(All classes, 6A and District 3 teams unless otherwise shown; Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 9)
1 Harrisburg (3-1)
Harrisburg got past rival CD East in a typical slugfest that saw them flagged 19 times for 190 yards. East had 11 penalties, meaning there were nearly as many flags throw as footballs. Not sure what it is between these two but it is always bitterly contested. But as always, the Cougar D was there, holding the Panthers to 60 yards passing and minus 12 rushing. Tandem Qbs Nacari Williams and John McNeil combined for 8 of 17 passes for 210 yards. Sophomore Kamere Day had 136 yards rushing with Jahmir Plant adding 84. Now comes the meat of the schedule with Cumberland Valley in this week followed by Central Dauphin, State College and Chambersburg!
2 State College (4-0, D6)
State High stutter stepped in the first half holding a 20-12 led over a feisty Carlisle team before wearing them down in the second half for a 53-12 win. The Herd came to play, they just ran out of gas and bodies with the Lions pounding out 374 rush yards to take control, eventually rolling out 514 total to Carlisle’s 277. They move on to play Chambersburg (3-1) who is coming off a 56-24 victory against Altoona. Could be a good one as the Trojans have more moving parts to keep track of than anyone SC has played except St. Augustine Prep. Chambersburg’s problem is SC has more of everything than they do meaning they’ll need a perfect outing to counter the Lion’s many weapons.
3 Manheim Township (4-0)
Harrison Kirk threw for 228 yards and 3 TDs in completing 12 of 17 passes with Jayden Floyd rushing for 108 yards as the Blue Streaks overwhelmed Penn Manor 65-7, outgaining the Comets 509 to 100 yards. Fact is, they’re overwhelming almost everyone, outscoring opponents 174 to 27. Their unheralded defense allowing 27ppg is one of the best statistically in the state. But now it gets serious in a crossover game against powerful and undefeated Cocalico (4-0), before road trips to Wilson and Warwick, and a homer to Cedar Crest the following week. Those are four difficult consecutive games that will decide the fate of all involved. Each are currently undefeated.
4 Wilson (4-0)
Wilson had no trouble turning back Manheim Central with a furious defensive effort getting seven sacks and holding the Barons to 55 yards on the ground and 9 completions on 25 attempts for 160 yards. Powerful Avanti Lockhart had three of those sacks and rushed for 94 yards on 11 carries. Wilson’s team speed and 18 return starters were just too much, pounding out 316 rushing yards while Kaleb Brown’s laser like accuracy kept the sticks moving completing 9 of 11 passes for 92 yards while rushing for 98 more on 10 totes. Mason Lenart’s 91 yard kick-off return following a rare Baron score broke their back as the Bulldogs prevailed 49-14. They just may have the best offensive line in the district including Harrisburg, knowing they are seniors and veteran. Wilson’s line; LT Nate Keller 6-0 270, LG Jean Carlos Ventura 5-11 250, C Adam Vanino 6-2 260, RG Anthony Koper 5-11 240, RT Sal Pugliese 6-1 270, TE Doug Wheeler 6-1 195. Struggling Penn Manor (1-3) is next, no doubt reeling from the 65-7 loss to Manheim Township last week.
5 Central Dauphin (2-2)
Central Dauphin survived a bruising battle of heavyweights, eking out a 13-7 road win vs Cumberland Valley before a typical full house. Heck of a win for CD knowing their starting tackles Chad Layton (6-2, 285, sr) and Blaise Heshler (6-4, 290, jr) missed the game with injuries. They’ve got depth this year and their usual strong defense that made two red zone stops in the 4th quarter turning away CV drives. Rushing for 204 yards on the road speaks to their O-Line coming together despite injuries. Ditto for the sophomore Qb Max Mosey completing 7 of 14 passes for 128 yards. Carlisle (1-3) is next, limping in on a three game losing streak after giving Mechanicsburg (3-1) their only loss of the season in the opener. Tristyn Sulich is a talented back but the Herd will need more than him to hang with the Rams unless they’re caught looking ahead to Harrisburg.
6 Warwick (4-0, 5A)
Hempfield’s loss to a physical Manheim Central team and narrow loss at Central York took its toll with the Black Knight’s wilting under the hammer blows of Warwick’s diverse attack that saw them fall behind 55-0 at the half! Qb Joey McCracken’s accuracy is right there with Harrison Kirk’s of Manheim Township and Kaleb Brown’s of Wilson, both 65%, as he burnt Hempfield all night, completing 15 of 18 passes for 4 Tds at 83% and 278 yards. Conor Adams caught 5 of his throws for 138 yards. Colton Miller’s rushed for 102 yards with 2 scores as the Warriors accumulated 442 total yards to Hempfield’s 213. Winless J.P. McCaskey is next, allowing 47ppg against a slate of 13-3 teams, and now undefeated Warwick! With the Warriors averaging 52 points a game, this one could get out of hand real early knowing JPM’s lineup is made up almost exclusively of juniors and sophomores.
