Short week guys returning from South Central PA where Central Dauphin beat Harrisburg 50-7. So here’s the short-form best guesstimate, hopefully with some relevant and interesting info.
1. Parkland 5-0. Bit of a war but Parkland beat rival Whitehall 42-28 and now get to the meat of the schedule playing Liberty 4-1, Easton 4-1, Freedom 5-0 and Naz 4-1 on consecutive weekends before concluding with quirky Emmaus. Nice prep for the postseason!
2. LaSalle 3-1. Malvern Prep’s games the last few weeks get your attention don’t they losing to LaSalle 21-14 then turning around to beat St. Joe’s 33-21 last week. Unfortunately, McDonogh cancelled out of last week’s games leaving them on the sidelines. Maryland’s governor declared a state of emergency moments after Joaquin was upgraded to a Cat 4 making its turn (Bahamas!) to the N-NE. They call that proactive in Maryland. Next up is Archbishop Wood (5-0), who should brace themselves after playing a schedule with one winning team and a combined W/L of 11-12 against the Explorers who have played serious football teams, including North Penn, Pennsbury, Malvern Prep and DeMatha with a combined won-loss of 15-4.
3. Downingtown West 5-0. With all the Coatesville talk over the last few years in the Ches Mont, the Whippets found the best way to put a lid on that beating the Raiders 31-16, leaving Downingtown (East and West) in full possession of the National. 440 total yards of offense usually leads to a win! Surprising Bishop Shanahan (3-2) is next, with 3-pt and 7-pt losses to Germantown Academy and Penn Charter respectively separating them from a 5-0 slate.
4. Upper Dublin 5-0. The Cardinals continued their scorched earth policy by destroying Springfield (AA, 2-2) 62-0. To date they’ve scored 239 points and allowed 34. 1-4 Wissahickon is next, then Plymouth Whitemarsh.
5. Downingtown East 5-0. In an easier than expected win, Downingtown East crushed a veteran Unionville team 49-13. Struggling Henderson (1-4) is next, coming in on a four game losing streak.
6. St. Joseph’s Prep 2-2. Just when many felt it was all about St. Joe’s here comes the Inter-Ac’s powerful Malvern Prep, stepping up to defeat the Hawk’s 33-21. The loss dropped them from #2 to #6. St. Joseph’s Regional-NJ (4-1) is next, coming in with wins against Don Bosco Prep, St. Edward’s (Cleveland), DePaul-NJ and Eastern Christian before last week’s 24-12 loss to IMG (5-0, Bradenton-FL). The Green Knights won last year 47-29 and are a potent group again this year.
7. North Penn 3-2. The Knights got revenge for last year’s 28-27 loss by routing Central Bucks South 46-20. They’re home this week to Souderton (3-2).
8. Easton 4-1. You knew there would be a price to pay for the Allentown Central Catholic loss the week before but wow, 63-14 over East Stroudsburg South? Whitehall is next on the road.
9. Coatesville 4-1. The loss to Downingtown West 31-16 dropped the Raiders from #4 to #9 and into second place in the National where they will rebound at West Chester East’s expense Friday night. QB Jordan Young had 314 total yards of offense (207 rush, 107 pass). So much for the overstated and in some instances overrated emphasis on defense! Excepting the Don Bosco Prep’s, IMG’s and STA’s of the world, no one can stop these offenses.
10. Pennsbury 4-1. As expected, Pennsbury throttled hapless Abington (0-5) 52-21. Wow, this was one you used to circle on the calendar as a war. Another 0-5 team is next, Bensalem.
11. Quakertown 5-0. The Panthers zipped past Norristown as they have all opponents this year by a combined score of 226-39. 2-3 Truman is next.
12. Perkiomen Valley 5-0. Perkiomen Valley gave previously undefeated Pottstown (AAA, 4-1) a taste of talent they’ll face if they make the playoffs (Wood, Imhotep) in beating the Trojans 42-7. Pope John Paul II is next at 0-5.
13. Freedom 5-0. Look who’s 5-0! Beat a decent Allentown Central Catholic team 35-14 who may have been on fumes playing Parkland and Easton on consecutive weekends. 1-4 Dieruff is next in Allentown.
14. Spring Ford 5-0. An 82-0 win against Methacton says too many records (school, PAC, etc) were broken to list here as the Warriors fell to 0-5. Methacton has allowed 264 points to 44 scored while the Rams high octane offense was the reverse, scoring 260 points, allowing 45. Pottsgrove (3-2) is next in a face off of the PAC-10’s Big 3 where the Rams will try to avenge last year’s 35-29 loss.
