Lancaster Catholic vs. Loyalsock is SATURDAY at 1 p.m. in Shamokin

And then there were two …

Lancaster Catholic, in Double-A, and Manheim Central, in Triple-A, are your final two Lancaster-Lebanon League football teams still standing through 13 weeks of action – after Penn Manor and Wilson, in Quad-A, dropped District 3 semifinal games and saw their seasons come to a close.

Lancaster Catholic wrapped up its second District 3 Double-A title in a row last Friday night with a 42-6 romp over Delone Catholic.

And Manheim Central advanced to the District 3 Triple-A championship game compliments of a 42-7 runaway win over Conrad Weiser last Friday night.

Next up for Lancaster Catholic is a PIAA Eastern semifinal game against District 4 champ Loyalsock.

Up next for Manheim Central is a date against Susquehanna Township in the District 3 Triple-A finale.

He’s an early look at those match-ups …

THE GAME: No. 1 Manheim Central Barons (13-0 overall; Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 outright champ) vs. No. 2 Susquehanna Township Indians (12-1 overall; Mid-Penn Conference Colonial Division), District 3 Triple-A championship game, Friday, 7 p.m. @ Hersheypark Stadium.
LIVE BLOG: I will be blogging live from this game at LancSports.com.
WINNER GETS: WPIAL champ West Allegheny (11-2) or District 10 champ Erie Cathedral Prep (11-2) in a PIAA Triple-A state semifinal. … West Allegheny knocked off the state’s second-ranked Triple-A team, Hopewell, 36-28 in the WPIAL finale. … Erie Cathedral Prep defeated District 8 champ Schenley 44-12 in a sub-regional playoff game.
THE COACHES: Manheim Central is coached by Mike Williams (29th season; 300-59-3 overall). … Susquehanna Township is coached by Joe Headen (7th season; 43-33 overall).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Manheim Central defeated Shippensburg (49-6), Daniel Boone (24-20) and Conrad Weiser (42-7). … Susquehanna Township defeated New Oxford (42-7), Cocalico (50-32) and West York (7-6).
MANHEIM CENTRAL SEASON IN REVIEW: Susquehannock (W 58-0), Wilson (W 29-27), Lancaster Catholic (W 42-12), Cocalico (W 17-14), Solanco (W 45-0), Ephrata (W 64-23), Conestoga Valley (W 36-0), Elizabethtown (W 27-0), Lebanon (W 47-0), Garden Spot (W 49-0), Shippensburg (W 49-6), Daniel Boone (W 24-20), Conrad Weiser (W 42-7). Record against District 3 playoff teams – 7-0.
SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP SEASON IN REVIEW: Steel-High (W 27-14), Red Land (W 40-14), Mechanicsburg (W 40-0), West Perry (W 61-6), Gettysburg (W 48-0), Chambersburg (L 36-32), Greencastle-Antrim (W 27-24), Hershey (W 15-13), Northern York (W 35-14), Waynesboro (W 41-19), New Oxford (W 42-7), Cocalico (W 50-32), West York (W 7-6). Record against District 3 playoff teams – 8-1.
COMMON OPPONENTS: One – Cocalico: Manheim Central pulled off a little Manheim Magic with a 17-14 Section 2 win over the Eagles in Week 4, when Taylor Groff drilled a 40-yard field goal with 1.8 seconds to play. … Susquehanna Township piled up more than 600 yards of total offense and knocked Cocalico out of the District 3 playoffs with a 50-32 win in the quarterfinals.
MANHEIM CENTRAL PLAYOFF HISTORY: Barons have a District 3 record 15 championships – all in Triple-A – and are 41-6 overall in District 3 playoff games. … Central won titles in 1989 (over Elizabethtown), 1990 (over Central York), 1992 (over Conestoga Valley), 1993 (over Gettysburg), 1994 (over Conestoga Valley), 1995 (over Garden Spot), 1996 (over New Oxford), 1997 (over Cocalico), 1998 (over Muhlenberg), 1999 (over West Perry), 2000 (over Conestoga Valley), 2001 (over Spring Grove), 2003 (over Lower Dauphin), 2004 (over Mechanicsburg) and 2005 (over Muhlenberg). The Barons also lost in title games in 1988 (to Middletown) and last year (to West York). … 2003 PIAA Triple-A state champ. … 2004 PIAA Triple-A state runner-up.
SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP PLAYOFF HISTORY: This is the Indians’ second trip to a District 3 title game; Susquehanna Township fell to York Suburban in the 1986 Double-A finale. This is also the first time the Indians have met Manheim Central in a District 3 playoff game.
NOTES: Manheim Central coach Mike Williams won his 300th career game last Friday night in the Barons’ 42-7 drubbing of Conrad Weiser. Williams is the 10th coach in PIAA history to hit the 300-win plateau. … Senior QB Justin Gorman has accounted for 16 TD in the last five games – 10 rushing and six passing, including three TD tosses in the semifinal win over Conrad Weiser.

THE GAME: District 3 champ Lancaster Catholic Crusaders (12-1 overall; Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 outright champ) vs. District 4 champ Loyalsock Lancers (10-3 overall; Heartland Conference Division 2), PIAA Double-A Eastern semifinal, Saturday, 1 p.m. @ Kemp Memorial Stadium, Shamokin.
LIVE BLOG: Keith Schweigert will be blogging live from this game at LancSports.com.
WINNER GETS: District 11 champ North Schuylkill (13-0) or District 12 champ Philadelphia West Catholic (11-2) in the PIAA Eastern final. … North Schuylkill topped Northern Lehigh 33-26 in the District 11 title game. … Philadelphia West Catholic, which defeated Lancaster Catholic in last year’s Eastern final, blanked District 2 champ Dunmore 13-0 in a sub-regional playoff game to advance.
THE COACHES: Lancaster Catholic is coached by Bruce Harbach (8th season; 75-23 overall). … Loyalsock is coached by Alex Jackson (2nd season; 17-8 overall).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Lancaster Catholic steamrolled through the District 3 playoffs, hammering York Suburban (48-21), Middletown (48-14) and Delone Catholic (42-6); that’s an aggregate 138-41. … In the District 4 playoffs, Loyalsock beat Danville (35-6), Hughesville (17-6) and Lewisburg (41-6).
LANCASTER CATHOLIC SEASON IN REVIEW: Trinity (W 42-0), Ephrata (W 35-7), Manheim Central (L 42-12), Donegal (W 45-0), Lampeter-Strasburg (W 14-13), Pequea Valley (W 62-7), Northern Lebanon (W 59-17), Columbia (W 48-0), Annville-Cleona (W 49-7), Elco (W 51-28), York Suburban (W 48-21), Middletown (W 48-14), Delone Catholic (W 42-6).
LOYALSOCK SEASON IN REVIEW: Central Columbia (W 38-13), Hughesville (L 21-0), Mifflinburg (W 21-3), Southern Columbia (W 14-0), Bloomsburg (W 14-0), Mount Carmel (L 20-0), Warrior Run (W 20-12), Montoursville (W 21-8), Towanda (L 24-21), Shamokin (W 35-12), Danville (W 35-3), Hughesville (W 17-6), Lewisburg (W 41-6).
COMMON OPPONENTS: None. Only semi tie-in is Mount Carmel, whom Lancaster Catholic defeated 41-28 in this round a year ago. Loyalsock fell to Mount Carmel 20-0 in Week 6 this season. Mount Carmel missed out on the District 4 playoffs, but won the Eastern Conference Double-A playoff crown.
LANCASTER CATHOLIC PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Crusaders wrapped up their fifth District 3 Double-A championship in convincing fashion – a 42-6 romp over Delone Catholic. It was Lancaster Catholic’s second district title in a row, and the Crusaders were in the district finale for the fifth time in the last six years. … This is Lancaster Catholic’s third trip to States; in 2005 the Crusaders fell to District 4 champ Montoursville 27-21, and last year, Lancaster Catholic topped District 4 champ Mount Carmel 41-28 before falling to eventual state runner-up Philadelphia West Catholic 37-14 in the Eastern Final.
LOYALSOCK PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Lancers have now won three District 4 titles: Loyalsock also won a Double-A crown in 2007 and a Single-A title in 1988. … Lancers are 1-1 in the PIAA playoffs – in 2007 Loyalsock defeated District 3 champ Delone Catholic in the Eastern semifinals, before falling to Dunmore in the Eastern Final. Dunmore went on to fall to Terrelle Pryor-led Jeanette in the state championship game. … Loyalsock won the Double-A Eastern Conference playoffs last season, beating Tamaqua in the title game to cap a 7-5 season.
NOTES: Lancaster Catholic has scored 555 points (42.7 points per game), and has scored 42 or more points in its last eight games in a row. … Lancaster Catholic senior QB Kyle Smith is Pennsylvania’s all-time leader in career passing yards (8,174) and career TD passes (114). He has 46 TD passes this season, and needs four TD passes to snap Chad Kroell’s single-season PIAA record of 49, set by the former Clearfield QB in 1994.