Ed Thomas Report

As an understatement, last week’s game results made for a difficult sorting out process with this week’s ranking. Garnet Valley was already in at the 10th spot so that wasn’t a problem moving them higher after beating Ridley. Neither was Abington, which was elevated from Honorable Mention to the Top 10 after beating 2nd ranked Pennsbury. And earlier in the season they beat Neshaminy, which is now the 2nd ranked team. Ridley’s loss compounded the thing as they were the 3rd ranked team. So what do you do when two of your top three teams lose? You drop them for sure but how far when both are clearly Top Ten teams. The issue was to bring in Abington, advance Garnet Valley and not drop Pennsbury or Ridley out of the Top Ten. In other words, there were 11 teams that needed to be slotted into a Top Ten format. Viola -- some team had to be tied with another team. Initially, Abington got the nod for a higher ranking than Garnet Valley because they beat a higher ranked team. But wait, Garnet Valley’s win was just as impressive; maybe more so since they did it on the road. And they also had a higher ranking going into last week’s games. At any rate, that was the reasoning that went into the decision to place them both in the number five spot.

1. North Penn (9-0) The Knights remain undefeated after beating Hatboro-Horsham handily in Continental Conference action Friday night. They opened the game with an impressive 12 play, 82-yard drive that ate up six minutes of the first-quarter. The drive was capped off by quarterback Todd Smolinski connecting with sophomore tight end Ralph Reeves from four yards out for the score. The next possession saw them go 65 yards for another score in just under three minutes and the rout was on. A grinding 12 play, 80-yard drive to open the second half iced it as the Knights coasted to a 35-0 win. Junior running back Craig Needhammer had a nice game, rushing for two scores and catching a touchdown pass from Todd Smolinski. Todd had a nice game too, finishing with three touchdown passes. The win improves them to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Continental to essentially lock up the conference title. They would have to lose at Pennridge Friday and have Souderton (5-4, 5-1) beat Quakertown (7-2, 3-2) to end up sharing the crown with Souderton. Souderton’s defense should be just a little more than Quakertown’s offense, say 3 to 6 points, especially in Souderton, but there is no way North Penn should lose to Pennridge. The Rams (4-5, 2-3) have had a roller coaster like season to date with a number of highs and more than enough lows. They had a two game winning streak coming into the Central Bucks South game last week but were stunned by the half, facing a 35-6 deficit they did not recover from despite the misleading final of 42-32. North Penn won last year, 42-21.

2. Neshaminy (8-1) The Redskins got a wake up call from neighboring Bensalem when the Fighting Owls came to play and took a 7-6 lead deep into the second-quarter. It didn’t help that the ‘Skins again displayed their penchant for slow starts. A quick study finds this occurs not only in the first-quarter but also in the third-quarter when they suffer a more severe power outage. Throughout the season, they’ve scored a total of 267 points for a productive 30 ppg average. Nice. Looks good on the surface, and it is, but it conceals those slow starts. Their first-quarter production shows a total of 49 points scored, or 18% of the total points scored. In the third-quarter, where you’d like to come out hot, the ‘Skins have not. Here, they’ve scored a surprisingly low 35 points all year, 13% of their total points scored. Their most productive quarter is the second where they have scored 114 points or 43% of total. Their second highest point production comes in the fourth-quarter where they’ve scored 69 points which represents 26% of all their points. So there it is. Bottom line, though, is that they are 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference action. Against Bensalem they eventually got it together to rack up 217 yards rushing and another 147 through the air. Look out if these guys ever string four high-gear quarters together! Still, one thing the Tribe does have in spades is balance. Coach Schmidt has worked at this all year by developing two quarterbacks, Brian Titus and Charlie Marterella, plus a stable of running backs and sure handed receivers. For instance, Bryan Dean had another fine outing with two scores and 136 yards rushing. And then there’s senior Rick Brebner who’s strong out there at wide receiver with a great set of hands. He had a touchdown and five receptions for 80 yards in total. Plus both quarterbacks threw touchdown passes. By games end, Neshaminy was sitting pretty, tied with Pennsbury atop the National Conference with its 34-7 win over Bensalem. Pennsbury is next Friday night in Fairless Hills where the Falcons will be stoked after losing to Abington last week. Time for the ‘Skins to show that four-quarter game.

