CV, Trinity shoot up rankings

In the latest Pennsylvania Football News state rankings, both Cumberland Valley and Trinity moved up. The poll for all classes can be found here.

CV, on the strength of a 28-7 victory over Central Dauphin in the District 3 Class AAAA semifinals, moved from seventh to sixth and enters the 3-AAAA final with an 11-2 record.

The Eagles will be playing Red Lion, which entered the PFN rankings for the first time this year at No. 7 and come into Saturday night's 6 p.m. game with a 10-3 record.

In Class AA, Trinity jumped from eighth to fifth after it beat Wyomissing, 28-0, for the 3-AA title Friday night. The victory was Trinity's second district football title.

The Shamrocks (12-1) play unbeaten Lewisburg (13-0), ranked No. 2 by PFN, in the PIAA quarterfinals at Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday at noon.

Early glimpse at next week's games

The final two area football teams still playing will invade the same stadium Saturday.

Cumberland Valley and Trinity will play their next game at Hersheypark Stadium. The Shamrocks open the day's doubleheader at noon against Lewisburg in a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal before CV meets Red Lion in the District 3 Class AAAA final at 6 p.m.

Here's a closer look at the games.

Class AAAA

Red Lion (8, 10-3) vs. Cumberland Valley (7, 11-2) at Hersheypark Stadium -- In a rematch of Week 1, these two teams meet to decide the District 3 Class AAAA title.

Much like the first meeting, this one won't be pretty.

Sure, Red Lion is an improved bunch but so is CV. That's bad news for a Red Lion team that dropped a 45-6 decision at Chapman Field back in September.

CV is dealing with a few injuries but even if star running back/linebacker Kevin Snyder isn't at full strength, the Eagles should still roll.

CV came out of the more difficult bracket and will win its second straight 3-AAAA title and 10th overall.

Warm up the charter buses for a return trip to Altoona next week.

Class AA

Lewisburg (13-0) vs. Trinity (12-1) at Hersheypark Stadium -- The Shamrocks are rolling right along with 12 wins in a row and another shutout -- their second of the playoffs and fifth overall.

Lewisburg, the District 4 champion, is more battle-tested than the Shamrocks, who haven't been forced to play an entire 48 minutes this year. That's a major concern, especially if this game is close late.

The Green Dragons also force other teams to make mistakes. Lately, Trinity has made mistakes without any added help. It's going to take a special effort from the Shamrocks -- and this team is capable of that -- to keep their season going.

At this stage, we hate to say a team's season is over but the Green Dragons are our pick to reach the state semifinals.

BPI Projections: Class AAAA

First Round

North Penn by 12 over Council Rock South

Neshaminy by 2 over West Chester Rustin

LaSalle College defeated Northeast, 35-0, Nov. 20 (District 12 championship)

Easton by 6 over Whitehall (District 11 championship)

Red Lion by 7 over Daniel Boone

Cumberland Valley by 4 over Central Dauphin

North Allegheny by 6 over Woodland Hills (District 7 championship)

State College by 14 over Perry Traditional Academy

Quarterfinals

North Penn by 13 over Neshaminy (District 1 championship)

LaSalle College by 7 over Easton

Cumberland Valley by 15 over Red Lion (District 3 championship)

North Allegheny by 23 over State College

Semifinals

LaSalle College by 7 over North Penn

North Allegheny by 8 over Cumberland Valley

State Championship

Dec. 18 at Hersheypark Stadium, 5 p.m.

