District 12 & Inter-Ac League Week 8 Preview:
Tagged under: District 12, News, Non-PIAA
Anthony Franklin | October 13, 2023
District 12 & Inter-Ac League Week 8 Preview:
George Washington @ School of the Future (10/12 @ 7pm): A game featuring two teams who are undefeated in league play will battle for what possibly will be the division title and the right to move up to the National Division next season. GW took their first loss of the season last week at ANC and look to rebound with a league win.
Overbrook @ Kensington (10/12 @7pm): The Panthers and Tigers both enter with just 1 win on the season. Both teams came into the season with high expectations and haven’t won as they were expected. This game will be competitive and may jump start the winner as the playoffs are just 2 weeks away.
South Philadelphia @ Roxborough (10/13 @3pm): The Rams and Indians both sit at 2-3 and 2-4 respectively. Roxbourgh is currently in a 3-game skid looking to break through.
Vaux @ Fels (10/13 @3pm): Both teams have 1 win on the season but Fels has only played 3 games so far.
Ben Franklin @ Frankford (10/13 @3pm): The Electrons are on a 3-game winning streak heading to Frankford Stadium in a key division game. Frankford, after a sluggish start, has been more competitive recently and will make this a very competitive and tight game.
Boys Latin Charter @ Central HS (10/13 @3pm): The Warriors fresh off a 39-0 shutout over Kipp-DuBois look to keep the momentum going as they prepare for the 4A playoffs. Central at 1-4 looks for momentum with star athlete Vance Johnson leading the way as they prepare for the 6A playoffs.
Father Judge @ SJ Prep (10/13 @6pm): The Crusaders will play defending PIAA and CL 6A Champs. Prep in their 2 previous CL Red games has only given up 6 total points. While Prep is favored heavily don’t be surprised to see a physical Judge team get on the scoreboard a couple times.
Belmont Charter @ MLK (10/13 @7pm): The Tigers travel across town to play MLK which will have their annual senior night. Belmont is fresh off a hard-fought loss at West Philadelphia while MLK was able to handle Frankford in a dominating win over a gutsy Pioneer squad. Two years ago, this game came down to the wire and it wouldn’t be surprising if the same occurs Friday night.
Cardinal O’Hara @ Archbishop Carroll: One of the pleasant surprises of the CL Blue Division this season has been the resurgence of the Carroll program. They’re currently 3-4 and 1-3 within the division. O’Hara has been vastly improved over their 2022 season with still a young team and are 4-2 overall and 2-2 within the league. Statistically they are fairly even on paper so look for both teams to come play hard and the game to be won probably on the last possession.
National Christian Academy @ Roman Catholic (10/13 @7pm): The Cahillites are currently 6-1 and will finish their non-league schedule with a game against NDA (MD). So. QB Semaj Beals has thrown for 1974 yards & 20 TDs already which are single season records for Roman. NDA has struggled this season offensively averaging only 13 points per game while Roman has averaged over 34 points per game.
Abraham Lincoln @ Northeast (10/13 @7pm): The RailSplitters 2-4 record is very deceiving as they lost to PAFootballnews.com ranked teams Imhotep (#1 5A), Downingtown West (#3 6A), Roman Catholic (#3 5A) and undefeated Inter-Ac program Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. They lost to Imhotep only by 12 points which was the narrowest win margin for Tep in league play since their last defeat, a 8-6 loss to Northeast. Northeast has been burned in the passing game and that happens to be the strength of Lincolns offense behind QB Gabe Smalley. To make things more interesting Lincoln was up big last year in the Public League title game over Northeast before NE held Lincoln scoreless in the 2nd half and stormed back for a 19-14 victory. Northeast strength is their running attack and they’ve had success in all their victories on the ground led by Jr. David Akpuru. Can Lincoln end their losing streaks this year to NE and Judge? They’ll get their shot at redemption against the Vikings Friday night on senior night/homecoming. These two teams are highly likely to meet again in the playoffs.
Neumann-Goretti @ Conwell-Egan (10/13 @7pm): The Saints head into this matchup high in confidence after their big win at Bonner. Egan is coming off a loss at O’Hara so a win is needed to keep their CL Blue Title hopes alive. For the Saints a win would pretty much guarantee a title game berth. This game has huge post season implications so expect both teams to be highly motivated.
