Pennlive Final 2021 FB Rankings....all classes.

[Stalker]

Pennsylvania high school football final 2021 rankings​

Updated: Dec. 14, 2021, 5:15 a.m. | Published: Dec. 14, 2021, 5:15 a.m.

By Eric F. Epler | eepler@pennlive.com
Another engaging high school football season in Pennsylvania is finished, and four of the six PIAA champions hailed from the mighty WPIAL.

Mount Lebanon (6A) and Penn-Trafford (5A) were first-team winners, helping to bring District 7′s total haul to 54 titles since the inaugural class of 1988.

Below is PennLive’s final set of state rankings, sponsored by Renewal by Andersen of Central Pa. Teams are listed with district, record and previous rank. NR-not ranked.

CLASS 6A	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1. Mount Lebanon (7)	15-0	1
2. St. Joseph’s Prep (12)	11-3	2
3. Garnet Valley (1)	14-1	3
4. Bethlehem Freedom (11)	11-2	4
5. Quakertown (1)	13-1	5
6. State College (6)	8-6	6
7. Harrisburg (3)	12-2	7
8. Coatesville (1)	12-2	8
9. McDowell (10)	9-3	9
10. La Salle College HS (12)	9-2	10
Honorable mention: Central York (3) 10-1, Northampton (11) 12-1, North Penn (1) 11-1, Pittsburgh C.C. (7) 9-3, Ridley (11) 11-2, Wilson-West Lawn (3) 9-4.

CLASS 5A	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1. Penn-Trafford (7)	13-2	2
2. Imhotep Charter (12)	11-2	1
3. Exeter Township (3)	10-4	3
4. Strath Haven (1)	13-2	4
5. Governor Mifflin (3)	10-1	5
6. Moon (7)	12-1	6
7. West Chester Rustin (1)	11-2	7
8. Cathedral Prep (10)	11-2	8
9. Cedar Cliff (3)	10-3	9
10. Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1)	10-2	10
Honorable mention: Academy Park (1) 9-3, Manheim Central (3) 9-2, Shippensburg (3) 11-1, Spring Grove (3) 10-2, Unionville (1) 10-2.

CLASS 4A	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1. Aliquippa (7)	13-1	2
2. Bishop McDevitt (3)	12-2	1
3. Jersey Shore (4)	14-1	3
4. Bishop Shanahan (1)	11-4	4
5. Belle Vernon (7)	10-1	5
6. Lampeter-Strasburg (3)	11-2	6
7. Valley View (2)	12-2	7
8. Thomas Jefferson (7)	8-3	8
9. McKeesport (7)	9-3	9
10. Meadville (10)	9-4	10
Honorable mention: Allentown C.C. (11) 9-4, Berks Catholic (3) 7-5, Hampton (7) 11-1, Juniata (6) 10-3, North Pocono (2) 10-3, Northwestern Lehigh (11) 11-1.

CLASS 3A	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1. Central Valley (7)	15-0	1
2. Wyomissing (3)	15-1	2
3. Central Martinsburg (6)	14-1	3
4. Scranton Prep (2)	11-1	4
5. Neumann-Goretti (12)	12-2	5
6. North Catholic (7)	12-1	6
7. Bedford (5)	10-2	7
8. Grove City (10)	10-3	8
9. North Schuylkill (11)	11-2	9
10. Wyoming Area (2)	10-2	10
Honorable mention: Avonworth (7) 9-3, Boiling Springs (3) 11-2, Danville (4) 8-5, Lakeland (2) 10-1, Slippery Rock (10) 7-2.

CLASS 2A	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1. Southern Columbia (4)	15-1	1
2. Serra Catholic (7)	14-2	2
3. Farrell (10)	11-1	3
4. Sto-Rox (7)	12-1	6
5. Richland Township (6)	11-3	5
6. Karns City (9)	11-2	7
7. Laurel (7)	11-1	9
8. Northern Lehigh (11)	11-4	4
9. Mount Carmel (4)	10-3	NR
10. York Catholic (3)	11-1	10
Honorable mention: Beaver Falls (7) 9-4, Steel Valley (7) 11-1, West Catholic (12) 4-7, Westinghouse (8) 10-2, Windber (5) 10-1.