North Allegheny over LaSalle College in OT

BPI Projections: Class AA

First Round
Northern Lehigh by 19 over GAR Memorial

West Catholic defeated Bok Vo-Tech, 34-6, Nov. 20 (District 12 championship)

Trinity over Wyomissing by 30 (District 3 championship)

Danville by 7 over Lewisburg (District 4 championship)

Aliquippa by 2 over South Fayette (District 7 championship)

Brockway over Oliver by 45

Sharon over Hickory by 3 (District 10 championship)

Forest Hills over Tyrone by 6 (District 6 championship)

Quarterfinals

West Catholic by 5 over Northern Lehigh

Trinity by 7 over Danville

Aliquippa by 7 over Brockway

Forest Hills by 6 over Sharon

Semifinals

Trinity by 3 over West Catholic

Aliquippa by 7 over Forest Hills

State Championship

Dec. 18 at Hersheypark Stadium, noon

Aliquippa by 2 over Trinity

BPI Projections: Class AAA

First Round

Allentown Central Catholic by 11 over Abington Heights

Clearfield by 12 over Shikellamy

Strath Haven over Pottsgrove in OT (District 1 championship)

Archbishop Wood defeated Dobbins-Radolph Vo-Tech, 44-7, on Nov. 20 (District 12 championship)

Erie Cathedral Prep by 5 over Grove City (District 10 championship)

Montour by 4 over Central Valley (District 7 championship)

Bishop McDevitt by 16 over Lampeter-Strasburg

Cocalico by 4 over Conrad Weiser

Quarterfinals

Allentown Central Catholic by 16 over Clearfield

Archbishop Wood by 14 over Strath Haven

Erie Cathedral Prep by 6 over Montour

Bishop McDevitt by 24 over Cocalico (District 3 championship)

Semifinals

Allentown Central Catholic by 2 over Archbishop Wood

Bishop McDevitt by 3 over Erie Cathedral Prep

State Championship

Dec. 17 at Hersheypark Stadium, 7 p.m.

Bishop McDevitt by 2 over Allentown Central Catholic

BPI Projections: Class A

First Round

Bishop McCort by 1 over Bishop Carroll (District 6 championship)

Holy Name by 11 over Millersburg (District 3 championship)

Southern Columbia by 15 over Riverside

Schuylkill Haven by 16 over Calvary Christian Academy

North Star defeated Northern Bedford, 36-20, Nov. 19 (District 5 championship)

Clairton by 12 over Rochester (District 7 championship)

Curwensville by 11 over Port Allegheny (District 9 championship)

Mercyhurst Prep by 1 over Farrell (District 10 championship)

Quarterfinals

Bishop McCort by 6 over Holy Name

Southern Columbia by 21 over Schuylkill Haven

Clairton by 35 over North Star

Mercyhurst Prep by 10 over Curwensville

Semifinals

Southern Columbia by 15 over Bishop McCort

Clairton by 14 over Mercyhurst Prep

State Championship

Dec. 17 at Hersheypark Stadium, 1 p.m.

Clairton by 12 over Southern Columbia

CV back in rankings; Trinity moves up

The Pennsylvania Football News released its latest state rankings Sunday night and two area teams are now in the top 10 of their respective classes.

Trinity, which entered the Class AA rankings for the first time last week at No. 10, improved to eighth with its 48-12 victory over Bermudian Springs in the District 3-AA semifinals.

Cumberland Valley spent a few weeks unranked following a 28-21 loss to Harrisburg in Week 8 but the Eagles are back thanks to a win over then No. 3 Wilson, 28-14, in the District 3-AAAA quarterfinals.

Neither area teams will play ranked foes this week -- Trinity (11-1) meets Wyomissing (9-3) in the 3-AA final at Hersheypark Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. while CV (10-2) heads to Landis Field for a rematch with Central Dauphin (10-2) on the same night and time.

Overall, it was a bad week for ranked teams in District 3. Dallastown and Wilson, in Class AAAA, losted to unranked foes Red Lion and CV, respectively. The same fate befell Greencastle-Antrim and Lancaster Catholic in AAA and AA, respectively.

The top-seeded and previously unbeaten Blue Devils lost to Conrad Weiser, 34-20. Lancaster Catholic, also an unbeaten top seed, dropped a 21-14 decision to Wyomissing.

The only District 3 teams, excluding Trinity, that won while ranked were Bishop McDevitt and Holy Name. The Crusaders slammed Hershey, 63-0, in 3-AAA and Blue Jays hammered Steel-High, 42-7, in 3-A.

