Wilson trailed 8-1 early after Catie Doogan drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. The 6’ sophomore is the daughter of head coach Chrissie Doogan, a 1993 graduate of Cardinal O’Hara. Chrissie was a two-time MVP in the Philadelphia Catholic League who led the Lions to three PCL titles. She went on to rack up 1,818 points and 914 rebounds at La Salle. Doogan is a member of the Hall of Fame at both schools, as well as the Big 5. This is her eighth season at the helm of Cardinal O’Hara.

Leah Hudak hit a triple from the left corner to put the Lions on top 11-5 after eight minutes. Kailani Hardy, the BCIAA Player of the Year, picked up her second foul one minute into the second quarter. The 5’10 junior guard returned to the game a minute later. Hardy got her third foul with 5:13 left before halftime. Laila Jones, a 1,000-point scorer, splashed a trey from the top of the key to even things at 11-11. That was the lone field goal of the night for the Penn State Harrisburg commit. Jade Lee provided a spark off the Bulldogs’ bench. The 5’9 sophomore had all seven of her points in the first half. Despite its offensive woes, Wilson was within 16-15 at the break.

A layup by North Carolina lacrosse commit Ryan Leaman gave the Bulldogs their first lead at 17-16 with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter. They only scored one point the rest of the period as the Lions built a 24-18 cushion. Megan Rullo, a 5’8 Drexel commit, made a pair of layups in the third quarter. Rullo missed last season due to a knee injury. The 5’8 senior is averaging a team-high 14 ppg. this year.

Hardy came up with a steal and a transition basket to cut Wilson’s deficit to 24-20 with 6:15 to go. Olivia Craft, a 6’3 freshman, answered with a layup on the other end. Hardy finished a drive down the right side of the lane to make it 26-22 with 5:06 to play. She split a pair of free throws to get the Bulldogs within 26-23 with 3:37 left. They didn’t score again until Hardy sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key with nine seconds on the clock. During their final drought, Hardy missed a scoop shot and had a drive down the middle of the lane rattle out. Rullo converted six of her eight foul shots in the fourth quarter. She ended up with a team-high twelve points. Brigidanne Donohue added ten points and went 2-for-2 from the stripe with 1:52 remaining. The 5’10 junior gave Cardinal O’Hara a 28-23 advantage. Doogan and Hudak chipped in with five points apiece.

The Lions were 14-of-19 from the free throw line. They went 22-for-23 during a 61-49 victory over Wilson back on December 11th. Cardinal O’Hara connected four times from beyond the arc on Tuesday. The Lions only hit one triple after the opening quarter. The Bulldogs struggled at the foul line, going 6-of-12. Hardy was 3-for-8, but still managed a team-high twelve points. Wilson only made two shots from long range as their 20-game winning streak came to a halt.

The Bulldogs did bring two trophies back to West Lawn this year. They defeated Exeter 54-44 at Santander Arena for their first Berks County title since 2014. Wilson then outlasted Dallastown 42-37 in overtime to earn its seventh District 3 crown. Jones, Violet Houck, and Laura Crocona have all been starters since they were freshman. Crocona will continue her career at Kutztown. Houck is headed to Jacksonville University for track and field. They helped the Bulldogs pile up 72 wins over the past three seasons. “I can’t begin to express how proud I am of this team. They’ve accomplished so much this season, and were so fun to watch and coach. They’ve made an impact that will last for years to come,” said Raquet.

Class 6A:

The Wilson boys fell at New Castle 68-38. The Bulldogs finished (17-11).

The Wilson girls defeated Conestoga 59-46 in West Lawn.

The Gov. Mifflin girls battled District 7 champion Canon-McMillan down to the wire, but the (18-9) Mustangs came up short 48-46.

Class 5A:

Exeter ran into a buzz saw at Chartiers Valley. The Colts went 15-of-28 from 3-point range. The (18-11) Eagles lost 66-42.

Class 4A:

Berks Catholic was upset by Carver High School of Engineering & Science 40-35 at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. The Saints end their season at (25-3).

Schuylkill Valley got tripped up by District 2 champion Scranton Prep 65-48. The (16-11) Panthers made their third appearance in the PIAA playoffs.

Wyomissing fell to Archbishop Carroll from the Philadelphia Catholic League 77-52. The Spartans finished (16-11).

Here are the first round matchups.

Boys:

Class 6A-Wilson at New Castle at 1pm on March 7th.

Class 5A-Exeter at Chartiers Valley at 6pm on March 6th.

Class 4A-Carver High School of Engineering and Science at Berks Catholic at 6pm on March 6th.

Schuylkill Valley at Scranton Prep at 7pm on March 6th.

Wyomissing at Archbishop Carroll at 7pm on March 6th.

Girls:

Class 6A-Conestoga at Wilson at 7pm on March 6th.

Gov. Mifflin at Canon-McMillan at 6pm on March 6th.

