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CoBL Weekly Preview: Jan. 17-20, 2023

01/16/2023, 11:15am EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

We’re moving into the second half of January, which means there’s only about three weeks left in the 2022-23 high school regular season, and about six weeks left in the collegiate regular season. Every game’s getting more and more important, and there are some huge ones around the area this week. Here’s a look at the games to see this week; we’ll preview the weekend in just a few days.

College
There are a couple City 6 home games on Tuesday, as the Villanova women host Xavier while and the Temple women host Tulsa; while the Wildcats should roll the Musketeers, who haven’t won a conference game as of this writing, the Owls have a much tougher task in the AAC-leading Golden Hurricanes, currently 14-3 (4-0 AAC). There’s also a Division II doubleheader at Holy Family, as the Tigers women’ and men will host Jefferson’s at 6 PM and 8 PM, respectively. 


Katie Jekot (above) and St. Joe's have a city matchup against La Salle on Wednesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

It’s not the Big 5 game, which took place on Dec. 31, but Saint Joseph’s and La Salle’s women meet for the second time on Wednesday after the Hawks took the first matchup 68-64 behind 20 points from Talya Brugler and 11 dimes from Katie Jekot; it’s worth noting that the Explorers were without starting point guard Molly Masciantonio in that one. St. Joe’s (14-3, 4-1) will be trying to bounce back from a two-point loss to UMass this weekend, which snapped a four-game winning streak; La Salle (11-8, 2-2) has won its last two games. In Division III action, Swarthmore hosts Ursinus, Widener hosts Albright and Neumann hosts Gwynedd Mercy, all M/W doubleheaders. 

There’s only one City 6 game on Thursday, as Drexel’s men (10-8, 4-2) host CAA newcomer Hampton (3-14, 0-5), hoping to snap a streak of alternating wins and losses that’s gone back five games, especially with a big game against Delaware looming on Saturday. 

Finally, on Friday, both Villanova teams play on the road; the men are at St. John’s at 7 PM and the women at Creighton two hours later. The teams are in vastly different places; for the women, it’ll be a chance to potentially win nine straight if they can take care of business against Xavier; for the men, if they can beat Georgetown on Monday, it’ll be a chance to win consecutive games for the first time since December 17-21; otherwise, it’ll be to snap a four-game losing skid, with a brutal schedule upcoming.

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Boys’ HS

Tuesday begins with a big clash in the Inter-Ac, as the only two unbeaten teams — Malvern Prep and Penn Charter, both 3-0 — meet at Malvern Prep at 5:30 PM, their first of two meetings this season. And that’s not the only game between division leaders that evening: Spring-Ford hosts Norristown in a meeting of the top two teams in the PAC Liberty, while Pottstown hosts Upper Merion in a matchup of two of the four 3-2 teams tied atop the PAC Freedom division. In Suburban One crossover games of note, Plymouth Whitemarsh hosts William Tennent and North Penn hosts Bensalem, while Downingtown West hosts West Chester Henderson in what should be a quality Ches-Mont National battle. 

Wednesday’s only got 10 games on the boys’ side, but there’s one major one: Neumann-Goretti hosting Archbishop Wood in a matchup of PCL powerhouses, as Wood (2-2) will go for its third straight league win against the Saints (3-0) in an always-entertaining matchup between N-G’s Carl Arrigale and his former longtime assistant, John Mosco. It might not get as much attention, but Church Farm (5-1) hosts Collegium Charter (5-2) in a good Bicentennial matchup, and Friends’ Central hosts the Hill School at 4 PM in what should be a high-level non-public matchup.

Action heats back up in the area on Thursday with more than 50 games that afternoon/evening, including some real quality matchups. Start in the Public League, where Frankford hosts Palumbo in a big ‘B’ Division clash, as both teams only have one league loss, while Franklin Towne (6-1) hosts Science Leadership (6-1) in a matchup of two of the top teams in the ‘E’ Division. If you go to the Frankford game at 3:15, stick around: Sankofa hosts MCS afterwards in a Pub doubleheader. In the Ches-Mont, West Chester East hosts West Chester Henderson as both teams are 4-2 in division play, while Downingtown West (5-1) hosting Coatesville (5-1) is certainly the biggest matchup of the night in that league. Over in the Central League, Radnor hosts upstart Upper Darby in what should be a terrific contrast in styles; in the Del-Val, Chichester hosts Chester at 7:30 PM as the Eagles hope to hold onto first place.

Friday’s matchups leave a little to be desired, as there’s a few uneven matchups in the Catholic League, but there’s still certainly games worth seeing. Abington vs. William Tennent (7 PM, Abington) should be a fun SOL crossover game, as should Pennsbury hosting CB South and CB East hosting Council Rock North, both at 7 PM as well. In the PCL, West Catholic hosts Archbishop Carroll in what should be a high-scoring contest, Archbishop Wood hosts Father Judge as John Mosco plays former assistant Chris Roantree, and Devon Prep hosts St. Joe’s Prep in what could be the best game of the night. There’s also a very good BAL clash that evening, as Delco Christian (6-1) hosts Collegium Charter (5-2), though both trail Dock Mennonite in the standings. 

