Skip to main content

Eastern York and William Penn: What now?


Round 3 is in the books. And while the third installment of Eastern York-William Penn for the YAIAA boys' basketball title may not have been in itself a classic type of game, it was befitting of this series. Intense. Hotly contested. And ultimately, down to the wire. You can read the game story from Eastern York's 58-49 victory here, and my column on Golden Knights point guard Austin Tillotson here. But where do we go from here? Both these teams figure to be contenders for District 3 championships. What are their chances of getting to the finals? I tried to take a look at how both team's brackets stack up... EASTERN YORK The Golden Knights' road to a second consecutive District 3 championship won't be easy. They start with a home game against 18th-seeded Middletown on Tuesday. Playing in their own two-year-old arena -- which they haven't lost in yet -- you'd expect Eastern to win that. Then, it could get trickier. First comes a likely matchup with sixth-seeded Bishop McDevitt. The Crusaders (14-8) aren't a traditionally strong power, but they can score the basketball. CD East transfer Aaron DeVan (21.7 ppg) is the Harrisburg area's leading scorer. After that, if the seeds hold, would come No. 2 Trinity. The Shamrocks themselves have a dynamic duo in senior guards Kevin Agnew (19.5) and Jack Osborne (11.3), and boast a 19.3 record. And on the other side of bracket looms top-seeded Lancaster Catholic (22-1), the team Eastern played in last year's district championship game, which hadn't lost until this past week. Then again, there is some thought that the District 3-AAA field is a bit down this year. I think Eastern, based on last season and the players it has back, deserves to be the favorite. We'll see, though. WILLIAM PENN At first glance, this bracket seems to shape up pretty well for the William Penn. Possible roadblocks Reading, Harrisburg, Wilson and Red Land are all on the other side of the bracket. But maybe it's not so simple. William Penn first must survive No. 16 Hershey, a slow-it-down side that has a 6-foot-8 forward in Matt Banas and two wins this year against Red Land. That's not one for the Bearcats to take lightly. Assuming a win, William Penn would then play either Cocalico or Chambersburg. The latter is no pushover, having beaten Harrisburg twice this season. After that, a district semifinal could include a matchup with either No. 4 seed Dallastown or No. 5 Cedar Cliff. The Colts won the Mid-Penn Conference tournament this season, beating Harrisburg in the final. They're led by junior forward Jol Aru (16.6 ppg) and senior Tim Kelly (13.9). Cedar Cliff beat Dallastown, 56-55, earlier this season. So certainly some challenges there. But the Bearcats would seem to have a solid shot at making it to Hershey for the district title game -- something that would no doubt erase the sting of that YAIAA championship game defeat.