All classes are 6A and District 3 teams unless otherwise shown; Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 9.
1 Manheim Township (10-0)
Manheim Township had no trouble with Hempfield, building a 42-0 halftime lead behind a balanced offense and shutdown defense to finish the season undefeated and winning their third straight LL-Section 1 title. They emptied the bench with 11 running backs getting touches on 35 carries for 185 yards. Quarterback Harrison Kirk had another outstanding performance completing 12 of 17 passes for 264 yards and touchdown passes of 67, 55 and 10 yards, led by Anthony Ivey’s three receptions for 113 yards. Hempfield was held to 80 total yards while suffering their first shutout of the year, 49-0. Township moves on to Districts as the 2 seed where they’ll play 7th seeded Cumberland Valley (5-5) at home Friday. The Streaks are a strong favorite here, averaging 419 yards per game offensively with a rock solid defense that has allowed 55 points the entire season and 126 yards on average per game.
2 Central Dauphin (8-2)
Central Dauphin struck early, scoring on their second play from scrimmage when quarterback Max Mosey hit Jackson Talbott for a 54 yard score, followed by a 24 yard strike to Nick Chimiente in the opening four minutes of the game en route to a 36-6 rout of Central Dauphin East. Mosey has been on fire, completing 24 of 32 passes for 436 yards the last two games. Defensively, they held East High to eight first downs, intercepted two passes and allowed 234 total yards. Nobody has stopped Bryce Baker who got 120 yards on 23 carries. The Rams defense has evolved over the course of the season, allowing 64 points in seven conference games! Knowing this came against Chambersburg (6-4, #8 seed), State College (9-1, #1 seed), Cumberland Valley (5-5, #7 seed) and Harrisburg (7-3, #4 seed) is quite a statement. The win secured the Mid Penn-Commonwealth title outright and the 3rd seed where they’ll host Cedar Crest (7-3, 6th seed, LL-1) Friday. The Falcons are significantly improved over last year’s 5-5 team put not ready for this level of competition knowing they lost conference games to Warwick (8-2) 34-14, Township (10-0) 62-0 and Wilson (9-1) 35-7.
3 State College (9-1, D6)
It was a historic occasion in State College Saturday where State High and Cumberland Valley met in the first high school football game held at Beaver Stadium since 1988. That’s when Pittsburgh Central Catholic and Cedar Cliff met in the 4A final won by Central Catholic 14-7. As mentioned last week, CV very often battles SC long and hard. This one was no different where the two slugged it out for a scoreless first quarter before the Eagles actually took a 14-0 second quarter lead, one coming on a Dontey Rogan Pick-6. State’s Qb Brady Dorner probably saved the day connecting with Isaiah Edwards on a 62 yards strike with just under four minutes left in the half, cutting the deficit to 14-7 and regaining momentum. Thereon SC rolled, outscoring CV 26-7 in a 33-21 win. Isaiah Edwards was their big gun, with two receptions for 112 yards and 48 yards on three carries. The Lions enter the postseason as the top seed out of District-6 (2nd in MP-Commonwealth) in the convoluted District 2/4/6/8/10 grouping (no D8 team) with a bye. They await the winner of the District-10 final between McDowell (8-1, #1) and Erie High (3-6, #2). McDowell throttled Erie in the regular season 38-8. McDowell’s only loss is to Cathedral Prep (8-2, 4A) 29-26.
4 Wilson (9-1)
Except for State College, all Top-10 teams won in blowouts by an average score of 48-14! Many were rivalry games that reflect the sizeable gap between the haves and have nots this year. Wilson was no exception, jumping out to a 49-6 halftime lead then cruising with reserves taking over in a 49-26 win against winless McCaskey. They eased off the pedal early using three quarterbacks, ten running backs and four receivers. Even so, McCaskey was held to 174 total yards (68 rushing) and threw three picks with Wilson’s first unit deciding it early with a 35 point first quarter. They move on to the District-3 playoffs as the top seed, edging out #2 Manheim Township where they will host 8th seeded Chambersburg (6-4) Friday. Wilson has the top seed despite losing at home to Township 30-14 in the regular season. Heck of a reward having to play multi-talented Chambersburg with weapons and speed all over the field while Township takes on one-dimensional Wing-T Cumberland Valley.
5 Harrisburg (7-3)
Harrisburg scored on their first play from scrimmage when quarterback John McNeil saw speedster Kamere Day (10.4/100) in single coverage and audibled for an easy 47 yard strike. Featuring an all-out air assault in the first quarter, Dione Kent and Travon Carey followed with 23 and 55 yard scoring strikes as the Cougars used their lethal air arm to bury Altoona early. Jaylon Hosby added a 29 yard run putting them up 26-0. After softening them up on top, Coach Everett went to the ground, pounding them with his lead back Jahmir Plant scoring on runs of 27 and 52 yards to break it open, finishing the game with 132 yards on just 6 carries as the Cougars overwhelmed the Mountain Lions 66-14. It was a rough return to the Mid Penn for Altoona, finishing 1-9 overall and 0-7 in conference. Qb McNeil completed 6 of 6 passes for 194 yards and 3 touchdown tosses. Total yards saw them at 490 to 113 on only 28 plays, meaning most possessions involved two maybe three snaps before scoring, sometimes one! Scary thinking this is a young team. Districts begin Saturday at home against the 5th seed Central York (9-1) who has not lost since August 30th at Cumberland Valley 13-12. Central is a young group with real talent that has yet to face a team at this level in a hostile environment.
