Ruby Review: Weeks 13 and 14 + Semifinals Preview!
Tagged under: District 11, District 2, District 3, District 4
Joe Ruby | December 5, 2014
Hey everyone. The Ruby Review took a week off for Thanksgiving, but I’m back and nearly as dedicated to covering the PIAA State Semifinals as I was to eating turkey and stuffing last week! Before I get into the two Quarterfinals games I saw, I’ll take a step back to an exciting Round of 16 matchup.
Week 13 (PIAA First Round) Game:
AAA: D11 Champion Bethlehem Catholic 42, D2 Champion Crestwood 28
It’s tricky to write a playoff game after both teams have lost, especially when the winner was, shall we say, ignominiously dispatched in the next round, but when this game started both of these teams felt like they had multiple wins left in them. Crestwood, undefeated, met one-loss Bethlehem Catholic at the venerable J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown. If you just saw the scoreline, you may not have realized how ridiculous, how ridiculously exciting, this game was. There were times when one side of the stadium seemed to be producing more noise than was possible, and none of it was piercing the dead silence emanating from the other side. Then, as though a switch was flipped, the noise stopped, switched sides, and rose even louder than before.
On the first play of the game, BeCaHi RB Michael McDaniel found a gaping hole in the middle of the line, and ran over 60 yards for the score. On the ensuing drive, the Golden Eagles defense almost immediately forced a fumble, and on Bethlehem Catholic’s second play of the game, McDaniel found a gaping hole in the middle of the line and ran 29 yards for the score. To recap: with 10:31 on the clock in the first quarter, the scoreboard read Bethlehem Catholic 14, Crestwood 0. By the end of the quarter, it was 20-0.
Then it was Crestwood’s turn, and the Comets started chipping away. Their first sustained drive of the game culminated with a Tanner Kahlau score just after the start of the second quarter, and by halftime they’d managed to cut the margin to 27-14. The fans for both sides, I think, couldn’t believe it; even though everyone in the stadium knew that these were two high-class teams, it was tough to imagine that a team that got smacked so hard out of the gate could start to come back.
And come back Crestwood did. Aided by BeCa penalties and fumbles, the Comets marched down the field to start the third quarter, with RB Frank Aigeldinger scoring for the second time in the game, and, with less than two minutes left in the third, QB Jay Popson punched the ball in, and the extra point gave Crestwood a stunning 28-27 lead.
We’ve all seen it, though: a team gets in a bad situation, and, showing tremendous toughness, fortitude, grit, fights their way back into it. Giving it their all, the team everyone had written off finds themselves in the position most thought they’d never be in. In the end, though, it took so much to crawl back out of the hole that there’s just… not… enough left in the tank to finish things off. After the emotional high of Crestwood going ahead, Bethlehem Catholic showed tremendous poise and fell back on their big strength, the big play.
The Golden Eagles took only 1:15 to reclaim the lead, and from that point on they remained in control. Crestwood had its chances, to be sure, but never really got a good sight at goal, and BeCaHi’s backup RB Damian Diaz, on his only run of the game replacing McDaniel, scored from 20 yards out to seal the deal.
Crestwood did a very good job of keeping Golden Eagles WR Freddie Simmons in check, relatively, allowing him only 3 catches for 28 yards (although one was a score). The super-athletic Simmons made his presence felt in all phases of the game, though, intercepting a ball on defense and displaying tantalizing agility when returning punts and kicks.
All in all, this was an incredible game. The Crestwood Comets finished their season at 12-1, having won District 2 for the first time, and ended their run as one of northeast PA’s best teams. Bethlehem Catholic, on the other hand, felt fantastic about beating such a great team, and prepared to go into the PIAA Quarterfinals. The fact that they fell to Somerset by a 30-0 margin – a stunning, stunning scoreline, really, that makes my Selinsgrove Seals’ 42-14 defeat to Somerset a week before look decent – makes what both Crestwood and Bethlehem Catholic did on the football field in Week 13 no less special.