Projections update

Before the start of the playoffs, we made our annual bold state playoff predicitions. These included picking District 3, region and state champions. Here's an update on how we're doing. Classes listed in order of when the state finals will be played next month.

Class A
Actual teams alive: 15
Correct teams picked: 10
District 3: Had only half of the York Catholic vs. Holy Name final. Millersburg beat the Fighting Irish, 13-12, in the semifinals.
Sleeper update: Bishop McCort (8-4) slipped by second-seeded Bellwood-Antis, 30-29, in the District 6 quarterfinals and will play for district gold next week.
Breakdown: Three of our final four teams are still alive. The only miss was Sharpsville, which lost to Mercyhurst Prep on Friday in the District 10 semifinals.

Class AAA
Actual teams alive: 15
Correct teams picked: 11
District 3: Missed badly on Susquehanna Twp. Had the Indians playing for district gold but they fell to Cocalico in semifinals. Penciled Manheim Central into semifinals also but Barons fell to Lampeter-Strasburg last week. Bishop McDevitt, our district champion, is still alive.
Sleeper update: Cardinal O'Hara lost to Archbishop Wood in last week's Philadelphia Catholic League final. But really, the Lions are probably one of the top five AAA teams in the state. It's brutal to survive the PCL.
Breakdown: Our final four teams and six of the last eight are alive and well.

Class AA
Actual teams alive: 15
Correct teams picked: 11
District 3: Ouch. We liked two-time defending district Lancaster Catholic, who fell hard to Wyomissing. We didn't even have the Spartans winning a game in the postseason and now they face Trinity in the district final Friday.
Sleeper update: Tyrone rolled past Penn Cambria but had to work for a 17-7 victory over Central in the District 6 semifinals. Up next is powerful Forest Hills, who we have in the state semifinals.
Breakdown: Final four are still playing as are six of the last eight.

Class AAAA
Actual teams alive: 15
Correct teams picked: 12
District 3: We only nailed half of the semifinalists. Harrisburg and Governor Mifflin let us down. Plus, we had the Cougars playing for the district title -- they lost to Daniel Boone on Saturday.
Sleeper update: We said to watch out for Ridley but only had them going as far as the District 1 semifinals. In reality, the top-seeded Green Raiders lost their first playoff game, 14-13, to Henderson.
Breakdown: The final four teams are still alive as are seven of the final eight. One of our best picks so far: North Allegheny over Pittsburgh Central Catholic. We have the Tigers in the state final and they're now the favorite to come out of the west.

Looking ahead to Week 13

Both area teams, Cumberland Valley and Trinity, cruised Friday night in winning their playoff games be a combined score of 76-26 to keep their respective seasons alive.

CV jumped out to a 28-0 lead over rival Wilson in an eventual 28-14 victory in a District 3 Class AAAA quarterfinal at John Gurski Stadium. Trinity somehow danced around six turnovers and throttled Bermudian Springs, 48-12, in a 3-AA semifinal at COBO Field.

So now, both continue playing football the day after Thanksgiving. CV is at Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division rival Central Dauphin at 7 p.m. in a 3-AAAA semifinal while Trinity heads to Hersheypark Stadium for the 3-AA title game against upstart Wyomissing at 6 p.m.

Here's an early look at what we expect will happen.

Class AAAA

Cumberland Valley (7, 10-2) at Central Dauphin (6, 10-2) -- At the start of the playoffs, we said Conrad Weiser would not only beat East Pennsboro in Round 1 but also knock off 3-AAA top-seeded Greencastle-Antrim in the quarterfinals.

That came to pass and so will this: the winner at Landis Field on Friday will capture the 3-AAAA title eight days later and punch its ticket to the state semifinals.

The first game between these two teams, a 30-17 CV win Oct. 8, was much closer than the score indicated. If the Eagles play like they did at Wilson (one turnover and zero penalties until six minutes remained) it's going to be awfully tough for Central Dauphin to knock this team off.

