“Glen Galeone at Archbishop Ryan was running the 1990s. Brett Gordon at La Salle was the best player in it.”
The 1990s is when Philly high school football stopped being a regional thing and started producing names that the whole state knew. Glen Galeone at Archbishop Ryan built a machine — his Raiders were winning Public League titles, Catholic League titles, city titles, doing it so consistently that people started expecting it. Ted named him Coach of the Decade. Nobody had a better argument.
Brett Gordon at La Salle was the Overall Player of the Decade. A quarterback who could make every throw, read every defense, and win the games that mattered. The Catholic League was full of talent in the '90s and Gordon stood above it. Eddie Gaskins at Frankford won the Public League Player of the Decade honor — a back who made Frankford's legacy run right through that decade. Chris Downs at Malvern took the Inter-Ac designation.
This is a First Team-only list for the decade — Ted's picks cover offense and defense completely, representing the Catholic League, Public League, and Inter-Ac. When you look at the school names on this roster — Ryan, La Salle, Frankford, Roxborough, Dobbins, Carroll, Northeast — that's the landscape of a decade when Philly high school football was as competitive as it's ever been.
Selections by Ted Silary. Originally published on TedSilary.com. Preserved and republished by PhillySportsPack.