Breaking down the PIAA District VI Playoffs Nov 12/13

Tagged under: Centre County Report, District 6, Gameday Hub, News

Greg Ricupero | November 11, 2021

Breaking down the PIAA District VI Playoffs November 12/13

6A Williamsport(6-5) vs State College(5-5) 11/12 7pm at Central Mountain

Common Opponents-Altoona & Mifflin County- Both teams beat Mifflin Co. easily. State College beat Altoona two weeks ago, Williamsport beat them last week. However in week two, the Lions beat the Millionaires.

The District VI Championship game should be a close one. State College had a bye and come into the game rested after a hard fought season. The Little Lions come into the game with a balanced offense, with slightly more passing yards. Their offensive production has been a team effort, split among a variety of players.

The Millionaires are playing better of late. Coach Crews’ team hit a stretch of injuries and covid issues but appear to be healthy, rebounding last week to beat Altoona. Dade Splain, Charles Crews, Joel Feleppa, Blake Butler and Connor Adkins need to control the offensive line and get George Whaley time to find those speedy receivers.

Prediction-State College by seven.

5A Hollidaysburg(6-4) beat Central Mountain(6-5) 42-21 for the D6 title last week. They play Cathedral Prep Friday 7pm at Central Cambria. Go check this game out, Central Cambria in Ebensburg has a beautiful new artificial turf field which they put down last year and it should be a good one.

4A Juniata(9-2) beat Bellfonte(2-9) 41-12 for the D6 title last week. They play University Prep(3-6) Saturday 1pm at Mansion Park. I will be at this game, follow me @GregoryRicupero.

Common Opponents-None

Prediction-The Indians have won seven in a row after losing their starting quarterback early in the season. The Indians have 4 shutouts but haven’t faced a team with a winning record since their 8-7 win over Middletown. 

The Panthers have been shutout three times and are struggling under head coach Lou Berry. They beat DuBois 14-13 last week in the first round of the playoffs to break a four game losing streak.

Juniata by two.

3A Central #1 (11-0) vs Penn Cambria#3(6-5)  D6 Championship 11/12 7pm at Mansion Park

Head to Head-Central beat Penn Cambria 46-6 at home.

The Dragons are the best team in District VI. Led by All-State qb Jeff Hoenstine, Central spreads the ball around nicely and is complimented by a good defense. This is a high octone offensive team that hasn’t been held under 40 points all season. They beat Westmont last week by 39.

The Panthers need to play like they did early in the season when I saw them handle Bishop Guilfoyle. Quarterback Garrett Harrold will need to open things up early against the Dragons. Last weeks the Panthers broke a four game losing streak with a 24 point win over Tyrone.

Prediction-Central by 27.

2A Forest Hill #8 (6-5) at Bald Eagle#4 (9-2) 11/12 7pm

Common Opponents-None

The Rangers have played well as underdogs. Damon Crawley has gone over 2200 yards rushing and is playing huge right now. He has 30 touchdowns. Tall task for the Rangers, but they just upset Cambria Heights.

Bald Eagle Area is led by all-everything player Garrett Burns and an extremely stingy defense. Their only losses have come to two of the top teams in the state, 3A Clearfield and 4A Jersey Shore. In their 7 wins played they’ve held teams to just 16 points with 5 shut outs.  They’ll need to get Burns, who will play several positions in the backfield including QB, moving early and score more than they have been scoring against teams with winning records. They beat River Valley in a wild one last week by three points.

Prediction-Bald Eagle by nine.

2A Richland #3 (9-2) at Bellwood-Antis#2 (10-1) 11/12 7pm

Common Opponents-None

The Rams are the better team and have played a tougher schedule. Their two losses came to two of the top teams in the state, Bedford and Central, though it took a late td by the Bison to get that win. Quarterback Kellen Stahl leads the Rams into the playoffs having thrown for over 1,700 yards and 26 tds while rushing for 275 yards and 4 more scores. Running backs Grayden Lewis and Evan McCracken have combined for nearly 1000 yards and 13 more tds. Defensively, this is a tough bunch led by  Brock Batche, Lewis and McCracken.

The Rams cruised to a 34 point victory over Southern Huntingdon last week.

Bellwood is a no nonsense, perennial contender in the ICC. They are led by running back Connor Gibbons who has toted the rock for over 1,100 yards, scoring 14 times. They had to recover from a rare regular season loss that came two weeks ago against Juniata Valley but did so nicely. Cooper Guyer leads the Blue Devil defense with 59 total tackles. Zach Pelligrine can spread the ball around if needed. The Blue Devils beat Penns Valley by three touchdowns last week.

Prediction-Richland by 13.

1A Conemaugh Valley #8 (6-4) at Juniata Valley#1  (8-1) 11/12 7pm

Common Opponents-Claysburg-Kimmel, both teams easily handled the Bulldogs. The Hornets won by 24 on the road in week five and the BlueJays last week by 29.

The BlueJays are a senior laden team who like to run the ball. Look for a high scoring game. The BlueJays have either scored or allowed 37 points in all but two games. Logan Kent went over 2000 yards rushing last week breaking the schools single season record. Twins Nick (1000 yards rushing) and Noah Heltzel play a big role in the offense.

The Hornets defense has only given up more than 13 points once this year, against Claysburg -Kimmel (18). The offense is led by quarterback Lambert Palmer and running back Jayce Rand. Their only loss was a one point defeat by Northern Bedford who are still alive in the playoffs.

Prediction-

1A Glendale #7 (5-5) at Homer-Center#2 (7-3) 11/12 7pm

Common Opponent- Penns Manor, both teams beat the Comets. Glendale last week by four and the Wildcats in week six by 31.

The Vikings haven’t scored more than 21 points since week three. They did not beat a team with a winning record. The Vikings like to run the ball with 1000 yard rusher Suds Dubler. They will need a big game from their line.

The Wildcats have three losses to Cambria Heights(9-2), Berlin Brothersvalley (8-3) and Muncy (10-1). The Wildcats had a bye after two late season losses, both by a single point. The Wildcats are equally at home passing or running. Cole Mcanulty to Michael Krejocic being the main passing combo. Landon Hill and Collin Troup are the two main backs.

Prediction-Homer-Center by 26.

1A Purchase Line#6 (5-5) vs Bishop Guilfoyle#3 (6-4) 11/12 7pm at Hollidaysburg

Common Opponents-None

The Red Dragons started 4-1 before losing four straight. They won their crossover game with the WestPac two weeks ago to break the streak. They did not beat a team with a winning record. They will be hard pressed to keep up with BG.

The Marauders play a much tougher schedule than any other single A team. They have the best special teams in the bracket led by punter/kicker Deven Wyandt. Karson Keisewetter has 1200 yards passing and is the teams leading rusher.

Prediction-Bishop Guilfoyle by 39.

1A West Shamokin#5 (6-4) at Portage#4 (6-3) 11/12 7 pm

Common Opponents-United & Conemaugh Valley Both teams beat United by 34 or more. Portage beat the BlueJays on the road by 36. West Shamokin split two games with the BlueJays over a three week period losing by 50 on the road and winning by 14 at home.

The Wolves love to pass the ball all over the field. They have either scored or allowed 39 points in every game this year but one. Bo Swartz has almost 2000 yards passing. The Wolves are built for turf, the game is in Portage on grass.

The Mustangs are on a three game losing streak, however those three opponents have a 26-6 record. The offense is led by Andrew Miko (700 yards passing) and Oren Heidler (700 yards rushing).  The Mustangs will join the Wolves in the Heritage Conference next year.

Prediction-Portage by 14.

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