District XII Philadelphia Public League Independence Division Preview
Tagged under: Conference Previews, District 12, News
Anthony Franklin | August 16, 2023
PUBLIC LEAGUE INDEPENDENCE DIVISION PREVIEW
The Philadelphia Public League once again features 4 divisions based on previous season success. The top Division is the Independence Division in which the top 6 teams in the league square off regardless of classification. This season Imhotep, Northeast, Olney, Simon Gratz & John Bartram all return to the Independence Division. The newbie on the block is the PL 6A runner-up Abraham Lincoln which ran through their division last season and narrowly fell in the PL 6A championship game to the Northeast Vikings. Due to their success in that division they’re now promoted to the Independence Division where the best of the best compete week in and out. There are 2 new head coaches within the division at Northeast & Simon Gratz.
Imhotep: 2022 record 10-3: The Panthers return the strong core of their 22 team minus 2 FBS signees in LB Semaj Bridgeman (Michigan) & Safety Rahmir Stewart (Nebraska) an FCS signee WR Corey Wright-Downing (LIU Post) & a PSAC signee in DL Mysir Mayo (IUP). Returning offensively leading the Panthers are Sr. QB Mikal Davis Jr. (Army), Sr. OL Zafir Stewart (Illinois) & Jr. RB Jabree Wallace-Coleman (Georgia). Defensively the Panthers are loaded led by Sr. DL Jahsear Whittington (Pittsburgh), Sr. DL David Johnson, Jr. LB Zahir Mathis, Sr. CB Kenney Woseley Jr. (Penn State) & So. DB Saimire Locks (Simon Gratz transfer). The Panthers have a tough non-league schedule that starts with Life Christian Academy (VA) out in the York Rose Bowl. They follow that up with a rematch from last year with Archbishop Spaulding (MD) and round out their non-league schedule with a pair of Inter-Ac foes in Haverford School & Malvern Prep. They’ve reached the state finals in each of the last 2 seasons, falling short both times. With a senior led team, they feel they’re ready to take the next step to winning the program’s 2nd state title. This veteran led Panthers team is built and prepared for a long post season run of course that is dependent upon winning the District Championship over the CL 5A champion. Can this special group seal the deal and capture the schools’ elusive 2nd state championship???
Abraham Lincoln: 2022 record 8-5: The Railsplitters led by HC Hakim Cooper last year held a 14-0 early lead over Northeast in the 6A Public League title game before falling short 19-14 in their attempt to win the school’s first PL title since 1981. While losing quite a few all-league players to graduation they return a strong nucleus of players and gained a key transfer to lead the offense as all Public League honoree QB Gabe Smalley is now a RailSplitter after previously playing at Academy of Palumbo. The Railsplitters should be viewed as the toughest competition for Tep in division play as they have experience, depth & talent that should help them give Tep a challenge early in the season (9/22). Their out of conference schedule includes dates with Downingtown West, Roman Catholic, Cheltenham & Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Look for the RailSplitters to return to the 6A title game.
Northeast: 2022 record 9-3: The Northeast Vikings were hit hard via coaching/player deflection however under new HC Ryan Nase they look to reload and be competitive defending their 6A title. They’re QB has yet to be determined as returning Jr. Jordan Mahir is in a battle with Jr. Lamont Brown. Coach Nase has said both QB’s will play regardless of who is named the “starter”. All-league LB George Truitt returns for his senior campaign to lead the defense and Jr. CB Dymere Durham to lead the secondary.
Coach Nase stated “Northeast has won the PL 6A championship six of the last seven years & we hope we can compete to do so again. Our conference is getting stronger, so it’ll be challenging. Within our division Imhotep is one of the best teams in the area and our northeast Philly rival Abraham Lincoln is extremely talented and nearly won the PL championship game last year. We also play two talented CL teams in Archbishop Wood who has won multiple state championships within the last few years as well as West Catholic in a premier showcase event in Delaware”.
John Bartram: 2022 record 5-6: The Braves rebounded after a slow start to the 2022 season and won their 2nd consecutive PL 4A title in thrilling fashion once again over Boys Latin. Within league play they played Northeast tough losing 21-6, beat Frankford & Gratz and lost a tough game to Olney. This season under HC James Chapman the Braves have a return game @ J.P. McCaskey along with Benjamin Franklin & Pope John Paul II. Look for the Braves to be competitive with Lincoln/Northeast/Gratz for the #2 spot in the division and to be in the PL 4A title game once again.
Simon Gratz: 2022 record 5-5: The Bulldogs will usher in the 2023 season with a new Head Coach in Eugene Faust who steps up from assistant coach to HC. The Bulldogs were young last year and finished 5-5 but return talent and have some hunger to improve upon last year’s showing. They’ll open with neighboring Mastery Charter North in a spirited rivalry game and finish off their non-league scheduling with games against Germantown Academy, Archbishop Carroll and Wissahickon. They should qualify for the PL 5A playoffs and look to get back to the 5A PL title game.
Olney: 2022 record 6-5: The Trojans experienced an up and down 2022 campaign. They started with an impressive 12-9 win over CL member Father Judge, followed by a poor showing in a 28-8 loss at Spring-Ford. They’d bow out in the PL 6A semifinals 8-0 to Lincoln and followed that with a 6-0 loss to MLK in their thanksgiving game. This season Olney has several question marks and holes to fill as they were hit hard by graduation, but they also were able to bring in and up quality replacements. Head Coach Brandon Holub states “We lost a strong senior class this spring. We’ll be welcoming a lot of new faces. These young guys need to step in and grow up fast. This team has put in a lot of work over the summer and has handled adversity well. We look to keep that rolling into the season. We hope to be competitive this season within the Public League.”
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