All classes are 6A and District 3 teams unless otherwise shown; Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 9.
1 Central Dauphin (11-2)
Central Dauphin survived another Mid Penn slugfest, rallying from a 7-6 halftime deficit to defeat Harrisburg 27-20, winning their first District-3 title since 2011. Timmy Smith stood out on offensive, rushing for 126 yards and 3 scores while Max Mosey’s laser sharp passes kept the Cougars at bay, completing 13 of 15 passes for 179 yards. Five went to their standout D1 receiver-defensive back Nick Chimienti for 78 yards. The Ram’s staunch defense that is almost a given, held Harrisburg to 108 yards rushing at the expense of 180 passing yards from their standout junior quarterback John McNeil. CD’s offense has slowly rounded into a balanced attack, rushing for 152, passing for 179. Credit a typical CD line for some of that, featuring Blaise Heshler (OT, 6-4, 285), Chad Layton (OT, 6-2, 280), Bryce Thoman (OG, 6-5, 270), Cam Sansoni (OG, 6-2, 235), Nathan Mosey (C, 5-11, 220) and Jackson Talbott (TE, 6-3, 225). Unfortunately, the playoff format forces them to the sidelines this week with a bye, losing any momentum of their ten game winning streak awaiting the outcome of the Coatesville-Downingtown West game.
2 State College (11-1, D6)
State College dominated on the ground as well as on defense taking advantage of four Delaware Valley turnovers and a blocked punt turned into scores in their opening round rout of District-2 power Delaware Valley (11-2). On a team loaded with play makers, Lokey Howell was the guy this week, snagging a second quarter pick and a 40 yard Td reception from Brady Dorner the very next play. He ending the game with 3 receptions for 101 yards plus a 39 yard scoring run. DV was held to 108 total yards, 65 rushing and 4 first downs. State got it going from the very start, aided by DV’s turnovers, scoring three touchdowns in a two minute stretch of the second quarter after taking a 14-0 first quarter lead. From there, they cruised to a 38-7 opening-round win that would have been more minus their four turnovers. The win establishes the Class of 2020 as the winningest class in State High history with 33 wins the last three seasons. It also puts them in the 6A quarter final against Pittsburgh Central Catholic (11-1) who edged Pine-Richland (10-2) 10-7 for their ninth straight win. SC won their last four games since suffering their only loss of the season against Central Dauphin 34-13 at State College October 11th. Despite the ruggedness of the Mid Penn schedule, it was favorable, with the most difficult games played at State College. That’s not the case this week traveling to North Allegheny High in Wexford (above Pittsburgh) for their toughest road game of the year.
3 Harrisburg (9-4)
The Cougars had another strong year, highlighted by a season opening road win against Coatesville (10-2) 14-6 with subsequent wins against Cedar Cliff (10-2) 41-7, Cumberland Valley (5-6) 37-10, Central York (9-2) 47-14 and Wilson (10-2) 33-29 before seeing their two year run as conference champ come to an end at Central Dauphin last week. They return a good core for next season including quarterback John McNeil who will operate behind another powerful line that returns juniors Layne Brannon 6-4 305, Jamear Henderson 6-0 240, All Everything Nate Bruce 6-5 300, and sophomore Tyshawn Black 5-11 275. About 2020; Hopefully Coatesville and Harrisburg will play, but as of now, Coatesville has not renewed the contract.
4 Manheim Township (11-1)……..season over
5 Wilson (10-2)……..season over
6 Southern Columbia (13-0, 2A, D4)
Southern won their 27th District-4 title defeating Mount Carmel 49-0. Once again they did all their scoring in the first half, winning their 45th straight game for their tenth shutout of the season and thirteenth mercy ruled game of the year. Undefeated Upper Dauphin Area (12-0, D3) is next, coming off a bye after defeating 3rd seeded Delone Catholic (8-4) 36-28. It’s difficult feeling Upper Dauphin can have much success against SCA knowing the Tigers already defeated decent 2A, 3A and 4A teams. This includes 2A Mount Carmel (10-3), twice, 48-0 and 49-0, 3A powers Montoursville (12-1) 35-0 and Wyoming Area (11-1) 42-0, 4A Jersey Shore (10-3) 56-14….and South Carolina private school power Hammond (11-2) 36-0. SCA is so unusually talented with a once in a lifetime class, their scores hide the fact they have played representative teams. The game with Upper Dauphin is at neutral site Selinsgrove Friday with the winner playing the winner of the Bishop McDevitt (7-6, D12, PCL-Blue)-Richland (12-0, D6) game. UDA has a special player in Macklin Ayers (6-3, 210, sr….PWO-Penn St) with 3069 total yards this year; 1143 passing at 70%, 1926 rushing. But they lack the speed, size and physicality of a team like Southern to compete offensively or defensively, knowing how the Tigers manhandled teams like Wyoming Area, Mount Carmel et al.
7 Cocalico (10-2, 5A, 1st seed)
The Eagles are playing solid football the last three games beating Lampeter Strabsurg (10-3) 41-13 then Governor Mifflin (8-4) 42-14, and now Warwick (10-3) 21-13 in the District-3 semifinal at home last week. After falling behind 13-7 at the half, Cocalico tightened the screws, holding Warwick scoreless thereon, while shutting down their ground game to 78 yards rushing. Warwick couldn’t stop Cocalico’s veer that pounded away with 44 carries totaling 212 yards. The stats were almost dead even with Cocalico at 298, Warwick at 308. The difference being Cocalico quarterback Noah Palm’s versatility, keeping Warwick guessing all night especially in the second half. By games end he completed 4 of 7 passes for 84 yards while rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The win advances them to the district final for a rematch with Cedar Cliff, a team they beat eleven weeks ago at Cedar Cliff 43-15. This one is in Denver where the Colts will be looking for some pay back while Cocalico looks for a repeat performance.
8 Warwick (10-3, 5A)
Quarterback Joey McCracken had a decent outing completing 18 of 33 passes for 230 yards, mostly to Conor Adams who had 8 receptions for 102 yards that came up short in a losing effort at Cocalico 21-13 in the district semifinal. Although they came up short, this was a historic season and their highest win total ever. Look for them to field another powerful team next season with Joey McCracken back plus wide out Caleb Schmitz (6-3, 190, jr, 56/957), TE Thatcher Miller (6-3, 210, jr, 10/180) and Colton Miller (6-2, 205, jr) who rushed for 1315 yards. McCracken finished the year at 2914 yards with a 27/6 ratio and 62% completion rate. The Lancaster Lebanon League will realign in 2020 to 4 Sections, with Cocalico (5A), Conestoga Valley (5A), Elizabethtown (5A), Manheim Central (5A), Solanco (5A) and Warwick (5A) going to Section 2.
9 Manheim Central (9-3, 5A)……..season over
10 Cedar Cliff (10-2, 5A, 2nd seed)
Cedar Cliff picked the perfect time for one of their best defensive efforts of the year against one of the more balanced offences in the district when they shutout 11th seeded Exeter Township (9-4) 24-0, the first shutout of the year for both teams! Heck of an effort with Exeter at 34ppg and a pile of weapons. The Colts have a few too with Jaheim Morris rushing for 199 yards on 25 carries, doing most of his damage in the second half. Both teams have good young quarterbacks (2020 looking good, soph/jr Qbs everywhere!) with Cedar Cliff’s Gannon McMeans (6-0, 190, jr) completing 16 of 25 for 142 yards. This has been a strong rebuild for the Colts who were fortunate having senior Jaheim Morris’s 2430 yards rushing this year to build around! Most impressive was the defensive effort, holding Exeter to 174 total yards. Plus the O-line neutralizing DT Jaylin Miller (6-0, 250) who came in with 25 TFL and 6 Sacks, leaving with the same. They advance to the District-3 final Friday in Denver against Cocalico, a team that routed them 42-13 way back on August 29th.
