The Funding Zone
 
SAFR: Safer Through Science
 

District 12 Playoff Notes for Public & Catholic Leagues

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News

| November 4, 2021


Welcome to the fun part of the season here in District 12 where upsets regularly happen and the games are heated, fierce and down right physical. There are 7 playoff matchups this weekend within District 12 with 4 coming in Public League action and 3 in the Catholic League: Below are the following matchup, dates and times:

Public League 6A Semifinals:

Northeast star DE/LB Ken Talley

Abraham Lincoln (8-0) @ Northeast (3-3): Lincoln sports an 8-0 record heading to rival and neighboring Northeast High to take on a battle tested Vikings team. Northeast has a .500 record but of those losses 2 came to ranked teams in New Jersey in the first two weeks of the season and the 3rd loss was to PL powerhouse Imhotep in a tightly contested game 14-0. Their wins have been over PL foes Bartram (4-2), Olney (2-6) and Martin Luther King (26-0) who are all currently participating in the playoffs as well. Lincoln boasts 5 wins via shutouts and their closest game was a 12-6 quarter finals  rain filled playoff win last week at George Washington. Expect a tough defensive battle with lots of hard hitting, tackling and trash talking in this heated game with the Vikings coming out on top by 14+.

Central (2-5-1) @ Olney (2-6): Central waited until the last week of the season before earning their first victory of the season in an upset win over Boys Latin, then last week they dismantled Kensington 41-14 to earn an semi finals berth against a tested Olney team who plays in the toughest public league division against Northeast, Gratz, Imhotep, Martin Luther King & Bartram. This game will be a back and forth game and probably come down to the last possession as both teams are prone to costly turnovers and play physical at the line of scrimmage. Olney has more of a tougher resume and should win by a touchdown.

Public League 5A Semifinals:

Imhotep (7-1) is the top seed in the Public League 5A playoffs and earned an quarterfinals bye. Due to Simon Gratz having an COVID issue and having to forfeit this week, the Panthers got an unexpected bye again for the semi finals and will advance to the 5A finals where they’ll meet the winner of MLK/Frankford. The Panthers should be well rested as they would have had 3 weeks off before game planning for their next opponent.

Frankford (7-0) v Martin Luther King (1-6): The Pioneers are undefeated boosting 5 shutout wins. Their last two games the defense has given up plays and subsequently points. Is this more of an indication of the bad opponents they faced early in the season, or simply the defense making simple mistakes. They played a good game in the rain and held on to defeat a scrappy Mastery Charter North team 12-6 in overtime in the quarter finals to earn a semifinal berth. Martin Luther King is coming into the semi finals high off of finally winning a game this season. King has a good amount of talent albeit youthful but scrappy. They don a kicker who earlier this season drilled a 48 yarder so the cupboard is not bare, they will be better in the next few years but also faced top notch competition. They outlasted a scrappy Ben Franklin team 12-6 in the quarterfinals and used a stingy defense and got a defensive score which helped them advance. MLK is more battle tested but Frankford has serious talent and should be eager to show that their schedule may not have been the toughest but they’re tough and ready to play for the 5A public league title next week. I look for Frankford to establish the run early and mix in some play action to hit their stud TE for a score in a 14+ point win.

Public League 4A Finals

Boys Latin (4-5) @ John Bartram (4-2): Boys Latin earned this title berth via a good 28-22 win over West Philadelphia in which they used a strong defensive stand to secure the win. Bartram on the other hand shut out High School of the Future 22-0 to earn their way into the finals. Bartram plays in the top league division and is more battle tested. They’ve played Northeast, King, Gratz and Imhotep. Boys Latin on the other hand were the first team to score on Frankford this season while also playing a tough non league schedule with Father Judge & William Penn Charter. This will be an intriguing game and depending on health/availability there is reason to believe Boys Latin can steal this game. They have great talent however they sometimes play careless and reckless thus why they were upset by Central and couldn’t secure the Mastery Charter North win. If they are disciplined, healthy and play to their potential they should steal the 4A title.

 

Catholic League 6A Semi Finals:

Archbishop Wood (5-4) @ St. Joes Prep (6-2): In a rematch from the PCL Red Division game the Vikings travel to meet the Hawks in what should be a physical and downright gritty game. Both teams are filled with D1 prospects and excellent coaching staffs. Prep won the regular season matchup 38-20 so the Vikings will play with a chip on their shoulder especially since they’re on a 2 game losing streak entering the playoffs. Outside of 2 games they’ve struggled to find their groove offensively as they’ve been blanked 3 times this season (Malvern 21-0), St. John’s in DC (38-0) and La Salle (20-0). Prep comes into this game with 2 close losses to La Salle & Milton (GA) both 7 point defeats. They defeated a tough Judge team 21-13 to conclude the regular season. Look for SJP to come out early establish the running game and also be physical along their defensive line to get pressure on Wood’s quarterbacks. Neither team is exactly dominant so this is a game in which the team who comes out first and imposes their will should win going away. I like SJP in this battle +10 points.

Roman Catholic (3-6) @ La Salle College (8-1): The Cahillites of Roman are the 4th seed and earn a date with the PCL Red Division Champions the Explorers of La Salle College. In the regular season Roman shocked the league and city by upending La Salle 27-20 on the road. They followed that great win up with a loss to Judge and SJP. Roman’s other wins were impressive against Inter-AC foes Springside Chestnut Hill Academy & William Penn Charter. They’re very inconsistent but also young mixed with a few transfers so the chemistry didn’t quite hit for them yet but it’s a new season and they’ve beaten La Salle once so don’t count them out of this game. La Salle besides their loss to Roman has handled their opponents with ease besides the SJP 28-21 win.  The Explorers are able to score in bunches as well as methodically drive down field and dominate time of possession. They hold highly impressive non league wins against McDonough (MD), Imhotep, Haverford School and Bishop McDevitt. They have dynamic playmakers on defense and have only given up 20+ points in two games. They’ll make it tough for Roman to throw the ball by sending pressure from all over the place. Look for La Salle to avenge their lone loss with a big win over Roman +24

Catholic League 3A Finals:

Lansdale Catholic @ Neumann-Goretti (8-1): Without saying the N-G Saints have ran through their opponents this year as they play in the smaller CL division. Their lone loss was an early season setback against Archbishop Wood. Led by a trio of D1 FBS recruits they have a suffocating defense and good offense to match it. They defeated big school Roman Catholic to open the season and earlier in the season knocked off Lansdale 42-7. On the other hand Lansdale struggled all season with their lone win coming last week @ winless Archbishop Carroll 13-7. They are probably outmatched in all three facets of this game and this will be the least competitive game of the weekend in the District as N-G should win going away by 35+.

 

6A Players to look out for:

Sr. LB/DE/TE/OT Ken Talley (Northeast)

Sr. DB/WR Isaiah Rogers (Martin Luther King)

Sr. WR/LB/S Semaj Buxton (Martin Luther King)

Sr. WR Ryan Moore (La Salle College)

Sr. RB Sam Brown (La Salle College)

Sr. DB Devon Edwards (Frankford)

Sr. OL/DL Quintin Hill (Frankford)

Sr. QB/S Seth Cobb (Boys Latin)

Sr. FB/LB/DL Aaron McFadden (Boys Latin)

Sr. DB Keenan Nelson Jr. (SJ Prep)

So, CB Omillio Agard (SJ Prep)

So. WR/DB Tyseer Denmark (Roman)

Sr. LB Johnny Pergine (Wood)

Jr. TE Markus Dixon (Wood)

 

 

 

 

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
GoRout
 
Rainbow Lettering
 
Turf Tank
 
x