Second-seeded York Catholic (8-3) will battle No. 1 Steel-High (10-1) at high noon Saturday for the District 3-A championship at Hersheypark Stadium. Here are 5 nuggets to know about skipper Eric DePew and the Fighting Irish.
1. HELLO, TITLE CHANCE: While the Fighting Irish are no strangers to the D3 postseason, it's been a long road back to the title round. York Catholic's last appearance in the finale came in 2002 when Camp Hill claimed a 3-A repeat with a 25-13 victory. You can bet the Irish want desperately to win their second overall championship, as well. Title No. 1 came all the way back in 1982, the very first year a district champion was crowned.
2. KINARD CAN PLAY: You don't make any kind of district run without competence and confidence under center. YC signal-caller Hakeem Kinard has plenty of both. After rolling up 192 rushing yards in YC's impressive 35-14 semifinal win over Upper Dauphin, the junior has bumped his run total to 1,168 yards on the season.
3. DEPEW HAS MPC ROOTS: Years before skipper Eric DePew was hired to replace J.D. Martin in February, 2011, York Catholic's head man was a standout lineman at Red Land. DePew even coached under current Camp Hill coach Frank Gay while Gay was guiding the Patriots from 2007-11. Before that coaching stint at Red Land, DePew served as defensive coordinator at Dover for four seasons.
4. THE TACKLING MACHINE: We're crediting York Daily Record scribe Steve Navaroli with handing Irish linebacker Doug Mills this nickname. Mills certainly has held up his end with 142 tackles on the season. In fact, a quick cruise through the Pennsylvania leaderboard in that category has Mills sitting in ninth-place overall. Of that gaudy total, Mills has collected 105 solo stops.
5. MEETINGS ARE HELPFUL: Following back-to-back losses to Bermudian Springs (48-20) and Fairfield (13-12) early in the campaign, YC's small senior class gathered the troops to discuss the immediate future of this Irish edition. The Irish would fall to unbeaten Littlestown 21-7 two weeks later, but the inspired effort is considered the turning point for this franchise. DePew's club has won five straight with victories over Triple-A outfits York Suburban and Eastern York mixed in.
Epler on Twitter: @threejacker
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