District 3 Top 10: Nov 4, 2020
(Last week’s rankings are bracketed)
District-3 Playoffs
6A #3 Central York (7-0) at home vs #4 York High (6-0) Nov 6th, 7PM in the district final.
5A #1 Governor Mifflin (7-0) at home vs #4 Mechanicsburg (6-0) Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
5A # 3 Warwick (7-0) at home vs #4 New Oxford (6-0) Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
4A #1 Lampeter Strasburg (7-0) at home vs #4 Conrad Weiser (6-0), Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
4A #2 ELCO (6-0) at home vs Northern York (5-1), Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
3A #1 Middletown (4-1) at home vs #2 Wyomissing (6-0), Nov 7th, 7PM in the district final.
2A #1 York Catholic (6-1) at home vs #2 Camp Hill (2-2), Nov 6th, 7PM in the district final.
1A D3 champ Steelton Highspire (6-0) at home vs D4 Muncy (7-1), Nov 7th, 1PM.
1 Central York 7-0 (5), 6A
Central York vaulted to the top spot after quarterback Beau Pribula showed his many and diverse skills while almost single handedly defeating Central Dauphin on their turf 42-15. This one was as bad as the score indicates with Pribula dissecting the Rams, completing 76% of his passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. And that’s just half the story as he rushed for 150 yards and got five touchdowns. His ability to evade and throw accurate darts off balance was far more than the Rams could handle. It will interesting to see if anyone can! No wonder all the major college football powers recruited him, and he’s only a junior. Who said Pine Richland 2017? This one got out of hand early with the Central York taking a 20-9 lead into the half. The Rams stayed in striking distance until Jacob Tomb returned the second half kick-off 95 yards to bust it open, 27-9. You might have to be from the area to know how unusual it is seeing a score like that against Central Dauphin, especially at home. They got their yards, rushing for 224 on forty four carries. But the Panthers did a good job containing quarterback Max Mosey, holding him to 134 yards. They also left some points on the field with turnovers on CY’s 2 and 6 yard line that were deflating. Central Dauphin goes home with a shocking loss while the Panther’s go on to the district final against conference rival William Penn, or York High as everyone calls them. This year’s altered York Adams-Division One schedule prevented them from meeting in the regular season. Like Central York, York High is loaded with explosive players, especially in Jaheim White with 1225 yards in a shortened season. Sam Stoner isn’t Beau Pribula but he is a threat, completing 52 of 94 passes for 938 yards. You can’t load the box to stop White with wide outs Rashim Lee averaging 24.1 yards per catch with 14 receptions for 337, and Janis Simms at 16.9 per catch for 288 yards. Where York concentrates its firepower in a few players, Central York spreads it out with Pribula throwing to Judah Tombs (23/413). Parker Hines (17/282), Taylor Wright-Rawls (19/279) and Kyle Fontes (14/206). Isaiah Sturgis get the majority of carries at 65 attempts for 417 yards with Jahmar Simpson getting 237 yards on 22 carries and Raquel Dewitt at 228 yards on 22 attempts. With an offense scoring 47ppg, the Bearcats are explosive. At 42ppg, so is Central York, especially with a division one quarterback who showed what he can do against blueblood Central Dauphin last week. Defensively, York High has an impressive yield of 13ppg. That pales in comparison to Central York’s 4ppg average and again, what they showed against Central Dauphin, holding them to 14 points at Landis Field. Impressive!
2 Harrisburg 4-0 (2), 6A:
The Cougars have been side lined following protocol after a player contracted Covid-19, knocking them out of the top seed and playoffs entirely. Interestingly, NCAA colleges allow the team to play while quarantining the player. See Clemson vs Boston College last week and Saturday at Notre Dame. The PIAA knows something the NCAA doesn’t? Unless things change in the next few days, Harrisburg is idle this week, finishing up Nov 13th at home against Cumberland Valley.
