Ed Thomas Report

1. North Penn (11-0) The Knights came out on fire, scoring on every first-half possession to knock Council Rock North out of the playoffs with a first round 39-12 win. C.R. North was limited offensively without the services of injured quarterback Tyler Hamilton. It was a winning but still frustrating season for them with the one point loss to Neshaminy and seven point loss to Council Rock South preventing an 8-3 campaign; however, without the big win at Abington, they are 5-6 instead of 6-5. This group showed a lot of fight, a lot of character. North Penn had big outings from running back Craig Needhammer and Dom Taggart who rushed for 132 and 96 yards respectively. The offense is in high gear, averaging 33 points per game. At 7 ppg yield, the defense is playing at levels not seen since 1999's 11-2 team that scored 29 points a game while allowing 9. For comparison, last year’s team scored 35 ppg while allowing 12 ppg. The 15-0 PIAA championship team of 2003 scored on average 40 ppg and allowed 13, meaning this year’s team is playing at “championship” levels. Second round action continues Friday where they play their old rival Neshaminy. The two met in last year’s district final where North Penn won easily, 28-0. The year before saw Neshaminy breeze to an equally easy second round 35-0 win. During the regular season of 2006, the Knights prevailed, 29-7, after getting pounded the year before, also in the regular season, 41-13.

2. St. Joseph's Prep (9-1) For the second straight week, St. Joseph’s lowered the boom on Roman Catholic, this time in the PCL Red Division first round, 42-7. It was every bit as bad as the final score suggests with Roman held to negative 22 yards rushing on 15 carries. Add 60 passing yards to see they only got 38 yards of total offense for the game. The Hawk’s ground them down, rushing for 308 yards on 42 carries. Desmon Peoples led the way with 142 yards rushing on 12 carries with Spencer Reed contributing 74 yards on 15 carries. Wide-out Pete Hurley had 4 receptions for 74 yards. The passing game was right there with Skylar Mornhingweg completing 8 of 13 passes for 149 yards. He had 3 touchdown passes. They put it all together in this one, rolling out 457 yards of offense. Second round action is next where they take on hard charging LaSalle (9-1) who has not lost since week number four when they dropped a 24-17 decision to the Hawks. Here’s the report on that game.

St. Joseph’s Prep-LaSalle, Sept 26, 2009:

The Hawk’s climbed in the rankings from eighth to sixth with a gut check come-from-behind 24-17 win against previously undefeated LaSalle. It didn’t come easy. In fact, at first it appeared LaSalle had this one in the bag as they stormed out to a 17-6 lead late in the second quarter. Knowing they had St. Joe’s reeling and going for the kill (why not!), quarterback Drew Loughery was picked off by Steve O’Hara who returned it 50 yards to LaSalle’s 8 yard line. Three plays later on third and 11, quarterback Skylar Mornhinweg threw a laser to Desmon Peoples, drawing them within 5 points at 17-12. The two-point conversion attempt failed but the Hawk’s entered the locker room and second half with tremendous momentum. From thereon it was all St. Joe’s as they shutdown the Explorers potent attack. The shutdown actually began once LaSalle’s lead got to 17-6 since, from that point on, they were outscored 18-0. But it still came down to the wire with 1:30 left in the game where Mornhinweg (7/19/99/2 TDs) connected with wide out Bobby D’Orazio on an 18-yard scoring strike making the score 18-17. LaSalle fumbled away their next possession at their own 14-yard line. Talk about self-destructing. The Hawk’s made them pay two plays later when Mike Labor banged in from 10 yards out. Facing a 24-17 deficit, LaSalle drove down field to the Hawk’s 19 yard line where on fourth and 10, Loughery was hit on the release and it was over. What a great and needed win for the Hawk’s coming on the heels of last week’s loss to North Penn.

