District One-4A Playoff Preview: Championship

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

Michael Pietrangelo | November 7, 2024

District One is known for its big schools and is mainly made up of 6-5A classified schools, so as we move to our 4A portion, we head into our championship. In the semifinals, we saw PJP, our number one seed, beat Lower Moreland 46-0, and Springfield (M) defeat Bishop Shanahan 42-6. As predicted by this panel, we have our rematch. In week one of the season, these two squads met, and PJP etched out a 34-27 victory.  Will the Golden Panthers win again, or will the Spartans prevail and win their first championship in school history? Stay tuned as Big Willie McGonigle brings you live updates of the game as the craziness unfolds.

The Matchup:

#2 Springfield (M) Spartans @ #1 Pope John Paul II Golden Panthers

#1 Pope John Paul II (10-1, 5-0)

About the Golden Panthers: For the third consecutive season the Golden Panthers return to the District 1 4A championship. Last season they defeated Bishop Shanahan 42-14. They lost to Interboro 38-14 in 2022. This will mark the second time the Golden Panthers see the Spartans this season having gone on the road to knock off the Spartans 34-27 to open the season. In last week’s 46-0 rout over Lower Moreland in the semi-finals Luke Terlesky complete 13 of his 15 passes for 312 yards and 6 touchdowns. Villanova commit Braden Reed was Terlesky’s top target hauling in 8 catches for 244 yards and 4 touchdowns. Denny Owens, Bradey Bass, and Nico Digiacomo had the other receiving touchdowns for the Golden Panthers. Dylan Skarbek carried the ball 2 times for 35 yards. Ryan Lamson led the team with 7 tackles on the night.

#2 Springfield (M) (9-2, 4-1) 

About the Spartans:  They easily dispatched the third-seeded Eagles of Bishop Shanahan 42-21. All-State talent  CJ Johnson rushed 27 times for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jack McGuckin rushed for 91 yards & 2 touchdowns himself in the victory. They are battle-tested at 8-2 overall and 4-1 in the SOL-American, where they play a 5-6A conference schedule. Their two losses came to #1 seed Pope John Paul II in week 1 (34-27) and in the conference chip to 6A playoff qualifier Plymouth-Whitemarsh (42-0). The Spartans offensive attack is averaging 36.2 points per game, while the defense yields 18 points per game to opposing teams. They are led by senior quarterback Jack McGuckin, who has completed 64% of his passes for 1361 yards with 12 touchdowns.  Jack also rushed for 621 yards on 103 attempts and had 13 rushing touchdowns.  The dual-threat quarterbacks favorite target and backfield mate is CJ Johnson. CJ rushed 111 times for 1,187 yards and 23 touchdowns. He hauled in 36 balls for 491 yards and five more scores. Bobby Hartman hauled in 23 catches for 358 yards and three touchdowns. The All-State duo looks to make a deep run into the state playoffs.  On the defensive side of the ball McGuckin has 25 total tackles, 2 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. Hartman has 41 total tackles and 2 sacks.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews