High School Top 10: St. Joe's Prep Reigns No. 1 Again
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Beating monsters count. At least it does around here. And St. Joseph's of Montvale N.J. was a monster. The Green Knights were nationally ranked (No. 18 by CBS/MaxPreps). They beat powerhouse Don Bosco, 17-7, in their season opener and looked primed to run roughshod over local St. Joseph's Prep, by the way the Hawks had been playing.
But something happened last weekend that could carry St. Joe's Prep into December, which is always the aim of Hawks' coach Gabe Infante. A talented—but young—team that struggled to find an identity may have figured itself out just in time for its Catholic League Class AAAA opener against archrival La Salle this Friday night, at 7 p.m. at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School.
The Hawks stymied St. Joe's Montvale offensively, holding the Green Knights to 60 yards rushing. St. Joe Prep's national-level junior tailback D'Andre Swift rushed for a game-high 220 yards and three touchdowns.
And the team that Infante envisioned took a major step into becoming who they want to be. It also vaunted the Hawks to the No. 1 spot in the CBS Philly weekly top 10—because teams that play and beat monsters count around here.
"That was a good moment for our program," Infante said. "Every team clarifies an identity of what a team is collectively, and we're as much defined by our loss to Malvern Prep the previous week as we are beating St. Joseph's. What I told our team was that we could win against anybody and we could lose against anybody. That's the range we're talking about. It's a big moment as a program, but only time will tell what it will lead down the line. You never know how people are going to react. We went for it on fourth-and-one against Malvern Prep and got stopped. We ran the same play against St. Joseph's and we got it. I was going to punt and Joe DuMond told me to run the same play we did against Malvern and it worked. That was an indication of this team's character. We're building consistency through experience. We have to keep building those moments."
District One Playoff Power Rankings
The PIAA District 1 playoffs are nearing and the district standings have come out. According to the District 1 website, Class AAAA will conclude in the 10th week of the football season, November 7, 2015. The sixteen (16) teams with the highest point average will qualify for the District One AAAA playoffs. The eight (8) teams with the highest point average will host the first round games. The same format will prevail for the following three (3) weeks; teams with the higher seed will be the HOME team. Play begins the weekend of November 13/14 2015.
In the AAA, eight (8) teams with the highest average will qualify for the playoffs. The teams will begin to play the weekend of November 13/14, 2015. Play will be single elimination for three consecutive weekends, and the winner will play the District Twelve (12) Champion on the weekend of December 4/5, 2015.
In AA, the top four (4) teams with the highest point average will qualify for the District One Championship. Teams will be ranked by the highest point average. On the weekend of November 13/14, 2015, Team #1 vs Team #4 and Team #2 vs Team #3 at the site of the higher seed. The winners of those games will play on the weekend of November 20/21, 2015 for the right to play the District Twelve (12) Champion on November 27/28, 2015.
In the A, there is a District 1/12 Sub-Region that will decide the format that determines the entries into the P.I.A.A. inter-District Football Tournament. There are (4) District One Teams and Two (2) District (12) teams.
All District One Football Championship Games in AAAA, AAA, AA, will be played on NEUTRAL SITES.
CBS Philly's Area Top 10 Power Ratings For Oct. 16, 2015
- St. Joe's Prep (Record: 3-2)
- Imhotep Charter (Record: 6-0)
- Upper Dublin (Record: 6-0)
- Archbishop Wood (Record: 6-0)
- La Salle (Record: 3-2)
- Malvern Prep (Record: 4-1)
- St. Augustine (Record: 5-0)
- Downingtown West (Record: 6-0)
- Delsea (Record: 5-0)
- Downingtown East (Record: 6-0)
Southeastern PA Top 10 Power Ratings For Oct. 16, 2015
- St. Joe's Prep (Record: 2-2)
- Imhotep Charter (Record: 6-0)
- Upper Dublin (Record: 6-0)
- Archbishop Wood (Record: 6-0)
- La Salle (Record: 3-2)
- Malvern Prep (Record: 4-1)
- Downingtown West (Record: 6-0)
- Downingtown East (Record: 6-0)
- Haverford School (Record: 5-0)
- Perkiomen Valley (Record: 6-0)
District 1 Playoff Standings
AAAA W-L AVG
1. Downingtown West (6-0) 126.7
2. Downingtown East (6-0) 125.0
3. Quakertown (6-0) 120.0
4. Perkiomen Valley (6-0) 113.3
5. Upper Dublin (6-0) 111.7
6. Spring-Ford (6-0) 108.3
7. Haverford High School (5-1) 106.7
8. Unionville (4-2) 106.7
T9. Pennsbury (5-1) 105.0
T9. Upper Darby (5-1) 105.0
10. Plymouth-Whitemarsh (5-1) 103.3
11. C. B. East (4-2) 96.7
T12. Council Rock South (4-2) 95.0
T12. North Penn (4-2) 95.0
T12. Pennridge (4-2) 95.0
15. Neshaminy (4-2) 93.3
T16. Garnet Valley (4-2) 90.0
T16. Rustin (4-2) 90.0
18. Council Rock North (3-3) 88.3
19. WC East (3-3) 86.7
20. Ridley (4-2) 85.0
21. Coatesville (4-2) 81.7
T22. Conestoga (3-3) 78.3
T22. Norristown (3-3) 78.3
T22. Souderton (3-3) 78.3
T25. Hatboro (3-3) 75.0
T25. William Tennent (3-3) 75.0
T27. Avon Grove (3-3) 73.3
T27. Boyertown (3-3) 73.3
29. Truman (2-4) 70.0
30. OJ Roberts (3-3) 66.7
AAA W-L AVG
1. Academy Park (6-0) 121.7
1. Marple Newtown (6-0) 121.7
3. Upper Moreland (5-1) 116.7
4. Pottstown (5-1) 110.0
5. Great Valley (5-1) 103.3
6. Radnor (4-2) 95.0
7. Interboro (5-1) 90.0
8. Shanahan (3-3) 85.0
9. Pottsgrove (3-3) 81.7
10. Springfield (D) (2-4) 73.3
11. Chichester (3-2) 70.0
12. Penncrest (2-4) 68.3
13. Upper Merion (2-4) 58.3
Class AA W-L Ave.
1. New Hope (6-0) 111.7
2. Springfield (M) (2-3) 78.0
3. Bristol (3-3) 75.0
4. Valley Forge (1-4) 48.0
5. Lower Moreland (1-5) 40.0
Class A W-L Ave.
1. Delco Christian (5-1) 105.0
2. Bishop McDevitt (2-4) 73.3
3. Calvary (2-4) 71.7
4. Jenkintown (2-4) 68.3
5. Kipp DuBois (2-4) 61.7
6. Morrisville (2-4) 50.0
