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Mike White's high school football chat: 8.28.18
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Mike White
11:02
Well, week 0 (stupid name) is in the books, I just turned on the "open" sign in the store. We are ready for business. Fire away with any questions. Reminder, we will do this weekly from 11 to noon on Tuesdays.
Big East 3A
11:02
Can Burrell pull upset over North Catholic
Mike White
11:03
No. No chance. They should just forfeit. ... Of course they can win. Will they? I doubt it. Talking about a team coming off of 1-9 season. Would be gigantic upset.
SSA85
11:03
Mike, after many years in the wilderness, Shady Side appears to be on the rise again. Chuck DiNardo appears to be the man for the job. How do you see their season playing out?
Mike White
11:06
A lot of teams will be reaching for the Skyy. They won't get him. QB Skyy Moore is back. Big junior season. I think Shady Side will most certainly be a playoff team in that conference. Move down from 3A to 2A should help some. They might have been pretty decent in 3A also.  Interesting to see what kind of year Tomlin has also.
AsianWill
11:06
Hi Mike.  What do you think of that fine Christian school, Imani Christian, running up the score??  Was that team any good?  Early thoughts on there game with Jeannette next week?
Mike White
11:08
The team they played was horrible. Can't fault Imani for having starters in. They only have 17 players on roster. But two long TD passes in fourth, the last one with less than a minute to go and up by 72-6?? Really?? But nothing new. They did this some last year. I wrote about it.  I don't get it. A lot of other people don't get it, but there are some people who see nothing wrong with it. Obviously, Imani doesn't care. Because it has happened before. It is what it is. Imani will challenge for WPIAL title this year. Big game vs. Jeannette next week I believe.
Quad North Fan
11:09
Big games this week with NA at Norwin and PCC against what looks to be a better Seneca Valley team. NA played a school that doesn't even have a school building. Anything to learn from that. Do you think Norwin has the horses up front to play with the big boys? Same question for SV. Hear that their line is huge, but do they have enough to stay with Central?
Mike White
11:11
That's about 30 questions in your post. Ha ha. The COF Academy team that NA played?? Read some things about them. Apparently someone trying to start a school and a football team - and got some players to go there. You see this happen, although more in basketball. NA-Norwin is one of the best games this week. How good is Norwin? we will find out. Should we wonder about Norwin defense? Norwin scored a lot against Penn-Trafford last week, but also gave up a lot of points. .... I think Seneca vs. Central game might be close.
Stan Kachowski
11:11
With the exception of some penalty trouble, North Hills looked good on Friday.  The happened to draw both Gateway and Penn Hills this season, though - early thoughts on how this conference will shake out?
Mike White
11:14
Gateway is not in North HIlls conference. Penn Hills is. Penn Hills is clearly the best in that conference. Big dropoff after them. Looks like North Hills will be OK. They were up big on Butler in first half but strange. North Hills scored 42 pts. Only had something like 180 yards offense. As for Butler? Geez. Here we go again. Looks like another long year for Butler. I can't explain it. Here's the thing. They could be the No. 1-ranked basketball team in 6A heading into season. But they are probably one of the lowest-ranked teams in 5A in football. Go figure.
yong
11:14
whose your favorite in 2a  midwestern conference and whose your sleeper
Mike White
11:15
Well yong, Riverside lost a lot, but I'll still pick them. Big game vs. Neshannock this week. Freedom might have one of its better teams . But that conference isn't overly strong. Then again, after a few teams in 2A, there seems to be everyone else.
2AFootballFan
11:16
With all of the games last week, I think the most surprising result was Avonworth going to Neshannock and destroying them.  Your thoughts on the Lopes?
Mike White
11:17
49-21. The Johncours are running wild, er, passing wild this year. Grandpa is an assistant. Son Duke the coach. His son, Derek, throwing the ball all over the lot. Don't sleep on Antelopes. But they better not sleep on Valley this week. Valley might be pretty good.
demosthenes98
11:17
How many western PA high schools still field ninth-grade football teams?
Mike White
11:21
I did a story on this I think two years ago. It's almost gone. Schools in Westmoreland County do some games on their own. I think WPIAL did a schedule for 8 or 9 teams last year. I would say 15 to 20 at the max now in entire WPIAL. I haven't checked yet this year. Lack of numbers is main reason. But some larger schools just feel it's better to bring 9th graders up with JV and varsity. I think that's a mistake. That just drives more kids away from football because I know many 9th graders do NOT want to be around the JV and Varsity guys. They're not ready physically or maturity-wise. I know they might not practice against Varsity but they are there. I know for a fact some 9th graders choose not to play because they don't want to be with the older kids. So in the end, I think it's just another thing that drives numbers down a little in football.