6 Southern Columbia (10-0, 2A, D4)
Once again Southern Columbia overwhelmed another opponent beating Danville 49-6 for their 10th mercy ruled win of the year. Their D1 talent makes these games look like a small college team playing a high school team with most of the first units sitting early in the third quarter after attaining levels most teams reach in four quarters. Gaige Garcia (Michigan) rushed for 143 yards on 7 carries, with two touchdowns while Gavin Garcia rushed for 126 yards and two scores on 8 carries. Julian Fleming (Ohio St) caught 7 passes for 150 yards and 2 scores as quarterback Preston Zachman (Wisconsin) had an outstanding outing, completing 8 of 12 passes for 190 yards and 2 touchdown tosses. The defense that has allowed 26 points all year with 7 shutouts was dominating as always, holding the Ironmen to 104 total yards to SCA’s 578 (190p, 388r) total yards. The win was their 81st straight in the regular season and 42nd overall. As the top seed, they host 8th seeded Towanda (3-7) Saturday in the District-4, 2A quarterfinals.
7 Warwick (8-2, 5A)
Warwick had it all together last week defeating Penn Manor (3-7) 52-29, topping the 50 point mark for the fourth time this season. At 39ppg scored and 12ppg allowed, they are second only to Manheim Township, and ahead of Wilson. Joe McCracken accounted for 295 yards of their 423 total yards, completing 18 of 28 passes, two going for scores to Caleb Schmitz who caught 8 total for 128 yards and got a Pick-6 of 39 yards. Conor Adams had 8 receptions for 84 yards. Colton Miller has become a force rushing for 108 yards and 5 touchdowns on 24 carries. They’ll enter the 5A postseason with the 5th seed at home Friday against 12th seeded Mechanicsburg (6-4) of the Mid Penn- Keystone. With issues at quarterback and losses to Susquehanna Township 34-0 and McDevitt 42-7, it looks like a long night for Mechanicsburg against the explosive Warriors.
8 Central York (9-1)
Scary thinking Central York like Harrisburg is a young team that is already asserting itself in conference action and beyond (13-12 loss at Cumberland Valley week-2) by winning the York-Adams-1 outright with an easier than expected 35-14 win over York High (7-3, 5A, 6th seed). Sophomore quarterback Beau Pribula had three rushing touchdowns, ending with 86 yards and completed 6 of 12 passes for 68 yards. Sophomore Imeire Maniault rushed for 116 yards on 9 carries, helping the Panthers gain their 8th straight win and first outright YA-2 title since 2013. They got a tough draw with the 5th seed traveling to Harrisburg Saturday afternoon to play the 4th seeded Cougars. Scoring 45ppg and allowing 8 says Central is firing on all cylinders. But this came against a rebuilding York-Adams conference that graduated most of its star power….tho they showed their mettle at CV. Could get interesting but you know the Cougars will come hard at the young quarterback and have decent cover people, size and speed.
9 Chambersburg (6-4)
Quarterback Brady Stumbaigh had a career best game completing 10 of 12 passes for 226 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Trojans destroyed Carlisle 49-7. They needed the win and Hempfield to lose to Manheim Township to get in the playoffs as the 8th seed. Keyshawn Jones topping the 1000 yard marker at 1019 for the second straight year, gaining 130 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries. Their speed receivers stretched Carlisle with Sam Vessah (5-11, 165, jr) burning them on a 53 yard first quarter score and Tyler Luther (5-7, 160, sr) for a 19 yards strike. The big TE Terrell Williams (6-2, 230) dented them for 25 and 10 yard touchdowns in the second quarter. It’s tough keeping track of those three while trying to corral Keyshawn Jones who rushed for two second quarter scores to put it out of reach at 42-0 by the half. The defense was awesome, holding the Herd to 7 first downs, one score and 110 total yards. The postseason starts Friday night at Wilson where they’ll try to take down the top seed. This is a pretty cool customer with loads of talent so don’t be surprised if they minimally, give Wilson a scare, minimally.
10 Manheim Central (8-2, 5A)
The Barons won their 26th Section crown relying on a substantial passing attack to overwhelm Solanco 49-20. Evan Simon was again special, completing 20 of 29 passes for 348 yards and throwing four touchdowns. Wide out Colby Wagner caught 9 passes for 244 yards and three scores. Brother Ben caught 9 for 66 yards. They’re home Friday with the 3rd seed playing Waynesboro (5-5) of the Mid Penn-Colonial who has the 13th seed. The Barons come in hot on a six game winning streak while Waynesboro had won 3 straight before losing at Northern last week 49-25 where they were battered by the Polar Bear’s outstanding running back Kyle Swartz for 288 yards. The Barons can name the score in this one.
11 Shippensburg (10-0, 5A)
Speedy Isaiah Houser almost single handedly beat Big Spring (4-6), snaring touchdown passes of 27 and 34 yards plus a 13 yard Pick-6 to propel the Greyhounds to a 40-7 win against their rival from Newville. He finished with 3 receptions for 78 yards. Qb Zack Manning continues to impress completing 8 of 11 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. TE Nick Gustafson with 94 yards and two scores was his favorite target along with Houser. Fullback Jacob Loy and running back Alex Sharrow led the attack with 102 and 88 rush yards respectively. Despite being undefeated, Shippensburg missed a top seed and bye with a rating of .749373 to Cedar Cliff’s .749871. That’ll happen against a slate of only three winning teams with a total combined record of 40-60 verses Cedar Cliff’s 55-41 cum playing the likes of Governor Mifflin, Cocalico, Harrisburg, Susquehanna Township and Bishop McDevitt. But they got the 3 seed allowing them to host a game with 14th seeded Solanco (5-5, LL-2). The young Mules are on a three game losing streak after a 5-2 start, and notably lacking the speed, skill and experience to match up with the Hounds.