Click here for the link to our boys’ standings and schedules
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Girls’ HS

Arguably the biggest girls’ clash on Tuesday comes in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, as Perkiomen Valley (4-1) hopes to bounce back from its first loss of the season by hosting Methacton (4-1), which knocked off Spring-Ford last week. The Friends’ Schools League has a key one Tuesday afternoon as Shipley School hosts Friends’ Central, and West Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti should be a good one in the Catholic League. In the rest of District 1, Upper Dublin hosts New Hope-Solebury and CB East hosts Neshaminy in a couple good SOL crossover games, while Pennridge gets CR South in another quality matchup.

Wednesday has 14 matchups in the area, most of which are Public League games, including a big one as Northeast hosts Franklin Towne in a battle of unbeatens, and Parkway Central City hosts Lincoln. In a quality non-league matchup in Delaware County, Springfield (Delco.) hosts Upper Dublin; both teams like to play patiently and run clock, so this could be a “first to 40 wins” type of scenario, even with an efficient night by both squads. 

Thursday has a few more games but also is a bit lacking in terms of quality matchups. Mt. St. Joseph’s hosts Villa Maria at 5 PM in an AACA battle, though Villa (5-0) hasn’t been touched in league play. The Central League has a huge matchup as Conestoga (8-1) hosts Springfield (Delco.) (8-0), though fellow unbeaten Haverford High (9-0) has an easier matchup at home against Harriton (2-6), which could leave the Fords as the last unbeaten in the league. Methacton (4-1) hosts Upper Merion (3-1) in a PAC matchup, and Neumann-Goretti vs. Conwell-Egan should be a quality PCL game. 

Friday starts off with a bang, as Penn Charter (4-0) hosts Germantown Academy (3-1) in a game that could put PC in the drivers’ seat or bring them right back to the pack, as GA will hope to get revenge on its archrival for a loss from earlier in the season. Westtown hosts Friends’ Central at 5:30 PM in a battle of the two best in the Friends’ Schools League, though Shipley/George School is a quality FSL contest as well. The last day of SOL crossovers features CR South hosting Souderton, New Hope hosting Quakertown, CB West hosting Neshaminy, and Plymouth Whitemarsh hosts Upper Moreland in the highest-profile matchup of the evening. Capping off the evening, Archbishop Carroll hosts Archbishop Wood at 7 PM, while Cardinal O’Hara hosts Bishop Shanahan in a very good non-league matchup.

Click here for the link to our girls’ standings and schedules

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Wednesday’s only got 10 games on the boys’ side, but there’s one major one: Neumann-Goretti hosting Archbishop Wood in a matchup of PCL powerhouses, as Wood (2-2) will go for its third straight league win against the Saints (3-0) in an always-entertaining matchup between N-G’s Carl Arrigale and his former longtime assistant, John Mosco. It might not get as much attention, but Church Farm (5-1) hosts Collegium Charter (5-2) in a good Bicentennial matchup, and Friends’ Central hosts the Hill School at 4 PM in what should be a high-level non-public matchup.

Action heats back up in the area on Thursday with more than 50 games that afternoon/evening, including some real quality matchups. Start in the Public League, where Frankford hosts Palumbo in a big ‘B’ Division clash, as both teams only have one league loss, while Franklin Towne (6-1) hosts Science Leadership (6-1) in a matchup of two of the top teams in the ‘E’ Division. If you go to the Frankford game at 3:15, stick around: Sankofa hosts MCS afterwards in a Pub doubleheader. In the Ches-Mont, West Chester East hosts West Chester Henderson as both teams are 4-2 in division play, while Downingtown West (5-1) hosting Coatesville (5-1) is certainly the biggest matchup of the night in that league. Over in the Central League, Radnor hosts upstart Upper Darby in what should be a terrific contrast in styles; in the Del-Val, Chichester hosts Chester at 7:30 PM as the Eagles hope to hold onto first place.

Friday’s matchups leave a little to be desired, as there’s a few uneven matchups in the Catholic League, but there’s still certainly games worth seeing. Abington vs. William Tennent (7 PM, Abington) should be a fun SOL crossover game, as should Pennsbury hosting CB South and CB East hosting Council Rock North, both at 7 PM as well. In the PCL, West Catholic hosts Archbishop Carroll in what should be a high-scoring contest, Archbishop Wood hosts Father Judge as John Mosco plays former assistant Chris Roantree, and Devon Prep hosts St. Joe’s Prep in what could be the best game of the night. There’s also a very good BAL clash that evening, as Delco Christian (6-1) hosts Collegium Charter (5-2), though both trail Dock Mennonite in the standings. 

Click here for the link to our boys’ standings and schedules


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