The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Someone asked me when I was leaving Saturday’s Emmaus/Bethlehem Catholic  football team if, in my entire football watching experiences, I had ever seen a game as wild as that evening’s 50-49 tilt.

My response?

“Yes I have…the night before!”

It was clearly the biggest scoring weekend of games I have ever announced in my career, with nearly 200 points being scored in two games.

Saturday might not have been the cleanest of games, with way too many penalties and two huge (and extremely costly) turnovers, but Friday’s game between Saucon Valley and Notre Dame for the right to the Colonial League crown was as good of an offensive showing as I’ve seen in years…maybe ever?

It was a great contrast of styles between the aerial attack of the Crusaders and the “Ground-and-Pound” Panthers, who were nearly perfect on the few passes they attempted.  Great coaching calls, clutch players, spectacular plays…if you don’t care about defense, you would have loved that game!

Don’t forget—all of RCN’s productions are available to watch for free for RCN video customers for two months following their initial airdates.  Be sure to check out both of these high scoring games next time you have a chance.

The results of last week’s games around the area fell pretty much in line with what our District XI big and small school polls have been for the past few weeks… 

Big” Schools Poll

1)   Freedom

2)  Emmaus

3)  Easton

4)  Parkland

5)   Stroudsburg

“Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic 

2)  Notre Dame

3)  Northwestern

4)  Saucon Valley

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams —  Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

Now, RCN’s Gary Laubach, Tony Cocca and I team up with The Morning Call’s Keith Groller to weigh in on four District XI high school games coming up this weekend (once again, I’m going out on an island by myself with my picks)…

Check back next week here at “The Shop” for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

First of all, thanks to all of last week’s “SportsTalk” guests…even with Keith Groller on another assignment, we had no shortage of big-named personalities on our program.

For our Pennsylvania sports fans, District XI Football Chair Jason Zimmerman joined me in-studio and discussed the changes with the district’s playoff system and other rule changes for high school football.  “Zim” also gave our audience a great overview of the local playoff races and insights on many of the teams in the RCN-TV coverage area.

For sports fans in the Washington DC area…we had interviews featuring players and coaches from the 8-0 HD Woodson football team.  Woodson is tied with several of the other top teams in the DMV for first in the 6A divisional playoff race.

Then, following our live preview from the Meadowlands which covered that evening’s Giants/Eagles game, we also chatted with Mt. Vernon Head Football Coach Monty Fritts about the amazing job he’s done turning around his program.  Coach Fritts took over a team that had gone 3-26 in the three years prior to his taking over the helm and has guided the Majors to an 18-9 record so far during his tenure.

He reported that the team he took over had just 37 students on the roster and they didn’t even have money to buy new uniforms that were badly needed.  The team hadn’t had consistent, sustained success in decades.  Fritts reported players would be ashamed to wear their “MV” lettermen jackets in public and that the football program was frequently the target of jokes in the community because of its futility.

Now, he has over 120 students competing for spots.  He has players at or near the top in a number of key statistical categories.  His team has broken 31 school records over the last two years and, should their success continue this fall, it would be just the second time in school history that his school made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons (the first time was in the 1930s).  His turnaround story is one of the most dramatic in the entire nation.

All of these “SportsTalk” interviews are available through RCN On-Demand and via our podcasts found here on the RCN-TV website.

It’s time for this week’s edition of our high school football polls for teams in the District XI  region…

“Big” Schools Poll

1)  Freedom

2)  Emmaus

3)  Parkland

4)  Stroudsburg

5)  Easton

“Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic

2)  Notre Dame

3)  Northwestern

4)  Saucon Valley

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams —  Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have much diversity in this week’s “Pick 4” contest…

Check back next week here at “The Shop” for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

People in the DMV have probably heard about the controversy surrounding Senior Running Back Jamal Speaks this fall—the player who became homeless and, by rule, was determined ineligible to play football for Ballou High School—until last weekend.

But rising from that dispute were several great stories about the Knights football program—many Head Coach Minoso Rodgers addressed with me on last Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” show (available to watch On-Demand and at rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk .)

Among those highlights include…

• The outstanding character exhibited by Speaks and his teammates through a trying first month of the season
• The support of Ballou’s students and the community for speaking out and bringing pressure for him to be reinstated
• The Knights’ ability to brush off the controversy and win its most recent two games against tough rival opponents

Not to be lost is the outstanding achievements from last year’s squad—one that captured its first Public League, and DCSAA championship in 12 years.  And, one that saw its first-year head coach named the “USA Today” DC Coach of the Year.

I had the pleasure to speak with Coach Rodgers a number of times over the last 10 days and I could truly hear that he cares deeply about his kids.  In our conversations, it was very evident that he was constantly looking to promote his student-athletes and give them the credit for the program’s successes, even above his own efforts.

Hopefully, eligibility issues are now behind the team and sports fans can concentrate on these positives about the Ballou program going forward!

Last weekend was not the most competitive collection of games we’ve ever had on RCN-TV as Parkland, Freedom and Emmaus all reached “mercy rule status” in their victories by either the second quarter or on their first possession of the second half…

It’s time for this week’s edition of our high school football polls for teams in the District XI  region…

“Big” Schools Poll

1)   Freedom

2)  Emmaus

3)  Easton

4)  Parkland

5)   Northampton

 “Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic 

2)  Saucon Valley

3)  Northwestern

4) Notre Dame

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams —  Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

Now, RCN’s Gary Laubach, Tony Cocca and I team with The Morning Call’s Keith Groller to weigh in on four of the biggest District XI high school games coming up this weekend…

Check back next week here at “The Shop” for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
Offensive linemen don’t ever get much publicity…unless they do something wrong.  But Bethlehem native Louis Csaszar has been carving out a standout career while doing some great things at Villanova University.

He not only became a regular starter in his sophomore season, but also that year was named to the CAA Football All-Academic team.  He’s continued to be a key member of that O-Line ever since.

We caught up with Louis recently on “SportsTalk” to ask him about both his individual and team successes in the NCAAs, as well as his close-up perspective of the school’s basketball team’s two — count ‘em, TWO–National Championships, while he has been on campus…

Villanova has a tough schedule ahead of them but Wildcats’ Head Coach Mark Ferrante has built a solid program and this team should continue to be fun to watch for the next two months.

Last weekend on RCN-TV we had the opportunity to see a team from outside our coverage area go up against a Notre Dame team that desperately needed to avoid picking up a third loss in September.

It’s time for this week’s edition of our high school football polls for teams in the District XI  region…

“Big” Schools Poll

1)   Freedom

2)  Emmaus

3)  Easton

4)  Parkland

5)   Northampton

 “Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic 

2)  Saucon Valley

3)  Northwestern

4) Notre Dame

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams —  Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

As we have surpassed the halfway point of the high school football regular season, I wanted to give an update on how we are all doing on guessing the winners each week for our “Pick 4” contest.

• Gary Laubach – 17 wins
• Keith Groller – 17 wins
• Chris Michael – 17 wins
• Tony Cocca – 16 wins

Don’t forget, on each Thursday “SportsTalk” show, Keith and I usually spend a few minutes recapping the “Pick 4” standings along with offering a few thoughts on our contests, in addition to pointing out more observations and opinions about the following weekend’s games.

Hopefully we can “break up” the log jam in the standings this week as we all weigh in on four of the biggest high school games coming up this weekend…

Check back next week here at “The Shop” for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

Don’t be surprised if a few plays from these games come up again on our “year-in-review” recollections in a few months—both on the TV “SportsTalk” program and here at “The Shop.”

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

While Emmaus has been a perennial title holder for girls’ field hockey in Eastern Pennsylvania, the Easton squad finds itself undefeated through the first month of their scholastic schedule.   We preview this Friday’s big Eastern Pennsylvania Conference showdown between the Rovers and the Green Hornets on “RCN SportsTalk.”

