Southeastern Pennsylvania Top 101.
La Salle College (Wyndmoor) (12-1: Weeks rated: 14. Last Week: 1.)
2.
Archbishop Wood (Warminster) (13-0: Weeks rated: 14. Last Week: 2.)
3.
North Penn (Lansdale) (13-1: Weeks rated: 14. Last Week: 3.)
4.
West Catholic (Philadelphia) (11-2: Weeks rated: 14. Last Week: 4.)
5. Neshaminy (12-2: Season over.)
6. Strath Haven (12-2: Season over.)
7. Council Rock South (11-2: Season over.)
8. West Chester Rustin (11-2: Season over.)
9. Pottsgrove (10-3: Season over.)
10. Abington (9-3: Season over.)
Allentown Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough and everyone else watching on that 2007 fall night found out fast someone special was in their midst. A linebacker came away with an open, clear path toward the freshman quarterback playing in just his second game. What happened next for everyone that saw it transpire still remembers.
Allentown Central Catholic's Brendan Nosovitch.
File photo by Anthony Watson
took the shot from the linebacker, rolled free from his arms, scrambled to find some room to throw and nailed a wide-open receiver 45 yards down field for a touchdown. It was just the beginning for the Allentown Central Catholic three-year starting quarterback who was named Pennsylvania's 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year.
The 6-3, 190-pound junior has thrown for 2,458 yards and 37 touchdowns for the 14-0 Vikings, also rushing for 1,417 yards and 20 touchdowns. He's become almost impossible to defend. For teams stacking the line of scrimmage, trying to stuff the run, that's easy. Nosovitch passes over them.
For defenses trying to congest the passing lanes and make it hard to throw, Nosovitch has toasted them for 8.34 yards per rush and 101.2 yards rushing a game.
It's almost reached a point that whatever the gifted Nosovitch wants to do, he does.
It goes back to the skinny freshman wiggling out of harm's way and a determined linebacker's grasp that started it all.
"I remember that play," Nosovitch himself recalled. "I remember dropping back and looking down the field. I saw something coming at me in the corner of my eye and laid the ball to a receiver down the field. I think the defense thought the play was over and the receiver was sitting there wide open in the end zone.
"It was my third varsity touchdown, but it definitely gave me a lot of confidence ending my freshman year. I've been playing quarterback and feeling comfortable with the position my whole life. I think for me, sometimes, it's not so much seeing pressure, but feeling the pressure around me. When you play for so long, you get used to it."
Nosovitch will be the centerpiece of one of the nation's premier state playoff matchups this weekend when undefeated 13-0 Archbishop Wood plays Allentown Central Catholic this Friday at 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium in the PIAA Class AAA state semifinals.
MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football playoff bracketsThe winner advances to next Friday night's Class AAA state title game at HersheyPark Stadium against the winner of Cathedral Prep and Bishop McDevitt.
Getting by Wood won't be easy.
"Wood probably does have one of the best offensive lines in the state, and one of the best lines we'll see this year," said Allentown Central head coach Fairclough. "Wood is very good at both running back positions. Their linebackers are active and physical and they make tackles inside the box. Wood is solid in all three phases of the game.
"We have Brendan, but he'll be the first to tell you, he's good because he's behind a good offensive line and because of the skill guys he has. Brendan is special, but he's special because he gets the ball in the hands of his skill people, and let's them make plays. Though I have to say Wood is probably the best team we'll see this season."
And Nosovitch, who many compare to Northwestern University quarterback Dan Persa, is unlike any player Wood has faced this season.
"Wood is probably the toughest team we'll face," said Nosovitch, who's already receiving interest from Pitt, Rutgers, UConn, Northwestern and Penn State. "They get up the field fast. We're just going to have to game plan for them and see what happens."
NORTH PENN'S REVENGE REMATCHIt seems like three years ago, not three months ago, when North Penn opened its season in a 27-14 loss to defending PIAA Class AAAA state champion La Salle on Sept. 3.
The Knights are a much different team than they were then, winning 13 straight games entering the PIAA Class AAAA state semifinals against La Salle, this Saturday at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School at 1 p.m.
The winner will play next Saturday at HersheyPark Stadium at 5 p.m. in the PIAA Class AAAA state title game against the Cumberland-North Allegheny winner.
North Penn, 13-1 overall, was hoping to exact some revenge on Ridley, which knocked the Knights out of last year's state playoffs in the District 1 championship. But the Green Raiders didn't hold up their end of the bargain getting upset in the first round.
La Salle, however, is a nice consolation prize, considering North Penn held a 14-6 lead in the opening half of their first game, and the Knights had to play without Dom Taggert, who scored the two North Penn touchdowns but didn't play the second half of the first game with an ankle injury.
Since then, North Penn has rolled over everyone in its path, outscoring its opponents by a combined 490-163, which includes possibly the Knights' most impressive victory this season, a 42-6 romp over Neshaminy, which previously had one loss, last Friday in the District 1 championship.
"They're an excellent and powerful football team," La Salle coach Drew Gordon said of North Penn. "They're fast, they're strong, and we're definitely going to have our hands full."
North Penn is also fueled by something else — making up for that first game.
"We know they're a throwing team and they like running that bubble screen to
Jamal Abdur-Rahman, so we have a good idea of what La Salle likes to do," said North Penn standout junior linebacker
Ralph Reeves. "I think we're a completely different team than we were earlier in the season.
"We had new players getting used to the system and we've seemed to develop more of a chemistry. Our offensive line has really stepped up and we weren't tackling very well in the beginning of the year. We've been getting better every week — and that's what we needed to do."
The game will also feature two of the best backs in Eastern Pennsylvania, La Salle's Abdur-Rahman, and North Penn's Craig Needhammer, who's rushed for more than 1,300 yards and injured his ankle against Neshaminy, though says he'll be ready to play against La Salle.
Joseph Santoliquito can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.
