Halfway there, and getting better every week

The 2010 season is now four weeks old, and I have one big comment to make about the PCL.  There are a lot of good teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League this year.  Currently, there are 14 teams, spread over 3 divisions, with each division split out by the PIAA classifications.  I've never seen the league look so goo.
The Philadelphia Catholic League
The only division that should have a run away winner is the AA division, with West Catholic way ahead of the pack.  But, if you take West out of the mix, the remainder of the AA division would be quite competitive.  Since that division only sends two teams to the playoffs, there will be several good games to watch, and 4 teams (well, maybe 4 if you don't count Neumann-Goretti) battling for that coveted second spot in the playoffs.

In the AAAA division, you migh think that La Salle is head and shoulder above the rest, but we really won't know for sure until week 5 is over, when the Explorers host Roman Catholic, who is coming off a tough loss to new AAA team, O'Hara.  In all honesty, I have to think that this division is a 4 horse race, with Judge and Prep.  This could be the first time in a decade that Prep finishes lower than second in the division.  No disrespect to Ryan, but they may be a year or two away from competing in this division.

In the AAA, you have the most competitive division.  The four teams, all of whom will qualify for the playoffs (yes, I know, it's very stupid), all have a shot at the title.  At this point, you have to give the edge to Wood and La Salle.  These two teams play each other in the last game of the season, and I fully expect it to be a game to decide the division championship.  Bonner, which has improved over a few woeful seasons, and coming into this year with high expectations, may just be a year away from challenging for the division title.  But, in any event, they are a tough AAA team, and they could cause some havoc in the league this year.  Carroll is currently 4-0, winning by an average of 31 - 8.  Some feel that they have yet to be challenged in 2010.  But, no worries, as they will certainly be challenged in week 7, when they open their regular season against Wood.

The Philadelphia Public League
In the Pub AAAA Gold division, it once again looks like the usual suspects of Washington, Northeast and Frankford.  Can another team in that division (Bartram?....Germantown?....etc?) add some additional power to that division.  I'll gloss over the AAAA Silver division, as they are generally teams that can't compete in the Gold division, and will probably not last after the first round of the playoffs anyway.

The Pub AAA division looks to be a three team affair, with Gratz, Roxborough and Dobbins heading up this division.  Each of these teams are currently 3-0 in the division.  There should be one less undefeated team after this week as Dobbins and Roxborough will meet on Saturday.  But, in this division, you really don't know who will win from week to week, but I fully expect one of the three aforementioned teams to take the division crown.

The Pub AA is the most intriquing this year.  Bok has won every regular season game they have played for almost a decade.  Well, until week 3 when they were handled by IMHOTEP.  IMHOTEP, in turn, lost to Del-Val in week 4, officially making this a 3 team race to the championship.  That's if you don't include Comm Tech, who currrently stands at 3-1, but has not exactly played a challenging game yet.  They still have to play the big three this year, including Bok, in week 6, after taking a week off in week 5.  This game will be followed by a match up with Del-Val.  Comm Tech was man-handled by IMHOTEP in week 2, so I don't expect them to be of the cream of this crop.

This season has gotten off to a great start, and it only looks to get better as the year rolls on.  Every division has, at least, a couple of teams who can potentially win the division.  Many of the best games are still ahead of us, and the playoffs look even better.  The only problem I have with the playoffs is the number of teams who qualify.  As I wrote earlier this past summer, the PCL should limit their playoffs to two teams from each division.  But, until I'm elected king of the PCL, I'll just have to sit by and take whatever the league crams down our throats.  Don't even get me started on the method they used for divisional crossover games.

Well, that's it for week 4.  Have a great week and don't forget to stop by on Tuesday to see our picks.  And, check out our updated District 12 rankings.