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PIAA Playoff Preview: Local First-Round Highlights (March 9)

03/07/2022, 2:00pm EST
By Andrew Robinson & Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)

The PIAA state playoffs continue their first round Wednesday night, with six brackets opening First Round play: 2A, 3A and 6A on the boys side; 1A, 4A and 5A on the girls. 

There are 34 games taking place involving teams from District 1 and District 12, at 27 different schools around the eastern half of the state, following up a 38-game day on Tuesday. Some of the best programs in the area will start runs that they hope will end with a giant chocolate bar in Hershey, while others are getting their first taste of states in decades, just hoping to stick around for longer than a night.

Here are a few games of note and storylines to watch on the opening night of states; full brackets can be found here on the PIAA’s website:

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Cheltenham-Cedar Cliff highlights boys’ 6A slate


Josiah Hutson (above) and Cheltenham host Cedar Cliff in a boys' 6A first-round game on Wednesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The opening night of the 6A tournament is always fun to watch, with a number of deep, proud, talented programs who’ve had excellent seasons from December until now get ready to either make a deep run or go home disappointed. Quite a few of those games will take place outside the Delaware Valley: Downingtown West travels to Reading, Abington up to Pocono Mt. West, Penn Wood to Parkland, and West Chester East to Scranton.

But one of the top games of the first night should be at Cheltenham, as Tigh Savercool’s Cedar Cliff squad, the No. 4 seed out of District 3, makes the trip out from Camp Hill, Pa. — just outside Harrisburg — to take on one of the best from District 1. 

The Colts (21-6) feature senior center and VMI commit Tyler Houser, a bruising 6-9 forward with a sizeable toolbox of offensive abilities, who enters the night with 999 points for his career; Houser’s younger brother, 6-11 sophomore Justin Houser, gives Savercool some real size up front to work with. Senior guard Charlie Werner, a strong ball-handler and 3-point specialist, is the main perimeter threat, while junior Ayden Frey is another guard to watch out for.

Cheltenham doesn’t have that type of size inside, and it cost the Panthers (28-1) dearly in their district semifinal loss to Lower Merion, when 6-9 Demetrius Lilley put together a 20-point, 24-rebound double-double. They do have some terrific senior wings in 6-3 Rasheem Deary, a strong shooter, and 6-4 Justin Savage, a Swiss Army-type threat who comes off the bench but plays starters’ minutes, a 6-4 Brandon Bush, a lanky defensive specialist. Freshman point guard Josiah Hutson has also been one of the top youngsters around.

Should be a great one at Cheltenham. 

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Devon Prep and Dock Mennonite should bring the fireworks

Whatever the over is for this game, it might still be too low.

The more chaotic the game, the more it seems to benefit the Pioneers but if there’s a team geared to handle a frantic defense, it’s the Tide, who get a state playoff rematch with an old rival from their time in the Bicentennial Athletic League. Devon Prep’s had some time off since losing in the PCL quarterfinals on Feb. 18, but it may need the fresh legs if the Pioneers play at the high tempo they try to get opponents to keep up with.

Dock’s pace is often set by junior Nathan Lapp, an athletic guard who is also a Division I caliber baseball prospect, with senior Tomir Johnson a very capable outside shooter. While the Pioneers usually follow their two guards’ lead, forward Hoyt Bultje can score and rebound, Marob Willis adds some size and Tony Martin is an athletic slasher.

The Tide don’t have anyone over 6-foot-4, but they don’t necessarily size for this matchup either. Taking care of the ball will be paramount and Devon Prep does that well while also setting up efficient shots for the likes of Ty Mishock, IV Pettit and Lucas Orchard.

With two teams that play with a lot of energy, this one has the potential to be a barn-burner that keeps everyone entertained right to the end.

