The notable change this week is Haverford jumping from No. 4 to No. 3 while Springfield slides to No. 4. Haverford’s defense is sketchy, but offensively the Fords are tops in the county in points and touchdowns.
I realize Springfield is undefeated in the Central League and Haverford is not, but I think that after you get past Ridley and Episcopal Academy, the rest of the Super 7 is a crap shoot and you can probably rank those teams in any which way, or at least make your own arguments.
Cardinal O’Hara, after a terrible loss to Roman Catholic, falls to No. 6. I contemplated putting Academy Park ahead of Interboro this week. AP is on the cusp and they certainly deserve to be in the Super 7, but I couldn’t justify taking a team off the list. That includes O’Hara.
Why isn’t Interboro ranked higher, or at least ahead of the team they beat, Springfield? I don’t think Interboro is better than O’Hara or Garnet, and Springfield, as well all know, defeated one of those teams.
1. Ridley (7-0)
2. Episcopal Academy (6-0)
3. Haverford High (6-1)
4. Springfield (6-1)
5. Garnet Valley (5-2)
6. Cardinal O’Hara (4-3)
7. Interboro (6-1)
North Penn lost to CB South, not Council Rock South. Just letting you know.
According to a papreps poster Ridley is 43-4-3 all time versus Springfield. I’m thinking it will be 44-4-3 by 10pm this Friday.
yeah i think they beat us once or twice in the chuckie robinson and marty brown days
Friday, Sept. 7: Springfield 33, Harriton 27, OT
Friday, Sept. 28: Ridley 35, Harriton 0
^^^^^ please explain that I hope it was just a bad night for S-Field or there were injuries??? I am a football fan n I do know that it is any givin Friday, Saturday,or Sunday but we are talking about high school. Just something that I thought I would point out.
IDK
Interboro absolutely should be ahead of O’Hara. As far as AP, they will get their shot in a few wks when they face Interboro. My guess is that Springfield will lose to Ridley, which should drop them to #5. If they win they should go to #2. Haverford should stay at #3 if they beat GV and GV should be out of super 7. If GV wins, they stay at #5 and Springfield goes to #4. Basically, it will all play out in the next few wks. I think if you just put Interboro at #4, slide Springfield and GV to #5 and #6 respectively, and the winner of the O’Hara-Bonner game takes 7, you’ll have your Super 7.
I absolutely agree with Tom placing Bucs ahead of O’Hara. You’re reasoning must have something to do with bitter feelings against Interboro or something. Interboro continues to win while other hypes are losing some games, there is no where but up that Interboro should be going. As far as AP, they move up only when they beat the Bucs, which most likely will not happen. O’Hara at 4-3 over the Bucs is ridiculous. Although I know pre-season should not be considered as wins or losses, lets not forget Interoro showed very shrong against GV with most saying looked better than GV. Oh and I almost forgot INTERBORO BEAT SPRINGFIELD! BAD BAD BAD Super 7 this week from a Bucs fan of course.
I always figured the best way to improve your position in the Super 7 was to win football games consistently, apparently I was wrong
It’s amazing that people are throwing dirt on the grave of Garnet Valley. Yes they lost to Springfield but as we saw against Ridley they are a better team then they showed that night. Just a bad night against a decent team. And please stop referring to the Interboro scrimmmage as someway to compare teams. It was the last scrimmage of the year, Irving and a couple other players didn’t dress, the starters played 1 series.
You realize that O’Hara’s three losses came against Roman (PCL 4A power), La Salle (state 4A power) and Archbishop Wood, right? I don’t think Interboro would fare any better.
The overall records never tell the entire story. Interboro faces teams like Penn Wood, Chester and Chichester, whereas O’Hara is playing the likes of those three teams I mentioned. Let’s not pretend that Interboro is markedly better than O’Hara because they have a 6-1 record and O’Hara has two more losses. It’s a joke.
Oh, and the next person who falsely claims that I have it out for Interboro because I’m a graduate of another Del Val school, you’ll be blocked permanently from commenting.
Thanks.
@Matt you also realize that the teams O’Hara has beat aren’t exactly the best teams in the PCL…and that the Lions victories come against teams that are a combined 10 – 16…Lets not pretend that INT couldn’t be 4-3 facing O’Hara’s 2012 schedule. AR: won it’s first PCL game in how many years last week. HS: ok they are 4-3 but again their only significant victory is over a 5-2 Kennett Squad. AC: below .500 team with PCL wins over two other average PCL teams. McDevitt: I’ll leave it at “McDevitt”…
First to Coach B, GV has a great squad, no doubt. I’m not throwing dirt on them. Scrimmage is a time for coaches to eval their talent. Interboro had kids not dress, our first team fared well with GV, our second team fared well against GV 2nd team all being said they looked equal. My point exactly.
Next Matt,
Sorry for hitting a nerve I appologize. I had not intended for that to be an accusation as much as just a question. My appologies. As for your response,
is the super 7 decided on who you lost to, who you beat or your record? If it’s who you lose to, then does Interboro move up the ladder for their loss to the almighty EA team? All divisions have a few teams that struggle, in the Del-Val it’s the teams you mention but you neglected to state Interboro beat the reighning Del-Val champs, Penn Charter (who most doubted), Prep Academy (who at the time was winning games decisively) and I almost forgot Central leage powerhouse, Springfield. These are’nt shabby wins. As I see it right now, Interboro (with it’s passing game included in the game plan) handles O’hara fairly decisively. I’m not saying Bucs are “markedly” better, just that right now they beat O’Hara. The Kennett win hardly makes for a team to be placed at #6 (4-3)
As far as AP on the cusp, they are doing well. Not well enough for consideration into super 7 by bumping a team. That shouldn’t even have been a consideration until they prove they can beat the BUCS. They haven’t even faced Glenn Mills yet, for crying out loud. So does Interboro not rank down the list if they lose there next 2 because those teams are not powerhouses or do they rank up if they continue to beat everyone in their way. Confusing Huh? Welcome to my world.
