(Defending state champ underlined)
1A East
Bishop Guilfoyle D6 12-0 vs Homer-Center D6 11-1, Friday 7, Mansion Park Stadium.
The Marauders out of Altoona won their 60th straight game, beating Juniata Valley (8-4) in the District 6 semifinal 59-13 to advance to play Homer-Center who defeated Ferndale 18-0. HC finished 2nd in the Heritage FB Conference to undefeated Ligonier Valley (AA, 13-0) losing 35-6. Bishop Guilfoyle defeated playoff teams Bishop McCort AA (10-3) and Forest Hills AAA (11-1) in pursuit of their 4th consecutive state title! Nothing like a home playoff game at the Mansion! Marauders roll by 25.62 points.
Steelton Highspire D3 10-2 vs Williams Valley D11 13-0, Friday 7, Milton Hershey HS.
Steel High had no trouble with 5-8 Wyalusing from D4, winning 45-7. They’ll play undefeated Williams Valley from D11’s Tri Valley who defeated Lackawanna-2 runner-up Old Forge (11-2) 44-25. Unfortunately they may have lost standout running back Dylan Rabuck to an ankle last week. He has 2902 yards rushing this year, 2362 last year and 1065 as a soph. But they have depth if Rabuck can’t go. Steelton beat Williams Valley (12-2) last year 24-20 but this is a more senior adversary this year going against a porous Roller D. The game is almost a home game just down the road from Steelton in Hershey at Milton Hershey High. But the Vikings have a 47ppg offense supported by a dominating defense allowing 13ppg on average. Williams Valley by 15.93.
1A West
Imani Christian Academy D7, 11-2 vs Jeannette D7 12-2, Saturday-noon, Robert Morris Univ.
Imani Christian avenged a 41-26 regular season loss to California by topping the previously undefeated Trojans 30-24. At the same time Jeannette avenged their only loss of the season beating Clairton (10-3) 18-7. The Bears won the first encounter 40-6. So both are here after expending a lot of emotion for yet another game packed with even more emotion. ICA and Jeannette met Sept 23rd in a game that was called at 4:30 in the 4th with Jeannette winning 54-36; +30 penalties, players ejected, etc. That’s probably why this one is at noon Saturday. Could get tight with Jayhawks off a head-banger with Clairton and Rochester the week before! Jeannette prevails by 10.57 points.
Ridgeway-Johnsburg D9 9-3 vs Farrell D10 10-2, Friday 7, Clarion Univ.
Like many teams in the 6 classification format, Ridgeway got a rematch in the postseason to beat Curwensville 9-7 and win their 2nd straight District 9 title. Curwensville (9-3) won the first encounter 14-11. The Elkers move on to play always strong Farrell who defeated Northern Bedford in a good one. Behind 19-18 at halftime, the Steeler’s played shutdown football the rest of the way, holding the Black Knights scoreless in a 34-19 win. They beat Ridgeway last year 20-7 in the quarterfinals and it should be competitive again with Farrell young in key spots. This one has the Elkers in a mild upset by 7.9 points.
2A East
Southern Columbia D4 13-0 vs Neumann Goretti D12 11-0, Friday 7, Lehighton HS.
If you’re looking for the top program in the state look no farther than Catawissa where the Tigers accumulated 6 1A State Titles, 7 Silver Medals, another state title in 2015 at 2A and last year’s Silver Medal losing to Steel Valley in the 2A final with a young group that is back. Also won 10 straight District 4 titles (25 overall) and hold the record for 15 state finals appearances. Phew! Eat your heart out Central Bucks West, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Clairton and others. They are at it again with another monster offense scoring 47ppg and a D allowing 12. They beat Mount Carmel last week 49-14. But their most impressive win was at Selinsgrove where they beat the 4A Seals (11-2) 49-28. The Seals play Beca this week while SCA tackles Neumann Goretti, fresh off an impressive 44-7 win over Schuylkill Haven (8-5). With Leddie Brown and 6 other D1 recruits going up against SCA’s 5 D1 recruits, it should be a war. SCA returns sophomore running back Gaige Garcia who set the state record for a freshman last year rushing for 1944 yards and most of last year’s team including the entire O-Line. Garcia has 1808 yards this year. Schedule difficulty leans heavy to Neumann but the math says its Southern by 3.36 points.
Dunmore D2 13-0 vs Ligonier Valley D6 13-0, Saturday-noon, Hershey Park Stadium.
