D3
Mid Penn Conference (Commonwealth,, Keystone, Capital)
Central Dauphin 4-0; Important game Friday across the river facing West Shore nemesis Cumberland Valley who has won the last 3 encounters. Remember last year’s win by CV, 62-61 in 7 overtimes?
Cumberland Valley 4-0; Making it look easy defeating decent teams like Coatesville, McDevitt and Central York by an average score of 31-14. They do it by running the Wing-T to perfection!
State College 4-0; No recent challenges since 24-13 opener at McCaskey, winning all others by a score of 154-17. At Carlisle this week.
Cedar Cliff 5A 4-0; Lack of a challenge about to change playing at McDevitt Friday in a Keystone game.
Carlisle 3-1; Hands full with State College on heels of 55-21 thumping by Central Dauphin.
CD East 3-1; Let’s see if they bounce back against Chambersburg in a conference battle after losing to rival Harrisburg 28-10 last week at home.
Harrisburg 5A 3-1; Will crush next two, Hershey and Chambersburg in tune-ups before CD.
Red Land 5A 4-1; The 4 wins are all on the road making Patriots one tough out.
Bishop McDevitt 4A 1-3; O-Line issues but good stuff in backfield at QB/RB. Big Keystone
conference game with CC-Colts in Friday night.
Lancaster Lebanon League
Wilson 3-1; Had a war with Warwick last week winning 14-10. Hey, you can’t always be awesome but still pretty good stuff.
Lancaster McCaskey 5A 2-2; Really improved (!) but not enough to beat Wilson Friday.
Warwick 2-2; Decent team with losses to Manheim Central and Wilson.
Manheim Twp 2-2; Streaks are struggling with trip to Conestoga Valley Friday in a must win Section game in the LL.
Conestoga Valley 5A 3-1; East side taking on the North side when Manheim Township comes to Horseshoe Road for what shapes up as a great game.
Cedar Crest 5A 3-1; Home to Garden Spot (3-1) in a Section crossover game.
Manheim Central 5A 4-0; Section-2 battle with Cocalico (2-2, won last 2) who is finally performing as expected with that veteran line of theirs coming off a big win against previously undefeated Elizabethtown.
Elizabethtown 5A 3-1; Will roll at Solanco before the big one at home against Manheim Central.
Lampeter Strasburg 4A 3-1; The wheels really came off last weekend getting pummeled 69-14 by Manheim Central.
York Adams League
Dallastown 4-0; Not as powerful as last year’s Wildcat group but who’s arguing 4-0? Will rout
listless York (0-4, outscored 171-58) before major road game at Northeastern the following week
Red Lion 4-0; Get toughest games at home, Northeastern and D-town and looking good, winning by an average score of 40-10. Lions are a rung beneath Wilson, CD, CV and always a threat.
Central York 3-1; Panthers are prowling now with 28-27 win at Northeastern last week Don’t like D much at Central but should rout South Western’s 2-2 Mustangs.
Northeastern 5A 3-1; May have got cocky last week losing at home to Central York and the recovery looks bleak going back-to-back at Red Lion and D-town!
Berks Inter County Football Conference
Governor Mifflin 5A 3-1; Nice bounce after opening with 38-7 blowout to rival Wilson then winning 3 straight vs quality teams; Cocalico, Manheim Township and Exeter. Should blast Boone who lost to Red Lion and Northeastern by an average score of 51-7.
Berks Catholic 4A 4-0; Looking awfully good rolling out 1556 total yards of offense while holding opponents to 247 yards rushing and change thru the air. Thing is, this is a super young team (building for 2017?), filled with sophs and juniors. Soph QB, junior running backs, soph MLB Brandon George (6-3, 220), junior DT John Blanco (6-3, 270) and more. Berks Catholic has been a force since the merger of Reading Central Catholic and Reading Holy Name in 2011, going 53-10.
D6
Johnstown 4A 5-0; Trojans are rolling, blowing people out by average score of 38-15.
State College 4-0; See D3, at Carlisle.
D10
Cathedral 4A 5-0; Building another big offense averaging 54ppg allowing 14 with only Canisius appearing as a threat in the final.
McDowell 4-1; Nothing special this year giving State College a clear shot at the Wpial rep.
Grove City 5A 5-0; Exciting team off a 1-9 season (AA then) with QB Kam Patterson (6-3, 190, sr, +3400 career) tearing it up completing 76% with a 18/1 Td-Pick ratio. Return 8 on both sides with a veteran line. Possible stumble at Dubois (3-2) Oct 7th and a rough classification this year but they’ll at least be exciting at 49ppg with Kam Patterson under center and all those veterans.
