All classes are 6A and District 3 teams unless otherwise shown; Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 9.
1 Central Dauphin (10-2, 3rd seed)
Central Dauphin survived a scoreless first half and 14-0 third quarter deficit to win on the road in double overtime against previously unbeaten Manheim Township, 35-34. The game featured the big play with Township’s super sophomore Anthony Ivey returning the second half kickoff 90 yards to the end zone, then connecting with Harrison Kirk in the fourth quarter on a 65 yard touchdown toss. Be great having him for two more years! The Rams third quarter comeback featured Nick Chimiente catching a 72 yard scoring toss from Max Mosey before Elijah Vargas broke one for 50 yards near the end of the third quarter. It was a back and forth game that saw Central Dauphin with a sizeable statistical advantage of 417 total yards to Township’s 312. And it was balanced at 205 passing to 212 rushing. As so often happens with the Rams in a tight spot, they shutdown Township’s running game, holding them to 68 yards. 68! Nobody does that to Township. The win was sweet revenge for the Rams having lost to the Blue Streaks 10-7 on a last minute field goal in week three, a loss that dropped them to 1-2. The win puts them in the District-3 final against who else?……..Harrisburg, a team they beat in a controversial decision September 28th where a clock failure impacted the game, perhaps the outcome, won by CD 15-14. Harrisburg hit open spots in CD’s zone the entire game, completing 22 of 31 passes for 282 yards, but threw 5 interceptions with the Rams rushing three. It’s always a physical game when these two play, but Harrisburg knows this is one of the few teams they cannot intimidate. Definitely not at Landis Field Friday night where it will be a SRO crowd for the district title.
2 Manheim Township (11-1, 2nd seed)
Township closed out another successful season winning their third straight Lancaster Lebanon-Section One title (tied with Wilson, Warwick 2018) and advancing to the District-3 semifinal where they lost to Central Dauphin 35-34 in double overtime. See Central Dauphin above. Township has seen special talent come through the school the last three years, fielded high caliber teams that went 12-2, 10-2 and 11-1, with a notable 14-4 record against the top teams in the district; Central Dauphin (4-2 W/L), Wilson (3-1), Warwick (3-0), Cocalico (2-0), Cumberland Valley (2-0) and Governor Mifflin (0-1). But it looks like a serious rebuild for next year that includes quarterback Harrison Kirk who completed 62% of 244 passes for 2467 yards with a ratio of 24/5 and 65 carries for 186 yards, their top two rushers in Jaden Floyd at 912 yards and Bryce Casey at 382, plus their top 4 receivers in Bret Benjamin at 37 receptions for 469 yards, Mickey Stokes at 23/443, Nate Carpenter 25/306 and dual threat Jaden Floyd who caught 25 passes for 462 yards. This was a special team, averaging 45ppg, their highest scoring offense ever and best defense of record at 10ppg.
3 Harrisburg (9-3, 4th seed)
Like fellow conference member Central Dauphin traveling to Manheim Township, Harrisburg went on the road to the hostile confines of Gurski Stadium in West Lawn to defeat the top seeded Wilson Bulldogs, 33-29. Like the CD-Township game, it went back and forth, not decided until the final gun. Before that we were treated to fireworks in the second quarter that produced 41 points and a 21-20 half time lead for Wilson. Neither side could stop the other initially with Wilson going on drives featuring running backs Avanti Lockhart and Mason Linart, keepers by quarterback Kaleb Brown, a few passes to Troy Corson, and especially Lockhart who had a big night receiving. Harrisburg countered with the big play….quick stabs and air strikes to Trevion Carey, Donte Kent and Kamere Day, while feeding slippery Tymek Everett-Evans, Jahmir Plant and Jaylon Hosby on the ground. Underrated quarterback John McNeil had a career game, hitting Trevion Carey for a 25 yard score, Donte Kent for an 80 yard strike and Kamere Day for a 45 yard score, all in the second quarter. Second half action was just as exciting minus the scoring with both teams pounding away except for Tymet Everett-Evans going in from 4 yards out giving Harrisburg a 26-21 lead. Avanti Lockhart put Wilson back on top 29-21 in the fourth quarter with a 4 yard reception and 2 point conversion at the 6:52 mark. Harrisburg then went on an 11 play, 77 yard drive, capped by Tymet Everett-Evans’s score after being hit in the backfield by a few Bulldogs, escaping, then scrambling in from the 10 yard line with 2:45 remaining on the clock. Wilson had one more big drive left, marched 62 yards in the final minute where a pass interference call on a play in the end zone with two seconds left put them on the 6 yard line for a final untimed down. Harrisburg set up for a run but recovered as Brown rolled right and launched a throw to Avanti Lockhart that hit the turf and that was that. Quarterback John McNeil had a monster game, completing 12 of 17 passes for 306 yards with 3 touchdowns, all in the explosive second quarter. Quite a night for the junior signal caller who also rushed for 66 yards on 8 carries. Throughout the game, Wilson could not cover Donte Kent or Kamere Day who caught 5 passes for 164 yards and 4 passes for 117 yards respectively. With all their obvious flash and dash, their best kept secret is quarterback John McNeil who has evolved into a force to be reckoned with. The district final is Friday night at Central Dauphin.
4 State College (10-1, D6, 1st seed)
State College won the District 6/10 sub-regional with a road win at Erie’s Veteran Stadium against McDowell 42-21 (9-2, D-10). They dominated on both sides of the ball, recovering two fumbles and getting an interception while rushing for 364 yards. It would have been worse with two touchdowns called back. Dresyn Green finished with 146 yards and 3 scores, as they outgained the Trojans 448 yards to 382. McDowell’s coach Brad Orlando said SC was the best team they played all year including Cathedral Prep (10-2, 4A). SC advances to play the District 2/4 champ Delaware Valley (11-1, D2), who defeated Wilkes Barre (7-5, 2nd seed) 32-21 for their fourth straight district title. Forgetting the bs on a few sports boards denigrating the Wolfpack, they put up a fight, generating 360 yards and 21 first downs against Delaware Valley’s 468 yards. This is Wilkes-Barre’s inaugural season after the merger of Meyers, Coughlin and GAR high schools. On a more somber note, DV’s leading rusher Josh Barcarcel left the game early with an apparent lower leg injury, later seen on the sideline on crutches. And there is no word at this point on the four suspended players who missed this game.
5 Wilson (10-2, 1st seed)
Wilson lost a tough one at home to Harrisburg in the district semifinal 33-29, turned away on the last play of the game after taking a 21-20 halftime lead. A closer look at stats shows Harrisburg dominated, passing at will for 306 yards on just 12 completions, and rushing enough to keep Wilson honest and the chains moving with 32 carries netting 164 yards. Wilson’s big gun was running back/linebacker Avanti Lockhart (6-2, 215, sr, 63 tackles), catching 6 passes for 108 yards, two going for scores while rushing for 55 hard yards and a score on 15 carries. He ended the season with 1201 all-purpose yards, 939 rushing, 262 passing. Senior quarterback Kaleb Brown was off the mark just enough to make a difference throwing 2 picks while completing 13 of 25 passes for 196 yards against a seasonal average of 62% for 1430 yards with a ratio of 23/7. They moved the ball well through the air but only hit pay dirt twice, plus those 2 picks. Brown also rushed for 773 yards on the year with 4 scores. But at the end of the day, that’s a heck of a quarterback who will be sorely missed next year where Coach Dahms faces another rebuild. That shouldn’t be an issue knowing they’ve had 11 double-digit winning seasons in his 14 years at the helm.
6 Southern Columbia (12-0, 2A, D4, 1st seed)
Southern did what they’ve been doing most of the season, playing the first unit for a half then sitting with a big lead. Copy that for last week against North Penn/Mansfield (5-7) where they bolted out to a 28-0 first quarter lead that grew to 42-0 by halftime. That’s where it ended with the 5th seeded Knights losing 42-0. You know the Knights had to be running on fumes having a sub .500 season then upsetting 4th seeded Wellsboro (9-2) 17-14 in the first round. That made their season and probably served to get the full attention of Southern as well with the Tiger defense swarming, holding them to 28 rush yards and 173 total. They were under tremendous pressure, throwing two interceptions, one a Pick-6, with ten rushing attempts by three backs netting a negative six yards. The Tigers rolled out 424 total yards, gained mostly in the first half. The win was their 44th in a row, setting the stage for another D4-2A final against 3rd seeded Mount Carmel (10-2) who destroyed the 2 seed Troy (10-2) last week 53-28. MCA lost earlier in the year to SCA 48-0 in Catawissi.
7 Warwick (10-2, 5A, 5th seed)
Warwick’s big offense took a back seat to defense and special teams (what’s new!) when Adam Martin blocked a Manheim Central punt at the 1:55 mark and went on to win 31-28 when Tanner Haines nailed a 17 yard field goal with no time on the clock in Manheim. There’s a memory! This was a war between neighbors, with the schools barely 5 miles apart. And it was a rematch of a game played two months ago in Lititz won by Warwick 37-7. The Barons were a handful in this one but came up short with Warwick’s primary weapons just a little more than theirs. Qb Joey McCracken completed 15 of 22 passes for 171 yards and rushed for 65 more. Colton Miller was the workhorse back with 35 carries netting 166 yards, scoring on 2, 43 and 3 yard runs. Caleb Schmitz was the go to receiver catching 8 for 114 yards, one for a 33 yard touchdown. End of the day saw them with 404 total yards to Manheim’s 367. They move on to the District-3 semifinal at top seeded Cocalico (9-2), who finished a game behind Manheim Central in the LL-2 losing 46-43 in Manheim. In other words, Warwick needs to brace themselves for Part-II of the LL-1 vs the LL-2 in postseason play. Cocalico pasted Governor Mifflin last week 42-14.
8 Manheim Central (9-3, 5A, 4th seed)
The Barons closed out their season last week against the big machine from Warwick, losing 31-28 in the final second on a 17 yard field goal. See Warwick above. Qb Evan Simon closed out a stellar career topping the 8000 yard passing mark with another great performances, accounting for 318 of their 367 total yards of offense. He completed 12 of 22 passes for 214 with Td tosses of 33 and 78 yards while rushing for 104 yards on 20 carries, one, a 64 yard scoring run. He ends this season completing 154 of 270 passes for 2625 yards with a Td/Pick ratio of 25/8. His rushing stats are as impressive with 930 yards and 15 touchdowns on 193 carries. Simon is a once in a decade player who is impossible to replace. Losing Colby Wagner’s 72 receptions for 1409 yards and 259 rushing is another loss, plus his brother Ben with 42 receptions for 676 yards.
9 Cocalico (9-2, 5A, 1st seed)
With Manheim Central losing, top seeded Cocalico picks up the LL-2 banner heading into District-3’s semifinal after dismantling a streaking Governor Mifflin team 42-14. The Mustangs came in on an 8 game winning streak until the Eagles shut them down to 293 total yards, of which a mere 99 were rushing. You take that away from a Mid Line offense and its lights out. Nick Singleton came in as the leading rusher of the Berks League leaving with 16 yards on 12 carries. 16! The quicker Eagles defense herded the Mustangs one dimensional attack into a corral and kept them there the entire game while the Veer took over, led by Qb Noah Palm’s 176 total yards and 4 touchdowns, running back Ronald Zalm’s 132 total yards and Steven Flinton’s 60 yards rushing. Cocalico’s young defense made up largely of juniors and sophomores held Mifflin to 9 first downs forcing 4 turnovers, one, a 22 yard scoop and score by Marshall Patterson. 5th seeded Warwick is next in the district semifinal. Weird these two don’t play in the regular season since they scrimmage almost every year.
10 Cedar Cliff (9-2, 5A, 2nd seed)
How about Cedar Cliff, winning back-to-back Mid Penn-Keystone titles to earn another high seed in the postseason. The 2nd seeded Colts are on an 8 game winning streak after defeating overmatched New Oxford (7-5, 10th seed) 41-13. New Oxford is a small town in southern Pennsylvania just east of Gettysburg where an old tavern owner sold us quarts of beer out the back door in high school, laughing and telling us “ok boys, be careful”! You knew the Colonials were in big trouble here losing regular season games in the York-Adams to Central York 40-7 and York High 40-27. Coming to West Shore Stadium can be a tough assignment especially catching the Colts off a bye week. That’s just what their talented running back Jaheim Morris needed, a little R & R while the team worked on fundamentals, then put it all together for a strong outing, Morris rushing for 302 yards on 40 carries, taking him to 2231 for the year. The Colts pounded on them, rushing 57 times for 386 yards (512 tot yds) with quarterback Gannon McMeans finding openings, throwing for 136 yards on 3 completions! Their defense played inspired no nonsense football, holding Ox to 29 rush yards and 162 total yards. 11th seeded Exeter at 9-3 is next after beating previously undefeated and top seeded Shippensburg (11-1) 16-14. The Colts handled them 50-6 last year in the first round. This one should be much tighter, with the winner playing the Cocalico-Warwick winner before moving on to play the District-1 champion in the semifinal.
11 Milton Hershey (10-1, 4A, 2nd seed)
Milton Hershey won a 2nd round game against Conrad Weiser last week despite a sputtering offense compromised by 12 penalties for 103 yards. They came in off a bye week averaging 48ppg against a Conrad Weiser team at 6-5 that wasn’t impressing to many unless you paid close attention. CW is a mid-level program this year but well coached, full of fire, battling in competitive losses to quality opponents in Exeter 28-21 and Governor Mifflin 21-20. They battled here too, losing 22-10. Milton Hershey’s Dion Bryant had 172 total yards (62r, 110p) then sat the second half (no known injury) while TE Josh Parra caught 4 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Weiser hung around but missed a field goal, threw a pick then fumbled deep in Trojan territory to negate a solid outing by quarterback Logan Klitsch who completed 20 of 32 passes for 155 yards. The Trojans were just too big and quick, piling up 390 yards to the Scouts 279. 3rd seeded Berks Catholic (7-4) is next after beating Gettysburg in another lackluster game, 14-7. BC beat Milton Hershey last year 49-21 in Reading. But this one is in Chocolate Town against a Spartan team that’s rolling, winning their last nine games. Knowing they beat the high octane Steel High Rollers 49-27 and Middletown’s strong array of athletes 33-21 says they can beat the 4A alpha Saints.
12 Middletown (10-1, 3A, 2nd seed)
Like Milton Hershey, Middletown came off the bye week lethargic, managing a 12-7 halftime tie with Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3rd seed, LL-3) before pulling away in the second half for a 33-15 win. Statistically, it was a dominant performance, holding LC to 8 first downs and 216 yards of offense, while they gained 429 total yards themselves. Their premier back Jose Lopez rushed for 158 yards, scoring on runs of 2, 23 and 2 yards. Tymir Jackson had a 92 yard score while Joe Powell completed 6 of 11 passes for 138 yards and a 26 yard scoring strike to Chris Joseph. The win positions them for their 4th straight District-3 title if they can defeat top seeded Wyomissing (11-0, Berks-2). No small task. This will be one of those games where you can turn your back to the field and hear the pads hitting. The winner will play the winner of Pope John Paul II-Tamaqua.
13 Bishop McDevitt (8-3, 4A, 4th seed)
Once again, McDevitt used their stifling defense to throttle a good Susquehanna Township team, beating the 5th seeded Tribe 21-7, while holding them to 3 first downs and 146 total yards of offense! This is the same Hanna team they beat 17-13 in the regular season finale two weeks ago (both had byes) where the defense also performed at high levels, holding ST to 28 total yards of offense. 28! Hanna’s D is the real deal as well, holding McDevitt to 8 first downs and 255 total yards. But with a defense like McDevitt’s (113 points all year), you don’t need much offense. And at 28ppg, they don’t have much, at least not by their historic standards of high octane offenses, averaging 37ppg the last 10 years. Freshman sensation Marquese Williams got most of McDevitt’s yardage rushing for 116 yards on 16 carries, scoring on 55 and 12 yard bursts. Ben Marsico accounted for the other score on a 30 yard Pick-6 in the 1st quarter. They advance to the Disrict-3 semifinal against 8th seeded Lampeter Strasburg (9-3, LL-2, 3rd place) who just defeated previously unbeaten and top seeded York Suburban (10-1) 27-18. Their attack can get confusing, using the Wing-T with some veer and traditional power. Whatever it is called it is versatile and can cause chaos. But they need to be at their very best here with McDevitt’s offense coming on in support of a physical, quick and shutdown defense.
