ProfessorBriggs.com

PROFESSOR'S PROVERBS -- SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

It seems like yesterday that everyone was getting prepared for the start of the local scholastic football season. Now, we are a month into the season already as four weeks have been played. Summer officially ends later this week and Friday night will be the midpoint of the 2016 regular season for our local teams.

The fourth week of the season offered some surprises for everyone, most notably West Middlesex earning its first victory of the season by rallying past Farrell, 21-14. The season had gotten off to a tough start for the Big Reds, who faced two 4-0 teams (Wilmington, Iroquois) and 3-1 Sharpsville to open 2016. That's as tough of a slate, relatively speaking, that anyone in the area has had.

Professor Briggs came away very impressed -- and somewhat surprised -- by Wilmington's 63-21 win over Sharpsville Friday night. Wilmington scored the final 35 points of the game to remain undefeated. While there's still a month to go, it's hard to not peek ahead at Week Eight and see "Wilmington at Hickory" on the schedule. As of now, there's at least a decent chance that game is for the Region 2 title. There's still plenty of football remaining, however.

Wilmington and Hickory are two of our area's 4-0 teams. The third undefeated squad is Grove City, which blasted previously unbeaten Franklin, 60-6, at Forker Field Friday night. Region 5 could come down to a Winner Take All in Week Nine when Grove City hosts Meadville in the regular season finale. However, the Eagles do have to go to DuBois in Week Seven while Meadville faces new archrival Conneaut this week.

> Speaking of Crawford County, two of District 10's eight undefeated teams are in Crawford County: Cochranton and Titusville. Cochranton plays in Region 1-A and will make road trips to West Middlesex (Week 7) and Farrell (Week 9) this year. Class 3A Titusville pulled out harrowing Region 3 wins over Fairview and Mercyhurst Prep in Weeks Two and Three, respectively, which have the Rockets atop the region at 3-0 in conference, 4-0 overall.

It's good to see Titusville having success again in football. Coach Tom Hancock has been building toward this season. Titusville often was a power in the old Northwest Conference under head coaches Buck Crabb and then run-and-shoot offense guru John Wiley (who coached Grove City High School head coach Sam Mowrey). The last 10-12 years have been more down than up for Titusville football -- it looks like the Brown and Gold will likely be returning to the District 10 playoffs this year for the first time since 2007.

The three other undefeated teams are Cathedral Prep, Fort LeBoeuf and Iroquois. How surprising is it to see each of these teams undefeated? Let's rank them from Most Surprising to Least Surprising:

1. Titusville -- Titusville has not had winning season since '07; Rockets had opener with Cambridge Springs and road trip to Fairview to begin season.
2. Cochranton -- Cardinals are 28-31 this decade; Week 3 battle with Cambridge Springs loomed as potential hurdle.
3. Wilmington -- Games with Sharon and Sharpsville early on were cause for concern for team with only six seniors.
4. Grove City -- Veteran team had seemingly tough early-season games with General McLane and Conneaut, as well as unknown quantities Warren and Franklin. 
5. Fort LeBoeuf -- Bison started a lot of underclassmen in 2015; second half of schedule is much meatier than first four games.
6. Iroquois -- Braves returned plenty from last season's Class A playoff qualifier and other perennially solid teams in league seem a little "down" in 2016.
7. Hickory -- Having plenty of returning talent and three of first four games in Hermitage made it seem likely that the Hornets would be 4-0 at this point.
8. Cathedral Prep -- Games with McDowell and Cleveland Benedictine were not easy but Ramblers are bursting with big-time talent and have experienced, decorated coaching staff.

> Congratulations to first-year Slippery Rock head coach Larry Wendereusz on earning his first win at the helm last Friday night as the Rockets downed Mercer. The Rockets have been getting better each week and are going to be a tough out during the second half of the season. I'll get to see the Rockets at Sharon Friday night -- Chris Burtch and I will have the call on 790 WPIC.

> How about Conneaut (Ohio)? The Spartans are 2-0 against Pennsylvania foes, including an impressive 33-7 home win in their league opener last week over Mercyhurst Prep. Conneaut hosts Titusville this Friday night in a battle of Region 4's two undefeated teams. Conneaut opened the season with losses to Trumbull County schools LaBrae (35-17) and Champion (20-14). LaBrae is currently 2-2 while Champion is 3-1. LaBrae hosts Champion this week.

Conneaut, of course, is not eligible for the District 10 playoffs. But the Spartans are eligible for the OHSAA playoffs in Division IV. Conneaut is currently 17th out of 26 teams in Region 13. Other schools in that region include Cardinal Mooney, Girard (Ohio), Hubbard, Lakeview (Ohio), Struthers and Ursuline, among others. Conneaut is tied with Parma Heights Holy Name, which visits Sharon in Week Seven. The top eight will make the playoffs. A win over Titusville would certainly boost Conneaut's point totals.

In that region alone, there are several schools that share the name of a school in Western Pennsylvania: Conneaut, Fairview, Girard, Keystone, Lakeview, Perry and West Branch.

> In a totally unrelated and random note, Professor Briggs's favorite team in central Ohio, the (Columbus) Briggs High School Bruins, is having a tough go of it so far at 1-3.

> Monday night, Sports Radio 96.7 and 790 WPIC unveiled this season's first installment of Power Rankings. Click on "Power Rankings" to see where the teams rank, according to our informed and varied panel. 

Here is how I voted. The number in parentheses is where the team was ranked in my previous Power Rankings:

1. Hickory (last week: 1) -- Hornets remained undefeated by pulling away late from Sharon.
2. Wilmington (2) -- Wilmington's win over Sharpsville may be most impressive win for any local team this year so far.
3. Grove City (5) -- Undefeated ... and unchallenged so far in conference play.
4. Sharon (4) -- Tigers battled Hickory tooth-and-nail into fourth quarter.
5. Reynolds (NR) -- Guess who's now 3-1 after a big win over Lakeview?

> As I said previously, Professor Briggs is very excited to have been able to record a new commercial for Westside Beverage in downtown Sharon. Make sure to tune into Sports Radio 96.7 to listen for the spot. If you or your business/organization are looking for someone to handle voice work for you, do not hesitate to contact me.

> Keep the cards and letters coming to ryanbriggs@zoominternet.net. Follow me on Twitter @professorbriggs