Garnet Valley legendary coach Mike Ricci has turned Achieving Oneness into a successful culture he is sharing
About five years ago, Mike Ricci finished a speaking engagement in Philadelphia, when he was followed out in the parking lot by someone in the audience. The gentleman was cordial and interested in knowing more about how the legendary coach came by his culture building. He told Ricci he was going to take what Ricci […]
Central Buck East’s Alabama commit Mike Carroll rolls to IMG
Mike Carroll, a mammoth 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive guard, announced on Wednesday that he will be transferring from Central Bucks East to IMG Academy, the athletic-based boarding school in Bradenton, Florida, along with his brother, Liam, a rising sophomore receiver. It came as a shock to many associated with the Central Bucks East football program. “We […]
The PAC Senior Bowl provided some lasting memories for those playing the final time
Photo courtesy of Rick Martin COLLEGEVILLE, PA — Bryce Caffrey stood stunned for a moment. The diminutive Pottsgrove running back/defensive back had to think about it for a minute. The youngest of six, he had been playing football since he was six. The game had been a part of his life, what drove him to […]
The 46th Hero Bowl finishes in a satisfying 14-14 East-West tie
Photo courtesy of Rick Martin SPRINGFIELD, PA — The 46th annual Hero Bowl did not have the result everyone was pleased with on Thursday night at Cardinal O’Hara. Nor was it played at a particularly high level for the first three quarters. It did, however, showcase players and programs that had an awakening this past […]
Imhotep’s Tyseer Denmark explodes in leading PA to a 31-7 Big 33 victory over Maryland
MECHANICSBURG, PA — Tyseer Denmark did what he was supposed to do and watched. The Penn State-bound Imhotep Charter star receiver did not like it. But what was he supposed to do? His last year had been cut short of the postseason by the PIAA eligibility transfer rules. His last game his senior year […]
The Philadelphia Eagles take out the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-14, in the first-ever Big 33 girls’ flag football all-star game
MECHANICSBURG, PA — Krista Quinn never played a varsity sport in high school. She easily could have. She is quick. She is fast. She is certainly difficult to track in the open field. All she has known is flag football the last six years. Quinn, a Gwynedd Mercy Academy senior, is in many ways a […]
The East overcomes a bad start to beat West, 15-14, in the PSFCA Big School All-Star game
Photos courtesy of Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — Mikal Davis thought about it for a moment. The Imhotep Charter quarterback just went a whole weekend of winning football, after just finishing playing on a field where his most memorable football moment occurred six months ago when he led the Panthers to the PIAA Class 5A […]
Kennett’s Chase Patalano leads Team Carroll to a 29-20 victory over Team Allison in the Valor Bowl
Photo courtesy of Rick Martin DOWNINGTOWN, PA — It would have taken sturdy construction gear to wipe the smile from Chase Patalano’s face on Wednesday night. It had been seven months since the Kennett High School senior wore pads and a helmet on a football field. Regrettably, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound quarterback’s season had been gutted […]
West beats East in the final seconds, 27-24, in PSFCA Small School All-Star game
Photos courtesy of Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — The scoreboard said it was final, and it was for a lot of players participating in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) East-West Small School All-Star game at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field on Sunday. What will remain was the sweaty reminder of how much each player […]
Spring-Ford’s Matt Zollers chooses Missouri
Photo’s courtesy of Rick Martin The list of area high-level talent continued their college choices. On Saturday, St. Joe Prep linebacker Anthony Sacca selected Notre Dame as his next football destination, and on Thursday in live stream from Spring-Ford High School, Spring-Ford rising-senior quarterback Matt Zollers choose SEC Missouri over Georgia, Penn State and Pitt. […]
St. Joe Prep’s Anthony Sacca chooses Notre Dame as his next destination
Photos courtesy of Rick Martin In the end, it came down to the people. Anthony Sacca, St. Joseph Prep’s multi-talented 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior linebacker, announced on Saturday that he will be attending Notre Dame. Sacca said he told Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive coordinator Al Golden on Monday, and Sacca stressed Freeman, Golden […]
Steelton-Highspire’s Alex Erby takes home the Maxwell Club’s prestigious Henry Award
DREXEL HILL, PA — Alex Erby likes to look back at the adversity he had to overcome. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior lefty Steelton-Highspire quarterback bound for Navy reflects on January 2021, when he dislocated his right knee that placed him in a leg stabilizer. He missed part of his freshman basketball and baseball seasons, and […]
