High School Football Preview: Area Schools Making The Plunge Into New Terrain

PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — The landscape of high school football has made a seismic shift with the move made by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) last November to a 6A classification format.

The reality, however, says that there won't be any change at all. The powerhouses are still the powerhouses and will be vying for state championships again in 6A (St. Joe's Prep), 5A (Archbishop Wood) and 4A (Imhotep Charter).

The Philadelphia Catholic League will now break off into a Red Division (large schools of 6A and 5A, which includes Prep, Wood, LaSalle, Roman Catholic, Father Judge, Archbishop Carroll and Archbishop Ryan) and Blue Division (small schools including 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A, which will include Cardinal O'Hara and Bonner-Prendergast, Lansdale Catholic, Conwell-Egan, West Catholic, Neumann-Goretti and Bishop McDevitt).

What also is certain is that Southeastern Pennsylvania continues to produce prime talent that the rest of the country wants to see.

D'Andre Swift, St. Joe Prep's 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior dynamo tailback, is among the top running backs in the country. Wood senior receiver Mark Webb, a 6-2, 200-pound receiver, has also attracted every major college program in the nation. The two are so good that ESPNU will be nationally televising the Prep-Wood game, at William Tennent High School, on Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Here's a thumbnail look at the top 10 teams in Southeastern Pennsylvania this coming season. Last season's record is in parentheses:

1. St. Joe's Prep (7-3). This was a young team that needed to grow last year. Much of that growth has been centered on Swift, who Hawks' coach Gabe Infante calls the best running back he's ever coached. Swift has narrowed his finalists to Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and Penn State. Swift will be the hub, but expect Infante to spread the ball around. Senior receiver Terrence Greene had 21 receptions and 400 yards last year. Senior Richard Carr is a two-way player who should ample touches, as will quicksilver senior running back/defensive back Khari Jones. Darryle Simmons, a 5-3, 200-pound junior, is projected to be a top-tier Division I receiver.

This offensive line is massive, led by 6-1, 275-pound senior center Mack Grey, a second-team all-Catholic 4A last season, along with 6-6, 316-pound senior tackle Carter Lynch and 6-4, 290-pound guard Jackson Evans, the son of former Strath Haven and Minnesota star Patt Evans.

2. Imhotep Charter (15-0). Neshaminy coaching legend Mark Schmidt takes over for previous Panthers' head coach Albie Crosby, and retains the staff that had helped Imhotep compile a 53-6 record the last four years, including last season's Class AAA state championship—the first state title ever won in football by a Philadelphia Public League team.

Imhotep, which easily dominating Erie Cathedral Prep in the Class AAA state championship, 40-3, returns senior quarterback Nasir Boykin as the hub of an explosive offense, which will also feature senior receivers Amir Brown, Amir Lewis (also a RB), Jeff Davis, junior tackle Justin Johnson (6-5, 335) and combo receiver/running back Dedrick Parsons. Defensively, Imhotep returns senior middle linebacker Amir Black and senior defensive back Mike Crawford. Watch for transfer Omar Speights, a 6-2, 230-pound sophomore linebacker/defensive end who transferred in from St. Joseph's Prep.

3. Archbishop Wood (11-1). The Vikings have one of the most ambitious schedules in the area—and one of the area's most talented players, deep-threat wide receiver Mark Webb, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior who's received scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Maryland, Temple and North Carolina. The question facing Wood is who gets Webb the ball.

Coach Steve Devlin said the choice will come down to Jack Coylar, Jake Ross, Tom Cattolico and Mitch Vierling all vying for the spot. Then again, it may not matter with speedy Temple commit Raheem Blackshear, who scored 22 TDs as a junior. Two familiar surnames will help anchor the offensive line, Matt Arcidiacono (Ryan's cousin) and Tommy Walsh. Defensively, senior lineman Anthony Diodato is a stalwart, and he'll get help from junior linebacker Matt Palmer.

Wood opens with three stud teams: Wayne (OH), Bergen Catholic and St. Joe's Prep.

4. Neshaminy (9-4). It helps to have a returning triplet combination of senior quarterback Mason Jones, senior tailback Will Dogba, who rushed for rushed for 1,480 yards and 20 touchdowns, and senior receiver Zach Tredway, who led Neshaminy in receiving with 690 yards. The Skins reached the PIAA District 1 4A semifinals last year, losing to North Penn, 28-7.

It also helps to have back three cinderblocks protecting them in guard Eddie Parry, 6-foot-5, 290-pound tackle Chris Wilson at left tackle, and center A.J. Sanko. Defense could be a problem early on. Senior corner back Jacob Gordon returns, Tredway is back at safety and sophomore linebacker Oleh Manzyk will be asked to do more this year, and Parry and senior Kyle Osterhaudt will fill in at defensive end.

