The high school football playoff season is upon us with interesting matchups in the PIAA District 2/4/11 sub-regionals.

First, a quick plug.  For the next two weeks, we’ll be spending most of our “RCN SportsTalk” programs (Thursdays, live, 7-8pm), breaking down ALL of the football sub-regional playoff games, along with thoughts on the Eastern Conference post-season as well.  Feel free to contact us before/during the show to weigh in with your thoughts and questions about the playoffs.

Now, some observations and details on the 4A contests involving District XI teams (we’ll look at the 2A/3A playoff teams in our next blog entry).

Easton/Freedom
If this was almost any other year, I would say the Red Rovers have the advantage—if for no other reason than Freedom already defeated Easton once this year…and Easton RARELY loses to the same team twice in one season.  In fact, even though I thought Freedom was the favorite heading into the first game between these two schools, I might have given the Rovers the nod.  But that was before last weekend.

(BTW:  Freedom was our pre-season #2 team in our “SportsTalk” poll, ranked just ahead of Easton).

I was very impressed with the way Freedom played last Saturday against their traditional rivals, the Liberty Hurricanes.  Andres Santos, who came into the season as the number-two back, finished the regular season with 136 carries, 625 rushing yards, 12-touchdowns and a 5-yards per carry average.  He took on a Liberty defense that was determined to try to stop him, and responded with a 200-yard rushing day (a personal best—his previous high was 117) and two scores.

Furthermore, the senior leaders—Brennan Reinert, Cordell Cotto, Alkiohn Dunkins, Joeshua Ortiz—to name just a few, have been outstanding and have made key contributions on both sides of the ball.  Teamed with junior Brady Hornbaker and sophomore Alec Huertas, I really believe this team is special.  The Patriots have already won a share of their first league/division title, but I believe they have the potential for even greater heights this post-season.

Nasir Minney-Gratz had another awesome performance last week against Nazareth, and before that game I thought that Easton might have had the best, all-around defense in the EPC-South.  I’m no longer sure of that opinion, but I do feel it will be a great game (Friday, live, 7pm on RCN-TV).

Del Val/Parkland
When District XI puts the schedule together before the season starts, they should probably just schedule these two teams to play each other, as these schools have run into each other—at least once—for several years in a row.

Del Val boasts senior running back Austin Cernek (156 carries, 920 yards, 9-TDs) and sophomore wide receiver Dylan Kelly (13 catches, 271, 4-TDs).  Junior QB Matt Cavallero 68-128 passing, 975 yards, 8-TDs, 12-INTs) does a good job orchestrating the offense.  However, I don’t think the Warriors are as strong as some of the previous years’ DV-teams that Parkland has faced.

The Trojans themselves are an interesting team.  The one time I’ve seen them in person (against Freedom), they looked flat-out phenomenal.   They have, in my opinion, the best athlete in the area (QB Devante Cross) and are loaded with depth at nearly every position, along with players (Kenny Yeboah, Eric Digirolamo and others) who have appeared quite a bit on the “SportsTalk” highlight reels this fall.

I’ve talked to some of my colleagues who’ve seen them more often and they opined that the team sometimes plays to the level of their competition and/or lacks emotion.  I feel that will not be the case now that the post-season is here, and I’d say that Parkland heads into the playoffs as the favorite in this game…if not the entire sub-regional tournament.

The Parkland/Del Val game will be broadcast on RCN-TV, tape-delayed, Friday at 9:30 pm.

Stroudsburg/Liberty
The Hurricanes may have the best quarterback (Doug Erney) in the area.  They have, in my opinion, one of the best junior running backs (Gunner Anglovich) in the region.  They have an outstanding offensive live and a great collection of receivers.  On paper, they have the advantage in every offensive aspect of the game.

However…

Over the last two weeks, the Liberty defense has surrendered a whopping 89 points.  They’ve had issues with tackling and have committed untimely penalties at times throughout the season.  They feature some great individual performers, but the team overall has lacked consistency.  If Liberty plays to its potential on Saturday night (live, 7pm, RCN-TV), the game could be a blow-out.  But I don’t see the Mountaineers going away quietly.  If the Canes take Stroudsburg lightly, look ahead to a possible second-round contest against Parkland, or if they lack consistency and focus for an extended period, this game could be much tighter than people are expecting.

Wyoming Valley West/Nazareth
There are some really great athletes at Nazareth right now…perhaps, a few of their future “all-time greats.”  The Blue Eagles have to be cautious heading into their first round match-up.  It’s not uncommon for District XI teams to face a team with a great regular season record, only to mercy-rule them before halftime.  It’s doubtful this will be the case.  The Spartans have played some good teams this year, and have a number of playmakers who will have to be contained.  Junior QB Aaron Austin has passed for nearly 1,500 yards, and running back Sean Judge has rushed for over 1,100 yards.

Nazareth can build on a strong showing last week against Easton, and, regardless of this Friday’s outcome, has exceeded expectations this fall—with many of these players returning next year.  However, I believe this will be a close ball game with lots of scoring, and an all-out shootout could translate to the Eagles coming home with a round-one victory.

Feel free to email your comments on our District XI 4-A football teams to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and tune in to this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” for your comments, along with more insights, predictions, players to watch and keys to victory on this weekend’s contests.  If you miss our live show, don’t forget to check out the program’s podcast available on Friday afternoon.

Nysir Minney-Gratz of Easton High School is a running back.   He wears #7 and is listed at 5’ 7” and weighs 155 pounds.   On Friday night, he rushed for 469 yards against the Nazareth Blue Eagles.  He also scored six touchdowns.  469 yards!!  That is a new Easton High school rushing record at a school where rushing the football is equivalent to Saturday following Friday.  It happens every single week of every single game during the football season.  The forward pass is an afterthought.