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Ryan doubleheader features four local squads


Mary O'Brien (L) and Nikki Mostardi are part of the first-ever Marple Newtown girls basketball team to make states. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Most of the area’s doubleheaders feature at least one program from out of town, if not two. The only spot to bet Wednesday if you want to see four teams from the region play is Archbishop Ryan, which has a couple District 1 vs. District 12 matchups, more specifically Central League vs. Catholic League.

The opener features the No. 5 seed out of District 1, Central League runner-up Marple Newtown, against St. Hubert’s, the No. 1 seed out of District 12. The Bambies (11-11) finished 4-6 in Catholic League play but ahead of Ryan and Little Flower, but find themselves in their current position due to an issue with Cardinal O’Hara, who self-reported an issue with transfer paperwork, and got bumped from the No. 1 seed down to the No. 3 seed. Hubert’s, which had been the 12-2 seed, moved up, as did Roxborough, who had been the 12-3. 

Huberts’ standout is senior wing Gianna Grassifulli, who averaged better than 18 ppg and 12 rpg this year, while junior Mackenzie McLaughlin averaged just shy of double digits. Marple Newtown, playing in the state tournament for the first time in program history, features senior Nikki Mostardi, junior Mary O’Brien, and senior Haley Levy as its top three scoring options.

Once that game wraps up, Roman Catholic and Haverford High’s boys square off. 

Chris McNesby’s Cahillites (19-4), the District 12 champs, are stewing after falling short in their quest to win a Catholic League championship, losing to eventual champs Neumann-Goretti in the league semifinals. They’re certainly one of the state tournament favorites, led by Cincinnati commit Daniel Skillings, an ever-present 6-7 wing, as well as 6-3 Hofstra pledge Khalil Farmer, a talented three-level scorer, and 6-2 junior guard Xzayvier Brown, another future Division I ballplayer. 

Haverford High (18-6), which was the No. 5 seed in the District 1 playoffs but qualified as the No. 11 seed, has its work cut out for it, though this is one of the better teams Keith Heinerichs has had in his decade with the Fords. Seniors Nick Colucci (Scranton) and JR Newman can both light it up and attack the rim while playing good defense, and junior guard Googie Seidman has terrific range on his shot. But the quality of depth on Roman, plus the presence of 6-8 freshman Shareef Jackson, is going to make it a tough night for Haverford.

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Battle of the Crusaders as LC hosts LC

At least the school colors are different. Well, at least one of the school colors is different.

From the mascot to the abbreviation to their shared use of yellow, there’s a lot shared between Lancaster Catholic and Lansdale Catholic. Lancaster Catholic has to make the trip out this way, but this is a program used to making state playoff road trips while Lansdale Catholic, save for a couple players, is pretty new to this state tournament thing.

Lansdale Catholic will have to knock any rust off very quickly. The PCL’s Crusaders haven’t played since getting knocked out of the PCL playoffs on Feb. 17 while the L-L’s Crusaders have been locked in on a playoff run through last week.

All season, Lansdale Catholic has gone as Gabby Casey has gone with the first team All-PCL junior putting up some huge performances and picking up a few D-I offers along the way. She can’t do it all though and LC will need sophomore shooter Liv Boccella and freshman guard Saniyah Littlejohn to be sharp as they both get their first state experience.

Jeriyah Johnson leads a Lancaster Catholic team that’s big on balance and built its foundation on teamwork. Lily Lehman, Mary Bolesky and Autumn Lipson add punch for a Crusaders bunch that has plenty of floor spacers and usually plays tenacious defense.

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Expect excitement at West Philly doubleheader


Jahim Bethea (above) and MCS captured the District 12 3A championship over West Catholic. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

If you’re looking for a doubleheader that’s likely to see higher-scoring games than any other, West Philadelphia is the place to be on Wednesday night. A 3A boys matchup between Notre Dame-Green Pond and Math, Civics & Sciences followed by a 6A clash between Garnet Valley and Abraham Lincoln brings in four teams that love to put the ball in the bucket.

