2023 D3 teams (results) in the playoffs and STATE FINALS
Here is a preview of the State Finals and a review of last week’s games involving District-3 teams. All Finals are at Cumberland Valley High School (Chapman Field) in Mechanicsburg. Real quick hits here showing information on stats (as available), scheduling, roster information, historic and game info in as brief a package as possible. The records reflect most recent game results. Please mention any errors and as always, feel free to jump in or on! Enjoy the games that start tomorrow Dec 7th at 1pm.
6A Playoffs: Harrisburg 12-2 vs North Allegheny 13-1 D7….vs St.Joe’s
North Allegheny made the most of their first appearance in the State Final since 2012 with a 24-12 win against Harrisburg. Offensively, quarterback Logan Kushner was the key ingredient with 165 rush yards on 26 attempts while completing only one of six passes. Liam Flaherty also rushed for 56 yards on 15 carries. With a ground game piling up 267 yards, they didn’t need to pass, especially with a defense holding Harrisburg to 132 yards on the ground. For Harrisburg, quarterback Shawn Lee was as always, unstoppable, rushing for 104 yards and throwing for 212 and two touchdowns. But for a few exceptions, the Tiger defense ruled the day, holding Harrisburg to 12 points. The loss moves Harrisburg to the sidelines looking forward to next season (loaded!) while North Allegheny advances to the 6A Final against St. Joseph’s Prep (12-1). Like Imhotep and Southern Columbia, the Prep is one of the most experienced playoff teams in the tournament, winning Gold Medals in 2013, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22, with Silver Medals in 2017 and 21. No one has slowed the Hawks down this year except Lakeland-FL (9-3) for three quarters (SJP behind 23-17), a quality Archbishop Spalding-Md (10-2) team 24-6, and IMG who defeated them 17-14 in the opener. Incidentally, Lakeland is in the Florida (FHSSA)-4S Final Friday against Venice (12-2), and Spalding beat McDonogh (7-3) 40-7 in the MIAA-A Class-A Final. All totaled, St. Joe’s won their games by an average score of 41-8. What stands out about this year’s team is their defense. Looking over their recent history, they always score points, averaging 36.8 since 2016 and over 40ppg five of the last six years. Big offenses are a given with the Hawks. But this year’s defense is exceptional, allowing 8ppg on average. They haven’t ended the year on that number since 2007. This comes against a challenging schedule of winning teams including IMG (10-0), Lakeland (11-3). LaSalle x2 (6-5), AB Spalding (10-2), Roman (9-3), Nazareth (12-2) and last week against Central Bucks South (13-2). They played other quality programs including St. Peters Prep-NJ and Don Bosco Prep who are experiencing down years at 1-9 and 5-6 respectively. “Down” at SPP is good enough to push the excellent program at Delbarton School to overtime before losing while DBP beat Erasmus Hall (10-3) of Brooklyn. To allow only 107points against their entire schedule (includes Wood, Judge, Lincoln) is record breaking stuff. They crushed Central Bucks South in the semifinal last week 49-0. And with most of the team being in the class of 2024-2025, it is a veteran mature group. The offense is fueled by a senior laden skill group including quarterback Samaj Jones (65%-1564, 82/320ry), running backs Isaiah West (78/553), Erik Sanchez (48/485) and Kahseim Phillips (57/439). The receivers are David Washington 925/515), Elijah Jones (24/285) and Brandon Rehmann (21/358). The defense is a blend of five seniors and six juniors led by a real quick DL of Sean McNulty (6-2, 235, sr), Maxwell Roy (6-3, 280, jr), Alex Haskell (6-4, 245, soph) and Ivan Bailey-Green (5-10, 245, sr). Two line backers lead the team in tackles in Anthony Sacca (6-2, 225, jr, 54 tackles) and Cameron Smith (5-1, 210, jr, 63 tackles). The starting DBs are active with 115 tackles. North Allegheny counters with an equally experienced veteran team led by a senior dual threat quarterback in Logan Kushner (57%-1019, 872ry). His receivers are excellent in Khiryn Boyd (818py) and Evan Liam (285py). Tyree Alualu (health?) rushed for 811 yards and is a key cog at linebacker. They have a physical OL led by tackles Jack Yatchenko (6-3, 280), Cameron Chmura (6-3, 295) and TE Daniel Sellers (6-3, 225). The D is veteran, with four vets on the DL and seven total starters from last year. It is a huge offense at 44ppg with a defense allowing 17ppg. The schedule was respectable, beating McDowell (8-5), Pine Richland (9-4), splitting with Central Catholic 22-50 and 44-41 and defeating Harrisburg 24-12 last week in the semifinal. This is their most productive offense ever, averaging 44ppgTHe defense is at 17ppg; their highest since 2017. The eye test says NA can bang with the Hawks in terms of physicality but not speed, especially overall team speed on defense. Depth and two-way players could also be an issue. For St. Joe’s, this is their eighth consecutive appearance in the final and 10th overall, winning Gold seven times and Silver twice. They beat Harrisburg last year 42-7. North Allegheny’s last appearance was 2012 where they beat Coatesville and 2010 defeating LaSalle. The game is Dec 9th at 7pm.
