2022 D6 AA Quarterfinal Game Preview: West Shamokin @ Richland
Tagged under: District 6, News, Playoffs
Brian Ingalls | November 3, 2022
The 2022 PIAA D6 Class AA football playoffs start this weekend. The teams are looking to end their seasons with a trip to Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley High Scholl for PIAA Championships. The Championship will take place 12/9 @ 1pm.
click to see brackets
In the 2021 D6 AA Championship, Richland beat Forest Hills 35-6. Richland has won the last 4 D6 AA titles. Richland also won in 2012, and has been D6 AA runner up 3 times. Richland’s 5 D6 AA championships are 3rd most all time behind Tyrone(9) and Forest Hills (8). Bishop Guilfoyle moved to AA this year after a very successful run in A. Bishop Guilfoyle has 6 D6 A titles and made the D6 A Championship 9 times. Bishop Guilfoyle has 4 PIAA A Titles (2014,2015,2016,2021) and was PIAA A runner up in 2019. Bellwood-Antis has 5 D6 A Titles (1997,2004,2006,2007,2012) and 1 D6 AA Title (1988). Bellwood-Antis was the runner up in D6 A-4 times and D6 AA-2 times. Bald Eagle Area has made the D6 AAA finals 5 times and won 3 titles (1988,2018,2019). Mount Union has been to the D6 AA championships 3 times and has never won. Penns Valley, Southern Huntingdon, and West Shamokin have never been to a D6 championship. Here are the seeds and season records for the 8 teams in the 2022 D6 AA tournament:
- Richland (10-0)
- Penns Valley (8-2)
- Bald Eagle Area (7-3)
- Bishop Guilfoyle (7-3)
- Southern Huntingdon
- Bellwood-Antis (6-4)
- Mount Union (6-4)
- West Shamokin (5-5)
The first round matchups are 11/04 @ 7pm. Here are those matchups
West Shamokin @ Richland
Southern Huntingdon @ Bishop Guilfoyle
Bellwood-Antis @ Bald Eagle Area
Mount Union @ Penns Valley
Lets take a look at Richland v West Shamokin
On 11/04 @ 7pm #8 West Shamokin will play @ #1 Richland in a D6 AA Quarterfinal game. Richland finished the season a perfect 10-0. Richland is ranked #6 in the State in the Pa Football News Rankings (check out all the PFN rankings here: PFN Rankings ) What is more impressive about Richland’s season is the teams they have beat this year. Richland beat 3 teams with at least 7 wins on the season and 2 State Ranked AAA teams; Central (#10 AAA) 35-28, Penn Cambria (#7 AAA) 49-42. Richland finished first in the Laurel Highlands. West Shamokin finished the season 5-5 and 5th in the Heritage Conference. West Shamokin beat North Star last week 41-35.
Richland is led on offense by Senior QB Sam Penna, Junior RB Evan McCracken, and Sophomore WR Austin Yarnick. Penna has had a great season passing going 116-163 (71%) for 1,814 yards (181 per game) with 20 TDs and onle 3 INTs. Penna has also rushed 86 times for 432 yards and 4 TDs. The speedy McCracken (PIAA Track 100 meter dash-Bronze medal) has rushed 190 times for 1,262 yards (6.6 average) with 19 TDs and has 27 receptions for 439 yards with 6 TDs. Yarnick has 36 receptions for 671 yards and 8 TDs. Richland as a team has 2,058 yards rushing with 27 TDs, and has 1,871 yards passing with 21 TDs. Richland has outscored their opponents 387-202. On defense, Richland is led by Sophomore MLB Joe Penna, Senior DT Zachary Hancock, and Senior OLB Jordan Nichols. Joe Penna has 78 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries this season. Hancock has 66 tackles and 7 sacks. Nichols has 16 sacks and 64 tackles. Richland has 32 sacks on the season. Sophomore K Noah Ritko has made 38 out of 39 PATs this season and 1 32 yard FG.
West Shamokin is led on offense by Junior QB Lou Swartz, Senior RB Micah Linhart, and Senior WR Dylan Wolfe. Swartz has passed 43-92 for 765 yards with 11 TDs and 8 INTs and rushed 154 times for 1,162 yards (7.5 average) with 14 TDs. Linhart has rushed 124 times for 766 yards (6.2 average) and 6 TDs. Wolfe has 19 receptions for 388 yards and 4 TDs and rushed 101 times for 594 yards (5.9 average) with 8 TDs. West Shamokin has rushed for 2,703 yards as a team. West Shamokin has 3 players who have rushed for over 500 yards (Swartz, Linhart, and Wolfe) and has 31 rushing TDs. West Shamokin is led on defense by Swartz, Wolfe, and Senior Jonah Linhart. Swartz has 46 tackles 1 sack. Wolfe has 38 tackles, 1 INT, and 1 sack. Jonah Linhart has 3 sacks and 1 INT.
The winner of this game will play in the D6 AA Semifinals against the winner of the Southern Huntingdon/Bishop Guilfoyle game. That preview HERE
The Class AA D6 Tournament consists of 8 teams. The quarterfinal round is 11/04, the semifinals are 11/11, and the D6 AA Championship will be held at Mansion Park on 11/18 at 7pm. The 2022 D6 AA Champion will move on to play the D4 Champion on either 11/25 or 11/26 in the PIAA AA State Quarterfinals.
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