Districts 3, 4, 5, 6
16 Central York 6A 7-1
It’s that time of year where the contenders separate from pretenders, finding who can handle myriad injuries and pressure cooker settings of playoff-like division games, particularly on the road. That’s the case in the York-Adams where 4 teams were deadlocked in a 1st place tie with a third of the season to go. Northeastern played a respectable slate of teams against Mifflin County and Dallastown on the road with tough Solanco and Red Lion coming to Manchester. Unfortunately, that’s where they got everyone’s attention, upsetting Red Lion 23-16, including that of Central York who lost to Red Lion 56-28 a few weeks before. Needless to say the Panthers didn’t overlook the Bobcats as evidenced by their 448 yards of offense on the road against a competent team. Delaware commit Qb Cade Pribula had the laser focus as well, completing 13 of 19 passes for 319 yards. He has two speedy deep threats in Taylor Wright Rawls (755 yards) who had 6 receptions for 160 yards and Saahir Cornelius (695) who had 2 for 76 yards, along with a sure handed TE in Reid Hershiner (284 yards). G/DE Ian McNaughton, a 6-1, 210 junior, got in on the fun in their power package scoring on a 1-yd plunge as the Panthers rolled 44-9. Central’s final two games, as the current 3rd seed, will test them at home vs Dallastown (5-3) then away at York (7-1) to close things out.
17 York (William Penn) 5A 7-1
4th seeded York bounced back from the 21-20 loss at Red Lion with an easy win at home against winless South Western, 49-21. With their lead rusher Dayjure Stewart leaving the game early, Tobee Stokes (5-10, 160, jr) got the call and came through with 204 yards rushing on 25 carries for 4 touchdowns. They travel to Northeastern (4-4) Friday to see if the Bobcats have anything left after last week’s 44-9 loss to Central York. That’s a tall order for the Bobcats trying to hold on to the 13th seed vs the quick and talented Bearcat attack.
18 Dallastown 6A 5-3
First year Coach Ron Miller is having quite a year with his young group hanging in the playoff picture in the 8th slot and coming off a powerful 63-24 win at Spring Grove. Everyone got in on the action with the score 56-12 at the half. Running back Nyzair Smith continued to impress gaining 398 yards with 3 touchdowns. But there are no more easy games left for Dtown with Central York and Red Lion remaining on the schedule. They’re at Central York Friday who apart from reeling off 4 straight since losing to Red Lion is also looking for a high seed in the postseason. This is the Wildcats last home game of the regular season where you know they’ll be pumped.
19 Susquehanna Township 4A 6-2
Susquehanna Township got their 6th straight win, defeating Red Land 42-7 to keep pace with Cedar Cliff atop the Keystone at 4-0. They also currently have the 4th seed. Like many teams, they’ve shown steady progress over the last 8 weeks and are not the same group that took the field for opening losses to Manheim Central and Milton Hershey. Central is Central but Milton Hershey might not want a return visit against the team they edged 7 weeks ago 14-8. They could get a rematch in Districts. Hanna held Red Land to 12-1st downs and 106 yards rushing, while featuring a balanced attack that rushed for 208 yards and threw for 113. A 21-0 1st quarter knocked the Patriots lights out when Rexroth Garced had a 56 yard touchdown (jet sweep) followed by his 56 yard punt return for another score. Great scheduling this year sees Cedar Cliff (4-0, 6-2) traveling to Harrisburg Friday night in a game whose outcome will crown the Mid Penn Keystone champ. The Colts won last year 17-14 in Camp Hill but its a lot different taking on the North Side guys this time of year at their place.
