The PIAA playoff brackets were released Sunday night. Some of Delaware County's five boys teams have brief drives; others, well, aren't so lucky.

Here's the breakdown...

PIAA CLASS AAA - FRIDAY
***Springfield (18-8) vs. Murrell Dobbins (16-8)
At South Philadelphia High, 6 p.m.
What to know: The Cougars, District One's runnerup, probably has a better draw against their opponent from the Public League than district-champ HGP. Yeah, about that...

***Archbishop Carroll (22-4) vs. Holy Ghost Prep (24-3)
At Norristown High, 8 p.m.
What to know: The Firebirds, who won the District One crown, were rewarded with a first-round draw against the reigning state-champion Patriots. Fair? No. But it is what it is.

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PIAA CLASS AAAA - SATURDAY
***Penn Wood (23-3) vs. Penn Manor (17-10)
At Norristown High, 3:30 p.m.
What to know: The newly-crowned District One champion Patriots knocked off the Comets, of District Three, in the first round of states a year ago. Probably enough said.

***Penncrest (24-5) vs. Bethlehem Liberty (22-5)
At Freedom High, Bethlehem, 4:30 p.m.
What to know: The Central League champion Lions have a 90-minute drive that covers 70-plus miles for this game. Liberty has a three-mile drive that takes eight minutes. Fair? No. But it is what it is. (See above.)

***Chester (16-10) vs. La Salle (19-5)
At Archbishop Carroll High, 4:30
What to know: The Clippers are in the unfavorable spot of losing three straight heading into states; meanwhile, the Explorers won a hotly-contested District 12 title game. It seems like the teams are going in opposite directions.

Friday night, Penn Wood put the finishing touches on its first District One Class AAAA championship in 18 years ... and the Daily Times was all over it. (Game story and column can be found here.)

The Times was on the baseline, too, with staff photographer Bob Gurecki nabbing some shots of the action:
Penn Wood reserve forward Jeff Kyem pulls down a rebound in front of Plymouth-Whitemarsh's C.J. Aiken in the first half.

Shawn Oakman (center) embraces Aaron Brown (left) and Will Brown (right) in the moments following the Patriots' upset of the Colonials.

Reserve guard Jerry Price (No. 1) rushes to the court after the buzzer to meet Will Brown and Aaron Brown (back) following the Patriots' first district championship victory since 1992.

AROUND THE STATE
In a major upset, Reading dispatched Hempfield, 54-46, Saturday in the District Three Class AAAA title game. Hempfield, the top seed, had gone 27-0 en route to the title game.

What that does is make Penn Wood's road to a repeat as state champion a little more bumpy, with Reading winning and going to the West side of the PIAA bracket. The weekend is long, so let's see how the rest of the bracket shakes out before we reach any conclusions.

AROUND THE COUNTY
In the District One Class AAAA seventh-place game. Penncrest toppled Chester, 56-53, at West Chester East High School. The Lions' Rodney Duncan went off for 31 points, a career high. The Clippers trailed by 10 with two minutes to go before closing the gap. According to Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, Duncan's point tally is the best for any Lion in more than eight years.

It wasn't as dramatic as most championship games are, but Penncrest will take it.

The Lions thumped Ridley, 45-26, Tuesday night in the Central League championship game at Harriton High School. The teams' only other meeting this season went to overtime, with the visiting Green Raiders stealing a victory.

This time, it was all Penncrest (21-3), which won its first league title since 1999 and only its seventh all-time. Senior Rodney Duncan inflicted most of the damage, dropping in 20 points. Fellow senior and backcourt mate Andrew Radomicki dropped in 12 for the Lions, who outscored the Green Raiders (16-8) in each quarter.

Both teams could end up seeing each other in the District One Class AAAA playoffs, which commence Friday. Eighth-seeded Penncrest will host No. 15 Owen J Roberts and 19th-seeded Ridley heads to No. 14 Central Bucks South.

For more on the Central League championship game, pick up a copy of Wednesday's Daily Times.

It's going to be an all-Delaware County final in the Central League championship tournament.

That became official when Penncrest put the finishing touches on its 51-40 victory over Springfield and, at Bala Cynwyd Middle School, Ridley pulled a 42-40 upset of top-seeded Lower Merion.

In Penncrest's victory, Ian Campbell led three double-figure scorers with 14 points. Rodney Duncan had 13 and Andrew Radomicki scored 11. The storyline for the Lions was Matt Atkinson (9 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals), who came very close to a quadruple-double.

"We're very excited to be in this situation," said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, whose team has steadily improved its win total in each of his seven years at the helm.

For Ridley, it was all Cameron Gunter, who had 15 points and 10 boards. But Marc Dziadon stole the spotlight. He only made two shots the entire game --- and one of them was a running layup as time expired, sealing the Green Raiders' upset. Shawn Church tossed in 13 points.

ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP ... No. 4 Ridley takes on No. 2 Penncrest for the title Tuesday night in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Harriton High. Should be a good one.

Penncrest senior Matt Atkinson knows he's going to college to play football. He was the Central League's First Team quarterback. He made the All-Delco football team as an all-purpose player. And he had - statistically speaking - one of the strongest seasons in recent memory for a player under center.

So performances like Friday's, in a 55-36 win over Strath Haven, are kind of fun. Atkinson scored 14 points, had four boards and four assists in the rout.

"It's kind of disrespectful, you know? If they're going to leave me open, I'm going to shoot," said Atkinson, who made four 3-pointers in the win over Haven. "I guess they didn't watch (video of) any other games. They didn't know to get a guy on me.

"I don't know. I was just ready to shoot tonight. The last two practices, I got a lot of shots up, so I felt good."

Atkinson said he likes the football programs of four schools --- Del Val, Albright, Wesley and Lycoming --- that are pursuing him. He likes the campus at Albright, where he visited last week. He said he doesn't have a preference, but has to get through all the visits.

In the meantime, he's got some games to win with the Lions (17-2).

UP THE ROAD: Pick up a copy of Monday's Daily Times. Inside, you'll see a story on Atkinson, who was selected as our Daily Times Athlete of the Week.

Sometimes, I write posts for this blog thinking nobody is reading this thing. (Only half the time I'm right. ... Maybe.) This time, the blog was read and Penncrest responded.

Before the Lions' 55-36 win over Strath Haven Friday, I was told by members of the Lions coaching staff that the Penncrest band took offense to my listing the school as the third-best place to see a game this season (behind Chester and Glen Mills.) In an attempt to prove me wrong, the marching band pieced together a 22-member ensemble to play pre-game, during timeouts and at halftime.

A band at a basketball game is practically unheard of. It's more a football thing. According to Penncrest senior Richard Forbes, Penncrest's musicians had played at basketball games as recently as four years ago.

"But it fell off, for whatever reason," said Forbes, the band leader for Friday's game who also plays clarinet. "People don't want to do it because they're not sure how they'll get their homework done, too. But we figured it would create a good atmosphere for a game.

"And, really, who doesn't want to be here? The team is playing great. Everyone wants to come out to their games."

Forbes, junior co-conductor Matt Pesce and the band's faculty moderator Craig Snyder helped get Friday's effort off the ground. They posted a sign-up sheet in the music room and the volunteers piled up. The band played the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" among other songs.

It had an affect on the Lions (17-2, 11-2).

"It was like a college atmosphere with them," said Rodney Duncan, who had a team-leading 22 points. "It just made for a crazy atmosphere."

Added coach Mike Doyle: "What they were able to bring was a nice addition."