Upsets continue in Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media Football Team of the Decade Tournament quarterfinals
After two rounds of fan voting, the Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media Team of the Decade tournament is down to the Final Four.
The quarterfinals featured much closer matchups than the first round. The biggest disparity in the round-of-eight was a 58.6-to-41.4 split, which would’ve been one of the tighter first-round games.
No. 5 Upper Dublin is the highest-seeded team advancing to the semifinals. No. 10 North Penn 2010, No. 14 La Salle 2012 and No. 16 Pennridge 2012 all won again after pulling off first-round upsets.
No. 16 Pennridge 2012 def. No. 8 North Penn 2011 >> The Rams advanced to the semifinals with 54.5% of the votes. After stunning No. 1 Archbishop Wood 2011 in the first round, the lowest-seeded Pennridge squad surprised again by beating one of North Penn’s district championship teams. As they did throughout the 2012 season, the Rams rode running back Mike Class to a 24-20 win. The junior tallied 175 yards on the ground and two scores.
No. 5 Upper Dublin 2015 def. No. 4 La Salle 2010 >> The District 1 champion Cardinals moved on to the semifinals by earning 58.6% of the votes. Upper Dublin, who reached the state semifinals in 2015, had a balanced offensive attack in their win over La Salle’s 2010 state final team. Quarterback Ryan Stover led the offense up and down the field with his arm while Stacey Gardner scored a couple touchdowns on the ground in a 31-24 win.
No. 14 La Salle 2012 def. No. 6 North Penn 2016 >> The Explorers needed every minute possible to come away with 51.2% of votes in the quarterfinals. La Salle marched down the field in the final moments and quarterback Chris Kane found his favorite target Sean Coleman for an eight-yard go-ahead touchdown with less than 20 seconds remaining in the game. North Penn’s last-second lateral attempt was stopped around midfield and the Explorers escaped with a 21-20 victory.
No. 10 North Penn 2010 def. No. 15 Pope John Paul II 2019 >> The Knights, who won the District 1 championship and reached the state semifinals, eliminated Pope John Paul II with 52.8% of the votes. Dom Taggart caught a pair of touchdowns from Corey Ernst and rushed for another while Craig Needhammer piled up 118 yards on the ground and two scores. Kamal Gray accounted for all four of PJP’s scores, but it wasn’t enough as the Golden Panthers fell, 35-31.
Voting for the semifinals will take place on Twitter @ReporterSports.