7 Southern Columbia (4-0, 2A, D4)
The Tigers waffled Shamokin 62-0 to set a new PA state record of 76 consecutive regular season wins, breaking Strath Haven’s record of 75 that ended in 2004. SCA powered out to a 55-0 halftime lead before emptying the bench, while outgaining Shamokin 504 to 118 total yards. Through last week’s game, they’ve scored 222 total points or 56ppg, while not allowed a single point the entire year. Looking ahead, it’s hard finding a loss on the schedule. But now the question may be can anyone score on them? The only teams with a glimmer of a chance at defeating them are South Williamsport (4-0, 1A) and Montoursville (4-0, 3A), until factoring in they already crushed Hammond School (2-2) 36-0, who floods the field with athletes and Mount Carmel (3-1), 48-0, who returned a largely veteran team. Rival Central Columbia (3-1) is next in Catawissa.
8 Cocalico (4-0, 5A)
Cocalico has turned into a bona fide contender if not co-favorite with Warwick for the 5A crown in District-3 as they continue piling up one victory upon another. To date they’re pounding four teams by an average score of 40-14. Some were well coach, proven program like Cedar Cliff and Governor Mifflin. They overwhelmed Elizabethtown last week 49-12, grinding out 388 yards on 43 carries with their Veer as QB Noah Palm tacking on 5 of 11 completions for 90 yards. Etown was held to 46 rushing on 22 carries. While they’ve shown they can play with the big boys, this week’s challenge of Manheim Township will be their biggest. They lost 36-24 last year at Township. But this one is in Denver where the result will impact both the 6A classification and 5A. Township is more but this is their first road challenge of the season and best team they’ve played since Central Dauphin two weeks ago.
9 Middletown (4-0, 3A)
Camp Hill (1-3, 2A) hung tough for a half, down 14-0 then succumbed to the relentless pressure, speed and athleticism of the Middletown attack that prevailed 41-12. The Blue Raiders unleashed freshman back Tymir Jackson (5-10, 220) who put on an awesome performance, rushing for 328 yards on 22 carries with touchdowns runs of 15, 18, 60, 68 and 35 yards. It should not be that easy this week against undefeated next door neighbor Steelton Highspire (4-0, 2A) who just destroyed previously undefeated Trinity 78-34. Middletown will focus on stopping Rollers QB Nyles Jones who had 374 total yards against the Shamrocks last week; 185 rushing, 189 passing. In a bitter rivalry like this one where the towns literally butt up against each other, throw out all the theories and stats, with emotions at a fever pitch. Middletown edged them last year 48-40 in Steelton but rest assured the Rollers will bring it.
10 Central York (3-1)
Central York jumped from #15 to #10 after a surprisingly easy win at conference rival Red Lion, defeating the defending York Adams-Section One co-champ 58-7. This was a blowout, 30-7 at half, with Central York outgaining Red Lion 364 yards to 108. The Panthers rushed for 152 of those yards with sophomore Qb Beau Pribula completing 5 of 9 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for two scores before sitting out the second half. Great way to open conference action! With four of their final six games at home, including all the primary challengers (Northeastern, York) don’t be surprised if they run out, entering the post season on an eight game winning streak.
11 Shippensburg (4-0, 5A)
With fullback Jacob Foy bashing the Waynesboro defense for 188 yards (2 Tds) aided by a scoop and score of 45 yards in the first quarter and another in the third quarter of 65 yards, the Tribe fell to the Greyhounds in the Mid Penn-Colonial opener. Take away the scoop and scores and it’s a whole new ball game. Bottom line, Waynesboro couldn’t stop Ship’s pounding ground game of 228 rush yards that dominated their 27-6 win. Waynesboro moves on to improved Big Spring (3-1, 4A) while Shippensburg travels to disappointing Mifflin County (0-4, 6A) to settle a score with the Huskies who are one of the two teams to beat last year’s 10-2 edition, 26-21.
12 Susquehanna Township (3-1, 4A)
Since losing the opener at Manheim Central 16-7 despite holding the Barons to 183 total yards and 11 first downs, Hanna has been on a roll, beating teams by an average score of 37-7 while winning three straight. Once again they overwhelmed an opponent with defense, holding Lower Dauphin to 81 yards of offense in a 48-0 shutout. Offensively they racked up 262 yards rushing and 417 total yards with Qb Rahsaan Carlton throwing 3 Tds at 69% for 150 yards. RB/SS Jacob Seigle had 164 rushing on 11 carries. DE/DT Armani Caraballo (6-0, 200, sr) had a fumble recovery, CB/S Owen Weiner (5-11, 185, jr) had 4 tackles and 2 picks, OLBs Tyshawn Stewart (6-1, 210, sr) had 6 tackles while Michael Reese (5-9, 190, jr) and DT Fatorma Mulbah (6-3, 270, sr) had their usual strong performances. Hershey (1-3) is next.
