A familiar face at Bishop McDevitt, plus more district playoff primers: 3 L-L League football facts for Nov. 5
More Week 12 playoff nuggets to savor ...
Dominic Diaz-Ellis cut his teeth pretty early on in his career at Columbia. He was on the field playing varsity as a freshman, and he had a breakout sophomore season for the Crimson Tide in 2022 with 22 catches for 432 yards (19.3 avg.) with three TD grabs, 203 rushing yards with three TD runs, and he also passed for 389 yards, as Columbia lined him up all over the place. ... Diaz-Ellis transferred to Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg before his junior year in 2023. He played sparingly for the Crusaders last season, with three catches for 38 yards with a TD grab. ... This fall, he's become McD's leading receiver, snagging passes from Kentucky commit Stone Saunders, who seems to shatter one passing record or another on a weekly basis. ... Through McDevitt's first-round D3-5A victory over Lower Dauphin, Diaz-Ellis is at 52 catches for 950 yards (18.3 avg.) with 11 TD snags for McD, which will visit undefeated Section 3 champ Conrad Weiser on Friday for a D3-5A quarterfinal clash. ... Weiser's D has been stingy, and that crew will need an A-plus effort vs. McD, which averages 431.0 yards and 41.3 points a game. Scouts' are giving up 214.6 yards a game, tops among Section 3 squads and sixth-best in the L-L. Weiser has allowed 712 passing yards, fewest in the league, so that's a good sign. Scouts also have 18 takeaways, including eight interceptions — four by DB Dylan Parr, who could end up marking Diaz-Ellis on the flanks. Keep an eye on that. ... FYI: McD won the last two D3-4A titles, and was bumped up to 5A this fall. One more crown and McD will tie Manheim Central with a record 18 D3 championships.
. Cocalico's top priority on Friday, when the Eagles unpack the bus at venerable Veterans Stadium at Memorial Park to take on undefeated Mechanicsburg in a D3-5A quarterfinal clash: Taming the Wildcats' fancy passing attack. Check the numbers: QB Eli Reider (118-for-168 for 1,944 yards, 29 TD tosses against just 2 picks) is completing 70% of his passes, and his favorite target, WR Josh Smith, has hauled in 50 catches for 1,049 yards (21.0 avg.) with 15 TD grabs. ... Cocalico — angling for a 3-peat in the D3-5A bracket — is giving up 146.7 passing yards a game; Eagles have five INT — two by DB Brendon Zimmerman, who could find himself on an island marking Smith. ... Cocalico safety Josh Myer — the Eagles' pitch-man QB on offense — has a pair of pass breakups, and he'll need to be wary of Smith in space. ... Cocalico has 51 TFL and 17 sacks, so they'll need to unleash and keep Reider busy in the backfield.
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. Cumberland Valley turned to its ground attack last week. In the Eagles' 44-12 D3-6A first-round win over Governor Mifflin, RB Erik Barbacci ran wild, to the tune of 176 yards and two TD romps, covering 9 and 18 yards, respectively. ... Manheim Township's defense, come on down; the top-seeded Blue Streaks get a crack at CV and Barbacci on Friday, when the Eagles swoop into Neffsville for a D3-6A quarterfinal vs. Township. It's the third year in a row these teams will tangle in the D3 playoffs. ... Some good news for the Streaks: Township's D is tops in the L-L; Streaks are giving up 190.7 yards a game. And Township has yielded just 774 rushing yards, fewest in the league. ... Three Streaks' seek-and-destroy D standouts to watch Friday: LB Declan Clancy (59 tackles, 4 TFL), LB Marcos Fernandez (57 tackles, 15 TFL, 3 QB hurries) and D-line bruiser Julian Larue (55 tackles, 12 TFL, 6.5 sacks) have bum-rushed plenty of backfields this fall. They'll have their sights set on Barbacci and CV's rushing attack on Friday.
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