The top?

[coverandmove1]

Thanks to replies on ridley post. Seems to be several quality teams at top of district one. NP, neshaminy, coatesville, perk valley and Ridley seem to be ahead the class. From previous standing's I see coatesville taking out Ridley, springford upsetting neshaminy and coatesville eventually ousting NP now, probably to face perk valley. From what I've seen and hear after being all over these counties is that lately NP has looked sluggish, started slow and athletes on the outside can be matched by quality teams athletes as neshaminy and upper dublin have recently show. I've heard qb is stats driven and thinks he should be throwing every play and for 4 tds and not happy if he doesn't. Defensive line is small and they haven't worked on ground game. My analysis for what it's worth...

 

[Stalker]

We have decent teams this year with other things falling into place making it a year the district can go deep given inconsistencies in D2/4/11.

D2/4/11;
Good stuff but little consistency....across the region. Emmaus-Parkland look like the clear favs with others making it interesting; Del Val, Wport. Freedom is a freaky bunch that will come into postseason with some mo if they beat Liberty. Ditto for Emma-Park winner. Pleasant Valley could ruin it for someone with all that offense!

D1
Coatesville; Talented but a little young. Looks like next year but you can't deny they are on one heck of a run and Ortega knows how to coach. Wouldn't want to run into them early. Explosive, outgunning teams early, demoralizing opposition.
DtownE; Already lost to playoff teams NPenn and Coats decisively, and who knows how they come out of the DtWest game. At 4-5, West will come out on fire, with a purpose. This one is going to get physical.
Ridley; Will be fine with run and D prowess until an opponent stops the run, stressing the D. Can't get behind with this offense and rarely do. Hard to beat with a lead.

On paper these 4 look like the obvious favs forgetting seeds, matchups, etc and fortunately, they don't play them on paper so who the heck knows.
NPenn; Balanced attack, battle scarred (LS, DtE, Pridge) but no comp on road yet. Big tradition-history sees them take field with full confidence verses anyone backed by a lots of weapons to beat you.
Nesh; Less tested than NP and limited linkage with PV, NP and Skins all playing Pridge but only Skins had them away. Expected sluggest with rival Pennsbury just the tonic..if they win and come out healthy. Balanced, quick; similar to NP.
Perk Val; Pridge, HaverSch and Spg Fd is a nice listing of wins. Will be hard to beat anywhere, no longer the Pushover from the PAC of a few years ago. Have been a player for a few years now but still have the "we'll show you attitude."
SpgFd; Another balanced team with decent quarterbacking in near misses to Wilson and quality loss to Perk Val. Wilson ot loss impressive on road. And I don't think PV wants to play them again so some advantage there, if they can get to them. Coach Brubaker developed another quarterback this year like he did every year at Wilson.

Something like that coverandmove1.

 

[coverandmove1]

Nice stalker, don't play the game on paper but best we can do is have our opinions and let games play out. Plus it's fun!

 

[6daystosaturday]

I underrated NP putting 40 on CB South, NP has speed, a very good qb and some agressive play. I quite possibly have underrate SJP also. I made a point to look at CD South and Prep. So going into the playoffs, State College and NP may be the teams that can challenge SJP. Both have a lot of talent and speed. But need to be clear on this after watching SJP. Your are going to need a LOT of it. Lasalle is by no means great, but they are not a bad team. That was a different level altogether. Coatesville is a little young....next year they will be tough. Otherwise I am looking out west to see who will step up...State College looks really good from what I can see.

 

[PA2CAMoleskinner]

I wouldn't bet against the 'Skins at home and in the playoffs. Since 2001 they are 22-1 in post-season action at "Heartbreak Ridge". Assuming they win out this coming Friday the only team they would potentially see on the road (in the chase for the D1 title) is NP.

 

[ChesmontLeague1]

Don't sleep on Coatesville's defense effort. 295 scored (42 ppg avg) vs 92 against (13 ppg avg) over the last 7 games. Half of the opponent points were scored in mop up duty.

 

[IAdelco]

Are they good enough to win District 1? North Penn has a very good defense. Not many, if any weaknesses. DEast defense gave North Penn fits for 3 quarters and I thought Coatesville's defense has proven to be significantly better than DEast. Is Neshaminy's defense really good or is their offense just spectacular? I know Ridley has a really good defense and Spring-fords is pretty good as well. Are we missing any others of note?

 

[ChesmontLeague1]

Are they good enough to win District 1? North Penn has a very good defense. Not many, if any weaknesses. DEast defense gave North Penn fits for 3 quarters and I thought Coatesville's defense has proven to be significantly better than DEast. Is Neshaminy's defense really good or is their offense just spectacular? I know Ridley has a really good defense and Spring-fords is pretty good as well. Are we missing any others of note?

