2023 District 3 and State Playoffs: Games of Nov 24
Playoffs; games of Nov 24
It’s title time in the district with six teams seeking district crowns at the 6A, 5A and 4A classifications. Wyomissing already claimed 3A gold as did Camp Hill in Double-A and the mighty Rollers of Steelton at Single-A going for a repeat along with their neighbor of 5 miles at Bishop McDevitt. So it’s high stakes for them all with the winners moving on to the PIAA State Semifinals.
6A: District 3 Final, Nov 24, 7pm at Manheim Township
#1 Manheim Township 13-0 vs #2 Harrisburg 11-1
For the first time this season, Manheim Township looked absolutely vulnerable. But not in the opening moments of the game where they jumped all over Cumberland Valley looking absolutely unbeatable! Quarterback Hayden Johnson made it look easy (it was) with pin point passes to wide open receivers moving the Blue Streaks in for the early kill with a 35-yard touchdown toss to Lex Haberbosch. Don Rodriguez followed up with a 32-yard Pick-6 by Don Rodriguez making it 14-0 five minutes into the game. Cumberland Valley battled back, scoring 27 points thereon while holding the Streaks to a field goal in the second half. But it was too little too late with Township prevailing 37-27. Johnson was just too good, throwing for 273 yards at 84% with three touchdown tosses while running for 89 yards on 11 carries. While Township took care of CV for the second time this season, Harrisburg had a fierce battle on their home turf, holding a slim 15-11 lead over undefeated Central York at the half. But the Cougars like Township have too many weapons with quarterback Shawn Lee rushing for 153 yards, scoring on touchdowns of 80, 9 and 47 yards while completing 6 of 10 passes for 73 yards. Nehemiah Ewell, who has been a force all year rushed for 178 yards on 18 carries as the Cougars overwhelmed Central statistically 471 yards to 240 in a 28-21 win over the previously undefeated Panthers. The District Final will be another rematch for Township having previously defeated Harrisburg Sept 8th 38-6 in Lancaster. To date, Township has been near flawless and will be difficult to beat at home. But Harrisburg has a dual threat quarterback like few others (1931py-70%, 23/3 ratio; 1132ry/15Tds) that should keep the Streaks on their heels and patrons on the edge of their seats as this one goes down to the wire. Flip it! The winner gets the winner of North Allegheny (11-1) vs McDowell (8-4) game.
5A: District 3 Final, Nov 24, 7pm at Cocalico
#3 Cocalico 11-1 vs #5 Ephrata 12-1
It took Cocalico a half to get their potent Veer offense rolling. But once they did, it was all over for host Cedar Cliff who lost in the 5A semifinal to surging Cocalico 31-13. The win was their eleventh in a row. Cedar Cliff finally got on the board with 13 fourth quarter points that made a convincing loss look better on the scoreboard. Statistically, the Eagles controlled the game and clock with 422 yards of offense. 378 yards came on the ground with three players topping the 100-yard mark; running back Aaryn Longenecker with 148 yards and two touchdowns, Dane Horning at 123 with two touchdowns and quarterback Josh Myer with 101 yards. Myer also completed both of his passes for 44 yards. One, a 40-yard touchdown to Nathan Lusk. Cedar Cliff was held to 91 total yards of offense….!....and limited in their touches with only two possessions in the first half. Next up is Ephrata who also had an easy time of it defeating Hershey 47-7. It’s important to note Hershey’s star running back Angel Cabrera left the game in the third quarter with 73 yards rushing never to return with Ephrata up 13-7. Without Cabrera to slow things down, Ephrata rolled, scoring 34 unanswered points. Quarterback Sam McCracken had an outstanding game for the Mounts, completing 10 of 12 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Brayden Brown rushed for 99 yards with three touchdowns plus a 55-yard Pick-6. Jeremiah Knowles had six receptions for 143 yards and a score with Quintin Pfautz also getting a back-breaking Pick-6 of 51 yards. They held Hershey to 162 total yards. The win sets up a back yard brawl with Cocalico High in Denver 10 minutes north of Ephrata. Cocalico is going to be a tough out at home. They’ve already handled quality balanced teams like Manheim Central (11-1, 4A) 48-28, Lampeter Strasburg (9-3, 4A) 24-10, and now Cedar Cliff. They also gave Manheim Central and Wyomissing (11-1) their only loss of the season, routing Wyo 34-14. Only Wyomissing was able to top 100 yards rushing. While their vaunted Veer offense gets most of the credit, their defense is slamming people, holding all to 12.9ppg. The winner gets the winner of Cathedral Prep (7-3) vs Peters Township (13-0) game.
