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DISTRICT 3
-Susquehanna Township coach Joe Headen played for legendary Cumberland Valley coach Tim Rimpfel at Bishop McDevitt in the 1980s. Headen and his Indians have developed a nice rivalry the last two years since McDevitt dropped to Class AAA. Headen’s son, Joe Joe Headen, is a freshman nickel back for Bishop McDevitt. Guess who plays Saturday morning? Yep, Susquehanna Township. plays Bishop McDevitt.
-Since losing to Bishop McDevitt in Week 2, defending PIAA Class AAAA state champion Central Dauphin has rolled up 114 points in its last two games. The Rams played game with rival Bishop McDevitt without suspended stars Zayd Issah and Drew Scales.
-Lancaster Catholic senior running back Roman Clay will hit 1,000 rushing yards already this season early Friday. He’s sitting on 997 yards with 13 touchdowns in the Crusaders’ first four games.
-Donegal turned the ball over just one time in its first three games and took a 3-0 record into its Week 4 showdown against Garden Spot, which had four interceptions and recovered a fumble in its 34-23 victory, handing Donegal its first loss this season.
-Annville-Cleona’s Mitch Rodkey lined up at quarterback, running back and wide receiver in the Little Dutchmen’s 42-14 win over Northern Lebanon. He rushed for 278 yards, had four touchdown runs, caught a TD pass and threw a TD pass.
-A win Friday over Fleetwood will give Schuylkill Valley a 5-0 record for the first time in the school’s 40-year football history. The Panthers found themselves ranked in the state for the first time in school history after a 55-7 win over Kutztown, a game that saw Kyle Beissel match a school record with five touchdown passes and Adam Drumgoole set one with four TD receptions. Panthers have won seven straight regular season games (over two seasons) for first time in school history.
-Wyomissing rolled over Blue Mountain 35-0 Saturday as Notre Dame recruit Alex Anzalone ran for four touchdowns. The Eagles were thought to be the Spartans’ biggest challenger in Section 2 of the Berks Football League. Now it’s looking like that might be Schuylkill Valley.
-Even with continuing instability at quarterback Wilson rolled to its record 30th straight Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 victory, beating McCaskey 57-12. Kyle Gaynor, who had been splitting time at quarterback with transfer Kevin Weller, quit the team following a Week 3 win over Reading High. It looks like Weller, a senior who played last year in Illinois, will be the full-time guy going forward. Bulldogs haven’t lost a league game since 2007 and are 41-2 under coach Doug Dahms in Section 1 play.

Click below for the complete notebook.

–Tom Reisenweber
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Cathedral Prep routed St. Francis (N.Y.) 69-0 on Friday to retain its No. 1 Class AAA state ranking in the latest Harrisburg Patriot-News rankings. The Ramblers will host Youngstown Ursuline this week before a showdown with McDowell, the No. 9 Class AAAA team in the state. Sharpvsille is still the No. 4 Class A team, while District 10 experienced a shakeup in Class AA. Hickory rejoined the rankings into the No. 8 slot, while Wilmington moved up to No. 9 and Grove City dropped to No. 10.

Click below for the complete state rankings.

–Tom Reisenweber
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After the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association found out Mercyhurst Prep will be eligible for the playoffs this year, they put the Lakers into the latest state rankings. Mercyhurst Prep is the No. 4 small school team, which combines Class A and AA. Harbor Creek is in the honorable mention section for the small school girls rankings.

For the complete state rankings, click below.

–Tom Reisenweber
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DISTRICT 7
-At long last, West Shamokin ended it’s lengthy losing streak Friday night. The Wolves, who dropped from Class AA to A this fall, had lost 46 in a row dating back to 2007 before defeating Riverview, 25-6, last week. Now, the players are talking about possibilities of a winning streak, starting Friday against Avonworth.
-First-year program Vincentian Academy picked up its first win Saturday, with a 62-8 drubbing over Geibel. The Royals got three touchdowns from Michael Pappe, including a pair of interception returns, to improve to 1-2. Geibel was playing its first game after forfeiting the first two weeks because it couldn’t field the minimum amount of healthy players.
-Three-time defending PIAA champion Clairton added to it’s nation-long winning streak Friday with its 50th straight win, which also was the 600th in school history. Tyler Boyd, who is fielding offers from more than 25 Division I schools, rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, caught two passes for 54 yards and returned a punt for a score. This week, the Bears face their stiffest challenge to date, Monessen, which features quarterback Chavas Rawlins, a West Virginia recruit.