With one of their more dominate defense…. and they’ve had a few, Dunmore overwhelmed District-3’s Newport Buffaloes (10-2) 35-6 and advance to play Ligonier Valley who edged Bishop McCort’s Crimson Crushers (10-3), 19-12. Dunmore is one of the winningest programs in the state with a 6 year record of 87-9. They have 4 finals appearances, winning gold in 1989, and silver in 07, 12 and 14. They average 38ppg and allowed 71 points all year. They’ll need every bit of that against LV who averages 47ppg and allows 6. Big incentive losing to LV last year in the quarterfinals 39-19. LV comes in on a 2 year run of 28-1 and 44-22 the previous 5 years. Prior to LV’s resurgence the district has been dominated by Bishop Guilfoyle at the small school level recently, and by Tyrone, Bellwood-Antis, Martinsburg Central, Forest Hills and Bishop McCort historically. Ligonier is favored by 7.03 points at neutral site Hershey.
2A West
Wilmington D1 12-0 vs Clarion D9 12-0, Saturday 1, Clarion Univ.
Next to Southern, Wilmington is the deepest team in 2A returning almost everyone. They got past Greenville (9-3) last week 31-13 with another solid performance by their defense that allowed 57 points all season. Bit of a wake-up call falling behind 13-0 before rallying for 31 unanswered points. The win marked their 2nd D-10 title in a row and 12th overall. The opponent this week is District-9’s Clarion Bobcats who beat Chestnut Ridge (10-2), coming back from a 14-pt halftime deficit to win 20-14 over the favored Lions. This should be a wild one with each averaging 42ppg, supported by solid defense; Clarion allowing 11 a game, Wilmington 5. Wilmington’s pedigree says it’s a 21.66 point win. Greyhounds advance.
Steel Valley D7 11-0 vs Washington D7 12-0, Saturday 6, Robert Morris Univ.
Defending 2A State Champ Steel Valley extended its winning streak to 26 games but it wasn’t easy, going to overtime to beat Riverside (9-3) 13-10. The Ironmen are not last year’s team that crushed Wilmington 49-13 in the semifinal and Southern Columbia 49-7 in the State Final. But here they are. That group averaged 54ppg while allowing 8. This year’s averages 40 and allows 14. So they’re still at “Title Team” levels with those stats, just not as dominant. Washington beat a strong Cardinal Wuerl-North Catholic (10-3) team last week 19-14, and have been on a run since 2011 (72-10 won-loss), losing to Aliquippa 3 times and never quite getting over the hump. They get over it this time, winning by 21.66 points.
1A East
Bishop Guilfoyle D6 12-0 vs Homer-Center D6 11-1, Friday 7, Mansion Park Stadium.
The Marauders out of Altoona won their 60th straight game, beating Juniata Valley (8-4) in the District 6 semifinal 59-13 to advance to play Homer-Center who defeated Ferndale 18-0. HC finished 2nd in the Heritage FB Conference to undefeated Ligonier Valley (AA, 13-0) losing 35-6. Bishop Guilfoyle defeated playoff teams Bishop McCort AA (10-3) and Forest Hills AAA (11-1) in pursuit of their 4th consecutive state title! Nothing like a home playoff game at the Mansion! Marauders roll by 25.62 points.
Steelton Highspire D3 10-2 vs Williams Valley D11 13-0, Friday 7, Milton Hershey HS.
Steel High had no trouble with 5-8 Wyalusing from D4, winning 45-7. They’ll play undefeated Williams Valley from D11’s Tri Valley who defeated Lackawanna-2 runner-up Old Forge (11-2) 44-25. Unfortunately they may have lost standout running back Dylan Rabuck to an ankle last week. He has 2902 yards rushing this year, 2362 last year and 1065 as a soph. But they have depth if Rabuck can’t go. Steelton beat Williams Valley (12-2) last year 24-20 but this is a more senior adversary this year going against a porous Roller D. The game is almost a home game just down the road from Steelton in Hershey at Milton Hershey High. But the Vikings have a 47ppg offense supported by a dominating defense allowing 13ppg on average. Williams Valley by 15.93.
1A West
Imani Christian Academy D7, 11-2 vs Jeannette D7 12-2, Saturday-noon, Robert Morris Univ.
Imani Christian avenged a 41-26 regular season loss to California by topping the previously undefeated Trojans 30-24. At the same time Jeannette avenged their only loss of the season beating Clairton (10-3) 18-7. The Bears won the first encounter 40-6. So both are here after expending a lot of emotion for yet another game packed with even more emotion. ICA and Jeannette met Sept 23rd in a game that was called at 4:30 in the 4th with Jeannette winning 54-36; +30 penalties, players ejected, etc. That’s probably why this one is at noon Saturday. Could get tight with Jayhawks off a head-banger with Clairton and Rochester the week before! Jeannette prevails by 10.57 points.