So, suffice it to say that Easton has had, year in and year out, exceptional running backs.  But no one has ever rushed for more than 400 yards in one game for the Rovers.  The previous record was set by Juan Gaddy in 1991 when he ran for, what now seems like a paltry 314 yards.  Minney-Gratz ran for more than that in the second half alone – 20 carries for 325 yards.  By the way, he caught one pass for 23 yards.

If you like football numbers, you know that one of the personal goals of any running back is to attain 1,000 yards rushing in a season.  Minney-Gratz ran for 875 yards the last three weeks alone – 1715 yards for the season. And to think that in the two years prior to this season, he ran for a total of 289 yards.  But, as I mentioned, there have been many, many great running backs at Easton and Minney-Gratz sat behind another Easton legend, Shane Simpson, for the past two years.

There have been seven running backs this year who have rushed for over 300 yards in a game, five who have set school records.  Emmaus’ Kyle Boney will rush for over 2000 yards before he puts away his jersey.  His high this year is 377 yards in one game.  Liberty’s Gunner Anglovitch rushed for 391 yards just two Saturdays ago.  Saucon Valley’s Evan Culver needs just 52 yards to go over 2,000 yards for this season.

This certainly begs the question – Are these athletes so outstanding or are defenses non-existent?  I made a quick count of EPC and Colonial games and there were 24 games where a team scored 50+ points in a game and 11 more where a team scored 49 points.  In one game, a team scored 54 points and lost by 21. 75-54!!  Where are the defenses?

Many coaches attribute the high scores to outstanding offensive talent, but also to poor defensive skills.  They say there is much less time spent on contact drills in practice due to the fear of injury and this has limited the repetition necessary for an individual to become a good run stuffer and a good tackler.  Everywhere I go now I hear the phrase, “Nobody can tackle any more”.

In case you are wondering, the Pennsylvania single-game record is 722 yards set this year in a 107-90 game.  107-90?

Maybe, by comparison, our defense isn’t so bad in the Lehigh Valley!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. The Eagles’ victory on Sunday night in overtime was refreshing for a couple of reasons – Sam Bradford threw a perfect pass to win the game and it was caught, not dropped. And, it took some of the spotlight off of Greg Hardy, who should not be playing for the Cowboys at all, except he settled a financial civil suit with his girlfriend so she would not testify in his jury trial.  No matter how you spin it, he should not be playing football – another reason for fans to hate the Cowboys.
2. As I write this, the Flyers are 5-9, losing six of their last seven, and the 76ers are 0-6, so the Eagles are the last vestige of hope for the Philadelphia fans through the winter.
3. In the Football Bowl Subdivision, there are only six undefeated teams – Clemson, Baylor, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa, and Houston. Baylor and Oklahoma State play of November 21 and Ohio State will probably play Iowa for the Big Ten Championship.  That will leave four and that’s what the NCAA likes for their playoff system.  Houston may end up playing Temple for the American Athletic Conference title.
4. The Allentown public schools can be proud of the weekend dedication of the Andre Reed Field and the spirited play of their two football teams. Both Allen and Dieruff did themselves proud and I’m sure Andre was happy to see the Huskies come away victorious.
5. You can find all of the brackets for the District XI football games which begin this weekend at the following site:  http://www.districtxi.com/fall/football

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 5-8; OVERALL 81-51 (61%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK NINE)

JETS
GREEN BAY
DALLAS
CAROLINA
ST LOUIS
NEW ORLEANS
PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH
BALTIMORE
MINNESOTA
DENVER
NEW ENGLAND
SEATTLE
CINCINNATI

When I sit down to schedule high school football games, you just never know what you are going to get.  That was not the case this past weekend.  Every game had the potential to be a classic or, as often happens when there is so much hype, disappointing the spectators and the viewers at home.  Well, guess what – every game became a future classic.

The night began with Easton traveling to Bethlehem to take on Freedom.  Freedom was coming off their first loss of the season and Easton was trying to stay alive in the Conference championship race.  Based on past meetings, Easton was probably a heavy favorite to win and quickly jumped out to a 13-0 lead after three possessions and maintained that lead at the half.  And Easton would receive the second-half kickoff.

Easton did not get a first down and Freedom scored on the following possession: 13-7.  Freedom’s defense caused four turnovers on Easton’s next four offensive sets and finally scored with 2:07 to go in the game: 13-13 with the extra point to follow for the win.  It was blocked!  13-13 at the end of regulation.

Easton fumbled in overtime and on a fourth and one, Freedom won the game 19-13.  One could make the argument that this was the biggest win in Freedom football history.

Game two matched undefeated Notre Dame (9-0) against undefeated Saucon Valley (9-0).  The winner would most likely win the Colonial League championship.  Saucon Valley last won the title in 2004 and Notre Dame had never won one.

Notre Dame scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 35-35.  With 45-seconds to play in regulation, Saucon Valley scored and captured a thrilling 42-35 victory.  Notre Dame’s quarterback threw for 224 yards and ran for 111.  Saucon’s Evan Culver ran for 208 yards and two TD’s.  Saucon’s QB Zach Thatcher ran for 172 yards and three TD’s and threw for 86 yards, 75 on the last drive.

And, believe it or not, the craziest game was saved for Saturday afternoon with Liberty taking on Central Catholic.  For starters, the score was 75-54!!  129 points!  Nineteen touchdowns were scored!  Liberty won.

