Fab Five: Pennsylvania High School Football Games to Watch in Playoffs Week 1

Many of the state's top teams have the week off, but there are still some high-profile matches in Round 1 of the district round of the playoffs

Central Bucks East looks to rebound from a rivalry loss to CB West this week in the first round of the 6A District 1 playoffs. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

We’ve reached the district round of the high school football postseason in Pennsylvania, and for many teams in the Pennsylvania High School Football Top 25 State Rankings, that means a week off as they earned byes for all the hard work they put into the regular season.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some great first-round matchups to watch around the state. Here are some of the best matchups we’re watching this week.

Central Bucks East (6-4) at Ridley (8-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6

The 7-10 matchup in the 6A District 1 bracket is a rematch of Week 1, which the Raiders won 28-7 as they opened the year 6-0 before stumbling a bit down the stretch with losses in two of their final four games.

They’ll play host to the Patriots again looking to slow senior RB Michael Price, who gained 1,213 yards and 13 touchdowns this fall but was held to 53 yards in their first matchup in late August. That’s not a big surprise for a Ridley defense that posted four shutouts in a row earlier in the season and allowed just 8.1 points per game.

Blackhawk (8-2) at McKeesport (7-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6

The Cougars, who won just three games a year ago, earned a wild card into the WPIAL 4A playoffs after finishing third in the Parkway Conference. Their reward is a trip to McKeesport to face the Greater Allegheny Conference champion, who rebounded from a 2-3 start to win their last five after getting 5-star Georgia recruit Kemon Spell back after he missed nearly a month battling turf toe.

Central Cambria (8-2) at Cambria Heights (10-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6

The Highlanders completed their second undefeated regular season in the past three years and won the Heritage Conference title. In 2024, they won the district title and reached the PIAA 2A quarterfinals. Standing in their way in Round 1 are the Red Devils, who just posted their first shutout in three years and captured the Laurel Highlands West Division 2 title.

Archbishop Wood (7-3) vs. Archbishop Carroll (7-3)

Noon Saturday, Nov. 7

These Philadelphia Catholic League 3A rivals met just a week ago, with Wood rallying for a 19-15 victory to claim the upper hand going into this District 12 semifinal. The Vikings have won 16 in a row in the series, and you can expect them to lean on senior D’Andre Webb (208 carries for 1,662 yards) in the rematch at Conwell-Egan to decide the PCL 3A title.

La Salle College (5-5) vs. No. 9 St. Joseph’s Prep (6-2)

2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8

The reigning PIAA 6A state champions are the No. 3 seed in the District 12 playoffs and must beat the Hawks, who look to bounce back from last week’s upset loss to Roman Catholic and earn a possible rematch in the Philadelphia Catholic League 6A title game. St. Joe’s won their Week 7 meeting 13-3, but the Explorers have won two of their last three to get back to .500 as they hope to salvage what has been a disappointing season so far.