Cumberland Valley falls from rankings

Thanks to a 28-21 loss to Harrisburg on Saturday, the Cumberland Valley football team is no longer ranked in the Class AAAA top 10 by the Pennsylvania Football News. The complete poll can be found here.

The Eagles (7-2) came into Saturday afternoon's game against the Cougars ranked No. 7. Harrisburg, which wrapped up the Commonwalth Division title with the win, was ranked No. 10. The Cougars (8-1) now inhabit the No. 7 spot.

The latest poll marks the first time CV, the defending District 3-AAAA champion, is not ranked by the PFN this season.

CV wasn't the only team to fall from the Class AAAA rankings. WPIAL power North Allegheny, which was No. 6, lost to unranked North Hills, 21-16. The Indians are now No. 9.

In District 1, No. 8 Council Rock South dropped a 45-35 decision to unranked Abington and tumbled from the top 10. The Ghosts (7-2) are not ranked.

Wilson, undefeated at 9-0, is the highest ranked District 3 team. The Bulldogs check in at No. 3.

Defending PIAA Class AAAA champion LaSalle College (8-1) is No. 1.

Cumberland Valley concludes the regular season against Carlisle at 7 p.m. Friday night at Ken Millen Stadium.

CV/Harrisburg: What they said

Legendary high school football coaches Tim Rimpfel (left) and George Chaump had a few memorable quotes Saturday following Harrisburg's 28-21 win over Rimpfel and the CV Eagles.

Enjoy.

Tim Rimpfel

When asked why he elected to go for the first down on fourth-and-2 from his own 38 in the second quarter: "I thought, 'Heck, we should be able to get 2 yards.' But, there we made a mistake and missed a (linebacker). That was frustrating."

Talking about the offense's inability to move the ball consistently: "We just made fundamental mistakes that we should not make. Certain linemen had to block down on a linebacker and they blocked out. Why? I don't know."

George Chaump

In regards to the third quarter when the Cougars drew half of their 14 penalties: "We had some bad breaks and penalties. The third quarter was a mess. My heavens, if it was like that the whole game we would have had 1,000 yards in penalties. I've never seen so many penalties."

Reaction to CV going for it on fourth down in the second quarter: "I was a little surprised. That's uncharacteristic of Rimpfel. He's a conservative fellow. He doesn't like to gamble. He still has the first nickel he earned. I don't know what got into him."

PIAA makes a good move

Recently, we've been heaping praise on the PIAA for making smart decisions.

Earlier this month, the sport's high school governing body made another good move. The PIAA announced, in its Football Championships Telecast/Cablecast Memorandum that the state finals played on Saturday, classes AA and AAAA, will begin at noon and 5 p.m., respectively.

The PIAA changed from those traditional Saturday start times in 2005 when they made the switch to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. kickoffs. Two years later, the games began at noon and 5 p.m. due to an approaching winter storm.

Last season, the games were bumped up to 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. because of a winter storm that had already hit the area in the early morning.

But the weather issue we can potentially be dealing with Dec. 17 and 18 is beside the point. We're glad the PIAA moved the games back to noon and 5 p.m. At that point in the season, it's best to get the games in as early as possible. If we aren't talking about potential blizzards, there's always the biting cold, so why wait until 7 to start a game when it can be just as easily started at 5?

As for the 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. times for Friday, we don't have a problem with that due to schools being in sessions and people traveling from work.

Again, we say good job to the PIAA for making another smart move.

Mustangs will be back

While pouring over the weekly high school football stats and compiling the preview capsules, something jumped out at us Monday night.

West Perry, which has been in a four-year funk since its last trip to the playoffs in 2006, could be building toward a big season in the next year or two.

Since going 9-2 and hosting a District 3-AAA playoff game in 2006, coach Al Ream's teams have won only nine of their last 37 games and are assured of a fourth-straight losing season this fall.

Despite the lean years in Elliottsburg, the future could be looking up. Consider that West Perry's three leading rushers - Steve Reynolds, Aaron Rahn and Jake Weber - are all juniors plus the team's leading receiver, Chase May, is a freshman and the second-leading pass catcher, Dalton Smeigh, is a junior points toward sunny skies ahead.

And we can't forget that reliable quarterback Zach Smith, who hasn't thrown an interception since Sept. 24 and has passed for over 100 yards in his last two games, is only a sophomore.

With three games left on the schedule - James Buchanan, Northern and Susquenita - the Mustangs have time to build confidence in anticipation of what could be a special 2011 season.

The last couple of years have no doubt been tough on Ream, who was thrown for a loop in late July when the school board voted to not pay coaches before relenting one day into fall sports practice, but the times could be changing for a program that has become an afterthought on the District 3-AAA level.

