HS Football Polls: Week 4
Unlike the first two weeks when we had several surprises, things settled down as we stayed the course this past weekend…which was NOT a good thing for some of our local teams.
On the positive side, the top teams in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and the Colonial League kept on winning, with Parkland handing Freedom its second loss of the season on the Friday night “ATVN” high school football broadcast.
Elsewhere, Emmaus, Northampton and Central Catholic stuck to their winning ways and all the top teams in the Colonial League posted wins. Liberty got a much needed win against Stroudsburg after the Hurricanes had lost 10 games in a row dating back to last season.
On the negative side, teams like Whitehall, Allen, Dieruff, Freedom, Catasauqua, Pen Argyl and Wilson were among the teams that lost again last week, which already makes their playoff run chances that much harder. Teams that have two or more losses before we get to September 15th rarely make the postseason. In some classifications, the road to the playoffs will be even more difficult this year based on some changes to the District XI’s seating process (something we’ll be talking about in more detail on an upcoming edition of ATVN SportsTalk).
We have an interesting match-up coming up on Astound TV Network this Friday as “Christmas City rivals” Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty square off. Both teams are making their first appearance on our network this fall. A win by the Hawks over the Hurricanes (a bigger “sized” school) will give them more “power points” and greatly enhance their playoff chances. Liberty also needs a “W” to avoid picking up a third loss early in the season.
The game will be simulcast statewide on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
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Before we unveil this week’s polls, a few details on how our listings are different from all other local media members.
We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material. Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.
This year, we are going to break the two polls down into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound broadcast area. With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “crossover” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents on their schedule.
Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.
EPC TOP 5
- Nazareth
- Emmaus
- Parkland
- Central Catholic
- Freedom
Eligible Teams (in no particular order):
Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.
Parkland, Nazareth and Emmaus all scored wins again this week and remain as the top three teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Things got interesting after that as Central Catholic moved up a spot following their win over Easton, while Freedom dropped a spot due to their loss to Parkland.
Also, Northampton is starting to get some consideration by our pollsters. However, the fact that they elected to stay in the “North” division, thereby playing teams that are not nearly as strong as the teams in the “South” division, continues to work against them when voters factor in the team’s strength of schedules.
COLONIAL TOP 4
- Northern Lehigh
- Northwestern
- Southern Lehigh
- Notre Dame-GP
Eligible Teams (in no particular order):
Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.
No changes in the Colonial League poll as Northwestern, Notre Dame-Green Pond, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh all looked good in victories last weekend. Saucon Valley is making things interesting with a mercy rule win over Wilson but remains just outside the “top 4.”
Be sure to check back to our website for next week’s poll results and come back frequently for any changes to our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the season.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
