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Northeastern, Suburban raise the stakes in states


To say that Northeastern and York Suburban know each other well would be an understatement. After meetings in the regular season and District 3 playoffs, not to mention run-ins at invitational tournaments earlier in the year, the two squads are quite familiar with one another.

And after each team took care of business in the quarterfinals on Saturday, the Trojans and Bobcats will meet one final time before the 2016 season comes to a close.

“It’s like reading the same book over and over again,” Northeastern coach Matt Wilson said. “I just hope this time when we get to the end of it, the outcome is the same.”

Wilson's squad has gotten the better of the Trojans this year. The Bobcats defeated Suburban in April in a 3-0 sweep during the regular season, and Northeastern won again without giving up a game in the District 3 championship game.

While Northeastern will try to extend that success on Tuesday, Suburban will enter the 7 p.m. semifinal at Central York as the underdog.

“They have nothing to lose at this point,” Wilson said. “Less pressure on them than probably us at this stage of the game, but I’m pretty confident our group can handle that, and weather any storms that may blow through the gym on Tuesday.”

Meanwhile, Suburban coach Jamie Evans is trying use the circumstances to his advantage. With the pressure falling on the Bobcats, the Trojans can focus on just playing their game, according to Evans.

“(Northeastern) is a great team and they have to play flawlessly because they’re at a level with other teams,” Evans said. “I think the pressure is on them and we’re going to just go out and play. And enjoy it.”

Suburban would certainly savor this win more than their previous matchups. The Bobcats enter as the top-ranked team in the state, according to the PVCA poll, and will are trying to win their fourth straight Class AA state title. The Trojans would like to finally be the team to beat Northeastern.

“We want to go out there and seal this,” said York Suburban’s Sepehr Vakili. “And finally beat the top team. We want to do that.”