Power Ratings 4A
District 12 champ vs District 2 champ
Imhotep Charter 9-2 vs Valley View 13-0….15.04 Imhotep Charter
Nice win by Imhotep Charter School getting their fourth shutout of the year, defeating Cardinal O’Hara (7-4) 20-0, holding the Lions to 110 total yards. ICS got just enough from running backs Tykee Smith at 86 yards, Saint McLeod’s 84 and Qb Jalen Sutton-Christian completing 12 of 18 passes for 133 yards to get their eighth straight win since losing to St. Joseph Regional 14-8 on Sept 8th. Valley View got a wake-up call when Dallas (11-2) scored on their first possession, taking a 7-0 lead. That was all Valley needed as they went on a scoring binge, hitting pay dirt on their next seven possessions to blow Dallas out of the playoffs 49-14. VV attacks with a quick scat back in Mason Kordish at 5-8, 135 pounds who’s darted for 1666 yards behind a massive O-Line, averaging 6-1 ½, 264 pounds. Qb Janaasah Boone is a double threat, passing for 1014 yards and rushing for 720. ICS beat them last year 41-0. Because they don’t get out of Dodge too often, it’s hard getting a handle on them. Sight unseen, linking up some other games says they’re above teams like Wyoming Valley West, East Stroudsburg South and Delaware Valley as examples. Only allowed 120 points, beat a solid Scanton Prep (12-1) team 27-15 who beat Dunmore 30-0 who just lost to West Catholic 21-3 which may give a hint here.
District 11 champ vs District 1, 4 champ
Bethlehem Catholic 10-3 vs Pottsgrove 12-2….18.74 Bethlehem Catholic
Bethlehem Catholic responded to an early 14-7 deficit to Saucon Valley (10-3), chipping away to get a 24-14 halftime lead then poured it on, scoring 49 unanswered points in a runaway 73-14 win. SV’s defense has been suspect all year but 73 points!? Tavion Banks rushed for 122 yards with Qb Zamar Brake completing 9 of 11 for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. Beca’s a load when they get it going as evidenced by their 50-49 shootout loss to Emmaus 5 weeks ago. And after the EPC-South wars, playoff games against Blue Mountain, Pottsville and SV must seem like a walk in the park. Pottsgrove defeated Jersey Shore (7-6) 14-10, running all over them for 314 yards to the Bulldogs 40. Isaiah Taylor gashed JS for 180 yards on 31 carries. This is the same Jersey Shore team that lost to Mount Carmel 47-7 and Southern Columbia 62-7 to give you some comparisons as there are no PAC teams of equivalent stature to Bethlehem Catholic.
District 3 Final
Bishop McDevitt 11-1 vs Berks Catholic 10-2….1.60 Berks Catholic
McDevitt raced out to a 33-0 lead at the half behind the pinpoint passing of Chase Diehl who tagged Conrad Weiser’s defense for 377 yards passing and five touchdowns. Weiser did a good job on CJ Ryes Diggs, holding him to 58 yards on ten carries. But that’s the only bright spot with Diehl taking advantage over the top. McDevitt’s defense held the Scouts to 80 yards rushing and eight first downs. Junk time saw them score 13 fourth quarter points as the Crusaders prevailed 40-16. They’ll play Berks Catholic who beat Milton Hershey (10-2) last week 49-21. They also beat McDevitt last year 45-24 to add some spice to this one. BC was way too much against the Spartans, leading 42-7 at the half, holding them to 46 yards rushing and 204 unproductive yards passing. Abdul MacFoy (Wilson transfer) led them with 80 yards on 9 carries with Brandon George adding 74 on 10 attempts. The stat check had McDevitt almost swamping BC until factoring in schedule difficulty where the Saints closed the gap by at least a touchdown, playing teams like Central Dauphin (9-4) 0-7 loss, McDonogh-MD (3-6) 14-13 and Malvern Prep (11-0) 32-42. McDonogh is a great example how misleading a record can be, knowing they opened the season with Archbishop Wood, Berks Catholic and Malvern Prep, before progressing to Archbishop Spalding (7-3), Mt. St. Joseph (10-2), St Vincent-St. Mary-OH (7-3) and Calvert Hall (11-1).