20 Governor Mifflin 5A 5-3
Freshman running back Nick Singleton ran for 22, 90 and 63 yard touchdowns as the Mustangs overwhelmed Lower Dauphin 21-0 in the 1st quarter on the way to a 48-7 non-conference win. This was their 5th straight win, fueled in part by the freshman’s development and a maturing offensive line averaging 6-1, 245. But how about this freshman, scooting for 245 yards (!) on 11 carries, taking his total to 1048 yards for the year. Here’s another bit of fortunate scheduling that sees Governor Mifflin, 4-0 in the Berks-1, playing Exeter, 3-1 and Conrad Weiser 5-0 the last two games of the regular season. They’re at rival Exeter Friday who is another one of those teams, with narrow road losses to Spring Ford, 33-27 in overtime and Weiser 23-12 preventing a 7-1 record. They lost the opener to Berks Catholic 31-7. Looks like one of the better games this week and a toss-up with Exeter (16th seed) coming on strong with their up tempo attack fighting for a playoff spot, as are the Mustangs at the 11th slot.
21 Conrad Weiser 4A 6-2
Weiser responded to the road loss last week at Susquehanna Township with a 49-23 win against Reading. Alex McKenzie was their big gun throwing 4 touchdowns while completing 10 of 13 passes for 134 yards. Their Total O of 312 was a tribute to a 1-8 Reading squad who hung tough, getting 302 total yards of their own, and the Scouts being a little banged up from the game last week. Who isn’t banged up this time of year? Muhlenberg is next and are just what the doctor ordered at 0-8, allowing for a number of starters to recover with the big road game at Governor Mifflin the following week. CW is currently slotted 5th behind Berks Catholic.
22 Exeter Township 5A 5-3
Twin Valley had no answer for Exeter’s up-tempo offense, falling behind 26-0 in the 1st quarter with no offense of their own to respond. The Eagles were flying all over the field, holding TV to 62 yards of offense while they pounded out 262 on the ground. Steven Rose rushed for 110 yards with Jeremiah Nixon getting 90 on 12 carries. Kolby Haag took care of the air lanes completing 10 of 12 passes for 148 yards and 5 touchdowns. When the dust settled, Exeter (16th seed) had a 54-0 Berks Inter County-Section 1 win (3-1) and 410 total yards of offense. They’ve got a showdown Friday at home against Section-1 kingpin Governor Mifflin who beat them last year 28-14.
23 Mount Carmel 2A 6-2
The winningest team in Pennsylvania got their 3rd in a row last week when they easily defeated South Williamsport (4-4) 55-15. About South, if it wasn’t for a difficult schedule, they wouldn’t have one, with losses coming against 6-2 Muncy, 8-0 Southern Columbia, 5-3 Central Columbia and MCA last week. The same can be said for the Red Tornadoes with losses to Southern and North Schuylkill (7-1, 3A, D-11). But they’ll be a load in the postseason with big Tom Reisinger at 6-4, 210 under center and running back Johnny Ayres 5-10, 190 (938 rushing) behind a large and veteran line. Excluding the loss to Southern, they’re allowing 12ppg. Bloomsburg (5-3) is next on the road before Shamokin.
24 Milton Hershey 4A 7-1
What a great win for Milton Hershey going to Palmyra for a 28-14 decision while maintaining the 2 seed for the 4A District-3 playoffs. Palmyra was held to 194 yards of offense while Na’eem Cross had 142 rushing himself, with teammate Chiago Anyanwu getting 80 yards on 6 carries. They are one of the top tandems in the Mid Penn, right with Middletown’s duo. Quarterback Tigere Mavesere went 4 of 4 for 88 yards. Defensively DT Josiah Gibbs at 5-10 230 plugs things up and leads a veteran defensive front. This is a nice veteran team whose only loss was to Middletown 32-21. They are currently seeded 2nd, home to 1-7 Camp Hill Friday.
25 Hempfield 6A 4-4
Hempfield won 3 of their last 4 with last week’s 37-6 win against McCaskey allowing them to salvage a 1-3 start. Nice job by Coach Ron Zieber as things could have gone south playing in the Lancaster Lebanon’s Section-1 with a non-conference slate of Manheim Central, Central York, Dallastown and Lampeter Strasburg. Running back Matt Hueston gained 149 of their 236 yards rushing with the defense in shut down mode holding JPM to 88 yards rushing and 54 passing. Penn Manor (1-7) is next in Landisville for the Black Knights first home game since September 21st. They’re presently on the outside looking in with the 9th seed.
