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PROFESSOR'S PROVERBS -- NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Thanksgiving has come and gone and Professor Briggs is proud to say that he had a wonderful holiday with family. I ate a lot (too much, as usual), watched football and spent time with my nephew, who celebrated his first Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving also featured the unveiling of District 10's All-Region football teams, as voted on by the respective head coaches in each conference. As with any All-anything team, there will be a few questions and controversies about certain selections.

Our area featured several great teams this year and with that, a lot of worthy players for consideration. Being able to give them recognition, as well as deserving players from teams who finished in the lower half of their conference, is never easy.

First, my positive reactions:

1-I got to see the Player of the Year in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 play this year and am not shocked by any of those selections. All are very well deserving. The Region 3 winner, Iroquois's Tyler Barone, and Region 4 Player of the Year Brady Corklin (Titusville) were both outstanding players who would be difference-makers for any team in District 10. I did not see Region 6 Player of the Year Joe Mischler (Cathedral Prep) this year but based upon the fact that he's the record-setting quarterback for the still-alive-in-the-playoffs Ramblers, it seems like a no-brainer also.

2-The distribution of players seems logical. Teams that won more had more players but it wasn't a case where 12 guys from Team A were First Team and the other teams in the league all got one guy.

3-Congratulations to all the players who were honored, especially the area's eight two-way First Team honorees: Tyler Bishop (Hickory, OT-DT), Braxton Chapman (Farrell, TB-LB), Spencer DeMedal (Wilmington, HB-S), Trent Kimmell (West Middlesex, OT-DE), Wandell Murray (Farrell, OT-DT), Ethan Reiser (Greenville, WR-S), Cole Rickert (Reynolds, OT-DT) and A.J. Turner (Grove City, TE-LB).

Now, my not-so-positive reactions:

1-How did Sharon quarterback J.P. McComb not get any All-Region recognition? He threw for 30 touchdowns. THIRTY. Until this season, no one in the 120-year history of high school football in Mercer County had ever thrown for 30 touchdowns. In D-10 history, only three guys had ever accomplished that. He also had 2,241 passing yards this year while leading Sharon to the D-10 title game. It was not as if he piled up gaudy stats by throwing a ton of passes for a subpar team. He quarterbacked a fine team in a tough region.

In cases like this, people will then ask, "Who would you take off?" That, of course, is a loaded question that can't be answered without looking like a jerk or a fool. If you say "Player A" or "Player B," you look like a bad guy for saying that a high school athlete didn't deserve recognition. That would be an ignorant and classless thing to do. The two honored quarterbacks undoubtedly both deserved All-Region laurels. But so does McComb.

2-Grove City sophomore safety Logan Lutz did not receive All-Region honors of any sort in the defensive backfield. He intercepted five passes this season and his role in the secondary is not unlike the one played by Ed Reed on the excellent Baltimore Ravens defenses of the 2000s -- he's a guy opposing offenses had to be aware of on every play. Was he penalized for "only" being a sophomore? I did not get to see every team in Region 5 this year but I have a hard time believing that eight defensive backs in the league had a better season than he did.

> Many years ago, I used to come up with my own All-Mercer County team. I considered doing that again in recent years but have elected not to for three main reasons:
    1-Being that I work in the athletic department of a local college whose football coaches have been in contact with some players in the area, I would not want some to think that my selections were in any way generated as a means to help "leverage" those players in recruiting. I would not do that but perception is reality -- you'd be amazed at how some people connect dots from A to Z and fill in the rest with their own guesses.
    2-While I did see every team this season, that's not always the case. Secondly, I may see some teams three or four times and other teams only once. Even if I had the time and motivation to watch every game film, I don't have the knowledge base to really do it properly.
    3-It would only lead to people griping and complaining about it. "Why did you pick that guy? You hate (insert school name)! You root for (insert school name)!" A couple of years ago, Sports Radio 96.7 and 790 WPIC had our own All-Mercer County area teams and we only did it once due to too much negative feedback.

> It's now time for this week's playoff predictions. After a 2-1 week last week, Professor Briggs is now 22-3 overall.

Friday of course, is "Black Friday" for the legions of people hitting shopping centres, etc. Unfortunately, Black Friday started late on Thanksgiving afternoon, which meant that thousands of people had to shorten or scrap their Thanksgiving in the name of Corporate Greed.

 "Black Friday" is also the name of an excellent song by one of Professor Briggs' favorite bands, Steely Dan. That song reached No. 37 on the charts in June 1975. To help with this week's predictions, we'll use songs that were also on the June 28, 1975 Billboard Hot 100 chart when "Black Friday" peaked.

PIAA CLASS 1A PLAYOFFS -- Friday, November 25
Farrell (9-3) vs. Ridgway/Johnsonburg (10-2) -- Slippery Rock University, 7:00 p.m.

*Why Farrell Will Win: Steelers have really tightened up their rush defense over the last month. Farrell playing closer to home. Quarterback Kyi Wright really on the upswing during playoff run. Ridgway/Johnsonburg is playing its first-ever state playoff game.

*Why Ridgway/Johnsonburg Will Win: Elkers bring plenty of momentum into state playoffs after winning first District 9 title in 27 years. Quarterback Johnny Mitchell is a classic dual threat and those are always hard for any team to prepare for. Elkers battled undefeated Class 2A Kane tough in league play this year. Esprit de corps generated by Ridway-Johnsonburg co-op agreement.

*Did You Know? -- Professor Briggs has only ever called one Farrell playoff loss on the radio, the Steelers' 19-8 loss to Rochester in the District 7 semifinals 15 years ago. I was the color man with the late Dave Hanahan on 790 WPIC at North Allegheny that afternoon. I rode in a lawn chair in the WPIC van that day and only fell over backwards a couple of times.

*Song From June 28, 1975 Chart: "Two Lane Highway" by Pure Prairie League (No. 97 on the chart in its lone week in the Hot 100) -- A considerable portion of Ridgway's trip to Slippery Rock will be on two-lane roads.

Professor's Pick:  Farrell, 30-22

PIAA CLASS 2A PLAYOFFS -- Saturday, November 26
Wilmington (11-1) vs. Kane (13-0) -- Slippery Rock University, 1:00 p.m.

*Why Wilmington Will Win: The "Hounds Hammer" defense went from this to this in 2016. Full stable of backs and receivers who are flexible to run Wing-T or spread set. Greyhounds can't make head coach Terry Verrelli wait nine months for win No. 300.

*Why Kane Will Win: At 13-0, Kane knows how to win and how to defeat quality foes (Ridgway, Clarion, Chestnut Ridge). Accurate quarterback Reed Williams and a bevy of offensive weapons will provide big test for Wilmington's defense.

*Did You Know? -- One of Kane's rivals in the Allegheny Mountain League's South Division is Curwensville. Curwensville is the hometown of Wilmington head coach Terry Verrelli.

*Song From June 28, 1975 Chart: "Midnight Blue" by Melissa Manchester (No. 21 on the chart, up 11 spots from the previous week. The song eventually reached No. 6.) -- Wilmington's home jerseys could best be described as "midnight blue" in color.

Professor's Pick:  Wilmington, 21-14

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