3. St. Joseph's Prep (7-1) St. Joseph’s got their fifth straight win and surprisingly, only their first shutout of the year when they beat Monsignor Bonner last week, 38-0. A 14 point first-quarter was followed by a 21 point eruption in the second and it was over. Spencer Reed (5-11, 185, jr) led all backs with 82 yards on 13 carries. He had a five yard touchdown in the second-quarter. Desmon Peoples had touchdown runs of one, three and six yards on just nine carries that netted 31 yards rushing. Skylar Mornhingweg had a good game, rushing for the Hawk’s final touchdown in the second-quarter on a five-yard burst and completing seven of nine passes for 150 yards. Eight backs combined to rush for 170 yards on 39 carries. It would be easy to gloss over this one and say, what’s new, Bonner losses another game to St. Joe’s. That might not give the Hawk D the credit they deserve, knowing this is not your typical anemic Bonner offense. From 2002 through 2008, the Friars “season ending” average offense has been at the following levels, 14, 11, 13, 8, 9, 9, and 10 point per game. Absolutely non-threatening. This year’s edition came into the Hawk game with a much improved 21ppg average on the heels of a 49-10 rout of Father Judge. Guess that got the Hawk’s attention as they held Bonner to three first downs, 57 yards rushing and but 28 through the air. Nice, nice performance by the defense. The win keeps them perfect in the PCL AAAA, Red Division at 5-0. They can lock up another undefeated PCL regular season with a win at Roman Friday.

4. LaSalle (7-1) LaSalle came out smoking, scoring 21 unanswered first-quarter points on the way to a easier than expected 45-7 win over Roman Catholic. Then again, maybe Roman’s 10-7 struggle with winless Ryan the week before should have let us know all is not well in the empire. The Explorer’s had their way in this one, rolling out 356 total yards of offense while holding Roman to 65 yards rushing. That’s all they got with five pass attempts going uncompleted! LaSalle has a great offense and they spread the ball around well. Four players were on the receiving end of Drew Loughery passes including wide-outs Sam Feleccia (3/65py) and Connor Hoffman and running backs Jamal Abdur Rahman and Tim Wade. Add to that the running skills of Abdur-Rahman and Wade to see this is a diverse and powerful offense. They average 32 ppg and allow nine. Abdur Rahman ended the game with 90 yards on 16 carries and two receptions for 29 yards. He had two rushing touchdowns. Wade contributed with six carries for 28 yards and two receptions for 58 yards, one of them a 47-yard strike from Drew Loughery that put Roman in a 21-0 first quarter hole. He also ran for LaSalle’s final score on a four-yard fourth-quarter run. Connor Hoffman opened the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown pass early in the first-quarter and ended the game with three receptions for 60 yards. Quarterback Drew Loughery had a great game, completing nine of 15 passes for 202 yards and two touchdown tosses. He also ran one in from eight yards out. Great game. Cardinal O’Hara is next. They responded well following the St. Joseph’s loss by pounding Father Judge last week, 49-10. LaSalle is more but the Lions are a capable foe.

