District VI -The Road to Mansion Park Part I

Tagged under: District 6, News

Greg Ricupero | August 8, 2020

District VI PIAA FOOTBALL Preseason Review “The Road to Mansion Park” Part 1
By Greg Ricupero

As I write this, we are all unsure of what will happen with the 2020 high school football season. I’m choosing to stay positive. First, a little bit about me. I’m 56 years old and have lived in Pennsylvania all my life. I started going to high school football games when I was 5 with my dad. He had season tickets to Indiana High School for years. They were my team until I moved to Carlisle in the early 2000s. I became a big Cumberland Valley fan. My friend “Smithy” and I would travel on over. Fast forward my life to more recent times. My kids are raised and I found out I have more fun rooting for all the teams as opposed to having a favorite. I also found out I enjoy the smaller schools more than the larger schools. I started going to like 50 games a year. I was blessed to run into a great guy last year (Billy Splain). He gave me a chance to write for this website.

District VI breakdown 46 schools(Playoff Spots)
6A-3(1)
5A-2(1)
4A-3(3)
3A-5(4)
2A-13(7)
1A-20(12)

There are only 8 schools in District VI among the top three classifications.
There are three 6A schools in the district. The two biggest schools in the district Altoona & State College play in the very competitive Mid -Penn Commonwealth Division.

Predicted finish & 2019 Records

1.State College(11-2) The Little Lions should compete with Harrisburg & Central Dauphin for the league championship. RB/S Dre Green a Division 1 prospect who rushed for 1200 yards will lead a talented Lion team on both sides of the ball.
2. Mifflin County(3-7) The Huskies play in the Mid-Penn Colonial. They will probably finish in the middle of the pack & have a very tough non-conference schedule.
3.Altoona(1-9) The Mountain Lions look to improve on a one win season. Senior quarterback Marcus Day hopes to improve on a good junior season.

State College is easily the class of 6A in District VI and could go deep into the state playoffs.

5A has only two teams, Hollidaysburg & Central Mountain.

1.Hollidaysburg(6-5) The Golden Tigers should be competitive again. They have a patchwork schedule playing teams from Pittsburgh, Erie & Maryland. They will be led by Bryce Martellacci who was the team’s leader in passing & receiving yards and second in rushing.
2.Central Mountain(1-9) The Wildcats play in the Heartland Division. Junior running back Ryan Pentz will try to improve on his sophomore season when he led the team in rushing.

Hollidaysburg is easily the class of 5A in district VI.

4A consists of three teams.

1.Bellefonte(9-3) The Red Raiders should compete for the Mountain League title. Senior quarterback/middle linebacker Ethan Rossman will look to lead them back to the 4A championship.
2.Juniata(4-7) The Indians will play in the Mid-Penn Liberty League. Junior quarterback Jacob Condo a 1200 yard passer returns.
3.Greater Johnstown(1-9) see Part II

Bellefonte is easily the class of 4A.

To be continued……

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