District 1 football playoffs by the numbers: A closer look at 2023’s opening round

The first weekend of the District 1 football playoffs featured some 18 football games across Classes 4A, 5A, and 6A.

We take a look back at the weekend that was.

0: Amazingly, the number of road teams who advanced out of 18 games.

Some came tantalizingly close, as we’ll cover, but in the end, seedings held across the entirety of District 1. For all the debate about the power rankings, they got it right this time.

1: The 2023 season marked the first District 1 playoff appearance for Hatboro-Horsham in recent history. While the Hatters’ season ended at a record of 5-6 after a 42-7 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh, their season and subsequent playoff experience is a great example of the benefit of the expanded District field – more kids getting the opportunities to play more football.

2: That’s the number of Ches-Mont League teams that chose to go for a deciding two-point conversion in the dying moments of regulation rather than take their chances in overtime.

No. 2 Bishop Shanahan trailed No. 3 Pottsgrove 28-27 with under a minute to play, and coach Paul Meyers’ decision to go for two and the win paid off when quarterback Zach Ferraro ran the conversion in himself, advancing the Eagles to their second District title game in three seasons.

But over in Class 6A, No. 12 Coatesville’s bid to become the lone road team to advance fell just short when their two-point conversion was turned away with 50 seconds to play by No. 5 Central Bucks South, who advances to take on No. 4 Spring-Ford.

With the game, and continuation of their seasons, on the line, both Meyers and Coatesville’s Matt Ortega deserve kudos for the courage to put the game in the hands of their best players.

3: The number of Central League teams in the bottom half of the 5A bracket, offering the potential for an on-field solution to a round robin that left the three squads 1-1 head-to-head against one another this season.

No. 2 Strath Haven topped Great Valley, No. 3 Springfield-Delco beat West Chester Henderson, and No. 6 Marple Newtown ousted rival Penncrest to advance to the 5A quarterfinals.

Strath Haven and Springfield shared the Central League title with Garnet Valley while Marple finished a game back.

Springfield and Marple will meet this coming weekend, a rematch of a 22-0 Springfield win in Week 4.

But Marple in turn handed Strath Haven their lone defeat, 23-20 in week 8, while Springfield’s only blemish came in week two, 19-15 to Strath Haven.

The team that can throw a wrench into the Central League battle royale? Only defending District 1-5A champions and No. 7 Upper Dublin, 40-20 winners over Methacton. The Cardinals make the trip to Strath Haven Friday.

5: The number of lead changes in the seesaw battle of the week, ultimately won by No. 7 Perkiomen Valley over No. 10 Quakertown in Class 6A.

Quakertown trailed at the half but scored consecutive touchdowns to take an 11-point lead over the host Vikings, but PV roared back behind Robbie Sturges’ pick-six to score the game’s final 21 points and advance to a quarterfinal with No. 2 Downingtown East…

On that subject…

7: The number of shutouts the Cougars of Downingtown East have generated in their first 10 games after a 56-0 win over Wissahickon.

Since a 28-26 win over State College in Week 2, Downingtown East has allowed exactly 13 points and only one offensive touchdown. On Friday night, they showed the ability to outscore an opponent – if they ever need such an ability.

West Chester Rustin’s Ryan Loper. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

8: Consecutive seasons with at least one win in the District playoffs for West Chester Rustin after their 56-25 Class 5A win over Chichester on Friday night.

Ryan Loper ran for 139 yards as fellow running back Chase Hatton worked his way back from a Week 8 injury. Loper’s performance and the lopsided scores gave the Golden Knights an opportunity to rest players ahead of Friday’s trip to No. 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh.

16: The remaining seconds on the clock when Souderton’s Ryan Sadowski 27-yard touchdown run gave the undefeated, No. 3 seeded Big Red a hard-fought 21-14 win over No. 14 Pennsbury in the weekend’s closest call for a big favorite.

Pennsbury led 14-7 with under two minutes to go when Sadowski knotted the contest with a 15-yard scamper, and Danny Dyches intercepted Pennsbury on the ensuing drive to set up the winning score.

Souderton improves to 11-0 and hosts No. 6 Downingtown West on Friday.

34: The number of consecutive District 1 wins attained by Garnet Valley with a 35-7 win over Central Bucks West in the 2022 District 1-6A Final.

