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Most disappointing teams?

Vikingofpittsburgh

Well-Known Member
Sep 18, 2022
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What teams throughout history do you think underperformed? I'll call out my alma mater for this question.

2019 Central Catholic kind of grinds my gears to this day. This team was stacked. Nearly every starter on the line went d1, Including Elliot Donald, nephew of Aaron Donald. Combine that with RB Eddy Tillman (Cornell), The dominated most Wpial Teams. they eventually made it to the semi finals, where they found themselves playing a very injured St.Joes prep team with out their QB and linebacker.

We were up 7 with about 2 minutes left in the game. Our defense couldn't make a stop, and we ended up losing in OT. St. Joes went on to win the state championship easily. I will always feel like we missed out on that opportunity.

So, What other teams do you thing under preformed?
 
What teams throughout history do you think underperformed? I'll call out my alma mater for this question.

2019 Central Catholic kind of grinds my gears to this day. This team was stacked. Nearly every starter on the line went d1, Including Elliot Donald, nephew of Aaron Donald. Combine that with RB Eddy Tillman (Cornell), The dominated most Wpial Teams. they eventually made it to the semi finals, where they found themselves playing a very injured St.Joes prep team with out their QB and linebacker.

We were up 7 with about 2 minutes left in the game. Our defense couldn't make a stop, and we ended up losing in OT. St. Joes went on to win the state championship easily. I will always feel like we missed out on that opportunity.

So, What other teams do you thing under preformed?
I don't know if they underperformed they took SJP to the wire. Even with a couple SJP players out that team was stacked. Last year's Imhotep team comes to mind. They were a giant favorite and people around the state said they could be the best team in the state going into the state finals and lost to Penn Trafford. I think the 01 woodland hills team was load and #3 in the country and lost to Neshimany. Same with 94 Downingtown with McKeesport. 05 mckdevitt comes to mind but had they not lost McCoy they might of beat McKeesport. The 96 Penn hills team was #1 in the entire country and got upset to plum.
 
Belle Vernon last year, beat the eventual 5A state champs Penn Trafford by 20 and then lost the 4A wpial title game to a team with class 1A enrollment, though they had 6A size and advantages lol

I think Woodland Hills has a lot of teams that have an argument 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2009 all underachieved based on their rankings and roster

many Aliquippa teams under Mike Zmijanic, he refused to develop a kicker and it cost them in almost every state playoff loss, the people that thought his firing was wrong have been quiet ever since

Gateway under Terry Smith many years especially that 2008 team that lost to Bethel Park, I still can't believe they lost that game, I think that was the biggest upset in Wpial title game history

Imhotep Charter last year losing in the state final was very surprising, but it was more surprising when they lost 42 - 0 to South Fayette in Hershey in the 2A 2013 final, it's funny some guy in Philly newspaper wrote that Imhotep would win that game by the same score

2008 West Catholic was said to be better than both the 4A finalists Liberty and Bethel Park, they lost the 2A final to Wilmington

Thomas Jefferson had a loaded team in 2006 and somehow lost to General Mcclane in the 3A semifinals, I never saw a team with such a huge size advantage get blown out like that
 
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What teams throughout history do you think underperformed? I'll call out my alma mater for this question.

2019 Central Catholic kind of grinds my gears to this day. This team was stacked. Nearly every starter on the line went d1, Including Elliot Donald, nephew of Aaron Donald. Combine that with RB Eddy Tillman (Cornell), The dominated most Wpial Teams. they eventually made it to the semi finals, where they found themselves playing a very injured St.Joes prep team with out their QB and linebacker.

We were up 7 with about 2 minutes left in the game. Our defense couldn't make a stop, and we ended up losing in OT. St. Joes went on to win the state championship easily. I will always feel like we missed out on that opportunity.

So, What other teams do you thing under preformed?
I wouldn't call them overly disappointing because I'm pretty sure everybody picked St. Joe's to win that game, it was surprising how close it was but it was a missed opportunity for sure, I remember Totten seemed to take that loss very hard
 
Disappointing/under performed means something different to me than what seems to be the direction of this thread. The first team that comes to mind is the 2009 Liberty team - they were the defending state champs and brought back Anthony Gonzalez, Jarrod West, and Dante Holmes (who I think all were 1st team all state that season), started the year ranked #6 in the state, but finished 6-5 and got their doors blown off in the first round of the playoffs by Easton.

In that regard, 2012 Easton started the year 8-0, including beating the hell out of Parkland (D11 champs) and Pennsbury (SO champs). Team had four FCS guys and a ton of PSAC players. Quarterback who won the job got knocked out with an ankle injury and Shane Simpson broke his leg in week 9 after 1,100 yards in eight games. They absolutely fell apart against Parkland in districts. Parkland got beat up by a non-invincible LaSalle team, and Easton with Simpson that year was significantly more talented.

Now, if we're talking about the best teams that didn't win/get a shot at a state title, that is a different, and more interesting list. Statewide, somebody mentioned the 1996 Penn Hills team that was the returning state champ, #1 in the country and on a 28 game winning streak, and lost in the first round of the WPIAL tournament. Frankly, that season was set up to be Penn Hills-CB West, but the Bucks got upset in the first round of districts too. 1988 CB West was the runaway #1 team in the state, but tied CB East on Thanksgiving, which kept them out of the inaugural state playoffs (undefeated and untied Neshaminy got the District 1/2/4 spot). Gateway in 2008 was the all time shocker. Bishop McDevitt in 2005 is the biggest injury in state playoff history with LeSean McCoy going out. They walk to a title otherwise (I bet he makes up one point against McKeesport).

Locally, there are two big ones. Parkland in 1999 was the clear #2 behind CB West all year, and that would have been a hell of an Eastern Final. The Trojans went 10-0 and had an average margin of victory of 29 points. Sean Bleiler was the running back, he was a captain and fullback at Delaware when they won the national title. Tim Massaquoi was their receiver, he was a top 40 national recruit the next year and eventually played in the NFL. Defense had guys who played at Navy, Pitt, Penn, and Lehigh, three Division I linemen. Quarterback played basketball at Navy and was an all state hoops player (great athlete). They beat Easton 42-13 in the final game of the regular season. The next week, Easton upset them 7-6 in D11 semis. Season over. Easton went on to lose 21-20 to Becahi in finals in another classic, then Becahi played the all timer in Goodman with CB West (the punt return game). Parkland would have had just as much, if not more, of a chance than the Hawks in that game.

Speaking of Bethlehem Catholic, 2001 was their ultimate lost opportunity. Probably the best offense in the state - Mark Borda had nearly 2,000 through seven games with skill players that went to West Virginia, Penn State, Lehigh, Lehigh, and then JUCO legend Eddie Scipio (who missed the first three games of the season, which stopped him from the only 1,000/1,000 season in state history - he had 900 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in not a full season). Then, Borda, two offensive linemen, and their leading tackler got kicked off the team in week 8. They still torched the D11 playoffs after moving Adam Bednarik from receiver to QB. But they choked away a lead against Cumberland Valley in the state quarterfinals. Bednarik threw three picks in the second half of that game. Full strengthen Becahi certainly was good enough to play with Neshaminy and Woodland Hills, but they made their own bed.
 
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Rover, i remember that beca team. You’re spot on.
They were so damn good. But had drama all year. That was the season that the rest of the Valley formed the LVC, and announced it was every school in the East Penn except for Becahi (which eventually caused Bob Stem to resign after the season). Pat Bedics, their star fullback/linebacker who went to Penn State, got arrested in the off-season and suspended for the opener. Scipio got hurt in their scrimmage and missed games against Parkland, St. Xavier, and Brooklyn Poly Prep. You had the party that got busted at the end of the year and got Borda, Kovacs, and Dazet kicked off the team. It was a weird year.

Borda threw for 2,800 yards as a junior and was on his way to shattering that before he got suspended. Really good player who ended up All Patriot League at Lehigh, and I think was a preseason All American as a senior before he broke his ankle. Bednarik was so good the next season that people forget Borda was probably a better high school QB (but was 6’0 versus the 6’3 225 pound Bednarik, so they were different college prospects). Losing him hurt doubly, because Bednarik was also a very good wide receiver and their best safety.

Eddie Scipio is one of those names that nobody but Lehigh Valley people remember. He was a state finalist in the 100 and the 200, ran the anchor leg of their 4x100 relay team that won states, scored 1,500 points as a basketball player, and left as Becahi’s career touchdowns leader. One of the first truly all purpose backs around here in terms of catching the ball out of the backfield or getting split out wide. Crazy athlete - Becahi had a lot of good players in that late 90s, early 00s era, but he was the star of the show (and the most painful Easton transfer ever, because he KILLED us). He was a NQ academically, so went to junior college out in California where he had something like 10 kick return touchdowns and was a JUCO all American. Had a bunch of power 5 offers, but just kind of disappeared after that one season. Last I heard he was coaching high school out in California.
 
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I know this question is probably directed towards past teams, but if I had to name a team off of the top of my head for this year? Gateway. It's probably a very controversial answer, but they lost to Franklin Regional and only beat Plum by two tonight.
 
I know this question is probably directed towards past teams, but if I had to name a team off of the top of my head for this year? Gateway. It's probably a very controversial answer, but they lost to Franklin Regional and only beat Plum by two tonight.
i don't know why expectations were high for them

Terry Smith alone had at least 5 Gateway teams with much higher expectations only to disappoint
 
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