Games to watch – Week Six: Districts 3-6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're back at it for another week of games to watch across the Keystone State. Believe it or not, we are at the end of September. Playoff races across the state will begin to heat up starting this week as schools look to position themselves for late-season runs into the postseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are a few games to watch in Districts 3-6 this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gateway (4-1) vs Hempfield Area</strong> <strong>(5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hempfield's 5-0 start is one of the more eye-opening starts to the season this year but they'll be tested in a major way on Friday night against the deeply talented Gateway Gators. These two schools are sitting at the top of the WPIAL AAAAA Big East Conference and a win on Friday by Gateway would move the Gators into the top spot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 OL [player_tooltip player_id='160549' first='Matthew' last='Brooks'] - Gateway <br>2023 WR [player_tooltip player_id='249241' first='Dallas' last='Harper'] - Gateway <br>2023 LB [player_tooltip player_id='160579' first='Racari' last='El'] - Gateway <br>2023 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='248779' first='Anez' last='Jordan'] - Gateway<br>2023 WR [player_tooltip player_id='140965' first='Malachi' last='Moore'] - Gateway <br>2023 DB [player_tooltip player_id='178642' first='Leonard' last='Sherrod III'] - Gateway <br>2023 DL [player_tooltip player_id='248901' first='Louie' last='Douglas'] - Gateway <br>2024 RB [player_tooltip player_id='142787' first='Jaquon' last='Reynolds'] - Gateway <br>2024 QB [player_tooltip player_id='64000' first='Brad' last='Birch'] - Gateway <br>2024 LB [player_tooltip player_id='256146' first='Remy' last='Bose'] - Gateway <br>2024 DB [player_tooltip player_id='239060' first='Donovan' last='Biggs'] - Gateway <br>2024 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='142786' first='Camron' last='Price'] - Gateway <br>2025 DB [player_tooltip player_id='255086' first='Kenny' last='Lewis'] - Gateway <br>2025 DB [player_tooltip player_id='386101' first='Derek' last='Selby Jr'] - Gateway <br>2026 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='388167' first='Carlos' last='Diggs'] - Gateway <br>2026 DB [player_tooltip player_id='402469' first='Tristan' last='Huston'] - Gateway</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id='104131' first='Jake' last='Phillips']  - Hempfield Area <br>2023 DL [player_tooltip player_id='358005' first='Will' last='Nelson']  - Hempfield Area <br>2023 LB [player_tooltip player_id='248879' first='Eli' last='Binakonsky']  - Hempfield Area <br>2023 DL [player_tooltip player_id='372734' first='Ethan' last='Shaw']  - Hempfield Area <br>2023 WR [player_tooltip player_id='91704' first='Ian' last='Tuffs']  - Hempfield Area <br>2024 WR [player_tooltip player_id='142829' first='Keiran' last='Lippmann']  - Hempfield Area</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Harrisburg (3-1) vs Altoona</strong> <strong>(4-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Harrisburg and Altoona are off to strong starts this season and this should be a fun game to watch on Friday night. Both teams have quality offenses, averaging over 26 points per game and their defenses are just as quality. Harrisburg currently sits at the top of the Mid-Penn - Commonwealth standings with State College while Altoona at 1-1 is sitting in fifth place. That being said, a lot can change in the standings with this game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 RB [player_tooltip player_id='249232' first='Mahkai' last='Hopkins']  - Harrisburg <br>2023 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='146545' first='Kyle' last='Williams']  - Harrisburg <br>2023 DL [player_tooltip player_id='259521' first='Terrell' last='Reynolds']  - Harrisburg<br>2023 WR [player_tooltip player_id='357948' first='Amir' last='Jones']  - Harrisburg <br>2023 LB [player_tooltip player_id='358002' first='Samir' last='Wilkerson']  - Harrisburg <br>2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id='358333' first='Zakii' last='Curry-Lewis']  - Harrisburg <br>2023 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='306912' first='Ameer' last='Grandberry']  - Harrisburg <br>2024 DL [player_tooltip player_id='255741' first='Ryan' last='Epps']  - Harrisburg <br>2024 DL [player_tooltip player_id='377181' first='Micah' last='Chambers']  - Harrisburg <br>2024 DB [player_tooltip player_id='280353' first='Raytel' last='Bryant']  - Harrisburg <br>2025 QB [player_tooltip player_id='263040' first='Shawn' last='Lee Jr.']  - Harrisburg <br>2025 LB [player_tooltip player_id='263032' first='Ky'mir' last='Williams']  - Harrisburg <br>2026 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='212414' first='Elias' last='Coke']  - Harrisburg <br>2026 OL [player_tooltip player_id='388096' first='Hussein' last='Altharfi']  - Harrisburg <br>2026 ATH [player_tooltip player_id='402452' first='Kevin' last='Brown']  - Harrisburg</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 DL [player_tooltip player_id='358010' first='Manuel' last='Miller']  - Altoona Area <br>2023 DB [player_tooltip player_id='358270' first='Alexander' last='Yost']  - Altoona Area</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Selinsgrove (4-1) vs Mifflinburg</strong> <strong>(4-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams are off to a strong start but can Selinsgrove find a way to score enough on this Mifflinburg defense? The Wildcats are averaging close to 40 points per game while Selinsgrove is averaging just under 20 points. Both defenses this season have been strong, allowing less than 20 points per game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 DL [player_tooltip player_id='358296' first='Steven' last='Miller']  - Selinsgrove <br>2024 RB [player_tooltip player_id='256157' first='Tucker' last='Teats']  - Selinsgrove <br>2024 QB [player_tooltip player_id='164521' first='Mark' last='Pastore']  - Selinsgrove</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 C [player_tooltip player_id='93023' first='Emmanuel' last='Ulrich'] - Mifflinburg<br>2023 DE Lucas Whittaker - Mifflinburg</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bedford (5-0) vs Penn Cambria</strong> <strong>(5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bedford has been one of the more dominant teams in the state with an average win margin of 39-4.4 Penn Cambria, however, will be their toughest challenge yet. The Panthers will test Bedford's defense this week but if the Panthers are going to knock off the Bison, their own defense will have to step it up. Penn Cambria is only allowing a quality 22.4 points per game this season but they have yet to face an offense like Bedford's. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 RB Ethan Weber - Bedford<br>2023 RB [player_tooltip player_id='91830' first='Maxwell' last='Washington'] - Bedford<br>2026 QB Kross Cassidy - Bedford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id='91663' first='Garrett' last='Harrold']  - Penn Cambria<br>2023 RB Zach Grove - Penn Cambria<br>2023 OL Mason Raymond - Penn Cambria<br>2025 WR [player_tooltip player_id='598932' first='Gavin' last='Harrold'] - Penn Cambria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Bedford (5-0) vs Conemaugh Township</strong> <strong>(5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another matchup between two undefeated and well-balanced teams and one of the few non-conference matchups. Both North Bedford and Conemaugh Township bring offenses averaging over 40 points per game and top-notch defenses. The good news for both teams is that while a loss will sting, it won't derail any major goals for their seasons when it comes to postseason runs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 RB Adam Johnson - North Bedford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 QB [player_tooltip player_id='91514' first='Jon' last='Updyke']  - Conemaugh Township</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->