I’ll save you a cup of that new found flavor of Kool-Aid called Yellow and Black, should you ever get thirsty! PS Try never to block anyone from commenting for expressing their opinions or asking questions, remember football is a passionate sport with passionate fans. I used no foul language or disrespected any coaches or players.
Big_Buc that black and yellow Kool Aid is doing wonders. Glad you come at O’Hara’s schedule and losses. 1) They were forced to play LaSalle and McDevitt per Catholic league crossover games. 2) Carrolls a nice little rivalry and who are you to say that well one cupcake is a crime on their scheudle. O’Hara is three touchdowns better, your Bucs have not played a team that has anywhere close to that team speed and their front seven is solid. Staying on schedules you guys beat the powerhouses Upper Moreland, Prep Charter, and Penn Charter. You’re post makes no sense, I actually lost IQ points from reading it. Prep Academy isn’t in the Del Val. Did they teach you proof reading at Interboro. Since you want to come at O’Hara I’ll back them up. Being a grad and former player, the reason they lost Saturday was because of Algeo’s awful playcalling and defensive scheme. Roman is no joke (top 15 in se pa). So they’re three losses came to teams that are going to be in Hershey and another who is a top squad in the area. Like Matt said, 1-2 are pretty much locks and you can make an argument for the rest. Oh and that Ryan team dominated that Chi team that your Bucs beat by twenty, so don’t come at Ryan either. The Catholic League is head and shoulders above the Bucs and your opinion. Tell Lennox to schedule O’Hara next year and not some Philadelphia charter school that struggles to field players. But hey, keep celebrating your week 1 victory over Springfield. And give Matt a break, the guy busts his ass and doesn’t have to have this blog. If you care that much about these rankings you need to find something else to do. Good work Matt, it’s a toss up 3-7.
O’Hara can you read? No one said (Prep Academy) and by that I assume you to genious’ mean the Prep Charter Huskies was in the Del Val. The school name was written in the same sentence but not in that context of being a member of the Del Val…Where is Roman ranked top 15 in SEPA? Also you stated “there three losses will be teams in Hershey and another to a top team in the area”…that math has the Lions at 4 losses…but hey Catholic Schools don’t have to worry about state testing or NCLB. Guess you’ll blame Algeo if the Lions finish 1-1 over the next two weeks. Not far fetched considering Bonner had their number last year…and Archbishop Wood took got a scare from LC in the 2nd half last week. One final note those horrid Prep Charter Huskies came within a point of beating LC in week 1, so Prep Charter is only a 15 point dog to mighty Wood?
Apologies on the typo, two teams and another top team in S.E. Pa, my mistake.As per Prep Academy here’s my proof “Interboro beat the reighning Del-Val champs, Penn Charter (who most doubted), Prep Academy (who at the time was winning games decisively)”. If I took it out of context my mistake, pretty sure O’Hara’s education is up there with most public schools in the area. Yes Algeo is to blame for a 1-1 finish. Can Bonner beat O’Hara? Yes, they have arguably the BEST athlete and football player in Delaware County in Jimmy Haley and Bonner vs. CO is always a close one. Wood had zero scare from LC last week, zero. One big play and another fumble gave LC fourtenn points. And if you’re going to play that game, Ryan beat Chi 49-7 who lost to Interboro by 22 yet O’Hara beat Ryan by 6. Doing your math that makes Ryan twenty point favorites on Interboro and O’Hara 26 point favorites. Two can play that game my friend, I don’t know why you’re attacking my post it was not directed towards you yet you defend O’Hara in other posts. Who is your school?
Oh and here’s your rankings you asked for. Rick O’Brien has the top 25 in SE PA and almost reflects the Super 7. O’Hara’s opponents that they lost to are all in the top 15 (LS 3, AW 9, RC 14). Oh and the first team under consideration, that terrible Archbishop Ryan team. The Bucs are nowhere in there and that’s how it should be. Ted Silary also has O’Hara AHEAD of EA in his City Top 10. Ted’s been doing this for a while and has forgotten more about HS football than we’ll ever know. I’m not on here to preach O’Hara as the best in Delco. They’re not, next year is their year. These three losses were the ones everyone going into the season predicted. Sorry Matt for blowing this up just had to get the point across.
Actually, O’Hara and EA flipped this week for city Top 10 by Silary.
I’d have EA ahead of WC and right behind MP.
EA wins out I’d put them at #4 or #5. I’m not really sold on Imhotep.
1. SJ Prep (6-0)
2. La Salle (6-1)
3. Wood (5-2)
4. Imhotep (7-0)
5. Roman (4-2)
6. Malvern (4-2)
7. West Catholic (4-2)
8. Episcopal (6-0)
9. O’Hara (4-3)
10. Frankford (5-2)
West Catholic has no business being ahead of EA.
Im noticing a trend. The Inquirer didn’t even mention EA for weeks, and I think Ted believes just about any PCL team above .500 is better than an Inter-Ac squad. But I don’t see it. Also, you can make a strong case EA is better than Malvern (we’ll find out soon enough) and Roman.
I’m not trying to overhype them, but many people just don’t believe or don’t want to believe how good EA really is.
