When York Suburban and Archbishop Carroll go at it Tuesday in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal, they very well may be catching each other at their hottest.

I don't need to tell you about Carroll (26-3), which stunned league rival and perennial thorn-in-side Neumann-Goretti. But the Trojans (27-3) looked their best in their Round 3, 47-35 win over District 2 champ Crestwood.

Consider that the Trojans:

• Scored 16 of the game's first 18 points
• Led by as many as 19 points
• Limited Crestwood to 14-of-35 shooting
• Held a 28-18 advantage in rebounds
• Forced 18 turnovers

Those are all impressive numbers, but how about this one: Crestwood finished the year having held opponents under 50 points in 25 of their 29 games. What does that tell me? That York Suburban (which scored only 47) was able to play someone else's game and still win.

The Trojans weren't all that intimidating when I saw them against Strath Haven in the second round. They don't have much size or much speed. They play a balanced team game. Expect at least three guys to hit double figures in scoring. The Patriots will need to spread the ball, too, so count on their All-Catholic backcourt of D.J. Irving and Juan'ya Green (pictured) to carry the load.

Archbishop Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk was named the Catholic League's Coach of the Year Tuesday, when the postseason awards were announced.

In his sixth season, Romanczuk led the Patriots to a 21-2 record and an appearance in Wednesday's league semifinal, where they will face Roman Catholic.

Romanczuk wasn't the only one from Carroll to garner high honors. Junior guard D.J. Irving and sophomore guard Juan'Ya Green (pictured, left to right) were named to the league's Blue Division First Team. Senior forwards Kasheef Festus and Andre Wilburn were picked for Blue's Second and Third teams, respectively.

CATHOLIC RED
At Monsignor Bonner, junior point guard Jamal Melvin was named to the Red Division First Team. Junior guard Keefer Francis was selected to the Second Team.

INTER-AC
Episcopal Academy junior guard Omari Grier garnered a First-Team nomination. Teammate and senior guard Cory Goodman made the Second Team, and senior guards A.J. Jones and Sam Kurtzman of The Haverford School were Honorable Mention selections.

There was a pep rally Friday at Archbishop Carroll, employed to get everyone excited for the game that was going to determine (one way or another) the champion of the Catholic League's Blue Division.

There also was a scrimmage ... between Carroll's boys team and its girls team.

Kasheef Festus, (pictured), a senior who measures in at 6-4, 240 pounds, decided to sit this one out.

"Juan'Ya (Green) hit the game-winner at the end," Festus said. "Me, Andre (Wilburn) and D.J. (Irving) didn't play.

So you didn't want to get hurt for Friday's big game, huh?

"No, it's not like that," Festus said. "We had to make it a little more fair. That's not to say they're not good. They were actually really tough the whole game. They were hitting every jump shot."

Festus said the best individual matchup was Green versus senior guard Kerri Shields, a Boston College signee who earlier this week was named a nominee for the McDonald's All-America Game.

"Kerri guarded him really well," Festus said. "But he hit the game-winning shot off her, so he got the last laugh."

Two days after seeing the best game of the season - Penn Wood 53, Chester 52 - I was treated to another gem Thursday when the same Penn Wood team took down Glen Mills, 61-57, in double overtime.

And when sophomore forward Aaron Brown was picking apart The Mills in overtime, it got me thinking about who are the top underclassmen in Delaware County.

Here's this reporter's list:
1. Juan'Ya Green, So., PG, Archbishop Carroll: Green, 6-3, can make something happen from anywhere on the floor. He's getting high Division I recruiting interest (understandably so).

2. Aaron Brown, So., PF, Penn Wood: The Roman Catholic transfer, 6-5, is a converted center who is finding a home on the wing. His outside game is improving day by day.

3. Isaiah Baker, So., C, Episcopal Academy: The third-leading scorer for the Churchmen is 6-7 and is learning how to play within the body with which he's been blessed. Keep an eye on him.

4. Shawn Oakman, So., C, Penn Wood: A starter last year as a freshman, the 6-8 Oakman (pictured) is a talented rebounder and shotblocker. A boost in his scoring average (7 ppg.) will come with time.

5. Chazz Fisher, So., SG, Strath Haven: He started the year at JV and continues his quick ascent through coach Steve Lewis' system. Fisher is a jumpshooter with good skills around the glass, too.

6. Kurt Johnson, So, SG, Marple Newtown: Johnson, a JV call-up due to injury early on, is one of the best up-and-coming 3-point shooters in the county.

7. Montrail Talford, So, PG, Upper Darby: He is learning more and more. This is his second year of varsity experience with an upperclassmen-laden lineup.

8. Kareem Robinson, Fr., PG, Chester: The Clippers are grooming the 5-10 guard, the younger brother of two-time All-Delco Nasir, as an heir apparent to the point.

9. Rahmir Jefferson, Fr., SF, Chester: Imagine Rahlir Jefferson three years ago, except maybe just a tad more polished.

10. Norm Donkin, So., SG, Ridley: A pure shooter with decent range. He's a building block toward the future at Ridley.

Anybody I left out, shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment here.
Coming up Saturday: the top juniors in Delco.

The subject comes up everywhere I go: Who's the best? When I give my answer, it usually comes with some rebuttal: Why them?

Here's a chance for me to make the best argument for the top six teams in Delaware County (in no particular order):

***CHESTER CLIPPERS
Record: 12-1 (4-0 Del Val)
Key Wins: Penn Wood, Norristown, E&S.
Key Losses: None.
More: Take a look at most of the preseason picks in Southeastern Pa. - they all had Chester out of the No. 1 slot. But the defending PIAA Class AAAA champs have rebounded and are perfect (except for a 2 OT loss vs. Reading). I still don't think we've seen the best of senior Rahlir Jefferson.


***PENN WOOD PATRIOTS
Record: 12-1 (3-1 Del Val)
Key Wins: North Catholic, Glen Mills, Bartram.
Key Losses: Chester.
More: Once nationally-ranked, the Patriots took a step back (in the league standings, too) with the loss to Chester. But they have beaten the best of the Catholic League and previously 12-0 Bartram, of the Pub. Behind junior point guard Tyree Johnson, the Pats are on course for a deep run in states.


***ARCHBISHOP CARROLL PATRIOTS
Record: 13-1 (9-1 Catholic Blue)
Key Wins: Archbishop Wood, La Salle, Camden Catholic.
Key Losses: Neumann-Goretti.
More: The Main Line Patriots are deep. They usually employ a six-man rotation, but they can use as many as eight or nine, with all of them contributing. I like their backcourt, with D.J. Irving and Juan'Ya Green. If those two are on target, these Pats are hard to slow down offensively -- they have scored fewer than 54 points only twice.


***GLEN MILLS BATTLIN' BULLS
Record: 10-4 (2-2 Del Val)
Key Wins: University City, Holy Ghost Prep.
Key Losses: Chester, Penn Wood, Frankford.
More: Senior center and La Salle commit Aaric Murray had his second career triple-double Saturday ... in a blowout win, which goes to show that as he goes, so go the Bulls. There is a nice supporting cast around him, with guards Reginald Miles and Tyrik Gass, but they need to slay some of the Del Val's big guns to be taken seriously. They have an upset (or two) in them.

***UPPER DARBY ROYALS
Record: 12-3 (9-2 Central)
Key Wins: Lower Merion, Penncrest.
Key Losses: Springfield, Conestoga.
More: It's easy to justify losing to Conestoga, the unbeaten titan of the league. But when you drop a decision to a Springfield team that is a step below in the PIAA classifications (after Springfield had lost to a one-win team only two days prior) it raises serious questions. Forward Chase Peterson and guard Khayri West need to carry the load if the Royals are to rebound.


***PENNCREST LIONS
Record: 12-3 (8-3 Central)
Key Wins: West Chester Henderson, Radnor.
Key Losses: Conestoga, Lower Merion, Upper Darby.
More: After 10 straight wins to start the year, the Lions' three-game slide had everyone fearing the worst. Senior center Marvin Holman-Little, who is averaging 14 points per game, has been a steadying force for a young, green crew. They lack big-game experience, but it has not come back to get them thus far. Don't sleep on the Lions.


Of course, if I let a team out that you deem worthy, let me know. As for which team is No. 1, that's yet to be sorted out. But these are definitely the big guns in Delco through the first half of the season. There's no argument there.

The basketball season kicked off Friday night with a flourish. There were high scorers abound, some upsets and some high expectations that were given foundations for the rest of the season.

For starters, Chichester upended host Ridley, 50-39, behind 12 points and nine rebounds from Dan Clapp and 11 from Malik Carter (pictured).

The Eagles, who have just two wins in their last six openers, desperately needed to get off to a good start. In the always-competitive Del Val, their toughest tests are ahead of them.

Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter of a win at Harry S Truman.

Strath Haven's Calvin Newell dropped 28 on Carlisle, the hosts of a tipoff tournament and losers to the Panthers.

Glen Mills' Aaric Murray lived up to all the hype, tossing in 32 points.

And Archbishop Carroll escaped a three-overtime thriller over La Salle, 86-84, behind 21 from D.J. Irving and 19 from Juan'Ya Green.

###

Daily Times reporters are scattered about the East Coast today, covering some bigtime games. I'm taking a day off from the high school beat to visit Lincoln Financial Field and the 109th Army-Navy Game. A lifelong Philadelphian, it's hard to believe that I've never covered one of these games. In fact, I've never even attended one. Today should be a treat.

Terry Toohey is in Harrisonburg, Va., for Villanova's second-round FCS playoff game against top-seeded James Madison. And Anthony SanFilippo is down in Carolina for a Flyers-Hurricanes game.

It's a big day for sports, certainly, so pick up Sunday's Daily Times for all the latest.