3. LaSalle (9-1) LaSalle got a second half surge to hold off Cardinal O’Hara 31-21 and advance to the PCL final against St. Joseph’s Prep Friday night at Charlie Martin Stadium in Philadelphia. This was a hard fought contest with O’Hara scoring late in the first half to forge a 14-14 tie. That typically gives a team great momentum but it was LaSalle who came out in the second-half to punch in two scores that were decisive. Jamal Abdur Rahman got it started with a two-yard run near the mid-point of the quarter. The next score broke O’Hara’s back when, after a punt pinned the Explorer’s on their 25-yard line, quarterback Drew Loughery connected with Connor Hoffman for a 75-yard touchdown, making the score 28-14. How deflating is that! O’Hara did manage a touchdown at the top of the fourth-quarter that yet again failed to light the fire you kept expecting to see. Poor special teams play hurt the Lions in this one with short punts giving LaSalle excellent field position and a muffed punt recovered by the Explorer’s. A pick resulted in LaSalle’s final game sealing score on a Michael Bennett 38-yard field goal. Let’s hear it for the LaSalle defense that held Ohio State bound running back Corey Brown to a season low 42 yards rushing. Jamal Abdur Rahman lit things up for LaSalle, running for 144 yards on 29 carries. Quarterback Drew Loughery completed 9 of 16 passes for 194 yards. He ran and passed for a touchdown. The Explorer’s should feel real good about this one as it is always difficult beating a good team twice in the same season. They move on to the final against St. Joseph’s Prep where they hope to defend their PCL-AAAA Red Division title. See St. Joseph’s above.

4. Ridley (9-1) Ridley jumped Neshaminy in the rankings on the strength of an outstanding offensive performance on a rain and wind swept field where they took apart the Suburban One-National Conference runner up Council Rock South. The final score belies the fact that it did not start well for the Raiders who lost three fumbles and had a blocked punt returned for a 48 yard touchdown by Ambrose Smith. The half-time lead was precarious at 13-7. But, this is Ridley and it was only a matter of time until they got it going regardless of whatever Mother Nature had in store for them. The fireworks began at the very top of the second-half when Daquan Hill returned the kick-off 75 yards for a touchdown. That was the spark that lit the fuse as they tallied 27 unanswered points to just demolish the Golden Hawks, 40-15. They scored about every way you can score with four rushing touchdowns; two passing and the kick-off return. Quarterback Colin Masterson had a strong outing with two rushing touchdowns and two passing. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 220 yards. Receiver Dion Shaw snagged a seven yard strike for six while Alex Nicolino took one in from 67 yards out. Dion had a great night finishing with 118 yards on 5 receptions while Alex caught two balls for 77 yards. The backs contributed big time with Shahaid Smith gaining 134 yards on 17 carries and Jalen Randolph getting 65 on eight carries. The offense was huge despite the foul weather with the Raiders rolling out 226 yards on the ground to go along with the 220 up top. With only ten pass attempts in 45 plays, the Hawks were going into the teeth of the Green Raider defense. And you’re not getting outside on them. They were held to 70 yards rushing and 17 through the air in another dominate performance by the Green Raider defense. Second round action continues Friday night under the lights in Folsom where they play upstart Unionville (8-3), fresh off their major upset of the number two seed Pennsbury.

5. Neshaminy (9-2) Things got off to an ominous start for Neshaminy when a first-quarter punt was blocked and run in for a touchdown giving Abington an early 7-0 lead. But the ‘Skins answered with a 39-yard field goal by Ricky Domico to keep the crowd in the game on a dreary night with the score tightened up at 7-3. Then Abington took the lead back to seven when in the second-quarter Ian MacMillan nailed a 30-yard field goal to make it 10-3. Despite the bad weather, both sides were finding the end zone. The score that got things going for Neshaminy was Corey Major’s ten-yard run with just under 30 seconds left in the half, tying the game at 10 apiece. That was huge and prevented any “here we go again” looks and thoughts that can creep into the psyche. After the break, the ‘Skins were a different team in the second half (what’s new!) when they put up two more scores to take a 24-10 lead. The first was on Rick Brebner’s 12-yard reception of a Charlie Marterella pass with the other being Bryan Dean’s ten-yard run for six. Abington punched in a fourth-quarter score that only made it interesting as Neshaminy came away with a satisfying 24-17 win. Second round action sees them in for a real challenge against top seeded and defending district champ, North Penn. It would be great to see a competitive, hard fought game that would not reflect the recent history between these two storied programs which has seen alternating lop-sided victories for each stretching back as far as the 2005 season. The Tribe will have to demonstrate something they haven’t shown all year, consistency, to make a game of it. And adding to their possible woes, they are taking on a team that has been the model of consistency in District One.

6. Avon Grove (10-1) Welcome to the Ches Mont and their bone crushing power football team from Avon Grove High. Granted, a place name like Avon Grove (soft A), doesn’t conjure up images of a gang of football players looking to mix it up with someone. It sounds and looks more like a place where you have a picnic! But that’s what they are with their formidable Wing-T offense stampeding over everyone except Downingtown East who somehow beat them, 32-21. They gave Quakertown a sneak peak of what was to come after the Panther’s scored on their first possession, an 80 yard run by Tony Latronica, by following up with a 62 yard touchdown run by Brandon Mont on their first play from scrimmage. Thereon, it was pretty much “lights out” with the Red Devils rolling out the thunder and lightening to create a near perfect storm that blew past the Panthers, 41-14. The big guys, Brendan McLaughlin (6-0, 205) and Jordan Harris (6-1, 205) rushed for 150 and 94 yards respectively. Each scored a touchdown. Brandon Monk (5-8, 160), zigged and zagged for 114 yards on 11 carries of which two were scores. All totaled the Devils plowed out 430 yards rushing on the ground. The next assignment is huge, that of beating Downingtown West for the second time this year in Downingtown. The playoff point system leaves much to be desired when a team from your conference with the same record, against the same schedule, winds up with a lower seed after beating you on your field by two touchdowns. Avon Grove won that one, 35-21, but will get a stiffer test here in the second round.

7. Downingtown West (10-1) For a program known for their passing prowess, Downingtown West showed a lot of muscle against their old rival Conestoga and little mercy, scoring on their first four possessions, as they unleashed a punishing ground game that churned out 316 yards rushing. Conestoga made too many mistakes that left them with a ton of “three and out” scenarios and Downingtown with a short field most of the night. The result was a predictable 40-8 rout. Whippet running back Kessan Christopher had three touchdowns, rushing for 166 yards on 31 carries. Trey Faust had 96 yards rushing on ten carries. They have some backs! Quarterback Brett Gillespie is looking good to go after completing five of six passes for 93 yards so they are firing on all cylinders after gaining 410 yards of total offense. The next game is a rematch at Kottmeyer Stadium in Downingtown against Avon Grove, to whom they lost in week seven, 35-21. The Whippet D had no answer for any of the Devil backs who ran at will on them. Fullback Brendan McLaughlin was unstoppable; rushing for 200 yards on 32 carries. He had three touchdowns. The other big back, Jordan Harris had four carries for 25 yards and a score. Junior Brandon Monk had a great night rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. It’s difficult preparing for Avon Grove’s attack since so few teams run the Wing-T with so many gifted runners. It doesn’t really matter where the game is played with the Devils coming in pumped after already beating Downingtown once at Kottmeyer.

8. Rustin ( AAA, 11-0) If any team approximates the Avon Grove attack, albeit without the number of great backs, it’s Rustin, also from the Ches Mont where they play in the conference’s small school division, the American. Avon Grove plays in the larger school division, the National. Rustin opened defense of their district title last week against the PAC-10's second place team, Upper Perkiomen (7-4). You knew this one had to get ugly with a schedule check showing losses against 10-1 Owen J. Roberts, 56-21, and 11-0 Pottsgrove, 62-20. At least they played a few quality opponents. But they hadn’t seen a team like Rustin who brings it all together in terms of both power and speed to both sides of the ball. They get after you as evidenced by a defensive point yield of 54 for the year. The offense, although one dimensional, is explosive, scoring 470 points to date for a per game average of 43. Their super back Rondell White has 1,797 yards rushing after tearing up Upper Perk for 164 yards and scoring runs of 22, 47 and 49 yards. Brother Rahmier has 532 so it’s a potent backfield. Quarterback Mike Carlin has a strong arm to throw a very long ball to keep opposing defenses honest. His arm strength on a team that has thrown the ball just over 50 times, is probably the most underrated aspect of the team. For Upper Perkiomen, their D-line was badly out muscled by Rustin’s O-line. MG Nate Pompei, 5-9, 175, with the tackles going 5-11, 260 and 5-8, 200 in Dwayne Gillespie and Dan Wolfrom weren’t enough. The ends go 5-10, 210 for Nick Hale and 5-10, 170, for Jody Peart. Rustin tore through them for 474 yards of total offense on the way to a 46-0 rout. They move on to play Pottsgrove in the district AAA semi final in a rematch of last year’s semi final won by Rustin in Pottsgrove, 21-13.

