OT: D1

[Bart]

Taxpayer funds for education could follow the football player and give everyone a shot at playing for a winner.

[IUPNation]

You're comparing apples and oranges. It's not a matter of whether one school district of similar size is better at football than another. It's whether one school can benefit from recruiting outside its immediate area while other schools are penalized for doing so.

If North Allegheny can afford the best coaches and facilities but Shaler can’t..but the have to face off is that fair. Families are going to move to the district to take advantage of those advantages.
I see it here where I live..families move here to get their kids in the Downingtown schools. Both schools made the state playoffs. West knocked out East. Coatesville competes because it still has local talent but the Downingtown school dwarf it in quality. If Downingtown hadn’t split into two schools they’d be a juggernaut.

[Ship69]

Then you will have to seperate the public schools as well.

Haves in their own playoffs and the have nots in theirs.

Level Playing Field right?

You're comparing apples and oranges. It's not a matter of whether one school district of similar size is better at football than another. It's whether one school can benefit from recruiting outside its immediate area while other schools are penalized for doing so.

[Fightingscot82]

Whether it's a good school is not the point. For the purpose of a level field it's obviously matters when one team can draw players from multiple school districts and others can't.

I think you're going to have private schools that can easily pull from multiple districts. Where Pittsburgh North Catholic is located, they're within a 10-15 minute drive for students in several school districts: Butler, Knoch, Mars, Seneca Valley, Pine Richland, and North Allegheny. To my knowledge there is no other Catholic high school in the area if that's someone's preference. Almost no other private high schools, too. The issue folks should have is the out of state kids. What if one year by chance a St Joe's Prep team is entirely made up of Delaware and New Jersey kids. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a state championship. That's why I proposed a school can field a team with anyone they want provided its not in violation of recruiting rules, but only PA residents can participate in PIAA playoffs.

[IUPNation]

Whether it's a good school is not the point. For the purpose of a level field it's obviously matters when one team can draw players from multiple school districts and others can't.

Then you will have to seperate the public schools as well.

Haves in their own playoffs and the have nots in theirs.

Level Playing Field right?

[Ship69]

I have to admit that I am not knowledgeable on this topic; however, I agree with Nation when he asks "What does it matter where the players are from?" Also, I have known a lot of people who graduated from SJP over the years. I don't think kids are going to SJP just for football in the way they go to IMG Academy. Two different situations. I think football is obviously their calling card but they go there for the full package.

Whether it's a good school is not the point. For the purpose of a level field it's obviously matters when one team can draw players from multiple school districts and others can't.

[Fightingscot82]

Coach Vern Nickerson would have grabbed the IUP job and brought Tom Cruise with him.

Not too far off, Edinboro won the 1970 Lambert Bowl only a couple years after hiring away the head coach at Hopewell.

[EastStroud13]

Why are you continuing to fight this? You are the only person who thinks this is just a bunch of people from the Pittsburgh area complaining that a Philly school is winning the PIAA title.

Most people don't even care about that.

Exactly. If anything, it's D1 and D11 teams that have the biggest gripe here; they don't even get a chance at making a deep run because they get matched up against D12 earlier in the bracket. Western PA at least always gets a chance at making the final.

An Eastern final of Nazareth vs. Central Bucks South would have been an AWESOME game. Instead, both got mercied by St. Joe's.

[IUPNation]

If you think life is still like that, you'd be surprised. Besides, with today's news, AmPipe would have been sold. So maybe Gung Ho meets All the Right Moves plus grandpa's Deer Hunter baggage.

I don’t but how the foosball team being the lifeline of the town still seems kinda true out there in some places.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

If you think life is still like that, you'd be surprised. Besides, with today's news, AmPipe would have been sold. So maybe Gung Ho meets All the Right Moves plus grandpa's Deer Hunter baggage.

Coach Vern Nickerson would have grabbed the IUP job and brought Tom Cruise with him.

[Fightingscot82]

All The right Moves really captures the essence of Yinzer football…

If you think life is still like that, you'd be surprised. Besides, with today's news, AmPipe would have been sold. So maybe Gung Ho meets All the Right Moves plus grandpa's Deer Hunter baggage.

[IUPNation]

I have to admit that I am not knowledgeable on this topic; however, I agree with Nation when he asks "What does it matter where the players are from?" Also, I have known a lot of people who graduated from SJP over the years. I don't think kids are going to SJP just for football in the way they go to IMG Academy. Two different situations. I think football is obviously their calling card but they go there for the full package.

It is an academically prestigious school.

It’s not a clap for credit place like IMG.

[iupgroundhog]

Because it’s the full context of the conversation relative to who they are playing. We aren’t talking about kids going to a school in an effort to get out of a rough area of Philly. We are talking about kids from all corners of the US going to a school for the sole purpose of playing football in the same way that occurs with IMG Academy. If you can’t see the difference in that compared to Erie Cathedral Prep, then I just don’t know what else anyone can tell you to objectively have a conversation on the topic.

And to be clear, if you read up and follow college football recruiting, you’ll see where plenty of kids for that school have come from. It’s not neighboring areas, or states, for that matter.

I have to admit that I am not knowledgeable on this topic; however, I agree with Nation when he asks "What does it matter where the players are from?" Also, I have known a lot of people who graduated from SJP over the years. I don't think kids are going to SJP just for football in the way they go to IMG Academy. Two different situations. I think football is obviously their calling card but they go there for the full package.

[IUPNation]

Another question I have about all the far out of state players for St Joes is where are living while at school? It’s not a boarding school.

[IUPNation]

Several. In Aliquippa and Clairton, high school football is about all they've got going for them. Everyone else is still struggling. Thomas Jefferson is more suburban and middle class so they're alright.

Upper St. Clair had quite a run in the 80s and 90s, but they're the South Hills suburbs version of North Allegheny: huge, upper middle class, and coincidentally also straddles US 19.

All The right Moves really captures the essence of Yinzer football…