Liberty rushed for 594 yards; Central ran and threw for 561.  The game featured 1,206 total yards when all the passing numbers were added.  Liberty’s Gunner Anglovich scored seven TD’s and rushed for 361 yards.  Central’s Alvin Pacheco scored four rushing TD’s.  Central QB Ethan Persa threw for 343 yards.  Oh, there were three punts in the game.  That might be the most unbelievable stat.  There were possessions when a team did NOT score!

So, we hit the tri-fecta this past weekend and it will be pretty much impossible to duplicate these three games on one weekend.  But… Freedom plays Liberty on Saturday and Central plays Bethlehem Catholic (another offensive machine) on Saturday night.

Who knows… just maybe…

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. One of the more common phrases used in sports is that “defense wins championships”. The World Series proved the opposite – “Lack of defense loses championships”.  The Mets had six errors in five games, none bigger than the throwing error by Lucas Duda that kept them from winning Game Five.
2. The Royals won their second title with the previous one coming in 1985. Remember they lost Game Seven last year to the San Francisco Giants.  Ironically, the Mets led after eight innings in three games they lost.
3. The NCAA will probably now switch to a centralized replay review system like that used by the NFL, NBA, NHL, and the MLB after the fiasco at the end of the Duke-Miami game. There were eight laterals, and four missed calls that would have resulted in a Duke win.  The officiating crew was suspended for two games, but the ruling on the field was not changed.  Miami won!

In case you missed the play:

http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/11/01/miami-duke-ending-ncaa-replay-reform-refs

4. With the Eagles having a bye week, all the football attention in Philadelphia was on the Notre Dame – Temple game. Both teams came in ranked in the NCAA.  Notre Dame had one loss and Temple was undefeated.  The atmosphere was electric and Temple played a superb game losing late on an interception by a 24-20 score.  It’s good to see a Philly school play big-time college football again.
5. The District XI football brackets will be out by noon on Sunday. There will be four classifications for the last time as the District adds two more starting next season.  The first round in AAAA and semifinals in AAA, AA, and A all start on the weekend of the 13^th.

And finally, a very, very sad note.  Last week’s blog focused on former Easton football player “Chevy” Graham and his determination to play college football at Kansas.  He achieved that goal.  Tragically, this past Monday, his 14-year-old sister, Lelieth, died in her sleep. She was an honor student and involved in many in-school and out-of-school activities.  She suffered from an irregular heartbeat.  So tragic. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2015/11/chelsie_graham_recalled_as_act.html

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 8-6; OVERALL 76-43 (64%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK NINE)

CINCINNATI
GREEN BAY
PATRIOTS
NEW ORLEANS
MIAMI
ST LOUIS
JETS
OAKLAND
GIANTS
ATLANTA
DENVER
PHILADELPHIA
SAN DIEGO

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)

1. 1. Parkland—55 points (11 first-place votes)
   2. Freedom — 43
   3. Easton — 34
   4. Liberty – 22
   5. Stroudsburg – 6

Other schools receiving votes: Emmaus, Nazareth

Small Schools (10 pollsters)

1. 1. 1. Becahi – 47 points (7 first-place votes)
      2. Saucon Valley – 43 (3 first-place votes)
      3. Notre Dame-GP – 30
      4. Northwestern – 16
      5. Central Catholic/Salisbury — 5

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.

It’s been a wild last few weeks for high school football in the Lehigh Valley area.  There have been some very competitive games, and contests with several teams beating up on each other.  It’s made for some interesting playoff races as we head into the final two weeks of the regular season.

First, we take a look at some of the highlights of games RCN-TV has broadcast over the last few weeks.

Before we look at this week’s expert opinions on who the top teams are, here’s a quick recap of our poll structure.  Our pollsters consist of many different people over the entire Lehigh Valley region.  Our voting panel consists of local media members from different outlets, along with local coaches and athletic directors from across the entire district.  The voters are not identified so they can give their honest impressions without any worry of outside pressures or “bulletin board” material, and we rotate different pollsters from different schools each year, including guests from our biggest to our smallest schools.

As in previous years, we take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN footprint.  All 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, E. Stroudsburg-South, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh and Bangor.  “Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Nolehi 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.

Also, if you have a beef about our poll or want to talk about the District XI football season, the different playoff scenerios or any other scholastic football topic, tune in to “RCN SportsTalk” live, this Thursday from 7-8 pm.  Our guests will include local official Joe Diorio and RCN Commentator John Breidinger, as we’ll also discuss football rules, interpretations and some controversial calls made recently.

With the particulars out of the way, here’s a look at how our next-to-last set of polls shake out.

Big Schools (11 pollsters)

1. Parkland—55 points (11 first-place votes)
2. Easton – 42
3. Freedom – 35
4. Liberty – 19
5. Nazareth – 6

Other schools receiving votes: Emmaus, Stroudsburg, Whitehall

Small Schools (10 pollsters)

1. Becahi – 45 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Saucon Valley – 42 (4 first-place votes)
3. Notre Dame-GP – 31
4. Central Catholic – 20
5. Northwestern — 10

Other schools receiving votes: Salisbury

There were some big changes in each poll.

Among the larger schools, Freedom’s first loss of the season to Parkland puts the Trojans back to the number one position and drops the Patriots back down to third.  Easton’s clubbing of Liberty moves them back into the number two spot.  Nazareth holds on to the final spot—barely—following its loss to Whitehall last Friday and is still very much alive in the district playoff race.

In the smaller schools, Bethlehem Catholic finally reclaims the top spot it had lost following their loss to Liberty the first week of the season.  Saucon Valley (8-0) could reclaim the number one position with another solid showing against undefeated Notre Dame this Friday (on RCN-TV, tape-delayed at 10pm).

Next week here at the “Shop,” we’ll have our final installment of the “SportsTalk” football polls, along with more video highlights of local teams and players and a breakdown of playoff possibilities for local teams as they jockey for post-season positions.

Again, we welcome your comments and opinions on our poll and on high school football in general.  Call our show live this Thursday or email us now (rcnsportstalk@rcn.com) and tune-in to hear it read and responded to during the program.

After spending around ten hours on the road this past weekend driving to Worcester, Massachusetts, and watching Lafayette get beaten badly by Holy Cross 42-0, I was not in a very good mood as I sat down to write this week’s blog.  After all, the Leopards, who have been completely decimated by injuries this season have been outscored by 122-7 the past three weeks and have not scored a point in the last ten quarters.  I spend quite a bit of time with the players and the coaches each week and feel their pain and sense of frustration.  It certainly weighs on all of them and I, too, by virtue of my relationships with them, feel equally “down”.

Suffice it to say, I sat at the keyboard on Monday morning and I needed a lift – a feel-good story.  But, I did not find one – I found THREE!  I don’t know whether you need to read these stories as much as I needed to write them.

Let me start with a former Easton High defensive football player named Chevy Graham.  You may not remember the name.  He was part of Easton’s two District Championship teams in 2009 and 2010 and started in the secondary the next two years and played in the McDonald’s All-Star Football Classic.  He was not offered any Division I scholarships and only one Division II offer (East Stroudsburg University) came his way.  But, he always felt he could play at a higher level.  When his father moved to Wichita, Kansas, Chevy decided to apply to Kansas University and play football.  He decided that; Kansas University still needed to be convinced.

So, his first semester, he sat in the stands for every game.  The following January, he went to a tryout for the KU team.  And just like he had predicted, he made the team!  The first year, he played on special teams.  This season, he is now a starter in the secondary as a cornerback and living his dream to play Division I football.

And lest you think Chevron (his real name) is just going to school for football, he is a chemical engineering student who is a member of the Academic Big 12 team, and is an Honor Roll student.  Just like his major, he was able to formulate a plan to enjoy a game he loves and play it at the highest level.  Read more about Chevy in Jesse Newell’s post:

http://cjonline.com/sports/hawkzone/2015-10-15/stands-starter-kus-chevy-graham-rewarded-leap-faith

The next two “feel-good” stories center around two of our Lehigh Valley teams – the Allen Canaries and the Dieruff Huskies.  This past weekend both of them won!  If you do not think that’s a big deal, the last time the two Allentown schools won on the same weekend was November 8, 2002, 13 years ago!

Dieruff beat Pocono Mountain West 33-20.  Now Dieruff has won other games this year (over ES North and Pocono Mountain East) and they did win four games last year, so their plight has not been quite as desperate as the Allen Canaries.

Allen had not won a football game since 2009 – they had lost 28 in a row.  Last year, they were outscored 403-71 and ended the season by being shut out by Dieruff 35-0.  This season, prior to their 28-27 win over East Stroudsburg South, they had been outscored 296-57.

As a former player and coach, I have the utmost respect for kids and coaches who continue week after week to go out and compete knowing the outcome will not be favorable.  These same kids still hit the weight room, still practice five days a week, still take the field on Friday night, still attend classes, still remain academically eligible, and still hope.  It is so easy to just walk away from this commitment especially when it is rare to reap the rewards with victories.

High praise belongs to the head coaches – Kyle Beller of Dieruff and George Clay of Allen, who, also, persevere and, every now and then, they get rewarded for their efforts, maybe not in wins, but in the gratification of working with his players.  This weekend, however, both were rewarded with wins!

That’s what happened this weekend, so congratulations to Chevy, to Dieruff, and to Allen.  And now, I “feel-good”.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Mets or Royals? Royals really have good hitters up and down the lineup.  I like the Mets’ pitching.  The Mets are destined to win the World Series.
2. Watching the Eagles on Sunday, who do you blame for the losses? The receivers drop too many passes; Sam Bradford throws too many interceptions; they cannot run the ball; and the hurry-up has little or no effect on the opponent.  And they still could win the NFC East.
3. If you are looking for the perfect college football atmosphere this coming Saturday, watch undefeated #21 Temple take on #9 Notre Dame at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This could be the best Temple team ever and the campus and Philadelphia area are ready to explode.  Notre Dame, with a national rabid following, will be out in full force.  The atmosphere will be electric!
4. It’s a typical year in the EPC South – Liberty beats Parkland; Parkland beats Easton; Easton beats Liberty; with Central also beating Easton and Nazareth also beating Liberty, Parkland is looking like the champion. Freedom still has an outside shot.
5. Freedom (7-1; 5-1) tries to rebound from their first loss of the season when they host Easton (7-1; 4-2). You can watch the game LIVE on RCN-TV.  At 10:00, the Colonial League championship should be decided when undefeated Notre Dame takes on undefeated Saucon Valley.  Saturday, Lafayette takes on Bucknell and Liberty plays Central.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 7-7; OVERALL 68-37 (65%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK EIGHT)
 

NEW ENGLAND
KANSAS CITY
ATLANTA
ARIZONA
GIANTS
MINNESOTA
SAN DIEGO
CINCINNATI
TENNESSEE
JETS
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
CAROLINA
ST LOUIS

It has always been the mission of the “RCN SportsTalk” show to provide news and information on more than just the “big” sports.  While football, basketball and wresting receive the most feedback from viewers, and the professional and major college teams resonate with the widest audience, we have gone to great lengths to make sure we cover as many different sports in as many different schools and cities as we possibly can.