O’Hara I’m just a fan like you…I agree they have are in the right spot in Super 7 but I based it soley on their three losses. If you thought the previous poster though “Prep Academy” was in the Del-Val then you should have scorned them over the same thing by mentioning Penn Charter…just following your logic. You already did your song and dance with the triple comparison of OH, CHI, & INT…so I just simply played into your song and dance. Any Wood follower would tell you that they were not pleased with last weeks game and this is not even close to the same Wood team from the 2011 season. I’m not “attacking” your post just couldn’t take the high road because or your condescending comments towards public school. Best of luck with Bonner, and blaming Algeo
No hard feelings Cat, my comments were a little heated wasn’t in the best state of mind when typing them. Andy that top ten is Ed Palmer’s who is WC guy who writes for Ted. Ted’s is in Monday tidbits article. He has (in order) SJP, LS,AW,IMHO,RC,CO,MP,WC,EA,FRANK. I believe Ea should be ahead of Wc and right in the mix with CO and MP. Matt don’t think EA is better than RC and they’re a tossup with OHara. Will Fuller is a nigthmare problem and is an All American talent giving RC the edge. I think EA gets by Malvern which is going to be great. And Cat, any fan knows that this years Wood team is nowhere close to last years Wood team. That team is arguably one of the best in the past decade and most likely will be one of the best in this decade to come. Why Algeo is at fault you ask? Up by 20 with 2 minutes in the 3rd Q and you’re throwing the ball on first down. Darden throws a pick and Roman scores, rinse and repeat until Roman took the lead. I have no problem throwing the ball on 3rd and medium, but 1st and 10 come on now. He’s not a good play caller past players will agree with my statement. Anyways apologies for my post did not want to offend you, just trying to stick up for the old school when people throw it under the bus.
I completely respect O’Hara being ahead of INT at 4-3. The Lions have a far tougher schedule and 2 of their losses are to two of the top 10 teams in all of PA (LaSalle and Wood). AP doesn’t make the Super 7 over INT simply because they have faced the two bottom dwellers of the Del Val. While INT took care of business against two of the stronger teams in Glen Mills and Chichester. It will get hashed out in Week 10.
No complaints from me on the Super 7. Like Matt said, after #2 you can make all sorts of arguments either which way.
FWIW (and I don’t think it is worth much) the Maxpreps computer ranking has EA #17 in the state and Ridley the top Central team at #27 in the state (that’s for all schools in the state regardless of enrollment classification the way I did the search).
Now, I personally don’t agree with those Maxpreps rankings. I don’t think EA is #17 in the state. They are good, but not that good. However, I disagree with the Inquirer on EA only being under consideration for the SE PA top 25. I’d put EA between 13 and 15 in SE PA.
I just found it interesting how (and I don’t know how as I don’t know the computer algorithm) the Maxpreps computer ranking has Ridley at #27 in the state and Haverford and Springfield far behind them. Maxpreps really did not give the Central League much respect. They are tops in Delco, but I’d be interested to hear opinions on how the CL stacks up to other leagues in the Philly region?
I personally think the CL has four very good, but not great teams at the top of the league and is mediocre below that. I think Ridley is very good and better than anyone else in the CL, but they needed some turnovers to defeat a two loss GV. They are better than anyone else in the CL, but I don’t see them as being dominate over the other good teams. HHS played them close.
FWIW, I do believe Ridley is top 10 SE PA like the Inky has them ranked and like I said, I’d put EA 13-15 in the SE PA top 25 and move them to about 10 if they were to handle Malvern – which the Inky won’t do and no guarantees on EA beating a tough Malvern team (#13 in SE PA).
I don’t think Ridley or EA are top 25 in the state, so the Maxprep computer rankings are off in my view. I actually think Maxpreps got close by putting Ridley at #27 in the state. I’d then have EA 10 or 15 spots behind Ridley in the state rankings (that does not mean Ridley and EA are not pretty even – just a lot of other schools to consider across the state with a better strength of schedule than EA).
Also note I am not knocking the CL.I just found it curious the Maxpreps computer ranking did not give the CL more respect. That’s why I asked how people feel about how the CL stacks up against other leagues across the region and the state.
Andy, MaxPreps rankings are a joke. If you want to look at statewide rankings use:
Patriot News via pennlive.com (Ridley is Others to Watch)
PaFootballNews.com (Ridley is #6 in AAAA)
PaPreps (Ridley is #8 in AAAA and #10 in all classes combined rankings)
EasternPaFootball (Ridley is #8 in the AAA/AAAA poll)
There are a few others, but those MaxPreps’ rankings are bogus.
All those rankings I used are statewide except EasternPaFootball.com, which is only the eastern half of the state.
Add in #1 in Del.Co. and #4 in SEPA care of the Inquirer
National rankers like MaxPreps know little to nothing about local or statewide football in PA or any other state for that matter.
most of those cites don’t even include episcopal. That is the joke.
Billy, 2 of the 4 sites do. So “most” is inaccurate.
Just to add, about the CL, the current league members own 10 District 1 titles in AAA/AAAA since 2000. You also can’t stack the league up to other leagues face value wise as only half of the CL is AAAA. So comparing them, for instance, to the Suburban One, who has 23 members, 21 of them being AAAA, is comparing apples to oranges. If you break it down by the numbers, the CL’s AAAA schools have been just as successful as any other leagues AAAA schools barring the recent success of the catholic league.
get it straight , they didnt NEED turnovers to beat gv. they just beat um and fyi they were a one loss team at that point not two we were the second …do your homework
I was speaking past tense. GV is a two loss team with Ridley being one of those teams.
