District 4: Class 1A-4A 2026 Playoff Preview

Tagged under: District 4, News, pfn, Playoffs

Davin Ridall | November 4, 2026

Man the season flew by, as it usually does, but now Halloween has come and gone, leaves are all over the place, and the days have gotten shorter and shorter, which means it’s playoff time. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the playoffs are a brand new season, records are thrown out the window, teams are bringing their absolute best, and only the teams who perform the best under the bright lights advance and keep their seasons alive. This when we find out who truly belongs among the state’s best, who had prepared the best, and who is ready to perform on the biggest stages. Let’s take a look at what’s to come in District 4 for the 2026 playoffs.

Class 1A

The single-A class features seven teams, and this year all seven teams would have qualified for the postseason, however Sayre and Bucktail opted out. That leaves us with five teams, Montgomery at 9-1, Line Mountain at 9-1, Muncy at 6-4, Canton at 4-6, and Northwest Area at 4-6.

(1) Montgomery – BYE WEEK

The Red Raiders finished the regular season with a 9-1 record, the second season in a row that Montgomery has achieved that record, as well as this being Montgomery’s second season under the leadership of head coach Joel Knoebel. However, this year marked the first time in their school’s history that Montgomery achieved the top seed in the district bracket. Montgomery was powered all season long by their ground game, the Red Raiders through ten regular season games racked up a grand total of 2,999 rushing yards, led by their backfield committee of Josh Knoebel, Trace Furman, Lincoln Miller, and and Briar Persing. Knoebel in his junior season tallied 789 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games with a 7.6 yards per carry average, while Furman, who is a senior, was next in yards with 756 and 9 touchdowns in 10 games with a 10.1 yards per carry average. Miller and Persing are both seniors as well, Miller racked up 655 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games with a 7.4 yards per carry average, while Persing ran for 537 yards and 7 touchdowns in 9 games with an 11.0 yards per carry average. Defensively, Montgomery was third in the District in points allowed, giving up just 10.2 points per game this season, which included two shutouts and only one game where their opponent reached 20 points. Montgomery currently awaits the winner of the 4 vs 5 game between Canton and Northwest Area, they will host the winner of that game likely on Friday, November 13th.

(4) Canton vs (5) Northwest Area – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

This season marked Canton’s eleventh year under the leadership of head coach Tyler Sechrist, and after a 2-8 finish in year ten, the Warriors doubled their win total up to four, finishing 4-6 and the number four seed in the 1A playoff bracket. Canton got themselves off to a solid start, beginning the year 4-2 with wins over teams like Cowanesque Valley, Wellsboro, and Sayre, however the Warriors lost their final four games to close out the regular season, including three straight losses by at least 42 points. Canton’s biggest calling card offensively this year was their passing game, as sophomore quarterback Owen Moore finished the regular season with 1,038 passing yards, which was tenth in the district. Northwest Area was a similar story this season, under first year head coach Greg Mullins, the Rangers began the season 4-0, doubling their 2025 win total through the first four weeks of the season. After that undefeated start, things fell apart, after averaging 44 points per game offensively through the first four weeks, Northwest Area only scored 56 total points in their final six games, which averages out to 9.3 points per game. The Rangers, unlike the Warriors, relied heavily on their ground game for their offense, especially during the first four weeks. The winner of this game will move on to the semifinals to face number one seeded Montgomery on the road, Canton has already faced the Red Raiders this season, losing 48-14 at home, while Northwest Area has not matched up against Montgomery since last season, where they fell 62-0 on October 3rd of 2025.