It's the fourth meeting between these two teams in 12 months. We thought the Rams were too young to beat Governor Mifflin but their line play took over. This week, we're confident Central Dauphin is just too young at the skill positions to beat the defending champions.

Cumberland Valley wins its 10th 3-AAAA title in what turns out to be a close one.

Class AA

Wyomissing (5, 9-3) vs. Trinity (3, 11-1) at Hersheypark Stadium -- This one is quite simple for the Shamrocks. If they eliminate the foolish mistakes, they will win their second 3-AA crown.

That will be easier said than done against the physical Spartans, who are riding a huge wave of momentum following their 21-14 win over two-time defending district champion and defending state winner Lancaster Catholic.

That was a huge win for Wyomissing but can the Spartans play to that level two weeks in a row? We have our questions about that.

To beat a Trinity team that is averaging more than 40 points per game and allowing fewer than 10, it's going to take an outstanding effort. Wyomissing is certainly capable of that but the Shamrocks seem destined to win this thing.

They put in long hours of work in the early morning during the spring to get the Spread down and they wanted to be a legitimate threat to win the state championship with it. Mission accomplished.

Wilson information

Cumberland Valley travels to Berks County on Friday at 7 p.m. to face rival Wilson in a District 3 Class AAAA quarterfinal at Gurski Stadium.

WILSON NOTES:

Four-time District 3-AAAA champion. ... last loss was in the final seconds to Cumberland Valley in 2009 semifinals. ... suffered three straight hard-to-swallow postseason defeats — 2007 lost in overtime to Harrisburg in district semifinals; 2008 lost in triple overtime to Bethel Park in state semifinals and lost to CV with six seconds to play last year in district semifinals. ... outscored opponents 322-55 in first half. ... went 4-0 against teams with winning records. ... opponents have a combined record of 53-64. ... Zweizig, who missed four games with a dislocated throwing shoulder, has completed 55 of 97 passes for 767 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. ... Gillin leads the team with 1,704 yards and 27 touchdowns. ... Carabello paces the Bulldogs with 504 receiving yards. ... Simcox and Matt Tietbohl are the team’s leading tacklers with 53 each. ... posted four shutouts this year and allowed an average of 10 points against per game. ... offense scored an average of 40.7 points per game and scored at least 34 points in eight of 11 games. ... finished first in Section I of Lancaster Lebanon League.

Bermudian Springs information

Below are some facts about the Bermudian Springs football team. Trinity faces the upstart Eagles in Friday's semifinal round of the District 3 Class AA playoffs.

The below information is part of the complete preview capsule for the game that will run in Friday's edition of The Sentinel along with a complete preview for the other semifinal between Wyomissing and Lancaster Catholic. We're also previewing two Class AAAA games: Cumberland Valley at Wilson and Central Dauphin at Governor Mifflin.

Information on the Wilson Bulldogs will be posted Monday or Tuesday.

BERMUDIAN SPRINGS NOTES

Won three of its last four games. ... lost to Littlestown, 43-23, on Oct. 29 before beating the Bolts, 37-0, two weeks later in 3-AA quarterfinals. ... 3-2 record against teams with winning records. ... defeated Northern, 24-7, in Week 1. ... runs the Wing-T and averages 29.6 points per game. ... allows an average of 16.2 points against with two shutouts. ... operates out of the 4-4 on defense. ... Fitzkee leads the team with 1,247 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Keller is a close second with 1,198 yards and 13 touchdowns. ... Fitzkee also has a team-best 102 total tackles. .. Thoman has completed 57 of 120 passes for 840 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. ... Spahr is the team’s leading receiver with 305 yards and four touchdowns. ... three-time 3-AA champion but hasn’t won the title since 1998, which was also the last season the program made the championship game and the last time the team won a playoff game before Friday. ... finished fourth in YAIAA Section III with 5-4 record.

