(All classes are 6A and District 3 teams unless otherwise shown; Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 9)
1 State College (7-0, D6)
State College showed why they’ve been ranked #1 all year with a significant win over Harrisburg High in what was a typical Mid Penn heavyweight bout between two of the state’s top teams. SC started off with a 4 yard keeper by Qb Brady Dorner at the end of the 1st quarter, giving them a 7-0 lead. Harrisburg was moving the ball but like the Central Dauphin game two weeks ago, red zone turnovers plagued them, this time following a 58 yard completion to Kamere Day where Dresyn Green picked off Nicari Williams on SC’s 17 yard line. The half ended with State ahead 7-0. On Harrisburg’s second play of the 3rd quarter, Dresyn Green’s 14 yard Pick-6 ended another Harrisburg drive, sending Nicari Williams to the sidelines, replaced by John McNeil with State College up 14-0. It also shifted momentum. At some point the turnovers, especially in the red zone had the effect of gut punches. Green scored again early in the 4th quarter on a 6 yard run putting them up 21-0. The Cougars finally got on the board when Trevion Carey returned the subsequent kickoff 94 yards to the house. Dresyn Green was a one man wrecking machine in this one, rushing for 75 yards on 26 carries plus 26 receiving, getting two picks and having another batted away on 4th down to end a Harrisburg drive. Quarterback Brady Dorner had an outstanding game, completing 10 of 12 passes for 98 yards and rushing for 30. Bottom line, State limited Harrisburg in almost every area, holding them to 50 yards rushing and 132 passing. SC gouged them on the round, rushing for 213 yards on 41 attempts. Central Dauphin’s Rams are up next for a matchup conference co-leaders, both at 4-0 in what could be a classic. State features a robust offense scoring 36ppg with a defense allowing 10. CD’s offense is getting there at 29ppg with a defense allowing 9 against an arguably tougher schedule of Manheim Township 7-10, Wilson 13-21 and Harrisburg 15-14, compared to SC’s best being St. Augustine Prep-NJ 20-17, Chambersburg 27-17 and Harrisburg 21-6. CD will focus on Dresyn Green who had his coming out party last year in a 35-28 win as a sophomore with 211 total yards!
2 Manheim Township (7-0)
Manheim Township visited Warwick Friday in a game that paired District-3’s highest rated 6A team against the 5A leader. The encounter pulled in a large and loud crowd. But it didn’t prevent Township from asserting its alpha status, getting in Warwick’s head early with a 15 play, 80 yard opening drive that included a fake punt, and scoring the game’s opening touchdown. What a great start to launch a methodical first half that saw quarterback Harrison Kirk run in a keeper then hit Nathan Carpenter near the mid-point of the 2nd quarter from 13 out for a 21-0 half time lead. Warwick got on the board in the 3rd quarter when Colton Miller scored on a 4 yard run at the 2:45 mark of the 3rd quarter, making it a shaky 21-7 lead for Township that wasn’t secure until Jaden Floyd scored on a 5 yard burst with under a minute left in the game. Good game, with final statistics and a 28-7 score belying a competitive game. Township slowed Warwick, doing a good job keeping them out of the end zone. But it’s no easy task playing Township when they have it going with Jaden Floyd rushing for 134 yards and Harrison Kirk completing 15 of 22 passes for 132 yards and rushing for 86 yards. Township had 13 first downs and 360 total yards to 294 for Warwick, with only 86 rush yards. The win keeps them undefeated in first place a game ahead of Warwick, Wilson and Cedar Crest. Congratulations to the Streaks getting past Central Dauphin 10-7 at home, and winning road games at Cocalico (5-2, 5A) 56-7, Wilson (6-1) 30-14, and now Warwick (6-1, 5A) 28-7. Two challenges remain, one against upstart Cedar Crest (6-1, 5A) Friday then bitter rival Hempfield (2-5) at the end, with McCaskey (0-7) sandwiched between those two.
