News & Notes !!!
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THE CHOPS
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News & Notes !!!
If you're the kind of football fan who likes to see something exceptional and you don't have any dog in the fight, you will spend the next two weeks waving your pompoms for Bethlehem Liberty and Jeannette.
Why? Because of their quarterbacks. Dan Persa and Terrelle Pryor are simply special.
Persa, the Liberty senior who helped maneuver the Hurricanes into last year's PIAA Class (AAAA) championship game, is bent on doing it again. The Northwestern University recruit was the key factor in Liberty's 35-14 triumph over Easton in Saturday's District #2-11 championship game in front of 11,500 at Bethlehem's Banko Field.
Persa's numbers from that game are very good but not a complete knockout. He had 116 yards rushing, another 111 passing and even contributed 11 receiving yards.
But Persa brings far more to the table than just yardage figures. He is a dynamic athlete who forces teams to be ready for anything at all times. At once, he's both the engine and the driver of Liberty's Cadillac of a team.
Ditto Pryor, the Jeannette junior who might well have been the most dazzling athlete on Heinz Field in the WPIAL's four-game glut of championship games Friday.
Pryor, who earmarked his team's 24-14 win over Greensburg Central Catholic with a start-left, go-right, go-fast 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, has his choice of a football or a basketball scholarship when the time comes.
We've never seen him as a basketball player, but we know he can't go wrong in football. Think of a skinnier Vince Young and you've got Pryor. He rushed for 143 yards and threw for another 179 Frdiay.
Speaking of basketball, Jeannette has no boys' basketball team to speak of at this point. All of Jeannette's varsity starters play football, and the school has canceled its first outing of the season and will have to reschedule more if the Jayhawks keep on winning football games.
Here are some highlights from around the state last weekend:
CLASS (AAAA): Perennial District #1 contender North Penn had won 11 straight games after an 0-2 start and was generally thought the favorite against Ridley (13-0), a strong program from a weak league, but the Green Raiders packed the box and limited North Penn to 112 yards of offense and six first downs in a 21-17 triumph. ... Pennsbury, Ridley's 1-(AAAA) championship opponent, limited 16th-seeded Abington to minus-30 rushing yards in a 27-12 decision. ... Upper St. Clair drove 59 yards in 11 plays while trailing Penn Hills by two, scoring with 58 seconds left on Dane Conwell's 10-yard run to win 18-12. "My hat is off to them," Penn Hills head coach Neil Gordon said. "That was a championship drive." Conwell, an Indiana University recruit, intercepted at the goal line on the game's final play. ... Erie Prep watched a 30-6 lead fall to 30-22 in the third quarter before the Ramblers pulled away from Brashear for a 44-22 triumph.
CLASS (AAA): Last year's state runner-up, D#11-(AAA) champion Pottsville, found itself tied with D#2-(AAA) champion West Scranton 28-28 late in the game before the Crimson Tide scored on touchdown runs of 43 and 31 yards to win 40-28. West Scranton entered the game with a 7-5 record, the worst of any state team at this point of the playoffs. ... Upper Moreland outgained Garnet Valley 379-239 in the District #1 title game but lost six turnovers and the game, 17-14. ... Selinsgrove wide receiver Mike Ritter caught six passes for 150 yards and four TDs in the Seals' 48-14 triumph over D#9-(AAA) champion Bradford in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
CLASS (AA): Wilson Area stopped Palisades 42-25 for the D#11-(AA) title, but all-state quarterback D.J. Lenehan suffered a second-quarter stinger to his non-throwing shoulder, scaring the daylights out of the Wilson Area side. The Warriors were last year's PIAA runner-up to South Park. ... Lakeland was ahead 26-14 with less than three minutes left in its 2-AA title game with Wyoming Area but yielded a touchdown at the 2:05 mark and needed an interception at the goal line on the game's final play for a 26-21 triumph. ... Brookville held Karns City to 131 yards in a 21-3 triumph for the D#9-(AA) title. ... Bishop McCort lost its season opener in overtime but has since reeled off 12 straight, including an impressive 37-28 triumph over Tyrone for the D#6-(AA) title.
CLASS (A): Not sure what they're teaching at Old Forge, but some of the students at the suburban Scranton school thought it would be a swell idea to call Southern Columbia "overrated" as the Tigers took the field and to put up a banner that said "Henry Who?" to taunt Tigers all-state halfback Henry Hynoski. Hynoski scored on a 52-yard run on the first snap from scrimmage in Southern's 48-0, PIAA first-round rout. ... Shenandoah Valley rallied from a 13-6 halftime deficit to smash Marian Catholic 47-26 for the 11-A title. ... Bellwood-Antis, Steel-High's opponent Friday in the PIAA quarters, was outgained in the first half by underdog Juniata Valley but came back for a 22-8 victory. ... Coudersport defeated Curwensville for the third time this season to win the D#9-(A) title. Coudersport blasted the Golden Tide 48-21 after winning the first two meetings by eight points each time.
