1 Pine Richland 11-0, D7; You have to wonder if anyone in the state is capable of stopping this bunch! Their quarterback is extraordinary and surrounded with considerable talent. No team has slowed him or the Rams down. But if they were to slow him, there is plenty of talent to fill that void as they’re a multifaceted team, capable of beating you a number of ways. Last week saw quarterback Phil Jurkovec pass for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns (17, 19, 31, 54) while rushing for another score (86 yards), to take his season total to 2570 passing yards and 699 rushing! Stats like that let you know they had no trouble with 8th seeded Norwin of the Southeastern Conference who fell to 5-6 in a 49-14 win for the Rams. They advance in the tournament to play 5th seeded North Allegheny, a team they beat 48-28 two weeks ago.
2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic 9-2, D7; Central Catholic got way more than expected from a 6 seed when Peters Township came to play last Friday at Cupples Stadium fighting the Vikings tooth and nail in a game that was near deadlocked at the half where Central Catholic clung to a precarious 7-6 lead then a 13-6 lead early in the 3rd quarter. A touchdown with just under 2 minutes left in the game seemed to seal it with Central up by 14. That’s when senior quarterback Jake Cortes found Josh Casilli, a sophomore, behind the secondary streaking down the sidelines for a touchdown narrowing it to 27-20. A failed on-side kick ended it allowing the 2nd seeded Vikings to escape with the win and advance. As always, Qb Try Fisher had a strong game with 4 touchdowns and 226 total yards of offense, 182 passing. They move on to play 7th seeded Penn Hills, a team they defeated 2 weeks ago 21-0.
3 Manheim Township 9-1, D3; Manheim Township claimed their first Lancaster-Lebanon Section One title since 2007 rolling over Penn Manor 62-14 for their 7th straight win since losing to Governor Mifflin (9-1, 5A, 4seed) 2 months ago. The tandem of Qb Luke Emge and running back Grayson Sallade did most of the damage with Emge completing 5 of 7 passes for 140 yards and 2 scores and Sallade rushing for 172 yards on just 12 carries for 2 scores. The win also secured the 2 seed at home Friday where they’ll play 7th seeded Central Dauphin again. They defeated the Rams in the season opened 17-14 at Township. Since then the Blue Streaks have gone 8-1 while CD went in the opposite direction at 5-3.
4 Cumberland Valley 8-2, D3; A 28-pt 2nd quarter explosion by Harrisburg doomed the Eagles who fell behind 35-7 at the half with Harrisburg outgaining them 282 to 88….in first half! Seeing the writing on the wall Coach Whitehead pulled all starters for the 2nd half as the top ranked Cougars rolled to their 10th win and first undefeated season since 1971. That’s when William Penn and John Harris High merged to form Harrisburg High. Prior to that George Chaump led national power John Harris High to a 58-4 record in the mid-60s. Sorry, I digress. CV moves on to 1st round District 3 playoff action at home Friday as the top seed against Central Dauphin East (6-4, 8th seed) who lost 3 of their last 4 to State High 34-14, CV 42-3 and H-Burg McDevitt 60-10 last week!
5 State College 8-2, D6; State College and Central Dauphin locked up in a typical Mid Penn brawl for a half where SC clung to a 7-3 lead. That’s when it all fell apart for CD when speed merchants Cohen Russell and Tristen Lyons rocked the Rams with their great speed rushing for 98 yards and 108 respectively, while catching 12 passes for 121 yards. Tommy Friberg completed 16 of 25 passes for 212 yards and 2 scores. When SC is “on” its hard imagining how they lost to Cumberland Valley 36-21, although they dented Harrisburg’s D for 28 points. They got 434 total yards against the Rams while holding them to 246. Up next is postseason action in District 2/4/6/10 against Erie High (9-2) who won the District 10 crown last week defeating McDowell 35-34. The winner will play the winner of the Delaware Valley-Hazelton game.
6 North Allegheny 8-3, D7; North Allegheny’s defense dominated with 4 interceptions, one a pick-6, and 5 sacks on the way to a 38-14 road win in 1st round action at 4th seeded Mount Lebanon. Qb James Stocker was lost for Mount Lebanon in the first half with NA up 21-14, although Seth Morgan performed well in relief. NA’s D is peaking at the right time shutting down high powered Lebo in the 2nd half after allowing 14-1st half points. This was the second time NA beat the Blue Devil’s (44-27 six weeks ago) who were held to their lowest output of the year. North Allegheny moves on in another road rematch Friday taking their 5th seed to top seeded Pine Richland in the WPIAL semi-final. It was just 2 weeks ago when NA lost at PR 48-28.
7 Penn Hills 8-3, D7; Here’s the ever present upset of the tournament so far with 6th seeded Penn Hills going into 3rd seeded Bethel Park to come away with a 30-28 victory. Wow! It was a back and forth game where a few things stuck out. Penn Hills’ defense making key stops, their offense denting Bethel Park’s stout defense for more points than anyone except Pine Richland, Bethel allowing numerous big plays and finally the injury bug where the Blackhawks suffered the loss of both running backs to injury in the 2nd half; Tanner Volpatti and John Doleno. And don’t look now but how about Penn Hills junior quarterback Hollis Mathis getting the job done completing 11 of 22 passes for 240 yards and 3 scores. Their next stop is at 3rd seeded Central Catholic where they lost just 2-weeks ago 21-0.
8 Delaware Valley 11-0, D2; Delaware Valley took Scranton (6-5) maybe a little too lightly after rocking them 45-7 four weeks ago in the regular season. Bad move as these guys are a veteran team with 17 starters returned from last year. They came to play, leading at the half 14-7 then deadlocked in a 28-28 tie with 3:52 left in the 3rd quarter. But DV is a veteran team too. They jump started the offense going no huddle in the 2nd half while fully committing to Ryan Obisco, their fine running back who pounded away with 36 carries totaling 368 yards and 5 touchdowns. Nice having a big O-line to plow the way. As the top seed in the District 2/4 sub-regional, they move on to the final against 3rd seeded Hazelton (7-4) who won a nail bitter at Williamsport 28-27.
9 Bethel Park 8-2, D7; Lost as the 3rd seed at home (at home !) in the WPIAL’s 1st round to Penn Hills 30-28 after winning the Southeastern Conference with a win against Mount Lebanon the week before. Not taking anything from Penn Hills but the Blackhawks allowed far too many big plays, giving up a 55-yard touchdown on Penn Hills’ first offensive play, and a 68-yard Td strike (all in the 1st quarter), a 46 yards score in the 2nd quarter, another 50-yard Td strike, this one in the 3rd quarter and finally a 20-yard fumble returned for a touchdown. Add two other turnovers, all (3) in the 2nd half making you wonder how it was this close. The last time they collapsed like this was against Pine Richland 7-weeks ago, falling behind 54-7 at the half in a 54-20 loss. Pine Richland took knees with their subs playing to prevent further scoring in the 2nd half. So that does it for the Blackhawks who had a nice season before falling to Penn Hills.
10 Wilson 7-3, D3; Iggy Reynoso set a Berks County record for career touchdowns at 65 after getting 3 while rushing for 179 yards in their 52-21 win against Conestoga Valley. It’s been a disappointing season by Wilson standards but here they as with the 3 seed and a home game against Red Lion (8-2, 6th seed) where they should roll. Red Lion’s started the season 7-0 then lost 2 of their last 3. But all in all they've done a good job rebuilding last year's 10-1 group..
2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic 9-2, D7; Central Catholic got way more than expected from a 6 seed when Peters Township came to play last Friday at Cupples Stadium fighting the Vikings tooth and nail in a game that was near deadlocked at the half where Central Catholic clung to a precarious 7-6 lead then a 13-6 lead early in the 3rd quarter. A touchdown with just under 2 minutes left in the game seemed to seal it with Central up by 14. That’s when senior quarterback Jake Cortes found Josh Casilli, a sophomore, behind the secondary streaking down the sidelines for a touchdown narrowing it to 27-20. A failed on-side kick ended it allowing the 2nd seeded Vikings to escape with the win and advance. As always, Qb Try Fisher had a strong game with 4 touchdowns and 226 total yards of offense, 182 passing. They move on to play 7th seeded Penn Hills, a team they defeated 2 weeks ago 21-0.
3 Manheim Township 9-1, D3; Manheim Township claimed their first Lancaster-Lebanon Section One title since 2007 rolling over Penn Manor 62-14 for their 7th straight win since losing to Governor Mifflin (9-1, 5A, 4seed) 2 months ago. The tandem of Qb Luke Emge and running back Grayson Sallade did most of the damage with Emge completing 5 of 7 passes for 140 yards and 2 scores and Sallade rushing for 172 yards on just 12 carries for 2 scores. The win also secured the 2 seed at home Friday where they’ll play 7th seeded Central Dauphin again. They defeated the Rams in the season opened 17-14 at Township. Since then the Blue Streaks have gone 8-1 while CD went in the opposite direction at 5-3.
4 Cumberland Valley 8-2, D3; A 28-pt 2nd quarter explosion by Harrisburg doomed the Eagles who fell behind 35-7 at the half with Harrisburg outgaining them 282 to 88….in first half! Seeing the writing on the wall Coach Whitehead pulled all starters for the 2nd half as the top ranked Cougars rolled to their 10th win and first undefeated season since 1971. That’s when William Penn and John Harris High merged to form Harrisburg High. Prior to that George Chaump led national power John Harris High to a 58-4 record in the mid-60s. Sorry, I digress. CV moves on to 1st round District 3 playoff action at home Friday as the top seed against Central Dauphin East (6-4, 8th seed) who lost 3 of their last 4 to State High 34-14, CV 42-3 and H-Burg McDevitt 60-10 last week!