3 Governor Mifflin 6-0 (3), 5A
Governor Mifflin is playing like one of the top teams in the state in any classification, taking apart a decent Berks Catholic (4-3) team 62-7. Barring a strange play where Cedar Cliff stopped a 2-point conversion to defeat the Saints 35-34, they are 5-2 with the other loss to Harrisburg 62-28. Mifflin beating BC by a Harrisburg-like score is notable. The win gives them their first undefeated season (9-0-1, ‘71) since the schools inception 66 years ago. And they are making mincemeat out of good programs like Wilson 48-7, Exeter 56-14 and Berks Catholic, winning all their games by an average score of 54-9. Makes a difference having what many are calling five D1 players! Against BC, the Mustangs scored on all seven first half possessions for a 49-0 lead at the break. Nicholas Singleton rushed for 186 yards, scoring on 1, 93 and 21 yard runs. Quarterback Connor Maryniak is having a solid season (17/30/370), directing the Mid Line and showing his versatility directing a 2-minute drill (!), completing seven of twelve passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Cranking out 454 total yards and holding the opposition to 145 yards is special in this district when the team/program is well regarded Berks Catholic. Governor Mifflin moves on to Districts at home Friday against the undefeated Mid Penn-Colonial champion Mechanicsburg (6-0). The Wildcats haven’t played teams near GM’s level but have a dangerous dual threat in quarterback Micah Brubaker who has thrown for 1018 yards (74%!) and thirteen scores while rushing for 534 more with ten touchdowns. He’s a player. They are primarily a ground pounder with Brubaker and Taylor Shearer who has 375 yards on 63 attempts. Nick Morrison is a deep threat of sorts booting a 41-yard field goal in a 43-21 win against East Pennsboro (4-2, Enola) last week. The Wildcats will battle early but likely be overwhelmed in what appears to be one of the very best teams in the state. Mustangs roll.
4 Warwick 7-0 (4), 5A
As suggested last week, Hempfield’s young team came to play, giving the Warriors their only test of the season before losing 34-20 in a hard fought inter-sectional game. The Black Knights were down 27-20 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter when Warwick took control with a 66 yard drive, scoring with 8:08 left in the game. This was a slugfest, with Warwick’s balanced offense producing 162 yards rushing, mostly on Colton Miller’s 117 yards, and 188 through the air where Joey McCracken completed nine of seventeen passes and threw three touchdowns. Hempfield countered with their outstanding junior quarterback Cameron Harbaugh (6-1, 190), completing 14 of 19 passes for 150 yards, one, a 14 yard strike to Jadin Jimenez. The team rushed for 132 yards, with Harbaugh calling his number 18 times for 58 hard yards, one, an 15 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Look out for Hempfield next year. Now it’s on to the 5A semifinal for Warwick in a home game against New Oxford (6-0). The Colonials are from the York Adams-2 with no notable wins although they beat typically strong 5A’s like York Suburban (4-2) 38-6 and Gettysburg (3-2) 5-0 who are both going through major rebuilds. They are a low octane offense compared to Warwick and won’t be able to match Warwick’s physicality, especially along the lines. Warwick simply has too many weapons and will roll to a sizeable win.
5 Central Dauphin 5-1 (1) 6A
Central Dauphin plummeted in the rankings from the top spot they’ve held since the preseason to #5 following their stunning home loss to Central York. RB/LB Timmy Smith had another fine game, rushing for 118 yards and catching 5 passes for 35 more. Shamarr Joppy rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries with Malachi Bowman pulling down five passes for 99 yards. Max Mosey completed 10 of 17 for 134 yards. Stats like those usually win the game. But not this time against a team of Central York’s caliber that dominated the Rams 42-15. The above players plus FB/LB Dan Ficca and well under rated backer Paul Clark will all be gone next season where the entire line backing corps of Smith, Ficca, Joppy and Clark graduate. The good news is the return of Max Mosey under center where they will again build a formidable offense hoping to mimic the levels reached this year that averaged 40ppg.
6 Lampeter Strasburg 7-0 (6), 4ALampeter Strasburg blew out overmatched Northern Lebanon (0-7) with a 28-0 first quarter followed by a 21 point second quarter to earn their seventh win of the season and a 63-6 victory over the Vikings. Nine different players scored touchdowns; six rushing, one up top, a Pick Six of 39 yards and a blocked punt returned 25 yards for a score. Sean McTaggart threw a total of three passes, one going for a 29 yard score plus two carries for 37 yards, scoring on a 21 yard run in limited duty. The D was lights out, holding NL to 100 total yards. Remember, this is essentially the same team as last year’s 11-4 team that advanced to the semifinal before losing to Thomas Jefferson with one major difference, quarterback Sean McTaggart. He’s back after going down in the opener last year with an ACL, coming off of an awesome sophomore season throwing for 1714 yards and 13 touchdowns, and rushing for 708 yards with eleven more scores. To date he’s completed 57% of his passes for 772 yards with a 14/2 ratio, rushing for 311 yards with seven touchdowns. Things ramp up for LS Friday hosting undefeated Conrad Weiser in the 4A opener. Weiser had last week off. They’re from the Berks League with a 6-0 record against a less than impressive schedule with a combined won-loss of 10-25. Copy that for LS whose schedule although weak, showed teams that were competitive; egs Solanco 3-4, Lebanon 3-3 and Ephrata 4-3. All totaled, their six opponents went 15-24. Weiser’s main threat is their balance (1207 rushing, 1121 passing) although it’s concentrated in two players, quarterback Logan Klitsch, completing 68 of 104 for 1097 yards (65%, 12/2 ratio) and rushing for 355 yards, plus wide out Aanjay Feliciano with 534 on 25 receptions. Stop either and you stop Weiser. With Bishop McDevitt (5-0) not making the playoff cut, LS has a reasonable path to the district crown, although ELCO has a veteran bunch and Weiser probably won’t go down easy. But they don’t have Sean McTaggart. Then they’ll play whatever comes out of Dist-2/Dist-4, likely Jersey Shore (7-0) or Crestwood (7-0) who should roll this weekend.