Sorry, but I don’t see Ridley winning that game with GV up 17-7 at the end of 3rd if GV did not then have two costly turnovers and a muffed punt that bounced 15 yards past the punt returner and left GV on their own one yard line having to punt out of the end zone giving Ridley the ball on GV’s 25.
GV held Rdiley to 7 points for almost 3 quarters and while Ridley may have been able to come back without the turnovers, I don’t see it.
The turnovers in the 4th and the muffed punt gave Ridley really short field opportunities, the momentum, and deflated GV. No turnovers in the 4th and Ridley really would have had an uphill battle given they could only muster 7 points for just about 3 quarters.
Yeah, Ridley dropped some passes in the first half. GV QB also overthrew more than a few wide open receivers.
Still I posted before Ridley deserved the win. They did not hold their heads down when GV went up 17-7 in the 3rd and they took advantage of the opportunities handed to them.
That’s the sign of a winner.
I was there (Ridley fan) and I thought Ridley was the better team. GV couldn’t do anything with the ball in the 1st half. Ridley didn’t do much either but they were making mistakes. Dropped balls, penalties, etc. Ridley’s play calling was terrible until the 4th quarter. For some reason they are way too conservative with Wright at QB. GV has always been great at grinding teams down and winning games in the 4th quarter and they started doing that to Ridley. If you let a lesser team stick around long enough, they’ll beat you. I felt that was happening in that game until the 4th. Give Ridley credit though. They stepped up and made plays in the 4th to win the game. Their D is tough, as always. I actually thin Haverford will beat GV. The could’ve beat Ridley too, But Ridley D forced 6 turnovers and they were able o get it done. But I was really impressed with Haverford and they’ll be tough to beat in the playoffs. I could see this Ridley team winning a few playoff games and maybe even D1 (Haven’t seen some of the other teams yet). I could also see them getting ousted early. I honestly believe it depends on coaching and play calling. And their kicker misses way too many extra points which always seems to them in the playoffs. As ridiculous as that sounds.
Ridley will beat Springfield and will beat theM pretty soundly , Ridley’s a unit and Springfield is a one man crew much respect to their star QB but your not just going to run all over Ridley and expect to win but what do I know??? we shall see friday nighT THAT’S WHY WE PLAY THE GAME!!!!!!!!!
Sfield 35-Ridley 24
43-4-3
Ridley all-time v. the cougars (according to papreps)
Wanted: New rival for Ridley.
Ridley 28, Springfield 6
Football is the ultimate team sport. No team goes 6-1 without being a team effort. Show me a team that is a “one man crew” and I will show you a losing team. S-field plays as a team. There are many talented players who rarely get the ball, but they block or do whatever they are asked to do…for the TEAM!
October 15, 2012 first story on EasternPAFootball has Ridley Ranked 10th in AAAA State wide.
#10 in AAAA statewide by EasternPaFootball.com, #8, if you scroll towards the bottom of the home page, on the eastern half of the state in their Big School (AAA/AAAA) poll
FYI – All of the rankings listed above, with the exception of the Super 7 and Ted Silary’s rankings, don’t include Inter-Ac teams.
Maxpreps did for state overall, but that seems to have been debunked and I did not agree with it anyway.
Would be nice to see the I-A teams included in the others.
The PaPreps Fine 15 is statewide and regardless of class. So that site is saying Ridley is the #10 team in the state in all classes, including non PiAA teams
Wrong Tom. The PaPreps Five 15 (rankings statewide regardless of class or affiliation) does include the IA, as Malvern has made the Top 15 in previous years. Malvern, in recent years, also made the EasternPAFootball.com Big School rankings once or twice. So that poll includes the IA as well.
Don’t look for reasoning to explain away Ridley’s rank because you’ve got EA sour grapes going on.
Right. Malvern is in PaPreps top 15 this week and EA is under consideration from a post I just read.
@hateBBQ – no EA sour grapes going on. My posts are unbiased – who the best team is always plays out as the season progresses. If I was wrong in my post – no problem, I just have never seen any of the IA schools in those rankings. If Ridley stays undefeated and wins District 1 they absolutely deserve the #1 ranking.
Note that Pa Prep ranking I am talking about is SE PA.
Andy, the rankings you are looking at are rankings submitted by posters on that site. It doesn’t represent the site itself or its publishers/writers. In that poll Malvern is #15 and EA is #22. The Top 15 I’m talking about is the PaPreps, the actual sites, Top 15 statewide, where Ridley is ranked #10, not the user submitted SEPA one.
The PaPreps Fine 15 is statewide and regardless of class. So that site is saying Ridley is the #10 team in the state in all classes including non PiAA teams
Gotcha, BBQ. This is all new to me. Appreciate the incite.
Yeah, I pretty much figured Maxpreps was way off with EA #17 in the state.
Will be interesting to see how the CL does post season.
I personally think all leagues that are in Delco are down a bit this year. I-A is not as strong. They usually field three strong teams. This year only two.
Outside of Ridley, I don’t see anyone from the CL going anywhere post-season.
Del Val is not strong this year either.
@Andy, you’re definitely wrong about other than Ridley no one from the Central League is going anywhere. GV is as talented as Ridley and we saw that as they played them. I expect GV to get in as a 12 seed and make some noise…possibly setting up for a rematch later on.
While you may be right, my concern with GV is they have lost to their two toughest opponents (Springfield and Ridley) and not beaten anyone of consequence except Unionville by one point the first game of the season.
You have a point in that appeared on par with Ridley as I was at that game.
