New West Catholic field general Anthony Reid will have quite a number of talented receivers to throw to this coming season, as the Burrs boast three wide receivers (David Sherman, Jaelen Strong-Rankin, Quran Kent) and a tight end (Jim Lynch) who are all potential Division-1 prospects.
Sherman came to West Catholic with Reid when North Catholic High School closed at the end of the 2009-10 school year. Sherman was Reid’s favorite target in the Falcon’s offensive scheme last season, snaring 28 passes for 440 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Schools like Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse and Temple have shown interest in Sherman, but not extended offers, according to Scout.com.
Kent finished as the Burrs’ leading receiver last season. As a junior, Kent caught 40 passes for 808 yards and seven touchdowns. Kent averaged over 20 yards per reception last season. As a sophomore, Kent was seldom-used in the passing game. He caught 12 passes for 240 yards without any touchdowns.
Like Sherman, Kent does not own a scholarship offer at present, but has received interest from schools like UCONN, Maryland, Ohio State, Pitt and Rutgers, according to Scout.
Strong-Rankin emerged as the Burrs’ #2 receiving threat behind Kent last season. Strong-Rankin hauled in 24 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. He averaged 16.04 yards per reception.
The 6’4, 185-pound Strong-Rankin has quite a list of schools showing interest. He doesn’t have any offers, but is being courted by schools like Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio, Penn State, Pitt, South Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia, according to Scout.
Lastly, tight end Jim Lynch might not be as high-profile as say a Ben Koyack (Oil City, committed to Notre Dame) or Tyler Kroft (Downingtown East, committed to Rutgers), but he’s a solid two-way player. Lynch finished third on the team in receiving yards (348) as a junior, catching 18 passes, with two of those receptions going for touchdowns. Defensively, Lynch finished with 68 tackles (47 for loss) and 14 sacks.
UCONN, Maryland, Notre Dame, Penn State and Virginia are all showing interest in Lynch (6’4, 220 pounds), but haven’t yet extended offers, according to Scout. Earlier in Lynch’s process, Ohio State and Pitt had shown interest, but are now listed as “no interest” on Lynch’s profile.
West Catholic averaged nearly 126 passing yards and just under 32 points per game last season, finishing 12-3 overall before being eliminated in the PIAA “AA” semifinals by Lancaster Catholic, 23-21.
Reid, in his junior season at North Catholic, averaged 99.8 passing yards per game and threw nine scoring passes. Expect those two numbers to increase for Reid, even though West Catholic loves to run the football. The Burrs averaged over 214 rushing yards per game last season.