Samaj Jones ends epic career by leading St. Joe’s Prep to second-straight 6A state title by plowing North Allegheny, 45-23
Photos by Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — It started by accident. Samaj Jones was part of the clean-up crew, tasked with combing the field to pick up cones, and nets, and stray footballs after practice for his youth league football team. There was a ball on the far side of the field. So, instead of […]
Belle Vernon repeats as 3A state champs, 38-7, beating Northwestern Lehigh
Photos by Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — Repeating is never easy. It comes with the perfunctory pressure of getting everyone’s A-game. It means mentally getting up for each game, which can be a draining process, and is usually an arduous task. Belle Vernon defied the old obstacles this season. The Leopards made it look easy […]
Imhoptep beats the past winning the 5A state title, 38-13, over Peters Township
Photos by Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — There was a lot to unload. It could be seen in their eyes as the Imhotep Charter team walked stoically in pairs out of the Cumberland Valley High School gym, through the hall, and onto the field. The tonnage they carried came in six state championship losses that […]
Southern Columbia drives its way to seven-straight state Class 2A titles with 21-20 win over Westinghouse
Photos by Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — Jim Roth is in his 40th year at Southern Columbia. The legendary Tigers’ coach has seen everything. Well, almost everything. What Roth can tuck away for safe keeping, to be forever cherished for posterity, is Southern Columbia’s own version of “The Drive.” Trailing by six, looking at the […]
The 2023 Aliquippa Quips are the first undefeated state champion in school history, beating Dallas, 60-14, in the 4A final
MECHANICSBURG, PA — There is a long, storied history with the Aliquippa football program. Hall of Famers Mike Ditka and Darrelle Revis went there. Three-time Super Bowl champion Ty Law is a graduate of the school. The Quips have been to 10 PIAA state championships. They have won four state crowns (1991-2A, 2003-2A, 2018-3A, 2021-4A). […]
Steelton-Highspire’s passing king Alex Erby leaves as three-time state champ in a 42-8 win over Fort Cherry in Class 1A championship
Photos by Matt Topper MECHANICSBURG, PA — The game was a formality. It was more of a farewell coronation of a passing king. Steelton-Highspire coach Andrew Erby knew this day would come and he had mixed feelings. Part of him was downright ecstatic over his son, Alex, the lefty Navy commit, winning his third PIAA […]
2023 PIAA Class 6A Championship Preview: North Allegheny (13-1) @ St. Joseph’s Prep (12-1)
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. There is St. Joe’s Prep—and then there is everyone else. Winners of 12-straight games, the Hawks continue to be the standard among […]
2023 PIAA Class 3A Championship Preview: Belle Vernon Area (12-1) @ Northwestern Lehigh (15-0)
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. Belle Vernon reached its first state championship game last year and won it in the most dramatic game of last year’s championship […]
2023 PIAA Class 5A Championship Preview: Peters Township (15-0) @ Imhotep Charter School (14-0)
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. This will be Imhotep’s eighth trip to the finals (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023). The Panthers won the […]
2023 PIAA Class 2A Championship Preview: Westinghouse (13-0) @ Southern Columbia (14-1)
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. This is a rematch of last year’s 2A championship, won by Southern Columbia 37-22 over Westinghouse. Nothing has really changed, it seems, […]
2023 PIAA Class 4A Championship Preview: Aliquippa (13-0) vs. Dallas (15-0)
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. No one expected this. Statewide, the anticipation was for a rematch between Aliquippa and Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg). But something happened along the […]
2023 PIAA Class 1A Championship Preview: Fort Cherry (15-0) vs. Steelton-Highspire (15-0)
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. This is new terrain for Fort Cherry. Then again, the whole season has been historic for the Rangers. They won their first […]
2023 PIAA State Championship Preview
Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships. Four defending champions return in Class 6A St. Joseph’s Prep, 3A Belle Vernon, 2A Southern Columbia, and 1A Steelton-Highspire. Three programs will […]
Max Roy leads the way to St. Joe Prep’s 49-0 win over CB South in the 6A Eastern finals
Prep defensive coordinator Shawn Stratz & d-tackle Max Roy LANSDALE — He does the nasty work no one else likes doing. Max Roy doesn’t mind. He likes hitting. He likes running over people. He likes running through them. He likes being as disruptive as he can. And when you’re incredibly athletic, like the 6-foot-3, 280-pound […]
Imhotep Charter is headed to the 5A state finals again after beating Strath Haven, 42-14
