Snow creates chaos in PIAA semifinal schedule
The March snow has turned its sights on the PIAA Tournament, wreaking havoc with the second day of semifinals.
A nor’easter that has impacted the southern two-thirds of the state from east to west has forced the postponement of 10 of the 12 PIAA semifinals scheduled for Tuesday until the weather breaks Thursday. That includes the Archbishop Carroll and Bonner & Prendergast’s girls teams.
Archbishop Carroll had been slated to take on District 7 fourth-placed team Mars in the Class 5A girls semifinals, but the District 12 third seed will have to wait until Thursday. The teams will meet at the same location, Bald Eagle Area High School in Bellefonte, at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The winner plays the victor of District 11 champ Southern Lehigh and District 12 champ Archbishop Wood (played at 7 Thursday night at Souderton) in the first game of the Saturday night championship session at 6 p.m. at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Bonner & Prendergast’s 4A semifinal with unbeaten Lancaster Catholic of District 3 will take place at 6:30 Thursday at Downingtown West. The survivor gets Berks Catholic or Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (contested at 6:30 at Bald Eagle Area Thursday) in the state final Saturday at noon.
Only two games survived the wintry onslaught on the first official day of spring, both intra-district affairs. The Class A girls semifinal between District 6’s Juniata Valley and Bishop Carroll will be played at Altoona High School. The rematch of the District 7 Class 2A boys final between Sewickley Academy and Our Lady of Sacred Heart will also proceed at Peters Township High School.
That creates an awkward situation in the PIAA’s three-day championship calendar. All four finals scheduled for Thursday — Class 2A and 3A girls; Class A and 4A boys — had their finalists determined Monday night and are untouched. The finalists for the Friday night session, in Class 5A boys and Class 6A girls, are also settled.
But the nominally Eastern final in the 2A boys and A girls will face a back-to-back situation. District 1 Class A girls champ Jenkintown will face Lebanon Catholic Thursday at 5 at Downingtown West, then the winner will have to turn around for a noon tipoff with the District 6 finalist at the Giant Center.
Likewise, either Constitution or Holy Cross in 2A boys will punch its ticket Thursday night (Freedom High, 6) and have less than 24 hours to prep for the finale at the Giant Center at 2 p.m.