12 Cedar Cliff (8-2, 5A)
The Colts got past rival Red Land 35-14 to sew up their second consecutive Mid Penn-Keystone title. That’s no easy task with Bishop McDevitt in the same conference. The game was all about getting the win first and foremost, then turning running back Jaheim Morris loose to in pursuit of the all-time rushing record of 4054 yards held by Jayden Demmy (2013-2016). He came into the game 144 yards shy but bashed his way to 220 yards on 36 carries and two scores as they fed him all night in pursuit of the prize. Quarterback Gannon McMeans was key in the win as well, completing 8 of 14 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown pass and rushing for scores of 12 and 30 yards. Morris ends the regular season with 1862 yards with the team red hot on a 7 game winning streak and a bye with the #2 seed. They’ll play with winner of Northeastern (7-3, #7 seed, YA-1) and New Oxford (6-4, 10th seed, YA-1).
13 Milton Hershey (9-1, 5A)
Milton Hershey and Steelton Highspire battled to a 13-13 first half tie before the Spartans regrouped, then exploded for 36 unanswered points in the third quarter to send the Steamrollers packing with a disappointing 49-27 loss. A Roller win would have thrown them into a three way tie with Middletown atop the Mid Penn-Capital Conference. Instead, the Spartans win it outright at 7-0, a game up on three time defending champion Middletown 6-1. Sophomore Dion Bryant (5-8, 180) was again almost unstoppable, rushing for 180 yards on 14 carries. Qb Tigere Mavesere rushed for 110 with Terrill Chadwick getting 80. They dominated the Rollers with 366 yards on 32 attempts, throwing only 4 passes. Roller quarterback Nyles Jones dominated the air lanes, completing 17 of 26 throws for 238 yards, most going to Mehki Flowers catching 14 for 174 yards. Odell Green added 98 yards rushing. The Spartans shut down Steelton’s running game holding them to 138 yards. It’s been quite a year for Milton Hershey, compiling their 17th winning season in the last 19 years and first double digit winning season with another win. They’re idle this week with the 2 seed awaiting the outcome of 7th seeded Fleetwood (8-2, Berks-2) and Conrad Weiser (5-5, Berks-2), the 10 seed.
14 Middletown (9-1 3A)
A 4th quarter Palmyra surge of 21 unanswered points made it look interesting on the scoreboard. But for all intents and purposes it was over by the half with Middletown up 41-6. Star running backs Jose Lopez (12/64) and Tymir Jackson (6/14) took a back seat to quarterback Joe Powell having a career day completing 12 of 15 passes for 410 yards. Palmyra’s pass defense clearly took a vacation day with Tajae Broadie catching 8 passes for 146 yards and 2 scores, along with Chris Joseph snagging 3 for 98 yards. Jose Lopez had one reception for 98 yards and Terrell Daniels one for 88 yards. While there was nothing serious about the competition Middletown played the last three games defeating Trinity (5-5) 33-9, East Pennsboro (3-7) 42-7, and Palmyra (4-6) 41-27, it did allow the offense to get in a rhythm to enter the postseason on a three game winning streak and a bye with the 2 seed. They’ll play the winner of 6th seeded Bermudian Springs (6-4, YA-3) and Lancaster Catholic (9-1, LL-3), the 3rd seed, likely facing Lancaster Catholic. They’re coached by Todd Mealy who went 10-1 last year in his first year, losing to (interestingly) Bermudian Springs (9-4) in the district semifinal 20-10. Payback?
15 Bishop McDevitt (7-3, 4A)
Bishop McDevitt’s veteran defense slammed the door shut on Susquehanna Township, holding the heretofore substantial offense to their worst outing since the opener while eking out a 17-13 win at Hanna. Manheim Central beat them in week one 16-7 in Manheim. All of Hanna’s offense came on Special Teams scores with the Crusader defense holding them to an unbelievable 28 total yards of offense; 10 passing, 18 rushing. Quarterback Lek Powell’s 3 yard pass to Mario Easterly followed by a 32 yard pass to Julian Jordan rallied McDevitt from a 6-3 halftime deficit. Freshman Marquese Williams was again strong, rushing for 122 yards on 22 carries with junior Lek Powell completing 9 of 20 passes for 200 yards. In an odd twist of fate, 4th seeded McDevitt hosts 5th seeded Susquehanna Township in the quarterfinals with both having a bye this week.
16 Susquehanna Township (7-3, 4A)
Susquehanna Township came up empty last week getting totally shutdown to 28 total yards of offense. 28! Despite losing to Bishop McDevitt 17-13, Special Teams made it a competitive game on a 44 yard punt return by Jacob Seigle with 20 seconds left in the first half and a Steven Graves 88 yard kickoff return in the 3rd quarter providing the Tribe’s only points. The loss was their second straight, having lost to Cedar Cliff the week before. That’s not a good way to enter the postseason but they get two weeks to think about it with a bye this week before re-matching with Bishop McDevitt at their place the following week. Hanna’s three losses came to Manheim Central 16-7, Cedar Cliff 21-14 and McDevitt 17-13, showing their inability to generate much offense against the higher quality teams. That will not likely change in the rematch at McDevitt against a defense that has become one of the best in the state allowing 10.7 points per game.
