Ed Thomas Report

For the second straight week, all Top 10 teams won. Rest assured that won’t be happening in the weeks ahead where many of the members will play each other. Neshaminy, Abington and Pennsbury are all in the Suburban One League-National Conference while North Penn and Quakertown are in the SOL-Continental Conference. LaSalle and St. Joseph’s will meet in two weeks in PCL AAAA-Red Division action while Downingtown West and East won’t face off until October 23rd. That’s the great thing about this year’s grouping; most of them play each other to settle the rankings on the field. You’ve got to love that!

1. Neshaminy (2-0) Neshaminy barely clung to the top spot this week with a narrow win against troublesome Hatboro-Horsham, 13-6. Rain and wind greatly impacted games across the state, in many cases leaving it up to the defenses to decide the issue. For the second week, the Tribe went with dual quarterbacks as Brian Titus (5/13/75 yds) split time with Charlie Marterella (6/9/78 yds). That, combined with a nice distribution of passes to six receivers, says Coach Schmidt is determined to develop a passing game. Hatboro scored first after intercepting Brian Titus in the first quarter. Three plays later, Matt Coyle ran it in from 12 yards out. Neshaminy countered immediately with Marterella under center leading the ‘Skins on a 12 play 72-yard drive, culminating in a 12-yard strike to Ricky Williams coming out of the backfield for the six points. The Hatters were game but this one belonged to the ‘Skins who had a total yardage advantage of 288 to 201. That, plus the first down totals of 17 to 7, speaks well of the defense in this one. They move on to play Germantown in their first road game of the year before the big one in Abington the following week.

2. North Penn (2-0) North Penn is beginning to look scary good after reviewing their performance in such trying conditions Friday night. Check out these numbers: quarterback Todd Smolinsky completed 8 of 13 passes for 88 yards and threw 2 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries. Running back Craig Needhammer was again unstoppable, running for 156 yards and 2 scores, then snagging a 16-yard toss for 6. On a rainy evening, where most teams were happy just holding onto the ball and getting a win, the Knights showed off their “big play” ability, scoring on alternating run-pass plays of 45-, 16-, 58- and 17-yards. Granted, it was against out-manned Lansdale Catholic but it was still a strong win, especially putting up 28 points under such conditions while holding the Crusaders to 7. St. Joseph’s Prep is up next in a monster match up of District 1 and 12 titans. These two truly deserve each other since there are no teams in southeastern Pennsylvania (state wide?) who have sought out so difficult a schedule of non-conference foes as these two have … over the years. North Penn has taken on the likes of Overland-CO, Bethlehem Catholic, Cardinal O’Hara and Archbishop Wood in their strong years; Liberty and St. Joseph’s the last two years. The Prep’s portfolio shows games against Brooklyn Prep, St. Ignatius-OH, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Neshaminy in ‘05 and ‘06, the Gilman School-MD, Don Bosco Prep., St. Anthony’s-NJ, Davidson-OH and Parkland. How special is that? While Prep’s non-conference schedule appears more impressive, North Penn defeated them the last two years running, 17-7 in 2007 and then 14-7 last year. Last season’s was a great one where both came in undefeated but North was more that night in the mud with Ronnie Akins returning a first quarter punt 75 yards for 6 and Tyler Smith doing the same near the end of the quarter, ripping off a 96-yard return for the score after Prep pinned them at their 4-yard line. Mike Yeager broke free for St. Joe’s late in the third quarter to make it 14-7. This one should be just as exciting.

3. LaSalle (2-0) Because LaSalle is an “all weather” team, meaning they have great balance, the rain and slop had little effect on them as they cruised to an easy 28-7 win against Malvern Prep. It was perfect weather to just hand off to a steady back and that’s what they did as Jamal Adbdur Rahman rushed for 151 yards on 26 carries. He scored twice. Fullback Tim Wade also had two scores. The other aspect of the attack, quarterback Drew Loughery, showed no ill effects from the weather, passing for 120 yards on 10 completions of 16 attempts. Coming up next is their stiffest challenge to date, undefeated West Catholic. They edged the Burrs’ great team last year, 27-26. Although this is a new group, it is very quick with athleticism everywhere. They will miss what was arguably the best backfield in the state and a ton of graduated senior leadership. Because defense should be a team strength, this one could get interesting.

4. Pennsbury (2-0) Holding on to a 7-0 third-quarter lead while sensing the need for dramatic change, Coach Snyder replaced starting quarterback Brandon Pepper, who had fumbled three times, with understudy Jeff Prine. The junior responded, leading the Falcons on two scoring drives and a reasonably safe 17-0 lead late in the third quarter. Brandon Pepper returned in the fourth-quarter to engineer a 56-yard scoring drive to open up a 24-0 lead. Running back Dante Devine was key in securing the ball while rushing for 107 yards. Frankford out-rushed Pennsbury 256 yards to 213 but gave 80 yards back on 10 penalties! But at the end of the day, considering the conditions, you’re just glad to get off the field with a W. National Conference action begins in two weeks but the Falcons should have no trouble staying focused with Glen Mills coming to town. The 0-2 Bulls are one of three teams to beat them last year, 20-6, and were the only thing standing between them and an undefeated mark going into the season finale at Neshaminy!

5. Abington (2-0) Abington had no trouble with Plymouth Whitemarsh, racing out to a 31-0 half time lead then coasting to a 38-6 win. A fast note on Plymouth Whitemarsh; three years ago the Colonials were battling district runner- up Ridley to a hard fought 36-29 loss in the post season. Since then, they’ve gone 5-6, 0-11 last year and 0-2 this year. Through two games, they are scoreless while allowing 94 points so it’s hard times at Plymouth Whitemarsh High. It’s just the opposite for the Ghosts who are on fire with a boatload of talent in running back Julien Ireland, quarterback Sam Kind and wide-out Anthony Hensley. They haven’t been challenged yet with wins against Central Bucks East and PW but that will change shortly when they encounter top ranked Neshaminy two weeks from now. In the mean time, Abington somehow finds itself in an “open” week giving them extra time to prepare for the ‘Skins. They already have the home field!

6. St. Joseph’s Prep (2-0) The Hawks’ took a few body shots early, staggering into the locker room at half time on the short end of a 28-14 score. From thereon, going on second half performance alone, it was a rout with St. Peter’s going down hard, 40-28. Guess they had to shake off the effects of the big McKeesport win the week before. Once they did, they ground St. Peter’s down to something less than New Jersey’s 5th rated team. Statistically, it was a field day for the Hawks with Garrett Compton gaining 117 yards and sophomore Desmon Peoples (5-6, 150, sophomore) gaining another 162 yards on 7 carries. All totaled, the Hawks’ gained 357 yards on the ground. Quarterback Skylar Mornhinweg completed 7 of 15 passes for 57 yards. North Penn is next at home, Friday night. A glance at the rankings says this one is North Penn’s to lose, or, is the difference between a 2 and a 6 paper thin? I think it’s the latter with both fielding talent that on any given day can carry that day. North Penn appears to be more, but any team that can stay with and beat a quick and skilled McKeesport team can hang with the Knights.

7. Downingtown West (2-0) Downingtown showed tremendous improvement from week one to week two by throttling always dangerous Glen Mills. The defensive line showed up this week after not getting it done the previous week against Penncrest. This week saw Josh Coulter (6-2, 215, sr), their best lineman, sack Glen Mills quarterback four times. On the night, the Bulls were held to 54 yards rushing and 135 total yards to the Whippets 319 total yards of offense. Downingtown’s quarterback Bret Gillespie threw for 160 and a score in the first half, then sat out the second half with a shoulder sprain. With backs like Kessan Christopher (3 scores) and Trey Faust who rushed for 114 yards, there was no need to pass as they pounded the Bulls into submission to win easily, 30-7. Chester (1-1) is next coming in off a 36-0 win over Sun Valley. The loss came in the opener to Henderson, 29-21. West won last year in Chester 38-18 but could get resistance this year against a more mature Chester team pumped from last year’s 8-3 campaign.

