Bishop McDevitt vs Pine-Richland; PIAA Class 5A semi-final preview

Tagged under: District 3, District 7, News, pfn, Playoffs

Blake Fuchs | November 28, 2024

Bishop McDevitt vs Pine-Richland

PIAA Class 5A semi-final

Friday, November 29, 7pm, Mansion Park, Altoona

Who will earn “A trip to the Chap”? (Click pic for brackets)

Pine-Richland enters Mansion Park as WPIAL champions for the third time in five years, defeating defending champion Peters Township, who last year lost in the PIAA championship game to Imhotep Charter. The Rams offense looks a lot different from their 2022 WPIAL and PIAA winning team, not just in who’s playing but how they play as a whole.

They’re now helmed by dual threat sophomore quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader, who went 7 of 13 for 143 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in a 20-9 victory last week at Acrisure Stadium. That was unusual for Pine-Richland, as they’ve had more success throughout this season with junior running back Maclane “Mac” Miller, who normally is the driving force for the Rams’ offense. Strader is still an important player to watch, considering he already has college offers from Central Michigan and Miami of Ohio.

In the receiving game, look for junior Lawrence “Jay” Timmons and senior Tanner Cunningham. Cunningham had a 64 yard touchdown and a game-sealing interception last week, so expect him to see him on both sides of the ball along with the return game.

Timmons had the Rams’ second receiving touchdown last week, scoring from 22 yards out. But he’s more known for his defensive ability, being rated as the 22nd best corner in the 2026 recruiting class and a 3 star prospect by 247Sports, and has seven college offers including West Virginia, Pitt, and Syracuse. His father Lawrence is also a former Steeler who played with the team for 9 years, securing a Super Bowl win and Pro Bowl selection as well.

Bishop McDevitt is experiencing something new this year. The PIAA success points system has them playing at the 5A level this year and in the Mid Penn league they were bumped up to the highest classification as well. They played a 6A schedule and came away with just two losses, an overtime loss to 6A semifinalist Harrisburg and a 3 point loss to quarterfinalist State College.

Led by Kentucky recruit and state record holder Stone Saunders at quarterback, the Crusaders have cruised through the playoffs. A tough game against Mechanicsburg hasn’t slowed them down. Saunders has thrown for nearly 3,2oo yards this season with 43 td passes. His main targets are Dom Diaz-Ellis and Jontae Quick. Together they have hauled in 2,200 of those yards and 24 tds. Maurice Barnes, Gage Ruth and Howard Holton Jr will also see action catching the ball.

As for the Crusader run game, Nazir Jones-Davis is their guy. He’s got over 1,300 yards on the ground. JJ Torres, Ja’kye Longan, Chris Thompson and the rest of the offensive line have matured very well and can open huge holes for McDevitt.

Defensively the Crusaders are led by Barnes, Jones and Lucas Lawler. DB Tyler Reinhart has 5 interceptions this year.

The tasks: these two teams are loaded with D1 talent and are on a collision course. Coach Weachter and Coach LeDonne are both experienced and are no strangers to big playoff games. This one is one of the top matchups this weekend. The winner will face either Roman Catholic or West Chester Rustin in the 5A title game next Friday at Cumberland Valley.

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