17 Cocalico (8-2, 5A)
Cocalico kept Lampeter Strasburg out of the end zone for most of the game with their vaunted Veer pounding out another 41-13 win. Noah Palm stood out, accounting for 30 of those points on four touchdowns, and a 73 yard Pick-6. Qb Ronald Zalm added 104 yards rushing with Austin Vang and Steven Flinton adding 60 each. Early on it was a competitive back and forth game with Cocalico taking a 21-13 lead at the half. Thereon the Pioneers seemed sufficiently worn down, held scoreless in the second half by the cumulative effect of 56 rushing attempts and a Eagle defense that kept LS at a safe distance, holding them to 275 total yards. Cocalico ended up with 442 total yards, 380 rushing while completing all three of their passes. In winning, they secured second place in the LL-2 behind Manheim Central and a bye with the #1 seed awaiting the winner of the Northern (7-3, 9th seed)-Governor Mifflin (7-3, 8th seed) game.
18 Wyomissing (10-0, 3A)
Wyomissing joined the ever thinning ranks of undefeated teams last week beating rival Berks Catholic 23-0. Think Pennsbury’s “ground and pound” to understand Wyomissing’s offensive philosophy. This was a defensive contest, where Wyo’s more physical approach seemed to wear BC down. Fullback Evan Niedroski had 22 carries for 78 yards while lead back Max Hurleman had 154 on 18 carries. As always they kept it on the ground gaining 290 yards on 56 carries and completing 1 of 3 passes for 18 yards. Aidan Cirulli kicked a 49 yard field goal, setting a regular season school record. Defensively, they didn’t allow BC to establish anything, inflicting as thorough a defeat as was administered by Central Dauphin, McDonogh or Malvern Prep, holding the Saints to 117 total yards of offense. Their lead backs Abdul MacFoy, Nolan Larkin and C.J. Carwll were held to 56, 38 and 22 yards respectively. They are starting to look special with some mentioning this group in the same conversation with 2012’s 16-0 title team. Awesome squad that disposed of Imhotep 35-13 before beating Aliquippa 17-14 in the final. We’ll see! The win secured the Berks-2 title and top seed in the 3A postseason with a bye, awaiting the winner of Littlestown (7-3, #5, YA-3) - Annville Cleona (6-4, #4, LL-3).
19 Governor Mifflin (7-3, 5A)
Governor Mifflin has come all the way back from a 0-3 start to win their last seven games and the Berks-Section 1 title after defeating Conrad Weiser last week 21-20. They won it after gaining a 21-7 half time lead and withstanding a furious comeback where the Scouts outscored them 13-0 in the second half. It took a failed 2 point conversion with just under six minutes in the game to escape Robesonia with the win. There was some hard hitting in this key Section-1 matchup with a few players leaving the field. Brandon Strausser was one of them after gaining 120 yards on 9 carries for Governor Mifflin. A reshuffled backfield saw Nicholas Singleton gain 95 yards at fullback. The 5A postseason begins Friday at home with the 8th seed against 9th seeded Northern York County (7-3, MP-Colonial) who has one of the top running backs in the mid-state in Kyle Swartz (6-1, 215, sr). He’s at 2017 yards for the year after rushing for 288 vs Waynesboro last week. Back in March he won the PA 195-pound final, defeating Cedar Cliff’s Donovan Ball 7-5. He’ll wrestle collegiately for Army. The Mustangs have more speed and skill people than Northern but with a back like Swartz who knows.
20 Berks Catholic (6-4, 4A)
Berks Catholic continues a downward spiral in the rankings after suffering their first shutout of the season in a 23-0 loss to Wyomissing. Since the school’s inception in 2011, they’ve only had five shutouts; last year to Central Dauphin 7-0, Imhotep in 2013, 20-0, and back-to-back shutouts to Wyomissing in 2012, 14-0 and 2011, 35-0. One thing for certain with this program is how they’ve upgraded the schedule, playing Exeter, Central Dauphin, McDonogh and Malvern Prep the last two years. If there is any truth to the theory that a rugged schedule is good prep for the postseason, these guys should shine. Last year (10-3) saw them lose to McDevitt (12-2) 41-31 in the District-3 final while the 2017 team (13-1) lost to the eventual champion Cathedral Prep (14-0) in the 4A semifinal 42-24. This year’s group get a bye with the 3rd seed where they’ll resume action in the quarterfinals at home against 6th seeded Gettysburg (8-2, YA-2).
Honorable Mention:
Exeter Township (7-3, 5A, 11th seed) at York 7-3, 6th seed
York Suburban (10-0, 4A, 1st seed) BYE….will play winner of Lampeter Strasburg and ELCO in quarterfinals
Cedar Crest (7-3, 6th seed) at Central Dauphin
Upper Dauphin (10-0, 2A, 1st seed) home vs Newport 7-3, 4th seed
Northern York (7-3, 5A, 9th seed) at Governor Mifflin
York-William Penn (7-3, 5A, 6th seed) home vs Exeter 7-3, 11th seed
Lampeter Strasburg (7-3, 4A, 8th seed) home vs ELCO 7-3, 9th seed
Cumberland Valley (5-5, 7th seed) at Manheim Township
Gettysburg (8-2, 4A, 6th seed) at Berks Catholic
Steelton Highspire (8-2, 2A, 2nd seed) home vs Delone Catholic 7-3, 3rd seed
Mount Carmel (8-2, 3A, D4, 3rd seed) home vs Bloomsburg 3-7, 6th seed
1 Manheim Township (10-0)
Manheim Township had no trouble with Hempfield, building a 42-0 halftime lead behind a balanced offense and shutdown defense to finish the season undefeated and winning their third straight LL-Section 1 title. They emptied the bench with 11 running backs getting touches on 35 carries for 185 yards. Quarterback Harrison Kirk had another outstanding performance completing 12 of 17 passes for 264 yards and touchdown passes of 67, 55 and 10 yards, led by Anthony Ivey’s three receptions for 113 yards. Hempfield was held to 80 total yards while suffering their first shutout of the year, 49-0. Township moves on to Districts as the 2 seed where they’ll play 7th seeded Cumberland Valley (5-5) at home Friday. The Streaks are a strong favorite here, averaging 419 yards per game offensively with a rock solid defense that has allowed 55 points the entire season and 126 yards on average per game.