4A: District 3 Final, Nov 24, 7pm at Bishop McDevitt
#1 Bishop McDevitt 12-0 vs #3 Manheim Central 11-1
Bishop McDevitt scored another easy victory last week beating Lampeter Strasburg (9-3) 43-7 while holding the Pioneers to 120 total yards of offense. McDevitt moved at will on the ground for 252 yards and up top where Stone Saunders threw for 238 yards and touchdowns to Rico Scott (5/114/26-yard Td) and Chase Regan (3/31/4-yard Td). Maurice Barnes rushed for 126 yards with Nazir Jones-Davis rushing for 103 and three touchdowns. Kam Galloway added a 30-yard Pick-6 in the third quarter to close out the scoring. For the year, Saunders has 3182 yards passing at 69% and a 52/3 ratio throwing to Rico Scott with 1218 yards and Chase Regan with 1011 yards. The sophomore running backs Nazir Jones-Davis has 807 yards rushing with Maurice Barnes at 644. The win puts them in the District Final where they’ll face Manheim Central for the second consecutive year. Manheim Central got here following one of their most explosive offensive performances of the year defeating a solid, well coached Twin Valley team 65-28 at Twin Valley. The Raiders kept it close statistically with strong performances of their own gaining 450 total yards of offense; 158 passing, 292 rushing. McDevitt has to be salivating over those stats! But to the Baron’s credit, they kept them out of the end zone, holding them to 16.1 yards per point while they performed at 9.2 ypp. Quarterback Zac Hahn (2824-71%, 39/3) was hot, completing 10 of 14 passes for 160 yards while the ground forces shredded TV’s D for 438 rush yards. 438 yards! Running back Brycen Arnold (1633) was a machine with 368..!!..yards rushing and scores of 2, 40, 80, 1 and 19 yards. Hahn’s #1 target is Aaron Enterline with 1479 yards in receptions. Manheim made key half time adjustments allowing them to outscore Twin Valley 37-7 in the second half. This is a rematch of last year’s District Final where McDevitt won 40-0, holding Manheim to 64 yards of total offense. Both have more firepower than last year so buckle up! The winner gets the winner of Dallas (13-0) vs Bonner Prendi (10-2) game.
3A: Quarterfinals, Nov 24, 7pm at Albright College-D3 Reading
#1 Wyomissing 11-1 vs Danville 11-2, D4
Look whose back! Actually, they never went away, winning the 3A District title for the fifth straight year with another rout of West Perry 42-14. The problem beating Wyomissing aside from a great coaching staff and system is they run a lot of people at you. Thirteen had carries against Perry, running for 340 yards. As good as the Mustangs are, they just don’t have the firepower, depth or size to match up. While they have excellent skill people in quarterback Marcus Quaker, running back Brad Hockenberry and wide receiver Ian Gooding, they’re small up front. And that’s a problem against Wyo’s Caleb Brewer (6-5, 290, sr), Jordan Gwyn (5-11, 255, jr). Caleb Beane (6-3, 250, jr), Max Topton (6-3, 290, jr), Keaton Piacine (6-3, 225, jr) and others combined with a deep backfield. Danville out of District-4 is next. And this could be a good one if they resemble last year’s team (12-1) that lost to Wyomissing 21-19 on a missed 32-yard field goal with 8 ticks left on the clock. Last year’s team beat Southern Columbia, allowing a total of 74 points all year. They were a generational team, scoring 47ppg allowing 6. This year’s is good, but not at that level, scoring 42ppg allowing 11, with a 40-17 loss to Southern. But they’re here and a threat with a balanced team quarterbacked by Madden Patrick who throws at 65% for 3078 yards with a 46 to 6 ratio. Aaron Johnson heads the receiver corps with 56 receptions for 1395 yards. Carter Raup follows with 45 for 707 yards then Cam Kiersch with 30 receptions for 576 yards. Berwick transfer Bo Sheptock is a weapon with 1333 rush yards and 177 more on 14 receptions. One of their more notable games was a loss to Southern Columbia (12-1) 40-7, the team that comes closest to matching Wyomissing in terms of size, personnel and system; Wing-T, 4-4. The winner gets the winner of Northwestern Lehigh (13-0) vs Scranton Prep (12-1) game.