I’ll stick what what I said, but have no prob being proven wrong with GV making some noise.
really james …a 12 seed with 2 and possibly more losses dude wake up what tourny are you talkin about cause it cant be the distict1 tourny
@Ken,
have you ever even followed a District 1 Tourney before? A 12 Seed? Did you see where North Penn, Neshaminy, etc were ranked last year? That’s what i thought.
Does anyone know if Ridley and Interboro are both out of the playoffs before thanksgiving – is the game on?
Yes
I have no idea, but I was just talking to somebody at the EA who teaches there and I played football with at EA back in the early 80′s who said EA coach Todd Fairlie (who earned 15 varsity letters in 4 sports at Marple – and not too long ago as he is only 29) has been trying to get a Thanksgiving game going the past two years with Marple and start an annual Newtown Square rivalry but it has not gotten anywhere.
Would be great for EA as they have no post season, but c’est la vie.
Part of it might be the EA athletic department not agreeing as EA has so many multiple sport athletes and it would interfere with winter sports.
thatd b great andy, thanksgiving games are really fun and get the communities excited etc i hope they push for it especially since those kids cant play in the postseason itd b nice 4 them
yes tom as always the game is on if both teams are either not in or bounced early and i believe its at ridley this year
Praying for GV Ridley 1st round playoff game !
That would be an awesome rematch.
Interboro is definitely good and has shown that with their wins, but they only have wins over 2 quality teams (Springfield and Penn Charter). They beat a Springfield team Week 1 who was running a brand new offense so a matchup between them at this point in the season may have a different outcome. Like Matt said Interboro would have not done any better than O’hara if they had that schedule.
Somewhat true, but it wasn’t the ground game that lost it for Springfield, it was that their secondary had not one kid on the team that could stop #14 (a sophmore, yet) wait till you see that kid progress. Their secondary has not improved much since then either. Also, it was week one for Interboro too trust me they have found themselves and are much much stronger now too. Rematch would be great though!
LIke I’ve said many of times – it’ll all play out. If Interboro beats AP, we will see just how good they are in the playoffs. I just don’t think it’s fair that they’re behind O’Hara – when their only loss is to the #2 unbeaten team in the county and they have beaten the #4 team in the county or behind Springfield, who they already beat. Let’s not forget, yes O’Hara got beat by 3 very good teams {just like Interboro}, but they also just got by Haverford School, who has not been extremely impressive so far this year. If Springfield loses to Ridley, Interboro should leap ahead of O’Hara, Springfield and the loser of the Haverford-GV game. For the record, I am not an Interboro fan – just a fan of Delco Football.
I posted last week I could see the Bucs at #5.
As an EA supporter (who seeks to be unbiased in posts) I could (but I won’t because this is all opinion) take offense that the Bucs are not getting a fair shake because EA beat then 41-0 and that means the Bucs must not be that good and neither is EA.
Perhaps the Bucs are good and EA is that good? I posted before I think the Bucs had an off game and EA is not 41 points better than the Bucs.
I just watched EA beat Penn Charter 28-7. EA came out rusty after two weeks off and had a lot of first half penalties that stalled drives, but PC came to play and it was only 7-7 at half.
EA then came out and scored 21 in the 3rd and dominated the entire second half, but remember the Bucs also handled what I saw as a decent enough PC team – as well as having the Springfield victory.
Yes, you can argue Springfield has improved from losing to the Bucs in their first game, but I’d also say the Bucs have improved since losing to EA in their second game.
However, it’s all just speculation. I’d love for EA to be #1, but Ridley has them on strength of schedule to this point ( I guess that could change if EA were to blow out Malvern and Ridley struggles with some close wins – which I don’t see happening for Ridley – see them handily running the table regular season, but you also never know).
Not so clear cut when you get to 3-7 in the Super 7. Matt did post it is a crap shoot for 3-7 and I agree. There is an argument for ranking the Bucs higher. The same can be done for other teams too, but Interboro may have the best argument.
Matt may also be hedging in case AP beats the Bucs. He made the safe bet by moving Ridley ahead of EA right before they played GV. Not knocking Matt. Only human nature to look ahead and hedge. I’m concerned about EA v. Malvern. I’d rather downplay and overachieve, and since Malvern is ranked ahead of EA in SE PA polls, I’m not really downplaying anything.
I’m feeling ya Andy, thanks for the courage to speak up for the yellow and black. They will keep you intrigued. Thanks
Ahh, c’mon Tom I thought we were beginning to bond until you said your not a Bucs fan
Right now if Playoffs started TODAY:
AAAA
# 2 Ridley vs. # 15 Neshaminy
#12 Haverford @ # 5 Central Bucks South
#16 Garnet Valley @ # 1 Downingtown East
Outside:
#25 Conestoga
AAA
# 3 Interboro vs. # 6 Phoenixville
# 4 Springfield-Delco vs. # 5 Academy Park
# 8 Sun Valley @ # 1 Pottsgrove
Outisde:
# 9 Strath Haven
Two things pop out at me about that.
First, that Interboro is seeded higher than Springfield given the discussions so far on this thread.
Also, I was at the Ridley/GV game and they appeared pretty evenly matched to me.
If Ridley is #2 and GV is #16, then it would appear there is a lot of balance in AAAA.
Should make for some interesting games.
Interboro and Springfield are tied but Interboro has the tiebreaker on its side.
GV and Haverford have to win two of their final three games. Haverford’s schedule — Strath Haven, Conestoga and Garnet Valley — is rough.
Garnet Valley finishes with Radnor and Penncrest before Haverford game.
