PIAA District 1 Playoff Preview: 5A
Tagged under: District 1, News, pfn, Playoffs
Michael Pietrangelo | November 2, 2023
The Matchups
#16 Upper Moreland Bears @ #1 Chester Clippers
About the Clippers: The road to the District 1 5A championship starts at Exit 6, where since dropping their season opener to Perkiomen Valley the Chester Clippers have rolled off 9 consecutive victories and landed the top seed in the 5A for the first time in school history. Offensively Sophomore QB Jalen Harris has continued to shine throwing for over 1100 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. His twin Daron 14 catches 461 yards and five touchdowns along with UConn commit Dominic Toy (17-241-4) have been Jalen’s favorite targets. Dayshon Jackson has proven to be dangerous on the ground this season having rushed for 1339 yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively Jerrell Palmer leads the team with 115 tackles. Damond Fitzgerald and Toy are tied for the team lead with 6 sacks. Shamar Williams has been a terror for opposing Quarterbacks having intercepted 4 passes this season.
About the Bears: The Golden Bears enter the district tournament as the 16th seed at 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the SOL-National. They have wins against Interboro, New Hope-Solebury, William Tennent, & Springfield (Montco). The Bears are averaging 20.5 points per game and yielding 17.7 points on the defensive side. Junior QB Alex Foley has completed 57% of his passes for 1,556 yards & 17 TDs. The air seems to be UM’s bread and butter this season as they have 4 different receivers over 200 yards. Aidan Tuffy (23-481-5 TDs), Larry Hughes (21-379-6 TDs), Zion Akinbo (16-234-2 TDs), & Jamir “Trey” Williams (21-213-2 TDs) have all been involved in the passing game. On the Defensive side of the ball Junior Alex Costanzo leads the team in total tackles with 54. He also has 9 TFL & 7 sacks. Senior Colin Cannon is second on team in total tackles with 49.
#15 Great Valley Patriots @ #2 Strath Haven Panthers
About the Panthers: The Panthers enter the postseason coming off a 9-1 regular season which earned them a share of the Central League championship along with Springfield and Garnet Valley. The wing-t rushing attack is led by the trio of Shane Green 128 carries 744 yards 9 touchdowns, James Fisher (113-941-14), and Marco Kaufman (76-436-6). When the Panthers have to go to air Jake Kitchin is more than capable of doing so having thrown for 554 yards and 6 touchdowns compared to 0 interceptions. Defensively Kaufman is a force leading the team with 115 tackles. Sean Henry is second on the team in tackles with 86. Jack Shuster leads the team with two interceptions.
About the Patriots: The Patriots enter the playoffs as the 15th seed and a record of 4-6. Offensively Braeden Melia leads the offense, having thrown for over 1600 yards and 15 touchdowns. Sam Snyder is the team’s leading rusher with 308 yards and 4 touchdowns. Gavin Maslowski is Melia’s favorite target having caught 27 passes for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns. Cole Callahan has hauled in 27 passes for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively Jack Clearfield is a terror up front leading the defense with 67 tackles, Nathan Ricciardi is second on the team with 65 tackles. Tommy Crouse and Ty Callahan lead the defense with 4 and 3 interceptions respectively.
#14 West Chester Henderson Warriors @ #3 Springfield (Delco) Cougars
About the Cougars: One constant in the District One Playoffs has been the Springfield Cougars. The Cougars have been in the playoffs every year under head coach Chris Britton except one 2020 COVID season when the Central League didn’t participate in the playoffs. The 2023 Cougars enter this year’s postseason with a record of 9-1 and are one of three teams to claim a share of the Central League Championship. They also enter as one of the hottest teams having won eight consecutive games since falling to Strath Haven on September 1st. This season the Cougars offense has been led by a potent rushing attack led by a two-headed monster Mike Turner and Nate Romano. Turner has rushed for over 1000 yards this season on 138 carries and 14 touchdowns he also has a kickoff return touchdown. Romano has rushed for 717 yards on 109 carries and 11 touchdowns. Ryan Whitaker has thrown for 355 yards and 5 touchdowns. Ryan Johnson is the team’s leading receiver. Gus Bryan anchors the offensive line. Defensively the Cougars enter playoffs only allowing a mere 8.5 points per game and are led by Romano 51 tackles and Ethan Marshall (38) Chris Dolan and Brain Delaney are tied for the team lead in interceptions with four a piece.
