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Thursday, October 18, 2012

High School Football Capsules for weekend of Oct. 19

By DENNIS WAY

WISSAHICKON AT UPPER MERION
TIME: Friday, 7:00 p.m., Upper Merion Middle School
RECORDS: Wissahickon is 4-3, 2-2 after losing to Cheltenham, 20-6. Upper Merion is 1-6, 1-3 after losing to Plymouth Whitemarsh, 42-17.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Wissahickon won, 48-18.
OUTLOOK:  The Trojans, coming off back-to-back losses to Plymouth Whitemarsh and Cheltenham, look to get back on track against the Vikings, who know a little something about snapping losing streaks.
“Over the last two years we hadn’t lost two games in a row,” said Trojans head coach Jeff Cappa, “but the team is working hard and they know the only thing that’s going to help us is a win.
“We’re a good football team, we just played two real good teams and they played better than us on those nights.”
As for Upper Merion, Cappa is not taking the Vikings lightly.
“Their staff has done a good job,” Cappa said. “They play hard, they battle every week.”
Wissahickon is still without G Eddie Bailey due to injury and are missing four more players who were suspended in the wake of last week’s end-of-the-game brawl with Cheltenham.

SPRING-FORD AT OWEN J. ROBERTS
TIME: Friday, 7:00 p.m., Owen J. Roberts High School
RECORDS: Spring-Ford is 6-1, 4-1 after defeating Methacton, 31-7. Owen J. Roberts is 3-4, 3-2 after losing to Pottsgrove, 59-7.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Spring-Ford won, 42-0.
OUTLOOK:  At this point the Rams can do little but continue winning, and if all falls right (say, a Perk Valley win over Pottsgrove followed by the Rams defeating Perk Valley), could wind up with a share of the PAC crown as well as a home game for the start of district-playoff play.
In the way this week is a Wildcats team that saw a three-game win streak end in blowout fashion last weekend at the hands of Pottsgrove.
OJR possesses a dangerous passing game, headed by QB Jarrad Pinelli (55-for-102, 913 yds., 13 TDs) and deep-ball threat Matt Raymond, who is averaging 25 yards per catch, although Pinelli was harassed into a 3-for-11, 20-yards-game against Pottsgrove, while Raymond was held to one catch for 12 yards.

SPRINGFIELD AT UPPER DUBLIN
TIME: Friday, 7:00 p.m., Upper Dublin High School
RECORDS: Springfield is 4-3, 1-3 after defeating Norristown, 18-6. Upper Dublin is 4-3, 2-2 after defeating Upper Moreland, 14-7.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Did not play.
OUTLOOK:  Last week, the Spartans won their first Suburban One League game since abandoning the league after the 1994 season, an emotional Homecoming victory over Norristown spurred by the death of sophomore Cole Luxton.
Springfield tries to make it two in a row against the Cardinals, who are coming off a big win of their own, a gutty win over Upper Moreland, achieved without top running back Khalid Weems and despite being outgained (217-141) by the Bears.
This week, UD will likely keep it on the ground with Reed Rapine (90 carries, 414 yds.) and Weems, as the Spartans allowed 162 rushing yards to Norristown.

UPPER PERKIOMEN AT PERKIOMEN VALLEY
TIME: Friday, 7:00 p.m., Perkiomen Valley High School
RECORDS: Upper Perkiomen is 0-7, 0-6 after losing to Pottstown, 33-19. Perkiomen Valley is 6-1, 6-0 after defeating Pope John Paul II, 42-6.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Perkiomen Valley won, 35-21.
OUTLOOK:  The Vikings prep for their showdown with Pottsgrove with the winless Indians, who have the PAC’s second-worst rush defense (256 yds. per game).
That’s good news for the Vikings offense, which is ranked first in the Pioneer (416 yards/game) and features the conference’s leading rusher, QB Rasaan Stewart ( 96 carries, 767 yds.), who along with his 788 passing yards is responsible for 53 percent of PV’s total yardage.
Offensively, Upper Perk is led by QB Dylan Wesley (60-for-137, 594 yds.) and receiver Robbie Hinson (15 catches, 191 yds.)

ROMAN CATHOLIC AT LA SALLE
TIME: Friday, 7:00 p.m., Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
RECORDS: Roman Catholic is 4-2, 1-1 after defeating Cardinal O’Hara, 39-34. La Salle is 6-1, 2-1 after losing to Saint Joseph’s Prep, 24-16.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: La Salle won the regular-season meeting, 23-21, then won again in the PCL AAAA finals, 16-6.
OUTLOOK: The Explorers are still smarting after their loss to the Prep a week ago, and practice this week was, well, not spent playing Frisbee.
“The way we played last week, we couldn’t have beaten anybody,” said La Salle head coach Drew Gordon, “so this is a critical week for us. We’ve had some hard practices this week, and now we’re going to see what we’re made of, mentally.”
La Salle has another tough foe this week in the Cahillites, who feature the pitch-catch tandem of QB Michael Keir (70-for-109, 1,046 yds., 7 TDs) and Notre Dame recruit William Fuller (34 catches, 566 yds.), who had 10 catches for 232 yards a week ago.
La Salle DB Dad Poquie is out this week and likely next with a sprained Achilles.

NORTH PENN AT PENNRIDGE
TIME: Friday, 7:00 p.m., Pennridge South Middle School (Poppy Yoder Field)
RECORDS: North Penn is 4-3, 3-1 after defeating Hatboro-Horsham, 34-0. Pennridge is 6-1, 3-0 after defeating Central Bucks South, 21-10.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: North Penn won, 27-0.
OUTLOOK:  See Sideline Insider 

BOYERTOWN AT METHACTON
TIME: Saturday, 1:00 p.m., Methacton High School
RECORDS: Boyertown is 1-6, 1-5 after losing to Phoenixville, 33-0. Methacton is 2-5, 2-4 after losing to Spring-Ford, 31-7.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Methacton won, 17-7.
OUTLOOK:  If the Warriors are ever going to get their offense in gear, this may be the week. The Bears are allowing a PAC-worst 410 yards per game, including 290 on the ground.
The Warriors’ leading rusher – QB Brandon Bossard – has but 308 yards, while primary RB Michael Cassidy has but 196.
As for the Bears’ offense, QB Griffin Pasik leads the way with 485 passing yards and six touchdowns, while its three-man rushing attack, Matt Moccia, Cody Richmond and Eric Heller, have combined for nearly 1,400 yards.

PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH AT NORRISTOWN
TIME: Saturday, 1:00 p.m., Norristown High School
RECORDS: Plymouth Whitemarsh is 6-1, 4-0 after defeating Upper Merion, 42-17. Norristown is 1-6, 1-3 after losing to Springfield, 18-6.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Plymouth Whitemarsh won, 32-0.
OUTLOOK:  The Colonials shoot for their fifth win in a row, look to edge closer to another Suburban One League American Conference crown and seek to improve their district playoff seeding (they are presently tied with Pennridge for third among AAAA programs).
As a sidelight, Colonials running backs Corey Kelly and Terry Brown are 100 and 132 rushing yards, respectively, short of reaching 1,000 for the season.
As for Norristown, the Eagles have dropped three in a row and had a tough setback a week ago at Springfield.
They’ll look to rebound behind a ground game that has improved of late, and a defense that has permitted just 352 yards over the last two games.

LANSDALE CATHOLIC AT ARCHBISHOP RYAN
TIME: Saturday, 1:00 p.m., George Washington High School
RECORDS: Lansdale Catholic is 4-3 after losing to Archbishop Wood, 28-14. Archbishop Ryan is 4-3 after defeating Father Judge, 32-31.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Did not play.
OUTLOOK:  The Raiders ended a 22-game PCL losing streak (in league play) last week when RB Jeremiah Agrio sprinted into the end zone for a two-point conversion in overtime to beat Judge.
With that in the rearview mirror, Ryan now faces non-league foe, Lansdale Catholic, which has fallen on hard times after a 4-0 start.
If LC is to snap its three-game losing streak, it will have to contend with the Raiders’ physical offensive line, led by Ed Bier and Brian Robbins, which punches holes for Agrio (149 carries, 804 yds.).
That offensive front will test the Crusaders’ run defense which permits just 117 yards per contest.

HAVERFORD SCHOOL AT GERMANTOWN ACADEMY
TIME: Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Germantown Academy
RECORDS: Haverford School is 4-3, 1-0 after defeating Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 10-9. Germantown Academy is 3-2, 0-1 after losing to Malvern Prep, 24-7.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Haverford School won, 55-0.
OUTLOOK:  The Patriots seek to get into the Inter-Ac win column after a disappointing league opener in which they allowed 251 rushing yards.
The Fords, who have won four of their last five, feature Pitt recruit Matt Galambos (66 carries, 427 yds.), who is a beast at linebacker, while Phil Poquie, who scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown last week on an 87-yard kick return, is the brother of La Salle DB Dad Poquie.
GA continues to move the ball well through the air. QB Hayes Nolte went over the 1,000-yard mark last week, while Joe Taylor and Kyle Donahue are both over 300 yards in receiving this season, pretty good considering GA hadn’t had a 300-yard receiver since 2009.

POPE JOHN PAUL II AT PHOENIXVILLE
TIME: Saturday, 2:00 p.m., Phoenixville High School
RECORDS: Pope John Paul is 0-7, 0-6 after losing to Perkiomen Valley, 42-6. Phoenixville is 4-3, 3-2 after defeating Boyertown, 33-0 .
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Phoenixville won, 19-14.
OUTLOOK:  The Phantoms are sitting pretty in the race for a District One playoff berth (sixth) and can’t afford a hiccup against the Golden Panthers, who have been ravaged by injury all year long.
Ryan Yenchick (108 carries, 718 yds.) and Justin McDougal (74 carries, 344 yds.) head up a ground game ranked third in the PAC, which is not the best news for a PJP defense that allows 226 rushing yards per tilt.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are still putting it up, with QB Matt Mesaros (45-for-103, 615 yds., 4 TDs) hooking up regularly with Jamel Stinson (29 catches, 313 yds.)

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL AT ARCHBISHOP WOOD
TIME: Sunday, 1:00 p.m., William Tennent High School
RECORDS: Archbishop Carroll is 3-4 after losing to West Catholic, 42-22. Archbishop Wood is 5-2 after defeating Lansdale Catholic, 28-14.
LAST SEASON’S GAME: Wood won regular-season meeting, 55-7, and in the PCL AAA semifinals, 55-6.
OUTLOOK:  A rare Sunday contest (taking advantage of the Philadelphia Eagles’ bye week) pits the Vikings juggernaut against a Patriots team that has won two of three and showed more than a little spunk against West last weekend.
As usual, the biggest factor in the game is Wood’s pro-sized front, that features Rutgers recruit Nick Arcidiacono, Deion Oliver (6-5, 275), George Griffin (6-4, 280) and Chris O’Connor (6-6, 285). That’s a major factor considering the Pats’ biggest lineman is listed at 255.
Andrew Guckin (75 carries, 555 yds.) and Josh Messina (46 carries, 327 yds.) are the primary ground-gainers running behind that Wood front.
Meanwhile, Carroll has to better protect QB Sal Bello (57-for-114, 905 yds., 12 TDs), who was sacked seven times last week.

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