3 Central Dauphin (5-2)
Following games against Wilson, Manheim Township and Harrisburg, Central Dauphin needed the schedule break provided by Altoona who came limping in at 1-6 after rejoining the Mid Penn this year. Four conference games left them battered and bruised, getting outscored 190 to 53, including the 62-0 pasting by CD. Welcome to the bigs! After scoring on their initial possession with FB Marques Holton (6-2, 220) pounding in from the four yard line, they squirted the kickoff into a gap, recovered it and scored again with Holton getting the call from 5 yards out this time, ultimately opening the floodgates where the reserves rushed in after securing a 42-0 halftime lead. The Rams used 18 running backs and 8 receivers. Holton’s development at fullback isn’t making anyone forget the beast Adam Burkhart (5-11, 215) who had 1282 yards rushing and 80 tackles before moving on. But he’s getting the job done and is a real force at DE with 42 tackles. The other strong positive is the continued maturation of sophomore Max Mosey under center. He completed 6 of 10 passes for 102 yards and 2 touchdown. Despite reserves getting significant playing time, they outgained the Mountain Lions 446 yards to 25, with four touchdowns rushing, four passing and a Malachi Bowman 28 yard punt return for a special teams score. Next up is a game at State College against the conference co-leader who is coming off their 21-6 win against Harrisburg.
4 Wilson (6-1)
So much for Hempfield (2-5) continuing their comeback from a 1-4 start (upset Lampeter Strasburg 27-20) getting overwhelmed by Wilson 42-7 last week. Wilson, who came in with a pile of attitude after losing at home to Manheim Township 30-14, jumped on the Knights right away when speedster Mason Lenart dashed 73 yards for the score to set the tone. FB Avanti Lockhart followed with two more scores, each from a yard out as the Bulldogs ran up a 21-0 first quarter lead. They continued punishing the Knights on the ground with 56 carries netting 456 yards! Tack on 116 passing for 572 total yards against a completely broken Black Knight defense. Held to 6 first downs, the Knights mustered a mere 94 yards of offense. Maybe they should make another team their homecoming opponent next year, like this week’s opponent 0-7 McCaskey High. Wilson returns to the comfortable confines of Gurski Stadium for some major payback against Warwick who stunned them in Lititz last year 38-12. Tough spot for Warwick coming off home games against Cedar Crest and Manheim Township, and now traveling to West Lawn for their toughest away game of the year.
5 Harrisburg (4-3)
Harrisburg has not fared well since opening with a 14-6 win at Coatesville, losing to an increasingly difficult slate of teams including Archbishop Hoban (5-1) of Ohio 42-12, Central Dauphin (5-2) 15-14 and last week at State College (7-0) where they dropped a 21-6 decision. Except for Hoban, they could have won all three were it not for unending miscues and turnovers. Two picks, one a Pick-6, 3 sacks and multiple hurries doomed them against hard charging SC who got a critical conference win. State locked them down pretty good, holding Jahmir Plant to 30 yards on 12 carries. Up next is Chambersburg who could be a load at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference action, a game behind State College and CD. Harrisburg is 2-2 with the 6th seed just ahead of Chambersburg. We’ll see if Harrisburg is damaged goods following successive losses to CD and SC, and how that might affect their performance. Chambersburg will be a handful but are still new to this level of success. Harrisburg needs to punch these guys in the mouth at the start or it’s going to be another long and frustrating day.
6 Southern Columbia (7-0, 2A, D4)
Southern is so profound on both sides of the ball they make everyone look bad, including decent, veteran teams like Jersey Shore (4-3). Same with Hammond-SC (5-2) losing 36-0 and Mount Carmel (5-2), crushed 48-0. Coach Roth said as much, saying Jersey Shore was “one of the better teams we played”. For the Tigers, it was another typical game, gaining 576 yards of offense while holding Jersey to 230 total yards. Considering the opponent was SCA, 230 was a decent number until seeing that was all passing yards, 288, before subtracting negative 58 yards rushing. And talk about a decent number. Southern had four players over 100 yards of total offense; running backs Gaige Garcia at 173 yards with 2 touchdowns, Gavin Garcia with 104 yards and 2 scores, Qb Preston Zachman at 174 yards and 3 touchdowns and wide out Julian Fleming at 126 yards with 2 touchdowns. It was 56-0 at the half and 56-14 when it was all mercifully over.