5A Playoffs: Cocalico 12-2 vs Peters Township 15-0, D7….vs Imhotep
Truth be told, Cocalico gave Peters Township a little more than expected in their tight semifinal loss last weekend. But hats off to PT’s D. They were the only team to shut them down this season, holding the Eagles to 178 yards of offense and nine points in a 14-9 semifinal loss. Sophomore quarterback Nolan DiLucia had a solid game for Peters, completing 16 of 26 passes for 169 yards with scoring tosses of 24 and 14 yards. As always, the Cocalico defense was brutal, holding the Indians to 81 yards rushing. Surprisingly, Cocalico showed a passing attack, completing 3 of 10 passes (hot stuff for them!) for 72 yards. But the team rushed for a paltry 106 yards with their ace running back Aaryn Longenecker held to negative 2 yards rushing. This was quite a game with Dane Bollinger of Cocalico tackled on the PT’s 3-yard line as time expired. So that’s a wrap for Cocalico with consecutive semifinal appearances to be proud of and the most wins ever in school history at 12-2. Peters Township advances to the State Final to play undefeated Imhotep Charter School of Philadelphia. Imhotep is one of the most experienced playoff teams in the field, winning Gold in 2015 with Silver trophies in 13, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 22. They are 12-0 with wins against Archbishop Spalding-Md (10-2), Malvern Prep (9-1), Roman (9-3), Delaware Valley (10-4) and Strath Haven (13-2) last week, 42-14. They held Haven to eight first downs and 206 total yards. They’re led by Army bound quarterback Mikal Davis (57%-2239, 17/6), throwing to a horde of receivers including Kareem Haqq (23/425), Nile Brown (21/411), Johann Hennigan (29/368) and Isaiah Prater (16/235). Jabree Wallace-Coleman is their outstanding running back with 1373 yards rushing and 208 receiving along with Syeer Coleman (46/466) and Ronell Word (40/257). They are a huge offense at 44ppg with a defense just as powerful at 8ppg, making this their most impressive teams statistically since the 2015 team went 15-0 defeating Cathedral Prep (14-2) 40-3 in the final. The game is Dec 8th at 7pm.
4A Playoffs: Bishop McDevitt 13-1 vs Dallas 15-0 D2….vs Aliquippa
Bishop McDevitt’s planned short bus ride to the West Shore for the State Finals game appearance and rematch with Aliquippa at Cumberland Valley was derailed by a ‘game’ Dallas team who shocked the Crusaders with a double overtime 26-23 in Slatington (Northern Lehigh High). They really did a number on McDevitt’s quarterback Stone Saunders, holding him to 52% completion rate for 175 yards and negative 16 yards rushing. The team rushed for 122 yards. McDevitt’s defense was actually better, holding Dallas to 81 rush yards and 119 passing. Quarterback Brady Zapoticky was held to an 8 of 22 outing. But they had the edge in special teams, kicking three field goals and the all-important game decisive blocked punt, run in from 14 yards out in the second quarter. McDevitt’s field goal attempt in the second ot ended with a bad exchange and a block by DT Dan Sabulski. Rowan Laubach’s 26-yard field goal sent the Crusaders packing, ending their 26 game winning streak. They go home thinking about the “what ifs” while Dallas (Gold in 1993, Silver in 2019) advances to the State Final to play Aliquippa (13-0), last week’s winners vs Selinsgrove (13-0-1) 52-32. The Quips have nine Finals appearances, winning Gold in 1991, 03, 18 and 21 with Silver Medals in 1988, 00, 12, 15, and 2022. Back to the game with Selinsgrove; the Seals had some success rushing for 231 yards and passing for 157. But they lost two fumbles and threw two picks. You can’t do that against the Quips (or anyone) in the playoffs, especially a team averaging 42ppg. And talk about battle tested. Aliquippa has played Montour 10-2, West Allegheny 6-5, Central Valley 8-4, Latrobe 8-4, Mars 10-3, McKeesport 11-2 and the Seals last week at 13-1-1. They essentially returned last year’s team, making this their third straight trip to the 4A final. Their talent is enormous starting with quarterback Quentin Goode (60%-1822, 25/5), running back Tiqwai Hayes (223/1923, 23 Tds, PSU) and the underrated John Tracy (83/647). Brandon Banks is the lead receiver at 451 yards on 19 receptions. The defense has some holes, allowing 29, 24, 24 and 32 points their last four games and 17 on average for the year. At issue is whether you can keep up with their offense. The game is Dec 7th at 7pm.
