The District 3 Class 4A playoffs continue with the quarterfinal round Friday night.
Top-seeded York Suburban and the rest of the teams seeded in the top six rejoin the fray this week after receiving first-round byes.
Here’s a look at the quarterfinal lineup:
Lampeter-Strasburg (8-3) at York Suburban (10-0)
The visiting Pioneers advanced through the first round with a 34-7 victory over Eastern Lebanon County. Thanks to a handful of big plays on offense and a defensive score on a fumble return, L-S had a 20-0 lead before some fans even settled down to take the first sip of their hot chocolates. Despite the absence of quarterback Connor Nolt, who suffered an injury in the previous game, L-S racked up 392 yards of offense by relying on a ground attack that generated all but 27 of the Pioneers’ total yards and four of their five TDs. Bryan McKim led the way with 158 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts for L-S.
McKim leads the Pioneers with 1,111 yards and 15 TDs on 133 attempts. Alex Knapp, who scored on a 77-yard TD run against Elco, is second on the team with 568 yards and six scores on 66 carries. L-S will have to rely on that duo to carry them, since it’s unlikely Nolt will be back in action Friday night.
York Suburban, the top seed in the bracket, received a first-round bye. The Trojans, who won the YAIAA Division II crown in the regular season, lead the league in offense (358 yards per game), and are second in scoring (40.2 points per game). On the other side of the ball, the Trojans are second in the league in points allowed (12.9 per game) and are eighth in yards allowed (238).
RB Savion Harrison is the main cog in the offense. He’s second among York-Adams rushers, with 1,517 yards and 20 TDs on 166 attempts. QB Max Reinecker missed a handful of games during the season, but has completed 43 of 82 passes for 554 yards and five scores.
L-S and Suburban shared one common opponent in the regular season: West York. The Pioneers blasted the Bulldogs 49-6 in Week 3, while Suburban subdued them 41-10 in Week 9.
Susquehanna Township (7-3) at Bishop McDevitt (7-3)
This is a rematch of a Mid-Penn Keystone Division clash in the final week of the regular season, won 17-13 by McDevitt. That was enough to give the Crusaders the No. 4 seed in the 4A bracket and ensure they had home field advantage for the rematch. Both teams earned a bye through the first round, so this is the first time they’ll be in action since that Week 10 clash.
The win over Hanna was the fifth straight for McDevitt, whose only losses came to Cedar Cliff (20-17), Middletown (6-2) and Cumberland Valley (21-7).
McDevitt’s offense is carried by a trio of underclassmen: junior QB Lek Powell (128-201-6, 1,663 yards, 15 TDs), freshman RB Marquese Williams (121-817, 12 TDs) and sophomore wideout Mario Easterly (51-739, seven TDs).
But it was the Crusader defense that led the way in the first matchup with Hanna; McDevitt held the Indians to just 27 total yards. Both of Hanna’s scores were special teams touchdowns — a 42-yard punt return by Jacob Seigle and an 88-yard kickoff return by Stevie Graves.
Hanna closed out the regular season with back-to-back losses. In addition to their defeat against McDevitt, the Indians fell 21-14 to Cedar Cliff in Week 9. Hanna’s only other loss was a 16-7 defeat against Manheim Central in Week 1.
The Indians’ offense is paced by quarterback Rahsaan Carlton, with Seigle doing damage at running back and Graves doing a little bit of everything.
The Hanna defense is anchored by Penn State commit Fatorma Mulbah up front and Maine recruit Tyshawn Stewart at linebacker.
Conrad Weiser (6-5) at Milton Hershey (9-1)
The Scouts sprung an upset in the first round, beating Berks County neighbor Fleetwood 44-15 to avenge a Week 2 regular-season loss to the Tigers. Quarterback Logan Klitsch threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, completing 8-of-13 pass attempts. He added a one-yard TD run for the Scouts, who also got 104 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns from RB Owen Dautrich.
Klitsch has completed 74 of 133 passes for 1,220 yards and 12 TDs this season for Weiser, while Dautrich leads the ground attack with 737 yards and 17 scores on 142 attempts. Dalton Moyer, who caught two of Klitch’s TD passes last Friday, leads the Scouts in receiving yards (345) and is second in rushing (388). He’s found the end zone eight times in all.
Weiser finished third in the Berks League Section 1 race.
Second-seeded Milton Hershey was idle last week after receiving a bye through the first round. The Spartans captured the Mid-Penn Capital Division championship, holding off runner-up Middletown and third-place Steelton-Highspire, both of whom were playoff qualifiers. Milton Hershey’s only loss of the season was a 20-13 setback against Susquehanna Township in Week 2; the Spartans have won eight straight since.
RB Dion Bryant and QB Tigere Mavesere are two players to watch for the Spartans, who throttled Steel-High 49-27 in their last on-field action. Bryant, one of the Mid-Penn’s most dynamic runners, racked up 175 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries against the Rollers, while Mavesere, who does most of his damage on the ground, rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. He only attempted four passes, but completed two of them, including a 19-yard TD strike to Avohn Cross.
Gettysburg (8-2) at Berks Catholic (6-4)
Don’t let the host Saints’ record mislead you; their schedule was stocked with tough non-league matchups against the likes of Central Dauphin, the McDonough School (an undefeated prep school out of suburban Washington D.C.) and Inter-AC power Malvern Prep — all of whom beat them. BC’s only other loss was a 27-0 Week 10 setback to Wyomissing, who nipped the Saints to claim the Berks League Section 2 title.
The third-seeded Saints received a bye through the first round, so they’ve been stewing on that loss ever since. Wyomissing held BC running back Abdul Macfoy to 55 yards on 11 carries and kept him out of the end zone — something few teams have accomplished this season. Macfoy, a 5-7, 165-pound senior speedster, averaged more than eight yards per carry this season, racking up 708 yards and 11 TDs on 87 carries despite missing one full game and parts of others.
Gettysburg also received a bye through the first round after finishing second to York Suburban in the York-Adams Division II race. The Warriors dropped a 28-9 decision to Bishop McDevitt in Week 2 and fell 30-19 to Suburban in Week 8, but won all their other contests going away. Gettysburg ranked third in the league in scoring (33.7 points per game) and were No. 11 in total offense (297 yards per game), while their defense gave up just 14.6 points and 225 yards per game.
RB Charles Warren led the York-Adams League with 22 touchdowns, and racked up 917 yards on 98 carries. He also led the team in catches (20) and receiving yards (463). QB Zach Ketterman (50-91-3, 842 yards, 11 TDs) is another offensive weapon to contend with for the Warriors.
