Skip to content
High School

High school football: It’s a big weekend for PIAA district playoffs and state qualifiers

Bristol and Lansdale Catholic will meet on Saturday in a state Class 2A qualifier. In Class 4A, Pope John Paul II will host Bishop Shanahan on Friday for the District 1 title.

Coatesville will host Council Rock South in a District 1 Class 6A quarterfinal on Friday.
Coatesville will host Council Rock South in a District 1 Class 6A quarterfinal on Friday. Read moreSteven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

The PIAA district playoffs in high school football are in full swing and the state playoffs start soon. There’s less than a month to go until the state championships, which will be played Dec. 4, 5, and 6 at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field.

The PIAA is broken into six classifications based on school enrollment and participation. Smaller schools compete in the Classes 1A, 2A, and 3A; larger schools make up Classes 4A, 5A, and 6A.

District playoffs and state qualifiers are set for this weekend, and several talented teams are coming out of District 1, which includes Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties.

» READ MORE: La Salle takes down St. Joe’s Prep to win Catholic League 6A crown: ‘This is only the beginning’

Then there’s District 12, which includes the Philadelphia Public and Catholic Leagues. In previous years, the larger schools in District 12 have faced District 11 schools — based out of Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties — in the state quarterfinals, which will be held on Nov. 21 or 22. Depending on how the bracket shakes out, Districts 1 and 12 could meet in the state semifinals on Nov. 28 or 29.

Last year, we saw St. Joseph’s Prep, which won the PIAA 6A crown, defeat District 1’s Downingtown West, 36-7, in the state semifinals. This year, La Salle beat the Prep for the Class 6A Catholic League title and ended its season.

Let’s take a look at the area teams competing in district playoffs and state qualifiers this weekend.

District 1

Class 2A

  1. Bristol (9-2) beat New Hope-Solebury, 48-8, last weekend to win the District 1 crown, and will face District 12 champion Lansdale Catholic (9-2) in a state qualifier at the Germantown Supersite on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Crusaders routed Audenried Charter, 56-8, for the district title.

The winner will face Dunmore of Lackawanna County or Lakeland of Wayne County out of District 2 on Nov. 14 or 15.

Class 4A

  1. Pope John Paul II (10-1) will host Bishop Shanahan (7-4) on Friday (7 p.m.) for the district title.

The winner will take on North Pocono of Lackawanna County or Dallas of Luzerne County from District 2 on the following weekend.

Class 5A

  1. Springfield (Delco) (11-0) will host Penncrest (8-3) in a district quarterfinal Friday at 7 p.m. Springfield is the top seed in District 1 5A and beat Penncrest, 36-14, during the regular season.

  2. Unionville (7-4) will visit Strath Haven (9-2) on Friday (7 p.m.) in the other semifinal. The winner will take on Springfield or Penncrest in the next round.

  3. Chester (11-0) hosts Garnet Valley (8-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Chester will face a true test against Garnet Valley, which lost to Coatesville and Springfield of Class 6A but beat Downingtown East in the regular season.

  4. Kennett (9-2) will visit West Chester Rustin (9-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. These two teams squared off during the regular season, with Rustin coming up on top, 31-10. The winner faces Chester or Garnet Valley.

» READ MORE: Kennett’s Shay Barker is following in his older brother’s footsteps, one kick at a time

Class 6A

  1. Top seed Pennridge (10-1) hosts Downingtown East (8-3) in a quarterfinal Friday at 7 p.m. Pennridge, with the best record in District 1 Class 6A, won the Suburban One League title this season.

  2. Council Rock South (10-1) will visit Coatesville (9-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. The winner plays Pennridge or Downingtown East.

  3. North Penn (9-2) hosts Souderton (9-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Knights beat Downingtown East and Council Rock South during the regular season but lost to Pennridge.

  4. Owen J Roberts (8-3) will visit Neshaminy (8-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are coming off an upset of Downingtown West last week. The winner will face North Penn or Souderton in the next round.

District 12

Class 3A

  1. Neumann Goretti (7-4) and John Bartram (7-3) will go head-to-head at South Philadelphia Supersite on Saturday at noon for the district title.

Class 4A

  1. Cardinal O’Hara (7-4) will host Bonner-Prendergast (6-4) on Saturday at 11 a.m. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the PIAA playoffs.

» READ MORE: Grieving Roman Catholic coach and his family find solace in their football community

Class 5A

  1. Top seed Roman Catholic (7-3) will play Olney (6-4) at the Germantown Supersite on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Cahillites could make a deep run in states. They handed La Salle (Class 6A) its lone loss of the season. The winner will face Whitehall of Lehigh County or Pocono Mountain East of Monroe County from District 11.

Class 6A

  1. Imhotep Charter and Abraham Lincoln meet for the second time this season for the Public League championship on Saturday at noon at the Northeast Supersite. The last time these two teams squared off was in the regular-season finale, when Lincoln upset Imhotep, 26-25. The winner will face PCL Class 6A champion La Salle (9-1), which has a bye, on Nov. 15. A time and location have not been determined.