9. Penncrest (8-3) Penncrest went on the road last week for their second playoff game in school history, facing Central League co-champ Garnet Valley in the opening round of the playoffs. Tough assignment. Last year’s first ever playoff game ended in disappointment in the first round when they were routed by Pennsbury, 45-14. Adding fuel to the fire for the Garnet Valley game was a bitter 28-27 loss to the Jaguars in the closing minutes of the regular season game this year. There’s some incentive, not that they needed it. The big issue in this one whether they could muster enough defensively to stave off the big Jaguar attack. You knew at 42 ppg average they had enough offense to play with most teams. So what did Penncrest do? They stopped G-Val cold in their tracks while racing out to a 14-0 second quarter lead. That didn’t look right and of course it wasn’t with the Jaguars storming back with two second-quarter scores to be down 21-14 at the half. Running back Jerry Boyer did all the damage for Penncrest, scoring on two one-yard plunges. Marcellus Irving got G-Val on the scoreboard with a 12-yard jaunt to the end zone in the second-quarter and a 22-yard touchdown reception of a Matt McHugh pass near the end of the quarter. Sandwiched between those scores was a 19-yard Matt Atkinson to Phil Barbieri pass resulting in a score for Penncrest. Irving’s touchdown was followed by two more G-Val scores in the third-quarter when quarterback Matt McHugh went on scoring runs of 64 and 10 yards to take a 28-21 lead. Running back Juhwan Young countered for Penncrest on a 13 yard scoring run two minutes later, tying the score. What a game. Four minutes later with the third-quarter coming to an end, Marcellus Irving ran in another one from three yards out, giving the Jags a 35-28 lead. The Lions weren’t quite finished with junior kicker Tom Weathers splitting the uprights for a 32-yard field goal as the quarter closed cutting Garnet Valley’s lead to 35-31. Phew! The fourth-quarter saw the Lions make a few key defensive stops that denied Garnet Valley any more points or momentum. Then, with just under four minutes left in the game, Matt Atkinson broke loose on a 26-yard gallop to the end zone putting Penncrest up for good, 38-35, with the kick. One more defensive stop by the much maligned defense and it was over with the 3rd seed going home and the 14th going to Downingtown. Penncrest’s defense held a potent Jaguar attack to12 first downs, and got key stops when they had to. The Jags rushed for 280 yards but only 82 passing. Lion back Jerry Boyer dented a heretofore solid defense for 179 yards on 19 carries. He had two touchdowns. Quarterback Matt Atkinson rushed for 108 yards and a score on 22 carries so this time, it was the Garnet Valley’s defense that broke down. For the night, Penncrest rushed for a bewildering 352 yards and another 72 passing with Atkinson completing four of nine passes, one for a touchdown. What a win by Penncrest. Garnet Valley’s fine season comes to a close at 9-2 while Penncrest advances to the second round to play 11th seeded Downingtown East (9-2).

10. Unionville (8-3) Unionville’s stunning upset of 2nd seeded Pennsbury has to rank up there as one of the biggest playoff upsets in southeastern Pennsylvania in a long time, especially in terms of seeding as Unionville came in at number 15. Another game that comes to mind is 16th seeded Abingon upsetting undefeated and top seeded Council Rock North, 21-20, in 2006. The difference, just about everyone knew Abington was a dangerous opponent and that C.R. North would have their hands full. That wasn’t the case here where the prevailing view was Unionville may as well not even show up! But they did show up, performing like something other than a 15th seed to beat the Falcons on their home field, 12-7. Junior quarterback Brandon Pepper got things off to a great start for Pennsbury with a 99-yard first-quarter dash to the end zone. Showing something of their character, Unionville came right back on their next possession on an eight-play drive where quarterback Connor Gades (6-2, 180, jr) hit senior Connor O’Malley (6-3, 180) over the middle for a 32 yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 7-6. The snap was fumbled so that’s where it stayed. From there through the third-quarter, Unionville played on even terms with the Falcons until Masom Poppham (5-8, 150, jr) broke loose from nine yards out for the score. The two-point conversion failed but Unionville had all they needed with a 12-7 lead. Pennsbury had one more scoring opportunity in the fourth-quarter but were stopped on a fourth and goal at the four-yard line with just over 15 seconds left on the clock. Senior backer Ronnie Birmingham (6-1, 215) made the hit. The Falcons retreat to Fairless Hills to lick their wounds and get ready for another day while Unionville takes on another severe challenge Friday night at 7th seeded Ridley. They’ll have to defend the entire field against Ridley, not just the box as they did Pennsbury.

