By James Nelson Stewart

District 1 6A playoffs are heating up. The quarterfinals have 4 interesting games.

#5 Norristown (19-5) at #4 Pennridge(22-3)– 2 teams without a lot of size. Very well coached teams . Navy Commit 6-3 Sr Sean Yoder is the headliner for Pennridge but 6-5 Sr Jonathan Post provides help for Pennridge. Norristown is led by Sr quartet (Mikeel Allen, Tyler Lyons, Marcus Sanford and Xavier Edwards) and 3 Sophomores (Nizer Kinney, Aaron Reddish and Willie Anderson Jr.).

Sean Yoder, Navy Commit

#6 Chester(18-4) at #3 Lower Merion(22-2) – historically two of the Top teams in District 1. This year is no different. Chester is led by 6-4 Sophomore Double-Double Machine Karell Watkins and 5-11 Sr G Man-Man Smith and they are hot at the right time with a 14 game winning streak. Lower Merion is led by 6-6 Sr Columbia Commit Jack Forrest and 6-2 Sr G Steve Payne.

Michael Smith, Chester (left)

#7 Methacton(21-5) at #2 Coatesville(24-1) – this has a chance to be a classic!!! Methacton, which has already beaten Neumann-Goretti this year is led by 6-3 Sr Dave Duda and 6-9 Jr Jeff Woodward. 5-11 Sr Brett Eberly and 6-4 Jr Erik Timko provides additional shooting for Methacton. Coatesville is led by 5-8 Jr. dynamo Jhamirr Brickus, one of the most electrifying players in the area. But riding along side of him is 5-8 Jr 2 sport MONSTER Dupree Bryant, who is rounding into basketball shape at the right time. Seniors Dymere Miller, Tione Holmes and Aaron Young provide shooting, toughness and defense for Coatesville

David Duda, East Stroudsburg Commit

#8 Perk Valley(20-6) at #1 Abington(24-1) -2 very different styles in this matchup. Perk Valley who is led by 6-4 Sr Shooter/Baseball Star Tyler Strechay, 5-11 Sr G Zach Krause and 6-3 Sophomore Kameron Parks. They are disciplined and their zone defense can cause many problems. But they have a HUGE task ahead of them. The 2 time defending District champions await them. 6-8 Sr Villanova Signee Eric Dixon and 6-6 Sr Penn Signee Lucas Monroe have both taken their games to the NEXT level. Dixon is the All Time Leading Scorer at Abington and is having a season for the ages. While the Swiss Army Knife Lucas Monroe has just went over 1,000 points for his HS career. But they aren’t alone, Abington’s unheralded Support players have come up Huge in big moments. Sr Darious Brown, Sr Maurice Henry, Sr Derek Sussman and Jr Manir Waller have provided timely shooting and solid defense.

Eric Dixon, Villanova Commit

I see 3 very close Pick-um type games with Abington being the only team that I would say has a clear advantage over the visiting team.

Love to hear people’s thoughts and predictions on these games.