YORK, Pa. — When an underdog team keeps winning week after week, how long does it take before people stop referring to them as "the underdogs?"
That's a question worth pondering when you consider Cocalico's magical run to the District 3 Class 5A championship, which peaked with last Friday's 34-14 victory over Exeter.
With the win, the Eagles became the first No. 12 seed to claim a championship in the history of the District 3 playoffs. It was the second time in as many weeks that Cocalico handed a team its first -- and last -- loss of the season. The Eagles blasted previously unbeaten top-seed Solanco 32-8 in the district semifinals.
Cocalico will get the chance to keep its playoff run going Friday night, when the Eagles face Pine-Richland at 7 p.m. in Altoona's Mansion Park.
PIne-Richland, the District 7 champions, knocked off District 10 champ Cathedral Prep 21-14 in last week's quarterfinals.
Friday's winner will face either District 12 kingpin Imhotep Charter or District 11 champion Whitehall in the PIAA Class 5A championship game, set for Dec. 9 at Cumberland Valley High School.
Here's a look at Friday night's showdown.
Cocalico (10-4) vs. Pine-Richland (11-3)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Mansion Park, Altoona
ABOUT PINE-RICHLAND: Much like Cocalico, which was 2-3 at the regular season's halfway point, Pine-Richland struggled early in the season. The Rams dropped three of their first four games, falling 42-0 to Ohio-based Pickerington North, 33-28 to Penn Hills, and 13-3 to Seneca Valley.
That's when P-R made a change at quarterback, inserting Ryan Palmieri into the lineup. While he's not the most dangerous passer, Palmieri's addition certainly sparked the Rams' ground game, and the wins began stacking up.
Pine-Richland has won 10 in a row since. The Rams captured their eighth WPIAL Class 5A championship with a 34-3 mauling of Upper St. Clair, and followed that up with last week's victory over Cathedral Prep in the quarterfinals.
As was the case since he took over the starting gig, Palmieri was the Rams' offensive sparkplug. The 5-9, 170-pound senior threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another as Pine-Richland rallied from an early 14-0 deficit with three unanswered scores.
Palmieri finished the game with 101 yards on 26 carries. He added 152 yards and a pair of TDs on 10-of-17 passing, but was intercepted twice.
Palmieri has rushed for 1,734 yards and 22 touchdowns this season, lugging the ball 271 times. While the Rams rely mostly on their rushing attack, Palmieri has completed 66 of 98 pass attempts for 784 yards and six scores.
RB Ethan Pillar is another player Cocalico will have to game plan for. The rugged 5-11, 200-pound junior, who rushed for 95 yards on 21 carries against Cathedral Prep, has 1,151 yards and 14 touchdowns on 203 attempts this season.
Pine-Richland has made three previous trips to the state finals, twice as a Class 3A team and once in Class 5A. The Rams won their only state title in 2020, defeating Cathedral Prep 48-7 in the 5A final.
The Rams played in what some consider to be the best championship game in PIAA history back in 2003, falling 39-38 in double overtime to Manheim Central in a raging snowstorm.
The game, which seesawed back and forth despite the deplorable weather conditions at Hersheypark Stadium, was finally decided when Central blocked a potential game-tying PAT kick in the second extra session.
ABOUT COCALICO: No matter what happens Friday, this year's District 3 championship run will go down as one of the most memorable in Cocalico's storied program history. The Eagles started off 2-3, and were still a game under .500 and on the wrong side of the District 3 power rankings on Oct. 8, after they dropped a 38-7 decision at Wyomissing.
But since then, the Eagles have been almost unstoppable. They won their final three regular-season games to grab the 12th and final playoff spot. Then they opened the postseason with a 42-2 drubbing of No. 5 Elizabethtown, followed by a 23-13 win over fourth-seeded Gettysburg.
But the last two games have been particularly noteworthy. The Eagles handed top-seeded Solanco its first (and last) loss of the season with a 32-8 trouncing in the district semifinals, then did the same thing to second-seeded Exeter in last week's title game.
In retrospect, perhaps Cocalico's late-season surge shouldn't be all that surprising. All four of the Eagles losses came to district-playoff qualifiers. Cocalico fell 21-7 to Solanco (avenging that loss in the district semis), dropped a 35-19 decision to Manheim Central, lost 23-14 to Lampeter-Strasburg, and fell 38-7 to Wyomissing.
The combined record of those four opponents is a stellar 44-6. Solanco was the top seed in Class 5A. L-S fell to Central in the Class 4A semis; the Barons are the 4A runner-up. Wyomissing is the District 3 Class 3A champ and is looking to return to the state finals for the third straight year.
Over the course of its seven-game winning streak, Cocalico has outscored opponents 250-61 and outgained them 2,432-975.
Sam Steffy leads the Eagles' impressive ground attack, which averages 301 yards per game. The 5-10, 180-pound junior has 1,775 yards and 23 touchdowns on 291 attempts. Steffy was held to 47 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against Exeter, but quarterback Josh Myer stepped up with 70 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries and completed both of his pass attempts for 87 yards and another TD.
Myer has 548 yards and 11 TDs on 116 carries this season and has completed 16 of 40 pass attempts for 315 yards and three scores.
Aaron Longenecker, who caught both of Myer's passes out of the backfield, including a 42-yarder that went for a touchdown, is second on the team in rushing (642 yards, 9 TDs) and has a team-high 13 catches for 292 yards and three scores.