3A Playoffs: Wyomissing 12-2 vs Northwestern Lehigh 15-0 D1..vs Belle Vernon.
Once again Wyomissing’s post season run came to an end in the semifinal losing to Northwestern Lehigh 33-24. They lost to Neumann Goretti 30-17 in the semifinal a year ago. Last week’s game was a game of two different halves. Wyomissing’s famed Wing-T was rolling, taking what looked to be a secure 17-7 lead into the half. Everything was working. But it was a different story in the second half where the Tigers shutdown Wyo’s running game while getting theirs going, outscoring the Spartans 26-7! The game turned around in the third quarter on Wyo’s opening drive when Northwestern’s Eli Zimmerman picked off a Logan Hyde pass at the Tigers 25-yard line; his 10th pick of the season! Thereon the Tigers rolled. Running back Dalton Clymer led the way with 92 yards on 17 carries scoring twice. He and quarterback Shane Leh did most of the damage with Leh rushing for 62 yards and completing 7 of 14 passes for 113 yards, scoring on a 25-yard toss to Clymer and a 26-yard run. How ironic seeing the game turn on one of the state’s top Wing-T teams throwing an interception? Northwestern now finds themselves in the rarified air of a State Final against last year’s state champion Belle Vernon Area (12-1, D7). The Leopards beat Neumann last year 9-8 and are here again after thrashing overmatched Hickory (11-3, D10) 42-16. BVA’s only loss was to 4A Thomas Jefferson (9-3, D7) 24-19. They show ‘statement wins’ against McKeesport (11-2) 21-14, Elizabeth-Forward (10-2) 49-28 and Avonworth (12-1) 26-0. Odd it sounds, they look like one of the best teams in the tournament up to and including 5A with a veteran team that knows the ropes. They are a large and balanced offense averaging 41ppg; 35% pass, 65 run. They have senior standouts at quarterback in Braden Laux (6-4, 215, sr, EMich) who threw for 1585 yards at 64% and rushed for 248 yards, running back Quinton Martin (6-3, 205, sr, PSU) who has rushed for 1027 yards, Kole Doppelhever (5-9, 155, jr) who is fast and flashy with 782 yards and Jake Gedekoh (6-1, 200, sr) at 552 yards. Three other backs total 76 carries for 715 yards. Quinton Martin is also their leading receiver with 48 receptions for 733 yards. Anthony Crews (5-10, 165, jr) has 25 catches for 323 yards and 334 rushing. Defensively, they’re led by the D-Front of Luke Byer (6-1, 225, sr, 37 tackles), Dominic Ghilani (34 tackles, jr), big Luke Levi (6-3, 280, sr, 29 tackles) and DE Aiden Johnson (6-2, 235, sr, 41 tackles). Whatever gets past that is scooped up by LBs Tanner Moody (79 stops), Colton Lee (52 tackles), Alonzo Wade (50 tackles), Jake Gedekoh (35 stops) and safeties Adam LaCarte (61 stops), Deaubre Lightfoot (39 tackles), and (QB) Laux with 30 stops. This looks like a heck of a game as Northwestern Lehigh is on a legit roll, winning 63 of their last 75 games. The game is Dec 9th at 1pm.
2A Playoffs: District-3 had no 2A teams in the semifinals.
