Images

By Josh Verlin

The PIAA 6A field is always stacked, 32 of the best big-school programs in the state battling it out over five rounds to lift a giant chocolate bar on March 23 in Hershey.

Here’s a look at the boys’ side of the 6A field, including contenders, dark horses, and all the star players to watch:

Chester (District 1-4, 20-4)
The Clippers have had a big bounce-back this season after missing out on the district playoffs entirely a year ago, getting to the semifinals this year after capturing the Del-Val League title. Head coach Keith Taylor has a deep and assertive group led by 6-5 forward Dominic Toy, senior wing Dante Atkinson, sophomore twins Daron and Jalen Harris and more.

(click on this link for the full article)

By Owen McCue

Only four districts have put forth a large classification PIAA champion in the last decade, and that was three before Archbishop Carroll came out of District 12 last season. Cumberland Valley won three in a row out of District 3 from 2014-16 before District 1 and 7 faced off for the next five championships.

Unless there are some surprises, it looks like the top teams lie in familiar places with District 1, 12 and 7 boasting a few teams who look like they might have potential to make a run to the state crown.

Reigning champion Archbishop Carroll is back after a run to the Catholic League championship game, but there are plenty of worthy adversaries standing in their way of a repeat.

Here is a look at some of the top teams in the bracket: 

(click on this link for the full article)

By CoBL Staff
With the state playoffs starting this weekend, we wanted to take a look at some of the area stars who could be in for a couple big weeks ahead. 

Here are some local standouts in the boys’ 5A and 6A brackets who folks around the state might be reading about en route to Hershey:

Dominic Toy (Sr. | F | Chester)
Chester’s multi-sport standout is in his last run of hoops, headed to UConn to play football this fall. A 6-5 hyper-athletic post, Toy is something of a combo ‘3’ and ‘4,’ though he gets most of his production done around the bucket, crashing the glass or using his combination of power and athleticism to get to the rim and finish.

(click on this link for the full article)

By Owen McCue

Tension and anxiety filled even the neutral observer during the Philadelphia Catholic League girls championship last week.

As the game continued into one overtime and then another, the knuckles were a little whiter gripping two seats in the Archbishop Carroll cheering section.

Matt and Maureen McFillin had their nerves tripled with not just one, not just two but sometimes three daughters — Felicity, Maddie and Abbie — out on the floor at the Palestra at the same time of what ended up being a double overtime loss in the Catholic League title game for the Patriots. 

It’s a moment they’ll never forget though, Matt ensuring even in the most stressful seconds of the thriller to appreciate it.

“I said look up, look at this,” Matt recounted. “It’s packed in here. This will never happen again for these girls, all three of them on the same court in front of a sold out Palestra. I said enjoy this.”

(click on this link for the full article)

By CoBL Staff

With the state playoffs starting this weekend, we wanted to take a look at some of the area stars who could be in for a couple big weeks ahead. 

Here are just a few of the local standouts in the girls’ 5A and 6A brackets who folks around the state might be reading about en route to Hershey:

Molly Rullo (Jr. | F | Cardinal O’Hara)
Rullo, a 1,000-point scorer, was a first team All-PCL selection for the second straight year. The 5-10 wing/forward was also a second team all-state selection last season. Rulllo has a versatile game but she has to play big for a Lions team that doesn’t have much size.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By CoBL Staff

 

By CoBL Staff

The PIAA girls basketball brackets, times and pairings were officially unveiled on Sunday. The 6A, 3A and 2A tournaments begin Friday followed by the 5A, 4A and 1A tournaments on Saturday. 

Here are links to the six brackets followed by the times and pairings of the 36 local games on the schedule. All games at top seed unless otherwise noted:

6A

Fri., March 8
12-3 Dobbins Tech vs. 1-5 Haverford, 5:30 PM @ Archbishop Ryan HS
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara vs. 1-8 Upper Dublin,  6 PM
12-1 Archbishop Carroll vs. 1-11 West Chester Henderson, 6 PM
1-1 Perkiomen Valley vs. 3-6 Manheim Twp., 7 PM
2-1 Hazleton Area vs. 1-9 Pennsbury, 7 PM
11-1 Parkland vs. 1-10 Downingtown East, 7 PM
3-2 Dallastown vs. 1-7 Central Bucks East, 7 PM
1-3 Conestoga vs. 3-4 Wilson, 7 PM
3-1 Central Dauphin vs. 1-12 Kennett, 7 PM
11-2 Easton vs. 1-6 Garnet Valley, 7 PM
1-4 North Penn vs. 11-3 Emmaus, 7 PM
1-2 Spring-Ford vs. 3-5 Northeastern, 7 PM

(click on this link for all the brackets and games)

By Joseph Santoliquito

Gregg Downer came out damp from being doused by his team celebrating Lower Merion’s third PIAA District 1 Class 6A championship in four years Saturday evening in the bowels of Temple’s Liacouras Center.

Back in November, the Aces’ legendary coach was not supposed to be here. Lower Merion was not supposed to get out of the Central League, let alone win the championship of one of the state’s toughest districts. But there he was again, doing what Downer has done for the previous 33 years—win.

Only this season comes with a caveat: The 2023-24 Aces are 27-1 and not one college coach has inquired about one player on his team.

The Aces continue to prove they have talent by their 57-49 victory over Garnet Valley in the District 1 championship on Saturday, the fourth district crown for Downer, who guided the Aces to District 1 titles in 1996 (Kobe Bryant’s senior year), 2021, 2022 and now 2024. He has three PIAA state championship crowns, 1996, 2006 and 2013, being the last PIAA District 1 team to win a state title.

But this season may be Downer’s greatest coaching job yet.

(click on this link for the full article)

By Matt Smith

Lower Merion’s John Mobley didn’t have a 3-point shot in his repertoire last season. It’s one aspect of his game he continues to improve.

In the offseason, Mobley trained with professional basketball player and Philadelphia native Jared Armstrong, who has molded Mobley into a better outside shooter. They always meet local LA Fitness. Somewhere in that gym is a basketball court.

“It’s a small one,” Mobley said, “but it gets the job done.”

This time a year ago, you wouldn’t have seen Mobley hit a 3-pointer in the biggest game of his high school career. In Saturday’s District 1 Class 6A final at the Liacouras Center, Mobley pulled up and sank a triple as time expired in the third quarter, giving the Aces a 10-point advantage.

“We would go there at five in the morning, work out three or sometimes five days a week,” Mobley said of his work with Armstrong. “We worked on catch-and-shoot, pull ups and everything like that. I actually have a lot more to work on when (Armstrong) comes back.”

For now, Mobley’s range is more than good enough for the District 1 champion Aces.

(click on this link for the full article, subscription may be required)

By Matthew DeGeorge

By the final minute of Saturday night’s District 1 Class 6A final, the scoreboard rang true in a very specific way for Garnet Valley.

The 14th seed was trying to complete its fourth straight win over a top-six seed, and it had struggled, to put it mildly, against No. 1 Lower Merion. It was shooting south of 30 percent from the field. It had trailed by as many as 15 early in the second half. A tough climb against a 26-1 foe that had beaten them twice this season was steepening by the moment.

And yet, with 25.2 seconds showing on the clock at the Liacouras Center, Garnet Valley was … within five points. One LM mistake, one hot-shooting mini-spurt, one freak high school basketball series of bounces, and maybe things would get interesting.

They didn’t, Lower Merion completing a 57-49 win and lifting the trophy. But for Garnet Valley, in its first district final of this magnitude, had proven a point: Even in a defeat where it was downright displeased with the way it played, the Jaguars belonged.

(click on this link for the full article, subscription may be required)