2 Central Dauphin (8-2)
Central Dauphin struck early, scoring on their second play from scrimmage when quarterback Max Mosey hit Jackson Talbott for a 54 yard score, followed by a 24 yard strike to Nick Chimiente in the opening four minutes of the game en route to a 36-6 rout of Central Dauphin East. Mosey has been on fire, completing 24 of 32 passes for 436 yards the last two games. Defensively, they held East High to eight first downs, intercepted two passes and allowed 234 total yards. Nobody has stopped Bryce Baker who got 120 yards on 23 carries. The Rams defense has evolved over the course of the season, allowing 64 points in seven conference games! Knowing this came against Chambersburg (6-4, #8 seed), State College (9-1, #1 seed), Cumberland Valley (5-5, #7 seed) and Harrisburg (7-3, #4 seed) is quite a statement. The win secured the Mid Penn-Commonwealth title outright and the 3rd seed where they’ll host Cedar Crest (7-3, 6th seed, LL-1) Friday. The Falcons are significantly improved over last year’s 5-5 team put not ready for this level of competition knowing they lost conference games to Warwick (8-2) 34-14, Township (10-0) 62-0 and Wilson (9-1) 35-7.
3 State College (9-1, D6)
It was a historic occasion in State College Saturday where State High and Cumberland Valley met in the first high school football game held at Beaver Stadium since 1988. That’s when Pittsburgh Central Catholic and Cedar Cliff met in the 4A final won by Central Catholic 14-7. As mentioned last week, CV very often battles SC long and hard. This one was no different where the two slugged it out for a scoreless first quarter before the Eagles actually took a 14-0 second quarter lead, one coming on a Dontey Rogan Pick-6. State’s Qb Brady Dorner probably saved the day connecting with Isaiah Edwards on a 62 yards strike with just under four minutes left in the half, cutting the deficit to 14-7 and regaining momentum. Thereon SC rolled, outscoring CV 26-7 in a 33-21 win. Isaiah Edwards was their big gun, with two receptions for 112 yards and 48 yards on three carries. The Lions enter the postseason as the top seed out of District-6 (2nd in MP-Commonwealth) in the convoluted District 2/4/6/8/10 grouping (no D8 team) with a bye. They await the winner of the District-10 final between McDowell (8-1, #1) and Erie High (3-6, #2). McDowell throttled Erie in the regular season 38-8. McDowell’s only loss is to Cathedral Prep (8-2, 4A) 29-26.
4 Wilson (9-1)
Except for State College, all Top-10 teams won in blowouts by an average score of 48-14! Many were rivalry games that reflect the sizeable gap between the haves and have nots this year. Wilson was no exception, jumping out to a 49-6 halftime lead then cruising with reserves taking over in a 49-26 win against winless McCaskey. They eased off the pedal early using three quarterbacks, ten running backs and four receivers. Even so, McCaskey was held to 174 total yards (68 rushing) and threw three picks with Wilson’s first unit deciding it early with a 35 point first quarter. They move on to the District-3 playoffs as the top seed, edging out #2 Manheim Township where they will host 8th seeded Chambersburg (6-4) Friday. Wilson has the top seed despite losing at home to Township 30-14 in the regular season. Heck of a reward having to play multi-talented Chambersburg with weapons and speed all over the field while Township takes on one-dimensional Wing-T Cumberland Valley.
5 Harrisburg (7-3)
Harrisburg scored on their first play from scrimmage when quarterback John McNeil saw speedster Kamere Day (10.4/100) in single coverage and audibled for an easy 47 yard strike. Featuring an all-out air assault in the first quarter, Dione Kent and Travon Carey followed with 23 and 55 yard scoring strikes as the Cougars used their lethal air arm to bury Altoona early. Jaylon Hosby added a 29 yard run putting them up 26-0. After softening them up on top, Coach Everett went to the ground, pounding them with his lead back Jahmir Plant scoring on runs of 27 and 52 yards to break it open, finishing the game with 132 yards on just 6 carries as the Cougars overwhelmed the Mountain Lions 66-14. It was a rough return to the Mid Penn for Altoona, finishing 1-9 overall and 0-7 in conference. Qb McNeil completed 6 of 6 passes for 194 yards and 3 touchdown tosses. Total yards saw them at 490 to 113 on only 28 plays, meaning most possessions involved two maybe three snaps before scoring, sometimes one! Scary thinking this is a young team. Districts begin Saturday at home against the 5th seed Central York (9-1) who has not lost since August 30th at Cumberland Valley 13-12. Central is a young group with real talent that has yet to face a team at this level in a hostile environment.