D7....WPIAL
Pine Richland 4-1; Got a scare last week from Bethel Park winning 31-24 with Central Catholic up next where they will have to tighten up on defense. Can’t get behind at Central Catholic this week, press and have turnovers.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 4-1; Vikings haven’t had any challenge since the opening loss winning by an average score of 50-10. May be able to just pound it vs Rams who can’t afford any turnovers forcing them to play catch up if Central Catholic can control the clock.
North Allegheny 3-2; Maybe the philosophy will change one day in Wexford since they’re not Central Catholic with an unending supply of D1 talent that can pretty much mug opponents unless you’re Pine Richland. Come on coach, put the ball in the air every now and then!
Bethel Park 2-2; Spoiler alert! Maybe the best 2-2 team in the West with 7 point road losses to North Allegheny and Pine Richland. Not many can say that. Won’t be easy but they could get a run going with Hempfield 3-2 and Seneca Valley 2-2 up next, followed by Canon-McMillan 1-4, Altoona 2-4 then the closer against Mount Lebanon. All but C-Mac are home.
Penn Trafford 5A 5-0; Good so far but rough seas ahead with Gateway, Franklin Regional. Armstrong, Kiski and McKeesport yet to play with a 16-7 combined won/loss.
Upper St Clair 5A 4-0; No contest winning by an average score of 35-3 (allowed 13 total points) vs a easy schedule. But we’ll see what they’re made of soon enough with games against West Allegheny, McKeesport and Woodland Hills coming up. 5A is so loaded out west.
McKeesport 5A 3-1; Still fast and furious running the Flex.
Armstrong 5A 4-1; Last year’s leading rushing in the WPIAL, Zane Dudek is at it again, running over, under, around and through teams, especially at McKeesport in game #3 for 302 yards on 45 carries and 5 touchdowns. This adds to his previous 2 game total of 501 yards and 9 Tds! Mild upset by Franklin Regional (2-2) last week 24-20 after two game stretch of McKeesport and Gateway. Back on track this week at Plum where Dudek will add to his season total of 1337 rushing yards.
Kiski 5A 4-1; How did these guys lose to Canon-McMillan (1-4)? Opener and all but now they have a real opportunity to show they are legit with a road win at West Allegheny Friday.
West Allegheny 5A 4-0; Another nice team from one of the great ones, Coach Bob Palko and maybe a challenge Friday with Kiski’s Cavs (above) in town Friday followed by USC. Two weeks later they’re at Woody. But West Allegheny plays serious D with 3 shutouts in their first 4 games.
Woodland Hills 5A 4-1; Wolverines started with a 37-21 win at Gateway but faltered mightily at Penn Trafford 26-7. Still control much of their destiny with West Allegheny and Upper St Clair coming to them at the end of the season.
Thomas Jefferson 4A 4-0; Like West Allegheny, the Jags have 3 shutouts with an offense scoring 56ppg! They’ll need all that against Ringgold 3-1, Mars 4-1, Belle Vernon 4-0 and West Mifflin 5-0; Wow! Looks like the Wpial postseason right there!
West Mifflin 4A 5-0; D7’s 4As are on fire with the Titans at a torrid clip scoring 45ppg while allowing 17. Struggling Greensburg-Salem at 1-4 are next.
Belle Vernon 4A 4-0; Belle Vernon is ripping it too, averaging 40ppg, allowing 10 in the impressive Big-9 Conference. BV, Ringgold, West Mifflin and TJ! 0-5 Laurel Highlands is next.
Mars 4A 4-1; Mars has lost to powerful AAAA South Fayette 35-14 allowing for some perspective and perhaps linkage. They aren’t winning as impressively as Big-9 teams are although they have stiff comp coming from fellow NW9 teams like New Castle.
New Castle 4A 4-1; 4-0 since opening loss to Aliquippa. Home to Mars to sort things out.
South Fayette 4A 5-0; Here’s the real power in the NW9 with New Castle (4-1) chomping at the bit to get at them if they can get past Mars this weekend. Meanwhile, the Lions will be winning at Blackhawk (3-2) if they don’t get cocky. Their resume includes strong wins against Central Valley and Mars, both 4-1. With an 8 year record counting this season of 93-9 that includes back-to-back state titles in 2013 and 2014 (16-0 both years), this is one of the Pittsburgh area’s finest programs.
Mid Penn Conference (Commonwealth,, Keystone, Capital)
Central Dauphin 4-0; Important game Friday across the river facing West Shore nemesis Cumberland Valley who has won the last 3 encounters. Remember last year’s win by CV, 62-61 in 7 overtimes?
Cumberland Valley 4-0; Making it look easy defeating decent teams like Coatesville, McDevitt and Central York by an average score of 31-14. They do it by running the Wing-T to perfection!
State College 4-0; No recent challenges since 24-13 opener at McCaskey, winning all others by a score of 154-17. At Carlisle this week.
Cedar Cliff 5A 4-0; Lack of a challenge about to change playing at McDevitt Friday in a Keystone game.
Carlisle 3-1; Hands full with State College on heels of 55-21 thumping by Central Dauphin.
CD East 3-1; Let’s see if they bounce back against Chambersburg in a conference battle after losing to rival Harrisburg 28-10 last week at home.
Harrisburg 5A 3-1; Will crush next two, Hershey and Chambersburg in tune-ups before CD.
Red Land 5A 4-1; The 4 wins are all on the road making Patriots one tough out.
Bishop McDevitt 4A 1-3; O-Line issues but good stuff in backfield at QB/RB. Big Keystone
conference game with CC-Colts in Friday night.
Lancaster Lebanon League
Wilson 3-1; Had a war with Warwick last week winning 14-10. Hey, you can’t always be awesome but still pretty good stuff.
Lancaster McCaskey 5A 2-2; Really improved (!) but not enough to beat Wilson Friday.
Warwick 2-2; Decent team with losses to Manheim Central and Wilson.
Manheim Twp 2-2; Streaks are struggling with trip to Conestoga Valley Friday in a must win Section game in the LL.
Conestoga Valley 5A 3-1; East side taking on the North side when Manheim Township comes to Horseshoe Road for what shapes up as a great game.
Cedar Crest 5A 3-1; Home to Garden Spot (3-1) in a Section crossover game.
Manheim Central 5A 4-0; Section-2 battle with Cocalico (2-2, won last 2) who is finally performing as expected with that veteran line of theirs coming off a big win against previously undefeated Elizabethtown.
Elizabethtown 5A 3-1; Will roll at Solanco before the big one at home against Manheim Central.
Lampeter Strasburg 4A 3-1; The wheels really came off last weekend getting pummeled 69-14 by Manheim Central.
York Adams League
Dallastown 4-0; Not as powerful as last year’s Wildcat group but who’s arguing 4-0? Will rout
listless York (0-4, outscored 171-58) before major road game at Northeastern the following week
Red Lion 4-0; Get toughest games at home, Northeastern and D-town and looking good, winning by an average score of 40-10. Lions are a rung beneath Wilson, CD, CV and always a threat.
Central York 3-1; Panthers are prowling now with 28-27 win at Northeastern last week Don’t like D much at Central but should rout South Western’s 2-2 Mustangs.
Northeastern 5A 3-1; May have got cocky last week losing at home to Central York and the recovery looks bleak going back-to-back at Red Lion and D-town!
Berks Inter County Football Conference
Governor Mifflin 5A 3-1; Nice bounce after opening with 38-7 blowout to rival Wilson then winning 3 straight vs quality teams; Cocalico, Manheim Township and Exeter. Should blast Boone who lost to Red Lion and Northeastern by an average score of 51-7.
Berks Catholic 4A 4-0; Looking awfully good rolling out 1556 total yards of offense while holding opponents to 247 yards rushing and change thru the air. Thing is, this is a super young team (building for 2017?), filled with sophs and juniors. Soph QB, junior running backs, soph MLB Brandon George (6-3, 220), junior DT John Blanco (6-3, 270) and more. Berks Catholic has been a force since the merger of Reading Central Catholic and Reading Holy Name in 2011, going 53-10.
D6
Johnstown 4A 5-0; Trojans are rolling, blowing people out by average score of 38-15.
State College 4-0; See D3, at Carlisle.
D10
Cathedral 4A 5-0; Building another big offense averaging 54ppg allowing 14 with only Canisius appearing as a threat in the final.
McDowell 4-1; Nothing special this year giving State College a clear shot at the Wpial rep.
Grove City 5A 5-0; Exciting team off a 1-9 season (AA then) with QB Kam Patterson (6-3, 190, sr, +3400 career) tearing it up completing 76% with a 18/1 Td-Pick ratio. Return 8 on both sides with a veteran line. Possible stumble at Dubois (3-2) Oct 7th and a rough classification this year but they’ll at least be exciting at 49ppg with Kam Patterson under center and all those veterans.
