Road to Hershey hits final straightaway at PIAA finals
By:
Wednesday, December 5, 2018 | 8:45 PM
The finish line to the 2018 high school football season is in sight, and it’s going to be a sweet ending for six teams.
Part of that is winning a PIAA championship with the added bonus of doing it at the sweetest place on earth.
For the 21st season in a row, the state championships will be played at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey.
Only two WPIAL teams will be part of the festivities as Penn Hills makes its first state title trip since 1995 in the Class 5A championship game at 7 p.m. Friday, while Aliquippa plays for a PIAA title for the first time in 15 years in the Class 3A finals at noon Saturday.
In the first two years of the six-classification era, the WPIAL sent four teams to Hershey in both 2016 and 2017.
This marks the eighth time the WPIAL has only sent two teams to the PIAA championships in 30 previous years of the event, with 2015 being the most recent.
In those seven previous years (1991, ’94, ’97, ’99, 2006, ’09, ’15), the WPIAL teams split, going 1-1 each time.
The district breakdown has District 3 and District 10 leading with three teams, followed by the WPIAL and District 12 with two teams each. District 2 and District 4 each have one team playing for state gold this weekend.
CLASS 6A
Championship
St. Joe’s Prep (12-0) vs. Harrisburg (13-1) at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.
Semifinals
St. Joe’s Prep 37, Pine-Richland 0
Harrisburg 27, Coatesville 24
Quarterfinals
Pine-Richland 56, State College 33
St. Joe’s Prep 42, Bethlehem Freedom 14
Harrisburg, Bye
Coatesville 42, North Penn 13
First round
Pine-Richland 34, Seneca Valley 7
State College 56, Delaware Valley 19
St. Joe’s Prep 49, Northeast 14
Bethlehem Freedom 49, Emmaus 17
Harrisburg 16, Central Dauphin 6
North Penn 35, Downingtown West 21
Coatesville 42, Garnet Valley 7
CLASS 5A
Championship
Penn Hills (15-0) vs. Manheim Central (14-0) at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Penn Hills 20, Archbishop Wood 13
Manheim Central 34, Upper Dublin 12
Quarterfinals
Penn Hills 28, West Allegheny 18
Archbishop Wood 38, Hollidaysburg 7
Upper Dublin 35, West Chester Rustin 28
Manheim Central 48, Cocalico 14
First round
West Allegheny 42, Gateway 28
Penn Hills 22, Peters Township 14
Hollidaysburg 31, Wallenpaupack 0
Archbishop Wood 57, Simon Gratz 6
West Chester Rustin 10, Penn Wood 8
Upper Dublin 40, Unionville 7
Manheim Central 42, Cedar Cliff 20
Cocalico 61, York William Penn 35
CLASS 4A
Championship
Cathedral Prep (12-3) vs. Imhotep Charter (11-2) at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Cathedral Prep 48, Bishop McDevitt 7
Imhotep Charter 41, Bethlehem Catholic 0
Quarterfinals
Cathedral Prep 42, South Fayette 10
Bishop McDevitt 41, Berks Catholic 31
Imhotep Charter 37, Valley View 19
Bethlehem Catholic 58, Pottsgrove 20
First round
South Fayette 31, Thomas Jefferson 24
Cathedral Prep 55, Clearfield 21
Bishop McDevitt 40, Conrad Weiser 16
Berks Catholic 49, Milton Hershey 21
Valley View 49, Dallas 14
Imhotep Charter 20, Cardinal O’Hara 0
Bethlehem Catholic 73, Saucon Valley 14
Pottsgrove 14, Jersey Shore 10
CLASS 3A
Championship
Aliquippa (13-1) vs. Middletown (13-1) at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Saturday, Dec. 8 at noon
Semifinals
Aliquippa 41, Sharon 7
Middletown 35, Scranton Prep 21
Quarterfinals
Aliquippa, Bye
Sharon 28, Bald Eagle 7
Middletown 21, Conwell-Egan 14
Scranton Prep 45, Montoursville 7
First round
Aliquippa 42, Derry 19
Bald Eagle 35, Bedford 14
Sharon 23, Grove City 6
Middletown 42, Bermudian Springs 20
Conwell-Egan 28, North Schuylkill 14
Scranton Prep 47, Lakeland 19
Montoursville 32, Danville 0
CLASS 2A
Championship
Wilmington (13-1) vs. Southern Columbia (15-0) at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Friday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m.
Semifinals
Wilmington 26, Steel Valley 6
Southern Columbia 42, West Catholic 6
Quarterfinals
Steel Valley 48, South Side 6
Wilmington 56, Ridgway 14
West Catholic 35, Richland 7
Southern Columbia 56, York Catholic 23
First round
South Side 26, Charleroi 21
Steel Valley 40, Freedom 0
Ridgway 14, Brockway 7
Wilmington 40, Chestnut Ridge 33
Richland 21, Ligonier Valley 12
West Catholic 21, Dunmore 3
Southern Columbia 39, Mt. Carmel 14
York Catholic, Bye
CLASS A
Championship
Farrell (14-0) vs. Lackawanna Trail (14-1) at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
Semifinals
Farrell 41, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 10
Lackawanna Trail 24, Juniata Valley 14
Quarterfinals
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Bye
Farrell 48, Coudersport 6
Lackawanna Trail 28, Halifax 6
Juniata Valley 36, United 20
First round
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 28, Rochester 6
Farrell 56, Shade 8
Coudersport 44, Smethport 7
Lackawanna Trail 41, Tri-Valley 6
Halifax 19, Muncy 18
United 36, Northern Cambria 28
Juniata Valley 9, Bishop Guilfoyle 3
Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.
Tags: Aliquippa, Penn Hills
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