PIAA District 5 Playoff Preview
Tagged under: District 5, News, Playoffs
Billy Splain | November 3, 2023
PIAA DISTRICT 5 CLASS 1A PLAYOFF PREVIEW
Berlin Brothersvalley v Chestnut Ridge
Hard to believe these two didn’t meet in the regular season. With CR in the Heritage and Berlin moving to the ICC we didn’t get that matchup for the first time in a while. So tonight, the records don’t matter between these two rivals. Ridge and Berlin score over 30 a game so it’s going to be who gets the last stop. Nate Whysong is the leader of this team with 1,355 passing yards and 661 on the ground. He’s found the endzone 26 times. Helping move the rock on the ground is senior Jeb Emerick who has compiled over 1,100 stripes and 15 trip to the endzone.
For Berlin it’s senior Pace Prosser with his 1,339 yards and 18 td passes leading the offense, but his job isn’t just passing. His job is also to hand the ball to not 1 or 2 but 3 backs who have run for over yards this year. Add in Prosser’s 400 on the ground and it has the makings of a long night for the Lions.
PIAA DISTRICT 5 CLASS 2A PLAYOFF PREVIEW
Northern Bedford v Meyersdale
As of late Garry Black has had the Panthers playing at a playoff level. Meyersdale has a tall task at hand tonight. Eion Snider is having quite the year. He’s thrown for over 1,600 yards with 19 of his throws finding the endzone. And if that’s not enough, he’s also run for over 500 and 11 more scores. But it doesn’t stop there for the Panthers. Adam Johnson has 820 on the ground and 14 scores. When Snider throws, he’s either looking for Aaron Bowers or Ben Gable. The Two have combined for nearly 1,200 yards receiving and 15 tds. Defensively the Panthers swarm to the ball. This is a high powered offensive that scores 38 points a game. The defense is only giving up 12 points per game.
For Meyersdale, Lance Jones has the task of helping the Red Raiders score against a stingy defense. He’s thrown for 860 yards with 14 scores through the air. Malacai Carr and Spencer Whitfield are his favorite targets. On the ground the Raiders run with Whitfield and Ian Brenneman. NBC owns a 35-14 regular season win between the two teams.
North Star v Windber
On paper this game looks like a great matchup. Both teams enter the game with 7-3 marks, both have lost to NBC, though the Cougars took the Panthers to OT while Windber was handed a 36-6. Both also lost to 1A Berlin. The Cougars do what they do through the air with Connor Yoder leading the way. He’s thrown for over 2,000 yards and 26 tds. He’s got many targets to throw to. Ethan Smith, Ethan Eller and Garrett Tunstall have combined for over 1,600 yards and 24 scores. Smith leads the group with 800+ and 16 of those tds.
Windber we all know is a ground hog. Tanner Barkley is behind center and has thrown for over 1,100 yards with 13 tds. Luke Hostetler and RJ Tallion lead the way on the ground with nearly 1,500 yards and 22 trips to the bank. Both teams average around 35 points a contest so as I said, on paper this could be one heck of a good game!
Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews
