It begins tonight, and it begins big. High school football season kicks off across the state, and RodFrisco.com will plant itself at Crawford Stadium at North Penn High School for the non-league game between La Salle College High School and North Penn.
La Salle begins its 2009 PIAA AAAA title defense in the toughest possible way: at North Penn
La Salle, of course, is the defending PIAA Class AAAA champion. The Explorers lost several seniors who were key elements of that state championship tea, but return enough starters – including RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman – to be a playoff threat in three months if all goes well. But Abdur-Rahman has a knee injury and might not play tonight. It will likely be a game-time decision.
North Penn returns plenty of yardage: RB Craig Needhammer (1,515 yards) and receivers Dom Taggart (593) and Gerard Wendowski (131). Both teams have new QBs – La Salle’s Matt Magarity and North Penn’s Cory Ernst – so the common thought is that both teams will try to pound it. But with both teams featuring strong defensive lines and interior defenses, teams will have to throw.
The good news is that Hurricane Earl shouldn’t be a major factor unless the winds kick up over 20 mph, which is a possibility during game time.
Below is the live blog for tonight’s La Salle vs. North Penn game:
NOTE: This was supposed to be filed complete between 7 and 7:30 p.m. I had to run to an early-evening meeting in Lancaster County, thought I would be back by then. I was wrong. So I’m posting the AAAA and AAA top ten predix tonight; I’ll post the AA and A plus other selected picks Friday morning.
Baaaaad planning on my part.
UPDATE: OK, here’s the whole post.
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What’s high school football season without game predictions, eh?
Obviously, I can certify the accuracy of the ensuing predictions because, like Santa zipping through the ionosphere at warp speed, I have actually visited practices at all 591 PIAA football-playing schools since practice started on Aug. 16.
I am also Elmer Fudd, millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht.
OK, I apologize. Let’s get to this business of extremely serious guesswork. The format: I will provide a prediction for every top 10 team in the RodFrisco.com rankings and some other selected games, usually involving honorable mention teams. For fun, I’ll throw in some purely random selections. And Clearfield’s game. Of course.
CLASS AAAA
No. 7 La Salle College High School at No. 1 North Penn: 2009 PIAA AAAA state champion vs. team that thought it should be. North Penn brings back a lot of yards. Eniough to win? Yep … North Penn 20-14
Coatesville at No. 2 Ridley: Ridley learned a big lesson last year. Hitting hard wins (see North Penn in last year’s 1-AAAA title game). Taking a blow mentally negates hitting hard (see La Salle the following week). Love my man Matt Ortega, HC at Coatesville, but he bought a tough opener … Ridley 21-13
Nationally ranked Manatee, FL at No. 3 Woodland Hills: I’m not big on national rankings because it’s rarely apples to apples. But everyone who saw Manatee on the tube last week was wowed. Huge pat on the back for Woody High for scheduling the whole cake, not the cupcake. … Manatee 27-14
Red Lion at No. 4 Cumberland Valley: Saw CV in a scrimmage. The Eagles belong on the top ten. That’s bad news for the Lion. … Cumberland Valley 35-7
No. 5 Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. Akron Buchtel, Ohio: Early word was Buchtel might be vulnerable. Then it crunched Massillon by 16. Umm, not so vulnerable. … Akron Buchtel 22-10
AAA No. 2 Allentown Central Catholic at No. 6 Downingtown East: How entertaining will this one be with two of the state’s better QBs – AAC’s Brendan Nosovitch and DE’s Trey Lauretta throwing darts? Hope the wind’s not too bad. … Downingtown East 28-26
Kiski Area at No. 8 Bethel Park: Impressed with the way Bethel Park has played the last couple of years. Rather manly. … Bethel Park 34-7
Governor Mifflin at No. 9 West Lawn Wilson: There’s usually blood on the field after this rivalry has played out. If that’s too gory for you, go check out the badminton results. (You thought I was kidding, didn’t you?) … Wilson 26-14
No. 10 George Washington at St. Joseph’s Prep: St. Joe’s is an enigma. New coach. Lots of players gone. And GW is solid. Normally, this would be a check mark beside the Prep. Not this year. … GW 19-14
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CLASS AAA
Gateway at No. 1 Bishop McDevitt: Gateway is without all-state candidate Dondi Kirby (knee) while McD boasts three Division I players (QB Matt Johnson-Bowling Green; RB Jameel Poteat-Pitt; junior DE Noah Spence-anywhere he wants in two years). But does that matter? Gateway might be down anotch, but they’ve been through meaner, badder minefields. Originally, I was going with McD. The Patriot-News guys changed my mind … Gateway 20-14.
No. 2 Allentown Central Catholic at AAAA No. 6 Downingtown East: See above.
