By Matthew DeGeorge

It has been an intriguing year for the Central League.

Seven of the league’s 12 teams made the District 1 playoffs, plus the last team out of the Class 5A field. Three of the top four seeds in Class 6A and three of the top six in Class 5A hailed from the Central, each winning at least 15 games in the regular season.

That top-heaviness has resulted in five teams going to the state tournament, including a somewhat surprising District 1 Class 6A champion in Conestoga, which authored a special districts run after being upset in the opening round of the Central League tournament by Marple Newtown.

The amount of parity among the league’s elite casts intrigue upon the league’s hopes in the PIAA Championships, which kick off this weekend.

Conestoga (21-5) sits atop the 6A bracket, and its reward is a visit from Mechanicsburg, toting a 20-3 record despite being the sixth seed from District 3. Lower Merion is the fourth seed, and the Aces open Saturday with what could pass for a state final most years, hosting District 12 third-place team and Catholic League runner-up Roman Catholic. That game is in the nominal Western half of the bracket, though District 1’s second (Plymouth Whitemarsh), third (Coatesville) and fourth seeds are all on that side.

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