14 Exeter Township (9-3, 5A, 11th seed)
Exeter showed some of their Berks League pedigree beating top seeded and previously undefeated Shippensburg of the Mid Penn-Colonial 16-14. Neither could get much going but Exeter was clearly the better team, holding the Greyhounds to 7 first downs and 139 total yards of offense. To Ship’s credit, they shutdown Exeter’s substantial passing game, holding Gavin McCusker (6-2, 190, jr) to a 6 of 18 outing for 72 yards. But the Eagles also have a stable of running backs in senior Wender Polanco (5-6, 145!), Jeremiah Nixon (5-11, 185, jr), J.R. Strauss (6-1, 195, soph), plus versatile Alex Javier (6-1, 170, sr). One of them always steps up. This week it was Polanco who gashed the Hounds for 162 yards on 30 carries. He’s at 681 for the year with Strauss at 494, Nixon at 554 and multi-purposed Alex Javier with 840 yards receiving on 40 receptions and 211 rushing on 36 carries. The Eagle defense also had 3 picks and recovered a fumble. This was a defensive struggle with Sean Henry nailing field goals of 21, 28 and 20 yards to seal it. Tyler Yocum, a budding 6-0, 205 sophomore got the lone touchdown on a 3 yard run. The team is really a year ahead of schedule so mark them down for next year as well. They go on the road again Friday to play 2nd seeded Cedar Cliff who walloped them last year 50-6 in the first round.
15 Susquehanna Township (7-4, 4A, 5th seed)
Hanna’s season came to disappointing conclusion after a 7-1 start, losing their last three games to Cedar Cliff 21-14, Bishop McDevitt 17-13 and again in the postseason to McDevitt 21-7 last week. No shame there with McDevitt coming on strong winning their last six games as a 4 seed in 4A and Cedar Cliff, a 5A, winning their last 8 games as a 2 seed, both looking like they could go deep in the postseason. Losing to Manheim Central 16-7 in the opener was no joke either, holding the Barons to one of their lowest outputs of the season, outgained them 266 total yards to 183 while holding them to three field goals and a fumble in the end zone providing their other score. Unfortunately, the season mirrored the opener where it was ‘close, but no cigar’
16 Central York (9-2, 5th seed)
Heck of a year with a young group winning the York-Adams-Section 1 at 7-0, but having the misfortune of drawing the 5 seed against Harrisburg where they were exposed, losing 47-14. Most will return next year as the heavy favorite to repeat.
17 Chambersburg (6-5, 8th seed)
Chambersburg had a strong season with one of their more balanced and talented teams in years, coming up short against some of the best teams in the state losing to State College (10-1, # 1 seed D6) 27-17, Harrisburg (9-3, 4th seed) 27-25 and Central Dauphin (10-2, 3rd seed) 28-23 before bowing out against top seeded Wilson (10-2) 41-13. They were top heavy with seniors, returning at least 18 starters. Look for a major rebuild next year as they attempt to recover from graduating the most talented team to come through the school in well over two decades.
18 Wyomissing (11-0, 3A, 1st seed)
Wyomissing raced out to a 35-7 halftime lead against outmanned Annville Cleona (7-5), then cruised in the second half scoring 27 more in a thorough 62-28 dismantling of the 4th seeded Dutchman. The Trojans scored on every possession with FB Evan Niedrowski (6-2, 230 jr) bashing them for a career high 164 yards, scoring on 5, 2 and 34 yard runs while Max Hurleman rushed for 128 yards and scored twice. Total yardage was Wyo with 576 (!) to Annville’s 382 yards. Much of AC’s scoring came on trick plays and gimmicks, double passes and a fake punt that masked shortcomings but not the margin in a 34 point loss. The District-3 final is next with three time defending champ Middletown looking for their fourth consecutive District-3 title. The Spartans are looking for their first state title since 2012’s 16-0 team and some pay back from last year’s 41-6 thumping at the hands of the Blue Raiders.
19 Shippensburg (11-1, 5A, 1st seed)
Shippensburg had a historic run going undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 1986 before losing 16-14 to Exeter last week. Despite leading 14-10 at the half, they could muster no offense in the second half, getting a single first down while held scoreless as Exeter’s Sean Henry nailed two more field goals that proved to be the difference. Star running back Alex Sharrow was held to 29 yards rushing with FB Jacob Loy held to 12! Senior quarterback Zack Manning was pressured into mistakes, completing 4 of 19 passes for 29 yards while throwing 3 interceptions. But it was still a nice run by the Hounds who haven’t had a losing season since 2006.
20 Berks Catholic (7-4, 4A, 3rd seed)
Gettysburg held Berks Catholic’s vaunted running game in check for a quarter before Colby Newton broke loose for a 64 touchdown to break a scoreless tie, followed by Abdul MacFoy’s 35 yard run in the third quarter, giving the Saints a 14-0 lead at the end of three. G-burg quarterback Zach Ketterman snuck in from the 2 yard line for the final score with BC advancing after a hard fought 14-7 victory. Props to the Warriors for holding BC quick striking offense to two scores despite allowing 308 rush yards to their 198. Newton ended with 114 yards on 7 carries with MacFoy at 114 as well on 15 carries. CJ Carwll had 10 carries for 62 yards. BC moves on to the District-3 semifinal against a powerful Milton Hershey team who gets another home game with the 2 seed.