26 Shippensburg 5A 7-1
Rivals Shippensburg and Northern got together for a Mid Penn-Colonial showdown last week in Shippensburg where a major defensive struggle ensued until the very end when star running back Adam Houser plunged into the end zone in the 4th quarter for the only score of the game. He ended with 104 yards on 22 carries with Jacob Loy adding 102 yards on 20 attempts. Ship’s offense had 17-1st downs to Northern’s 6. Nothing came easy with the Greyhounds gaining 252 total yards to Northern’s 151, benefitting with 2 Polar Bear turnovers. This was a big win for the Hounds, keeping them atop the Colonial at 4-1 with Mifflin County and West Perry at 3-1. Northern falls to 2-2 with Waynesboro but has the 12th seed. They’re at 1-7 Red Land Friday, currently holding the 3 seed behind Manheim Central and Cocalico.
27 Lancaster Catholic 4A 8-0
Northern Lebanon found themselves in a 35-7 hole at halftime, something you can’t do with LC’s active defense allowing 211 yards a game, 2nd in the LL behind Manheim Central. Terrance Derr threw enough to keep Northern honest, completing 5 of 9 for 87 yards with the running backs doing the real damage, rushing for 294 yards. Gavin Sullivan and Jeffrey Harley are their big guns with Sullivan getting 89 yards on 10 carries. With a total yardage advantage of 381 to 133, you know the subs took over early as the Crusaders won easily, 52-7, to remain atop the LL-2 at 7-0 ahead of Elco at 6-1. They’re at Donegal (5-3 Mt. Joy) whose coming off a 35-14 win against Annville Cleona, fighting for a 4A playoffs spot with the 10th seed.
28 Delone Catholic 2A 8-0
Quarterback Evan Brady threw for 146 yards and 3 touchdown passes with Logan Brown having touchdown runs of 8, 44 and 45 yards plus a 6 yard TD reception as the Squires blew past Fairfield’s 1-6 Green Knights 57-3. Kind of sad seeing a little school like Fairfield (pop. 535) field just 21 players. It’s a beautiful place right at the base of Jack’s Mountain in the Blue Ridge, 8 miles west of Gettysburg. Delone travels to York Catholic Friday who is also undefeated, tied with the Squires atop the York Adams-3. It’ll be a war with Delone holding the top seed and Catholic the 2nd as they sort things out for the 2A District-3 playoffs. They’ll pack them in for the Squires and Fighting Irish.
29 Palmyra 5A 7-1
Palmyra dropped from 26th to 29th after losing at home to Milton Hershey 28-14. It was over at the half when they fell behind 21-0, making for a steep uphill battle with the Spartans holding all the cards behind a great ground game. See Milton Hershey above. Palmyra is still in the thick of things for Districts where they are currently 9th in a field of 14. They’ll cruise Friday at winless Trinity then finish on the road at Middletown.
30 Hollidaysburg 5A 4-4
The Golden Tigers rejoin the rankings with others dropping out and winning their last 2 games. The season has been an up-hill climb, opening with 4 Mid Penn teams including Altoona, Mifflin County, State College and Cedar Cliff, then undefeated Fort Hill-MD. Last week’s win came against one of District-6’s historic powers in Tyrone (4-4), 28-13. At 4-4, Hollidaysburg has faced one of the more difficult schedules in central Pennsylvania. Against Tyrone, Qb Brady Walters completed 9 of 13 passes for 133 yards, and has a 56% completion rate for 1284 yards. But his Td-Pick ratio is 11 to 9, making him a better rusher than thrower. He had 134 yards rushing last week on 19 carries and 488 yards for the year. They’re at home this week to 3-5 Dubois then finish the season at Martinsburg Central.
