Kyle Beller put his heart and soul into his first head coaching job at Dieruff High School.
A 1997 Huskies graduate, Beller thought it was a dream come true to coach at his alma mater and he tried his best to elevate the program.
Beller had a measure of success — getting the program to 5-5 in 2013 — but not enough in going 22-47 in seven seasons.
After stops as an assistant coach at Bethlehem Catholic under Joe Henrich and two years with Matt Senneca at Whitehall, Beller got another chance to be a head coach, this time at Pennridge.
With the Rams, he has had the success he always wanted at Dieruff.
Pennridge was one of the best feel-good stories of the District 1 football season in 2025.
The Rams set a school record 13 wins, won the Suburban One League National Conference title and reached the District 1 championship game for the second time in school history. They beat North Penn in the regular season but lost to the Knights in the district finals. As a byproduct of the team’s success, Beller was named the Bucks County football coach of the year, and Pennridge was ranked No. 9 in the state in the final 6A listings.
Maybe some thought Pennridge might be a one-hit wonder, but the Rams have continued to play at a high level. They blanked Liberty 35-0 in Week 1 and beat perennial District 1 power Souderton 28-11 in their second game and edged unbeaten Central Bucks West 14-7 last week. West opened its season by whipping Easton 36-7.
Pennridge’s 4-0 start has earned statewide recognition, and the Rams have cracked the top 10 for the first time this year in the latest Class 6A rankings.
Parkland’s 35-0 win over Stroudsburg kept the Trojans ranked No. 5 in 6A, while Southern Lehigh’s latest rout allowed the Spartans to stay No. 4 in 5A. Meanwhile, Northwestern Lehigh and Notre Dame-Green Pond remain in the top two spots in 3A.
Here are the latest state rankings in all six classes, courtesy of Eric Epler of Pennlive.com:
Class 6A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous
1.; Pittsburgh C.C. (7); 4-0; 1
2.; Harrisburg (3); 4-0; 2
3.; State College (6); 4-0; 3
4.; St. Joseph’s Prep (12); 2-1; 4
5.; Parkland (11); 3-1; 5
6.; Bishop McDevitt (3); 3-1; 6
7.; Downingtown East (1); 3-0; NR
8.; Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1); 4-0; 10
9.; Wilson-West Lawn (3); 3-1; NR
10.; Pennridge (1); 4-0; NR
Teams to watch: Central Bucks West (1) 3-1, Central York (3) 2-2, Manheim Township (3) 3-1, Erie McDowell (10) 3-1, North Penn (1) 3-1, Roman Catholic (12) 2-2.
Class 5A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous
1.; Pine-Richland (7); 3-1; 1
2.; Imhotep Charter (12); 3-1; 2
3.; Springfield-Delco (1); 4-0; 3
4.; Southern Lehigh (11); 4-0; 4
5.; Twin Valley (3); 4-0; 5
6.; Penn-Trafford (7); 4-0; 6
7.; Upper St. Clair (7); 4-0; 7
8.; Chester (1); 4-0; 8
9.; Thomas Jefferson (7); 3-0; 9
10.; Garnet Valley (1); 3-0; 10
Teams to watch: Exeter Township (3) 3-1, North Hills (7) 3-0, Solanco (3) 4-0, West Chester Rustin (1) 2-1.
Class 4A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous
1.; Shamokin (4); 4-0; 1
2.; Pope John Paul II (1); 4-0; 2
3.; Bonner-Prendergast (12); 2-2; 3
4.; South Fayette (7); 4-0; 5
5.; Montour (7); 3-1; 6
6.; West York (3); 4-0; 7
7.; Jersey Shore (4); 3-1; 4
8.; North Pocono (2); 4-0; 8
9.; Cardinal O’Hara (12); 4-0; 9
10.; General McLane (10); 4-0; 10
Teams to watch: Bethlehem Catholic (11) 3-1, Blackhawk (7) 4-0, Blue Mountain (11) 3-1, Cathedral Prep (10) 4-0, Dallas (2) 4-0, Lehighton (11) 4-0.
Class 3A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous
1.; Northwestern Lehigh (11); 4-0; 1
2.; Notre Dame-Green Pond (11); 4-0; 2
3.; Avonworth (7); 3-1; 3
4.; Scranton Prep (2); 3-1; 5
5.; Propel Braddock Hills (7); 2-2; 4
6.; Hopewell (7); 3-1; 6
7.; Hickory (10); 3-1; 7
8.; Mount Carmel (4); 4-0; 8
9.; Elizabeth-Forward (7); 4-0; 9
10.; Central-Martinsburg (6); 4-0; 10
Teams to watch: Aliquippa (7) 2-1, Archbishop Wood (12) 3-1, Palmerton (11) 4-0, Wyomissing (3) 1-2.
Class 2A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous
1.; Southern Columbia (4); 4-0; 1
2.; Bishop Canevin (7); 4-0; 2
3.; Seton LaSalle (7); 4-0; 3
4.; Dunmore (2); 4-0; 4
5.; Farrell (10); 4-0; 5
6.; Richland (6); 4-0; 6
7.; Westinghouse (8); 3-0; 7
8.; Greenville (10); 4-0; 8
9.; Karns City (9); 4-0; 9
10.; Bloomsburg (4); 4-0; NR
Teams to watch: Bellwood-Antis (6) 3-1, Berlin-Brothersvalley (5) 4-0, Lakeland (2) 4-0, Ligonier Valley (7) 4-0, West Catholic (12) 3-1.
Class 1A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous
1.; Washington (7); 4-0; 1
2.; Bishop Guilfoyle (6); 3-1; 2
3.; Clairton (7); 2-2; 5
4.; Steelton-Highspire (3); 2-1; 6
5.; Wilmington (10); 3-1; 4
6.; Monessen (7);4-0; NR
7.; Williams Valley (11); 3-1; 7
8.; Fort Cherry (7); 3-1; 3
9.; Line Mountain (4); 4-0; 10
10.; Homer-Center (6); 4-0; NR
Teams to watch: Keystone (9) 3-1, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 3-1, Meyersdale (5) 3-1, Montgomery (4) 3-1, Tri-Valley (11) 3-1, Windber (5) 3-1.