Rankings – Big School (East Penn Conference)
1. Freedom Patriots
The running game is going to be really good again. Deonte Crawford put up huge numbers in week one – albeit not against great competition, but he’s got a great offensive line and is a major weapon. We’ll learn a lot more about the Patriots in week two against Emmaus.
2. Whitehall Zephyrs
I’m the high man on Whitehall in the Lehigh Valley apparently, as they’re getting picked in the bottom half of the division, while I think they can really contend for a title. My faith is in experience – they have virtually their entire team back, with some difference makers at the skill spots. They’ve got a shot to make a statement and help bury Becahi on Saturday.
3. Parkland Trojans
Parkland feels like a mystery – they had the most COVID affected season in 2019 and already have had a game wiped out due to an outbreak at Pleasant Valley. That gives them a tougher season opener – they travel to Cottingham on Friday in our game of the week, but having a senior quarterback and one of the best coaching staffs around should help.
4. Emmaus Green Hornets
Emmaus rolled despite losing their quarterback days before the season started. Tylik Jarvis might be a real weapon at running back replacing Brandon Camire and they’ll have a shot at the top dog in these rankings Friday night.
5. Easton Red Rovers
The opener couldn’t have gone much better, though Pocono Mountain East struggled to do much of anything on Friday. Still, Easton looks fast – Marcus Williams we knew about, but they had lots of guys flying around on defense, and Aidan Hutchinson had some real initial burst from the fullback spot, breaking two long early runs. The passing game was virtually nonexistent though, and that will have to change against Parkland.
6. Nazareth Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles rolled against an overmatched East Stroudsburg North team. Stil, it was encouraging to see Sonny Sasso look comfortable in his first varsity football start. It’s an entirely new starting lineup on both sides of the ball here, but they could shoot up the rankings as guys get broken in.
7. Northampton Konkrete Kids
The Konkrete Kids had the biggest win of week 1 in their upset of Bethlehem Catholic. John Toman had a lot of success at Southern Lehigh, and he looks like he’ll keep the upward trajectory in Northampton started by Kyle Haas. They’re running a version of the Wing-T with some passing concepts woven in, and the off-beat offense helps a school that has a resource and school size disadvantage compared to most teams on their schedule. They’re in the drivers seat in the North and for a D11 playoff seat now.
8. Liberty Hurricanes
The other head turner in week one was Liberty’s win over East Stroudsburg South. True, the Cavaliers were decimated by graduation – probably more so than any team in the Valley – but it looked like a totally different Hurricane team than we saw in the last coaching regime. There’s a lot to built on going forward here.
9. Allentown Central Catholic
Central looked sluggish to start before pulling away from Dieruff in the second half. Theyr’re another team that was crushed by graduation, particularly at the spots on offense and the back seven on defense, and they’re probably going to take a couple weeks to get more games reps before we really know what kind of team we have here.
10. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks
The only ranked team to lose last week, Becahi was a popular pick to compete for an EPC South title and to make a final four run in the state at 4A. They looked a LONG way from that on Friday. Despite the new staff, it was still the old Bethlehem Catholic – a taunting penalty set up a short field for Northampton’s game winning drive, an unnecessary pass interference on fourth down extended the drive, and amassing 90 yards in penalties in a close game doesn’t help. They’ll need to clean it up a lot going forward if they’re going to get back into the division race.
Rankings – Small School (Colonial/Schuylkill League)
1. North Schuylkill Spartans (3A)
The Spartans got a win over fellow coal region traditional powerhouse Mount Carmel, getting a typically monster effort from tailback Josh Chowansky in probably the best individual performance of week one. They’re really good, and after shaking the cobwebs out early they rolled Mount Carmel.
2. Notre Dame (GP) Crusaders (3A)
The Crusaders pulled away from Saucon Valley with their typically explosive offense. They’ve got one of the best triggermen in the state in Colin Quintano, and it looks like they’ve replaced the skill guys well, particularly with Easton transfer Tariff Mohammed going for over 100 yards on the night and flashing his track speed to compliment the size of Nadir Sanders on the perimeter. They see North Schuylkill in week 7 in what should be a D11 title game preview in 3A.
3. Northwestern Lehigh Tigers (4A)
The Tigers have the best player, maybe regardless of classification, in quarterback Justin Holmes. He’s improved as a pure passer after relying a lot on his athleticism after making the switch from receiver to quarterback last fall. But he’s big, fast, and physical, and is going to pose a lot of problems for every team on their schedule.
4. Northern Lehigh Bulldogs (2A)
It’s nice to see the Bulldogs looking strong again. They’ve been one of the strongest Colonial League teams in the state playoff era, including a state finals trip in 2003, and while I don’t think they’re 2A contenders at that level, they’ll certainly be in the mix, particularly with running back Matt Frame as one of the best in the classification.
5. Wilson Warriors (4A)
Wilson is a little bit of a sleeper in 4A and gets the last write up after Saucon Valley's lopsided loss to Notre Dame. This team can fly – wideout Damon Simpson was fourth in the state last year in the 100, and he and brother Damian (running back), Zack Gillen (wideout) were on the 4x100 relay team that finished sixth in the state. And they have multi-year starter Cayden Stem distributing the football. If they can block, they can be a problem.
1. Freedom Patriots
The running game is going to be really good again. Deonte Crawford put up huge numbers in week one – albeit not against great competition, but he’s got a great offensive line and is a major weapon. We’ll learn a lot more about the Patriots in week two against Emmaus.
2. Whitehall Zephyrs
I’m the high man on Whitehall in the Lehigh Valley apparently, as they’re getting picked in the bottom half of the division, while I think they can really contend for a title. My faith is in experience – they have virtually their entire team back, with some difference makers at the skill spots. They’ve got a shot to make a statement and help bury Becahi on Saturday.
3. Parkland Trojans
Parkland feels like a mystery – they had the most COVID affected season in 2019 and already have had a game wiped out due to an outbreak at Pleasant Valley. That gives them a tougher season opener – they travel to Cottingham on Friday in our game of the week, but having a senior quarterback and one of the best coaching staffs around should help.
4. Emmaus Green Hornets
Emmaus rolled despite losing their quarterback days before the season started. Tylik Jarvis might be a real weapon at running back replacing Brandon Camire and they’ll have a shot at the top dog in these rankings Friday night.
5. Easton Red Rovers
The opener couldn’t have gone much better, though Pocono Mountain East struggled to do much of anything on Friday. Still, Easton looks fast – Marcus Williams we knew about, but they had lots of guys flying around on defense, and Aidan Hutchinson had some real initial burst from the fullback spot, breaking two long early runs. The passing game was virtually nonexistent though, and that will have to change against Parkland.
6. Nazareth Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles rolled against an overmatched East Stroudsburg North team. Stil, it was encouraging to see Sonny Sasso look comfortable in his first varsity football start. It’s an entirely new starting lineup on both sides of the ball here, but they could shoot up the rankings as guys get broken in.
7. Northampton Konkrete Kids
The Konkrete Kids had the biggest win of week 1 in their upset of Bethlehem Catholic. John Toman had a lot of success at Southern Lehigh, and he looks like he’ll keep the upward trajectory in Northampton started by Kyle Haas. They’re running a version of the Wing-T with some passing concepts woven in, and the off-beat offense helps a school that has a resource and school size disadvantage compared to most teams on their schedule. They’re in the drivers seat in the North and for a D11 playoff seat now.
8. Liberty Hurricanes
The other head turner in week one was Liberty’s win over East Stroudsburg South. True, the Cavaliers were decimated by graduation – probably more so than any team in the Valley – but it looked like a totally different Hurricane team than we saw in the last coaching regime. There’s a lot to built on going forward here.
9. Allentown Central Catholic
Central looked sluggish to start before pulling away from Dieruff in the second half. Theyr’re another team that was crushed by graduation, particularly at the spots on offense and the back seven on defense, and they’re probably going to take a couple weeks to get more games reps before we really know what kind of team we have here.
10. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks
The only ranked team to lose last week, Becahi was a popular pick to compete for an EPC South title and to make a final four run in the state at 4A. They looked a LONG way from that on Friday. Despite the new staff, it was still the old Bethlehem Catholic – a taunting penalty set up a short field for Northampton’s game winning drive, an unnecessary pass interference on fourth down extended the drive, and amassing 90 yards in penalties in a close game doesn’t help. They’ll need to clean it up a lot going forward if they’re going to get back into the division race.
Rankings – Small School (Colonial/Schuylkill League)
1. North Schuylkill Spartans (3A)
The Spartans got a win over fellow coal region traditional powerhouse Mount Carmel, getting a typically monster effort from tailback Josh Chowansky in probably the best individual performance of week one. They’re really good, and after shaking the cobwebs out early they rolled Mount Carmel.
2. Notre Dame (GP) Crusaders (3A)
The Crusaders pulled away from Saucon Valley with their typically explosive offense. They’ve got one of the best triggermen in the state in Colin Quintano, and it looks like they’ve replaced the skill guys well, particularly with Easton transfer Tariff Mohammed going for over 100 yards on the night and flashing his track speed to compliment the size of Nadir Sanders on the perimeter. They see North Schuylkill in week 7 in what should be a D11 title game preview in 3A.
3. Northwestern Lehigh Tigers (4A)
The Tigers have the best player, maybe regardless of classification, in quarterback Justin Holmes. He’s improved as a pure passer after relying a lot on his athleticism after making the switch from receiver to quarterback last fall. But he’s big, fast, and physical, and is going to pose a lot of problems for every team on their schedule.
4. Northern Lehigh Bulldogs (2A)
It’s nice to see the Bulldogs looking strong again. They’ve been one of the strongest Colonial League teams in the state playoff era, including a state finals trip in 2003, and while I don’t think they’re 2A contenders at that level, they’ll certainly be in the mix, particularly with running back Matt Frame as one of the best in the classification.
5. Wilson Warriors (4A)
Wilson is a little bit of a sleeper in 4A and gets the last write up after Saucon Valley's lopsided loss to Notre Dame. This team can fly – wideout Damon Simpson was fourth in the state last year in the 100, and he and brother Damian (running back), Zack Gillen (wideout) were on the 4x100 relay team that finished sixth in the state. And they have multi-year starter Cayden Stem distributing the football. If they can block, they can be a problem.
