All classes are 6A and District 3 teams unless otherwise shown; Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 9.
1 Central Dauphin (12-2, Mid Penn-Commonwealth)
Central Dauphin advanced to their first state finals appearance since 2011, routing Downingtown West 65-44 at Coatesville’s Red Raider Field. Game Summary: The game began as you might expect with Central Dauphin feeling things out with a pounding ground game, rushing 31 times in the first half alone. Good sign for Rams fans! Quarterback Will Howard followed suit for Downingtown West completing his first ten attempts with both sides coming out swinging. A low scoring first quarter saw Downingtown up 7-3, on Ahren Stauffer’s 31 yard field goal followed by an 11 yard pass from Howard to Will Mahmud. There on Central Dauphin began to dominate, running at will to score twenty second quarter points with most of the damage done on the ground as it would be the entire game. Elijah Vargas got loose for a 44 yard run followed by Timmy Smith’s 18 yard score and a Max Mosey two yard keeper to cap off a tell-tale 90 yard, 10 play scoring drive. A 29 yard strike from Howard to Julian Williams accounted for Downingtown’s only score of the second quarter where the first half ended 23-14 Central Dauphin. Downingtown dug an even deeper hole on their opening drive of the second half when Howard threw an interception on the second play, picked by LB Paul Clark and returned to the three where fullback Marques Holton took it in. Lightening struck twice on their next series with Howard again picked, this time by defensive back Nyeem Sims that also culminated in a score where Max Mosey tossed to Tim Smith from 11 yards out giving the Rams a 37-14 third quarter lead. This was an explosive quarter where 44 points were scored. 44! While the interceptions were severe morale busters, the real blow came after Sam Pelkisson’s 15 yard touchdown cut the deficit to 44-30, followed by Malachi Bowman’s returning the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. Fourth quarter action saw them trading points with Central Dauphin knocking off substantial scoring runs of 36 yards by Tim Smith and 44 by Elijah Vargas while Howard had a 2 yard run and a 10 yard pass to Tariq Lewis for their final scoring with the extra points. There were a number of early signs that things were going Central Dauphin’s way. The OL was having its way early, putting together long drives of 79 and 90 yards in the second quarter, Timmy Smith rushing for 128 yards in the first half, converting third downs, punting once, controlling Tyriq Lewis. Second half clues came early and often in the third quarter, intercepting Howard twice and returning a kickoff 89 yards for the score. Huge momentum swings! CD got points from six players; their field goal kicker, both running backs, the fullback, quarterback and special team on the kickoff return. Somewhere in the first quarter they stopped Downingtown on a fourth and two at their (CD’s) 40 or 41 yard line. That was big. But then, that’s what they’ve done all year, making the big stop. End of the day, they won it with special teams and defense. Sophomore quarterback Max Mosey was cool and confident as always, completing 5 of 10 passes for 95 yards, rushing for 46 on 11 carries with a touchdown totaling 140 yards. Both backs had over 100 yards with Timmy Smith having a stellar performance rushing for 270 yards on 21 carries for touchdowns of 18, 24 and 36 yards, and snagging a pass for a 10 yard touchdown. Elijah Vargas had 108 yards on 7 carries with touchdowns of 44 and 45 yards. Nick Chimiente caught 4 passes for 84 yards. Total yardage was 537 for the Rams. For Downingtown who had 357 total yards, Will Howard completed 21 of 28 passes for 263 yards with touchdowns of 11, 29 and 10 yards. Hard calculating the effects on both teams of the two picks; no doubt destabilizing for Downingtown who nevertheless scored 30 second half points. For CD it was definitely uplifting, firing them and the fans up, going on to score 28 third quarter points and 14 more in the final quarter. The only time they’ve scored 28 points in a quarter this year was against 2-8 Altoona two months ago. Tough as nails Tyriq Lewis was held to 38 yards on the ground but found some gaps to catch 9 passes for 94 yards with Julian Williams catching 4 for 89 yards and Sam Pelkisson with 3 for 25 yards. Downingtown West (13-2) ends the season with a record 13 wins, an all-time average high of 45 points scored per game with a defense also at a record levels allowing 26ppg. Central Dauphin moves on to the PIAA 6A State Final at Hershey Park Stadium Saturday at 6 against defending state champion St. Joseph’s Prep (11-2). The Hawks are making their fourth consecutive finals appearance having won 4 of the last 6 championships.
2 State College (11-2, MP- Commonwealth, D6)……..season over
3 Harrisburg (9-4, MP-Commonwealth)……..season over
4 Manheim Township (11-1, LL-1)……..season over
5 Wilson (10-2, LL-1)……..season over
6 Southern Columbia (15-0, 2A, D4, Heartland)
Richland Township made the mistake of scoring on their first possession following SCA’s opening score, tying it up at 7 apiece. What’s the old saying….“never wake a sleeping tiger”. The Tigers went on a tear, scoring six consecutive touchdowns on the way to a 49-7 halftime lead while cruising to another mercy ruled 49-27 win, their 15th of the season. Three fourth quarter touchdowns by Richland against SCA’s second unit made the score seem palatable. As always, the Garcia brothers were unstoppable with Gaige rushing for 154 yards and 3 scores (1, 59, 39yds) and Gavin with 123 yards and a 4 yard scoring run, plus a 28 yard touchdown reception. Julian Fleming had 118 yards and a 51 yard touchdown on 6 catches with quarterback Preston Zachman completing 7 of 13 passes for 148 yards and the two touchdowns. They rushed for 310 of their 458 yards while Richland rushed for just 52 yards with quarterback Kellen Stahl accounting for the rest, completing 14 of 36 passes for 262 yards under constant pressure. He had touchdowns of 62 (opening drive), 87 and 8 yards. Caleb Burke scored on a 14 yard run in the fourth quarter. Southern Columbia’s win puts them in their 18th title game where they’ll go for their third consecutive championship Friday at Hershey Park Stadium at 1 against the WPIAL rep Avonworth (15-0). The Antelopes have notable wins against two previously undefeated teams, Washington (13-1) 28-7 in the WPIAL final, and District 10’s historic power Wilmington (12-1) 33-21.
7 Cocalico (11-3, 5A, LL-2)
Cocalico’s season came to a disappointing conclusion losing a heartbreaker to Cheltenham (14-1) in the 5A semifinal 56-49. The number of lead changes, big plays and momentum shifts were numbing, from the opening quarter that saw Cheltenham ahead 15-14, until the final moments where they scored the winning touchdown with 45 seconds left in the game. Quarter scoring for Cheltenham went 15, 14, 7 and 21….with Cocalico at 14, 6, 15 and 14. The big plays were unending with Cheltenham getting rushing touchdowns of 28, 50 and 51 yards and scoring passes covering 69 and 60 yards. TJ Harris had an 88 yard kickoff return along with Lateef Harris’s 3 yard touchdown pass and Nate Edwards’ 3 yard run to complete their scoring. All totaled, Adonis Hunter had an outstanding game throwing touchdowns of 69, 3 and 60 yards, completing 10 of 16 passes for 255 yards and rushing for 47. Lateef Harris caught 5 passes for 105 yards, scoring on a 69 and 3 yard toss from Hunter. Jamir Barnes had a score and 14 carries for 123 yards with Nate Edwards rushing for 106 yards with touchdowns of 50, 28 and 4 yards. That’s a lot of weapons! They ended with 550 total yards of offense. Cocalico’s big guns were quarterback Noah Palm with 189 yards rushing and touchdowns of 6 and 59 yards. Cody Shay filled in well for the injured Ronald Zalm rushing for 138 yards on 20 carries. Steven Flinton added 61 yards with Austin Vang at 43 yards. Zalm left the game in the first quarter after rushing for 53 and 4 yard scores. They ended the game with 480 total yards and zero passing on one attempt. It was a wild back and forth shoot out with the Eagles coming up short, missing a field goal just before Cheltenham’s final drive and score. At 1030 total yards of offense and 105 points scored, it had to be one of the most exciting games of the weekend. The bottom line was Cheltenham had far more weapons, diversification and speed than Cocalico. They move on to the final against Archbishop Wood Friday at 7 at Hershey Park Stadium while Cocalico looks for a new coach with Dave Gingrich confirming he was stepping down following his 16th season with a 130-60 record.
8 Warwick (10-3, 5A, LL-1)……..season over
9 Manheim Central (9-3, 5A, LL-2)……..season over
10 Cedar Cliff (10-3, 5A, MP-Keystone)……..season over
11 Lampeter Strasburg (11-4, 4A, LL-2)
Lampeter Strasburg’s memorable season came to a close with a loss to powerful, impressive and undefeated Thomas Jefferson (15-0) 44-2. The Jaguars dominated with a bigger, stronger team and a 22-0 first quarter lead. LS’s response was a 2 point safety in the second quarter that completed their scoring for the game. Six yards rushing in a Spread/Wing-T, 122 passing and 6 first downs won’t cut it in many games. But….it was a heck of a ride knowing they lost returning quarterback Sean McTaggart game #1 for the season, rebuilt the lines and went on to win a district title as the 8th seed. Not bad. TJ is TJ, and they’ve stormed a lot of people this year and may do the same in the final against Dallas. But that can’t detract from the Pioneer’s accomplishments. They fielded their most successful team since 2011’s 12-2 edition that shocked Manheim Central 22-0 before losing to Bishop McDevitt (13-3) 28-14 in the District-3 final. About TJ; Dylan Mallozzi rushed for 152 yards with 9 and 12 yard scores while quarterback Shane Stump (7 of 10) threw for 182 yards with scoring tosses of 54, 53 and 43 yards. They advance to play Dallas (15-0, D2) in the 4A final Thursday at 7 at Hershey Park Stadium.
12 Wyomissing (12-1, 3A, Berks-2)……..season over
13 Berks Catholic (8-5, 4A, Berks-2)……..season over
14 Milton Hershey (10-2, 4A, MP-Capital)……..season over
15 Middletown (10-2, 3A, MP-Colonial)……..season over
16 Bishop McDevitt (8-4, 4A, MP-Keystone)……..season over
17 Exeter Township (9-4, 5A, Berks-1)……..season over
18 Susquehanna Township (7-4, 4A, MP-Keystone)……..season over.
19 Central York (9-2, York Adams-1)……..season over
20 Chambersburg (6-5, MP-Commonwealth)……..season over
Honorable Mention:
Richland (13-1, 2A, D6) Lost to Southern Columbia 49-27.
Jersey Shore (11-4, 4A, D4, Heartland) Lost to Dallas 56-28.
Montoursville (12-2, 3A, D4, Heartland)….season over
Upper Dauphin (12-1, 2A, Tri Valley)….season over
Governor Mifflin (8-4, 5A, Berks-1)….season over
Gettysburg (8-3, 4A, YA-2)….season over
York Suburban (10-1, 4A, YA-2)….season over
Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3A, LL-3)….season over
Mount Carmel (10-3, 2A, D4, Heartland)….season over
Cedar Crest (7-4, LL-1)….season over
Cumberland Valley (5-6, MP-Commonwealth)….season over
Shippensburg (11-1, 5A, MP-Colonial)….season over
1 Central Dauphin (12-2, Mid Penn-Commonwealth)
Central Dauphin advanced to their first state finals appearance since 2011, routing Downingtown West 65-44 at Coatesville’s Red Raider Field. Game Summary: The game began as you might expect with Central Dauphin feeling things out with a pounding ground game, rushing 31 times in the first half alone. Good sign for Rams fans! Quarterback Will Howard followed suit for Downingtown West completing his first ten attempts with both sides coming out swinging. A low scoring first quarter saw Downingtown up 7-3, on Ahren Stauffer’s 31 yard field goal followed by an 11 yard pass from Howard to Will Mahmud. There on Central Dauphin began to dominate, running at will to score twenty second quarter points with most of the damage done on the ground as it would be the entire game. Elijah Vargas got loose for a 44 yard run followed by Timmy Smith’s 18 yard score and a Max Mosey two yard keeper to cap off a tell-tale 90 yard, 10 play scoring drive. A 29 yard strike from Howard to Julian Williams accounted for Downingtown’s only score of the second quarter where the first half ended 23-14 Central Dauphin. Downingtown dug an even deeper hole on their opening drive of the second half when Howard threw an interception on the second play, picked by LB Paul Clark and returned to the three where fullback Marques Holton took it in. Lightening struck twice on their next series with Howard again picked, this time by defensive back Nyeem Sims that also culminated in a score where Max Mosey tossed to Tim Smith from 11 yards out giving the Rams a 37-14 third quarter lead. This was an explosive quarter where 44 points were scored. 44! While the interceptions were severe morale busters, the real blow came after Sam Pelkisson’s 15 yard touchdown cut the deficit to 44-30, followed by Malachi Bowman’s returning the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. Fourth quarter action saw them trading points with Central Dauphin knocking off substantial scoring runs of 36 yards by Tim Smith and 44 by Elijah Vargas while Howard had a 2 yard run and a 10 yard pass to Tariq Lewis for their final scoring with the extra points. There were a number of early signs that things were going Central Dauphin’s way. The OL was having its way early, putting together long drives of 79 and 90 yards in the second quarter, Timmy Smith rushing for 128 yards in the first half, converting third downs, punting once, controlling Tyriq Lewis. Second half clues came early and often in the third quarter, intercepting Howard twice and returning a kickoff 89 yards for the score. Huge momentum swings! CD got points from six players; their field goal kicker, both running backs, the fullback, quarterback and special team on the kickoff return. Somewhere in the first quarter they stopped Downingtown on a fourth and two at their (CD’s) 40 or 41 yard line. That was big. But then, that’s what they’ve done all year, making the big stop. End of the day, they won it with special teams and defense. Sophomore quarterback Max Mosey was cool and confident as always, completing 5 of 10 passes for 95 yards, rushing for 46 on 11 carries with a touchdown totaling 140 yards. Both backs had over 100 yards with Timmy Smith having a stellar performance rushing for 270 yards on 21 carries for touchdowns of 18, 24 and 36 yards, and snagging a pass for a 10 yard touchdown. Elijah Vargas had 108 yards on 7 carries with touchdowns of 44 and 45 yards. Nick Chimiente caught 4 passes for 84 yards. Total yardage was 537 for the Rams. For Downingtown who had 357 total yards, Will Howard completed 21 of 28 passes for 263 yards with touchdowns of 11, 29 and 10 yards. Hard calculating the effects on both teams of the two picks; no doubt destabilizing for Downingtown who nevertheless scored 30 second half points. For CD it was definitely uplifting, firing them and the fans up, going on to score 28 third quarter points and 14 more in the final quarter. The only time they’ve scored 28 points in a quarter this year was against 2-8 Altoona two months ago. Tough as nails Tyriq Lewis was held to 38 yards on the ground but found some gaps to catch 9 passes for 94 yards with Julian Williams catching 4 for 89 yards and Sam Pelkisson with 3 for 25 yards. Downingtown West (13-2) ends the season with a record 13 wins, an all-time average high of 45 points scored per game with a defense also at a record levels allowing 26ppg. Central Dauphin moves on to the PIAA 6A State Final at Hershey Park Stadium Saturday at 6 against defending state champion St. Joseph’s Prep (11-2). The Hawks are making their fourth consecutive finals appearance having won 4 of the last 6 championships.
2 State College (11-2, MP- Commonwealth, D6)……..season over
3 Harrisburg (9-4, MP-Commonwealth)……..season over
4 Manheim Township (11-1, LL-1)……..season over
5 Wilson (10-2, LL-1)……..season over
6 Southern Columbia (15-0, 2A, D4, Heartland)
Richland Township made the mistake of scoring on their first possession following SCA’s opening score, tying it up at 7 apiece. What’s the old saying….“never wake a sleeping tiger”. The Tigers went on a tear, scoring six consecutive touchdowns on the way to a 49-7 halftime lead while cruising to another mercy ruled 49-27 win, their 15th of the season. Three fourth quarter touchdowns by Richland against SCA’s second unit made the score seem palatable. As always, the Garcia brothers were unstoppable with Gaige rushing for 154 yards and 3 scores (1, 59, 39yds) and Gavin with 123 yards and a 4 yard scoring run, plus a 28 yard touchdown reception. Julian Fleming had 118 yards and a 51 yard touchdown on 6 catches with quarterback Preston Zachman completing 7 of 13 passes for 148 yards and the two touchdowns. They rushed for 310 of their 458 yards while Richland rushed for just 52 yards with quarterback Kellen Stahl accounting for the rest, completing 14 of 36 passes for 262 yards under constant pressure. He had touchdowns of 62 (opening drive), 87 and 8 yards. Caleb Burke scored on a 14 yard run in the fourth quarter. Southern Columbia’s win puts them in their 18th title game where they’ll go for their third consecutive championship Friday at Hershey Park Stadium at 1 against the WPIAL rep Avonworth (15-0). The Antelopes have notable wins against two previously undefeated teams, Washington (13-1) 28-7 in the WPIAL final, and District 10’s historic power Wilmington (12-1) 33-21.
