Protime Predictions Week 14, 2021: The Semi-Finals

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Phil Myers | December 2, 2021

A couple years ago Protime was attending a game early in the year between two teams he had never seen before, one of which had not been having too much luck winning games the past few years. After the game in which this certain team lost again, he observed three of their fans having the following conversation.
The first guy said, “I blame the coach, if he’d pass more, do better at clock management, and get some more assistant coaches maybe we’d win a few more games.” The second fan stated, “No, I blame the players, if they made more of an effort and spent extra time in the weight room, then we would win a few more games.” The third man in all seriousness said, “I blame my parents!” “Why is that,” asked the other two. “Because if I’d been born in Catawissa (home of Southern Columbia) or Aliquippa, I’d be supporting a decent team,” he answered.

Speaking of supporting teams, Protime encourages fans from all the teams remaining in the PIAA playoffs to support your team by going to the game. It’s much more fun and it provides much better memories to actually be there in person than to watch or listen from home. Protime went 20-4 last week to increase his season record to 320-71 (.818). Protime will preview all 12 games at random this week. Good luck to all. Here are the predictions from your Fanatic Forecaster.

6A

#2 Mount Lebanon 13-0 vs. #5 State College 8-5 @ Mansion Park in Altoona – Mt. Lebanon averages 38 points a game, while giving up 9.7. Joey Daniels is the Blue Devil signal caller. He has passed for 1,626 yards and 23 touchdowns. RB Alex Tecza is one of the best backs in District 7. He has rushed for 1,878 yards and 22 TDs. WR Eli Heidenreich has snagged 44 passes for 1,020 yards and 15 scores. Eli also runs the ball occasionally as evidenced by his 569 yards and 6 TDs. Blue Devil placekicker Noah Bhuta has nailed 6 field goals in 2021.
Of all the teams remaining in the PIAA playoffs, St. College has to be the biggest surprise. To Coach Matt Lintal’s credit he has the Little Lions playing really good football right now. State College averages 23.6 points per contest and allows an average of 21. They are led by RB Brady Bendik who has rushed for 831 yards and 6 scores. Finn Furmanek has scored 6 TDs. They have used 4 different quarterbacks who have a combined total of 1,909 yards and 15 touchdowns. Owen Yerka was the QB last week when the Lions upset Harrisburg. WR Jashaun Green has 33 catches for 533 yards and 5 TDs. Kicker Kajetan Kaszubowski hit 3 FGs last week, including the game-winner. The Little Lion defense is led by Calvin Roan, Jack Roeshot, and John Scott all of whom have over 100 tackles.
Protime thinks Bob Palko’s Mt. Lebo eleven heads to the title game in Hershey by winning 31-13.

#1 Garnet Valley 35 #3 St. Joseph’s Prep 31 – Protime has enjoyed watching Prep the past 3 years as they not only had the best 6A team in PA, but were also nationally ranked. But the crystal ball and Protime’s heart says take the undefeated Jaguars over the Hawks in a real barn-burner.

5A

#4 Penn-Trafford 11-2 vs. #3 Exeter Township 10-3 @ BEA – Penn-Trafford’s Warriors average 32.5 points a game and give up 12.8 per game. RB Cade Yacamelli is the man as he has rolled up 1,634 yards and scored 20 TDs. He is the leading receiver also with 283 yards. QB Carter Green is a genuine dual threat. He has 1,125 yards throwing and 10 TDs plus 1,106 yards running with 15 TDs. Nathan Schlessinger has made 8 FGs and is definitely a weapon for the Warriors.

Exeter Township pulled the upset of the playoffs last week when they edged #1 ranked Governor Mifflin, a team that had beat them by 33 points during the regular season. The Eagles average 40 points and allow 21 per game. They are led by QB Colin Payne’s 2,163 yards passing and 22 TD tosses. WR Joey Schlaffer has 41 grabs for 728 yards and 8 TDs. Wide out J.R. Strauss has 27 catches for 455 yards and 7 scores. Eric Nangle leads the ground game with 1,769 yards and 21 touchdowns. Tyler Yocum has scored 13 TDs. Yocum is also the top Eagle tackler.

