Week 7
1. Downingtown West 7-0. In a game where the score mimicked something we’ll see on the hardwood in a few weeks, the Whippets outlasted explosive West Chester East 59-49. Wow! The 108 point were a record number for points scored at Kottmeyer Stadium and one of a number of records too numerous to list here. Guess it goes without saying 108 points via 1082 yards of offense is going to break a few records. Downingtown had 516 yards with running back Jake Barr rushing for 112 yards on 13 carries for four scores and catching 6 passes for 98 yards and two more scores. Braden Harper got in on the fun too, rushing for 102 yards plus 38 more on receptions filling in for the injured Mike Riddick. How about quarterback Thomas Mattioni quietly having a strong year (938 yds, 65%), completing 11 of 14 passes for 188 yards with 2 Tds. Also have to give West Chester East a nod, cranking out 566 yards with standout performances from quarterback Jon Jon Roberts and running back Jared Cooper. Roberts completed 31 of 40 for 364 yards with four Td passes while tailback Cooper rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns. How are these guys 3-4? The Whippets win kept them atop the Ches Mont-National at 3-0 with Downingtown East. 1-6 Henderson is next, limping in for their third straight road game, coming off a 35-14 loss to Avon Grove (4-3).
2. Upper Dublin 7-0. For the fifth consecutive week, Upper Dublin scored over 42 points on the way to a total dismantling of Plymouth Whitemarsh, 42-0. That’s also the sixth time in seven games they’ve scored at least 42 points. A huge part of their attack is senior quarterback Ryan Stover (6-4, 215), having another strong year completing 18 of 24 against the Colonials for 216 yards and throwing five touchdowns. To date he’s completed a phenominal 73% of his passes for 942 yards. Three running backs and four receivers have over 400 yards rushing and passing making it a well distributed attack; 30% run, 70% pass. All the primary backs are over 200 pounds (200, 210, 215) as are most of the receivers giving the Cardinals an element of physicality they are not known for. The defense that has significant experience with eight returning starters who just had their third shutout in a row. This week has the Cards at Upper Moreland (6-1, 3-1) where they’ll fight off another challenger in the Continental before what has become a significant game with Hatboro Horsham who is currently tied with them at 3-0 and 4-3 overall.
3. Downingtown East 7-0. Looks like the Cougars are going to end the regular season with a tougher than expected slate given the success of West Chester East and Bishop Shanahan this year. Actually Shanahan is very much in the Ches Mont-National race at 2-1 (4-3 overall) battling for good seeding in the AAA postseason so look for a dog fight there. The Cougars passed a significant test last week beating Coatesville on their field 22-12. Talk about dog fights, this one had the Raiders holding a 12-7 half time lead. But as fate would have it, third quarter action saw quarterback Jordan Young go down with an injury and not return. Although the schedule presents concerns, two of the remaining three games are at Kottmeyer, Shanahan and Downingtown West with dangerous West Chester East sandwiched between at East High. So stay tuned for a wild ride and finish to a highly entertaining conference race.
4. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-2. The Hawks continued their domination of LaSalle winning 49-24 to extend the winning streak to five going back to 2012 where the Explorer’s won in the post season 28-27. The day once again belonged to the Hawks who showed the diversity of their attack scoring on special teams with a 90-yd kickoff return by Terrence Green, in the air where Kevin Shaw threw two touchdown passes and on the ground where they were explosive with Benny Walls scoring on a 60-yd run and 68-yd Td toss, D’Andre Swift (162-ry) scoring on a 39-yd run and Darryl Simmons snagging a 27-yd Td toss from Shaw. They may be inexperienced (3 turnovers) but have obviously morphed into a team capable of a deep run with wins against Evangel, St. Ignatius, St. Joseph’s Regional and now LaSalle by a combined score of 126-35. Who needs an eye test with results like that? Father Judge (5-2) is next.
5. Parkland 6-1. Quoting last week’s write up; “To win this one, Parkland needs to tighten up a defense that has been sieve like the last two games, allowing 28 to Whitehall and 41 to Liberty. The question is can Easton exploit those vulnerabilities.” After watching Easton self-destruct against an unyielding Trojan defense, they clearly “tightened up” the defense. And the answer to whether Easton could exploit vulnerabilities mentioned above is a loud no. Parkland didn’t play an overwhelmingly impressive game but flashed characteristics needed to defend their district title and advance in the playoffs. Spearheading the attack was-is quarterback Devante Cross, who rushed for 95 yards and passed for 144. He threw three touchdowns and had one interception. Wide out Kenny Yeboah caught five passes for 61 yards for two Tds while Erik DiGirolama rushed for 80 yards. Bottom line, anytime anyone can go into Easton and hold them to three points in a 21-3 win, it’s impressive. In something of a role reversal, EPC-South leader Freedom is next with Parkland a game back at 3-1.
