HS Football: Week 7 recap, favorites roll to big wins
Blue Mountain's Dylan Foose (59) and William Shaner (11) tackle a Lehighton ballcarrier during the Eagles' 49-34 win over the Indians at the Eagles Nest (Photo by Brook Koch-Guers).
It was a big week for the favorites in the Schuylkill-Colonial Football Cooperative.
There were no surprises among the 14 games involving cooperative teams Friday and Saturday … in fact, every game was decided by two scores or more.
Offenses clicked on all cylinders for the winners in Week 7, with 12 teams scoring 40 or more points. Four teams — Notre Dame-Green Pond (59), Schuylkill Haven (55), Tri-Valley (53) and North Schuylkill (52) — topped the 50-point mark, while Lehighton (34) and Williams Valley (35) were in the 30s.
The only game that was low-scoring was Nativity’s 20-6 victory over Mahanoy Area.
Here’s some notes and tidbits as we prepare for a three-day weekend of Week 8 contests:
STILL UNDEFEATED: Four Schuylkill-Colonial teams remained perfect on the season and have 7-0 records — Northwestern Lehigh, Notre Dame-Green Pond, Schuylkill Haven and Southern Lehigh.
STILL WINLESS: Three Schuylkill-Colonial teams are still in search of their first victory — Bangor, Shenandoah Valley, Wilson Area.
DIVISION RACES: Southern Lehigh and Northwestern Lehigh remained on a Week 10 collision course for the Red Division crown. The Spartans are 6-0 in league play, while the Tigers are 5-0.
Both White Division leader Notre Dame-Green Pond and Blue Division leader Schuylkill Haven routed teams that entered Week 7 one game behind them in the loss column. The Crusaders waffled Pen Argyl 59-7, while the Hurricanes dismantled Marian 55-14.
Notre Dame-Green Pond can clinch the White Division crown Friday when it hosts Palisades (5-2, 4-1 White). Schuylkill Haven holds a one-game lead over Williams Valley in the Blue Division, but has already defeated the Vikings head-to-head.
SCORING AVERAGES: Here’s a look at the offensive and defensive team scoring averages for Schuylkill area teams through seven weeks:
Offense — Schuylkill Haven 357 (51.0 ppg), Minersville 285 (40.7), Williams Valley 266 (38.0), North Schuylkill 252 (36.0), Tri-Valley 232 (33.1), Blue Mountain 228 (32.6), Lehighton 188 (31.3), Marian 188 (31.3), Jim Thorpe 160 (22.9), Tamaqua 129 (18.4), Nativity 119 (17.0), Pottsville 110 (15.7), Panther Valley 94 (13.4), Shenandoah Valley 77 (11.0), Pine Grove 68 (9.7), Mahanoy Area 47 (6.7).
Defense — Tri-Valley 66 (9.4 ppg), Williams Valley 104 (14.9), Schuylkill Haven 114 (16.3), Minersville 116 (16.6), Nativity 150 (21.4), Blue Mountain 151 (21.6), Marian 162 (23.1), North Schuylkill 167 (23.9), Lehighton 168 (24.0), Tamaqua 173 (24.7), Pine Grove 183 (26.1), Pottsville 187 (26.7), Jim Thorpe 200 (28.6), Panther Valley 228 (32.6), Mahanoy Area 256 (36.6), Shenandoah Valley 270 (38.6).
DISTRICT 11 RATINGS: Not much has changed from Week 6 to Week 7 as far as the District 11 playoff races are concerned.
Despite their win over Mahanoy Area, Nativity is still on the outside looking in the District 2/11 Class A subregional, sitting in fifth behind Lackawanna Trail, Marian, Tri-Valley and Holy Cross.
In Class AA, Schuylkill Haven and Williams Valley remain 1-2, followed by Palisades, Pen Argyl, Minersville, Northern Lehigh, Executive Education and Catasauqua. Mahanoy Area and Shenandoah Valley would be out if the season ended today.
