Picks and Predictions: Playoffs Week 3

Standings:

Name; Last Week; Overall

Andy Shay:16-2; 180-50

Andy Sandrik: 15-3; 177-53

Adam Kulikowski: 15-3; 174-56

PIAA Class A First Round: 

Line Mountain vs. Lackawanna Trail at Shamokin High School, Saturday, November 15, 1

Andy Shay: Line Mountain 20, Lackawanna Trail 13: From my chair victory for the Eagles will be centered on a defense that has found a fourth and fifth gear the last couple weeks. In November that matters.

Andy Sandrik: Line Mountain 21, Lackawanna Trail 13: The Eagles picked up some kind of big-time win over Montgomery last week, landing 11.5 tackles for loss in the process. Line Mountain will need more of that to slow down LT running back Isaac Ryon, who has more than 2,600 rushing yards this season.

Adam Kulikowski: Line Mountain 28, Lackawanna Trail 21: Growing up in the Northeastern PA area, I know the pedigree of the Lackawanna Trail program well. Finding space to break loose in this Eagle’s D will test their mettle. 

PIAA Class 2A First Round: 

Steelton-Highspire 52, Chestnut Ridge 20

Andy Shay:  Steel-High 39, Chestnut Ridge 14: All systems are go for the Rollers right now it seems. Formula that will overwhelm CR early and often.

Andy Sandrik: Steelton-Highspire 28, Chestnut Ridge 9: I get the sense that the Lions are a little outgunned in this spot.

Adam Kulikowski: Steelton-Highspire 34, Chestnut Ridge 14: We heard all year that the Rollers are a building program. Looks like the construction has been completed from my vantage point.

District 3 Class 3A:

Berks Catholic vs. Trinity at ELCO High School, Friday, November 14, 7

Andy Shay: Trinity 28, Berks Catholic 14: This will be some old-school high school football at its finest. This will be the T-Rocks’ 13th game of the season and they have surrendered fewer than 150 total points.

Andy Sandrik: Trinity 35, Berks Catholic 27: Trinity RB Brandon Harris came alive last week with a season-high 209 yards. Running the ball and playing hard defense are exactly what the Shamrocks need to do to advance past this round.

Adam Kulikowski: Trinity 24, Berks Catholic 21: That quality defense the ‘Rocks possess will pay huge dividends down the stretch in this tightly contested match up. 

District 3 Class 4A: 

No. 1 Susquehanna Twp. 37, No. 4 Wyomissing 35

Andy Shay: Wyomissing 28, Susquehanna Township 24: Until somebody in District 3 knocks the Spartans off their mountain I refuse to pick against them in this scenario. Indians have ALL the ingredients to make that happen, but picking them is a bridge too far for me.

Andy Sandrik: Susquehanna Township 28, Wyomissing 27: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been burned on this pick ‘em panel by making the homer pick against Wyomissing in the postseason. This isn’t a homer pick, the Tribe deserve to be favored here.

Adam Kulikowski: Susquehanna Twp. 31, Wyomissing 28: Tribe have the ability to force Wyo into uncomfortable situations if they can stake themselves to an early lead. 

No. 3 Twin Valley 40, No. 2 West York 14

Andy Shay: Twin Valley 49, West York 21: And the score might end up being the closest thing about this one as the Raiders offense is a machine that NOBODY has slowed down.

Andy Sandrik: Twin Valley 48, West York 24: I think West York is in trouble when the Raiders, averaging more than 54 points per game, come into town on Friday.

Adam Kulikowski: Twin Valley 55, West York 21: Until someone can show me a blueprint to stop the Raiders, I’ll take my chances pushing them forward in my bracket. 

District 3 Class 5A: 

No. 4 Solanco 43, No. 1 New Oxford 12

Andy Shay: Solanco 42, New Oxford 28: This will be a two-headed beast of a running attack for Solanco that I’m not sure the No. 1 seeded Colonials have seen or are capable of slowing them down enough to keep up. 

Andy Sandrik: Solanco 35, New Oxford 21: The Golden Mules have two 1,000-yard rushers in Kris Burgos Wise and Johnny Garcia. Can the duo trip up the No. 1-seeded Colonials?

Adam Kulikowski:  New Oxford 28, Solanco 27: Finding a way to slow the Golden Mules aforementioned duo could present a problem, but I see Luke Frey’s ability to get the ball downfield to his playmakers as an underrated weapon.  The senior’s thrown for more than 1,300 yards and has taken care of the rock, committing just two INTs.

No. 3 Bishop McDevitt 42, No. 7 Exeter Township 0

Andy Shay: Bishop McDevitt 42, Exeter Township 14: Just feels to me like a game where the Eagles will need help from the Crusaders to keep in touch. And McD has been very efficient overall for several weeks. 

Andy Sandrik: Bishop McDevitt 35, Exeter Township 21: The Crusaders found another gear last weekend when they crushed a really good Mechanicsburg by 40 points. That’s not great news for Exeter Township.

Adam Kulikowski: Bishop McDevitt 41, Exeter Township 14: Crusaders are playing their best ball of the season when it matters most.

District 3 Class 6A: 

No. 1 Central York 42, No. 4 Wilson 7

Andy Shay: Central York 28, Wilson 22: Something tells me this is a tight squeeze all the way and I’ll take it one step further and say the Panthers come from behind in the second half to keep playing.

Andy Sandrik: Central York 21, Wilson 14: Tough pick, but I think the high-flying Panthers get the job done with QB Brooklyn Nace leading the way.

Adam Kulikowski: Wilson 27, Central York 26: The Bulldogs certainly enter this match up as the underdogs, but we all know the pedigree of the Wilson program and their staff’s ability to maximize its opportunity. 

No. 3 Manheim Township at No. 1 Harrisburg at Harrisburg High School, Saturday, November 15, 1 

Andy Shay: Harrisburg 30, Manheim Township 10: Just hard to see a scenario where the Blue Streaks get the 21 points they need before the fourth quarter to make this a game down the stretch. Cougars defense is LEGIT.

Andy Sandrik: Harrisburg 26, Manheim Township 21: Only one of Harrisburg’s last eight opponents has been able to put up double-digit points against the Cougars. The Blue Streaks will do that, but I think Harrisburg’s defense has the final say in this one.

Adam Kulikowski: Harrisburg 31, Manheim Township 21: Cougars have committed 10 picks in the last six games. That’s playing with fire. Just not sure this is the week turnovers bite HGB.

PIAA 1st Round: 

State College vs. Wilkes-Barre at Milton High School, Saturday, November 15, 1

Andy Shay: State College 34, Wilkes-Barre 21: This will be a challenge for the Little Lions defense for sure. Feels like they have the pieces on defense to make a difference.

Andy Sandrik: State College 32, Wilkes-Barre 28: The Little Lions will be challenged by the skills of Wolfpack QB Jake Howe, who’s piled up nearly 2,600 passing yards and 26 TD passes against eight interceptions.

Adam Kulikowski: State College 35, Wilkes-Barre 17: The Wolfpack’s gunslinger offense could present a new challenge to the Little Lions, from this seat I see a secondary capable of keeping the air attack under wraps.