IA - Once playoffs rolls around the only team I'm pretty sure that will make it far is North Penn. Coatesville is very hot but some other teams look pretty good too! Since most of the leagues play a few games outside the league we get an idea how they compare. The Central plays 1 non league and really hasn't had much success in 4A the last few seasons (now 6A this season). Ridley is real tough in the Central (and has been for years) but how will the Ridley D handle a some of the high powered offenses of North Penn, Neshaminy, Perk Valley, Coatesville, etc who can beat you with pass and run? Has Ridley faced this competition in Springfield, Marple or Garnet Valley? Looking for your thoughts?

 

[IAdelco]

Ridley's defense is very physical at the point of attack. Their Lbs are fast to the ball and they have skill in the secondary. That being said, the only true duel offensive threat team they have played is Marple Newtown. I would compare Marple to Bishop Shanahan from an offensive standpoint with Marple having a better coach.

In fairness to Ridley, only DEast defense can answer the question you asked me in the previous thread. They are 0-2 in facing 2 of the high powered offenses you mentioned Chestmont. I believe they also scrimmaged Neshaminy as well. I'm not sure anyone's defense minus North Penn can slow down those high powered offenses you mentioned to be honest with you. We will find out soon enough.

 

[TDjones22]

I would love to see Prep vs NP cause in reality that's what is going to happen. They both will breeze to each other. That being said i think NP is the only team that can beat Prep only cause they have a Air attack, and Prep can be thrown on. As for Prep NP will have to stop swift which ins't happening. I think it will be a 45-42 game. I just don't know who will win. YET lol

 

[coverandmove1]

If it happens, ain't no way np putting up 42. Last time they played Infante knew what beck was running 92% of the time. Has changed some with new air beck. Just don't see it happening.

 

[CYOBALL1]

If it happens, ain't no way np putting up 42. Last time they played Infante knew what beck was running 92% of the time. Has changed some with new air beck. Just don't see it happening.

NP doesn't really run the football. Would they really want to get into a scoring match with SJP?
Both teams still need to take care of business.
I got the Skins coming out of district 1.

 

[IAdelco]

If the Prep gets to the Eastern Final, it wont be as bad but expect similar results as when they took Pennsbury to the woodshed two years ago. They just have too much talent and coaching for anyone in D1 to compete with them. The only team that can beat St. Joes Prep, is St. Joe's Prep unfortunately.

 

[ramgreen]

totally disagree IAdelco as i see NP as a team that can win vs. St. Joes. NP will score on the Prep and of course the Prep will score but as I said before i believe NP QB udinski will be the difference

 

[CYOBALL1]

totally disagree IAdelco as i see NP as a team that can win vs. St. Joes. NP will score on the Prep and of course the Prep will score but as I said before i believe NP QB udinski will be the difference

Does NP even run the football???

 

[coverandmove1]

Craziness again, did u see the stats from tennett game, qb off, receivers covered. Scored 21 against ud last year in title game. 3 td runs, 0 passing td's for np. Haven't thrown a td pass in last 5 games against neshaminy. Lucky to score 14 if they make that far..

 

[TDjones22]

They did have a RB Dillon that was pretty decent vs LaSalle but im not sure what hes done the rest of the year to date.

 

[green_beans]

As much as I would like to see NP (I've been open about being an NP grad and life long fan) beat Prep if the both make it that far.. "both" meaning NP...(I believe they still have to win in D1 but may be mistaken)..

I don't think they have the horses to do it...On "O" Do they have a passing game.. yes.. does any team in the SOL have the DBs to cover all of their receivers no... is Prep like any other team in the SOL.. No.. but the big issue will be can NPs LBs contain Prep's ground attack... I'm really on the fence but leaning towards it will be a challenge..

Comparing like opponents NP had to fight to beat a very green LaSalle team in the beginning of the season.. a QB getting his first start etc. Prep pounded LaSalle.. probably could have put up a few more if they wanted to... now you might want to blame that the Prep-LaSalle rivalry.. but anyone close to the Prep-NP games knows there is very little lost love between the two teams.. it might not be as big as the inter-PCL affair that goes back to day one.. but between NP's side screaming about recruits and Preps side screaming back what ever they scream about.. it is normally an intense environment.. hopefully we will get to see the game played... plus it makes good fodder

 

[NPfan05]

NP has not run the ball anywhere near as much as they usually do. They have a very good, experienced QB with a receiving corps about as deep as anyone. Because of this they haven't had to run a whole lot. However, I do know as of a couple of weeks ago that NP's starting running back, Nick Dillon, was averaging about 6 or 7+ yds per carry. He is a quick, shifty back that also has good hands out of the backfield. They also use Drop and Anthony Andrews at fullback and they have had their moments effectively running the ball. Ricky Johns has also seen some touches at RB and is tough to stop. It is tough to really say how good their running game is because they haven't really had to use it heavily yet.

 

[IAdelco]

I like North Penn to win District 1. They are a very good football team. However, the gap between District 1 and the Catholic League is widening as we speak. LaSalle is a much better team now than they were the first week of the season. Not so sure the results of North Penn/LaSalle would be the same but at the least it would be a more competitive game. I would also be willing to bet that The Prep already has numerous tapes on North Penn ready to be broken down. If the Prep has time to get prepared for Beck, there will be serious problems.

 

[Stalker]

Are they good enough to win District 1? North Penn has a very good defense. Not many, if any weaknesses. DEast defense gave North Penn fits for 3 quarters and I thought Coatesville's defense has proven to be significantly better than DEast. Is Neshaminy's defense really good or is their offense just spectacular? I know Ridley has a really good defense and Spring-fords is pretty good as well. Are we missing any others of note?

You might be missing Garnet Valley. If you consider Ridley you almost have to throw the Jags in there through the 1st maybe 2nd rds.
What missing to me are the usual teams like Pennsbury, Pennridge, DtWest, Abington, CR and from the last 2 years Upper Dublin....and some that dropped to 5A. Odd not seeing them as more of a threat.

End of the day, it's hard not knee jerking NP and SJP but we do that for a reason. Still like Neshaminy's offense that can explode on you and DtEast with just a little more consistency on offense....look out!

 

[shfoot]

correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't oaks christian have one of the top qb's in the country and the prep defense shut them down?

My point is, is there a qb/wr combo in d1 that can fare better than that? You guys know I'm not a 6A guy, but from a far that win along with beating Bos has some merit.

 

[IronMarshal]

If the Prep gets to the Eastern Final, it wont be as bad but expect similar results as when they took Pennsbury to the woodshed two years ago. They just have too much talent and coaching for anyone in D1 to compete with them. The only team that can beat St. Joes Prep, is St. Joe's Prep unfortunately.

This North Penn team is not that super one dimensional Pennsbury squad with a head coach that couldn't change his style to save his life. North Penn has a very good passing attack, can run some, plays solid D and I think is pretty good on special teams. Totally different situation. I think the Prep wins, but they wont take the knights to the woodshed. And I am not a North Penn fan by any stretch.

 

[green_beans]

Re: Oak Christian.. they had games giving up 55, 62, 62 and 49 (prep put up the 49)
Don Bosco losing record this year (3-4) losing to Paramus Catholic 26-17.. So is beating Bosco with a losing record the same as beating bosco when they are 6-0?.. who knows.. are they playing tougher games or are they having a down year?? Coral.. 5 star recruit committed to USC.. Russo a 3 start recruit who came in second in the Nike elite 11...was recruited by LSU also I believe.. DTE had a TE last year committed to USC.. he did nothing in the D1 playoffs against NP..

just about every other beating those two team would carry a ton of merit.. I'm not so sure this year.. time will tell..

 

[IronMarshal]

.

I don't think they have the horses to do it...On "O" Do they have a passing game.. yes.. does any team in the SOL have the DBs to cover all of their receivers no... is Prep like any other team in the SOL.. No.. but the big issue will be can NPs LBs contain Prep's ground attack... I'm really on the fence but leaning towards it will be a challenge..

Actually, yes. Neshaminy has an incredibly good secondary. They struggle against the run. In fact, I think the only way you beat Neshaminy is by running the ball. The Skins have cornerback Jacob Gordon who is 6'2 and fast, instinctive, good hips, a sure tackler and has like 5 or 6 picks this year in addition to having completely shut out Abington's Temple Bound 6'1 WR George Reid in solo coverage. Safety Zach Tredway is 6'4 fast and instinctive and often against spreads gets to one on one the number two reciever from the opponent. Joel Stills is smaller at 5'9, but fast and closes on the ball extremely well. I have seen Gordon, Tredway and Stills make all kinds off pass breakiups in addition to plenty of picks. Add to that, 3 of the 4 LBs have excellent pass d skills, Oleh Manzyk, 6'2 and really fast can stick with anyone, small but fast and extremely athletic, Mike Garlisck, 5' 8, is very fast and as tenacious as a wolverine, and RB Wil Dogba has been playing a lot of LB too,. He has been a back up CB and nickle back in the past. The only saving grace in throwing on Neshaminy is DE Luke Hitchens is out, so they have to blitz to get pressure on the QB.

The problem teams have against the Skins is that secondary, combined with the explosive offense, WR Tredway a fast 6'4 is a matchup nightmare, adding to that is the 6'2 speedy receiving TE Manzyk, the tiny dynamo, Garlick who gets lost in trafficand is a burner, and the 6' Joyce who is smooth and polished with good speed and hands (they all have good hands), plus Dogba who rushed for 1600 yards last year and is very good and dependable on the ground and out of the backfield. Oh yeah, Jones can sling it too. If the Skins get in front of you, and there is a good chance they do, you are in trouble trying to play catch-up through the air. The best chance, is if Jones is off (he can be occasionally), and a team can run, and Neshaminy's weak special teams (aside from the place kicker who is excellent) put the defense in bad field position.

I think North Penn is a little better week in and week out, but Neshaminy certainly can light up North Penn if they play well.

SJP? well they are a different animal. But maybe one of these D1 powerhouses turns into a successful big game hunter.

 

[6daystosaturday]

I see NP vs. Nesh in the final. NP possess a roster closest to a PCL team of any team in D1. If Beck coaches this the way an Infante or Gordon would NP has a shot. That means moving Johns around, maybe even have him run some plays out of the wildcat to go right at the Prep. If Beck thinks he can sit in the spread he won't control the clock, won't score enough to beat the Prep...and maybe not Nesh.

 

[NPfan05]

This year North Penn hasn't been over reliant on any one player. That's why they don't have a RB or receiver that is at the top of the stats chart. Only the QB is. They have been taking what teams give them. The first few weeks teams focused on Johns so Henley had some big games. Then once teams tried to focus on both Hubler had some big games. Now teams have taken their attention back off Johns a little and he had a few big games. They add the tight ends in as well. Owen Thomas, 6'4", has to have double digit tds. Vasger has also caught a lot of passes at tight end. If you drop off the line to much and leave safeties deep they'll go more to Dillon. The number of players they can try to use to hurt you on any given week is what they rely on. Basically, shut down Johns and they go to Henley. Shut down Johns and Henley and they go to Hubler. Shut down Johns, Henley, and Hubler and they still have Dillon and Drop in the backfield as well as Thomas and Vasger at tight end and Haynes. And Udinski will scramble. No team has gotten it that far yet though. DTE was the closest but Dillon was out hurt and Johns had to play RB most of the night and Thomas hadn't emerged yet. The only teams I have actually seen that I think can try to eliminate most of those options are Neshaminy and St Joes. Now, before everyone freaks out I stress that those are the only teams I have SEEN. I have not seen PV, Cville, Ridley, etc. Again, I'm just talking from the NP perspective as someone who has been watching high school football for many years. I will be interested to see how they are tested in the playoffs.

 

[lilromeo]

Actually, yes. Neshaminy has an incredibly good secondary. They struggle against the run. In fact, I think the only way you beat Neshaminy is by running the ball. The Skins have cornerback Jacob Gordon who is 6'2 and fast, instinctive, good hips, a sure tackler and has like 5 or 6 picks this year in addition to having completely shut out Abington's Temple Bound 6'1 WR George Reid in solo coverage. Safety Zach Tredway is 6'4 fast and instinctive and often against spreads gets to one on one the number two reciever from the opponent. Joel Stills is smaller at 5'9, but fast and closes on the ball extremely well. I have seen Gordon, Tredway and Stills make all kinds off pass breakiups in addition to plenty of picks. Add to that, 3 of the 4 LBs have excellent pass d skills, Oleh Manzyk, 6'2 and really fast can stick with anyone, small but fast and extremely athletic, Mike Garlisck, 5' 8, is very fast and as tenacious as a wolverine, and RB Wil Dogba has been playing a lot of LB too,. He has been a back up CB and nickle back in the past. The only saving grace in throwing on Neshaminy is DE Luke Hitchens is out, so they have to blitz to get pressure on the QB.

The problem teams have against the Skins is that secondary, combined with the explosive offense, WR Tredway a fast 6'4 is a matchup nightmare, adding to that is the 6'2 speedy receiving TE Manzyk, the tiny dynamo, Garlick who gets lost in trafficand is a burner, and the 6' Joyce who is smooth and polished with good speed and hands (they all have good hands), plus Dogba who rushed for 1600 yards last year and is very good and dependable on the ground and out of the backfield. Oh yeah, Jones can sling it too. If the Skins get in front of you, and there is a good chance they do, you are in trouble trying to play catch-up through the air. The best chance, is if Jones is off (he can be occasionally), and a team can run, and Neshaminy's weak special teams (aside from the place kicker who is excellent) put the defense in bad field position.