District 6/8/9/10 champ vs District 7 champ
Cathedral Prep 10-3 vs South Fayette 12-1….5.64 South Fayette
Cathedral Prep pounced on slower Clearfield getting a 35-12 lead at the half that ballooned to 55-21 by games end as the Bison’s undefeated season came to a close at 12-1. Qb Connor Schleicher was on target completing 9 of 15 for 232 to big Jack Oedekoven (6-4, 185, jr) who snagged three for 153 yards. Their leading rusher Billy Lucas, rushed 186 yards, bringing his season total to 1322. ECP lit into the Bison for 570 total yards (338r 232p), while holding them to 264. They’ll face South Fayette in the quarterfinal following the Lions upset of previously undefeated Thomas Jefferson 31-24. But hey, South Fayette’s only loss was their opener to Upper St. Clair (8-3) by a point so how much of an upset was it? Weird game with TJ outdistancing them 427 to 276, and Max Shaw bashing them for 214 yards on 41 carries. But the D was there when needed forcing TJ to go 17.79 yards to get a single point, while they only had to go 8.9 with a more efficient offense. Lion’s Qb Jamie Diven completed 12 of 22 passes for 252 yards and 3 scores to be a thorn in TJ’s side throughout the game. Cathedral is on a historic run, defending their 4A title after beating TJ 42-17, Berks Catholic 42-24 and Imhotep 38-28 last year going 14-0. In 2016 they also won the title at 14-0 defeating the same three teams, TJ 30-13, Berks 28-14 and Imhotep 27-20. The year before that in 2015 they lost in the final to Imhotep’s great team 40-3, with the Panthers finishing 15-0. Regardless of power ratings, recent history says the WPIAL can’t keep up with Cathedral. The game is at Veterans Stadium in Erie!
Power Ratings 3A
District 1/11/12 champ vs District 3 champ
Conwell Egan 13-0 vs Middletown 11-1….6.25 Conwell Egan
Conwell Egan overcame a powerful team from North Schuylkill (11-2) in a hard fought game winning 28-14. The Spartans came in with notable wins against Mount Carmel, Jim Thorpe, Pottsville and Notre Dame, but couldn’t get it going against CEC’s defense that held them to 74 total yards! Pat Garwo was unstoppable as ever, rushing for 150 yards, breaking the 2000 yard mark with a season total of 2024 yards. They simply had too many weapons. Apart from Garwo, there’s quarterback Alex Golsby throwing for 1135 yards and rushing for 591. Plus Terome Mitchel with 501 yards and Dajuan Harris at 499 yards. That will be enough to have them far more competitive with a Middletown team that throttled them 49-7 last year. CEC is a different team this year, averaging 41ppg as opposed to 30 last year. Defensively, they’re significantly improved, allowing 14ppg compared to 25 last year. Middletown comes out statistically similar as last year’s team scoring 40 a game allowing 14. They’re still a bad ass physical team that gets after you defensively like last week, holding Bermudian Springs to 61 rush yards to their 289 in a 42-20 rout. Jose Lopez at 210 yards on 24 carries and Richie Sykes with 76 yards on 16 carries are their primary weapons. Senior Scott Ash is under center, throwing effectively as needed, completing 6 of 12 for 136 yards against Bermudian Springs last week. North Schuylkill was good prep being a physical hard hitting team. But they lack Middletown’s backfield speed. The game is at Milton Hershey High, essentially a home game for the Raiders where it should be a war that CEC can win.