Week 14 (PIAA Quarterfinals) Games
Single-A: D6 Champion Bishop Guilfoyle 62, D3 Champion Camp Hill 21
Like the Crestwood-Bethlehem Catholic game, this matchup featured a team falling behind early and then taking the lead. Unlike that game, however, the team coming from behind in this one had more than enough left in the tank to run away with things.
On a cold night at Chambersburg High School’s gorgeous stadium, the undefeated Bishop Guilfoyle Marauders – highly ranked by every publication in the state – took on the Camp Hill Lions, a young team replete with underclassmen. Both teams scored quickly on their first drives, but the Lions took an early lead with the help of two first quarter interceptions. One was returned for a touchdown, while the other put the ball on the 10 yard line, a spot from which Camp Hill’s spread offense had no trouble scoring.
And then, speaking of switches flipping, it was like someone flipped Bishop Guilfoyle RB Sam McCloskey’s switch. From the second quarter on, McCloskey was nearly unstoppable, scoring three times in the second frame and finishing 9 yards short of 300 on the night. In fact, the Marauders came to life on both sides of the ball, absolutely dominating after falling behind two scores. Indeed, they outscored Camp Hill 55-0 after the first quarter.
For Camp Hill, this was a great experience, because next year they return nearly their entire starting lineup, a lineup that will be hungry, that will remember what it was like to get this far, a lineup that a year’s experience will help understand what is needed to get past this point. For Bishop Guilfoyle, there is no next year, because they feel like this is their year.
AA: D3 Champion Wyomissing 45, Montoursville 28
Finally, on Saturday afternoon, I drove up to Kemp Memorial Stadium in Shamokin to watch the Wyomissing Spartans take on the Montoursville Warriors in AA Quarterfinal action. Each of these teams had beaten the #3 team in the state to get here: back in Week 12, Montoursville shocked then-third-ranked Southern Columbia 26-14, and the next week, Wyomissing dispatched their arch-rival Berks Catholic, who had just replaced Southern at #3, by a score of 35-21, avenging their only loss of the year.
Despite that interesting similarity, these teams took quite different paths to get here. Wyomissing, AA State Champions in 2012, took a year to reload before rushing out of the gates to a 9-0 record this year. The Warriors started the season off on a tremendously high note – they gave South Williamsport, a single-A semifinalist, their only loss in the season opener – but then dropped four of their next six, culminating in a 35-0 defeat to Selinsgrove. Sitting at 3-4 after 7 games, the Warriors were fighting just to get into the District 4 playoffs. Since then, Montoursville had rattled off six straight wins, including the victory over Southern and two in four weeks against a very talented Loyalsock squad, to earn an unlikely state QF bid.
In this one, the Warriors put up a good fight but simply found themselves facing a team that was in a higher class. Throughout the first quarter, Spartan’s RB Thomas Paolini ran wild, but was injured while scoring his second touchdown of the frame and had to spend the rest of the game on crutches. A committee consisting of backs Christian Martir, Brandon Workman, and Peter Geyer took over the rest of the way, and Wyomissing gained massive chunks of yardage on the ground throughout the game. Much of that yardage came on the halfback sweep, with Senior Tackle Anthony Colon oing a notably fantastic job of sealing the edge.
A feisty Montoursville offense, led by Sophomore QB Brycen Mussina (son of former MLB pitcher Mike Mussina) and elusive Junior RB Keith Batkowski, kept the game competitive, scoring a single TD in each quarter, but was unable to break through.
PIAA SEMIFINALS PREVIEWS
AAAA
D12 Champ St. Joe’s Prep (9-3, AAAA #1) vs. D1 Champ Pennsbury (13-1, AAAA #3)
St. Joe’s Prep is not, of course, your average 3-loss team. Their losses each coming to out-of-state schools, some of the best in the country, Prep has played the toughest schedule in the state by far. The Hawks’ crowning achievements, so far, have been its multiple victories over arch-rival LaSalle, likely one of the five best teams in the state, first by a 35-31 score in the regular season and then in the Philly Catholic League final by a 46-13 margin. Last week, St. Joe’s Prep fended off a furious effort by D11 winner Parkland, winning 34-30.