Honorable Mention:
Governor Mifflin (8-4, 5A, 8th seed) lost Cocalico 42-14
Gettysburg (8-3, 4A, 6th seed) lost Berks Catholic 14-7
York Suburban (10-1, 4A, 1st seed) lost Lampeter Strasburg 27-18
Lampeter Strasburg (9-3, 4A, 8th seed) beat Suburban 27-18, at Bishop McDevitt
Upper Dauphin (12-0, 2A, 1st seed) beat Delone Catholic 36-28, has a bye week awaiting winner of Southern Columbia-Mount Carmel
Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3A, 3rd seed) lost Middletown 33-15
Mount Carmel (10-2, 2A, D4, 3rd seed) beat Troy 53-28 at Southern Columbia in the District-4 final
Montoursville (11-1, 3A, D4, 1st seed) beat Warrior Run 54-12, home Loyalsock Twp (9-3, 2 seed) in the District-4 final
Cedar Crest (7-4, 6th seed) lost Central Dauphin 36-6, 1st Rd
Cumberland Valley (5-6, 7th seed) lost Manheim Twp 32-26 1st Rd
1 Central Dauphin (10-2, 3rd seed)
Central Dauphin survived a scoreless first half and 14-0 third quarter deficit to win on the road in double overtime against previously unbeaten Manheim Township, 35-34. The game featured the big play with Township’s super sophomore Anthony Ivey returning the second half kickoff 90 yards to the end zone, then connecting with Harrison Kirk in the fourth quarter on a 65 yard touchdown toss. Be great having him for two more years! The Rams third quarter comeback featured Nick Chimiente catching a 72 yard scoring toss from Max Mosey before Elijah Vargas broke one for 50 yards near the end of the third quarter. It was a back and forth game that saw Central Dauphin with a sizeable statistical advantage of 417 total yards to Township’s 312. And it was balanced at 205 passing to 212 rushing. As so often happens with the Rams in a tight spot, they shutdown Township’s running game, holding them to 68 yards. 68! Nobody does that to Township. The win was sweet revenge for the Rams having lost to the Blue Streaks 10-7 on a last minute field goal in week three, a loss that dropped them to 1-2. The win puts them in the District-3 final against who else?……..Harrisburg, a team they beat in a controversial decision September 28th where a clock failure impacted the game, perhaps the outcome, won by CD 15-14. Harrisburg hit open spots in CD’s zone the entire game, completing 22 of 31 passes for 282 yards, but threw 5 interceptions with the Rams rushing three. It’s always a physical game when these two play, but Harrisburg knows this is one of the few teams they cannot intimidate. Definitely not at Landis Field Friday night where it will be a SRO crowd for the district title.
2 Manheim Township (11-1, 2nd seed)
Township closed out another successful season winning their third straight Lancaster Lebanon-Section One title (tied with Wilson, Warwick 2018) and advancing to the District-3 semifinal where they lost to Central Dauphin 35-34 in double overtime. See Central Dauphin above. Township has seen special talent come through the school the last three years, fielded high caliber teams that went 12-2, 10-2 and 11-1, with a notable 14-4 record against the top teams in the district; Central Dauphin (4-2 W/L), Wilson (3-1), Warwick (3-0), Cocalico (2-0), Cumberland Valley (2-0) and Governor Mifflin (0-1). But it looks like a serious rebuild for next year that includes quarterback Harrison Kirk who completed 62% of 244 passes for 2467 yards with a ratio of 24/5 and 65 carries for 186 yards, their top two rushers in Jaden Floyd at 912 yards and Bryce Casey at 382, plus their top 4 receivers in Bret Benjamin at 37 receptions for 469 yards, Mickey Stokes at 23/443, Nate Carpenter 25/306 and dual threat Jaden Floyd who caught 25 passes for 462 yards. This was a special team, averaging 45ppg, their highest scoring offense ever and best defense of record at 10ppg.
3 Harrisburg (9-3, 4th seed)
Like fellow conference member Central Dauphin traveling to Manheim Township, Harrisburg went on the road to the hostile confines of Gurski Stadium in West Lawn to defeat the top seeded Wilson Bulldogs, 33-29. Like the CD-Township game, it went back and forth, not decided until the final gun. Before that we were treated to fireworks in the second quarter that produced 41 points and a 21-20 half time lead for Wilson. Neither side could stop the other initially with Wilson going on drives featuring running backs Avanti Lockhart and Mason Linart, keepers by quarterback Kaleb Brown, a few passes to Troy Corson, and especially Lockhart who had a big night receiving. Harrisburg countered with the big play….quick stabs and air strikes to Trevion Carey, Donte Kent and Kamere Day, while feeding slippery Tymek Everett-Evans, Jahmir Plant and Jaylon Hosby on the ground. Underrated quarterback John McNeil had a career game, hitting Trevion Carey for a 25 yard score, Donte Kent for an 80 yard strike and Kamere Day for a 45 yard score, all in the second quarter. Second half action was just as exciting minus the scoring with both teams pounding away except for Tymet Everett-Evans going in from 4 yards out giving Harrisburg a 26-21 lead. Avanti Lockhart put Wilson back on top 29-21 in the fourth quarter with a 4 yard reception and 2 point conversion at the 6:52 mark. Harrisburg then went on an 11 play, 77 yard drive, capped by Tymet Everett-Evans’s score after being hit in the backfield by a few Bulldogs, escaping, then scrambling in from the 10 yard line with 2:45 remaining on the clock. Wilson had one more big drive left, marched 62 yards in the final minute where a pass interference call on a play in the end zone with two seconds left put them on the 6 yard line for a final untimed down. Harrisburg set up for a run but recovered as Brown rolled right and launched a throw to Avanti Lockhart that hit the turf and that was that. Quarterback John McNeil had a monster game, completing 12 of 17 passes for 306 yards with 3 touchdowns, all in the explosive second quarter. Quite a night for the junior signal caller who also rushed for 66 yards on 8 carries. Throughout the game, Wilson could not cover Donte Kent or Kamere Day who caught 5 passes for 164 yards and 4 passes for 117 yards respectively. With all their obvious flash and dash, their best kept secret is quarterback John McNeil who has evolved into a force to be reckoned with. The district final is Friday night at Central Dauphin.
4 State College (10-1, D6, 1st seed)
State College won the District 6/10 sub-regional with a road win at Erie’s Veteran Stadium against McDowell 42-21 (9-2, D-10). They dominated on both sides of the ball, recovering two fumbles and getting an interception while rushing for 364 yards. It would have been worse with two touchdowns called back. Dresyn Green finished with 146 yards and 3 scores, as they outgained the Trojans 448 yards to 382. McDowell’s coach Brad Orlando said SC was the best team they played all year including Cathedral Prep (10-2, 4A). SC advances to play the District 2/4 champ Delaware Valley (11-1, D2), who defeated Wilkes Barre (7-5, 2nd seed) 32-21 for their fourth straight district title. Forgetting the bs on a few sports boards denigrating the Wolfpack, they put up a fight, generating 360 yards and 21 first downs against Delaware Valley’s 468 yards. This is Wilkes-Barre’s inaugural season after the merger of Meyers, Coughlin and GAR high schools. On a more somber note, DV’s leading rusher Josh Barcarcel left the game early with an apparent lower leg injury, later seen on the sideline on crutches. And there is no word at this point on the four suspended players who missed this game.
