A Run of a Lifetime

We at Clairton has been blessed with one of the greatest runs in Western Pennsylvania History. We've seen players come through the program like Dana Brown, Kevin Weatherspoon, Desimon Green, Trenton Coles, and Tyler Boyd these past 6-7 years.

What can I say about this program as of late other than WOW, or thats UNBELIEVABLE. Its easy to get caught up in the stats or the current winning streak or the streak of titles won in both the WPIAL and PIAA.

Heck the Bears went down to Texas and competed with schools twice the size of McKeesport and ended up in 2nd Place in a 7 on 7 tournament. I do understand that 7 on 7's aren't the best barometer of a program but to me this proved that Clairton, at least at the skill positions, are as good as any program in the entire nation.

It has been something hasn't it?

We all watch the news or see the negativity of our city on Facebook, Twitter, or in the daily papers. But we always have this football program to make us smile. For 2 and a half hours on Friday nights all that negativity is forgotten as we watch these kids play the game that they love.

But what we must remember is this run won't last forever. There is always the risk of the school closing down or the current run of phenomenal players runs dry. The latter is bound to happen. So lets enjoy this run while it lasts. Sometimes even I gets a little too arrogant when judging other schools after the Bears blow them out. I do think some of us fans has gotten a little spoiled. It happens. The Steelers and Penguins fan base are excellent examples of this.

I hear the 2A chatter. There was a time when I led the charge in this. Matt Popchock of 93.7 wrote an excellent article on this subject matter. In my opinion, with graduation this year, the Bears needs to add 25-30 more kids on top of the 25 kids left on the roster-which is about 7-8 more kids a class. Until then I don't think its a viable option. And thats rather unfortunate because its preventing players like Tyler Boyd from being challenged and taking his game to another level. 

And I do understand that Jeannette and Aliquippa has Single A Enrollment, but remember they never played Class A Ball and dropped from 3A to 2A in the late 80's early 90's.

Honestly, I do think the depth of Class A in the WPIAL and even the state is a little down. Other than maybe 1 or 2 teams, its just hard for even me to get up for conference or even playoff games. If the well runs dry by 2013, why punish that team by playing Keystone Oaks and South Fayette for the achievements of the 2008 through the 2011 teams.

The game against Sharpsville may be yet another blowout, or it could be the end of the 45 game winning streak. We'll find out Friday Night up at Slippery Rock University. The winner of the Clairton/ Sharpsville game will take on the winner of the Southern Columbia/ Penns Manor game next Friday at 1PM in Hershey PA.

Everybody from the Press, to fans of other schools, and Clairton fans themselves needs to simply enjoy the brilliance they're seeing in front of their eyes. This is one of the greatest runs in WPIAL history. Clairton isn't going 2A anytime soon and may simply close down in the very near future. Who knows what the future holds for the Bears. What we do know is that our Bears is primed for a 3rd State Championship.

On another note, on or around December 12th the enrollment figures will be released. Who knows which programs will drop to 1A or jump up to 2A. And around February the new conferences and schedule matrix's will be released for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. 

Bears Ready to Take on the Sto Rox Vikings

The Bears are seeking their 4th Straight WPIAL Championship at Heinz Field this Saturday and also their 5th in a 6 year Time frame.

On must ask, how is it possible that this team isn't getting respect, but it seems like every week there is a perceived negative article on the Bears.

The Bears are 12-0 and has scored 554 points and only given up 45 points for an average of 46.2-3.8 a game.

The Bears counterpart, Sto Rox Vikings are also 12-0 and has scored 511 points and has given up 105 for an average of 42.6- 8.8 points a game.

Clairton and Sto Rox has 5 Common opponents in Carlynton, Rochester, Western Beaver, Cornell, and Brentwood.

Clairton has won on an average of 44.2-1.4, while Sto Rox has won on an average of 40.0-6.6.

Ultimately the game will come down to who can control the lines, and to the team that has more discipline as well as turnovers. Because as we all can see, both teams have similar numbers with Clairton averaging a little more on offense and giving up a little less on defense.

Both the Vikings and Bears have D1 Talent all over the place in Trenton Coles, Tyler Boyd, and Titus Howard from the Bears; and Deashawn Rippy, Marzette Geter, and Dontez Ford from the Vikings.

I must say both teams are mirror image's of each other at nearly every position.

Capri Thomspon(Clairton) and Lenny Williams(Sto Rox) are very athletic and capable QB's. Josh Beverly(Sto Rox), and Tyler Boyd(Clairton) are workhorse type of running backs. And both teams have a plethora of WR's to throw to in Trenton Coles, Byron Clifford, and Titus Howard from the Bears and Marzette Geter, Dontez Ford, and TE Deashawn Rippy from the Vikings.

At this point its just hard to pick against a team that has won 43 straight games, 2 State Titles, and 3 straight WPIAL titles.

