District 12 Week 7 Preview & Notes
Tagged under: District 12, News, pfn
Anthony Franklin | October 3, 2025
Week 6 in the city gave us a few thrilling games, some upsets and at the end only 3 teams remain unbeaten. Those three teams are Episcopal Academy, Thomas Edison and Belmont Charter. With LaSalle losing the rankings have been shaken up a bit.
City Top 10
1. St Joes Prep
2. Roman Catholic
3. La Salle College
4. Malvern Prep
5. Haverford School
6. Imhotep Charter
7. Bonner-Prendie
8. Episcopal Academy
9. Abraham Lincoln
10. Belmont Charter
Honorable Mention
1. John Bartram
2. Archbishop Ryan
3. Thomas Edison
4. Lansdale Catholic
5. Germantown Academy
AntBits from Week 5
*Congrats to Imhotep on winning their 200th game in the program’s history. Tep began varsity play in 2005 and have only had 2 losing seasons since its inception which ironically were the first two years of the program competing. In 4 full seasons plus a shortened 2020 Covid season Coach Devon Johnson has an impressive 50-10 record.
*Tep Senior DB Willie Norris broke the school record for interceptions in a career as he registered his 23rd pick last weekend against George Washington.
*Abraham Lincoln Sr. QB Kareem Moore Jr made school history by tossing 7 touchdown passes in last weekend’s blowout win over Simon Gratz.
*Roman Catholic defeated LaSalle College in a Catholic League upset. LaSalle’s Joey O’Brien had 169 receiving yards in the loss while Roman WR Ashdan Roberts hauled in 9 catches for 132 yards and 3 scores from QB Semaj Beals who threw for 344 yards and 5 touchdowns.
*Belmont has opted out of the Public League Playoffs due to the District 1 v District 12 sub-regional playoff game also scheduled for that time frame. Instead, Belmont has opted to prepare for the state playoffs and thus created a dilemma for the public league committee as to how to award the last playoff spot. Options that are available are to simply award the liberty division 2nd and 3rd place teams a playoff berth or two the 2nd highest Liberty division team and allow the American division champion to enter as the final playoff team. Once things have been finalized, I will report back with the brackets.
Games of the Week:
La Salle College v St. Joes Prep: This game serves as the most anticipated game of the year in the state as these two powerhouses will collide for bragging rights and also for playoff consideration. La Salle fresh off its loss to Roman Catholic needs this game to stay in contention for the PCL Red Division title. Regardless of the outcome these two teams will meet again in 4 weeks for the PCL 6A championship. Missouri commit Sr. QB Gavin Sidwar leads the Explorers offense throwing for 12740 yards & 14 touchdowns so far this season. Notre Dame commit Sr. WR Joey O’Brien leads the team in receiving yards (498) and touchdowns (8) while So. WR Owen Johnson has stepped up huge as well catching 21 passes for 318 yards & 3 total touchdowns. Junior RB Ahzir Nelson is the leading rusher with 302 yards & 7 touchdowns. For Prep the offense is ran through Jr. QB Charlie Foulke who has thrown for 944 yards & 12 touchdowns. His top target is So. WR Jett Harrison who has 22 receptions for 363 yards & 9 touchdowns. Monmouth commit Sr. RB Khyan Billups leads the team in rushing with 335 yards & 2 scores on the ground. Defensively Jr. LB Brandon Lockley leads the team in tackles (33), Penn State commit Sr. DL Alex Haskell leads the team in sacks (3.5) and the secondary is paced by Jr. DB Masiia Acrey (1 interception & 4 passes broken up) & James Madison commit Sr. DB Simaj Hill (9 passes broken up). Both teams are battle tested with Prep having the more difficult non-league schedule with 3 of their losses coming to nationally ranked programs. La Salle despite last week’s setback is highly talented and looking to avenge their lone 2024 loss which occurred in the PCL 6A title game.
School of the Future @ Ben Franklin: The Firebirds will travel to take on Ben Franklin in a crucial division game for both programs. Both teams need a win to stay alive for a playoff berth. Franklin is currently on a two-game losing skid while Future is riding a 4-game winning streak.
Archbishop Ryan @ Archbishop Wood: The Ryan Raiders are 4-2 including 2-0 within the PCL Blue Division. They are riding a 3-game winning streak with big division wins over NG & CE. Sr WR/DB Dave Spinelli leads the offense as he’s a threat running throwing and catching passes. He’s run for 339 yards & 5 touchdowns, while also sliding into the QB1 slot and throwing for 420 yards & 7 touchdowns. Sr. RB Jordan Cotton leads the team in rushing yards with 373 yards & 5 touchdowns. Defensively Dave is also a key contributor as he leads the team in interceptions with 2. Senior DL Danny Celins leads the team and PCL in sacks with 7.5. For Wood the offense is led by Jr. QB Jack Drakeley who has passed for 1153 yards & 14 scores. The Vikings are also undefeated in CL Blue play with a 2-0 record after wins over Carroll & Egan. Sr. RB Kenny Montgomery leads the team in rushing with 553 yards & 8 touchdowns. Defensively Sr. LB William Davis leads the team with 63 tackles while Sr. Patrick Caracciolo leads the team in sacks with 4.
Lincoln @ Northeast: A neighborhood rivalry that has been lopsided the last 4 meetings with Lincoln having Northeast’s number. The Railsplitters are sitting at 4-2, 2-0 within the division and seem to be on a collision with Imhotep for the Independence Division title to end the regular season in a couple of weeks. Before they get to that game Sr. QB Kareem Moore Jr. will lead the offense as he’s passed for over 1000 yards & 15+ touchdowns this season thus far. Sr. WR/DB Jamir Duncan (Delaware State commit) is a two-way star who has shined on both sides of the ball this season. For Northeast they picked up their first win of the season last week over West Philadelphia and while their overall record is 1-5 they are 1-1 within league play. Jr. QB Kyrie Brackett has taken the reigns as starting QB and got the offense on the board with 3 touchdown passes.
Roman Catholic @Cardinal O’Hara: Roman is fresh off its big upset win over La Salle thanks to Sr. WR Ashdan Roberts and Sr. QB Semaj Beals (Akron) big night offensively. Semaj on the season has thrown for 1189 yards and 15 touchdowns this season while Ashdan leads the team in receiving yards and touchdowns with 313 yards & 6 touchdowns. Defensively So. DB Sabir Dawson has been a menace recording 2 interceptions including returning one for a touchdown, mixed in with 24 tackles, returning a fumble for a touchdown & also notching 2 sacks. For O’Hara they suffered their first loss at Bonner. Sr. RB Amahj Gowans leads the PCL in rushing with 984 yards & 10 rushing touchdowns. So. LB Issac Day leads the team with 31 tackles while Jr. LB Sammy Dantonka has 22 tackles & 3 sacks for the Lions. Defensively the Lions have yet to surrender more than 22 points to any opponent.
John Bartram v Boys Latin: With Boys Latin opting out of the playoffs Bartram is the lone undefeated team within the division. They’re put that unbeaten record on the line against a young but talented Boys Latin team with the winner gaining control of the division.
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