2023 District 3: The Playoffs, Second week
Games of 11/10-11.
The Playoffs
6A: The big guys kick off first round action this weekend with eight 6As finally joining the dance. Harrisburg is the defending district champ and state runner up to St. Joe’s with the 2 seed. But Manheim Township holds the top spot and rightfully so after waffling Harrisburg 38-6 early in the season.
5A: The Lancaster Lebanon League heads the group with four of the remaining eight entries. Cocalico is the defending district champion, having won it last year as the 12th seed. They’re 3rd this year behind #1 New Oxford, 9 miles east of Gettysburg.
4A: Defending 4A State Champ Bishop McDevitt is again the top seed in the remaining field of eight, but against a more veteran group this year.
3A: Defending champ Wyomissing again holds the top seed with wins against playoff 4As ELCO (8-3), Lampeter Strasburg (8-2) and 2A power Trinity (8-3).
2A: This is the district final with defending champ Trinity playing Camp Hill, both from the Mid Penn-Capital. If Trinity gets past bitter crosstown rival Camp Hill, not a given, they’ll make a run.
1A: Steelton Highspire. Heard of them. They’re out to defend their 1A State Title with the most explosive team they’ve ever fielded, averaging 47ppg.
6A: First Round, Nov 10, 11.
#1 Manheim Township 10-0 vs #8 York-William Penn 6-3
Manheim Township continued to impress last week with a 49-34 road win at rival Wilson to remain undefeated and win the LL-Section One title. Quarterback Hayden Johnson remains unstoppable, completing 22 of 26 passes for 275 yards with touchdowns of 14, 20, 13, 27 and 28 yards. He also rushed for a score. For the season, he’s at 77% completion percentage with 40 touchdowns and no picks for 2230 yards. Landon Kennel with 51 receptions for 876 yards and Nick Palumbo with 24 for 382 yards lead a deep receiving corps. Six receivers had receptions. Declan Clancy (5-10, 190, jr) has turned into a weapon, rushing for 144 yards; 881 for the season. The defense has matured up front, led by Julian Larue (6-2, 275, jr), sophomore Taylor Veilleaux (5-10, 220) and LBs Eli Rodriguez (6-0, 220, sr) and Clancy. Wilson was held to 82-yards rushing. And that’s the gist of York’s problems. Their defense is porous at 28ppg, 13th in the York-Adams with a young offense. Quarterback Najee Still (6-0, 180, soph) gets your attention at 63% for 1119 yards with a 11/4 ratio, as does another sophomore, Shavane Anderson (5-11, 185) with 1293 rush yards. The receivers are juniors Wa’Nieq Scott with 27 receptions for 503 yards and David Warde with 30 for 380 yards. They’ve got some weapons but faltered against the big guns, losing to Harrisburg 50-20 and Central York 37-6 and also South Western (5A, 7th seed, 7-3) 35-8.
#4 Cumberland Valley 6-4 vs #5 Wilson 7-3
Looking for a dark horse? Try these guys coming into the playoffs winning their last five games to finish second in the Mid Penn-Commonwealth. It’s notable two of the wins came against Central Dauphin (6-4) 19-14 and State College (7-3) 17-10. Holding CD to 14 points and State to 10 is always noteworthy! This is after a 1-4 start. They’ve been winning since quarterback Grant Shepley took over at halftime against CD. He’s at 57% for 415 yards to date. Seniors Bryce Staretz (6-1, 215) leads the team with 1265 yards rushing and is a force at linebacker. Sophomore Tyler Merrill at 6-5, 305 is the center piece of the OLine and is on everyone’s radar. Wide out Caiden Pines leads in receptions with 34 catches for 441 with four others making major contributions. Their average score the last five games is 27-14. What a game this is going to be with Wilson coming to town! We’re talking two of the district’s historic GIANTS. Like CV, Wilson survived a bad start, losing to Roman Catholic 49-14 then at home to Central Dauphin 36-35. The 7-1 finish was only marred by last week’s 49-34 loss to Township. But it did feature a second half comeback of 27 points to build on here after being down 28-7 at the half. Quarterback Tommy Hunsicker (6-1, 190, sr) is the point of attack, throwing for 2024 yards at 66% for a 23 to 4 ratio. He’s also the team’s leading rusher with 517 yards and eight touchdowns. Like many of the top teams in the district this year, everyone can catch. Edison Case leads the teams with 23 receptions for 506 yards followed by Madyx Gruber with 27 receptions for 451 yards. A dual threat weapon is junior Correll Akings, their #2 rusher with 449 yards and #4 receiver with 26 receptions for 265 yards. This should be one of the top games in the state this weekend.
