The East:
District-1
#1 North Penn 12-0 vs #3 Coatesville 11-1 at North Penn
Hey, North Penn finally got what the doctor ordered, a competitive game! But the home crowd might feel a lot better if that score was the margin they beat Coatesville by, not Spring Ford, with so many expecting a total blowout. The strong positive the 8th seeded Rams can take from this one is their comeback from a 21-0 1st quarter deficit. Make no mistake they knocked North Penn back on their heels with a 19-7 comeback over the final 3 quarters, something Coach Matt Ortega of Coatesville will take a good look at. The stats were all North Penn, 475 to 244 in total O with Reece Udinski throwing for 332 yards. Their opponent this week is Coatesville, who also jumped their opponent early, racing out to a 21-0 1st quarter lead against Ridley. Like North Penn-Spring Ford, the lead proved too much to overcome, though the 5th seed battled hard over the last 3 quarters before going down 41-21. Coatesville’s tag team tandem of running back Aaron Young and quarterback Ricky Ortega (to name a few!) ran roughshod over Ridley’s defense, totaling 248 and 124 yards respectively. Ortega passed for another 136 yards. All totaled, the Red Raiders out-yardaged the Green Raiders 514 to 218. That just doesn’t happen. Ok, the math (chuckle-chuckle) has North Penn winning by .35 points in a very high scoring affair. Defense is defense and they say it wins games but no high school team can stop a quality passing attack. How many quality CBs can you have at the high school level? That’s why this one with two superior passing attacks could see tremendous scoring with each team unable to stop the other.
#3 Perkiomen Valley 12-0 vs #10 Garnet Valley 10-2 at Perkiomen Valley
Perkiomen Valley had little trouble defeating 6th seeded Downingtown East 44-21 while Garnet Valley shocked the pundits waffling Neshaminy 42-14, at Neshaminy! Maybe the Central League should now get at least a modicum of respect, especially with Springfield tearing things up at the 5A classification. Back to G-Val, the yardage total of the Jaguars rushing for 314 yards shows total line domination. And if you viewed this one, plain and simple that’s what it was. But the less heralded story is how dominate the Jags were on defense, holding the Skins to 54 yards rushing (54!) and 264 total yards. Meanwhile in Collegeville, Downingtown East was overwhelmed by the aerial antics of the Vikings with quarterback Stephen Sturm passing for 368 yards in their 44-21 victory. Thought East might defend the pass a little better. For the stat freaks, Downingtown out-yardaged PV 414 to 364 yards, nicely balanced at 228 rushing and 186 passing….but still lost by 23 points. Four of PV’s scores came through the air, plus a 42 yard pick-6 and a 48 yard field goal. For Garnet Valley and Perkiomen Valley, this one is about contrasting styles, with G-Val attempting to pound the Vikings into submission with their grinding option ground attack while Perk Val will go with their vaunted aerial assault that is a thing of beauty. The math has it 3.28 for the Vikings.
District 11 Final
#3 Parkland 9-3 vs #5 Freedom 8-4 at. J. Birney Crum Stadium
Parkland beat 7th seeded Easton 42-7 with more ease than some expected knowing the Rovers came into the game on something of a roll, winning 4 of the last 5 after a 2-4 start. But Parkland really dominated them this year even with a replacement QB in the regular season game (Ethan Imler for injured Michael Ruisch) won at Easton 28-0 where the Trojan D held them to 92 total yards. It was more of the same in the postseason at Orefield where Parkland again dominated all phases of the game with QB Ruisch having a stellar outing completing 10 of 12 for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Easton was again shutdown to 158 yards of offense to Parkland’s 458. Still, that was some kind of outburst by the Trojans coming into the game averaging 29ppg. No one ever undervalues Parkland but on the other hand, few were calling for another district title either.
In the other game in something of a stunner, Freedom trounced top seeded Emmaus 42-12. The loss of injured senior quarterback Derek Sheaffer (Blake Reed filling in) didn’t help with Freedom rolling out 457 yards while holding the Hornets to 256. That sets up yet another rematch of a game played way back on September 23rd won by Parkland, 17-0. For a team otherwise averaging 34ppg, it’s hard imagining Freedom being shutout. But when Parkland’s defense is on, and it’s been on for most of the year (34-7 Beca breakdown) they are a difficult team to beat and the best defense in the Lehigh Valley. As the 4 time defending District -11 champion, the postseason is what Parkland is all about against the upstart from Bethlehem.
District 12 Final
St. Joseph’s Prep vs Northeast 8-2 at Northeast
St. Joseph’s Prep beat LaSalle College 35-14 last week to secure the PCL crown and move into the district final against the PPL champ Northeast who pulled one of the postseason shockers by routing Philadelphia Central 31-8. It was all over at the close of the first half when they jumped out to a 24-8 lead. What a confidence builder that was after losing to Imhotep 44-8 two weeks earlier. Northeast typically has some players, with last year’s 11-1 team beating Abington and Father Judge. The 2013 team lost to a good CR North team (8-3)15-13 and they’ve just about owned Central over the years. About the Hawks; they were a machine last week against the Explorers, unleashing the powerful combo of running back D’Andre Swift for 179 yards (18 carries) and quarterback Marquez McCray for 220 total yards; 68 rushing and 162 passing. That could well be an unstoppable duo if quarterback McCray maintains that level of play. They are already averaging 41ppg and game as Northeast might be, the Hawks yield a miserly 14ppg against a robust schedule. Both games were emotional highs for the winners with the playoff veteran Hawks more likely to recover and focus than Northeast who may be a little star struck. The math calls for a big win here by St. Joe’s by 19.40 points.
District-1
#1 North Penn 12-0 vs #3 Coatesville 11-1 at North Penn
Hey, North Penn finally got what the doctor ordered, a competitive game! But the home crowd might feel a lot better if that score was the margin they beat Coatesville by, not Spring Ford, with so many expecting a total blowout. The strong positive the 8th seeded Rams can take from this one is their comeback from a 21-0 1st quarter deficit. Make no mistake they knocked North Penn back on their heels with a 19-7 comeback over the final 3 quarters, something Coach Matt Ortega of Coatesville will take a good look at. The stats were all North Penn, 475 to 244 in total O with Reece Udinski throwing for 332 yards. Their opponent this week is Coatesville, who also jumped their opponent early, racing out to a 21-0 1st quarter lead against Ridley. Like North Penn-Spring Ford, the lead proved too much to overcome, though the 5th seed battled hard over the last 3 quarters before going down 41-21. Coatesville’s tag team tandem of running back Aaron Young and quarterback Ricky Ortega (to name a few!) ran roughshod over Ridley’s defense, totaling 248 and 124 yards respectively. Ortega passed for another 136 yards. All totaled, the Red Raiders out-yardaged the Green Raiders 514 to 218. That just doesn’t happen. Ok, the math (chuckle-chuckle) has North Penn winning by .35 points in a very high scoring affair. Defense is defense and they say it wins games but no high school team can stop a quality passing attack. How many quality CBs can you have at the high school level? That’s why this one with two superior passing attacks could see tremendous scoring with each team unable to stop the other.
#3 Perkiomen Valley 12-0 vs #10 Garnet Valley 10-2 at Perkiomen Valley
Perkiomen Valley had little trouble defeating 6th seeded Downingtown East 44-21 while Garnet Valley shocked the pundits waffling Neshaminy 42-14, at Neshaminy! Maybe the Central League should now get at least a modicum of respect, especially with Springfield tearing things up at the 5A classification. Back to G-Val, the yardage total of the Jaguars rushing for 314 yards shows total line domination. And if you viewed this one, plain and simple that’s what it was. But the less heralded story is how dominate the Jags were on defense, holding the Skins to 54 yards rushing (54!) and 264 total yards. Meanwhile in Collegeville, Downingtown East was overwhelmed by the aerial antics of the Vikings with quarterback Stephen Sturm passing for 368 yards in their 44-21 victory. Thought East might defend the pass a little better. For the stat freaks, Downingtown out-yardaged PV 414 to 364 yards, nicely balanced at 228 rushing and 186 passing….but still lost by 23 points. Four of PV’s scores came through the air, plus a 42 yard pick-6 and a 48 yard field goal. For Garnet Valley and Perkiomen Valley, this one is about contrasting styles, with G-Val attempting to pound the Vikings into submission with their grinding option ground attack while Perk Val will go with their vaunted aerial assault that is a thing of beauty. The math has it 3.28 for the Vikings.
District 11 Final
#3 Parkland 9-3 vs #5 Freedom 8-4 at. J. Birney Crum Stadium
Parkland beat 7th seeded Easton 42-7 with more ease than some expected knowing the Rovers came into the game on something of a roll, winning 4 of the last 5 after a 2-4 start. But Parkland really dominated them this year even with a replacement QB in the regular season game (Ethan Imler for injured Michael Ruisch) won at Easton 28-0 where the Trojan D held them to 92 total yards. It was more of the same in the postseason at Orefield where Parkland again dominated all phases of the game with QB Ruisch having a stellar outing completing 10 of 12 for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Easton was again shutdown to 158 yards of offense to Parkland’s 458. Still, that was some kind of outburst by the Trojans coming into the game averaging 29ppg. No one ever undervalues Parkland but on the other hand, few were calling for another district title either.
In the other game in something of a stunner, Freedom trounced top seeded Emmaus 42-12. The loss of injured senior quarterback Derek Sheaffer (Blake Reed filling in) didn’t help with Freedom rolling out 457 yards while holding the Hornets to 256. That sets up yet another rematch of a game played way back on September 23rd won by Parkland, 17-0. For a team otherwise averaging 34ppg, it’s hard imagining Freedom being shutout. But when Parkland’s defense is on, and it’s been on for most of the year (34-7 Beca breakdown) they are a difficult team to beat and the best defense in the Lehigh Valley. As the 4 time defending District -11 champion, the postseason is what Parkland is all about against the upstart from Bethlehem.
District 12 Final
St. Joseph’s Prep vs Northeast 8-2 at Northeast
St. Joseph’s Prep beat LaSalle College 35-14 last week to secure the PCL crown and move into the district final against the PPL champ Northeast who pulled one of the postseason shockers by routing Philadelphia Central 31-8. It was all over at the close of the first half when they jumped out to a 24-8 lead. What a confidence builder that was after losing to Imhotep 44-8 two weeks earlier. Northeast typically has some players, with last year’s 11-1 team beating Abington and Father Judge. The 2013 team lost to a good CR North team (8-3)15-13 and they’ve just about owned Central over the years. About the Hawks; they were a machine last week against the Explorers, unleashing the powerful combo of running back D’Andre Swift for 179 yards (18 carries) and quarterback Marquez McCray for 220 total yards; 68 rushing and 162 passing. That could well be an unstoppable duo if quarterback McCray maintains that level of play. They are already averaging 41ppg and game as Northeast might be, the Hawks yield a miserly 14ppg against a robust schedule. Both games were emotional highs for the winners with the playoff veteran Hawks more likely to recover and focus than Northeast who may be a little star struck. The math calls for a big win here by St. Joe’s by 19.40 points.
