Top 10 High School Football Rankings

Southeastern Pennsylvania Football

Featuring District 1, 12 and the Inter Ac

December 22, 2009

 

Well here we are already at the end of another great season of Pennsylvania scholastic football. We didn’t always see our favorite teams win but it was still a fun season with a few surprises as always. I think LaSalle has to stand out as the story in this part of the state, perhaps the entire state. They followed up on the great work accomplished by Archbishop Wood and West Catholic last year, to bring home District Twelve’s, the Catholic League’s and LaSalle’s first state football championship in only the PCLs second year of competition in the PIAA playoffs. Hard topping that! There were other stories like how well North Penn, Archbishop Wood, Neshaminy, West Catholic, Ridley and others reloaded. Even Malvern Prep, which graduated one of their very best teams, produced a 7-4 campaign and season ending win against St. Joseph’s Prep. Don’t forget Chestnut Hill Academy’s two-point loss to Malvern Prep denying them a perfect season. Of course few expected Interboro to go undefeated in the regular season or be in the district semi-final. Two of the nicer surprises were Avon Grove and Penncrest which both put winners on the field. Two one-point losses and two three-point losses prevented Penncrest from being 12-0 and playing Ridley in the district semi-final. Wouldn’t that have been a rematch after Ridley’s 27-24 double overtime win in the regular season. And hey, did Unionville really beat Pennsbury? That’s why they play the game because yes, Unionville beat Pennsbury in what has to be one of the biggest upsets in the area in a long time. So with all the twists and turns of this season, one can hardly imagine the surprises awaiting us next year.

At the state level, one day we’ll say we’re not surprised to see that yet again, another overwhelmingly talented Gateway team did not get out of the district wars of the WPIAL and into States. If they couldn’t do it with this year’s team, and quarterback Robbie Kalkstein, it’s hard saying when they can do it. That was a wildly talented team that lost to Woodland Hills, 10-0. So was Woodland Hills -- until injury ravaged the team. And powerhouse Bishop McDevitt going down to Cumberland Valley was another game that reached out and grabbed you. Course, most of McDevitt’s talent is back next year where they’ll drop to AAA so watch out. Plus keep your eye on CV with a strong core returning. Wilson and Bethel Park were great stories fielding good stuff and reloading with the best of them. Meanwhile, up in the Lehigh Valley, Easton (10-2), Parkland (10-3) and East Stroudsburg South (10-2) came up with special editions to balance out the disappointment of Liberty (6-5). Retrospectively, the ‘Canes are one of the main stories of the year after coming out as virtually everyone’s number one team in the preseason, then fading to a 6-5 campaign. What a surprise that was.

Okay everyone, thanks for tuning in and checking out these great web sites to read the weekly reports and more. Remember, the rankings are just an opinion. Far more important than any opinion, the report serves as a forum to pass on information that otherwise might not reach you. That’s why I decided to do the State Top Ten, to avail you of other programs, histories and teams to see how they’re matching up in their area and how they may match up to our teams. There is a lot of great football played throughout the state at all four classifications. I wish I had time to do them all! So guys, once again thanks and I’ll see you next year!

THE PLAYOFFS: At Hershey Park Stadium last weekend.

4A: LaSalle (14-1) beat State College (12-3) 24-7

LaSalle validated their # 1 ranking atop both the Southeastern Pennsylvania Top Ten and State Top Ten by pounding State College, 24-7, in the Quad A title game at Hershey. Blizzard conditions caused by a Nor-Easter had little affect on LaSalle which used its passing game to attack the middle of the State College defense to set up their three rushing touchdowns. And some good fortune didn’t hurt when Mike Bennett’s 37-yard field goal bounced off the top of the cross-bar and then through, putting LaSalle on the scoreboard on their first drive. What a way to start a playoff game. Running back Jamal Abdur-Rahman’s 22-yard scoring run ignited a 14-point second-quarter that also saw Tim Wade run in from seven yards out with 1:10 left in the second quarter, giving them a comfortable 17-0 lead at the half. LaSalle’s D slammed the door shut on State College’s offense then demoralized them with those two scores in the last five minutes of the half. Nice. Earlier in the period, State missed a 31-yard field goal but otherwise, the second-quarter belonged to LaSalle. Wide-out Sam Feleccia (6-3, 225), worked largely out of the Wildcat where he rumbled for 168 yards on 22 carries (2/43py) and broke the Lions’ back with a 55-yard scoring run in the third-quarter to put the game away. State College got a shot in the arm when, following Fellecia’s score, Alex Kenney got loose and returned the kickoff 97 yards for the score. At 24-7, it looked like State College had a glimmer of a chance but it wasn’t meant to be, even with LaSalle’s leading rusher Abdur-Rahman relegated to the sidelines the entire half with an injury. He completed the half with seven carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. But LaSalle has a number of weapons. Time Wade had some key blocks and four carries for 14 yards and a touchdown. Connor Hoffman had timely grabs, helping set up the offense with three catches for 66 yards. This was a complete and dominating win for LaSalle, holding State College to 100 yards on the ground while gouging out 258 of its own on the ground. Few do that to the Lions. All of that came despite being on the receiving end of eight penalty flags for 72 yards! State’s D is typically a hard charging group; however, LaSalle’s offense kept them off balance throughout the game. Drew Loughery’s passes set up so much of what they accomplished by completing five of 11 passes for 108 yards. All totaled, LaSalle had 366 yards of total offense to State’s 124! LaSalle, the Catholic League and District-Twelve have much to be proud of, being the first team in the district to bring home a gold medal won on the football field. That was a big win over a successful program and strong team. LaSalle has much to be proud of taking them down hard, and bringing the gold back to southeastern Pennsylvania where it has not been since North Penn won the title in 2003. Congratulations to the solid gold Explorers!