#2 Harrisburg 9-1 vs #7 Cedar Crest 8-2
Harrisburg is on a seven game winning streak since losing to Manheim Township way back on Sept 9th. The run includes wins against Cumberland Valley 42-7, State College 20-0 and last week against Central Dauphin 47-21. Quarterback Shawn Lee is a lot of the reason they’re peaking, completing 12 of 19 passes for 153 yards and rushing for 168 last against CD. For the year, he’s at 1682 passing at 68% with a 20/3 ratio while rushing for 1022 yards and 13 more touchdowns. Running back Nehemiah Ewell (109/878) is a well-kept secret rushing for 146 yards as are receivers Elias Coke (37/341) and Quincy Brannon (28/420). The O-Line is always a team strength at Harrisburg and the defense is one of their best at 14ppg; big up front, athletic in the back. Cedar Crest, playing out of the well regarded Lancaster-Lebanon-Section One League (LL-1) with Township and Wilson, finished 3rd, and is having one of their best years of record. And they’re doing it with a modest offense averaging 108 passing a game and 186 rushing. Quarterback Jackson Custer threw for 957 yards at 57% with a shaky 9/8 ratio. He’s rushed for 310 yards. Fernando Marquez (6-2, 215, sr) is a load at 847 rush yards while Owen Chernich (6-1, 190, sr) with 30 receptions for 343 yards and Jack Waranavage (6-0, 190, jr) with 316 yards on 26 receptions are reliable receivers. The Falcons have some skills and did beat Northeast of Philly 24-0 and CD East 33-7. announcing this was a different year in Lebanon. But they’ll have to be at their very best to stay on the field with Harrisburg at Severance Field in Harrisburg.
#3 Central York 10-0 vs #6 Central Dauphin 6-4
Central York is going for a hat trick of sorts playing their third Mid Penn- Commonwealth team of the year, albeit in a rematch with Central Dauphin. They opened the season with a 45-35 win at CD, then followed with a 14-0 win at Cumberland Valley, also on the road. Impressive stuff! Thereon, they breezed through the remaining schedule by an average score of 38-8, wrapping up another York Adams-1 title after routing York High in the finale 37-6. They’re a big offense at 39ppg with strong support from the other side allowing 9ppg. Juelz Goff (Pitt) is their primary, rushing for 1458 yards with sophomore quarterback Brooklyn Nace completing 73% of his throws for 1297 yards with a 10/3 ratio. They’re a handful. Facing them is Central Dauphin. A roster check says how in hell did these guys lose four games? Maybe check the schedule that shows games against Central York 10-1, Wilson 7-3, Coatesville 7-3, State College 7-3, Cumberland Valley 6-4 and Harrisburg 9-1. At their best they beat Wilson 36-35 and Coatesville 35-13. Their worst shows a 47-21 loss to Harrisburg, a 45-35 loss to Central York and a 31-13 defeat to State College. The talent is there with quarterback Key’Ron Plummer (1043p, 415r), RBs Miles Copper (825) and Kyle McCullough (409) and the versatile Mateo Crummel with 49 receptions for 842 yards and 236 yards on 18 carries. The problem is on defense where they allow 25ppg against an offense scoring 34ppg. At 25ppg D, you better average 45ppg to compete consistently.
