YORK, Pa. — The District 3 Class 4A football playoffs continue Friday night with four quarterfinal games.
Two-time defending champ Lampeter-Strasburg returns to defend its crown as the No. 2 seed behind top-seeded Bishop McDevitt. Those teams appear to be on a collision course, but they'll have to fight their way through a tough field of contenders to meet in the final.
Here's a look at Friday night's matchups.
Northern (7-3) at Bishop McDevitt (8-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Rocco Ortenzio Stadium, Harrisburg
ABOUT NORTHERN: The Polar Bears advanced to the quarterfinals with a 28-22 victory over Octorara in last week's first round. The Braves gave Northern everything it could handle, rallying from a 28-6 deficit to pull within six points in the fourth quarter. But the Polar Bears converted a key 4th-and-1 during a six-minute drive that allowed them to run out the clock and escape with a hard-fought victory.
Talon Balluscio rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown for Northern, while Cole Bartrum added 51 rushing yards and two scores.
Northern finished third in the Mid-Penn Colonial race in the regular season. The Polar Bears have won three of their last four games. Their regular-season losses came against Spring Grove (39-7), Shippensburg (21-3) and Waynesboro (6-0).
Balluscio and Bartrum have combined for 1,334 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground for Northern, while QB Timmy Bonin has 973 yards and 11 touchdowns on 64-of-117 passing.
ABOUT BISHOP McDEVITT: The Mid-Penn Keystone champions are riding an eight-game winning streak into the quarterfinals. McDevitt's only loss was a 21-0 setback against Philly-area powerhouse La Salle College in its season opener.
Since that game, the Crusaders have vanquished their opponents by an average margin of 56 points per game and posted four shutouts. The only team to score more than two touchdowns against McDevitt is Red Land, which lost 56-14 to the Crusaders on Oct. 22.
Freshman QB Stone Saunders has completed 91 of 134 passes for 2,083 yards and 34 touchdowns to lead the McDevitt offense. Marquese Williams (89-1,183, 19 TDs) and Cyncir Bowers (45-707, five TDs) are a formidable duo on the ground, while senior Mario Easterly (32-672, 10 TDs) leads a potent group of receivers.
McDevitt is gunning for its 15th district title and its first since 2017.
Cocalico (6-4) at Berks Catholic (6-4)
Friday, 7 p.m. at the Forino Athletic Complex, Reading
ABOUT COCALICO: The Eagles finished in a three-way tie for first place in the L-L League Section 2 race during the regular season and were idle last week after earning a first-round bye.
It's been an up-and-down season for Cocalico, which was 2-3 at the season's midway point after fighting through a brutal early season schedule. The Eagles lost to district playoff qualifiers Cedar Cliff (33-27), Governor Mifflin (56-0) and Manheim Township (48-21) during that early stretch.
But the Eagles rebounded to win four of their last five games. Their only loss was a 42-20 loss to another playoff qualifier -- Manheim Central -- over that span.
Cocalico relies heavily on its ground game, which averages 298.6 yards per game. L-L League rushing leader Anthony Bourassa does most of the heavy lifting for the Eagles; he's rushed for 1,873 yards and 23 touchdowns on 217 carries.
Cocalico is chasing its fourth district title. Their last championship came in 2019, when they bested Cedar Cliff for the Class 4A crown.
ABOUT BERKS CATHOLIC: The Saints were also off last week after finishing fourth in a stacked Berks I-C Section 1 race. BC lost two of its last three regular-season games, falling to Exeter Township (33-21) and Governor Mifflin (42-13) over that stretch. The Saints' other losses came against Central Dauphin (41-22) and Malvern Prep (37-7) early in the season.
BC's offense relies heavily on the efforts of senior RB Christian Caccione, who has rushed for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns on 142 carries. Junior Josiah Jordan (77-679, eight TDs) and senior Luke Hughes (97-465, seven TDs) are also key contributors on the ground.
BC is looking for its fifth district title. The Saints made seven straight championship game appearances from 2013 to 2019, winning Class 4A titles in 2016 and 2017 and Class 2A crowns in 2013 and 2015.
Big Spring (8-3) at Lampeter-Strasburg (9-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Pioneer Field, Lampeter
ABOUT BIG SPRING: After a third-place finish in the Mid-Penn Capital race during the regular season, the 10th-seeded Bulldogs opened the playoffs last week with a 49-35 upset of No. 7 Conrad Weiser in the first round.
Big Spring overcame a huge night from Weiser QB and Dartmouth recruit Logan Kirsch, who threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns. His efforts were negated by the Big Spring trio of Dillon Wakefield, Ethan Eisenberg, and Connor Black.
Eisenberg finished with 282 total yards — 220 passing, 62 rushing — and scored four touchdowns. Wakefield rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns, while Black turned his three catches into 102 yards and three scores.
Eisenberg has 1,590 yards and 22 touchdowns on 75-of-129 passing this season, while Wakefield has rushed for 1,295 yards and 21 scores.
Big Spring has won three of its last four games. The Bulldogs are chasing their first district title.
ABOUT LAMPETER-STRASBURG: The Pioneers were idle last week after capturing the L-L League Section 3 title in the regular season.
L-S is trying to capture its third straight district championship. The Pioneers won the gold in 2019 and last year under coach John Manion, who stepped down at the end of last season, after L-S bowed out of the state playoffs with a 39-35 loss to Jersey Shore in the semifinals.
In 2019, L-S also reached the state semis before falling to eventual champ Thomas Jefferson.
Manion's replacement, Victor Ridenour, has L-S humming right along this season. After dropping a 45-22 decision to Warwick in their season opener, the Pioneers have won nine in a row and have scored at least 42 points in their last six games.
QB Berkeley Wagner has completed 68 of 126 passes for 1,150 yards and 13 touchdowns and leads the team in rushing with 658 yards and 14 scores.
Donegal (7-2) at Kennard-Dale (9-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Kennard-Dale HS, Fawn Grove
ABOUT DONEGAL: The sixth-seeded Indians earned a first-round bye after finishing in a second-place tie with Garden Spot behind L-S in the L-L League Section 3 race. Donegal lost 55-0 to the Pioneers on Oct. 8, and dropped a 14-7 decision to neighborhood rival Elizabethtown in its season opener.
Donegal relies on a familiar formula for its offensive success; the Indians are going to run the ball, run it again, and then run it some more. They've attempted just 50 passes all season, while their ground game has generated an average of 221 yards per game.
Jon Holmes (62-616, seven TDs) and Noah Rohrer (95-580, seven TDs) do most of the work in the backfield, but Donegal has five players that have logged at least 30 carries this season. QB Landon Baughman has completed 27 of 50 passes for 493 yards and seven scores.
Donegal is making its seventh playoff appearance. The Indians have never won a title, but have made it to the finals twice.
ABOUT KENNARD-DALE: The Rams are in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history. They captured the YAIAA Division II title for the first time and are carrying a nine-game winning streak into Friday's quarterfinal. Their only loss was an 18-16 setback to Octorara in the season opener.
Like Donegal, K-D relies primarily on its rushing attack, with several players chipping in. Steven Lukes (53-769, 10 TDs) and Micah Partee (102-647, eight TDs) carry most of the load, but three other players have at least 50 rushing attempts.
The Rams average 295.5 yards per game on the ground. QB Jacob Copenhaver has thrown just 39 passes all year. His 17 completions have accounted for 477 yards and three scores.
This is the Rams' fourth district playoff appearance.