Pennsbury is likewise no stranger to a tough schedule, having earned their bid in the semifinals by defeating then-2nd-ranked Coatesville 21-14. Their only loss a road defeat by a field goal to North Penn, the Falcons have played 14 AAAA teams, beating 13 of them and emerging from the 16-team D1 field while emphatically improving their record for the fourth consecutive year.
Verdict: Back in the last Ruby Review, my predictions were pretty awful, so take my prognostications with a grain of salt! Pennsbury is feeling good after upsetting Coatesville, but has been finding the road tougher and tougher each week. I think last week’s close call against Parkland will wake up Prep for the battle of the birds, and the Hawks will beat the Falcons solidly. St. Joe’s Prep 35, Pennsbury 21
D7 Champ Pine-Richland (14-0, AAAA #2) vs. D3 Champ Wilson (14-0, AAAA #4)
I don’t know a ton about the western half of the state, but I do know that, to win either District 3 or the WPIAL with an undefeated record, you’ve gotta be darn good. Both of these teams’ roads to the PIAA Semifinals have included some hiccups – Pine-Richland only beat 3-6 Connellsville by 10 points in the WPIAL first round (underscoring how good that conference is), and Wilson squeaked by Central Dauphin East 9-6 in the D3 semis – but when you’re undefeated and playing in Week 15, it doesn’t matter how you got there. Last week, Wilson defeated Central Dauphin 21-10, while Pine-Richland, in the unusual position of playing a 6-6 team in the state quarterfinals, took care of D6/8/9/10 champ State College 49-29.
Verdict: The last three years, Pine-Richland was 4-5, 4-6, and 5-5. They have put in their lumps. Wilson, over that same span, has won at least 12 games each year, and will bring that experience to the table. This one should be close and fun. Pine-Richland 35, Wilson 28
AAA
D12 Champ Archbishop Wood (12-1, AAA #1) vs. D5 Champ Somerset (12-1, AAA #6)
Archbishop Wood comes into this game trying to run the table as the #1 AAA squad in PA. Their only loss against LaSalle back in Week 6, the Vikings are trying to make it four PIAA Championship appearances in a row. The Ruby Review has followed Archbishop Wood for a while now, for a couple reasons: first, my father played LB for Wood back in the 70s, and then my younger brother’s Selinsgrove squad met Wood in the PIAA Semifinals in consecutive years, losing in 2008 and winning in 2009. So, believe me when I say I realize how good these Vikings are. Two weeks ago, Wood was pushed to the limit by Imhotep Charter – a team that would’ve won most Districts in the state going away – getting by 42-34; they had a much easier go of things last week, destroying D1 Champs Great Valley 44-7.
Coming into the playoffs, I didn’t know much about Somerset. Like a number of teams out west, the distribution of schools in each class forced them into the eastern side of the bracket, where they easily won the 5/6/8/9 conglomerate. Once in the PIAA playoffs, the Golden Eagles didn’t find things much more difficult, smacking my beloved Selinsgrove Seals 42-14 before blanking Bethlehem Catholic 30-0, a scoreline that opened eyes across the state. Somerset’s only loss is to the super-powered Bishop Guilfoyle team described above.
Verdict: Somerset has had an amazing run; unheralded coming into the season and unranked until very late, they have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are for real. Unfortunately for them, they’re running into one of Pennsylvania’s true powerhouses, a squad that truly ascribes to the notion of Championship or Bust. Archbishop Wood 34, Somerset 13
D3 Champ Bishop McDevitt (14-0, AAA #2) vs. D7 Champ Central Valley (14-0, AAA #3)
Just like at Quad-A, we have a matchup of undefeated District 3 and 7 champions playing for a berth in the state finals. I was able to get out to see Bishop McDevitt in Week 12, and watched as they seemed to not expend any effort while defeating perennial power Manheim Central 35-10. They have since followed that effort up with 44-point and 41-point shutouts against Red Land and Cocalico. Except for a bizarre 6-3 victory over Cumberland Valley, the Crusaders have scored at least 5 touchdowns in every game.