CLASS 1A	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1. Bishop Guilfoyle (6)	11-4	2
2. Redbank Valley (9)	13-2	1
3. Canton (4)	13-1	3
4. Old Forge (2)	11-1	4
5. Bishop Canevin (7)	13-2	5
6. Juniata Valley (6)	10-2	6
7. Steelton-Highspire (3)	8-3	7
8. Northern Bedford (5)	9-4	8
9. Our Lady of Sacred Heart (7)	9-4	9
10. Williams Valley (11)	9-3	10
Honorable mention: Cornell (7) 9-2, Homer-Center (6) 8-4, Muncy (4) 10-2, Rochester (7) 9-3, Tri-Valley (11) 9-2.

 

[newport]

They finally gave LaSalle some respect and moved them from HM allllllllll the way up to #10 😂😂🤦‍♂️

 

[Stalker]

They finally gave LaSalle some respect and moved them from HM allllllllll the way up to #10 😂😂🤦‍♂️

Right newport. And the LS team I saw at McDevitt (21-0) months ago would stomp hell out of almost all the team rated above them, and that was without Abdul Carter and Sam Brown.

 

[Hausmann1978]

Right newport. And the LS team I saw at McDevitt (21-0) months ago would stomp hell out of almost all the team rated above them, and that was without Abdul Carter and Sam Brown.

These rankings are horrible. LaSalle should be #3. They have wins over 3 teams that made it to Hershey. How is McKeesport # 9 it took Aliquippa OT to beat them and they beat Thomas Jefferson. They should be top 5 as well.

 

[not_a_fan]

These rankings are a little questionable...how does a 6 loss State College team end up ranked let alone ranked ahead of teams like LaSalle, Harrisburg, Coatesville, and Central York? Lazy to rank teams simply based on who lost later in the playoffs.

 

[newport]

Stalk.... what would a top 10 by the numbers look like? I would imagine LaSalle would be in the top half. Not only did they beat ICS and BMcD, they made both of those offenses look very very average. Giving up only 6 points between the 2 is pretty remarkable

 

[Stalker]

Stalk.... what would a top 10 by the numbers look like? I would imagine LaSalle would be in the top half. Not only did they beat ICS and BMcD, they made both of those offenses look very very average. Giving up only 6 points between the 2 is pretty remarkable

I'll work on that and get back to you. In the reg sea I do it for the games involved that week (if info available) so I don't have for example, Pitt CC's or Cathedral Prep's #, but can work on it.
Will make a reasonable selection of top 20 some teams and get at it.....or can use Pennlive's Top 10 and see what developes.

Also, my numbers for playoffs were so so (qtrs, semi, final) going 26-10.

 

[Stalker]

Stalk.... what would a top 10 by the numbers look like? I would imagine LaSalle would be in the top half. Not only did they beat ICS and BMcD, they made both of those offenses look very very average. Giving up only 6 points between the 2 is pretty remarkable

Newport….here’s how it shook out. I used all of PL’s teams including HM (16 teams) then found other likely candidates like Parkland, CD East, Seneca Valley and others to see were they’d fall resulting in a Top 20. It doesn’t always make sense (Central York over Wilson, Quakertown over Garnet Valley) but here it is. Counted all games (playoffs) for a year ending PR. End of the day it's just an indicator, something I mess with.

1 Mount Lebanon 15-0
2 St. Joseph’s Prep 11-3
3 LaSalle 9-2
4 Central York 10-1
5 Quakertown 13-1
6 Freedom 11-2
7 North Penn 11-1
8 Pitt CC 9-3
9 Harrisburg 12-2
10 Garnet Valley 14-1
11 Coatesville 12-2
12 Ridley 12-2
13 Wilson 9-4
14 Downingtown East 9-3
15 Northampton 12-1
16 McDowell 9-3
17 State College 8-6
18 Parkland 9-2
19 Central Dauphin East 7-4
20 Emmaus 9-4

 

[newport]

As always Stalker, amazing work. I'm sure this top 3 is what most would agree on

 

[Stalker]

As always Stalker, amazing work. I'm sure this top 3 is what most would agree on

Keeps me out of the bars newport. But wow, the top 3 teams were extra-ordinary in many categories....but I'm sure others could make a case for the 3 spot. Here are some notes (some editing) from compiling the Top 20 relative to top 3.