Ridgeway-Johnsburg D9 9-3 vs Farrell D10 10-2, Friday 7, Clarion Univ.
Like many teams in the 6 classification format, Ridgeway got a rematch in the postseason to beat Curwensville 9-7 and win their 2nd straight District 9 title. Curwensville (9-3) won the first encounter 14-11. The Elkers move on to play always strong Farrell who defeated Northern Bedford in a good one. Behind 19-18 at halftime, the Steeler’s played shutdown football the rest of the way, holding the Black Knights scoreless in a 34-19 win. They beat Ridgeway last year 20-7 in the quarterfinals and it should be competitive again with Farrell young in key spots. This one has the Elkers in a mild upset by 7.9 points.
2A East
Southern Columbia D4 13-0 vs Neumann Goretti D12 11-0, Friday 7, Lehighton HS.
If you’re looking for the top program in the state look no farther than Catawissa where the Tigers accumulated 6 1A State Titles, 7 Silver Medals, another state title in 2015 at 2A and last year’s Silver Medal losing to Steel Valley in the 2A final with a young group that is back. Also won 10 straight District 4 titles (25 overall) and hold the record for 15 state finals appearances. Phew! Eat your heart out Central Bucks West, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Clairton and others. They are at it again with another monster offense scoring 47ppg and a D allowing 12. They beat Mount Carmel last week 49-14. But their most impressive win was at Selinsgrove where they beat the 4A Seals (11-2) 49-28. The Seals play Beca this week while SCA tackles Neumann Goretti, fresh off an impressive 44-7 win over Schuylkill Haven (8-5). With Leddie Brown and 6 other D1 recruits going up against SCA’s 5 D1 recruits, it should be a war. SCA returns sophomore running back Gaige Garcia who set the state record for a freshman last year rushing for 1944 yards and most of last year’s team including the entire O-Line. Garcia has 1808 yards this year. Schedule difficulty leans heavy to Neumann but the math says its Southern by 3.36 points.
Dunmore D2 13-0 vs Ligonier Valley D6 13-0, Saturday-noon, Hershey Park Stadium.
With one of their more dominate defense…. and they’ve had a few, Dunmore overwhelmed District-3’s Newport Buffaloes (10-2) 35-6 and advance to play Ligonier Valley who edged Bishop McCort’s Crimson Crushers (10-3), 19-12. Dunmore is one of the winningest programs in the state with a 6 year record of 87-9. They have 4 finals appearances, winning gold in 1989, and silver in 07, 12 and 14. They average 38ppg and allowed 71 points all year. They’ll need every bit of that against LV who averages 47ppg and allows 6. Big incentive losing to LV last year in the quarterfinals 39-19. LV comes in on a 2 year run of 28-1 and 44-22 the previous 5 years. Prior to LV’s resurgence the district has been dominated by Bishop Guilfoyle at the small school level recently, and by Tyrone, Bellwood-Antis, Martinsburg Central, Forest Hills and Bishop McCort historically. Ligonier is favored by 7.03 points at neutral site Hershey.
2A West
Wilmington D1 12-0 vs Clarion D9 12-0, Saturday 1, Clarion Univ.
Next to Southern, Wilmington is the deepest team in 2A returning almost everyone. They got past Greenville (9-3) last week 31-13 with another solid performance by their defense that allowed 57 points all season. Bit of a wake-up call falling behind 13-0 before rallying for 31 unanswered points. The win marked their 2nd D-10 title in a row and 12th overall. The opponent this week is District-9’s Clarion Bobcats who beat Chestnut Ridge (10-2), coming back from a 14-pt halftime deficit to win 20-14 over the favored Lions. This should be a wild one with each averaging 42ppg, supported by solid defense; Clarion allowing 11 a game, Wilmington 5. Wilmington’s pedigree says it’s a 21.66 point win. Greyhounds advance.
Steel Valley D7 11-0 vs Washington D7 12-0, Saturday 6, Robert Morris Univ.
Defending 2A State Champ Steel Valley extended its winning streak to 26 games but it wasn’t easy, going to overtime to beat Riverside (9-3) 13-10. The Ironmen are not last year’s team that crushed Wilmington 49-13 in the semifinal and Southern Columbia 49-7 in the State Final. But here they are. That group averaged 54ppg while allowing 8. This year’s averages 40 and allows 14. So they’re still at “Title Team” levels with those stats, just not as dominant. Washington beat a strong Cardinal Wuerl-North Catholic (10-3) team last week 19-14, and have been on a run since 2011 (72-10 won-loss), losing to Aliquippa 3 times and never quite getting over the hump. They get over it this time, winning by 21.66 points.
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