Six local teams gear up for district playoffs

By PETER DiGIOVANNI
cpn11716@comcast.net

The Class AAAA and AAA District playoff seeds are out and the area boasts six teams that are in the postseason dance. In Class AAA, West Chester Henderson is the number four seed and the Warriors will host Springfield (Delco) in first-round action this weekend.
Henderson opened a lot of eyes Friday night as the Warriors took high-powered Downingtown East down to the wire before losing, 6-3. The Class AAA bracket has been talked about as being Pottsgrove and everybody else, but Pottsgrove does not play the schedule Henderson does and the Warriors have a big chance at winning the District 1 title.
Five area teams enter the Class AAAA bracket, with Downingtown East being the top seed. The Cougars will host 16th-seeded Wissahickon Friday night at Kottmeyer Stadium. The spread on this game should be about 25 points as the Cougars will be heavily favored to move onto the second round.
Unionville, the Ches-Mont League American Division champion, comes in at number eight and the Indians have the pleasure of hosting the hottest team in District 1 right now in No. 9 Coatesville. The Red Raiders have already beaten the Indians 41-0 earlier in the season.
West Chester Rustin is the 11 seed and the Golden Knights have to go on the road to play the ground-and-pound group from Pennsbury. The Tigers come in as the six seed and they love to run the football. This will be a tough test for the Knights, but Mike St. Clair’s group is always tough against the run.
Downingtown West got into the playoffs by beating Bishop Shanahan on Saturday and head coach Mike Milano’s Whippets will travel to Ridley to play the second-seeded Green Raiders, who are 10-0 and Central League champs. The only other undefeated Class AAAA team is Downingtown East.
So with the Class AAAA bracket set, the Ches-Mont League comes in with five teams, the Central League put three teams in the top 16, the Pac-10 has one (Spring-Ford) and the Suburban One landed seven teams in the Class AAAA bracket, none of them named North Penn for a change.

Daily Local News Football Top 10
Records through Nov. 4

1. Downingtown East (10-0): Cougars head into district playoffs as top seed.
2. Coatesville (8-2): Red Raiders tune up for playoffs by routing Avon Grove.
3. Malvern Prep (5-4): Friars fall out of Inter-Ac race with loss to Haverford School.
4. Downingtown West (7-3): Whippets get into dance by beating Bishop Shanahan.
5. W.C. Henderson (7-3): Warriors defense may be best in area.
6. Unionville (8-2): Indians win Ches-Mont American with victory over Kennett.
7. W.C. Rustin (8-2): Golden Knights on road for playoffs.
8. Conestoga (6-4): Pioneers end season with win over Upper Darby.
9. Kennett (7-3): Blue Demons have best season ever.
10. Great Valley (6-4): Patriots end season with win over Sun Valley.