Varsity 365 2009 Power Team of the Year:
The Lasalle Explorers


It came down to the wire.

Our rankings race this year was very exciting. North Penn, the team who held the number 1 spot all last year (and subsequently won Power Team of the Year) were once again on top of the list for almost all of this year. But everything that happened under them was a frenzy. Several teams entered the top 5 at some point, only to drop out of it not too much later. A few teams visited the number 2 spot, but never could reach number 1 because North Penn kept winning.

And then North Penn lost on the last eligible week of our poll.

Their defeat at the hands of Ridley finally opened the door for someone else to claim the top spot. The dilemma was this - Ridley was number 3 when they beat North Penn, and Lasalle was #2. Should Ridley jump ahead of Lasalle since they beat the number 1 team? Or should Lasalle naturally move up since they kept winning as well?

We didn't have to worry about this. Because we actually got a title game out of the equation.

Lasalle and Ridley battled in the State semifinal with a chance to go to Hershey to play in the state championship. The winner would also break our rankings tie. Lasalle went in and won big over Ridley, leaving no question as to who would be our Power Team of the Year.

The record and stats all show how they got here. 13-1, Quad-A Catholic League champs, and the Eastern rep in the state finals. Outscored their opponents 445-186. A QB that threw for 23 touchdowns (Drew Loughery), A 1,000 yard runner (Jamal Abdur-Rahman), 5 receivers over 250 yards for the season, a really good kicker (Mike Bennett), and an opportunistic defense. Let us not forget the coaching staff, led by head coach Drew Gordon (last year's Varsity 365 Coach of the Year) who seems to know just the right things to do and say to get the most out of the kids.

So in crowning our 2nd Power Team of the Year, we congratulate the Lasalle Explorers, and wish them luck as they head to Hershey this weekend.

The Final 5:
1. Lasalle
2. Ridley
3. North Penn
4. Archbishop Wood
5. West Catholic

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