It just does not get any better than this for football followers. There is plenty to be thankful for from Wednesday night through next Monday and it is not just turkey dinner. There nonstop football action from morning to late at night for five straight days. High School fans are not only treated to playoff action but some of the longest running Thanksgiving Day rivalry games in the country.
Phillipsburg, NJ and Easton, Pa may be on the opposite sides of the Delaware River but that has not stopped them from playing a football game against each year since 1905. The Thanksgiving tradition started in 1916 and even playoff seeds don’t stop this contest.
Another great rivalry game pits Haverford against Upper Darby. This game has been played since 1921. This series is well balanced with Upper Darby holding a slim 44-41-6 advantage.
It is now time to dive right in with predictions on five of the most competitive contests this week.
Playoff week three predictions were average at best with three of the five teams winning as predicted. North Penn, Neshaminy and Schuylkill Haven advanced as predicted while Glen Mills and Southern Columbia dropped hard fought contests and failed to win as predicted.
The last seven years the prognostication record stands at 356-150 while going 39-22 for this season and 10-5 this post season.
The top game to watch in District One AAAA this weekend could be the clash between the Neshaminy Redskins taking on the North Penn Knights at Souderton High School. These two schools could easily consider this a rivalry game as they have met on 30 previous occasions with North Penn holding an 18-12 advantage in the series. However this game determines the AAAA District One Championship and a slot in the state playoffs next week. The Redskins will need to depend on a running attack led by D’Andre Pollard who is close to the all-time rushing record at Neshaminy. North Penn coach Dick Beck has his hands full in prep work to stop Pollard. The Knights lost their first three games this year but are now on a ten game win streak. Count on North Penn to make it eleven on Friday night.
North Penn 34 Neshaminy 19
The next playoff showdown to watch involves District One AAA champion Academy Park facing off against District Twelve champion Archbishop Wood Friday night at Northeast High School. The Knights avenged a regular season loss to Del Val League rival Glen Mills 22-14 last Friday night. Academy Park needed to tighten its defense in the second half after trailing 14-9 at the break. Running back Jerry Lanier led the comeback effort with 192 yards and a TD on the night. QB Brian Ingram suffered a season ending injury late in the game which will make more difficult to upset the favored Archbishop Wood Vikings. Wood QB Tom Garlick leads a talented team that won the District Twelve title two weeks ago over Martin Luther King High 52-8. The Vikings are just too deep to beat in this contest.
Archbishop Wood 47 Academy Park 18
The rest of the fearless forecast:
St. Joe’s Prep 23 Parkland 20
Imhotep 31 Catasauqua 27
Upper Darby 27 Haverford 21
