Philly City Leagues Mid-Season Recap

Tagged under: District 12, News

Anthony Franklin | October 5, 2023

District 12 Mid-Season Recap:

The 2023 regular season is halfway over for most teams, and we have a few clear-cut favorites to win their division, advance to title games and contend for state titles. While there are some very strong teams in the 2 leagues, we also must pay honor to the Inter-Ac League which boosts a few strong programs.

Public League Mid-Season Review:

Imhotep stands atop the PL with a perfect 6-0 record. They’re currently 2-0 within the division with a shutout win over John Bartram & a gutsy 26-14 win over Lincoln. Tep is primed to win the PL top division for the 3^rd consecutive season if they can defeat Northeast. Sr. QB Mikel Davis (Army) has thrown for 910 yards & 7 TDs while adding another 210 yards on the ground and 3 rushing scores. Jr. RB Jabree Wallace-Coleman (Georgia) has rushed for 797 yards & 13 scores on the ground while adding another 144 receiving yards and a score. He also has a punt return for a touchdown. Jabree is currently tied for the city lead in touchdowns scored. Transfer Sr. WR Tyseer Denmark (Penn State) has added 218 receiving yards & 3 TDs to the Panthers offense. Sr. DL Jahsear Whittington (Pittsburgh) leads the team in sacks (7) while So. Willie Norris leads the secondary with 4 interceptions.

Lincoln is only 1-4 as they lost all 3 of their non-league games (Downingtown West, Roman Catholic & Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) by a total of 26 points. The record of their non-league opponents is a combined 16-1. They are battle tested and should give a strong run through the PL 6A playoffs as they look to return to the 6A title game and avenge their narrow lost last season.

George Washington has run through the first half of their opponents with a perfect 5-0 record. They average over 37 points per game and have only given up only 15 points combined in those games. The Eagles are favored in their remaining 3 regular season games and should be highly competitive in the 6A playoffs. Jr. WR/DB Jaheim Bennett leads the team with 15 overall touchdowns recording 8 rushing scores & 7 receiving scores. Jaheim is tied for the city lead in touchdowns scored this season. He’s also shown his value on defense recording 2 interceptions.

Ben Franklin is currently 3-2 and has had a quick turnaround from their 2022 season under 1^st year HC Aleem Medley. Aleem is a former Electron himself as he starred as the starting QB for 3 seasons, was named all public & even played in the city all-star game as a senior. Last week the Electrons Sr. RB Vernon Young had a great game producing 3 over all touchdowns on 10 carries for 120 yards & 2 rushing scores while adding 2 receptions for 60 yards and a score. Sr. QB Nazire Johnson was 5/10 for 110 yards & 2 TDs while Junior WR David Windchester had 1 reception for 25 yards & 1 TD while also notching 2 interceptions on defense. Senior Captain DE Marigata Toure produced 2 sacks with 6 over all tackles and So. RB Tyreese Nichols turned 6 carries into 60 yards & 1 TD in a 36-6 win over Overbrook.  Last year Franklin was 0-10, didn’t score any points until their final game of the year when they scored twice in a loss to Dobbins on Thanksgiving morning. They’ve come a very long way this season and Coach Medley is very excited to create a winning culture within the Electrons program while looking forward to possibly earn a playoff berth.

West Philadelphia Sr. Athlete Zamir Poteat has been a huge reason for the Speedboys being in position to nab a 5A playoff berth. He’s recorded 187 passing yards & 2 TDs while rushing for 787 yards and 10 rushing TDs. Jr. DE Sa’yid Harper-Haines leads the Speedboys with 7 sacks on the season.

Sa’iyd leads the Speedboys with 7 sacks this season.

Boys Latin: The Warriors currently sit at 4-2 atop the D12 PL 4A Playoff race. They’ve found traction in the passing game under So. QB James Roach (447 yards & 7 TDs) while also leaning heavily on Jr. RB Semaj Carmichael (720 yards). Sr. Nasir Davis leads the secondary with 3 interceptions while So. Nafis Mitchum leads the team in sacks (3).

Martin Luther King has started off the season at 4-1 with their lone loss at Pottstown. Against PL competition they’ve gone 4-0 and outscored their opponents 126-35. Their offense has been led by their dual rushing threats in Sr. Isaiah Robinson & Sr. Shamir Norton.

Northeast is currently 5-1 with their offense seemingly finding its groove as a predominantly running team. Jr. RB David Akpuru has been their offensive catalyst as he’s rushed for 553 yards in 5 games along with a team leading 7 touchdowns all on the ground.

John Bartram is 5-1 with their lone loss coming last week to Imhotep. Prior to that game they had outscored their previous opponents 122-12. Defense has been the key to their success. Tep is probably the best team they’ll face this season so they should be competitive the rest of the season heading into the 4A Public League Playoffs in which them and Boys Latin look to be the top contenders to challenge Bonner-Prendie for the 4A City Title.

CL Blue Division Mid-Season Review

Neumann-Goretti: The Saints after their season opening loss in Cincinnati to Elder have reeled off 4 straight wins outscoring their competition 102-13. They also are 3-0 within the CL Blue Division with wins over Lansdale, WC & O’Hara. Leading the offense is Sr. QB Mekhi Wharton who has thrown for 570 yards & 4 scores while also adding 80 rushing yards & a touchdown. Terrence Page leads the team in rushing with 371 yards & 6 TDS. Sr. Athlete Kahmir Prescott (Wisconsin) leads the team in receiving yardage (288) and 2 TDs. He also has a rushing score so far this season. Defensively Sr. DB Khari Reid (Stanford) leads the team in interceptions (2) along with C’Andre Hopper (2) who has a 60-yard pick 6 and fumble recovery for a score. Sr. DL Deshon Dodson leads the team in sacks (2). So. Daniel Adefolarin leads the team in tackles and has an astonishing 12 TFL.

Bonner-Prendie: The Friars are 4-1 with 3 CL Blue Division wins and up next will be a key game hosting NG. Sr. RB Avery Hankey leads the team in rushing with 595 yards & 5 TDs. Jalil Hall leads the team in receiving yards with 165 and 4 TDs. They’re using 2 freshmen QB’s in Kenjai Gatling & Noal Campbell who equally impressed as they’ve combined for 431 yards & 7 TDs. Sr. DL Malachi Williams (Penn State) last week notched 6 tackles and 2 sacks in the win over Carroll.

Conwell-Egan: The Eagles are 5-1 winning their first 3 CL Blue games over Ryan, Lansdale & WC. They’re led offensively by RB Sam Cooper (422 yards & 5 TDs), Sincerely Fairey (210 rushing yards 3 TDS) & Mentor3 Zoryea (292 rushing yards & 2 TDs). Defensively they’ve gotten 3 interceptions from Tim Gipli while Gavin Pond leads the team in tackles & TFL with 37 and 12 respectively.

CL Red Division Mid-Season Recap

St. Joes Prep:

Unheralded but an huge part of the SJP defense Sean McNulty is having an fantastic senior season leading the DL.

The Hawks are 4-1 after playing a very tough and challenging non-league schedule. Their lone loss was a narrow defeat to #4 IMG Academy in Week 0. Since then they’ve outscored their opponents 176-31. Last week they shut out CL Red opponent Wood 61-0 in which the mercy rule was enacted prior to halftime. The Hawks are led by a trio of offensive stars in QB Samaj Jones (Cincinnati) who has 476 yards & 6 TD passes in 4 games. He also has 2 scores on the ground. The leading rusher is Isaiah West who has 229 yards on the ground along with 2 scores. The trio of FBS committed WR’s David Washington Jr. (Kentucky), Elijah Jones (Cincinnati) & Brandon Rehmann (West Virginia) have caught the 7 TD passes from Samaj. Defensively Sr. DB Omilio Agard (Wisconsin) leads the Hawks in interceptions with 2 despite teams throwing away from him most times. Sean McNutty has been an unsung leader and performer notching 3 sacks and has two defensive TDs via Interception (69 yards) and a fumble recovery (70 yards). Alex Haskell also has stood out defensively with 3.5 sacks mixed in with his 7 tackles for losses and has forced 2 fumbles.