Shamrocks find way into rankings

The Pennsylvania Football News released its latest state rankings Sunday evening and Trinity (10-1) checked in at No. 10 in Class AA.

The Shamrocks, winners of 10 straight, routed Boiling Springs for the second week in a row Friday to move into the District 3 Class AA semifinals opposite upstart Bermudian Springs (8-3) at COBO Field in Lower Allen Twp.

It was due to the Eagles' surprise 37-0 win over second-seeded and previously unbeaten Littlestown that the Shamrocks are in the top 10. Littlestown was ranked No. 8 in the state until it fell apart against YAIAA foe Bermudian in the weekend's most surprising result in District 3.

"I was surprised by the score but not shocked that (Bermudian) won the game, I really wasn't," Trinity coach Bill Ragni said Sunday afternoon. "I'm glad we get another home game because I thought we'd be going to Littlestown."

Trinity is hoping for a rematch with defending 3-AA and PIAA champion Lancaster Catholic, the top seed that PFN has ranked fourth in the state. The Crusaders (11-0) slammed Trinity, 35-7, in the first week of the season.

Lancaster Catholic, which hosts Wyomissing (8-3) on Friday, is gunning for its third 3-AA title in a row.

Trinity snapped a three-game postseason losing streak Friday night and is looking to play in the district final for only the third time in the program's history.

The pairings: an early look

Some random thoughts as we prepare for Week 12 of the high school football season. At this point, we're down to a pair of area teams still playing: Trinity and Cumberland Valley.

District 3 Class AA

Bermudian Springs (7, 8-3) at Trinity (2, 10-1) -- This isn't the team Trinity expected to see but Bermudian Springs is hardly a pushover.

The Eagles routed previously unbeaten Littlestown, 37-0, Friday night. This team reminds us a bit of Delone Catholic in 2007. Remember, that was the sixth-seeded Delone team that upset top-seeded Trinity in the 3-AA final.

It's a tricky spot for the Shamrocks but they have two things in their favor: 1, they've been playing head and shoulders better than their competition for 10 straight weeks (that isn't a fluke) and 2, we can't see Bermudian pulling off back-to-back stunners. Expect the Shamrocks to be in the Hershey for the 3-AA final Nov. 26.

District 3 Class AAAA

Cumberland Valley (7, 9-2) at Wilson (2, 11-0) -- There really isn't much to say about this one other than the obvious. There's definitely bad blood between these teams.

In the 2008 district final, CV felt Wilson was less than classy during the latter's 35-7 win. The bad vibes returned in the semifinals last year when vulgarities were allegedly tossed from the Wilson student section toward CV as it entered Gurski Stadium.

That said, these teams have been above playing dirty and last year's 35-28 CV win was a classic.

We're not sure how good Wilson is (it feasted on the weak Lancaster-Lebanon I teams) and we wonder how the Bulldogs will respond if the game is close. The Eagles need to be more disciplined than last week and if it is, CV should handle Wilson and reach the semifinals for a third year in a row.

And then there were two

Unlike last fall, there's more than one area football team playing in Week 12. Cumberland Valley and Trinity are the only two teams that will be holding practice this week and playing a game Friday.

The Eagles (9-2) head to Berks County for a game against rival Wilson (11-0) in the District 3 Class AAAA quarterfinals. Last year, CV beat the Bulldogs at Gurski Stadium with a last-second pass from Eric Sawyer to Trevor Harman.

CV punched its quarterfinal ticket by beating a physical Spring Grove side, 35-21.

In Class AA, Trinity is in the semifinals for the first time since 2007 thanks to a 42-0 rout over Boiling Springs. The Shamrocks (10-1) will host upstart Bermudian Springs (8-3) on Friday at COBO Field.

Bermudian dumped previously unbeaten and second-seeded Littlestown, 37-0. This might be a trap game for the Shamrocks, who no doubt expected to see the Bolts next week. Will coach Bill Ragni have his teams ready for the less heralded Eagles? Time will only tell.