Westinghouse (13-0) from District-8 (Pitt City League) beat Beaver Falls (9-6) from District-7, 28-8 on one side of the bracket while Southern Columbia Area (14-1) from District-4 had no trouble defeating Dunmore (12-3) from District-2, 39-7. The State Final between Westinghouse and Southern is a rematch of last year’s game where the previously undefeated Bulldogs (14-1) lost to SCA (13-3) 37-22. That game was of special interest as Westinghouse looked unbeatable after trouncing high end comp from Berlin Brothersvalley, Central Clarion, Farrell and Steel Valley. Southern Columbia got your attention early on losing three of their first five games before Coach Roth made wholesale personnel and system changes enabling them to win out over their last eight games. This year’s team stumbled once against (who else), Mount Carmel (9-3) 42-30. Then evened the score in the postseason 43-0. They are almost a carbon copy of past Tiger teams scoring 40ppg. The difference is on defense where they’ve been super stingy allowing 140 total points, or, 9ppg, making this one of their best defenses; especially the front per Coach Roth. End of the day, this is still one of the best Wing-T or variation of in the state, led by another Garcia brother Garrett with 1693 yards rushing, Louden Murphy with 1436 and Carter Madden at 812 yards. Their opponent Westinghouse doesn’t seem as talented on paper as last year’s team but here they are, getting past the best of the West with playoff wins against Clairton (10-2) 28-0, Berlin Brothersvalley (10-2) 37-20, Central Clarion (11-1) 46-20, Farrell (11-2) 36-20 in a comeback, before disposing of Beaver Falls 28-8 last week. They have a number of underclassmen. None better than DB Keyshawn Robinson (5-10, 165, so, PSU, Fla, Pitt). While last year’s team was senior laden, the cupboard isn’t bare, with the lines returning senior center/DT Raymon Poindexter, DT Sincere Shannon and End Mike Richardson. All three were All-City last year. While there are many quality opponents on Westinghouse’s schedule, none mimic Southern’s Wing-T. No one on their schedule presented as many weapons as Southern does with their backfield, and, a quarterback in Blake Wise at 55% for 1187 yards who is good enough to keep them on their heels and WAY off balance. Southern is on an incredible run of nine straight Finals appearances. The medals count (sit down!) is as follows: Gold Medals in 1994, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and last year; Silver Medals in 1995, 96, 98, 99, 00, 01, 11 and 2016. The game is Dec 8th at 1pm.
1A playoffs: South Williamsport 11-3 D4 vs Steelton Highspire 15-0..vs Fort Cherry
Steelton Highspire took care of business last week with one of their typical explosions, this one in the second quarter where they erupted for 21 points to grab a 35-7 halftime lead. Theron they coasted to their 27th straight win, knocking South Williamsport out of the postseason with a 48-21 win. Quarterback Alex Erby continues his assault (addition actually) on the PA State passing record and pursuit of the state touchdown record completing 13 of 18 passes for 239 yards and three touchdown passes. The Roller have a ground game too, rushing for 248 yards. South rushed for 234 yards while passing for 123. You can run on the Rollers but good luck keeping up on the scoreboard. They move on to their third finals appearance (Gold in 07, 08, 20, 22) in the last four years against a team that just might be able to keep up; Fort Cherry (14-0) of District-7. The Rangers look like the best team Steel High has played this year, averaging 45ppg, allowing 13, with one of the very best dual threat quarterbacks in the state. Matt Sieg (6-0, 170) is only a sophomore. But he’s set things on fire in the Wpial throwing for 1338 yards with a 18/3 ratio for 57% while rushing for 1285 yards on 158 carries for 33 more touchdowns. Ethan Faletto is a quality back rushing for 1015 yards with Nate Heirendt adding 447 on 62 attempts. Shane Cornali is their leading receiver with 24 receptions for 488 yards. They played a representative schedule with wins against Bishop Canevin x2 (10-2) 48-41 and 33-21 (postseason), South Side (13-1) 42-28, and last week against Redbank Valley (12-1) 33-23. There’s a lot of youth on this team verses a senior laden Roller team with considerable postseason experience. But they have a sizeable roster and play a lot of people, especially on defense. The Rollers give up a lot of yards rushing and should be in for a severe contest against a team that will likely be able to trade points with them, eating clock along the way. Toss this one up! The game is Dec 7th at 1pm.
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