7 Bishop McDevitt 5-0 (7), 4A
McDevitt’s game with Hershey was cancelled when a Hershey player contracted Covid-19 resulting in the game being postponed until Nov 13th. They’re home against struggling Palmyra (2-4, 5A) Friday who will likely feel McDevitt’s wrath with the Crusaders just missing the playoffs as the sixth seed.
8 Wilson 6-1 (8), 6A
Here’s another team feeling the policy-procedure pain of missing States when Harrisburg was disqualified because a player got covid. This seemingly freed up a playoff spot that Wilson, with the fifth seed, would slide into. Makes sense, but no. District-3’s bright lights said that once teams were selected and brackets set, no team was allowed to replace another. Making a bad decision even worse, fourth seeded York High who was going to play top seeded Harrisburg, was allowed to win by forfeit, advancing to the final without playing a game. If you going to have a system that benefits whatever seeded team happens to be bracketed with a team that was DQ’d, why not allow the highest seed to benefit, not the lowest seed. Fortunately, the other 6A playoff teams did not have a player contract the virus or we’d have no playoff at all. Wilson certainly demonstrated they’d be a strong playoff team with their 40-21 win against Manheim Central. They also won a record 27th Section-1 championship but will miss the postseason for the first time in Coach Doug Dahms’ fifteen year career. Bummer! Quarterback Kaleb Brown put on another show, passing for 156 yards with touchdowns of 8, 41 and 31 yards. He also rushed for 243 more yards, scoring on runs of 80 and 4 yards. Wow! Jadyn Jones added 120 yards rushing, scoring on a 55 yard touchdown run while Troy Corson caught six passes for 70 yards, including a 41 yard touchdown reception to complete the Bulldogs’ 27 point first quarter explosion.
9 Wyomissing 6-0 (9), 3A
Wyomissing dominated Boiling Springs in the 3A semifinal with a ground game that pounded out 395 yards (9.4ypc) and a defense that held the Bubblers to 187 total yards; 85 on the ground. Jordan Auman ran for 104 yards including touchdowns of 32 and 50 yards, with Jason Gartner adding 88 more. Their big FB/MLB Evan Niedrowski (6-2, 240) got the tough assignments inside, bullying his way for 52 yards on nine carries with 1 and 2 yard touchdowns. 453 yards later it was all over with the Spartans prevailing 47-7, moving on to the district final in search of their ninth championship. But they’re have to go through their old nemesis Middletown in Middletown to do it. The Blue Raiders won their semifinal game routing Bermudian Springs (4-3) 46-7. Wyomissing beat them last year 24-21, with Mtown taking the previous three games in ‘16, ‘17 and ’18 before advancing to the 3A state final. The winner here plays the winner of the District-2 final between Lake-Lehman (7-1) and Lakeland (4-0).
10 Steelton Highspire 6-0 (10), 1A
Steelton Highspire found themselves in a war with Delone Catholic who fought tooth and nail before falling at home 23-13 in the 1A final. As good as the Squires defense was, holding the Rollers to a season low 270 total yards, they couldn’t contain their multiple offense. Freshman quarterback Alex Erby kept them off balance just enough, completing 12 of 23 passes for 120 yards to a talented receiver corps of Damein Hammonds (5/47), Tyrone Moore (3/45) and Mehki Flowers (3/22). On the ground, senior running back Odell Green (5-10, 190) combined speed and power to batter his way to 168 yards on 48 carries, scoring on runs of 7 and 17 yards. Defense was also big for Steel High, holding Delone’s top back Tate Neiderer to a season low 68 yards. He finished with 876 for the year while the Rollers held the Squires to 150 total yards. They should get to the state final with this group! Next up is District-4 champ Muncy (7-1) who won the district title three of the last four years after beating Canton 21-6 to avenge their only loss.