BPI Predictions: Week 8

Below is a look at what the Born Power Index thinks will happen this weekend in Mid-Penn football.

Last week, the BPI went 13-3 straight up and 6-10 against the streak. For the year (since Week 2), the BPI is 83-23 straight up and 53-52-1 against the spread.

*-denotes home team

Friday
Commonwealth Division
Central Dauphin by 22 over Carlisle*
Harrisburg by 29 over Central Dauphin East*
State College by 19 over Chambersburg*

Keystone Division
Bishop McDevitt by 23 over Hershey*
Cedar Cliff* by 9 over Lower Dauphin
Susquehanna Township by 24 over Mechanicsburg*

Colonial Division
Gettysburg by 17 over West Perry*
Big spring* by 35 over James Buchanan
Greencastle-Antrim* by 27 over Northern
Shippensburg by 39 over Waynesboro*

Capital Division
East Pennsboro by 10 over Milton Hershey*
Boiling Springs* by 8 over Middletown
Steelton-Highspire by 27 over Camp Hill*
Trinity by 30 over Palmyra*

Non-division
Cumberland Valley* by 41 over Red Land

Saturday
Non-conference
Pius X* by 23 over Susquenita

District 3 Power Ratings: The Pairings

Here is our weekly glance at what the District 3 playoffs would look like if the postseason began this weekend. The pairings are based on the official District 3 power ratings.

Class AAAA
Cedar Cliff (16, 4-3) at Dallastown (1, 7-0)
Central Dauphin (9, 5-2) at Governor Mifflin (8, 5-2)

Spring Grove (12, 4-3) at Cumberland Valley (5, 6-1)
South Western (13, 4-3) at Harrisburg (4, 6-1)

Central York (11, 4-3) at Red Lion (6, 5-2)
McCaskey (14, 4-3) at Daniel Boone (3, 7-0)

Manheim Township (10, 4-3) at Warwick (7, 5-2)
Exeter (15, 4-3) at Wilson (2, 7-0)

Class AAA
Kennard-Dale (16, 3-4) at Lampeter-Strasburg (1, 7-0)
Manheim Central (9, 4-3) at Hershey (8, 5-2)

East Pennsboro (12, 4-3) at Shippensburg (5, 6-1)
Solanco (13, 3-4) at Bishop McDevitt (4, 5-2)

Big Spring (11, 4-3) at West York (6, 5-2)
Garden Spot (14, 3-4) at Conrad Weiser (3, 6-1)

Gettysburg (10, 4-3) at Susquehanna Township (7, 5-2)
Cocalico (15, 3-4) at Greencastle-Antrim (2, 7-0)

Class AA
Hanover (8, 4-3) at Littlestown (1, 7-0)
Boiling Springs (5, 6-1) at Trinity (4, 6-1)

Delone Catholic (6, 6-1) at Wyomissing (3, 6-1)
Bermudian Springs (7, 5-2) at Lancaster Catholic (2, 7-0)

Class A
Upper Dauphin (8, 1-6) at Holy Name (1, 6-1)
Columbia (5, 2-5) at Millersburg (4, 4-3)

Halifax (6, 3-4) at York Catholic (3, 4-3)
Camp Hill (7, 1-6) at Steelton-Highspire (2, 4-3)

Dallastown, Boone living on borrowed time

Who could have foreseen Dallastown and Daniel Boone holding the top two spots in the District 3 Class AAAA power ratings after six weeks of football?

While it’s true that if the postseason began this weekend, the Wildcats and Blazers would be the top two seeds but we’re pretty sure neither would make it to Hersheypark Stadium for the district championship.

The reason is simple: both teams are taking advantage of sub-par schedules.

Dallastown has beaten only two teams – Warwick and West York – that currently have winning records and they’ve also played three Class AAA opponents. What’s more, in those two games against winning foes Wildcats struggled to narrow wins.

Dallastown, a member of YAIAA Division I, trailed Warwick, 14-0, in the season-opener against Warwick before rallying for a 17-14 win. Three weeks later, the Wildcats needed overtime to beat West York, 21-14.

Now, the schedule ramps up a bit with William Penn (3-3), Central York (4-2), Spring Grove (3-3) and Red Lion (5-1) as the remaining opponents.

If they navigate that stretch, the Wildcats will likely be the top seed but expect a deep run into December no matter what seed Dallastown nabs.

Now, for Daniel Boone.

In the past, the Blazers have been a blast to watch in the postseason, but that’s always been the AAA field when Boone routinely went on the road and produced wins in November. Now that it’s up to AAAA, the weak Inter-County Conference Section I schedule won’t help the Berks County school.

To date, Boone has played one other AAAA school, woeful Reading, and needed two overtimes to subdue the Red Knights, 39-33, last week.

