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.