YORK, Pa. — The District 3 Class 5A playoffs continue with a pair of semifinal showdowns Friday night.
On one side of the bracket, eighth-seeded Hershey -- fresh off its 34-28 triumph over No. 1 seed New Oxford -- visits Ephrata, which is making its first visit to the semifinals since 1987.
On the other side, defending district champion Cocalico, the No. 3 seed this year, will visit second-seeded Cedar Cliff.
Here's a look at both matchups.
Hershey (9-3) at Ephrata (11-1)
Friday, 7 p.m.
ABOUT HERSHEY: The Trojans stunned top-seeded New Oxford in last Friday's quarterfinals, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 45 seconds left when Angel Cabrera found the end zone for the third time with a 10-yard plunge.
Cabera, the Trojans' imposing senior, rushed for 231 yards on 39 carries in the victory.
Hershey benefitted from two controversial calls in the latter stages of the game, according to one post-game account.
Cabrera's final TD run was set up by a roughing the punter call earlier in the drive. And New Oxford had a potential go-ahead touchdown pass from Idriz Ahmetovic to Brennan Holmes nullified by a late flag on Ahmetovic, who was deemed across the line of scrimmage when he released the ball. A 39-yard Hail Mary attempted after the five-yard walkoff fell incomplete to end the game.
But no matter how it happened, Hershey is moving on. Cabrera's impressive outing against New Oxford boosted his season totals to 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns on 308 carries. He is the main cog in a ground attack that averages just over 250 yards per game.
Sophomore QB Cam Sweeney has completed 49 of 87 passes for 842 yards and eight scores and has 307 yards and three TDs on the ground. Senior Derek Guzman has a team-high 30 catches for 633 yards and eight TDs for the Trojans.
Hershey has won three straight and four of its last five games. The Trojans' only losses in the regular season came to fellow 5A semifinalist Cedar Cliff (41-21), Class 4A powerhouse Bishop McDevitt (42-7) and crosstown rival Lower Dauphin (21-14 in OT).
Hershey is seeking its second district title. The Trojans won a Class 2A crown in 1984. This is their first trip to the semifinals since 2007.
ABOUT EPHRATA: One week after recording the first district playoff victory in program history with a 14-13 win over Lower Dauphin, the fifth-seeded Mountaineers upended No. 4 Garden Spot 31-10 in the quarterfinals last week, avenging a 42-22 loss to the Spartans in the regular season. That regular-season loss was the only time Ephrata tasted defeat.
Quarterback Sam McCracken threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns to lead Ephrata in its rematch with the Spartans. He completed 16 of 28 pass attempts. Angel Collazo and Nick Keller combined for eight catches, 187 yards and all four TDs for the Mounts, while Brayden Brown rushed for 101 yards on 24 carries. Ephrata's defense held Garden Spot to 255 yards and forced four turnovers in the victory.
McCracken is the key figure in an offense that averages 383 yards and 39.2 points a game this season. He's completed 124 of 256 passes for 2,128 yards and 22 touchdowns with four interceptions. Brown has 1,209 yards and 11 scores to lead the ground attack, while Collazo (35-574, five TDs), Keller (25-638, seven TDs) and Jeremiah Knowles (35-507, six TDs) are all dangerous receivers for the Mounts.
Ephrata has won six straight games since its regular-season loss to Garden Spot.
Cocalico (10-1) at Cedar Cliff (10-1)
Friday, 7 p.m.
ABOUT COCALICO: The Eagles opened defense of their district title with a 42-10 victory over Conestoga Valley in the quarterfinals last week. It was the eighth straight victory for Cocalico, whose only loss is a 48-28 setback against Class 4A contender Manheim Central in a Week 3 rivalry game.
The Eagles spotted CV early leads of 7-0 and 14-7, but broke the game open with a 21-0 explosion in the third quarter. Brayden Eppinette opened the second half by returning the kickoff 87 yards for a score, followed by two touchdown runs by Sam Steffey, who found the end zone three times in all for Cocalico.
The Eagles won the game without attempting a single pass, racking up 277 yards. Steffey had 80 yards on 16 carries, while Aaryn Longenecker rushed for 101 yards on 11 attempts. QB Josh Myer had 47 yards on 12 carries for Cocalico.
Longenecker has 1,053 yards and 12 scores to lead the way for the Eagles, while Steffey has 821 yards and 16 TDs on 132 attempts. Myer (112-596, 11 TDs) and Dane Horning (81-553, eight TDs) are also dangerous runners for Cocalico, which averages 319 yards per game on the ground.
Myer has attempted just 34 passes all season, completing 12 for 245 yards and two TDs.
The Eagles won their fourth district title last year and have a 31-19 record in 24 district playoff appearances.
ABOUT CEDAR CLIFF: The second-seeded Colts opened their playoff run with a 31-7 rout of South Western in the quarterfinals, riding strong performances by QB Bennett Secrest and RB Erik Schriver. Secrest threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns and added 79 yards on the ground, while Schriver had 107 rushing yards and a score for Cedar Cliff, which won its sixth straight game.
The only team to knock off the Colts this year is defending District 3 Class 4A champ Bishop McDevitt; the undefeated Crusaders hammered Cedar Cliff 48-7 back in Week 5.
This season, Secrest has completed 92 of 159 passes for 1,269 yards and 14 touchdowns with just two interceptions and is second on the team in rushing with 482 yards and seven touchdowns. Schriver is the lead back, with 1,243 yards and 18 scores on 184 attempts.
Cedar Cliff's top wideout is Nathan Lusk (22-332, three TDs), but the Colts have spread the ball around all year. There are five players with at least 10 catches and nine different receivers have found the end zone for Cedar Cliff this season.
This is the first time Cedar Cliff and Cocalico have met in the playoffs since 2019, when the Eagles defeated the Colts to capture the Class 5A title. Cedar Cliff is 15-14 in 18 playoff appearances and is looking for its fourth championship. The Colts' three previous titles came in 1987, 1988 and 1996.