I don’t think District One 4A is as down as people make it out to be. I agree, it’s balanced.
james where is this info from? your insane
@Ken, how about the official District 1 Pennsylvania Website? Does that sound official enough for you?
http://district-one.net/general/footballinfo.htm
Like I said if you want to beat Ridley YOU HAVE TO PASS THE BALL PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I respect Springfields team effort im sory I just dont see it happening and all I am is a Delco football fan my opinion is not biased we’ll see thats why you play the game in no form am I counting Springfield out oim just stating facts. Unless Sringfiled line average about 225-300 lbs across the line or your RB is not 6′ 215 with elite speed your not just gone do one thing to beat Ridley I have yet to see a team that was big as or slighlty bigger than Ridley just line up and run the ball and beat Ridley thats why GV pose the biggest threat around here to Ridley do you guys remember week 2 vs Haverford??????? thats a pretty good team with a great QB and a grea RB what happend? they took a L. Springfield is going to come and bring it but when its all said and done Ridley will prevail if I didnt have respect for Springfield I would say Ridley by double digits but I know them boys in Springfield have a whole lot of heart so I know I’m going to have my popcorn ready cuse its going to be a good one, I cant wait.
jimmy haley is the best player in the county…… really ???!!! not even
Ken, the only other player imo that is up there with Haley is Strouss. They both go both ways and are great running and throwing threats. What gets ignored though is how well they both play defense. They both make tackles up at the line of scrimmage from their secondary spot. I would like to know what your opinion is respectfully?
well theres 2 kids at ridley that r pretty good ..the first shane dougherty is only playing 1 way now as he has a broken hand( he was a preseason pick for player of year ,among other things) and michael crowley whos an absolute beast, this kid literally never leaves the field , he plays all 3 phases and plays them all very well! hes close to the top in all major categories those players u named R pretty good but u gotta love a 3way player
Shane Dougherty is hands down the Central League MVP, in my opinion. Special, special talent. A definite Payer of the Year candidate.
I think this has been mentioned, but Dougherty is also Ridley’s best RB/FB. Once he gets his cast off, I’m sure he’ll be actively involved in the run game.
Haley is a Delco Player of the Year candidate. He’s the real deal.
No one has been better than Strouss. Darden’s been great, but if I were starting a team and needed a do-everything type of player to lead my team, Strouss would be the guy.
Strouss will be playing safety at Penn, but not a bad run/pass threat at 6’3 200 (see film below).
As for Crowley at Ridley, I’d say the two-way talent at the same positions is a toss-up with Strain from EA.
Dougherty is the best LB in the CL. The the best linebacker in Delco is Pitt bound, 6’2, 225 Matt Galambos out of Haverford School.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/373522/highlights/16933379
@Ken, James’ seeding is completely accurate if the playoffs were to start today. How bout you do a simple internet search before you start the name calling…you look like a fool.
i did do a search and see that 3 teams are tied for 13th muddleing things up and i didnt know the playoffs started today wow we still have games on our schedule… weird .so who looks like the fool! lastly ill bet anything that that scenario doesnt play out as you said !north penn will win out and knock gv out of the 16th seed .. their just not that good !! face it
The only thing I’ve made up in my mind is that you don’t read someones post thoroughly and that you are way to quick to comment. You are also asking for common knowledge stuff that you can easily find on your own. Your stench of incompetence makes you the fool.
@Ken,
Those two 13 teams hold the tiebreaker over Neshaminy. And to you’re point on Garnet Valley, please keep putting them down because i know for a fact they are dieing to see Ridley again after they GAVE the game to Ridley in the 4th quarter.
Just to prove a point and I know u have to consider something but IDK to think this game cant get out of hand with Ridley running away with it wouldnt be wrong but I have respect for Springfield I just cant wait until Friday!!!!!!!
Friday, Sept. 7: Springfield 33, Harriton 27, OT
Friday, Sept. 28: Ridley 35, Harriton 0
^^^^^ please explain that I hope it was just a bad night for S-Field or there were injuries??? I am a football fan n I do know that it is any givin Friday, Saturday,or Sunday but we are talking about high school. Just something that I thought I would point out.
Haverford only lost to Ridley 23-15 with 6 turnovers to Ridley’s 1, Haverford also lost their D1 TE/DE the day of their game, Ridley still couldn’t finish a drive longer than 40 yards the entire game against their defense, all of their scores were off of turnovers where they received the ball inside Haverford’s 40, so if they meet again you can bet your bottom that Haverford will be victorious…coming from a #FORDS fan
good luck with that
were you at the game that night?
Don’t worry guys, Ken is the biggest HOMER/BIASED Ridley fan i’ve seen in a while.
Don’t sell other Ridley fans short
Just so you know that was the first game for Ridley jr BACK UP QB!!!!!!! who is now the starter I credit Haverford and their efforts but how do you think they turned the ball over????? The line couldnt block any of the Ridley D-line men period if you were at the game you had to see that so dont take credit away from what Ridley’s D-line did to the fords O-line. Haverford finally is fielding a team and not a door mat so I do credit that but state facts and understand the game of footbal thats just what happens sometimes. I know the fords have a D1 QB n a D1 RB but only got held to 15 pts Ridley’s strong point been defense ever since the beginning of time #Raider alum##Ex Raider football great###Raider fan
GO BIG GREEN
ocat8, u and james shouldmake up your minds ,in his post he has gv in the tourny at 12 does he not that is what is insane they are an extreme longshot at 16 at best even they would tell you that
all this talk about rankings and what not i actually wish ridley wasnt in them at all, as the last time they were ranked patriot news 4a #1 they felt the pressure and choked out of the show kids get caught up in that stuff and it really can and does affect their play ive seen it personally i hope coach decker has a rankings gag order on them just play and worry about reading later i fell into that trap myself ..had the brackets all drawn out and stuff fell into all the hype and we lost !!this year just play the games and let the seedings fall where they may !! although id love the 1seed just so i can(hopefully) watch the first 3 games at home and not have to drive to god knows where lol
matt, who does downingtown east have left on their schedule?
