High school football: It’s a showdown for the District 1 crown in the PIAA quarterfinals

The opening round of the PIAA state football playoffs arrived with a number of achievements and several firsts for area programs. This weekend promises more in the state quarterfinals.

Three defending state champions remain alive: Class 1A Bishop Guilfoyle of Blair County (District 6), Class 3A Northwestern Lehigh of Lehigh County (District 11), and Class 5A Bishop McDevitt of Dauphin County (District 3). Of the 48 teams that have reached the state quarterfinal round, 10 teams remain alive from District 12 and District 1.

In District 12, there is a team alive at each level (Belmont Charter-1A, Lansdale Catholic-2A, Neumann-Goretti-3A, Cardinal O’Hara-4A, Roman Catholic-5A, and La Salle-6A), with two major games coming this Friday in the District 1 Class 6A championship (Pennridge vs. North Penn) and Class 5A championship (Chester vs. Springfield).

Here’s a breakdown of the local teams competing in the state quarterfinals:

» READ MORE: Redemption, tradition, and history: Area football teams compete for much more in PIAA playoffs

This is the deepest La Salle has gone in the state playoffs since reaching the quarterfinals in 2015, when the Explorers lost to Parkland in the final year of the Class 4A system. The Explorers entered this season with the goal of winning the program’s first state championship since 2009.

After leading 24-0, La Salle scrambled to stave off a furious rally by Philadelphia Public League champion Imhotep Charter on Saturday and did it by leaning on its running game to win, 31-16.

“Easton is a very good football team, that is a senior-heavy team whose quarterback [Cole Ordway] has rushed for over 2,000 yards this year,” La Salle coach Brett Gordon said. “Easton historically likes to establish its running game, and that will be an important piece of the game to stop that.”

This is a rematch of Pennridge’s 34-10 regular-season victory over traditional Southeastern Pennsylvania powerhouse North Penn, the first time the Rams beat North Penn since Oct. 19, 2012. Pennridge has never won a District 1 championship in football. Until this season, the Rams had not won a district playoff game during a full season since 2017. Pennridge has won more games this season (12) than its previous three years combined (2-8 in 2022, 3-7 in 2023, and 4-7 in 2024). The Rams will lean on 6-foot-3, 215-pound four-year starting quarterback Noah Keating, and running backs Ryan Rowe, a Princeton pledge, and William Dougherty.

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“It’s always really hard to beat a good team twice, and they have changed a lot since they played us,” Keating said. “They have changed up personnel on both sides. We have changed some things, too. I think we are pretty confident going into this. We have been tested. We beat three really good defenses to get here in Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Downingtown East, and Coatesville.”

North Penn is riding an eight-game winning streak since the Pennridge loss. The Knights have not won a District 1 Class 6A championship since 2016, the first year that PIAA instituted the Class 6A classification system. The Pennridge-North Penn winner will face the La Salle-Easton winner in the state semifinals next weekend.

This is a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinals, won by Roman, 48-14. Over their last three games, the Cahillites have averaged 53.3 points, having outscored their opponents by 160-28. Akron-bound senior quarterback Semaj Beals is the only Philadelphia-area quarterback to throw for more than 11,000 yards in his career, and he has two Division I threats in Ash Roberts and Eyan Stead Jr., both committed to Temple.

Roman coach Rick Prete may have the best team in the state. The Cahillites beat La Salle during the regular season and suffered one-point regular-season losses to St. Joseph’s Prep and Providence Day (N.C.). Hollidaysburg is averaging 50 points in its last three games. But the Golden Tigers have not faced a team as fast as Roman.

“Hollidaysburg is good, and faster than they were last year,” Prete said. “I feel good how we are playing right now, and we exposed ourselves early to learn what are flaws were. I feel we are battle-tested. Playing in the Catholic League and our nonleague schedule, and I don’t think we face anyone like the teams we saw. Styles make fights, and while we are battle-tested, we still have work to do. Springfield is really good, and Chester is really good and very well-coached. We are playing our best at the right time, but they are kids and we are trying to make sure we do not skip over any steps.”