8. Ridley (2-0) Ridley showed another dimension of their attack against Lower Merion Friday night as they ground out 275 yards rushing to brush aside the Aces, 39-0. Blessed with great depth at the running back position, the Green Raiders were led by Sam Dixon-Dougan’s108 yards rushing. He had touchdowns runs of 1- and 35-yards. Rob Davis, Jalen Randolph and Shahaid Smith contributed another 110 yards with Jalen getting 2 scores and Rob 1. After holding a potent Coatesville attack to 6 points last week, they got their first shutout of the season and fifth in the series over the last 11 years where they have outscored Lower Merion, 342 to 39. With good power, speed and depth in the backfield, the prospects of a quality quarterback in Colin Masterson and another fast and hard hitting defense, it will be interesting to see just how far this team develops. Central League action continues Thursday in their home opener against improved Haverford.

9. Downingtown East (2-0) Both the weather and Downingtown East rained on Souderton’s parade in their home opener at the new stadium, where East came away with a 29-7 win. Last year’s young team was demolished by Souderton, 46-14, so you know this one felt good. Initially, it was a tight affair, with East holding a slim lead. A steady diet of running back Trey Harris (6-2, 200), rushing for 73 yards on 21 attempts proved both safe (weather) and effective. East fumbled just once but recovered to lead, 10-7, at the half. Souderton fumbled 10 times, losing 7 to East. That would be their demise with 5 of the lost fumbles occurring in the second half to pave the way for 19 unanswered Downingtown points. Quarterback Trey Lauletta had a decent game, completing 7 of 12 for 86 yards. Four of those completions went to his tight end Tyler Kroft (6-6, 220) for 55 yards. Coach says they got much stronger and quicker over the summer. That’s a good thing as they will need every bit of it Friday night in West Lawn taking on Wilson’s Bulldogs who were “upset” by Manheim Central, 29-27. Wilson came storming back from a 26-7 deficit only to see their 42 yard field goal attempt (long enough) go left with 8-seconds remaining on the clock.

10. Quakertown (2-0) Quakertown survived soaked field conditions and a steady rain to defeat a game Upper Merion team, 28-6. Big plays were the difference with quarterback Ryan Tincknell connecting with Tyler Burke for a 64-yard score, then again on a kick-off, handing off to Tyler on a reverse for a 75-yard score. Ryan finished the night completing 5 of 8 passes for 108 yards. Running back Tony Latronica hit the century mark and got two touchdowns on 19 carries. Upper Merion’s Liam Cheeseboro had a great night too, rushing for 106 yards on 16 carries. Total yardage numbers showed Upper Merion threatening but unable to convert their slight yardage edge of 217 to 213. Non-conference action continues Friday at home against 1-1 Cheltenham. This is Quakertown’s second home game of the year and you know the place will be rocking with the Panther’s off to such a strong start. Cheltenham is struggling and looking vulnerable here in their first road game of the year.

Honorable Mention
(Grouped by conference or classification, otherwise random)

Cardinal O’Hara (2-0) Home North Catholic 9/19
Father Judge (2-0) At Pocono Mountain West 9/18
West Catholic (2-0) At LaSalle 9/18
Council Rock South (2-0) Home Conwell Egan 9/17
Coatesville (1-1) Home McCaskie 9/18
Garnet Valley (2-0) Home Conestoga 9/18
Penncrest (1-1) Home Marple Newtown 9/17
Rustin (AAA, 2-0) Home West Chester East 9/19
Pottsgrove (AAA, 2-0) Home Boyertown 9/18
Strath Haven (AAA, 2-0) Home Radnor 9/18

STATE Top 10 High School Football Rankings

September 14, 2009

The State Top 10 teams also had a strong week going 10-0. Just like Southeastern Pennsylvania’s top teams, this group will be mixing it up in the near future featuring a number of head-to-head encounters. Currently top ranked Bishop McDevitt gets Central Dauphin in two weeks then ends the year in a monumental game against State College. SC has Central Dauphin Friday in Harrisburg where anything can happen. Gateway doesn’t get a stiff test until October 16th at home against McDowell (2-0), who came out strong against Cathedral Prep in its opener with a 14-7 win. Upper Saint Clair will be tested the next 4 weeks against a brutal slate including North Allegheny, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Canon McMillan and Bethel Park who currently have a combined won-loss of 7-1. Central Catholic has aforementioned USC in 2 weeks followed by Woodland Hills and Penn Hills on consecutive weeks. Woodland Hills gets tested at home Friday versus Canon McMillan followed by Bethel Park and Central Catholic so here again, it will be settled on the field.