Wyoming Area (7-0, 3A, D2) is next. They play in the Wyoming Valley 3A, scoring 42ppg, allowing 11. Offensively they’ll line up and come right at you behind a sizeable line, running the ball 75% of the time. This year’s team came into the season with a veteran group, good skill depth and five, four year players, notably Qb/SS Dominic Deluca, Rb/Lb Corey Mruk and D1 prospect lineman Sam Solomon (6-4, 295, sr), with offers from BC, Temple, Rutgers and others. Unfortunately, they lost Corey Mruk (5-9, 190) with a knee vs Northwest week-3, a big loss. Other standouts are lineman Nicholas Elko (6-3, 290, so), Tom Wycoski (6-3, 295, sr), DE Derek Ambrosino (6-3, 220, sr), and Lb F.J. Braccini (5-8, 185, sr) who looks like he’s all over the field at the same time. Qb Dominic Deluca (6-1, 195, sr, 640p, 518r) has a strong arm and is a fierce hitter at SS. Their 10 year won-loss is 60-51 with five winning season and five losing seasons. They’ll come out all fired up before the home crowd with the question being, can they sustain that through 4 quarters against a thoroughbred like Southern Columbia once the reality of what they’re up against sets in.
7 Warwick (6-1, 5A)
Warwick’s Joey McCracken completed just 11 of 34 passes (32%) for 90 yards as the Warriors fell to Manheim Township 28-7 in a key LL-1 game for their first loss of the season. Township’s pressure and coverage held Justin Gerhart to 4 catches for 41 yards and Conor Adams to 6 completions for 46 yards. Warwick came into the game averaging 280 yards passing a game. They stayed within reach of the Blue Streaks, down 21-7 late in the 4th quarter when a final touchdown by the visitors sealed it. Township’s defense was simply too dominating, holding them to 86 yards rushing on 26 carries. The loss knocked them out of first place at 2-1 behind Township at 3-0. So they’ll need a little help catching them. Problem there is a road trip to Wilson Friday who is in the same predicament at 2-1, trying to catch Township while running out of games.
8 Central York (6-1)
Once again the Panthers walloped an overmatched Spring Grove (2-5) team with a 17-0 first half followed by a 35-0 second half. In 2018 they beat them 58-14 and again in 2017 55-14, showing the gap between the two schools. The win extends Central’s winning streak to 5 games, keeping them deadlocked at 4-0 atop the York-Adams league with another exciting edition at York High. Since opening with a 42-7 disaster against Pittsburgh Central Catholic, the Bearcats (5-2, 5A) have been on a roll. They’ll meet in the regular season final. What many may not have noticed about Central York is an outstanding defense that is strangling opponents. With an offense averaging 43 points per game, its easy overlooking a defense that held 6 teams to 7 points or less along with 2 shutouts. The Northeastern Bobcats (6-1) are next at 3-1, a game behind Central High and York. They have a lot of bodies back from last year’s 5-6 group that got your attention with a mid-year upset of Red Lion (8-3) and a 6-0 loss to Shippensburg (10-2) in the first round. Central York should prevail but the Bobcats score points, 36 a game and are no slouch. Zech Sanderson (6-4, 200, sr, 1124 yards) can sling it and he doesn’t throw picks.