Wpial Guru
11:21
Is OLSH a legit contender in A
Mike White
11:22
Obviously yes. They made it to quarterfinals last year and lost to Imani 20-12. QB Tyler Bradley is back. Just went over 5,000 career yards passing. Others are back.
Stan Kachowski
11:22
I know there are some folks who really didn't care, but I ate the Quaker Valley story up last year.  I absolutely loved it; almost like something from a movie.  Are there any story lines in the WPIAL this season that are even close?
Mike White
11:22
Not yet, no.
Quad North Fan
11:22
Was IMG the best team of high school aged kids you have ever seen? Who are the Rams going to play next year? Pitt? LoL. That game doesn't say much, but do you think they have the fire power in the skill positions for another deep run?
Mike White
11:25
IMG is not a "high school" team. Let's get that straight. Yes, they are high school aged, but that is an all star team. The best I ever saw? Ahhh, I'd have to think about that. Probably. But again, that's not a fair comparison because they are not a "high school" team. They will play teams this year that give them a game.  As for Pine, kind of hard to put that sophomore QB against that team in first game. Pine will challenge for WPIAL title, but they are obviously not as good as last year. Not even close. One main reason?? The kid named Phil.
Quad North Fan
11:25
And last but not least. Lebo? What they heck. Head Coach takes over the defense and get trounced? Not much coming back or is Gateway that good?
Mike White
11:25
Mt. Lebanon is OK. Not great. But decent. Gateway is very good.
TopShelf
11:25
Besides Clairton Imani and Jeneatte who can contend in 1A
Mike White
11:27
OLSH. I thought California MIGHT be a team to watch with Jelani Stafford. But they got  beat pretty convincingly by Beth-Center, 34-14.
11:28
Oops. I forgot about Clairton, too. They're still one to watch and could make some noise. I was told they have a QB who can fling it.
Wpial fan
11:28
Pcc and ECP great game. Pcc def line looks scary, but offense needs to open up. Why don’t they throw more especially with 6’5 230 tight end? One pass and td
Mike White
11:29
They're never thrown that much. Terry Totten believes in winning with a strong running game. He's won so much. Can you blame him? Although I will say there have been times when I thought a better passing game might put them on another level. Then again, you better have a good QB if you want to throw it a lot.
Mark
11:30
Mike, I think Mars is going to knock Moon into orbit this week.  What do you think?
Mike White
11:31
Awwwwww yeah! .... Boy, I never heard that one before. .... That game is out of this world.
11:33
Moon-Mars is one of the better games this week. Impressive showing by Moon men last week, handling a Lou Cerro-Montour squad so easily. Mars scored only 7 against West Mifflin. Wonder how Big Michael Carmody looked for Mars????
Stan Kachowski
11:34
It was hard to look at the score of the Ringgold game.  Aliquippa has a well established feeder system which will serve them well.  Coach Z knows what he's doing, but do you think he can implement his methods from the ground up before he retires?
Mike White
11:37
Right now, Ringgold doesn't have much talent. That school goes through cycles. Some good years. Some very bad years. And then repeated over again. This will be a long, long, long year for Ringgold. Only 4 seniors on roster. Mike Z said to me this summer he is coaching "children." He didn't mean that negatively. Just kids who haven't played a lot and don't know a lot. I don't know if they'll win a game this year. I don't know if Mike knew it would be like this when he took the job. But he insisted he has told Ringgold administration that this is not a one year job. But it might take some time.
Cam
11:37
After an impressive win over Erie Cathedral Prep, do you see Central Catholic as the favorite in 6A?
Mike White
11:38
It's Pine, Central, NA - and in no particular order. Then there is everyone else. But the NA-Norwin game this week certainly is intriguing. How good is Norwin? I think they might be pretty decent.
Wpial fan
11:38
How is Gateway lines? Saw McKeesport and they look solid would love to see that match up. Any thoughts. Ports line is solid
Mike White
11:40
Gateway has some linemen back from last year and they won WPIAL. So I would imagine lines are solid. McKeesport is a typical McKeesport team. QB Gaskins can actually throw a little also. Coach Matt Miller said he's getting a decent amount of FCS interest as a DB.
Robert
11:43
What do you think about AT&T sportsnet not going to broadcast the WPIAL title games at Heinz Field ? Also who do you think will broadcast the games ? I read that the WPIAL is trying to work out a deal to broadcast the games live somewhere.
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