13 Berks Catholic (2-2, 4A)
Berks Catholic’s young team continues to evolve as evidenced by their 49-14 destruction of Boyertown (1-3) where they outgained them 412 to 163 yards. The score was 35-0 at the half. The main contributors were sophomore quarterback Bradley Huffman (6-2, 210), hitting 6 of 10 for 116 yards, mostly to sophomore flanker Christian Cacchione (5-11, 155) who snagged 4 passes for 108 yards. The ground game consisted of junior running backs Colby Newton (5-8, 185) with 77 yards on 5 carries and Connor Gundersen (5-10, 155) rushing for 80 yards on 8 carries. Apart from their youth, the Saints are all about speed with talented running back Abdul MacFoy (5-7, 165, sr….injured?) running a 4.54 in the 40 at the Chris Nunn Memorial Combine last May and Nolan Larkin (6-0, 185) just off that time at 4.69. This week’s challenge is Malvern Prep (0-3), who is also experiencing a major rebuild that graduated nine players to the next level who were integral to last year’s 42-32 win and the undefeated season. Most of the players from both teams moved on although Malvern returns an outstanding secondary. Like BC, they’re green at quarterback, recently switching from junior Lonnie White (All-Conf receiver last year) who had moved back under center to Bryce Pippen (6-1, 175), a freshman. Both teams are battle tested against formidable schedules. BC has played McDonogh and Central Dauphin while MP played McDonogh, LaSalle and Imhotep, setting up what should be a competitive game. But it’s that time of year where the math starts kicking in to show the Friars with a statistical 1.24 point advantage. Home field?
14 Manheim Central (2-2, 5A)
Manheim Central dropped five rungs after another shellacking on the road, this one administered by Wilson 49-14, coming on the heels of last week’s 37-7 loss at Warwick. Wilson was simply overwhelming, out gaining them 414 total yards to 215 and holding them to 55 yards rushing while dominating the LOS with seven sacks. Big plays broke their back with the Bulldogs getting loose for 45 and 55 yard runs, a 42 yards Td strike, and a disheartening 90 yard kickoff return after their first score. Look for a big outburst against rebuilding Elizabethtown (2-2) who hit a wall the last two weeks losing to Conrad Weiser 30-9 and Cocalico 49-12.
15 Chambersburg (3-1)
Talk about getting it together following a loss. Chambersburg did just about everything right last week, taking apart Altoona in the conference opener after losing at Red Lion 26-21 the week before. A second quarter explosion of 35 points led to a 49-0 halftime lead as the Trojans got an easy 56-24 win. A blocked punt leading to a score, three recovered fumbles and an 85 yard Pick-6 fueled the second quarter outburst. Qb Brady Stumbaugh keyed the Trojan offense rushing for 89 yards and 115 passing with his team mates garnering another 154 rush yards. Senior NG/DT Tryion Hodges (5-11, 260,) was nearly unstoppable, tallying 3 sacks. That was a solid, confidence-building win for this week’s opponent State College (4-0), who won last year’s game 35-16. The game is at Chambersburg’s beautiful facility that should draw a substantial crowd.
16 Bishop McDevitt (2-2, 4A)
First year starting junior quarterback Lek Powell seems to be settling in after completing 12 of 19 passes for 128 yards with a touchdown before leaving the game with a leg injury. Status? Of note, the game saw McDevitt unleash freshman running back Marquese Williams who responded with 131 yards rushing on 13 carries. All totaled the Crusader offense had a monster day, generating 466 yards in a 43-0 win. But the D stood just as tall, holding Red Land (2-2) to one first down and 25 total yards of offense on 25 carries. Things ramp up a few notches this week with the Crusaders crossing the river again to play quirky but talented Cedar Cliff (2-2). The Colts got everyone’s attention last year beating them 50-43 at their place (Rocco Ortenzio Stadium) meaning as always, they’ll be great intensity in this key Mid Penn-Keystone Conference game.