9 Chambersburg (5-2)
Central Dauphin East hung out with Chambersburg last week, enjoying the beautiful stadium and nearby mountains while actually giving the Trojans a game, trailing 14-10 at the half. Isaiah Abraham had a 15 yard fumble return with Miles Mims booting a 42 yard field goal to account for their early scoring. Bryce Baker did his part contributing 88 yards on 26 carries. But 5 turnovers did them in, plus a 17-6 Chambersburg second half as the Trojans prevailed 31-16. Keyshawn Jones had a terrific game, rushing for 192 yards on 18 carries. Their other talented back Jayden Jones, added 86 yards on 4 carries. Brady Stumbaugh completed 6 of 10 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 68 yads. Tyler Luther caught the 20 yard scoring toss and kicked a 45 yard field goal. East High got pushed around for 328 rush yards while the Trojans held them to 132 yards rushing and 73 passing. Harrisburg is next. But with Harrisburg coming off consecutive losses, there are probably better places to be than Severance Field on a Saturday afternoon against what could be a focused bunch of Cougars.
10 Manheim Central (5-2, 5A)
Manheim Central and Lampeter Strasburg got into a good one last week where another misleading score tells the wrong story. 33-14 looks convincing, and the final score is all that matters. The hidden story is MC holding a slim 20-14 lead with just under 7 minutes left in the game. These old LL-2 adversaries went at it long and hard, battling deep into the 4th quarter on an equal footing. Final stats showed both with 16 first downs, MC with 150 rush yards, LS with 180. The real difference was MC’s quarterback Evan Simon’s ability to make the big play. LS held him to 20 yards rushing as he completed 14 on 32 attempts. Bad throws, drops? But when they connected it produced 224 yards in receptions with a touchdown of 25 yards to Colby Wagner and a 1 yard keeper by Simons. Colby had an exceptional game with 8 receptions for 145 yards while rushing for 129 yards on 12 carries for 3 more touchdowns. Talk about a weapon. Guess who scored the 26 and 21 yard touchdowns late in the 4th quarter? Conestoga Valley (2-5) is next, with a coach in Gerad Novak and quarterback in Bradley Stoltzfus who never saw a down or distance that couldn’t be approached with a pass. Stoltzfus can get it out there with a 69% completion rate, generating 1688 yards with an 18/3 ratio. He rushed for 498 yards. Pretty nice for a 2-5 team. The rebuilt line still has issues but not at center where Joshua Mathiot (6-2, 270, sr) makes life much easier for Stoltzfus. The Barons should roll but Stoltzfus is a weapon.
11 Shippensburg (7-0, 5A)
Shippensburg’s terror tandem of Alex Sharrow (5-5, 140) and fullback Jacob Loy (6-0, 195) dominated West Perry as Sharrow motored for 132 yards on 12 carries with touchdown runs of 56, 38 and 5 yards. Loy contributed with 102 yards on 15 carries, blasting in for touchdowns of 4 and 2 yards. Sprinter Isaiah Houser (5-9, 140) got it all going, returning the opening kickoff 95 yards as the Greyhounds powered over the Mustangs 39-13. The Perry county squad was held to 125 total yards. Northern (5-2, 5A) is next. For all intents and purposes, they’d be off the radar except for the exploits of running back Kyle Swartz. He’s a 6 foot 210 pound senior who has 1340 yards rushing in just 5 games, and the reason the Polar Bears are tied with Shippensburg atop the Mid Penn-Colonial. Dillsburg loves their football and will be pumped for the super quick Hounds with a powerful ground game trying to slow things down, supported by a full house. Nice seeing Shippensburg’s Jacob Loy on the field with Swartz of Northern.
12 Susquehanna Township (6-1, 4A)
Jacob Seigle returned from the injured list to help the Tribe defeat 3-4 Conrad Weiser 24-7. His return was integral to the win, gaining 156 yards rushing and catching 3 passes for 25 yards. Quarterback Rahsaan Carlton had one of his better games of the season completing 15 of 22 passes for 184 yards, spreading those receptions out to 7 different receivers. He threw 3 touchdown passes. Their defense dominated the slower Scouts, holding them to 4 first downs and 70 total yards of offense to Hanna’s 364 total yards. They move on to play Red Land (4-3, 2-2, 5A) before decisive conference games against Cedar Cliff (7-1, 3-0, 5A) and Bishop McDevitt (4-3, 2-1, 4A), games that will decide the conference championship and postseason playoff positions.
