When York Suburban and Archbishop Carroll go at it Tuesday in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal, they very well may be catching each other at their hottest.

I don't need to tell you about Carroll (26-3), which stunned league rival and perennial thorn-in-side Neumann-Goretti. But the Trojans (27-3) looked their best in their Round 3, 47-35 win over District 2 champ Crestwood.

Consider that the Trojans:

• Scored 16 of the game's first 18 points
• Led by as many as 19 points
• Limited Crestwood to 14-of-35 shooting
• Held a 28-18 advantage in rebounds
• Forced 18 turnovers

Those are all impressive numbers, but how about this one: Crestwood finished the year having held opponents under 50 points in 25 of their 29 games. What does that tell me? That York Suburban (which scored only 47) was able to play someone else's game and still win.

The Trojans weren't all that intimidating when I saw them against Strath Haven in the second round. They don't have much size or much speed. They play a balanced team game. Expect at least three guys to hit double figures in scoring. The Patriots will need to spread the ball, too, so count on their All-Catholic backcourt of D.J. Irving and Juan'ya Green (pictured) to carry the load.

Last week, I blogged about the inadequacy of the PIAA when it allowed Glen Mills to host a play-in game to the Class AAAA state bracket.

And here we go again.

In Tuesday's second round of the Class AAA playoffs, the game between District One's Strath Haven and District Three's York Suburban was officiated by . . . a District Three referee crew from Berks County.

York Suburban won the game, 59-45. In the contest, York went to the foul line for 20 attempts and Haven had 10 free throws. The Trojans were whistled for seven fouls and the Panthers were called for 18, including a technical. Clearly, we have a couple discrepancies on our hands.

Now, I don't want to be the one to call out the PIAA this time of the year. And by no means do I want to insinuate that the referee crew was making calls to favor York. I saw the exact referee trio at the Archbishop Carroll/Phoenixville game last week, and they were just about as fair and thorough as I've seen all season.

And with 64 playoff games across the boys and girls hoops scenes taking place in a 48-hour span, it’s safe to assume that Pennsylvania's governing body for high-school athletics is probably stretched a bit thin.

But… when your season is on the line, a line has to be drawn.

"I don't think it came down to that," said Strath Haven coach Steve Lewis. "I don’t think my team made the right decisions, the ones necessary to win the game."

Added star guard Calvin Newell: "I wish they would have let us play the game and made it a little closer (in foul calls)." When Newell, pictured, was informed that a District Three crew called his final high school game, he said, "It happens."

The fact is, it shouldn't. The PIAA should know better, so as to preserve on-court talent as the dividing line between teams, and not the scheduling of a referee crew.