District 4 Class 1A-2A Playoff Preview

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Ed Weaver | November 4, 2022

It has been a very successful year in PIAA District IV football. In the district’s four classifications each of the top seeds finished their regular seasons undefeated. With the majority of the teams returning to post-season play there are also a few newcomers this year as well.

Below are previews for each game by PIAA classification.

Class A

Muncy Indians (9-0) vs. Northwest Area Rangers (5-5)

The Indians return to the top spot in Class A since the 2017 season and take on District 4’s newest member, the Northwest Area Rangers. Muncy finished the regular season 9-0 after they couldn’t pick up a replacement game that was lost when Sayre cancelled their season. The NTL Small School Division champions marched through their regular season schedule and defeated Northwest Area 48-21 two weeks ago on October 21. Northwest Area started the season 4-0 then dropped 5 of their next 6 games to finish the season with a .500 record.

This game features two 1,000-yard passes in Muncy’s Branson Eyer (1,044) and Northwest’s Carter Hontz (1,505). Both teams have similar ground games as Muncy’s Austin Johnson (772 yards & 13 TDs on 90 carries) is back in the lineup. Hontz is the Rangers’ leading rusher (597 yards & 12 TDs on 110 attempts) but Jake Bobersky is also a threat (492 yards & 8 TDs on 85 carries).

Canton Warriors (9-1) vs. South Williamsport Mountaineers (6-3)

Last season the Warriors made it all the way to the PIAA Class A semi-final where they ran up against eventual state champion Bishop Guilfoyle. This year the Warriors are looking to improve upon their best season since 1991 and contend for a state championship.

This game is also an earlier season match up as South Williamsport traveled up to the heart of Bradford County and lost to Canton 50-0 on a Saturday afternoon. The NTL Large School champion Warriors went undefeated in league play, with their only loss on the season coming to Jersey Shore (23-0). The Warriors are led by Riley Parker (977 yards & 16 TDs on 85 attempts) and Weston Bellows (241 yards receiving & 290 yards rushing) in addition to the three-QB rotation of Austin Allen, Bailey Ferguson, and Holden Ward.

South Williamsport brings their traditional “ground and pound” offense led by Ryan Casella and Caden Harris.

Class 2A

Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes (10-0) vs. North Penn-Mansfield Panthers (3-7)

This year the road for the Class 2A District 4 championship goes through Mount Carmel as the Red Tornadoes locked up the #1 seed by finishing a perfect 10-0. The Red Tornadoes’ closest game of the season was in a 35-21 win over rival Southern Columbia. Mount Carmel is led by Cole Spears, who completed 76.5% of his passes (52-for-68) for 10 TDs and 721 yards. On the ground, Xaviar Diaz rushed for 691 yards on 76 carries. Diaz accounted for 1,082 yards for Mount Carmel.

North Penn-Mansfield qualified for the 8th seed by defeating rival Wellsboro, 24-21, last week on the Hornets’ home field. This is the first trip to the post-season under new head coach Chris Olson, and the Panthers’ 1st appearance in the District 4 post-season since the 2019 season. North Penn-Mansfield is led by junior QB Karson Dominick, who was 3rd in the NTL with 1,351 yards and 11 touchdowns and Kohen Lehman, the NTL’s 5th leading rusher with 766 yards and 6 TDs on 166 carries.

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Bloomsburg Panthers (5-5) vs. Hughesville Spartans (4-6)

Bloomsburg has had an up and down year. The Panthers are coming into the playoffs with a two game losing streak, however they did beat Hughesville earlier this year. Quarterback Liam Zentner has thrown for over 1000 yards but its the Panthers running back Madden Locke, with 900+ yards that will be the key to advancing. Locke is a major force to be dealt with on defense. The 6-1, 210 pound linebacker has collected 132 tackles this year.

For Hughesville, they limp into the playoffs losing 4 of their last 5 games. Quarterback Luke Kaiser has struggled this year in the passing game, throwing for under 800 yards and only 6 tds. It’s the running game that stars for the Spartans. Angelo Ferrigno, Kelby Gordner and Mason Hoppes have combined for over 800 yards this year. Defensively Mason Hoppes and Aiden Barlett are the stars.

Troy Trojans (8-2) vs. Towanda Black Knights (4-6)

Suprise team alert. Not many picked the Trojans to finish the year with a strong 8-2 record. Troy’s only losses came to ranked teams Canton and Loyalsock, both games that with just a play here or there could have gone the other way. Make no mistake, this is a run first team. QB Evan Woodward has run for 531 yards and 9 scores while throwing for 310 yards with 4 tds. But it’s Clayton Smith who is the workhorse for the Trojans. Smith has 1,168 yards on the ground and has reached the endzone 18 times. Troy is averaging a respectable 35 points per game.

Towanda enters the bracket having won their last two games, however, their last loss was a 49-0 thumping at the hands of the Trojans. Riley Vanderpool is their leading passer and rusher, passing for 400+ and running for over 1,200. As he goes, so go the Black Knights. He’s also their leading tackler.

Southern Columbia Tigers (7-3) vs. Line Mountain Eagles (4-6)

Hard to believe the Tigers aren’t the number 1 seed where they’ve been in what seems like the last 100 years. Southern has hit hard times with injuries, losing LB Garrett Garcia early on. But don’t count out the Tigers yet. Running Back/LB Braedon Wisloski has 1,147 yards and can hit the hole like a train. He also has over 200 yards receiving. Quarterback Blake Wise is mechanical and gets the job done. Defensively the Tigers are still very tough with Wisloski, Colden Bloom and team leader Dominic Fetterolf. Their three losses came to three top ranked teams in the state, including a 35-21 loss to rival Mt. Carmel.

Line Mountain is a nice team. They’re young and likely a year away from being a strong playoff team but still, they’re scrappy. QB Kaden Maurer and sophomore Ian Bates lead the offense. Bates is an exceptional player that, if he develops, will be a force to be reckoned with in district four in the future. This likely won’t be the year the Eagles get the win over the Tigers, but they’ll show up for the fight.

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