13 Milton Hershey (6-1, 5A)
Milton Hershey soared in the ranking from 17th after defeating previously unbeaten Middletown 33-21 who was ranked 8th. Their rise and Middletown’s precipitous fall was based on the Blue Raider’s losing at home to Milton Hershey and an overall reassessment of team performances. The game put MH in sole possession of first place in the conference. There were a lot of athletes on the field in this one where the Spartans proved to be more diverse and efficient with their opportunities. While Middletown outgained them 326 to 258 yards, it was largely the Jose Lopez show, gaining 194 yards on 34 carries. Their passing woes continued, completing but 6 of 13 for 48 yards. Team mate Tymir Jackson added 102 on 15 attempts. But the Raiders had no answer for sophomore Dion Bryant who scooted for 134 yards on 18 carries with touchdowns of 84 and 33 yards. At 5-8, 180, he’s a hard tackle. He also returned a kickoff 73 yards for another score. Their big receivers, Josh Parra (6-4, 210) and Avohn Cross (6-4, 204) kept Middletown honest with 33 and 25 yards in receptions respectively. Forget about it with those two loose in your secondary. Significantly, Middletown had eight drive stopping fumbles, losing four. MH moves on to Palmyra (3-4) before Camp Hill (1-6) then a huge game against Steel High.
14 Middletown (6-1, 3A)
Middletown’s home loss last week against Milton Hershey snapped their 25 game Capital Conference winning streak, dropping them into second place behind Milton Hershey in the Capital conference. It also resulted in their plunge in the ranking from 8th to 14th. The standings through seven weeks show Milton Hershey in first at 4-0, followed by Middletown and Steel High (6-1) at 3-1 with Trinity (5-2) still in it at 2-2. It’s a great race with Steelton Highspire likely eyeing the October 25th showdown in Hershey against Milton Hershey where a Roller win will create a 3 way conference tie. The Blue Raiders move on, likely blowing out Trinity (5-2), East Pennsboro (2-5) and Palmyra (3-4) to position themselves for post season concerns and another possible conference championship. They currently hold the 2 seed behind Wyomissing.
15 Berks Catholic (4-3, 4A)
Berks Catholic continued its recovery from a demanding early season schedule where most of the backfield suffered injuries against Central Dauphin, McDonogh and Malvern Prep which forced at least three players at one point to the sidelines. Two weeks ago saw them stutter step to a 9-0 win against Hamburg (3-4). Last week showed progress with a more fully recovered backfield routing hapless Kutztown (0-7, 3A) 61-7, getting offensive touchdowns from 7 different players. It started with Clayton Gibbs returning the opening kickoff 85 yards followed by Christian Cacchione returning Kutztown’s first punt 47 yards for another score. The rout was on. They’re at Schuylkill Valley (3-4, 3A) Friday where the Panthers are coming off a 32-21 Homecoming loss to Fleetwood (6-1). SV has been a no-show against the stronger teams on their schedule, losing 44-14 to undefeated Upper Dauphin (7-0, 2A, D3) and District-1 PAC-Frontier power Pope John Paul II (6-1, 3A) 52-7. They’ll handle SV then finish out at home against Berks-2 challengers Fleetwood and rival Wyomissing (7-0, 3A) where the conference championship will be decided.