D7....WPIAL
Pine Richland 4-1; Got a scare last week from Bethel Park winning 31-24 with Central Catholic up next where they will have to tighten up on defense. Can’t get behind at Central Catholic this week, press and have turnovers.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 4-1; Vikings haven’t had any challenge since the opening loss winning by an average score of 50-10. May be able to just pound it vs Rams who can’t afford any turnovers forcing them to play catch up if Central Catholic can control the clock.
North Allegheny 3-2; Maybe the philosophy will change one day in Wexford since they’re not Central Catholic with an unending supply of D1 talent that can pretty much mug opponents unless you’re Pine Richland. Come on coach, put the ball in the air every now and then!
Bethel Park 2-2; Spoiler alert! Maybe the best 2-2 team in the West with 7 point road losses to North Allegheny and Pine Richland. Not many can say that. Won’t be easy but they could get a run going with Hempfield 3-2 and Seneca Valley 2-2 up next, followed by Canon-McMillan 1-4, Altoona 2-4 then the closer against Mount Lebanon. All but C-Mac are home.
Penn Trafford 5A 5-0; Good so far but rough seas ahead with Gateway, Franklin Regional. Armstrong, Kiski and McKeesport yet to play with a 16-7 combined won/loss.
Upper St Clair 5A 4-0; No contest winning by an average score of 35-3 (allowed 13 total points) vs a easy schedule. But we’ll see what they’re made of soon enough with games against West Allegheny, McKeesport and Woodland Hills coming up. 5A is so loaded out west.
McKeesport 5A 3-1; Still fast and furious running the Flex.
Armstrong 5A 4-1; Last year’s leading rushing in the WPIAL, Zane Dudek is at it again, running over, under, around and through teams, especially at McKeesport in game #3 for 302 yards on 45 carries and 5 touchdowns. This adds to his previous 2 game total of 501 yards and 9 Tds! Mild upset by Franklin Regional (2-2) last week 24-20 after two game stretch of McKeesport and Gateway. Back on track this week at Plum where Dudek will add to his season total of 1337 rushing yards.
Kiski 5A 4-1; How did these guys lose to Canon-McMillan (1-4)? Opener and all but now they have a real opportunity to show they are legit with a road win at West Allegheny Friday.
West Allegheny 5A 4-0; Another nice team from one of the great ones, Coach Bob Palko and maybe a challenge Friday with Kiski’s Cavs (above) in town Friday followed by USC. Two weeks later they’re at Woody. But West Allegheny plays serious D with 3 shutouts in their first 4 games.
Woodland Hills 5A 4-1; Wolverines started with a 37-21 win at Gateway but faltered mightily at Penn Trafford 26-7. Still control much of their destiny with West Allegheny and Upper St Clair coming to them at the end of the season.
Thomas Jefferson 4A 4-0; Like West Allegheny, the Jags have 3 shutouts with an offense scoring 56ppg! They’ll need all that against Ringgold 3-1, Mars 4-1, Belle Vernon 4-0 and West Mifflin 5-0; Wow! Looks like the Wpial postseason right there!
West Mifflin 4A 5-0; D7’s 4As are on fire with the Titans at a torrid clip scoring 45ppg while allowing 17. Struggling Greensburg-Salem at 1-4 are next.
Belle Vernon 4A 4-0; Belle Vernon is ripping it too, averaging 40ppg, allowing 10 in the impressive Big-9 Conference. BV, Ringgold, West Mifflin and TJ! 0-5 Laurel Highlands is next.
Mars 4A 4-1; Mars has lost to powerful AAAA South Fayette 35-14 allowing for some perspective and perhaps linkage. They aren’t winning as impressively as Big-9 teams are although they have stiff comp coming from fellow NW9 teams like New Castle.
New Castle 4A 4-1; 4-0 since opening loss to Aliquippa. Home to Mars to sort things out.
South Fayette 4A 5-0; Here’s the real power in the NW9 with New Castle (4-1) chomping at the bit to get at them if they can get past Mars this weekend. Meanwhile, the Lions will be winning at Blackhawk (3-2) if they don’t get cocky. Their resume includes strong wins against Central Valley and Mars, both 4-1. With an 8 year record counting this season of 93-9 that includes back-to-back state titles in 2013 and 2014 (16-0 both years), this is one of the Pittsburgh area’s finest programs.