La Salle: The Explorers played 5 non-league games winning 3. They lost narrowly to Malvern Prep (13-7) and were dealt a tough loss to PA powerhouse Bishop McDevitt. They’re currently on a 2-game winning streak including last week’s last-minute comeback win at Calvert Hall (MD). In that game Gavin Sidwar had a career game throwing for 369 yards & 5 TDs. Most impressive was that he utilized 11 different players in the passing game with them all recording at least 1 reception. Joey O’Brien would be the leading receiver with 6 receptions for 110 yards, but the scoring would be equally distributed as Stevie Davis, John Patrick Oates, Edward Sutter & Ahzir Nelson would all score a TD. Defensively the Explorers are led by Carson Wakefields’ 31 tackles along with his blocked FG and PAT. Matt Wills has 23 tackles with 4 TFL and 3 Sacks. Joey O’Brien leads the secondary with 2 INT’s along with 1 sack and 5 Passes defended. On the season Gavin has 1417 yards passing to go with his 14 TD passes. Julian McFadden leads the team with 497 receiving yards while Stevie Davis leads the team in rushing with 408 yards.

Roman Catholic: The Cahillites are 4-1 with their lone loss coming to Dematha (MD) in 3 OT’s. They’ve been stout against in state competition defensively only giving up 14 points per game while their offense has scored at least 28 points in all of their wins. RB Dazhaun Hopkins leads the team in rushing with 365 yards & 2 rushing scores. He also has 2 receiving scores this season. So. QB Semaj Beals has tossed for 1339 yards & 14 TDs so far with Jah Jah Boyd (JMU) being his favorite target with 260 yards & 3 TDs while Sr. TE Luke Van Brill also has 3 receiving TDs to go with his 206 yards. So. WR Ashdan Roberts has 280 receiving yards and 3 TDs. Defensively they are led by Luke who has 31 tackles, 1 interception, 3 fumble recoveries and a FR touchdown. Mykell Ford & Lazaryus Toombs share the team lead with sacks (6) while Jahmir Diabara has 27 tackles, 1 interception, 1 FR for a 41-yard TD to go along with 2 sacks.

Inter-Ac Midseason Review

The Inter-Ac league season is just about to get underway and there are 3 teams all with a legit opportunity to claim the league championship.

Germantown Academy: 

Xavier Stearn currently leads the Inter-Ac in passing yards and is looking to lead the Patriots to the Inter-Ac title.

The patriots are 5-0 outscoring their opponents 192-97. They have a dynamic QB in So. Xavier Stearn who went 21/29 234 yards & 3 TDs in the win over Peddie School last week. His main targets were Jr. AJ Towsen who caught 11 passes for 130 yards & 2 TDs. Anthony Lara led the team in rushing with 133 yards & 2 TDs. The Patriot’s defense has been setting the tone early in the season and should be a main reason for their success within league play.

Malvern Prep: While they are still trying to get more offensive production the defense has been stout. Their lone loss to Tep was the only game this season in which they allowed more than 17 points. Conversely the offense has only scored 20 points once this season. Offensively Andrew Pellicciotta leads the team in rushing with 233 yards & 4 over all TDs. Luke Hardy is the leading receiver with 181 yards & 1 TD. Skyler Smith is the starting QB who has 599 yards & 6 TD passes. On defense Ennis Udo leads the team with 5 sacks while Jake Bauer leads the team in total tackles (44), interceptions (2) and he has 4 passes defended.

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy: The Blue Devils are 5-0 with wins over PL member Lincoln, CL member Lansdale Catholic, Lawrenceville School, Blair Academy & The Hill School. They’ve scored 167 points and only yielded 45 thus far. Jayden Sumpter leads them offensively on the ground while QB Tommy Markey & WR Tyler Roberts provide the offense with big plays. Defensively LB Michael McMullen, So. DL Amari Fallen and LB Johnny Nosal have all made big plays.

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