About the Warriors: In just his second season at the helm Bob Brice guided his Warriors to a 4-6 record and the 14th seed. Offensively despite missing half the season with an injury Brady Collins has rushed for over 800 yards on 112 carries and 10 touchdowns. Quarterback Braeden O’Connell has thrown for nearly 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns. Evan Kearney (43 receptions 542 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Seamus Murphy (23-346-5) are the teams leading receivers. Defensively as a team, the Warriors have 26 sacks led by Logan Goodwin who has 13 of them to go along with 2 fumble recoveries. Aaron Nelson is second on the team with 8 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries. Jake Ball leads the team with 3 interceptions followed by Sean Brice with two.
#13 Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ #4 Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
About the Colonials: The Colonials are the 4th seed after finishing 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the SOL-American. Their only loss came at the hands of 6A Quakertown who is the 10th seed. They have now won back-to-back-to-back conference titles. The high-scoring offensive attack is averaging 32.1 points per contest while the defense is only yielding 10.9 a game. Junior QB Caiden Leszczynski leads the team in passing with 641 yards & 8 TDs. The rushing attack is led by Seniors Nayze Boggs (70-878-16 TDs), Luke Winterbottom (79-520-5 TDs), & Junior Everett Baker (38-636-6 TDs). Junior LB Kevin Hegarty anchors the defense with a team-leading 42 total tackles & 14 TFLs. Senior Taeshaun Johnson is second on the team in total tackles with 34. He is also tied for 1st in TFL with 14. He also has a team-high 5 sacks.
About the Hatters: The Hatters head into the district playoffs as the 13 seed with a 5-5 overall record while completing an independent schedule. They have wins against #16 Upper Moreland, Springfield (Montco), Lower Moreland, New Hope-Solebury, & Council Rock North. They lost to Wissahickon, William Tennent, Council Rock South, Bensalem, & Twin Valley. The Hatters are averaging 23.3 points a game offensively. On the defensive side of the ball, they are giving up an average of 21.8 points per game.
#12 Chichester Eagles @ #5 West Chester Rustin Golden Knights
About the Golden Knights: Rustin is coming into the District playoffs after a 8-1 season winning their first ChesMont American title in four years, their only loss came to 6A powerhouse Coatesville. Coach Mike St. Clair’s team is following the familiar path to the playoffs that has become their calling card, run the ball, throw only a few well timed passes and play tough defense. St. Clair chalked up his 150th win in their regular season finale. The offense revolves around QB David McClain, who has a gaudy 9-0 touchdown to interception ratio, the Golden Knights have been without their star running back Chase Hatton, Ryan Loper has taken over the duties as the Knights main ball carrier.
About the Eagles: Chichester finished in second place in the DelVal league with a 5-5 record. Coach Chris Craig’s Eagles are coming off a loss to Bishop Shanahan, the Eagles were depleted losing 6 starters. Chi will need to have big games from QB Elijah Shahadi and running back Bajzhir Reece if they hope to hang with the Golden Knights.
#11 Penncrest Lions @ #6 Marple-Newtown Tigers
About the Tigers: After going just 6-6 in 2022, Marple-Newtown has shaved four losses off that total as they went 8-2 in the regular season this year. The Tigers have some very impressive wins on their resume, including a 23-20 walk-off win to give #2 Strath Haven their only loss of the season back on October 13th. The Tigers beat this Penncrest team just last week by a score of 28-7 thanks to 134 rushing yards by Brian Box on just 11 carries. Along with quarterback Dave Bertoline, Box and this Marple offense averaged 34.3 points a game compared to just 13.5 allowed per game, and they look for a deeper playoff run after they were knocked out in the first round by Chester last season.
About the Lions: What an impressive turnaround it was by Penncrest, who made the playoffs after they went just 1-10 in 2022. Similarly to Marple-Newtown, this Lions team took big strides forward in 2023 and now find themselves at 5-5 and in a playoff game against a Tigers team that got the best of them just a week ago. Injuries will be something to keep an eye on this week as Penncrest quarterback Paul Graham Jr. was hurt in that matchup and was replaced by Zack Mullin, who threw a touchdown to star running back Matt Ferry in his time on the field. The Penncrest offense and defense were fairly balanced this season as they scored 20.6 points per game while allowing 23.1. It’ll be deja vu all over again as these two teams match up once again on the same field for the second straight week with Penncrest looking to rewrite the script this time.
#10 Methacton Warriors @ #7 Upper Dublin Cardinals
About the Cardinals: The Cards head into the playoffs on a two-game skid after 5 victories in a row. The cards finished the regular season 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the SOL-Continental behind 3 6A schools (Souderton, Council Rock South, & Quakertown). The offense is averaging 22.3 points per game. The defense is yielding an average of 20.9 per contest. Junior Kevin Etkin has completed 61% of his passes for 1,199 yards & 5 TDs. The ground game has been a two-headed monster with SR Shyne Roberts (130-1036-17 TDs) & Sophomore Ronald Shepherd (72-490-4 TDs) combining for 1,526 yards & 21 TDs. Senior Swiss Army knife Chris Kohlbrenner leads the receivers with 36 catches for 605 yards & 5 TDs. On the defensive side of the Ball Junior Ryan O’Sullivan leads the team in total tackles with 80 and Senior Chris Kohlbrenner is right behind him with 78. Senior Shyne Roberts leads the team in sacks with 6. Sophomore Justin Waugh is second with 5.
About the Warriors: Methacton is the 10 seed heading into the playoffs with a 6-4 overall record. The Warriors have wins against Pottsgrove, Radnor, Upper Perkiomen, Norristown, Boyertown, & Pottstown. They lost to Plymouth Whitemarsh, Perkiomen Valley, Spring-Ford, & Owen J. Roberts (All of whom qualified for playoffs). Junior QB Kolby Howarth leads the team in passing with 43% of his passes completed for 435 yards & 3 TDs. On the ground he has chipped in an additional 253 yards & 5 TDs. Senior RB Wesley Conover leads the backfield in rushing with 73-369-3 TDs. Senior Anthony Perillo has rushed 63 timed for 259 yards & 6 TDs. On the defensive side of the ball SRs Levi Borkowski (58) & Collin O’Neil (45) combined for 103 total tackles. The offense is averaging 18.7 points per game and the defense is yielding an average of 26.3 points per.
#9 West Chester East Vikings @ #8 Phoenixville Phantoms
About the Phantoms: The Phantoms started their season out strong, defeating their rivals, the Great Valley Patriots, ’42-14 after losing 11 straight to them.’ That started a snowball for the rest of the season going 4-1 in the Pioneer Athletic League (PAL). The took a notable loss to the 5A one-seed, Chester, 34-23, but could have a chance to revenge that if the two meet next week. The Phantoms bounced back from that loss rolling over four straight opponents. They outscored their opponents 169-35. Phoenixville would end up losing their last two games of the season after that. They look to bounce back against a completely revamped West Chester squad, who is unpredictable.
About the Vikings: The Vikings are not a team to be reckoned with. After back-to-back negative seasons in 2021 and 2022. They went 2-8 and 1-9, respectively. The Vikings are a complete team. Sitting at 6-4 going into the playoffs they have a league record of 6-1 in the PAL. They won four games to end the regular season. Their defense in those games only allowed 14 points, two of those four games being shutouts. On the offensive side, they put up 122 points, outscoring their opponents 122-14. The Vikings can continue to dominate their game against Phoenixville as long as their cards are played right.
The game will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. on Nov. 3 at Phoenixville.
Staff Writers: Dylan Johnson,Willie McGonigle,Brendan Ricciardi,Marcus Sic contributed to this article
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