South Park vs. Central Clarion PIAA Class AA State Semifinal Preview
Tagged under: District 7, District 9, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Shane Lux | November 28, 2024
South Park Eagles vs. Central Clarion Wildcats
Friday November 29th, 7 PM @ Farrell High School
About the South Park Eagles
Record: 12-1
Conference: WPIAL Allegheny
Head Coach: Brian Abbey
Players to Watch:
Quarterback: Robert Lenzi. 674 passing yards, 910 rushing yards, 19 total touchdowns.
Running Back: Eric Doerue. 1865 rushing yards, 101 receiving yards, 27 touchdowns.
Wide Receiver: Kenyan Brown. 567 rushing yards. 15 receptions, 221 yards. eight total touchdowns.
Summary:
South Park won their first WPIAL title since 2005 with a 21-14 victory over previously unbeaten Seton-LaSalle. The Eagles are led by their rushing attack. And why not? South Park features two Division 1 offensive linemen, the twins of Parker and Troy Cunningham. Parker has committed to James Madison, while Troy also has Division 1 offers. Those two have helped pave the way for tailback Eric Doerue, who has rushed for a team-high 1865 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Eagles also have rushing threats in quarterback Robert Lenzi, 910 yards, and Kenyan Brown, 567 yards. South Park has the state final in 1997 and 2005.
About the Central Clarion Wildcats
Record: 13-0
Conference: District 9 Region 1
Head Coach: Dave Eggleton
Players to Watch:
Quarterback: Jase Ferguson. 3,133 passing yards, 49 touchdowns. 1267 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.
Running back: Noah Harrison. 489 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
Wide Receiver: Ethan Rex. 318 rushing yards, four touchdowns. 72 receptions, 821 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns.
Wide Receiver: Mason Burford. 42 receptions, 933 yards, 15 touchdowns.
Summary:
Central Clarion returns to Farrell two weeks after defeating the District 10 champions 41-6 on their home field, looking to punch their ticket to the state finals. No District 9 school has ever made the state championship in a classification above 1 A. The Wildcats are looking to become only the fourth District 9 school to advance to the state finals since the state tournament began in 1988. In contrast, The WPIAL has won 57 state football titles. Ironically, two of those 57 titles were won by Farrell, who defeated Southern Columbia 6-0 in 1995 and 14-12 in 1996. Farrell has been in District 10 since 2006. District 9’s other appearances in the state finals were Keystone in 1989, losing to Dunmore 57-18, Smethport in 1992, fell to Scotland School 24-7, and most recently, Redbank Valley in 2021, who came up short, 21-14 to Bishop Guilfoyle. District 9 has had some success against the WPIAL in the state football playoffs, as the three schools that made the state final each had semifinal victories over the WPIAL champion. Keystone beat Clairton 15-14. Smethport knocked off Rochester 6-0, and Redbank Valley topped Bishop Canevin 23-14. The last time a District 9 school made the state semifinals in a classification other than Class A was Bradford in 2003, losing 37-7 to Pine-Richland.
The 2A state final is scheduled for Friday, December 6th, at 1 pm at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Stadium.
The winner will play either District 4’s Troy or District 2’s Riverside.
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