Pete’s Picks:

Peter DiGiovanni makes his picks for all eight local playoff games, plus Malvern Prep’s Saturday date.

We are where area fans have been wanting to be for weeks: The District 1 playoffs. Chester County is ably represented by nine teams, and has the prohibitive favorite in the Class 6A bracket in the Coatesville Red Raiders. But there’s some intrigue in a team that made a late push to qualify for the Class 4A bracket: Bishop Shanahan.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

4A: BISHOP SHANAHAN (4) AT POTTSGROVE (1) The Eagles lost a close one to Downingtown West two weeks ago, and then defeated Oxford to gain the fourth and last spot in the 4A bracket. The Eagles will travel to top seeded Pottsgrove and Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers talked about how tough the Falcons are. “First of all I am very happy for our seniors,” Meyers said. “Pottsgrove is very good. They are physical and aggressive all over the field. Offensively, we have to stop their run game and try to force them to throw the ball. They have two very good running backs and they love to go on long possessions. We have to stop the run to be successful.” Pottsgrove is used to being in the playoffs, but I smell a bit of an upset here. I think the Eagles can stop the run enough to get their offense on the field, and with improving quarterback Charlie Maddocks throwing the ball better, I like the Eagles’ chances. Pick: Bishop Shanahan 21, Pottsgrove 17 5A: KENNETT (16) AT PENN WOOD (1) This is Kennett’s first trip to the playoffs and the Blue Demons should be commended for turning their fortunes around under first year head coach Lance Frazier. Penn Wood is very explosive and quarterback Desman Johnson is a dual threat. Receiver Kennedy Poles has 54 catches on the season and although the Patriots are not real strong up front, their skill people should be enough to give Kennett trouble. Pick: Penn Wood 28, Kennett 17 5A: OXFORD (12) AT WEST CHESTER RUSTIN (5) West Chester Rustin looks like one of the best teams in the 5A bracket right now. The Golden Knights are fast, athletic and defeated Oxford two weeks ago on the Hornets’ home field. Oxford will have trouble stopping Sean Hopkins and Owen Walsh from getting in its backfield. Pick: West Chester Rustin 30, Oxford 14 5A: WC EAST (10) AT CHELTENHAM (7) This is a rebound season for Cheltenham, which finished 2-8 last season. But, the Vikings have the better quarterback in Ryan Cassidy, and better skill people in Mike Gray and running backs Kyle Chichanowsky and Pierre Marchant. Marchant should be able to run between the tackles for good yardage. West Chester East has had a lot of trouble stopping the run all season, but I think they can get the Panthers offense off the field tonight. Pick: West Chester East 21, Cheltenham 20 5A: UNIONVILLE (11) AT SPRINGFIELD (6) Springfield can play defense, as the Cougars have allowed just over 12 points per game. But, Unionville has played a very tough nonleague schedule, and the Indians do not back down from anyone. Unionville’s Nick Schnaars may be the best player on the field. This game could go either way. Pick: Springfield 17, Unionville 13 6A: CENTRAL BUCKS EAST (15) AT COATESVILLE (2) C.B. East went on a last-second 87-yard drive to defeat Pennridge, 24-20, to earn the trip to Coatesville. The Patriots should not have bothered. Coatesville quarterback Ricky Ortega and his 29 touchdown passes will have a field day with the Patriots’ suspect secondary. Pick: Coatesville 42, CB East 14 6A: UPPER DARBY (13) AT DOWNINGTOWN WEST (4) Upper Darby will visit Downingtown West and the Central League entrant is very athletic, and has multiple people who can break a big play at any time. Downingtown West head coach Mike Milano talked about what kind of challenges the Royals present. “Upper Darby has a wealth of talent on both sides of the ball,” Milano said. “On offense they are able to mix a power game from the I formation with a zone read run game from the gun. They have running backs and receivers that can break a big play at any time. On defense they are a pressure based scheme with man-to-man coverage. They finished the season 7-3 and are coming off back-to-back losses to Ridley and Garnet Valley. We will need to continue to improve on offense with our new quarterback and get to playing stout run defense to have success.” Upper Darby is very explosive, but I think Downingtown West can control the Royals’ run game enough to let quarterback Ryan Wetzel feed running back Tyriq Lewis and break off some big runs. The Whippets receivers, Dan Byrnes and Jackson Luneberg, have been making big plays lately.

Pick: Downingtown West 28, Upper Darby 14 6A: DOWNINGTOWN EAST (10) AT SPRING-FORD (7) Downingtown East will have to stuff the Rams’ running game, something I believe it is capable of doing. Garvey Jonassaint and his 1,100-plus rushing yards should be enough to keep the Spring-Ford offense off the field. Cougar quarterback Luke Davis does not turn the ball over.

Pick: Downingtown East 31, Spring-Ford 17

SATURDAY’S GAME

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY AT MALVERN PREP The Friars need two more wins to finish a perfect season, and garner their second straight Inter-Academic League title. Friars linebacker Keith Maguire is the hardest hitter in the area and the Friars should roll here.

Pick: Malvern Prep 35, Germantown Academy 14