UnitedX Spring Season Week 3 Recap: Sterling/Jones Explode

Week two of the United X  Spring Football season is in the books! A good amount of prospects have stood out in just two weeks, many of which were not on our radar. It's our pleasure to help provide some exposure and spotlight to those who may not receive it, yet are deserving. Week 3's outcomes have Chester and Penn Wood primed for an undefeated battle where both teams stand at 3-0. Both teams have played their best ball early on. Let's dive into who stood out, whose stock is rising, and what teams we expect to continue dominating. <strong><em>Academy Park 17 Interboro 8 </em></strong> Academy Park continues to look good against the rest of the United X. A new name has emerged alongside Ibrahim Sanogo and Ashton Clarkson. Cornerback Eric Willis had himself a ball game this week, accounting for SIX pass breakups (if not more) and two tackles on defense where he was, for whatever reason, tested over and over again. Interboro continued to try and force the deep ball to their main target, but to no avail thanks to Willis' stellar ball tracking ability and physicality at corner. Willis contributed on offense as well accounting for 4 receptions, 1 TD, and 1 two-point conversion. He's stout and disciplined at defensive back but is electric in the open field on offense, a great change of pace from Sanogo's running style. Academy Park continues to show they have talent in their secondary. Stud junior defensive back Ashton Clarkson sealed this game with a 99-yard pick-six, thanks to a tipped ball by Anis Hunter Jr. who was spectacular this week against the run from his safety spot, that ended any chance of Interboro taking their first victory. Sanogo continued to show why he's the best player on the field, once again accounting for multiple TFL's on defense and running tough for AP. <strong><em>Chester 43 Reading 0 </em></strong> Anton Sterling has cemented himself as the best running back in the United X through 3 weeks. No running back has garnered more attention this season than Sterling, who ripped off FIVE touchdowns on the day, a Chester HS record. That brings his TD total to 8 in just three games. The Chester offensive line deserves some credit for that too! Chester is far and beyond the best team in the United X, having yet to allow a single point, outscoring opponents 99-0 in three games. We want to know more about Chester's defense! Senior Jahir Palmer has provided consistent effort and tackling from his DB spot while also showing he has the ability to stay in-phase with his offensive matchups downfield. Another defensive back who has helped shut out each opponent is Zahki Jimerson. He's caught our eye as well, as did Colin Ferrell, a young sophomore FS/LB with serious athletic ability who has been added to our watchlist to be ranked. Chester looks to pick up where they left off against undefeated Penn Wood. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/04/EwaES3MXMAEEIrR-crop-1536x1009-1617386297.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-126949" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/04/EwaES3MXMAEEIrR-crop-1536x1009-1617386297-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <strong><em>Harry S. Truman 22 Norristown 12</em></strong> Harry S. Truman has gone as far as stellar senior ATH Sincere Thomas has taken them. The Tigers bounced back into the win column with a 10-point victory over the previously undefeated Norristown squad. Thomas was back in form, scoring all three touchdowns for the Tigers. Two rushing touchdowns, one of 4 yards and one from 20+ yards out, as well as a 32-yard touchdown catch that was put on the money by quarterback Terrell Delp. Senior night was a success for Sincere and Truman. United X action is better when this offense is hitting and it showed. Watch for Sincere Thomas and DB Makai Jackson to be featured in a Mid-Season stock-risers piece dropping sometime next week. Those two have earned that. <strong><em>Penn Wood 20 Chichester 7 </em></strong> Before we get into Penn Wood's prospects and how well they played, let's spotlight a sophomore ATH/DB  out of Chichester who has left his mark on offense and defense. This kid is yet another legit defensive back with great ball skills. It seems like the PPL and UX breed great defensive backs and it has played out this way through three weeks. [player_tooltip player_id="91712" first="Staring" last="Reaves"], who is just 5'8", 175, plays bigger than his frame suggests. He exudes confidence and has the awareness necessary to grow into an elite prospect. He carries the swagger over to offense where he is as explosive as they come. Love this kid's game. As for Penn Wood, it was Jordin Jones again who lit up the stat sheet and scoreboard. We have spoken about how electric Penn Wood's offense can be. Every game, you just don't know who's going to pop off for a huge game. Twice in three weeks, it's been junior running back Jordin Jones. Jones accounted for 260 total yards of offense, while scoring twice for Penn Wood. More of his offensive traits will be broken down in a later piece. He secured a toe-tapping interception, as well as a 30+ yard heave on a trick play to teammate Michael Price. His down-hill tackling was on display too. Jordin Jones has had himself a season so far. <strong><em>Cheltenham 8 Judge 2</em></strong> Cheltenham gets their first win of the season and the [player_tooltip player_id="27337" first="Sam" last="Sykes"] show is back! We have been looking forward to seeing the senior back in action for Cheltenham who has really struggled early on. The SFU commit looked in mid-season form, delivering big-time plays to help secure a win over Father Judge. He showed the ball skills on a ridiculous grab over two defenders on 4th and 21! That's what we are used to seeing from Sykes. Two other prospects stood out, Amani Ezell and quarterback Zachary Gaffin. We actually liked what we saw from each away from their primary positions, that being wideout and quarterback respectively. Ezell came down with a crucial interception late in this one that helped stall this Judge offense. Gaffin showed serious energy and grit as he was a constant force at his linebacker spot. Chasing down runs and running hard on offense, the captian of the team showed heart to help secure win number one.