PIAA playoff games to watch in Bucks County high school football
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The high school football playoffs in Bucks County continue as we enter the third week of postseason action.
Only five area teams are still going and two of them, Neshaminy and North Penn, play each other in the PIAA District One Class 6A semifinals.
We’ll look at all four playoff games this weekend with the seeding and record of each team in parentheses.
Here we go:
PIAA District One Class 6A semifinals
(4) Coatesville (10-2) at (1) Pennridge (11-1)
The last time these two teams met, in the district semifinals in 2020 (a season hindered by Covid), this year’s seniors were in the seventh grade.
Pennridge won that wild game, at home, 36-33, before falling to Souderton in the district final a week later.
Skip ahead to now, and the winner will face the (11) Neshaminy/(2) North Penn winner in next week’s title game. If the Rams win, they would host the championship game. A loss would end the season for Coatesville while Pennridge would start preparing for its annual Thanksgiving morning game against archrival Quakertown if it loses.
Last week, the Rams fell behind No. 8 Downingtown East 3-0 before touchdown runs from senior running back Ryan Rowe and senior quarterback Noah Keating gave Pennridge a 14-3 lead at the half.
Pennridge, which only allowed the Cougars 86 yards of total offense, sealed the game by scoring on its opening drive of the third quarter (a 6-yard run from senior Will Dougherty) to go up 21-3 and eventually won 21-9.
The Red Raiders, who are playing in the district semifinals for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons, reached this point by blanking Council Rock South 14-0 in their quarterfinal matchup last week.
Sophomore running back Andre Watson, who ran for a game-high 136 yards, had scoring runs of 40 and 44 yards to highlight Coatesville’s offense. He’s aided by junior left tackle (and defensive lineman) Max Hiller, a 6-6, 300-pound force who’s being recruited by Alabama, Penn State and Clemson among lots of others.
(11) Neshaminy (9-3) at (2) North Penn (10-2)
Neshaminy, which beat North Penn 18-14 in Week Four, is in the district semifinals for the first time since 2015. Neshaminy’s last district title of three came in 2013 when it beat North Penn in the championship game.
North Penn, which reached the district title game a year ago, has won seven district titles with the last one coming in 2016.
Last week, Neshaminy fell behind No. 14 Owen J. Roberts 21-7 midway through the second quarter before erupting for six straight touchdowns in what turned out to be a 49-21 blowout win.
Three straight touchdown passes from senior quarterback Michael Eckart to senior Mike Sassano (twice) and senior running back Carter Clee gave Neshaminy the lead for good and Eckart followed that with a rushing score to help put the game away.
The Knights, who have won seven straight games since a Week Five loss to Pennridge, fell behind Souderton 7-0 early before earning a 17-14 lead by halftime.
Then, North Penn scored a pair of quick touchdowns in the third quarter, the first on a 32-yard run by junior Rylei Gray and the second on a Gray to senior Matt Pownall halfback option from 31 yards out to help seal the outcome.
District 12 Class 6A championship game
La Salle (9-1) vs. Imhotep (8-4), Saturday, 3 p.m. at Northeast HS
The Explorers haven’t played since defeating Saint Joseph’s Prep 24-14 in the Philadelphia Catholic League Red Division title game two weeks ago.
In that game, which ended the Hawks’ run of three straight PIAA titles, La Salle senior quarterback Gavin Sidwar, a Missouri recruit, threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another.
The Explorers will face an Imhotep Charter team that is coming off a 16-0 win over Abraham Lincoln in the Philadelphia Public League title game last week. That win avenged a 26-25 loss to the Railsplitters from three weeks earlier.
Defense ruled the day for the Panthers in their win last week as they forced a safety and also saw senior linebacker Jordan Smith return an interception 101 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter.
PIAA Class 2A first-round playoffs
(12-1) Lansdale Catholic (10-2) vs. (2-1) Lakeland (11-1), Saturday, 1 p.m. at Germantown Supersite
The Crusaders, who reached this game last year before falling to Riverside of District Two, rode the talents of senior quarterback Boa Cobbold to capture the PIAA District One/12 Class 2A regional final 49-21 over Bristol last week.
Cobbold, an Akron commit, ran for 111 yards and four touchdowns and threw another two touchdown passes as the Crusaders pulled away in the second half (they led 27-21 at halftime) for the win.
This season, Cobbold has thrown for over 1,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Braeden Smith, who also caught a touchdown pass in the win, eclipsed the 100-tackle mark for the second straight season. He has 102 tackles this year after making 105 stops in 2024.
As for Lakeland, whose only loss came against Class 3A Wyoming Area, the Chiefs dominated Dunmore 27-7 to capture the District Two title last week.
In that win, Lakeland QB David Naniewicz ran for two scores and threw for another and running back Rocco Spotaro also scored a rushing touchdown in a game the Chiefs led 21-0 at halftime.
Drew Markol covers local sports for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PIAA playoff games to watch in Bucks County high school football
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