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

Garnet Valley (9-2)
Abington (7-3)
Pennsbury (9-2)
Cardinal O'Hara (8-3)
Council Rock South (8-3)
Downingtown East (9-2) Home to play Penncrest (8-3) in a wild one.
Interboro (AAA, 11-0) Home for a tough one vs. Owen J. Roberts (10-1).
Pottsgrove (AAA, 11-0) Home for a hard game with Rustin (11-0).
Archbishop Wood (AAA, 9-2) At Northeast to play Gratz (7-4).
George Washington (8-2) Open week.
West Catholic (AA, 9-2) At Northeast to play 10-0 Bok.

State Top 10 High School Football Rankings
November 17, 2009

1. Bishop McDevitt (10-0) The Cougars showed a lot of fight in this one, at least through the first half where they kept it close, down 21-17 to powerful Bishop McDevitt. Last week’s report mentioned the fierce intensity in this rivalry with the schools situated only two blocks from each other. It has been an intense game probably going back to the inception of the schools which have been playing each other since the 1930s. McDevitt opened in 1927 followed by William Penn and John Harris the following year. Both quickly developed into powers, especially John Harris while tiny McDevitt floundered. They took on William Penn in 1933 with predictable results, a 35-0 drubbing. In 1939 they tried John Harris on for size and lost as well, 24-7. The games continued through the decades with little interruption until 1971 when William Penn and John Harris merged to form Harrisburg High. Checking last week’s intensity meter shows 31 penalties dished out between the two teams last week. Not exactly commendable but indicative of the bad karma that exists between the two. The Cougars came out very big in this one but you have come out enormous against McDevitt because they’ll eventually wear you down trying to cover all their skill people. That starts with possibly the best junior quarterback in the state in Matt Johnson (6-2, 190). Johnson has completed 67% of his passes for 1,982 yards. His touchdown to interception ratio is 26 to 2. He throws to any one of five receivers of which three are D1 bound. The top running back is Jemeel Poteat (6-0, 200, jr) with 1,205 yards rushing. Fullback Sean Barowski (6-2, 235) adds to the blocking abilities of one of their better lines. It’s all there defensively, and on special teams as well, making them quite a package. Against Harrisburg, quarterback Johnson completed 12 of 20 passes for 313 yards and four scores. Poteat added 89 yards on 25 carries. McDevitts’ defense is largely unheralded with all the talent on the offense but they’re a load as well, holding Harrisburg to 75 yards rushing. By the third quarter the score was 42-17 with the starters sitting. The final score was 42-24 as the Crusaders roll into the second round to play 8th seeded Governor Mifflin (7-4) on Landis Field at Central Dauphin High. Governor Mifflin has had some outstanding teams over the years. This is not one of those years.

2. Gateway (11-0) Penn Hills came out swinging in this do or die second round rematch with Gateway, keeping the vaulted Gator attack out of the end zone for the entire first-quarter. No small feat. But they got it going in the second-quarter when Robbie Kalkstein connected with Brendon Felder coming out of the backfield for an 83-yard touchdown. What a coup for UNC getting a running back like Felder who can also catch. Penn Hills answered immediately with Mike Ferraro kicking a 25-yard field goal. Brendon Felder and Robbie Kalkstein connected again in the second quarter, this time for a 38-yard score. That was not a bad half for Penn Hills’ defense, holding explosive Gateway to only two scores and a 14-3 lead. No one has done that to them except Penn Hills, back in the opener! The Indian defense played well, with little support from the offense but could not hold fourth year starting quarterback Kalkstein down. His third, and final, touchdown of the game was another bomb for six points, this time of 54 yards to Armistead Williams to end the night with 235 yards passing and three touchdowns. Two more fourth-quarter scores finished off Penn Hills when Felder ran in from two yards out, and Markie’d Jones dashed in for a 17-yard touchdown to end the scoring at 35-3. They move on to play red hot North Hills (6-5), the 12 seed. North Hills has caught everyone’s attention by upsetting the 5th seed McKeesport (7-4) in the first round, then following up with a surprising upset of 4th seeded North Allegheny (9-2) 14-10 last week. The game couldn’t be more centrally located for a neutral site event being played at Fox Chapel.