You can see highlights and more field hockey interviews by watching “SportsTalk” this Thursday at 7pm live on RCN-TV or through RCN On-Demand.

Turning our attention to the high school gridiron, we had three football games last weekend on RCN…

It’s time for this week’s edition of our high school football polls for teams in the District XI region…

“Big” Schools Poll

1) Freedom
2) Emmaus
3) Easton
4) Parkland
5) Northampton

“Small” School Poll

1) Bethlehem Catholic
2) Saucon Valley
3) Palisades
4) Northwestern

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams — Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

Check back next week here at “The Shop” for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

An extra big shout-out to our fall sports athletes as the remnants of Hurricane Florence stormed through our coverage area, arriving just as most contests were getting underway.  As I could attest, the pounding rain made for ultra-slick conditions and tough visibility (yes, I was out in the storm at a soccer match—thoroughly protected, I thought, with an umbrella, hat and rain slicker).

The players I talked with afterwards said it was an interesting experience and told me they had a lot of fun playing in the sloppy, soaking conditions.

For me?  I’ll be doubling-down on the Vitamin-C for the next few days as I continue to try to dry out from the event.

As far as high school football this past weekend, we had a pair of great games on RCN-TV as both Easton and Bethlehem Catholic won in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion…

Don’t be surprised if a few plays from these games come up again on our “year-in-review” recollections in a few months—both on the TV “SportsTalk” program and here at “The Shop.”

With those games behind us, it’s time for this week’s edition of our high school football polls for teams in the District XI region…

“Big” Schools Poll

1)   Freedom

2)  Emmaus

3)  Easton

4)  Parkland

5)   Northampton

 “Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic 

2)  Palisades

3)  Saucon Valley

4)  Northwestern

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West. Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams —  Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

Now, I won’t spend much time pointing out that I was the ONLY person who picked winless Whitehall to beat 2-1 Central Catholic last weekend in our “Pick 4” contest…

(pause here for your applause)

…but as my former “SportsTalk” partner’s favorite line goes, “even a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in a while.”

So here we go with this week’s football experts (and me) weighing in on four of the biggest high school games this weekend…

Check back next week for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

We had a great time on our “fall season premiere” of “SportsTalk” last week as PIAA Associate Executive Director Melissa Mertz discussed a number of scholastic sports topics and touched on a number of positive initiatives the organization has done to help student-athletes.

You can catch the entire interview through RCN On-Demand and by hearing our podcast.

There were a number of very competitive games last week, including two overtime contests and four other games decided by less than seven points.

With all of last weekend’s big “showdown games” behind us, it’s time for this week’s edition of our high school football polls for teams in the District XI region…

 Big” Schools Poll

1)   Freedom

2)  Emmaus

3)  Easton

4)  Parkland

5)  East Stroudsburg-South

 “Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic 

2)  Palisades

3)  Saucon Valley

4)  Central Catholic

Other schools receiving More Than One Vote: Northwestern, Notre Dame

Our poll remains with the same structure that we’ve utilized for many seasons.  We take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV broadcast area.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Pocono Mountain West. Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East.  The five schools receiving the most votes are listed above.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of both Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League teams —  Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  The top four vote-getters are named.

Here are our RCN football experts weighing in on four of the biggest high school games this weekend . . .

Check back next week for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

Note: Yes, I did prediction winless Whitehall to beat Central Catholic, a 2-1 squad that just defeated Nazareth this past weekend.  No, I am not just picking a different team so we have some variety in this week’s picks.

I think the Vikings deserve a ton of credit for posting a very impressive win over the Blue Eagles and are in good shape for competing for a 4A district playoff spot going forward.

But Whitehall still has a lot to play for and this is one of their best regular season chances for a “W.”  Thanks to the new high school playoff format, the Zephyrs, despite their 0-3 record, are still considered in many circles as the team expected to capture this fall’s District XI 5A Championship.  They technically may not need ANY wins to qualify for the playoffs, but I think mentally it’s important for Whitehall to try to win this weekend’s contest.