In Class 3A, Notre Dame-Green Pond, Northwestern Lehigh and North Schuylkill remain 1-2-3. Saucon Valley leapfrogged Tamaqua to fourth, with the Blue Raiders in fifth, Panther Valley in sixth, Palmerton in seventh and Salisbury in eighth. Pine Grove is the lone team out here.
In Class 4A, Blue Mountain’s win cemented the Eagles in fourth place, behind Bethlehem Catholic, Southern Lehigh and Allentown Central Catholic. Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, Pottsville and Bangor would round out the field at the moment. Bangor, Wilson Area and East Stroudsburg North are 8-9-10 and all three are 0-7.
Here’s the Schuylkill-Colonial Football Cooperative standings through seven games:
Schuylkill-Colonial Football Cooperative Standings
| *** Standings for games played through Saturday, Oct. 4*** | ||||
RED DIVISION |
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| Team | League | Overall | Last Week’s game | This week’s opponent |
| Southern Lehigh | 6-0 | 7-0 | W, Tamaqua, 49-6 | Bangor |
| Northwestern Lehigh | 5-0 | 7-0 | W, Pottsville, 42-0 | at Jim Thorpe |
| Blue Mountain | 3-2 | 4-3 | W, Lehighton, 49-34 | at North Schuylkill (Thurs) |
| North Schuylkill | 3-2 | 4-3 | W, Bangor 52-22 | Blue Mountain (Thurs) |
| Lehighton | 2-3 | 3-4 | L, Blue Mountain, 34-49 | at Tamaqua |
| Tamaqua | 2-3 | 3-4 | L, Southern Lehigh, 6-49 | Lehighton |
| Pottsville | 2-4 | 2-5 | L, NW Lehigh, 42-0 | at Wilson Area (Sat) |
| Jim Thorpe | 1-4 | 3-4 | W, Catasauqua, 49-13 | Northwestern Lehigh |
| Bangor | 0-6 | 0-7 | L, North Schuylkill, 22-52 | at Southern Lehigh |
WHITE DIVISION |
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| Notre Dame-Green Pond | 5-0 | 7-0 | W, Pen Argyl, 59-7 | Palisades |
| Palisades | 4-1 | 5-2 | W, Palmerton, 41-6 | at Notre Dame-GP |
| Pen Argyl | 4-2 | 5-2 | L, Notre Dame-GP, 7-59 | Saucon Valley (Sat) |
| Northern Lehigh | 3-2 | 4-3 | W, Wilson Area, 42-8 | Catasauqua |
| Saucon Valley | 3-3 | 4-3 | W, Salisbury, 40-13 | at Pen Argyl (Sat) |
| Catasauqua | 2-3 | 3-4 | L, Jim Thorpe, 13-49 | at Northern Lehigh |
| Palmerton | 2-3 | 2-5 | L, Palisades, 6-41 | at Salisbury |
| Salisbury | 1-4 | 2-5 | L, Saucon Valley, 13-40 | Palmerton |
| Wilson Area | 0-6 | 0-7 | L, Northern Lehigh, 8-42 | Pottsville (Sat) |
BLUE DIVISION |
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| Schuylkill Haven | 6-0 | 7-0 | W, Marian, 55-14 | Pine Grove |
| Williams Valley | 5-1 | 6-1 | W, Panther Valley, 35-14 | at Marian |
| Marian | 4-2 | 5-2 | L, Schuylkill Haven, 14-55 | Williams Valley |
| Minersville | 4-2 | 5-2 | W, Pine Grove, 43-0 | at Nativity |
| Tri-Valley | 4-2 | 5-2 | W, Shen. Valley, 53-8 | Mahanoy Area |
| Nativity | 3-3 | 4-3 | W, Mahanoy Area, 20-6 | Minersville |
| Panther Valley | 2-4 | 2-5 | L, Williams Valley, 14-35 | Shenandoah Valley |
| Mahanoy Area | 1-5 | 1-6 | L, Nativity, 6-20 | at Tri-Valley |
| Pine Grove | 1-5 | 1-6 | L, Minersville, 0-43 | at Schuylkill Haven |
| Shenandoah Valley | 0-6 | 0-7 | L, Tri-Valley, 8-53 | at Panther Valley |
