EasternPAFootball.com

Phil Myers

  • The Hershey Experience (Year 4, 2017) – Thoughts, Observations, Comments & Photos

    Well, another year is in the books.  We can’t say we saw any great state championship games, but we did see some great teams and players.  Some of those warriors may be playing professional football one day and many will definitely be playing some college ball, including at least a couple dozen at the FBS level.  We’ll do a short synopsis of each game and follow that up a couple of comments.Jeannette vs. Homer-Center (Single A) – The Wildcats actually led 6-3 at the end of the first quarter, but after that it was the Robert ‘Poogie’ Kennedy show.  Kennedy ran for two scores and threw for two more in leading the Jayhawks to a 42-12 triumph.  Yes, the Jayhawk defense played very well with an adjustment or two after Homer-Center’s first drive, but it was Kennedy who thrilled with his running (114 yards) and passing (143 yards on 5 completions).  He even caught a pass for 46 yards.  Losing coach Greg Page acknowledged an observation made in the press box that, “There were times when he was at quarterback we had guys watching him and you can’t do that.”  On those occasions when the d-backs kept their eyes on Kennedy thinking he might run, his receivers got separation for touchdowns or long gains.  Jeannette is now 5th all-time in PA with 736 wins!

    One other interesting note is that Junior Seth Howard of Jeannette, who plays QB when Kennedy plays RB or WR and plays WR or RB when Kennedy is at QB, had not played football since 8th grade.  He didn’t join the team until the third week, but gave the Jayhawks’ offense more flexibility and was a big contributor.  He ran for 54 yards and scored a touchdown, threw for 64 yards, and caught a pass for 44 yards in Hershey.  “I definitely see the dog in Seth that I see in me.  Ever since we were kids, he always made big plays in big games,” stated Kennedy.

    Erie Cathedral Prep vs. Imhotep (4A) – It was Prep versus Tep III as someone put it.  This was the third straight year these two met with Tep winning in 2015 and Prep winning last year.  The boys from Erie came on strong after getting off to a sluggish start and scored 24 consecutive points over the middle two quarters after Imhotep had taken a 13-7 lead half way through the second quarter.  From there the Ramblers cruised to a 38-28 victory over the Panthers.  The key to the game may have been the daring on-sides kick by Cathedral Prep’s Anthony Lupo that was recovered by Skyler Neely to begin the second half.  The Ramblers only led 17-13 at the time, so the Panthers would’ve had a chance to take the lead.

    Lucas admitted, “Sometimes we just play better in the second half.”  That, sports fans usually comes from coaching.  Prep’s coach, Mike Mischler, is 110-15 since coming back nine years ago.  He has been the man in charge in all four of the Ramblers’ state titles and has guided them to 28 straight wins including back to back championships.  His son, Joe, set District 10 career records for quarterbacks in yardage (7,719) and touchdowns (98).Wilmington vs. Southern Columbia (Double A) – Even though these two were undefeated, SCA was far better on this day in all facets of the game as they overwhelmed the ‘Hounds 48-0.  The scary thing is that most of the Tigers’ marquee players are underclassmen.  Coach Jim Roth won his 8th state title in 16 appearances.  He also won his 412th game which is good enough for third place in the state of Pennsylvania behind George Curry (455) and Jack Henzes (435).

    Two things happened that had a big impact on the game.  On Wilmington’s opening drive, Robert Pontius hit Colton Marett with a pass and it looked like Marett might score when Julian Fleming caught him from behind and forced a fumble recovered by SCA at their 25.  Secondly, Roth decided to punt from the Greyhounds’ 38 late in the first half with his team only up 17-0.  The Tigers downed the punt at the one-yard line, called their three time-outs, got the ball back and scored when Gaige Garcia pulled in a Stone Hollenbach pass and while fighting off would be tacklers, willed his way into the end zone with a few ticks left on the clock.

    So. Columbia senior place kicker, Elijah Hoffman, fell 5 points short of a national kicking record in a single season with his 143 (106 PATs and 13 FGs).  But that is good enough for a new PA record.  Fleming made an unbelievable block on Garcia’s 57-yard TD jaunt.  Lining up on the wide side of the field, he angled all the way across the field and near the 20 made the last block to enable Garcia to score.  “You can’t teach someone to do that,” Coach Roth said proudly.  Finally, Tiger offensive lineman, Oak Six, was standing beside a pile of players when the pigskin squirted out of the pile and into his hands.  Six then plummeted forward for another yard.

    Gateway vs. Archbishop Wood (5A) – Wood is like a machine.  The Gators had no answer to simple running plays off tackle by Nasir Peoples.  The blocking by the Vikings was mostly to perfection.  Wood scored 42 points in the first half and led by the biggest margin ever in a PA championship game at the break (42-0) en route to their 49-14 pasting of Gateway.  Peoples, a Viginia Tech commit, was exciting to watch as he ran for 266 yards and 4 TDs.  Big 6’6” 240 lb. Kyle Pitts, the Florida Gator recruit, did Gator chomps when he scored a touchdown and on his 2 interceptions.

    The Vikings have now been in seven title games, winning five including the last two.  They have appeared in six of the last seven, losing only to Cathedral Prep in 2012.  Coach Devlin of Archbishop Wood said, “Connor Bishop is one of the best linemen in PA.  Connor, Tommy Walsh, and Albert Glasgow are tough as nails.”  This was Gateway’s first ever state final appearance.  Brady Walker of Gateway is PA’s all-time leading passer for a single season with an amazing 4,621 yards.  He threw for 46 TDs with 23 of them going to WR Courtney Jackson.

    Quaker Valley vs. Middletown – Once again the 3A contest was disappointing as the Blue Raiders couldn’t match up with a District 7 squad.  (They lost to Beaver Falls in last year’s championship tilt.)  After Middletown’s Tre’ Leach tied the game with a nice 55-yard punt return half way through the 2nd quarter, Quaker Valley took control scoring three times in 3:43 to put the game out of reach by half time.  The final nail was Andrew Seymour’s 40-yard pick six on a screen pass with 1:04 left in the half.  In addition, the QV defense took on one of the better AAA offenses in the state and held them in check most of the game.  “They were quicker than any defense we’ve played,” stated Blue Raider RB Brady Fox.

    QB Ricky Guss threw for 104 yards and two scores, plus he ran for 97 more and a TD.  Guss also audibled when he saw no one covering Ethan Moore, throwing an easy TD pass.  “You’re a magician,” stated his coach, Jerry Veshio.  RB Jordan Taylor had a couple of touchdown runs and accounted for 147 yards on the ground.  Moore snagged 5 passes for 98 yards and two TDs.  But, it was Coach Veshio who needs to be applauded.  He came out of the announcer’s booth at home games to coach for one year when the previous coach quit just days before the season began.  “Who’s going to write my movie script,” he joked.  Veshio said he knew they were a special group of kids, but he never thought they would do this when he took the reins at the beginning of the year.  No one had the Quakers on their radar when the season began and the preseason polls came out.  Isn’t it exciting to see teams like Quaker Valley come out of nowhere and make, not only a serious run, but win it all?

    Pine-Richland vs. St. Joes Prep (6A) – This was the game everyone wanted to see.  It pitted two of the nation’s best teams in P-R (#24) and St. Joes (#8).  It was a close game for a half with St. Joes probably being slightly better in the first two quarters.  But, the Rams’ late score to go up 14-7 at the intermission propelled their confidence into the second half where they took control and won the big one, their first, by a score of 41-21.Phil Jurkovec, Notre Dame’s future quarterback, led the way with 4 rushing TDs and passing for another.  He finished the night with 200 yards passing and 88 rushing.  During the year, one opposing coach said he’d been coaching for many years and Jurkovec wasn’t only the best high school quarterback he ever saw, but he was the best high school player he ever saw.  As one reporter put it, it’s the Phil the Thrill show.  “Just being able to win on this field with the guys I’ve grown up with and worked so hard with is something I can’t really describe”, said Jurkovec.

    Jordan Crawford had 245 all-purpose yards for the Rams.  For the Hawks, RB Kolbe Burrell had 158 yards on only 13 totes plus a score.  QB Marquez McCray threw for 121 yards and a TD.  Coach Eric Kasperowicz of Pine-Richland won PIAA gold with North Hills back in the 90s.  He too was a quarterback.  He says Pine-Richland is possibly the best team ever from the WPIAL.  He went on to say, “One thing is for sure, I know we have the best quarterback in the country, hands down!”

    Let’s ponder the point Kasperowicz makes, that if P-R is the best team to come out of D-7, then with that offense and a pretty darn good defense, are they the best of all-time?  What about the C.B. West teams of the late 90s or Central Catholic’s 2004 and 2007 teams or fill in one of many other undefeated teams in the upper classifications?  Good conversation starter indeed.

    Has there been a band as good as Pine-Richland’s the past few years?  This old codger’s all-time favorite is still Bethlehem Liberty’s with the bagpipes, but the Ram Band was stupendous!  Also, Homer-Center’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’ presentation was great with their 50 members.  Jeannette had 50 members too and played brilliantly.  It’s nice to see small schools that have large bands like that.  We thoroughly enjoyed Southern Columbia’s band’s tribute to the rock group Chicago and Quaker Valley’s movie theme medley.

    It was good to renew old acquaintances and we ran into ‘J’ who has chalked up over 160 high school games in various states the past two years.  Texas and Indiana are his two favorite venues for state championships.  We bumped into the D-5 people at the Parkside and exchanged some stories.  Many thanks to my cousin who took me out to breakfast at the Country Table.  The biggest and best pancakes around, plus the bakery is to die for!  Much to do and see in and around the Hershey area.  If you stayed home this year, plan on coming to Hershey next year.  Look us up.  It’s always good to hear from fans and listen to their stories and learn from their insights.  Be safe and have a good winter everyone!

    PHOTOS BY OUR MATT TOPPER

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  • Middletown comes up short again in Title Game

    2017 State Runners up Middletown

    The Quaker Valley Quakers won their first state championship on their first try, and they did it in convincing fashion to boot.  Running back Jordan (J.T.) Taylor, quarterback Ricky Guss, and wide receiver Ethan Moore carried the offense against  a good Middletown defense.  In what was perhaps a true Cinderella story, the Quakers overcame a coaching change days before the season began to become the AAA state champs.  Pretty much no one had picked them to even be ranked, let alone become state gold medalists.  Guss said that Coach (Jerry) Veshio did a great job coming in and ‘keeping us grounded.’

    Brady Fox (picture Matt Topper)

    Quaker Valley’s coaching staff displayed their confidence in the Quaker defense when they elected to defer after winning the coin toss.  That meant putting their ‘D’ out first against a Blue Raider team averaging 43 points a game.  Middletown’s first three possessions netted four yards.  Nothing that the Blue Raiders’ offense threw at Veshio’s defenders would phase them and that set the tone for the game.

    Quaker Valley broke through on their second drive.  They traversed 56 yards in five plays.  Taylor had the honor of scoring the Quakers’ first ever touchdown in a title game when he broke a couple of tackles and galloped 34 yards to pay dirt.  Landon Grant’s first of five straight point afters gave Valley the 7-0 lead nine minutes into the contest.

    On Middletown’s next possession, Joe Peduzzi stepped in front of a Scott Ash pass giving QV the ball at its 45, but they could not take advantage.  The Blue Raiders subsequently drove to the Quaker six, but missed a scoring opportunity when Donovan Brady misfired on a field goal attempt.  Middletown then forced Quaker Valley to punt.   The Blue Raider faithful rose to their feet in unison when Tre’ Leach gathered in the kick at Middletown’s 45, headed toward the sideline, and behind a wall of blockers skedaddled 55 yards putting his team on the board.  Brady’s PAT tied the game at 7 with 5:59 remaining in the half.

    That was to be Middletown’s high water mark as Quaker Valley responded by scoring three touchdowns in 3:43.  First, Guss connected with Moore for a 66 yard score.  Moore out jumped the defender and came down with the ball.  As he did the defender slipped and fell allowing Moore to go the rest of the way uncontested.  Quaker Valley now led 14-7 at the 4:47 mark.  The Quaker defense did their job, forcing a punt which traveled a mere 8 yards.

    Ricky Guss (photo Matt Topper)

    Beginning at the Middletown 34, Valley scored in four plays.  With the ball at the one, Guss appeared to check when he noticed Moore had no defender opposite him.  He then simply took the snap and passed the ball to Moore who waltzed into the end zone with 1:54 on the clock.  The dagger came 47 seconds later when Taylor pressured Ash on a screen.  As Ash released the ball, Andrew Seymour read the play and picked off the short toss returning it 40 yards for the TD and giving Quaker Valley a comfortable lead at 28-7 heading into the half.

     

    The Quakers upped the margin to 28 points on their opening possession of the third quarter when Taylor bolted 35 yards crossing the goal line at the 9:55 mark to complete the 67 yard drive in five plays.  A Brady 39 yard field goal lowered the Blue Raider deficit to 35-10  Then, only 8 ticks into the final stanza Guss punched it in from a yard out to increase the lead to 41-10.Middletown closed out the scoring late in the game when Leach scored their first offensive touchdown on a one yard run and Lamar Ventura picked up a fumbled snap by his team, and made a beautiful 70 yard run to set the final at 41-24.

    The Blue Raiders finished the game with 282 total yards, but had only 147 until the final two drives.  Ventura’s one run for 70 yards led the Raiders on the ground.  Brady Fox had the bulk of the carries, 18, and ended the game with 59 yards.  Ash completed only 4 passes out of 16 attempts and had 92 yards.

    For the victorious Quakers, Taylor had 15 totes for a game high 147 yards on the ground.  Guss rushed for 97 and passed for 104 yards.  He completed 6 of 12 with five of those to Moore for 98 markers.  Quaker Valley ended its championship season with a 14-1 record, while Middletown finished with its first loss and a matching 14-1 mark.