Last year, we started doing a “SportsTalk Shout-out” to people in the RCN viewing area for doing something out of the ordinary, with the main purpose of trying to find an achievement that wasn’t necessarily well documented or received a tremendous amount of initial media attention.

This fall, we came up with two additional ways to continue to spotlight our local athletes and teams in the RCN viewing area, in a way we’ve never done before.

Last month, we introduced the “Athlete of the Week” feature that we unveiled during our Thursday night “SportsTalk” show.  This focuses on athletes participating in a sport other than high school football (we also focus in solely on a football player for our “Football Friday” edition of “SportsTalk”).

This segment “debuted” in September by featuring Northwestern senior soccer player J.D. Haff, who recorded a hat trick in four consecutive games.  We’ve followed that up by honoring Meredith Sholder of the Emmaus field hockey team and Dana Evans of the Pen Argyl field hockey team.  Forget the traditional hat trick; these two ladies scored FOUR goals in a single game respectively earlier this year in helping their teams win games.  Diana Hammerstone of Easton’s cross country team outran several schools’ competitors in a dual meet last week ahead of the playoffs, and received honors for her accomplishment on our show as well.

We invite you to be on the lookout for our next “Athlete of the Week,” each Thursday, 7-8 pm, on our show throughout the upcoming school year.

Before we tell you about another new innovation for our program, there were a few more athletes, coaches and teams from the RCN region who deserve some “ink” for their recent accomplishments as well.

Former Parkland multi-sport standout and current track athlete at South Carolina, Olivia Hassler was selected as one of eight representatives of her student body to report to the federal government regarding critical academic, social and financial issues facing young people.  It’s a tremendous honor for a young lady who has endeavored through hardships in her life (her story was documented on ESPN earlier this year) and she’ll be a fabulous representative who’ll do a great job in her new role.

Coach Art Corrigan of Notre Dame High School in Easton recently became the most winningest cross country coach in the United States this fall.   He now has over 11-hundred wins and is still going strong.  We did a story on Art last year, which you can see by going through the archives of our “SportsTalk Shop” blog here on the website or find it here on YouTube under “The RCNTV” section.

Coach Corrigan was one of two Lehigh Valley head coaches who became the winningest head coach in their respective sport this fall.  Emmaus Field Hockey Head Coach Sue Butz-Stavin achieved this honor in September.  Coach Butz-Stavin and her team have also been featured on “RCN SportsTalk” a number of times over the last several seasons.

Two more Lehigh Valley high school alums from rival school districts joined forces to benefit a great cause recently.  Parkland’s Toomey Anderson and Liberty’s Darrun Hilliard (now playing for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons) held an event at Allen HS to benefit Kyle Kostic of Allentown—who’s going through some tough times right now.  One-hundred percent of the proceeds from that event went to benefit Kyle and his on-going battle with an illness and the costs associated with it.

Last but not least…after graduating 17 seniors from last year’s team, the Salisbury boys soccer team has had an amazing fall season to date.  The Falcons’ story is just one of the many local high school sports features we’ve featured on “SportsTalk” over the last two months—all of them available for you to watch on RCN’s On-Demand services.

But wait, there’s more!

Starting on Thursday, October 29, RCN-TV is looking to launch another brand new feature.  Each week on our “SportsTalk” show, we’ll have highlights and details of one of the biggest high school games played during the previous week for our viewers watching us in the Washington, DC/Virginia area.  With so many talented individuals and squads playing in that region, it won’t be an easy choice to see who will be in the spotlight each week, but we hope you’ll tune in and find out for yourself and enjoy our recap of our “game of the week.”

As always, if you have a suggestion for a team to spotlight or have opinion on our local sports features, whether it be in our Pennsylvania or DC markets, we welcome your feedback!  Please email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com at any time and keep watching RCN-TV and checking in with our blogs for the latest in spectacular achievements made by the young men and women in the RCN coverage area.

October 17th was a rare Saturday for me.  Campus Insiders, an internet sports streaming group affiliated with the Patriot League, was granted the rights to the Lafayette-Harvard game.  There were slim pickings among the high school match-ups, so we all took the day off, a circumstance usually unheard of at this time of the year.  So what did I decide to do – WATCH football, of course. Specifically, I wanted to watch Penn State freshman “phenom”, Saquon Barkley of Whitehall High School, go up against the #1 team in the nation – Ohio State.  This, as many know, is the same Saquon Barkley who thrilled us on RCN-TV last year.  The 18-year-old is a true freshman and playing Big Ten football.  Watching him on Saturday night and putting it mildly, he did not disappoint.

Saquon had sat out the previous two games due to an ankle injury and his availability for Saturday’s game was not known prior to game time.  Trust me, he was available. Saquon rushed for 194 yards on 26 carries, an average of 7.5 yards per carry.  And he had a 44-yard touchdown run called back in the first quarter.  He did have a season-long 56-yard run in the fourth quarter.  He had four runs of over 14 yards.  He has now rushed for over 100 yards in three games and combined with the 195 yards rushing against Rutgers, he now ranks third and fourth in all-time rushing games at Penn State by a freshman.

His runs were dazzling and included another leap over a potential tackler, his second of the season.  He is spectacular at “putting his foot into the ground” and making cuts that leave defenders grasping at air or just watching him run by them.  To me, he has instincts that match some of the greatest to ever play the game.

