District 1, Catholic League tournaments set to return
It’s been two years since the Central and Del Val Leagues participated in the District 1 playoffs for the fall sports season.
With a late start due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Central League elected to go with a league-only schedule last year, while the Del Val moved its fall sports seasons to the spring. Meanwhile, the Catholic League did not hold its traditional league playoffs last year but teams could partake in the PIAA tournaments in boys and girls soccer, field hockey and volleyball.
The District 1 and 12 qualification for states is back to normal this season, with the District 1 tournaments ready to start this week.
Field Hockey
Garnet Valley (15-3) is the No. 7 seed in Class 3A and earns a first-round bye. The Jaguars will host the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 10 Central Bucks South (13-4-1) and No. 23
Perkiomen Valley (8-9-1) on Thursday night at 7.
Haverford (9-9) is the No. 22 seed and visits No. 11 North Penn (12-5-1) at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The winner faces No. 6 Methacton (153) in the second round on Thursday. The top seven teams advance to the PIAA tournament.
Radnor (12-3-1) earned the No. 4 seed in Class 2A and hosts No. 13 Upper Merion (8-9) at 4 p.m. Tuesday in a tournament full of Delco squads.
No. 8 Springfield (10-7) hosts No. 9 Pope John Paul II (10-8) at 7:30 on Tuesday. No. 10 Penncrest (8-10) is at No. 7 Gwynedd Mercy (132-1) at 4 p.m.. No. 14 Strath Haven visits No. 3 Gwynedd Mercy at 4. The top four teams move on to the PIAA tournament.
In Class A, Sacred Heart (6-11-1) is seeded sixth and visits No. 3 Dock Mennonite (12-4-0) in the quarterfinals on Thursday (5:30). The winner advances to Thursday’s semis against No. 2 Jenkintown (13-2-1). Both finalists qualify for the PIAA tournament.
In the Catholic League, Archbishop Carroll is the top seed and hosts the winner of Wednesday’s openround affair between Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Ryan. Carroll awaits in Friday’s semifinals.
Cardinal O’Hara is the No. 2 seed and gets the survivor of Wednesday’s firstround game between No. 3 Bonner-Prendergast and No. 6 Lansdale Catholic at home in the semifinals. The Pandas topped the Crusaders last week, 2-0.
Volleyball
Garnet Valley (16-2) earned a bye in the first round of the Class 4A tournament as the No. 5 seed and begins action on Thursday at home. It’ll face the winner of No. 12 North Penn (14-4) and No. 21 Upper Merion (12-6).
Sun Valley (16-5) is seeded ninth and hosts No. 24 Souderton (12-10) in the opening round Tuesday night (7 p.m.). The winner visits No. 8 Boyertown (154) in the second round Tuesday (7 p.m.).
Haverford (13-7) also will be on the road in the opener. The No. 18 Fords visit No. 15 Council Rock South (13-6) on Tuesday (7 p.m.). The winner faces No. 2 Unionville (171) in the second round on Thursday (7 p.m.). The top five teams advance to the PIAA tournament.
Interboro (12-6) is the lone Delco representative in Class 3A. The Bucs are seeded fifth and visit No. 4 Villa Maria Academy (11-7) Tuesday night at 7. The winner will visit No. 1 Pope John Paul II (14-2) in the semifinals Thursday. Only the district champion qualifies for the PIAA tournament.
Sacred Heart (14-7) is chasing its fifth straight District 1 Class A title and eighth in the last 10 years. The Lions are seeded third and visit No. 2 Faith Christian (15-3) in the semifinals on Tuesday (7 p.m.). Chester Charter Scholars Academy (10-9) earned the No. 4 seed and visits No. 1 Upper Bucks Christian (10-0) in the opening round. The winners meet Thursday for the district’s only spot in the PIAA tournament.
Cardinal O’Hara is the top seed in the Catholic League playoffs and entertains No. 8 Bonner-Prendergast
at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals on Monday. Archbishop Carroll earned the No. 4 seed, hosting No. 5 St. Hubert at 3:30 on Monday.