Well, out west things are heating up with the consensus top 4 teams making the semi finals.
One semi will match #1 seed Woodland Hills vs. #5 Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Of any school in the WPIAL that can match PCC's size and athletes its Woody high. They have the 2 D1 RB's, plus a load of kids in the 275-325 range up front that can play. The keys to this game are can Woody's offense open enough enough holes to free Sanders and Shaw 3 or 4 times (because they don't have an effective passing game), and can Woody's defense do a decent job in pass defense. PCC's passing game isn't spectacular, but it is solid and much improved from years past. And they have athletes everywhere.
On the defensive side of the ball, PCC has been playing Hamlin, Garner, Jones, and one other DB, along with a single LB - Adams, and 5 defensive linemen - average weight 305 (Thorpe, Hinish, Green, Wheeler and Stevens (who is ENORMOUS - 380+). 6 man box and man to man everywhere. Can they do this against Woody's athletes? It will be a test, but they certainly have the manpower.
For Woody, I think they will be able to slow down the run. PCC's interior 3 lineman are the weak link of the team, but the line is anchored by Thorpe and Hinish, who are both studs at tackle. I would expect Woody to bring pressure to both stop the run and flush the QB. It will be interesting to see if PCC continues to spread the field like they did last week, or they go back to their old 2 backs sets like they used a few weeks before. I think Woody would be wise to spread the field and work for matchups on the perimeter of Sanders or Shaw vs. Adams. Adams will plug every gap in the middle, but can't keep up with the elite speed of those two - particularly Sanders.
Prediction: PCC 28 Woody 27
The other semifinal matches #2 seed Penn-Trafford vs. #3 see Pine-Richland. I look for this to be a high scoring affair with PT led by a trio of senior skill players - QB Laffoon, RB Jonah Lisbon, and WR Tim Vecchio. PR will rely on sophomore QB Phil Jurkovec and a pool of other skill players.
For Penn-Trafford, the key will be can they contain Jurkovec and the offense with their 3 man front in both the pass and run game. If so, it could be a long night for the Rams as PT routinely drops 8 into coverage. If PT has to commit more people to the run game, watch out. PR could roll up 40 or 50 points in a flash. (They scored 42 in the first half against Lebo - a 9-1 team with a single loss by 4 to Woody.) On offense, PT will look to use their size advantage to run the ball out of spread sets, and get Vecchio the ball in space, where he is deadly.
For Pine Richland, the story recently has been their defense, who beginning with the second half of the PCC game have been spectacular, with starters allowing only 21 points over 14 quarters. Against Penn Hills and Lebo - two spread teams - they dominated both the line of scrimmage and secondary. The look to have found their grove, with a few position changes, and very few people playing both ways - 1 lineman and 2 DB's I think. On offense, Coach Kasperowicz and his staff have probably built the most high powered offense in the state - think Baylor or TCU in terms of ability to score. Everything goes through Jurkovec, who has shown poise beyond his years. The keys will be to avoid turnovers and establish a tempo game early, as PT plays 9 kids both ways. Also worth noting that PR is playing two offensive tackles who have now started in 28 straight games - huge experience factor that I think goes in PR's favor too.
Prediction: Pine-Richland 48 Penn Trafford 35
Note: For those of you out east that have Dish or DirecTV, the game will be carried on tape delay on Root Sports Pittsburgh at 10:00 on Friday night.
One semi will match #1 seed Woodland Hills vs. #5 Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Of any school in the WPIAL that can match PCC's size and athletes its Woody high. They have the 2 D1 RB's, plus a load of kids in the 275-325 range up front that can play. The keys to this game are can Woody's offense open enough enough holes to free Sanders and Shaw 3 or 4 times (because they don't have an effective passing game), and can Woody's defense do a decent job in pass defense. PCC's passing game isn't spectacular, but it is solid and much improved from years past. And they have athletes everywhere.
On the defensive side of the ball, PCC has been playing Hamlin, Garner, Jones, and one other DB, along with a single LB - Adams, and 5 defensive linemen - average weight 305 (Thorpe, Hinish, Green, Wheeler and Stevens (who is ENORMOUS - 380+). 6 man box and man to man everywhere. Can they do this against Woody's athletes? It will be a test, but they certainly have the manpower.
For Woody, I think they will be able to slow down the run. PCC's interior 3 lineman are the weak link of the team, but the line is anchored by Thorpe and Hinish, who are both studs at tackle. I would expect Woody to bring pressure to both stop the run and flush the QB. It will be interesting to see if PCC continues to spread the field like they did last week, or they go back to their old 2 backs sets like they used a few weeks before. I think Woody would be wise to spread the field and work for matchups on the perimeter of Sanders or Shaw vs. Adams. Adams will plug every gap in the middle, but can't keep up with the elite speed of those two - particularly Sanders.
Prediction: PCC 28 Woody 27
The other semifinal matches #2 seed Penn-Trafford vs. #3 see Pine-Richland. I look for this to be a high scoring affair with PT led by a trio of senior skill players - QB Laffoon, RB Jonah Lisbon, and WR Tim Vecchio. PR will rely on sophomore QB Phil Jurkovec and a pool of other skill players.
For Penn-Trafford, the key will be can they contain Jurkovec and the offense with their 3 man front in both the pass and run game. If so, it could be a long night for the Rams as PT routinely drops 8 into coverage. If PT has to commit more people to the run game, watch out. PR could roll up 40 or 50 points in a flash. (They scored 42 in the first half against Lebo - a 9-1 team with a single loss by 4 to Woody.) On offense, PT will look to use their size advantage to run the ball out of spread sets, and get Vecchio the ball in space, where he is deadly.
For Pine Richland, the story recently has been their defense, who beginning with the second half of the PCC game have been spectacular, with starters allowing only 21 points over 14 quarters. Against Penn Hills and Lebo - two spread teams - they dominated both the line of scrimmage and secondary. The look to have found their grove, with a few position changes, and very few people playing both ways - 1 lineman and 2 DB's I think. On offense, Coach Kasperowicz and his staff have probably built the most high powered offense in the state - think Baylor or TCU in terms of ability to score. Everything goes through Jurkovec, who has shown poise beyond his years. The keys will be to avoid turnovers and establish a tempo game early, as PT plays 9 kids both ways. Also worth noting that PR is playing two offensive tackles who have now started in 28 straight games - huge experience factor that I think goes in PR's favor too.
Prediction: Pine-Richland 48 Penn Trafford 35
Note: For those of you out east that have Dish or DirecTV, the game will be carried on tape delay on Root Sports Pittsburgh at 10:00 on Friday night.