3A: Selinsgrove (16-0) beat Manheim Central (15-1) 10-7

The five year stranglehold the West had over the East ended when Selinsgrove won their first PIAA-AAA football title with a stirring fourth-quarter comeback in the closing minutes to defeat favored Manheim Central, 10-7. The win ended the West’s half decade reign of power. What a game! The first-quarter was scoreless despite Central moving the ball (seven first half first downs) and looking like the better team. They got on the scoreboard with 8:27 left in the second-quarter when quarterback Justin Gorman connected with Derek Hart on a 37-yard scoring pass. At that point, it looked like a lead that could hold up. The Seals weren’t moving the ball consistently and the Barons were playing well on defense. Still, Selinsgrove had done well holding them to one score. The question for the Seals oddly enough was could they score points. That’s a strange question to consider knowing they scored 680 points this year to rank seventh on the all time list in the state. Their second-half comeback began with them stepping up to play shutdown defense, holding the Barons to one second-half first down. One! And they finally got something going offensively as well when Spencer Hotaling nailed a 21-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the third-quarter. The score gave them a surge that paid off when Ryan Keiser picked off a Justin Gorman pass at the Seals 28-yard line with 6:20 left in the game. Finding new life, and aided by a pass interference penalty on Central, the Seals went on a 12-play, 76-yard drive with some strong runs by Seth Lauver and Bryant Trautman doing damage. Cameron Benner had key carries as well. They went “heavy”, shifting the tackles to one side and wearing down the Barons with 6-2, 245 pound Seth Lauver and 6-0, 215 pound Bryant Trautman doing real damage. The Seals O-Line took over on this drive and dominated. The tandem of quarterback Cory Briggs and receiver Ryan Kreiser (57/1092py/16Tds) kept the Barons’ D on their heels, making it look like two different teams out there in the second-half. Wow, what a game. This was a drive for the ages! After using up almost five minutes of clock, Seth Lauver banged over from the eight-yard line for the winning score with1:27 left in the game. Central had a final shot but was again thwarted by the stellar Selinsgrove defense when Bryan Trautman sacked Gorman. Trautman was a load all night with seven tackles, three of which went for losses. Then on fourth and 13 from their own 21, Gorman’s pass to Derek Hart near mid-field was cancelled out on a hard hit by linebacker Dillon Elliott, giving Selinsgrove the win with just under a minute left to play. Awesome, awesome game! Through 15 games, the Seals allowed a miserly 89 points and 128 average yards per game. Manheim Central came in averaging 38 points a game and 383 yards of total offense per game but was held to 192 totals yards by the Seals. The Seals are the first District-Four team to win a AAA state title. Actually they are the first “big school” (AAAA and AAA) from the district to win a PIAA title in football. Southern Columbia at 1A and Mount Carmel at 2A have more gold and silver medals than you can count but the Seals are the first AAA to win it. Congratulations to the Seals!

