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Public League Week 2 Preview

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News

| September 8, 2022


Thursday 9/8

Kipp-DuBois (0-2) @ Overbrook (2-0) (Germantown Supersite) 7pm: The Brook Panthers are undefeated with two big wins over Vaux & Palumbo by a combined score of 68-8. On the flip side Kipp is still looking for its 1st win being outscored 101-6 in their first 2 games. Mekhi Gordon leads the Panthers offensively averaging 87 yards per game while Jaeydn Johnson leads the Panthers defensively. Look for Brook to control the ball and time of possession and run away for their 3rd win.

Mastery (Camden) (0-2) @ Simon Gratz (1-1) (Gratz Supersite) 7pm: The Bulldogs started off the season with a nice 19-6 win over rival Mastery Charter North before falling last week to Germantown Academy 28-0. The Bulldogs have some size along the lines & return most players from last season. Mastery comes in 0-2 and without much info to go off of I’ll pick the local Bulldogs +14

School of The Future (0-2) @ Jules Mastbaum (0-2) @Northeast Supersite 7pm: Both programs are looking for their first win. Both have had trouble putting points up while giving up over 30 in each contest played. Look for a defensive struggle with School of the Future pulling out a close win late in the 4th quarter or possibly OT.

Friday 9/9

Kensington (0-2) @ Academy of Palumbo (0-1) @South Philadelphia Supersite 3pm: The Kensington Tigers have played a tough Non League schedule resulting in a winless season thus far. The Tigers have more talent and depth so I expect them to win going away.

Mastery North (1-1) @Abraham Lincoln (1-1) @Lincoln 3pm: The Pumas have a bounced back week with a 63-0 road win over Beacon Hill Home School (VA). Lincoln battled tough before falling 35-22 to Pitt Central Catholic who is ranked #3 in PA 6A classification. The Railsplitters are looking to get a signature win as they campaign for the Pub 6A title. Mastery has an influx of transfers to fill graduation holes and have confidence after this past week blowout win. Look for Lincoln’s athletes to be the difference and them to win seizing control after halftime.

Roxborough (0-2) @Belmont Charter (1-1) @Roxborough 3pm: The Indians are in search of their first win and this season in 3 games have scored more points (38) than they scored all of last season in 5 games (6). Belmont took a tough loss to MLK before bouncing back over Kipp (NJ) in a huge 42-6 win. The Tigers have a small squad but are deep with athletes which is how they’ll win many games. Line their skill players up and get the ball to them in space. Expect Belmont to play fast, wear the Indians out and run off with a sizeable win.

Samuel Fels (0-1) @ Thomas Edison 3pm: Fels is coming off a crushing loss to South Philadelphia 44-0. Edison hasn’t played yet and are eager to start their season after sitting out both the Spring & Fall 2021 seasons due to lack of participants. The last time these programs played one another was 2019 and a 22-16 win for Fels. This honestly could go either way but I’ll give Fels the slight advantage having a game under their belt already.

Vaux (0-2) @Dobbins (1-0) 3pm: The Mustangs were once a top program in the city and with recent rise of charters & a few neighborhood schools retaining best players they’ve fallen. They’re looking to reclaim the history and pride of the program and won their season opener last week with 14-6 win over Roxborough. Vaux has a team full of kids who won’t quit but injuries and low participant numbers have them in a bind. Vaux does have some athletes & if given the ball in space could post a couple scores. Look for the Mustangs to win a defensive low scoring game.

George Washington (2-0) @ South Philadelphia (1-0) 7pm: Probably the best Pub v Pub matchup of the weekend will feature the Eagles soaring after 2 consecutive big non league wins traveling across the city to meet up with a surging South Philadelphia squad. The Rams opened the season with a 44-0 shutout win over Palumbo. Both teams have big time playmakers & are looking to take the next step up in competition. Washington has more depth but Razon Parker from South Philadelphia is a game changer. This will be a fast pace physical game but Washington has a few more pieces to pull off the W.

