Defending PIAA AAAA champion Central Dauphin, the highest-ranked AAAA team in this poll, has a boatload of offensive skill and an experienced linebacking and defensive backfield, but the Rams claimed their first PIAA crown, and District 3’s second in the state’s largest class, squarely on the play of its offensive line, which physically dominated North Penn in a 14-7 victory, though CD’s advantage in the trenches was far greater than the final score of that game. Zayd Issah, Drew Scales and Brandon LaVia all return in the Ram offensive backfield, and Issah and Scales are the team’s top two returning receivers.
Both the offensive and defensive lines were gutted by graduation, but Issah and Daylin Russo, who each finished with more than 100 tackles, team to form a vicious 1-2 punch at linebacker and key CD’s defensive unit, which was a sacking machine a season ago.
