District 3 Top 10: Oct 28, 2020
(Last week’s ranking bracketed)
District-3 Playoffs
Seeds are set and final regardless of other regular season games remaining prior to the postseason. Oct 26th was the cut-off date.
6A Begin this weekend with #3 Central York (6-0) visiting #2 Central Dauphin (5-0) and #4 York (6-0) given a forfeit victory per Harrisburg disqualified with a Covid case/quarantine.
5A #1 Governor Mifflin (5-0), #2 Warwick (6-0), #3 New Oxford (5-0) and #4 Mechanicsburg (5-0) are still playing regular season games with the playoffs beginning Nov 6th and or 7th.
4A #1 Lampeter Strasburg (6-0), #2 ELCO (6-0), #3 Northern York County (5-0) and #4 Conrad Weiser (6-0) are still playing regular season games with the playoffs beginning Nov 6th and or Nov 7th.
3A Begin this weekend with #3 Boiling Springs (4-1) visiting #2 Wyomissing (5-0) and #4 Bermudian Springs (4-2) at #1 Middletown (3-1).
2A #1 York Catholic (5-1) and #2 Camp Hill (2-2) are still playing regular season games with the playoffs beginning Nov 6th and or Nov 7th.
1A Begin this weekend with #2 Steelton Highspire (5-0) at #1 Delone Catholic (6-0).
1 Central Dauphin 5-0 (1) 6A
For the second week in a row Central Dauphin started slow, holding a 13-0 lead against rival CD East before scoring 28 second half points to walk away with a 41-0 win. It was impressive once they got rolling, scoring on a Pick Six by Zion Allen, field goals of 30 and 47 yards by Ahren Stauffer, a 26 yard Max Mosey to Malachi Bowman touchdown and a 55 yard sprint for six more by Bowman. 2 and 3 yard bursts by Timmy Smith and Dan Ficca completed the scoring. Bowman with 150 total yards and Timmy Smith with 108 did most of the damage with the defense notching their second shutout of the year, holding East High to 123 yards of offense. Moving on to the district playoffs Friday, the Rams host undefeated Central York (6-0) who have a huge offense averaging 59 points per game. Junior quarterback Beau Pribula (PSU) completed 82 of 112 passes (73%) for 1225 yards. That’s 73% with a Td/Pick ratio of 25/3. He has three swift primary receivers in Judah Tomb (6-0, 180, sr, 23/372), Taylor Wright Rawls (6-2, 170, sr, 18/256) and Parker Hines (6-0, 185, so, 16/185). All can motor. They also run the ball well, mostly through Isaiah Sturgis (5-9, 180, sr, 52/398), Raquel Dewitt (5-8, 175, jr, 29/354) and Jahmar Simpson (5-8, 180, sr, 24/245), making them a balanced and explosive team. Their defense has been lock-down, allowing ten points the entire season. While the pedigree of the Mid Penn is known to be above that of the York-Adams League, this is an exceptionally talented team with an elite quarterback. They haven’t seen anything close to Central Dauphin, but the same applies to CD who have not been tested. The Rams have an arsenal of talent themselves plus depth, playoff experience, strong special teams and the home field advantage that should tilt the game their way.
2 Harrisburg 4-0 (2), 6A: Disqualified per Covid
Harrisburg sat idle last weekend without a game until fellow Mid Penn-Commonwealth member State College came to the rescue to host a game Monday Oct 26th at their place allowing Harrisburg to meet the minimum district requirement of four games played by that date. There is some poetic justice here as the two were originally scheduled to play Saturday (Oct 23rd) until District-6 moved the title game between SC and Altoona to that date. Good for SC stepping up with two days rest, rescheduling the game to Monday, allowing a fellow conference member to qualify and represent the Mid Penn in the postseason. The game was predictably one-sided with Harrisburg scoring on their first four possessions to take a 27-0 lead at the half. They won this one like they’ve won all their games this year with a balanced attack, throwing for 183 passing, rushing for 252, supported by a stubborn defense that got two Picks with a meager yield of 141 yards. The win allowed them to remain atop the district power rankings where they’ll take on the fourth seeded York High Bearcats (6-0) Saturday afternoon. Like Central York, they hail from the York Adams League, where they skated through an unchallenging slate of teams scoring 47ppg while allowing 13.
3 Governor Mifflin 5-0 (3), 5A
The Mustang offense that averages 52ppg once again overwhelmed an opponent, blowing out Daniel Boone High 54-13. It was business as usual with Nicholas Singleton, Brandon Strausser and Trey Rock running roughshod, gaining 306 yards combined. Running back Nicholas Singleton (6-0, 205) had eight carries for 140 yards, FB/LB Brandon Strausser (6-0, 210) had three carries for 129 yards and RB/LB Trey Rock (6-1, 190) got 74 yards on six carries. These are big people who really beat down the opposition, especially Singleton who has some attitude to go along with his D1 skills. Strausser who is also their middle linebacker, flat out punishes people. Trey Rock mimics Strausser with his running skills and tenacity on defense. They close out the regular season at home against league rival Berks Catholic (4-2, 4A) Friday where the winner will claim the Berks Inter County Conference title and Reading area bragging rights since BC has already defeated Exeter while Mifflin beat Wilson. Mifflin then advances to the 5A semifinal playoffs Nov 6th against Mechanicsburg. Edited 10/29 to add, Wyomissing might have something to say about that.
4 Warwick 6-0 (4), 5A
Warwick cruised to another easy win, their sixth of the season, blasting Cocalico 49-14 on the way to their first outright section title since 1979. Thank you Jeff Reinhart of Lancaster Online for that title information. Joey McCracken (6-3, 195) gets sharper every game since the ACL rehab, completing 12 of 15 passes for 322 yards while throwing touchdowns of 1, 28, 77 and 34 yards. He is benefitted by an outstanding fullback in Colton Miller (6-4, 220) and a fleet of long tall receivers in Caleb Schmitz (6-4, 210, Cincinnati) who had 140 yards and a score on six receptions, Thatcher Miller (6-4, 225) with 150 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions and Tanner Haines (6-2, 200) who has been out since Manheim Central. Hard not seeing those targets….and defending them as well. They out-gained Cocalico 472 total yards to 271. Next up is a mandated crossover game with Hempfield (3-3, 6A) of the LL-1. This could be a troublesome game for Warwick who wants to keep the momentum going while at the same time staying healthy. Hempfield is coming off an “all out” against Wilson but are well coached and should come to play. Interesting game to see how much is left in Hempfield’s tanks and how long Warwick will play and risk their starters with a 5A semifinal playoff game with undefeated New Oxford looming.
5 Central York 6-0 (5), 6A
For the second straight week Central York scored seventy or more points, this time defeating Dallastown 75-7. Last week it was Northeastern 70-0. It helps that the two have a combined record of 1-9. Against Dtown, the score was 33-0 in the first quarter and 47-0 by the half with the Panthers rolling up 457 total yards, 206 rushing. Check out their impressive seasonal averages with a total offense averaging 417 yards a game and a defense allowing 141 yards a game. To date they’ve outscored six teams by a score of 354 to 10 for a 59-2 per game average with four shutouts. Their opponents have a combined won-loss of 10-22. Many of the Top-10 team have not had a severe test. The best team Central played was Red Lion (4-2) who lost 55-0. Rest assured Central York will get a challenge this week running into a Central Dauphin team that is every bit as explosive as they are. They too have elite talent, especially at quarterback and throughout the offense where they are stacked with game changers.