5 State College 8-2, D6; State College and Central Dauphin locked up in a typical Mid Penn brawl for a half where SC clung to a 7-3 lead. That’s when it all fell apart for CD when speed merchants Cohen Russell and Tristen Lyons rocked the Rams with their great speed rushing for 98 yards and 108 respectively, while catching 12 passes for 121 yards. Tommy Friberg completed 16 of 25 passes for 212 yards and 2 scores. When SC is “on” its hard imagining how they lost to Cumberland Valley 36-21, although they dented Harrisburg’s D for 28 points. They got 434 total yards against the Rams while holding them to 246. Up next is postseason action in District 2/4/6/10 against Erie High (9-2) who won the District 10 crown last week defeating McDowell 35-34. The winner will play the winner of the Delaware Valley-Hazelton game.
6 North Allegheny 8-3, D7; North Allegheny’s defense dominated with 4 interceptions, one a pick-6, and 5 sacks on the way to a 38-14 road win in 1st round action at 4th seeded Mount Lebanon. Qb James Stocker was lost for Mount Lebanon in the first half with NA up 21-14, although Seth Morgan performed well in relief. NA’s D is peaking at the right time shutting down high powered Lebo in the 2nd half after allowing 14-1st half points. This was the second time NA beat the Blue Devil’s (44-27 six weeks ago) who were held to their lowest output of the year. North Allegheny moves on in another road rematch Friday taking their 5th seed to top seeded Pine Richland in the WPIAL semi-final. It was just 2 weeks ago when NA lost at PR 48-28.
7 Penn Hills 8-3, D7; Here’s the ever present upset of the tournament so far with 6th seeded Penn Hills going into 3rd seeded Bethel Park to come away with a 30-28 victory. Wow! It was a back and forth game where a few things stuck out. Penn Hills’ defense making key stops, their offense denting Bethel Park’s stout defense for more points than anyone except Pine Richland, Bethel allowing numerous big plays and finally the injury bug where the Blackhawks suffered the loss of both running backs to injury in the 2nd half; Tanner Volpatti and John Doleno. And don’t look now but how about Penn Hills junior quarterback Hollis Mathis getting the job done completing 11 of 22 passes for 240 yards and 3 scores. Their next stop is at 3rd seeded Central Catholic where they lost just 2-weeks ago 21-0.
8 Delaware Valley 11-0, D2; Delaware Valley took Scranton (6-5) maybe a little too lightly after rocking them 45-7 four weeks ago in the regular season. Bad move as these guys are a veteran team with 17 starters returned from last year. They came to play, leading at the half 14-7 then deadlocked in a 28-28 tie with 3:52 left in the 3rd quarter. But DV is a veteran team too. They jump started the offense going no huddle in the 2nd half while fully committing to Ryan Obisco, their fine running back who pounded away with 36 carries totaling 368 yards and 5 touchdowns. Nice having a big O-line to plow the way. As the top seed in the District 2/4 sub-regional, they move on to the final against 3rd seeded Hazelton (7-4) who won a nail bitter at Williamsport 28-27.
9 Bethel Park 8-2, D7; Lost as the 3rd seed at home (at home !) in the WPIAL’s 1st round to Penn Hills 30-28 after winning the Southeastern Conference with a win against Mount Lebanon the week before. Not taking anything from Penn Hills but the Blackhawks allowed far too many big plays, giving up a 55-yard touchdown on Penn Hills’ first offensive play, and a 68-yard Td strike (all in the 1st quarter), a 46 yards score in the 2nd quarter, another 50-yard Td strike, this one in the 3rd quarter and finally a 20-yard fumble returned for a touchdown. Add two other turnovers, all (3) in the 2nd half making you wonder how it was this close. The last time they collapsed like this was against Pine Richland 7-weeks ago, falling behind 54-7 at the half in a 54-20 loss. Pine Richland took knees with their subs playing to prevent further scoring in the 2nd half. So that does it for the Blackhawks who had a nice season before falling to Penn Hills.
10 Wilson 7-3, D3; Iggy Reynoso set a Berks County record for career touchdowns at 65 after getting 3 while rushing for 179 yards in their 52-21 win against Conestoga Valley. It’s been a disappointing season by Wilson standards but here they as with the 3 seed and a home game against Red Lion (8-2, 6th seed) where they should roll. Red Lion’s started the season 7-0 then lost 2 of their last 3. But all in all they've done a good job rebuilding last year's 10-1 group..