5A: Second Round, Nov 10, 11
#1 New Oxford 9-1 vs #8 Hershey 8-3
Playing out of the York-Adams-2 and as the top 5A seed, New Oxford had a bye week while Hershey battled for their playoff lives, rallying from a 21-0 halftime deficit to defeat Exeter Township (8-3, LL-2) 28-27. The difference was a high snap resulting in a missing extra point. But Angel Cabrera and Derek Guzman also ran roughshod over the Eagles with 175 yards and four touchdowns for Cabrera, while Guzman totaled over half of Hershey’s total yards with 113 rushing and 114 in receptions. New Oxford had an easier schedule than Hershey in the YA-2 but have done well with a road win at South Western (8-3) 41-27 and home wins against Bermudian Springs (6-5, 3A) 35-7 and capable but inconsistent Gettysburg (4-6, 5A) 38-20; the first two being playoffs teams. Meanwhile Hershey also defeated Gettysburg 36-35, Milton Hershey (5-6) and Exeter. They’ve been well tested playing in the Mid Penn-Keystone where they have losses to McDevitt (11-0) 42-7 and Cedar Cliff (10-1 or 9-2) 41-21. This is a tough spot for Hershey facing a balanced Colonial squad coming off a bye week. They’re undefeated against Pennsylvania teams with the loss coming out of state at 1A powerhouse Fort Hill from Columbia, Maryland, 49-21. Still like Hershey’s chances with that O-Line and a strong running game with no turnovers.
#4 Garden Spot 9-1 vs #5 Ephrata 10-1
Here’s one of those dreaded revenge-rematch games with the extra incentive of being a ‘Section’ rivalry in the Lancaster Lebanon-3, or the LL-3 as D3 people call it. Garden Spot was off last week getting healthy (rusty?) with the bye. At the same time, Ephrata was locked in an ‘all out’ with Lower Dauphin, surviving at home 14-13 where LD missed a 2-point conversion. The game was a dead heat in every measurable way. When Ephrata and Garden Spot last met, Ephrata had no answer for dual threat quarterback Kye Harting. No one has. He threw for 189 yards and rushed for 109 in a 42-22 rout in New Holland. That’s where this one is to see if the Spartans can mimic the pressure and coverage that resulted in Sam McCracken being held to 42% completion rate for 326 yards (!) while throwing two picks. Garden Spot dedicated most of their resources to stopping the run, holding them to 93 yards.
#2 Cedar Cliff 9-1 vs #7 South Western 8-3
Cedar Cliff’s only loss came in the middle of the season to division rival Bishop McDevitt 48-9. All others were won by an average score of 40-13. At 37ppg overall, they’re a big offense, powered by Eric Shriver’s 1283 yards rushing supported by workhorse Tyrail Hill’s 313 yards on 54 carries. Dual threat Bennett Seacrest (6-0, 190, jr) gets it done up top throwing for 1092 yards and rushing for 403. Nearly everyone on the teams can catch, led by Nathan Lusk (15/257), Julius Tirado (14/142), Owen Anastasi (12/112), Carter Enders (9/189), Mike Jones (8/115) and Blake Seacrest (9/102). Tough guarding that. South Western won their last six games including last week against 10th seeded Greencastle-Antrim (7-4) 21-3. The D stood out allowing Greencastle 184 total yards while Mustang running back Austin Rollman ran for 193 yards and three scores. At 1136 yards, he’s a key piece of the offense. The bigger option is somewhat overlooked quarterback Bryce Graham, a junior, with 1649 yards at 58%. Like Cedar Cliff, everyone can catch, led by Cade Baumgardner’s 26 receptions for 230 yards. Tommy Putnam has 18 snags for 380 yards while Declan Smith has 15 for 294 yards. Four others have at least 14 receptions for 591 yards including Rollman with 145 yards on 16 catches. At 15ppg, the D gets your attention as does their 35-8 handling of an explosive York High Bearcat team. Looks like another good one!
#3 Cocalico 9-1 vs #6 Conestoga Valley 9-2
Here’s another Lancaster-Lebanon face-off between the defending district 5A champ and this year’s LL-4 champ Cocalico, against the LL-2 runner up Conestoga Valley. While Cocalico was idle last week, CV was blowing out the 11th seed Dover (7-4) 40-9. Pass happy Dover threw for 200 yards but were held to 74 rushing. CV’s economic attack had 97 yards passing and 158 rushing, aided by Jayden Johnson taking the opening kick-off 83 yards for a touchdown. With the exception of Manheim Central who manhandled them 47-14, they are ‘lights out’ defensively, allowing 14ppg counting the Manheim Central loss. Key to that is two mobile DEs in Shymier Hernandez (6-4, 210) and Justin Corson (6-4, 215) with Soren Stoltzfus (6-2, 285) and Tal Stoltzfus (5-10, 220) inside. They forced Dover to go 30.4 yards to get a single point while they motored at 6.37 ypp! Cocalico comes in on a nine game tear after losing the opener to Warwick (3-7) 17-14. With a Veer that few have stopped, they make no effort to disguise their intentions, rushing the ball 435 times for 3232 yards while throwing it 34 times for 244 yards. Their leading rusher is Aaryn Longenecker with 952 yards (14.21ypc) followed by Sam Steffey at 741 yards, quarterback Josh Myer at 549 yards and Dane Horning with 539 yards rushing. While the ground attack beats you up, the D is suffocating, holding teams to 13ppg.
4A-Second Round, Nov 10-11
#1 Bishop McDevitt 10-0 vs #8 Milton Hershey 6-5
The marauding Bishop McDevitt Crusaders on a 24-game winning streak are coming off a bye week to play a team they beat 55-14 in the regular season! Milton Hershey beat Eastern York (7-4) last week 29-23. They’re not without talent as shown in wins against Susquehanna Township (7-3) and Lower Dauphin (6-5). The issues is inconsistency and a porous defense at 32ppg. For McDevitt, the mission is to get through Districts healthy and onto States to win a second consecutive 4A State Championship after easily winning last year’s title by an average score of 41-5, routing Aliquippa in the final 41-18. The teams they face in districts are the same as last year with the exception of York Suburban replaced by ELCO. They are all considerably better than last year with Manheim Central, Twin Valley, Susquehanna Township, Lampeter Strasburg and East Pennsboro all returning veteran teams. And while McDevitt did replace their entire offensive line this year, their skill people are some of the best if not the best to come through the school. Junior quarterback Stone Saunders is at 70% for 2550 yards with a 44/2 ratio. His running backs are sophomore Nazir Jones-Davis at 684 yards on 81 totes and Maurice Barnes at 81 for 429 yards, also a sophomore. The receiving corps is senior, led by Rico Scott with 58 receptions for 949 yards, Chase Regan with 32 for 852 yards and the big guy TE Nick Slogok (6-5, 240, sr) with 11 receptions for 157 yards. With an eye to next year, freshman Jontai Quick has 25 receptions for 284 yards.
#4 East Pennsboro 9-1 vs #5 Lampeter Strasburg 8-2
As the 4 seed, East Pennsboro had a bye last week as did Lampeter Strasburg at 5. The Pennsboro Panthers won the Mid Penn-Colonial that for the most part was rebuilding, while LS came in third in the rugged LL-4 behind Cocalico (9-1, 7-0) and Wyomissing (9-1, 6-1). There’s nothing about Pennsboro that wows you with a 6-point win against Milton Hershey and a 3-point win against Susquehanna Township. Then there’s the 28-21 loss to Northern (3-7). But they’re a balanced group with a senior quarterback in Keith Oates who throws at 57% for 2064 yards with an impressive 16/4 ratio. J.J. Gossard is solid at running back with 757 yards with Trey Good at 46 catches for 750 and Breckin Swope at 712 yards on 42 receptions. They average 32ppg while allowing 18. But Lampeter Strasburg looks to be a little more of everything, scoring 39ppg while allowing 8. Trent Wagner is a 64% quarterback passing for 1343 yards with a 19/4 ratio. His lead receivers are Damoj Gray (26/419), Dean Herr (19/412) and Drexton Frank (17/258). The leading rusher is Jonathan Mellinger with 1311 yards. They have four shutouts including 7th seeded 5A ELCO (8-3). They have all the markings of a team that can win a playoff game on the road and will be the best team Pennsboro has played this season,
#2 Twin Valley 9-1 vs #7 ELCO 8-3
Twin Valley and ELCO are both from the Lancaster Lebanon League. TV from the LL-3, ELCO from the LL-4 where each stand out for different reasons. Twin Valley’s massive line provided for two backs topping the 1000-yard mark with Drew Engle setting school records rushing for 1240 yards and Evan Johnson at 1043. Add in dual threat quarterback Evan Myers throwing for 1220 and rushing for 407 to see they’re a handful scoring 41ppg. Ephrata is the only team to figure them out, winning 52-33, holding them to 157 rush yards. ELCO, who has the league’s leading rusher in Jake Williams at 2233 yards rushing has losses to the 3A top seed Wyomissing (9-1) 28-14, 3rd seeded 5A Cocalico (9-1) 56-7 and the 4A 5th seed Lampeter Strasburg (8-2) 49-0. Where Twin Valley is balanced, ELCO is one-dimensional to a fault with only 51 pass attempts the entire season. But they’re coming off a first round win against Big Spring 34-7 where they ran all over the Bulldogs for 391 yards.
