Share your predictions and discuss Friday’s games here.
District One Class AAAA
Quarterfinals
No. 7 Spring-Ford at No. 2 Ridley
District One Class AAA
Semifinals
No. 3 Interboro at No. 2 Academy Park
Delco Football
Your source for all things high school football in Delaware County
Delco Football 
6 first half turnovers for ridley. but 2nd half it was all ridley. shame the extra point cost the green raiders tonight
6 turnovers, 2 for TDs, 2 when going in, punt return for TD called back, missed xp, failed 2 pt conversion. Are you kidding me?? That is not Ridley football. SLOPPY! Nd #1RB goes own in 1st quarter. All that and lose by 2?? The better team lost tonight. And deservingly so. I’ve been saying ALL YEAR (go back and read) that Ridley’s play calling has been terrible and too conservative with wright at QB. They opened it up and let him throw in the 2nd half and he lit it up!! I’m so angry right now. This ridley team was not great. But they were def in the mix of D1. EVERYTHING SF got was given to them. Pennridge beats them by 17 next weekend. Coatesville wins D1. Parkland beats LaSalle & Coatesville & beats North Allegheny to win the state championship. PARKLAND IS ON FIRE!!
Glad I could be the first to post. How about those Interboro boys!!Huh? I’ll concede to one of Matts posts that if Interboro won it would be an upset. Well it was an upset, Interboro, back yard brawled with AP and shown them who was boss. While the score seemed close let’s not forget Buc’s had 4 turnovers and in my opinion left another 14 points on the field which actually would have made this a pretty handy win. They completely dominated Lanier(although i’m not sure if he even had 100 yards) I think his best run was only a 20 yard tote. And much to my suprise Street was mediocre at best when the bulls on the Buc’s front line had him scrambling for his life. The Buc’s caused AP so much grief in the final 5:30 of the game after Evertons explosive long TD reception, when a double move actually made defenders look stumped as he used his break away speed to the endzone. All momentum began to change, Buc’s defense became like rabid animals creating incomplete passes and putting actual fear of losing deep into the soul of AP. It was evidenced by a crazy snap on a 4th down punt for AP which left the punter scrambling feverishly for the ball only to lose the battle and it was picked up by the Bucs. It took 2 drives before Bucs RB barelled through the AP interior defense like a freightliner. Then Mr dependable Cristaldi hits the go ahead x-tra point. In the last minute with the ball in AP’s possession they spent a couple downs running around the field like they were being chased by a demon. Incomplete passes , runs with no gain and ultimately the the flub up in the air pass which was picked by LB steven Phillips to ice the game.
After speaking to a few of the Buc’s players they unanimously agreed it was much sweeter beating the new DEL-Val champs and allowing them only 2 weeks to enjoy it and then steal away the free pass to the districts which AP felt they were entitled too. Great game BUC’s everyone of you players and for the teams playmakers you all stepped up like we all knew you would. And Lennox thanks for spreading the pass around, Simmons, Fenress, Mathis and Everton, you had to have known at least one of them would break the game open for you.
Lastly in all fairness, 2 weeks ago I was parked on the side street where the opposing teams bus travels down to leave the South Ave complex. I always wait until the traffic dies down before I leave and as the AP buses were the last traffic off the street I couldn’t help but hearing then singing, “Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye! Talk about word’s coming back to haunt ya, Aye! Bu’c are going to the districts, baby!
Woops my bad people got there post’s in before me.
My condolences to Ridley, I was rooting for you guys in AAAA.
And I must not forget to thank ANDY for his support of Interboro throughout the season helping me to help people understand that Interboro was a much much much better team than they were getting credit for. I believe I will finally get to see my BUCS moved up to #2 after this Friday nights games, in the infamous Super 7, but only one person knows who that will be at this time. HA HA
6 Turnovers don’t happen on their own. Give Spring-Ford credit for outplaying and upsetting Ridley. Spring-Ford was the better team.
Na, sorry. AT LEAST 3 of the turnovers were giveaways rather than take aways. Like, literally giving the ball to SF. They might as well have handed them the ball. Ridley out gained SF 570 to 240. But SF plays next Friday night at Pennridge and that’s all that matters. A game they’ll lose by 17. They’ve given up 1065 yards in the last 2 weeks to 2 teams that I’d consider to be “above average” offensively.
