Few upsets on opening night in PIAA Class 6A Tournament

Reading High and the other top two finishers in the District 3 Class 6A Tournament advanced past the first round of the PIAA Tournament Wednesday but four other teams from the district were ousted: No. 4 Cedar Cliff, No 5 Hempfield, No. 6 Chambersburg and No. 7 Cumberland Valley.

There were few upsets on the opening night of play in Class 6A, though there was one notable outcome: District 11 champ Parkland was knocked off on its home court by Penn Wood, the No. 10 finisher out of District 1, 60-50.

That shows how deep District 1 is. Five of its 12 entries advanced to the second round, set for Saturday. However, one notable D1 team was taken out: Methacton. The Warriors were the No. 1 seed entering the district tournament and finished fourth. It lost to Northampton, the No. 3 team out of District 11, 50-49 in overtime.

Two of District 12’s three entries — champ Roman Catholic and No. 3 Archbishop Wood — advanced. No. 2 Abraham Lincoln was taken out by Garnet Valley, the sixth-place finisher from District 1, 65-56.

Wood’s win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh sets up a rematch of last year’s state championship game against Reading High. A site and time for that game has not yet been announced.

Overall, six of the eight district champs in the Class 6A field advanced; the only losers were Parkland and District 6 champ State College, which fell to District 7 runner-up North Hills 64-47.

Two of the opening-round games went to overtime: Allderdice beat District 7 third-place Pittsburgh Central Catholic 45-43, along with Northampton beating Methacton.

One opening-round game in 6A was postponed to Thursday: Abington at Pocono Mountain West.

In Class 3A, District 7 had a big night, advancing six of its seven entries to the second round. The top two teams in District 3 advanced: Champ Columbia and runner-up York Catholic; No. 3 Tulpehocken was beaten.

Overall, seven of 10 district champs advanced. Champs from District 1 (Christopher Dock), 5 (Chestnut Ridge) and 10 (Franklin) were turned back.

In Class 2A, District 7 had a strong showing with four of its six entries advancing: No. 1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, No. 2 Fort Cherry, No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic and No. 4 Carlynton. OSHL and Carlynton meet in the second round.

Only one of District 3’s three entries advanced, champ Lancaster Mennonite, which needed overtime to beat Windber. No. 2 Antietam and No. 3 Delone Catholic were eliminated.

Overall, Class 2A district champs went 8-1 in the opening round (with District 4 champ Wyalusing’s game postponed). The only Class 2A district champ to fall was Conemaugh Township, of District 5, which was beaten by Greensburg.

District 9 teams went 3-0, with Ridgway, Redbank Valley and Karns City each advancing.