Mount Lebanon:
HUGE win margins, beating all by 3 scores or more except St. Joes by 18 and North Allegheny by 11. Add in wins against Pitt CC by 21 and 40 and it starts to add up. And you can connect the dots (linkage games) involving Pitt CC narrow loss to Imhotep, 12-6. Ditto St. Joseph’s awesome non-conference schedule, linking to LaSalle, etc.
St. Joseph’s:
The math put the Hawks 2.74 points ahead of LaSalle per extended playoff run vs quality (Freedom, G-Val, Lebo), although the two split this year. Before the playoffs, LaSalle was ahead in points with regular season wins against Bishop McDevitt (12-2), Imhotep (11-2) and Malvern Prep (8-2), edging SJP’s top 3 of Milton-GA (13-2), Gonzaga-DC (5-6) and Middletown-DE (11-1).
Looking at St. Joe’s ledger, Milton lost in the 7A final to Collins Hill (15-0) 24-8, quarterbacked by #9 Sam Horn, #9-247Sports, Class of 2022-Mizzou commit. Middletown won the 3A crown (big schools) beating Smyrna 28-22 (again) while Gonzaga (Washington Catholic Association-Capital Division) had an off year for them losing to St. Joe’s, AB Spalding, DeMatha, OLGC and St. John’s twice, their first losing season since 2008. Didn’t count St. Mary’s Ryken (6-6) of the weaker WACC-Metro Division. But they did come on after a 1-5 start (lost to Hawks 40-0) upsetting AB Carroll (13-1) in the final 24-12.
LaSalle:
Looked like world beaters opening with wins against McDevitt of Harrisburg, Malvern Prep, Imhotep, Haverford School, McDonogh-MD and St. Joseph’s before getting stunned by Roman (3-7) 27-20. Follow up wins against Judge, Wood and Roman by a combined score of 117-14 said they recovered. Re-matched with St. Joe’s who won 5 straight despite quarterback Samaj Jones missing 3 (Judge, Wood, LS). Hawk’s crushed LaSalle 35-7 in rematch, holding them to 175 total yards of offense to SJ 233 on ground. That devastated LS’s ratings topped off by the Hawks doing well against post season comp beating Northeast, Freedom and Garnet Valley before the Mount Lebanon loss.
**** McDevitt and Imhotep won runner-up silver trophies in Hershey while Malvern won the Inter-Ac title with narrow losses to LaSalle 10-7 and AB Spalding-MD (10-1, MIAA-A runner up).

 

[RoverNation05]

I go back and forth on how good I think the Born Index is, but here is what they have for 6A
1. Mount Lebanon
2. St. Joseph's Prep
3. LaSalle
4. Pittsburgh Central Catholic
5. Garnet Valley
6. Freedom
7. Harrisburg
8. North Allegheny
9. Central York
10. Archbishop Wood
11. Seneca Valley
12. Quakertown
13. Wilson West Lawn
14. Coatesville
15. Carlisle
16. North Penn
17. Emmaus
18. Parkland
19. State College
20. Erie McDowell

 

[Stalker]

I go back and forth on how good I think the Born Index is, but here is what they have for 6A
1. Mount Lebanon
2. St. Joseph's Prep
3. LaSalle
4. Pittsburgh Central Catholic
5. Garnet Valley
6. Freedom
7. Harrisburg
8. North Allegheny
9. Central York
10. Archbishop Wood
11. Seneca Valley
12. Quakertown
13. Wilson West Lawn
14. Coatesville
15. Carlisle
16. North Penn
17. Emmaus
18. Parkland
19. State College
20. Erie McDowell

I forget them until someone mentions them then think they're bottom line not bad. Certainly more professional than mine with more data and technology to sift through things. I plunk away at stats I can find online such as box scores then take a stab at creativity.
Interesting though. Thanks for posting as I forgot being D3 centric that Wood was 6A. I'll do my thing there and see where they fall.

 

[RoverNation05]

I think by the end of the year they're pretty accurate - they phase out data from the previous year over the course of the season, so at the beginning of the year they are really skewed. I don't think they're worth looking at until closer to playoff time, but then I think you can make some good assumptions from them.

 

[Stalker]

I think by the end of the year they're pretty accurate - they phase out data from the previous year over the course of the season, so at the beginning of the year they are really skewed. I don't think they're worth looking at until closer to playoff time, but then I think you can make some good assumptions from them.

I'll have to start checking them out like I did a few years ago. Still working on Wood.

 

[Stalker]

I think by the end of the year they're pretty accurate - they phase out data from the previous year over the course of the season, so at the beginning of the year they are really skewed. I don't think they're worth looking at until closer to playoff time, but then I think you can make some good assumptions from them.

Newport and Rover. In my rush to respond to Newport on rankings I messed up, forgetting to factor in AB Wood, Carlisle and I also miscalculated North Allegheny. Here’s some of the info/numbers used for the tabulations on those 3 plus a few more making it a Top 25.

