Looking for the next

Cumberland Valley's 35-7 loss Saturday night to Wilson in the District 3 Class AAAA semifinals officially ended the high school football season in The Sentinel coverage area.

Before we seek input and break down stats for the All-Sentinel teams, let's take a moment and glimpse ahead to next year.

Early indications are it could be a light one on the West Shore.

History is on the side of at least one area school playing for a district title. Only once since the turn of the century, 2005, has an area team not made the journey to Hersheypark Stadium.

But there are a lot of holes to fill around the area.

Cumberland Valley will lose 20 of 22 starters while Mechanicsburg will need to totally restock its offensive and defensive lines, not to mention a slew of skill people are leaving both CV and Mechanicsburg.

Camp Hill will be without big-name offensive stars Tyler Shover, Jordan Weber, Trevor Polly and Alex Patchin but the Class A field should come back down to earth as Steelton-Highspire, the four-time defending champion, will be without the bulk of its star players.

Trinity should reload but won't have Ted Spinelli, Christian Kuntz, Nick Kindler and Billy Phillipy back.

There's always the chance a team or two will surprise (Northern and West Perry come to mind), but the names and faces that won't be back will leave a void.

One also has to remember the power in other areas of the district. Bishop McDevitt, a semifinalist in 3-AAAA, welcomes back nearly every skill guy. Manheim Central, the 3-AAA finalist, brings a ton back. Lancaster Catholic, the 3-AA champion that is still playing in the state semifinals this weekend, brings back 15 starters.

Class A might be the best chance for an area team to step up and make something happen. But until someone proves otherwise, that road runs through Cottage Hill.

Weather report for Saturday

Will Hersheypark Stadium again resemble a winter wonder land when Cumberland Valley meets Wilson at 6 p.m. Saturday as it did Friday afternoon during the District 3 Class A title game (right)?

That game started with overcast skies before snow moved in during the second quarter, covering the field with a layer of white stuff by halftime. In the third quarter, the sun came out and melted the snow. By the time Steelton-Highspire beat Camp Hill, 49-16, the field was again covered and it felt like a January blizzard in Hershey.

It's still Tuesday night but it looks like there's an outside shot we'll have more winter weather Saturday. According to weather.com, there's a 30 percent chance of rain/snow showers during the afternoon and a high of 42 degrees. When the sun goes down, that chance of precipitation drops to 10 percent and the low dips to 30.

PIAA semifinal sites still up in the air

The good news is that when Cumberland Valley and Wilson take the field at Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday night to decide the District 3 Class AAAA championship, the site for their PIAA semifinal game the following week will be known.

The bad news is that the site won't be known until the State College vs. Bethel Park game goes final Friday night.

PIAA assistant executive director Mark Byers confirmed Monday afternoon that the site depends on what State College, a District 6 school, does. If the Little Lions win, they must travel to Hersheypark Stadium to meet the District 3 winner. This fall, District 3 is at the top of the bracket and thus hosts that game.

If State High falls, the District 3 champion would be sent to Mansion Park in Altoona to meet Bethel Park, the District 7 winner. In cases such as District 7 vs. District 3, the PIAA attempts to find a geographic midway point for the game, Byers said.

In Class AAA, the District 3 winner will head to Altoona next weekend if Thomas Jefferson beats Erie Strong Vincent. If Strong Vincent wins, the District 3 rep, either Manheim Central or West York, will be sent to DuBois or Brockway. Both sites are considered midway between the respective districts, Byers said.

For more on the potential sites, see the District 3 Class AAAA championship notebook in The Sentinel on Thursday.

Class AAAA bracket

Class AAA bracket

Wilson Bulldogs

Here's an early look at Wilson, Cumberland Valley's opponent in the upcoming District 3 Class AAAA football championship game, set to be played at 6 p.m. Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium. The following information, only part of the preview capsule, can be found in The Sentinel on Saturday along with the complete capsule and preview story. Later this week, a story will run each day starting on Thanksgiving and leading up to CV's 13th appearance in the 3-AAAA final.

Wilson facts: Only school not affiliated with the Mid-Penn Conference to win a 3-AAAA title. Program won championships in 1989, ‘90 and ‘99. Beat Cedar Cliff for first title and CV for other two. ... As the No. 12 seed last November, beat Altoona and York William Penn on the road before taking eventual district champion Harrisburg to overtime before losing, 17-14. ... First-team defense, which has allowed one touchdown in its last 11 games, limited Bishop McDevitt to one first down through three-plus quarters in the semifinals Friday. ... Also advanced to semifinals in 2006 before losing to rival Governor Mifflin. ...Vaunted defense has forced 33 turnovers and averages 154.1 yards against. ... The offense, which averages 349.3 yards per game, has totaled at least 151 points in every quarter but the fourth. ... 7-0 record in Section I of the Lancaster-Lebanon League was good for a two-game advantage over Penn Manor. ... 18 of 22 starters are seniors. ... Weaver broke school career tackles record in first round with 320. ... Huber has completed 74 of 136 passes for 1,115 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions ... Groff is leading rusher with 1,488 yards on 166 attempts. Stopper is second at 527. ... Fegley leads receivers with 668 yards on 36 catches for an 18.5 average.

