District One-5A Playoff Preview: Semifinals

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

Michael Pietrangelo | November 14, 2024

The District 1 semi-finals features a rematch of Central League foes and a tilt between two of District 1’s most respected programs. In a rematch from week nine, #1 seed Springfield takes on #4 seed Garnet Valley. Springfield defeated Garnet Valley 35-23 week nine of the regular season. The Cougars are coming off a round two 21-14 victory over Central League rival Marple Newtown. Garnet Valley survived against the defending District 1 champions Strath Haven in round two, winning 35-34 in overtime. The other semi-final game pits West Chester Rustin, out of the ChesMont, against Upper Dublin from the Suburban One League. Rustin dominated the #2 team in the state Chester from the moment they got off the bus winning 45-16. Upper Dublin made its way to the District semi-finals by defeating a very tough Phoenixville squad.

My fellow writers Willie McGonigle and Marcus Sic provide the majority of the details for these previews. Make sure you are following us on our socials so you can watch the live updates of these games as they happen.

The Matchups

#5 Garnet Valley Jaguars @ #1 Springfield-Delco Cougars

#1 Springfield (Delco) (11-1, 7-1)

About the Cougars: For the second consecutive week the Cougars will look to take down a team that have previously defeated earlier in the season. Last week the top-seeded Cougars squeaked by the upset-minded Marple Newtown Tigers 21-14 with Tanner Coll’s six-yard touchdown run with 9:12 left in the game was the difference. The Cougars now turn their attention to the Jaguars in a rematch of a game they won 35-23 weeks ago in week 9 of the season.

Offensively the Cougars are led by their ground game which features a two-headed monster in Brad Barber and Nate Romano. Barber has used his quick shifty moves to rush for 977 yards and 12 touchdowns this season while Romano is more of a bruising back and has bullied his way for 556 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jackson Kennedy has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1413 yards and 13 touchdowns. With leading receiver Chris Dolan having missed the last two games due to injuries Coll and Brian Delaney have been the leading receivers for the Cougars. Coll has 22 catches for 384 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns, along with 5 rushing touchdowns. Delaney has 13 catches for 242 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Dom Stewart, Ryan Benjamin, Zac Plank, and Mike Francis anchor the offensive line for the Cougars.

On the Defensive side of the ball, Romano has been a terror to opposing offenses from his LB spot where he has racked up 88 tackles and a team-high 3 sacks. Evan Herzig’s 66 tackles is second on the team in tackles with 66. Herzig is also tied for second on the team in sacks with Jamie Stevenson with two apiece. Luke Valerio leads the secondary with 44 tackles, while Delaney is second on the team behind Delaney (5) with 3 interceptions.

#5 Garnet Valley (9-3, 6-3)

About the Jaguars: The Jaguars may have dropped down to 5A this season but they find themselves in familiar territory back in the District 1 semi-finals. After an uncharacteristic 3-loss regular season the Jaguars have reeled off two straight wins. Last week the Jaguars revenged an earlier in-the-season loss to Strath Haven by knocking out the defending District 1 5A champion Panthers 35-34 with Michael Medici’s extra point being the difference. The Jaguars will now look to enact more revenge when they face the Cougars who handed them a 35-23 defeat back in week 9.

Offensively the Jaguars triple option attack is led by QB Luke O’Donoghue who has rushed for 659 yards on 98 carries and 9 touchdowns. O’Donoghue who is signed to play lacrosse at Robert Morris University has completed 59.6 percent of his passes (96-161) for 1837 yards and 22 touchdowns. Gavin Rossello is second on the team in rushing having carried the ball 91 times for 576 yards and 7 touchdowns. Anthony Gifford, Paxton Hunt and Luke Vaughn all four rushing touchdowns on the season. Caden Koehler is by far the leading receiver for the Jaguars his 52 catches triples that of Hunt who is second on the team with 16 catches. Koehler has 984 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.

Defensively, Hunt leads the Jaguars in tackles with 104 tackles including 5 TFL. Chase Britton has been a terror at the Linebacker position racking up 85 tackles. Chase is the oldest son of Cougars head coach Chris Britton. Ursinus Baseball commit Nolan Caroll leads the Jaguar secondary with a team-high 4 interceptions to go along with 64 tackles.

#6 Upper Dublin Cardinals @ #2 West Chester Rustin Golden Knights

#2 West Chester Rustin (11-1, 5-0)

About the Golden Knights: Fresh off a dominate dismantling of the #2 PFN ranked team in Pennsylvania Chester, avenging last year’s District 1 semi-final lose, the Knights strong running game, along with it’s efficient passing game hopes to advance to the District 1 finals. The one aspect of Coach St. Clair’s team that somehow gets overlooked is it’s hard hitting, aggressive defense. In last week’s game against the Clippers, the Knight’s smothering defense forced 7 fumbles recovering 5, to put away the game by halftime. The defense gave up one long run for a touchdown, that would be the only points the defense would surrender.

The defense is led by strong safety Chase Hatton, who also leads the high-powered offense. Hatton is regarded as one of, if not the best two-way player in Southeastern Pa. The lynchpin of the Knights is a feared hitter who has wreaked havoc on offenses all season long. The defense has allowed a paltry 6 points per game. The Rustin defense has allowed 14 points just twice, in their only loss to Downingtown West, who is a 6A semi-finalist, and West Chester Henderson their crosstown rivals.

#6 Upper Dublin (9-3, 6-1)

About the Cardinals: The Cardinals beat the eleventh-seeded Longhorns of Unionville 31-21 in round one. Senior Jordan Fields went off for 177 yards on the ground and three scores in the victory. The Cards then took care of business against the third-seeded Phantoms of Phoenixville, in their 35-28 victory. Senior quarterback Kevin Etkin completed 63% of his passes for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver and Captain, Ryan O’Sullivan caught 14 balls for 137 yards and three of those touchdowns.  They finished 6-1, in a three-way tie for first in the SOL-Continental conference with 6A Quakertown and 6A Souderton during the regular season. Both schools qualified for the 6A playoffs. The only losses on the Card’s schedule came to 6A schools CB South (10-0), CB West (8-2), & Souderton (7-3). The Cards are currently averaging 26.8 points per game and yielding 21.1 points per game to opposing offenses. Senior quarterback Kevin Etkin leads the passing attack with 1,719 yards and 18 touchdowns while only throwing one interception. Kevin has completed 65% of his passes. Junior running back Ronald Shepherd leads all rushers with 1,004 yards on 149 attempts. He has also rushed for a team-leading 11 touchdowns. Senior Jordan Fields is second on the team with 571 yards on 92 attempts while scoring six touchdowns. Senior Ryan O’Sullivan leads all revivers in receptions (53), yards (661), and receiving touchdowns (7). Senior Eric Berman has hauled in 24 balls for 361 yards and four touchdowns. The defense is led by O’Sullivan, who currently has 88 total tackles. Junior Shane Greenberg is second on the squad with 78 total tackles. Junior defensive end Justin Waugh leads the team in sacks with eight. a host of UD players are tied for the lead in interceptions with seven players each having one.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews