District Six A Playoff Notes and Picks

Conferences Supremacy- The LHAC, Heritage,WestPac, and ICC will all be represented in the District VI playoff field, an conference bragging rights will be on the line. Each conference has a legitimate contender to play at Mansion Park and take the conference bragging rights.

State Playoff Success-In 2009 Bishop McCort advanced through two state playoff games to the State Championship. Bishop Carroll in 2010 followed that up with one playoff victory, as did Penns Manor last season. The 2012 District Six Champ will get to host District 3 at Mansion Park. The D3 candidates are Delone Catholic, Steelton Highspire, Millersburg, and Columbia.

Aerial Attack-Of all the District Six offenses, most teams do not possess a great passing game. The team  that seems to be able to throw the ball with success is Bishop McCort. Zaine Tomkowski leads the field in passing yardage going into the postseason with 1433 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has two very good targets in Jordan Spangler and Luke DiFrancesco. Northern Cambria's Jeff Hogan can sling the ball pretty well also.

Dual Threats-Often the case in A football, the best athlete tends to play quarterback. It makes sense, get the best player the ball the most chances you get. A few teams in the D6 field have some guys that can really do it all. Danny Ferens is a four year starting quarterback, and is the leading rusher in the playoff field. Pat Irwin from Bishop Guilfoyle started the year at receiver, and has used his versatility to improve the BG offense. Seth Worthing has the ability to be a big time runner for Bellwood-Antis, and can make the big run when need be.

Mr. 1000-Obviously running the football is the name of the game in A Football, and some backs are putting up some big time numbers. Casey Gray of Bellwood-Antis, Casey Kephart of Portage, Danny Ferens from Penns Manor, Brett Grissinger and Jesse Claar of Juniata Valley, and Damon Braniff of Glendale have eclipsed 1,000 yard in the regular season.

Jack of all Trades-The busiest player on any field this postseason could be Bishop McCort's Jordan Spangler. Spangler leads Bishop McCort in receiving with 46 catches and 600 yards. He also serves as the team's Kicker, and has made 7 Field Goals this season. Jordan will do the kickoffs and and punting as well. He is the team's starting cornerback, and he returns kickoffs.

Unique Opportunity-Perhaps the MVP of all of District Six could be the Penns Manor quarterback, Danny Ferens. He will have the unique chance to start at quarterback in the playoffs for four seasons. Each year Penns Manor has improved with Ferens under center. He has really been the fuel to all of these playoff runs, and it will be fun to see what he has up his sleeve this season.

Unknown Commodity-Glendale seems to generate the least ammount of talk heading into this playoff tournament, but the Vikings are pretty tough. They got to the six win mark and played Northern Bedford and Juniata Valley very tough. They have an experience back with Damon Braniff. Doug Twigg is a threat to go the distance any time he touches it.

Darkhorse Candidate-How about Northern Cambria? The Colts have three losses, but they also hold some impressive wins. They started the season beating Penns Manor, and closed out the regular season beating AA Cambria Heights. They have a good passing attack, and a defense that can make some big plays.

Unlikely Favorite-Not a whole lot was expected out of the Portage Mustangs heading into the season. They were coming in with an uncharacteristic 4-5 record off the last year. The Mustangs also had tons of underclassmen littering the depth chart. The resilient group went out and performed better than anyone could have imagined. Portage now sits at 9-1 with the number 2 ranking. Casey Kephart is a workhorse running back, and the defense has been outstanding

Classic Battles-Bishop McCort and Bellwood-Antis have met in the postseason every year since 2008. Each game has been labeled an Instant Classic. 2008 Bishop McCort won 24-20. 2009 in the District Championship, McCort came from behind to win 34-20. 2010 marred under controversy McCort defeated Bellwood-Antis 30-29. And last season was another great one with Bellwood finally getting the McCort monkey off their back and won 11-10. A meeting this year would be in the District Championship.

And....The Picks
First Round
Bellwood-Antis over Glendale
Bishop Guilfoyle over Juniata Valley
Bishop McCort over Penns Manor
Northern Cambria over Portage

Second Round
Bellwood-Antis over Bishop Guilfoyle
Bishop McCort over Northern Cambria

Championship
Bellwood-Antis over Bishop McCort