However, in the first week of this season CB West snapped that streak with a 17-13 victory at War Memorial Field.

Now the budding rivalry shifts back to Moe DeFrank Stadium for the 6A quarterfinal after the No. 1 Bucks stayed undefeated with a 27-12 win over Cheltenham. Meanwhile, No. 8 Garnet Valley survived a stern test from Owen J. Roberts, 28-21.

Pottstown’s Nazhier Booker (4) carries the ball as Pope John Paul II’s Ryan Lamson (1) pursues during a District 1-4A playoff game on Nov. 3 at Pope John Paul II. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)

79: The combined margin of victory for the No. 1 seeds in 4A (Pope John Paul II) and 5A (Chester) in their Saturday afternoon opening-round matchups.

PJP dominated Pottstown 35-0, while Chester pounded Upper Moreland, 44-0. The respective shutouts served notice to the field that the road to the District title goes through Royersford and Chester.

PJP goes for their second District 1 title in school history this Saturday against Bishop Shanahan, while Chester hosts Phoenixville in a District 1-5A quarterfinal.

204: Receiving yards for Spring-Ford’s Mason Scott, culminating in three touchdowns in the weekend’s highest-scoring contest.

No. 4 Spring-Ford outlasted No. 13 North Penn 42-35 on the strength of Scott’s big evening. Yet his most impactful play may have been a 90-yard kickoff return that set up the tying touchdown before running back Mike Bendowski powered across the goal line with the winning score in the final minute.

209: Not to be undone, the total yards accumulated by North Penn senior Amir Major (181 rushing, 28 receiving) to go along with all five of his team’s touchdowns.

Major also scored four times last week against Abington, giving him nine touchdowns in his final two games of high school football.

292: Rushing yards for 5A No. 8 Phoenixville, who gained their first playoff victory in a dozen years with a 21-14 decision over West Chester East. Quarterback Ty Romance and running back Deacon Williams each went over 100 yards as the Phantoms reached a team goal of rushing for 3,000 yards this season (3,076 to be exact), an impressive feat having played just 11 games thus far.

512: The number of different possible combinations of outcomes from the nine games in Classes 4A, 5A, and 6A next weekend, which are as follows. Times are 7 p.m. Friday unless listed:

CLASS 4A Championship:
No. 2 Bishop Shanahan at No. 1 Pope John Paul II, 12 p.m. Saturday

CLASS 5A Quarterfinals:
No. 8 Phoenixville at No. 1 Chester, 1 p.m. Saturday
No. 7 Upper Dublin at No. 2 Strath Haven
No. 6 Marple Newtown at No. 3 Springfield-Delco
No. 5 West Chester Rustin at No. 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh

CLASS 6A Quarterfinals:
No. 8 Garnet Valley at No. 1 Central Bucks West
No. 7 Perkiomen Valley at No. 2 Downingtown East
No. 6 Downingtown West at No. 3 Souderton
No. 5 Central Bucks South at No. 4 Spring-Ford

Around the PAC

A quartet of standout skill-position players were among the local athletes playing their final high school football games this weekend.

Methacton’s Anthony Perillo battled to overcome injury this season, leading Methacton in rushing in several games. He saved his biggest statistical night for the biggest game, rushing for 112 yards and all three Warriors touchdowns in a 40-20 loss at Upper Dublin.

Bryce Caffrey was a Swiss Army knife for Pottsgrove this season, leading the Falcons in rushing, receiving, and total touchdowns. The Falcons fell to Bishop Shanahan on a final minute two-point conversion, 29-28.

The play of OJR’s Derek Hinrichs resembled Caffrey’s but from the quarterback position. Hinrichs, the Wildcats’ leading passer and rusher, accounted for 250 total yards and all three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in OJR’s 28-21 loss to Garnet Valley.

With standout freshman Mekhi Graham hampered by injury, Hinrichs turned to Graham’s classmate Matt Gregory who reeled in nine catches and 168 yards. Graham and Gregory are as promising a duo as any in recent history going forward.

Nahzier Booker and Dimark Lyons provided a 1-2 punch for Pottstown throughout a bounce-back season. The campaign ended with a 35-0 loss at PAC Champion Pope John Paul II, but Booker’s 1,000-yard season and Lyons’ ability to play any position on the field set a foundation for the future on a team that provided the area’s feel-good story of the year.