5. Garnet Valley (8-1) If anyone doesn’t believe Garnet Valley has moved into the upper echelons of high school football in southeastern Pennsylvania, last week’s win against Ridley should remove any doubts. Garnet Valley brought it to Ridley in their house and came away with a thrilling 20-14 win. One of the things that stood out in this one was how they carried themselves. There was no intimidation or timidity in play calling. The Jaguars came in as the defending Central League champion and played like it. Junior running back Alex Warden got things going early with an electrifying 74-yard run mid-way through the first-quarter. A few plays later, he banged it in from a yard out to draw first blood. Ridley responded with a nice drive capped off by a six-yard keeper by quarterback Colin Masterson just before the end of the first-quarter to tie the score at seven a piece. Garnet Valley’s quarterback didn’t complete many passes but the ones he did were daggers that struck deep into the heart of Ridley’s defense. Running back Kyle Moore scorched them by hauling in 22- and 32-yard tosses from McHugh that set up Dan Acchione’s 30-yard field goal with less than a minute left in the quarter, giving them a 10-7 half-time lead. The second-half saw G-Val stop Ridley, when Ridley wasn’t stopping themselves on stupid penalties, and march off on another drive. Ridley kept them out of the end zone but not off the scoreboard as Dan Acchione tacked on another 30 yarder halfway through the quarter, giving them a 13-7 lead. That got the Green Raiders’ attention as they took their next possession in for a touchdown when Masterson connected with Dion Shaw on a ten-yard touchdown toss. Ridley led 14-13 going into the fourth-quarter. But they wouldn’t have the lead for long after a hit on Masterson caused a fumble recovered by Garnet Valley early in the quarter. Once again, quarterback Mark McHugh came up big on one of his few completed passes, finding Alex Warden in the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown strike. Ridley held and forced the Jags to punt where they set up on the 39 yard line with a minute and a half left in the game. Here’s where the Green Mystique often kicks in for a storybook ending with the Raiders pulling out another wild win. They came close, with the drive taking them to G-Val’s 11 yard line in the closing seconds. A few passes were actually batted around in the end zone and nearly intercepted. Great coverage! Then on fourth down with the entire SRO crowd knowing a desperate pass was in the making, Masterson dropped back under tremendous pressure, with everyone coming except the cheerleaders, only to be sacked by hard charging Jeremy Irving, and it was over. What a game! Alex Warden ended the night with 116-yards rushing on 14 carries. Quarterback Mark McHuge completed 4 of 16 passes for 145 yards! The Jags struggled with a poor kicking all night with kickoffs going out of bounds and punts going for negative yardage or being blocked. They had one blocked punt. Two other punts went for no yardage, i.e. straight up, downed at line of scrimmage and negative yardage, meaning backwards, eight yards!? On two occasions Ridley penetrated into the red zone and came away scoreless, one off a blocked field goal attempt. It was quite a performance by the Jaguars who ground out 160 yards on the ground and 145 up top. A win Friday at home against Lower Merion (2-7, 2-6) will secure their second straight Central League title. It will be a “shared” title when Ridley beats Upper Darby but we all know who won the head-to-head encounter. Well done Jags.

TIE

5. Abington (6-2) Abington vaulted back into the Top Ten from the Honorable Mention group after stunning previously undefeated and 2nd ranked Pennsbury, 27-13. Most of us recognize they are a deeply talented team. The thought that was becoming more prevalent was that they might be finished after the Council Rock losses. Both losses occurred in Abington and they weren’t pretty. Red flags go up all over the place when you lose at home to teams you are at least as good as. The first was a heartbreaking 41-38 loss to South. Hey, it’s high school football where upsets are frequent flyers but that was still a stunner. It’s the next game that really got your attention where, instead of rallying and coming back with a big win as most good teams do, they were routed, again at home, this time by Council Rock North, 34-3. They didn’t even score a touchdown on a defense allowing 18 ppg! After North, they showed up in Bensalem to defeat the Owls, 33-7. That’s the performance many expected against CR North, or something similar. One thing for sure, both CR North, at 6-3, and CR South, at 7-2, have developed into serious football teams. And Abington has as well after taking Pennsbury apart. Talk about class, they came back from a 13-0 first quarter deficit to score 27 unanswered points. Pennsbury’s first score came on an Eric Williams interception, returned 82 yards for a touchdown. Running back Dante Devine then scored on a 43-yard run and it was 13-0, with every one nodding there heads in agreement that Abington was finished. Wrong! Quarterback Sam Kind recovered from his first-quarter interception to have a strong outing, throwing three touchdowns. The first was to his favorite target Anthony Hensley for 13 yards. The second was again to Anthony, this time for 37 yards. Running back Julien Ireland then scored from one yard out to make it 20-13. Shell shocked Pennsbury never recovered as Abington stuck in one more in the fourth-quarter on another Kind to Hensley hook up for a nine-yard score. The passing attack kept Pennsbury’s D on their heels as it was spread out to five receivers. Rich Johnson led all receivers with 74 yards on six receptions. Anthony Hensley finished with four catches for 69 yards. Tight end Giuliano Presta snagged three tosses for 42 yards. Kevin Deal caught two balls for six yards while Brandon Peoples made a catch for a five yard gain. Running back Julien Ireland rushed 24 times for 105 yards and had a score. Sam Kind ended the night with 16 completions on 25 attempts for 196 yards. Looking at stats makes it difficult calling this an upset as the Ghosts held the Falcons to ten first downs, 113 yards rushing and 50 yards passing. The Ghosts ran for 105 yards while passing for another 196 to lead in total yardage, 301 to 163. The regular season comes to a close Friday against Truman. Then they’ll get a chance to reflect on the season, if they haven’t already, and mull over a campaign that saw them beat Neshaminy and Pennsbury and not win the SOL-National.

