19-1 In the first two rounds is pretty good (thanks Dover lol), and the 3A/1A semis feel easy to predict, though I'm not sure about 2A. Let's get to it before the games start.
3A
No. 5 Dover at No. 1 Smyrna - Keeping Smyrna's Earthquake from shaking the ground is hard to do, but Dover's come as close as anyone not named Middletown this season. The Senators have a capable offense as well as a defense that can keep them in the game. Can the Eagles get off to a quick start or will Dover have the entire town biting their nails for 48 minutes? Eagles 28, Senators 20
No. 3 Salesianum at No. 2 Middletown - Sals took advantage of the bus ride blues to blow past Central, but now they take their own shuttle ride to Cavaliers Stadium, where the hosts are known to not be too hospitable. For a team that has shown the willingness to open it up, Sals will NEED to because running against Middletown's front 7 is highly ill-advised. Also, Sals' opportunistic defense will have to make their own breaks tonight and I'm not sure I see Middletown giving them very many chances to do so. Cavaliers 31, Sals 14
2A
No. 1 Archmere vs. No. 5 DMA (at Abessinio Stadium) - Archmere went into Fusco Field with bad intentions three weeks ago and put a halt to the Seahawks' unbeaten season. Now with that elusive first playoff win in school history under their belts, DMA has a chance to return the favor. The neutral field becomes a factor because DMA can obviously fit more people in a visiting grandstand at the Ab then they would've been able to at Coaches' Field. On the field, can Archmere slow DMA's weapons a second time and force them to throw more than they'd like to. If they can do that, the Auks make a return trip the the D2/2A title game. Auks 24, Seahawks 21
No. 3 Friends at No. 2 Woodbridge - It's become a rite of fall to winter passage at this point -Quakers vs. Blue Raiders deep in the state tournament. While the grand gent of DE coaches is still very much the man in charge, this isn't the Friends of fullhouse backfields, traps and sweeps we're used to seeing - they have no problem airing it out as much as they like to punish teams on the ground. A successful run game against Woodbridge's front 7 would be a shock as is, but Woodbridge's offense has to establish itself early - they've been able to get away with scoring 10-17 points in Ws, but against Friends, that may not work out. This is my upset pick. Quakers 20, Blue Raiders 12
1A
No. 5 Indian River at No. 1 Laurel - IR has done well for themselves in 1A, pushing St. E and Laurel to the limit in the regular season and taking care of business vs. St. Andrew's in the quarters. Can they get over the hump against their fiercest rival? Laurel has looked good against everyone with the exception of Woodbridge and IR, so the Bulldogs need to start fast as they've been doing or else we could be looking at a slight upset. Bulldogs 23, IR 17
No. 3 Tatnall at No. 2 St. Elizabeth - The Vikings are banged up and not letting on how much so. The tell is only scoring three times against. Charter in the playoffs when they scored three times in just about four minutes in the first meeting with the Force. Tatnall meanwhile had to scratch and claw for the first playoff win in school history against Seaford, so even if St. E is hurting, I don't think the Hornets have enough, but this game could go either way. Vikings 16, Hornets 14
3A
No. 5 Dover at No. 1 Smyrna - Keeping Smyrna's Earthquake from shaking the ground is hard to do, but Dover's come as close as anyone not named Middletown this season. The Senators have a capable offense as well as a defense that can keep them in the game. Can the Eagles get off to a quick start or will Dover have the entire town biting their nails for 48 minutes? Eagles 28, Senators 20
No. 3 Salesianum at No. 2 Middletown - Sals took advantage of the bus ride blues to blow past Central, but now they take their own shuttle ride to Cavaliers Stadium, where the hosts are known to not be too hospitable. For a team that has shown the willingness to open it up, Sals will NEED to because running against Middletown's front 7 is highly ill-advised. Also, Sals' opportunistic defense will have to make their own breaks tonight and I'm not sure I see Middletown giving them very many chances to do so. Cavaliers 31, Sals 14
2A
No. 1 Archmere vs. No. 5 DMA (at Abessinio Stadium) - Archmere went into Fusco Field with bad intentions three weeks ago and put a halt to the Seahawks' unbeaten season. Now with that elusive first playoff win in school history under their belts, DMA has a chance to return the favor. The neutral field becomes a factor because DMA can obviously fit more people in a visiting grandstand at the Ab then they would've been able to at Coaches' Field. On the field, can Archmere slow DMA's weapons a second time and force them to throw more than they'd like to. If they can do that, the Auks make a return trip the the D2/2A title game. Auks 24, Seahawks 21
No. 3 Friends at No. 2 Woodbridge - It's become a rite of fall to winter passage at this point -Quakers vs. Blue Raiders deep in the state tournament. While the grand gent of DE coaches is still very much the man in charge, this isn't the Friends of fullhouse backfields, traps and sweeps we're used to seeing - they have no problem airing it out as much as they like to punish teams on the ground. A successful run game against Woodbridge's front 7 would be a shock as is, but Woodbridge's offense has to establish itself early - they've been able to get away with scoring 10-17 points in Ws, but against Friends, that may not work out. This is my upset pick. Quakers 20, Blue Raiders 12
1A
No. 5 Indian River at No. 1 Laurel - IR has done well for themselves in 1A, pushing St. E and Laurel to the limit in the regular season and taking care of business vs. St. Andrew's in the quarters. Can they get over the hump against their fiercest rival? Laurel has looked good against everyone with the exception of Woodbridge and IR, so the Bulldogs need to start fast as they've been doing or else we could be looking at a slight upset. Bulldogs 23, IR 17
No. 3 Tatnall at No. 2 St. Elizabeth - The Vikings are banged up and not letting on how much so. The tell is only scoring three times against. Charter in the playoffs when they scored three times in just about four minutes in the first meeting with the Force. Tatnall meanwhile had to scratch and claw for the first playoff win in school history against Seaford, so even if St. E is hurting, I don't think the Hornets have enough, but this game could go either way. Vikings 16, Hornets 14