So the Bucs are the last team standing. As Big_Buc mentioned, I had been saying they were a pretty darn good team back when they were out of the Super 7 and saying they should be in it. I only saw them play once. They did not execute well against EA, but I can see talent when I see it – and I knew they had good coaching.
Congrats to to INT and I’m rooting for them to win districts, but also congrats to AP and Ridley for having great seasons.
AP was kind of a dark horse all season that only seemed to have a few weeks in the limelight recently, and though I did not see them play, great job winning the Del Val regular season and nothing to hang their heads about. They are deserving of finishing the season as one of the top teams in Delco.
I feel for Ridley. Turnovers are a tough way to lose. I feel Ridley was the better team, but that was too much to overcome. The Ridley kids should still be proud of a great season. I know expectations are high for one of the most storied high school football programs in PA, but undefeated regular season, CL champs – and never giving up is something to be proud of.
Andy, as far as Ridley (and the fans) goes, It’s just not enough. It’s another disappointing season. Yeah, I said it. ANY other Delco team and its fans would be thrilled with 11-1. Not us. Not me. Storied history, yes. But at the end of the day we still have a goose egg in the state championship department. Ridley will never get the true recognition that they deserve until the get one. They’ll continue to be that scrappy, hard hitting team that no one wants to play. But they don’t command the respect of schools like North Penn and Neshaminy because those teams won one. For me, it’s another heartbreaking season. There are ALWAYS expectations. And it’s draining to continue to come up JUST short. But it’s always a fumble (1990 with state title in hand, punter on goal line after comeback against parkland, Randolph going in to take lead into the half against LaSalle, 4 last night including coia’s back breaker in the end zone), or a missed extra point(Henderson in 2010, last night, and the 30 others over the past couple years), or a minute, or a win, or a game, or a yard, or something that keeps this team from greatness. And as a fan it’s frustrating. Ridley fans aren’t your typical HS football fans. There is a Tremendous sense of pride that no one outside of Ridley could ever understand. Wright coming up a yard short on the 2 point conversion is the prefect summary of what it’s like to be a Ridley fan. Good, but just not good enough. Close, but just not close enough. I guess the Green Mystique is good enough to put you RIGHT THERE… But not over the top. Disappointing!!
While I can’t relate to what like to root for a program with such a rich history and high expectations, I feel for ya.
However, with Ridley there is always next year as they are always good. while I understand your frustration, also remember to count your blessings. Nobody outside of Ridley gets to root for that kind of success year in and decade out.
Thank you for clarifying the Green Mystique. You’re right, I never quite understood that once Interboro started winning all of the close, last minute victories on Thanksgiving. The larger margins of victory? Clearly the better team won.
I have always been impressed with the graciousness of the PA announcer at Ridley during the Thanksgiving games — congratulatory towards any Bucs victory and season. Thought he epitomized what an intense neighborhood rivalry should be about.
Congratulations to Ridley on your 11-1 season.
Buc alum, that game means WAY more to the interboro kids than it does the Ridley kids. Ridley kids normally don’t even feel like playing that game because they’re disappointed they’re not still in the playoffs. Interboro kids are still trying to make up for the 3 decades of getting destroyed. And I’m not saying that as a slight. Interboro has a bunch of tough kids and hey really turned that program around which has made for a good rivalry going. But it’s definitely more important for you guys. It’s similar to the eagles/cowboys rivalry. Here we hate the cowboys. You go there and start screaming “E-A-G-L-E-S”, they could care less!! Beating you guys 41-0 last year meant nothing to me. ZERO. You guys beat a Ridley team that didn’t even feel like playing (right, wrong or indifferent) 6-0 in 2010 and you’d think interboro won the state championship. That’s the difference bro. And again, it’s not a slight. A bunch of my boys that I hang out with every weekend are some of the best players to ever wear the black and gold. WRs that always say how they would have loved to play in the Ridley offense. I definitely respect interboro. I always say that if you were to (hypathetically)combine the 2 schools (still would be less boys than North Penn) they’d win the state championship every year. i’m just telling you how true Ridley fans feel. Kinda like i don’t feel like getting your stones broken more than I care about winning. Probably similar to how you feel about playing Academy Park in the regular season.