2A: Quarterfinals, Nov 24, 7pm at Dunmore High-D2
Camp Hill 8-5 vs Dunmore 11-2, D2
With a minute left in the game, Camp Hill found themselves at midfield facing a 4th and 1 against a combative West Catholic team clinging to a 26-25 lead. From the shotgun, quarterback Drew Branstetter took the snap, looked downfield then took off, dodging and weaving his way through defenders all the way to the three-yard line where he was finally stopped. Hurrying to the line of scrimmage, he hit Kobe Moore on a ‘quick out’ right at the pylon for the winning score. With their junior quarterback throwing for 318 yards and four touchdowns, plus rushing for 99 yards, the Lions were always in this one. Despite a 1-10 record, West Catholic had tight losses at the top of the season to Steel High 22-29 and Cardinal O’Hara 7-0. Camp Hill’s opponent this week is historic District-2 powerhouse Dunmore, fresh off a 41-21 pasting of Williams Valley. This year’s team is senior dominated with a veteran line averaging 254 pounds at 6-1/2, led by seniors TE Chris Conte (6-5, 285), Ctr Nick Tullio (5-11, 240), LT Nathan Reuther (6-2, 315) and RT Bryce Talluto (6-2, 250). The quarterback is Thomas Bowen (6-2, 210, sr), a three-year starter in a Wing-T throwing for 1022 yards. The lead back is Daniel Piggi (6-0, 165) with 1499 yards and good hands with 28 receptions for 482 yards. He averages 12.3ypc. Fullback Jacob Hickey (6-0, 215) is a load rushing for 571 yards, averaging 5.5ypc with Dom DeSando at 367 yards for 5.7ypc plus 13 receptions for 237 yards. Their only losses are to Mt. Carmel (9-3, 2A) 34-7 and Steel High’s opponent this week from Lackawanna Trail (13-0, 1A) 46-21. This is a hard-nosed, tradition rich team (175-45 since 2007) that will be very difficult to beat on their own field. But Camp Hill has a diversified enough offense and a quarterback to keep it tight if they are not outright overmatched physically. The winner gets the winner of the Southern Columbia (12-1) vs Bald Eagle (12-1) game.
1A: Quarterfinals, Nov 24, 7pm at Scranton High-D2
Steelton Highspire 13-0 vs Lackawanna Trail 13-0, D2
The Rollers got just what the doctor ordered last week, playing a road game in a hostile environment against a quality opponent that showed no fear; undefeated Northern Bedford County, 12-0. They play some mean football back in those hills where teams like Berlin Brothersvalley, Windber, Richland and Tyrone, spread through the mountainous areas of District 5 and 6 have won more than a few state titles and snuck up close to a few others. Bishop Guilfoyle of Altoona (43,000pop) has done pretty well too! This was no different when Northern Bedford kept Steel High off the board for the entire first half. That’s quite an accomplishment knowing they came in averaging 47.3 points per game. The combination of bad weather soaking the field suppressed the Roller’s potent air attack. Then in the second half when the sun came out, the Rollers got that passing game going with the PIAA’s all-time leading passer Alex Erby connecting with Durrell Ceasar for a 46-yard bomb to open the second half, and a 30 yarder moments later. Ronald Burnette finished things off with a 25-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for a hard fought 21-7 win. The opponent this week is Lackawanna Trail, winner of the LFC-3 with a veteran team that returned 20 starters. “Trail” likes to pound it behind a veteran line averaging 236 pounds. Like Dunmore above, they too had historic success in District-2, with a won-loss of 56-16 the last five years plus this year. Lucas Gumble is their leading running back with 1577 yards with Demetrius Douglas at 712 yards and Hunter Patterson at 564 yards. They just line up and come at you in a Wing-T behind a good line. And they play ‘title team’ defense at 8.8ppg. They’re the real deal. Their statement win came against Dunmore 46-21. The Rollers are far more diverse in their offense with quarterback Erby throwing to a variety of receivers with dependable Ronald Burnette to hand off too. They handled a more diverse offense in Northern Bedford last week, holding them to 59 yards rushing and 99 passing. They’ll need a repeat performance here to advance with this looking like another low scoring, tight game. The winner gets the winner of the South Williamsport (10-2) vs Cambria Heights (10-3) game.
Other Mid Penn Conference news: District 4 and 6 teams.
State College’s slide came to a halt at McDowell losing in the PIAA First Round 47-20. State College, a member of the Mid Penn-Commonwealth, lost three of their last five games to end the season a disappointing 7-4 following a 4-1 start. McDowell (8-4) advances to play North Allegheny (11-1) Nov 24th at North Allegheny High following NA’s 44-41 win against Pittsburgh Central Catholic who finishes 11-2.
Juniata (8-5), from the Mid Penn-Liberty Division, continued its playoff run in 4A with a 21-7 win at Meadville (9-3, District 10). This advances them to a quarterfinal game at Selinsgrove (12-0-1) in a rematch of a regular season game won by Selinsgrove 38-8. The Seals got here with a 28-13 win against Bethlehem Catholic (7-6). Hats off to Juniata on a nice run after opening the season at 0-3 with losses to top comp Troy (12-1) 56-21, Selinsgrove (12-1) 38-8 and West Perry (11-2) 39-21.
Line Mountain (9-3). Here’s the only team in the Mid Penn from District-4. They had a heck of a year winning the Mid Penn-Liberty at 6-0 as a 2A that included a 40-30 win against Juniata who continues to advance in the 4A postseason. Line Mountains season came to an end against one of the top 2As in the state at Troy (12-1) who was just eliminated by Southern Columbia 14-0.