Central Valley didn’t have a much more difficult time getting here than did Bishop McDevitt, with the exception of the Warriors’ 35-28 win over high-powered Western Allegheny in the WPIAL Championship, the second time they defeated that squad this year. Last week, Central Valley dispatched Conneaut – who had themselves taken out powerhouse Erie Cathedral Prep – by a 52-23 margin.
Verdict: Bishop McDevitt has unfinished business, as they’re looking to avenge their 22-10 loss to Archbishop Wood in last year’s PIAA Championship. The WPIAL winner always has a legitimate shot to make the Championship at AAA, though, and Central Valley will present a great challenge. The Crusaders won’t be able to coast through this one, but I think they’ll find another gear and get it done to earn the rematch. Bishop McDevitt 28, Central Valley 20
AA
D3 Champ Wyomissing (13-1, AA #2) vs. D2 Champ Dunmore (13-1, AA #4)
As described above, Wyomissing has uniformly impressed this year. Their title aspirations took a big hit with Paolini’s injury, but the ease with which other stepped up in the QF matchup makes me certain that the Spartans won’t roll over.
The Dunmore Bucks have rattled off 13 straight victories to find themselves in the AA Semifinals for the second time in three years (back in 2012, it was in the Single-A classification). Last week, they beat D12 Champ Neumann-Goretti by a 30-18 margin on the same field this one will be played on.
Verdict: This one’s too close to call, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. If Paolini wasn’t hurt, I’d give the Spartans a 10 point edge. I think they still have the edge, but I’ll shave a zero off. Wyomissing 42, Dunmore 41
D10 Champ Hickory (11-2, AA #6) vs. D7 Champ South Fayette (14-0, AA #1)
Two more teams I don’t know a ton about. I do know that Hickory is coming off a 28-0 defeat of Tyrone, which constituted the Hornets’ fifth shutout of the season, and I also know that Hickory avenged its only two losses – to Slippery Rock and Greenville – back to back in the D10 semis and final. I also know, though, that it’s been more than two years since anyone beat South Fayette who, like Archbishop Wood, is trying to go the whole season ranked #1.
Verdict: Last year’s PIAA Champions, the Lions are looking to run the table in back-to-back seasons. Hickory’s coming off a very impressive win, but I don’t see them being able to stop the steamroller that is South Fayette. South Fayette 41, Hickory 14
Single-A
D6 Champ Bishop Guilfoyle (14-0, A #2) vs. D4 Champ South Williamsport (13-1, A #4)
I hope my analysis above accurately conveyed how good this Bishop Guilfoyle team is. Top-notch Running Back, 27-3 victory over a AAA Semifinalist (Somerset), 55 unanswered points in the State Quarterfinals… top to bottom, this group is complete.
South Williamsport sees your top-notch Running Back, and raises with Dominick Bragalone, who went over… not lying… I swear I’m not lying… 4,300 yards on the season – not his career, the SEASON, to set a new PIAA record. Dude’s a beast.
Verdict: Do not miss this game. Get yourself to DuBois, and check out what might be the most exciting high school football matchup in the state this season. The starting RBs may combine for 700 yards in this one. South Williamsport 55, Bishop Guilfoyle 49
D7 Champ Clairton (14-0, A #1) vs. D10 Champ Sharpsville (11-3, A #7)
While we’re on the subject of ridiculous numbers, I’ll just note that the average score in Clairton’s regular season games this year was 68-4. Add in the playoffs, and their margin of victory falls… to 62-9. The Bears did have to go to OT to dispatch Neshannock in the WPIAL semifinals, 48-42. They’ve followed that up with 46-14 and 52-24 wins over Avonworth and Berlin.
Sharpsville, despite losing 3 of its last five regular season games, has rolled through the playoffs, winning by an average of 26 points per and never letting their opponent within two touchdowns. Last week, they defeated a talented Kane team – whose three previous losses had come by a point each – 50-14.
Verdict: Last year’s 9-2 campaign was a rare reloading season for Clairton, who had gone 16-0 each season from 2010 to 2012. The Sharpsville Blue Devils are on a good run, but Clairton is hoping to make it four undefeated years out of five. Clairton 50, Sharpsville 13
Thanks tremendously for reading! Check back next week for my PIAA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW!!!
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