And by the way, a sincere GOOD LUCK to Interboro from a die hard Green Raider. Dig deep and get it done!!
Cuck?
I respect Ridley too. Just found it ironic that comments like “the game doesn’t mean that much to Ridley” started appearing after the Bucs began winning some of those Thanksgiving contests. Looked to me like Ridley players were demonstrably upset after those close call defeats. Kinda what I would expect from kids who cared about the outcome of their performance.
Yes, I have thought about what it would be like if Interboro and Ridley would be one school. Interboro played tough against North Penn two years in a row in the District finals and, of course, Ridley’s record against them speaks for itself. A larger, but still manageble, school also gives kids potentially additional educational opportunities. Nevertheless, in terms of athletics, I would rather give more kids the oppotunity to participate than not and, at the same time, contribute to their school’s pride and tradition.
Always appreciate your commentary, as you have greater insight into the bigger picture than most. Finally, thank you for the gracious remarks about Interboro from you and others. They were reciprocated during your season.
Alum, you’re right. I just read what I posted. Let me rephrase. Of course Ridley wants to win ever time they take the field. So I shouldn’t have said that they “don’t care”. But they would rather still be participating in the tournament. So if they never played interboro again because of playoff success, Ridley and the Ridley faithful would be fine with that. Having to play Interboro now a day is a failure of sorts. It’s a reminder that another year has passed without state title. I’m surprised interboro fans don’t feel he same beings they’ve been good too over he past 15 or so years. But it seems that interboro REALLY wants that shot at Ridley every year. This year they’ll have to settle for Henderson. Hopefully that clarifys what I was trying to say.
Got it.
I’ll speak for myself. I would rather play Henderson in the District finals, than Ridley on Thanksgiving. Gone, obviously, are the days when Interboro kids voted not to play in the playoffs for a chance to beat Ridley instead. They want a shot at greater glory too. Neverthelss, a competitive game on Thanksgiving, with its history, is still an enjoyable experience for me — not one to lament.
1 Playoff Win in 3 Years for Ridley? What the hell is going on with this program?
Spring-Ford won that game last night because they were the better team than Ridley. They played a helluva game.
Also, just wanted to bring up when i was saying Spring-Ford would give Ridley a challenge most people on here were saying a Ridley blowout. Typical Ridley fans…
I’m an EA fan, but I say Ridley wins that game without the turnovers and I say Ridley is the better team.
The better team does not always win, and I’m not taking anything away from SF for this one game. They won the game on field fair and square when it mattered. Still does not mean the best team always wins or that SF is the better team.
Ridley out-gained SF 541-270 in yardage. SF deserves the win, but that does not mean they are the better team. SF got a lot of breaks that were more unforced errors/mental mistakes by Ridley than SF forcing turnovers.
Regardless, congrats to SF for the big win and my hats for to Ridley for their resiliency in coming back after being down 28-0 at half and almost sending it to OT.
At the same time, Ridley has nobody to blame but themselves for the errors they made and I am sure they are kicking themselves over it in regards to a game they could have won without so many mistakes.
Life is not always fair and the breaks do not always go your way, and these are some of the life life lessons learned from team sports. I give Ridley a lot go credit for not folding when a lot of teams would have at halftime and fighting back and dominating the second half.
Then minus Garnet Valley’s 3 turnovers that SF scored on all 3 of, 27-22 GV. In your logic that is.
I don’t see how any team overcomes the six turnovers Ridley had in the first half against SF – yet they almost did. They doubled SF in yardage gained. In my opinion Ridley is better than SF outside of this one game. Still, SF won the game and deserves the win.
I commented on the turnover situation right after the Ridley/GV game I was at and got taken to task for it by Ridley fans where I stated GV and Ridley appeared to be evenly matched teams and Ridley was fortunate to win – but they deserved to the win because they took advantage of the opportunities handed to them when it mattered.
I try to be objective and call it like I see it. It’s only opinion and others can disagree.
1 Playoff Win in 3 Years…Ridley has completely fallen off as a once dominant team. They were completely overrated this year and 2010.
Keep dreaming of the old days, when Ridley used to be a powerhouse. Not anymore.