3. North Penn (11-0) See Southeastern PA rankings.

4. Woodland Hills (10-1) Woodland Hills shut down a good Pittsburgh Central Catholic (8-3) team, held their star running back Damion Jones-Moore to 30 yards and cruised to an easy quarterfinal win against their Big East rival. It was over at the half with the Wolverines surging to a 22-3 lead. Actually, it over before that when fullback Cameron Thompkins took in the winning score on a first quarter 13-yard burst for six points. No one knew that at the time or could have imagined how thoroughly they would shutdown the Vikings. Quarterback John Yezovich found Mike Lee alone for an 11 yard touchdown before Central Catholic got on the board with a Matt MacZura 48-yard field goal. Running back Dom Timbers ran one in from a yard out, made the two-point conversion giving them the 22-3 half time lead. He scored twice in the fourth quarter on one- and four-yard runs to ice it at 36-3. Central couldn’t stop Dom in this one anymore than they could in the first game as he ran for 132 yards. WPIAL semifinal action continues at West Mifflin High where 2nd seeded Woodland Hills attempts to defeat 3rd seed Bethel Park for the second time this year. They beat them in week four, 21-17. Here’s the report on that game.

Woodland Hills-Bethel Park, Sept 25, 2009:

Woodland Hills passed a major test Friday when they beat the defending WPIAL AAAA champ Bethel Park, 21-17. Bethel Park has reloaded from last year’s great season where they beat Wilson 38-35 in three overtimes in the West final before losing to Liberty, 28-21, also in overtime. They came into this one looking to take the Wolverines down and almost did when they opened up a 14-7 lead they took to the locker room. Coming into the Wolverena is difficult enough but to take a lead on them was making a big statement. Imagine their locker room and how utterly opposite things were in the other. But the Wolverines responded, tying the game in the third-quarter when Lafayette Pitts raced 29-yards to tie the score at 14-14. Except for a few plays, this was a defensive struggle between two serious contenders for the WPIAL title. It wasn’t until the four minute mark of the fourth-quarter when Bethel Park lined up for and converted a 22-yard field goal by Anthony Paglia for a 17-14 lead. Talk about cool under pressure, the Wolverines sucked it up and drove down field to the Blackhawks’ 35 yard line where quarterback John Yezovich found running back Lafayette Pitts streaking down the sideline for the winning score with just under three minutes left in the game. But Bethel Park wasn’t done yet. With 2:30 left to play, starting on their 30 yard line, the Hawks drove to the Wolves 18 yard line with just under two minutes left in the game. Three plays later they were knocking at the door with a first and goal from the five. But at this point they self-destructed, being thrown for a loss and suffering a holding penalty to face a fourth and goal with nine seconds left to play. A fourth-down pass was tipped away in the end zone by Lafayette Pitts who did it all that night. Star running back Dom Timbers did his thing, allowing the Wolverines to hold onto the ball for long stretches of time by rushing for a quiet 116 yards on 18 carries. Bethel Park’s junior running back Bre Ford rushed for 75 yards a touchdown.

5. St. Joseph's Prep (9-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.

6. Bethel Park (10-1) Head coach Jeff Metheny had to be thinking about last year’s silver medal team the way this year’s edition has come largely out of nowhere, like last year’s team to be in position to win another WPIAL championship. What a team this was last year that beat mighty Gateway, 10-6, to win their first WPIAL title in school history. The Gators came in ranked 3rd nationally by USA Today and were averaging 256 yards rushing a game while scoring 42 points a game! The Black Hawks saved their very best defensive effort of the year for them, allowing but 55 yards rushing and 52 passing. Wow! Following that one, they beat one of the best teams to come out of central Pennsylvania by defeating Wilson’s Bulldogs, 38-35, in three overtime periods. They seemed to be a team of destiny but lost to another team in search of its destiny, Liberty High, 28-21, fittingly, in overtime. Most of that fine team has graduated including quarterback Erik Olson (+1,500py), their bruising back Lyle Marsh (6-1, 210, +1200ry) and gifted wide out Jon Schademan (+1,000py) but they reloaded well. They made a good, well coached Shaler team (9-2, 6th seed, Coach Neil Gordon) look typical after beating them in the quarter finals, 32-14. Shaler got the jump with Jesse Della Valle’s six-yard run in the first-quarter. That got Bethel Park’s attention as they answered with three consecutive scoring drives to take a 26-7 half time lead. The scoring came on tight end Drew Volbers’ four-yard reception of a Matt Bliss pass, fullback Jared Pratt (5-10, 210, sr) rambling for a 32-yard score, junior back Nick Kwiatkowski (6-0, 180) getting under quarterback Matt Bliss’s toss for a 60-yard score and Jared Pratt banged in another one, this time from 17 yards out to end the first half scoring. They swapped scores in the second half with the Black Hawks pulling away for a 32-14 win. Running back Bre Ford ended the game with 78 yards rushing and a score on 22 carries. He also caught five passes for 62 yards. Matt Bliss stayed hot, completing 13 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdown passes. The defense had another strong performance, holding Shaler to 86 yards on the ground. The Hawks rushed for 220 yards. The win advances them in to the semi-final for a rematch with 3rd seeded Woodland Hills (10-1). See Woodland Hills above.