Protime has gone round and round on this game. His crystal ball is old-fashioned and is calling for a tie. So, a coin flip is in order. Exeter 27 Penn-Trafford 24.

#1 Imhotep Charter 26 #2 Strath Haven 14 – The Imhotep Panthers have the #2 scoring defense, only allowing 6 points a game and that is what ultimately wins the game against the Strath Haven Panthers.

4A

#3 Aliquippa 11-1 vs. #1 Jersey Shore 14-0 @ Central Cambria – The Quips pulled off a mild surprise last week in beating the previous #1 ranked Belle Vernon. Aliquippa averages 41.4 points on offense and allows 10 points on defense. QB Quentin Goode has 1,596 yards passing with 16 TDs. WR Cyair Clark has 26 snabs for 513 yards and 8 scores. WR Tajier Thornton has 6 TD catches. The rising star in the Quips offense is freshman running back Tiqwai Hayes who has covered 1,511 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. Jon Tracy chips in with 13 TDs. The Quip offensive line is pretty big led by 6’7” 370 lb. Tyrese Jones.

The Bulldogs have their work cut out as Aliquippa may be the best team they’ve played all year. Shore averages 39 points per contest and allow only 7.7. They have rolled up over 5,400 yards of offense. QB Brady Jordan has thrown for 1,886 yards and 17 TDs. He has also run for 1,000 yards and scored 13 TDs on the ground. RB Hayden Packer has 1,183 yards rushed with 20 TDs. WR Cayden Hess has grabbed 50 passes for 924 yards and 10 TDs. Carter Peacock leads the Bulldogs with 120 tackles and Packer has 113. Hess has 6 of the team’s 29 interceptions.

Protime’s crystal ball has the Quips coming out on top 20-17.

#2 Bishop McDevitt 28 #4 Bishop Shanahan 21 – Just to nip a rumor in the bud, the Pope does not favor one over the other in this game. He is quoted as saying, “may the best team win.” Freshman Stone Saunders has passed for 2,711 yards and 42 touchdowns. One of the linemen protecting him is D-1 prospect junior 6’5” 285 lb. Gabriel Arena. QB Cooper Jordan heads up the Eagle offense with 1,393 yards and 21 TDs throwing plus 855 yards and 11 TDs scrambling. He is protected by 6’3” 275 lb. Dylan Jones who is a beast on defense too. In the end it’ll be the Crusaders by 7.

3A

#1 Central Valley 38 #3 Central 30 – This could be a real gem of a game. You have one of the top backs in District 7 in Central Valley’s Landon Alexander who has 1,950 yards and 27 TDs to date against Central’s quarterback, Jeff Hoenstine, who just broke the PA single season passing TD record. He has pitched the pigskin for 56 TDs and 3,355 yards. Protime’s second coin flip has the Warriors surviving the Scarlet Dragons in a battle of unbeatens.

#2 Wyomissing 27 #4 Neumann-Goretti 16 – An interesting match-up pits the Spartans of Wyomissing against the Saints of Neumann-Goretti. Take the 14-0 Spartans which sets up a rematch of last year’s final with Central Valley.

