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2022-23 High School Opening Weekend: Friday Night Preview

12/01/2022, 2:00pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

For PIAA member schools across the state, Friday marks the first date of competition for the 2022-23 season, the start of the 22-game stretch that will determine who qualifies for league and district playoffs, who’s still alive for the six coveted PIAA titles come March.

While not every team in the area gets underway this weekend, dozens upon dozens will open up Friday night, in non-league showcase games and season-opening tournaments all across the area. Here’s a look at some of the top games and events to keep an eye on, as well as a complete list of the local tournaments.


Abington star Cire Worley (above) and the Ghosts are one of the hundreds of teams starting their seasons this weekend. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

CoBL does have full schedules and results uploaded for all of the area’s boys and girls’ high school programs. Bookmark these links, as they’ll be handy ones for the season

Boys HS Coverage + Schedules
Girls HS Coverage + Schedules

While the CoBL staff would love to be everywhere, we’re not going to be able to see all of the 100+ games played in the area each day. We’ll be checking out a few of the most exciting and interesting matchups around, like some of the following:

  • A big-time Catholic League vs. District 1 clash at Holy Family as Roman Catholic plays Plymouth Whitemarsh. Roman features the St. Joe’s-bound senior duo of Xzayvier Brown and Anthony Finkley plus sophomore forward Shareef Jackson, but they’re going to be young and inexperienced too much beyond that group. P-W starts with senior Qudire Burgess plus juniors Chase Coleman and Jaden Colzie, and head coach Jim Donofrio has a deep group of athletes to turn to on the bench to push the tempo and make opponents uncomfortable.

  • As part of a great four-game event at Souderton, the Abington vs. West Chester Rustin girls matchup pits two of the area’s top seniors head-to-head. Abington’s Cire Worley (UMass-Lowell) is a versatile 6-0 forward who excels in the mid-range and around the bucket, and she’s got experienced juniors and seniors around her. Same thing for Rustin’s Laine McGurk (Drexel), an athletic 5-10 shooting guard who’s one of the best shot-creators in the area, able to get looks from all three levels.

  • Out in Downingtown, West’s boys host Archbishop Wood at 8 PM in what should be a revealing test for two programs that are going to rely on some youth (albeit talented youth) to compete against the other top programs in the district/PCL. Downingtown West is led by Army commit Dylan Blair, one of the area’s top point guards with a scorer’s touch, while 6-5 sophomore Donovan Fromhartz is poised to emerge as a bona fide Division I prospect and standout in his own right. Wood’s breakout star in the making is junior Jalil Bethea, who’s racked in high-major offers after a terrific summer, but don’t sleep on his classmate Josh Reed or sophomores Deuce Maxey and Milan Dean. Oh, and their starting center Carson Howard is a 6-8 East Stroudsburg commit.

And now, a look at Friday night’s slate, starting with a few solo games to watch and then a list of all the area tournaments:

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Xzayvier Brown (above) and Roman Catholic are coming off the PIAA Class 6A championship. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Boys: Archbishop Carroll vs. Penn Wood (6 PM)
Boys: Roman Catholic vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:30 PM, Holy Family)
Boys: Downingtown West vs. Archbishop Wood (8 PM)

Girls: Bishop Shanahan vs. Conestoga (7 PM)
Girls: Westtown @ Paul VI (N.J.) (8:10 PM)

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Boys/Girls @ Bristol
G: Morrisville vs. Sayre (3:30 PM)
B: Morrisville vs. Sayre (5:00 PM)
G: Bristol vs. Lower Moreland (6:15 PM)
B: Bristol vs. King’s Christian (7:30 PM)

Boys @ Coatesville
Chichester vs. Lancaster Mennonite (6:00 PM)
Coatesville vs. JP McCaskey (7:45 PM)

Girls @ Downingtown West

Kennett vs. Radnor (5:30 PM)
Downingtown West vs. Phoenixville (7 PM)

Boys @ Hatboro-Horsham
Pennsbury vs. Northeast (5 PM)
Hatboro-Horsham vs. Robeson (7 PM)

Girls @ Haverford High
Merion Mercy vs. Audenried (5 PM)
Haverford High vs. Bonner-Prendergast (7 PM)

Girls @ Lower Merion
Agnes Irwin vs. Oxford (4:30 PM)
Lower Merion vs. Chichester (6:00 PM)

Girls @ Methacton
Harriton vs. Interboro (6 PM)
Ridley vs. Methacton (7:30 PM)

Girls @ Notre Dame
Notre Dame vs. George School (4:00 PM)
SCH Academy vs. Friends’ Central (5:30 PM)

Girls @ Owen J Roberts
Collegium Charter vs. Northampton (5:30 PM)
Coatesville vs. Owen J Roberts (7:00 PM)

Boys/Girls @ Pennridge
G: Pennridge vs. Villa Joseph Marie (5 PM)
B: CB East vs. William Tennent (5 PM)
G: Quakertown vs. CR North (8 PM)
B: Pennridge vs. Quakertown (8 PM)

Girls @ Perkiomen Valley
North Penn vs. Red Lion (5 PM)
Perkiomen Valley vs. Freedom (6:30 PM)

Boys @ Phoenixville
Harriton vs. Council Rock South (5 PM)
Phoenixville vs. Kennett (7 PM) 

Boys @ Pope John Paul II
Perk Valley vs. CB South (6:00 PM)
PJP II vs. CB West (7:30 PM) 

Girls @ Pottsgrove 

Pottstown vs. Norristown (5:30 PM)
Pottsgrove vs. Upper Darby (7:00 PM

Girls @ Shipley
Shipley School vs. Episcopal Academy (4:00 PM)
Germantown Friends vs. Lawrenceville Prep (N.J.) (5:30 PM)
Abington Friends vs. Cristo Rey (7 PM)

Boys/Girls @ Souderton
B: Dock Mennonite vs. Upper Dublin (3:30 PM)
G: Abington vs. West Chester Rustin (5:00 PM)
G: Souderton vs. Mt. St. Joseph (6:30 PM)
B: Souderton vs. Lansdale Catholic (8 PM)

Boys @ Springfield (Montco.)
Phil-Mont Christian vs. New Foundations (6:30 PM)
Springfield (Montco.) vs. Jenkintown (8 PM)

Boys @ Tacony Charter
Tacony Charter vs. Mercy Vo-Tech (4 PM)
MaST Charter vs. Calvary Christian (5:30 PM)

Boys/Girls @ Unionville
G: New Hope-Solebury vs. Hatboro-Horsham
B: Conestoga vs. Holy Ghost Prep (4:45 PM)
B: Unionville vs. Freire School (Del.) (6:15 PM)
G: Unionville vs. Conestoga Valley (7:45 PM)

Boys @ Upper Moreland
Upper Moreland vs. Franklin Towne (5:00 PM)
Upper Merion vs. New Hope-Solebury (7:00 PM)

Boys @ Wissahickon
Germantown Academy vs. La Salle (6:00 PM)
Wissahickon vs. Norristown (8 PM


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