Shippensburg football, Forbes Road field hockey enter playoffs with high hopes

And then there were two.

Only a pair of fall sports teams from Franklin and Fulton counties remain alive this week.

Forbes Road's field hockey team will begin its PIAA Class AA journey on Tuesday, while Shippensburg was the area's only football team to advance to the District 3 playoffs, which begin Friday.

The Cardinals (16-3) recently won their fourth straight District 6 Championship and will now travel to Bald Eagle Area to take on Ellis School at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Ellis School was the winner of District 7 and was Forbes Road's first-round opponent a year ago.

In 2014, the Cardinals beat Ellis School, 1-0, before falling in the state quarterfinals.

Shippensburg (7-3) won its final game of the season to ensure the 13th seed in the District 3 Class AAA football tournament. The Greyhounds will also hit the road and take on No. 4-seeded Solanco (9-1). Last season, Solanco was the 12th seed and was bounced from the first round by Red Land. Ship did not advance to the playoffs last year.

Solanco's only loss of the season was in Week 10 against Manheim Central (8-2).

Shippensburg's final regular season victory was the nail in Greencastle-Antrim's coffin. The Blue Devils dropped to 20th and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Another Franklin County team that was disappointed when the final pairings were released was Waynesboro. The Indians finished 6-4 and sat at No. 16 after Friday night's games. But they were bounced from the Class AAAA playoffs when Carlisle defeated Harrisburg on Saturday afternoon and moved into the 16th and final seed. Waynesboro missed the cut by 0.003 points in the power rankings.

One other bit of playoff action will be happening in the area this week, as Chambersburg's Trojan Stadium becomes host to a PIAA Class AAA boys soccer game. Chambersburg will host Central York vs. Fox Chapel, the runners-up from Districts 3 and 7, respectively, in a first-round game at 4:30 Tuesday.