6. LaSalle 3-3. It’s easy to think the Explorers are slumping but the truth is they are more likely suffering the effects of a demanding schedule that shows losses to DeMatha, Archbishop Wood and St. Joseph’s Prep in three of their last four games. Imagine the number of schools that dodged those teams over the years while moaning about filling out their schedule. But there is another side to that coin that shows wins against powerhouses North Penn and Pennsbury, alongside the Malvern Prep win so don’t feel too sorry for them. In some ways they are reminiscent of St. Joseph’s last year who approached the postseason with a 5-3 record and stats that were less than impressive, scoring 260, allowing 224, a 33-28ppg avg. LaSalle is not that team, but wins against the aforementioned says they are a heck of a football team. Winless Roman Catholic is next then Judge where they will likely finish the regular season at 5-3 entering the PCL-AAAA playoffs.
7. North Penn 5-2. Make that four in a row since the Downingtown East loss as the Knights are rolling now, making it look easy defeating Pennridge, Central Bucks South, Souderton and Bensalem by an average score of 43-15. The winless Owls went down hard last week, losing 55-20. Up next is a showdown with SOL-National co-leader Pennsbury who is also 4-0 in-conference. North Penn entered last year’s game at 4-3 to upset previously undefeated Pennsbury 24-21, ending their seven game winning streak. That was a critical game for playoff purposes having much to do with their securing the 9th seed. This one is no less important for Pennsbury trying to secure an opening round home game while North Penn fights to maintain a higher seed than their current 14 seed.
8. Liberty 6-1. “The task this week is to come down from the high of that win (the Parkland win) for a road game at Northampton (1-5), stay healthy, then prep for the stretch run of Easton (5-1), Allentown Central Catholic (4-2) and Freedom (6-0).” That was last week’s thought as the Canes survived a trip to Northampton, winning 28-18. Although the schedule is brutal, particularly now after Easton laid an egg against Parkland, it’s amenable, with two of the three games at home beginning Friday with Easton. The Rovers routed them last year, winning 48-25 but don’t have that kind of consistent firepower this year. The Canes have been awesome at home, beating Allen 56-6, Whitehall 42-7 and Parkland 41-34. Conversely, Easton has been suspect against quality, losing to Allentown Central Catholic 26-24 and Parkland last week. They’ll take off the gloves for this one with Easton still in the hunt at 3-2 knowing Freedom’s (5-0) schedule includes Parkland (4-1), Easton (3-2) and Liberty (4-1). Throw in Nazareth at 3-2 and Catholic at 2-3 all battling for something in the postseason to see we’ll have quite a finish in the South.
9. Pennsbury 6-1. The Falcon’s continued the streak, winning their fifth game in a row by defeating Pennridge 38-32. This one fit the classic description of two games in one when Pennsbury surged out to a 30-6 halftime lead. Against their veteran defense, everyone was thinking “Ok, game over”. Everyone except the Rams who made a spirited comeback, scoring 23 in the third plus a field goal to win the “second game” 26-8. But that’s where the comeback ended with Pennsbury holding on and coming home with a difficult road win to stay atop the National with North Penn at 4-0. Their Ground and Pound philosophy spread to the quarterback position in this one with Mike Alley rushing for 170 yards. And unbelievable as it sounds, an ounce of “Air Pennsbury” reared its head when he tossed touchdowns of 16 and 24 yards. North Penn is next in Pennsbury’s first home game since Abington October 2nd.
10. Quakertown 7-0. The Panthers stayed in the hunt for their second consecutive SOL-Continental title by defeating Central Bucks West 28-7. Quarterback Tim Garlick completed 11 passes for 112 yards while Rob Burns scorched the Bucks for 228 yards and three Tds on 20 carries, bringing his season total to 1198 yards rushing. Their big senior wide out Kyle Baskin (6-4, 215) has 21 receptions for 424 yards giving them a number of weapons. They’ll need all those weapons and more this week against the SOL-Continental co-leader Council Rock South (5-2, 4-0). Unlike Quakertown, they are battle hardened with games against Pennsbury (6-1) a 13-6 loss, Neshaminy (5-2) a 27-25 loss and Central Bucks East (5-2), a 32-26 win.
1. Downingtown West 7-0. In a game where the score mimicked something we’ll see on the hardwood in a few weeks, the Whippets outlasted explosive West Chester East 59-49. Wow! The 108 point were a record number for points scored at Kottmeyer Stadium and one of a number of records too numerous to list here. Guess it goes without saying 108 points via 1082 yards of offense is going to break a few records. Downingtown had 516 yards with running back Jake Barr rushing for 112 yards on 13 carries for four scores and catching 6 passes for 98 yards and two more scores. Braden Harper got in on the fun too, rushing for 102 yards plus 38 more on receptions filling in for the injured Mike Riddick. How about quarterback Thomas Mattioni quietly having a strong year (938 yds, 65%), completing 11 of 14 passes for 188 yards with 2 Tds. Also have to give West Chester East a nod, cranking out 566 yards with standout performances from quarterback Jon Jon Roberts and running back Jared Cooper. Roberts completed 31 of 40 for 364 yards with four Td passes while tailback Cooper rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns. How are these guys 3-4? The Whippets win kept them atop the Ches Mont-National at 3-0 with Downingtown East. 1-6 Henderson is next, limping in for their third straight road game, coming off a 35-14 loss to Avon Grove (4-3).
2. Upper Dublin 7-0. For the fifth consecutive week, Upper Dublin scored over 42 points on the way to a total dismantling of Plymouth Whitemarsh, 42-0. That’s also the sixth time in seven games they’ve scored at least 42 points. A huge part of their attack is senior quarterback Ryan Stover (6-4, 215), having another strong year completing 18 of 24 against the Colonials for 216 yards and throwing five touchdowns. To date he’s completed a phenominal 73% of his passes for 942 yards. Three running backs and four receivers have over 400 yards rushing and passing making it a well distributed attack; 30% run, 70% pass. All the primary backs are over 200 pounds (200, 210, 215) as are most of the receivers giving the Cardinals an element of physicality they are not known for. The defense that has significant experience with eight returning starters who just had their third shutout in a row. This week has the Cards at Upper Moreland (6-1, 3-1) where they’ll fight off another challenger in the Continental before what has become a significant game with Hatboro Horsham who is currently tied with them at 3-0 and 4-3 overall.
3. Downingtown East 7-0. Looks like the Cougars are going to end the regular season with a tougher than expected slate given the success of West Chester East and Bishop Shanahan this year. Actually Shanahan is very much in the Ches Mont-National race at 2-1 (4-3 overall) battling for good seeding in the AAA postseason so look for a dog fight there. The Cougars passed a significant test last week beating Coatesville on their field 22-12. Talk about dog fights, this one had the Raiders holding a 12-7 half time lead. But as fate would have it, third quarter action saw quarterback Jordan Young go down with an injury and not return. Although the schedule presents concerns, two of the remaining three games are at Kottmeyer, Shanahan and Downingtown West with dangerous West Chester East sandwiched between at East High. So stay tuned for a wild ride and finish to a highly entertaining conference race.
4. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-2. The Hawks continued their domination of LaSalle winning 49-24 to extend the winning streak to five going back to 2012 where the Explorer’s won in the post season 28-27. The day once again belonged to the Hawks who showed the diversity of their attack scoring on special teams with a 90-yd kickoff return by Terrence Green, in the air where Kevin Shaw threw two touchdown passes and on the ground where they were explosive with Benny Walls scoring on a 60-yd run and 68-yd Td toss, D’Andre Swift (162-ry) scoring on a 39-yd run and Darryl Simmons snagging a 27-yd Td toss from Shaw. They may be inexperienced (3 turnovers) but have obviously morphed into a team capable of a deep run with wins against Evangel, St. Ignatius, St. Joseph’s Regional and now LaSalle by a combined score of 126-35. Who needs an eye test with results like that? Father Judge (5-2) is next.
5. Parkland 6-1. Quoting last week’s write up; “To win this one, Parkland needs to tighten up a defense that has been sieve like the last two games, allowing 28 to Whitehall and 41 to Liberty. The question is can Easton exploit those vulnerabilities.” After watching Easton self-destruct against an unyielding Trojan defense, they clearly “tightened up” the defense. And the answer to whether Easton could exploit vulnerabilities mentioned above is a loud no. Parkland didn’t play an overwhelmingly impressive game but flashed characteristics needed to defend their district title and advance in the playoffs. Spearheading the attack was-is quarterback Devante Cross, who rushed for 95 yards and passed for 144. He threw three touchdowns and had one interception. Wide out Kenny Yeboah caught five passes for 61 yards for two Tds while Erik DiGirolama rushed for 80 yards. Bottom line, anytime anyone can go into Easton and hold them to three points in a 21-3 win, it’s impressive. In something of a role reversal, EPC-South leader Freedom is next with Parkland a game back at 3-1.
6. LaSalle 3-3. It’s easy to think the Explorers are slumping but the truth is they are more likely suffering the effects of a demanding schedule that shows losses to DeMatha, Archbishop Wood and St. Joseph’s Prep in three of their last four games. Imagine the number of schools that dodged those teams over the years while moaning about filling out their schedule. But there is another side to that coin that shows wins against powerhouses North Penn and Pennsbury, alongside the Malvern Prep win so don’t feel too sorry for them. In some ways they are reminiscent of St. Joseph’s last year who approached the postseason with a 5-3 record and stats that were less than impressive, scoring 260, allowing 224, a 33-28ppg avg. LaSalle is not that team, but wins against the aforementioned says they are a heck of a football team. Winless Roman Catholic is next then Judge where they will likely finish the regular season at 5-3 entering the PCL-AAAA playoffs.
7. North Penn 5-2. Make that four in a row since the Downingtown East loss as the Knights are rolling now, making it look easy defeating Pennridge, Central Bucks South, Souderton and Bensalem by an average score of 43-15. The winless Owls went down hard last week, losing 55-20. Up next is a showdown with SOL-National co-leader Pennsbury who is also 4-0 in-conference. North Penn entered last year’s game at 4-3 to upset previously undefeated Pennsbury 24-21, ending their seven game winning streak. That was a critical game for playoff purposes having much to do with their securing the 9th seed. This one is no less important for Pennsbury trying to secure an opening round home game while North Penn fights to maintain a higher seed than their current 14 seed.
8. Liberty 6-1. “The task this week is to come down from the high of that win (the Parkland win) for a road game at Northampton (1-5), stay healthy, then prep for the stretch run of Easton (5-1), Allentown Central Catholic (4-2) and Freedom (6-0).” That was last week’s thought as the Canes survived a trip to Northampton, winning 28-18. Although the schedule is brutal, particularly now after Easton laid an egg against Parkland, it’s amenable, with two of the three games at home beginning Friday with Easton. The Rovers routed them last year, winning 48-25 but don’t have that kind of consistent firepower this year. The Canes have been awesome at home, beating Allen 56-6, Whitehall 42-7 and Parkland 41-34. Conversely, Easton has been suspect against quality, losing to Allentown Central Catholic 26-24 and Parkland last week. They’ll take off the gloves for this one with Easton still in the hunt at 3-2 knowing Freedom’s (5-0) schedule includes Parkland (4-1), Easton (3-2) and Liberty (4-1). Throw in Nazareth at 3-2 and Catholic at 2-3 all battling for something in the postseason to see we’ll have quite a finish in the South.
9. Pennsbury 6-1. The Falcon’s continued the streak, winning their fifth game in a row by defeating Pennridge 38-32. This one fit the classic description of two games in one when Pennsbury surged out to a 30-6 halftime lead. Against their veteran defense, everyone was thinking “Ok, game over”. Everyone except the Rams who made a spirited comeback, scoring 23 in the third plus a field goal to win the “second game” 26-8. But that’s where the comeback ended with Pennsbury holding on and coming home with a difficult road win to stay atop the National with North Penn at 4-0. Their Ground and Pound philosophy spread to the quarterback position in this one with Mike Alley rushing for 170 yards. And unbelievable as it sounds, an ounce of “Air Pennsbury” reared its head when he tossed touchdowns of 16 and 24 yards. North Penn is next in Pennsbury’s first home game since Abington October 2nd.
10. Quakertown 7-0. The Panthers stayed in the hunt for their second consecutive SOL-Continental title by defeating Central Bucks West 28-7. Quarterback Tim Garlick completed 11 passes for 112 yards while Rob Burns scorched the Bucks for 228 yards and three Tds on 20 carries, bringing his season total to 1198 yards rushing. Their big senior wide out Kyle Baskin (6-4, 215) has 21 receptions for 424 yards giving them a number of weapons. They’ll need all those weapons and more this week against the SOL-Continental co-leader Council Rock South (5-2, 4-0). Unlike Quakertown, they are battle hardened with games against Pennsbury (6-1) a 13-6 loss, Neshaminy (5-2) a 27-25 loss and Central Bucks East (5-2), a 32-26 win.
