CV saves the area

We'll admit: the expectations for the area football teams were a little down this year. Before getting all hot and bothered, hear us out. Mechanicsburg had only one starter back from its 12-1, District 3-AAA semifinalist outfit; Trinity was losing a truck load of high-profile athletes and Camp Hill bid farewell to three Associated Press Class A all-state selections.

The only team that had a legitimate shot to qualify for the PIAA playoffs was Cumberland Valley and even the Eagles had to replace more than a few key parts from last year's team that went 12-2 and played for the 3-AAAA championship. Most of the teams in the area, although there were some squads we thought could surprise, were filled with question mark after question mark. So when seven of our teams qualified for the postseason and six lost their first games, we weren't overly shocked.

As we sit here a little more than a day before the PIAA officially releases its playoff brackets, to have even one team in the field can be considered an accomplishment. That team is CV, which bounced Central Dauphin, 24-21, at Landis Field on Friday to advance into the 3-AAAA semifinals against Wilson on Friday at 7 p.m. at Gurski Stadium. The winner of that game plays the winner between Penn Manor and Governor Mifflin or Bishop McDevitt on Dec. 5 in the 3-AAAA title game. The winner there moves into the state semifinals against the District 7 champion or State College or Erie McDowell.

It's the second straight year CV has graced the state bracket and is the fourth year in a row The Sentinel has at least one team in the state field. The last year all of our teams were eliminated before the PIAA filled out its brackets was 2005.

So the Eagles are back in and will be gunning for their ninth 3-AAAA title against a team that they have played three times in the district final, including last year's 35-7 rout by the Bulldogs. With the schedule pushed back a week, this game will fall nearly one year to the day after Wilson's easy win last season on Nov. 29 at Hersheypark Stadium.