Neither team has seen a team on the other side with as much talent, if not more, than them in some time.

Past history tells me that this should be an all out defensive slug fest. But I think this game is going to play out differently than past games. Ultimately I'm going to take the Bears in a 35-21 win; and hush up the critics until the next big time match up of course. HA

WPIAL Class A Title Game

Where: Heinz Field

When: Saturday, Sept 26

Time: 11:00 AM

Broadcasted Live on Root Sports and MSA internet radio.

Is there even a 2011 football season

 2011 equals Armageddon in my eyes. I can't remember a year when the sport of football is the sideshow while the main story has been some sort of controversy.

All summer long we had to deal with the NFL Lockout and wondering if the season was going to happen at all. Good to see Goodell, the owners, and the players put ego's aside and working on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Either way, it was definitely a scandal that lasted most of the summer.

Also during the summer months we had the Ohio State/Jim Tressel/ Terrell Pryor saga where players sold merchandise and for exchange they received tattoos. And on top of that players was receiving cars and other items from big money boosters.

At the University of Miami, you had the Nevin Shapiro-who ran an illegal ponzi scheme, hand out money to 72 players from 2002 through 2010. Some writers such as Dan Wetzel -of Yahoo Sports- indicated that Miami may receive the "Death Penalty".

From August on, the biggest news story has been College Football Realignment.

We saw Texas A&M and later the University of Missouri head to the SEC, while the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University head to the ACC and Texas Christian University and West Virginia University head to the Big XII.

In the middle of all the actual movement of schools you had various rumors like the University of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma University, and Oklahoma State University going to the Pac 12, and the Big XII left over schools heading to the Big East.

Heck there was even rumors of Notre Dame sending its none football sports into the Big XII, Louisville trying to get into the Big XII, and UConn trying to get into the ACC.

There are some things still going on in the Realignment process as the Big East rebuilds itself. It appears that the University of Central Florida, University of Houston, and Southern Methodist University will be All Sports Members while Boise State University, Air Force Academy, and the Naval Academy will be football only schools. Different rumors out there indicate the number 12 sport could either be Brigham Young University or San Diego State University. Stay tuned I guess as that stuff shakes itself out.

If you thought that the Miami, and OSU's scandals was insane, then I guess you haven't been paying attention to what has been happening up in State College PA.

It is one of the most appalling story's I have ever followed and I'm just saddened by the way Joe Paterno's name will forever be tarnished. My grandfather adored JoePa, and I wonder what my pap would think about this situation if he was still here today. And the sad part is, it just feels like we haven't seen anything yet in regards on how big of a story this is going to get.

It just saddens me to see how greed and corruption is ruining the sport that I love. From lockouts, to players illegally getting paid, to 100 year rivalries being lost, and a child molestation scandal being swept under the rug, one must ask... when will this end? What more is out there waiting in the wings to be put to light? I'm just sick to my stomach right now.

Here's the worst part, I didn't touch on all of the various scandals this year. There are many more and I really just don't want to talk about anymore right now.

Even as a football crazed guy as I am, its even hard for me to get excited when a game comes on TV. And that's just a shame. It just seems like the only football that I truly give a damn about is High School football anymore. And how I feel right now, I could live with that.

Down Year for the Eastern Conference

I've learned plenty of things as I been blogging and score comparisons is one thing that should never be applied in judging potential match ups.

Team A beats Team B by 30 and Team B beats Team 3 by 21 and people immediately assume that Team A should beat Team C by 50+. But it almost never works out that way. I remember hearing about Rochester beating Monessen by 2 TD's and the following week Clairton beat Monessen 46-0 and immediately assumed that Clairton was 3-4 TD's better than Rochester.

But when I look at the Eastern Conference as a whole, I've noticed a plethora of tightly battled contested games. The only school that really stuck out to me was Bishop Canevin. Other than North Catholic(19-0 win) and Springdale (7-6 win) they've blown out the competition including a 33-6 win over Avonworth.

Fast forward to the playoffs, Avonworth beat California 28-16 in a tougher than expected game where the halftime score was only 7-2 in Avonworth's favor.

Springdale needed 65 points to put a beat up Monessen team into the mercy rule and gave up 30 points in the process.

Beth Center-whom I consider the one team that stood out- needed Chartiers Houston mistakes to win on a 27-23come from behind victory.

Northgate, in the Eastern Conference's only loss, took one in the chin losing 48-22 to Rochester.

Northgate played everyone tough in the Eastern except for Bishop Canevin(42-0) and Springdale(26-12).

I know its easy to look at their 3-1 record in the first round and think that's impressive with the naked eye. But when the Top 3 schools struggle with perceived lessor competition that raises my eyebrow just a little. And Northgate getting smoked by Rochester is a testament to that.

