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Abington Is No Longer A Surprise

Top 10

Week of Sept. 26, 2011

1. Archbishop Wood (Record: 3-1. Previous Week: 1. Weeks Rated: 5.)

2. Downingtown East (Record: 4-0. Previous Week: 2. Weeks Rated: 5.)

3. La Salle (Record: 3-1. Previous Week: 3. Weeks Rated: 5.)

4. Council Rock South (Record: 4-0. Previous Week: 4. Weeks Rated: 5.)

5. Abington (Record: 4-0. Previous Week: 9. Weeks Rated: 2.)

6. Coatesville (Record: 4-0. Previous Week: 7. Weeks Rated: 4.)

7. Malvern Prep (Record: 3-1. Previous Week: 8. Weeks Rated: 4.)

8. Neshaminy (Record: 3-1. Previous Week: 5. Weeks Rated: 5.)

9. St. Joseph's Prep (Record: 3-1. Previous Week: 9. Weeks Rated: 3.)

10. Roman Catholic (Record: 3-1. Previous Week: NR. Weeks Rated: 1)

Philadelphia (CBS)—The seniors at Abington have experienced nothing but success the last few years. The group has gone a combined 18-6 in that time, sharing the Suburban One National Conference title with Neshaminy and Council Rock South in 2010.

But when the Ghosts beat teams like Neshaminy, 35-21, as they did on Monday, it still comes as a surprise to some. To some, though not to the Ghosts, nor their coaching staff.

Abington has started the season 4-0 doing it with a stingy defense and timely plays on offense. Seniors Bryan Osei, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound defensive end that's committed to Temple, Myles Grasty, a 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker, Ken Cropper, a transfer from Cheltenham, and Ray Schreiner, a darting, 5-foot-7, 160-pound tailback, have led the way.

"We've surprised some people, if you look at where some in the media had us in the beginning of the season, but if you talk to the kids, they're not surprised by going 4-0," Ghosts' coach Tim Sorber said. "This is something they've worked extremely hard to get to, and they have very high expectations about themselves, and so far they've achieved what they set out to do."

Coming into the season, Sorber felt good about his defense, which had six returning starters.

"We felt very confident about our defense," Sorber said. "With Myles, he didn't play up to the expectations we had for him the first two games, and the average kid, they would be satisfied. Myles felt the same way, but in his last two games, he stepped up his play, and he's the signal caller of our defense. He's an intelligent, sideline-to-sideline player."

The question came at quarterback, where Cropper surfaced. The transfer from Cheltenham has added experience and poise to the Ghosts' attack, and Schreiner gives the Ghosts a solid ground game, rushing for 250 yards against Neshaminy and he had over 100 yards receiving and 95 yards rushing against Souderton.

"This is one of the hardest working groups that I've coached in a long time," Sorber said. "Many of them have been working out since the summer. If you want to play for Abington, you have to make the commitment. There are kids who make up for some deficiencies in talent with their hard work, and that's rewarding. You often see teams that have all kinds of talent and don't perform that well. It's why I like this team so much, because these kids never refused to pay attention to predictions or things like that. This team has overcome deficiencies with dedication, hard work and commitment."

So 4-0? It's not all that surprising.

Game of the Week

La Salle (3-1) at Roman Catholic (3-1), Saturday 7 p.m. at Northeast High School

Roman is coming off a nice 33-14 victory last weekend over Cardinal O'Hara, in which the Cahillites dominated both sides of the ball. The high-octane La Salle offense rolled up 41 points in its victory over Monsignor Bonner last Saturday, and the Explorers pounded powerful North Penn in their opener for 44 points.

Reported by: Joseph Santoliquito

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