5 Wilson (10-2, 1st seed)
Wilson lost a tough one at home to Harrisburg in the district semifinal 33-29, turned away on the last play of the game after taking a 21-20 halftime lead. A closer look at stats shows Harrisburg dominated, passing at will for 306 yards on just 12 completions, and rushing enough to keep Wilson honest and the chains moving with 32 carries netting 164 yards. Wilson’s big gun was running back/linebacker Avanti Lockhart (6-2, 215, sr, 63 tackles), catching 6 passes for 108 yards, two going for scores while rushing for 55 hard yards and a score on 15 carries. He ended the season with 1201 all-purpose yards, 939 rushing, 262 passing. Senior quarterback Kaleb Brown was off the mark just enough to make a difference throwing 2 picks while completing 13 of 25 passes for 196 yards against a seasonal average of 62% for 1430 yards with a ratio of 23/7. They moved the ball well through the air but only hit pay dirt twice, plus those 2 picks. Brown also rushed for 773 yards on the year with 4 scores. But at the end of the day, that’s a heck of a quarterback who will be sorely missed next year where Coach Dahms faces another rebuild. That shouldn’t be an issue knowing they’ve had 11 double-digit winning seasons in his 14 years at the helm.
6 Southern Columbia (12-0, 2A, D4, 1st seed)
Southern did what they’ve been doing most of the season, playing the first unit for a half then sitting with a big lead. Copy that for last week against North Penn/Mansfield (5-7) where they bolted out to a 28-0 first quarter lead that grew to 42-0 by halftime. That’s where it ended with the 5th seeded Knights losing 42-0. You know the Knights had to be running on fumes having a sub .500 season then upsetting 4th seeded Wellsboro (9-2) 17-14 in the first round. That made their season and probably served to get the full attention of Southern as well with the Tiger defense swarming, holding them to 28 rush yards and 173 total. They were under tremendous pressure, throwing two interceptions, one a Pick-6, with ten rushing attempts by three backs netting a negative six yards. The Tigers rolled out 424 total yards, gained mostly in the first half. The win was their 44th in a row, setting the stage for another D4-2A final against 3rd seeded Mount Carmel (10-2) who destroyed the 2 seed Troy (10-2) last week 53-28. MCA lost earlier in the year to SCA 48-0 in Catawissi.
7 Warwick (10-2, 5A, 5th seed)
Warwick’s big offense took a back seat to defense and special teams (what’s new!) when Adam Martin blocked a Manheim Central punt at the 1:55 mark and went on to win 31-28 when Tanner Haines nailed a 17 yard field goal with no time on the clock in Manheim. There’s a memory! This was a war between neighbors, with the schools barely 5 miles apart. And it was a rematch of a game played two months ago in Lititz won by Warwick 37-7. The Barons were a handful in this one but came up short with Warwick’s primary weapons just a little more than theirs. Qb Joey McCracken completed 15 of 22 passes for 171 yards and rushed for 65 more. Colton Miller was the workhorse back with 35 carries netting 166 yards, scoring on 2, 43 and 3 yard runs. Caleb Schmitz was the go to receiver catching 8 for 114 yards, one for a 33 yard touchdown. End of the day saw them with 404 total yards to Manheim’s 367. They move on to the District-3 semifinal at top seeded Cocalico (9-2), who finished a game behind Manheim Central in the LL-2 losing 46-43 in Manheim. In other words, Warwick needs to brace themselves for Part-II of the LL-1 vs the LL-2 in postseason play. Cocalico pasted Governor Mifflin last week 42-14.
8 Manheim Central (9-3, 5A, 4th seed)
The Barons closed out their season last week against the big machine from Warwick, losing 31-28 in the final second on a 17 yard field goal. See Warwick above. Qb Evan Simon closed out a stellar career topping the 8000 yard passing mark with another great performances, accounting for 318 of their 367 total yards of offense. He completed 12 of 22 passes for 214 with Td tosses of 33 and 78 yards while rushing for 104 yards on 20 carries, one, a 64 yard scoring run. He ends this season completing 154 of 270 passes for 2625 yards with a Td/Pick ratio of 25/8. His rushing stats are as impressive with 930 yards and 15 touchdowns on 193 carries. Simon is a once in a decade player who is impossible to replace. Losing Colby Wagner’s 72 receptions for 1409 yards and 259 rushing is another loss, plus his brother Ben with 42 receptions for 676 yards.
9 Cocalico (9-2, 5A, 1st seed)
With Manheim Central losing, top seeded Cocalico picks up the LL-2 banner heading into District-3’s semifinal after dismantling a streaking Governor Mifflin team 42-14. The Mustangs came in on an 8 game winning streak until the Eagles shut them down to 293 total yards, of which a mere 99 were rushing. You take that away from a Mid Line offense and its lights out. Nick Singleton came in as the leading rusher of the Berks League leaving with 16 yards on 12 carries. 16! The quicker Eagles defense herded the Mustangs one dimensional attack into a corral and kept them there the entire game while the Veer took over, led by Qb Noah Palm’s 176 total yards and 4 touchdowns, running back Ronald Zalm’s 132 total yards and Steven Flinton’s 60 yards rushing. Cocalico’s young defense made up largely of juniors and sophomores held Mifflin to 9 first downs forcing 4 turnovers, one, a 22 yard scoop and score by Marshall Patterson. 5th seeded Warwick is next in the district semifinal. Weird these two don’t play in the regular season since they scrimmage almost every year.