Math, Civics & Sciences, which won the PIAA Class 2A state championship in 2019, features an electric backcourt combo in seniors Jahim Bethea and Trent Middleton, as well as bruising-but-nimble 6-9 senior forward Khalif Crawley. The Mighty Elephants (19-8), who captured the District 12 3A title over West Catholic, are no strangers to the high-tempo atmosphere of the Public League, and have scored 70+ eight times this season; Notre Dame has hit that mark 16 times. The Crusaders are led by 5-11 guard and Kutztown commit Brendan Boyle, but senior forward Lucas Altmire has made big plays in the postseason as well.

In the local matchup, Lincoln showed it was one of the best teams in the state during the regular season, beating 5A favorites Imhotep in a Public League showdown, but Mel Lindsay’s squad is down two of their top players, Aymere Thomas and Rashan Locke-Hicks, as they’re both transfers and thus must sit out the state playoffs. But Lindsay still has plenty of depth and length left, including senior Tamir Powell, senior Khrys Murray, and sophomore NaSeem Wright, who combined for 33 points in Lincoln’s eight-point loss to Imhotep in the Pub championship game.

That opens the door for Garnet Valley (17-10), which qualified as the No. 6 team out of District 1. Mike Brown’s turned the Jaguars from a doormat to an annual Central League contender, and they’re now in states for the second time in three years. Junior guard Max Koehler is the first option on offense, but senior Ryan Wootten and freshman Jake Sniras can both light it up, while junior wing Logan McKee, junior Ryan Faccenda and senior Nolan Brennan give them some interior presence.

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Weds., March 9
Boys’ 3A First Round
String Theory at Executive Education, 7pm
Devon Prep at Dock Mennonite, 7pm
Freire Charter vs Columbia (at Manheim Twp), 7:30pm

Boys’ 6A First Round
Chambersburg at Lower Merion, 6pm
Abington at Pocono Mtn West, 7pm
West Chester East at Scranton, 7pm
Bensalem at Central Dauphin, 7pm
Penn Wood at Parkland, 7pm
Cedar Cliff at Cheltenham, 7pm
Hempfield at Norristown, 7pm
Downingtown West at Reading, 7pm
Northampton at Methacton, 7pm

Girls’ 1A First Round
Jenkintown at Susquehanna, 6pm
Sankofa Freedom at Chrisitan School of York, 7pm

Girls’ 4A First Round
Bishop McDevitt (Dist 3) at Archbishop Wood, 7pm
Freire Charter at Jim Thorpe, 7pm
Mastery Charter North vs Villa Joseph Marie (at La Salle College HS), 7pm

Girls’ 5A First Round
Radnor at Mechanicsburg, 7pm
Cardinal O’Hara at Bishop Shanahan, 7pm
Springfield (Delco) at Lower Dauphin, 7pm

PIAA doubleheaders
At Spring-Ford
5A girls: West York vs Villa Maria, 6pm
2A boys: Sankofa Freedom vs Church Farm 7:30pm

At St Joe’s Prep
2A boys: Tri-Valley vs Paul Robeson, 6pm
2A boys: Delone Catholic vs Constitution, 7:30pm

At Wissahickon
4A girls: Audenreid vs Gwynedd Mercy Academy, 6pm
1A girls: New Covenant Christian vs Faith Christian, 7:30pm

At Bonner-Prendergast
4A girls: Lancaster Catholic vs Lansdale Catholic, 6pm
3A boys: Tulpehocken vs West Catholic, 7:30pm

At Archbishop Ryan
5A girls: Marple Newtown vs St. Hubert’s, 6pm
6A boys: Haverford vs Roman Catholic, 7:30pm

At West Philadelphia
3A boys: Notre Dame-Green Pond vs Math, Civics and Sciences, 5:30pm
6A boys: Abraham Lincoln vs Garnet Valley, 7:30pm

At Cardinal O’Hara
5A girls: Manheim Central vs Roxborough, 5:30pm
6A boys: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs Archbishop Wood, 7:30pm


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