#3 Manheim Central 9-1 vs #6 Susquehanna Township 7-3
Perennial historic state power Manheim Central had a bye last week. Since losing to Cocalico 48-28 week #3, they’ve caught fire, winning their last seven games by an average score of 46-6. This includes wins against the top teams on their schedule in Exeter (8-3) 42-14 and Conestoga Valley (9-2) 47-14. They are rolling! Quarterback Zac Hahn is having a year like Saunders at McDevitt, completing 70% of his throws for 2302 yards with a 33/2 ratio. His receivers are top shelf in Aaron Enterline (62/1245), Bode Sipel (47/537), and the multi-talented Brycen Arnold with 20 receptions for 229 yards and 1266 yards rushing. The Barons are stacked. Their opponent, Susquehanna Township, hasn’t had a year like this since 2015’s 10-4 team beat Bishop McDevitt in the regular season and Manheim Central in the district semi before losing to McDevitt in the rematch-final. Susquehanna Township will be one of the most talented and balanced teams the Barons played this year. Ditto for Hanna who has two 1-point losses and a 3-point loss separating them from a 10-0 slate. Sophomore quarterback Torin Evans completed 67% of his passes for 2066 yards, throwing to junior Lex Cyrus who has 53 receptions for 903 yards and sophomore Jeff Kern who caught 33 for 383 yards. Capping this off is Dorian Smith with an 8.4ypc average for 1423 yards. Coming from the Mid Penn-Colonial division, those are respectable stats representing more firepower than Manheim has seen since week-2 in Delaware where they edged Smyrna-DE (3-6) 37-36. Hanna is new to all this and Manheim is a tough venue for the inexperienced. If they don’t freak out it’s a game. If they do, Manheim will crush them.
3A: Second Round, Nov 10-11
#1 Wyomissing 9-1 vs #4 Schuylkill Valley 9-2
This game mimics the game above as Wyomissing (LL-4, 2nd) is a historic power like Manheim Central, with Schuylkill Valley (LL-5, tied 1st), like Hanna, being the newish kid on the block, making the playoffs last year at 6-4 in a losing effort to West Perry. Before that they won 22 of 76 games since 2014. See last week’s write up on the Schuylkill Valley-Littlestown for more detail on SV. They routed Littlestown last week 45-21, playing their best game of the season totaling 602 yards of offense while holding the Thunderbolts to 128 total yards. Four players topped the 100-yard mark; Dominic Giuffre rushed for 225 yards and three scores, Logan Cammauf rushed for 133 yards and a score, wide out Kowen Gerner caught seven for 103 yards and quarterback Logan Nawrocki threw for 246 yards with two touchdown passes. About Wyomissing; they are flat out one of the most dominant programs in the state. Since winning the title in 2012 at 16-0, they’ve gone 116-23 counting this year with runner up trophies in 2020 and 2021. They went 13-1 last year, losing to Neumann Goretti (11-4) 20-17 in the semifinal. They’re still a power running team with nine backs carrying the load. Sophomore Chase Eisenhower (5-11, 215) with 789 yards on 104 carries is the lead back followed by freshman Justice Hardy (5-9, 160) at 410 yards on 46 carries. Coach Bob Wolfram throws a lot of bodies at you (Wing-T) with seven others getting 197 carries for 1583 yards. They average 296 rushing with a big line led by Caleb Brewer (6-5, 290, sr), Jordan Gwyn (5-10, 250, jr), Caleb Beane (6-3, 250, jr), Ayden Jiminez (6-2, 235, jr) and Keaton Pacino (6-3, 230, jr). Tough, tough spot for Schuylkill Valley as Wyo is a load at home.