5. North Penn (11-3). Every year Knights' coach Dick Beck loads up with tough opponents and each September it seems North Penn might not go anywhere. But by November, Beck has his team right where they should be, and this year shouldn't be any different. In fact, it may be different. The Knights can get off to a good start, considering senior receiver Ricky Johns, a West Virginia commit, is back.

North Penn reached the District 1 4A finals last year, and it's a sting senior quarterback Reece Udinski doesn't want to go through again. North Penn hasn't won a district title since 2011. But the Knights have enough talent to become the first team to win a PIAA District 1 6A crown.

Beck will look at seniors Nick Dillon and Dan Drop to replace 1,000-yard rusher Nyfease West (Delaware State). Udinski will have plenty of options to throw to in seniors Jake Hubler and Nick Vasger, a three-year starter, and juniors Justis Henley and Owen Thomas. There may not be a faster group of linebackers in the area than Johns, Thomas and Drop.

North Penn will find out where the problems lie after starting the season against La Salle, Downingtown East and Pennsbury.

6. Downingtown East (11-1). The Cougars seemed prime to make a district run last year, before losing in a tough second-round draw to North Penn last year. Downingtown East lost some major players in tight end Cary Angeline (USC) and Mike Clark (Maryland). But a lot talent also returns, beginning with 5-foot-11, 180-pound defensive back Jeremy Jennings, a Temple commit who intercepted six passes as a junior.

Bryce Lauletta will be the third in the family to quarterback the Cougars. Bryce follows older brothers Trey and Kyle, who starts for Richmond. One of East's prime threats on offense will be combo tailback/receiver Ethan Harris. Senior linebacker Seth Davis leads the defense.

7. Malvern Prep (9-2). If it were up to Friars' coach Aaron Brady, he'd schedule Alabama and LSU on consecutive weeks. Instead, he's designed one of the toughest schedules in the area and is placed with an interesting dilemma. He's prided himself on developing quarterbacks. Now he has three: senior Nick Maras, junior Kevin Doyle and sophomore Drew Gunther—and they all can play.

Maras and Doyle combined to throw for over 2,500 yards last year. What's more they have back junior tailback O'Shaan Allison, who ran for 1,600 yards and 21 TDs.

Malvern has on paper an explosive offense. What will the Friars do on defense? Senior Justin Titchenell, a 6-foot, 255-pound defensive lineman, and 6-3, 240-pound senior defensive end Seth Janney will be counted on to carry the Malvern defense. The problem is the Friars could 0-5 by the time they begin their Inter-Academic League schedule.

Haverford School has beaten Malvern the last three years for the Inter-Ac title—something that doesn't sit very well with the Friar seniors.

8. Haverford School (10-0). The Fords are going for a fourpeat in the Inter-Ac and have the kind of firepower to do it. Haverford has beaten Malvern Prep the last three years, its won 19-straight games, and 13-straight Inter-Ac games. None of that matters to Fords' coach Mike Murphy, who says each year begins a new slate.

This slate starts with senior quarterback Tommy Toal, senior tailback running back Mallik Twyman. The Haverford School senior class is looking for an Inter-Ac sweep of all four years as league champs. Aiding Toal and Twyman are senior wide receiver/defensive back Ismail Morrison, senior linebacker Chris Kober and senior receiver/defensive backs Aaron Hudson, Will Towle and Zakee Hawkins, and senior two-way lineman Peter Solomon.

9. La Salle (8-4). The Explorers reached the state quarterfinals last year, losing to eventual state 4A runner-up Parkland, 16-14. Much was expected from this year's team, but there is nothing like starting a promising season off by losing your No. 1 quarterback. Junior Isaiah Jones was lost for the year suffering a season-ending knee injury doing a tire-flipping drill. That will place much of the Explorers' offense on tailback Syaire Madden, who rushed for over 1,200 and scored 14 touchdowns.

The Explorers, the defending Catholic League champs, do return Bret Gordon as the offensive coordinator for head coach John Steinmetz. They'll be counting on 6-2, 225-pound junior defensive end Chris Maloney, 6-0, 205-pound junior middle linebacker Austin Lemkie and 6-3, 250-pound junior defensive tackle Garrett Zobel to stabilize the defense.

Dan Lamorte, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior, will step in for Jones at quarterback. He'll have a pair of juniors to turn to in 6-1, 160-pound receiver Troy Holland and 6-2, 220-pound tight end Liam Trainer. The Explorers could start the year 0-3, opening with North Penn, Pennsbury and Malvern Prep.

10. Perkiomen Valley (10-2). Don't be surprised if the Vikings are playing into December. They have possibly the best passing combination in the area in senior lefty quarterback Stephen Sturm, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 30 TDs as a junior, and senior receiver Justin Jaworski, who caught for 1,200 yards last year. Eight starters are back from a team that reached the District 1 4A quarterfinals. Temple commit Chris Jimenez anchors the line. Tests will come early in Downingtown West, Frankford (7-5), Pennridge (8-4) and Haverford School (10-0), four teams that finished a combined 34-11 last year.