6. Forest Hills (9-3) vs. 1. Richland (12-0) Friday 7:00 Mansion Park
Richland and Forest Hills did not meet in the regular season this year, but these teams are certainly familiar with one another, and that may be putting it lightly. Forest Hills and Richland are neighboring schools that are separated by a few miles of highway. Oh, and the head coaches know each other pretty well. It is no secret that the game will feature plenty of talk about Don Bailey and his son, Brandon. Don Bailey has been the mainstay, building a powerhouse at Forest Hills for nearly 40 seasons. Brandon has been with Richland for 12 seasons, and has the program reaching new heights every season. Both teams are well coached, and the strategy will be something interesting to follow. Don likes his trick plays, and Brandon is not afraid to make gutsy calls. They are both risk takers, and it could add to the drama for a District Championship.
Forest Hills is no stranger to playing at Mansion Park. They will be going for their fifth District Six AA crown since 2002, and going for their third in the past four seasons. Forest Hills is built the same way they are always built. They have a stingy defense that does now allow much of anything, and an offense led by a budding star at quarterback. Joe Donoughe has been nothing short of spectacular in the first two rounds of the playoffs. He led Forest Hills to two road upsets with his throwing ability. He has thrown for 451 yards in the playoffs with three touchdowns. Bailey has so much faith in his young signal caller that he has attempted 61 passes in the past two games. Donoughe has thrown for 1,628 yards this season, despite missing two games for an injury. He has two pretty good targets that make his like significantly easier. Jared Shope has 53 catches for 730 yards and Doltyn Snedden has 43 catches for 687 yards. Both have been on fire in recent weeks. The Rangers can also run the ball with senior, Shawn Dell. Dell has paced the rushing attack with 916 yards and 8 scores. Donoughe has also been a threat to run it. The offensive line has gotten much better from the beginning of the season, and they have been protecting very well.
Forest Hills typically employs a defense that can shut you down entirely. It has been on full display lately as they have shut down such stars like Austin Cunningham (Central) and Ryan Torrance (Ligonier) in the recent weeks. Forest Hills is only allowing ten points per contest, and have pitched three shutouts. They have 25 takeaways as a team, including six interceptions by Jared Shope. Doltyn Snedden,Austin Danel and hard hitting Tyler Shima round out a strong secondary. Shawn Dell and Zach Pinkas hold things together at linebacker, and the familiar six man front is the strength of that defense. Spencer Ivock and Ian Wieczorek always apply pressure to the opposing quarterbacks. It is a strong unit that has really stepped up this season. They held down some potent offenses lately, and it really has sparked this seven game winning streak for the Rangers.
Richland is having a season for the ages. The Rams are 12-0 and find themselves the heavy favorite heading into the championship. Brandon Bailey has a well oiled machine, and it has been rolling since week one. The offense has weapons all over the field, the lines are big and experienced, and the defense is stout. This could very well be the best team in the school's history. The offense is the key to it all, and they can beat you on the ground and in the air. Tanner Solarczyk proved that the loss of Johnny Rizzo would not hurt this team. In fact, Soalrczyk's numbers are slightly better than Rizzo's of last season. Solarczyk spear heads a rushing attack with 1,695 yards and 24 touchdowns.Dominic Farina is a quick scat back that will see some touches as well. The quarterback, Matt Shaffer made Tyrone pay with his feet, and he is second on the team in rushing with 566 yards and 8 touchdowns. Shaffer has the mobility in his game, but he is known for his passing. Shaffer has 1,679 yards and 16 touchdowns. Nico Pecora also will see some quarterback time, and he is reliable as well. They have some trustworthy targets in senior Luke Shertzer and junior Kyle Flick. Both players can really stretch the field as they have 45 and 44 catches, respectively. The offensive line has paved the way for an offense that rolls over 400 yards per game.
The Richland defense gets overshadowed by the fast strike offense, but they are a formidable group also. The Rams have 25 takeaways as a unit, and have combined for 40 sacks. It is a team effort all around, but a few players have stuck out. Flick and Shertzer can both play the role as the lock down corner. The line backing unit has been flying from sideline to sideline led by Jared Hoover,Jake Urban,and Ben Verhovsek. Those three are the leading tacklers on the team. The defensive line is big and strong. They helped shut down the leading rusher in the district in James Oliver last week against Tyrone. Josh Dinniny and Derek Crawford clog the middle, and Elijah Metzgar can get to the quarterback as well as anybody in the district.
This game has plenty of story lines, and should provide a loud atmosphere at Mansion Park. Richland will be going for their first District Championship in school history. They were supposed to be here. They were picked by many at the onset of the season to be one of the favorites. They followed through with a convincing 12-0 record to date. They have all the ability in the world, and the impressive thing is that they play with so many juniors and young guys in key spots. Forest Hills is not a typical Ranger squad. They do not have the massive line or the huge numbers on the sideline. They worked each week to get better, and they have overcome a 2-3 start. The Rangers still have talent in some key spots, and Don Bailey has them playing as well as anybody since October. This should be a fun game with all the Bailey Bowl hoopla, but the teams on the field deserve the credit, and they worked to be here. I have to go with Richland. I've been sticking with them all year, but Forest Hills can score some points with the Rams. There should be some big passing numbers for both teams, and the quarterbacks will put on a show.
Rams 35 Rangers 24
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