Top 10 players in the past 10 years...

[Opinionguy]

not all hs grads are cut out for 4 yrs of college!

How true. Being a great H.S. player never means great success in college, there are a lot of other factors that come into play when you play college football.

In the OG's mind here are the top 10 H.S. Playmakers in the last 10 years (most of them you never heard about after High School):
1) Paul Forcellini (Bishop Carroll)- this kid did it all for B.C. and made plays on both sides of the ball
2T) Jesse Jones (Tryone) - 4 year stater for Tryone, won a state title, and just scored touchdowns
2T) Matt Share (Tyrone) - Two time all state safety. Also played QB and helped build the Tyrone dynasty (95-97)
2T) Larod Stevens (Johnstown) - He ran, and everyone else just stood still, or at least it seemed...
2T) Nate Crookshank- During his tenure at Carroll, he was feared more for his legs than his arm, but the kid made a heck of a lot of plays
3) Scott Lewis (Bishop McCort) - Watching Scott play MLB was truly something special to see
4) Aaron Peterman (Westmont) - He did it all and then some for the Hilltoppers during his tenure at Westy. Did McCort ever beat Westmont while he was there?
5) Justin Beyer (Forest Hills) - He ran over and through people to get through the second level, then nobody could catch him
6) Nick Rizzo (Windber) - A Tailback type build, with a B+ arm, and 4.6 speed in the Westpac. End of Story7)
7) Chad Shilling (Bishop Carroll) - Did he ever have less than 3 T.D.'s in one game during his career? I don't recall, but this kid could flat out fly
8) The Slatcoff Brothers (Windber) - I can't decide who was better, but they could both run past just about anyone and jump through the roof
9 ) Travis Rearick (Forest Hills) - Nobody has thrown a better deep ball in the past 10 years...
10T) Troy Harris (Bedford) - The only time during a H.S. football game I sat on the edge of my seat every play was when watching this guy
10T) Joe Arcurio (Bishop McCort) - Leadership and talent came together as Arcurio took the Crushers and put them on the map as a local powerhouse

Many other great players...you could make an argument for many...just my opinion.

What a great time of the year!

Note: If Marco Pecora can keep up what he's been doing this year...he'll belong on this list as well

[backer53]

scott lewis wasnt even the best player in the area the year he graduated Matt holsberger was and ur not gonna put kleinfelter come on

[kingdomofcrush07]

Difficult to compare Rizzo and Arcurio as playmakers, but both were definetly great players! User what is your top 10?

[D-nice]

How about all those d-5 and d-6 guys who went on to big time D-1 schools and then on to the NFL? Why did'nt anybody mention those guys? no love for NFL level athletes?

[Dfense wins games]

too bad its not the past 15 years where we could include the BEST player the past 15 years...cough Artrell Hawkinds cough...

anyway...good list...and look forward to much debating!

[S Cube]

nice list but the only complaint i have is forcellini number 1 when there are two other players from BC that i would take over him, crookshank and schilling...the kanuch boys were also more electric than most people on the list...

[Opinionguy]

but Jordan Defrances throws a MUCH better long ball than anyone, Travis included, in the last 10 years

I've saw JD play 6 times now, and honestly, I've never been overly impressed with him. Before the Sheriff slams me, let me say that I think he is an EXCELLENT H.S. quarterback, and I'm not trying to take anything away from him, I just don't think he "Elite". In the games I saw he missed a lot of throws that he should have made. IMO, he was been blessed with very, very talented receivers during his tenure at McCort. Good WR can make any QB look better than they really are. In all fairness as well, being a FH fan, I saw just about all of T.R.'s games, where I may have missed Mr. Defrances best performances...again, why this is my opinion.

Crookshank should have been top 3...

I'll agree there. That was a SIN not to put him in the top three. I'll adjust, with Shilling as well, because he belongs too.

scott lewis wasnt even the best player in the area the year he graduated Matt holsberger was and ur not gonna put kleinfelter come on

Lewis is/was better, much better than Holsberger. No question about it.

I never had the privilege of seeing Mr. Kleinfelter play.

Again, this list is debatable, and for fun. It was just my opinion and you are surely entitled to yours

[sportsfan1000]

You have to be crazy not to have Larod #1 on this list.

[Portage Alum]

How about Brian Shope and Todd Koenig? Two D1 captains/starters at Marshall and Ohio U. respectively. They weren't bad in high school either, don't you think?

~PA

[straightshooter]

This is a subject that peaked my interest. I developed a simple way to rank the players based on a few measurable marks. I assigned a score from 1 to 5 in each category. Here are the categories that I used. This way a person’s being related to someone does not allow them make the list.
1. Were they the best in the area at there position?
2. Did they make the other team’s game plan just for them?

5 if they were the focus of the plan
4 if they were a big part etc

3. What level of college did they continue their playing career
5 for 1a school
4 for 1AA
3 for div 2
2 for div3
1 for not going on

4. When did they get playing time at College Level
True freshman 5
Red shirt fresh 4
Soph 3
Jr 2

When ranked in this fashion here is how they rank.
1. Larod Stephens
2. Shawn Lewis
Troy Harris
Scott Lewis
Paul Forcellini
3. Brad Kanuch
Andy Hawkins
Todd Koenig?
Nate Crookshank
4. Jesse Jones