** AB Wood (5-5). Had a win v Neumann Goretti (13-2) 28-6 and a competitive loss to St. Joe’s 17-14 in playoffs. Otherwise they lost to quality opponents by a combined score of 117-20; Malvern (8-2) 21-0, St. Johns (11-0) 38-0, SJP (11-3) 38-20 (regular season) and LaSalle (9-2) 20-0. All others (Nesh, Chelt, FJ and RC….17-27 W/L) where routed 156-34. They would make the Top 20 at #16 behind Northampton per the math. No personal inputs.
** North Allegheny (7-5.) Did a double take seeing where Born Power Index had them then double checked my math to see an error calculating. Had one quality win and losses to Pitt CC, Pickerington Cent-OH, Lebo x 2 and Seneca Val, although they played Lebo tough, 28-17, in the Wpial semi. The win was 20-16 vs Mentor-OH (5-6), a perennial Ohio power (102-27 last 10) with their worst record since 2005 (5-5) and 2, 3, 3, 4 point losses this year. Rest of schedule consisting of Pitt Allderdice (4-6), Baldwin (2-8), Norwin (4-6), Canon McMillan (4-7) and Hempfield (2-8) were defeated by the average score of 42-16. Came in at 18th. (Miscalculated Mentor’s PR)
** Carlisle (7-4). Had quality wins on road against State College (8-6) 21-14 and CD East (7-4) 28-20 with losses to Cumberland Valley (5-5) 27-24, Harrisburg (12-2) 34-14 and 36-7 and Central Dauphin (5-3) 24-21. Came in 19th.

Here are 5 more teams making it a Top 25.
** Parkland (9-2). Dumb me, I thought this was the 6A rep out of D-11. Had quality wins against Easton (6-4) 24-21, Nazareth (7-4) 43-40, Freedom (11-2) 19-15, East Stroudsburg South (9-4) 43-24, Emmaus (9-4) 25-14, losing to Allen CC (9-4) 14-7 and Emmaus (9-4) 21-14 in playoffs. District 11 was similar to District 3 this year with parity ruling. Came in 21st.
** Central Dauphin East (7-4). Challenging schedule, with wins against Warwick (6-5) 28-21, Cedar Cliff (10-3) 20-7, State College (8-6) 34-13, CV (5-5) 17-10, CD (5-3) 31-14, losing to Manheim Township (6-5) 24-21, Harrisburg (12-2) 25-20, Carlisle (7-4) 28-20, Hempfield (7-5) 35-2. Came in 22nd.
** Emmaus (9-4). Hecky-jerky season like Easton, splitting with the best teams in the district, Parkland and Freedom, and beating Nazareth twice. Beat Freedom 13-6, Naz 35-7 and 20-19 in playoffs and Parkland 21-14 with quality losses to Allen CC 21-0, Easton 17-13, Parkland 25-14 and Freedom 28-14. Finished 23rd.
** Perkiomen Valley (9-3). One quality win vs Spg-Fd (6-5) 28-22 who did a good impersonation of Easton, CD East, Pennridge et al with tough losses (parity!) to Coatesville (12-2) x 2, 35-27, 35-30 and Manheim Central (9-2) 43-40, another toss-up game. Finished 24th.
** CB West (9-3). Only quality wins were Pennridge x 2, 28-24, 19-17 with losses to Coatesville 35-14, North Penn 28-14, GVal 41-13. Came in 25th.tied with Pennridge.
TIE
** Pennridge (7-5). No quality wins but an inordinate number of quality, narrow losses to Downingtown West 14-7, North Penn 21-14, CB West x 2, 28-24, 19-17 and Quakertown 21-0. Reverse those 4 (minus Qtown Turkey game) and they’re 11-0 entering the playoffs. Ended tied with CB West at 25th. A lot of points for competitiveness but you’ve got to win some of those games!

Adjusted Rankings of 12-20-21 (what the math says)
1 Mount Lebanon 15-0
2 St. Joseph’s Prep 11-3
3 LaSalle 9-2
4 Central York 10-1
5 Quakertown 13-1
6 Freedom 11-2
7 North Penn 11-1
8 Pitt CC 9-3
9 Harrisburg 12-2
10 Garnet Valley 14-1
11 Coatesville 12-2
12 Ridley 12-2
13 Wilson 9-4
14 Downingtown East 9-3
15 Northampton 12-1
16 Archbishop Wood 5-5
17 McDowell 9-3
18 North Allegheny 7-5
19 Carlisle 7-4
20 State College 8-6
21 Parkland 9-2
22 Central Dauphin East 7-4
23 Emmaus 9-4
24 Perkiomen Valley 9-3
25 Central Bucks West 9-3
TIE
25 Pennridge 7-5