10 Cedar Cliff (9-2, 5A, 2nd seed)
How about Cedar Cliff, winning back-to-back Mid Penn-Keystone titles to earn another high seed in the postseason. The 2nd seeded Colts are on an 8 game winning streak after defeating overmatched New Oxford (7-5, 10th seed) 41-13. New Oxford is a small town in southern Pennsylvania just east of Gettysburg where an old tavern owner sold us quarts of beer out the back door in high school, laughing and telling us “ok boys, be careful”! You knew the Colonials were in big trouble here losing regular season games in the York-Adams to Central York 40-7 and York High 40-27. Coming to West Shore Stadium can be a tough assignment especially catching the Colts off a bye week. That’s just what their talented running back Jaheim Morris needed, a little R & R while the team worked on fundamentals, then put it all together for a strong outing, Morris rushing for 302 yards on 40 carries, taking him to 2231 for the year. The Colts pounded on them, rushing 57 times for 386 yards (512 tot yds) with quarterback Gannon McMeans finding openings, throwing for 136 yards on 3 completions! Their defense played inspired no nonsense football, holding Ox to 29 rush yards and 162 total yards. 11th seeded Exeter at 9-3 is next after beating previously undefeated and top seeded Shippensburg (11-1) 16-14. The Colts handled them 50-6 last year in the first round. This one should be much tighter, with the winner playing the Cocalico-Warwick winner before moving on to play the District-1 champion in the semifinal.
11 Milton Hershey (10-1, 4A, 2nd seed)
Milton Hershey won a 2nd round game against Conrad Weiser last week despite a sputtering offense compromised by 12 penalties for 103 yards. They came in off a bye week averaging 48ppg against a Conrad Weiser team at 6-5 that wasn’t impressing to many unless you paid close attention. CW is a mid-level program this year but well coached, full of fire, battling in competitive losses to quality opponents in Exeter 28-21 and Governor Mifflin 21-20. They battled here too, losing 22-10. Milton Hershey’s Dion Bryant had 172 total yards (62r, 110p) then sat the second half (no known injury) while TE Josh Parra caught 4 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Weiser hung around but missed a field goal, threw a pick then fumbled deep in Trojan territory to negate a solid outing by quarterback Logan Klitsch who completed 20 of 32 passes for 155 yards. The Trojans were just too big and quick, piling up 390 yards to the Scouts 279. 3rd seeded Berks Catholic (7-4) is next after beating Gettysburg in another lackluster game, 14-7. BC beat Milton Hershey last year 49-21 in Reading. But this one is in Chocolate Town against a Spartan team that’s rolling, winning their last nine games. Knowing they beat the high octane Steel High Rollers 49-27 and Middletown’s strong array of athletes 33-21 says they can beat the 4A alpha Saints.
12 Middletown (10-1, 3A, 2nd seed)
Like Milton Hershey, Middletown came off the bye week lethargic, managing a 12-7 halftime tie with Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3rd seed, LL-3) before pulling away in the second half for a 33-15 win. Statistically, it was a dominant performance, holding LC to 8 first downs and 216 yards of offense, while they gained 429 total yards themselves. Their premier back Jose Lopez rushed for 158 yards, scoring on runs of 2, 23 and 2 yards. Tymir Jackson had a 92 yard score while Joe Powell completed 6 of 11 passes for 138 yards and a 26 yard scoring strike to Chris Joseph. The win positions them for their 4th straight District-3 title if they can defeat top seeded Wyomissing (11-0, Berks-2). No small task. This will be one of those games where you can turn your back to the field and hear the pads hitting. The winner will play the winner of Pope John Paul II-Tamaqua.
13 Bishop McDevitt (8-3, 4A, 4th seed)
Once again, McDevitt used their stifling defense to throttle a good Susquehanna Township team, beating the 5th seeded Tribe 21-7, while holding them to 3 first downs and 146 total yards of offense! This is the same Hanna team they beat 17-13 in the regular season finale two weeks ago (both had byes) where the defense also performed at high levels, holding ST to 28 total yards of offense. 28! Hanna’s D is the real deal as well, holding McDevitt to 8 first downs and 255 total yards. But with a defense like McDevitt’s (113 points all year), you don’t need much offense. And at 28ppg, they don’t have much, at least not by their historic standards of high octane offenses, averaging 37ppg the last 10 years. Freshman sensation Marquese Williams got most of McDevitt’s yardage rushing for 116 yards on 16 carries, scoring on 55 and 12 yard bursts. Ben Marsico accounted for the other score on a 30 yard Pick-6 in the 1st quarter. They advance to the Disrict-3 semifinal against 8th seeded Lampeter Strasburg (9-3, LL-2, 3rd place) who just defeated previously unbeaten and top seeded York Suburban (10-1) 27-18. Their attack can get confusing, using the Wing-T with some veer and traditional power. Whatever it is called it is versatile and can cause chaos. But they need to be at their very best here with McDevitt’s offense coming on in support of a physical, quick and shutdown defense.
