We’re taking a look around our coverage area to see who helped themselves this week and who did not as we move into Week No.9 of the high school football season.
STOCK UP
Mid-Penn Capital
We see you, Mid-Penn Capital Division. This last couple of weeks is going to be very, very entertaining. Undefeated Steel-High has two-loss Big Spring and one-loss Boiling Springs remaining on its schedule. Big Spring also has a game with Middletown, which put a full-metal-jacket fright into Boiling Springs last Friday. So many possibilities with so few answers right now. Doesn’t get much better than that.
The Mid-Penn’s playoff odds
Week 8 is in the books, so that means the PIAA District 3 Power Rankings are relevant. So, I looked. As of today, 16 teams from the Mid-Penn Conference would be playoff eligible from the five divisions spread across the six classifications. Those are some pretty heady numbers in my book.
West Perry
West Perry has a real opportunity to be a six-win team and qualify for the playoffs as a Class 3A school. And, yes, we are well aware the Mustangs were clocked by Shippensburg last Friday.
With a 4-4 overall mark right now, this squad from Elliottsburg has overachieved to be currently resting in the fourth and final playoff spot in the District 3 Class 3A bracket. Lancaster Catholic is breathing down their neck at No. 5, but West Perry isn’t very far behind No. 3 Hamburg and its 5-3 overall record. The Mustangs have Greencastle-Antrim and Susquehanna Township remaining. Can they win both games and secure a playoff berth?
That’s what will most likely be required to lock down a spot with no worries. Go 1-1 and the road becomes murkier. The game with Greencastle this week is sticky. The Blue Devils are 3-5 but have shown up and given a respectable performance each and every week. They require your best to beat them.
STOCK DOWN
Carlisle’s playoff odds
Carlisle secured that signature victory for 2021 it’s been very close to obtaining by edging State College by a touchdown. It improved the Herd to 5-3 overall. So, why are they in the stock down? Because they most likely have to win both of their final two regular season games and finish 7-3 to be a playoff team. I don’t think a 6-4 Carlisle team makes it because its early season schedule of Mechanicsburg, Hershey and Cedar Crest isn’t helping the cause very much, although the 5-3 Wildcats are doing their part. The Herd have Altoona and CD East left to play, and it feels like for a team on such a high after such a big win they are already in playoff mode. That’s tough.
3 winless teams
Susquehanna Township, Line Mountain and Mifflin County are the only remaining Mid-Penn Conference programs without a win in 2021. The ‘Hanna Tribe and Eagles from Mandata have some program history pedigree, so you hope this is just a one-year thing. When you enter Week 9 looking for that first win under your belt everything seems more difficult than you imagined it ever could be.