7 Cocalico (11-3, 5A, LL-2)
Cocalico’s season came to a disappointing conclusion losing a heartbreaker to Cheltenham (14-1) in the 5A semifinal 56-49. The number of lead changes, big plays and momentum shifts were numbing, from the opening quarter that saw Cheltenham ahead 15-14, until the final moments where they scored the winning touchdown with 45 seconds left in the game. Quarter scoring for Cheltenham went 15, 14, 7 and 21….with Cocalico at 14, 6, 15 and 14. The big plays were unending with Cheltenham getting rushing touchdowns of 28, 50 and 51 yards and scoring passes covering 69 and 60 yards. TJ Harris had an 88 yard kickoff return along with Lateef Harris’s 3 yard touchdown pass and Nate Edwards’ 3 yard run to complete their scoring. All totaled, Adonis Hunter had an outstanding game throwing touchdowns of 69, 3 and 60 yards, completing 10 of 16 passes for 255 yards and rushing for 47. Lateef Harris caught 5 passes for 105 yards, scoring on a 69 and 3 yard toss from Hunter. Jamir Barnes had a score and 14 carries for 123 yards with Nate Edwards rushing for 106 yards with touchdowns of 50, 28 and 4 yards. That’s a lot of weapons! They ended with 550 total yards of offense. Cocalico’s big guns were quarterback Noah Palm with 189 yards rushing and touchdowns of 6 and 59 yards. Cody Shay filled in well for the injured Ronald Zalm rushing for 138 yards on 20 carries. Steven Flinton added 61 yards with Austin Vang at 43 yards. Zalm left the game in the first quarter after rushing for 53 and 4 yard scores. They ended the game with 480 total yards and zero passing on one attempt. It was a wild back and forth shoot out with the Eagles coming up short, missing a field goal just before Cheltenham’s final drive and score. At 1030 total yards of offense and 105 points scored, it had to be one of the most exciting games of the weekend. The bottom line was Cheltenham had far more weapons, diversification and speed than Cocalico. They move on to the final against Archbishop Wood Friday at 7 at Hershey Park Stadium while Cocalico looks for a new coach with Dave Gingrich confirming he was stepping down following his 16th season with a 130-60 record.
8 Warwick (10-3, 5A, LL-1)……..season over
9 Manheim Central (9-3, 5A, LL-2)……..season over
10 Cedar Cliff (10-3, 5A, MP-Keystone)……..season over
11 Lampeter Strasburg (11-4, 4A, LL-2)
Lampeter Strasburg’s memorable season came to a close with a loss to powerful, impressive and undefeated Thomas Jefferson (15-0) 44-2. The Jaguars dominated with a bigger, stronger team and a 22-0 first quarter lead. LS’s response was a 2 point safety in the second quarter that completed their scoring for the game. Six yards rushing in a Spread/Wing-T, 122 passing and 6 first downs won’t cut it in many games. But….it was a heck of a ride knowing they lost returning quarterback Sean McTaggart game #1 for the season, rebuilt the lines and went on to win a district title as the 8th seed. Not bad. TJ is TJ, and they’ve stormed a lot of people this year and may do the same in the final against Dallas. But that can’t detract from the Pioneer’s accomplishments. They fielded their most successful team since 2011’s 12-2 edition that shocked Manheim Central 22-0 before losing to Bishop McDevitt (13-3) 28-14 in the District-3 final. About TJ; Dylan Mallozzi rushed for 152 yards with 9 and 12 yard scores while quarterback Shane Stump (7 of 10) threw for 182 yards with scoring tosses of 54, 53 and 43 yards. They advance to play Dallas (15-0, D2) in the 4A final Thursday at 7 at Hershey Park Stadium.
12 Wyomissing (12-1, 3A, Berks-2)……..season over
13 Berks Catholic (8-5, 4A, Berks-2)……..season over
14 Milton Hershey (10-2, 4A, MP-Capital)……..season over
15 Middletown (10-2, 3A, MP-Colonial)……..season over
16 Bishop McDevitt (8-4, 4A, MP-Keystone)……..season over
17 Exeter Township (9-4, 5A, Berks-1)……..season over
18 Susquehanna Township (7-4, 4A, MP-Keystone)……..season over.
19 Central York (9-2, York Adams-1)……..season over
20 Chambersburg (6-5, MP-Commonwealth)……..season over
Honorable Mention:
Richland (13-1, 2A, D6) Lost to Southern Columbia 49-27.
Jersey Shore (11-4, 4A, D4, Heartland) Lost to Dallas 56-28.
Montoursville (12-2, 3A, D4, Heartland)….season over
Upper Dauphin (12-1, 2A, Tri Valley)….season over
Governor Mifflin (8-4, 5A, Berks-1)….season over
Gettysburg (8-3, 4A, YA-2)….season over
York Suburban (10-1, 4A, YA-2)….season over
Lancaster Catholic (10-2, 3A, LL-3)….season over
Mount Carmel (10-3, 2A, D4, Heartland)….season over
Cedar Crest (7-4, LL-1)….season over
Cumberland Valley (5-6, MP-Commonwealth)….season over
Shippensburg (11-1, 5A, MP-Colonial)….season over
