Ridley
Ridley used quickness and hard-hitting defense to stun North Penn 19-10 in a PIAA Class 4A state quarterfinal playoff game.
With the win the Green Raiders claimed their second District 1 championship in the last three seasons.
Ridley’s defense forced three North Penn turnovers and held the Knights to 138 yards rushing and 132 yards passing.
Tailback Shahaid Smith rushed for 74 yards on 18 carries and a three-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Colin Masterson threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Norm Donkin. Alex Nicolino had a 93-yard kickoff return for a score.
Ridley (13-1) plays LaSalle (12-1).
LaSalle
With the snow coming down and the turf looking white, LaSalle had to battle the elements and a two-touchdown deficit to win 17-14 over Easton Area Saturday in a PIAA Class 4A state quarterfinal playoff game at Frank Banko Field.
The Red Rovers scored after their first two plays from scrimmage.
The Explorers offense woke up in the second quarter. Early in the quarter Loughery hit Connor Hoffman for a big gain to the 16. Three plays later Loughery’s 17-yard run cut the Red Rover’s lead in half, 14-7.
After a turnover by Easton Area, the Explorers started on the Red Rovers 21.
After three straight runs, Loughery hit Steve Jones for the five-yard touchdown pass tying the score up at 14.
With 53 seconds left in the third quarter Michael Bennett calmly kicked a 34-yard field goal. Quarterback Drew Loughery passed for 75 yards on 7 of 18 passing.
LaSalle (12-1) plays Ridley (13-1).
12 Responses
to BUDDY: i stand corrected. beating parkland 2 days out from playing on Thanksgiving can’t be an easy feat.
To DAVID POLK: The Easton/P-burg game is the oldest in the USA. I admire Easton for keeping that tradition going. Others have not, like Ridley/Interboro. PIAA won’t allow it ( P-burg is not part of the PIAA, that’s why it’s allowed).Didn’t affect them anyway. They won that Thur. then won Sat.( over Parkland). Had a weeks rest for LaSalle.To DMAC: good point. LaSalle, St. Joes Prep etc. basically recruit ( like colleges). They should win states every year. But they don’t. I doubt they will this year. signed: NP fan ( who’s finally gotten over our lose, but it wasn’t easy).
Regarding CitiChamp and the Suburban One league comment. This league has been to 9 state championships and won 6 with three different teams. Of 23 teams in the league 20 have been in the playoffs over time, thats 87% of the league; and possibly one more, I am not sure at the moment. Can any other league in eastern PA match that? Still, I am not saying there is any best, all the leagues have fine programs and struggling programs. Good luck to all of them.
To CitiChump
Ridley doesn’t Cherry pick the best talent in/out of the state!
citichamp what does lacrosse have to do with the game tomorrow. Hey look i spelled it right. you being better than ridley at lacrosse doesnt mean a thing. your teams still gonna get beat down tomorrow and buddys right the only way you can win is if our bus breaks down.
this isn’t related to the current forum, but just a thought; when will Easton figure out they can’t play Phillipsburg on Thanksgiving and after 1-2 days rest/prep(?) expect to be competitive enough in a state playoff game? i’m all for tradition, but Easton’s just hurting themselves. i’m fairly certain they would have at least a couple of state champ trohies if they’d have had more than just one or two days to recoup and prepare for a much bigger game rather than stick to this annual PA/NJ slugfest that’s been going on since way before the PIAA started state football playoffs . just my 2 cents.
LaSalle better hope it snows again. It’ll be the only way to slow down Ridley as it did Easton. LaSalle deserved the win against Easton. They played well. But on a dry field, it’s my opinion that Easton would have picked them to pieces. You saw what they did the first two plays from scrimmage before the snow got heavy. Good luck and a good game to both teams.
Wow CitiChamp, be careful…Now we’ve got you and your Explorers exactly where we want you! Phil Marion and the Green Mystique live on!!
What is “lax”? Some kind of girls game? I’m from NP, so I won’t try to spell it. Either Ridley or NP JUNIOR high team could beat LaSalle. Ridley will probable mercy rule you by third quarter. You can still win though. If the Ridley bus braeks down going to the game.
It’s as strong as they play. Not as good at running, better passing team.
LaSalle will do whatever it wants to Ridley, Finally we get to test a public school with a meaningful game. The Central League could not compete with 2A and 3A Catholic league schools. The glorious Suburban 1 schools are way over rated. LaSalle regularly kicks Ridley’s butt in lax, now it’s time for footbal. North Penn folks probably can’t spell lacrosse let alone play. We have dominated South Eastern PA for decades in footbal. We’re already dominating Pa in lax- Now is our time to take over East and Western Pennsylvania in football- LaSalle in a blow-out!
will ridley defesive be as strong as it was agaist north penn . does this team there playing saterday have a better running game then north penn