Four local teams make 6A bracket, 3 in 5A

The District 1 playoff brackets were (unofficially) announced Sunday, and Chester County is very well represented in the Class 5A and 6A playoff bracket.

In the 6A bracket, the highest local seed is No. 4 Coatesville. The Red Raiders get a first round bye this Friday and will play either No. 13 Downingtown West or No. 20 Pennridge at home on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Conestoga, the seventh seed, has a first-round bye and will host the winner of No. 10 Lower Merion and No. 23 Central Bucks South Feb. 21. If it’s Lower Merion, it will be the fourth meeting this season between the Central League rivals.

The other two area teams in the 6A bracket are No. 14 Down-

ingtown East, who will host No. 19 Norristown on Friday, and No. 24 Avon Grove, which travels to No. 10 Spring-Ford Friday.

Sitting at No. 4, Coatesville gets a favorable draw, avoiding possible matchups with PlymouthWhitemarsh and Abington until the finals at Villanova on March 4. *** In the 5A bracket, three Ches-Mont schools earned spots in the 16team tournament. No. 2 Great Valley will host Upper Perkiomen on Feb. 22, and would face either Holy Ghost Prep or Springfield-Delco on Feb. 25 should the Patriots beat Upper Perk.

West Chester Rustin is seeded fifth, and coach Keith Cochran’s Golden Knights will host Glen Mills in the opening round. Rustin defeated the Battlin Bulls in overtime during the regular season.

Bishop Shanahan will also play a familiar foe, as the fourth-seeded eagles will host Academy Park, a Del-Val League squad that defeated Bishop Shanahan in overtime earlier in the season. If both Rustin and Bishop Shanahan

win, the pair will face each other in the second round next Saturday, Feb. 25.

*** The 6A semifinals will be at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on Tuesday, Feb. 28, with the finals going back to Villanova on March 4. The 5A semifinals will also be at the Liacouras Center on March 1, with the finals at Villanova March 4 at 2 p.m.

*** This Tuesday night, the Ches-Mont League Final Four will feature Bishop Shanahan vs. Great Valley at 6 p.m. and West Chester Rustin vs. Coatesville at 7:30 p.m.. Both games will be at Downingtown West High School.