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PIAA Playoff Preview: Local Quarterfinal Highlights (March 16)

03/15/2022, 3:00pm EDT
By Josh Verlin & Andrew Robinson

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

The Keystone state’s down to eight. 

Wednesday night are the quarterfinal rounds for the girls’ 2A, 3A and 6A brackets and the boys’ 1A, 4A and 5A tournaments, with 13 teams from District 1 and District 12 still in the running in the six brackets mentioned above. 

Here’s a closer look at some of the more important storylines regarding CoBL-area squads for Wednesday night’s games:

Archbishop Wood, Gwynedd Mercy Academy meet again

Six years ago, Archbishop Wood met Gwynedd Mercy Academy in the 2016 PIAA 3A quarterfinals in one of the most anticipated pairings of that year’s state playoffs.


Vanderbilt commit Ryanne Allen (above) and Archbishop Wood play Gwynedd Mercy in Wednesday's 4A quarterfinal. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Wood won that one on its way to a state title.

A year ago, Archbishop Wood met Gwynedd Mercy Academy in the 2021 PIAA 4A quarterfinals with both teams playing at a high level.

Wood won that one on its way to a state title.

On Wednesday at Wissahickon, the Vikings and Monarchs will go at it again in another highly anticipated game between two of the best teams in the area with only one getting to move on to the semifinals. 

Wood wasn’t able to capture a PCL title like it did in 2016 and 2021 but still has its sights on a state title to send seniors Ryanne Allen, Bri Bowen and Shannon Morgan out as the program’s first repeat champions since the 2016 and 2017 squads.

Gwynedd Mercy, like it did in 2016, won the AACA title and has yet to lose this winter. For seniors Sofia and Bianca Coleman and Maddie Newell, plus the injured Jenna Mangan, there’d be no better ending than a perfect season ending in the program’s first state title.

Last year’s game was all Vikings as Wood started fast and never gave GMA much of a chance to punch back. This year, both teams are built on their defense and every possession expects to be vital with neither side conceding much in the way of points.

Monarchs point guard Hannah Griffin will face a lot of defensive pressure, and likely a lot of match-ups against Bowen or Delaney Finnegan off the Vikings’ bench as Wood will try to use its depth and length to its advantage.

Allen, off to Vanderbilt in a few months, is no stranger to drawing a lot of defensive attention but even that often isn’t enough to slow her down. The Vikings got a strong game from forward Deja Evans against Scranton Prep on Sunday and have plenty of players capable of scoring and playing defense.

Whichever team emerges with the win won’t have long to savor it, with a semifinal against Dunmore or Jim Thorpe waiting on Saturday.

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Devon Prep out for revenge on West Catholic in PCL rematch

Six teams are still alive from the Philadelphia Catholic League, but at most five will survive the middle part of the week. West Catholic (21-5) and Devon Prep (16-7) will do battle at Cardinal O’Hara Wednesday night, with tipoff scheduled for 6 PM, in the third meeting this season between the Burrs and the Tide; West Catholic took each of the first two, both on its home court, 79-57 on Feb. 13 in the regular season and 68-56 on Feb. 18 in the PCL quarterfinals.


Zion Stanford (above, in December) is West Catholic's leading scorer this season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

During the regular season, Miguel Bocachica’s Burrs were one of the favorites in the Catholic League, and they’re still a major threat to win a state championship for the first time on the boys side. Junior point guard Adam ‘Budd’ Clark (11.9 ppg, 6.3 apg) is the engine that makes them go, though junior wing Zion Stanford (14.9 ppg leads them in scoring). However, they will be without their second-leading scorer, talented junior guard Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui (11.4 ppg), who has to sit out the state playoffs after transferring in from Sankofa Freedom this offseason.

There’s some serious height on the West Catholic squad, including 6-8 East Stroudsburg commit Nasir Griffin (8.4 ppg) and the CSU-Bakersfield bound Watson twins, Kareem (7.7 ppg) and Kaseem (10.7 ppg). That’s a problem for a Devon Prep squad which isn’t tiny but doesn’t really have a true big, relying on 6-4 wings Lucas Orchard and Jacen Holloway to play bigger than their size and handle some of the dirty work in the paint.

Orchard (15.6 ppg, 3.6 apg) has emerged as the Tide’s leading scorer, enjoying a breakout junior year; he’s one of four double-figure scorers for Jason Fisher’s group, along with senior guard Argel ‘IV’ Pettit (14.4 ppg), Holloway (13.0 ppg) and Susquehanna-bound senior guard Allen Cieslak (10.9 ppg), all of whom make better than 33.5% from 3-point range. 

Devon Prep needs to control the tempo if it wants to finally get past West Catholic, which is an absolute terror in transition, and won’t hesitate to go to its full-court press at every opportunity. The winner of this game gets either Math, Civics & Sciences — which beat West Catholic in the District 12 championship game — or District 2 champ Holy Redeemer in the semi-finals on Saturday ,and the winner of that game is highly likely to be the favorites in Hershey on March 26.

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Duel in Delco as Springfield, Cardinal O’Hara meet for final four spot

Springfield is playing Cardinal O’Hara at Archbishop Carroll with a spot in the PIAA 5A final four at stake.

It’d be really difficult to write a more Delco-centric sentence than that. It’s also just what the county has to look forward to on Wednesday as two of its top programs go toe-to-toe in the quarterfinals.


Marshall commit Sydni Scott (above) is one of two 1,000-point scorers on the Lions. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

That both teams have made it this far isn’t a surprise, given the respective programs’ pedigree at the Delco, league, district and state level. Just a year ago, the Lions of O’Hara knocked out the Cougars of Springfield in the contracted 5A tournament’s semifinal round.

Springfield comes in after a close win over Central League rival Marple Newtown while O’Hara had a long ride out to West York but not much trouble dispatching Greencastle-Antrim on Sunday.

It’s been a pretty simple formula for the Lions this season. They play smothering defense, share the ball exceptionally well and usually their blend of size and skill just wears down the opposition. Of course, having players the caliber of seniors Maggie Doogan, Annie Welde and Sydni Scott, plus a standout freshman in Molly Rullo who can do all of those things interchangeably makes it a lot easier.

The Cougars didn’t have a typical Springfield season, in that they didn’t win a Central League or District 1 title but they do happen to be the last team from District 1 left in the 5A bracket. Junior Mia Valerio has done plenty to help that effort, scoring double figures in both state games so far including Sunday’s payback win over Marple-Newtown. Anabel Kreydt is the Cougars’ best defender and added a scoring punch against the Tigers, something Springfield will need again if it wants to emerge as the last team standing in Delco.

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Cheltenham ready to prove itself against Roman Catholic

One more Catholic League vs. District 1 clash that’s sure to create some fireworks will be taking place at Cardinal O’Hara after the West Catholic/Devon Prep showdown wraps up. PCL powerhouse Roman Catholic will be the favorite against Cheltenham, no doubt about that, but Pat Fleury’s Panthers have only tasted defeat once this season, in the District 1 6A semifinals, and aren’t aiming to sample it again.


Shareef Jackson (44) gives Roman some size that Cheltenham can't match outright. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The Cahillites (21-4) are led by the all-around force that is senior wing Daniel Skillings Jr. The 6-7 Cincinnati signee is averaging 19.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg, using his plus wingspan to be a full-court defensive presence. Senior guard Khalil Farmer (16.0 ppg), a Hofstra commit, and junior guard Xzayvier Brown (14.3 ppg) are strong scorers in their own right who can create for themselves and others, while sophomore guard Toby Ojukwu (8.6 ppg) and freshman forward Shareef Jackson (4.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg) have both generally played beyond their years.