District 3 = Blowout Central

Through this afternoon there have been 42 games in this year's District 3 postseason.

If you've been to one of the close ones, consider yourself fortunate.

For the purpose of this update, we're going to label a 'close' game as one decided by single digits (nine points or fewer).

Of those 42 games, a total of seven have met our criteria for a close game. That's an impressive 16 percent of games decided by single digits.

This weekend, Steelton-Highspire took the Class A title by 33 points (49-16) and Lancaster Catholic captured AA gold via a 41-0 whitewash of Middletown.

In AAAA, Wilson and Cumberland Valley advanced with 48-6 and 44-0 routs of Bishop McDevitt and Governor Mifflin, respectively.

The only close game of the weekend was Manheim Central's 26-21 squeaker over Mechanicsburg on Saturday in the AAA semifinals. The other AAA game was West York's 20-0 win over Garden Spot.

Here's a look at the close games of this year's postseason:

Class AAAA
First Round
Muhlenberg 41, Hempfield 38
Central York 24, Harrisburg 21
Governor Mifflin 31, Central Dauphin 28

Class AAA
First Round
Greencastle-Antrim 42, Kennard-Dale 39
Semifinals
Manheim Central 26, Mechanicsburg 21

Class AA
Quarterfinals
Middletown 19, Trinity 15

Class A
Semifinals
Camp Hill 42, Holy Name 41

Governor Mifflin Mustangs

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football playoffs. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Governor Mifflin facts: This team has started to make a name for itself in the last four years. Following three straight losing seasons the Mustangs went 7-5 in 2004 and followed that with an 8-4 record before going 12-2 and reaching the 3-6 final in 2006 and ‘07. In those title games Gov. Mifflin lost to State College, 20-0, and Harrisburg, 49-7. ... Dropped out of Lancaster-Lebanon League Section I after ‘03 season and moved into Section I of the Inter-County League. Only year team hasn’t won Section I since joining the ICL was ‘05 ... Program’s first district win came in ‘06 when it beat Penn Manor, 14-13. ... Posted 29 winning seasons in 55 years of football. ... Went 3-1 against AAAA schools this fall, only loss was 35-14 setback to unbeaten Wilson in season opener. Other loss was to 3-AAA qualifier Conrad Weiser, 24-23. ... Garipoli has completed 30 of 60 passes for 634 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions in the veer offense while Hughes has hit on 16 of 24 for 194 yards, four touchdowns and one pick. Garipoli was injured in the first-round win and Hughes took over at QB. ... Haggerty, who played through a neck injury earlier this season, is the leading rusher with 789 yards on 140 attempts. ... Schmidt and Ruffner have totaled 399 and 394 rushing yards, respectively. ... Leading receiver, in terms of yardage, is Hughes with 290.

Manheim Central Barons

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football playoffs. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Manheim Central facts: Won 15 District 3-AAA titles, including 10 straight from 1992-01. ... Only loss in 3-AAA championship game was 33-7 setback to Middletown in 1988. ... Beat Mechanicsburg, 27-6, in 2004 3-AAA final on way to state runner-up finish. ... Played six playoff teams and beat four. Lost to 3-AAAA top seed Wilson and 3-AA No. 1 Lancaster Catholic. Started 1-2 following those losses. ... Beat Cocalico twice, including the district quarterfinal. ... Won Section II of the Lancaster-Lebanon League by one game over Cocalico. ... Lowest-scoring output was eight points in loss to Lancaster Catholic. ... Riding a nine-game winning streak, including a 24-19 win over 3-AAA semifinalist Garden Spot on Oct. 31. ... Fell in first round, 16-6, to Red Land last season. ... Knosp completed 102 of 185 passes for 1,802 with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. On the ground, Knosp is second on the team with 414 yards and seven touchdowns, which is tied for the team lead ... Leading rusher Gruber has 731 yards and seven touchdowns. ... Royer leads the Barons with 1,045 receiving yards and five touchdowns. ... Trafford also has caught five touchdown passes.