Others; Playoff games italicized
Mid Penn Conference
Hershey 5-0, 5A; Just missed the postseason as the No. 5 seed, at Manheim Central (2-5) Saturday at noon then home the following week vs Bishop McDevitt (5-0) in a game that will decide the Mid Penn-Keystone Conference title. Should be an interesting game with the Barons in Manheim.
Middletown 4-1, 3A; Throttled Bermudian Springs (4-3) 46-7 last week in the district semifinal where Tymir Jackson (5-10, 220) punished Bermudian on 23 carries for 195 yards, scoring on runs of 4, 3, 55, 2 and 3 yards. The Blue Raider defense had one of their best games this season holding the Eagles to 95 total yards. Wyomissing is next in Middletown where the Raiders will look to avenge last year’s 24-21 loss.
Mechanicsburg 6-0, 5A; The Wildcats handled East Pennsboro (3-4) 40-28 in a regular season game to lock up the Mid Penn-Colonial Division and advance to the 5A semifinal against Governor Mifflin where they will enter a whole new universe.
Northern York County 5-1, 4A; Northern suffered a double loss last week losing a division game at Waynesboro (4-2) 22-0 and dropping out of the MP-Colonial race with Mechanicsburg. NYC didn’t have their heart in this one, showing 78 total yards of offense while Waynesboro had their way rushing for 222 yards. They enter the playoff Friday night at undefeated ELCO who will likely mimic Waynesboro’s success running the ball and then some.
Lancaster Lebanon League
Manheim Township 5-2, 6A; Township won their fifth game in a row with an unexpected 41-7 rout of Cocalico (4-3). Cocalico was in a tough spot losing the week before at Warwick 49-14. The Blue Streaks have been on fire since losing season opening games to LaSalle (4-1) of the Philadelphia Catholic League 35-27 and LL-Section 1 winner Wilson (6-1) 31-28. They’ll go for their sixth straight at Pennsbury (0-5) Friday.
ELCO 6-0, 4A; The Raiders were idle last week while their opponent Northern York in the 4A semifinal was losing 22-0 in the cold and rain at Waynesboro. Not the best way to enter a postseason playoff game at ELCO who won the LL-Section 4 this year. They’re a veteran team with an All Stater in dual threat Qb Braden Bohannon, a three year starter. Coach Bob Miller runs the Split Veer behind a veteran OL of Ben Wargo 6-0 245, Logan Tice 5-11 255, Owen Kahl 6-1 200, center Nate Hensen 5-11 200 and newcomer sophomore Colin Daub 6-4 280. Running the Split Veer means they bash you with a committee of backs headed by the quarterback with 802 yards on 110 carries, followed by Jake Williams (46/512), his brother Luke Williams (46/325), Cam Martin (31/225) and Cole Thomas (19/169). Northern needs to bring it hard to beat ELCO.
Berks Inter-County Conference
Conrad Weiser 6-0, 4A; Weiser was idle last week but resume action Friday as the No. 4 seed playing top seeded Lampeter Strasburg. LS has a veteran group that is by far the best team Weiser has played.
Berks Catholic 4-3, 4A; BC lost to Governor Mifflin last week 62-7 and are at Donegal (3-3, 4A) Friday, to get their fifth win of the year.
York-Adams
York (William Penn) 6-0, 6A; Got a forfeit win last week against Harrisburg, moving them to the district final against York Adams-Division 1 rival Central York Friday where the Panthers are coming off a 42-15 semifinal win at Central Dauphin.
York Catholic 6-1, 2A; Defeated York Tech 41-16 in a York Adams Division 3 game securing second place. They move on to the 2A final as the top seed at home against Camp Hill (2-2), the 2 seed. Could be a long and fun one with YC’s soph Qb Levan McFadden (6-0, 165) throwing for 723 yards (43%, 21.26 per reception, 10/0 ratio) with De’Kzeon Wyche (6-0, 200) in support with 888 yards rushing. In just four games Daniel Shuster (6-1, 185, sr) for Camp Hill has 984 yards passing (53%, 11/4 ratio) with a long distance attack like Catholic’s featuring Cam Ochs (11/338) averaging 30.7 per catch and Christian Doi (9/221) averaging 24.5 yards per reception. These two get it down field!
New Oxford 6-0, 5A; The Colonials tuned up for Districts by tuning up West York (2-3) 49-14 in a regular season game. This week’s playoff game is at a whole other level taking on second seeded Warwick at their place. Third seeded New Oxford doesn’t play anything close to this caliber team in the York Adams-3. Upsets happen but they really have their work cut out for them Friday evening in Lititz taking on Warwick’s juggernaut. Good luck and health to all the teams playing this weekend.