TIE
Solanco 5A 6-2,
Solanco defeated rival Lampeter Strasburg last week 48-27, jumping out to an insurmountable 34-7 lead at the half. LS had a decent passing game with Sean Taggert connecting on 11 of 22 passes for 251 yards and 2 touchdown. They rushed for another 141 yards. But Solanco’s Mules wear you done, pounding it 56 times using 5 and 6 backs, accumulating 425 yards rushing. That’s painful playing both ways having to face that. Their lead rusher is quarterback Joel McGuire who had 220 yards on 19 carries and 4 touchdowns. LS came back with 20 2nd half points but it wasn’t enough as Solanco won back the “Mike Jug” lost in last year’s embarrassing 46-0 defeat. They are currently 7th in a field of 14 for the postseason with the misfortune of playing LL-2 leaders and the #2 and #1 seeded Cocalico and Manheim Central to close out the season. They’re at Denver Friday against Cocalico.
OTHERS:
District 3
Mid Penn Conference
Waynesboro 5A 4-4, 14th seed with ot loss at Mifflin County, 8 point loss at Ship and win against Gettysburg makes them a threat. At West Perry.
West Perry 4A 7-1, holds 7th of 10 slots, 13-pt home loss to Ship keeps them down, home to Waynesboro.
Central Dauphin East 6A 3-5, on the outside looking in at #10 with Cumberland Valley and Central Dauphin yet to play.
Mifflin County 6A 4-4, won 4 straight after a 0-4 start. At Greencastle Antrim.
Berks Inter Country
Wyomissing 3A 7-1, 3 seed winning last 6 since loss at Pottsville. At Schuylkill Valley.
Lancaster Lebanon League
Elizabethtown 5A 5-3, 8th seeded winning 3 straight with Cole Patrick center stage completing 60% for 2133 yards, 23/5 ratio. At Lampeter Strasburg who is tough at home.
York Adams
York Catholic 2A 8-0, 2nd seeded Fighting Irish have a unyielding D at 10ppg but not like Delone’s at 5. Squires also score in bunches at 47ppg with Catholic at 29. It’ll be a war of undefeateds to decide the York Adams-3.
Gettysburg 4A 6-2, 8th seeded Warriors rolling with 5 straight behind high powered O that even McDevitt couldn’t slow (48-35). Ammon Robinson at 9.4ypc.
Dover 5A 5-3, 10th seeded Eagles lost to quality teams Shippensburg and Elizabethtown big, while Gettysburg poured it on to all comers at 41ppg. Winner takes the York-Adams-2 crown.
District 4
Playoff Note: Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A will participate; 2A gets 8 teams, the other 3 classes get 4 each. There are no 5A teams. If 6A Williamsport qualifies they will play in the D2 tournament.
Central Columbia 3A 5-3, Only losses are tight games (excepting SCA) to Mt. Carmel 6-2, Southern 8-0 and Danville 7-1. Home to Lewisburg.
Danville 3A 7-1, won 6 straight since 1 point upset by Loyalsock. Strong soph Qb Riley at 1592 yds, 59%, 17/5. Home to Selinsgrove.
Williamsport 6A 5-3, fell completely out of ranking after 3rd non-competitive loss of year, losing to Altoona 38-0, Berwick 41-17 and Delaware Valley last week 41-0. Home to Wallenpaupack (5-3), a veteran team that’s a 1 and 2-pt loss away from 7-1; competitive loss to D2 power Valley View (8-0, 4A).
District 5 and 6
http://district5.piaa.org/sports/index.html
http://www.piaad6.org/6fbpage.htm
Ligonier Valley D6 2A 8-0, Another powerful team from D6, going 44-5 the last 4 years, overwhelming teams again this year by an average score of 51-10. At Blairsville.
Richland Township D6 2A 8-0, Carbon copy of Ligonier Valley, unchallenged by an average score of 47-11. Home to Penn Cambria.
Chestnut Ridge D5 2A 8-0, Not as large at 29ppg Ligonier or Richland offensively but impervious defensively, allowing 8ppg. Tough ending at Bishop Guilfoyle then home to Richland Twp.
