Who can report on the NP/Lasalle game
- Thread starter ramgreen
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I went to the game but only lasted until halftime when it was 28 - 0 and essentially the game was over.
This was a typical game between a team that can recruit and a public school, similar to games I've seen with Wood. LaSalle was noticeably bigger, stronger and faster than North Penn. They are a very impressive team, very well coached. They can both run and pass. Their sophomore running back, Samuel Brown, looks like a complete stud, had 5 TD's, reminded me a little of Josh Adams when he was a soph at CB South.
As for NP, they appear to be comparable to their teams the last couple years. Not a lot of size up front, the soph running back never had a chance to get going. Their QB wasn't bad, had a couple of nice completions. They will be OK and will get better as the year goes on. I think they'll be right there with DTW, Coatesville and Garnet Valley come district playoff time.
Hope that sheds some light on the game, or at least the first half.
Last year North Penn beat LaSalle--also a "typical game between a team that can recruit and a public school"?
Of course it's the double standard I was getting at. Last year, because NP won, it wasn't "typical," but this year, because LaSalle won, it had to be. I suppose when Parkland and North Allegheny beat LaSalle it wasn't typical, but when LaSalle beat Easton and State College it was. Similarly, when SJP beat P-R it was typical but when P-R beat SJP it wasn't. And of course Marietta is a public school.
I think last week NP's D was exposed... they have a lot first year starters.. and without the size upfront it puts a lot of pressure on LB's and DB's quickly..against NS the week prior their O kept them in a high scoring game.. if you play that game 10 times it's probable 50-50 or 60-40 split. NP's QB is a first year started who I do not believe played FB last season.. (is a pitcher on the baseball team)..
I don't follow Lasalle that closely but from what I have read on this page and eastern PA.. I think Lasalle was a young team last year and this year they have returned a lot of experience players.. if you combine that with good coaching it's tough to beat..
I don't follow Lasalle that closely but from what I have read on this page and eastern PA.. I think Lasalle was a young team last year and this year they have returned a lot of experience players.. if you combine that with good coaching it's tough to beat..
Neshaminy scored how many times on North Penn? Looks like North Penn D is the weakness since week 1. Maybe Neshaminy has got their D fixed, they essentially shutdown the Rams. Maybe Rams need some work too. No need for the sensitivity everyone knows those school’s football programs are not the same.
The fact that this is debated in 2019 is comical. Recruiting is a huge, huge advantage. Does it guarantee a victory, no. Does it help, hell yeah.
No question it's a big advantage. Very large public schools, like North Penn, also have advantages. Not every prospective student who wants to come to SJP and play football or basketball qualifies for admission. Ask Speedy Morris. And every year SJP loses student-athletes (usually after a year) for academic reasons. Still, the ability of SJP--and, and to a lesser extent, LaSalle--to attract students from a wide geographic area outweighs the advantages just about all public schools may have (even if there are also clear disadvantages of having many student-athletes having to travel 10-15 miles in each direction every day).
I thought the point I was trying to make was obvious. The poster clearly said that the lopsided win of LaSalle over North Penn was "typical" of what happens when a school that recruits plays a public school (that perhaps does a little bit of recruiting itself?). That statement has all kinds of problems. Does it apply equally to ALL the schools that recruit or is he thinking of a few? Certainly the lopsidedness of the game was not typical of most games between LaSalle and North Penn. And surely if being able to recruit was such an overwhelming advantage, West Catholic would have more than one state title.
All I'd like to see is a more nuanced discussion of the topic.
Honestly ,LaSalle has dominated the series and not sure a lot of them were even close. This If my memory serves me anymore. I lost count when the series was at 6-1 LaSalle. NP won more recently and one year the Starting QB went down right before the game. This was the year NP had the record setting transfer QB. I have zero issue with private or public, They both recruit and some level. I know the new rule about sitting out in the playoffs with effect a few teams this year.
Remember not too many years ago the NP staff seemed to NEVER have a clue....I mean never against LaSalle/Gordon in terms of pass d. Game film (vids) had you scratching your head.
Tulla,
Thanks for making my point.
You can cherry-pick a couple games where a public school won but the vast overwhelming majority of the time, the schools that recruit will win. What causes the few exceptions? Injuries, mis-evaluation in recruiting, fumbles, etc. In Pine-Richland case, they had a superstar QB who transcended all of the recruiting efforts of SJP.
For NP, they have to coach up kids to cover weak spots on their roster. That's why you see them with 5:10 230 lb. lineman, kids who have worked hard to build themselves up over 3 years. When a Wood or SJP have a weakness, they simply go out and recruit over the player.
So yes, it was a typical game.