I think North Penn is a little better week in and week out, but Neshaminy certainly can light up North Penn if they play well.

SJP? well they are a different animal. But maybe one of these D1 powerhouses turns into a successful big game hunter.

In the beginning of the year I was convinced Neshaminy would be the District 1 champion. North Penn with Udinski playing as well as he has makes NP a real threat .This is one of the best NP teams I can remember. The D1 title game should be a great contest. Now ,The Prep is just a well rounded superior talented group of athletes that should win the East by 2 TDs. People overlook the Preps fast aggressive LBs and DBs. If Udinski faces them he will be on the run and be hit more than anytime this year. If Swift gets the call ,no one will stop him.

 

[C-villeJack]

Stalker, please, ask them all to relax and put the my-team-is-the-best-bullcrap away!!! In a few weeks we will know...I have seen NP come to DTW and beat them down...been to Heartbreak Ridge to see DTW beat the Skins...have seen both NP and Nesh come to MY Ville and win....and also seen the Ville stop and end CBW streak. THIS is what playoff football is all about......so...enjoy!!

 

[PA2CAMoleskinner]

As I said somewhere about the 'Skins and playoff games, at 22-1 at home beginning in 2001 they are tough to beat in Langhorne. And then if the brackets play out NP will be in the opposite set-up so Neshaminy will have three in Langhorne (good for them and not so good for the visitors). Then it's probably NP at their place (not so nice up there).

I thought Iron Marshall summed up the D very well. The DBs, as a group, are very, very good so they will make it tough to throw. Course the problem has been that at times the guys up front struggle with the run (been plenty of times the DBs are making the stop).

Anyway, before they start smoking victory cigars they better worry about Pennsbury.

 

[C-villeJack]

Having said that...Chesty1...don't sell my yunning short....Ortega has had a plan all along.

 

[C-villeJack]

Sorry Chesty1, did not mean you... I HATE this freaking I-phone!!

 

[PA2CAMoleskinner]

C-Ville Jack --

You are so right (and that's my point about the 'Skins worrying about Pennsbury).

And then I'm thinking the playoffs this year are gonna be a treat (seems to be so many unanswered questions about just how good teams really are -- and we'll be finding out soon, very soon).

 

[00shoe]

I agree with you about "how good teams really are" I know this is the age of wide open offense, but it is always D that wins for good teams. NP, prep, LS Nesh. at times have all given up big points at times this year. You don't go far unless you can stop a team for more then a quarter. Interesting to see who steps up.

 

[ChesmontLeague1]

Sorry Chesty1, did not mean you... I HATE this freaking I-phone!!

Jack - calling me out or backing me is fine! It's a board that encourages debate. Let's get by Rustin and if so we should get a 4/5 seed. Been to many of those games you mentioned plus more.

 

[IAdelco]

Agreed Chesmont. Not sure if people are aware but Rustin is fully healthy for the first time this year. They have 2 backs that if healthy were capable of putting up 1200 yards this year. They have a lineman that goes both ways who should be all league, both ways. They have a coach who has won his section of the Chesmont many times and advanced to the playoffs and won games too many times to count. The game is also @ Rustin where I believe they are undefeated this year. The Red Raiders also pounded Rustin last year @ home 33-7. This game will not be a cake walk for the Red Raiders by any means. Rustin knows that if they win the game, they will maybe get a home playoff game. There will be motivation on both sides to win this game. Minus the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of West Chester, this maybe the game to go to in Chester County come Friday night.

 

[ChesmontLeague1]

Agreed Chesmont. Not sure if people are aware but Rustin is fully healthy for the first time this year. They have 2 backs that if healthy were capable of putting up 1200 yards this year. They have a lineman that goes both ways who should be all league, both ways. They have a coach who has won his section of the Chesmont many times and advanced to the playoffs and won games too many times to count. The game is also @ Rustin where I believe they are undefeated this year. The Red Raiders also pounded Rustin last year @ home 33-7. This game will not be a cake walk for the Red Raiders by any means. Rustin knows that if they win the game, they will maybe get a home playoff game. There will be motivation on both sides to win this game. Minus the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of West Chester, this maybe the game to go to in Chester County come Friday night.

You would think Cville would wake up hung over and have an off game but it hasn't happened in 2 months. Could be a decent match. Great atmosphere over there at Rustin stadium w the large student body attendance and band out and winning team. They should be playing in the Chesmont National.