First glance could be that the TCS may have gotten a little better when its competing a little better but with its blow out losses to Sto Rox(beat Frazier 69-25)  and Fort Cherry. I have to point the fact that the Eastern Conference just isn't its usual self this season.

I'm fully anticipating all 3 schools from the Eastern Conference to go down this week in possible blowout fashion. If Springdale is giving up 30 to a beaten up Monessen team, how many points will a much better Clairton team score on them. If Avonworth is struggling with California, how well can we expect them to compete with a much better Rochester team. If Bishop Canevin barely beat Chartiers Houston, what can we expect against Fort Cherry-who blasted Char Houston 37-13 just 2 weeks ago).

Its definitely a down year for the Eastern Conference. It happens to all leagues. It'll most likely be back with a vengeance next season.

But until then I'm sticking with my picks of Clairton over Springdale; Rochester over Avonworth; Sto Rox over Brentwood; and Fort Cherry over Bishop Canevin to set up Clairton vs Rochester and Sto Rox vs Fort Cherry for the right to play at Heinz Field. 

A Happy Valley No more

I'm sure everyone heard this story so I'm not going to rehash every single detail here. We all know Jerry Sandusky is facing serious sexual assault charges on children.

But I want to ask a few questions regarding the lack of action taken here. Why didn't the Grad Assistant not only go to Joe Paterno but to the police. Hell why didn't Joe Paterno go to the police. Its one thing to report a situation to your superiors but why not follow up if there was a legit police report on this matter. Why didn't the janitor that witnessed this go to the police as well.

I think there was some negligence on the part of JoePa, the janitor, and the Grad Assistant for not going to the authorities.

I'm just also curious if this is only the tip of the iceberg. In many cases such as this one, more allegations come out in the following weeks/months. And with Sandusky being on the Penn State coaching staff from 1977 to 1999 it makes me wonder if there was other cases as early as the late 70's through the 80's. How many other people may be involved in this alleged cover up, and is JoePa himself in on the coverup?

I've seen people throw out the possibility of Penn State being suspended or kicked out of the Big 10, or even Penn State "saving face" and simply leaving the Big 10. Another thing being throw out there is that the NCAA needs to hit Penn State with harsh penalties.

Lets me make this clear, the Big 10 isn't going to boot PSU nor will PSU leave the Big 10 over this. And from every lawyer and media type I've chatted with, each tells me this is a legal matter and the NCAA won't hand down any sanctions.

But PSU needs to "clean house" from its President, to the AD, to every coach on the staff and move on. It'll be a tough transition but the Boosters and BOT needs to do this as soon as the season is over.

I have no idea what kind of effect this story will have on recruiting. I've read a few recruits comments on twitter and this might cause PSU to lose a few recruits they might have otherwise would've added to their class. But I do pose a question for parents of kids that are recruits- would you allow your kid to go to Penn State for a recruiting visit knowing there may be a possibility these very coach's covered up a heinous crime?

All in all this is a much bigger story than just football. I'm hoping no further allegations come out regarding Sandusky's case. Its just sad for football that JoePa will be going out on a major allegation, and its sad for PA in general to watch as this scandal unfolds.

Class A Round 2 Predictions

Clairton 45 Springdale 7
Rochester 30 Avonworth 14

Sto Rox 55 Brentwood 21
Fort Cherry 21 Bishop Canevin 20

Hey WPIAL/Root Sports; We have a problem

Alright WPIAL if you want to continue the deal with Root sports then we need to change venues for the Championship game.

There will be much, much more flexibility to televise these 4 games if you had the 1A and 3A on Friday and 2A and 4A on Saturday.

Think about this, if there is a Penguins game on at Noon, you could start the 1A or 2A game at 4 and still start the 3A or 4A game at 7/7:30. Its far easier to schedule around the Pens game this way.

All this scheduling games between 9 and 10 AM is doing no good at all. You're forcing kids to wake up between 5 and 6 AM to go to their schools to get on a bus to travel downtown and then prepare for the game.

Now if you really want to keep the games at Heinz, isn't it time to go to a different media outlet to broadcast the games. Whats wrong with CW, PCNC, and hell what about WTAE 4-2 on the digital side?

The fact that this years games will be 2A at 9:30, 3A at Noon and 4A at 3:30/4PM with the 1A game at 8PM with 0 live TV coverage is a problem with me. So what are you telling me WPIAL/Root that 1A games aren't "important" enough to be on live TV.

I do understand that the 2A and 4A games was effected by Penguins games in the past. And just maybe it is 1A's turn to be effected by it.

The only benefit I see with an 8PM start time is Class A will be "under the lights" and its closer to the normal start time of 7:30 for the 2 1A schools involved in the game.

Is it really fair to the kids to be constantly changing around the start times for these games, and 9-10AM start times even if the WPIAL went to another Network. And personally, its really time to start thinking about another venue!