15. Nazareth 4-1. Sign of a good team? How about winning by 2, 2 and 6 points while going 2-1 on the road with wins at Liberty and Northampton and a 4-pt loss at Freedom. Northampton stepped up big time battling hard until going down 19-13. Allentown Central Catholic is next in what should be one of the more competitive games in the area.
16. Liberty 4-1. Beat Emmaus 34-31. If there’s ever an occasion to get Parkland this is one of those weekends, coming off the rivalry win against Whitehall with Easton dead ahead. Careful Parkland, you might be running into a hurricane.
17. Council Rock South 3-2. The Golden Hawks took advantage of their fourth straight home game to edge vastly improved Central Bucks East in double overtime 32-26. Their fifth consecutive home game should help see another win against Central Bucks West (2-3) who won their last two games.With two losses and a run-out, South is in. But another loss gets them into the gray area. Quakertown is in Oct 23rd.
18. Wyoming Valley West 5-0. The Trojans cruised to their fifth consecutive easy win routing Coughlin 49-20 and should have more of the same this weekend against inconsistent Dallas (2-3, AAA) who may be partying a little hard after beating previously undefeated Williamsport (4-1) 28-14.
19. Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-0. Have yet to face a challenge this year but 5-0 is 5-0 but will Oct 16th when Upper Dublin pays them a visit. Upper Moreland (AAA, 4-1) is next with wins against Penncrest, Carroll, Egan and Cheltenham. The loss was to Hatboro Horsham.
20. Pennridge 3-2. Young, typical Ram team with their big O-line and decent, understated quarterbacking. Beat Neshaminy last week 17-7. Could go 4-1, losing at home to Pennsbury to finish 7-3 if they maintain the focus shown last week; tough for a young group. The losses are to a good CB East team 16-10 in ot and to a clearly superior North Penn team three weeks ago 31-7. Winless Abington is next.
Honorable Mention
Neshaminy 3-2, at CB South
Central Bucks East 3-2, home Tennett
Council Rock North 3-2, at Norristown
Stroudsburg 4-1, at Pocono Mt. East
The Central gets sorted out this weekend
Garnet Valley 4-1, at Haverford
Upper Darby 4-1, home Conestoga
Haverford 4-1, home G-Val
Conestoga 3-2, at Upper Darby
Father Judge 4-1, at Haverford School
Northeast 5-0, home ML King
Franklin 4-1, home Lincoln
1. Parkland 5-0. Bit of a war but Parkland beat rival Whitehall 42-28 and now get to the meat of the schedule playing Liberty 4-1, Easton 4-1, Freedom 5-0 and Naz 4-1 on consecutive weekends before concluding with quirky Emmaus. Nice prep for the postseason!
2. LaSalle 3-1. Malvern Prep’s games the last few weeks get your attention don’t they losing to LaSalle 21-14 then turning around to beat St. Joe’s 33-21 last week. Unfortunately, McDonogh cancelled out of last week’s games leaving them on the sidelines. Maryland’s governor declared a state of emergency moments after Joaquin was upgraded to a Cat 4 making its turn (Bahamas!) to the N-NE. They call that proactive in Maryland. Next up is Archbishop Wood (5-0), who should brace themselves after playing a schedule with one winning team and a combined W/L of 11-12 against the Explorers who have played serious football teams, including North Penn, Pennsbury, Malvern Prep and DeMatha with a combined won-loss of 15-4.
3. Downingtown West 5-0. With all the Coatesville talk over the last few years in the Ches Mont, the Whippets found the best way to put a lid on that beating the Raiders 31-16, leaving Downingtown (East and West) in full possession of the National. 440 total yards of offense usually leads to a win! Surprising Bishop Shanahan (3-2) is next, with 3-pt and 7-pt losses to Germantown Academy and Penn Charter respectively separating them from a 5-0 slate.
4. Upper Dublin 5-0. The Cardinals continued their scorched earth policy by destroying Springfield (AA, 2-2) 62-0. To date they’ve scored 239 points and allowed 34. 1-4 Wissahickon is next, then Plymouth Whitemarsh.
5. Downingtown East 5-0. In an easier than expected win, Downingtown East crushed a veteran Unionville team 49-13. Struggling Henderson (1-4) is next, coming in on a four game losing streak.
6. St. Joseph’s Prep 2-2. Just when many felt it was all about St. Joe’s here comes the Inter-Ac’s powerful Malvern Prep, stepping up to defeat the Hawk’s 33-21. The loss dropped them from #2 to #6. St. Joseph’s Regional-NJ (4-1) is next, coming in with wins against Don Bosco Prep, St. Edward’s (Cleveland), DePaul-NJ and Eastern Christian before last week’s 24-12 loss to IMG (5-0, Bradenton-FL). The Green Knights won last year 47-29 and are a potent group again this year.