6. Pennsbury (8-1) Pennsbury plummeted in the rankings, falling from 2nd to 6th after losing to Abington, 27-13. Their lack of a passing attack was fully exposed in this one where they completed two of five passes for 50 yards. Most teams pass more than five times in a game, especially when falling behind 20-13 at the half. One of Brandon Pepper’s passes was picked off. When he tried to run, he was drilled for 34 negative yards rushing on 12 attempts. Two other backs were thrown for negative yardage. All totaled, the Falcons accumulated 53 negative yards. But there was nothing negative about Dante Devine’s performance. He was unstoppable as always, rushing for a 43 yard touchdown in the first-quarter to get Pennsbury out to a 13-0 lead before finishing the night with 117 yards on 19 carries. Abington threw a blanket over everyone but Dante for most of the game. They came into the game allowing 17 points a game, including the Council Rock losses. If you eliminate those two games, what is revealed is a defense that had two shutouts, Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Tennent, a win over Neshaminy, 28-24, and an average defensive yield of only eight points a game. The Council Rock losses weren’t aberrations, maybe speed bumps. It was Pennsbury that came in with the heralded defense allowing a miserly five points a game. Where did they go? They have a lot to think about and work out this week with Neshaminy coming to town -- all they have is a slew of backs, good receivers and a coach who isn’t afraid to put the ball in the air. It’s not Air Abington but it’s the next best thing in the SOL- National. The game is at Pennsbury Friday night where they winner takes home the conference crown.

7. Ridley (8-1) The Raiders were knocked from the unbeaten ranks and 3rd place in the rankings last week when they lost at home to Garnet Valley, 20-14. The loss combined with Garnet Valley’s losing in the 3rd week of the season to Conestoga, 14-7, creates a tie between the two atop the Central League at 7-1. Both will likely finish tied at 8-1 after next week’s games with Ridley at Upper Darby and Garnet Valley home against Lower Merion. Upper Darby’s and Lower Merion’s combined won-loss is 3-15. Back to the Garnet Valley game (explained in detail above); Ridley could find no running room against the Jaguars and were held to 70 yards rushing. They missed Sam Dixon Dougan for certain but are loaded at that position this year. And while they have a powerful passing attack, you have to have some kind of a running game and can’t depend on the pass alone against an opponent of Garnet Valley’s caliber. Colin Masterson had a good enough game, completing 61% of his passes at 17 of 28 for 172 yards. Credit the Jag’s D in holding him to just one touchdown pass and the Raider’s to a two year regular season low of 14 points. No one has done that since 2007 when they beat Conestoga, 13-7, and Springfield, 13-3. Thirteen was the number that year with Ridley’s great 13-1 team winning districts before bowing out to Parkland, 35-21. Parkland (15-0) then lost to Pittsburgh Central Catholic (16-0), 21-0, and has the distinction of being the only team ever shutout in a AAAA final. One thing about Ridley, which hasn’t had a losing season since 1955, you know they are going to bounce back against Upper Darby Friday. The bad thing about the Garnet Valley loss, with its resultant lower seed for Ridley, is it dramatically increases the odds of their running into a more dangerous opponent in the playoffs, someone like Downingtown East, one of the Council Rock teams or even Penncrest.

