Friday football preview: Rain could impact district playoffs and league finals

Plenty of high-stakes matchups involving Southeastern Pennsylvania squads are on tap this weekend. Rain, which is forecast for Friday night, could alter the outcomes of some contests.

In Catholic League finals on Friday, La Salle will face archrival St. Joseph's Prep for the Class 6A title and Archbishop Ryan will square off against Archbishop Wood for the 5A crown.

There are two rematches in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals: No. 8 seed Neshaminy vs. No. 1 North Penn and No. 10 Downingtown East vs. No. 2 Coatesville.

North Penn escaped familiar playoff foe Neshaminy, 34-33, in double overtime in the nonleague opener for both teams on Aug. 24. Coatesville easily handled Ches-Mont League National Division rival Downingtown East, 42-7, two weeks ago.

So far, the site or date of three district playoff games has been affected by the weather forecast.

Neshaminy vs. North Penn will be played at Wissahickon's turf field at 7 p.m. Friday.

Two District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals have been moved from Friday to Saturday. No. 9 seed Interboro will visit No. 1 Penn Wood at 6 p.m. at Kerr Field, and No. 5 West Chester Rustin and will take on No. 4 Academy Park at 7 p.m. at Strath Haven's King Field.

In taking on Del-Val League rival Interboro, Penn Wood is looking to move closer to the program's first district crown.

The Patriots are led on offense by dual-threat quarterback Desman Johnson Jr., running backs Elijah Gleplay and Michael Dargan, and receivers Kennedy Poles, Edmund Dennis, Bryan Parker, and Tayshon Harmon.

Defensively, Penn Wood's focus will be on slowing running back Michael Moore. The senior has carried 203 times for 988 yards and 16 touchdowns.

In Inter-Ac League play, the 132d meeting between Penn Charter and Germantown Academy is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Carey Stadium in Fort Washington.

The Quakers defeated the Patriots, 26-17, last season and lead the series, 84-36-11.

Penn Charter, with a 3-1 mark in Inter-Ac League play, can earn a share of the league title if beats GA (1-3) and first-place Malvern Prep (4-0) loses to host Springside Chestnut Hill (1-3) on the same day.

The Quakers' offensive catalysts are Temple-bound running back Edward Saydee and QB Kyle Jones. The Patriots, who have played the last four games without injured QB Jordan Longino, are ignited by running back Trae Vance and multipurpose threat Lacey Snowden.

Longino's replacement, Matt Brittingham, has completed 41 of 87 passes for 478 yards and four scores.

There are a pair of Public League championship games scheduled for Saturday at Northeast.

Simon Gratz meets Martin Luther King for the Class 5A title at 1 p.m. and Northeast faces Thanksgiving Day rival Central for top 6A honors at 6 p.m.