question for the room to discuss …when did we stop giving teams (ANY TEAMS) credit for forcing turnovers and start treating them like gifts if you hit a kid so hard he fumbles the ball how is that a gift? if you have a jailbreak and the qb is swamped and throws a pick because of that , is that a gift or great d? y arent they good tough defensive plays ? i havent seen 1 kid hand the ball over as a gift, what i have seen is players making big plays and creating turnovers!! all i hear is this team gave them this and that team gave them that, or if we wouldnt have done this or that we woulda won! you DID do that and thats probably y u lost, if your players are turnover prone ..take um out or coach um up whats everyone think
Actually, I’ve seen a lot of fumbles and INT’s that should not be happening all over the place in a variety of games.
Players should not be fumbling just because they take a solid hit.
I can understand it if a helmet hits the ball or it is an intentional strip, but that is not what I’m seeing. I’m seeing poor ball protection where kids are fumbling balls from basic tackles in a lot of games.
Fumbles will sometimes happen on basic tackles. One a game tops should be all that a coach will accept. When I see it 3 or 4 or 5 times a game by one team I question the coaching.
One team I am aware of that has had very few fumbles (and no INT’s to 12 TD passes) this season practices basic hand-offs and preventive fumble drills just about every practice – even this far into the season.
Not surprisingly, they have very few turnovers.
yes jed i was and hav. lost, ( like they traditionally do to ridley) let me guess… if we woulda had our d1 guy ,if we woulda done this or that we woulda won BUT U DIDNT do this or that ,you just lost get over it and move on
^^AMEN!!!!
I enjoy your sports columns and the super 7, However I agree with Big Buc.If a person does not use foul language or disrespect coaches or players they should not be blocked from posting their opinion, After all it is just their OPINION and this is a sports opinion site,
ocat8 what didnt i read thoroughly, tell me and what part of my statement is untrue? sorry i asked matt something that i could look up, i was just curious and he has access to more stats etc next time ill look it up as to not offend you with my stench. btw i think the stench comes from the koolaid i drink lol i wont get drawn into another battle i said my peace u said yours move on and good luck with your team
James specifically stated in his post “IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY” you being the genious that you are state, “THEY DON”T START TODAY”…the guy was just giving everyone an update of the seeding thus far for DELCO teams since no other site does it. If you can’t find a game online your a bum, what access do you need besides internet…(don’t answer it’s rhetorical).
really name calling funny i thought that wasnt allowed and learn how to spell genius please leave me alone and dont call me another name as i refuse to have abattle of wits with an unarmed person
Save the name calling for Thanksgiving.
Matt didn’t you guys do an article last year describing a few Delco players as “health risks” . Isn’t that pretty derogatory towards players.
With the exception of poor judgment used on one particular photo caption (which we ultimately regretted), We weren’t singling out any one player in the story.
We talked to school trainers and medical professionals about the short-and long-term risks of playing football overweight. Nothing derogatory about it.
That photo caption was what I was referring because I know the player was ultimately disappointed, it wasn’t a point to be a smart ass it was just out of curiosity. By the way how does the All Delco selection process work?
Everything was smoothed out. The player has been nothing but gracious to me. Good kid all-around.
The All-Delco process works like this:
Coaches nominate players, and we rely strongly on their input and recommendations, but in the end we decide who makes the teams.
All I have to say is passion has a funny way of trumping logic.
Go Cougars
#13eatridley
Hey delco fan. I would take doc and Crowley on my team any day. They are football players.who cares where they are going.I am from GV and I think the central league is very tough.you can have the private schools. They would not stay with Ridley or GV.
No need to make it a public/private thing.
I’d take Dougherty and Crowley on my team any day too.
However, they are not the only players worth talking about in Delco and they would probably tell you the same thing.
The best athletes are humble but confident, in my view. The humility should come from knowing they have a unique gift that they are fortunate to have.
The confidence should come from hard work. Over confidence and a lack of humility will catch up to any athlete and any team.
My view when playing is to be humble, yet confident, play to win and have fun doing it. That makes the victories glorious and the losses bearable.
couldnt have said it better talent is talent and your right who cares where they r going ?
I am a Bonner Grad from the era when the private schools territory were finite..Now many of you want to chest bump about teams that offer financial aid to athlete’s that want to attend those schools mainly for the benefit of their athletic programs. I don’t denigrate these kids for wanting to go there, the education provided is generally superior to that provided in most public schools.That being said, the two best teams in the area at the 3A and 4A levels are Interboro and Ridley with their limited selection of zip codes. In addition quit denigrating this year’s athlete’s by continually saying football is down this year, that is pure conjecture on your part.
Like I said, no need to make it a public/private thing or to bring in educational quality.
Offering the opinion that a league or even a team is down this year is not denigrating to the kids. Life is full of ups and downs and being on team that traditionally wins 8 games a year but only wins 5, but overachieves on talent, is more meaningful to me than underachieving with great talent.
When I have referenced the leagues in Delco being a little bit down this year, I am in no way referring to the effort and hard work of the student athletes.
I’m talking about pure talent (and it is just an opinion that others can disagree with), and since athletic ability is an innate skill (which you can improve upon with hard work) that you are born with it is what it is. Some kids are more athletically talented than others. Some are more academically talented, or musically talented, or whatever. Some have the whole package. Some have challenges with learning disabilities.