8. Rustin (AAA, 9-0) Rustin’s big machine just keeps rolling over teams by such margins that you come to expect blow out after blow out. That’s what this one was with the Golden Knights taking Great Valley apart. A 17 point first-quarter explosion ballooned to a 31-0 half-time lead that was decisive. Rustin may be the Pennsbury of Chester County with their “ground and pound” approach, but they also have a good kicking game. Will Mau chipped in a 22-yard field goal then added five more extra points. As if they don’t have enough threats, star running back Rondell White handles the punting duties and will take off if he see an opening. He saw one in the first-quarter, taking off on a 78-yard sprint to the end zone. To date he has rushed for 1,530 yards. Great Valley’s primary weapon, running back Brian Pommerer, recently back from injury, was neutralized as he was held to 34 yards rushing on 13 attempts. With him out of the picture, and the White brothers running roughshod over the Patriots defense, 13 more third-quarter points sealed an easy 44-0 win. Rondell White scored on 11, 39 and 78 yard efforts while garnering 167 yards rushing. Brother Raheim rushed for 57 yards on six carries, one of them a 42-yard touchdown jaunt. Running back Andrew McGreevy had a rushing touchdown of 68 yards and caught a 17-yard pass from quarterback Mike Carlin. Mike completed five of nine passes for 54 yards. The Knight’s D is the best kept secret of this team. They’ve allowed 47 points all year. That’s an average per game yield of 5 ppg and goes well with the big offense averaging 42 ppg. The win keeps them undefeated in the Ches Mont American Conference at 4-0. They’ll move to 5-0 and retain the top AAA seed in the district when they defeat Oxford (3-6, 1-3) Friday and secure their second consecutive conference crown.

9. Avon Grove (8-1) Avon Grove had little trouble with fading Henderson, winning easily to remain atop the Ches Mont-National, tied at 4-1 with Downingtown West and Downingtown East. Henderson came out of the chute at a blistering pace this year, winning their first five games by an average score of 30-11. Then came the Downingtown West loss that had to hurt, going down in physical game, 14-10. It didn’t get any easier the following week with powerful Rustin coming across town for a game. The Knights beat them up pretty good, rolling to a 21-0 shutout. Then they went on the road to lose a close one against Coatesville, 35-28. Those are three difficult opponents that left the Warriors on “E” for Avon Grove who handled them, 31-6. Avon Grove has worn down most of their opponents this year with a bevy of backs thundering down on you from their Wing-T offense. Brandon Monk, a 5-8, 160 pound junior, burns teams on the outside with over 730 yards rushing and a 13 plus yards per carry average. The thunder comes in the form of Brendan McLaughlin, a 6 foot, 205 pound junior with over 800 yards rushing (6.4ypc), and Jordan Harris, a 6-1, 205 pound senior with great strength and power, gaining almost 600 yards rushing for an 8.2 ypc average. They have some horses. Defensively, seniors Geoff Melendez (6-3, 245) and Mike Jeffcoates (6-1, 245) anchor the line with Cory Snyder (6-3, 220) and Ryan Samuels (6-3, 220) holding down the flanks. Wes Shoap (6-2, 220, sr) plays on the OL and at MLB. Running back Brendan McLaughlin is a force at OLB along with Mike Esposito, a 6 foot, 190 pound senior linebacker. The secondary is led by heavy hitting SS Jordan Harris. That’s quite a safety at 6-1, 205 pounds. C.J. Arthontakis (6-3, 180, sr) and quarterback Kyle Kush (5-11, 190, sr) share time at FS with Matt Holmes (5-9, 155, jr) at one corner and Brandon Monk (5-8, 160, jr) at the other. If they beat Coatesville Friday night in West Grove, they could be paired against Abington in the post season giving us a Devils versus Ghosts encounter.

10. Downingtown West (8-1) Like Rustin above over in the American Conference, Downingtown West moved a game closer to securing their second consecutive Ches Mont National title after dominating Coatesville, 35-0. They are currently tied with Avon Grove and Downingtown East at 4-1 in conference play so someone has to lose to win it outright. The Red Raiders came in hot, fresh off of three wins, one a forfeit by Bishop Shanahan. That was followed by wins against West Chester East and a surprising win over Henderson, 35-28. They are learning the ropes under first year coach Matt Ortega who replaced Tom Nichols. Coach Nichols returned to his alma mater, Conestoga Valley (AAA), where the Buckskins are decent 6-3. There losses came to the best 3-5 team in District 3, Cedar Crest, 24-21, and two of the area’s power house Triple-A’s, Cocalico and Manheim Central. Coach Ortega was the coach at York High (William Penn) for five years where he turned the Bearcats into a power, going 38-17. He was 10-2 in his last two years, guiding the Bearcats to the playoffs both years. Given time, he’ll do the same at Coatesville. They have a pile of athletes but are not in Downingtown’s league just yet. The Whippets had an easy time with them with Kessan Christopher running at will for 110 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. He had touchdown runs of one, four, six, and ten yards. Quarterback Bret Gillespie is returning to form after nagging injuries as evidenced by his completing 8 of 17 passes for 148 yards, then rushing for 135 yards, including a 62-yard run for the score. Looks like West is rounding into good form and health at just the right time. Struggling Bishop Shannhan (3-6, 1-4) is up next. Downingtown West currently holds the number three seed. That may not mean a lot this year with so many dangerous lower seeds like Penncrest, Council Rock North and others in the mix.

