District 3 playoff races: Who’s in, who’s on the bubble and who has work left to do
It’s time for our weekly look-in on the District 3 football playoff races! We’re breaking down who’s in, who’s on the bubble and who has work left to do to make the district playoffs. Schools are listed by classification and only Hanover-Adams teams are included.
Class AAAA--Top 16 teams qualify for the District 3 M&T Bank Championships.
On the bubble: South Western (3-5, 3-2, 19th out of 29, .556)
The 41-29 win over William Penn gave the Mustangs a bump in the rankings and moved them back onto the bubble. With two games left against Northeastern and Spring Grove, Damian Poalucci's squad needs to win both and would still probably need the teams ahead of them to lose. But it's more doable than it was a week ago. How cool would it be for the young Mustangs squad to get a taste of the playoffs, especially when they return 10 starters on offense next season? Either way, South Western is playing important games deep into October.
Class AAA--Top 16 teams qualify for the District 3 M&T Bank Championships.
In: Gettysburg (7-1, 3-1, 5th out of 40, .708)
That whole "Gettysburg hasn't beaten any good teams" argument can be put to rest. The Warriors got a big come-from-behind win over Conrad Weiser, their first win over a team with a winning record this season. They have an upstart York Suburban team this week before finishing with West York (2nd in Class AAA) in what could be a battle for the YAIAA Div. II title.
Work left to do: Spring Grove (3-5, 1-4, 24th out of 40, .511)
What happened to the Rockets? After a promising start, they have lost three in a row and are essentially out of the district playoff picture. Class AAA is too good this year for a 5-5 team to sneak in and Spring Grove would have to beat Red Lion and South Western just to get to .500.
There's always next year: New Oxford (0-8, 0-5, 37th out of 40, .298)
Can the Colonials avoid an 0-10 season? Games against William Penn and Northeastern await New Oxford in weeks 9 and 10.
Class AA--Top 8 teams qualify for the District 3 M&T Bank Championships.
In: Bermudian Springs (8-0, 5-0, 2nd out of 14, .722)
Another impressive victory, this one against second-place York Catholic. Only Littlestown and Biglerville stand in the Eagles' way in their pursuit for an undefeated regular season. Then they'd most likely have a home game against a team like Boiling Springs or Pequea Valley in the first round of districts.
On the bubble: Biglerville (4-4, 2-3, 9th out of 14, .468)
Even with their win over Littlestown, the Canners are still percentage points behind the final playoff spot. They have a winnable game this week at Hanover, but all-around playmaker Scott Cooper is out with an injury and Bermudian is on the schedule in week 10. So do the Canners win one out of two and hope for some help? That seems like the most likely scenario, but crazy things happen on Friday nights.
There's always next year: Littlestown (2-6, 1-4, 11th out of 14, .355) and Hanover (2-6, 1-4, 12th out of 14, .348)
A sub-.500 record is usually the end of district playoff hopes and while both teams have shown signs of progress, their six losses will have them playing for pride more than playoff spots. Two wins is a good sign of progress for the Nighthawks and they still have Biglerville and Delone Catholic on the schedule.
Class A--Top 4 teams qualify for the District 3 M&T Bank Championships.
On the bubble: Fairfield (5-3, 3-2, 4th out of 10, .509) and Delone Catholic (4-4, 3-2, 5th out of 10, .451)
These two teams played a close game Friday night in McSherrystown and the loss for Fairfield knocked the Green Knights down two spots. Delone coaches and players believe they at least need to win out, which is probably true, so they've said their playoffs started a week ago. Fairfield is in the fourth and final playoff spot, but have York Catholic (3rd in Class A) at home this week in a BIG game for district implications. Delone has York County Tech and Hanover left. Neither win would do much to boost their resume, but the Squires could win out and hope either Fairfield, York Catholic or Steelton-Highspire slip up ahead of them. Mathematically, it is likely that only one school makes it in between Fairfield and Delone.