11 Wyomissing (12-0, 3A, 1st seed)
Middletown rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take a 14-10 lead in the third quarter before Wyomissing was forced to rally with two scoring tosses to topple the three time defending District-3 Blue Raiders 24-21. It caught Middletown off guard when the Wing-T Spartans went to the air for 63 and 22 yard touchdowns. Like Middletown, this is a down-hill, in your face team that typically pounds you into submission behind a physical line with a blend of quick and powerful backs. They employed that early with FB Evan Niedrowski (6-2, 230, converted OL) gashing them for 114 yards on 18 carries, and Max Hurleman (5-11, 170) breaking out of the backfield for a 22 yard scoring toss finishing with 55 total yards. Qb Jordan Auman (5-10, 150!) completed 5 of 7 passes for 118 yards. This was a quite a struggle with Middletown topping Wyomissing 356 to 258 total yards, fighting the good fight until a 4th down pass fell incomplete at Wyo’s 20 yard line. Tamaqua (11-2, D-11) is next, coming off a strong win against Pope John Paul II (10-3, D1) 47-21. They have three common opponents with Wyo going 3-0 against North Schuylkill 31-14, Blue Mountain 35-14 and Pottsville 21-20 2ot and Tamaqua going 1-2 losing to North Schuylkill 27-18 and Pottsville 34-17, defeating Blue Mountain 49-14.
12 Berks Catholic (8-4, 4A, 3rd seed)
Berks Catholic traveled to Hershey to play 2nd seeded Milton Hershey, coming away with a lopsided 49-18 win. The Spartans self-destructed with 5 turnovers (3 fumbles, 2 picks) and couldn’t stop anything BC tried. And forget penetrating the Saint’s D-front that was impenetrable, holding them to 20 total rush yards. 20! Hard figuring Milton Hershey’s complete ineptness, even on defense allowing BC 370 yards rushing. Goes without saying the backfield that limped through the season injured is back at full strength for BC with Abdul MacFoy gaining 142 yards, Colby Newton 74, CJ Carwll 70 and Nolan Larkin 42 yards. That’s the backfield that had them ranked 8th in the Mid State Preseason Rankings. The quarterfinal is next at home against upstart Lampeter Strasburg, coming off their 30-27 win at Bishop McDevitt.
13 Lampeter Strasburg (10-3, 4A, 8th seed)
Lampeter Strasburg came back from a 20-0 half time deficit to defeat Bishop McDevitt 30-27 at the defending district champion’s home field. Impressive stuff with McDevitt holding 14 District-3 titles. What’s more impressive is knowing they didn’t cave after McDevitt scored on their first two possessions. Many would have tanked. And, their leading rusher Bryan McKim (1114 yards) was sidelined with an injury and didn’t play. Pretty sure he’s back. Another young quarterback in the district, junior Conor Nolt, ignited a 23 point third quarter giving LS their first lead. His ability to pass effectively caught McDevitt flatfooted, connecting with Alex Knapp on a 94 yard touchdown. Then he bolted 16 yards for a quick score before Beau Heyer had a 6 yard touchdown leaving the Crusaders reeling. Nolt’s 1 yard run iced it in the fourth. He finished with 218 yards (13 of 26, 2 Tds) and 37 rushing (1 Td). Their ability to hold McDevitt’s running back Marquese Williams to 83 yards on 18 carries and the team to 58 net yards rushing had much to do with their success. Hats off to the Pioneers for a tough road win and strong season after losing quarterback Sean McTaggart (6-1, 195, jr) the first game of the year with an ACL. Getting 10 wins minus his production of 2420 total yards and 24 touchdowns is quite an accomplishment. They’ll be some serious competition for the position next year! The District-3 title game is next in Reading against resurgent Berks Catholic.