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

Cardinal O'Hara (8-1)
Archbishop Wood (AAA, 7-2)
Council Rock South (7-2)
Council Rock North (6-3)
Norristown (8-1)
Downingtown East (7-2)
Interboro (AAA, 9-0)
Pottsgrove (AAA, 9-0)
Penncrest (6-3)
Chestnut Hill Academy (8-0)

State Top 10 High School Football Rankings
November 3, 2009

Playoff note: Like District One, District Three still has another weekend of games before their 16 team playoff begins meaning there are a number of huge games in both districts this week. Oddly, District Three’s Bishop McDevitt has an open week. The monster game back that way is Cumberland Valley (8-1, 3-1) at Central Dauphin (6-2, 3-1). It’s always fun when the West Shore crosses the river to do battle with the East Shore. If State College (7-2, 3-1) gets past Chambersburg (4-4, 1-3) and the after effects of the Bishop McDevitt game, there will be a two way tie atop the Mid Penn Commonwealth Division with CV or CD. Some of the big games here in D1 and 12, with playoff and or conference implications, are Glen Mills (6-3) at Interboro (9-0) where both are undefeated in the Del-Val; and once beaten O’Hara (8-1) at once beaten LaSalle (7-1). Neshaminy (8-1) at Pennsbury (8-1) will decide the SOL-National with another high profile National Conference game featuring Council Rock South (7-2) at Council Rock North (6-3). A few more games make this an especially exciting weekend of football with games like Norristown (8-1) at Upper Moreland (5-3) and Quakertown (7-2) at Souderton (5-4). What a great slate of games.

1. Bishop McDevitt (9-0) Bishop McDevitt got their first real test of the year when they ventured into hostile territory to play once beaten State College. These guys are so hard to beat up there but the Crusaders would be the first in two years to pull it off in what was to be their stiffest challenge of the season. It began almost too easy, with McDevitt jumping on them for two quick scores in just under five minutes. They are as explosive as Gateway when they get it cranked up. But State College is not the kind of team to back down from a challenge. In fact they are just the opposite, especially at home. Zak Zhayat got things going with a 35-yard field goal with 3:30 left in the half. Because McDevitt isn’t a team that sits on a lead, they came barreling right back down the field going for more. They got as far as State’s 35 yard line when Matt Johnson’s pass to Salath Williams, crossing over the middle, bounced off his hands into the hands of track and football star Alex Kenney who bolted 68 yards for the touchdown. Just like that, McDevitt’s lead dwindled to 14-10. They gave State more opportunities in the second-half by fumbling their first two possessions. Dom Mills (back from injury) made them pay when he connected with Shane Dorner for a 21-yard touchdown pass giving them the lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter. McDevitt had to count their lucky stars they were only down 17-14 after turning the ball over three times to a team like State College. At the mid-point of the third-quarter, McDevitt was again rolling with Matt Johnson finding his receivers and Jameel Poteat going at the teeth of the Lion defense. Jameel is a north-south runner with a great burst. He finally found a crack, got great blocking from his big line and was gone, off on a 35-yard gallop to the end zone to regain the lead, 21-17. State College is also a big, physical team and they came right back at the Crusaders, driving to the two-yard line mid-way into the fourth-quarter. Here their bruiser of a quarterback, Dom Mills, was stuffed on fourth and two. Showing real versatility, the Crusader’s set off on a 12 play, 98 yard drive, highlighted by Dan Leonard’s over the shoulder diving catch for a 46 yard gain. Jonathan Duckett sealed it with a two-yard carry for the score. What a game as it ended 28-17 for McDevitt! They showed they can bang with the biggest and even show them up as they did in this one, holding the Lions to a season low 130 yards rushing. Mills completed five of ten passes for 25 yards. They fall to 7-2 but will be heard from in the post season. McDevitt’s attack generated 376 yards of total offense with Matt Johnson completing 9 of 14 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown pass. Running back Jameel Poteat pounded away for 153 yards on 31 carries. The win was exactly what the Crusaders needed prior to the playoffs, a road win in hostile territory against a quality opponent. The have an open week then head into the district three 16 team playoffs as the top seed.

