District 1 5A Playoff Preview
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Willie McGonigle | November 2, 2022
Also written by: Michael Pietrangelo and Dylan Johnson
The regular season has come and gone and now it’s time for the post-season to begin. For some the journey will end this week while for others they will live to see another week and for one the district tournament will be just one stop on the Trip to the Chap.
Overview
There is no shortage of dangerous teams in the 5A bracket. Entering the tournament Upper Dublin, defending champions Strath Haven, district finalist West Chester Rustin, Plymouth Whitemarsh and Chester are all among the favorites but that’s why they play the games.
(click on team names to see how they got this far)
The Match-Ups
1 Upper Dublin vs 16 Academy Park
About the Cardinals: Upper Dublin finished their regular season undefeated and captured a Suburban One League Continental Conference title and they are primed for a deep playoff run a year after losing in the district quarterfinal in overtime to Plymouth Whitemarsh 36-42. The Cardinals are PFN’s number one ranked team in 5A as well as the number one seed in district play. The Upper Dublin offensive attack averaged an impressive 35.7 points per game which is led by senior QB Colin O’Sullivan. Colin has thrown for over 1,950 yards with 24 TDs in limited action mainly in the first half of the majority of his games due to large leads. The Cards aren’t a one trick pony either, the rushing game is paced by senior RB Nyfise McIntyre who has amassed over 1200 yards and 12 TDs. The defense is dominant and hasn’t surrendered much. They allowed an average of 9.3 pts per game during the regular season which is anchored by the big guy in the middle senior DT Kyree Butler who is the closest thing to an immovable object in the run game.
About the Knights: After going through a gauntlet of the first half, Academy Park has found themselves in the playoffs. An offensive led by the talented arm of QB Darrell Fields is ready for the strong and undefeated Upper Dublin squad. Fields has threats on both sides of him in Anis Hunter and Jerae Cavanaugh. Their nucleus houses the shifty RB Terrance Oliver who has put up an average of 153-yards rushing per game. Oliver is also coming off a 235-yard rushing game with two touchdowns, he is a necessity to their ability to win games. At the end of the day, Academy Park looks to repeat their playoff run last year where they flew to Semi-Finals but fell short to district Champs, Strath Haven.
8 Great Valley vs 9 Upper Moreland
About the Patriots: The Patriots enter the playoffs looking to snap a two-game losing skid. Offensively the Patriots are led by their Quarterback Braeden Melia who has thrown for almost 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns with his favorite target being Gavin Rhodes. Jack Coffey is the team’s leading rusher with 326 yards rushing on 88 carries and 7 TDs. Justin Nadworthy leads the team in tackles with 90. Raheem Orr Tommy Crouse and Jackson Callahan are tied for the team lead with 2 interceptions
About the Bears: The Golden Bears went (8-2,4-1) in season and finished second in the Suburban One League-American conference behind Plymouth Whitemarsh. Upper Moreland’s offense averaged 29.8 points per game and the defense yielded an average of 18.8 points per game. The offense saw senior QB Shawn Herbert pass for 655 yards & 6 TDs, he also rushed for another 184 yards & 6 TDs. Senior RB Stephen Broderick paced the rushing attack with 1,447 yards & 21 TDs. Broderick also caught 9 balls for 228 yards & 2 TDs. Senior Hassan Johnson leads his team in total tackles (54) and has 1 sack. Senior DE Haleem Muhammad has 10 sacks and 14 TFL. Look for these two dogs to cause issues in the run game and for the opposing QB.
4 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs 13 Sun Valley
4 Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
About the Colonials: The Colonials are back in the playoffs again this year as the number 4 seed after finishing the regular season (8-2,5-0) and capturing a Suburban One League- American conference title for a second consecutive year. The Colonials averaged an astonishing 39.7 points per game on offense and only yielded 10.8 points on defense. Plymouth Whitemarsh is led by a barrage of upper classman to include senior QB Aiden O’Brien who has passed for 780 yards & 12 TDS and chipped in an additional 823 yards on the ground & 11 TDs. Junior Luke Winterbottom rushed for 838 yards & 12 TDs. He also caught 2 TDs & had 115 receiving yards. Defensively the Colonials haven’t relinquished much behind solid performances by DE Joe Foy (8 TFL, 5 sacks), DE Jared Kolsun (5 TFL, 5 Sacks), & LB Tommy Hannon (13 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 INT). Seven of their games resulted in less than 7 points scored. Upper Moreland was the only team to put up more than 3 scores against them. The Colonials look to make it further than the district semifinal where they lost to WC Rustin 19-14 last year.
About the Vanguards: For the first time in five years, the Vanguards are back. This season they laid the saying “What’s a Vanguard?” to rest after they punched a spot into the 2022 playoffs. With an offense led by Steve Eskridge, they are hungry to find a win. After a 200-yard game on the ground to beat Oxford last week, Noah Griffin is ready to again, lead the Vanguards backfield into battle. In the air Josh Yanonis carries his team in catches and receiving yards with 20 catches and 238-yards. Griffin finished the regular season with 990-yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Defense wins championships, many say, and Sun Valley after a rough start to the season has seen that reflect in their game. LB’s Anthony Laird and Alex Williams are ready to take on a physical Plymouth-Whitemarsh offense.
