Penn Wood top seed in District 1 Class 5A tourney

Thanks to Friday night’s victory over Academy Park, Del Val League champion Penn Wood has earned the No. 1 seed in the District 1 Class 5A tournament.

The district playoff brackets for all classifications were finalized Monday afternoon.

Winless in three previous trips to the District 1 postseason, Penn Wood (9-1) will host its first playoff game in program history Friday night against No. 16 Kennett (4-6).

The Patriots are back-to-back Del Val champs. In 2016 and 2017, Penn Wood was a Class 6A program and lost its playoff opener on the road.

“It just shows how far the program has come,” coach Ato Troop said. “I think teams last year wondered, what’s up with them? Are they any good? Well, now they know. We’re a good football team.”

Penn Wood is one of seven Delaware County teams to qualify for the Class 5A tourney. In an all-Central League clash, No. 3 Radnor (8-2) hosts 14th-seeded Marple Newtown (5-5). It is a rematch of a thrilling Week 4 affair that saw the Raiders beat the host Tigers in three overtimes. Radnor has proven to be one of the best teams in Delco, while Marple Newtown has been, at best, an inconsistent team. The Tigers punched their ticket to the postseason with a 54-29 shellacking of one-win Penncrest last Friday.

Fourth-seeded Academy Park (8-2) looks to recover from a dreadful performance in their regular-season finale with Penn Wood. The Knights suffered a 40-20 defeat and allowed more than 500 yards of total offense.

“We want consistent effort from our kids, which we haven’t had probably since the second or third game (of the year),” AP coach Jason Vosheski said. “We’ll get effort from 50 percent of the team, but we don’t get effort from the entire team. That’s been our problem. Sometimes the offense is on, sometimes the defense is on, or this player is on or that player is on. We want effort, that’s all that we really want. Will that change in the playoffs? I don’t know.”

The Knights certainly have a track record of success in the postseason, winning three district crowns since 2013. They will welcome 13th-seeded Strath Haven (5-5), which defeated Marple Newtown and Harriton (1-9) the last two weeks to secure its position in the field of 16. The Panthers are vying for another first-round upset. Last fall as the 11th seed, they pulled off the biggest upset of the first round with a 24-21 triumph over sixth-seeded Bishop Shanahan before falling to eventual champion Unionville in the quarterfinals.

The opening round also features a rematch of last year’s district final as No. 6 Springfield (7-3) welcomes 11th-seeded Unionville (4-6). The Indians defeated the Cougars in last season’s title game, 35-25. Both teams have had their ups and downs, but the Cougars are carried by a solid defensive front led by All-Delco linebacker Pat Clemens.

Interboro (5-5) saved its season with three consecutive wins to close out the regular season. The ninth-seeded Bucs travel to No. 8 Upper Merion (6-4). After two straight season as a Class 4A program, the Bucs are making their first appearance in the 5A tourney.

• • •

In Class 6A, Garnet Valley (10-0) is the No. 3 seed after running the table in the regular season and capturing its first Central League championship in five years. The Jaguars, who host 14th-seeded Pennsbury (5-5) Friday night, have advanced to the 6A final in the first two years of its existence.

Haverford lost the opportunity for a first-round home game after suffering a 31-28 defeat to Ridley in the regular season finale. It’s a blip on an otherwise outstanding season for the ninth-seeded Fords (8-2), who travel to No. 8 Neshaminy (7-3). Winners of five in a row, the Indians captured the Suburban One League National title last week with a 35-7 rout of Pennsbury.

Upper Darby (7-3) fell six spots in two weeks and back into the playoffs. The 13th-seeded Royals have allowed 88 points in their last two games, losses to Ridley and Garnet Valley. They face the uphill battle of trying to upset fourth-seeded Downingtown West (9-1).

Finally, No. 16 Ridley (6-4) earned the final playoff berth and will take on top-seeded North Penn (10-0). The Green Raiders miraculously recovered from a 0-4 start by winning six in a row, including last week’s upset of Haverford. Since their first win of the season, the Green Raiders are averaging 38.8 points per contest.

The Knights, the Suburban One League Continental champions, went 10-0 in the regular season for the second time in three years.