     

     

       Quote Worthy: 

    Jordan Taylor:

    I don’t even know how to feel right now. This is AWESOME!

    We just came here to compete. Do what coach told us to do.

    We came out telling our defense we couldn’t let the running back hit any holes and that’s what we did.

    Coach Veshio:

    Who’s going to write my movie script.

    They started doing this in September. The seniors were committed to being great. I don’t even think they even knew they were going to be good enough to be State Champions.

    On the one yard td from Guss to Moore: When Ricky came off the field I told him he’s a magician, I didn’t even see that play.

    I’ve talked to these guys many weeks about being humble.

    I don’t care. We have the best defense in the state. They are tenacious. 

    Our four down linemen. Those guys are nails. When they go the defense goes

    Ricky Guss:

    We did a good job of staying focused.

    It feels real life. It can’t be any more real life for me. I guess you could make this a movie, but for me it’s just real.

    Brady Fox:

    It’s just tough to lose like this again but we built a foundation for future teams

    I thought we made a few mistakes that we normally don’t make, but I’m proud of my teammates. They all fought hard and never gave up

    Scott Ash: 

    I was pretty nervous to start the game. At halftime coach Myers calmed be down and I was able to play better in the second half but it was just too late.

    Coach Myers:

    We just didn’t play our best game and that’s on me. No Question. Hats off to Quaker Valley, they played very well.

  • Kennedy leads Jeannette in dominating win to Capture PIAA 1A title over Homer-Center

    The 2017 PIAA Class 1A State Champion Jeannette Jayhawks

    Robert Kennedy had himself quite a game in leading his Jeannette Jayhawks to a 42-12 victory over the Wildcats of Homer-Center.  Kennedy was a jack of all trades offensively.  He rushed for 114 yards on 18 carries and scored twice, passed for 143 yards by going 5 of 9 and two TDs, caught a pass for 46 yards, and returned a couple of kicks for 10 yards.  This was the second state championship by Jeannette as they won back in 2007. “If he’s not the single A player of the year I don’t know who is, offense, defense, special teams he does it all” said Jeannette Head Coach Roy Hall of Kennedy’s efforts.

    Jeannette started off slow, only scoring 3 points in their first two drives, but then coach Roy Hall moved Kennedy to quarterback most of the time which turned the Jayhawks into a runaway train that Homer-Center had no answer for.  Jeannette proceeded to reach the end zone on six of their next eight possessions.

    Tre Cunningham’s 24 yard field goal started the scoring with 8:44 left in the opening quarter.  The Wildcats answered back with a 93 yard drive that ended with Jesse Lee scurrying around the end for a seven yard TD.  The 2-point conversion was no good and with still 3:19 remaining in the first the ‘Cats led 6-3.

    Jeannette opened the second quarter by driving 82 yards in four plays.  With Kennedy at QB, he ran for 9, 7, and after Imani Sanders gained 10, he raced 56 yards to put his team in the lead for good at 9-6.

     

    Later, a short punt and a 5 yard return by Kennedy gave the Jayhawks the ball at the H-C 41.  From there the ‘Hawks went the distance in 5 plays, scoring when Kennedy hit Zack Berginc with a 25 yard pass on fourth down.  This gave Jeannette a 15-3 advantage halfway through quarter two.

    A big factor that aided Jeannette was an adjustment on defense that limited Homer-Center to 84 yards for the balance of the game after they had 78 yards on their initial drive of the game when they took the early 6-3 lead.  The Jayhawks overcame a size deficit by filling the gaps and using their speed.

    Kennedy scored again before the half on an exciting one yard run where he had been trapped behind the line, but somehow managed to escape into the end zone.  On the subsequent 2-point conversion, QB Seth Howard handed the ball off to Kennedy who then found a wide open Cunningham in the end zone.  That put Jeannette up 23-6 entering the intermission.

    Homer-Center’s title hopes were pretty much on the line to begin the second half as they needed to put together a scoring drive and keep the ball out of the Jayhawks’ hands.  But, Marcus Barnes picked off a Ben Schmidt pass on the second play which led to Cunningham’s fourth down snare of a Kennedy pass for a 29 yard TD.  This increased the Jayhawk lead to 29-6 at the 7:53 mark of the third quarter.  For all intents and purposes the game was over at this point.

     

    Jeannette tacked on another touchdown two and a half minutes later on a Seth Howard 9 yard run to go up 35-6.  Then early in the fourth stanza, the ‘Hawks forged to a 42-6 lead when Sanders scored on an 8 yard scamper to enact the Mercy Rule of a continuous running clock.  The Wildcats’ Lee rounded out the scoring with 6:52 left in the game when he ran the rock across the goal line.