@ Andy. Haverford WOULD have won if it was not for their 6 turnovers ?
I think the final of that game was 23-15. Yeah, I would expect HHS would have won if they only had, say, one turnover, but I did not see the game so I can’t say for sure. Also don’t know how many turnovers Ridley had to balance it out.
If a game is close and a team has 6 turnovers and loses, I thinks it’s safe to say they would have won if they did not have 6 turnovers.
Realize too that different teams match up differently/better against certain teams, so it is tough to say. You really have to look at the specific game, the match ups, and how the teams performed in the specific game.
If by “typical Ridley fans” you mean expecting excellence and expecting to win every game, then yes. And thank you. I take that as a compliment. I expect to win at everything I do in life. I learned that lesson at Ridley. You want an apology for that?? No shot. EVERYONE wants to beat Ridley for a reason. Because they are not used to losing!
Except in playoffs when it matters Cuck.
To you 8-3 is a good season. As would most teams. 8-3 at Ridley is a disaster. I’m disappointed with 11-1 for crying out loud. Like I said, if you’re not from Ridley you’ll never understand.
15 playoff wins Delcofan. You can hate all you want bro. If you’re a true Delco fan you’d root for Ridley. Year in and year out they’re the best we (Delco) got!! I’m not going to argue with you again. I hear the sophomore and the freshman classes are really good, so we have some promising years ahead.
1 Playoff Win in 3 Years…Ridley has completely fallen off as a once dominant team. They were completely overrated this year and 2010.
Keep dreaming of the old days, when Ridley used to be a powerhouse. Not anymore.
8-3 is a good season for who? GV has 3 Central League Titles in the past 5 years, and still is 4-2 against Ridley All-Time…so rethink that one.
They are not used to losing in the regular season? Oh my gosh what an accomplishment! How bout when it matters in the playoffs? 1 playoff win in 3 YEARS….are you kdding me?
And no, they are not the best Delco has year in year out. Past 5 Years:
In 2008 it was Garnet Valley
In 2009 it was Ridley
In 2010 it was Strath Haven
In 2011 it was Garnet Valley
In 2011 it was Ridley
James, if you want to argue, I’ll argue with you all day!! GV has played well against Ridley for sure. But talk about choking in the playoffs every year, Jesus!! Pretty sure their 2 playoff wins last year was the best they’ve done since moving to AAAA. Not a sturdy platform to start this argument on! I’m pretty sure your central league champion list is jacked too. If my memory serves me correctly GV won it in 2009. GV hung on to a win that year at Ridley 21-17 I think. GV was the higher seed going into the playoffs and i think they got ousted in the first round. Oh, yeah, and Ridley went to the Eastern Final. The overrated (which I agree) 2010 team was 10-0 going into the playoffs. I think that was the year they didn’t play SH and they were undefeated too. So Ridley at least had a share in 2010. But I’m not surprised that you just want to credit SH beings you’re a Ridley hater. I do understand that it’s human nature to dislike your toughest competition. You’ve also probably had some unpleasant experiences losing to Ridley somewhere along the line. Anything else?
And James, you say “GV has 3 Central League championships in the past 5 years” and shortly after you post a list which shows them winning 2. Lololol. Please tell me that this is candid camera or something.
@Szam33,
In 2009 Garnet Valley was the Central League Champion, and beat Ridley in the regular season but lost in the 1st round to Penncrest. Meanwhile, Ridley went on to the Eastern PA Championship…thats why i had them as the best team in DELCO 2009.
I wish nothing but the best for Delco teams, it’s disappointing that Ridley has seemingly struggled though in the playoffs, losing to teams that they are almost certainly better than.
