesta at 472 yards and Jonathan Mellinger at 312 for the season. Each have 7 rushing scores. They had a field day against Ephrata, rushing for 384 yards with QB Wagner at 74yards, Malatesta at 73 and Payton Cunningham at 60 yards. 9 running backs had carries. The defense played shutdown football holding Ephrata to 77 total yards. Their lead back Andre Weidman who came in with 1223 rush yards was held to 24. Barring a major upset by Lebanon (0-9) Friday, LS will lock down another LL-3 title and enter the post season as the top seed in the 4A field of 10.

21 Dallastown 5-4
They’re fading fast losing 3 of the last 4 including last week’s 31-21 loss to Central York. Will finish at Red Lion (5A 2-6) Friday who is not seeded. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Dtown had the 10th seed in the 6A field of 8.

22 Cocalico 4A 6-3
Nice bounce by Cocalico winning their last 4 after a 2-3 start. But they finish at 8-1 Manheim Central who has played well all year barring the home loss to Warwick. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Cocalico had the 4th seed in the 4A field of 10.

23 Cumberland Valley 4-5
Cumberland Valley has been a tough out except for Manheim Central and Harrisburg where they were simply outmanned. But they’re getting there with close call losses to Central York, CD East and State College. They’re home to Central Dauphin and could pull the upset. Been that kind of year. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, CV had the 12th seed in the 6A field of 8.

24 Carlisle 6-3
Three point losses to Cumberland Valley and Central Dauphin keep them from 8-1. Have a tough one at 7-2 CD East Friday but maybe they catch them coming down from the Central Dauphin game. East is more but it could get dicey. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Carlisle had the 9 seed in the 6A field of 8.

25 Kennard Dale 4A 8-1
The Rams are on an 8 game winning streak after the season opening loss to Octorara (7-2, 4A) 18-16. They close out at Eastern York (4A 2-7) where they can name it. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, KD had the 7th seed in the 4A field of 10.

26 Conrad Weiser 5A 7-2
Won four straight since the ot loss to Twin Valley (5A, 6-3). Tough closer at top seeded Wyomissing (3A 9-0). Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Weiser had the 5th seed in the 5A field of 14

27 Boiling Springs 3A 8-1
The Bubblers should be undefeated but for a short notice covid replacement game at Mechanicsburg (5A, 5-4) where they lost 39-34. They close at 1A top seed Steel High where the Rollers will be in rare form after getting upset by Big Spring last week. Still, the Bubblers are a mean group. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, they had the 2nd seed in the 3A field of 8.

28 Big Spring 4A 7-2
Monster win last week upsetting Steelton Highspire after previous losses to Shippensburg 34-14 and Boiling Springs 44-28. Better hadn’t ease up too much at Middletown (3A 4-4) who had the 7th seed in a field of 8 last week. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Big Spring had the 8 seed in the field of 10.

29 Northern York 4A 6-2
Tough bunch here who always fight you tooth and nail, all the way back when I was in school. Tagged Susquehanna Twp last week 35-0 and are home for another war with Waynesboro (5A 7-2 5th seed) Friday in Dillsburg. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, the Polar Bears had the 6th seed in the 4A field of 10

30 Waynesboro 5A 7-2
Won their last 4 including 21-20 last week against Mechanicsburg in prep for annual battle at Northern Friday. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, Waynesboro had the 5th seed in the 5A field of 14
TIE
Upper Dauphin 2A 7-1
The Trojans have been taking care of business blasting a dangerous Fleetwood (5-4) team last week 46-29 at Fleetwood. Only loss is to Juniata (4A, 7-2) from District-6. Look for a big win Friday against Newport (2A, 2-6), launching them into the postseason on a 7 game winning streak. Coming into games of Oct 22-23, UDA had the 3rd seed in the 2A field of 4.

Others:
Octorara 4A 7-2 10th seed; at Northern Lebanon 3A 4-5
Columbia 2A 7-1 2nd seed; home Pequea Valley 3A 1-7
Donegal 4A 6-2 9th seed; home Garden Spot 4A 3-5
Middletown 3A 4-4 7th seed; home Big Spring 4A 7-2
Gettysburg 2A 6-3 15th seed; home Twin Valley 5A 6-3
York Catholic 2A 7-0 1st seed; home York Tech 6A 0-8

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Don’t look now, but Easton has put themselves back in the thick of things in District 11 6A, snapping Emmaus’s six game winning streak last night without All State candidate Marcus Williams.

The game featured probably the two best defenses in the league, and was a slugfest early. Emmaus had a 6-3 halftime lead, and a Kyle Evancho pick in the end zone kept it a one score game for Easton. Emmaus looked like they broke things open with a gadget play on their first drive if they second half - a 50 yard reverse throwback pass to fullback Jared Groller who was just by himself to go up 13-3.

Easton got back into it throwing bombs. Cole Transue was only 9-20 on the night, but threw for 211 yards. They answered the Emmaus score with a long pass to Javion Thompson, then on 3rd and 9, Transue spun away from pressure and hit tight end Nino Rizzolino for a 30 yard TD. After forcing a three and out, Transue hit Evancho for a pair of 31 yard gains, including a third down conversion where he hit Evancho on a comeback route at the sticks, and Evancho made the corner miss, and got a wicked crack back block from JuJu Fears to erase the safety and and Evancho walked in for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter.

Easton’s defense got the ball back, and the Rovers held the ball for most of the fourth quarter, but were stuffed on fourth and goal from the one with three minutes to play. But after Emmaus’s first first down since the touchdown, Javon Frutchey had a pair of sacks to end the game.

Since getting embarrassed in the first half by Freedom (down 31-3), Easton has played significantly better. They shocked me by killing Centrak, but then had two “get right” games with Allen and Liberty, so it was hard to tell what kind of improvement there was. Throw in two COVID cancellations, and it was tough to tell where they stood. But a tough win last night over the team a lot had pegged as playing the best football in the Valley recently, without the league leading rusher and scorer, tells me Easton has as much of a chance as anybody.

I’ve said all year I think they have the most talented roster. Lots of speed on the perimeter, the offensive line can do some things, and defensively, they get edge pressure from Frutchey and Sean Wilson (two sacks and a forced fumble last night) that they haven’t had in years.

I don’t think they can win three straight playoff games without Marcus Williams - Easton only rushed for 3 yards per carry last night, Willians averages 9 per tote, plus is their best corner - but if they compete like they did in the second half and get him back, they’re as good as Emmaus, Parkland, and Freedom, which looks like their path. They’re sitting at the 5 seed right now, with regular season finale against Nazareth (currently the 6 seed). Emmaus and Parkland play next week, and the Green Hornets can really mess with seeds if they win. Fun time of year!