Inside The Huddle: Going Deep Inside The PFN Rankings

Tagged under: News, pfn

Matt Herring | October 2, 2024

As we hit the home stretch of the PA High School Football regular season schedule it’s the perfect time to take a deep dive on our PA Football News Rankings and sort out which teams are battle-tested while others are just beginning to test the waters in our Top 10’s.

There’s numerous undefeated and one loss teams across all classes and also some very good teams with more than one loss that have endured brutal regular season schedules. In this edition of Inside the Huddle we break down a few teams from each classification and examine just how battle tested they are based on their Strength of Schedule and what their road looks like over the next few weeks as they attempt to climb our PFN Rankings.

We will reference Strength of Schedule (SOS) which includes games teams have already played and also Strength of Schedule Future (SSF) which includes all games they will have played at the conclusion of the regular season. The format of SOS/SSF will be displayed numerically for each team with an an analysis of their upcoming contests based on those parameters. As an example a 100/50 team has a Top 100 schedule in PA currently and over the next few weeks their schedule becomes much more challenging than their prior games bringing their final SOS to a Top 50 team. We hope you enjoy this edition of Inside the Huddle!

Class 6A

#1 St. Joe’s Prep 3-1 (SOS 1/SSF 2) – PA’s King Kong currently boasts the #1 toughest schedule in the state and by season’s end they’ll likely be near the top in that category again this year. St. Joe’s routinely loads up a solid out of state slate of contests to test their mettle and this season is no different as they challenged St. Edwards of Ohio (lost 35-21), Erasmus Hall of Brooklyn, NY (won 44-16) and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Maryland (won 21-19). Their District 12 Philadelphia Catholic League schedule and non-league contests are more competitive this season as well as traditional foes LaSalle (6A #2 SOS20/SSF 5), Roman Catholic (5A #10 SOS 6/SSF 1) and Bonner-Prendie (4A #2 SOS 60/SSFF 17) are all squads currently in the PFN rankings. The ultra-talented Prep Hawks are the standard for Strength of Schedule in Pennsylvania nearly every season.

#2 LaSalle 6-0 (SOS 20/SSF 5) – The Explorers find themselves in the middle of an SOS gauntlet having already played and defeated 6A #5 Harrisburg, Independent powerhouse Malvern Prep and Independent Haverford School. A look ahead to their final four games becomes even more challenging as they face 6A #1 St. Joe’s Prep this week, 4A #2 Bonner-Prendie in two weeks and 5A #10 Roman Catholic in the final week of the season. An undefeated season for LaSalle would be well-earned and their Strength of Schedule Future of 5 is a clear indicator of their difficult path to perfection.

#4 Manheim Township 6-0 (SOS 79/SSF 89) – The Blue Streaks SOS of 79 ranks poorly overall for Commonwealth 6A teams and their weaker than normal regular season schedule this year could leave them largely untested heading into the playoffs. In previous seasons, Manheim Township has faced off against 6A District 3 rival Harrisburg and 6A District 1 foe Spring-Ford to prepare for a post-season schedule. This year, the Blue Streaks have only lined up against 6A 5-1 Central York (SOS 48/SSF 48) with their other games against mostly middle of the road squads. Keep an eye on how this plays out for Manheim Township as they enter the playoffs.

Class 5A

#1 Upper St. Clair 6-0 (SOS 34/SSF 33), #3 Peters Township 5-1 (SOS 53/SSF 53), #5 Bethel Park 6-0 (SOS 89/SSF 38), #6 Pine-Richland 5-0 (SOS 27/SSF 24) – We grouped these four teams to highlight the ultra-competitive 5A classification in the WPIAL District 7 of the Pittsburgh area. While there are nearly four dozen remaining undefeated teams in the Commonwealth and even more one-loss teams left a 6-0 or 5-1 record in 5A District 7 holds more weight when comparing teams across the state. These four teams schedules are a meat-grinder week in and week out and by playoff time it’s not uncommon to see a WPIAL team make an improbable run to the state title because these squads are so accustomed to high-level opponents. Make it a point to watch how these teams progress over their remaining schedule and into the playoffs as the WPIAL traditionally places more teams in the state finals than any other District.