Including Reading, Boone’s opponents through Week 6 have a cumulative record of 13-23 and it’s played one AAAA school, four AAA schools and one from Class A.

That’s not a schedule that will prepare Boone for the postseason and, for some reason, the Blazers sit ahead of teams like Central Dauphin (5-1), Cumberland Valley (5-1) and Wilson (6-0).

We give credit to both Dallastown and Boone for having such great seasons but let’s not fool ourselves. Both teams are going to qualify for the big-boy playoffs and if either is around for the semifinals, we’re going to be very surprised.

BPI Predictions: Week 7

Below is a look at what the Born Power Index thinks will happen this weekend in Mid-Penn football.

Last week, the BPI went 14-2 straight up and 12-4 against the spread. For the year (since Week 2), the BPI is 70-20 straight up and 47-42-1 against the spread.

Friday
Commonwealth Division
Carlisle by 5 over Chambersburg*
Cumberland Valley by 31 over Central Dauphin East*

Keystone Division
Susquehanna Twp.* by 9 over Cedar Cliff
Hershey by 12 over Red Land*

Colonial Division
Gettysburg* by 3 over Big Spring
Greencastle-Antrim by 67 over James Buchanan*
Shippensburg* by 14 over Northern
West Perry by 9 over Waynesboro*

Capital Division
Boiling Springs by 1 over Steelton-Highspire*
Camp Hill by 10 over Susquenita*
Milton Hershey by 3 over Middletown*
East Pennsboro* by 2 over Palmyra

Non-division
State College by 33 over Lower Dauphin*

Non-conference
Trinity* by 41 over Donegal

Saturday
Commonwealth Division
Harrisburg by 5 over Central Dauphin*

Keystone Division
Bishop McDevitt* by 46 over Mechanicsburg

Nye makes his college choice

East Pennsboro senior Zach Nye confirmed to The Sentinel on Tuesday that he will continue his wrestling career at the University of Virginia next fall.

Nye was the runner-up at 215 in last year's PIAA Class AAA championships and won the District 3 and Section 2 tournaments.

Nye was 39-1 last year with 21 falls and five technical falls. The senior, who is also a standout pitcher on the baseball team, has a career record of 101-13.

District 3 Power Ratings: The Pairings

Here is our weekly glance at what the District 3 playoffs would look like if the postseason began this weekend. The pairings are based on the official District 3 power ratings.

Class AAAA
Spring Grove (16, 3-3) at Dallastown (1, 6-0)
Manheim Twp. (9, 4-2) at Warwick (8, 4-2)

Exeter (12, 4-2) at Harrisburg (5, 5-1)
McCaskey (13, 4-2) at Red Lion (4, 5-1)

Central York (11, 4-2) at Cumberland Valley (6, 5-1)
Cedar Cliff (14, 4-2) at Wilson (3, 6-0)

Governor Mifflin (10, 4-2) at Central Dauphin (7, 5-1)
William Penn (15, 3-3) at Daniel Boone (2, 6-0)

Class AAA
Dover (16, 3-3) at Lampeter-Strasburg (1, 6-0)
Big Spring (9, 4-2) at Hershey (8, 4-2)

Manheim Central (12, 3-3) at Shippensburg (5, 5-1)
Central Catholic (13, 4-2) at Bishop McDevitt (4, 4-2)

Cocalico (11, 3-3) at West York (6, 4-2)
Palmyra (14, 4-2) at Conrad Weiser (3, 5-1)

Garden Spot (10, 3-3) at Susquehanna Twp. (7, 4-2)
Gettysburg (15, 3-3) at Greencastle-Antrim (2, 6-0)

Class AA
Hanover (8, 3-3) at Littlestown (1, 6-0)
Boiling Springs (5, 5-1) at Trinity (4, 5-1)

Delone Catholic (6, 5-1) at Wyomissing (3, 5-1)
Bermudian Springs (7, 4-2) at Lancaster Catholic (2, 6-0)

Class A
Upper Dauphin (8, 1-5) at Holy Name (1, 5-1)
Columbia (5, 2-4) at Millersburg (4, 4-2)

Halifax (6, 3-3) at York Catholic (3, 4-2)
Camp Hill (7, 1-5) at Steelton-Highspire (2, 4-2)

BPI Predictions: Week 6

Below is a look at what the Born Power Index thinks will happen this weekend in Mid-Penn football.

Last week, the BPI went 12-4 straight up and 9-7 against the spread. For the year (since Week 2), the BPI is 56-18 straight up and 35-38-1 against the spread.