(Last week’s rankings are bracketed)
District-3 Playoffs
6A #3 Central York (7-0) at home vs #4 York High (6-0) Nov 6th, 7PM in the district final.
5A #1 Governor Mifflin (7-0) at home vs #4 Mechanicsburg (6-0) Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
5A # 3 Warwick (7-0) at home vs #4 New Oxford (6-0) Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
4A #1 Lampeter Strasburg (7-0) at home vs #4 Conrad Weiser (6-0), Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
4A #2 ELCO (6-0) at home vs Northern York (5-1), Nov 6th, 7PM in the district semifinal.
3A #1 Middletown (4-1) at home vs #2 Wyomissing (6-0), Nov 7th, 7PM in the district final.
2A #1 York Catholic (6-1) at home vs #2 Camp Hill (2-2), Nov 6th, 7PM in the district final.
1A D3 champ Steelton Highspire (6-0) at home vs D4 Muncy (7-1), Nov 7th, 1PM.
1 Central York 7-0 (5), 6A
Central York vaulted to the top spot after quarterback Beau Pribula showed his many and diverse skills while almost single handedly defeating Central Dauphin on their turf 42-15. This one was as bad as the score indicates with Pribula dissecting the Rams, completing 76% of his passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. And that’s just half the story as he rushed for 150 yards and got five touchdowns. His ability to evade and throw accurate darts off balance was far more than the Rams could handle. It will interesting to see if anyone can! No wonder all the major college football powers recruited him, and he’s only a junior. Who said Pine Richland 2017? This one got out of hand early with the Central York taking a 20-9 lead into the half. The Rams stayed in striking distance until Jacob Tomb returned the second half kick-off 95 yards to bust it open, 27-9. You might have to be from the area to know how unusual it is seeing a score like that against Central Dauphin, especially at home. They got their yards, rushing for 224 on forty four carries. But the Panthers did a good job containing quarterback Max Mosey, holding him to 134 yards. They also left some points on the field with turnovers on CY’s 2 and 6 yard line that were deflating. Central Dauphin goes home with a shocking loss while the Panther’s go on to the district final against conference rival William Penn, or York High as everyone calls them. This year’s altered York Adams-Division One schedule prevented them from meeting in the regular season. Like Central York, York High is loaded with explosive players, especially in Jaheim White with 1225 yards in a shortened season. Sam Stoner isn’t Beau Pribula but he is a threat, completing 52 of 94 passes for 938 yards. You can’t load the box to stop White with wide outs Rashim Lee averaging 24.1 yards per catch with 14 receptions for 337, and Janis Simms at 16.9 per catch for 288 yards. Where York concentrates its firepower in a few players, Central York spreads it out with Pribula throwing to Judah Tombs (23/413). Parker Hines (17/282), Taylor Wright-Rawls (19/279) and Kyle Fontes (14/206). Isaiah Sturgis get the majority of carries at 65 attempts for 417 yards with Jahmar Simpson getting 237 yards on 22 carries and Raquel Dewitt at 228 yards on 22 attempts. With an offense scoring 47ppg, the Bearcats are explosive. At 42ppg, so is Central York, especially with a division one quarterback who showed what he can do against blueblood Central Dauphin last week. Defensively, York High has an impressive yield of 13ppg. That pales in comparison to Central York’s 4ppg average and again, what they showed against Central Dauphin, holding them to 14 points at Landis Field. Impressive!
2 Harrisburg 4-0 (2), 6A:
The Cougars have been side lined following protocol after a player contracted Covid-19, knocking them out of the top seed and playoffs entirely. Interestingly, NCAA colleges allow the team to play while quarantining the player. See Clemson vs Boston College last week and Saturday at Notre Dame. The PIAA knows something the NCAA doesn’t? Unless things change in the next few days, Harrisburg is idle this week, finishing up Nov 13th at home against Cumberland Valley.
