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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic's run at the top of Class 1A football is over, at least for the next two years.
The Marauders are set to move up to Class 2A thanks to the PIAA's success formula after falling in the Class 1A semifinals to eventual champion Steelton-Highspire in 2020 and winning the PIAA Class 1A title over Redbank Valley in December.
Teams targeted to move up in classification through the formula can still appeal, but Bishop Guilfoyle athletic director Joe Landolfi told the Mirror Tuesday afternoon the Marauders were accepting the move up.
"We're not going to appeal. We're just going to play in 2A," Landolfi said. "That's what the rules and the regulations stipulate, so that's fine. We're proud of what the kids did at single-A. We got three success points for making the semifinals last year and four for winning the finals this year, so we had the seven points. Over the two-year period, we had three transfers on our roster, which leads to the bump. It's no problem. We're looking forward to it."
Bishop Guilfoyle has played in the District 6 Class 1A championship game in eight of the last nine years and has made it to the PIAA Class 1A championship game in five of the last eight years, winning four -- including this season's 21-14 triumph over Redbank Valley.
Redbank Valley is slated to move up to 2A along with BG due to the formula, and Southern Columbia, who has dominated the state at the 2A level will move up to 3A pending a possible appeal.
Landolfi pointed out the Marauders play a lot of 2A schools such as Forest Hills, Richland, Westmont Hilltop and Central Cambria in the regular season. Fellow Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference teams Penn Cambria and Bedford are also eligible to play down to 2A this season based off the new enrollment numbers, but all schools can still opt to play up before the deadline later this week.
"We'll be playing most of the teams we play in the regular season," Landolfi said. "So, if we beat them in the regular season, we should be able to beat them in the playoffs. If we lose to them in the regular season, we really have to buckle up and get serious come the playoffs."
One team that dropped from Class 2A to 1A in District 6 is Cambria Heights, which won the Heritage Conference championship and earned the top seed in the District 6 Class 2A playoffs last season before being upset by Forest Hills.
The Highlanders will be playing at 1A alongside most of the rest of their conference foes.
"Every two years, you get re-classified, and I wasn't sure where we'd end up," Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said. "We thought we could have been close to single-A this year, but there's obviously a lot of great football teams in single-A, just like there were in double-A. But we have a long season, and our goal is always to make the playoffs, and if we make the playoffs, we're hoping to make some noise."
In Tuesday's classification report, District 6 has only two teams in Class 4A, Juniata and Johnstown, and three in Class 3A, Bellefonte, Central and Tyrone. That could change in the coming days with teams opting to play up from a crowded 2A field that now includes the defending PIAA Class 1A champion Marauders and their strong group of rising seniors headlined by Class 1A Player of the Year, quarterback Karson Kiesewetter.