Kareem Abdul Haqq (18) & Mikal Davis Jr. (12) combined for two 25-yard touchdowns in Imhotep’s 42-14 5A semifinal victory over Strath Haven. COATESVILLE — This had a more formal business tone to it. Imhotep Charter reached another PIAA Class 5A state championship game after dispensing District 1 champion Strath Haven rather easily, 42-14, in […]
Strath Haven wins record 13th District Title holding off Chester, 28-20, for the District 1 Class 5A crown
Strath Haven’s Bill Brown CHESTER — They knew what was happening. They could feel the gradual, stubborn bend. Each play came with a little more space, and a little more, and enough to move a very stubborn, physical Chester defensive front. Strath Haven’s offensive line of left tackle Bill Brown, left guard Gavin Pilson, center […]
Anthony Leonardi leads the way to CB South’s first District 1 championship, 27-7, over Downingtown West in 6A final
Anthony Leonardi with the District 1 trophy WARRINGTON, PA — The iconic sound of Frank Sinatra’s I Did It My Way boomed in the background of the Central Bucks South locker room as Anthony Leonardi waded through a parade of hugs and back slaps. Led by the brilliant senior tailback, the Titans pulled off something […]
Neumann-Goretti’s Khari Reid decommits from Stanford and ends his high school career with a Thanksgiving Day bang
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The last few weeks have been tough for Khari Reid. The Neumann-Goretti 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior standout defensive back received a call from Preston Pehrson, Stanford’s Director of Recruiting and Player Personnel. The first thing Reid heard was, “Sorry for the bad news … Stanford admissions did not accept you and that you […]
St. Joe Prep leans on the line to beat Lincoln, 35-0, for the District 12 6A Championship
PHILADELPHIA, PA — It wasn’t a bad first run. There were a few areas that will be coached up, but for the first time together, the St. Joe’s Prep offensive line—the new version—looked pretty cohesive Saturday night in the PIAA District 12 Class 6A championship. The Hawks are on their annual December trek again. The […]
Mikal Davis Jr. leads Imhotep by a scare in a 30-26 comeback win over Roman to win District 12 5A championship
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Mikal Davis Jr. sat there on the bench and kept shaking his head. He had a host of people around him, coaches, and an EMT, asking him questions, probing how he felt, and more importantly, how his head felt. The Imhotep Charter senior quarterback had just been rocked by a jarring third-quarter […]
Strath Haven holds off Springfield, 14-12, to reach the District 1 5A finals
Strath Haven’s AJ Glavicic WALLINGFORD — Way back in early September, AJ Glavicic turned off the world. The Strath Haven 6-foot-1, 165-pound senior defensive back thought he was finished. He had broken his right collarbone against Springfield on September 1, making a dramatic catch that enabled the Panthers to mount a late comeback on their […]
Malvern Prep wins the Inter-Ac title with a 17-7 victory over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy with some late heroics
Owen Mears and the Malvern Prep team celebrating the Inter-Ac Championship. PHILADELPHIA, PA — Owen Mears had to take a quick glance down to make sure the ball was in his hands. The Malvern Prep 6-foot-2, junior defensive back was that numb that he could not feel anything over his first few steps. His next […]
Cooper Taylor leads the way for CB West’s 28-27 overtime win over Garnet Valley
CB West’s Cooper Taylor DOYLESTOWN, PA — It looked like Cooper Taylor sprung a million leaks. There was a jagged line of blood on his right thigh. A bandage covered his bloody right elbow, and every fingernail seemed to be spouting crimson droplets. The Central Bucks West senior quarterback was not phased by it. Nothing […]
Mekhi Wharton leads the way for Neumann-Goretti to win the Catholic League and District 12 3A championship with 18-7 win over Conwell-Egan
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Mekhi Wharton rewinds the play in his head, he says, almost every day. A few inches to the right, a step to the left, being more decisive for a split-second, and things could have been far different. Neumann-Goretti’s 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior quarterback was inches away from scoring the winning touchdown in last […]
Defending District 1 6A champ Garnet Valley advances with a 28-21 win over Owen J. Roberts
Tyler Lassik & GV coach Eric Van Wyk GLEN MILLS, PA — There is a nuts-and-bolts quality to Garnet Valley senior quarterback Tyler Lassik. Whatever needs to be done, he’s willing to do it. Maybe that attitude comes from being the ninth and youngest of nine, and it explains why he wears the No. 9 […]
Hunter Aquino puts on a show in leading ANC to a 43-20 win over Belmont Charter
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The game was well over for probably an hour. Still, a Belmont Charter player sat there in exhausted resignation, shaking his head and wondering aloud from the Tigers’ bench, “What can’t that kid do?” in reference to a 58-yard punt in the closing minute of Saturday’s game. The punt came from a […]
