Ok Harrisburg
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Fletch & Relayer -
I'm seeing it's 28-0 in favor of St. Joseph's Prepatory School with five minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Oh boy.
I'm seeing it's 28-0 in favor of St. Joseph's Prepatory School with five minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Oh boy.
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I'll speak for myself and not for all associated with SJP. I agree that there is much less satisfaction than if the opposition were near to the quality of ML last year, PR in 2014 and 2017 or PCC in 2013 and 2016. Do others think the PR team that played last night would make it a much better game--same for Bishop McDevitt?
All those motion penalties against Harrisburg speak to coaching. The Prep's d-line always does that switching, so the fact that Harrisburg has drawn half a dozen motion penalties just tells me they weren't prepared. This is not a knock against the players.
Do you think Harrisburg would be competitive against any of the best large school teams (public or private) from Ohio? I don't think they would be against the New York City public school champion (Erasmus Hall) that the Prep beat by 7 early in the year.
Prep should be playing Bergen Catholic, who is the best team in Jersey and smoked Don Bosco Prep in their final. Make it a Mid-Atlantic championship game. I would watch, and maybe even attend.
LMFAO. Last week everyone was saying the same thing about the District One schools.
Hats off to the Prep, they are well coached, but when you put together a collection of players like this, there is not one public school in PA that can compete with this.
When the D1 champ gets obliterated in the Eastern Final next year, the Prep apologists will say "you need to up your game"-but the reality is there might be a public school once or twice a decade that has a team capable of beating them. Nobody is making excuses, that's just the truth.
Let's stop saying public schools can beat the Prep-it happened last year with a team of prominently freshman and sophomore star players who had four turnovers, and a public school team that was special.
I thought if DT East won D1 they might have a style of play capable of hanging with the Prep. Watching them the last two weeks, East would have been mercy ruled at halftime as well.
The level of talent they have amassed is something no public school can compete with.
Lol my comment was sarcastic. Harrisburg probably did work very hard. Unfortunately hard work isn’t going to beat a superteam
After watching this compelling game, I don’t understand why Penn State does not play Muhlenberg? Open Enrollment or schollies is only one advantage. It’s mostly just coaching.
What about TEP?
What do you mean by "open enrollment"? No boundaries? TEP has all of Philly to draw from--and lots and lots of D1 players--and look how they do in state championships. As for scholarships, the only team on the field tonight where all the players attend tuition-free is Harrisburg.
LOL - every kid in public school is on scholarship. SJP is a choice Why? Again - facilities? location? education? opportunity? coaching? …. Expectations are set high …. Show me any other school that trains at 5am every day throughout the summer …. Parents prefer choice and options, something that the public school systems should consider as it is in other states. The pool of players is shrinking, they will look for better options to improve their game and they will choose an option that can push them further. Frankly, I think a NJ, PA, MD super league would be great, but that’s not happening so it’s PIAA for now. PIAA courted the PCL hard - frankly it has been the best league in the state for a long time and now everyone knows it.
A disappointing call … not sure if there was something on the field level to illicit that
Great coaching, great players They are a machine and fun to watch.
A better example would be comparing st Joe's to Imhoteps backetball program. St Joe's never has to rebuild year nor will ever have too. They have the funding and can pull from a large talent pool. They bring the talent in. You can't really justify this. Tulla do you really think st Joe's doesn't have unfair advantage? Come on now! IMO They can beat any team in the country next year. Including img, mater dei, and st Francis. They never have to rebuild! Ive heard this team has anywhere from 25-28 D1 kids from guys that cover eastern pa football.
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Pay attention, clearly it’s the 5AM summer training program that separates them from the plebes in the public schools.
I think people should take a wider view--and remember that just a year ago lots of people on here were expressing their delight in Mount Lebanon's victory.
We'll get to see SJP and IMG at the start of next season. Whether SJP will be as good as those other teams is a question we won't really be able to answer. But by saying SJP is like IMG is to overlook a few key differences: IMG takes students from all over the country (which they can do because students board on their campus while all SJP students have to be within commuting distance from SJP). Also, SJP has higher academic standards; some students who want to go there and play football don't get admitted for academic reasons and some top players (e.g., Heard and James) have left because SJP wouldn't bend a rule about what students have to do in order to graduate if they want to go off to college early. Plus, IMG plays all over the country throughout the season. You can imagine what that does to everything related to their academic program.
No one in their right mind would deny that being able to enroll students from all over the Delaware Valley is a major advantage for the Prep. But it's interesting to note that a fair number of students/players are travelling even longer distances (e.g. from Vineland, Sicklerville, and Williamstown New Jersey and from Perkasie and Collegeville Pennsylvania) than was at all common ten years ago or so. They and their families are making big sacrifices to do this. And all of the families are paying more than they would if their sons were attending a public school, and, as Roxy notes, no one can say it's at all easy to travel such distances for school and practice. (Maybe having to make the sacrifice/commitment has something to do with the team's success.)
Tonight's game was a mismatch. But people should remember that earlier this season the Prep beat a NYC public school by just seven points--in Philly. And surely anyone looking at that game tonight would have to say that Harrisburg was far inferior not just to Mount Lebanon last year but to PR in 2014 and 2017, to PCC in 2013, 2016, and 2019, to Coatesville in 2017, to North Penn in 2016 and probably even to Harrisburg in 2018. Does anyone really want to say that the fact that this was very much a down year for 6A football in PA--in all parts of the state--is the fault of SJP?