#2 Lancaster Catholic 9-1 vs #3 West Perry 10-1
Lancaster Catholic returns to the postseason after a two-year absence in unfamiliar territory going 2-6 and 4-7. This followed back to back ten win seasons in 2018 and 2019 that stirred memories of their 2A state title in 2011 (16-0) beating Tyrone 17-7 and the 2009 group that beat Greensburg Central Catholic 21-4 in a blizzard at Hershey Stadium. This edition isn’t that, but they are solid with a 60% quarterback in David Stefanow throwing for 1226 yards with a 12/3 ratio. He throws to two primary receivers led by Josh Acker (30/657) and Charlie Warren (20/212). Elijah Cunningham is their breakaway and power threat at 5-9, 195 with 1636 yards on 175 carries. Brandon Wray supprts with 69 carries for 687 yards. They ended the regular season in a three way tie for first in the LL-5 with Schuylkill Valley and Annville-Cleona with a bye last week. West Perry comes in after beating 6th seeded Bermudian Springs (6-5) 42-21 last week. They’re from the Mid Penn-Capital where they were battle tested against Trinity winning 19-16, Big Spring, winning 38-35, Camp Hill 48-24 and Steel High, their only loss of the season, 33-12. Quarterback Marcus Quaker is one of the most dangerous dual threats in the mid-state completing 70% of his passed for 1563 yards and rushing for 1052 yards. Wide out Ian Goodling and running back Brad Hockenberry are the other weapons with both over 1000 yards.
2A: Final Round, Nov 10-11
#4 Camp Hill 6-5 vs #2 Trinity 8-3
This one is a revenge-rematch of a game between teams from the same division. Trinity finished 4-2 in the Mid Penn-Capital behind West Perry at 5-1 and Steel High at 6-0. Camp Hill was a distant 1-5, with one point losses to Big Spring 29-28 and Trinity 14-13. The game with Trinity was decided by a missed 2-point conversion on the second try after making the first one that was overruled because of a flag. Trinity’s star running back Messiah Mickens missed the game, being in and out of the lineup since the Wyomissing game Sept 8th. With or without hims they are a talented offense with quarterback Caleb Wray at 59% for 1278 yards throwing to a multitude of receivers including their running backs Christian Joy (14/210) and Mickens (13/173). Cole Cappawanna (12/231), Mike Johnson (12/163) and Tanie Young (9/112) are the leading receivers making the entire offense a receiving threat. The D allows 17ppg including the 35-34 loss to Wyomissing and 42-37 to Steel High. No one has overwhelmed them. Camp Hill has also been a problem for most teams scoring 29ppg and allowing 22, with a pass happy offense led by junior Drew Branstetter. He completed 63% of his passes for 2449 yards. Like Trinity, everyone can catch. The receivers are Alex Long (56/792), Noah Doi (51/756), Tommy Corbin (28/382) and Luke Becker (29/344). The versatile Kobe Moore has 436 (4.2ypc) yards rushing and 292 receiving on 27 receptions. Those two one-point losses separate them from an 8-3 mark while Trinity’s losses by 1, 3 and 5 points separate them from a 11-0 record.
1A: PIAA First Round States, Nov 10
#1 Steelton Highspire 11-0 vs #1 Belmont Charter School 3-6
Belmont is from District-12’s Public League where they play in the Liberty Division with West Philly, MLK, Boys Latin, Central and others. They are the smallest school in the Pub, coached by Terrell Brent in his first year. It was a rough season for them with a young team getting only three wins defeating Bristol, Central and Frankford. Looking at the schedule, it’s hard finding any games where the opponent even remotely resembles Steel High for comparison. Cardinal O’Hara (7-4) 35-6 and Academy of the New Church (7-1) 43-20 are the best teams played. MLK went 9-1 but lost to Pottstown? They average 11ppg and allow 22 against a weak slate. But they haven’t played since Oct 28th and will come in well rested and probably in better health. Steel High meanwhile was beating Halifax (4-7) in the district opener 56-22, in total control with a 42-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Alex Erby completed only 10 of 11 passes but for 223 yards and six touchdowns. With no disrespect to BCS, this one looks way out of range with the winner playing the winner of the District-5 final; Windber (8-3) vs Northern Bedford County (11-0) game.
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