14 Exeter Township (9-3, 5A, 11th seed)
Exeter showed some of their Berks League pedigree beating top seeded and previously undefeated Shippensburg of the Mid Penn-Colonial 16-14. Neither could get much going but Exeter was clearly the better team, holding the Greyhounds to 7 first downs and 139 total yards of offense. To Ship’s credit, they shutdown Exeter’s substantial passing game, holding Gavin McCusker (6-2, 190, jr) to a 6 of 18 outing for 72 yards. But the Eagles also have a stable of running backs in senior Wender Polanco (5-6, 145!), Jeremiah Nixon (5-11, 185, jr), J.R. Strauss (6-1, 195, soph), plus versatile Alex Javier (6-1, 170, sr). One of them always steps up. This week it was Polanco who gashed the Hounds for 162 yards on 30 carries. He’s at 681 for the year with Strauss at 494, Nixon at 554 and multi-purposed Alex Javier with 840 yards receiving on 40 receptions and 211 rushing on 36 carries. The Eagle defense also had 3 picks and recovered a fumble. This was a defensive struggle with Sean Henry nailing field goals of 21, 28 and 20 yards to seal it. Tyler Yocum, a budding 6-0, 205 sophomore got the lone touchdown on a 3 yard run. The team is really a year ahead of schedule so mark them down for next year as well. They go on the road again Friday to play 2nd seeded Cedar Cliff who walloped them last year 50-6 in the first round.
15 Susquehanna Township (7-4, 4A, 5th seed)
Hanna’s season came to disappointing conclusion after a 7-1 start, losing their last three games to Cedar Cliff 21-14, Bishop McDevitt 17-13 and again in the postseason to McDevitt 21-7 last week. No shame there with McDevitt coming on strong winning their last six games as a 4 seed in 4A and Cedar Cliff, a 5A, winning their last 8 games as a 2 seed, both looking like they could go deep in the postseason. Losing to Manheim Central 16-7 in the opener was no joke either, holding the Barons to one of their lowest outputs of the season, outgained them 266 total yards to 183 while holding them to three field goals and a fumble in the end zone providing their other score. Unfortunately, the season mirrored the opener where it was ‘close, but no cigar’
16 Central York (9-2, 5th seed)
Heck of a year with a young group winning the York-Adams-Section 1 at 7-0, but having the misfortune of drawing the 5 seed against Harrisburg where they were exposed, losing 47-14. Most will return next year as the heavy favorite to repeat.
17 Chambersburg (6-5, 8th seed)
Chambersburg had a strong season with one of their more balanced and talented teams in years, coming up short against some of the best teams in the state losing to State College (10-1, # 1 seed D6) 27-17, Harrisburg (9-3, 4th seed) 27-25 and Central Dauphin (10-2, 3rd seed) 28-23 before bowing out against top seeded Wilson (10-2) 41-13. They were top heavy with seniors, returning at least 18 starters. Look for a major rebuild next year as they attempt to recover from graduating the most talented team to come through the school in well over two decades.
18 Wyomissing (11-0, 3A, 1st seed)
Wyomissing raced out to a 35-7 halftime lead against outmanned Annville Cleona (7-5), then cruised in the second half scoring 27 more in a thorough 62-28 dismantling of the 4th seeded Dutchman. The Trojans scored on every possession with FB Evan Niedrowski (6-2, 230 jr) bashing them for a career high 164 yards, scoring on 5, 2 and 34 yard runs while Max Hurleman rushed for 128 yards and scored twice. Total yardage was Wyo with 576 (!) to Annville’s 382 yards. Much of AC’s scoring came on trick plays and gimmicks, double passes and a fake punt that masked shortcomings but not the margin in a 34 point loss. The District-3 final is next with three time defending champ Middletown looking for their fourth consecutive District-3 title. The Spartans are looking for their first state title since 2012’s 16-0 team and some pay back from last year’s 41-6 thumping at the hands of the Blue Raiders.
19 Shippensburg (11-1, 5A, 1st seed)
Shippensburg had a historic run going undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 1986 before losing 16-14 to Exeter last week. Despite leading 14-10 at the half, they could muster no offense in the second half, getting a single first down while held scoreless as Exeter’s Sean Henry nailed two more field goals that proved to be the difference. Star running back Alex Sharrow was held to 29 yards rushing with FB Jacob Loy held to 12! Senior quarterback Zack Manning was pressured into mistakes, completing 4 of 19 passes for 29 yards while throwing 3 interceptions. But it was still a nice run by the Hounds who haven’t had a losing season since 2006.
20 Berks Catholic (7-4, 4A, 3rd seed)
Gettysburg held Berks Catholic’s vaunted running game in check for a quarter before Colby Newton broke loose for a 64 touchdown to break a scoreless tie, followed by Abdul MacFoy’s 35 yard run in the third quarter, giving the Saints a 14-0 lead at the end of three. G-burg quarterback Zach Ketterman snuck in from the 2 yard line for the final score with BC advancing after a hard fought 14-7 victory. Props to the Warriors for holding BC quick striking offense to two scores despite allowing 308 rush yards to their 198. Newton ended with 114 yards on 7 carries with MacFoy at 114 as well on 15 carries. CJ Carwll had 10 carries for 62 yards. BC moves on to the District-3 semifinal against a powerful Milton Hershey team who gets another home game with the 2 seed.
Honorable Mention:
Governor Mifflin (8-4, 5A, 8th seed) lost Cocalico 42-14
Gettysburg (8-3, 4A, 6th seed) lost Berks Catholic 14-7
York Suburban (10-1, 4A, 1st seed) lost Lampeter Strasburg 27-18
Lampeter Strasburg (9-3, 4A, 8th seed) beat Suburban 27-18, at Bishop McDevitt
Upper Dauphin (12-0, 2A, 1st seed) beat Delone Catholic 36-28, has a bye week awaiting winner of Southern Columbia-Mount Carmel
Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3A, 3rd seed) lost Middletown 33-15
Mount Carmel (10-2, 2A, D4, 3rd seed) beat Troy 53-28 at Southern Columbia in the District-4 final
Montoursville (11-1, 3A, D4, 1st seed) beat Warrior Run 54-12, home Loyalsock Twp (9-3, 2 seed) in the District-4 final
Cedar Crest (7-4, 6th seed) lost Central Dauphin 36-6, 1st Rd
Cumberland Valley (5-6, 7th seed) lost Manheim Twp 32-26 1st Rd