York-Adams football qualifiers set to produce compelling playoffs

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Division champions? To verify.

Star players? To verify.

Contenders for District 3? To verify.

State classified programs? To verify.

An undefeated team? To verify.

All of these boxes will be checked Tuesday at the start of the York-Adams League soccer tournaments.

There will be 16 teams involved – eight each in the boys and girls segments.

Seven of those programs won at least a share of a YA division crown. Five of the qualifiers currently hold the top three spots in the District 3 Powers. Four are ranked among the top teams in the state. And we’re still unbeaten and untied.

It has all the makings for a compelling and competitive league playoffs.

The action begins with the boys-girls quarter-finals on Tuesday, followed by the semi-finals on Thursday and the championship games on Saturday night in Dallastown.

Boys tournament: Given his recent form, Dallastown should probably be considered the boys’ favorite.

The Wildcats (16-1-1 overall) are 15-0-1 after a 1-1 start and they just picked up a 2-0 win over Northeastern on Thursday night, which avenged the Wildcats’ lone loss. , a 2- 1 loss against the Bobcats on September 7. The victory also saw Dallastown share the Division I regular season title with the Bobcats.

In the 16-game unbeaten streak, the Wildcats have allowed just six goals.

Dallastown also includes one of the best players in the league at Zander Leik. Central York coach Frank Lenno called Leik “a handful” earlier this season. Leik, however, is hardly a one-man gang for the Wildcats. Kaden Kashner scored both goals in the win over Northeastern. Leik and Kashner are each returning stars from YA DI.

The Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association has obviously taken note of the Wildcats ‘recent success, placing them at No.5 in the States’ latest 4-A rankings. Dallastown is also # 2 in District 4-A Powers Ratings.

The Wildcats open the league playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Hanover against New Oxford (11-4-1), the third-place D-II team.

If Dallastown wins this match, it could set up a fascinating battle between big schools and small schools against Biglerville (18-0-0) undefeated in Thursday’s quarter-finals. To get there, however, the D-III Canners champion will have to deal with the D-II York Suburban runner-up (9-3-2) in the quarter-finals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Susquehannock. It will not be an easy task.

Biglerville enters the playoffs ranked No. 2 in the state in 2-A and No. 2 in District 2-A power ratings. The Canners are looking to become the first D-III team to win a YA playoff soccer championship. They have dominated their opposition 75-13 this season.

The boys’ other quarterfinals, also at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, are: Northeastern v Fairfield in Bermudian Springs and Susquehannock v Central York in Dallastown.

The Susquehannock-Central competition pits two traditional football powers against each other. Susquehannock (12-1-2) won the D-II title and is ranked No. 7 in the State in 3-A. The Warriors are # 3 in 3-A ratings. They also present one of the league’s best players to Fallou Cissé, an all-state returning artist who was the YA D-II Player of the Year in 2020.

The Panthers (13-2-2), meanwhile, finished third in ID, but managed to face both teams (Dallastown and Northeastern) who finished ahead of them in the division.

Fairfield (10-3-1), meanwhile, is also ranked in the state (No. 10 in 1-A) and finished second in D-III behind Biglerville. The DI Northeastern co-champion (14-3-1) will be looking to bounce back from Thursday’s loss to Dallastown, which ended the Bobcats’ 11-game winning streak. It was only the second time this season that Northeastern has allowed more than one goal.

Girls’ tournament: Dallastown (14-3-1) could also be favored to win the women’s playoff title after winning the DI Championship. DI teams have traditionally dominated the women’s soccer league playoffs.

The Wildcats open the 2021 League playoffs at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Hanover against Susquehannock (10-7-0), who was third in D-II.

The other women’s quarter-finals, also at 5:30 pm Tuesday, will pit D-III champion Bermudian Springs (14-2-0) against D-II Eastern York finalist (12-4-1) in Susquehannock; DI Central York finalist (12-4-1) versus D-III finalist Fairfield (10-3-0) in Dallastown; and D-II champion Gettysburg (12-2-2) against Northeastern (12-4-2) at Bermudian Springs. The Bobcats were third in ID.

Fairfield is # 2 in District 1-A Powers, while Gettysburg is # 3 in 3-A.

A look back: The league has not hosted a playoffs in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Dallastown won the boys ‘crown, while Central York won their fourth consecutive girls’ crown.

Over the past decade, Dallastown has won three men’s titles, while Central York, Susquehannock and Gettysburg have each won two. On the girls’ side, Central York has won five of the last 10 crowns, while Dallastown has won four championships in that span.

Contact Steve Heiser at [email protected] or @ydsports. Please consider subscribe to support local journalism.

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