Dallastown cracks the state rankings ... sigh

We'll start by saying the York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association has shown some improvement in recent years regarding Class AAAA football.

And for that, we give that league credit.

The problem is, the YAIAA hasn't done enough to deserve either the top seed in the upcoming District 3 Class AAAA playoffs or a spot in the Pennsylvania Football News state rankings. Unfortunately, undefeated Dallastown has both.

Similar to last year when we said District 5 shouldn't be allotted a berth in PIAA Class AA playoffs and used Bedford as an example, this post would be written if the team were Dallastown, Red Lion, South Western or any other YAIAA school.

It's nothing personal, Dallastown but this is what we have to talk about.

Sure, Dallastown played and beat three teams - Warwick, Red Land and Penn Manor - outside of the YAIAA and two of those teams made the playoffs but just beating Warwick was a struggle and, once in league play, it struggled to beat Class AAA West York in overtime.

The Wildcats also had close calls with 4-6 South Western (21-7 win), 4-6 Central York (21-0 win) and 6-4 Spring Grove (21-0 win). What's more, the same Red Lion team that Cumberland Valley drilled, 45-6, pushed Dallastown to the brink in a game it eventually won, 38-36.

We will say that the Wildcats earned an undefeated season but they should not be the top seed or ranked No. 10 in the state. Not when Mid-Penn powers Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley and Harrisburg all dropped from the state rankings at one time or another this year because of the depth and strength the Mid-Penn Conference offers.

In terms of the district, Dallastown has a nice draw and might not see a Mid-Penn team until the district final, if at all. The only one in the top half of the bracket with the Wildcats is Harrisburg and the Cougars are hurting after do-everything quarterback Jalen Fitzpatrick was injured against Bishop McDevitt on Saturday. Fitzpatrick's status for the rest of the season is unknown.

That said, if any team other than a moderately healthy Harrisburg side comes out of the top half of the 3-AAAA bracket (there's not much beef up there) to meet Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley or L-L Section I power Wilson in the 3-AAAA final, don't bother showing up at Hersheypark Stadium on Dec. 4. It's not going to be pretty.

Early look at playoff pairings

District 3 hasn't officially announced the football playoff brackets, but the unofficial final power ratings are posted at the district's site.

By using those numbers, we're going to take a peek at the first round and how we think the area teams will fare. These aren't the official projections that will run in the tab but merely an early look at what the pairing looks like.

Class AAAA

Spring Grove (10, 6-4) at Cumberland Valley (7, 8-2) -- A good draw for the Eagles, who regained some swagger by demolishing rival Carlisle on Friday. CV hasn't lost a playoff game since 2007 and this game will serve as a warm-up to next week's trip to rival Wilson.

Cedar Cliff (12, 7-3) at Daniel Boone (5, 9-1) -- If the Colts show up, don't be surprised to see them dump the Blazers, who were moved up to AAAA this season. This game is truly a wild card. Neither team played a AAAA schedule so it's only fitting they find each other.

Class AAA

Hershey (11, 6-4) at Shippensburg (6, 8-2) -- Trojans are a hard-nosed, physical bunch that can knocked the 'Hounds sideways if they aren't careful. Not a great draw for the first home playoff game in Shippensburg's history.

East Pennsboro (9, 7-3) at Conrad Weiser (8, 7-3) -- Scouts are surely fuming after falling into a late-season slump. To be honest, we like Conrad Weiser to not only win this game but also dump top-seeded Greencastle-Antrim in the quarterfinals.

Big Spring (15, 5-5) at Lampeter-Strasburg (2, 9-1) -- Their hopes of an unbeaten season dashed by Conestoga Valley on Friday, the Pioneers now have to focus on the goal of winning the 3-AAA crown. Shouldn't find must resistance from the Bulldogs, who are in the postseason for the first time.

Class AA

Boiling Springs (6, 7-3) at Trinity (3, 9-1) -- These two met Friday with Trinity taking a 33-0 victory at Ecker Field. Can't see anything different this time.