6 Southern Columbia (10-0, 2A, D4)
Once again Southern Columbia overwhelmed another opponent beating Danville 49-6 for their 10th mercy ruled win of the year. Their D1 talent makes these games look like a small college team playing a high school team with most of the first units sitting early in the third quarter after attaining levels most teams reach in four quarters. Gaige Garcia (Michigan) rushed for 143 yards on 7 carries, with two touchdowns while Gavin Garcia rushed for 126 yards and two scores on 8 carries. Julian Fleming (Ohio St) caught 7 passes for 150 yards and 2 scores as quarterback Preston Zachman (Wisconsin) had an outstanding outing, completing 8 of 12 passes for 190 yards and 2 touchdown tosses. The defense that has allowed 26 points all year with 7 shutouts was dominating as always, holding the Ironmen to 104 total yards to SCA’s 578 (190p, 388r) total yards. The win was their 81st straight in the regular season and 42nd overall. As the top seed, they host 8th seeded Towanda (3-7) Saturday in the District-4, 2A quarterfinals.
7 Warwick (8-2, 5A)
Warwick had it all together last week defeating Penn Manor (3-7) 52-29, topping the 50 point mark for the fourth time this season. At 39ppg scored and 12ppg allowed, they are second only to Manheim Township, and ahead of Wilson. Joe McCracken accounted for 295 yards of their 423 total yards, completing 18 of 28 passes, two going for scores to Caleb Schmitz who caught 8 total for 128 yards and got a Pick-6 of 39 yards. Conor Adams had 8 receptions for 84 yards. Colton Miller has become a force rushing for 108 yards and 5 touchdowns on 24 carries. They’ll enter the 5A postseason with the 5th seed at home Friday against 12th seeded Mechanicsburg (6-4) of the Mid Penn- Keystone. With issues at quarterback and losses to Susquehanna Township 34-0 and McDevitt 42-7, it looks like a long night for Mechanicsburg against the explosive Warriors.
8 Central York (9-1)
Scary thinking Central York like Harrisburg is a young team that is already asserting itself in conference action and beyond (13-12 loss at Cumberland Valley week-2) by winning the York-Adams-1 outright with an easier than expected 35-14 win over York High (7-3, 5A, 6th seed). Sophomore quarterback Beau Pribula had three rushing touchdowns, ending with 86 yards and completed 6 of 12 passes for 68 yards. Sophomore Imeire Maniault rushed for 116 yards on 9 carries, helping the Panthers gain their 8th straight win and first outright YA-2 title since 2013. They got a tough draw with the 5th seed traveling to Harrisburg Saturday afternoon to play the 4th seeded Cougars. Scoring 45ppg and allowing 8 says Central is firing on all cylinders. But this came against a rebuilding York-Adams conference that graduated most of its star power….tho they showed their mettle at CV. Could get interesting but you know the Cougars will come hard at the young quarterback and have decent cover people, size and speed.
9 Chambersburg (6-4)
Quarterback Brady Stumbaigh had a career best game completing 10 of 12 passes for 226 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Trojans destroyed Carlisle 49-7. They needed the win and Hempfield to lose to Manheim Township to get in the playoffs as the 8th seed. Keyshawn Jones topping the 1000 yard marker at 1019 for the second straight year, gaining 130 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries. Their speed receivers stretched Carlisle with Sam Vessah (5-11, 165, jr) burning them on a 53 yard first quarter score and Tyler Luther (5-7, 160, sr) for a 19 yards strike. The big TE Terrell Williams (6-2, 230) dented them for 25 and 10 yard touchdowns in the second quarter. It’s tough keeping track of those three while trying to corral Keyshawn Jones who rushed for two second quarter scores to put it out of reach at 42-0 by the half. The defense was awesome, holding the Herd to 7 first downs, one score and 110 total yards. The postseason starts Friday night at Wilson where they’ll try to take down the top seed. This is a pretty cool customer with loads of talent so don’t be surprised if they minimally, give Wilson a scare, minimally.
10 Manheim Central (8-2, 5A)
The Barons won their 26th Section crown relying on a substantial passing attack to overwhelm Solanco 49-20. Evan Simon was again special, completing 20 of 29 passes for 348 yards and throwing four touchdowns. Wide out Colby Wagner caught 9 passes for 244 yards and three scores. Brother Ben caught 9 for 66 yards. They’re home Friday with the 3rd seed playing Waynesboro (5-5) of the Mid Penn-Colonial who has the 13th seed. The Barons come in hot on a six game winning streak while Waynesboro had won 3 straight before losing at Northern last week 49-25 where they were battered by the Polar Bear’s outstanding running back Kyle Swartz for 288 yards. The Barons can name the score in this one.
11 Shippensburg (10-0, 5A)
Speedy Isaiah Houser almost single handedly beat Big Spring (4-6), snaring touchdown passes of 27 and 34 yards plus a 13 yard Pick-6 to propel the Greyhounds to a 40-7 win against their rival from Newville. He finished with 3 receptions for 78 yards. Qb Zack Manning continues to impress completing 8 of 11 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. TE Nick Gustafson with 94 yards and two scores was his favorite target along with Houser. Fullback Jacob Loy and running back Alex Sharrow led the attack with 102 and 88 rush yards respectively. Despite being undefeated, Shippensburg missed a top seed and bye with a rating of .749373 to Cedar Cliff’s .749871. That’ll happen against a slate of only three winning teams with a total combined record of 40-60 verses Cedar Cliff’s 55-41 cum playing the likes of Governor Mifflin, Cocalico, Harrisburg, Susquehanna Township and Bishop McDevitt. But they got the 3 seed allowing them to host a game with 14th seeded Solanco (5-5, LL-2). The young Mules are on a three game losing streak after a 5-2 start, and notably lacking the speed, skill and experience to match up with the Hounds.