7. North Penn 3-2. The Knights got revenge for last year’s 28-27 loss by routing Central Bucks South 46-20. They’re home this week to Souderton (3-2).
8. Easton 4-1. You knew there would be a price to pay for the Allentown Central Catholic loss the week before but wow, 63-14 over East Stroudsburg South? Whitehall is next on the road.
9. Coatesville 4-1. The loss to Downingtown West 31-16 dropped the Raiders from #4 to #9 and into second place in the National where they will rebound at West Chester East’s expense Friday night. QB Jordan Young had 314 total yards of offense (207 rush, 107 pass). So much for the overstated and in some instances overrated emphasis on defense! Excepting the Don Bosco Prep’s, IMG’s and STA’s of the world, no one can stop these offenses.
10. Pennsbury 4-1. As expected, Pennsbury throttled hapless Abington (0-5) 52-21. Wow, this was one you used to circle on the calendar as a war. Another 0-5 team is next, Bensalem.
11. Quakertown 5-0. The Panthers zipped past Norristown as they have all opponents this year by a combined score of 226-39. 2-3 Truman is next.
12. Perkiomen Valley 5-0. Perkiomen Valley gave previously undefeated Pottstown (AAA, 4-1) a taste of talent they’ll face if they make the playoffs (Wood, Imhotep) in beating the Trojans 42-7. Pope John Paul II is next at 0-5.
13. Freedom 5-0. Look who’s 5-0! Beat a decent Allentown Central Catholic team 35-14 who may have been on fumes playing Parkland and Easton on consecutive weekends. 1-4 Dieruff is next in Allentown.
14. Spring Ford 5-0. An 82-0 win against Methacton says too many records (school, PAC, etc) were broken to list here as the Warriors fell to 0-5. Methacton has allowed 264 points to 44 scored while the Rams high octane offense was the reverse, scoring 260 points, allowing 45. Pottsgrove (3-2) is next in a face off of the PAC-10’s Big 3 where the Rams will try to avenge last year’s 35-29 loss.
15. Nazareth 4-1. Sign of a good team? How about winning by 2, 2 and 6 points while going 2-1 on the road with wins at Liberty and Northampton and a 4-pt loss at Freedom. Northampton stepped up big time battling hard until going down 19-13. Allentown Central Catholic is next in what should be one of the more competitive games in the area.
16. Liberty 4-1. Beat Emmaus 34-31. If there’s ever an occasion to get Parkland this is one of those weekends, coming off the rivalry win against Whitehall with Easton dead ahead. Careful Parkland, you might be running into a hurricane.
17. Council Rock South 3-2. The Golden Hawks took advantage of their fourth straight home game to edge vastly improved Central Bucks East in double overtime 32-26. Their fifth consecutive home game should help see another win against Central Bucks West (2-3) who won their last two games.With two losses and a run-out, South is in. But another loss gets them into the gray area. Quakertown is in Oct 23rd.
18. Wyoming Valley West 5-0. The Trojans cruised to their fifth consecutive easy win routing Coughlin 49-20 and should have more of the same this weekend against inconsistent Dallas (2-3, AAA) who may be partying a little hard after beating previously undefeated Williamsport (4-1) 28-14.
19. Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-0. Have yet to face a challenge this year but 5-0 is 5-0 but will Oct 16th when Upper Dublin pays them a visit. Upper Moreland (AAA, 4-1) is next with wins against Penncrest, Carroll, Egan and Cheltenham. The loss was to Hatboro Horsham.
20. Pennridge 3-2. Young, typical Ram team with their big O-line and decent, understated quarterbacking. Beat Neshaminy last week 17-7. Could go 4-1, losing at home to Pennsbury to finish 7-3 if they maintain the focus shown last week; tough for a young group. The losses are to a good CB East team 16-10 in ot and to a clearly superior North Penn team three weeks ago 31-7. Winless Abington is next.
Honorable Mention
Neshaminy 3-2, at CB South
Central Bucks East 3-2, home Tennett
Council Rock North 3-2, at Norristown
Stroudsburg 4-1, at Pocono Mt. East
The Central gets sorted out this weekend
Garnet Valley 4-1, at Haverford
Upper Darby 4-1, home Conestoga
Haverford 4-1, home G-Val
Conestoga 3-2, at Upper Darby
Father Judge 4-1, at Haverford School
Northeast 5-0, home ML King
Franklin 4-1, home Lincoln