No. 3 West Allegheny at South Park: Mike Caputo can run over anything. … West Allegheny 33-13
No. 4 Archbishop Wood at Quakertown: It’s official. Wood has a reputation now. And it’s a good one … Wood 22-6
No. 5 Thomas Jefferson vs. Cocoa, FL: TJ didn’t fare so well in a similar out-of-state matchup two years ago, losing badly to Glenville, Ohio. Then the jags kicked the snot out of everyone else. Redux? … Cocoa 26-16
No. 6 Abington Heights at Hazleton: Heights probably could have found something a little easier and a little closer to home than an opener with a pretty good Hazleton team. We’ll take the Heights, but very, very close. … Abington Heights 21-20 (OT)
No. 7 Chartiers Valley at No. 9 Montour: Char Valley QB Waynes Capers doesn’t want to play QB; he wants to play WR like his dad, the former Steeler. Buy Wayne, you play it so well! … Chartiers Valley 26-19
Jules Mastbaum at No. 8 Pottsgrove: If Troy Polamalu’s nephew (Maika, a LB) is on a team, I’m right there. … Pottsgrove 41-6
McDowell at No. 10 Cathedral Prep: Hmm. Wonder if Cathedral Prep can hang with a WPIAL team? Funny, calling McDowell at WPIAL team, right? Er, maybe not. McDowell’s a tough opener for anyone. … McDowell 27-20.
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CLASS AA
Camp Hill Trinity at No. 1 Lancaster Catholic: Trinity dumps its long-time sweetheart, the wing-T, for the spread in hopes of catching the defending state champions unaware. Oh, wait. LC already knows about it. Catholic lost record-setting QB Kyle SMith and its top RB, Jonathan Stewart. Not an easy start. … Lancaster Catholic 28-14
No. 2 West Catholic at Roman Catholic: Roman was the primary beneficiary of the closure of Philadelphia Northeast, drawing several players who will fill in starting positions. But no matter. West Catholic is solid across the board. Game is annually played at the Jersey Shore, but might get Earled on Saturday. … West Catholic 34-18
No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic at Waynesburg Central: A new cast of skill players for GCC awaits Waynesburg, but the result shouldn’t change appreciably. … Greensburg Central Catholic 31-6
No. 4 Aliquippa at Laurel: The Quips’ traditional opener against cross-river rival Ambridge has been erased, replaced by miles-away New Castle-area foe Laurel. Just doesn’t seem right. Warning to Quips: Laurel stunned No. 1 Class A Clairton in ’09 opener, also at Laurel. … Aliquippa 28-12
No. 5 North Schuylkill at Shenandoah Valley: NS opens the season with considerable optimism – and why not with a barn full of returnees? – and is rewarded with a 1-0 start. … North Schuylkill 37-6
No. 6 General McLane at Strong Vincent: OK, I goofed. I said McLane dropped to AA from AAA and that isn’t the case at all; the Lancers were AA the last cycle, too. Dumbness, But Strong Vincent has risen from AAA to AAAA and remains a quality team despite several graduation losses. Tough opener for GM. … Strong Vincent 26-22
West Mifflin at No. 7 South Fayette: South Fayette is still stinging from its playoff loss to Aliquippa (SF, 10-0 at the time, led 27-15 early fourth Q, lost 47-34), but the Lions get a chance to do it all over again (we mean the 10-0 record, not the frustrating loss) with QB Christian Brumbaugh at the wheel. … South Fayette 26-14
Bedford at No. 8 Forest Hills: Bedford has a new coach (Kevin Steele) and Forest Hills has an old, er, veteran coach (Don Bailey). Old tops new in what is usually a pretty good matchup. … Forest Hills 27-13
Bellwood-Antis at No. 9 Tyrone: The moniker for this rivalry – the Backyard Brawl – isn’t terribly original, but the schools do have a trophy for this game. It’s actually one of the state’s big rivalries (7 miles separate the schools), but because it’s between two smallish schools in the hills, you don’t hear much about it. And it should be a very good game this year. … Tyrone 20-14
No. 10 Loyalsock Twp. at Jersey Shore: My brother-in-law Mark graduated from Jersey Shore, so just to keep him happy, I’m going to pick the Bulldogs. No, I can’t do that. Loyalsock is pretty good. … Loyalsock 26-6.