Imhotep Charter (1-0) @ Archbishop Spalding (MD) (1-1) 7pm: The Panthers are riding high after their 19-14 win over McDevitt (Harrisburg). Despite graduating 3 guys playing FBS ball this season the defense played sound football and the offense did what was needed to grind out the win. They’ll travel to the #6 ranked team in Maryland who got back on track last week after suffering a season opening loss to national powerhouse Don Bosco. Tep is probably more experienced but Spaulding has some ballers. Leading Tep defense will be 2023 Michigan commit LB Semaj Bridgeman along with 2024 Pitt commit DT Jahsear Whittington and 2025 Georgia commit RB Jabaree Coleman. For Spalding they are led by 2023 WR Max Moss who has 3 TDs in 2 games, 2025 QB Malik Washington who already has offers from Maryland, PSU, Rutgers and VT and 2023 RB Hakim Simms. Tep went on the road in Week 1 as underdogs and came out with a win, I see them coming back home 2-0.

Martin Luther King (1-1) @ Wilson West Lawn (1-1) 7pm: The MLK Cougars opened the season with a hard fought 30-14 win over a feisty Belmont team. Game was close before the Cougars pulled away late for a comfortable margin of victory. Last week after the School District shut down practices for most schools all but one day due to heat they still played and fell short to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. They are still fairly young but battle tested with their insanely tough 2021 schedule and retaining a good core of players from that team. This will be another tough game for the Cougars and I feel they’ll play physical & fast but still haven’t peaked to the point they can travel and win against top teams in the state. Don’t look for a blowout but a 10 point Wilson win seems more realistic.

Central (1-1) @ Bishop Shannon (1-1) 7pm: What a difference a week makes as in week 0 Central was plastered 80-0 by Chester, then a week later they secure a 42-0 win over Vaux. Unfortunately they’ll match up with a team full of athletes who are deep along the lines and at skill positions. Look for another big loss by Central.

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (1-1) @ Northeast (2-0) 3pm: SCHA of the Inter-Ac comes into this game riding a high wave of confidence fresh off a big win over MLK. They’re expected to contend for their league title and have some key guys returning along with addition of RB Jayden Sumpter coming over from NG. Northeast has 2 big wins on the young season over Wilson (NJ) & Cheltenham. The Vikings are probably a little more advanced offensively with their 3 RB trio who all are a threat to take it to the house at any given point. I’m going with the home team in a high scoring affair.

Saturday 9/10

Benjamin Franklin @ Frankford (0-2) 10am: The Franklin Electrons had to cancel last week’s game against Central due to low participants but have enough to finally hit the field against Frankford. Frankford has had a rough start to the year as they lost key components to last years team that finished as the Pub 5A runner up due to graduation & transfer. What adds to this game is 2 of Franklin’s best players in the offseason moved over to Frankford in Sr. RB/DB Nafis Smith & DB Hysiem Zimmerman. Franklin will be low on bodies but will compete hard. I expect Frankford to cash in on their first win of the season.

Olney (1-1) @ Chichester (1-1) 11am: The Trojans started the season with a stunning win over Father Judge before falling at Spring-Ford 28-6 last week. They’ll look to correct their mistakes as they take on a scrappy Chi-Chester team who is coming off a hard fought 7-3 win over Cardinal O’Hara. Both teams have struggled offensively this season. Olney has only mustered up 20 points while Chichester has scored a total of 9 points. Don’t expect much offensively and a low scoring game.

West Philadelphia (1-1) @ Boys Latin (0-2) @South Philadelphia Supersite 12pm: The Speedboys opened the season with a disappointing 25-6 setback at Radnor before coming back last weekend and knocking off neighborhood rival School of the Future 32-6. The Speedboys have size and experience on the lines which helps them pound the ball. Boys Latin season hasn’t gone as expected dropping both out the city games to Lansdale Catholic & Marple Township by a combined score of 90-24.

John Bartram (0-2) @ Capital Prep (NY) 1pm: The Braves are winless this young season starting the season with a heartbreaking OT loss to JP McCaskey 30-24. Last week they were shut out by a very strong and surging Chester team 32-0. Part of their loss last week was due to not having practice due to school district mandates, the other part was simply being young, inexperienced and going through the growing pains. Those two games should prepare them for Saturday’s road trip and allow them to come away with their first win of the season.

I’d really like to commend all the Public League teams who played last week despite the School District setting them up to fail. Many of the Public Schools are old buildings that lack air conditioning and the district decided to dismiss schools early, cancel practice yet tell programs they are still expected to play games Thursday, Friday & Saturday despite many schools having just 1-2 practices at most. Win, lose or tie you all represented what Philly athletes are made of, tough, grittiness, passion and determination. Catch you on the trail folks!!!!!!!!

 

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