(2) Line Mountain vs (3) Muncy – Friday 11/13 @ 7:00 PM

Line Mountain finished the 2025 season undefeated for the first time since 2003, and through the first six games of this year, it was looking like the Eagles were on their way to doing it once again. However a tough 36-27 home loss in week 7 to Steelton-Highspire ended their hopes of back to back undefeated regular seasons. Nevertheless, Line Mountain still looked just as strong in 2026 than they did in 2025, finishing with a 9-1 record with their only blemish coming to that Steelton-Highspire team. After losing star quarterback Kaiden Maurer to graduation last season, Line Mountain turned to the duo of sophomore Preston Derk and senior Kaden Dunkelberger to lead the offense. Both Derk and Dunkelberger have contributed significantly in the ground game, Dunkelberger led the team with 675 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns, while Derk ran for 526 yards and 9 touchdowns. Junior running back Niam Braswell was also a solid contributor to Line Mountain’s rushing attack, racking up 397 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns. While both Derk and Dunkelberger contributed to the passing game, Derk got more of the action, leading the team with 857 passing yards and 7 passing touchdowns, while Dunkelberger also threw for 7 touchdowns but had just 345 passing yards. Line Mountain’s top receiving duo was Henry and Luke Malfara, who combined racked up 804 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. The Eagles’ one loss ultimately cost them the top spot in the playoffs, however Line Mountain does still get a bye week this week, but this time their opponent for next week is set, that opponent being Muncy. The Indians went 3-3 through their first six games, before closing out the year with wins in three of their final four games, with some of their best wins coming over teams like Canton, Towanda, and Hughesville. Muncy is another team that graduated their top quarterback a season ago and turned to a new duo to take control of the offense, for the Indians that was sophomore Noah Weikle and freshman Noah Walters. Weikle was the leading passer, finishing just outside the district’s top ten with 947 passing yards and 9 touchdowns, while Walters threw for 731 yards and 7 touchdowns. Their biggest concern this season though was interceptions, Weikle and Walters combined for 13 total interceptions this season, with Weikle throwing 7 and Walters throwing 6. One of Muncy’s biggest strong points this year though has been their defense, they finished fourth in the district in points allowed, giving up an average of 10.9 points per game, which included three shutouts this year. The winner of this game will move on to the district title, which will likely be against Montgomery, Muncy already faced the Red Raiders this season, losing on the road 30-20, while Line Mountain hasn’t faced any District 4 opponents this year since they play in the Mid-Penn Conference.

Class 2A

The double-A class was reduced from twelve teams last year to just nine teams this year. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs, however both Wyalusing and North Penn-Mansfield opted out. This leaves us with seven teams, Bloomsburg at 10-0, Southern Columbia at 9-1, Troy at 9-1, South Williamsport at 8-2, Warrior Run at 4-6, Hughesville at 4-6, and Towanda at 5-5.

(1) Bloomsburg – BYE WEEK

What a season the Panthers have had so far this year, they made history in their seventh season under the leadership of head coach Mike Kogut, finishing the regular season 10-0 for the first time in their school’s history. They were one of just two teams in the district to finish the regular season with a perfect record, those being Bloomsburg and Mount Carmel. Now that record definitely didn’t come easy by any means, the Panthers had two wins by seven points or less this season, beating Loyalsock on the road back in week 2 28-21, as well as a very close 36-32 road win over Lewisburg in week 8. Last season, the Panthers were powered by their All-State quarterback Wyatt Brosious, this season it has been a three man show for Bloomsburg, the trio of Shane Frey, Julius Serrano, and Jharee Moore-Stewart. Frey took over at quarterback in his senior season, and he did about as good of a job as they could have asked for, being second in the entire district in passing yards with 1,979, along with the third most passing touchdowns in the district with 21. Frey also added production on the ground, rushing for 508 yards and a team leading 9 touchdowns. Jharee Moore-Stewart showed once again why he is one of the best utility players in the area, leading the team in both rushing yards and receiving yards, he ran for 605 yards and 7 touchdowns, while also being near the top of the district with 895 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Serrano was Bloomsburg’s other star this season, he was also near the top with 704 receiving yards and  touchdowns, as well as adding 436 yards and 6 more touchdowns on the ground. Bloomsburg currently awaits the winner of the 4 vs 5 game between South Williamsport and Warrior Run, however obviously the bigger task will likely be waiting for them in the district title game if they make it, that being the powerhouse known as Southern Columbia.

(2) Southern Columbia vs (7) Towanda – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

It was kind of surprising to see this Southern Columbia team not sitting at the top spot in this year’s playoff bracket, but the Tigers got beat out by undefeated Bloomsburg by just 0.004 points for the number one seed in this year’s playoffs. Southern Columbia’s only loss this year came to the only other undefeated team in District 4, that being Mount Carmel in week 6 by a just a single point. Other than that game and a two relatively close victories over Wyomissing and Williams Valley to open the year, Southern Columbia has dominated every team they’ve played, and in Jim Roth’s 43rd season as the Tigers’ head coach, his squad looks ready once again to chase their 16th state title. As usual their offense has been powered by the ground game, specifically the duo of Grady Garcia and Joey Williams. Garcia, in his junior year, led the entire district with 1,647 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns, while Williams, in his senior year, was top ten in the district with 772 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. Their passing game has been solid, led by senior quarterback Ayden Hockenbroch who was also top ten in the district with 1,113 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. His two top targets have been the senior duo of Blaise Kissinger and Jace Malakoski, Kissinger had 518 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns, while Malakoski had 307 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns. Southern Columbia’s offense finished second in the district with an average of 43.1 points per game, which included 48 points on Montoursville, 61 points on Lewisburg, and 56 on Jersey Shore. Towanda has been no slouch this season, but they haven’t been anywhere close to the level of Southern Columbia. The Black Knights went 5-5 this season with wins over teams like Cowanesque Valley and Canton, as well as some close losses to Wellsboro and Troy. Their offense has been powered by their backfield duo of Jazick Brown and Gage Evans, Brown racked up 879 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior year, while Evans wasn’t far behind with 704 yards and 13 touchdowns in his junior year. In all likelihood it will be Southern Columbia coming away with the win in this game, the winner of this matchup will take on the winner of the 3 vs 6 matchup between Troy and Hughesville.

(3) Troy vs (6) Hughesville – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

The Trojans finished the regular season 9-1 for the second year in a row, earning them the three seed in this year’s playoff bracket. Troy has only lost two regular season games in the past four years, that span featured Troy’s first ever state title that capped off a perfect 16-0 2024 campaign. Troy’s 16th season under the direction of head coach Jim Smith started off slow with a 26-19 home loss to Montoursville to open the year, but after that game the Trojans won nine consecutive games, and their offense has only gotten better. Troy was third in the district in points per game with an average of 42.9, however if you take away their opening week loss, Troy averaged 45.6 points per game in their nine wins. This season has been more of a committee approach for the Trojans, specifically with their run game that racked up 2,415 total yards and 32 touchdowns, however their leading rusher Jayden Kutt only rushed for 595 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Troy has gone with a number of different running backs this season, aside from Kutt, they’ve also gotten solid production out of Evan Allen, Reed Palmer, Landon Cole, and a few other players as well. This year it was junior quarterback Spencer Martin who was the commander of the offense, in his first season as a starter he threw for 1,021 yards and 15 touchdowns, as well as being second on the team in rushing with 267 yards and 3 touchdowns. Troy will be matching up against a Hughesville squad that finished the season 4-6, with all four wins coming in the final six weeks of the season. The Spartans’ season looked like it might have been a lost cause after the first four games of the year where they went 0-4 and were shutout in three of those games, however wins over Northwest Area, Midd-West, Warrior Run, and Loyalsock got their season back on track. Most of Hughesville’s offensive production came from senior running back Chase Schrawder, who finished the year with 736 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns, by far the most on the team. Troy will obviously be favored in this game, whoever comes out on top will face the winner of the 2 vs 7 matchup between Southern Columbia and Towanda.

(4) South Williamsport vs (5) Warrior Run – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

South Williamsport had a very impressive year in Chris Eiswerth’s 16th season as their head coach, as the Mountaineers finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and closed out the year on a six game win streak. South Williamsport’s 8-2 record was their best since 2023 when the Mountaineers were competing in the 1A class and went 11-3, falling one game short of appearing in the state title after losing to the eventual champions Steelton-Highspire. South Williamsport statistically had one of the strongest seasons in District 4, ranking fourth in the district in offense, scoring an average of 42.7 points per game, as well as allowing just 5.5 points per game this season, which was not only the best in the district, it was also the fourth best average in the entire state. South Williamsport offensively relied heavily on their ground game, with their trio of Eli White, Garrett Lorson, and Cade Lusk all eclipsing 500 rushing yards this season, White led the way with 922 yards and 12 touchdowns. Warrior Run’s season took an unfortunate turn early on, after a promising 3-0 start, the Defenders went into their week 4 matchup against Bloomsburg and lost both starting quarterback Logan Stevenson, and starting running back Denyn Beachel in the same game, which sent the team on a six game skid which they only broke in the final week of the regular season against Milton. Stevenson and Beachel have since returned, however Beachel is no longer the top running back that he was through the first three weeks of the year. Stevenson in his limited action as a first year starter threw for 1,389 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 10 interceptions. Without their top running back, Warrior Run has turned to players like Bryson Weigel, Carter Little, and Emiliano Torres to fill that role, which was never truly reestablished, Weigel led the way with 340 yards and 2 touchdowns, however it still trailed Beachel’s three and a half game stretch that featured 485 yards and 7 touchdowns. The winner of this matchup will move on to face the number one seeded Bloomsburg on the road, who Warrior Run has already faced this year, losing 34-15 after holding a 15-14 lead in the first half.