DISTRICT 8
-Allderdice entered the season as the favorite in the Pittsburgh City League, but after the first league game, a new leader has emerged. Perry earned a 12-0 win over Allderdice Friday night, but the Dragons did plenty to lose the game. They lost three fumbles, had a punt blocked and had a bad snap on another punt that led to a 9-yard loss, all in the first half. Allderdice plays Westinghouse this week, while Perry takes on Carrick.

For the rest of the notebook, click below.

–Tom Reisenweber
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DISTRICT 7
-New Castle earned the 700th win in school history Friday night with a 48-14 victory over Riverside. The Red Hurricanes are fourth on Pennsylvania’s all-time wins list, trailing only Mt. Carmel (807), Easton (772) and Berwick (749), according to the PA Football News. Fellow WPIAL member Jeannette is seventh on the all-time list with 667 wins and counting.
-Better known as a track specialist, West Mifflin’s Jimmy Wheeler showed why he is one of the top tailbacks in the WPIAL this season with a 342-yard, three touchdown performance in a dominating 48-14 win Friday night over Belle Vernon and former Penn State commit Dorian Johnson, a star lineman who is now considering Pitt and West Virginia, among others.

DISTRICT 8
-At long last, there will be a game in the Pittsburgh City League this week. Thursday night kicks off City League play, as Brashear takes on Westinghouse. The game of the week, and likely the year, in District 8, will pit City League favorites Allderdice and Perry at Cupples Stadium. Allderdice RB Patrick Ferguson had 232 yards on 40 carries, including TD runs of 27 and 47 yards in last week’s 21-7 victory over Linsley School.

For the rest of the statewide notebook, click below.

–Tom Reisenweber
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DISTRICT 7
For the first time during its WPIAL-record 48-game winning streak, now tied for longest in the nation, Clairton appeared vulnerable. Down a dozen players, the Bears (1-0) survived a scare before beating Chartiers-Houston, 22-20, Friday. It was the fourth time Clairton won by single digits, and its closest game since a 36-30 win over Taylor Riverside in the 2010 PIAA final. The Bears’ single-digit wins came against Farrell (13-7) in an ‘09 PIAA semifinal and Rochester (14-13) in the ‘09 WPIAL final. Clairton won by an average of 39.2 points last year. “When you win that many games in a row, you just have confidence,” Chartiers-Houston coach Terry Fetsko said. “They never wavered and played with confidence and swagger. You’ve got to tip your hat.”
-Thomas Jefferson sent a message to the rest of Class AAA after a 41-14 win over Big 9 Conference rival Ringgold – that they aren’t afraid to air it out this season. And with good reason. First-year starting quarterback Joe tied a school record for touchdown passes, hitting on 11 of 15 attempts for 192 yards and five touchdowns. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound signal caller tied the record held by former TJ quarterback Tyler Wehner, who tossed five touchdown passes versus West York in the PIAA playoffs in 2008.

DISTRICT 8
-It was a rough start to the season for members of the Pittsburgh City League on opening night. Allderdice, Brashear, Perry, and Carrick were all defeated in non-conference games. Saturday went a little better, as Westinghoue knocked off Buckeye, Local (Ohio), 24-6. University Prep was idle. All six City League teams will face non-conference foes again this week.

For the rest of the statewide notebook, click below.

–Tom Reisenweber
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Click below for a complete high school football notebook from around the state.

–Tom Reisenweber
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The PIAA released a letter to McDowell and the District 10 Committee this week with its findings from an appeal hearing held the last week of July. The PIAA reduced McDowell’s probation from four years to one year. The probation will end June 30, 2013. McDowell also has to submit a plan of corrective action that addresses steps taken by McDowell to ensure its ongoing understanding of/and adherence to the PIAA Constitution and bylaws to the D-10 Committee and the PIAA executive director.