John Bartram @ Simon Gratz (10/13 @7pm): The Braves are coming off 2 tough conference losses and look to rebound while Gratz broke out of a 5 game losing streak with their win over Olney. Bartram has had the tougher schedule and will be prepared to get back on the winning side over a young athletic Gratz team.
Kipp-DuBois @ Academy at Palumbo (10/13 @7pm): Kipp is on a 2-game losing skid after a great start to the season while Palumbo is on a 2-game winning streak. This game could be huge for determining the division winner. A Kipp win would eliminate Palumbo from any chance at winning the division while a Palumbo win would keep their hopes alive for the division title while also needing a little help from.
Haverford School @ Germantown Academy (10/14 @1pm): The Fords travel into the city to take on the Patriots who are undefeated in their 5 non-league games. This game serves as the opening to the Inter-Ac League in which the title is truly up for grabs. The Patriots are led by super sophomore sensation QB Xavier Stearn who is passed for 1180 yards and 16 touchdowns already this season. The Fords enter the contest 2-3 with losses to Imhotep, Garnet Valley & La Salle. They are the defending champs and until beaten in league play, they should be feared. This should be a great physical matchup.
Episcopal Academy @ Malvern Prep (10/14 @1pm): The Churchmen enter the Inter-Ac contest at 2-3 with allowing 122 points against them scoring 122 points which shows as good of an offense they have they’ve given up quite a few points this season as well. They utilize a 2 QB system with So. Brody Garrison & Sr. Narome Rayborn. Malvern will enter this game with one loss (4-1) coming to Imhotep. Their other games were competitive in which they found a way to win with the win margin being between 3 and 10 points in each contest.
Archbishop Wood @ La Salle (10/14 @1pm): The Vikings will look to earn their first CL Red victory of the season over a LaSalle team that is coming off a loss to defending champion SJ Prep. Wood is coming off an 34-3 loss to Roman in which they struggled to find any continuity on offense. La Salle had issues against the juggernaut offense of SJP but did manage to put together a few decent drives and managed to score against the top ranked team in the state. While La Salle has had the more successful season (3-3) Wood won’t make it easy for the Explorers.
West Catholic @ Archbishop Ryan (10/14 @1pm): The Burrs are still searching for their first win of the season. On the bright side of their loss to Archbishop Carroll last week was Jr. QB Kal-El Durham had his most successful game of the season in the air passing for 209 yards. If he can carry that momentum into this week’s game, they may get that elusive win. For the Raiders they’re on a 2-game slide in which they struggled defensively. Last week against Lansdale they managed only a field goal. For them to win they’ll need to re-establish the balanced offense to keep defenses from sending the house to disrupt the passing game.
Springside Chestnut Hill @ William Penn Charter (10/14 @2pm): The Blue Devils are 5-0 with great out of league wins and traveling not far away to visit the Quakers for opening the Inter-Ac season. Penn Charter is 3-1 looking to bring prominence back to the program. The strength of their team thus far this season has been their stifling defense. For success against the dynamic SCHA offense they’ll need to lock in defensively and create turnovers.
Bonner Prendie @ Lansdale Catholic (10/14 @5pm): The Friars are fresh off a narrow defeat to defending CL Blue Champion Neumann-Goretti. In order to get the rematch in the CL Blue Title game they’ll need to run the table within the division starting with a tough Lansdale Catholic team who has goals of winning the 3A CL and city title still in front of them. Last week Bonner struggled to convert in the redzone which cost them a shot at upending NG. Defensively they played outstanding all but a handful of plays. Lansdale is coming off a convincing win over Ryan only allowing a field goal while Jacahi Streeter had a season best 173 yards rushing.
Imhotep Charter @ Olney (10/14 @7pm Northeast Supersite): The Panthers are coming off a dominating win over Northeast while Olney is still in search of their first win on the season. The Panthers are heavily favorites and figure to play their reserves fairly early in this contest.
Thomas Edison @ Lower Moreland (10/14 @7pm): The Owls are traveling across county lines into Montgomery County to take on a 2-4 LM team. Both teams have struggled offensively all season so expect a low scoring game probably favoring Lower Moreland.
West Philadelphia @ Mastery Charter North (10/14 @7pm @ Germantown Supersite: The game of the week in the Pub features two teams with high hopes of advancing to the 5A PL title game. While West has the size upfront, Mastery boosts one of the best kickers in the city along with a dynamic RB in Amir Northern. Zamir Poteat leads the Speedboys in all total yards with 1116 yards to go along with his 12 total TDs.
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