Steelton-Highspire Steamrollers

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football playoffs. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Steel-High facts: Defending District 3-A and PIAA champion. ... Of its seven 3-A titles, four have come in the last four years. ... Won its first 3-A title in 1997 after formerly competing in Class AAAA. ... Captured the Mid-Penn Patriot Division outright. ... Young is 65 yards shy of the state rushing record of 8,432 held by former East Stroudsburg star James Mungro. ... Has scored more than 50 points once and broke at least 40 seven other times. ... Played three games decided by one possession — wins over Susquehanna Twp., 16-14; Central Dauphin East, 21-14 and Camp Hill, 28-20. ...Other than Camp Hill, played only one Class A school, Scotland. ... Regular season opponents included two AAAA teams, three AAA teams and three AA teams. ... Young has 1,961 yards on 185 carries and 23 touchdowns this year. ... Campbell has completed 44 of 86 passes for 806 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. ... Smith leads the team with 538 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Back to the drawing board

It was only two days ago that we heaped praise on the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association for advancing at least one of its members in three of four classifications to the second week of postseason play.

In hindsight, we probably should have waited a week to see if last weekend was a fluke or statement.

With West York as the only YAIAA team left, that first weekend was no doubt a fluke. Or maybe the teams just took advantage of weak opponents and wilted when the going got tougher Friday night.

In Class AAAA, Central York and William Penn were smoked by a combined 74-13 to Governor Mifflin and Bishop McDevitt, respectively.

In Class AA, defending District 3 champion Delone Catholic was routed by Middletown, 35-0. Excluding West York's 56-30 win over Conrad Weiser, that's a cumulative beating of 109-13.

Penn Manor Comets

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football playoffs. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Penn Manor facts: Has beaten only two teams with a winning record, Hempfield and Dallastown. ... First season with at least eight wins since 1986. ... 5-2 record in Lancaster-Lebanon Section I was first winning section mark and good for second behind unbeaten Wilson. ... Mealy is a 1997 graduate of Bishop McDevitt. ... Won three games decided by three points or fewer including two 1-point wins. ... First postseason win in program’s history came Friday over Dallastown. ... Losses to Warwick and Wilson. ... Only games against a Mid-Penn program came in 1983 and ‘84 when Comets split with Milton Hershey. ... Rehm has completed 56 of 121 passes for 766 yards in the Comets’ option offense. The senior has thrown seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. ... Noll is the leading rusher in terms of yardage with 770 on 128 attempts. ... Rehm has seven rushing touchdowns, Noll owns six. ... Frederick is leading receiver with 276 yards on 15 receptions with five touchdowns. ... Booth is only other player with a touchdown reception. ... Employs a 4-4 defense.

Daniel Boone Blazers

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football playoffs. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Daniel Boone facts: The team held to form in the first round win over Northern in that it simply outscored its opponent. The defense, again, wasn’t overwhelming but it did enough to get by in the second half. ... The advantage Boone has week after week is that it is usually the most potent offense its opponent has seen all season. That holds true again this week. ... Scored at least 27 points in all but one game and has eclipsed the 40-point plateau five times. ... Reached the semifinals as a No. 9 seed last year after wins at Greencastle-Antrim and Northern. ... Losses to Columbia, Governor Mifflin and Muhlenberg. ... Placed third in Inter-County League Section I. ... Monteiro has completed 174 of 278 passes for 2,823 yards with 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions. ... Greene needs 106 rushing yards for 1,000 on the year. ... Keeley has caught 78 passes for 1,189 yards and 20 total touchdowns. ... Bodolus is the program’s winningest coach in its 50-year history.

Holy Name Blue Jays

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football playoffs. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Holy Name facts: In the district semifinals for second straight year. Lost to runner-up Millersburg last season. ... Scored at least 100 points in every quarter except the third. ... Reached at least 40 points five times but hasn’t scored more than 28 since Oct. 11. ... Has not been in a game decided by one possession. ... Losses to Conrad Weiser and Wyomissing, both of which are still alive in the 3-AAA and 3-AA playoffs, respectively. ... Finished second, behind Wyomissing, in the Inter-County Section II race. ... Opponents are a combined 54-62. ... 4-0 record against Class A foes. ... Marrero has completed 45 of 85 passes for 715 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. ... Ciabattoni is the leading rusher with 1,399 yards and receiver with 362 yards. The senior has 23 total touchdowns. ... Figura has chipped in 753 rushing yards.

No tradition? No problem

Cumberland Valley owns eight District 3 Class AAAA trophies.

The Eagles opponent Friday night in the 3-AAAA quarterfinals, Penn Manor, has one playoff win to its credit in the program's history.