12 Cedar Cliff (8-2, 5A)
The Colts got past rival Red Land 35-14 to sew up their second consecutive Mid Penn-Keystone title. That’s no easy task with Bishop McDevitt in the same conference. The game was all about getting the win first and foremost, then turning running back Jaheim Morris loose to in pursuit of the all-time rushing record of 4054 yards held by Jayden Demmy (2013-2016). He came into the game 144 yards shy but bashed his way to 220 yards on 36 carries and two scores as they fed him all night in pursuit of the prize. Quarterback Gannon McMeans was key in the win as well, completing 8 of 14 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown pass and rushing for scores of 12 and 30 yards. Morris ends the regular season with 1862 yards with the team red hot on a 7 game winning streak and a bye with the #2 seed. They’ll play with winner of Northeastern (7-3, #7 seed, YA-1) and New Oxford (6-4, 10th seed, YA-1).
13 Milton Hershey (9-1, 5A)
Milton Hershey and Steelton Highspire battled to a 13-13 first half tie before the Spartans regrouped, then exploded for 36 unanswered points in the third quarter to send the Steamrollers packing with a disappointing 49-27 loss. A Roller win would have thrown them into a three way tie with Middletown atop the Mid Penn-Capital Conference. Instead, the Spartans win it outright at 7-0, a game up on three time defending champion Middletown 6-1. Sophomore Dion Bryant (5-8, 180) was again almost unstoppable, rushing for 180 yards on 14 carries. Qb Tigere Mavesere rushed for 110 with Terrill Chadwick getting 80. They dominated the Rollers with 366 yards on 32 attempts, throwing only 4 passes. Roller quarterback Nyles Jones dominated the air lanes, completing 17 of 26 throws for 238 yards, most going to Mehki Flowers catching 14 for 174 yards. Odell Green added 98 yards rushing. The Spartans shut down Steelton’s running game holding them to 138 yards. It’s been quite a year for Milton Hershey, compiling their 17th winning season in the last 19 years and first double digit winning season with another win. They’re idle this week with the 2 seed awaiting the outcome of 7th seeded Fleetwood (8-2, Berks-2) and Conrad Weiser (5-5, Berks-2), the 10 seed.
14 Middletown (9-1 3A)
A 4th quarter Palmyra surge of 21 unanswered points made it look interesting on the scoreboard. But for all intents and purposes it was over by the half with Middletown up 41-6. Star running backs Jose Lopez (12/64) and Tymir Jackson (6/14) took a back seat to quarterback Joe Powell having a career day completing 12 of 15 passes for 410 yards. Palmyra’s pass defense clearly took a vacation day with Tajae Broadie catching 8 passes for 146 yards and 2 scores, along with Chris Joseph snagging 3 for 98 yards. Jose Lopez had one reception for 98 yards and Terrell Daniels one for 88 yards. While there was nothing serious about the competition Middletown played the last three games defeating Trinity (5-5) 33-9, East Pennsboro (3-7) 42-7, and Palmyra (4-6) 41-27, it did allow the offense to get in a rhythm to enter the postseason on a three game winning streak and a bye with the 2 seed. They’ll play the winner of 6th seeded Bermudian Springs (6-4, YA-3) and Lancaster Catholic (9-1, LL-3), the 3rd seed, likely facing Lancaster Catholic. They’re coached by Todd Mealy who went 10-1 last year in his first year, losing to (interestingly) Bermudian Springs (9-4) in the district semifinal 20-10. Payback?
15 Bishop McDevitt (7-3, 4A)
Bishop McDevitt’s veteran defense slammed the door shut on Susquehanna Township, holding the heretofore substantial offense to their worst outing since the opener while eking out a 17-13 win at Hanna. Manheim Central beat them in week one 16-7 in Manheim. All of Hanna’s offense came on Special Teams scores with the Crusader defense holding them to an unbelievable 28 total yards of offense; 10 passing, 18 rushing. Quarterback Lek Powell’s 3 yard pass to Mario Easterly followed by a 32 yard pass to Julian Jordan rallied McDevitt from a 6-3 halftime deficit. Freshman Marquese Williams was again strong, rushing for 122 yards on 22 carries with junior Lek Powell completing 9 of 20 passes for 200 yards. In an odd twist of fate, 4th seeded McDevitt hosts 5th seeded Susquehanna Township in the quarterfinals with both having a bye this week.
16 Susquehanna Township (7-3, 4A)
Susquehanna Township came up empty last week getting totally shutdown to 28 total yards of offense. 28! Despite losing to Bishop McDevitt 17-13, Special Teams made it a competitive game on a 44 yard punt return by Jacob Seigle with 20 seconds left in the first half and a Steven Graves 88 yard kickoff return in the 3rd quarter providing the Tribe’s only points. The loss was their second straight, having lost to Cedar Cliff the week before. That’s not a good way to enter the postseason but they get two weeks to think about it with a bye this week before re-matching with Bishop McDevitt at their place the following week. Hanna’s three losses came to Manheim Central 16-7, Cedar Cliff 21-14 and McDevitt 17-13, showing their inability to generate much offense against the higher quality teams. That will not likely change in the rematch at McDevitt against a defense that has become one of the best in the state allowing 10.7 points per game.
