By Matthew DeGeorge
12-3 Archbishop Carroll vs. 3-1 Bishop McDevitt, Garden Spot, 7:30
Last year, the Patriots encountered District 3 champ Steelton-Highspire at this stage in what seemed a daunting matchup. They steamrolled the Steamrollers by 29 points, a fate the Crusaders hope to avoid in the Class AAA second round.
Neither team broke much of a sweat in its opener. The Patriots (23-3) scored 26 points in the first quarter and permitted District One champ Holy Ghost Prep just 27 total in a 76-27 shellacking. McDevitt (21-6) toppled Salisbury Township, District 11’s third seed, 75-48.
McDevitt was powered by 1,000-point scorer James Williams, who poured in 30 points. He averages 21 per game, but McDevitt isn’t a one-man show. Guards Nick Gemmell and Tim Kater, the latter a sharp-shooting sophomore and defensive end who stands 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, can also supply points.
Carroll possesses a pair of Division I talents in Ryan Daly and Josh Sharkey, plus John Rigsby, who scored 21 points against Holy Ghost and has scored in double figures in each of his last five outings to raise his season average to 12.2 ppg. With Miks Antoms and company, Carroll owns a decisive size advantage. McDevitt lists the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Williams as a center.
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