16 Central York 6A 7-1
It’s that time of year where the contenders separate from pretenders, finding who can handle myriad injuries and pressure cooker settings of playoff-like division games, particularly on the road. That’s the case in the York-Adams where 4 teams were deadlocked in a 1st place tie with a third of the season to go. Northeastern played a respectable slate of teams against Mifflin County and Dallastown on the road with tough Solanco and Red Lion coming to Manchester. Unfortunately, that’s where they got everyone’s attention, upsetting Red Lion 23-16, including that of Central York who lost to Red Lion 56-28 a few weeks before. Needless to say the Panthers didn’t overlook the Bobcats as evidenced by their 448 yards of offense on the road against a competent team. Delaware commit Qb Cade Pribula had the laser focus as well, completing 13 of 19 passes for 319 yards. He has two speedy deep threats in Taylor Wright Rawls (755 yards) who had 6 receptions for 160 yards and Saahir Cornelius (695) who had 2 for 76 yards, along with a sure handed TE in Reid Hershiner (284 yards). G/DE Ian McNaughton, a 6-1, 210 junior, got in on the fun in their power package scoring on a 1-yd plunge as the Panthers rolled 44-9. Central’s final two games, as the current 3rd seed, will test them at home vs Dallastown (5-3) then away at York (7-1) to close things out.
17 York (William Penn) 5A 7-1
4th seeded York bounced back from the 21-20 loss at Red Lion with an easy win at home against winless South Western, 49-21. With their lead rusher Dayjure Stewart leaving the game early, Tobee Stokes (5-10, 160, jr) got the call and came through with 204 yards rushing on 25 carries for 4 touchdowns. They travel to Northeastern (4-4) Friday to see if the Bobcats have anything left after last week’s 44-9 loss to Central York. That’s a tall order for the Bobcats trying to hold on to the 13th seed vs the quick and talented Bearcat attack.
18 Dallastown 6A 5-3
First year Coach Ron Miller is having quite a year with his young group hanging in the playoff picture in the 8th slot and coming off a powerful 63-24 win at Spring Grove. Everyone got in on the action with the score 56-12 at the half. Running back Nyzair Smith continued to impress gaining 398 yards with 3 touchdowns. But there are no more easy games left for Dtown with Central York and Red Lion remaining on the schedule. They’re at Central York Friday who apart from reeling off 4 straight since losing to Red Lion is also looking for a high seed in the postseason. This is the Wildcats last home game of the regular season where you know they’ll be pumped.
19 Susquehanna Township 4A 6-2
Susquehanna Township got their 6th straight win, defeating Red Land 42-7 to keep pace with Cedar Cliff atop the Keystone at 4-0. They also currently have the 4th seed. Like many teams, they’ve shown steady progress over the last 8 weeks and are not the same group that took the field for opening losses to Manheim Central and Milton Hershey. Central is Central but Milton Hershey might not want a return visit against the team they edged 7 weeks ago 14-8. They could get a rematch in Districts. Hanna held Red Land to 12-1st downs and 106 yards rushing, while featuring a balanced attack that rushed for 208 yards and threw for 113. A 21-0 1st quarter knocked the Patriots lights out when Rexroth Garced had a 56 yard touchdown (jet sweep) followed by his 56 yard punt return for another score. Great scheduling this year sees Cedar Cliff (4-0, 6-2) traveling to Harrisburg Friday night in a game whose outcome will crown the Mid Penn Keystone champ. The Colts won last year 17-14 in Camp Hill but its a lot different taking on the North Side guys this time of year at their place.