6 Lampeter Strasburg 6-0 (6), 4A
Like everyone else in the rankings, Lampeter Strasburg had no trouble racking up another big win, dispatching Ephrata (3-3) 54-16, while rolling out 412 yards of offense. Quarterback Sean McTaggart provided much of the firepower, completing six of fourteen throws for 124 yards with touchdowns of 4, 69 and 16 yards while rushing for 54 yards and a score. Drew Harris had another nice game rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown with Alex Knapp getting 48 yards and a score as the Pioneers won their eighth Lancaster-Lebanon League section title. This time winning Section Three. They have the top seed in the playoffs but have unfinished business this week at home against Northern Lebanon. At 0-6, winning is a foregone conclusion with the Vikings struggling to score points, averaging an anemic 8ppg. That makes health the priority with the 4A postseason the following week pitting the top seeded Pioneers against Conrad Weiser (6-0) of the Berks Conference.
7 Bishop McDevitt 5-0 (7), 4A
Bishop McDevitt walloped Red Land 42-6 last week with every intention of moving into the postseason to make a deep run with an explosive and talented team. At least that’s what everyone thought and in fact was looking forward to. Then someone did the math using a questionable procedure (to put it nicely), finding the Crusaders had in fact not qualified for the tournament. So make that two Harrisburg powers, two of the top teams in the state not making the playoffs! They failed to make the cut because other teams played teams, however inferior to those McDevitt played, who collectively had a better record? There’s a system! Quality of your opponents was thrown out the window, replaced by a won-loss record that can be as misleading as a final score. Of all the 4A teams in the district, McDevitt had the worst opponents' weighted win percentage. Playing teams in larger classifications, 6A’s Mifflin County and Cumberland Valley and 5A’s Lower Dauphin, Cedar Cliff, and Red Land, (5-18 combined won-loss) meant nothing. Three other qualifiers had the advantage of playing a week earlier than the Mid-Penn Conference. It’s too bad the game with Hershey (5-0, 5A) Friday that will decide the Mid Penn-Keystone wasn’t played a week earlier since it would have elevated both teams' OWWP, Opponents Weighted Winning Percentage, with McDevitt at No. 5 in 4A and Hershey No. 6 in the 5A Classification. It will still be an exciting playoff but nothing like it could have been.
8 Wilson 5-1 (8), 6A
Feisty Hempfield gave Wilson a good fight and wakeup call racing out to a 9-0 first quarter lead at Wilson. It wasn’t easy but the Bulldogs battled back, clinging to a 13-12 lead early into the third quarter. Thereon they outscored the Black Knights 14-0 to earn a hard fought 27-12 win that secured their 28th section title. 28th! How about the Knights who came to play. But even with the return from injury of running back Tanner Hess who had a 64 yard first quarter scoring run and wide out Jadin Jimenez (2 for 11 yards), they just didn’t have enough to keep up with a Wilson group fighting to make the playoffs and maybe advance a notch should York or Central York falter. Kaleb Brown had a memorable game, passing for a mere 68 yards but rushing for 198 for 266 total yards of offense. That’s 61% of their 436 total yards, while the Bulldog D held Hempfield to 240 total yards. About the playoffs, rather than moving up or even holding on to the fourth seed (Harrisburg beat State College to bump them out), they’re out of the four team playoff field (plus Harrisburg now per Covid) with York High getting a forfeit win (D-3 policy) rather than allowing Wilson to move up from No. 5 to the four spot. So that’s it for Wilson’s postseason aspirations but not for the season with a game at Manheim Central (2-4) Friday. Hey, who knows The Barons might have something for Wilson remembering last year’s 49-14 blowout.