Beck's NP teams did beat the Prep for, I think, three straight years about 10 years ago. And of course there was the very close Eastern championship game in 2016.
I wonder if Beck would say it was typical.
For what's it's worth, let me make a more general suggestion--and it's only a suggestion because I'm commenting from a distance. There seem to be trends that are generally weakening the quality of hs football teams in the much of the Philly area--and maybe in other parts of the state as well. It seems fewer kids (especially from certain groups and communities) are playing football and the overall profile of high school football teams and games in, say, Bucks , Montgomery, and Delaware Counties has been weakening. There are a few obvious reasons for this, but one or two kids from one town or another playing for SJP or LaSalle or Wood is not a main factor. (People in the North Penn, Central Bucks, Neshaminy, Ridley, Haverford, Upper and Lower Merion, etc. school districts can tell me if I'm way off base.)
Ten or fifteen years ago it was much more likely that a kid in 7th or 8th grade who showed real promise as a football player--or who was just really interested in playing hs football--would look to his local hs (maybe a public school and maybe a PCL school other than SJP or LaSalle) and think he would have a chance to get the kind of coaching, experience, and, in some cases, exposure he (or his parents) was looking for. Now more of those kids (and parents) are more doubtful they;ll get what they hope for from the local school and are more likely to be interested in what SJP, LaSalle, and (maybe) Wood are offering. It's a case of a general thinning in which people are drawn to the places that seem more immune to the thinning (of talent, emphasis, opportunity, etc.) Interested in what people think, even if you think there's nothing to what I'm suggesting.
It’s the win at all costs in our hyper-competitive environment. Parents and kids think that if you can play or even get into these high-priced schools you’ll get all the breaks and land the best jobs. Same goes with most coaches. They want to win 1st and don’t give a rats about the kids, schools neighborhoods or traditions. The schools lower standards for athletes and promise outcomes that are not realistic. Same at the college level. If you’ve been paying attention you see how the rich have been gaming it. Many of the best promising kids buy into this. Results are haves and have nots bunching rather than diverse and equalized schools and squads. It’s a shame, but the reality we live in. No different at most work environments. The spread between the haves and have nots in compensation has never been wider. I’m not a socialist, but that’s how it is. Why are we surprised that it’s the same in High School Football?
Jhopps.. I see your a new member, before you start complaining about recruiting you better be sure your team has not been guilty of it in the past and maybe this was just not their year.. every schools does it, I'm not saying I agree and I'm not saying I disagree, I'm just saying it's there...at the end of the day a parent is going to do what they think is best for their child.. and that's my only recruiting comment..
Tulla.. I agree with your points.. although I think it has more to do then just the level of talent available. When my kids were involved in pop-warner their team had 3 or 4 teams for each weight class.. our cross town rival club had the same number of teams per class.. now both clubs are struggling to to field one team per weight class. I'm not sure if it's a loss of interest in football (which it may be on the parents part), or kids getting so involved with playing one sport year round (combined with other activities and work)..is cutting into the talent that would have also played football. If you think about it.. lacrosse (which is taking a lot of kids baseball and soccer teams), track, wrestling even basketball all of skills that transfer into football.. when I was in school everyone was a three sport kid.. now you can count the number of kids on one hand in any high school that play more then one sport.. sometimes it's because their varsity coaches don't like them playing other sports or unless your the top 10% it's hard to be competitive in more then one sport today..all of these factors could be reason why the numbers could be dropping..
I think we are making somewhat the same point but not sure...
Tulla.. I agree with your points.. although I think it has more to do then just the level of talent available. When my kids were involved in pop-warner their team had 3 or 4 teams for each weight class.. our cross town rival club had the same number of teams per class.. now both clubs are struggling to to field one team per weight class. I'm not sure if it's a loss of interest in football (which it may be on the parents part), or kids getting so involved with playing one sport year round (combined with other activities and work)..is cutting into the talent that would have also played football. If you think about it.. lacrosse (which is taking a lot of kids baseball and soccer teams), track, wrestling even basketball all of skills that transfer into football.. when I was in school everyone was a three sport kid.. now you can count the number of kids on one hand in any high school that play more then one sport.. sometimes it's because their varsity coaches don't like them playing other sports or unless your the top 10% it's hard to be competitive in more then one sport today..all of these factors could be reason why the numbers could be dropping..
I think we are making somewhat the same point but not sure...
We're on the same page.
When I was at the Prep most of the guys who played football played another sport, most often baseball but sometimes basketball, sometimes track, etc. John Cappelletti (future Heisman winner at Penn State) started on the Bonner basketball team when I was at the Prep.
In addition,dont forget about the inter-ac league which recruits some of the best players also.
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