District 2 champ vs District 4 champ
Scranton Prep 12-1 vs Montoursville 11-2….7.19 Scranton Prep
The Cavaliers had no trouble with a Lakeland (9-4) team that was simply outmanned. Earlier in the year Prep handled the Chiefs 44-12, with this one getting just as ugly with Prep prevailing 47-19. They are led by dual threat Qb Leo O’Boyle (6-7, 220!), OT/DE Dan Berlardi (6-3, 270), C/DT T.J. Holmes (6-3, 260), FB/LB Tucker Johnson, DB/WR Carter O’Dell and DB/WR Michael Greco. They score 38ppg with a defense allowing 8ppg and have five shutouts. They’ll play Montoursville who beat Danville 32-0 for their third shutout of the season. So both play defense, Montoursville allowing 13ppg with both supported by powerful offenses, where the Warriors are averaging 35 points a game. Scranton Prep often has more than Heartland Conference teams (Loyalsock, Danville, Jersey City) excepting Mount Carmel and Southern Columbia, but Montoursville is a scrappy bunch, beating good stuff from Lewisburg and Danville their last two games.
District 10 champ vs District 5/6/8/9 champ
Sharon 9-3 vs Bald Eagle 11-1….3.07 Sharon
Sharon turned it on last week taking down a previously unbeaten Grove City (11-1) team, the same Grove City who routed them 42-9 five weeks ago. What a reversal, beating them last week 23-6. Jordan Wilson (5-10, 215, 1734 yards) did most of the damage, rushing for 134 yards on 30 carries. Qb Lane Voytik (6-1, 200) has 2558 yards at 64%, throwing mostly to C.J. Parchman (6-4, 215) who has 65 receptions for 978 yards. Their defense was stout, holding the Eagles to 72 rushing yards. The opponent this week is Bald Eagle who beat Bedford (6-6) 35-14. They have a dangerous quarterback in diminutive Jaden Jones at 5-10, 148 pounds who is a dual threat, completing 11 of 16 for 194 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jones threw for 2818 yards at 59% with a ratio of 31-16. Blake Roberts rushed for 102 yards on 19 carries. Their 5 primary receivers have from 18 to 46 receptions each for 2495 yards with losses coming against Bellefonte (9-3) 10-9 and Clearfield (12-1) 42-7. BA is essentially home playing in Altoona where they’ll attempt to counter Sharon’s size and quickness.
District 7 champ Aliquippa 12-1….bye
District 12 champ vs District 2 champ
Imhotep Charter 9-2 vs Valley View 13-0….15.04 Imhotep Charter
Nice win by Imhotep Charter School getting their fourth shutout of the year, defeating Cardinal O’Hara (7-4) 20-0, holding the Lions to 110 total yards. ICS got just enough from running backs Tykee Smith at 86 yards, Saint McLeod’s 84 and Qb Jalen Sutton-Christian completing 12 of 18 passes for 133 yards to get their eighth straight win since losing to St. Joseph Regional 14-8 on Sept 8th. Valley View got a wake-up call when Dallas (11-2) scored on their first possession, taking a 7-0 lead. That was all Valley needed as they went on a scoring binge, hitting pay dirt on their next seven possessions to blow Dallas out of the playoffs 49-14. VV attacks with a quick scat back in Mason Kordish at 5-8, 135 pounds who’s darted for 1666 yards behind a massive O-Line, averaging 6-1 ½, 264 pounds. Qb Janaasah Boone is a double threat, passing for 1014 yards and rushing for 720. ICS beat them last year 41-0. Because they don’t get out of Dodge too often, it’s hard getting a handle on them. Sight unseen, linking up some other games says they’re above teams like Wyoming Valley West, East Stroudsburg South and Delaware Valley as examples. Only allowed 120 points, beat a solid Scanton Prep (12-1) team 27-15 who beat Dunmore 30-0 who just lost to West Catholic 21-3 which may give a hint here.
District 11 champ vs District 1, 4 champ
Bethlehem Catholic 10-3 vs Pottsgrove 12-2….18.74 Bethlehem Catholic
Bethlehem Catholic responded to an early 14-7 deficit to Saucon Valley (10-3), chipping away to get a 24-14 halftime lead then poured it on, scoring 49 unanswered points in a runaway 73-14 win. SV’s defense has been suspect all year but 73 points!? Tavion Banks rushed for 122 yards with Qb Zamar Brake completing 9 of 11 for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. Beca’s a load when they get it going as evidenced by their 50-49 shootout loss to Emmaus 5 weeks ago. And after the EPC-South wars, playoff games against Blue Mountain, Pottsville and SV must seem like a walk in the park. Pottsgrove defeated Jersey Shore (7-6) 14-10, running all over them for 314 yards to the Bulldogs 40. Isaiah Taylor gashed JS for 180 yards on 31 carries. This is the same Jersey Shore team that lost to Mount Carmel 47-7 and Southern Columbia 62-7 to give you some comparisons as there are no PAC teams of equivalent stature to Bethlehem Catholic.
District 3 Final
Bishop McDevitt 11-1 vs Berks Catholic 10-2….1.60 Berks Catholic
McDevitt raced out to a 33-0 lead at the half behind the pinpoint passing of Chase Diehl who tagged Conrad Weiser’s defense for 377 yards passing and five touchdowns. Weiser did a good job on CJ Ryes Diggs, holding him to 58 yards on ten carries. But that’s the only bright spot with Diehl taking advantage over the top. McDevitt’s defense held the Scouts to 80 yards rushing and eight first downs. Junk time saw them score 13 fourth quarter points as the Crusaders prevailed 40-16. They’ll play Berks Catholic who beat Milton Hershey (10-2) last week 49-21. They also beat McDevitt last year 45-24 to add some spice to this one. BC was way too much against the Spartans, leading 42-7 at the half, holding them to 46 yards rushing and 204 unproductive yards passing. Abdul MacFoy (Wilson transfer) led them with 80 yards on 9 carries with Brandon George adding 74 on 10 attempts. The stat check had McDevitt almost swamping BC until factoring in schedule difficulty where the Saints closed the gap by at least a touchdown, playing teams like Central Dauphin (9-4) 0-7 loss, McDonogh-MD (3-6) 14-13 and Malvern Prep (11-0) 32-42. McDonogh is a great example how misleading a record can be, knowing they opened the season with Archbishop Wood, Berks Catholic and Malvern Prep, before progressing to Archbishop Spalding (7-3), Mt. St. Joseph (10-2), St Vincent-St. Mary-OH (7-3) and Calvert Hall (11-1).
District 6/8/9/10 champ vs District 7 champ
Cathedral Prep 10-3 vs South Fayette 12-1….5.64 South Fayette
Cathedral Prep pounced on slower Clearfield getting a 35-12 lead at the half that ballooned to 55-21 by games end as the Bison’s undefeated season came to a close at 12-1. Qb Connor Schleicher was on target completing 9 of 15 for 232 to big Jack Oedekoven (6-4, 185, jr) who snagged three for 153 yards. Their leading rusher Billy Lucas, rushed 186 yards, bringing his season total to 1322. ECP lit into the Bison for 570 total yards (338r 232p), while holding them to 264. They’ll face South Fayette in the quarterfinal following the Lions upset of previously undefeated Thomas Jefferson 31-24. But hey, South Fayette’s only loss was their opener to Upper St. Clair (8-3) by a point so how much of an upset was it? Weird game with TJ outdistancing them 427 to 276, and Max Shaw bashing them for 214 yards on 41 carries. But the D was there when needed forcing TJ to go 17.79 yards to get a single point, while they only had to go 8.9 with a more efficient offense. Lion’s Qb Jamie Diven completed 12 of 22 passes for 252 yards and 3 scores to be a thorn in TJ’s side throughout the game. Cathedral is on a historic run, defending their 4A title after beating TJ 42-17, Berks Catholic 42-24 and Imhotep 38-28 last year going 14-0. In 2016 they also won the title at 14-0 defeating the same three teams, TJ 30-13, Berks 28-14 and Imhotep 27-20. The year before that in 2015 they lost in the final to Imhotep’s great team 40-3, with the Panthers finishing 15-0. Regardless of power ratings, recent history says the WPIAL can’t keep up with Cathedral. The game is at Veterans Stadium in Erie!