Cheltenham (30-1), the Suburban One League champion, doesn’t have the size of Skillings or the 6-8 Jackson, but that didn’t bother the Panthers in beating Cedar Cliff and its frontcourt of 6-9 Tyler Houser and 6-11 Justin Houser in the opening round. Fleury relies on the play of 6-5 senior wing Justin Savage, who comes off the bench but plays starters’ minutes, to provide some interior disruption. But they also need Savage on the court for his scoring ability alongside classman Rasheem Dearry, a 6-3 shooter, and Josiah Hutson, a 6-1 freshman point guard.

After missing out on the abbreviated state playoffs entirely last year, and then falling short to Neumann-Goretti in the Catholic League semifinals, this is the last title opportunity for Skillings and Farmer, and they played like it in a 59-26 win over Central Dauphin in the second round. Cheltenham should put up more of a fight, but — as good as the Panthers have been this year — they haven’t played anybody of Roman’s caliber all year.

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Lower Merion, Scranton rematch 11 years in the making

The last time Lower Merion and Scranton faced off in the PIAA tournament, it was 2011, when the Aces pulled off an opening-round upset of the Knights, 44-42 in overtime. Gregg Downer’s squad won’t be the underdog this time, coming in with a 26-3 record and a District 1 championship under its belt, not to mention two future Division I players on the roster.

The inside-out play of senior big man Demetrius Lilley (Penn State) and junior Sam Brown has made the Aces a tough guard all season long; teams either have to focus their attention on the 6-9, 235-pound Lilley, who’s an excellent finisher and put-back specialist that can also stretch the floor to the 3-point arc, or Brown and fellow junior Sam Wright, both of whom can light it up from deep. Senior guard Jaylen Shippen and junior Justin Poles give the Aces a pair of dribble-drive specialists, and Downer has a couple other shooters he can throw in the mix as well.


Jason Shields (above, last July) and Scranton are the District 2 6A champs. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Scranton’s route to the quarterfinals has come through two District 1 teams: West Chester East (84-70) and then Garnet Valley, Scranton squeaking by their other Central League opponent 52-49 in OT after a last-second GV 3-pointer was just off the mark. 

The Knights (23-2) don’t have the size inside to match up with Lilley, but Tony Battaglia’s District 2 champs are plenty dangerous. They’re led by 6-5 senior guard Jason Shields, a three-level scorer averaging 21.8 ppg, who’s attracting attention from scholarship-level programs. The second-leading scorer is 6-2 guard Arvel Chandler (11.7 ppg), a good outside shooter who can play point guard when needed; 6-4 AJ Dinterman and 6-3 Josh Williams, both seniors — there are nine seniors on the roster — will be counted on to defend, rebound, and fill in the gaps. 

So far, slowing down Lilley — who’s had numerous 20-20 games this season — has proven to be nearly impossible for anybody who doesn’t have the size to match. Battaglia’s won a lot of games in his time on the Scranton sideline, but so has Downer, and Lower Merion’s got something extra to play for this season. Should be a great one at Freedom High School.

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Boys’ 2A Quarterfinals
Constitution vs. Holy Cross (Liberty HS, 6 PM)

Boys’ 3A Quarterfinals
Math, Civics & Sciences vs. Holy Redeemer (Freedom HS, 6 PM)
West Catholic vs. Devon Prep (6 PM, Cardinal O’Hara) 

Boys’ 6A Quarterfinals
Archbishop Wood vs. North Hills (5 PM, Chambersburg)
Roman Catholic vs. Cheltenham (7:30 PM, Cardinal O’Hara)
Lower Merion vs. Scranton (7:30 PM, Freedom HS)

Girls’ 1A Quarterfinals
Faith Christian vs. Williamsburg (Central Dauphin East, 5:00 PM)

Girls’ 4A Quarterfinals
Archbishop Wood vs. Gwynedd Mercy (7 PM, Wissahickon)
Lansdale Catholic vs. Delone Catholic (7 PM, Garden Spot)

Girls’ 5A Quarterfinals
Cardinal O’Hara vs. Springfield (Delco.) (6 PM, Archbishop Carroll)


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