District 3 Top 10: Sept 30, 2020
(Last week’s ranking bracketed)
It was wipe out city last week with the top 7 teams (Gov. Mifflin idle) winning by a combined score of 283 to 49 or, 47-8 on average. For a covid-19 shortened season, these guys are firing on all cylinders, defying well-worn concepts of defense being far ahead of offense this time of year. Someone forgot to tell these guys! Central Dauphin’s 6A powerhouse topped the 600 yard marker at 634 total yards of offense in their opener. Opener! Lampeter Strasburg’s balanced Pioneers (2-0, 4A) had 426 on the road, McDevitt (1-0, 4A) threw 35 passes for 336 yards and 472 total with Middletown’s marauding Blue Raiders (1-0, 3A) getting 544 total yards. Cocalico (2-0, 4A) and Wyomissing (2-0, 3A) also crashed the 500 yard barrier at 505 and 512 respectively while Central York (2-0, 6A, no stats) won 51-0. Can’t forget the mighty Steamollers of Steelton Highspire (1-0, 1A) giving defending district 1A champ Upper Dauphin a rude welcome and wake up call to the Mid Penn Conference, powering over the Trojans 43-6 with 435 total yards. Rollers! Who the heck needs all that pre-season prep!? So it was an exciting week as some of Pennsylvania’s top teams showed their stuff in a big way.
1 Central Dauphin 1-0, 6A (1)
The Rams opened the season with a loud bang showing why they are one of the top teams in the state with a 62-10 rout of Chambersburg in their Mid Penn-Commonwealth opener. The defending district champion revealed a big and balanced attack gaining 398 yards rushing and 236 through the air. Wow! Their weapons are veteran and numerous, with Shamarr Joppy rushing for 122 yards on 6 carries, Malachi Bowman getting 85 on 3 carries and Timmy Smith at 80 yards on 9 carries plus 4 receptions for 126 yards. Who to defend? The big strike capability was on full display with Smith pulling down scoring strikes of 25, 38 and 39 yards, Bowman on an 80 yard scoot and Joppy with a 62 yard run. Second year starter Max Mosey, just a junior, completed 11 of 20 for 256 yards and the 3 Tds to Smith. Chambersburg was shut down to 92 yards rushing and 218 total while the Rams rolled it all out at 634 total yards of offense. They’ll get a stiffer test this week with State College coming in for their season opener.
2 Warwick 2-0 (2), 5A
Warwick continues to impress with another resounding win, defeating Conestoga Valley 41-0. This marked the season debut of heralded quarterback Joey McCracken, back after rehabbing from an ACL back in hoops. The arm was fine, completing 9 of 13 for 73 yards (nothing deep) and one carry with the emphasis clearly on protecting the rehabbed knee. Sophomore Jack Reed came in at the half to direct 4 scoring drives, completing 7 of 10 passes for 72 yards. Colton Miller led the ground game with 109 yards on 15 carries and 4 touchdowns while Caleb Schmitz caught 7 passes for 66 yards. The Warriors appear to have it all this year with Tanner Haines booting field goals of 35 and 44 yards and Adam Martin getting a 35 yards pick-6 in the 4th quarter. The Warrior D held CV to 32 yards on the ground and 118 up top. Nice. They’re home again this week playing Manheim Central (1-1, 4A) coming in for their third consecutive road game off a 35-19 loss to powerful Cocalico (2-0, 4A).
3 Governor Mifflin 1-0 (3), 5A
Governor Mifflin was IDLE last week after the school shut down for a “deep cleaning” that forced Central Dauphin East to scramble….and get a game with Exeter Township. Good for East High and Exeter. Maybe good for Mifflin getting an extra week to recover from the annual slugfest with rival Wilson, where they prevailed 48-7. But you know the guys would rather be playing and get the chance (hopefully no more surprise cleanings!?) against Mifflin County (0-1, 6A. Mid Penn Keystone) out of Lewistown. That’s at least a 2 hour bus ride. So we’ll see how the Huskies respond after the ride and 33-0 home loss to Bishop McDevitt last week.