9 Wyomissing 5-0 (9), 3A
Wyomissing got their third straight shutout as they continue rolling over weak teams with a combined record of 6-19. None have a winning record; Hamburg and Fleetwood are 2-3, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-3, Kutztown 0-5 and last week’s opponent Schuylkill Valley 1-5. The game with SV got bad real quick with Wyo building a 42-0 half time lead, holding SV to three first downs and 44 total yards of offense. Wyo gained 400 yards of offense getting 296 rushing using 15 running backs. Quarterback Zach Zechman completed all four passes for 94 yards, throwing touchdowns for 30, 24 and 37 yards. Although the Spartans have yet to be tested, you can’t blame the schedule, especially this year. As a reminder, their early season schedule that was cancelled per Covid included Southern Columbia (7-0, 2A), Pottsville (5-1, 4A), Boyertown (0-5, 6A) and Conrad Weiser (6-0, 5A). Games with the Tide and Weiser would have been memorable. But the game with Southern may have been a classic, knowing the Tigers are again ranked No.1 in the state while Wyo’s Coach Bob Wolfrum says this may be his best team since the 2012 state champ that went 16-0, beating Aliquippa in the final. PennLive has them ranked No. 2 in the state. About schedule quality, the Berks Inter County Conference merger with the Lancaster Lebanon League in 2022 will clean that up. The 3A playoffs begin Saturday afternoon at 1PM with the Spartans hosting Boiling Springs (4-1). They are more but the Bubblers have talented running backs. They come from the Mid Penn-Capital where playing powers such as Middletown and Steelton Highspire is good prep for a powerhouse like Wyomissing. They’ll show up but that might not be enough!
10 Steelton Highspire 5-0 (10), 1A
The Rollers of Steelton lit into Big Spring, scoring 15 first quarter points before exploding for 29 in the second quarter, then easing up for a 65-30 rout of the overmatched Bulldogs (2-3, 4A). Freshman quarterback Alex Erby completed 22 of 30 passes for 396 yards, five for scores of 20, 10, 7, 23 and 33 yards. Add on a 1 yard keeper for an outstanding outing of six touchdowns. Tyrone Moore led the pack with 188 yard on 6 receptions, followed by Mehki Flowers with 96 yard on 8 catches, including 10 and 7 yard scores. Damein Hammonds had four receptions for 68 yards, scoring on 23 and 33 yard throws. He also scored on a 69 yard punt return. Odell Green gashed Big Spring for 150 yards, getting two rushing touchdowns and a 20 yard reception for six more as the Rollers laid it on, churning out 586 total yards of offense to Big Spring’s 260 yards. Entering the postseason, the clear weaknesses on the team are pass defense and their tendency to be penalized, getting 19 here for 145 yards and 21 for 140 yards last week. That could be a real issue at disciplined Delone Catholic (6-0) Friday night. The Squires are in the zone, coming off a 28-10 win at rival York Catholic (5-1, 2A-top seed) to win the York-Adams-3 once again. They beat the Rollers 39-27 in Steelton last year so there’s no fear. Delone can be a load at home where any Roller miscues could be fatal.
Others; Playoff games italicized
Mid Penn Conference
Hershey 5-0, 5A; home to McDevitt
Middletown 3-1, 3A; home to Bermudan Springs (4-2) in 3A semifinal.
Mechanicsburg 5-0, 5A; home to East Pennsboro (3-2, 4A).
Boiling Springs 4-1, 3A; at Wyomissing in 3A semifinal.
Northern 5-0, 4A; at Waynesboro (3-2, 5A).
Lancaster Lebanon League
Manheim Township 4-2, 6A; home to Cocalico (4-2, 4A).
ELCO 6-0, 4A; at Donegal postponed.
Octorara 5-1, 4A; home to Lebanon (3-2. 5A).
Berks Inter-County Conference
Conrad Weiser 6-0, 4A; at Lampeter Strasburg Friday in the 4A semifinal.
Berks Catholic 4-2, 4A; at Governor Mifflin to decide the Berks-1.
York-Adams
York (William Penn) 6-0, 6A; Idle per forfeit win, awaiting winner of Central York-Central Dauphin game in 6A semifinal.
York Catholic 5-1, 2A; at York Tech (1-5, 6A).
Delone Catholic 6-0, 1A; home to Steel High in 1A final Friday.
New Oxford 5-0, 5A; at West York (2-2, 4A).
Bermudian Springs 4-2, 3A; at Middletown Friday in the 3A semifinal.
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