20 Governor Mifflin 5A 5-3
Freshman running back Nick Singleton ran for 22, 90 and 63 yard touchdowns as the Mustangs overwhelmed Lower Dauphin 21-0 in the 1st quarter on the way to a 48-7 non-conference win. This was their 5th straight win, fueled in part by the freshman’s development and a maturing offensive line averaging 6-1, 245. But how about this freshman, scooting for 245 yards (!) on 11 carries, taking his total to 1048 yards for the year. Here’s another bit of fortunate scheduling that sees Governor Mifflin, 4-0 in the Berks-1, playing Exeter, 3-1 and Conrad Weiser 5-0 the last two games of the regular season. They’re at rival Exeter Friday who is another one of those teams, with narrow road losses to Spring Ford, 33-27 in overtime and Weiser 23-12 preventing a 7-1 record. They lost the opener to Berks Catholic 31-7. Looks like one of the better games this week and a toss-up with Exeter (16th seed) coming on strong with their up tempo attack fighting for a playoff spot, as are the Mustangs at the 11th slot.
21 Conrad Weiser 4A 6-2
Weiser responded to the road loss last week at Susquehanna Township with a 49-23 win against Reading. Alex McKenzie was their big gun throwing 4 touchdowns while completing 10 of 13 passes for 134 yards. Their Total O of 312 was a tribute to a 1-8 Reading squad who hung tough, getting 302 total yards of their own, and the Scouts being a little banged up from the game last week. Who isn’t banged up this time of year? Muhlenberg is next and are just what the doctor ordered at 0-8, allowing for a number of starters to recover with the big road game at Governor Mifflin the following week. CW is currently slotted 5th behind Berks Catholic.
22 Exeter Township 5A 5-3
Twin Valley had no answer for Exeter’s up-tempo offense, falling behind 26-0 in the 1st quarter with no offense of their own to respond. The Eagles were flying all over the field, holding TV to 62 yards of offense while they pounded out 262 on the ground. Steven Rose rushed for 110 yards with Jeremiah Nixon getting 90 on 12 carries. Kolby Haag took care of the air lanes completing 10 of 12 passes for 148 yards and 5 touchdowns. When the dust settled, Exeter (16th seed) had a 54-0 Berks Inter County-Section 1 win (3-1) and 410 total yards of offense. They’ve got a showdown Friday at home against Section-1 kingpin Governor Mifflin who beat them last year 28-14.
23 Mount Carmel 2A 6-2
The winningest team in Pennsylvania got their 3rd in a row last week when they easily defeated South Williamsport (4-4) 55-15. About South, if it wasn’t for a difficult schedule, they wouldn’t have one, with losses coming against 6-2 Muncy, 8-0 Southern Columbia, 5-3 Central Columbia and MCA last week. The same can be said for the Red Tornadoes with losses to Southern and North Schuylkill (7-1, 3A, D-11). But they’ll be a load in the postseason with big Tom Reisinger at 6-4, 210 under center and running back Johnny Ayres 5-10, 190 (938 rushing) behind a large and veteran line. Excluding the loss to Southern, they’re allowing 12ppg. Bloomsburg (5-3) is next on the road before Shamokin.
24 Milton Hershey 4A 7-1
What a great win for Milton Hershey going to Palmyra for a 28-14 decision while maintaining the 2 seed for the 4A District-3 playoffs. Palmyra was held to 194 yards of offense while Na’eem Cross had 142 rushing himself, with teammate Chiago Anyanwu getting 80 yards on 6 carries. They are one of the top tandems in the Mid Penn, right with Middletown’s duo. Quarterback Tigere Mavesere went 4 of 4 for 88 yards. Defensively DT Josiah Gibbs at 5-10 230 plugs things up and leads a veteran defensive front. This is a nice veteran team whose only loss was to Middletown 32-21. They are currently seeded 2nd, home to 1-7 Camp Hill Friday.
25 Hempfield 6A 4-4
Hempfield won 3 of their last 4 with last week’s 37-6 win against McCaskey allowing them to salvage a 1-3 start. Nice job by Coach Ron Zieber as things could have gone south playing in the Lancaster Lebanon’s Section-1 with a non-conference slate of Manheim Central, Central York, Dallastown and Lampeter Strasburg. Running back Matt Hueston gained 149 of their 236 yards rushing with the defense in shut down mode holding JPM to 88 yards rushing and 54 passing. Penn Manor (1-7) is next in Landisville for the Black Knights first home game since September 21st. They’re presently on the outside looking in with the 9th seed.
