By The Daily Item
Then they were eight. Well, really 32, but eight in each of the PIAA's four classifications.
Following this week's games, only 32 high school football teams are still playing. Among those are two Valley teams, three Heartland Athletic Conference teams and two more from the Twin Valley Conference.
The two local teams remaining are Southern Columbia in Class A and Selinsgrove in AAA, and both will be in action Friday night.
Southern (9-4) will meet District 11 champion Tri-Valley (9-4), coached by former Mount Carmel standout Mike Kogut, on Friday night at 7 at Schuylkill Haven. The Tigers and Bulldogs are the only teams in the Class A bracket with four losses. The winner of Friday's game will meet either Bishop McCort (12-0) or Millersburg (10-3) in the state semifinals next week. The McCort-Millersburg game is Saturday in Hershey.
In the western half of the bracket in A, both games are Friday night. Unbeaten Farrell (13-0) takes on Clarion (10-3), with the winner advancing to the West final the following week against either Clairton (12-1) or Conemaugh Township (11-1).
In Class AAA, Selinsgrove (13-0) and Allentown Central Catholic (12-1) will meet Friday night in Shamokin. The winner advances to the East final to take on either Archbishop Wood (10-2) or Pottsgrove (13-0), which is also Friday night. Archbishop Wood beat the Seals in the state semifinals last year.
RISK TAKER: Maybe it was frustration or concern for lack of having the ball, but Upper Dauphin coach Carm DeFrancesco really rolled the dice a couple of times in Friday's District 3 Class A final against Millersburg.
After getting just one possession the entire first quarter -- thanks to a 16-play Millersburg drive that ran off the final 6:41 of the first quarter and the first minute of the second -- Upper Dauphin did not start its second possession until 11 minutes left in the second quarter. So when the Trojans' drive stalled deep in its own territory, DeFrancesco went for it on fourth-and-two from UDA's own 26. Tyler Grosser ran for two yards and the Trojans just got the mark. Later in the drive, the Trojans converted another fourth down, but this time it was in Millersburg territory.
STICKING AROUND: Grosser, one of the top backs in the Valley this year and UDA's leading rusher, was injured in the middle of the second quarter Friday and did not return to the game.
He did not emerge from the locker room after halftime with the team, and when he did, he did not return to the sideline. He then returned to the sideline and stood with his teammates the rest of the game before leaving after the final whistle.
BIG WIN: As rich as Southern Columbia's playoff history is, it is hard to believe there is anything left for the Tigers and coach Jim Roth to accomplish. Well Friday night, in their 60-7 rout of District 2 champion Northwest, the Tigers did just that.
The 53 points Southern won by was its biggest PIAA playoff win ever, and the Tigers have had some big margins of victory over the years. Southern won its last state title in 2006 with a 56-14 win over West Middlesex. Its biggest playoff rout came in 2000, when Southern beat Lackawanna Trail 56-6.
The 60 points is not the most Southern has scored in its state playoff history, however. The Tigers scored 61 against Shenandoah Valley in 2006 and put up 76 in the memorable 76-47 shootout with Pius X in 2004 in a game played at Selinsgrove.
ADDING UP: Southern's victory over Northwest was its 201st win since its first state title season in 1994, a remarkable number when you consider the regular season is only 10 games long.
Since the beginning of 2004, the Tigers are an incredible 201-31. Perhaps more impressive, consider that the most games a team could play in the 16 years since Southern's first gold medal is 241, and Southern has played in all but nine of them, playing 232 out of a possible 241 games.
For comparison, Selinsgrove, a team that has won six consecutive District 4 Class AAA titles and 11 overall, has played in 195 games in the past 16 years, winning 142.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Thanks to its 35 points in Friday's win against Greater Johnstown, Selinsgrove broke the 600-point mark this season. The Seals, now 13-0, have scored 611 points in 13 games, an average of 47 a game.
That ranks first in the state in both total points -- 56 more than AA power Lancaster Catholic -- and points per game. The Seals also are tied for points allowed per game.
Selinsgrove has allowed 78 points this year. While not the fewest allowed by a team, it is tied for first in points allowed per game, at just six.
In their three playoff games, the Seals have allowed just 10 points and one touchdown.
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