Do you mean plebs?
The sacrifices players (and their families) make no doubt have some part in the Prep's success. The quality of the coaching is another big factor. This isn't to say coaches elsewhere aren't dedicated or skilled but that Prep staff is exceptional. As well, the program's success draws players and parents to it, especially in the light of other changes/trends (the much earlier recruitment of players by colleges, the decline in the numbers of hs students playing football, the exposure they can get from playing for SJP, the range of colleges SJP players go to, etc.).
Sad thing about this isn't that Harrisburg lost but that we had this conversation last year, the years before that, and we'll have it again next year.
In the interim, we all know who will be favored to win next year's title. More disappointingly, we all know who WILL win the 6A title barring unprecedented influences. We know it's going to be SJP.
I get that that can be exhilarating, stringing together consecutive titles. But don't get how that's exciting knowing you're going to win next year's title this year with (typically) little competition.
It goes against my competitive nature which isn't to say don't "bring it on" against the local bully. Let's play! But it can't have the competitive spirit and fire beyond a few series (a few swings with that analogy) if you're flat out getting your ass kicked from the opening bell.
I won't bore everyone with the oft repeated advantages/disadvantages we all understand. But I'll ask a simply question of, how can any of this be exciting or what the PIAA or any agency governing HS sports set out to create?
In the interim, we all know who will be favored to win next year's title. More disappointingly, we all know who WILL win the 6A title barring unprecedented influences. We know it's going to be SJP.
I get that that can be exhilarating, stringing together consecutive titles. But don't get how that's exciting knowing you're going to win next year's title this year with (typically) little competition.
It goes against my competitive nature which isn't to say don't "bring it on" against the local bully. Let's play! But it can't have the competitive spirit and fire beyond a few series (a few swings with that analogy) if you're flat out getting your ass kicked from the opening bell.
I won't bore everyone with the oft repeated advantages/disadvantages we all understand. But I'll ask a simply question of, how can any of this be exciting or what the PIAA or any agency governing HS sports set out to create?
I don’t fault SJP. They play by the rules. They can be beat but not often. I think maybe it’s the thrill of the chase for a select few programs that would have a shot to beat them.
One simple thing that would work is to apply the “play-up” criteria to 6A as well. If there is no competition in the 7A super class, so be it.
That would possibly put SJP in a difficult scheduling problem, but maybe allow them play through the state finals in a regular schedule. I have always liked the idea of a mid-Atlantic super conference with St Ed’s, St I’s, PCC with new coach, maybe ECP, SJP, maybe LaSalle, DC schools and NJ schools all playing some sort of annual “schedule”.
Bring up national teams like IMG as well. Would be some really good football.
Not a solution, but something fun to think about.
One simple thing that would work is to apply the “play-up” criteria to 6A as well. If there is no competition in the 7A super class, so be it.
That would possibly put SJP in a difficult scheduling problem, but maybe allow them play through the state finals in a regular schedule. I have always liked the idea of a mid-Atlantic super conference with St Ed’s, St I’s, PCC with new coach, maybe ECP, SJP, maybe LaSalle, DC schools and NJ schools all playing some sort of annual “schedule”.
Bring up national teams like IMG as well. Would be some really good football.
Not a solution, but something fun to think about.
Its evident that The prep continues to improve while most of the rest of the state is declining. Not all ,but most.Thats not Preps fault. It was mentioned numerous times that harrisburg only had 38 players while the Prep had 85. Again, thats not on the Prep .
I’m guessing they could start their workouts at 5pm, or skip them altogether and the score would be similar. It’s the Jimmies and the Joes, not the Xs and Os.
Well said rover. It seems that its prep in football and Neumann and Imhotep in basketball. It used to be Kennedy Catholic in basketball as well. No one wants to see it and anyone with half a brain knows what these schools are doing. I have no issues with catholic schools participating. School like Allentown central Catholic, bishop mcdevitt, and Pittsburgh central Catholic have rebuilding years and can be beat. Schools like prep that have the backing, funding, and can pool from the talent pool they can never have to rebuild or will ever have an off year. Its a super all star team. The problem I have with prep is allowing them to participate in the Piaa playoffs. They should be like img. Play a national schedule against teams like yourself. Not beating up on public schools in the playoffs. I think SJP with what they have returning will be the best team in the country next year.
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What do you mean by "schools like prep have the funding"? Nobody is paid to come to the Prep and the families of all the students at the Prep, including those of football players, spend much more money to send their sons to the Prep (even if all their tuition is covered) than if they sent them to the local public school.
The Prep will never play a "national schedule" like IMG does. IMG recruits from all over the U.S. and nearly all the players live at the school. Playing a national schedule also means organizing an academic program around a sports schedule, The Prep won't do that.
By funding I mean alumni and the school dump a lot of $ into the football program. I get it prep will pay to send their team out to California to play top teams on espn. What kid wouldn't want to play on espn. Img does recruit from all over the country and prep will be better then them next year IMO so what's that tell you. Prep grabs players from a pretty wide area. You yourself said how far prep students travel. They are one of the top teams in the entire country every year. Prep football is equivalent to Imhotep in basketball. They never have down years or will ever have to rebuild. They bring in top talent to replace top talent. Tulla do you think it's fair that prep participates in the Piaa playoffs and if so I would like to know why?
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