PIAA semifinals notebook

Written by: Josh Funk on Wednesday, December 5th, 2012. Follow Josh Funk on Twitter.

Finally, their courses collide.

Wyomissing and Imhotep Charter are facing off in a PIAA AA semifinal Saturday afternoon at Germantown High School in Philadelphia. The Spartans and Panthers each share several similarities, too.

For starters, the two teams love to run the football. Imhotep and Wyomissing both average better than 300 yards per game on the ground. Imhotep has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and Wyomissing has a trio of 700-yard backs.

Both teams have scored more than 500 points. Imhotep has scored 638 and Wyomissing 577.

Both teams are 14-0. Imhotep has won at least eight games in each of the last four seasons and Wyomissing has averaged 9.9 victories per season since 2000.

The Spartans and Panthers also have pretty stingy defenses, too. Imhotep has allowed only 73 points and Wyomissing 126. The two teams have also combined for 11 shutouts.

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Dunmore is making its first PIAA semifinals appearance since 2007, when the Bucks were a AA program. That season, Dunmore defeated District 4 champ Loyalsock, 28-7. The Bucks enjoyed the running of Michael Perry and passing ability of Miller Holmes on that 2007 team.

The Bucks enter Friday’s semifinal with Bellwood-Antis boasting a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Daiqwon Buckley and Austin Seamon.

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Speaking of 1,000-yard rushing duos, Bishop McDevitt has notched its first such 1,000-yard pair with Andre Robinson and Rashad Lawson. Lawson has 1,003 yards and Robinson 1,002. It’s believed to be the Crusaders’ first 1,000-yard backfield pair since 1985, according to Rob Pugliese of PA Sports Radio.

Oh, by the way, McDevitt is looking to become the first District 3 program to ever win three consecutive PIAA semifinal games. Both Steelton-Highspire and Manheim Central won consecutive semifinal games in classes A and AAA, respectively.

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Coatesville has been ridiculously dominant these last few weeks, scoring more than 200 points over its last four games to bring its team season scoring total to 560 points, which is among the top-100 team scoring outputs in state history. Coatesville, though, will be making its third PIAA semifinals appearance and first since 1992, but the Red Raiders are winless in semifinal games, falling in 1989 and 1992 by a combined margin of 54-26 (27-13 average).

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La Salle is making its fourth consecutive PIAA semifinals appearance and is assured of its fourth consecutive season of at least 12 victories or more.

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Archbishop Wood has reached the PIAA semifinals for the fifth consecutive season – the third time that’s happened in the AAA semifinals in the eastern half of the PIAA bracket. Berwick appeared in six consecutive semifinals from 1992-97 and Strath Haven in six semifinals from 1998-2003.

The Allentown Central Catholic-Archbishop Wood matchup is the first time the same two teams have met in three consecutive years in the semifinals since 1999-2001, when Manheim Central faced Strath Haven. Haven won all three meetings.

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Wilson is making its first PIAA semifinals appearance since 2008 when the Bulldogs lost in heartbreaking fashion to Bethel Park, 38-35. The Bulldogs are 1-2 in PIAA semifinal games. Wilson has never won a playoff game at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium in its history.

Follow Josh Funk on Twitter @Funk_pafb.

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