PFN’s Road Trippin’ With Davin: Week 5
Tagged under: District 12, District 4, News, pfn
Davin Ridall | September 25, 2026
Week 5 is here which means we’re already approaching the halfway point of the regular season, man the season sure flies by quickly. We’re starting to get into the good stuff as the midpoint of the regular season comes upon us, with teams starting to catch the stride, and others really finding their identity. This week we’ve got ourselves a nice matchup in District 4 followed up by a District 12 tripleheader coming your way.
Loyalsock Lancers (3-1) vs Mifflinburg Wildcats (2-2)
Friday 9/25, 7:00 PM, Wildcat Stadium
Our Friday matchup brings us out to Wildcat Stadium in Mifflinburg. The Wildcats lost a couple All-State talents in the offseason that led them to their first district title in 2025, those being quarterback Chad Martin and wide receiver Landen Murray. At this point last season, Mifflinburg was 4-0, and they had actually opened up the year with a 47-13 beat down on the road against Loyalsock. Even with those pieces gone, Mifflinburg still has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Their record entering week 5 stands at 2-2, with losses to Shikellamy at home in week 1 and to Bloomsburg on the road in week 3. Mifflinburg led at one point in the game in all 4 of the contests they’ve played in, in week 1 against Shikellamy, they had a 21-12 lead late in the fourth before the Braves pulled off a miraculous comeback. They also led 14-7 after the first quarter against against Bloomsburg and only trailed 17-14 heading into halftime, but mistakes got the better of them and they let the game slip away. With the young talent that the Wildcats have, that is the biggest key for them to come out on top in this matchup is to avoid beating themselves with costly mistakes. Loyalsock’s only loss this season so far has come to that same Bloomsburg team just mentioned, they only lost to them 28-21 at home. Aside from that loss, Loyalsock offensively has been electric, averaging 41.3 points per game in the three contests that they have won, winning those games by an average of 28 points. Loyalsock’s quarterback Dyson Dupont is fresh off of a 6 touchdown performance against Midd-West last week, he has really come into his own after having to replace All-Star quarterback Danny Dowell. Last season’s 47-13 loss to the Wildcats was the first time that Loyalsock had fallen to Mifflinburg since Justin Van Fleet took over as head coach in 2012, they had won the previous 6 matchups prior to 2025. If Loyalsock’s offense continues to perform at the level that it has been showing us all year, they could not only come out of this matchup with a win but also cement themselves as a top contender in District 4’s 3A class. Mifflinburg on the other hand will be looking for their second straight win, and they will also be trying to get back into contention in 3A and defend the district title that they won a season ago.
John Bartram Braves (3-1) vs School of the Future Firebirds (2-2)
Saturday 9/26, 12:00 PM, Germantown Supersite
The first game of our Saturday tripleheader is a matchup between the John Bartram Braves and the School of the Future Firebirds. All three of the Saturday games will be at Germantown Supersite, so there will be no extra traveling necessary, which is good if you’ve looked at the expected weather conditions in the area for Saturday. School of the Future is actually a team that I saw play last year, when they matched up against Executive Education Academy right here in Germantown, falling 42-32 in that matchup. Entering this matchup against John Bartram, the Firebirds hold a record of 2-2, with losses District 1’s Bishop Shanahan and District 12’s Philadelphia Central. The Firebirds opened their season with a 22-12 win over Benjamin Franklin and they are fresh off of a 22-0 shutout victory over Frankford. The Braves enter this matchup with a record of 3-1, with their lone loss coming to that previously mentioned Bishop Shanahan, by a final score of 29-6. Since their opening week loss, John Bartram has won three straight games over Academy of the New Church, Boys Latin Charter, and Philadelphia Central. While both of these teams share a loss to Bishop Shanahan, Bartram has a victory over 6A Philadelphia Central, which was their first loss of the season, while School of the Future lost to that same team 42-12. This will be a game that will likely get sloppy very quickly if the weather does what it’s supposed to do, so look for the running game to be big factors for both teams if the rain starts coming down.
Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters (1-3) vs Imhotep Charter Panthers (3-1)
Saturday 9/26, 3:00 PM, Germantown Supersite
Game number two of our triple header is a matchup between the Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters, and the Imhotep Charter Panthers. This will be my third time this season covering Imhotep Charter, so far they are 2-0 in games where I’ve covered them. Imhotep is currently the #2 ranked team in the entire state of Pennsylvania in the 5A class, sitting only behind District 7’s Pine Richland. The Panthers enter the matchup with a 3-1 record, their lone loss coming against Maryland powerhouse DeMatha Catholic by just a single point. They’ve racked up victories over New Jersey powerhouse Camden, Malvern Prep, and most recently a 42-0 drubbing of Belmont Charter. Abraham Lincoln comes into the matchup with a 1-3 record, with their only win coming this past week against West Philadelphia 48-20. the Railsplitters began the season with three consecutive losses to Maryland’s Bishop NcNamara, New York’s Abraham Lincoln, and District 1’s Coatesville. Last season, these two teams met twice, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. The Railsplitters actually came out on top when these two squads met in the regular season, beating the Panthers in a tightly contested game, 26-25. Imhotep did take down Abraham Lincoln in the District 12 6A title game, winning 16-0. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a good chance the game could get sloppy if the weather conditions are less than ideal, so for Imhotep, we will likely see a heavy dose of running backs Yazid McCorkle and Kassan Chappelle.
George Washington Eagles (0-4) vs Belmont Charter Tigers (1-3)
Saturday 9/26, 7:00 PM, Germantown Supersite
Our third and final game of the Saturday tripleheader is a matchup between the George Washington Eagles and the Belmont Charter Tigers. The Tigers have been tough to judge so far this season, and it is largely due to the uniqueness of their schedule. Belmont is a 1A school, last season they were one of the very best 1A schools in the state, making it all the way to the state semifinals before falling to Bishop Guilfoyle 35-0. This season they were expected to once again be one of the state’s best teams in the 1A class, the issue with that and the same reason why they enter this game with a record of 1-3 has been their schedule. This offseason, the Tigers voluntarily moved up to the Philadelphia Public League Independence Division, a division filled only with 5A and 6A schools. Being the only 1A team in District 12, it was difficult to find similarly sized local opponents, so they opted to fill their schedule with these teams that are 4 or 5 classes above them, including the team they are about to face, George Washington. Belmont opened up their season with a 26-6 win over Neumann-Goretti, but have followed that up with a forfeit loss to New Jersey’s Southern Regional, a 44-8 loss to Maryland powerhouse Fort Hill, and a 42-0 loss to Imhotep Charter, so this Belmont squad has a lot to prove. George Washington is still searching for their first win of the year, they’ve opened up the year with losses to Stroudsburg, Chester, Delaware’s Appoquinimink, and Northeast. In terms of size, the Eagles will obviously have the upper hand over Belmont, being a 6A school facing a 1A school, but this should be an interesting matchup to watch as the Tigers are desperately trying to prove themselves after back to back blowout losses to powerhouses.
You can follow all of these games by following my twitter account @dridallmedia and for coverage of everything Pennsylvania high school football related, follow @PaFootballNews on twitter.
