Philadelphia Catholic League to Make History

Yes, the Philadelphia Catholic League will once again make history.  But, making history is sometimes not such a great thing.  This season will mark a new low in the Philadelphia Catholic League for football.  When the final whistle blows in the Bonner/Carroll game on Friday night,  the losing team in this game will have the distinction of being the first Catholic League football team to qualify for the playoffs with zero regular season wins.  How could this happen in the beloved Catholic League?  Did the powers that be in the Catholic League not learn from the mistakes of the Philly Pub?  In 2008, Central qualified for the Pub AAAA playoffs with a record of 0-6 (0-4 in league play).  The Pub immediately changed their playoff format in 2009, no longer allowing every team in one division to make the playoffs.  Of course, some will argue that these two situations are different, if for no other reason, than because both Bonner and Carroll have non-league wins.  Forget the fact that non-league wins have no bearing on the playoffs.  Knowing the PCL like I do, don't expect them to change their format any time soon.  That's just the way of this league.

A Little PCL History
In the Philadelphia Catholic League, there have been, what I'll call, six eras (See Era Descriptions below).  During these periods, the league changed their alignment, and in many cases, the way the playoff teams were determined.  Almost every change meant more teams became eligible for the playoffs.  This, in my humble opinion, has watered down the playoffs from a competition of the best of the best, down to a tournament which effectively makes the regular season just a warmup for post season. 

Allow me to explain how they have gotten so out of hand with playoff teams....

During the first 56 seasons (1920 - 1975) of the PCL, no team with a losing regular season record was ever named, or played for the championship.  The first time a team with a losing record made the playoffs was in 1976, when a 3-4 (regular season record) Prep team won the City-Southern Division.  This was during Era 3 (see below), when there were 4 divisions, and cross-over games counted.  In the old North-South, two division format, Prep would have finished 5th, and out of the playoffs.  The League abandoned the 4 division setup after the 1980 season, opting for the old North-South.  But, with the new format, half the league in qualified for the playoffs.  Still, over the next 19 seasons, only two teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs (see list below).

With the advent of the big/small school divisions, in 1999, the league went "nuclear", and decided it was a good idea to allow more 75% of the teams (12 of 16) into the playoffs.  Of course, they added a separate championship for the "small schools."  Along with expanding the playoff format came more and more teams qualifying for the playoffs with losing records.  As a matter of fact, from 1921 until 1999 (79 years), only three teams managed to make it into the post season with losing records.  But, from 1999 through the 2009 seaon (11 seasons), 37 teams qualified for the post season with losing records.  That's an average of over 3 teams per year making it to the playoffs after losing more regular season games than they won.

So, how did these teams fare in the post season?  Good question.  Of the 37 teams with losing records who qualified for the playoffs over the past 34 seasons, only 6 of those teams managed to win a first round playoff game.  But, of those six wins, three were against other teams with losing regular season records.  Furthermore, of the six teams who managed to win that first playoff game, none of those teams were able to get past the second round.  That, folks, would be a big 0-6.

What's my point here?  The playoff expansion is there for one of two reasons, and nothing more.  It's either all about the money, as the league knows playoff games generally draw more spectators than a regular season game.  So, there's gate revenue, concession revenue, program revenue, and merchandise revenue.  These "exta" games are a cash cow for the teams and the league.  The second reason is just speculation, but I firmly believe it's all about the "soccer mentality", which is what I call it when everybody gets a trophy just for competing (by the way, the PCL soccer league allows 10 of 14 teams in the playoffs, and they all compete for just one championship).  Now, you have over half the teams in the league claiming to be a "playoff" team.  Everybody gets a warm and fuzzy, even if that "playoff" team is thumped 42-0 in the first round by a team that actually played well during the regular season.  Kind of makes sense why the USA is ranked only 20th in Math and Science around the world, but #1 in Confidence.

Significant dates in Catholic League Football.
1920 - The PCL is formed, with five teams competing for the right to be called Catholic League Champion
1963 - The PCL creates the Championship game, played between the two division champions.  A playoff game is only held if two teams tie for first.
1973 - The PCL expands the playoffs by spliting the league into four divisions, with the division winners playing a scheduled semi-final round.
1976 - St Joesph Prep becomes the first team in PCL history to play a post season game while sporting a losing regular season record.
1981 - The PCL goes back to the North/South divisions, but now the top four teams from each division, or half the league, now qualify for the post season.
1999 - The PCL splits into two leagues (Red/Blue), and holds separate championships.  Beginning this year, and for the next.  This format is used for the next 9 seasons, during which time more than half the teams in the PCL qualify for the post season, including 34 teams with losing records.
2008 - The PCL joins the PIAA and splits into PIAA type classifications.  Three champions are now crowned.
2010 - Bonner or Carroll will become the first PCL team to qualify for the playoffs with zero regular season wins.

The Six Major Changes to the PCL
Era 1 - 1920 - 1962 - This first period was the "Golden Age" of high school football.  This period spanned from the league's innagural year of 1920, until 1962, which was just before the great expansion of the league.  During this time, there was only one division for the Catholic League, and the division winner was crowned league champ.  The only time there was a playoff was when two teams finished the regular season with the same record.  In that case, the two teams with the best records played a "championship" game to decide the league championship.

Era 2 - 1963 - 1972 - After the "Great Expansion" of the Catholic League, the powers that be decided to split the league into two divisions, based on geographic locations of the schools.  There was a North and a South Division.  In this format, the top team from each division would play for the championship.  Once again, if two teams tied for the division lead, a "playoff" game was held to decide which team would represent that division in the league championship game.

Era 3 - 1973 - 1980 - For not much other reason than to show a distinction between the city and suburbs, the league decided to split into four divisions.  There were two Northern Divisions (city & suburbs), along with two Southern Divisions (city & Suburbs).  In this format, the winner of each division would qualify for the playoffs, with the two Northern division division winners playing, along with the two Southern Division winners.  These games would be the league semi-finals, with the winners playing for the league championship.

Era 4 - 1981-1998 - During these years, the league went back to the original "North" and "South" divisions, but they expanded the playoffs to include four teams from each.  Each of the divisions played a quarterfinal and a semi-final game, with the eventual winners of each division playing for the league championship.  For most of these years, half of the teams qualified for the playoffs.

Era 5 - 1999 - 2007 - This period is known as the "Red/Blue" years, with the teams being split into two 8 team divisions, based purely on enrollment.  The Red division was home to the 8 largest enrollment schools, while the Blue had the 8 smallest enrollment schools.  Gone was the single PCL championship, as the two divisions crowned their own champion.  The playoffs, once again, were expanded to included 12 of the 16 teams in the league (6 from each division).

Era 6 - 2008 - 20?? - With the league joining the PIAA, it allowed for an additional change to the playoff format.  Now, the league consisted of three divisions, as prescribed by the state governing boday (PIAA).  There would now be three divisions, with the AAAA division being the largest school enrollments, AAA being the next largest by enrollment, and the AA division being the smallest of the schools.  Each division crowns their own champion, but now the league champion plays their corresponding Philly Pub champ at each level, with the winner of that game moving on to the state playoffs.  During the first is time, 10 of the league's 14 teams qualify for the playoffs.


Teams qualifying for the post-season with a losing record, by Era

Era 1 - The Golden Age of the PCL  (1921 - 1962)
None

Era 2 - The Great Exansion (1963 - 1972
None

Era 3 - City v Burbs (1973 - 1980)
1976 St Joe Prep, at 3-4 (Loses playoff game to Carroll 42-0)

Era 4 - North v South (1981 - 1998)
1995 - Bonner 3-4 (Wins first playoff game over K-K 10-7, Loses semi-final to La Salle 23-13)   
1997 - North 3-4  (Loses playoff game to Ryan 19-14)

Era 5 - Red / Blue (1999 - 2007)
1999 - Ryan 3-4 (First round win over O'Hara 21-7.  Loses semi-final to La Salle 16-0) 
1999 - North 2-5 (First round loss to Prep 42-7)
1999 - Neumann 3-4 (First round loss to West 7-6)
1999 - Dougherty 2-5 (Wins first playoff game over Wood 26-21. Loses semi-final to Carroll 28-7) 
2000 - Roman 3-4 (First round loss to Bonner 21-7)
2000 - Bonner 3-4 (Wins first playoff game over Roman 21-7. Loses semi-final to Prep 27-13) 
2000 - Ryan 3-4 (First round loss to La Salle 28-7)
2000 - West 3-4 (First round loss to Neumann 28-7)
2000 - Dougherty 3-4 (First round loss to Wood 27-14)
2001 - La Salle 3-4 (First round loss to O'Hara 21-6)
2001 - Ryan 2-5 (First round loss to Judge 10-0)
2001 - Conwell-Egan 3-4  (First round loss to Neumann 33-12)
2001 - Neumann 3-4 (Wins first playoff game over Conwell-Egan 33-12) 
2001 - West 3-4 (First round loss to McDevitt 35-0)
2002 - Bonner 3-4 (First round loss to O'Hara 31-8)
2002 - Ryan 2-5 (First round loss to Roman 42-20)
2002 - Kennedy-Kenrick 2-5 (First round loss to Conwell-Egan 13-10, in OT)
2003 - Ryan 2-4 (First round loss to La Salle 28-14)
2003 - Judge 1-5 (First round loss to Roman 21-17)
2004 - Ryan 2-4 (Wins first playoff game over La Salle 21-7. Lose semi-final to O'Hara 34-6) 
2004 - La Salle 2-4 (First round loss to Ryan 21-7)
2004 - Bonner 1-5 (First round loss to Prep 37-0)
2004 - McDevitt 3-5 (First round loss to Conwell-Egan 3-0)
2005 - Ryan 3-4 (First round loss to La Salle 28-3)
2005 - Judge 2-5 (First round loss to Prep 53-9)
2005 - McDevitt 3-4 (First round loss to Conwell-Egan 27-21, in OT)
2005 - Neumann-Goretti 2-5 (First round loss to Carroll 41-27)
2006 - O'Hara 2-5 (First round loss to La Salle 39-38, in OT)
2006 - McDevitt 3-4 (First round loss to Conwell-Egan 27-7)
2006 - Carroll 3-4 (First round loss to Neumann-Goretti 13-12)
2007 - La Salle 3-4 (First round loss to O'Hara 31-7)
2007 - North 3-4 (First round loss to Roman 28-10)
2007 - Kennedy-Kenrick 3-4 (First round loss to McDevitt 34-0)
2007 - Neumann-Goretti 2-5 (First round loss to Carroll, 30-22)

Era 6 - The PIAA years (2008 - ????)
2008 - Lansdale Catholic 1-3 (First round loss to Wood, 27-0)
2009 - Lansdale Catholic 1-3 (First round loss to Wood 22-19)
2009 - Dougherty 1-3 (First round loss to West 44-0)
2010 - Bonner
2010 - Carroll

(A Special Thank You to Ted Silary and www.TedSilary.com for providing all of the historical information needed for this article)