5 Chester vs 12 Marple Newtown
About the Clippers: The Clippers enter the district playoffs with one of the most dangerous offenses. Averaging a whopping 39.1 points per game the Clippers have the potential to score at any giving time. What makes the Clippers offensive attack even more impressive is that their QB Jalen Harris is only a freshman. All Harris has done is throw for a school single season record 1976 yards on 114-173 passing and 33 Touchdowns which is also a single season record. Harris also has 4 rushing touchdowns. Harris’s go to target Cymeer Brown who has turned his 47 catches into 1098 yards and 14 touchdowns. Noble Thompson is the team’s leading rusher rushing for 342 yards on 51 carries and 4 touchdowns. Defensively the Clippers are just has impressive giving up an average of 8.7 points per game and 6 shutouts. Charles Thompson leads the team with 77 tackles. Another freshman Da’Ron Harris leads the team with 4 interceptions.
About the Tigers: Marple came out firing to start the season, picking off four teams to start 4-0. A quick flip of the script put them in a back half of the season, skidding to 1-5. It allowed them to put a .500 season and clinch a 12 seed. An athlete in Brian Box can play both sides of the ball and is a crucial asset for Marple. The Tigers averaged 26.8 points a game, and when they did lose, they kept many games very close. Marple Newtown has never lost to Chester holding a clean 5-0 record against them. If a time for them to continue that was needed, it is this Saturday. Other dynamic players include Paul Defruscio and Joey Yukenavitch. They use their bounce, quickness, and strength to exploit opponents.
2 Strath Haven vs 15 Upper Merion
About the Panthers: The defending champions are back and have the talent to repeat has district champions. Offensively the Co Central League Champions are averaging 38.1 points per game Anthony Crawford has rushed for nearly 1700 yards and 22 touchdowns while the Panthers wing-t is also spearheaded by Bob Fooskas 873 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively the Panthers are yielding only 8.8 points per game. Fooskas and Crawford are tied for the team lead in tackles with 69 followed closely by Marco Kaufman (59) and Ben Farabaugh (58)
About the Vikings: The Vikings will look to enact some revenge on the Panthers ended their season last year in the first round with a 35-0 loss to the Panthers. Offensively the Vikings are led by QB Zayd Etheridge who has thrown for nearly 1300 yards this and 14 touchdowns. Nolan Clayton is the Vikings leading receiver with 28 catches for 421 and 5 touchdowns. Justin Besz has rushed for 427 yards and 8 touchdowns to lead the team in rushing. Defensivly Oliver Abbonizzio has been all over the field for the Vikings resulting in a team high 46 tackles. Zander Gutkowski and Nick Varno are tied for the team lead in interceptions with two apiece
7 Springfield vs 10 Phoenixville
About the Cougars: The Cougars enter the district playoffs on a roll having been victorious in the last 5 games averaging 35.4 points per game in those wins. QB Jake Rama has completed 63.4 percent (85-134) of his passes this season for 1112 yards and 12 touchdowns. Tyler Klambara and Gus Bryan anchor the offensive line which has paved the way for Tyler Gougler to rush for a team high 481 yards on 84 carries and 7 touchdowns. Fullback Nate Romano has rushed for 410 yards and 6 touchdowns. Aidan Kreydt and Mike O’Donnell have combined for 58 catches for 744 yards. Kreydt and O’Donnell are tied with Ryan Johnson with four receiving touchdowns each. Linebacker Ethan Marshall leads the Cougars defense with 53 tackles followed closely by Mike Miller (48 tackles) Chris Dolan is the team with four interceptions.
About the Phantoms: The Phantoms have bounced back since starting their season 1-2 having won 5 of their last 7 games but dropping the last two.They finished second in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division with their only league lost being to Pope John Paul II. Offensively the Phantoms are led by QB Talon Romance who has thrown for 602 yards on 25-48 passing and 5 touchdowns. Ahmid Spivey is a dangerous threat averaging a whopping 41 yards per catch. The Phantoms defense will look to get back on track in the previous two games the Phantoms opponents have averaged 49 points.
3 West Chester Rustin vs 14 Radnor
3 West Chester Rustin Golden Knights
About the Golden Knights: Rustin is back and eager to claim what they fell just short of last year, the championship. After losing in the championship to District Champs, Strath Haven, they have returned with the hope to call themselves Champs. As for many teams on this list, a solid running back makes or breaks your offense, and it goes for Rustin. For them, Damion Jacobs, Chase Hatton, and Antonio Santangelo are the answer to many questions/problems they face on the field. They combined for 321-yards on the ground last week to end the regular season. They are a team who is hungry to claim what they believe is rightfully theirs.
About the Raptors: With an insanely-difficult regular season, Radnor prevailed and did what they needed to find their way into the D1 playoffs. During that time, they faced some of the strongest defenses in their neck of the woods. This week will be rushing vs. rushing. Radnor failed to complete a single pass in their last regular season game against a 1-9 Penncrest. A Radnor special team is led by Amir Bryd who has been a deciding factor in wins this season. As he has returned kicks for 70-yards plus a touchdown, he also keeps consistency where they can rely on him for guaranteed yards.
6 Kennett vs 11 Methacton
About the Blue Demons: The Blue Demons are having a historical season winning the Chest-Mont American Division and winning four in a row to close out the regular season. The Blue Demons are led offensively by running back Julian Sparacino who last week broke the schools single game rushing record by rushing for 311 yards on 24 carries. For the season the senior has rushed for nearly 1500 yards and 15 TDs
About the Warriors: Competing in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty division against 6A teams Warriors went 5-5 with all 5 defeats coming against teams that made the district 1 playoffs. Offensively Michael Wolbers has thrown for 448 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Warriors feature a balance rushing attack with Tyler Weil-Kaspar 103 carries for 488 yards and 4 touchdowns, Wesley Conover (53-433-5) and Anthony Perillo (57-326-3) carrying most of the load. Defensively Levi Borkowski leads the team with 72 tackles.
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