This is the game of the weekend. Springfield, the No. 1 seed, is expecting more than 6,000 fans. It is a classic clash of the only two undefeated teams in the area, and they have been circling each other all season. Neither team has ever won a District 1 championship in football. Springfield has been to the district final four previous times (2014, 2016, 2017, and 2024).

Chester, the No. 2 seed, has reached the final once, losing to Strath Haven in 2023. Chester is having a historic season, winning the most games in a season. This is the longest the Clippers have ever gone undefeated. The Clippers have won their last two district playoff games without their best player, Daron Harris, who was serving a two-game suspension after being ejected in the Marple Newtown opening-round playoff game. Harris will be eligible to play, and he will be joined by 6-foot, 170-pound junior receiver Sekai Brown-Murray, who missed five games with a pulled hamstring. Jalen Harris, Daron’s twin and the Clippers’ quarterback, has filled in nicely as a defensive back with five interceptions this season. Senior running back and linebacker Jerrell Palmer anchors the middle while 6-8, 330-pound tackle Semaj Henry, who’s committed to Syracuse, blocks everything else out.

» READ MORE: Chester’s Shemaj Henry has played football for only three years. Now he’s bound for Syracuse.

“Springfield is a good football team, they are well coached, but we like where we are as a team right now,” Clippers coach Dennis Shaw said. “We are playing our best at the right time. We have seen everything teams can do to us with the power run.”

Springfield is 13-0 for the first time since 2017, when the Cougars lost to Unionville in the district final. Cougars coach Chris Britton has been successful behind his offensive line comprised of juniors Shane Kilroy (tight end), Zion Culbreth (left guard), Jaxon DeConti (center), and Alex McGinnis (right guard), along with seniors Dom Stewart (left tackle) and Michael Francks (right tackle). It is a young team made up of primarily sophomores and juniors.

“We are playing selfless football, and we focus on details,” Britton said. “We have very coachable kids. We hit adversity various times of the season and these guys didn’t get flustered. Chester is well coached; they do a good job of mixing things up. They throw well, they run well. They check a lot of boxes. We need to keep them off the field. If we give up explosive plays, we are going to have problems.”

The Lions get to play at Saquon Barkley’s alma mater after beating West Philadelphia, 34-6, in the District 12 championship on Saturday for O’Hara’s first district championship and first state playoff victory. Senior tailback Amahj Gowans has been exceptional, carrying the offensive load. O’Hara’s defense will rely on Hakim Allah, Sammy Dantonka, and Jalen Patterson, who were game wreckers against West Philly, combining for seven tackles for losses of 32 yards.

Neumann Goretti coach Albie Crosby continues to produce winners. He guided Imhotep Charter to the PIAA Class 3A state championship in 2015, enabling the Panthers to become the first Philadelphia Public League team to win a state championship. This year, he lost his starting quarterback, sophomore Shane “King” Salley, to injury in the season opener. He has since found 6-1, 170-pound freshman quarterback Marquis Coleman, who has produced a 6-1 record as a starter.

“We are playing hard and gritty — there is nothing pretty about our wins,” Crosby said. “We look like a South Philly boxer or point guard. We believe in Marquis. He’s very poised. Nothing bothers him. We need to go 3-0.”

This is Crusaders coach Dom D’Addona’s seventh season at the helm and this is the deepest Lansdale Catholic has gone in the PIAA state playoffs, since the late Hall of Fame coach Jim Algeo led the Crusaders to the 2004 PIAA Class 2A championship.

The Crusaders’ 43-7 victory over District 2 champion Lakeland last weekend was their first state playoff victory in 21 years. The Crusaders offense revolves around two-year senior quarterback Yeboa Cobbold. Cobbold threw for two touchdowns and scored one rushing in Lansdale Catholic’s opening-round romp over Lakeland.

This is Belmont’s fifth season as a program, and the Tigers have reached the PIAA quarterfinals for the first time. Freshman quarterback Nafis Watkins threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score in Belmont’s 36-20 victory over York Catholic. Lackawanna Trail’s Isaac Ryon is a game-wrecking threat. He rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions’ state playoff-opening 31-20 win over District 4 champion Line Mountain.