Turkey day classics & playoff predictions

First twelve week predictions go 45-10

It can’t get better than this weekend for high school football followers. In the not too distant past Thanksgiving Day was set aside for the biggest game of the year for local high school football teams. In those days a bad year could be turned into a successful season by beating a local rival before large crowds hungry for a win and a big turkey dinner to follow. In the last twenty years there has been a great expansion of the playoffs and the better football programs have decided to put their Turkey Bowls on hold in years that they advance into later rounds of the second season.

This year one of the best Thanksgiving showdowns will return after a five year playoff layoff. The Ridley Green Raiders host cross town rival Interboro Bucs after both squads saw an earlier than usual playoff exit. While these two great programs are disappointed not to advance it will be a great pre-turkey treat for fans of these two squads.

This week saw the top teams in Ed Thomas’ Southeastern Pa Top 10 hold their own in playoff action. The top five LaSalle, North Penn, Archbishop Wood, West Catholic and Neshaminy all held their positions with round two game victories.

Last week this prognosticator had spotless a 5-0 prediction record as Strath Haven, Neshaminy, Pottsgrove, Council Rock South and West Chester Rustin all won as predicted and advanced to the next round of playoff action.

The last four years, this future teller has a 202-72 prognostication record and a 2010 record of 45-10.

Let’s get right to the predictions. The Ridley Green Raiders were on their way to a third straight AAAA District One championship when everything seemed to go wrong in the first round of playoff action. Their inability to score in the red zone on several occasions along with a missed extra point spelled a one point loss to West Chester Henderson. However Ridley has one more chance to leave their fans with some great memories of this 2010 season. The Interboro Bucs share Ridley’s frustration as they overcame a season filled with injuries to reach the second round of the AAA second season only to fall to a fired up Pottsgrove team 42-6 last Friday. Ridley will rely on the passing skills of QB Sean Blundin along with the running attack led by Jalen Randolph and Shahaid Smith to keep the Interboro offense off the field. The Bucs will counter with hard charging running of Mitch Helmandollar and Chris Long. The extra weeks rest and home field advantage will be the difference in this slug fest.

Prediction: Ridley 23 Interboro 13

The next game is a must see as two time AAA Pa State Champions and District One AAA top seed Strath Haven faces the second seed Pottsgrove Falcons. Strath Haven has suffered several major injuries that has changed the nature of their offensive and defensive schemes. Defensive back and starting QB Bryan Downs and running back Thurman Fortune will not be on the field in Coatesville Friday night. However these injuries did not stop the Panthers from defeating Central League rival Springfield in round two last weekend. Alex Hisey filled in for the injured Fortune and ended up rushing for 209 yards and three TD’s in the 28-21 victory. The Falcons will counter with a very strong running attack with Maika Polamalu and Terrel Chestnut leading the way. The Pottsgrove offense has scored 42 points in each of the last three games. The winner of this contest will be determined by ball control and the Falcons have the upper hand in this area.

Prediction: Pottsgrove 34 Strath Haven 28

Here is the rest of this weeks fearless five forecast:

Prediction: Neshaminy 31 West Chester Rustin 20

Prediction: North Penn 41 Council Rock South 27

Prediction: Upper Darby 27 Haverford 14