2. Gateway (9-0) In what was being billed as the “Game of The Year” by many, Gateway showed they may just be the “Team of The Year” after taking apart a pretty good McKeesport team in McKeesport. It was an ominous start for the host when after making a defensive stand that forced Gateway to punt on their first possession; they then fumbled the return, giving the Gators the ball on the Tiger’s 28 yard line. Six plays later, quarterback Robbie Kalkstein scored from three yards out. Not to be outdone, McKeesport’s E’Vander Wright got a great return all the way down to Gateway’s 38 yard line to make up for his previous muffed punt return. A few plays later, quarterback Ty-Meer Brown connected with Sam Gooden on a 20-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at seven a piece with four minutes left in the first-quarter. A missed Gator field goal followed by a McKeesport punt paved the way for an 18 play, 93 yard scoring drive that saw Kalkstein sneak in from a yard out on a fourth-and-goal to put them up 14-7 at the close of the half. The second-half began well for McKeesport, which put together a strong drive only to be intercepted in the end zone. Gateway responded with a nine play, 80 yard drive with Brendon Felder taking it in from ten yards out. From there on out it was all Gateway with McKeesport turning the ball over two more times. The final score was 35-14 and it could have been worse. McKeesport was held to eight first downs, 87 yards passing and only 85 yards rushing. Quarterback Ty-Meer Brown was shut down to seven yards rushing on five carries. Fullback Darien Robinson was held to 64 yards on 16 carries, making it an overwhelming performance by the Gateway defense. As always, the offense was awesome, rolling out 427 total yards of offense and 26 first downs. For a team that is known for their quick striking offense, they showed they can bang heads with you after grinding out scoring drives of 93 yards on 18 plays, 80 yards on nine plays and 66 yards on eight plays. Their star running backs had great performances; with workhorse Orne Bey rushing for 110 yards on 24 carries and a score, and Brendon Felder motoring for 98 yards on 14 carries. He and Robbie Kalkstein connected for a 35 yard touchdown. Kalkstein completed 16 of 26 attempts for 194 yards. He also had two rushing touchdowns. The win secured the Foothills Conference title and the top seed in the WPIAL 16 team playoff field that begins Friday where they’ll play Big East representative Plum (3-6).

3. North Penn (9-0) See Southeastern PA rankings.

4. Woodland Hills (8-1) Woodland Hills won their first conference title, The Big East, since 2002 when they beat rival Penn Hills, 30-5. Following a scoreless first-quarter, the Wolverines got on the board when Dom Timbers punched one in from three yards out and Lafayette Pitts returned a punt 55 yards for a score. It was 14-0 at the half and would have been more except for Woody fumbling six times throughout the game, losing two, and having two punts blocked. Penn Hills got a third-quarter field goal making it 14-3 then blocked a punt through the end zone making it 14-5. Incredibly, they blocked another punt, this time taking over at the Woodland Hills ten-yard line. They had the opportunity but the Wolverines great defense stepped up to make the hold, knocking the runner out of bounds at the four-yard line on third down with Coach Ron Graham then electing to go for the field goal. It was blocked and scooped up by Ron DeVaugh at the one-yard line and returned 95 yards to the Penn Hills four-yard line. Dom Timber got the call and took it in from two yards out. The play had to knock the wind out of Penn Hills after being so close to scoring. Instead of being down 14-12 or 14-13, had they scored on their blocked punt, they were now down 21-5. It would only get worse when Woodland Hills’ Davon Dixon blocked a Penn Hills punt for the safety, putting them on top 23-5. Dom Timbers finished them off, sprinting down the sidelines for a 32-yard touchdown and that’s how it ended with the Wolverines up 30-5. Timbers finished with 110 yards rushing on 22 carries and had three touchdowns. The WPIAL playoffs are next where they enter the fray as the 2nd seed against Baldwin (2-7) from the Greater Southern Conference.