Well, in all honesty, this team wasn’t that great. They were decent with a good D. I posted on here countless times that the play calling was terrible and the QB play wasn’t great. Ridley has to be able to throw to go far. They didn’t let this kid air it out until it was too late last night. I didn’t think this team was a real contender. I figured they would get to next week and lose to Pennridge. But D1 is open this year so you never knew. I DEFINITELY didn’t think this team was anywhere near good enough to beat the D11/12 champ. I had the same feeling with his team that I did in 2010. I knew they’d lose. Difference is this team was more of a “team”. I didn’t have a good feeling going into last night. Mainly because SF seemingly handled GV on the scoreboard. That & what i read on here was all I knew about them. But it was immediately apparent that we could move the ball at will. Then we started handing the game to the with HUGE mistake after HUGE mistake. One bigger then the next. Then they open thing up and DOMINATE. Frustrating bro. In a way I would rather them have lost 42-0. That way I wouldn’t be tortured with knowing that we were more than capable of winning the game. You can’t expect them to o deep every year. Prior to this year, Neshaminy got ousted early a few years in a row. Pennsbury hasn’t been going deep either. And North Penn didn’t even make the playoffs this year. They are all perennial D1 powerhouses. In closing, I have no excuses bro. 3 early exits over hat past 3 years is hard to defend.
You have to think the senior class — the strongest at Ridley since ’09 — really left its mark. Dougherty, Sinex, Plousis, Crowley, etc. are all lead-by-exmaple, typical tough and talented Ridley players.
Going forward, I like Lou Harrison’s potential. I think he can fill Dougherty’s shoes. And don’t sleep on Collin Wright. I’m not going to say he can be the next great Ridley QB, but there is tremendous potential there.
Matt I think the entire senior class in delco. this year was strong. Contrats to Ridley for a great . Good luck to interboro next week.
A win last night would have been nice though Matt. Even if they lost next week, at least it’s respectable showing and not another early exit. We’ll see next year. I’m sure they’ll compete for the Central League. Not really too familiar with what they have coming up. I just hear that neither the sophomores or freshman have ever lost a game. Who knows. I think wright has potential too. I don’t know who will be catching the ball though. Or running it. Or blocking. Also not sure what these other contenders have coming back. I think GV is a senior heavy class too, no?
Yeah, Garnet is top-heavy on seniors every year. I heard great things about some of their JV defensive and offensive linemen coming up the ranks.
GV has 4 returning starters on Offense, and 4 on defense. It doesn’t look too good. They are losing All-Delco QB Corkery, And 2nd Teamers RB Jordan Bennett, G Matt Donoghue, and G Donte Burgaesa. 1 Starter coming back on O-Line, which has ALWAYS been GV’s strength. I think Junior QB Christian Portale (don’t know if i got that name right) should take over, not much playing experience though.
How many starters does Ridley have returning?
with that being said, Portale and a ton of these other Juniors have had plenty of experience in Varsity time. Everybody in GV’s backfield including Irving is returning except Bennett.
I still think GV and Ridley are the favorites for the central league. Too early too tell who has the edge.
Haverford will be loaded, too. The freshman QB, Jack Donaghy, has big upside (and he got some valuable playoff experience taking over for an injured Eddie Durkin last week). Most of the linemen (on both sides) are back as well as a handful of skill players, including Kevin Leyden who played last week with a dislocated shoulder. Tough kid.
Not many. Wright at QB. I know that real fast kid that dropped the bomb in the 1st quarter against (#81) is a sophomore. I don’t think too much else. I’m hoping these sophomores are as good as people are saying and they have a strong junior team. Like 2009. And as much as the 2010 team was overrated, it was HARD to imagine them not destroying everyone!! They had EVERYONE back from the 2009 team except masterson (QB), Casey decker (hugely underrated LB), and a few lineman. Just hoping for the best next year.
Ridley players are still tough kids that give it there all and leave everything they have on the field. To me the playoff slide and whatever other issue are with recent Ridley teams that everyones is talking about (last 5 yrs.) started with the new coaching staff. With the exception of the defensive side (coach Batty) the play calling is always suspect and they dont know how to use the talent they have.
I totally agree buc alum. 100%. And the 2009 team that took a run all learned from Waller. Trust me, The Ridley faithful are aware of this too.
Coming from a GV fan I’m curious to see their o-line next year, they are losing 4 senior linemen including 3 very, very talented interior linemen. Can’t judge now however.
The GV kids, Burgese and Donoghue, are both All-Delco o-lineman.
Woops, didn’t mean to reply to a comment, my mistake.