Class 3A

The triple-A class increased from eight teams last year to ten teams this year. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs this season, Central Columbia opted out which left us with nine teams fighting for playoff spots. The teams that made it in are Mount Carmel at 10-0, Mifflinburg at 8-2, Athens at 9-1, Montoursville at 6-4, Lewisburg at 5-5, Loyalsock at 4-6, Danville at 3-7, and Wellsboro at 4-6, with Cowanesque Valley missing the cut.

(1) Mount Carmel vs (8) Wellsboro – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

What a season the Red Tornadoes have had, finishing the regular season 10-0 for the first time since 2022 and earning the top spot in the District 4 3A playoffs. 2026 marked the 12th season that Mount Carmel was under the leadership of head coach John Darrah, and in that span, they had only achieved a perfect regular season one other time, which was that previously mentioned 2022 season where they ultimately finished 12-1, losing to Southern Columbia in the district title game. Now they are back, and this time it has been because of their one two punch backfield consisting of seniors Jaylen Delaney and Cooper Karycki. As a team Mount Carmel racked up 3,846 total rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns, Delaney was the leader of that bunch accounting for 1,188 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Karycki wasn’t far behind with 1,099 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Mount Carmel has one of the best resumes in all of District 4 as well, with wins over Schuylkill Haven, Pottsville, Southern Columbia, and Shamokin under their belt, in the rankings the Red Tornadoes currently sit at number eight in the entire state in 3A. They’ll be going up against a Wellsboro team that only recently has found their stride, they finished the regular season 4-6, with wins in three of their final four games. The Hornets struggled early on in the season after their starting quarterback Griffin Morral went down with an injury, which was the biggest reason why Wellsboro started the year 1-5. Once Morral returned, Wellsboro got wins over Towanda, Wyalusing, and North Penn-Mansfield, which got them into the playoffs as the eighth seed. In all likelihood, this game will result in a Mount Carmel victory, and the winner of this game will move on to face the winner of the 4 vs 5 matchup between Montoursville and Lewisburg.

(2) Mifflinburg vs (7) Danville – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

Another strong season for Mifflinburg, finishing 8-2 for the second year in a row and continuing to find success in their third season under head coach Cody Botts, but this time the team looked much different than it had over the past few seasons. Last season in particular, the team was led by the dynamic duo of Chad Martin and Landen Murray, which was one of the most electric quarterback wide receiver duos in the state, but those two have since graduated, and coming into this year the Wildcats had big shoes to fill to replace those two. Sophomore quarterback Brennen Snyder was the one who took the reigns of the offense this year, and he did a great job in his first season as a starter, throwing for 1,375 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also showing some nice flashes in the run game, adding 271 yards and 8 more touchdowns on the ground. Something that didn’t change from a year ago was their top running back, which was Landon Moser, who in his senior year was second in the district in rushing yards with 1,343 along with 15 touchdowns to go with it. Mifflinburg never really found a player to fill the true alpha wide receiver role that Landen Murray was last season, instead they went with more of a committee type approach. Their leading receiver was sophomore tight end Brady Threet who had just 250 receiving yards and one touchdown, while other players like Jackson Marr, Cameron Schneck, Grady Brubaker, and Brayden Resseguie all made an impact in the receiving game throughout the year. Mifflinburg is also in the midst of a seven game win streak, after they started the season 1-2 with losses to Shikellamy and Bloomsburg, the Wildcats found their stride and earned the second seed in this year’s playoffs. Mifflinburg’s first round matchup will also be a familiar one, as they will be facing the same team that they faced in the first round a season ago, the Danville Ironmen. Last season Danville struggled to find a true quarterback to replace Madden Patrick who graduated after the 2024 season, this season it has been Macon Patrick who has gotten most of the work at that position, however Danville’s record dropped from 4-6 to 3-7 due to him missing significant time in the middle of the year. With all of that said, Danville is on the exact opposite trajectory that Mifflinburg is on, as the Ironmen have lost six games in a row after beginning the season 3-1. Whoever comes out on top in this game will move on to face the winner of the 3 vs 6 matchup between Athens and Loyalsock.