*-denotes home team

Friday
Commonwealth Division
State College* by 18 over Carlisle
Cumberland Valley by 10 over Central Dauphin*

Keystone Division
Susquehanna Twp.* by 25 over Lower Dauphin
Red Land* by 7 over Mechanicsburg

Colonial Division
Greencastle-Antrim* by 18 over Gettysburg
Northern* by 30 over James Buchanan
Shippensburg by 25 over West Perry*
Big Spring* by 17 over Waynesboro

Capital Division
Trinity* by 29 over East Pennsboro
Steelton-Highspire by 2 over Milton Hershey*
Boiling Springs* by 33 over Susquenita
Palmyra* by 4 over Middletown

Non-conference
ELCO by 5 over Camp Hill*

Saturday
Commonwealth Division
Harrisburg* by 28 over Chambersburg

Keystone Division
Bishop McDevitt* by 25 over Cedar Cliff

Non-division
Hershey* by 18 over Central Dauphin East

District 3 Power Ratings: The Pairings

Here is our weekly glance at what the District 3 playoffs would look like if the postseason began this weekend. The pairings are based on the official District 3 power ratings.

Class AAAA
Carlisle (16, 3-2) at Dallastown (1, 5-0)
Cedar Cliff (9, 4-1) at Cumberland Valley (8, 4-1)

Central York (12, 3-2) at Red Lion (5, 4-1)
Warwick (13, 3-2) at Daniel Boone (4, 5-0)

Manheim Twp. (11, 3-2) at Governor Mifflin (6, 4-1)
South Western (14, 3-2) at Wilson (3, 5-0)

William Penn (10, 3-2) at Harrisburg (7, 4-1)
Spring Grove (15, 3-2) at Central Dauphin (2, 5-0)

Class AAA
Milton Hershey (16, 3-2) at Lampeter-Strasburg (1, 5-0)
Susquehanna Twp. (9, 3-2) at Central Catholic (8, 4-1)

Dover (12, 3-2) at Shippensburg (5, 4-1)
Lebanon (13, 3-2) at Hershey (4, 4-1)

Gettysburg (11, 3-2) at Bishop McDevitt (6, 3-2)
Big Spring (14, 3-2) at Conrad Weiser (3, 4-1)

Manheim Central (10, 3-2) at West York (7, 3-2)
East Pennsboro (15, 3-2) at Greencastle-Antrim (2, 5-0)

Class AA
Annville-Cleona (8, 3-2) at Littlestown (1, 5-0)
Boiling Springs (5, 4-1) at Delone Catholic (4, 4-1)

Trinity (6, 4-1) at Wyomissing (3, 4-1)
Bermudian Springs (7, 4-1) at Lancaster Catholic (2, 5-0)

Class A
Fairfield (8, 0-4) at Holy Name (1, 4-1)
Halifax (5, 3-2) at Millersburg (4, 3-2)

Columbia (6, 2-3) at York Catholic (3, 3-2)
Upper Dauphin (7, 1-4) at Steelton-Highspire (2, 3-2)

First time for everything

We'll post the projected District 3 power rating pairings later tonight but first, we wanted to applaud our area Class AAAA teams.

In what is now my fourth year of covering high school football at The Sentinel, today is the first time the power ratings have come out and all of our area Class AAAA teams are in the top 16.

Cumberland Valley checks in at No. 8 followed by Cedar Cliff at No. 9. Carlisle, on the strength of its stunning 28-27 overtime win against Susquehanna Twp., is the final team in at No. 16.

With five games remaining, the Thundering Herd likely needs to go 3-2 to crack the postseason. Before Friday's win, that seemed unlikely. Now, the sky is the limit for Carlisle and first-year coach Josh Oswalt.

PFN state rankings surprise

On the heels of a 17-14 loss to unbeaten Whitehall on Friday, previously top-ranked Easton fell completely out of the Pennsylvania Football News top 10 Class AAAA rankings.

The Red Rovers (4-1) are replaced at the top by defending PIAA Class AAAA champion LaSalle College, which blasted a good Roman Catholic side, 42-17, Friday night.

Thanks to Easton's exit, all other teams in the top 10 moved up one stop, including CV. The Eagles, who beat Chambersburg, 42-13, Friday, are now ranked ninth. CV has a 4-1 record. District 3 perennial powers Wilson (third) and Central Dauphin (seventh) also moved up one spot. The Bulldogs slammed Cedar Crest, 43-13, and Central Dauphin trashed rival CD East, 41-0, in Week 5.

Council Rock South (5-0) enters the rankings for the first time this year at No. 10. The Golden Hawks blanked Pennsbury, 24-0, Saturday.

Other classes

In Class AA, Trinity checks back in as a team to watch. The Shamrocks were listed in that category before the season started by fell out following a 35-7 season-opening loss to Lancaster Catholic. Since that game, Trinity hasn't scored fewer than 49 points and out-scored its opponents 203-14 and produced two shutouts. In a loaded District 3-AA bracket, the Shamrocks and their new spread offense might just be a sleeper team.