PIAA District 1 Playoff Preview: 6A Round 2

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Michael Pietrangelo | November 9, 2023

We’ve made it to the second round of our 6A bracket and nothing unexpected happened in last week’s matchups.  All the higher seeds took care of business in the Round of Sixteen. Central Bucks West, Garnet Valley, Spring-Ford, Central Bucks South, Downingtown West, Souderton, Perkiomen Valley, & Downingtown East all won their matchups. This week we have some intriguing matchups to take a look at. We have a preview of last season’s district final as #8 seed Garnet Valley takes on the #1 seed Central Bucks West. Earlier this season CB West won a non-league matchup 17-13.  Another intriguing matchup to watch will be our #4 vs #5 matchup when CB South and their high-powered rushing attack head to Spring-Ford to take on the Rams and Matt Zoller’s aerial assault.  #3 seed Souderton will look to keep their perfect season going as they face off against #6 seed Downingtown West. Our final matchup has #7 Perkiomen Valley heading into #2 hostile Downingtown East after they handed Wissahickon a 56-0 Pounding.

The Matchups

#8 Garnet Valley Jaguars @ #1 Central Bucks West Bucks

#1 Central Bucks West (11-0,7-0)

About the Bucks: In Round 1 the Bucks remained perfect as they beat #16 seed Cheltenham 27-12, however, they took a huge blow to their roster when senior leader and X-factor Conor McFadden went down with a torn ACL on the opening kickoff.  Senior running back Ryan Clemens rushed 22 times for 97 yards & 1 TD. He also kicked 2 field goals in the victory. The high-octane Bucks are averaging 31 points per game and yielding a mere 10.2 points per game on the defensive side of the ball.  Head coach Rob Rowan and company defeated the Jags in the opening week of the season 17-13.

#8 Garnet Valley (9-2,7-1)

About the Jaguars: : Last week the eighth-seeded Jagaurs survived a scare from the ninth-seed Owen J. Roberts defeating the Wildcats 28-21. Tyler Lassik threw for two touchdowns and added another rushing touchdown. Lassik has thrown 8 touchdowns this season. Luke Vaughn, and Ronnie Leraris star in the Jaguars heavy run style offense. Defensively keep an eye on Nick Romaniello, Nolan Carroll, Chase Britton, and Lassik.

#7 Perkiomen Valley Vikings @ #2 Downingtown East Cougars

#2 Downingtown East (10-0,4-0)

1. About the Cougars: The Cougars did not miss a beat in their round one game against Wissahickon, taking a 49-0 lead into halftime, sitting the starters for the second half, went on to a  56-0 victory. The Downingtown defense came up with five interceptions, including a pick six by linebacker Ryan Shannon, the final pick coming deep in the red zone, to preserve their incredible 8th game without giving up a defensive point. DC Brandon Noble’s uber aggressive defense has dominated the Cougar’s opponents holding them to a meager 33 points for the season.  Constant pressure applied by the rotating front seven of linemen Will Ehst, Jimmy Stott, Felix Mason, Jack Noble, Landon Snider along with linebackers Jack Griffiths, Matt Cogliati, Dimitri Soublis, Ryan Shannon, Dasean Dais and Cam Keretzman, is a nightmare to opposing offenses. Downingtown is known for running the ball, which they do at a 265 yard a game clip, but they will go as deep into the playoffs, as their defense takes them.

#7 Perkiomen Valley (9-2,4-1)

About the Vikings: The Vikings finished the regular season at 8-2 overall and 4-1 in the PAC-Liberty behind 6A Spring-Ford. The Vikings are averaging 28.3 points per game on offense & yielding 15.1 points per game on the defensive side of the ball. Junior QB Patrick MacDonald leads the team in passing with 822 yards & 5 TDs. On the ground, he has rushed for an additional 273 yards & 6 TDs. Sophomore running back Nathan Reedy leads the Vikes backfield with 584 yards & 3 TDs. Senior Xavier Nunez is second with 544 yards & a team-leading 8 TDs. On the defensive side of the ball, Senior Sam Koehler leads his team in total tackles with 77. Junior Anthony Rodriguez leads the team with 4 INTs.

#6 Downingtown West Whippets @ #4 Souderton Indians

#3 Souderton (11-0,6-0)

About the Indians: The Indians completed their first-ever undefeated regular season in school history this season. They were also the SOL-Continental Champions. The Indians are averaging an impressive 30.7 points per game on offense and are allowing an average of 12.2 points per game on defense. Continuing their unbeaten campaign, the Indians dispatched #13 seed Pennsbury 21-14 in the first round.  Sophomore Ben Walsh completed 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 148 yards. Senior Ryan Sadowski rushed 18 times for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both Danny Dyches and Hunter Smeltz had crucial interceptions for the defense.

#6 Downingtown West (9-2,3-1)

About the Whippets: Coming off a season-ending loss to rival Downingtown East, the Whippets were able to defeat CR South 17-0 in the opening round game of the D1 playoffs. West is now 9-2 on the season and will look for their 10th win of the year at Souderton, which could set up a third-round rematch with Downingtown East.  Coach Milano’s team will have to have another sterling defensive game to upend the power running of the Indians. West’s offense revolves around the running and throwing of standout QB Quinn Henicle who accounted for both TDs, an 11 yard run and 17 yard pass to Dean Hangey.

#5 Central Bucks South Titans @ #4 Spring-Ford Rams

#4 Spring-Ford (9-2,5-0)

About the Rams: Last week the Rams survived a shootout outlasting the upset-minded North Penn 42-35.  Matt Zollers threw 261 yards and 4 touchdowns and the Jr. Now already owns the school passing touchdown record in a career with 66.  Mason Scott hauled in 7 passes for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns. Zollers has thrown for over 2500 yards this season and 32 touchdowns compared to just 2 interceptions while Scott has become the first player in school history to go over the 1000-yard receiving mark in a season

#5 Central Bucks South (10-1,6-1)

About the Titans: The Titans took care of #12 seed Coatesville in a 21-20 thriller. With :50 left on the clock Coatesville lined up to go for two and the victory. Sean Moskowitz realized wide receiver Amir Haskett was lined up in the backfield and just knew he was running the ball. Moskowitz met the receiver before he crossed the endzone and preserved the victory. In the victory Owen Pinkerton threw for 124 yards & 1 TD. He also rushed for an additional 25 yards on the ground. Anthony Leonardi paced the Titans backfield with 10 carries for 80 yards & 1 TD. Corey Moore had 12 carries for 71 yards & 1 TD. The only blemish on this 10-win team was their 40-29 loss to #1 CB West a few weeks back in the CB Cup.

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