17 Exeter Township (2-2, 5A)
Exeter dropped to 17 from 13 after losing at home to Spring Ford 24-7. The Rams came in off an embarrassing 42-23 home loss to Wilson while Exeter had a 48-6 win against Lower Dauphin. This one got out of hand for Exeter through self-inflicted wounds from both sides of the ball….and the passing of Spring-Ford’s talented quarterback. Ryan Engro had a strong performance, especially for a road game completing 58% of his passes (23/40) for 304 yards and tossing two touchdowns. That’s a nice road performance against a capable opponent. Exeter got in their own way all night, fumbling a punt return on their 35 yards line, plus numerous drive stopping penalties and on one occasion, driving to SF’s 10 yards line only to be turned away on penalties, especially a grounding call that ultimately backed them up where they narrowly missed a 49 yard field goal. They’ll get it right this week against winless Muhlenberg (0-4), and go on to challenge for the Berks I against red hot Reading (4-0), revived Conrad Weiser (2-2, started 0-2) and Governor Mifflin (1-3), coming off their first win of the season following losses to Cedar Cliff, Wilson and Cocalico.
18 Cumberland Valley (2-2)
Cumberland Valley got their talented linebacker/running back Maximos Dell’Anno back from injury but it wasn’t enough against Central Dauphin who toughed it out for a hard fought 13-7 win. With CD’s starting tackles out, it looked good and really was anyone’s game with CV’s mistakes and CD defense playing a significant role in their losing. Dell’Anno in fact had a decent game, rushing for 98 yards on 19 carries. Dontey Rogan who carried the load the week before against Coatesville (22 for 96 yds) had 13 carries for 39 yards. CD outgained CV 332 to 193 in total yards with Ram running back Timmy Smith getting 110 yards on 12 carries. Two red zone stops and a dropped pass for a certain touchdown were fatal to CV. Up next is another clash between Mid Penn titans with CV traveling to Harrisburg for a key conference game against the Cougars in their home opener following four straight road games. Look out CV!
19 Cedar Crest (4-0)
Cedar Crest (Lebanon, LL-1) returns enough from last year’s 5-5 team to be where they are now after a great start with road wins in York and Lancaster. The last minute win at York High two weeks ago against the co-champ Bearcats was tonic that spilled out all over the field last week against winless J.P. McCaskey (Lancaster) in a 49-20 drubbing of the Red Tornadoes. First year starting quarterback Chris Danz completed 7 of 10 passes for 244 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Tyler Cruz rushed for 84 yards on 15 carries. The Falcon D held JPM to 61 yards rushing and 125 passing. Hempfield (1-3) is next. And like so many mid-state teams and others across the state, their record is misleading. Interesting game with Cedar Crest out the gate on fire against Lebanon (2-2), Hershey (1-3), York (2-2) and JPM (0-4), while Hempfield was battling Manheim Central (2-2), Central York (3-1) and Warwick (4-0), after trouncing Dallastown (1-3) in the opener. They beat Cedar Crest last year 38-14 and will do it again if they don’t get the Falcon’s full attention, especially towards juniors Qb/Rb Tanner Hess who rushed for 112 yards against Warwick and Anthony Droege, an unspectacular but solid running back to keep track of. Dangerous game for Cedar Crest but a chance to take down a talented team and their toughest opponent to date.
20 Lampeter Strasburg (4-0, 4A)
The Pioneers have yet to show the effects of losing quarterback Sean McTaggart (6-1, 195, jr) who went down for the year with a knee in the opener. It was a significant loss knowing he threw for 1718 yards and rushed for 706 last year as a sophomore. But they’re still cranking out 44ppg with a D allowing 7 since then, defeating Penn Manor 35-0, West York 49-6 and Conestoga Valley 49-14 after beating Spring Grove in the opener 50-6. Their Spread Wing-T spreads it well with eight backs having double digit carries, led by senior Bryan McKim (5-7, 185). QB Connor Nolt managed things well last week throwing for 53 yards, completing 5 of 7 and rushing for 41 yards on 6 carries. Six backs had at least 20 yards rushing as LS blitzed Conestoga Valley 49-14 to reclaim the coveted Lampeter Bowl trophy. LS has yet to be challenged and won’t be this week against struggling Garden Spot (0-4) who lost their first four games by an average score of 38-12.
Honorable Mention:
Lancaster Catholic (4-0, 3A) at Lebanon 2-2
Hempfield (1-3) at Cedar Crest 5-0
Northeastern (4-0, 5A) home Dallastown 1-3
Red Lion (3-1) at South Western 2-2, 5A
Suburban (4-0, 4A) home Kennard Dale 3-1, 4A
Reading (4-0) at Governor Mifflin 1-3, 5A
Governor Mifflin (1-3, 5A) home Reading 4-0
Wyomissing (4-0, 3A) home West York 0-4, 4A
Steelton Highspire (4-0, 2A) at Middletown 4-0, 3A
Milton Hershey (3-1, 5A) at East Pennsboro 1-3, 4A
West Perry (4-0, 4A) at Mechanicsburg 3-1, 5A
Montoursville (4-0, 3A, D4) at Loyalsock Township 3-1, 3A
Mount Carmel (3-1, 3A, D4) at North Schuylkill 3-1, 3A