2A: Lancaster Catholic (15-1) beat Greensburg Central Catholic (13-3) 21-14

Quarterback Kyle Smith scored the game winning touchdown as Lancaster Catholic recovered from 7-0 and 14-7 deficits to pull out a 21-14 victory over Greensburg Central Catholic in a driving snowstorm that engulfed Hershey Park Stadium for the AA final. Moving the start time from 1 PM to 10 AM trying to beat the storm’s arrival didn’t work as the storm caused near white-out conditions. Still, it was a heck of a game. Things didn’t go well for Lancaster Catholic early with Central Catholic scoring on their opening drive. It was a 12-play 68-yard drive featuring star running back David Miller (2,431 yards) and quarterback Trent Hurley keeping it on the ground where Hurley took it in from seven yards out. LC answered quickly on their first play from scrimmage following the kick off when Quinn Houser took off on a sweep untouched (nice cut), down the left sideline for a 62-yard touchdown to knot the score at 7-7. The Centurions went right back to work on their second possession with Trent Hurley getting his second touchdown of the quarter, a four yard burst with 1:19 left in the quarter. The snow wasn’t slowing these two down! Lancaster Catholic saw a huge chunk of its play book removed because of the storm so they went to the ground where they have fine backs. Good enough to launch them on a 15-play, 64-yard march through the snow for a game tying score on Jordan Stewart’s one yard keeper with 5:30 left in the half. That’s where the half ended. Jordan came into the game with 1,527 yards rushing on 225 carries. The second half again saw Lancaster Catholic go on a text book drive of 58 yards on 12 plays for the go ahead touchdown on a Kyle Smith sneak. Those were two impressive drives considering the weather. Kyle passed but nine times, completing four for 35 yards but ended the evening as LC’s top ground gainer with 72 yards on four carries, ahead of Jordan Stewart’s 40 yard effort on 17 carries. Quinn Houser had 15 attempts for 28 yards. Greensburg Central Catholic’s high profile tailback, David Houser (5-8, 215), got 104 yards on 30 carries. Quarterback Trent Hurley added 71 yards on 39 carries. GCC got the numbers but not enough points as the Crusader defense refused to break, hanging on for the schools first football championship.

1A: Clarion (15-1) beat Bishop McCort (14-1)

All’s well in the South Hills after Clairton’s Bears wrested the gold medal from the East where it resided for the last seven years by defeating Bishop McCort in the Single-A final, 15-3. It took some late game heroics to pull it off but pull it off they did by scoring twice in the final seven minutes of the game to break the 3-3 tie and ease ahead of the previously undefeated Crimson Crushers. Following a scoreless first-quarter, Trenton Coles got it started for Clairton when he made a 25-yard field goal with 3:28 left in the half. If McCort wasn’t stopping themselves with turnovers and penalties, the Bear’s were with a stubborn defense that has not allowed an offensive touchdown in all seven of their post season games. Incredibly, they shutout eight opponents while holding them all (including McCort) to 61 total points. McCort had their chances, plenty of them in fact that were squandered away. The first-quarter saw them waste a scoring opportunity after getting the ball on Clairton’s 24 following a poor punt by fumbling on third-down. Late in the first half they drove to Clairton’s 12 but were stopped on two procedure calls and a missed 32-yard field goal at the end of the first half. In the third-quarter, they again benefited from a poor punt, taking over at the Bear’s 12 where they were held to a Dane Domonkos 22-yard field goal to even the score at three a piece. Clairton benefited on one of two McCort fumbles when after a seven-play, 33-yard drive, quarterback Desmon Green scored on a one yard run. The two-point conversion attempt was missed but the Bear’s led 9-3, a nearly insurmountable lead given the performance of their defense this year. McCort was held on the next series and punted away. Clairton then iced it on second down when tailback Deontae Howard scrambled 80-yards for the game clinching score. He finished the game with 150 yards on 24 carries. Clairton’s awesome defense was the story in this one by holding the big Bishop McCort offense (39ppg avg) to seven first downs and 164 total yards of offense. The Crushers go home as the East champ looking towards next year where they’ll go for their 31st consecutive winning season while Clairton return to the Mon Valley to bask in the glory of their first football title in school history.

SE PA Top Ten

1. LaSalle (14-1)
2. Ridley (13-2)
3. North Penn (13-1)
4. St. Joseph's Prep (9-3)
5. Avon Grove (11-2)
6. Downingtown East (10-3)
7. Neshaminy (9-3)
8. Downingtown West (10-2)
9. Archbishop Wood (AAA, 11-3)
10. West Catholic (AA, 12-3)

T I E

10. Penncrest (8-4)

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

Interboro (AAA, 12-1)
Pottsgrove (AAA, 14-1)
Garnet Valley (9-2)
Abington (7-3)
Pennsbury (9-2)
Council Rock South (8-3)
Malvern Prep (7-4)
Cardinal O'Hara (8-3)
George Washington (8-3)
Unionville (8-4)
Rustin (AAA, 11-1)


State Top 10 High School Football Rankings
December 22, 2009

1. LaSalle (14-1)
2. State College (12-3)
3. Ridley (13-2)
4. Cumberland Valley (12-3)
5. Bishop McDevitt (12-1)
6. North Penn (13-2)
7. Woodland Hills (12-2)

8. Gateway (12-1)
9. Easton (13-2)
10. Bethel Park (10-2)

TIE

10. Selinsgrove (16-0)

Honorable Mention

North Allegheny (9-2)
Wilson (11-2)
Manheim Central (AAA, 15-1)
Downingtown East (10-2)
Downingtown West (10-2)
Avon Grove (11-2)
Archbishop Wood (11-3)
St. Joseph's Prep (9-3)
Neshaminy (9-3)

Special Honorable Mention

Class-AA, Gold Medal winner Lancaster Catholic (15-1) and Silver Medalist Greensburg Central Catholic (13-3)
Class-A, Gold Medal winner Clairton (15-1) and Silver Medalist Bishop McCort (14-1)