3 Governor Mifflin 6-0 (3), 5A
Governor Mifflin is playing like one of the top teams in the state in any classification, taking apart a decent Berks Catholic (4-3) team 62-7. Barring a strange play where Cedar Cliff stopped a 2-point conversion to defeat the Saints 35-34, they are 5-2 with the other loss to Harrisburg 62-28. Mifflin beating BC by a Harrisburg-like score is notable. The win gives them their first undefeated season (9-0-1, ‘71) since the schools inception 66 years ago. And they are making mincemeat out of good programs like Wilson 48-7, Exeter 56-14 and Berks Catholic, winning all their games by an average score of 54-9. Makes a difference having what many are calling five D1 players! Against BC, the Mustangs scored on all seven first half possessions for a 49-0 lead at the break. Nicholas Singleton rushed for 186 yards, scoring on 1, 93 and 21 yard runs. Quarterback Connor Maryniak is having a solid season (17/30/370), directing the Mid Line and showing his versatility directing a 2-minute drill (!), completing seven of twelve passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Cranking out 454 total yards and holding the opposition to 145 yards is special in this district when the team/program is well regarded Berks Catholic. Governor Mifflin moves on to Districts at home Friday against the undefeated Mid Penn-Colonial champion Mechanicsburg (6-0). The Wildcats haven’t played teams near GM’s level but have a dangerous dual threat in quarterback Micah Brubaker who has thrown for 1018 yards (74%!) and thirteen scores while rushing for 534 more with ten touchdowns. He’s a player. They are primarily a ground pounder with Brubaker and Taylor Shearer who has 375 yards on 63 attempts. Nick Morrison is a deep threat of sorts booting a 41-yard field goal in a 43-21 win against East Pennsboro (4-2, Enola) last week. The Wildcats will battle early but likely be overwhelmed in what appears to be one of the very best teams in the state. Mustangs roll.
4 Warwick 7-0 (4), 5A
As suggested last week, Hempfield’s young team came to play, giving the Warriors their only test of the season before losing 34-20 in a hard fought inter-sectional game. The Black Knights were down 27-20 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter when Warwick took control with a 66 yard drive, scoring with 8:08 left in the game. This was a slugfest, with Warwick’s balanced offense producing 162 yards rushing, mostly on Colton Miller’s 117 yards, and 188 through the air where Joey McCracken completed nine of seventeen passes and threw three touchdowns. Hempfield countered with their outstanding junior quarterback Cameron Harbaugh (6-1, 190), completing 14 of 19 passes for 150 yards, one, a 14 yard strike to Jadin Jimenez. The team rushed for 132 yards, with Harbaugh calling his number 18 times for 58 hard yards, one, an 15 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Look out for Hempfield next year. Now it’s on to the 5A semifinal for Warwick in a home game against New Oxford (6-0). The Colonials are from the York Adams-2 with no notable wins although they beat typically strong 5A’s like York Suburban (4-2) 38-6 and Gettysburg (3-2) 5-0 who are both going through major rebuilds. They are a low octane offense compared to Warwick and won’t be able to match Warwick’s physicality, especially along the lines. Warwick simply has too many weapons and will roll to a sizeable win.
5 Central Dauphin 5-1 (1) 6A
Central Dauphin plummeted in the rankings from the top spot they’ve held since the preseason to #5 following their stunning home loss to Central York. RB/LB Timmy Smith had another fine game, rushing for 118 yards and catching 5 passes for 35 more. Shamarr Joppy rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries with Malachi Bowman pulling down five passes for 99 yards. Max Mosey completed 10 of 17 for 134 yards. Stats like those usually win the game. But not this time against a team of Central York’s caliber that dominated the Rams 42-15. The above players plus FB/LB Dan Ficca and well under rated backer Paul Clark will all be gone next season where the entire line backing corps of Smith, Ficca, Joppy and Clark graduate. The good news is the return of Max Mosey under center where they will again build a formidable offense hoping to mimic the levels reached this year that averaged 40ppg.
6 Lampeter Strasburg 7-0 (6), 4ALampeter Strasburg blew out overmatched Northern Lebanon (0-7) with a 28-0 first quarter followed by a 21 point second quarter to earn their seventh win of the season and a 63-6 victory over the Vikings. Nine different players scored touchdowns; six rushing, one up top, a Pick Six of 39 yards and a blocked punt returned 25 yards for a score. Sean McTaggart threw a total of three passes, one going for a 29 yard score plus two carries for 37 yards, scoring on a 21 yard run in limited duty. The D was lights out, holding NL to 100 total yards. Remember, this is essentially the same team as last year’s 11-4 team that advanced to the semifinal before losing to Thomas Jefferson with one major difference, quarterback Sean McTaggart. He’s back after going down in the opener last year with an ACL, coming off of an awesome sophomore season throwing for 1714 yards and 13 touchdowns, and rushing for 708 yards with eleven more scores. To date he’s completed 57% of his passes for 772 yards with a 14/2 ratio, rushing for 311 yards with seven touchdowns. Things ramp up for LS Friday hosting undefeated Conrad Weiser in the 4A opener. Weiser had last week off. They’re from the Berks League with a 6-0 record against a less than impressive schedule with a combined won-loss of 10-25. Copy that for LS whose schedule although weak, showed teams that were competitive; egs Solanco 3-4, Lebanon 3-3 and Ephrata 4-3. All totaled, their six opponents went 15-24. Weiser’s main threat is their balance (1207 rushing, 1121 passing) although it’s concentrated in two players, quarterback Logan Klitsch, completing 68 of 104 for 1097 yards (65%, 12/2 ratio) and rushing for 355 yards, plus wide out Aanjay Feliciano with 534 on 25 receptions. Stop either and you stop Weiser. With Bishop McDevitt (5-0) not making the playoff cut, LS has a reasonable path to the district crown, although ELCO has a veteran bunch and Weiser probably won’t go down easy. But they don’t have Sean McTaggart. Then they’ll play whatever comes out of Dist-2/Dist-4, likely Jersey Shore (7-0) or Crestwood (7-0) who should roll this weekend.