This is from former buc_alum changed my user name didn’t realize there was another. I watched a lot of these kids from the Ridley team play for years for Ridley/Swathmorewood. When people say this wasn’t a great Ridley team I disagree. These kids have won championships at every level of football they played. When these seniors were freshman they had the most incredible season I ever saw. I think they are very talented players with mediocre coaching and these kids exceled despite that. Great season Ridley. Now it’s my Buc’s time to shine. Go Bucs!!
Hey,
Someone is playing off my user name. Credible comment, to be sure, but don’t want anything atributed to me that I did not write. I don’t mind facing up to what I say, but not getting associated with someone else’s words. I have seen this happen on other boards. Flattered, but suspicious is all I am saying.
Sorry Buc Alum, didnt mean to use your user name. I used buc_alum I am also a Interboro grad from the 80’s. I will get a new user name.
Buc_Alum,
Thank you for respecting your elders. I am old enough to be your father. LOL. Proud to be in the same family with you.
I’m completely agree with you buc pride. Coaching is a HUGE issue. And I’m friends with “coach” but it’s not “show friends” it’s “show business” and when it comes to Ridley football it’s all business for my. 1. Hild was a better QB than Wright this year. Although Wright does have a ton of potential. Not sure why that change was made permanently. Hild should’ve been the QB when he was healthy. 2. They were WAY too conservative with play calling with Wright. They made the decision, let th kid play. 3. They had no idea how to get the ball to their skilled players. I would have given Crowley AT LEAST 10 touches a game. Isolate him on the outside and get him the ball with a WR screen with 1 on 1 coverage. Plus I hated the 2 point play the other night. I like the call, but not with wright running it. Why isn’t there a 2 point package in place at this point of the season?? I would have run the wildcat with Crowley, Dougherty or coia (2 of these guys) back there and put the ball in dougherty’s hands. He our team leader and our best player. If he gets stuffed then so be it. But give it o the player that is least likely to be denied. Wright is too skinny and not fast, shifty, elusive or strong enough to run that play. He’s no masterson. Masterson ran that same play beautifully to win in OT at penncrest in 2009. The offense has become so watered down with the play calling. It’s awful. It took until the last half of the last game to open things up. I can only wonder what could have been if they opened up all season. Or earlier in that game. How many points could they have put up? HS teams are never great at stopping the pass. Ridley has always been a throwing team. Now we’re 80-90% run?? NO!! Not exceptable. With finally having size up front and all that talent at WR??? Sooooo frustrating. A lot of chatter in the stands about wanting Brian Thompson (freshman coach) to coach. Who knows. I can’t see Decker getting fried after an 11-1 season. Nor would I want that at this point. Like I said, he’s a friend. But I would like to see people put on notice. Maybe get a new offensive coordinator in there. Thanks for listening and letting me vent. I needed to get that off my chest.
Was talking to some Ridley people and they say the same things you are saying, so sounds like you’re not alone. They also said the same thing about they should have gotten Crowley the ball a whole lot more. Look what he did with the limited offensive scheme’s they ran. The kid just makes things happen, definitely a team leader and play maker. Hope they have better luck next year.
@Michael,
I agree. GV’s O-Line has always been one of the biggest strengths of their team. They are losing their Captain Guard, Dan Herbster, All-Delco Guard Matt Donoghue, and All-Delco Center Donte Burgese. It’s going to be interesting. This was the most talented interior Offensive Line in Garnet Valley’s history. The upcoming Juniors have big shoes to fill in.
Should be an interesting 2013, as Ridley AND Garnet Valley are losing a ton of talent
I think the GV oline was the best in a long time. But since I see so many coaches get their props, you have to give coach Velairo his. He works very hard and teaches the boys well I am sure he will produce more where they came from.
I remember watching Valerio at Penn. I think he went to Ridley. He was a couple of years behind two really good EA players at Penn back in the mid-to-late ’80’s – Chris Flynn (RB) and Dolph Tokarczyk (TE). That was back around when I went to EA and Penn so it brings back memories. All three were all-Ivy, and Valerio of course played in the pros. Those were some great Penn teams back then. Appears Valerio turned into a great coach, too.
Here’s a nice write-up on Valerio:
http://www.pennathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1700&ATCLID=236870
Joe is a great coach,and a great person. Always positive. He is a great role modle for all the players on the team, not just lineman. I am sure someday one or more of these players will single him out as there inspiration.