7. LaSalle (9-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.

8. Ridley (10-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.

9. Neshaminy (9-2) See Southeastern PA rankings.

10. East Stroudsburg South (10-1) East Stroudsburg South, or Eastburg South as they call them up in District-Eleven, makes their first appearance in the State Top 10 after running off 10 in a row and defeating defending AAAA state champion Liberty, handily last week, 49-21. At 6-5, the ‘Canes were struggling but that’s a terrific win by the Cavaliers. The only team to beat them worse was North Penn at the top of the season, 42-10. Putting ESS here at the number Ten Spot might cause a howl from the Easton camp with some justification since the Rovers beat them in the opener, 24-22, at Easton. But the Cavaliers have come on since then. Actually, they had the lead in that one, 14-0, at the half. A few nicks and a lot of cramping put key players on the sidelines, in part allowing Easton to rally in the second half and pull it out. East Stroudsburg South was right there with them statistically gaining 14 first downs to Easton’s 16. Neither threw the ball well that early in the season with the Cavs passing for 47 yards to Easton’s 93. South out rushed Easton 266 yards to 138. It was anyone’s game. The game against Liberty was not anyone’s game. Quarterback Robbie Moyer (5-8, 170, sr) ripped Liberty’s defense apart, completing 12 of 22 passes for 193 yards. He had four passing touchdowns and one rushing. By half time, they led 21-7. In the second-half, they beat them with the big play on a 63-yard Moyer to Keith Hinds touchdown in the third-quarter followed by Colin Hegarty’s 21-yard run. Colin, a 5-10, 195 junior, is one of their top backs with 519 yards gained on 57 carries. The other back is a DI prospect in Kyshoen Jarrett. He had 48 yards rushing against Liberty and 463 on the year. His yards per carry average is 11.58. Hegarty had quite a game by following up his 21-yard touchdown with a 99-yard fumble return for another touchdown in the fourth quarter. There’s a memory! Four Cavalier touchdowns broke Liberty’s back. Their fine quarterback, Anthony Gonzalez, had a good outing statistically, completing 11 of 23 for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 184 yards on 34 carries to account for 303 yards of their 365 total yards of offense. Mistakes hurt Liberty, losing two of three fumbles and throwing two interceptions. The Cavs rushed the ball for 158 yards on 20 carries so both side were moving the ball. The impressive things is that ESS not only kept up with a team like Liberty that has a lot of offensive weapons but that they beat them as overwhelmingly as the did, scoring in every possession of the second half. They haven’t won a district championship since 1995 but sure look like the team to end that trend. They have to get past Parkland (9-2) in the semi-final for a shot at it, and then take on the winner of Easton-Hazelton. This should be a war with Parkland playing well following six straight wins. They crushed Wallenpaupack last week 49-7 at Parkland. Star running back Andre Williams rushed for four scores (37, 14, 46 and 17 yards) on just nine carries for 151 yards. It’s at East Stroudsburg South High in the Purple Pit where the place will be rocking!

Honorable Mention

North Hills (6-5) Neutral site Fox Chapel for the semi final vs. Gateway.
North Allegheny (9-2)
Garnet Valley (9-2)
Pennsbury (9-2)
Abington (7-3)
Shaler (9-2)
Wilson (10-1) Bulldogs are home where it could get ugly against Central York (8-3).
Manheim Central (AAA, 11-0) Barons home for a game with Daniel Boone (9-2).
Central Dauphin (9-2) Rams are home vs. West Shore muscle team Cumberland Valley (9-2).
State College (9-2) Neutral site Dubois to play McDowell (8-2).
Easton (10-1) Rovers home vs. Hazelton (8-3).
Avon Grove (10-1) See Southeastern PA rankings.
Rustin (AAA, 11-0) See Southeastern PA rankings.