16 Cocalico (5-2, 5A)
Despite winning last week against Conestoga Valley 54-41, the Eagles dropped in the ranking with their young defense wilting the last 3 games, losing to Manheim Township 56-7 and Manheim Central 46-43, then getting a 54-41 win last week against Conestoga Valley. That’s 143 points allowed in 3 games. About the game; the statistics were immense, with Cocalico gaining 746 total yards of offense (586r, 160p), to Conestoga Valley’s 559 (138r, 421p!). Cocalico’s veer often produces stats that look like typos. And it is difficult containing their ball control offense as rarely as it’s seen with a quarterback like Noah Palm and Rb Ronald Zahm behind a line that understands discipline. Because they’ve been running it for years with a staff that’s been in place forever, they’re good at it! That makes it tough for opposing defenses who have to be equally disciplined, knowing assignments and tackling well. Still, Cocalico’s scheme can lull you to sleep; dive, dive, dive…then Palm keeps it for a big gain, or worse, throws a dart with his 67% completion rate. Manheim Township is the only team to shut them down, aided in part by Fb Austin Vang, Qb Palm and Rb Zahm all going down in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Palm (New Hampshire) is the key to everything Cocalico does offensively, rushing for 203 yards with 3 Tds against CV and passing for 160 with another touchdown. That’s 49 % of their offense. Zalm had 192 yards on 10 carries (4 Tds) with sophomore Steven Flinton (1 Td) turning heads with 164 yards on 9 carries. For Conestoga Valley, Qb Bradley Stoltzfus was outstanding, rushing for 113 yards on 18 carries and completing 24 of 32 passes (75%) for 421 yards and 4 touchdown. Zach Fisher caught 11passes for 170 yards with Derek Ulishney catching 6 for 116 yards. They move on to play Manheim Central while the Eagles go to winless Garden Spot (0-7) who they defeated 55-21 last year.
17 Wyomissing (7-0, 3A)
A 17 point first quarter followed by a 14-0 2nd quarter was all she wrote for Hamburg as the Trojans ran for 300 yards to overwhelm the Hawks 45-6. Max Hurleman’s 80 yards kickoff return following Hamburg’s only score blunted whatever thoughts they had of a comeback. It’s frustrating playing Berks Catholic and Wyomissing back-to-back although they did some damage with Shaheed Warren running for 78 yards; something they’ll have to address before playing Berks Catholic with their stable of running backs. Hurleman finished with 58 rushing and a 16 yard touchdown run with Jevin Tranquilla getting 92 yards on 5 carries. FB Evan Niedrowski had 50 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Kutztown is next, then Schuylkill Valley before the road game at Berks Catholic for the Berks-2 title.
18 Exeter Township (5-2, 5A)
Reading got out the gate well, winning their first four games before facing the reality of Berk-1 competition that saw them lose to Governor Mifflin (4-3, 5A) 49-6, and Exeter Township last week 42-7. Governor Mifflin is a strong team that got off on the wrong foot at 0-3, including a 61-14 disappearing act against rival Wilson before righting the ship. Exeter’s season began at Berks Catholic with the “gift that keeps on giving” of 19 penalties for 150 yards in a 14-10 loss. Untimely penalties and a fumbled punt return helped do them in against Spring Ford 24-7, plus Ryan Engro’s 304 yards passing! But they’re hot now, winning 3 straight with the Reading win. Wide out Alex Javier (D1 talent) was too quick and shifty for Reading, snagging 4 touchdown tosses on 5 receptions for 120 yards; one, a 68 yard bomb just before the half giving them a 28-7 lead. The Eagle D thwarted the Knights throughout the game, holding them to 84 total yards of offense. Twin Valley (2-5, 5A) is next, before the big game at Governor Mifflin that will decide the Berks-1 title and more since both are 5A teams. Exeter is currently 12th with GM at 15.