7 Bishop McDevitt 5-0 (7), 4A
McDevitt’s game with Hershey was cancelled when a Hershey player contracted Covid-19 resulting in the game being postponed until Nov 13th. They’re home against struggling Palmyra (2-4, 5A) Friday who will likely feel McDevitt’s wrath with the Crusaders just missing the playoffs as the sixth seed.
8 Wilson 6-1 (8), 6A
Here’s another team feeling the policy-procedure pain of missing States when Harrisburg was disqualified because a player got covid. This seemingly freed up a playoff spot that Wilson, with the fifth seed, would slide into. Makes sense, but no. District-3’s bright lights said that once teams were selected and brackets set, no team was allowed to replace another. Making a bad decision even worse, fourth seeded York High who was going to play top seeded Harrisburg, was allowed to win by forfeit, advancing to the final without playing a game. If you going to have a system that benefits whatever seeded team happens to be bracketed with a team that was DQ’d, why not allow the highest seed to benefit, not the lowest seed. Fortunately, the other 6A playoff teams did not have a player contract the virus or we’d have no playoff at all. Wilson certainly demonstrated they’d be a strong playoff team with their 40-21 win against Manheim Central. They also won a record 27th Section-1 championship but will miss the postseason for the first time in Coach Doug Dahms’ fifteen year career. Bummer! Quarterback Kaleb Brown put on another show, passing for 156 yards with touchdowns of 8, 41 and 31 yards. He also rushed for 243 more yards, scoring on runs of 80 and 4 yards. Wow! Jadyn Jones added 120 yards rushing, scoring on a 55 yard touchdown run while Troy Corson caught six passes for 70 yards, including a 41 yard touchdown reception to complete the Bulldogs’ 27 point first quarter explosion.
9 Wyomissing 6-0 (9), 3A
Wyomissing dominated Boiling Springs in the 3A semifinal with a ground game that pounded out 395 yards (9.4ypc) and a defense that held the Bubblers to 187 total yards; 85 on the ground. Jordan Auman ran for 104 yards including touchdowns of 32 and 50 yards, with Jason Gartner adding 88 more. Their big FB/MLB Evan Niedrowski (6-2, 240) got the tough assignments inside, bullying his way for 52 yards on nine carries with 1 and 2 yard touchdowns. 453 yards later it was all over with the Spartans prevailing 47-7, moving on to the district final in search of their ninth championship. But they’re have to go through their old nemesis Middletown in Middletown to do it. The Blue Raiders won their semifinal game routing Bermudian Springs (4-3) 46-7. Wyomissing beat them last year 24-21, with Mtown taking the previous three games in ‘16, ‘17 and ’18 before advancing to the 3A state final. The winner here plays the winner of the District-2 final between Lake-Lehman (7-1) and Lakeland (4-0).
10 Steelton Highspire 6-0 (10), 1A
Steelton Highspire found themselves in a war with Delone Catholic who fought tooth and nail before falling at home 23-13 in the 1A final. As good as the Squires defense was, holding the Rollers to a season low 270 total yards, they couldn’t contain their multiple offense. Freshman quarterback Alex Erby kept them off balance just enough, completing 12 of 23 passes for 120 yards to a talented receiver corps of Damein Hammonds (5/47), Tyrone Moore (3/45) and Mehki Flowers (3/22). On the ground, senior running back Odell Green (5-10, 190) combined speed and power to batter his way to 168 yards on 48 carries, scoring on runs of 7 and 17 yards. Defense was also big for Steel High, holding Delone’s top back Tate Neiderer to a season low 68 yards. He finished with 876 for the year while the Rollers held the Squires to 150 total yards. They should get to the state final with this group! Next up is District-4 champ Muncy (7-1) who won the district title three of the last four years after beating Canton 21-6 to avenge their only loss.