Barkley is shredding college defenses much like he did at Whitehall.  In his senior year, he rushed for 1851 yards, 8.6 yards per carry and scored 24 rushing touchdowns.  He added another three receiving and a punt and kickoff return for touchdowns.  Take a look at his high school highlight tape:

When his Penn State highlight tape is put together at the end of the season, it should look almost as impressive.

Add to that, he is a great young man who distinguished himself both as a student and an athlete at Whitehall.  He played basketball, even though he was not a great basketball player and could have easily walked away from the team his senior year after acquiring the full scholarship at Penn State.  He played hard in every game and used all the basketball ability he had.  Then, he went on to be a track star and gave away one of his gold medals to a young lady whom he felt deserved one after a bad break cost her a victory.

For me, it is always special to follow the players who were part of the RCN broadcasts in high school.  I relish their success.  Liberty High School product and Villanova’s Darrun Hilliard comes to mind as he gets ready to launch an NBA career.  I want the same kind of success for Saquon.

Here’s hoping Saquon stays injury-free and continues to create exceptional highlight reels.  He has moved well beyond local television in the Lehigh Valley to national exposure on the major networks. For the next 3 ½ seasons, I will be yelling, like all the Nittany Lions fans,

“We are – Penn State!!”

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Cleveland QB Johnny Manziel got into trouble again this past week when he was stopped and questioned by police following an argument with his girlfriend. He was stopped in his car and admitted to drinking prior to the incident.  He was not arrested and did not play in the Cleveland-Denver game.
2. In case you did not believe Yogi Berra when he said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”, take a look at the Michigan State-Michigan game this past Saturday:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/10/michigan-state-stuns-michigan-by-returning-punters-fumble-for-td-on-final-play

3. If you watched the Colts self-destruct against the Patriots on Sunday night, this might be what they really wanted to do:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/10/university-of-maine-ran-a-similar-play-to-colts-trick-play-but-it-actually-worked#cx_ab_test_id=17&cx_ab_test_variant=cx_blend&cx_art_pos=4&cx_navSource=arttop&cx_tag=trend&cx_ctrl_comp_grp=true&cxrecs_s

4. If you are an Eagles’ fan, you must constantly be bewildered. How can they make so many mistakes on offense and still win?  If “defense wins championships”, the Eagles can still have a good season.
5. The EPC South picture could become clearer on Friday night when Freedom (5-0; 7-0) visits Parkland (4-1; 6-1). You can watch the game LIVE on RCN-TV.  Saturday’s games are Lafayette at Holy Cross LIVE at 1:00 and Wilson at Pen Argyl at 7:00.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 9-5; OVERALL 61-30 (67%)

NFL PICKS (WEEK SEVEN)
SEATTLE
BUFFALO
WASHINGTON
ATLANTA
INDIANAPOLIS
DETROIT
PITTSBURGH
BROWNS
HOUSTON
NEW ENGLAND
SAN DIEGO
GIANTS
CAROLINA
ARIZONA

Agatha Christie, the mystery writer par excellence, once penned a terrific “whodunit”, which was considered her masterpiece – And Then There Were None.  In that book ten characters (all of whom were part of someone else’s death) are brought to an island and one by one they are killed.  Over 100 million copies of this book were sold and it still remains the world’s best selling mystery.

No one was killed, injured, nor in any way harmed when the PIAA Board of Directors was brought to the “island” in Mechanicsburg on Wednesday, October 7, to ostensibly vote to increase the number of classifications for high school football from four to six.  But that is where this mystery begins.

There was supposed to be some serious opposition to this proposal despite the fact that the rest of the country has been classifying their schools this way for many years.  However, that opposition did not happen.  The final vote was 26-4.  Not surprisingly, the three voting members from District 7 (WPIAL) and the District 8 chairman voted against the proposal – that’s it, just those four.  Primarily, their fear was the loss of their one-day football championships played at Heinz Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the opposition by 66% of the district’s 123 schools. Obviously, they could not garner any support from the rest of the state.  Even Philadelphia, which as late as September said they would oppose the proposal, voted unanimously in favor.

Now, the plot thickens.  The Board proposed a second vote to the surprise of all who expected this topic to occur later in the year which would have followed the PIAA protocol.  Girls and boys basketball, baseball, and softball would also move to six classifications and girls volleyball, boys soccer, and girls soccer went to four classes, field hockey to three, and boys and girls lacrosse to two.  This whole process took fifteen minutes and was passed by a 23-7 vote.

So, football will lose a week (from 16 to 15) at the end of the season, but will probably make up for that week by scheduling one less scrimmage at the beginning and starting their season one week earlier. The leagues will make that decision. More high school athletes will have more opportunities to play in state playoff games and more communities and schools will be able to rally around their respective teams throughout the playoffs.

Where schools actually fall will be known by November 15, one month after the enrollment figures are due.  Forty-six schools are a part of the District XI.  It appears the 6A would have 12 and 3A 12 with smaller numbers for the other classes.  So the final chapter is yet to be written.

Agatha Christie’s mystery was 272 pages.  The document penned by the Strategic Planning and Football Steering Committee was around 230 pages.  One diminished the participants one by one until they were all gone – the other dramatically increased the number of participants.  That’s a happy ending to be sure.