17 Cocalico (8-2, 5A)
Cocalico kept Lampeter Strasburg out of the end zone for most of the game with their vaunted Veer pounding out another 41-13 win. Noah Palm stood out, accounting for 30 of those points on four touchdowns, and a 73 yard Pick-6. Qb Ronald Zalm added 104 yards rushing with Austin Vang and Steven Flinton adding 60 each. Early on it was a competitive back and forth game with Cocalico taking a 21-13 lead at the half. Thereon the Pioneers seemed sufficiently worn down, held scoreless in the second half by the cumulative effect of 56 rushing attempts and a Eagle defense that kept LS at a safe distance, holding them to 275 total yards. Cocalico ended up with 442 total yards, 380 rushing while completing all three of their passes. In winning, they secured second place in the LL-2 behind Manheim Central and a bye with the #1 seed awaiting the winner of the Northern (7-3, 9th seed)-Governor Mifflin (7-3, 8th seed) game.
18 Wyomissing (10-0, 3A)
Wyomissing joined the ever thinning ranks of undefeated teams last week beating rival Berks Catholic 23-0. Think Pennsbury’s “ground and pound” to understand Wyomissing’s offensive philosophy. This was a defensive contest, where Wyo’s more physical approach seemed to wear BC down. Fullback Evan Niedroski had 22 carries for 78 yards while lead back Max Hurleman had 154 on 18 carries. As always they kept it on the ground gaining 290 yards on 56 carries and completing 1 of 3 passes for 18 yards. Aidan Cirulli kicked a 49 yard field goal, setting a regular season school record. Defensively, they didn’t allow BC to establish anything, inflicting as thorough a defeat as was administered by Central Dauphin, McDonogh or Malvern Prep, holding the Saints to 117 total yards of offense. Their lead backs Abdul MacFoy, Nolan Larkin and C.J. Carwll were held to 56, 38 and 22 yards respectively. They are starting to look special with some mentioning this group in the same conversation with 2012’s 16-0 title team. Awesome squad that disposed of Imhotep 35-13 before beating Aliquippa 17-14 in the final. We’ll see! The win secured the Berks-2 title and top seed in the 3A postseason with a bye, awaiting the winner of Littlestown (7-3, #5, YA-3) - Annville Cleona (6-4, #4, LL-3).
19 Governor Mifflin (7-3, 5A)
Governor Mifflin has come all the way back from a 0-3 start to win their last seven games and the Berks-Section 1 title after defeating Conrad Weiser last week 21-20. They won it after gaining a 21-7 half time lead and withstanding a furious comeback where the Scouts outscored them 13-0 in the second half. It took a failed 2 point conversion with just under six minutes in the game to escape Robesonia with the win. There was some hard hitting in this key Section-1 matchup with a few players leaving the field. Brandon Strausser was one of them after gaining 120 yards on 9 carries for Governor Mifflin. A reshuffled backfield saw Nicholas Singleton gain 95 yards at fullback. The 5A postseason begins Friday at home with the 8th seed against 9th seeded Northern York County (7-3, MP-Colonial) who has one of the top running backs in the mid-state in Kyle Swartz (6-1, 215, sr). He’s at 2017 yards for the year after rushing for 288 vs Waynesboro last week. Back in March he won the PA 195-pound final, defeating Cedar Cliff’s Donovan Ball 7-5. He’ll wrestle collegiately for Army. The Mustangs have more speed and skill people than Northern but with a back like Swartz who knows.
20 Berks Catholic (6-4, 4A)
Berks Catholic continues a downward spiral in the rankings after suffering their first shutout of the season in a 23-0 loss to Wyomissing. Since the school’s inception in 2011, they’ve only had five shutouts; last year to Central Dauphin 7-0, Imhotep in 2013, 20-0, and back-to-back shutouts to Wyomissing in 2012, 14-0 and 2011, 35-0. One thing for certain with this program is how they’ve upgraded the schedule, playing Exeter, Central Dauphin, McDonogh and Malvern Prep the last two years. If there is any truth to the theory that a rugged schedule is good prep for the postseason, these guys should shine. Last year (10-3) saw them lose to McDevitt (12-2) 41-31 in the District-3 final while the 2017 team (13-1) lost to the eventual champion Cathedral Prep (14-0) in the 4A semifinal 42-24. This year’s group get a bye with the 3rd seed where they’ll resume action in the quarterfinals at home against 6th seeded Gettysburg (8-2, YA-2).
Honorable Mention:
Exeter Township (7-3, 5A, 11th seed) at York 7-3, 6th seed
York Suburban (10-0, 4A, 1st seed) BYE….will play winner of Lampeter Strasburg and ELCO in quarterfinals
Cedar Crest (7-3, 6th seed) at Central Dauphin
Upper Dauphin (10-0, 2A, 1st seed) home vs Newport 7-3, 4th seed
Northern York (7-3, 5A, 9th seed) at Governor Mifflin
York-William Penn (7-3, 5A, 6th seed) home vs Exeter 7-3, 11th seed
Lampeter Strasburg (7-3, 4A, 8th seed) home vs ELCO 7-3, 9th seed
Cumberland Valley (5-5, 7th seed) at Manheim Township
Gettysburg (8-2, 4A, 6th seed) at Berks Catholic
Steelton Highspire (8-2, 2A, 2nd seed) home vs Delone Catholic 7-3, 3rd seed
Mount Carmel (8-2, 3A, D4, 3rd seed) home vs Bloomsburg 3-7, 6th seed
