Some things that fell off my laptop ...
It has been reported here before that three WPIAL football players will play in prestigious national all-star games in January. Make that four.
North Allegheny lineman Pat Kugler will play in the Under Armour All-American Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., Jan. 4. Central Valley receiver Robert Foster and Belle Vernon offensive lineman Dorian Johnson also will play in the game that will be televised live by ESPN.
Clairton's Tyler Boyd will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 5 in San Antonio. That game will be televised by NBC.
Hunting for big game
The Clairton at Monessen game tonight is most certainly a big game (live TV on Root Sports). Another big game is Saturday night when Beaver Falls plays at Beaver. But I don't remember a Friday night in recent history that is so lacking of big games.
Yes, Shady Side Academy at Burrell is a good matchup of 3-0 teams. But after that? Well, let's just say there aren't many intriguing matchups. I guess it's just the way the schedule plays out sometimes.
But look at next week. The big-game possibilities are many. A few of the best would be South Fayette at Seton-LaSalle, Jeannette at Washington, West Allegheny at Central Valley, Mt. Lebanon at Woodland Hills. Plus, West Mifflin at Ringgold, Shady Side Academy at Freeport and Monessen at Bishop Canevin have possibilities.
As for me tomorrow night, I'll be headed to Kiski Area at Hempfield.
I'm just sayin'
*** What do you think will happen in Central Catholic vs. Fox Chapel tomorrow? Central Catholic hasn't given up a point and Fox Chapel has the lowest-scoring team in Class AAAA (12 points).
*** What's up with this Woodland Hills passing game? Woodland Hills QB Cody McClelland already has eight touchdown passes in three games. Last year, Woodland Hills had 11 touchdown passes the entire season.
*** Geibel football coach Sean Benjamin resigned last week because he didn't think the school should continue with the season because of a lack of players. Geibel had to forfeit its first two games because it didn't have enough players. The team started preseason practices with 15 and injuries depleted the roster.
Geibel got a few players back for last Saturday's game against Vincentian, but Benjamin didn't think the season should continue because the team would still have only 11-12 players, including a handful of freshmen. He said he feared for players safety for more than anything. At the time, I wondered why Benjamin would walk. The school wanted to continue with the season and I thought that was commendable. If you ask for a schedule from the WPIAL, the league hopes you make every effort to honor it.
But with what happened against Vincentian last Saturday, I most certainly understand Benjamin's point now. Geibel lost to Vincentian, 62-8. Vincentian is a first-year program and the Royals had given up 65 and 40 points the first two games. If Geibel gave up 62 to Vincentian, what will the rest of the season be like for Geibel? And with having to play so many young players who might not belong in varsity football, I see where Benjamin is coming from.
What do you think? Should Geibel continue with the season?
*** And here is this week's version of wildly popular Varsity Xtra "This Week in High School Sports." It's definitely must-see TV, don't you think? Just scroll down to the "Video" section
State rankings
Here are the Post-Gazette state rankings for this week:
CLASS AAAA - 1. North Allegheny 3-0. 2. La Salle College 3-0. 3. Easton 3-0. 4. Gateway 3-0. 5. Downingtown East 3-0
CLASS AAA - 1. Bishop McDevitt 3-0. 2. Cathedral Prep 3-0. 3. Archbishop Wood 2-1. 4. Montour 3-0. 5. Berwick 3-0
CLASS AA - 1. Aliquippa 3-0. 2. Mount Carmel 3-0. 3. Wyomissing 3-0. 4. South Fayette 3-0. 5. Imhotep Charter 3-0
CLASS A - 1. Clairton 3-0. 2. Southern Columbia 3-0. 3. Dunmore 3-0. 4. Rochester 3-0. 5. Bishop Canevin 3-0
Here are the Harrisburg Patriot-News rankings for each class: