2023 PIAA State Tournament – First Round Players of the Week 6A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PrepRedzonePA takes a look at the top 6A standouts from the first round of the 2023 PIAA State Tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cumberland Valley vs Manheim Township</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='914950' first='Hayden' last='Johnson']. What a talent. What a player. There are simply not many quarterbacks in the state that are better than the Manheim Township signal caller. If he was a few inches taller, his recruitment would've looked a whole different. Either way, Johnson against Cumberland Valley did [player_tooltip player_id='914950' first='Hayden' last='Johnson'] things throwing for 273 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-27 win over Cumberland Valley. Johnson broke the Manheim Township career passing yards record in the process. This season, he's completed 76.8% of his passes for 2,738 yards, and 47 touchdowns while throwing ZERO interceptions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Downingtown East vs Downingtown West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Downingtown West was able to defeat Downingtown East 17-14 thanks to quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='386275' first='Quinn' last='Henicle'] scoring the game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds of the game. It was a quality day for the senior quarterback who committed to Old Dominion, completing 16-of-23 passing attempts for 197 yards and a touchdown, not to mention the game-winning touchdown. Ricky Rahne and the Monarchs are getting a good one in Henicle who has completed over 61% of his passes this season with a TD-to-INT ratio of about 6-to-1. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Central Bucks</strong> <strong>South vs Central Bucks West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central Bucks South used a dominant second half to defeat Central Bucks West on Friday night in the District 1-6A semifinals. In the game, it was the Anthony Leonardi show as the class of 2024 running back rushed for 301 yards and three touchdowns across 23 carries in the win for Central Bucks South. Leonardi had over 1,200 rushing yards during the regular season this year. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound tailback remains uncommitted - could be a great potential option for Division II and Division III programs looking for a tailback. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>State College vs McDowell</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McDowell defeated State College 47-20 over the weekend and it was the Dominic Beraducci show for McDowell. The senior running back had a huge day, rushing for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Before the game on Friday night, Beraducci hadn't rushed for more than 94 yards in a single game this season. Beraudcci has been receiving quite a bit of Division III interest including an offer from Mount Union, one of the premier Division III programs in the country. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nazareth vs Parkland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's hard to pick anyone but Wimberly for what he did against Parkland. Not only did he play terrific in the secondary all night for the Blue Eagles but the former ParklandTrojan, who transferred to Nazareth this offseason had a scoop and score as time expired to help lead Nazareth to a 24-17 win over Parkland. The 2026 ATH is receiving interest from multiple Power Five programs including Penn State, West Virginia, Tennessee, and others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/KyleCraigSports/status/1725704863667908811?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/KyleCraigSports/status/1725704863667908811?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Central York vs Harrisburg</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a game that featured a ton of big-time prospects, it was Harrisburg tailback, Nehemiah Ewell who had the biggest day of anyone with 18 carries for 170 yards and a touchdown <a href="https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/11/18/district-3-football-central-york-loses-to-harrisburg-in-6a-semifinals/71530472007/">according to the York Daily Record. </a>Ewell doesn't get the recognition of some of Harrisburg's other standouts but has put together a very good season with 136 carries for 1,106 yards and 13 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Joes Prep vs Abraham Lincoln</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='164520' first='Samaj' last='Jones'] showed why he's the top quarterback in the state in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Against Abraham Lincoln, Jones had three total touchdowns as St. Joes Prep won 35-0. The Cincinnati commitment has put together a terrific senior season and looks to be in a great spot to lead the Hawks to another state championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Central Catholic vs North Allegheny</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a tremendous matchup, North Allegheny took down Central Catholic 44-41 on Saturday evening. No one had a bigger hand in that win for North Allegheny than their quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id='893575' first='Logan' last='Kushner']. The senior signal caller had six total touchdowns in the game with two passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. He also had nearly 350 total yards in a WPIAL championship game that no one will forget anytime soon. Kushner has received interest from Wheeling, Notre Dame College, and Mercyhurst. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->