Others; Playoff games italicized
Mid Penn Conference
Hershey 5-0, 5A; Just missed the postseason as the No. 5 seed, at Manheim Central (2-5) Saturday at noon then home the following week vs Bishop McDevitt (5-0) in a game that will decide the Mid Penn-Keystone Conference title. Should be an interesting game with the Barons in Manheim.
Middletown 4-1, 3A; Throttled Bermudian Springs (4-3) 46-7 last week in the district semifinal where Tymir Jackson (5-10, 220) punished Bermudian on 23 carries for 195 yards, scoring on runs of 4, 3, 55, 2 and 3 yards. The Blue Raider defense had one of their best games this season holding the Eagles to 95 total yards. Wyomissing is next in Middletown where the Raiders will look to avenge last year’s 24-21 loss.
Mechanicsburg 6-0, 5A; The Wildcats handled East Pennsboro (3-4) 40-28 in a regular season game to lock up the Mid Penn-Colonial Division and advance to the 5A semifinal against Governor Mifflin where they will enter a whole new universe.
Northern York County 5-1, 4A; Northern suffered a double loss last week losing a division game at Waynesboro (4-2) 22-0 and dropping out of the MP-Colonial race with Mechanicsburg. NYC didn’t have their heart in this one, showing 78 total yards of offense while Waynesboro had their way rushing for 222 yards. They enter the playoff Friday night at undefeated ELCO who will likely mimic Waynesboro’s success running the ball and then some.
Lancaster Lebanon League
Manheim Township 5-2, 6A; Township won their fifth game in a row with an unexpected 41-7 rout of Cocalico (4-3). Cocalico was in a tough spot losing the week before at Warwick 49-14. The Blue Streaks have been on fire since losing season opening games to LaSalle (4-1) of the Philadelphia Catholic League 35-27 and LL-Section 1 winner Wilson (6-1) 31-28. They’ll go for their sixth straight at Pennsbury (0-5) Friday.
ELCO 6-0, 4A; The Raiders were idle last week while their opponent Northern York in the 4A semifinal was losing 22-0 in the cold and rain at Waynesboro. Not the best way to enter a postseason playoff game at ELCO who won the LL-Section 4 this year. They’re a veteran team with an All Stater in dual threat Qb Braden Bohannon, a three year starter. Coach Bob Miller runs the Split Veer behind a veteran OL of Ben Wargo 6-0 245, Logan Tice 5-11 255, Owen Kahl 6-1 200, center Nate Hensen 5-11 200 and newcomer sophomore Colin Daub 6-4 280. Running the Split Veer means they bash you with a committee of backs headed by the quarterback with 802 yards on 110 carries, followed by Jake Williams (46/512), his brother Luke Williams (46/325), Cam Martin (31/225) and Cole Thomas (19/169). Northern needs to bring it hard to beat ELCO.
Berks Inter-County Conference
Conrad Weiser 6-0, 4A; Weiser was idle last week but resume action Friday as the No. 4 seed playing top seeded Lampeter Strasburg. LS has a veteran group that is by far the best team Weiser has played.
Berks Catholic 4-3, 4A; BC lost to Governor Mifflin last week 62-7 and are at Donegal (3-3, 4A) Friday, to get their fifth win of the year.
York-Adams
York (William Penn) 6-0, 6A; Got a forfeit win last week against Harrisburg, moving them to the district final against York Adams-Division 1 rival Central York Friday where the Panthers are coming off a 42-15 semifinal win at Central Dauphin.
York Catholic 6-1, 2A; Defeated York Tech 41-16 in a York Adams Division 3 game securing second place. They move on to the 2A final as the top seed at home against Camp Hill (2-2), the 2 seed. Could be a long and fun one with YC’s soph Qb Levan McFadden (6-0, 165) throwing for 723 yards (43%, 21.26 per reception, 10/0 ratio) with De’Kzeon Wyche (6-0, 200) in support with 888 yards rushing. In just four games Daniel Shuster (6-1, 185, sr) for Camp Hill has 984 yards passing (53%, 11/4 ratio) with a long distance attack like Catholic’s featuring Cam Ochs (11/338) averaging 30.7 per catch and Christian Doi (9/221) averaging 24.5 yards per reception. These two get it down field!
New Oxford 6-0, 5A; The Colonials tuned up for Districts by tuning up West York (2-3) 49-14 in a regular season game. This week’s playoff game is at a whole other level taking on second seeded Warwick at their place. Third seeded New Oxford doesn’t play anything close to this caliber team in the York Adams-3. Upsets happen but they really have their work cut out for them Friday evening in Lititz taking on Warwick’s juggernaut. Good luck and health to all the teams playing this weekend.
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