(3) Athens vs (6) Loyalsock – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

Last season the Wildcats were competing in the 4A classification, they finished 9-1 and moved on to the playoffs to face Jersey Shore, however Athens went to the postseason last year without starting quarterback Connor Davidson which severely hindered them and led to a swift exit in the first round. Now Athens is competing in the 3A classification, and in their fourth season under head coach Shawn Bradley, they once again finished 9-1 with their lone loss coming back in week 2 against Troy. Athens returned a lot of their starters from a season ago which included Connor Davidson, and he has been their biggest source of success offensively. Davidson accounted for 40 total touchdowns this season, throwing for 1,631 yards and 24 touchdowns, while rushing for 953 yards and 16 more touchdowns, his rushing numbers are by far the most on the team. The next closest rusher on the team is senior running back Brendan Cooke, who put up 514 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns this season. Davidson’s two top targets this year have been junior Kade Rowe and senior Gage Marmor, Rowe led the team with 637 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, while Marmor was only four yards behind with 633 and 9 touchdowns. Athens was top five in the district in both offense and defense, offensively the Wildcats were fifth in the district scoring 40.2 points per game, defensively Athens second in the district only allowing 8.4 points per game. Loyalsock got off to a hot start to open the year, they were 3-1 with strong performances over Central Columbia, Wellsboro, and Midd-West, with their only loss being to Bloomsburg by seven points. Since that 3-1 start, Loyalsock lost five of their last six games, including giving up 61 points to Lewisburg, and giving up 49 points to Montoursville. In that six game stretch, Loyalsock’s defense was giving up an average of 36.8 points per game, which was one of the biggest reasons behind their losing streak. This season the Lancers had to replace Danny Dowell at quarterback, and did so with freshman quarterback Dyson Dupont, and he was solid in his first year as a starter, throwing for 1,437 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also adding 574 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground. The biggest criticism to Dupont’s game was the number of interceptions he threw in the second half of the year, after throwing just one interception through the first five games of the year, he threw 9 in the final five games of the season. The winner of this game will go on to face the winner of the 2 vs 7 matchup between Mifflinburg and Danville.

(4) Montoursville vs (5) Lewisburg – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

Montoursville entered this season under new leadership, as Reese Holmes took over Joe Hanna after three seasons of him leading the way, and in Holmes’ first season, the Warriors went 6-4, which was two games worse than their 8-2 record from a season ago. Last season the offense was heavily powered by their star running back duo of Christian Banks and Hayden Harvey. This season, Montoursville did not have either, which forced them to turn more towards junior quarterback Elijah Eck to make plays in the passing game, this year he threw for a career high 1,915 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. Eck also contributed to the ground game with 369 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns, however this year the bulk of the backfield work went to junior running back Kaden Kleinman, who rushed for 513 yards and 7 touchdowns. Montoursville had six different players catch at least ten passes this year, Eck’s top target was junior wide receiver Brayden Burkett, who had 524 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. The Warriors are going up against a team that they did not face this season, a team that Montoursville hasn’t matched up against since 2025, and that’s the Lewisburg Green Dragons. Lewisburg in their sixth season under the leadership of head coach Eric Wicks, finished the regular season 5-5, much improved from their 2025 record of 2-8. The Green Dragons are only two years removed from making it to the District 4 title game, before ultimately losing to Danville. Now Lewisburg is back in the playoffs, and they are a team that has flown a little under the radar, after a 1-3 start with a blowout loss to Southern Columbia, as well as 20 point losses to Danville and Shikellamy, Lewisburg went on the win four of their next five games before falling to Mifflinburg in the final game of the season. Their offense has been sneaky good this year, as they averaged 37.8 points per game in their last six games, which included two 40 point performances and a 61 point performance against Loyalsock. Senior quarterback Xavier Carter in only eight games this year threw for 1,294 yards and 23 touchdowns. Carter’s top targets were Jaylen Walker and Drake Osunde, Walker in his senior year racked up 747 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, while Osunde racked up 737 yards and 8 touchdowns in his junior year. The winner of this game will likely go on to face Mount Carmel, who should be the winner of the 1 vs 8 matchup.

Class 4A

The 4A class increased from six schools last year to seven schools this year, and like last year only the top four teams qualified for the playoffs. Those four teams ended up being Shikellamy at 9-1, Shamokin at 8-2, Jersey Shore at 5-5, and Selinsgrove at 3-7, with Milton, Midd-West, and Columbia Montour Vo-Tech all missing the cut.