Re-title it And Then There were Six.  It, obviously, can be sold!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. I watched the entire last round of the President’s Cup from South Korea. It ended at 2:45 AM on Sunday and came down to the last putt.  I lost a great deal of sleep, but no one bothered me.
2. Chase Utley’s slide which broke Ruben Tejada’s leg in the Mets-Dodgers series was a dirty slide. The best revenge by the Mets would be to win the series.
3. With all the technology used in the NFL these days, it was ludicrous that in the Monday night game, 18 seconds ran off the clock after a touchback in the fourth quarter with the Chargers leading 20-17. 2:56 was on the clock after the Chargers took the lead over Pittsburgh.  When the Steelers snapped the ball after the touchback, there was 2:38 on the clock.  The Steelers won the game with no time left.  Otherwise, another official’s costly mistake could have changed the outcome.
4. The Eagles looked good in the second half again after a dismal first half performance. Imagine if they would play good football for four quarters!  Maybe it will happen soon.
5. Important doubleheader high school football action this Friday night on RCN-TV. Easton hosts Parkland and Whitehall visits Freedom.  There are really great match-ups the rest of the season.  Should be fum!

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 12-2; OVERALL  52-25 (68%)

NFL PICKS (WEEK SIX)
NEW ORLEANS
DENVER
CINCINNATI
MINNESOTA
JACKSONVILLE
DETROIT
JETS
ARIZONA
TENNESSEE
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
BALTIMORE
NEW ENGLAND
PHILADELPHIA

Many national pundits had the Eagles going to the Super Bowl this year, and the Nationals were odds-on favorites to win the pennant.

The Birds were flirting with what could have been a catastrophic 1-4 start to their season (it was looking that way following Sam Bradford‘s second red-zone interception in the first half against the Saints on Sunday).  That combined with the fact that the Nats had already crash-landed well before the MLB playoffs got underway last week, got me thinking about some of the major sports disappointments that both Philadelphia and Washington, DC residents have had to endure.

Without question, there have been some horrendous teams in both of these cities.  But I’m talking about having even the most stoic fans getting caught up in a frenzy, ready to ride a sea of momentum to glorious new heights, only to have one’s hopes dashed to smithereens, leaving you feeling emotionally drained when your team failed to live up to the extraordinary expectations.

Just how does this year’s Nationals season and the Eagles slow start compare with the other major sports catastrophes in the region?  For argument’s sake—and to avoid using up too much of the internet’s bandwidth–I thought I better limit my Philly/DC-based disappointments to not more than the last 15 years.

Here are my thoughts on what have been the “other” biggest pro sports disappointments for fans in the RCN viewing area.

The Phillies 2011 Playoffs
From December, 2010 until the final week of the regular season, it seemed like it was a magic carpet ride for Phillies fans.  Launched into a frenzy over the signing of Cliff Lee, the regular season and preliminary playoff rounds were a mere formality, and everyone wanted to see the “Aces” baffling hitters right and left en route to another World Series appearance…and presumed victory.

For reasons I’ll never completely understand, nor agree with, Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel decided to play all of his regulars the final weekend of the season, instead of giving a couple blows to his everyday players, who had started advancing in years (by athletes’ standards, that is).  By playing their top players, and ultimately sweeping the series, the final three of those meaningless games (the Phillies had long since clinched the division title), the team missed an opportunity to rest its players, and knocked its opponents, the struggling Braves, out of the playoff race.  While the last three Phillies wins set a new club record for regular season victories for Manuel, it also gave rise to the hard-charging St. Louis Cardinals, a team the Phils did not match up against well, and positioned the Redbirds into the opposing slot to face the Phillies in the wild card playoffs.

Philadelphia’s tired hitters struggled to gain any traction against the Redbirds after the first game, and the team that everyone assumed would become the greatest Phillies team of all-time, went out with a game-five whimper—a 1-0 loss to St. Louis.  That team might have been the most talented club in the organization’s history on paper, but they failed to bring home a single playoff series win, and started what has become an incredibly long, drawn-out, rebuilding cycle.

The Redskins 2000 season
In 1999, the Skins were coming off a 10-6 season and had won the NFC East.  Mix in a renewed belief that the front office was “all in,” and that a promise of spending money in the offseason fueled the fervor that Washington was beginning to build another dynasty in DC.

They did, in fact, spend money and added some great players, including LaVar Arrington, Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Mark Carrier, Chris Samuels and–last and certainly not least flamboyant–Deion Sanders.  This complemented the return of the core of a talented offensive unit and a number of their defensive players.  Many expected another division title was a no-brainer with many people banking on Washington to at least get to the Super Bowl.  The Redskins won six of its first eight games, before the injuries set in to some of its key offensive players and…of all people, their kicker (sound familiar, Eagles fans?).   Then, Head Coach Norv Turner was let go (perhaps foreshadowing, Philadelphians, especially if the Birds don’t at least get back to 8-8?).

Instead of building on the ’99 team’s success and establishing a string of winning campaigns, Washington ended up losing six of its final eight games and failed to cash in on all the revitalized excitement that the ’99 team brought.

Marty Shottenheimer would then take over the head coaching reins for one fateful season the following year, going 8-8 that fall.  But the failure of 2000 started a seemingly endless cycle of revolving coaches over the last 15 years, with none of the seven subsequent head coaches to follow Turner owning a winning record while at the helm of the Redskins.

The Wizards’ “Michael Jordan Era”
After failing to win a playoff game for over 12 years, it seemed like the Wizards were finally headed back in the right direction when, in January 2000, Michael Jordan became the part owner and President of Basketball Operations.   Aside from his baseball experiment, everything that “MJ” had touched during his career had turned to gold.  His basketball playing career, his merchandising and advertisement campaigns…heck, I even liked “Space Jam.”  With his playing days finally behind him, he could focus completely on revamping the franchise using his acute basketball knowledge and business savvy.  Surely, Jordan would have the Midas touch to turn this franchise around and at least get Washington back into the NBA playoffs—whose eight-team format allows for even the most mediocre teams to have a shot at reaching the post-season.

