2022 District XI Class 1A Semi-Final Preview: #4-Mahanoy Area at #1-Northern Lehigh
Tagged under: District 11, News, Playoffs
Daniel Reed | November 3, 2022
2022 District XI Class 1A Semi-Final Preview: #4-Mahanoy Area(6-4) at #1-Northern Lehigh(9-1)
Follow @PFNDan570FB on TWITTER for LIVE game coverage !!
Mahanoy Area comes in winner of 3 straight to open the season but then hit a rough patch going 1-4 in their next 5 games, finishing out the season with 2 straight victories, in those final two games, the Golden Bears racked up the points scoring 34, then 48 the next game, giving up just 12 points total in those games. On the season, the Golden Bears averaged 26ppg, giving up 17ppg. Offensively, the Golden Bears can definitely pile up the yardage led by Junior RB-Colm McGroarty, who has amassed just under 1200 yards on the ground, scoring 21 touchdowns. Senior QB-Ben Manley has thrown for just 554 yards, 193 of them yards came in the last two games. Ben can also run the ball very well too, racking up 700 yards, scoring 8 touchdowns. Manley’s main target on the receiving core is Chris Cuff, who has caught 19 passes for 246 yards, scoring twice. Defensively for Mahanoy Area, they have racked up 14 sacks, with 13 interceptions along the way. Leading the way on defense are Ben Manley, Colm McGroarty, Drew Pollack, Louie Frye, and Joe Noraka. Manley with 94 tackles, Noraka and Frye both with 3 sacks each, and McGroarty with 6 interceptions.
Northern Lehigh comes in with a 5 game win streak, with their only loss coming to North Schuylkill, 31 to 0 back in week 5. During their win streak to finish out the regular season, the Bulldogs averaged 33ppg, giving up 16ppg which is exactly what their season totals come out to as well. The Bulldogs are led by their first year Senior quarterback, Nick Frame(brother of star RB-Matt Frame from last season). Frame has amassed over 1700 yards in total, 900+passing and 800+rushing, scoring 13 touchdowns in the process. Northern Lehigh has a decent RB as well with Senior Alexander Jimenez-Wittong, rushing for over 500 yards, scoring 12 touchdowns. Frame’s main target receiving would be Senior Austin Smyth, who finished the regular season with 376 yards, scoring 4 times. Defensively, the Bulldogs are led by Seniors’, Ethan Karpowich(36), Jimenez-Wittong(34), and Junior Jack Tosh(33), combining for 103 tackles, 13 of those for loss. Austin Smyth(6) and Jimenez-Wittong(5) combine for 11 sacks. Frame leads the secondary with 5 interceptions.
Stat Comparison:
| Mahanoy Area | Northern Lehigh | |
|---|---|---|
| 240.7 | Rushing Yards Per Game | 261.6 |
| 58.7 | Passing Yards Per Game | 91.2 |
| 299.4 | Total Yards Per Game | 352.8 |
| 49.2 | Tackles Per Game | 31.8 |
| 1.4 | Sacks Per Game | 1.8 |
| 26.7 | Points Per Game | 31.2 |
Common Opponents:
| School | Common Opp. Rec. | School | Common Opp. Rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahanoy Area | 1-1 | Northern Lehigh | 2-0 |
| Date | Away | Home | Result | Date | Away | Home | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/2/22 | Pen Argyl | Mahanoy Area | (W) 20-14 | 9/10/22 | Northern Lehigh | Pen Argyl | (W) 44-14 | |
| 9/16/22 | Mahanoy Area | Catasauqua | (L) 23-0 | 8/26/22 | Catasauqua | Northern Lehigh | (W) 32-12 |
Team Leaders:
| Mahanoy Area | Northern Lehigh | National Avg. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2 Colm McGroarty – 118.8 | Rushing Yards Per Game | #3 Nick Frame – 82.5 | 21.8 |
| #18 Ben Manley – 55.1 | Passing Yards Per Game | #3 Nick Frame – 90.7 | 54.6 |
| #2 Colm McGroarty – 129.9 | Total Yards Per Game | #3 Nick Frame – 173.2 | 38.1 |
| #18 Ben Manley – 9.4 | Tackles Per Game | #34 Ethan Karpowich – 5.1 | 2.8 |
| 81/94 Dylan Davidson – 1.0 | Sacks Per Game | #42 Austin Smyth – 0.7 | 0.2 |
| #2 Colm McGroarty – 14.0 | Points Per Game | #5 Izaiah Ramos – 12.7 | 2.3 |
My Outlook: On paper, looking at the stats, these two team seem pretty equal. Both the Golden Bears and Bulldogs will have to figure out a way to stop the run game and big plays. Mahanoy Area will most likely rely on controlling the clock like they do. The team that can throw the ball well enough, will be victorious !
Click the LINK to view entire DXI and STATE-WIDE brackets >>>>
FOR MORE SCHUYLKILL-COLONIAL LEAGUE COVERAGE… FOLLOW @BPtashinski @kfeger30 and @FasnachtBrayden ON TWITTER!
Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews
You must be logged in to post a comment.