2022 PIAA District XI Class 3A Semi-Final Preview: Notre Dame Green Pond at Northwestern Lehigh
Tagged under: District 11, News, Playoffs
Daniel Reed | November 9, 2022
2022 PIAA District XI Class 3A Semi-Final Preview:
Notre Dame Green Pond Crusaders(9-2) at Northwestern Lehigh Tigers(9-2)
click to see brackets
Notre Dame-GP comes into this game riding a 4 game win streak, last loss to Northern Lehigh 40 to 33. The Crusaders for the season average 44ppg, giving up 23. During the win streak they have been averaging 51ppg, giving up 19. The last time these two programs met, was back in 2019 when the Crusaders won 42 to 35. For the Tigers, they enter the contest riding a 3 game win streak with their last loss coming to the Slaters of Bangor 27 to 21. Northwestern Lehigh averages 34ppg, giving up just 14. During their 3 game win streak, the Tigers are averaging 37ppg, giving up 7 a game. Both teams dominated their playoff game last week with the Crusaders taking down Saucon Valley 49 to 14, and Northwestern Lehigh defeating Jim Thorpe 31 to 7.
| Notre Dame-Green Pond | Northwestern Lehigh | |
|---|---|---|
| 190.8 | Rushing Yards Per Game | 298.4 |
| 238.3 | Passing Yards Per Game | 76.7 |
| 429.1 | Total Yards Per Game | 375.1 |
| 85.9 | Tackles Per Game | 64.5 |
| 2.2 | Sacks Per Game | 1.3 |
| 44.2 | Points Per Game | 34.7 |
For the season, these two clubs put up some impressive numbers offensively with the Crusaders, led by their junior quarterback, Danny Darno, who has thrown for more than 2400 yards with 31 touchdowns passes and just 6 interceptions. That’s not all Darno can do, as he also leads the team in rushing as well with 1071 yards on the ground, scoring another 16 touchdowns. Josh Ludlow, another junior, with 499 yards and 10 touchdowns, and 839 receiving yards, adding 9 more scores to his credit. Aj Lozano leads the receiving core with 13 touchdowns and is close behind Ludlow in yardage with 703. Defensively for Notre Dame-GP, they are led by Dainn Vassallo, a junior that has recorded 146 tackles, 88 of them solo. Closely behind Vassallo is James Cartier with 115 tackles, 68 solo. Pierce, Kent and Vassallo each have 4 sacks to their credit while in the secondary, there a 10 players with at least 1 interception.
For the Tigers, well they are led by their quarterback once again but this time, his name his Cade Christopher, a senior who has thrown for just 724 yards and 9 touchdowns, with only 1 interception but, leads the team in rushing with 1423 yards, scoring 23 touchdowns. Followed by Dalton Clymer, a junior running-back that has amassed 1100 yards, scoring 15 times on the ground. Defensively, junior Blaine Snyder leads the team with 93 tackles, 40 solo and 3 sacks, also leading the team. Christopher and Eli Zimmerman, a sophomore both have 2 interceptions leading the secondary.
STAT COMPARISON:
| Notre Dame-Green Pond | Northwestern Lehigh | National Avg. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #7 Danny Darno – 97.4 | Rushing Yards Per Game | #8 Cade Christopher – 129.4 | 21.4 |
| #7 Danny Darno – 221.6 | Passing Yards Per Game | #8 Cade Christopher – 65.8 | 53.5 |
| #7 Danny Darno – 319.0 | Total Yards Per Game | #8 Cade Christopher – 200.3 | 37.6 |
| #1 Dainn Vassallo – 13.3 | Tackles Per Game | #54 Blaine Snyder – 8.5 | 2.8 |
| #47 John Paul Pierce – 0.5 | Sacks Per Game | #54 Blaine Snyder – 0.3 | 0.2 |
| #5 Josh Ludlow – 10.5 | Points Per Game | #8 Cade Christopher – 14.0 | 2.2 |
COMMON OPPONENTS:
| School | Common Opp. Rec. | School | Common Opp. Rec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame-Green Pond | 5-2 | Northwestern Lehigh | 5-1 |
MY OUTLOOK: Size and Strength will take charge in this game, look for the Tigers to settle in and control the line and clock.
PREDICTION: Tigers wear down the Crusaders, winning 42 to 31
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