2A

#1 Southern Columbia 13-1 vs. #4 Northern Lehigh 11-3 @ Lehighton – Tiger Senior Gavin Garcia leads the offense with 2,151 yards rushing and 37 goal line crossings. Southern averages 45.2 points a game. Sophomore Garrett Garcia leads the defense with close to 200 tackles which is a new Tiger single season record. The Tigers give up an average of 12.2 points per game. Protime hears of another Garcia waiting in the wings at the Junior High level. Protime is sure future SCA opponents are thrilled to hear that. RBs Wes Barnes and Braeden Wisloski are healthy and compliment Gavin Garcia in the Wing-T backfield that Southern runs. QB Blake Wise has 10 TD tosses since he became the starter half way through the year. Jake Rose is the primary target with 25 grabs for 531 yards and 8 TDs.
Northern Lehigh has some offensive firepower too. The Bulldogs average 39 points per contest and allow 22. QB Dylan Smoyer has aired it out for 2,062 yards and 27 TDs. RB Matt Frame is a tough one and has 1,599 yards rushing, scoring 21 touchdowns to date. RB Trevor Amorim has 849 yards rushing and 950 yards receiving. He has 16 TDs running with the agate and another 8 catching it. WR Brett Misera has 28 snares for 483 yards and 9 TDs. On defense, Misera has 6 picks and Nick Frame ids the leading tackler.
Southern Columbia 49 Northern Lehigh 35.

#2 Farrell 28 #3 Serra Catholic 21 – The Steelers have a very good running back in Anthony Stallworth who has 2,163 yards and 29 TDs. He has over 100 yards rushing in every game they have played this year. The Eagles have QB Max Rocco (1,800 yards-24 TDs) and Terrell Booth 42 catches-856 yards-14 TDs. This will be a close game with Farrell winning by 7.

1A

#1 Canton 13-0 @ #4 Bishop Guilfoyle 9-4 @ Mansion Park in Altoona – The Warriors of Canton have never been this far before. They average 40 points a game while allowing 8. QB Cooper Kitchen only has 731 yards passing and 8 TDs as the Warriors are primarily a running team. Kitchen also has 12 TDs running. RB Riley Parker has crisscrossed the field for 1,269 yards and scored 23 TDs. Athlete Weston Bellows has scored 10 TDs while racking up over 1,500 all-purpose yards. Hayden Ward is the top tackler on the Warrior defense.
Guilfoyle has been there, done that quite a few times in recent memory. The Marauders average 27.2 points and allow an average of 17.3. QB Karson Keisewetter has thrown for 1,721 yards and 12 TDs. He has run for 867 yards and 18 TDs. RB Cooper Rather has 806 yards on the ground and 10 TDs. He also has 45 receptions for 595 yards and a trio of scores. His all-purpose yardage is over 1,900. Placekicker Deven Wyandt is a perfect 39 for 39 in the PAT department and has made 7 FGs. He can hit from 50+ yards if called on to do so. The Marauder ‘D’ is led by Dom Yanoshak and Colin Butler, both have 114 tackles.
Protime has Canton being triumphant by a score of 21-20.

#2 Redbank Valley 12-1 vs. #3 Bishop Canevin @ North Hills – Redbank averages 39.6 points per contest while allowing 9.3. The Bulldogs’ Bryson Bain barks the signals for the offense. He has a total of 1,966 passing yards and 28 touchdowns. His receiving corps of Tate Minnich (37 receptions for 486 yards and 7 scores), Chris Marshall (36 grabs for 569 yards and 11 TDs), and Marquese Gardlock (25 catches for 445 yards and 4 touchdowns) are tough for any team to cover. Ray Shreckengost is the leading ball carrier with 878 yards and 16 TDs. If he doesn’t go, his friend, Brenden ‘Boo’ Shreckengost, the hero for RBV last week will go, all 5’3” 139 pounds of him. Zeldon Fisher and Joe Mansfield head up the Bulldog defense.
The Canevin Crusaders average 34.7 points a game and give up an average of 6.9. QB Jason Cross leads the Crusaders with 1,456 yards passing and 17 TDs. He’s run for 471 yards and 12 TDs. QB Kole Olszewski has 705 yards and 11 TDs passing. His wide receiver duo consists of Lasae Lacks and Xavier Nelson. Lacks has 43 catches for 841 yards and 11 scores, while Nelson has 37 grabs for 817 yards and 11 TDs. RB Marquis Carter has 568 yards and 5 scores.
The Bulldogs fall to the Crusaders 21-14.

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