Power Ratings 3A
District 1/11/12 champ vs District 3 champ
Conwell Egan 13-0 vs Middletown 11-1….6.25 Conwell Egan
Conwell Egan overcame a powerful team from North Schuylkill (11-2) in a hard fought game winning 28-14. The Spartans came in with notable wins against Mount Carmel, Jim Thorpe, Pottsville and Notre Dame, but couldn’t get it going against CEC’s defense that held them to 74 total yards! Pat Garwo was unstoppable as ever, rushing for 150 yards, breaking the 2000 yard mark with a season total of 2024 yards. They simply had too many weapons. Apart from Garwo, there’s quarterback Alex Golsby throwing for 1135 yards and rushing for 591. Plus Terome Mitchel with 501 yards and Dajuan Harris at 499 yards. That will be enough to have them far more competitive with a Middletown team that throttled them 49-7 last year. CEC is a different team this year, averaging 41ppg as opposed to 30 last year. Defensively, they’re significantly improved, allowing 14ppg compared to 25 last year. Middletown comes out statistically similar as last year’s team scoring 40 a game allowing 14. They’re still a bad ass physical team that gets after you defensively like last week, holding Bermudian Springs to 61 rush yards to their 289 in a 42-20 rout. Jose Lopez at 210 yards on 24 carries and Richie Sykes with 76 yards on 16 carries are their primary weapons. Senior Scott Ash is under center, throwing effectively as needed, completing 6 of 12 for 136 yards against Bermudian Springs last week. North Schuylkill was good prep being a physical hard hitting team. But they lack Middletown’s backfield speed. The game is at Milton Hershey High, essentially a home game for the Raiders where it should be a war that CEC can win.
District 2 champ vs District 4 champ
Scranton Prep 12-1 vs Montoursville 11-2….7.19 Scranton Prep
The Cavaliers had no trouble with a Lakeland (9-4) team that was simply outmanned. Earlier in the year Prep handled the Chiefs 44-12, with this one getting just as ugly with Prep prevailing 47-19. They are led by dual threat Qb Leo O’Boyle (6-7, 220!), OT/DE Dan Berlardi (6-3, 270), C/DT T.J. Holmes (6-3, 260), FB/LB Tucker Johnson, DB/WR Carter O’Dell and DB/WR Michael Greco. They score 38ppg with a defense allowing 8ppg and have five shutouts. They’ll play Montoursville who beat Danville 32-0 for their third shutout of the season. So both play defense, Montoursville allowing 13ppg with both supported by powerful offenses, where the Warriors are averaging 35 points a game. Scranton Prep often has more than Heartland Conference teams (Loyalsock, Danville, Jersey City) excepting Mount Carmel and Southern Columbia, but Montoursville is a scrappy bunch, beating good stuff from Lewisburg and Danville their last two games.
District 10 champ vs District 5/6/8/9 champ
Sharon 9-3 vs Bald Eagle 11-1….3.07 Sharon
Sharon turned it on last week taking down a previously unbeaten Grove City (11-1) team, the same Grove City who routed them 42-9 five weeks ago. What a reversal, beating them last week 23-6. Jordan Wilson (5-10, 215, 1734 yards) did most of the damage, rushing for 134 yards on 30 carries. Qb Lane Voytik (6-1, 200) has 2558 yards at 64%, throwing mostly to C.J. Parchman (6-4, 215) who has 65 receptions for 978 yards. Their defense was stout, holding the Eagles to 72 rushing yards. The opponent this week is Bald Eagle who beat Bedford (6-6) 35-14. They have a dangerous quarterback in diminutive Jaden Jones at 5-10, 148 pounds who is a dual threat, completing 11 of 16 for 194 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jones threw for 2818 yards at 59% with a ratio of 31-16. Blake Roberts rushed for 102 yards on 19 carries. Their 5 primary receivers have from 18 to 46 receptions each for 2495 yards with losses coming against Bellefonte (9-3) 10-9 and Clearfield (12-1) 42-7. BA is essentially home playing in Altoona where they’ll attempt to counter Sharon’s size and quickness.
District 7 champ Aliquippa 12-1….bye
Last edited:
