I certainly hope this game is live streamed. laSalle 3-0 has beaten decent teams from 3 different districts and has a couple of D-1 studs including Sam brown at RB. The Prep 1-0 are loaded at the receiver positions for sure and with McCord at QB will be a scoring machine . Im not sure about their running game , but knowing the Prep Im sure they have some talented players there also. This could be interesting and damn I want the Gov. to lift the attendance limits.
Prep/Lasalle this week
- Thread starter lilromeo
- Start date
My understanding was all the Prep's games this year are being livestreamed by SFBN, but I also know LaSalle usually does its own livestreaming.
I watched a rebroadcast of the Prep's game last night:
As you might expect from the first game of the season where there's been so much uncertainty and lots of disruption to the practice schedule, the Prep was fairly inconsistent. Also, it seems they lost their #1 running back, Barlow, to injury.
Anyone know if the idea is for the PCL to have a playoff of some kind at the end of this very irregular "regular season"? If they don't, Saturday's game will likely determine who goes on the state playoffs, though I'd say the chances of completed playoffs are 50-50, at best.
What to make of Malvern deciding to play? LaSalle and, especially, the Prep would love to have known that a month ago.
I have no idea about Barlow. Noble House and Blaine Bunch are the two players who will get more touches if Barlow is out. House catches the ball quite a bit--whether Barlow plays or not.
Sounds like it was a reasonably competitive game early in 4th at 28-16 via back to back LCA scores, then Bunch's 2 scores very late in 4th qtr to break it open. LCA is one of those over night schools, 1st year of ball was 2018 with a coach pulling them in from everywhere. Like St. Francis in Baltimore, very unpopular. So maybe bottom line it was decent comp for the Prep as they probably put a lot of talented players on the field.
I saw the same thing you did Stalk. SJP was always in control, although things were somewhat sloppy at times. I think that has been a theme across all games so far (understandably so). I thought LCA had a ton of size and talent, but not much coaching. You need the aforementioned last piece to knock off SJP.
Might want to try the Humeville Inn, a couple miles down the road from Bensalem. A good dive bar with decent food and a great beer selection.
Hulmeville Inn Craft Beer Bar
Hulmeville Inn Craft beer bar Hulmeville, Bucks County, PA. 19047. Craft Beer rotating taps. Burgers & Wings Tired Hands, IPA, Pennsylvania craft beer.
Just saw that Bob Long is going to stream it with participation from SJP as well as LaSalle. Good news.
Grass field and the weather that was forecasted for Saturday a few days earlier..Thou the weather looks like rain now on Friday
A link is on the tweet. If you're not using twitter, just put Bob Long Sports in your search box on You Tube.
38-0 at halftime. I didn’t but in for my normal “SJP -21” on every game they play in state, looks like it’s applicable.
I think this year team is the best team they have had in years. A complete team.
I wonder if they'll have much of a chance to see/show just how good they are. The team they are playing next week, Bishop Sycamore, has played a big-time schedule (IMG, St. Ignatius, St. Edward, etc.) but they haven't won any games and have generally lost by wide margins. Then there is Wood (which is probably about as good as LaSalle) and Roman. Since there will be no D12 public champion and D11 is opting out of the state playoffs, that leaves two playoff games. From what I read on here, no 6A team from central or western PA is close to last year's PCC team.
Still, I guess we should look at each game played as that much better than how things looked a month ago when there seemed a chance of a one-game (against LaSalle) season. I wouldn't put money on the PIAA being able to complete the playoffs--because of COVID.
It is a shame Bighead. Really this whole season seems like a bunch of scimmages or pre-season games. I can't even get hyped for the games. Sucks!!!
It is unfortunate that SJP isn’t able to showcase their talent on a national level. However, let’s keep things in perspective. We didn’t think we were having a season not too long ago. I hope they feel relatively fortunate to be able to get some games in. 6A is surely anti-climatic with no clear challenger to SJP. 5A is in the same boat with PR this year. Although that’s the case, I’m enjoying the intrigue in SOL. It seems to be fairly competitive race with North Penn-Pennridge matchup looming. I wouldn’t count Neshaminy out yet either. I’m just saying, in these crazy times, let’s enjoy the games we do have!
Paul, It didn't help that Saturday's game was over in the first quarter, but I agree that even if the game had been close it wouldn't have seemed the same--at least to us. I wonder how the players feel. Certainly the Prep players looked psyched up in the fist half.
This is an extraordinary senior class at SJP--not just the ones you mention but Cooper, Hagans, Talley, Atkins, Fisher, House, Nesbitt, Yagoditch, etc. At the end of last season it seemed pretty clear that after this year the gap between SJP and LaSalle would likely close quite a bit, especially since LaSalle had some very good freshmen and sophomores last year. COVID could change things by, for instance, causing some kids to go to high school A rather than high school B, some kids to stop playing football, some schools to devote fewer resources to football, etc.
Barlow, who's injured, and Bunch are both very good RBs. Harris on the OL is also already very good. Clark would be most team's prime WR but obviously not at SJP. Nelson is an outstanding DB, and of course Chadha the PK is returning. There are several freshmen on the varsity roster, but I have no idea of how promising they are.
After Reid, Runyan, Swift, etc. graduated they filled in behind with McCord, Harrison, Trotter, etc. The best part of being in SJP's situation is you should be immune to the ups and downs of cycles. You get the kids you want and every good football player in southeastern PA or south Jersey has to at least consider you.
In Ohio, St. Ignatius in Cleveland won 9 of 14 state titles from 1988-2001, including 5 straight from 1991 to 1995. The St. Joseph's Prep run is going to look similar. The St. Ignatius domination only stopped because the three big privates in Cincinnati (Archbishop Moeller, Bishop Elder, and St. Xavier) kicked it into high gear and gave them a challenge in the state final, then St. Edward's finally made a big investment in football and started competing (and beating) St. Ignatius for the best kids in Cleveland. Those five schools have won 13 of the last 18 titles. That's the only thing that's going to stop the SJP run is more of the other PCL schools challenging them for and getting the Kyle McCord's of the world or Pittsburgh Central Catholic jumping levels (or Erie Cathedral Prep moving all the way up to 6A and doing so). Graduation has very little to do with it.
Agreed.....Some private schools are recruiting big time athletes. Its becoming increasingly hard for the public schools to match the talent level.
It'll be interesting to see how COVID changes all of this. I don't have a clue HOW it will but I'm sure THAT it will. School boards and private schools will likely have to deal with very different financial realities. Football is an expensive sport and if the number of kids coming out to play football drops even further--as is almost certain--some schools will likely drop the sport or cut back on the resources they direct to football. Then there is the reality that many parents simply won't be able to pay private school tuition. The families of most players on the SJP team, for example, have to pay thousands a year in tuition. (I don't know all the details, but I do know that the idea that most or all of the players have their tuition paid for is wrong.)
Like everyone else, I am hoping COVID is a thing of the past by the time the next school year (and next season) starts. But it will certainly affect just about every aspect of high schools for all of this academic year, That will have a bearing on what happens in the 2021/22 school year, even if COVID is just a memory then.