Our “SportsTalk” pollsters did it again!
As we approach the final week of the high school football regular season, a quick glance back to our pre-season predictions reveal that our pollsters correctly identified all of the teams in our “small school” poll. In our “big schools,” four of the top five teams were correctly predicted—in order– back in mid-August (our “fifth” team did receive votes). Moreover, our pollsters’ final results are very much in-line with the District XI power point system—which officially ranks the team at the end of the regular season and determines the playoff positioning.
As I mentioned before the first summer scrimmage, we have been incredibly fortunate over the years to have some wonderful and insightful people participate in our District XI football poll. My thanks to all of the coaches, athletic directors and media members for their participation in the most comprehensive poll in the region.
And now, the final results…
Big Schools (11 pollsters)
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- Parkland—55 points (11 first-place votes)
- Freedom — 43
- Easton — 34
- Liberty – 22
- Stroudsburg – 6
Other schools receiving votes: Emmaus, Nazareth
Small Schools (10 pollsters)
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- Becahi – 47 points (7 first-place votes)
- Saucon Valley – 43 (3 first-place votes)
- Notre Dame-GP – 30
- Northwestern – 16
- Central Catholic/Salisbury — 5
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Looking back, easily the two best games of the regular season (to date) had to be the Easton/Freedom and Notre Dame/Saucon Valley games.
All four of these teams had some great wins this season, and their contests against each other made for some thrilling high school football action.
Looking ahead, there are some interesting match-ups in the regular season finale, as teams jockey for spots in the District XI and the Eastern Conference playoffs. In 4A, Freedom and Liberty, who play Saturday (RCN-TV, 7pm) have both clinched districts, along with Parkland and Wyoming Valley West. Easton needs to beat Nazareth to make the playoffs and the Blue Eagles with a loss and a Pleasant Valley victory.
In 3A, there are plenty of spots and important ball games this weekend. Bethlehem Catholic plays Central Catholic on Saturday. A Golden Hawk win gives them the number-one seed and knocks the Vikings out of districts. Undefeated Saucon Valley still has not clinched a spot, but still could get in if they lose to Palisades on Friday.
In 2A, Notre Dame and Northwestern have both clinched district spots and Salisbury would be in with a win over Southern Lehigh. The Pirates need a win combined with a North Schuylkill loss.
Who’ll win these games this weekend and what are each teams’ keys heading into the regular season finale? Join Gary Laubach, Joe Craig and myself this Thursday live at 7pm for “RCN SportsTalk” as we break down all these games, the various post-season scenarios and the playoff system overall. Also, our special guest will be Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver and former Liberty HS standout Devin Street, who’ll talk about his career and also preview this Sunday night’s Eagles/Cowboys game.