    An interesting side note is the fact that Homer-Center and Jeannette are only 35 miles apart, but have never played each other until now according to sources.  The Jayhawks finished with 448 yards of offense and held the Wildcats to only 162.  Mike ‘Bassa’ McCracken led H-C with 58 yards rushing on 14 carries.  Jeannette finished their championship season with a record of 15-1, while Homer-Center finished 13-2.

    GAME HIGHLIGHT REEL

    Quoteworthy

    Marcus Barnes:

    Its a feeling that’s indescribable.

    In the second quarter we werent playing disciplined Jeannette ball and coach Hall let us know.

    Coach Hall

    I honestly didn’t think it would be too easy but we thought if we could get Kennedy loose we believed we had a chance to make the noise.

    Thats what we were afraid of. Them coming out and pounding so that’s why we wanted the ball first. We usually defer to the second half but we wanted to try to score first. We wanted them to try to play catch up so we could get after them.

    I had to do a little “grass Chewing” in the second quarter. We weren’t playing the way we should have been

    Robert Kennedy

    I want to give a shout out to the line, they blocked great today

    There was 2 or 3 penalties that cost us. We been punched in the mouth the entire playoffs and we just wanted to come out strong.

    They were definitely biting a lot when me and Seth would scramble. They allowed our receivers to get open.

     

    Greg Page

    Their team speed was too much. They made all the plays, they deserve all the credit.

    They played very good defense, they brought the pressure when they needed it.

    Hat’s off to our kids too, when you can win 24 games, knock off a giant in Bishop Guilfoyle, we just weren’t able to get it done today

    We had times we got stops, but its a four quarter game and we just weren’t able to keep up with them

  • Apple Tractor Presents: Protime predictions by Phil–State Championship edition with Breakdowns

    People collect things and many times things that have value, like baseball and football cards, old coins, crystal, valuable paintings, etc.  Protime’s idea as a teenager was to collect the plastic spoons from Dairy Queen.  He had his sights set on all the money they would be worth someday.  Protime had all the different sizes and colors of DQ spoons from the 60s and 70s, but alas that notion of riches never quite panned out.

    A few years ago, Protime came up with a different idea.  Over the years teams collect wins like New Castle, Jeannette, Aliquippa, and Huntingdon in the west or Mt. Carmel, Easton, Berwick, and Steelton (Highspire) in the east.  Protime now collects grass from all the various venues he’s been to.  A small clump of grass pulls up easily, but he uses his moustache clippers to get a few blades if a field is turfed.

    Every stadiums’ grass/turf are in jars, meticulously labeled and perched in alphabetical order on the basement shelf right beside Mrs. Protime’s canned fruits and veggies.  Once every high school stadium’s grass in Pennsylvania has been secured (about 350 to go), Protime figures that he will be the champion of high school football field grass collecting.

    Speaking of champions, there will be 12 teams in Hershey this week vying for that title.  Protime wishes each and every team luck in their quest.  Protime went 9-3 last week and now sits at 279-65 (.811) for the year.  Here are the Premier Prognosticator’s predictions for the final week of the season.

    Jeannette 14-1 vs. Homer-Center 13-1 – Jeannette is the all-time winningest team in District 7 with 735 career wins.  They are 7th in the west in point scoring this year with 582.  The key ingredient to the Jayhawks’ 2017 success is Robert Kennedy.  When quarterbacking, he’s thrown for 1,294 yards and 23 TDs.  When running, he’s covered 1,238 yards and scored 19 times.  And recently he’s been a receiver, catching several passes for 150 yards and a TD.  When he is a receiver, Seth Howard stands in at QB.  Howard has 564 yards and 7 touchdowns passing.  He also has a total of 10 scores combined running and catching.  Imani Sanders has 12 TDs doing the rushing/receiving thing.  Marcus Barnes (30-515-10) and Tre Cunningham (25-390-6) are the two top wide receivers.  The leading interceptor is, you guessed it, Robert Kennedy with 12.  Coach Greg Page has done a fantastic job with his Wildcats this year.  Jesse Lee and Mike McCracken are solid hard-charging running backs that are vital to the ball-control offense the Wildcats aspire to each game.  Lee has 1,375 yards with 21 touchdowns, while McCracken has 1,111 yards with 13 TDs.  Freshman Ben Schmidt barks the signals for Homer-Center and has thrown for 1,096 yards and 8 TDs.  Nick Schmidt has 15 receptions and 2 TDs, while Lee has 16 catches.  Dakota Sunday leads the defense with the most tackles plus he and Tim Alcon have 5 picks each.  For Homer-Center to win they must control the ball, win the turnover battle, and prevent big plays.  For Jeannette to come out victorious they must get enough possessions where they can capitalize on a few big plays and get the lead to force H-C to pass more than they’d like.  In Protime’s opinion this is possibly the toughest game to call, so the coin flip reveals Jeannette 24 and Homer-Center 20.

    Wilmington 14-0 vs. Southern Columbia 15-0 – This is the first of 2 games pitting undefeated teams against each other.  The game also features 2 coaches with 725 wins between them.  Terry Verrelli of Wilmington has 314 victories, while SCA’s Jim Roth has amassed 411 wins.  In 34 years of coaching, Roth has never had a losing season and has double digit wins in 31 of them!  Roth has led So. Columbia to the title game 16 times now, winning 7 times and going for eight.  The Greyhounds of Wilmington love to run and they feature 3 backs of pretty equal ability, Bryson Verrelli (1,049 yards for 18 TDs), Cam Marett (887 yards and 16 TDs), and Jack Patton (1,207 yards with 15 TDs).  QB Robert Pontius has tossed the football for 10 touchdowns and has run for 11 more.  PK Jacob Winters has hit on 45 of 47 PATs.  The ‘Hounds are 6th in the west in scoring with 590 points and #1 (west) of the teams still playing in defense, allowing 105.  Defensively, Marett has stepped in front of 10 opposition passes.  He was injured last week and it would be a blow if not able to play this week.  Meanwhile, the Tigers of SCA are like a machine.  They lead PA in scoring with 767 points, averaging 51 a game.  It starts with RB Gage Garcia and his 2,137 yards rushing plus 26 receptions for another 388 yards.  He has 3,054 all-purpose yards with 36 TDs via the ground and 5 more catching passes.  QB Stone Hollenbach has pitched the pigskin for 2,366 yards and 27 tallies.  Julian Fleming is the go-to wideout with 63 grabs for 1,389 yards and 19 scores.  One of the busiest placekickers in the country has to be Elijah Hoffman with 98 out of 100 PATs made plus 11 out of 13 FGs made.  The Tigers have sacked opposing quarterbacks 50 times this year.  Cal Haladay and Max Tillett lead the team in tackles.  To win Wilmington must control the ball and make some big plays defensively.  The Tigers just need to do what they do.  Protime is excited to see these two squads go at it.  Southern wins 45-35.

    Quaker Valley 13-1 vs. Middletown 14-0 – Quaker Valley has never been this far before and it’s only the second time for Middletown.  Coach Jerry Veshio has done a phenomenal piece of work with the Quakers, taking over just days before the season was to begin and molding these young men into a formidable team.  QB Ricky Guss can do it all.  He’s thrown for 2,125 yards and 25 TDs.  But then he has also rushed for 936 yards and 22 TDs.  His favorite receiver is Isaiah McNair, who has hauled in 48 passes for 916 yards and 14 TDs.  RB Jordan Tayor has 631 yards toting the ball, scoring 5 times plus another 3 TDs receiving.  The Blue Raiders have only lost once the past 2 years and that was to Beaver Falls in last year’s championship game.  For the 5th highest scoring team in the east (597 points), RB Brady Fox is up to 30 TDs now with 1,563 yards gained.  Fellow running back, Jose Lopez, has not played the past couple weeks due to injury, but leads the team with 1,749 yards.  Lopez also has 25 TDs running and another 2 receiving.  QB Scott Ash has 1,321 markers passing with 11 TDs.  Middletown has three wide receivers with equivalent stats.  Chris Plummer (13-349-3), Tre Leach (17-299-2), and Tyreer Mills (19-317-3) make things hard on defenses.  The Blue Raider ‘D’ is #1 of all the teams still playing, giving up 100 points.   Kyle Truesdale heads up that stingy defense.  The key to each team winning is whoever can play better defense, whether it’s being physical, making stops, or coming up with turnovers.  Protime’s crystal ball says Middletown finds a way, 35-33.

    Erie Cathedral Prep 13-0 vs. Imhotep Charter School 12-1 – This is the rubber game of the series as these two have met the past two years with ‘Tep winning big in 2015 and Prep coming from behind last year.  The Ramblers of Erie are 3rd in the west in scoring (623) and actually 2nd in points per game (47.9).  They are led by QB Joe Mischler (Ohio commit) and his 3,057 yards tossing the agate plus 37 TDs for a QB Rating of 137.  He has a pair of great wideouts in Terry Roberts (37-1,127-15) and Tyler Oedekoven (40-1,110-9).  Roberts is an Iowa commit.  The RBs are no slouches either.  Billy Lucas has rambled for 985 markers and 19 TDs, and Matt Lupo has 862 yards with 14 TDs.  PK Anthony Lupo has booted 69 extra points and is 6 for 6 in the field goal department.  Lineman Fredrick ‘Juice’ Scruggs is a Penn State commit.  Defensively, Matt Bauer (Notre Dame) has 96 tackles, 19 for losses, and 9 sacks.  Hunter Orlando is the second leading tackler and Roberts has 5 INTs.  The Imhotep Panthers are paced by QB Jalen Sutton-Christian’s 1,656 yards for 21 TDs.  Tykee Smith took over for Isheem Young and raced for 235 yards last week, crossing the goal line on 5 occasions.  Carl Jones has 637 yards rushing and 5 scores, but has not played the past two contests.  Khadarius Sampson has 8 TDs and has accounted for 555 yards via the ground.  WR Yusuf Terry has garnered 39 passes for 796 yards and 7 scores.  Defensively, the Panthers are 5th in the east with 122 points allowed, but have been lights out since giving up 33 to Harrisburg in week zero.  Kamal Harrison is the team sack leader.  Prep has beaten Thomas Jefferson and Berks Catholic who had very good defenses.  Protime feels this will be no different.  Prep 31 Tep 22.

     

    Gateway 14-1 vs. Archbishop Wood 11-2 – This game will be a huge contrast in offenses.  Gateway will pass at least 30 times and probably 40 or more.  Wood will pound you with the running game.  Gateway scores a lot (552) but also gives up a lot (287).  The Gators are led by the dynamic duo of QB Brady Walker and WR Courtney Jackson.  Walker is currently the top passer in PA with 4,364 yards and 44 TDs.  He ranks as the #2 passer of all-time in District 7 with 8,546 career passing yards.  Practically one third of his 289 completions are to Jackson (93 snags for 1,885 yards and 23 touchdowns).  Isaiah Cameron had been the leading Gator running back, but an injury sidelined him.  Up stepped freshman Derrick Davis (who already has an offer from Pitt), but he got hurt last week and status is unknown for this week.  The placekicker is a good one in Jayson Jenkins who stands 5’2” and weighs 105 lbs.  Archbishop Wood is similar to Southern Columbia in that they are machine-like.  QB Jack Colyar doesn’t normally throw much, but does have decent stats with 1,152 yards and 10 TDs.  Florida commit TE Kyle Pitts is a favorite target with 20 catches and 4 TDs in accounting for 371 yards.  WR Ryan Loughlin has 23 grabs for 572 yards and 5 TDs.  Virginia Tech recruit, RB Nasir Peoples, has scurried for 1,571 yards and scored 25 times.  Chris Blackstone has 7 rushing touchdowns to his credit.  PK Bob Hennessey is 46 of 48 in the point after department and has 3 FGs too.  Gateway must keep the ball away from the Vikings and make stops on defense so they don’t get worn out.  Wood has to find a way to stop the ball control pass game of the Gators.  Protime thinks they will.  The Wood Vikings 35 and the Gateway Gators 27.

    Pine-Richland 15-0 vs. Saint Joseph’s Prep 13-0 – This is the one almost everyone has been talking about and waiting for.  According to Maxpreps the number 8 team in the country, St. Joes, will be taking on the number 24 team in the USA, Pine-Richland.  The Rams have a great one at QB in Notre Dame bound Phil Jurkovec.  P.J. has pitched the pigskin for 3,772 yards, recording 38 touchdowns along the way.  He can beat you scrambling and running too as evidenced by his 1,136 yards and 20 TDs.  His Quarterback Rate is an out of this world 147.4.  Pine-Richland has other weapons at its disposal too.  WRs Jason DeFrancisis (70-1,132-10) and Lehigh commit Raymond Falcone (52-967-11) are two of Jurkovec’s favs.  Jordan Crawford leads the team with 1,200 yards on the ground, scoring 24 touchdowns.  Kenny White has 709 yards and 10 TDs lugging the rock.  PK Vittorio Orsini rounds out the #1 offense in the west (714 points) with 84 of 89 PATs made.  Tyler King (140 tackles), Anthony Cerminara (117 tackles), and Tommy Camino (17.5 sacks) head up a strong Ram defense.  QB Marquez McCray leads the Hawks with 1,414 yards passing and 13 TDs.  He has chalked up 511 yards rushing and 11 TDs.  RB Kolbe Burrell has scooted for 721 markers and scored 13 TDs.  His backfield mate, Marques Mason has traversed for 677 yards, entering the end zone 11 times.  Brandon Sanders heads up the receiving corps with 34 catches for 454 yards and 8 TDs.  James Cherry chips in with 22 catches, 307 yards, and 2 scores.  Anthony Tigano has 59 PATs and 7 FGs made thus far.  Defensively, Zach Bougess leads St. Joes in interceptions.  The Hawk defense, statistically, was one of the best in PA until Coatesville put up 49 on them.  They must not allow that to happen this week and they have to keep Jurkovec off the field to have a chance.  Pine-Richland has to take advantage of opportunities and not allow St. Joes to dictate how the game goes.  The difference in this game is Jurkovec and for that reason Protime is taking Pine-Richland in double overtime 48-45.