Time will tell if my theory is correct.

Check back next week for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We’ve passed the Labor Day holiday—and already we’re approaching the third week of high school football campaign!

It’s still hard getting used to these early starts to the season, but, ready or not, we have one of our most competitive weekends of the fall, filled with many intriguing match-ups.

Speaking of high school sports, our special in-studio guest on this week’s “SportsTalk” will be PIAA Assistant Executive Director Melissa Mertz, as she discusses a number of scholastic sports topics and controversies over recent changes to the high school sports landscape.  You can call with a question or comment on our live show this Thursday on RCN-TV, or email us your opinion right now to rcnsportstalk@rcn.com and we might read and respond to it on this week’s program.

Now, here are our first “in-season” high school football polls for teams in the District XI region…

“ Big” Schools Poll

1)  Parkland

2)  Emmaus

3)  Freedom

4)  Easton

5)  Nazareth

Other schools receiving votes:  Liberty

 “Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic

2)  Palisades

3)  Saucon Valley

4)  Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes: Northwestern, Central Catholic

Our poll remains in the standard, tried-and-true format that we have utilized for many seasons.  We will take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV footprint.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East & West.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.

Here are our RCN football experts weighing in on four of the biggest high school games this weekend . . .

Check back next week for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

By the way, if you saw all of our “SportsTalk at the Fair” programs last week, you already know that Keith and I have “upped the ante” by pledging that if either of us loses this year’s “Pick 4” contest, we agree to do a Fortnight Dance, live on “SportsTalk” (we’re still waiting to hear if Gary and Tony will commit to this).

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we take a look at our first in-season high school football poll and “Pick 4” selections, a quick plug for our “SportsTalk” show, which will be broadcasting on location from the Great Allentown Fair this week.

For the 10^th year in a row our shows will feature area cheering squads, marching bands and special guests looking at the new HS football season and catching up with legendary names from local high schools in the Lehigh Valley.  Check out the shows in person on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6pm from the Farmerama Theater.

If you can’t make it out to the Fair, you can see the shows on RCN-TV or RCN On-Demand.

Now, here are our first “in-season” high school football polls for teams in the District XI region…

“Big” Schools Poll

1)  Emmaus

2)  Parkland

3)  Freedom

4)  Easton

5)  Nazareth

Other schools receiving votes:  Liberty

 “Small” School Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic

2)  Palisades

3)  Central Catholic

4)  Saucon Valley

Other schools receiving votes: Northwestern, Notre Dame

Our poll remains in its’ standard, tried-and-true format that we have utilized for many seasons.  We will take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV footprint.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus,  Dieruff, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East & West.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.

Here are our RCN football experts weighing in on four of the biggest high school games this weekend . . .

Check back next week for more high school football notes, polls, video highlights and predictions.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Last week here at “The Shop” we brought you samples of our high school sports interviews featuring local coaches and players (more can be seen on our “SportsTalk” program).

This week, we have our pre-season high school football poll and the return of the “Pick 4” game predictions, along with samples of our interviews previewing the Lafayette College football season.

Now the unveiling of our pre-season high school football poll for District XI teams…

“ Big” Schools Poll

1)  Parkland

2)  Emmaus

3)  Freedom

4)  Easton

5)  Nazareth

“Small” SCHOOL Poll

1)  Bethlehem Catholic

2)  Palisades

3)  Central Catholic

4)  Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes:   Saucon Valley

Our poll remains in its’ standard, tried-and-true format that we have utilized for many seasons.  We will take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN-TV footprint.  All of the schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus,  Dieruff, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh, East Stroudsburg-South, and Pocono Mountain East & West.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of Bangor, Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  Each pollster will identify their top five teams in each group—the top school gets five points, the second team gets four points and so on, with an average score determining the order of teams in the poll.  Check back each week here at “The Shop” to see if your favorite teams make our list!

Now, here are our RCN football experts weighing in on four of the biggest high school games this weekend…