26 Shippensburg 5A 7-1
Rivals Shippensburg and Northern got together for a Mid Penn-Colonial showdown last week in Shippensburg where a major defensive struggle ensued until the very end when star running back Adam Houser plunged into the end zone in the 4th quarter for the only score of the game. He ended with 104 yards on 22 carries with Jacob Loy adding 102 yards on 20 attempts. Ship’s offense had 17-1st downs to Northern’s 6. Nothing came easy with the Greyhounds gaining 252 total yards to Northern’s 151, benefitting with 2 Polar Bear turnovers. This was a big win for the Hounds, keeping them atop the Colonial at 4-1 with Mifflin County and West Perry at 3-1. Northern falls to 2-2 with Waynesboro but has the 12th seed. They’re at 1-7 Red Land Friday, currently holding the 3 seed behind Manheim Central and Cocalico.
27 Lancaster Catholic 4A 8-0
Northern Lebanon found themselves in a 35-7 hole at halftime, something you can’t do with LC’s active defense allowing 211 yards a game, 2nd in the LL behind Manheim Central. Terrance Derr threw enough to keep Northern honest, completing 5 of 9 for 87 yards with the running backs doing the real damage, rushing for 294 yards. Gavin Sullivan and Jeffrey Harley are their big guns with Sullivan getting 89 yards on 10 carries. With a total yardage advantage of 381 to 133, you know the subs took over early as the Crusaders won easily, 52-7, to remain atop the LL-2 at 7-0 ahead of Elco at 6-1. They’re at Donegal (5-3 Mt. Joy) whose coming off a 35-14 win against Annville Cleona, fighting for a 4A playoffs spot with the 10th seed.
28 Delone Catholic 2A 8-0
Quarterback Evan Brady threw for 146 yards and 3 touchdown passes with Logan Brown having touchdown runs of 8, 44 and 45 yards plus a 6 yard TD reception as the Squires blew past Fairfield’s 1-6 Green Knights 57-3. Kind of sad seeing a little school like Fairfield (pop. 535) field just 21 players. It’s a beautiful place right at the base of Jack’s Mountain in the Blue Ridge, 8 miles west of Gettysburg. Delone travels to York Catholic Friday who is also undefeated, tied with the Squires atop the York Adams-3. It’ll be a war with Delone holding the top seed and Catholic the 2nd as they sort things out for the 2A District-3 playoffs. They’ll pack them in for the Squires and Fighting Irish.
29 Palmyra 5A 7-1
Palmyra dropped from 26th to 29th after losing at home to Milton Hershey 28-14. It was over at the half when they fell behind 21-0, making for a steep uphill battle with the Spartans holding all the cards behind a great ground game. See Milton Hershey above. Palmyra is still in the thick of things for Districts where they are currently 9th in a field of 14. They’ll cruise Friday at winless Trinity then finish on the road at Middletown.
30 Hollidaysburg 5A 4-4
The Golden Tigers rejoin the rankings with others dropping out and winning their last 2 games. The season has been an up-hill climb, opening with 4 Mid Penn teams including Altoona, Mifflin County, State College and Cedar Cliff, then undefeated Fort Hill-MD. Last week’s win came against one of District-6’s historic powers in Tyrone (4-4), 28-13. At 4-4, Hollidaysburg has faced one of the more difficult schedules in central Pennsylvania. Against Tyrone, Qb Brady Walters completed 9 of 13 passes for 133 yards, and has a 56% completion rate for 1284 yards. But his Td-Pick ratio is 11 to 9, making him a better rusher than thrower. He had 134 yards rushing last week on 19 carries and 488 yards for the year. They’re at home this week to 3-5 Dubois then finish the season at Martinsburg Central.
