JotCast | Mike White's high school football chat: 9.18.18

Mike White's high school football chat: 9.18.18

View Full Chat Next Page

Mike White

11:01

We're ready to go. Fire away with questions. Just some things I was thinking about. Jim Render vs. Bob Palko one last time. Somewhat surreal to think what M.J. Devonshire is doing with these punt returns. ... Big Oscar, the stud hooper from Kennedy Catholic, was just offered by Kentucky. Will Calipari take him away from WVU. ... Well here we go.

Vincentian fan

11:01

What do you think about Vincentians football team this year?

Mike White

11:02

Ahhhh, nothing. Considering Vincentian doesn't have a team in WPIAL any more. What do you think of their team?

John

11:02

What in the world is the WPIAL spending all this money on to be running such a large deficit? And if the answer is post-season events, isn't the answer to just let the schools pay for officials and venues and keep the revenue generated from the gate?

Mike White

11:03

What? They're not "spending all this money." The deficit from last year could've been made up with a couple good playoff gates. It's really not that big of a deal. They've had a few other years where they lost money in the past 15 years.

WPIAL Rules

11:03

With the first 1/3rd of the season completed, which 6A team should start recruiting to be a powerhouse next season?

Mike White

11:04

Woooo hoooo. You're soooooo funny.

11:04

Mike, do you see 6A making it to the PIAA finals?

Mike White

11:05

It will be tough. Because this year, District 12 (Philly Catholic-Public) will play through the west. Yes, the PIAA decided on this. So it's very likely WPIAL team will have to see St. Joseph's in semis and not the finals.

Vincentian fan

11:05

They played a decent Weirton madonna team pretty tough. I think they are building a solid program from nothing. Most of roster is underclassman. Some names to remeber: battaglia, Lowry, Khorey.

Mike White

11:05

Nice.

Fred

11:05

What are your thoughts on Penn Trafford after starting 0 - 2 then heading into the Port and shutting down their offense? Are they for real?

Mike White

11:07

John Ruane is one of the best coaches in the WPIAL. Love what he has done with that program. They lost a lot of starters from last year. Lost a couple tough games to start the season. Winning at McKeesport was an eye opener, but maybe it shouldn't be. John Ruane teams always do well against McKeesport. And Ruane now has a "program." Not just a one- or two-year wonder.

Vincentian fan

11:07

See you Friday night a J.C Stone? Lol

Mike White

11:07

Not.

11:08

Hey Vincentian Fan, did that Weirton Madonna team have a bunch of Material Girls as cheerleaders?

Transfers

11:08

Mike, do you see less students transferring because of the new PIAA rules.

Mike White

11:11

Hard to say. I'm sure it will deter some. WPIAL already has ruled somewhere around 20 ineligible for postseason. But here's the thing. I'll be anxious to see if Philadelphia and District 10 (Erie) do much with this new rule. There are hardship cases. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of "hardship" cases in Philadelphia and kids are ruled eligible. I have serious doubts about whether new rules will stop the transferring - and recruiting - in Philly.

Wike Mhite

11:11

Probably won’t be a close game but excited to see how BF does with Quip this week. After a rough year last year BF seems to be back!

Mike White

11:13

Nice bounceback from BFalls. Credit coach Nick Nardone for hanging in after going 1-9 last year. I can't see BFalls beating Aliquippa. Quips are just that good. But some people I trust in Beaver County have said Beaver Falls has some gamebreakers. Line play will be key, I think.

Jake

11:13

Thoughts on Bednar's decomit from OSU?

Mike White

11:15

You're talking Will Bednar, pitcher from Mars, for people who don't know. Not surprised. He said he didn't look at enough places. Hey Mississippi State and Ohio State are in different worlds in college baseball. Miss. St. is great program. I don't blame him at all, although not often you see WPIAL kids go to Mississippi in any sport. But MSU also has West Allegheny star Austin Hendrick in the 2020 recruiting class.

Kevon

11:15

Will u check out my Hudl lol ?

Mike White

11:15

And who are you?

Wike Mhite

11:17

Were your surprised to see Imani struggle with Valley? I know Valley is up a class but doesn’t seem to have a particularly strong team this year. I really expected Imani to roll them. Big game for Imani this week against GCC.

Mike White

11:18

Yes and no. I expected Valley to be competitive this year. And you never know what Imani's situation was with players or injuries because they only had 17 players on roster.

Paul Funk

11:18

Mike, after 1/3 of season completed, is Charleroi or Shadyside the team that duplicates what Quaker Valley did in "17?

Mike White

11:21

Well, Charleroi hasn't been in a championship since the 1950s. So if they would make it this year, that would be comparable to Quaker Valley last year. Shady Side obviously is pretty good after beating Steel Valley. Both teams have playmakers. I would not be surprised if one of those teams gets to final. I think they have proven they are legit. Class 2A has definitely turned into the best class as far as the number of teams that can have an impact in the postseason. Class 5A also. I say still don't sleep on Washington.

WPIALGuy

11:21

Oscar gets an offer from Kentucky. Can't remember the last time Kentucky was in Union or Rochester or Western Beaver's gym to recruit a player. Oh, my fault, Kennedy is now 6A. They did the "right thing"

Mike White

11:23

You mean moving up to 6A? But it still doesn't change the fact that they're getting players from everywhere. And one of the main reasons they moved up to 6A was because they will have very few league games to play. They want to start being more of a "national" team, playing more of a regional and national schedule. Meaning don't be surprised if more players keep showing up at the school that aren't from their area.

Transfers

11:23

What's hardship... can't afford free tuition to St. Joe's Prep? It appears that alot of the transfer issues were with basketball more than any other sport. You don't hear anything about transferring for golf or tennis.

Mike White

11:25

You are exactly right. It's more of a basketball and football thing. As far as hardship, the rule says "financial" can be a reason for hardship, but if you prove there was a change in a financial status. I'd say in Philly, there will be many hardship cases - and they will be believed. Just a prediction. District 10 also.

ROB H

11:25

Mike, with the 6 divisions, seeing more weird matchups and as enrollments and participation continue to dwindle, this doesn't seem sustainable. Could you forsee "merged" teams shortly? HS football here once proud is just a shell of its former self.

Mike White

11:28

Well Rob H, I wouldn't say it's a "shell of its former self." It's still really good. Just different. One of the things I've thought about lately is this: Is small-school football in trouble? I mean, Northgate dressed 15 players last week. Rosters at smaller schools continue to shrink. Sure, school mergers might be a good idea to the general public. But here's the thing. Some schools don't want to merge for various reasons. I admit that the 6A thing has watered things down considerably in the WPIAL. On other hand, there is no doubt that six classes has helped some teams be more competitive.

11:29

Getting back to the mergers. I'll use Sto-Rox and Montour as an example. It would seem to make sense if Sto-Rox closed and merged with Montour. But does Montour want that? That's what I mean by saying mergers are very complicated. Woodland Hills merger 30 years ago was court forced.

ROB H

11:29

If you combine all of the teams in the wretched AK Valley, could you even field a decent 6A team? Why is that area so poor??

Mike White

11:31

Hard to say. Why is Fayette County so bad? I mean what has happened at Uniontown is hard to figure. Same with Connellsville. And look at Butler. Why is that big of a school still struggling so much in football. Some things are hard to explain.

San Juan

11:31

Got 4 D1 players here in San Juan PR

Mike White

11:31

Really? Maybe they can try to get in Kennedy.

11:33

Or maybe try Neumann-Goretti. They'll probably be eligible.

Connecting…