Friday’s Southeastern Pa. football playoffs roundup: Radnor beats Marple Newtown in final seconds
The top games from Friday's football playoffs in Southeastern Pa.
Sean Mullarkey threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jahmair Rider as time expired to give Radnor a 27-25 decision over Marple Newtown in the first round of the playoffs on a rainy Friday night. The 14th-seeded Tigers seemed primed to pull off an upset after Joe Paoletti connected with Colin Ferry for a 66-yard score, making it 25-21 Marple Newtown with less than two minutes to play. But Rider's late score gave Radnor its first-ever District 1 Class 5A playoff win.
Next up for Radnor is Unionville. Connor Schilling's short touchdown run in the fourth quarter clinched Unionville's 9-0 victory over Springfield (Delco). It was a rematch of last year's District 1 Class 5A title game, which the Indians won 35-25.
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Desman Johnson Jr. accounted for five touchdowns as top seed Penn Wood cruised past Kennett, 40-6, in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A playoffs. Kennedy Poles caught two touchdown passes and broke the Delaware County record for career receiving yards. The record was previously held by Sun Valley's Ray Withelder, who finished his career with 2,851 in 1999. Penn Wood entered the game with an 0-3 record in the district playoffs. The Patriots will play Interboro in the quarterfinals after the Buccaneers defeated Upper Merion.
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Lucas Roselli ran for three scores and added a receiving touchdown in Upper Dublin's 41-12 victory over Phoenixville. The second-seeded Cardinals will take on Cheltenham next week.
Cheltenham took down West Chester East, 28-21, thanks to Jamir Barnes' 13-yard touchdown run with less than six minutes remaining.
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In Class 6A action, Christian Patrick and Brad Bryan scored rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give No. 11 seed Quakertown a 26-14 triumph over Perkiomen Valley.
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Running back Aaron Young scored three times as Coatesville kept its perfect season alive with a 48-10 rout of Central Bucks East. The Red Raiders' quick-strike offense spurred by quarterback Ricky Ortega, Young, and wide receiver Dapree Bryant put up 472 points during the regular season. Coatesville (11-0) beat Garnet Valley in last year's district final.
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RJ Macnamara had two rushing touchdowns in the second half as top seed North Penn got past Ridley, 26-16. Solomon Robinson threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Knights (11-0), who will face Neshaminy next week.
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Reginald Holiday blocked two punts and returned one for a touchdown as Central defeated Southern, 23-6, in the Public League Class 6A semifinals. Emmanuel Freeman put the game away with a 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Rashann Henry led the defense with 11 total tackles and one sack.
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In Class 5A action, Martin Luther King held off Frankford, 16-6, thanks to stingy defense and a few critical plays on offense. Senior quarterback Cameron Carter finished with 203 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-31 passing. His 20-yard strike to Mahmoud Ware with 7 minutes, 37 seconds left in the third quarter helped put the Pioneers (2-9) away for good. King (10-2) will face Simon Gratz, a 20-14 winner over Mastery North, in next week's championship game.
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Kyle McCord threw three touchdown passes as St. Joseph's Prep posted a 38-0 shutout against Roman Catholic in the Catholic League Class 6A semifinals. The Hawks will play La Salle in next week's final. The Explorers advanced with a 49-22 triumph over Father Judge.