  • Gateway Overcomes Early Deficit and Edges Manheim Central in Thriller

     

    Courtney Jackson stole the show

    Brady Walker and Courtney Jackson were the offensive stars for the Gators as Manheim had no answer for them defensively, but it was the diminutive 5’2” 105 lb. freshman, Jayson Jenkins, who turned out to be the hero when he booted his first field goal of the year, a 23 yarder, with ten ticks left on the clock to give Gateway a hard-fought 31-28 victory over the Barons of Manheim Central Friday night at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona.  “How about that little guy,” exclaimed Don Holl, Gateway’s head coach.

    The game did not start out very well for the Gators as they fell behind 14-0 in the first seven minutes when Manheim’s Jake Novak caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Evan Simon at the 7:04 mark and then Garret Fittery hauled in a 35-yard scoring pass from Simon two minutes later.  Moments after that they lost their freshman sensation, Derrick Davis, to an injury.  Davis was carted off the field and taken to the hospital after taking a hit when he caught a pass.  But then a funny thing happened, the Gators got their moxey on and with Walker pitching the pigskin to Jackson they mounted their comeback.

    Walker, who was 36 out of 54 passing for 467 yards and 3 touchdowns, got the Gators on the board with 2:41 left in the opening quarter when he hit Jackson for a three yard score.  Jackson wound up grabbing 15 passes totaling 264 yards and three touchdowns for his night of work.  Walker tied the game at 14 when he rambled in from a yard away with only nine seconds remaining in the half.  The tying score capped off a twelve play, 72-yard drive in the last three minutes.

    The Gators dominated the first half, outgaining Manheim 203 to 97 in yardage, 15 to 5 in first downs, and 16:15 to 7:45 in time of possession.  The second half was much the same with Walker to Jackson being the prevalent theme.  The dynamic duo hooked up eleven times in half two for 245 yards and two 60-yard TDs.  “We had to throw more than planned, because Derrick went down,” stated Jackson.

    After another Simon to Fittery touchdown toss, this time for 21 yards, half way through quarter three, the Gators’ signal caller and wideout went to work.  During the next three possessions, Walker completed ten straight passes for 227 yards, with seven of those being to Jackson for 188 yards.  Gateway tied the game on a 61-yard touchdown pass to Jackson with 1:12 left in the third stanza.  The Gators took their first lead at 28-21 early in the last quarter on a 66-yard bomb off of a hitch and go where the Manheim back bit on the fake.  “We set ‘em up,” stated a smiling Jackson.

    As the team from Monroeville was driving to put the game away, Will Rivers intercepted a Walker pass and returned it 50 yards to the Gateway 33 with just under four minutes left in the game.  Simon ran for 14 yards on the first play and then big Colin Erb rumbled 19 yards to tie the game at 28 with 3:39 still on the clock.

    Gateway then traversed 74 yards, in eleven plays, to the Baron six yard line setting up Jenkins’ heroics.  Along the way they were aided by a defensive holding call on a play where Rivers intercepted another Walker throw, and a pass interference penalty on a third down incompletion.

    But, believe it or not, the game was not over.  After Colby Wagner ran the kickoff out of bounds at the Baron 28 with eight ticks left, Simon hit Novak over the middle for sixteen yards.  Novak lateraled the ball to Tyler Simon going the other way.  Tyler then outraced all Gator defenders except Brendon Majocha who got enough of a hand on him to trip him up on the Gateway 23 as time expired.

    Notes and Quotes:  Word from Derrick Davis’ dad is that Derrick will be okay and the hospital visit was just a precaution.  “When you have a horse, you ride it,” said Holl about his quarterback, “He’s really good and he’s really heady.  He can extend plays and just makes plays.”  Holl also talked about what Gateway’s first trip to Hershey means to the community, “It’s a wonderful school community and I couldn’t be happier for those salt of the earth folks as well as our kids.”

    Gateway outgained Manheim 541 to 319 and had twice as many first downs (31 to 14).  Manheim’s quarterback, Evan Simon, was 9 of 20 passing for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Barons’ Giovanni Lester led all rushers with 62 yards.  This was Manheim’s first loss of the season.  They finished with a 13-1 record.  Gateway, meanwhile, upped their record to 14-1 and will meet defending state champ Archbishop Wood next Friday night at 7:00 in Hershey for the Class 5A state title.  “It’s amazing to be going to Hershey and I’d like to thank everybody for all their support,” said Jackson with a twinkle in his eye.