4 Central York 2-0 (4), 6A
I couldn’t find online information or a video so we’re stuck with the score alone that shows Central High walloping Dover 51-0. But, there’s always something to talk about. Poor little Dover with one of the lowest male enrollments at 432 (9th to 11th grades per PIAA count) of any York-Adams Conference school has been outscored 96 to 7 in their first two games. Luck of the draw had them opening against two of the best teams in the conference, York High and Central York. That’s brutal for a rebuilding team looking at a new O-Line. They’re at South Western (0-1, 5A, Hanover, PA) this week for their opener at The Corral. Quarterback Shilo Bivens (6-3, 170. jr) who has one of the strongest arms in that part of the state will have to shine for the Mustangs to have a glimmer of a chance against the high octane Panthers who are loaded with veterans and a sprinkling of D1 talent, notably, quarterback Beau Pribula, headed to Penn State. Brother Cade is a second year player at the University of Delaware, red shirting as a reserve Qb. Of note, Central has not yet been scored on after blanking Red Lion 55-0 in the opener
5 Lampeter Strasburg 2-0 (5), 4A
LS won their second straight road game in convincing fashion beating Lebanon (1-1, 5A) 42-20 after defeating Solanco (1-1. 5A) 47-15 the week before. Qb Sean McTaggart is evidently recovered from his ALC of last season, completing 13 of 20 passes for 160 yards while rushing for 114 yards on 19 carries; 274 total yards. Alex Knapp is one of a number of multi-talented players on LS’s roster this year, making them….with a healthy McTaggart….a far better team than last year’s that lost in the 4A state semifinal to Thomas Jefferson 44-2. This is not that team! Knapp had 95 total yards (84 rush, 11 pass), Owen Fikkert gained 65 total yards (28 rush, 37 pass), Drew Harris gained 32 yards on 9 carries with 7 players getting receptions. All totaled, they accumulated 426 yards of offense while holding Lebanon in check and one-dimensional at 38 yards rushing. Isaiah Rodriguez got his, completing 24 of 40 (60%) for 256 yards with a Pick and a Td with star receiver Alex Rufe held to 3 receptions for 33 yards. Lancaster Catholic is in next (0-2, 3A), struggling with the retirement of Coach Todd Mealy (Chris Maiorino replaced) and narrow home losses to Columbia (2-0, 2A) 19-14 and Donegal (2-0, 4A) 13-7. Many schools have new opponents this year with the reconfiguration of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. LS has 5 new opponents, Catholic being one of them.
6 Bishop McDevitt 1-0 (6), 4A
In a sloppy first game of the season that saw McDevitt flagged for 90 yards, Mifflin County just didn’t have the resources to take advantage as the Crusaders rolled to a 33-0 victory at Lewistown. They won’t be so fortunate looking down the road to Cedar Cliff and a plethora of quality 4A playoff hopefuls including Lampeter Strasburg, Cocalico and Berks Catholic who are all contending for districts and beyond. The district is LOADED with 4A playoff caliber teams. Greencastle-Antrim and Northern are also chirping with first game wins and Donegal, Octorara, right, Octorara, and Elco are already 2-0. Back to McDevitt; they dominated the Huskies, outdistancing them 472 to 80 in total yards. Mifflin County has some big ole country boys who couldn’t move the immovable elements of McDevitt’s DL or manage their team speed. Rocket armed Lek Powell completed 24 of 35 passes for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Crusaders as sophomore Marquese Williams ran for 113 yards and 3 scores. Omari Hopkins completed the trifecta getting open all day, catching 5 passes for 144 yards with 2 touchdowns. Lower Dauphin (0-0, 5A) is next for McDevitt’s home opener Friday night, coming off a 0-10 season.
7 Middletown 1-0, (7) 3A
A 40-7 first half lead said it all as the Blue Raiders rolled over Juniata (0-1, 4A, D6) 54-17 in their inaugural game in the Mid Penn Conference. Once again Middletown fields one of the top Triple-A’s in the state, producing 544 total yards of offense with a balanced attack that had the Indians off balance all game, rushing for 368 yards and throwing for 176. Juniata was held to 294 yards. Middletown’s production was spread out by Qb Julio Rodriguez (6-2, 170, sr, beat out Tony Powell?) who completed 85% of his passes (11/13) for 195 yards, throwing touchdowns of 23 yards, 31, 36 and 51 yards. 6-4, 230 pound Tajae Broadie who runs like a deer caught 6 passes for 78 yards and a score while returning a kick-off 91 yards for another. Tymir Jackson (5-11, 220) gained 195 yards on 8 carries, one, a 72 yard burst for 6. These guys are loaded with talent, getting a chance to prove it Friday in Steelton where the Rollers will be gunning for them after last year’s 49-21 debacle. The towns are smack dab beside each other with Highspire between the boroughs of Middletown and Steelton, making this literally a back yard brawl between old, old rivals.
