On Thanksgiving eve, more Week 14 notes, previews: 3 L-L League football facts for Nov. 22
Baste your turkey yet? Get a head start on the desserts? Ah, Thanksgiving. Gotta love it. Good luck on your prep work for Thursday’s big day. Here are some more Week 14 playoff preview items for your reading pleasure, in between fiddling in the kitchen and setting the table for your feast. And don’t forget the cranberry sauce ...
. When it comes to Cocalico’s Veer rushing attack, having two fullbacks is better than one, apparently. Holdover all-star Sam Steffey has spent the fall dealing with some nagging injuries — he didn’t play last week, when the Eagles sauntered past Cedar Cliff 31-13 in the D3-5A semifinals — but Dane Horning has been fabulous filling in. And when you put Steffey’s and Horning’s numbers together, they equal one great season for any back: 1,494 rushing yards with 26 TD romps. Steffey rumbled for 1,829 yards with 23 TD runs last season, helping win D3-5A gold — as the 12-seed — and go to the state semifinals. The Eagles will go for a D3 repeat Friday, when neighboring Ephrata comes calling for the 5A crown. Circle it.
. Bishop McDevitt — which will host Manheim Central for D3-4A glory on Friday in Harrisburg — is 43-3 in its last 46 games, and the Crusaders are riding a 25-game winning streak. Their last loss: Aug. 27 last year, a Week 1 nonleague 19-14 setback against Philly power Imhotep Charter. McD then rattled off 13 straight wins, including a 40-0 victory over Central in the D3 finale, and a 41-18 dub over Pittsburgh powerhouse Aliquippa in the state championship game. McD’s other two losses over this blistering stretch: Both in 2021, a 21-0 Week 1 nonleague setback against La Salle College, and a 34-27 loss against Aliquippa in the state finals. McD went 6-0 in 2020, but didn’t muster enough power points to make the playoffs in the dreaded COVID-19 year. The Crusaders will go for their 17th D3 title Friday; Central owns a district-record 18 crowns. ... FYI: Central is slated to go back up to 5A in the next 2-year cycle; because of PIAA success points, it looks like McD is also ticketed to go up to 5A.
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. Wyomissing and Danville are set to clash for the third time in four years on Friday, when the Spartans and the Ironmen knock heads in a PIAA-3A quarterfinal at Albright’s Shirk Stadium in Reading. Wyo won both previous meetings: 21-19 last year and 44-14 in 2020. Since losing its last six games of the 2019 season, Danville has been a different animal; Ironmen are 40-9 since the start of the 2020 season, with four D4-3A championships in a row. They are 24-2 in their last 26 outings. Wyo also knows a thing or two about winning district titles; Spartans won their fifth straight D3-3A gold plaque this season, and once again, they’re peaking at the right time this fall.
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