Twin Valley marched 83 yards on the opening series to take a 7-0 advantage over Aliquippa. Myers rumbled 37 yards for the first score of the night. The 6’1, 215-pound junior ended up with 49 yards on nine carries. The standout linebacker also contributed seven unassisted tackles. The Quips answered immediately with a 1-yard touchdown run by JJ Work. The senior broke off a 13-yard run on fourth-and-3 to keep the drive alive. Work went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season during that possession. The Raiders, however, blocked the extra point to maintain a 7-6 edge with 2:41 left in the first quarter. A 80-yard kickoff return by Drew Engle set up Twin Valley at Aliquippa’s 4-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, sophomore quarterback Maverik Foster kept the ball for a 1-yard touchdown with 41 seconds to go in the quarter. The District 3 champs were in front 14-6 after twelve minutes.

Ryan Rementer, a senior linebacker, picked off a pass by Marques Council and returned it 30 yards to the Quips’ 1-yard line with seven and a-half minutes to play before halftime. A 1-yard TD run by Myers made it 21-6. Rementer piled up a team-high eight solo tackles. With 1:04 left in the second quarter, Aliquippa blocked a 23-yard field goal attempt by Nate Shaffer. The Raiders got the ball right back though when Keenan Munn came up with another interception. The junior linebacker returned it to the Quips’ 10-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Myers scored as time expired and Twin Valley took a 28-6 lead into the locker room. The Raiders began four series inside Aliquippa’s 20-yard line. Twin Valley was in control despite having less than 100 total yards at the break.

Council, a Yale commit, bounced back in a big way during the third quarter. He launched a deep pass over the middle to Qa’lil Goode for a 48-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed. The five-time state champs then went 66 yards for another score. Council hit Antonio Reddic on a post for a 19-yard TD pass. Council’s throw on the two-point try was incomplete with 4:06 remaining in the quarter. The Raiders, who were on top 28-18, were forced to punt again on their next possession. Akiva Woods capped a 60-yard drive with a 39-yard touchdown run. The PAT was blocked, but the Quips had pulled within 28-24 with 36 seconds to go in the third period. Aliquippa, a program with 801 all-time wins, wasn’t going away quietly.

The 21-time WPIAL champions took over at their 30-yard line with 6:19 to play. On fourth-and-11, Council found Goode for a 25-yard completion. Council then hit Woods for a 20-yard gain with three minutes left. Council and Woods hooked up again for 27 yards with 2:14 remaining. The scrappy Quips had reached Twin Valley’s 11-yard line. Myers put a halt to their momentum by sacking Council with a minute to go back at the 25-yard line. On fourth-and-24 with 35 seconds on the clock, Munn broke up Council’s pass in the end zone to seal the victory.

Engle, who made six solo tackles, ran for 65 yards on 20 carries. The Army lacrosse commit surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards, a school record. The Raiders, ranked #1 in the state in Class 4A by PennLive, were limited to 113 total yards. Foster was 4-of-7 through the air for (-5) yards. Aliquippa’s defense lived up to the hype. The Quips were giving up just 12.8 ppg. coming into Friday’s state semifinal. While Twin Valley struggled offensively, the Raiders found a way to keep their historic season alive. The boys from the valley still have one more hill to climb to reach their ultimate goal.

Twin Valley limited perennial powerhouse Wyomissing to only six points in a highly anticipated Week 8 matchup at Bob Wolfrum Field. The Raiders prevailed 28-6 for their first win over the Spartans since 2009. The following week, Twin Valley held Lampeter-Strasburg to just seven points and 91 total yards. Second-seeded West York could only muster 14 points versus the Raiders in the District 3 semifinals. Rementer and Myers have been quite a one-two punch all season. They each have more than 110 tackles. Rementer was an honorable mention pick at linebacker in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League last year. “People say that it’s a very physical position and it is, but it’s not all about that. It’s really mental and I like having that challenge,” he explained. Rementer is also a standout in the classroom. He carries a 4.0 GPA.

The Raiders will face Aliquippa in the PIAA-4A semifinals on Friday at 7pm at Mifflin County High School. The (10-3) Quips are riding a 5-game winning streak. Two of their three losses came back in September when they fell to undefeated Avonworth and New Castle. Aliquippa features a stingy defense as well. The Quips are giving up 12.8 ppg. They got a 100-yard pick-6 from senior safety Qalil Goode in last week’s 28-6 victory over Oil City. Aliquippa knocked off McKeesport 21-12 for its record 21st WPIAL crown. This is familiar territory for the Quips. They’ve won five state titles, most recently in 2023. The program from north of Pittsburgh has 801 wins in its illustrious history.

Rementer knows that stopping the run will be a big key on Friday. “They’re very physical. We need to match and exceed that physicality…We’ve gone up against a lot of running teams that are also very physical so we’re very familiar with that,” he noted. Twin Valley loves to run the rock too. Drew Engle racked up 281 yards and 3 TD on 31 carries a week ago. The Army lacrosse commit has established school records with 3,971 career rushing yards and 60 career touchdowns. Engle broke his own single-season record with 1,855 rushing yards this year. The Raiders are ranked #1 in the state in Class 4A by PennLive. Aliquippa sits at #3 in this week’s poll. Although Twin Valley made history by capturing its first District 3 championship, the Raiders aren’t satisfied yet. “It feels great, but we’re gonna keep going one game at a time, one rep at a time, and one day at a time,” said Rementer.