14 Milton Hershey (10-2, 4A)
This was an unbelievable ending for a 10 win team getting completely outplayed at home in a 49-18 playoff loss. Wow! Go figure, an athletic team with a decent resume averaging 37ppg held to 139 total yards, shutdown on the ground to 20 rush yards. The defense was also a no-show, allowing 402 total yards, 370 rushing. Come on guys, it’s Berks Catholic; they’re going to run the ball +90 % of the time! Still a good year wresting the Mid Penn-Colonial title from three time defending Middletown.
15 Middletown (10-2, 3A)
Middletown rallied from 10 down but it wasn’t enough in the District-3 final, losing to a solid Wyomissing team 24-21. See Wyo above. The loss ends Middletown’s three year ownership of the district crown and streak of three straight 3A state finals appearances. The bright spot for the future is the return of sophomore quarterback Joe Powell (6-4, 195) who completed 6 of 15 for 162 yards with 2 interceptions and touchdowns of 46 and 81 yards. Powell is another in a long list of promising District-3 quarterbacks returning for 2020. Jose Lopez finished with 130 yards and a score on 20 carries. More info and year end stats on the Raiders next week.
16 Bishop McDevitt (8-4, 4A)
In the end, McDevitt couldn’t handle the Spread/Wing-T, blowing a 20-0 half time lead and losing at home to 8th seeded Lampeter Strasburg 30-27. McDevitt is one of the local bad asses and LS is not, at least in the eyes of some Mid Penn folks. Maybe that got in the way for the defending 4A district champ after scoring on their first two possessions to build a 3 touchdown lead at the half. See LS write up above. As always, there is much to look forward to at a school like McDevitt with so much youth making a positive impact this year. Junior quarterback Lek Powell (5-10, 180) threw for 258 yards with 3 touchdowns, taking his season total to 2023 yards with a ratio of 18/8 at 61%. Senior Julian Jordan had a strong finish snagging 6 passes for 110 yards and 2 Tds. Freshman running back Marquese Williams (5-10, 175) rushed for 83 yards against LS ending the season at 1016 yards. Wide outs Mario Easterly (53/760), Omari Hopkins (20/492), Kamil Foster (19/329) and Dedrick Tinker (28/252) return to set them up for big things next year.
17 Exeter Township (9-4, 5A)
Exeter’s exciting season came to a close at 2nd seeded Cedar Cliff in the District-3 semifinal, losing 24-0. The Colts threw some serious D at the Eagles, holding them to 174 total yards of offense. See Cedar Cliff above. For next season they bring back a lot of skill including quarterback Gavin McCusker (6-2, 185, jr) who threw for 2238 yards at 57% with a ratio of 24/8. Impressive stats for a first year starter. What they will miss is wide receiver Alex Javier who set school records at 48 receptions in a game, career receptions at 95 and receiving yards in a season at 957 yards.
18 Susquehanna Township (7-4, 4A)……..season over
19 Central York (9-2)……..season over
20 Chambersburg (6-5)……..season over
Honorable Mention:
Jersey Shore (10-3, 4A, D4) vs Pottsville (11-2, D-11) at Danville
Richland (12-0, 2A, D6) vs Phl-Bishop McDevitt (7-6, D-12) at Chambersburg
Montoursville (12-1, 3A, D4) vs Wyoming Area (11-1, D-2) at Williamsport
Upper Dauphin (12-0, 2A) vs Southern Columbia at Selinsgrove
Governor Mifflin (8-4, 5A)….season over
Gettysburg (8-3, 4A)….season over
York Suburban (10-1, 4A)….season over
Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3A)….season over
Mount Carmel (10-3, 2A, D4).…season over
Cedar Crest (7-4)….season over
Cumberland Valley (5-6)….season over
Shippensburg (11-1, 5A)….season over
