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That Championship Season?December
14, 2011 By
Joe Stokes
That
is the question for eight remaining teams that will invade Chocolate Town this
weekend. Win or lose it has been a successful season for these squads but the
sweet taste of Hershey Chocolate can only be exceeded by a Pennsylvania State
Football Title. While nothing can match the hype of a championship game it will
be a hard sell to beat the hard fought semi-finals last weekend. Those
that survived are primed and ready for a chilly but clear atmosphere at Hershey
Park Stadium. The
action starts on Friday at noon for the single A title and there will be no rest
until the four A winner is crowned on Saturday night. The
playoff week five predictions will need some improvement this week as this
future teller went 2-3 as Archbishop Wood and Southern Columbia won as predicted
while North Penn’s win over LaSalle, Lancaster Catholic’s last minute
victory over West Catholic and Central Dauphin’s upset of North Allegheny
ruined a recent hot streak for this writer. The
last five years the prognostication record stands at 264-104 while going 50-25
for this season. The
AAAA championship is full of contrasts as the 11th seed in District
One took the hard road of away games against higher seeds to reach Hershey.
However North Penn’s coach Dick Beck
has been here before with a 2003 title on his resume. The Knights will ride QB Corey
Ernst as he directs the high powered offense averaging 384 yards per game.
Their two early season losses are all but forgotten as their defense has allowed
just 8 points per game while winning 13 games including five playoff victories.
The Central Dauphin Rams come into the contest by beating the odds against their
appearance. They are the first AAAA District Three team to reach the finals
since 1995. Their win over North Allegheny was considered a big upset by many
observers. QB Brandon LaVia has
thrown 15 TD passes this season and running back Zayd
Issah anchors the running attack. The Ram defense has been steady as well
holding opponents to 14 points per game while accomplishing a 14-1 record this
season. This writer has been underestimating North Penn the last two weeks and
will not make that mistake again. North
Penn 31
Central Dauphin 20 The
AAA final features what may be one of the best football teams to ever grace
Hershey on a championship weekend. The Archbishop Wood Vikings come loaded with
talent as Temple bound Brandon Peoples
and Rutgers recruit Desmon Peoples lead
the Wood offense that averages a whopping 46 points per game. The Wood defense
is no push over and only allows 8 points per game. Their opponent for this title
game may not have the same talent level but the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders may
have the edge motivation. McDevitt suffered a gut wrenching 28-27 loss in last
year’s title game to Allentown Central Catholic and this whole season has been
devoted to taking that championship step this season. The Crusaders have three
running backs to keep the Viking defense guessing as Rashad
Lawson, Andre Robinson and Darnell
Holland are all capable of dominating any given game. Archbishop Wood is
just too deep to defeat this week. Archbishop
Wood 41
Bishop McDevitt 24 The
rest of this week’s fearless title forecast: Lancaster
Catholic 34
Tyrone 17 Clairton
42 Southern
Columbia 21
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