TIE
Solanco 5A 6-2,
Solanco defeated rival Lampeter Strasburg last week 48-27, jumping out to an insurmountable 34-7 lead at the half. LS had a decent passing game with Sean Taggert connecting on 11 of 22 passes for 251 yards and 2 touchdown. They rushed for another 141 yards. But Solanco’s Mules wear you done, pounding it 56 times using 5 and 6 backs, accumulating 425 yards rushing. That’s painful playing both ways having to face that. Their lead rusher is quarterback Joel McGuire who had 220 yards on 19 carries and 4 touchdowns. LS came back with 20 2nd half points but it wasn’t enough as Solanco won back the “Mike Jug” lost in last year’s embarrassing 46-0 defeat. They are currently 7th in a field of 14 for the postseason with the misfortune of playing LL-2 leaders and the #2 and #1 seeded Cocalico and Manheim Central to close out the season. They’re at Denver Friday against Cocalico.
OTHERS:
District 3
Mid Penn Conference
Waynesboro 5A 4-4, 14th seed with ot loss at Mifflin County, 8 point loss at Ship and win against Gettysburg makes them a threat. At West Perry.
West Perry 4A 7-1, holds 7th of 10 slots, 13-pt home loss to Ship keeps them down, home to Waynesboro.
Central Dauphin East 6A 3-5, on the outside looking in at #10 with Cumberland Valley and Central Dauphin yet to play.
Mifflin County 6A 4-4, won 4 straight after a 0-4 start. At Greencastle Antrim.
Berks Inter Country
Wyomissing 3A 7-1, 3 seed winning last 6 since loss at Pottsville. At Schuylkill Valley.
Lancaster Lebanon League
Elizabethtown 5A 5-3, 8th seeded winning 3 straight with Cole Patrick center stage completing 60% for 2133 yards, 23/5 ratio. At Lampeter Strasburg who is tough at home.
York Adams
York Catholic 2A 8-0, 2nd seeded Fighting Irish have a unyielding D at 10ppg but not like Delone’s at 5. Squires also score in bunches at 47ppg with Catholic at 29. It’ll be a war of undefeateds to decide the York Adams-3.
Gettysburg 4A 6-2, 8th seeded Warriors rolling with 5 straight behind high powered O that even McDevitt couldn’t slow (48-35). Ammon Robinson at 9.4ypc.
Dover 5A 5-3, 10th seeded Eagles lost to quality teams Shippensburg and Elizabethtown big, while Gettysburg poured it on to all comers at 41ppg. Winner takes the York-Adams-2 crown.
District 4
Playoff Note: Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A will participate; 2A gets 8 teams, the other 3 classes get 4 each. There are no 5A teams. If 6A Williamsport qualifies they will play in the D2 tournament.
Central Columbia 3A 5-3, Only losses are tight games (excepting SCA) to Mt. Carmel 6-2, Southern 8-0 and Danville 7-1. Home to Lewisburg.
Danville 3A 7-1, won 6 straight since 1 point upset by Loyalsock. Strong soph Qb Riley at 1592 yds, 59%, 17/5. Home to Selinsgrove.
Williamsport 6A 5-3, fell completely out of ranking after 3rd non-competitive loss of year, losing to Altoona 38-0, Berwick 41-17 and Delaware Valley last week 41-0. Home to Wallenpaupack (5-3), a veteran team that’s a 1 and 2-pt loss away from 7-1; competitive loss to D2 power Valley View (8-0, 4A).
District 5 and 6
http://district5.piaa.org/sports/index.html
http://www.piaad6.org/6fbpage.htm
Ligonier Valley D6 2A 8-0, Another powerful team from D6, going 44-5 the last 4 years, overwhelming teams again this year by an average score of 51-10. At Blairsville.
Richland Township D6 2A 8-0, Carbon copy of Ligonier Valley, unchallenged by an average score of 47-11. Home to Penn Cambria.
Chestnut Ridge D5 2A 8-0, Not as large at 29ppg Ligonier or Richland offensively but impervious defensively, allowing 8ppg. Tough ending at Bishop Guilfoyle then home to Richland Twp.
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