Pennsylvania's high school football season is wrapping up in less than a week from today. For as long as Pitt has had a football program, the team has been well-stocked by and reliant upon talent from the state of Pennsylvania. That has generally come from the city of Pittsburgh and its outlying areas, but the Harrisburg, Erie, and Philadelphia areas are all centers of football talent as well. Beginning on Thursday night in Hershey Park, 12 teams will compete for the ultimate prize of a state championship across 6 classifications. Here's the breakdown of the recruiting talent and match-ups in those games:
Thursday, December 8th, 7 P.M. - Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep vs Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter - 4A Classification
Pennsylvania's 4A classification, the third largest in the state, is one of just two divisions that will have its state championship decided without a WPIAL team playing for the title. Cathedral Prep in Erie and Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia are two well-stocked programs that should feature as much college talent as nearly any 5A or 6A team in the state.
Cathedral advanced to the state championships by defeating the WPIAL's champion, Thomas Jefferson, 30-13 in the quarterfinals and followed it up with a 28-14 win over Berks Catholic in the semifinals. Prep is 13-0 on the year; they're undefeated despite four games against out-of-state private school programs.
Imhotep is likewise undefeated coming into this game, matching Prep's 13-0 record. Imhotep's dominance this season was astounding, and they outscored their regular season opponents by a ridiculous margin of 444-27 over 10 games. That's simply unheard of. They faced a tougher match-up in the semifinals of the playoffs, gutting out a 24-13 win over Bethlehem (Pa.) Catholic.
The recruiting talent in this game is significant, but mostly concentrated among the underclassmen. Cathedral Prep has two Rivals250 players in the 2018 junior class. Offensive guard Juice Scruggs has visited Pitt, but has not yet been offered; he holds offers from Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, and others. Linebacker Matthew Bauer is a Notre Dame commit and considered offers from Pitt and Penn State before picking the Irish.
Imhotep is likewise led by a pair of juniors, but also has some sophomores of note. Offensive guard Justin Johnson is a three-star in 2018 who holds an offer from Pitt, has visited campus, and speaks highly of the Panthers; he's a big-bodied kid at 6-foot-7 and 342 pounds. Isheem Young is an all-everything type safety with offers from Pitt, Penn State, Bama, Michigan, Ohio State, FSU, etc.. He's a four-star stud. In the 2019 class, DE Omar Speights has picked up Mizzou and BYU offers and Tykee Smith has lots of interest from schools.
Friday, December 9th, 1 P.M. - Clairton (Pa.) vs Altoona (Pa.) Bishop Guilfoyle - 1A Classification
Small school is rarely this hyped up or well-covered, but Pennsylvania is a wee bit different. 1A features a blockbuster match-up between the Clairton Bears and Altoona's Bishop Guilfoyle, two perennially dominant small schools.
Clairton's coming into this season with an undefeated, 14-0 record on the year. They haven't won a game by less than 19 points and even that "close brush" was in a game where they missed their star player for significant amounts of the action. Just four of their 14 opponents have topped seven points in any individual game and this defense has been suffocating.
Bishop Guilfoyle has been likewise dominant. They are undefeated at 14-0 themselves and have waltzed to this point of the playoffs, winning their three postseason games by a combined tally of 155-18. They had a 21-14 scare from Greater Johnstown in October, but this team has breezed through their schedule by and large.
From a recruiting perspective, it's surprisingly talented. Obviously the elephant in the room here is five-star cornerback Lamont Wade. Wade is ranked as the country's top overall cornerback and his recruiting battle between Pitt and Penn State will be one of the most significant storylines throughout this offseason and leading into his enrollment. He's joined by athlete Noah Hamlin on Clairton, a speedy wide receiver/defensive back combo player who will see time at quarterback in the state title game. Wade has been going for 200-plus on the ground every game and he always makes impact plays on defense.
Bishop Guilfoyle has a couple FCS guys in Andrew Irwin, an outside linebacker committed to Harvard, and Luke Frederick, a defensive end committed to Delaware. Those two have led them all season, but the team got even more dangerous at the end of the playoff run here. Three-star ATH Evan Chadbourn, a Lehigh commit, is their leader and he's returned for the last two weeks of the postseason.
Friday, December 9th, 7 P.M. - Harrisburg (Pa.) vs Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood - 5A Classification
The other game that will fail to feature a WPIAL champion team in the state final, the 5A title game could be shaping up to be one of the best we'll see. Harrisburg is coming in hot, while Archbishop Wood can stack its talent up to anybody in the country.
Harrisburg was dominant in the run-up to this game, pulling away from then-undefeated WPIAL champion West Allegheny as the game wore on and finishing with a 42-10 victory in Altoona. This team took back-to-back losses in October, but after some key transfers into the school for an added talent boost, they've been on fire. Since the start of November, they've reeled off wins of 35-14, 36-10, 46-21, 48-20, and 42-10.
Archbishop Wood opened the season with back-to-back losses to private school powerhouses Bergen Catholic (New Jersey) and St. Joe's Prep (Philly) and have won every game since then, all of them by comfortable margins. Wood just shut out Academy Park and won 37-0 in the semifinals coming into this game and they've scored 35+ in 6 of their last 7 games. They haven't let up more than 18 points in that stretch either.
Harrisburg's most notable talents are a pair of Penn State commits and a standout junior WR. 2018 WR Shaquon Anderson-Butts has visited Pitt a few times and holds an offers from the Panthers, as well as WVU, PSU, and more. 2017 DE Damion Barber and 2018 DE Micah Parsons are the leaders of their defense and both are committed to Penn State. Barber is a nice player, but Parsons is a freak and maybe the top pass-rusher in America. He's been spending time at running back and doing whatever they want him to. Just a ridiculous athlete.
Archbishop Wood's most notable prospect is 2017 Rivals100 WR Mark Webb, a Georgia commit and a bigger kid than you'd expect. They have another Division I WR commit in 2017 Temple pledge Raheem Blackshear. In the junior class, 2018 tight end Kyle Pitts is an athletic pass-catcher who holds a Pitt offer, along with offers from PSU, Temple, Syracuse, and Rutgers. Linebacker Matt Palmer is another 2018 who has offers from West Virginia and Rutgers and some Pitt interest.
Saturday, December 10th, 11 A.M. - Steel Valley (Pa.) vs Catawissa (Pa.) Southern Columbia Area - 2A Classification
I don't want to disrespect Southern Columbia Area here, who have had a great undefeated seasons to date and more than earned their spot in this game. However, it would be shocking to see WPIAL champion Steel Valley, also an undefeated, go down in this game.
Southern Columbia defeated South Williamsport, Schuylkill Haven, and Ligonier Valley by scores of 49-21, 20-5, and 31-27, respectively, to reach this point.
Steel Valley coming off of another massive game where they mercy-ruled their opponent, smoking Wilmington Area 49-13. They have put the mercy rule (running clock) on every opponent they've played this season, their first-team defense hasn't allowed a touchdown this season, and they've embarrassed everybody they've played. It's been a ridiculous show of dominance.
The Division I prospects in the game are both on Steel Valley's sideline. You guys know him and love him, Rivals100 safety Paris Ford, a critical Pitt commit. He's joined by three-star running back Dewayne Murray, the other engine of their football team.
Thursday, December 8th, 7 P.M. - Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep vs Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter - 4A Classification
Pennsylvania's 4A classification, the third largest in the state, is one of just two divisions that will have its state championship decided without a WPIAL team playing for the title. Cathedral Prep in Erie and Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia are two well-stocked programs that should feature as much college talent as nearly any 5A or 6A team in the state.
Cathedral advanced to the state championships by defeating the WPIAL's champion, Thomas Jefferson, 30-13 in the quarterfinals and followed it up with a 28-14 win over Berks Catholic in the semifinals. Prep is 13-0 on the year; they're undefeated despite four games against out-of-state private school programs.
Imhotep is likewise undefeated coming into this game, matching Prep's 13-0 record. Imhotep's dominance this season was astounding, and they outscored their regular season opponents by a ridiculous margin of 444-27 over 10 games. That's simply unheard of. They faced a tougher match-up in the semifinals of the playoffs, gutting out a 24-13 win over Bethlehem (Pa.) Catholic.
The recruiting talent in this game is significant, but mostly concentrated among the underclassmen. Cathedral Prep has two Rivals250 players in the 2018 junior class. Offensive guard Juice Scruggs has visited Pitt, but has not yet been offered; he holds offers from Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, and others. Linebacker Matthew Bauer is a Notre Dame commit and considered offers from Pitt and Penn State before picking the Irish.
Imhotep is likewise led by a pair of juniors, but also has some sophomores of note. Offensive guard Justin Johnson is a three-star in 2018 who holds an offer from Pitt, has visited campus, and speaks highly of the Panthers; he's a big-bodied kid at 6-foot-7 and 342 pounds. Isheem Young is an all-everything type safety with offers from Pitt, Penn State, Bama, Michigan, Ohio State, FSU, etc.. He's a four-star stud. In the 2019 class, DE Omar Speights has picked up Mizzou and BYU offers and Tykee Smith has lots of interest from schools.
Friday, December 9th, 1 P.M. - Clairton (Pa.) vs Altoona (Pa.) Bishop Guilfoyle - 1A Classification
Small school is rarely this hyped up or well-covered, but Pennsylvania is a wee bit different. 1A features a blockbuster match-up between the Clairton Bears and Altoona's Bishop Guilfoyle, two perennially dominant small schools.