These are life lessens to be learned in high school. To understand your strengths and weaknesses, to find your passion, to grow as a person, to respect others.
I would never post anything negative about an individual kid. One of the great life lessons of team sports is overcoming adversity and giving it your best.
We all talk about the best teams, but it is actually the teams with the least talent that still work hard and give it their all in the face of losses that perhaps deserve the most praise.
And to round it out and a be fair to all the athletes, I’ll post on all teams the way they are traditionally broken down – not just 3A and 4A.
In my opinion, he best 4A team in Delco is Ridley. The best 3A team is either Interboro or Springfield. The best PCL team is O’Hara, and the best private school team (when I was in high school we differentiated as public, parochial and private) is EA. This is also just my opinion and not an insult other teams. If saying a team is down this year is an insult to the players, than saying one team is better than others is an insult to all the other players not on the best team, and I don’t see it that way.
The Super 7 seeks to sort all that out, and in a way that’s the best way to do it. Just look at the schools – not whether they are public or private or whatever.
That being said, any team (and no matter its record) that gives its all is really worthy of the same praise – and especially at this level, but our society does like to root for a winner.
Matt has posted about the best turn-around teams. Perhaps he can do something about the best overachieving teams with average records. But, like I said – our society likes the winner and stories about average teams (and even if they overachieve) don’t sell newspapers like stories about winners.
Call it what you will, but it is what it is.
And let me add something further. I was made aware last night of public tweets between a top public school player and a top private school player.
I checked them out and was pleased to see a private school player and a public school player complimenting their respective teams while referencing Matt Smith and the Super 7.
I thought that was great sportsmanship and superceded the public/private talk on here, but when I read further tweets by one of those two players (won’t name the player, the school or whether public or private) I saw other public tweets using profanity in personally attacking a league opponent.
That really disappointed me. We have seen this in college recently where coaches have really gotten on their players for negative tweets about opponents (and less profane than the ones I read) for being disrespectful, unsportsmanlike, and giving the other team bulletin board motivational fodder.
Now, in bigtime college ball the media will pick up on this and coaches find out.
In the local indcident I am referring to I doubt the coach is aware of this or he would have told the kid to remove the profane and negative tweets about an opponent. This is a good coach who would not accept this behavior.
The lesson to be learned here is coaches need to have social media policies in place for their players to be respecftul and good sportsmen or they will be suspened for a game or whatever.
Now, with that said, lets enjoy the games this weekend and have fun discussion on outcomes, strageties and the plays that are made while rooting for our teams in a manner that is respecful to other schools.
Go EA, but I also know they play a team that does not have nearly their talent, so I excpect CHA will be treated respecfully by fans and players – and the great thing about high school ball is you never know. CHA could make a game of it. If they give it their all and still lose, they have my respect. Eveybody has their day (hopefully many days) in the sun. If it only happens to you on the high school playing field, that’s an unfortunate account of the rest of your life.
Matt,
How is Haley a Delco Player of the year Canidate? I hope you would be looking soley at defense, Cause his numbers at QB dont look impressive at all this year.
Who do you think is playing the best at the QB postion right now in Delco?
He’s missed three games, which makes it unlikely he would be Player of the Year, but he’s in the discussion. One rival Catholic League coach went as far to say he is a Player of the Year favorite. Haley is the whole package, and his production as an all-around talent supersedes his modest numbers as a QB. Last year, he was All-Delco as a defensive back.
If I had to rank QBs based on who is having the best year? Strouss, Darden and Durkin in that order.
Matt,
That sounds fair.And I think Haley is a heck of a player!
Ive seen all 3 QB’S play this season. Strouss is very talented,but IMO the teams he has played havent been that good. What stands out to me about Darden is that he is putting up preety good numbers with no true go to recv.I really like Durkin but I think he is more of a pure “FOOTBALL PLAYER” than a QB.
Do you see any of these QB’s playing on the next level (DIV 1A DIV 1AA)?
Strouss is going to Penn and was recruited to play safety.
With the year he is having, I would hope Penn would at least give him a look at QB if he is interested, but I think he wants to play D. As a QB he prefers running to passing and Penn’s QB’s don’t run the ball unless they are flushed form the pocket with the offense they run.
Darden has a strong arm and Durkin is a flat out player as runner and gunner, but they are both about 5’10 and that will cause a lot of programs to shy away.
I hope they get consideration, though. Just look at Doug Flutie. You never know.
Andy,
I think with guys like Russel Wilson,Doug Flutie, Drew Brees, &Mike Vick it opens the door for Guys like Darden & Durkin,it may be al ittle harder for them to get noticed but I think they just have to be at right place at right time.
I like both Darden & Durkin at the Qb postion although they are undersized, both have good feet,and a good feel for the game.
What Impressed me most when watching Darden,is that he keeps his eyes down field at all times & uses his feet to buy his recvs time.
What I love about Durkin is he is a flat out play maker. not the strongest of arms. but if there is a play to be made he will make it.
Yeah, as Andy said, Strouss is committed to Penn to play safety.
Darden has another full year left. I see him as a Division III quarterback. Not sure what his skills are like at other positions. He’s athletic, that’s for sure, a damn talented (albeit undersized) h.s. QB. Not sure where his talents would transfer to if he ever did try another position.
Durkin will get serious attention after the season is over. I’m hearing West Chester has shown a lot of interest. It’s a shame he missed more than half his junior year.
it just shows that our area is rich in talent , especially at qb and collectively we as fans should be proud of that no matter what flavor koolaid we drink
ridley wins
barely
a wins a win baby and that makes us UN DEFEATED dont cry itll be alright tomorrow