Class 4A

#3 Pope John Paul II 5-1 (SOS 184/SSF 238) – Pope John Paul II is on the lower end of SOS/SSF for ranked 4A teams in the state and are a classic example of a squad that will enter the playoffs largely untested despite a few closely-contested games over their first six games of the season (won 34-27 vs. Springfield-Montco SOS 302/SSF 267), lost 20-13 vs. 5-1 West Chester Rustin (SOS 153/SSF 143) and won 24-13 vs. 4-1 Phoenixville SOS 225/SSF 268)). The Golden Panthers remaining schedule also does not pose any serious risks and it remains to be seen if PJP can parlay an average regular season schedule into a state playoff run.

#4 Thomas Jefferson 6-0 (SOS 94/SSF 136) – Look no further than the undefeated Jaguars for a prime example of when a 6-0 record means something at this juncture in the season. Thomas Jefferson has notched victories against some dandy opponents including 3A Central Valley (SOS 55/SSF 100), 4A McKeesport (SOS 10/SSF 42), 3A Avonworth (SOS 113/190) and 3A Belle Vernon (SOS 9/SSF 61). While these teams only have a combined 9-14 record any educated PA high school fan understands most teams across the state don’t face a schedule this difficult in a given season (all four teams also rank highly in their classification in SOS having played some of the most difficult schedules in the state). The toughest games are behind Thomas Jefferson already this year and they should cruise into the playoffs unblemished and battle tested thanks to their demanding District 7 WPIAL schedule.

#5 Twin Valley 6-0 (SOS 320/SSF 223), #6 Lampeter-Strasburg 6-0 (SOS 229/SSF 198), #7 Wyomissing 5-1 (SOS 164/SSF 140) – We grouped these District 3 teams to highlight how SOS and SSF are affected by a more demanding schedule in upcoming games vs. games already played. All three teams will face off in a three-way battle for Lebanon-Lancaster League (Section 4) supremacy. As you can see by their SOS/SSF the path ahead for each team gets much more competitive over the next four weeks and in the case of Twin Valley their SOS gets more difficult by nearly 100 spots from now until the end of their regular season schedule. Wyomissing has played and will have played the more difficult schedule among the three squads and we will see if that translates into late-season wins after these three teams face off over the next few weeks.

Class 3A

#1 Northwestern Lehigh 6-0 (SOS 248/SSF 222) – The Tigers of New Tripoli have played a respectable slate of games to date with solid victories against quality opponents 4A Blue Mountain (5-1 SOS 188/SSF 211) and 3A North Schuylkill (3-3 SOS 98/SSF 109). Their remaining schedule also will prove dangerous as they tackle an undefeated 6-0 Tamaqua (SOS 307/SSF 209) squad before rounding out their season with a challenging contest vs. Southern Lehigh (5-1 SOS 166/SSF 156). The current 3A #1 program in the state can be confident heading into the playoffs thanks to a competitive regular season schedule.

#4 Sharon 5-1 (SOS 205/SSF 295) – While Sharon’s current SOS of 205 has benefitted from contests vs. 5A Erie Cathedral Prep (lost 33-7), 3A Hickory (won 20-14) and 2A Farrell (won 14-7) their SOS plummets to an SSF of 295 by seasons end which ranks on the lower end for 3A state ranked teams. The Tigers are limited to a largely average league schedule in terms of competition and while they should be commended for adding Prep (SOS 109/SSF 93) and Farrell (SOS 227/SSF 269) to their non-league slate they’ll need a repeat win against District 10 League (Region 4) rival Hickory (SOS 242/SSF 292) to advance to the state playoffs.