Clairton's coming into this season with an undefeated, 14-0 record on the year. They haven't won a game by less than 19 points and even that "close brush" was in a game where they missed their star player for significant amounts of the action. Just four of their 14 opponents have topped seven points in any individual game and this defense has been suffocating.
Bishop Guilfoyle has been likewise dominant. They are undefeated at 14-0 themselves and have waltzed to this point of the playoffs, winning their three postseason games by a combined tally of 155-18. They had a 21-14 scare from Greater Johnstown in October, but this team has breezed through their schedule by and large.
From a recruiting perspective, it's surprisingly talented. Obviously the elephant in the room here is five-star cornerback Lamont Wade. Wade is ranked as the country's top overall cornerback and his recruiting battle between Pitt and Penn State will be one of the most significant storylines throughout this offseason and leading into his enrollment. He's joined by athlete Noah Hamlin on Clairton, a speedy wide receiver/defensive back combo player who will see time at quarterback in the state title game. Wade has been going for 200-plus on the ground every game and he always makes impact plays on defense.
Bishop Guilfoyle has a couple FCS guys in Andrew Irwin, an outside linebacker committed to Harvard, and Luke Frederick, a defensive end committed to Delaware. Those two have led them all season, but the team got even more dangerous at the end of the playoff run here. Three-star ATH Evan Chadbourn, a Lehigh commit, is their leader and he's returned for the last two weeks of the postseason.
Friday, December 9th, 7 P.M. - Harrisburg (Pa.) vs Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood - 5A Classification
The other game that will fail to feature a WPIAL champion team in the state final, the 5A title game could be shaping up to be one of the best we'll see. Harrisburg is coming in hot, while Archbishop Wood can stack its talent up to anybody in the country.
Harrisburg was dominant in the run-up to this game, pulling away from then-undefeated WPIAL champion West Allegheny as the game wore on and finishing with a 42-10 victory in Altoona. This team took back-to-back losses in October, but after some key transfers into the school for an added talent boost, they've been on fire. Since the start of November, they've reeled off wins of 35-14, 36-10, 46-21, 48-20, and 42-10.
Archbishop Wood opened the season with back-to-back losses to private school powerhouses Bergen Catholic (New Jersey) and St. Joe's Prep (Philly) and have won every game since then, all of them by comfortable margins. Wood just shut out Academy Park and won 37-0 in the semifinals coming into this game and they've scored 35+ in 6 of their last 7 games. They haven't let up more than 18 points in that stretch either.
Harrisburg's most notable talents are a pair of Penn State commits and a standout junior WR. 2018 WR Shaquon Anderson-Butts has visited Pitt a few times and holds an offers from the Panthers, as well as WVU, PSU, and more. 2017 DE Damion Barber and 2018 DE Micah Parsons are the leaders of their defense and both are committed to Penn State. Barber is a nice player, but Parsons is a freak and maybe the top pass-rusher in America. He's been spending time at running back and doing whatever they want him to. Just a ridiculous athlete.
Archbishop Wood's most notable prospect is 2017 Rivals100 WR Mark Webb, a Georgia commit and a bigger kid than you'd expect. They have another Division I WR commit in 2017 Temple pledge Raheem Blackshear. In the junior class, 2018 tight end Kyle Pitts is an athletic pass-catcher who holds a Pitt offer, along with offers from PSU, Temple, Syracuse, and Rutgers. Linebacker Matt Palmer is another 2018 who has offers from West Virginia and Rutgers and some Pitt interest.
Saturday, December 10th, 11 A.M. - Steel Valley (Pa.) vs Catawissa (Pa.) Southern Columbia Area - 2A Classification
I don't want to disrespect Southern Columbia Area here, who have had a great undefeated seasons to date and more than earned their spot in this game. However, it would be shocking to see WPIAL champion Steel Valley, also an undefeated, go down in this game.
Southern Columbia defeated South Williamsport, Schuylkill Haven, and Ligonier Valley by scores of 49-21, 20-5, and 31-27, respectively, to reach this point.
Steel Valley coming off of another massive game where they mercy-ruled their opponent, smoking Wilmington Area 49-13. They have put the mercy rule (running clock) on every opponent they've played this season, their first-team defense hasn't allowed a touchdown this season, and they've embarrassed everybody they've played. It's been a ridiculous show of dominance.
The Division I prospects in the game are both on Steel Valley's sideline. You guys know him and love him, Rivals100 safety Paris Ford, a critical Pitt commit. He's joined by three-star running back Dewayne Murray, the other engine of their football team.