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CLASS A
North Pocono at No. 1 Dunmore: With all of the excitement swirling around the No. 1 Bucks, it’s easy to overlook how good North Pocono is this year. NP threatened to crack the RodFrisco.com AAA top ten and still might if it wins tonight. We’re sticking with the Bucks, but we think this might be the most bruising game of the weekend. … Dunmore 21-20
No. 2 Clairton at Washington: The defending PIAA Class A champions have a new look after losing a bunch of talented, but that look won’t include losing. … Clairton 19-7
Serra Catholic at No. 3 Rochester: This is pretty tough opener for both outfits. But Rochester has more speed, and that will make the difference. … Rochester 28-12
No. 4 Southern Columbia at No. 9 Line Mountain: If I didn’t have to stay home with the missus (go ahead, say what you will), I’d be very tempted to shuffle off to Mandata (find it; I dare you) for this excellent opener. These two schools have started to develop a bit of a rivalry, having met each of the last three years in the 4-A playoffs. … Southern Columbia 26-20
No. 5 Steelton-Highspire at Halifax: Finally, a Class A opener that has a clear favorite. Steel-High missed the 3-A finals last year, but Halifax struggled through a winless mess. Both teams are improved, but the ‘fax hasn’t improved enough to catch the Steamrollers. … Steel-High 42-6
Pittsburgh North Catholic at No. 6 Springdale: Another season-opening bell-ringer. North Catholic is yet another team worthy of top ten postulation that didn’t make the cut only because there are a bunch of other good A teams. Springdale is one of them. … Springdale 14-7
Eisenhower at No. 7 Sharpsville: Sharpsville returns nearly 3,00 varsity rushing yards. Eisenhower? About a grand. The Ikes aren’t bad, but just not running in Sharpsville’s shoes. … Sharpsville 27-6
No. 8 Taylor Riverside at West Scranton: Late-season success in ’09 and a huge amount of returnees will translate into success for Riverside. But will that success come on opening night? West Scranton is an improved team whose AAA muscle might be a bit much for the Vikings. Our Class A top ten isn’t shy about taking on challenges. … West Scranton 22-21
No. 4 Southern Columbia at No. 9 Line Mountain: See above.
No. 10 Mercyhurst Prep at Mercer: Mercer ended Mercyhurst Prep’s season last year with a playoff defeat. And what a coincidence: The Lakers don’t have to wait a whole year to try to exact revenge. We think they will. … Mercyhurst Prep 26-13
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OTHER SELECTED GAMES
Liberty 17, Glen Mills 7 (First game for new Liberty coach Dave Brown)
Neshaminy 27, Souderton 9 (Redskins figure to be a 1-AAA player again)
Owen J. Roberts 20, Conestoga 12 (Just give the rock to OJR’s Ryan Brumfield)
Easton 19, Pennsbury 7 (Could vault Rovers into top ten)
Holy Name 20, Pope John Paul II 8 (first game for new school PJP)
Interboro 26, Springfield-Delco 6 (hearing good things about the Bucs)
Berwick 33, Crestwood 12 (Strongly considered Berwick for top ten)
Parkland 20, Harrisburg 14 (Harrisburg improved, Parkland lost top RB Andrew Williams, but can’t shake feeling Trojans have edge at home)
Manheim Twp. 20, Central Dauphin 10 (MT could be 3-AAAA sleeper)
Cedar Cliff 31, Elizabethtown 13 (Jim Cantafio has done the job at previously moirbund Cliff)
Manheim Central 21, Lower Dauphin 7 (expect to see Barons back in top ten eventually)
Mount Carmel 14, Selinsgrove 13 (emotional game; MCA welcomes back injured alum HC Carmen DeFrancesco; Seals still hurting over FB-LB Seth lauver’s off-season accident)
Clearfield 34, Martinsburg Central 32 (Could be one of the state’s most entertaining openers, actually)
North Allegheny 20, State College 14 (State High has state’s toughest non-con schedule)
Hopewell 26, Belle Vernon 6 (Hopewell has the fantastic Rushel Shell, but only 1 other starter)
Sharon 14, Farrell 12 (Something screwy usually happens in this game)
Schuylkill Haven 21, Tri-Valley 13 (Haven makes first payment on buying back 11-A crown from Bulldogs)
Northgate 30, Our Lady of Sacred Heart 0 (First varsity game for OLSH)
Central Valley 44, Taylor Allderdice 6 (Monaca-Center merger produces an easy win in first game as CV. Like we needed another CV in this state.)
Steubenville, Ohio, 24, McKeesport 14 (Jim Ward’s debut as McKeesport HC is a tough one)
Brockway 47, Sheffield 6 (Over-under on Brockway QB Derek Buganza passing yards: 384)
Just a reminder that predictions of selected games statewide will be posted later this evening, hopefully no later than 7:30 p.m.
Who gets selected for selection? All of the RodFrisco.com top ten teams (see them here) and some other lucky schools.
I haven’t figured out whether this will be fun or highly embarrassing. Likely the latter since I couldn’t get the Mid-Penn Conference teams right the last 24 years.
Check back between 7 and 7:30 p.m. I’m off on some necessary District 3 business right now.