It's no doubt a battle of a tradition-rich program versus one that is looking to make its mark on the district map following a season that saw it win more games (nine) than it had since 1986.

The Comets (9-2) will be led into battle against CV (10-1) behind 1997 Bishop McDevitt graduate Todd Mealy, who is in his second year at the Millersville school after serving as an assistant at Lancaster McCaskey for eight seasons.

To read more on this game and how Mealy has started to turn the Penn Manor program around, check out Football This Week in The Sentinel on Thursday.

Warwick Warriors

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football players. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Warwick facts: Riding a two-game losing streak and has been outscored 59-7 against Hempfield and Wilson in those games. ... Garden Spot and Manheim Twp. also beat Warriors. ... Third straight postseason trip. Lost to Central Dauphin in previous two years. ... Trailed 3-AAAA top seed Wilson, 10-0, late in the third quarter of an eventual 24-0 loss Friday. ... Yost has completed 73 of 94 passes for 784 yards, six touchdowns and two picks. ... Resch has 1,196 yards on 228 attempts and 18 touchdowns. ... Finished fourth in Lancaster-Lebanon Section I.

York William Penn Bearcats

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football players. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

William Penn facts: Highest-scoring team in the state. ... Finished second to Central York in YAIAA Division I. ... Third straight trip to the postseason after reaching the 3-AAAA quarterfinals last year. ... Played three teams with a winning record and lost once. ... Opponents are a combined 36-64. ... Before loss in Week 10, slipped by South Western, 32-27, the week before. ... Scored at least 48 points eight times, reached at least 53 twice and at least 61 two other times. ... Davis has completed 96 of 155 passes for 1,655 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions. ... Generette leads the receivers with 657 yards on 33 catches and nine touchdowns. ... Doby has 13 rushing scores and 791 yards on 75 carries.

Daniel Boone Blazers

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football players. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Daniel Boone facts: This team looks a lot like Muhlenberg of last year in that it can score with the best of them, especially through the air, but the defense is a little suspect as is evidenced by that 48-47 overtime loss to Columbia, a 3-7 Class A school. ... This could be the most potent offense Northern has faced all season. The Blazers have scored at least 27 points in all but one game and have eclipsed the 40-point plateau four times. ... Monteiro has completed 160 of 260 passes for 2,575 yards, 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions. ... Keeley has 1,147 receiving yards, 1,384 total yards and 20 total touchdowns. ... Greene is the leading rusher with 793 yards on 121 attempts. ... Finished third in Inter-County Section I. ... Bodolus became the winningest coach in the program’s 50-year history via his team’s 46-33 win over Exeter on Friday.

Middletown Blue Raiders

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football players. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

Middletown facts: Mid-Penn Liberty champions. ... Did not allow an opponent to reach double digits in first four weeks. Has not kept an opponent in single digits the last five weeks. ... Clinched first non-losing season since 2005 and first winning season since ‘01. ... 1-2 record against teams with winning records. ... Opponents are a combined 49-51. ... Has not been held to single digits. Lowest offensive output was 14 points in back-to-back losses to Steelton-Highspire and Trinity.

York Catholic Fighting Irish

Here's some quick facts on the out-of-area-teams our schools will be playing this weekend in the District 3 football players. For the complete preview capsules, pick up a copy of The Sentinel on Thursday.

York Catholic facts: Outscored 84-3 in its last two games, losses to Delone Catholic and Bermudian Springs. ... Also played, and lost to, 3-AA qualifiers Biglerville and York Suburban. ... Played only two other Class A teams this year. ... Last winning season was a 6-4 campaign in 2004. ... First playoff appearance since 2002 when lost in 3-A final to Camp Hill. ... Full’s 339 rushing yards lead the young team, which finished fourth in the rugged YAIAA Division III. ... Sentz has hit on 56 of 122 passes for 698 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.

Lucky No. 6?

Jaws dropped around the Mid-Penn on Friday night when word spread that Trinity lost, 16-13, to Milton Hershey.

The loss moved the Shamrocks (7-3) from fourth to sixth in the District 3 Class AA power rankings, which will likely force Trinity to win two road games if it wants to get back to Hersheypark Stadium and play for a district championship. The Spartans, for the record, finished the season 4-6.

If Trinity coach Jeff Boger is looking for a silver lining, it's this: Not only have the Shamrocks already beaten Middletown, their quarterfinal opponent, but last year Delone Catholic started the playoffs No. 6 before downing Columbia and Lancaster Catholic on the road before nailing Trinity, 25-0, in the district final.

If history repeats, it will be the Shamrocks waiting for the District 4 champion in the PIAA quarterfinals later this month.