1. Bishop McDevitt (2-0) I think McDevitt’s defense has been reading some of the sports boards that alluded to perceived softness last year, questioning whether they really had what it takes to be a Quad-A champion. Time will tell but if their performance against Cedar Cliff last week was any indication, the answer is likely a strong affirmative. McDevitt’s skill people did what they do every week, pile up glittering statistics. For example, quarterback Matt Johnson threw 4 touchdowns and ran for another 2 while senior wide-out Salath Williams caught 3 touchdown passes. The offense was impressive as always but it was the defense that stepped up to play a great game. You’d think holding down Harrisburg and winning 41-16 would make a statement. They improved on that by corralling the Colts, 49-7, and holding them to 2-yards rushing against McDevitt’s first unit. The final total yardage stats were a one sided 434 yards to 82. Downtrodden Central Dauphin East (0-2) is next. They lost their opener to rival Central Dauphin, 62-23, and last week’s game against a revived Carlisle bunch that was supposed to make noise last year. The Herd won 37-19. McDevitt can name the score in this one.

2. Gateway (2-0) Gateway ventured to the South Hills to play the Purple and White gang from Baldwin and came away with a mercy ruled (10 minutes into 4th quarter) 43-7 win. Dayonne Nunley and Brendon Felder were the primary backs with senior quarterback Robbie Kalkstein having a pressure free outing to complete 10 of 14 passes for 218 yards and 2 scores. Baldwin is struggling through hard times, adjusting to 3 head coaches in the last 4 years. Beginning the season with games against Shaler and Gateway doesn’t help. Latrobe is next on the docket in Gateway’s home opener. What an occasion that will be after stuffing Penn Hills and routing Baldwin. Their opponent is coached by Ray Reitz who left Jeannette after winning two WPIAL titles, going to Hershey twice and winning a state title. His record at Jeannette in four years as head coach was 48-6 so as we suggested in the Preseason Report, keep your eyes on them. They could easily be 2-0 after shutting out Derry in the opener, 21-0, then getting nipped by an improved Fox Chapel bunch, 14-7. The Gators are the team but this year’s Wildcat edition should be more than last year’s.

3. Neshaminy (2-0) See Southeastern PA rankings.

4. Pittsburgh Central Catholic (2-0) Pittsburgh Central Catholic struggled for most of the game getting past a talented 1-1 Canon McMillan team. This one was scoreless through the half. Then things got even more interesting at the mid-point of the third-quarter when FB/LB Mike Hull (PSU as LB) took a pitch out from the quarterback and connected with wide out Alec Schramm for a 42-yard score. C-Mac is a good team but Central may be a great one. Realistically, it was really only a matter of time until their great back, Damion Jones-Moore, broke loose. He had 133 yards through the third-quarter then exploded for 125 yards in the fourth quarter to lead the Vikings to a 21 point outburst and win. Pretty good for a 5-6, 170 pound sophomore. That was his second 200 yard game of the young season bringing his two game rushing total to 462 yards and 6 touchdowns. Quarterback David Smyers completed 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards. Mount Lebanon (1-1) is next. The Blue Devils got your attention week one upsetting North Hills, 17-16. That evidently got 2-0 North Allegheny’s attention as well who crushed them 28-7. Central won last year’s encounter, 21-0.

5. Upper Saint Clair (2-0) Upper Saint Clair stayed in high gear by throttling a decent Pine Richland team, 43-14. The week before they routed Penn Trafford, 48-20. Everything is lining up for them to have a very strong season. Quarterback Alex Park came out of nowhere last year to complete 62 % of his passes for 1,589 yards. Running back Jacob Siwicki had a fine sophomore season getting nearly 700 yards rushing. And they almost always have strong special teams under Coach Render. That was evident last week when they returned kickoffs 90- and 99-yards for scores. Alex Park was on target all night and Jaob Siwicki had touchdown runs of 1-, 7- and 56-yards plus a 35-yard touchdown catch. Once again we have a match up of North versus South when USC (Great South) plays Northern Allegheny from the Northern 6. USC won last year’s game in Upper St. Clair. This one is in Wexford where the Tigers will be looking to avenge last year’s 30-28 loss. They have the horses to pull it off with a great line centered around Thomas Ricketts (6-6, 265) and Ben Balzer (6-3, 280). Like USC, North Allegheny discovered a sophomore running back last year, Alex Papson, who made quite a name for himself rushing for 1,088 yards.