#6 Scranton Prep 5-1 (SOS 129/SSF 132) – Look no further than Scranton Prep to find a program that boasts a stellar record against quality opponents. Early season contests against 5-1 Valley View (won 33-0), out of state Canisius of New York (lost 39-25) and 5A Delaware Valley (won 28-25) have laid the groundwork for this team to make another deep state playoff run. Their remaining schedule also has 4A #10 ranked Jersey Shore (SOS 177/SSF 182) down the road for a non-league tuneup for the Cavaliers.

Class 2A

#1 Troy 6-0 (SOS 361/SSF 401) – The Trojans have been cruising this season and appear on a solid path to advance past the District (a Southern Columbia stronghold for decades) and into the state playoffs. While the knock on the program is a weak regular season schedule (SSF of 401 on the lower end for 2A teams in the state) their dominating results leave little question if Troy is prepared for the post-season. One shining victory against a quality opponent took place in week 2 when the Trojans traveled to Delaware to take on large-school Dover and picked up a tremendous win in a hard-hitting affair won by Troy by a score of 8-3.

#3 Riverside 6-0 (SOS 496/420) – The Vikings have steadily climbed the rankings over the past six weeks thanks in part to a primarily weak schedule (SOS 496 ranks lowest among 2A state ranked teams). Riverside’s opponents thus far have only accounted for a 12-23 combined record. Stay tuned for the Vikings to be tested down the stretch as they face 3-3 Old Forge (SOS 296/SSF 363) and 5-1 Lackawanna Trail (SOS 333/SSF 397) to close their regular season schedule. What has been a cakewalk for Riverside thus far will swiftly become a tremendous test for the Vikings 2A #3 state ranking.

#10 Farrell 2-4 (SOS 227/269) – Farrell is a perfect example of why fans shouldn’t judge a team solely based on their overall record. While Farrell has only one win against a quality opponent when they defeated 1A #8 Wilmington (SOS 347/SSF 431) last week three of their losses were one score affairs against 3A #7 Hickory (lost 35-31), 3A #4 Sharon (lost 14-7) and a steady 4-2 Ft. LeBoef team (lost 29-28). Additionally, Farrell’s four losses are to teams with a combined record of 19-5. Expect Farrell to cruise to a District 10 (Region 1) league title before taking their crack at another state playoff run.

Class 1A

#1 Bishop Guilfoyle 6-0 (SOS 360/SSF 382) – The Marauders have tallied a perfect record thus far and they’ve done it while facing off against a mostly average schedule and their remaining schedule poses no major threat prior to entering the playoffs. With an SOS of 360 and an SSF of 382 Bishop Guilfoyle ranks high among 1A state ranked teams in both categories. A 5-1 Bellwood-Antis (SOS 430/SSF 326) team and 4-2 Chestnut Ridge (SOS 423/SSF 329) are the only two remaining winning teams on their schedule before they hit the post-season.

#3 Fort Cherry 6-0 (SOS 489/SSF 389) – The Matt Sieg led Rangers have cruised through their first six contests thus far against largely average opponents but will see two quality foes in the next two weeks when they face 5-1 Cornell and 4-1 Bishop Canevin. In the loaded 1A District 7 WPIAL gauntlet they’ll have to navigate a super-competitive playoff path featuring three state ranked teams in #4 Clairton (SOS 408/SSF 456), #7 Neshannock (SOS 432/SSF 421) and the before-mentioned #9 Bishop Canevin (SOS 293/SSF 305). Another state title game appearance will be well-earned should it come to fruition for the Rangers as their SOS jumps 100 spots between now and the end of the regular season in addition to the most competitive 1A district in the Commonwealth.

#5 Port Allegany 6-0 (SOS 452/SSF 463) – The undefeated Gators rank on the lower end of 1A state ranked teams in terms of SOS/SSF with only 5-1 Redbank Valley (SOS 460/SSF 396) serving as their only quality win thus far (won 66-38). Port Allegany’s remaining schedule gets no more difficult either and they will enter the playoffs largely untested out of District 9 with a likely rematch vs. Redbank Valley on the horizon.

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