In a short time, he made some positive moves by shedding payroll and unloading some of the dead weight that existed on the team and it looked like he was moving the franchise in the right direction.  Then came the 2001 NBA Draft and the selection of Kwame Brown (who ended up being traded to the Lakers after four inconsistent seasons).  Jordan brought in his former head coach in Chicago, Doug Collins, as the head coach, followed by his announcement that he, himself, would return as a player.

In his first year back (which followed his second retirement, for those keeping score at home), he battled injuries and the team he assembled was just not good enough to compete.  To his credit, he was active from a personnel standpoint prior to the 2002 season and tried to bring in headline names to improve the team.  While he continued to add talent and even agreed to take a reserve role for the betterment of the team (although he ended the year as the team’s top scorer), the chemistry never worked, and the team failed to finish at or above the 500-mark during his tenure, much less had a chance to make the playoffs.

Jordan was then unceremoniously fired as the team President and left the organization in disgust, pushing back the organization’s rebuild efforts for years.

The team finally has made great strides over the last few seasons, a trend I am fully expecting to continue this winter.  But the failures of Michael Jordan left Washington fans, along with MJ supporters around the world, with an empty feeling, and tainted the final on-court chapter of one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.

The 76ers 2001 Playoff Run
I know.   Philly sports fans could just as easily identify this team as one of its brightest moments over the last 15 years.

To be honest, I don’t remember glorious preseason expectations for the 76ers.  However, the way that the team played in the fall of 2000, led by the gutsy, and largely, very focused efforts of Allen Iverson that year, the 76ers quickly captured the attention of the entire Delaware Valley.  Iverson was living up to all his glorious potential, and the team won 41 of its first 55 games.  Even when starting center Theo Ratliff came down with an injury (he was initially supposed to miss 16-20 games per ESPN), it still seemed like the old-time Philly basketball mojo was flowing strong.  The Lakers were heavily favored to win the championship, but if Ratliff could get healthy, he could combine with Todd MacCulloch, Matt Geiger and Nazr Mohammed to form a formidable “hack-a-Shaq” tandem that could neutralize Shaquille O’Neil, and the Sixers speed could push the tempo and have an advantage against most teams in the post-season.

Until….

February 23, 2001, when the Sixers traded Ratliff, Toni Kukoc (one of just two players with NBA Championship experience) and others to Atlanta for Dikembe Mutombo.

Don’t get me wrong.  Mutombo is not only a wonderful person (he was incredibly gracious the few times I had the opportunity to interview him), a great humanitarian, and one of the best centers—when he was at his peak—of that era.  He was still one of the better centers in the game, but his slow, plodding-style kept the 76ers from utilizing its speed against Los Angeles in the championship round.  Furthermore, while that trade might have looked good on paper, the team never quite recaptured the swagger that it had before the Mutombo trade (the Sixers were 15-12 the rest of the regular season).

Iverson’s late game-one jumper and subsequent iconic stomp over Tyronn Lue became a sports moment few Philadelphians will ever forget.  But I remembered thinking when it happened, something along the lines of “yea, we weren’t suppose to be here, and we’re winning tonight’s game, and all things considered, we’re going to be proud of that moment.”  But the adrenaline rush soon subsided, and the O’Neil/Bryant pairing led Los Angeles to four consecutive victories, in which they outscored the slow-footed Sixers by 40 points in the final four games.

In retrospect, the Sixers certainly exceeded what most people had expected out of that team before the season started.  Much like the 1993 Phillies team, the entire Delaware Valley had gotten swept up in the blue-collar efforts and good vibes through that entire fall and winter season, but the feeling was never quite the same as the 76ers finished out their spring playoff run.  Did they overachieve?  Certainly.  It featured a tremendous team effort and the gritty performances of Iverson, Eric Snow, George Lynch and company.  But the team has never really been the same since, and what could have been still lingers among those long-time fans patiently waiting for the “Hinkie Plan” to develop.

Final Eagles game at the Veteran’s Stadium
If there ever was a time in my life when I thought I could bet the house—literally—on a game, it had to be the Eagles/Buccaneers game in January, 2003.  As someone who grew up—both as a fan and a reporter—at what had become an old, rundown ball field, I thought the “Vet” would work some magic one last time for its final professional football game.  And what a game it was.  The Birds were 12-3 coming in.  Donavan McNabb, the franchise quarterback, was living up to what Head Coach Andy Reid had envisioned when he drafted him.  The Birds had the defense, the offensive playmakers, and special team stars.  Even Mother Nature seemed to be helping out—and Tampa Bay had struggled mightily in cold conditions in previous games, and a wind chill in the teens seemed to be the final signal that the Eagles were finally going to advance to the Super Bowl.

Instead, Philadelphia looked flat, was manhandled physically and truly sent Eagles fans home dejected and with lumps in their throats—and not just because of the sorry way the team closed out its tenure at a worn-out stadium.

That game may be lost in an era of missed opportunities and “what could have beens.”  While optimists can say it was the golden era for Eagles football, one can also point examples of post-season futility.  During a ten-year span where the Birds won six division titles and finished second two more seasons, they lost two Wild Card games, two divisional round playoff games, three conference final losses and a pitiful end to the 2004 Super Bowl.

What are your thoughts on this list?  Should other pro sports teams be included, and where would you rank these, along with the 2015 Eagles and Nationals seasons?  Email your opinions to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and we might just read your comments on an upcoming “SportsTalk” program.