THE CHOPS
Why? Because of their quarterbacks. Dan Persa and Terrelle Pryor are simply special.
Persa, the Liberty senior who helped maneuver the Hurricanes into last year's PIAA Class (AAAA) championship game, is bent on doing it again. The Northwestern University recruit was the key factor in Liberty's 35-14 triumph over Easton in Saturday's District #2-11 championship game in front of 11,500 at Bethlehem's Banko Field.
Persa's numbers from that game are very good but not a complete knockout. He had 116 yards rushing, another 111 passing and even contributed 11 receiving yards.
But Persa brings far more to the table than just yardage figures. He is a dynamic athlete who forces teams to be ready for anything at all times. At once, he's both the engine and the driver of Liberty's Cadillac of a team.
Ditto Pryor, the Jeannette junior who might well have been the most dazzling athlete on Heinz Field in the WPIAL's four-game glut of championship games Friday.
Pryor, who earmarked his team's 24-14 win over Greensburg Central Catholic with a start-left, go-right, go-fast 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, has his choice of a football or a basketball scholarship when the time comes.
We've never seen him as a basketball player, but we know he can't go wrong in football. Think of a skinnier Vince Young and you've got Pryor. He rushed for 143 yards and threw for another 179 Frdiay.
Speaking of basketball, Jeannette has no boys' basketball team to speak of at this point. All of Jeannette's varsity starters play football, and the school has canceled its first outing of the season and will have to reschedule more if the Jayhawks keep on winning football games.
Here are some highlights from around the state last weekend:
CLASS (AAAA): Perennial District #1 contender North Penn had won 11 straight games after an 0-2 start and was generally thought the favorite against Ridley (13-0), a strong program from a weak league, but the Green Raiders packed the box and limited North Penn to 112 yards of offense and six first downs in a 21-17 triumph. ... Pennsbury, Ridley's 1-(AAAA) championship opponent, limited 16th-seeded Abington to minus-30 rushing yards in a 27-12 decision. ... Upper St. Clair drove 59 yards in 11 plays while trailing Penn Hills by two, scoring with 58 seconds left on Dane Conwell's 10-yard run to win 18-12. "My hat is off to them," Penn Hills head coach Neil Gordon said. "That was a championship drive." Conwell, an Indiana University recruit, intercepted at the goal line on the game's final play. ... Erie Prep watched a 30-6 lead fall to 30-22 in the third quarter before the Ramblers pulled away from Brashear for a 44-22 triumph.
CLASS (AAA): Last year's state runner-up, D#11-(AAA) champion Pottsville, found itself tied with D#2-(AAA) champion West Scranton 28-28 late in the game before the Crimson Tide scored on touchdown runs of 43 and 31 yards to win 40-28. West Scranton entered the game with a 7-5 record, the worst of any state team at this point of the playoffs. ... Upper Moreland outgained Garnet Valley 379-239 in the District #1 title game but lost six turnovers and the game, 17-14. ... Selinsgrove wide receiver Mike Ritter caught six passes for 150 yards and four TDs in the Seals' 48-14 triumph over D#9-(AAA) champion Bradford in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
CLASS (AA): Wilson Area stopped Palisades 42-25 for the D#11-(AA) title, but all-state quarterback D.J. Lenehan suffered a second-quarter stinger to his non-throwing shoulder, scaring the daylights out of the Wilson Area side. The Warriors were last year's PIAA runner-up to South Park. ... Lakeland was ahead 26-14 with less than three minutes left in its 2-AA title game with Wyoming Area but yielded a touchdown at the 2:05 mark and needed an interception at the goal line on the game's final play for a 26-21 triumph. ... Brookville held Karns City to 131 yards in a 21-3 triumph for the D#9-(AA) title. ... Bishop McCort lost its season opener in overtime but has since reeled off 12 straight, including an impressive 37-28 triumph over Tyrone for the D#6-(AA) title.
CLASS (A): Not sure what they're teaching at Old Forge, but some of the students at the suburban Scranton school thought it would be a swell idea to call Southern Columbia "overrated" as the Tigers took the field and to put up a banner that said "Henry Who?" to taunt Tigers all-state halfback Henry Hynoski. Hynoski scored on a 52-yard run on the first snap from scrimmage in Southern's 48-0, PIAA first-round rout. ... Shenandoah Valley rallied from a 13-6 halftime deficit to smash Marian Catholic 47-26 for the 11-A title. ... Bellwood-Antis, Steel-High's opponent Friday in the PIAA quarters, was outgained in the first half by underdog Juniata Valley but came back for a 22-8 victory. ... Coudersport defeated Curwensville for the third time this season to win the D#9-(A) title. Coudersport blasted the Golden Tide 48-21 after winning the first two meetings by eight points each time.
THE CHOPS