Coatesville sophomore quarterback Ricky Ortega leads the No. 1 Red Raiders offense. Photo from pennlive.com

The end of the high school football regular season is near. Top teams like No. 1 Coatesville and No. 2 St. Joe’s Prep will have to make their way through several rounds in league and district playoffs to square off again in the PIAA, 6A semi-finals like the two powerhouse programs did last year.
The Hawks outlasted the Red Raiders in a 53-49 thriller. But that win proved costly for the Philadelphia Catholic League champs at they lost in the state final to Pine-Richland of Western Pennsylvania 41-21.
The DelVal final this week will have big playoff implications when No. 13 Academy Park (8-1) takes on No. 10 Penn Wood. The winner will likely grab the No. 1 seed in the District One AAAAA playoffs.
2018 Southeastern PA Top 20 Football teams as of October 24, 2018
1. Coatesville (9-0)
2. St. Joe’s Prep (6-0)
3. Malvern Prep (9-0)
4. Imhotep Charter (6-2)
5. North Penn (9-0)
6. Garnet Valley (9-0)
7. Downingtown West (8-1)
8. Pottsgrove (8-0)
9. Harry S. Truman (8-1)
10. Penn Wood (8-1)
11. Radnor (7-2)
12. Conwell-Egan (9-0)
13. Academy Park (8-1)
14. Haverford High School (8-1)
15. Downingtown East (8-1)
16. Archbishop Wood (5-3)
17. William Penn Charter (5-2)
18. West Catholic (7-2)
19. Upper Dublin (7-1)
20. Archbishop Ryan (7-2)
Best of the rest (alphabetically): Archbishop Carroll (4-4), Bayard Rustin (6-2), Bishop McDevitt (6-3), Cardinal O’Hara (6-2), Council Rock South (5-4), Episcopal Academy (5-2), George Washington (7-2), Jules E. Mastbaum (4-3), Neshaminy (6-3), Northeast (5-2), Pennsbury (5-4), Perkiomen Valley (7-2), Pope John Paul II (8-1), Ridley (5-4), Springfield (6-3), Spring-Ford (7-2), Upper Darby (7-2).