(1) Shikellamy vs (4) Selinsgrove – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

What a magical season it has been for these Shikellamy Braves, in their second season under head coach Mike Hoover the Braves finished the regular season 9-1, which is their best record since 1979, as well as earning the top spot in the 4A playoffs. Shikellamy suffered a 37-0 road loss to Shamokin in week 3, but since that game the Braves have won seven consecutive games including wins over Williamsport, Jersey Shore, Loyalsock, and Selinsgrove which is the team they are about to face. Last season Shikellamy was led by quarterback Brody Rebuck, this season it has been sophomore quarterback Bobby Felmy leading the way for the Braves, as well as junior Brady Kurtz getting some action at the position as well. Felmy in his first season as a starter threw for 1,897 yards and 21 touchdowns, as well as contributing significantly to the ground game with 549 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Shikellamy’s biggest X-factor this season has been senior wide receiver Thomas Pollock, who emerged as one of the best playmakers in all of District 4. Pollock was the team’s second leading rusher with 444 yards and 10 touchdowns, as well as leading the team in receiving with 951 yards and 14 touchdowns. Maddox Hoover also contributed to the receiving game quite a bit in his senior year, racking up 431 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns, both of which were second on the team. Shikellamy will facing off against Selinsgrove for the second time this season, their previous meeting resulted in a 40-13 road victory for the Braves in the “Rally in the Valley.” This year marks the first time that Shikellamy and Selinsgrove have matched up in the postseason since 2023, that was the year that the Seals finished 13-1-1 and came up one game short of appearing in the state title game, losing to the eventual champions in Aliquippa. Selinsgrove finished this season with a 3-7 record, tripling their win total from a season ago and returning to the postseason after missing it last year. Selinsgrove’s offense this year was led by senior quarterback Rocco Amato who threw for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with 122 yards and 6 more touchdowns on the ground. Their receiving duo of juniors Jonathan Neidig and Nash Fordyce both had solid years as well, Neidig racked up 743 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns, while Fordyce racked up 399 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. The winner of this game will move on to the district title game to face the winner of the 2 vs 3 matchup between Shamokin and Jersey Shore.

(2) Shamokin vs (3) Jersey Shore – Friday 11/6 @ 7:00 PM

Things have really shifted on this Shamokin Indians team over the last two weeks, as they enter the playoffs with an 8-2 record, but the circumstances surrounding the team have completely flipped. Shamokin began the season 8-0, and for most of that time, they were looked at as the consensus number one team in Pennsylvania in 4A, with convincing victories over teams like Pottsville, Shikellamy, and Williamsport. That was until the Blue Mountain game in week 9, ultimately Shamokin lost that game on the road by a final score of 34-14, but more importantly, star quarterback Logan Steele went down with broken left hand, which sidelined him for the final game of the regular season against Mount Carmel which they inevitably lost. On top of that, Shamokin has been without their starting running back Noah Ringes since week 4, and in that game against Mount Carmel, their top wide receiver Colin Steinhart also went down with a high ankle sprain. All of those players’ statuses are still up in the air for the postseason, which forced the Indians to turn to some other players in their places. Freshman quarterback Evan Pancher played in place of Steele in week 10, throwing for just 42 yards and rushing for just 32 and a touchdown in the 23-7 loss. Without Ringes, Steele became the team’s top rusher, but without him, it has been Trey Taylor who provided most of the production with 562 yards and 3 touchdowns. Shamokin’s defense has played well all season, however without all of their stars, this team will struggle to win games in the playoffs, and their first matchup will be against Jersey Shore. The Bulldogs went 5-5 this season, their worst regular season record since 2018, and for the last three seasons, Shamokin has been Jersey Shore’s kryptonite, beating them in each their last five meetings. Jersey Shore’s offense has been powered by their star junior quarterback Nolen Pauling, who leads the district in almost every passing category, throwing for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns. Pauling has also been electric on the ground, leading the team with 845 yards and 13 touchdowns, the next closest player on the team is Zeke Sechrist who has 559 yards and 5 touchdowns. Pauling’s top targets are also juniors, Carter Rhinehart and Connor Winters who are both near the top of the district in receiving yards, Rhinehart racked up 1,001 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, while Winters racked up 703 yards and 10 touchdowns as well. Jersey Shore’s biggest problem this season has been their defense, they’ve allowed 32.4 points per game this season, which is sixth worst in all of District 4. Obviously the biggest question mark that could flip this game completely is whether Logan Steele can play and whether he can make the same impact that he has these past four years. The winner of this game will likely face Shikellamy in the district title next week, as long as they beat Selinsgrove.

BE SURE TO CHECK PAFOOTBALLNEWS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PLAYOFFS AS WELL AS GAME COVERAGE