District 2 Football: State Quarterfinal Preview
By: Nate Johns | SportzWire | November 20, 2025 | Photo courtesy Jake Speicher
The first round of the PIAA high school football state playoffs is over and three District II teams advanced to the state quarterfinals. These squads only need to win two more games to advance to the state championships at Cumberland Valley. Here is a look at their matchups this weekend along with a prediction. There will be no prediction for the North Pocono game because of a conflict of interest due to the fact I will be broadcasting the game.
Playoff predictions record: 19-5
State first round record: 5-1
Class A: Lackawanna Trail vs Belmont Charter (12)
Belmont Charter is facing a District II team in the playoffs for the second time in program history. It faced Old Forge back in 2021, losing 55-14. Lackawanna Trail is no stranger to playoff games against teams south of the Lehigh Tunnel, with experience in subregionals against Districts I and XI over the last several seasons.
Belmont Charter won the District XII Championship, and then beat District I Champion Morrisville 19-0 and District III Champion York Catholic 36-20. The team won its first ever state playoff game and is having the best season in school history. The school only introduced a varsity team in 2020. The strength of the Tigers is their defense, which allows only 10 points per game. The offense has found form recently, and the 36 points against York Catholic was a season high.
Lackawanna Trail is no stranger to the quarterfinals, but this year it is trying to break through. The Lions beat a previously undefeated Line Mountain team last week 31-20. Isaac Ryon rushed for two touchdowns and Tyler Jervis rushed for a score and also had a pick-six. The defense largely held a strong Eagles’ passing game in check, holding them to a season-low 20 points.
The only somewhat common opponent between these two teams is Executive Education, who Belmont Charter beat 8-6 in Week 1. Executive Education beat Wyoming Valley West earlier this year 35-26. The Lions have a better strength of schedule and have dominated that schedule. Expect Lackawanna Trail to ride its ground game and momentum to another state playoff win.
Prediction: Lackawanna Trail defeats Belmont Charter
Class AAA: Scranton Prep vs Northwestern Lehigh (11)
A rematch of last year’s quarterfinals. The same two teams meet at the same exact venue and the winner will be the favorite to advance to the state championship game. The Tigers won last year’s meeting 34-0.
The Tigers have won their last 29 football games, with their last loss coming in the 2023 AAA State Championship to Belle Vernon. Even after losing key seniors from last season’s state championship team, the Tigers rolled everyone and won the District XI AAA Championship for the fourth straight season, 35-14 last week against unbeaten Notre Dame-Green Pond. Shane Hulmes led the way for Northwestern Lehigh with two touchdowns last week, and the defense pitched a fourth quarter shutout. It followed a similar script to a lot of Northwestern Lehigh games this season, which included 11 of 13 wins by multiple scores.
Scranton Prep continued its streak of taking down the best of the best in the state when it beat Mifflinburg 28-21 last week. The Cavaliers fell in an early hole, 14-0 in the first quarter and 21-14 at the half, but pitched a second-half shutout to win the game. Will McPartland continued his recent string of electric performances, rushing for 125 yards and three touchdowns. The Cavaliers now return to Crispin Field, where they won the District II AAA Championship 42-7 over Berwick two weeks ago.
Two of the top teams in the state meet in the postseason for a third straight year. Northwestern Lehigh has won the previous two meetings by a combined score of 61-6. I have said all postseason long that I cannot pick against the Cavaliers until someone beats them. Well, this is the team that has ended their season the last two years.
Prediction: Northwestern Lehigh defeats Scranton Prep
Class AAAA: North Pocono vs Cardinal O’Hara (12)
Two teams in the midst of all-time seasons, the Trojans won their first district title since 2016 and the Lions won their first District XII Championship in school history. Both teams like to lean on their running games and their defenses.
Cardinal O’Hara knocked off West Philadelphia 34-6 to win its first football district championship. This win came after a victory over the reigning AAAA State Champions Bonner-Prendie. The Lions are led by senior running back Amahj Gowans, who has rushed for over 1,200 yards and had three total touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, in the win over West Philadelphia. He leads an offense that has scored at least 24 points in the last three games. The Lions are 9-4 with losses to four of the top schools in Philadelphia. They have already avenged two of those losses on this playoff run.
North Pocono survived a tough road trip to Bishop Shanahan and won 40-36. It was a back-and-forth affair where the Trojans leaned on the trio of Josiah Gray, Chase Zimmerman and Cole West. Gray rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns, and West ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns of his own. Zimmerman added a score on the ground as well. The defense allowed a season-high 36 points, but still rallied to seal the game with a strip sack fumble recovery. It is a special season in Moscow, and the journey continues to Whitehall this Friday.
This game will feature a lot of hard-nosed smash mouth football. Both teams are playing their best football right now and have strong wins. Someone will continue a magical season, the other will be forced to leave the memories alone.
No prediction for this game due to the SportzWire broadcast