8 Wilson 1-1 (10 tie), 6A
The Bulldogs showed their stuff traveling to Lancaster’s north side to defeat Manheim Township 31-28 on the heels of their 48-7 season opening loss to Governor Mifflin. Not only did they win, they won against a team also coming off a disappointing home loss after dropping a 35-27 game to LaSalle of the PCL. This one looked like an improbable win for Wilson with 3 key starters out; quarterback Kaleb Brown, running back Mason Lenart and their #1 receiver Troy Corson. So, in stepped Gannon Brubaker under center with a scaled back offense going to the ground where they have underrated Jadyn Jones. Brubaker threw enough to get their attention, completing 3 of 9 for 40 yards. But it was along the line of scrimmage where Wilson dominated, combined with the running of Jadyn Jones (6-0, 220, jr) who pounded out 237 yards on 29 carries, scoring on runs of 65 and 15 yards. You figured in a game like this with all the emotion on both sides added to Wilson’s injuries, they’d need some help. And they got it in the form of Township’s muffed punt in the 1st quarter leading to Jack Wayne’s 29 yard field goal and a 2nd quarter blocked punt leading to DE Ethan Capitano’s 34 yard scoop and score. Otherwise, Township led in total yards 423 to 324. The stats backed up earlier video observations (Wilson dominating the LOS) by holding Township to 138 yards rushing while Wilson got 284 on 36 carries. Downtrodden Penn Manor (0-2, 6A) is next. They’re coming off 5 straight losing seasons where they won 9 games (9 games!) against 41 losses with consecutive losses this year to Warwick 43-13 and Hempfield 40-7.
9 Cocalico 2-0 (10 tie), 4A
Cocalico showed they still have a pile of talented athletes despite graduating Noah Palm (see earlier write ups) by just taking apart Manheim Central 35-19 in a game that was worse than the score indicated. The Barons were held to 219 total yards, 8 first downs and 63 yards rushing. They uncharacteristically allowing a number of big plays with Anthony Bourassa getting loose for 77 and 30 yard runs on the way to an eye popping 256 for the game on 23 carries. Qb Carson Nash gouged them for 119 yards rushing, one, a 31 yard scoring run. Steven Flinton hadt 48 yards on 7 carries, and a 33 yard touchdown sprint. By game’s end, Cocalico racked up 463 yards on the ground and 505 total yards. You’re talking Manheim Central here, who haven’t had a losing season since….?....with a 20 year won-loss of 220-45. This week has Cocalico on the road for their first away game of the year playing Solanco (1-1, 5A) who is home for the 3rd straight week, coming off an exciting 29-22 win against Elizabethtown (1-1, 5A).
10 Cedar Cliff 1-0 (not ranked), 5A
In a game matching two of the district’s top teams, Cedar Cliff and Berks Catholic got off to an electrifying start with the Saints scoring on their first possession when Justin Small ran in from 17 yards out (10:40 mark), followed by Jontae Morris returning the subsequent kick-off 80 yards for a Colt score. Still in the 1st quarter on their first offensive possession, CC’s Gannon McMeans connected with Trenton Smith on a 55 yard strike to put the Colts up 14-7 with 8:10 to go in the quarter. This explosion was followed by a relative quiet and scoreless 2nd quarter, trading scores in the 3rd quarter, then BC pulling even when Brad Huffman hit Christian Cacchione for the tie from 9 yards out early in the 4th. That’s how it ended heading into overtime where they again traded scores, and again in the second overtime when BC opted for two but were stopped on the 2 inch line. Game of inches as they say. Qb McMeans had a solid game for the Colts completing 14 of 24 passes for 190 yards and 3 touchdowns, with Jamir Reynolds-Vasquez getting 54 key yards on 13 carries. Next up is Hershey (1-0, 5A) who edged Red Land 10-7 in their opener. The Colts should have no problem with Hershey who hasn’t had a winning season since 2013, going 13-47 through last year. Then comes a key conference game with Bishop McDevitt the 9th.
T I E
Berks Catholic 1-1 (8), 4A
Once again Berks Catholic was able to add a team to the schedule after numerous cancellations by picking up Cedar Cliff last Tuesday. The week before saw them in a similar situation hiking up to Tripoli, PA to play Northwestern Lehigh (1-1, 4A), coming away with an entertaining 56-35 win. Last week’s game against Cedar Cliff while far more entertaining ended in disappointment with the Saints coming up a little short, 2 inches actually, in a losing double overtime 35-34 outcome in Camp Hill. What a game with the Saints winning just about every statistical category including # of plays at 64-51, total yards 336-310, rush yards that are often predictive….292-120, along with time of possession at 28:33-19:27. Bottom line, the game is about points, and the Colts had one more than the Saints.
Have to credit to Cedar Cliff for sniffing out the second ot play where Hunter Garced (6-3, 250) bulled his way in to stop Justin Small. What BC didn’t have was a viable pass attack with Brad Hoffman completing 3 of 14 passes for 44 yards. That’s weird since he can gun it with accuracy. The ground game is always there for BC; Justin Smalls 16/103, Christian Smalls 10/78, Colby Newton 15/66. This week has them in their home opener against upstart Daniel Boone (2-0, 5A), who is also a member of the Berks-Section One. Boone has struggled since the retirement of Dave Bodolus who resurrected the program from 2003-2011, going 79-28. One of their highlights was beating Harrisburg (9-3) 14-12 at Harrisburg in the 2010 district semifinal. They haven’t been the same since. But rest assured at 2-0 they’ll get BC’s attention and wrath following last week’s overtime loss.
Others
Lancaster Lebanon League
Manheim Township 0-2 (10 tie), 6A
Make that two consecutive home losses for Township who dropped another heartbreaker, losing to Wilson 31-28. When is starting your season with LaSalle and Wilson ever easy? A bright spot is first year starting quarterback Evan Clark who was again on target completing 17 of 29 passes for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns. For the year he’s 38 of 61 for 463 yards and 5 Tds. Cedar Crest (1-1. 6A) is next where they’ll get their first win.
Hempfield 1-1, 6A
The Black Knights responded well after losing the opener at Exeter 41-34 in overtime with last week’s 40-7 rout of winless Penn Manor. The Knights have dangerous people in first year starting quarterback Cameron Harbaugh completing 29 of 39 passes (74%) for 275 yards, versatile running back Tanner Hess rushing for 272 yards on 43 carries and receiver Jadin Jimenez snagging 14 passes for 161 yards. They’re at McCaskey (0-2, 6A) Friday where they’ll light up the scoreboard again before playing Cedar Crest then finishing by running the gauntlet of Township, Wilson and Warwick.
Manheim Central 1-1, 5A
The Barons young group (grad 20 starters) took it on the chin last week at Cocalico losing 35-19. They hung tough but just couldn’t match up with the Eagles who were simply better, swamping them with bodies and numbers, 505 total yards to 219. But the Barons have a ton of underclassman, beginning with quarterback in Judd Novak (6-0, 160, jr), and running backs Larry Marley (5-11, 175, jr) and Jaden Weit (6-0, 185, so), and receivers Owen Sensenig (5-10, 165, jr) and Brady Harbach (5-11, 170, so). Marley already looks promising. Things are also looking good along the lines with Ryland Fittery (5-11, 245, jr), Wyatt Kupres (6-1, 230, so), J.D. Rinier (5-11, 250, jr), Gage Watt (5-9, 280, jr), Tent Carbonneau (5-10, 250, jr) and Cole Geoff (5-11, 245, so). Believe I have that right. They’ll take their licks this year but also dish some out as they did in the opener trouncing a more veteran Cedar Crest team 41-6 in Lebanon. Next up is another monster challenge in the form of Warwick who is just destroying people, beating Penn Manor 43-13 and Conestoga Valley 41-0. Young as they are, Manheim Central is the best team the Warriors have played this year. And they better bring it with MC remembering last year’s 31-28 home loss in the quarterfinals at Manheim. They’ll be some hitting between these neighbors with Lititz a mere 5 miles from Manheim.
Berks Inter-County Conference
Exeter Township 2-0, 5A
Exeter got their second win of the season beating Central Dauphin East (0-1, 6A) 27-7 after Carlisle bailed on East. Good for Exeter and East High making it happen. The Panthers of the Mid Penn Commonwealth didn’t go away without a fight, forcing Exeter to go 48 minutes while clinging to a 14-7 lead at the of the 3rd. With no offense to speak of and East generating only 175 total yards, the collapse was inevitable with Exeter scoring two 4th quarter touchdowns to win 27-7. Gavin McCusker threw for 150 yards (0/1 ratio) with Eric Nagle rushing for 139 yards. Muhlenberg (0-2, 5A) is next. Then we’ll know if Exeter belongs in the Top 10 when they play Governor Mifflin and Berks Catholic back to back.
Wyomissing 2-0, 3A
Wyomissing jumped on Fleetwood (0-2, 5A) early, building a 28-3 half time lead then coasting to a 49-9 win. They rolled out 512 total yards of offense with quarterback Zach Zechman completing 14 of 22 passes for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns plus a pick. FB/LB Evan Niedrowski (6-2, 230) bulldozed his way to 111 yards on the ground. They’re idle this week unless they can sneak a game in there, then finish with Twin Valley, Kutztown and Schuylkill Valley.