5. Neshaminy (8-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.

6. St. Joseph's Prep (7-1) See Southeastern PA rankings,

7. Bethel Park (8-1) Bethel Park won their second consecutive Greater Southern title with an impressive 41-7 win against Baldwin. The loss drops the Highlanders to 2-7 overall and 2-3 in the Southern but they still made the cut for the post season. The 21-17 upset of Upper St. Clair looms large in their making the playoffs. Bethel Park came into this one on a five game winning streak, since losing a tough one to Woodland Hills, 21-17, at the Wolverina! At the start of the season, all they knew for certain was they had a great one in Bre Ford, their 5-10, 182 pound tail back. Graduation swept away most of last year’s team so they were essentially starting over. But another junior running back, Nick Kwiatkowski, has stepped forward to become a key contributor along with Ford. Against Baldwin, he caught four passes for 81 yards, one of them a 26 yard touchdown. In the second quarter, he scored on a seven-yard run. On defense, he made an interception and recovered a fumble. Not bad for a first year starter. Bre Ford did his damage early and then hit the sidelines after the first-half, with most of the other starters, after rushing for 96 yards and two scores. The score was 41-0 at the half. Another surprise this season is the play of senior quarterback Matthew Bliss (5-11, 185). Matt had another strong game, completing six of seven passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Their big fullback, Jared Pratt (5-11, 210, sr), got in on the action with a one-yard plunge to end the half. Two sophomore linemen from last year are making an impression as juniors in Max Bair (6-4, 255) and Jared Carothers (6-5, 260). No wonder the backfield is finding running room. Their four point loss to Woodland Hills says they can hang with most of the teams in the West so don’t be surprised if they get to the district semi-final where they will likely encounter Central Catholic or Woodland Hills in what would be a great rematch. They are the WPIAL defending champ and won the 3rd seed this year where they’ll play Penn Trafford (3-6, Foothills) in the opening round.

8. LaSalle (7-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.

9. North Allegheny (8-1) North Allegheny is making their first appearance in the State Top Ten after reeling off six straight victories and clinching the Northern Six with a perfect 5-0 record. Their only loss came in the third week of the season in a hard fought contest against Upper St. Clair, 23-14. They lost the game but knocked the stuffing out of USC who had nothing left the following week, losing at home to Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 31-7. Last week’s game with neighboring North Hills promised to be just as intense as these two are bitter rivals who always play each other the last game of the regular season, often with the added incentive of a higher WPIAL playoff seed. This year’s edition from North Hills is struggling at 4-5 overall and 2-3 in conference but was still up for North Allegheny. Things got off to a shaky start for the Tigers with North Hills pumped and pulling off a couple of drives that at least ate up the clock -- and the first-quarter which ended in a scoreless tie; however, it was a packed house for Senior Night and North Hills and just a matter of time until North Allegheny got it together. Sooner or later their fine running back, junior Alex Papson is going to break one and sure enough, on the first play of the second-quarter, he broke loose for a 72-yard scoring run. He added an 11-yard run near the end of the first half where the Tigers took a 14-0 lead into the half. The second-half opened with North Hills getting a 23-yard field goal at the six minute mark of the quarter. Quarterback Justin Brozick took over for North Allegheny, spotting an open Grant Huckstein for a 16-yard strike late in the third-quarter before closing the deal on a seven-yard keeper near the mid-point of the final quarter to end the scoring at 28-3. Alex Papson had another big game, rushing for 156 yards on 20 carries. And it was a special night for coach Art Walker who won his 100th game. This is his fifth season in Wexford after a five year stint at Central Catholic. He can start the party this weekend as the 4th seed by defeating Foothills representative Latrobe (4-5).

10. Garnet Valley (8-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.
TIE
Abington (6-2) See Southeastern PA rankings.

Honorable Mention

Ridley (8-1)
Pennsbury (8-1)
Shaler (8-1)
Wilson (8-1)
Manheim Central (AAA, 9-0)
Cumberland Valley (8-1)
State College (7-2)
Easton (8-1)
Avon Grove (8-1)
Rustin (AAA, 9-0)
McKeesport (7-2)