By Joseph Santoliquito
There has always been a tug-of-war between the Eastern part of the state and the Pittsburgh area when it comes to football dominance.
This year, the west, in particular, the WPIAL won out, winning a record four state championships in one year (Central Valley (3A), Aliquippa (4A), Penn-Trafford (5A), and Mt. Lebanon (6A)). It does not mean Southeastern Pennsylvania football had a disappointing 2021.
In many ways, it was a highly successful season for a number of programs that never reached the heights they did this season. In PIAA District 1, Garnet Valley won its first Class 6A championship, Quakertown won the most games it ever had in a season (12), Bishop Shanahan won its second District 1 Class 4A title in three years and reached the state semifinals, and Strath Haven won the District 1 Class 5A title, its first district title since 2011 (as a 3A).
In District 12, St. Joseph’s Prep, the three-time defending 6A champs, came into the season with the usual high expectations, though what was lost is the fact the Hawks were a very young team, comprised of sophomores and juniors at their core. Senior-laden Imhotep Charter in 5A proved to be among the state’s best until the last 7:29 of regulation in its state title game when the Panthers imploded against overtime winner Penn-Trafford.
Player of the Year: Josiah Trotter 
The St. Joseph Prep 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior middle linebacker passed many eye tests and did things unseen and
unappreciated unless you were a coach.
Trotter, the youngest son of former Eagles’ linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, had a team-high 114 tackles for The Prep, with two fumble recoveries, 2½ sacks, nine tackles for a loss, six pass deflections and caused two fumbles, one in the state title game, and scored three touchdowns.
“Josiah is just a special young man both on and off the field and he’s really grown as a leader within our program,” Hawks’ coach Tim Roken said. “Josiah was forced to play early on as a freshman, because of injuries, and because of that, he understood that this became he defense. He became more vocal and toward the end of our season, Josiah called our defense.
“He checked in and out of plays for where our guys needed to be. He does do a lot of underappreciated things, like his ability to dissect a play and then attack is way advanced for someone his age. He makes sure practices are harder during the week than games.”
Trotter’s list of schools has changed. He is still thinking of three of the original four, dropping Ohio State and now adding Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, who recently hired former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry, who heavily recruited Trotter while with the Nittany Lions.
He still has Penn State, Clemson, where his older brother Jeremiah is, and South Carolina on his list.
Other top performers in Southeastern Pennsylvania include Ridley’s Tahir Mills, who rushed for a Delaware County single-season record 2,519 yards and 31 touchdowns, Garnet Valley’s Navy-bound Shane Reynolds, who carried the Jaguars to a district title, and Quakertown senior quarterback Will Steich, who led the Panthers to their first-ever pair of district playoff victories.
The La Salle senior tandem of Rutgers-bound tailback Sam Brown and Penn State-bound linebacker Abdul Carter led the Explorers to their first victory over archrival and national power St. Joe’s Prep since 2015.
Imhotep’s senior defensive ends, Texas A&M-bound Enai White and Penn State-bound end Keon Wylie, impacted every game they played in.
Coach of the Year: Garnet Valley’s Mike Ricci
In his last season in over 30 years of coaching, Ricci led the Jaguars to new levels, reaching the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals and winning the PIAA District 1 6A championship for the first time in program history.
“It’s not about me, it was always about the kids,” said Ricci, which is typical. The long-time coach preached “oneness” and his team played that way.
Garnet Valley (14-1) won 14 games for the first time in a season and it was a sendoff that the legendary Ricci, who announced his retirement from coaching after 35 years before the season began, deserved.
He earned such respect across the area that more than a few of St. Joe Prep’s staff said before the Hawks’ 49-13 state semifinal victory over Garnet Valley that “if we lose tonight, you don’t mind losing to a guy like that,” pointing to Ricci.
“I have loved every moment of this season and I just told our guys the true measure of any team is when you get the most out of the ability level that you have,” Ricci said after the state semifinal loss to St. Joe’s Prep. “This team certainly got the most out of the ability level it had. The senior leadership has been spectacular.
“If we’re talking in terms of this being my last year, to have that kind of effort, and that kind of cohesiveness, that kind of brotherhood and love shared, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Prep’s Roken merits serious consideration here, too, leading a very young Hawks’ team to the PIAA 6A state finals, as does Imhotep’s Devon Johnson, Quakertown’s George Banas, who led the Panthers to a 12-1 finish and two district playoff victories for the first time in program history, Strath Haven Hall of Fame coach Kevin Clancy, Bishop Shanahan’s Paul Meyers and Neumann-Goretti’s Albie Crosby.
Team of the Year: St. Joseph’s Prep
Only one team in Southeastern Pennsylvania beat two state finalist this season—La Salle. And only one team in the area throttled the Explorers, St. Joe’s Prep, and that’s when it counted most, in a 35-7 victory in the Catholic League Red Division championship.
“We overcame a lot this year,” Hawks’ junior middle linebacker Josiah Trotter said. “We had great senior leadership and they really picked us up when we were struggling. I would say this was a very successful year. We did things no one really expected us to do.
“There were doubts and when the doubts were the loudest, we responded—and we responded big. Coach Roken did an amazing job this year. He and his whole staff did. Coach Roken made sure we kept the focus on ourselves. We got better and responded.”
With stunning victories over La Salle (35-7) and Garnet Valley (49-13) in Prep’s journey to the state finals.
Garnet Valley, Imhotep, La Salle, North Penn, Bishop Shanahan, Neumann-Goretti, Strath Haven, Malvern Prep and Coatesville deserve attention. All had great seasons.
But in the end, it was St. Joe’s Prep as the last team standing.
Southeastern PA Top 10
Final Week of Dec. 17, 2021
- St. Joseph’s Prep (11-3)
- Imhotep Charter (10-2)
- Garnet Valley (14-1)
- La Salle (9-2)
- Neumann-Goretti (13-2)
- Malvern Prep (8-2)
- Coatesville (12-2)
- Strath Haven (13-2)
- Quakertown (12-1)
- Ridley (13-2)
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