Conrad Weiser 2-0, 4A
The Scouts are one of those teams that manage to stay under the radar despite having success on the gridiron over the years. 2018’s group snuck up on a few teams beating Exeter 23-12, Governor Mifflin 17-7, and Gettysburg 34-28 before losing to McDevitt in the district 4A semifinal. Few know they’ve had only one losing season the last 13 years, going 101-54 since 2007. Last year’s 6-6 team just missed it losing 28-21 at Exeter and 21-20 at home to Governor Mifflin. You can’t sleep on Weiser. And with a good chunk of the O-Line back and their quarterback combining with almost the entire D-front (3 LBs, a DE and DT), they’ve just enough to again be a threat. They’re undefeated to date, blowing out Fleetwood 34-13 and Twin Valley 31-6. Schuylkill Valley (1-1, 3A) is next. A slip by Berks Catholic, already with one loss, Bishop McDevitt (1-0), Cocalico (2-0 or Lampeter Strasburg (2-0) could open the door for Weiser….if they don’t knock it down themselves by running the table.
York-Adams
York (William Penn) 2-0, 6A
The Bearcats are back at 6A this year, probably to the chagrin of the historic 6A powers with everyone scrambling for 1 of 4 playoff slots. They’re awfully young but have a boatload of talent that may just overwhelm teams this year. They haven’t been tested to date beating outmanned Dover (0-2, 5A) 45-7 and a scrappy Spring Grove team (1-1, 5A), 21-7. The Rockets have some players. So does York although they’re mostly young, starting a sophomore quarterback in Sam Stoner who threw touchdowns of 8 yards to junior Jaquez Simmon and 19 yards on their second drive of the game to Rashim Lee, a senior. Sophomore Jaheim White (5-9, 175) had 22 carries for 120 yards and threw a 68 yard strike to Lee for their final score on a handoff from Stoner that caught the Rockets flatfooted. Lee ended the game with 3 receptions for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. They’re home Friday against Dallastown (1-0, 6A) in a key game given the reduced number of playoff teams getting into the tournament this year.
Dallastown (1-0, 6A)
Here’s a team that comes into the season much like Pennridge in District-1, loaded with returning starters. That sounds good until knowing they both had woeful seasons last year. Really woeful, with Pennridge going 3-8 scoring 12 points a game and allowing 23, and Dallastown going 2-8, even more anemic averaging 11ppg and allowing 33. Dtown returns 9 to both sides (starters, co-starters) and got off to a promising start winning a road game at Northeastern 30-27. The Wildcats could be a fun bunch with Coach Ron Miller (3rd year, Mt. Carmel grad, Susquehanna) having the biggest lineman he’s ever coached. That’s saying something, him coming from West York 4 years ago where he had an 86-25 record in 9 years. The returning linemen are Center Seth Miller (6-5, 290), plus Cody LaRue (6-2, 315), Connor Dehoff (6-4, 295) and Ryan Snyder (6-3 220), the only senior in the group with most of the team being juniors. No wonder they struggled last year, most were sophomores. Almost all the skill is back with Andrew Jones (5-11, 180, sr) under center and Vinnie Jones brutalizing people at 5-8, 225! As a former linebacker, those hombres can be hard to bring down. Painful. Standouts on defense are safety Dylan Lease (5-11, 180, jr) and DE Gavin Wentz (6-0, 195, jr). Another weapon is kicker/punter Mitchel Groh, one of the best in the state. They’ll need to be on their toes Friday, literally, with the quick and fast York High Bearcats coming in for a fight.
Mid Penn Conference
Steelton Highspire 1-0, 1A
Steel High held last year’s District-3 champ Upper Dauphin to 210 total yards (186 rushing) while piling up over 400 yards in a 43-6 destruction of the defending champ. The Rollers didn’t look like a Single-A team out there except on the sidelines where they dressed 25. But the starting units on both sides were big and quick, leaving the Trojans nowhere to go. Freshman Alex Erby (6-2, 190) showed why he’s under center completing 11 of 20 tosses for 208 yards. They dominated the LOS with Odell Green getting 190 yards rushing while shutting down the Trojan attack. Receivers Mehki Flowers and Damein Hammonds are all well over 6-1 and strong at 190. Flowers had 140 total yards, 85 receiving. They’re rolling now and need to bring it big time Friday night in Middletown to stay with the Blue Raiders versatile and powerful attack.
www.inquirer.com
www.mcall.com
www.post-gazette.com
www.buckslocalnews.com