Pope John Paul II wins its first PAC title in a 28-27 thriller over Spring-Ford
ROYERSFORD, PA — The proportions did not seem right. One team looked considerably larger collectively than the other. One team was certainly in a higher classification than the other. Then again, the Pope John Paul II Golden Panthers, a Class 4A school, pay little attention to proportions. They do not pay much attention to history, […]
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy reaches 7-0 for first time since 2009, after beating Germantown Academy 28-0
Finn Whittle, coach Rick Knox, and Tommy Markey PHILADELPHIA, PA — Finn Whittle looked like he could barely stand, let alone run for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. The Springside Chestnut Hill Academy junior had both ankles taped, a sleeve over his bloody left knee, a bruised right arm, and scratch marks on the […]
Central Bucks West is the team to beat in District 1 after 40-29 win over CB South
CB West’s Finn McGowan (74) and Hayden Milligan (54). DOYLESTOWN, PA — They know. They know to their teammates, coaches, and Central Bucks West fans that they mean more than numbers on the field. They know that they are the unsung foundation of a Central Bucks West team on a historic course this season. Bucks’ […]
Chester scores its biggest victory in over 30 years in beating Downingtown West, 28-19
CHESTER — Chester’s players believed. Everyone else, apparently, did not. Social media has a funny way of spreading falsehoods, like how Downingtown West was supposed to smoke Chester High on a raw, rainy Saturday afternoon at the Chester Athletic Complex. The Chester football team saw the posts and then heard with their own ears how […]
Marple Newtown kicker Josh McMenamin plays the hero in handing Strath Haven its first defeat
Josh McMenamin & Marple Newtown coach Chris Gicking. WALLINGFORD — Josh McMenamin was seemingly stuck there, frozen in starry-eyed disbelief. The magnitude of what he did appeared to hover around the ether where he was standing 10 minutes later, though not exactly spilling into the 5-foot-8, 150-pound Marple Newtown senior kicker. McMenamin did it. He […]
Downingtown West beats Coatesville for the first time since 2019, 21-14
DOWNINGTOWN — A smile creased Quinn Henicle’s face. The Downingtown West senior quarterback was well aware of the history between the Whippets and Ches-Mont League National Division rival Coatesville The last time Downingtown West beat Coatesville was in 2019 when the Whippets’ seniors were in eighth grade. Because the game was canceled last year due […]
Central Bucks West tosses a shut out at North Penn, which is blanked for the first time since 2007
CB West’s Conor McFadden with Bucks’ coach Rob Rowan DOYLESTOWN, PA — The scoreboard behind Central Bucks West coach Rob Rowan said 28-0 as he addressed his team, but you could not tell who won by the tone of his voice or the rigid, stern expression on his face. In six years, Rowan has built […]
Imhotep remains undefeated with a 24-14 win over Malvern Prep
PHILADELPHIA — The path is clear now. Imhotep’s road grader made sure of that Friday night, moving and plowing through previously undefeated Malvern Prep to the tune of 364 yards rushing in the Panthers’ 24-14 victory at the Germantown Super Site. For the first time in Imhotep coach Devon Johnson’s four-year tenure, the Panthers will […]
Imhotep’s shutdown twins Kenny Woseley and Willie Norris come up big in dramatic 21-17 win over Archbishop Spalding
PHILADELPHIA — It’s happening again. Those pent-up expectations in September that go burst in December for Imhotep Charter each time the Panthers reach the PIAA state finals. There is, however, an underlying flow that this year’s version looks and feels different—far different. While the western half of the state may smirk in dark corners at […]
St. Joe Prep’s Nick McGlynn wrecks St. Peter’s in the Hawks’ 42-0 win
WILMINGTON, DEL — It seems part of the middle linebacker’s credo, a part of their DNA. Maybe it is why Nick McGlynn wears that I’m-going-to-stomp-you squint behind his facemask. It serves the St. Joseph’s Prep senior well. If you have the ball, McGlynn has no problem openly admitting, he will find you, then pound you. […]
Imhotep Charter keeps rolling, blanking Haverford School 35-0
WILMINGTON, DEL — None of this matters. Not this time of year. Not with a powerhouse like Imhotep Charter. The Panthers rolled over Haverford School, 35-0, to keep their scoreless streak intact on Friday night in the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic football showcase at Salesianum School’s Abessinio Stadium, in Wilmington, Delaware. In two games, Imhotep […]
Manheim Central wins a thriller over Smyrna, 37-36, thanks to Aaron Enterline’s heroics
WILMINGTON, DEL — Aaron Enterline was blinking as if someone flashed a bright light into his eyes. When the gangly, Manheim Central senior wide receiver thought about it, he found it a little hard to believe when the improbable scenario was repeated to him. With 18 seconds left, with his starting quarterback out after a […]