The rest of the penalties handed down by the D-10 Committee were removed, including the requirement for a letter of apology to the community and the public censures of several McDowell administrators. The PIAA Board of Directors also handed down a directive that District 10 must host an inservice session with PIAA executive director Robert Lombardi to review with the district their understanding of its powers and duties as defined by the PIAA Constitution and bylaws.

For more on the hearing, read Bob Jarzomski’s story in Wednesday’s Erie Times-News.

–Tom Reisenweber

Competitive spirit is a new sport in the PIAA and its first championship will take place Feb. 2. There will be 96 teams from around the state competing and District 10 was given seven spots based on number of member schools. All districts are required to hold their respective championships at least one week before the PIAA competition.

District 10 has not set a site, time or date yet for its championship. The competition will likely be discussed at either the October or December meetings.

Here is a breakdown of teams by district:
District 1 – 12
District 2 – 5
District 3 – 15
District 4 - 6
District 5 – 3
District 6 – 6
District 7 – 17
District 8 – 1
District 9 – 5
District 10 – 7
District 11 – 7
District 12 – 12

–Tom Reisenweber

With a new PIAA two-year cycle comes new PIAA playoff brackets and qualifiers. Not much changed for District 10 when it comes to football except in Class AAAA. The District 6-9-10 subregion would declare a champion and they would move on to play a District 8 team. District 8 has decided to join the subregion and extend the tournament to three weeks. Here is a look at what the four representatives are up against in November.

Class A
Nov. 23-24: District 10 championship
Nov. 30-Dec. 1: PIAA quarterfinals, 10-1 vs. 9-1
Dec. 7-8: PIAA semifinals
Dec. 14: PIAA championship

Class AA
Nov. 23-24: District 10 championship
Nov. 30-Dec. 1: PIAA quarterfinals, 10-1 vs. 6-1
Dec. 7-8: PIAA semifinals
Dec. 15: PIAA championship

Class AAA
Nov. 23-24: District 10 championship
Nov. 30-Dec. 1: PIAA quarterfinals, 10-1 vs. 7-1
Dec. 7-8: PIAA semifinals
Dec. 14: PIAA championship

Class AAAA*
Nov. 23-24: PIAA subregion championship
Nov. 30-Dec. 1: PIAA quarterfinals, subregion champion vs. 7-1
Dec. 7-8: PIAA semifinals
Dec. 15: PIAA championship

*The Class AAAA subregion will feature eight possible teams in a three-week tournament. The eight will likely have a choice whether they would like to participate in the subregional tournament or not after the regular season. McDowell will represent District 10, DuBois will represent District 9 and there will be three teams each from District 6 and District 8. State College, Mifflin County and Central Mountain are from D-6, while Brashear, Allderdice and Perry will represent D-8. Weekly standings will be kept to seed the teams that choose to compete in the playoffs.

– Tom Reisenweber

Baseball
Class A
Elk County Catholic 6, West Middlesex 2
Class AA
Saegertown 4, Shady Side Academy 1
Class AAA
Thomas Jefferson 4, Warren 2
Class AAAA
Mount Lebanon 7, McDowell 4

Softball
Class A
Saegertown 4, Bellwood-Antis 1
Class AA
Fairview 7, Greensburg Central Catholic 0
Deer Lakes 5, Wilmington 4
Class AAA
Fort LeBoeuf 3, Elizabeth Forward 2
Class AAAA
Canon-McMillan 4, McDowell 0

– Tom Reisenweber

The Cochranton boys volleyball team finished 1-2 in Pool B play today and did not advance to Saturday’s PIAA Class AA semifinals at Penn State. Dover beat the Cardinals 25-13, 25-20 and 19-25 in their third match to eliminate them.

Earlier Cochranton had lost its second match to WPIAL power Ambridge 25-22, 14-25 and 20-25. Cochranton opened pool play by beating Holy Redeemer 24-26, 25-20 and 25-17.

Dover and Ambridge advanced to the PIAA semifinals.

Pool B final records:
Dover 3-0
Ambridge 2-1
Cochranton 1-2
Holy Redeemer 0-3

– Tom Reisenweber