6. Woodland Hills (1-1) Woodland Hills bounced back from a tough loss to Steubenville-OH in the opener to get a 37-0 win at out gunned Connellsville. It was over in the first-quarter where the Wolverines raced out to a 28-0 lead. Star running back Dom Timbers got 110 yards on 5 carries then sat as did the entire first unit in the second-quarter. Another weapon was unveiled when Sam Scifo booted field goals of 28-, 34- and 36-yards. The Wolverines have a lot of talent and speed according to Coach George Novak who feels this is one of his fastest teams in years. They’ll need all the talent and speed they can muster to get through the Big East wars. Penn Hills may be 0-2 but when all is said and done, they’ll be a solid team. Fox Chapel is very improved then there is Central Catholic. They also face stiff non-conference comp in Canon McMillan and Bethel Park the next two weeks. C-Mac will be a thorn in the side of a number of opponents this year. This next one is Woodland Hills’ home opener and an opportunity to settle up for last year’s 10–0 shutout at the hands of the Big Macs.

7. State College (2-0) Before last year’s game, Cumberland Valley held a 7-0 series lead on State College although many of those games were tight affairs. State finally broke through last year winning in Mechanicsburg, 17-14. One truth about the Mid Penn-Commonwealth is that over the years, you have had to go through Cumberland Valley to get at the title. With a 314-73 won-loss since 1976, they are the premier muscle team of south central PA. (Half way to Philly in West Lawn is that monster team, Wilson, who hasn’t had a losing season since 1963.) The Central Dauphin’s, Harrisburg’s and Bishop McDevitt’s have had their moments, some very fine ones at that, but with only 2 losing seasons in 33 years, this is the team you often have to beat to get out of the District. State High did that last week, by the skin of their teeth. They battled hard and jumped all over the Eagles early, racing out to a 21-2 lead with 3:20 left in the first-quarter. Impressively, this was done without starting quarterback Dom Mills who is also their All-State safety. He was pulled at the end of the first half the week before against Hollidaysburg with a twisted ankle and is out indefinitely. Matt Mazzara stepped in to complete 2 of 5 passes but rushed for 205 yards on 18 carries! Alex Kenney lined up everywhere, including under center to finish with 96 yards on 17 carries. CV’s two scores came on plunges by power back Travis Friend (6-2, 240) who got 110 yards rushing. Actually, CV almost won this one. First-year starter Eric Sawyer was picked off in the end zone while State’s quarterback punched a mis-snap out of the end zone for a safety. And finally, CV stopped State on 4th down at the Eagles 20 with1:40 left in the game. Lining up quickly, Sawyer and the Eagles stunned the crowd by connecting with Trevor Harman who raced 50-yards before being caught. On the next and last play of the game, Sawyer took off down the sideline but was stopped by linebacker Brad Holzwarth at State High’s 10-yard line. Wow! It doesn’t get any better than that. CV softened them up; let’s see if undefeated Central Dauphin can take them down. The game is in Harrisburg Friday night.

8. North Penn (2-0) See Southeastern PA rankings.

9. LaSalle (2-0) See Southeastern PA rankings.

10. Pennsbury (2-0) See Southeastern PA rankings

Honorable Mention

North Allegheny (2-0) Home Upper Saint Clair 9/18
McDowell (2-0) At Norwin 9/18
McKeesport (1-1) At Connellsville 9/18
Bethel Park (2-0) At North Hills 9/18
Central Dauphin (2-0) Home State College 9/18
St. Joseph’s Prep (2-0) Home North Penn 9/18
Abington (2-0) O P E N Week
Downingtown West (2-0) Home Chester 9/18
Ridley (2-0) Home Haverford 9/17
Downingtown East (2-0) At Wilson (D3) 9/18