The last time North Schuylkill and Palmerton faced each other on the gridiron, the Spartans were ending a long postseason drought against a veteran, playoff-experienced team.
Tonight, the roles will be reversed.
The unbeaten Spartans (10-0) host Palmerton (7-3) in a District 11 Class AA semifinal at 7 p.m. at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium. The winner will take on either Northwestern Lehigh (9-1) or Palisades (7-3) in next Friday’s championship game.
It’s the seventh straight year North Schuylkill has reached the postseason, but the Spartans’ first District 11 appearance since 2011. The Spartans qualified for districts in 2008-11, winning the 2009 Class AA crown. The past two seasons, North Schuylkill has reached the Eastern Conference Class AA title game, winning in 2012 and falling last season.
North Schuylkill’s first playoff game in that string was against Palmerton in the 2008 District 11 Class AA semifinals. The Blue Bombers won that meeting 27-21, then went on to lose 26-21 to Palisades in the final.
It had marked North Schuylkill’s first playoff appearance since 1999, a span of eight losing seasons that included three 0-10 marks. Palmerton, meanwhile, was in the playoffs for the third straight year.
The Blue Bombers are making their first postseason appearance since those 2008 playoffs tonight, ending a five-year drought.
Palmerton enters tonight’s game on a two-game win streak, having blanked Northern Lehigh 21-0 last Friday to qualify for districts. The Blue Bombers’ losses came to fellow Class AA semifinalists Palisades (22-21) and Northwestern Lehigh (50-21) and Class AAA qualifier Southern Lehigh (68-21).
Sophomore dual-threat quarterback Garrett Perschy leads the Blue Bombers’ attack, having completed 78-of-142 passes for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns while running 136 times for 521 yards and seven more scores.
When Perschy does hand the ball off, senior Tre Nelson (86-418, 6 TDs), senior Jerry Pereira (39-181, 4 TDs), junior Rai Washington (37-248, 4 TDs) and sophomore Mike Stasko (46-213, TD) are among Palmerton’s ballcarriers.
The Blue Bombers feature four receivers with double-digit catches: senior Dominic Shivone (19-264, 4 TDs), Stasko (13-138, TD), senior Sean Doherty (12-198, 2 TDs) and senior Nick Sander (10-180, 2 TDs).
Defensively, senior cornerback Isaac George leads the team with 112 tackles, while Nelson, a middle linebacker, has 111. Shivone has six interceptions.
Here’s a look at this weekend’s other playoff games involving local teams:
Tonight’s games
District 4 Class AAA
Shamokin (5-5)
at Jersey Shore (10-0)
Storyline: The Indians nearly ended an 18-year losing streak to backyard rival Mount Carmel last week, rushing for 281 yards in the 33-32 OT loss. John Demsko rumbled for 182 yards that included TD runs of 65 and 68 yards. They’ll need another big performance from the ground game against the Bulldogs, who beat Shamokin 36-14 in Week 6. Shamokin will hope to slow down Levi Lorson, who carried the ball 49 times for 246 yards and three TDs in the win.
Earlier meeting: Jersey Shore 36-14
District 4 Class AA
Loyalsock (7-3)
at Mount Carmel (7-3)
Storyline: The Lancers and Red Tornadoes met in Week 1, with Mount Carmel pulling out a 25-22 victory on Tom Bielski’s 37-yard FG. The Tornadoes were able to rush for 331 yards against the Lancers, as Kyle Karycki (140) and Blake Panko (109) both went over 100 yards. Defensively, MCA has to contain Loyalsock QB Kyle Datres (16-133, 2 TDs) if they hope to be successful.
Earlier meeting: Mount Carmel 25-22, Week 1
Eastern Conference
Class AAA
Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (6-4)
at Blue Mountain (8-2)
Storyline: The Eagles are back in the postseason after a one-year absence and enter tonight’s game against the Crusaders on a six-game win streak. Coughlin, meanwhile, is making its eighth straight playoff appearance, sixth straight in the EC playoffs. Blue Mountain’s talented defense will have to stop Coughlin RB Tyler Layton, who has rushed for 951 yards in nine games. Crusaders don’t throw it much, rushing for 2,323 yards this year. QB Jacob Soller (754 yards rushing) and Tom Mitchell (500 yards, 10 TDs) are other key Coughlin ballcarriers.
Eastern Conf. Class AA
Pine Grove (5-5)
at Hanover Area (6-4)
Storyline: The Cardinals snuck into the playoffs with a win over Halifax last week and are making their fourth postseason appearance in five years. Senior RB Mark Weinus (243-1,294, 9 TDs) leads the Cards’ offense. The Hawkeyes like to run the ball, with Isaiah Taylor being the main threat. Taylor has scored 11 TDs this season, including three in a 34-0 win over Panther Valley, when he rushed for 197 yards on 15 carries. Hanover Area was just 6-24 the past three years and is in the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Eastern Conference Class A
Line Mountain (5-5)
at Tri-Valley (5-5)
Storyline: The Dawgs turned their season around in the second half when these teams met in Week 5, as Tri-Valley scored three unanswered TDs to win 21-14. Kenny Boyer rushed for two scores for Line Mountain, which led 14-0 at halftime. Hunter Harner rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns for Tri-Valley, including the game-winner in the fourth quarter.
Earlier meeting: Tri-Valley 21-14, Week 5
Eastern Conference Class A
Upper Dauphin (5-5)
at Millersburg (5-5)
Storyline: These two Route 209 rivals squared off just two weeks ago, with Millersburg pulling out a thrilling, 28-27 victory. Indians’ QB Christian Wingard rushed for 90 yards and two scores, including the game-winner with 8 minutes left. UDA had built a 21-0 lead behind Cameron Fornwald (29-226), who needs 49 yards for 1,000 on the season.
Earlier meeting: Millersburg 28-27, Week 9
Saturday’s games
District 11 Class A
Mahanoy Area (5-5)
at Pius X (8-2)
When: 1:30 p.m., Nazareth High School
Storyline: The Golden Bears have done a decent job shutting down opposing offenses, but will need a big effort to slow down the potent Royals’ attack. QB Tre Jordan has completed 144-of-207 passes for 2,223 yards and 30 TDs for Pius X, whose only losses were to District 3 powers West York and Steel-High. His top two targets are Nate Stewart (60-883, 14 TDs) and Aaron Weller (26-589, 8 TDs). The Royals average 45.6 points per game.
District 11 Class AAA
Lehighton (8-2)
at Bethlehem Catholic (9-1)
When: 7 p.m., Bethlehem Area SD Stadium
Storyline: The Indians enter the postseason on a roll with five straight victories, averaging 39.8 points in those contests. They’ll need another big effort against the Golden Hawks, who defeated Lehighton in last year’s semifinals. RB Wyatt Clements (163-1,075, 22 TDs) paces the Indians’ ground game, while QB Tyler Cann has thrown for 1,353 yards and 10 scores. WR/DB Tyler Crum has been a big-time performance in the win streak, and has 37 catches for 655 yards and six scores this season.
Last year: Bethlehem Catholic 34-6, District 11 Class AAA semifinals