19 Cedar Cliff (4-3, 5A)
A 21 point first quarter was all Cedar Cliff needed to dispose of Hershey (1-6) 43-20, who hasn’t won a game since the opener. Things are far more positive for the Colts who opened the season at 1-2, then went on a tear since the Harrisburg loss with wins against Hollidaysburg 49-8, Lower Dauphin 47-7, Hershey last week and their most impressive win, beating Bishop McDevitt 20-17 three weeks ago. They’re doing it with a balanced offense and a developing first year starter in junior Gannon McMeans (6-0, 190) under center. He’s thrown for 826 yards at 50%, with a Td/Pick ratio of 9 to 3. He rarely runs but doesn’t have to with a back like Jaheim Morris (5-10, 190, sr) doing damage against everyone including Harrisburg and McDevitt where he rushed for 76 and 86 respectively. Against Hershey, he rushed for 196 yards on 26 attempts, scoring touchdowns of 3, 34 and 10 yards. The win keeps them tied with Susquehanna Township atop the Mid Penn-Keystone. Great scheduling for the fans sees Susquehanna Township playing them in two weeks at Cedar Cliff, then McDevitt finishing out the regular season at ST. This week sees the Colts in their last away game at Mechanicsburg (5-2) who are hanging around at 2-1, a game behind the leaders. The Wildcats are inconsistent, beating Northern (5-2) 35-36 on the road then getting skunked two weeks ago at Susquehanna Township 34-0. The Colts are hoping the latter version shows up Friday night.
20 Cedar Crest (6-1)
Cedar Crest responded to the disappointing loss at Warwick last week with a strong effort against Penn Manor (2-5), gaining 400 yards of offense in a 37-10 win. Junior Qb Chris Danz (5-10, 150) is coming along well in his first year as a starter, having a strong game here completing 13 of 21 passes for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the season, he’s at 57%, for 1286 yards with a 13/2 ratio. Most of his passes against PM went to Cole Miller, who caught 6 for 112 yards, including a 55 yard scoring toss. He’s their leading receiver, with 31 receptions for 532 yards and 6 touchdowns. Tyler Cruz was the man again, rushing for 126 yards with scores of 1, 44 and 14 yards on 24 carries. He‘s at 1018 yards for the year. Defense was also strong, picking off quarterback Luke Brass 3 times and recovering 2 fumbles. The Falcons are having a fine season, enjoying something of a renaissance going 25-13 the last 4 years (6-4, 8-3, 5-5 and 6-1) after a long and inept run going 24-77 from 2006 through 2015. They’re in unchartered territory this year with the 4th seed behind Central Dauphin, and a game behind Manheim Township in the Section-One race. That will change this weekend playing at Township.
Honorable Mention:
Northeastern (6-1, 5A) at Central York 6-1
York Suburban (7-0, 4A) home Gettysburg 6-1, 4A
Northern York (5-2, 5A) home Shippensburg 7-00, 5A
York-William Penn (5-2, 5A) at South Western 3-5, 5A
Lampeter Strasburg (5-2, 4A) home Solanco 5-2, 5A
Montoursville (7-0, 3A, D4) at Mifflinburg 4-3, 3A
Gettysburg (6-1, 4A) at Suburban 7-0, 4A
Steelton Highspire (6-1, 2A) at East Pennsboro 2-5, 4A
Mount Carmel (5-2, 3A, D4) home South Williamsport 4-3, 1A
Bishop McDevitt (4-3, 4A) at Hershey 1-6, 5A
Governor Mifflin (4-3, 5A) home Lower Dauphin 0-7, 5A
1 State College (7-0, D6)
State College showed why they’ve been ranked #1 all year with a significant win over Harrisburg High in what was a typical Mid Penn heavyweight bout between two of the state’s top teams. SC started off with a 4 yard keeper by Qb Brady Dorner at the end of the 1st quarter, giving them a 7-0 lead. Harrisburg was moving the ball but like the Central Dauphin game two weeks ago, red zone turnovers plagued them, this time following a 58 yard completion to Kamere Day where Dresyn Green picked off Nicari Williams on SC’s 17 yard line. The half ended with State ahead 7-0. On Harrisburg’s second play of the 3rd quarter, Dresyn Green’s 14 yard Pick-6 ended another Harrisburg drive, sending Nicari Williams to the sidelines, replaced by John McNeil with State College up 14-0. It also shifted momentum. At some point the turnovers, especially in the red zone had the effect of gut punches. Green scored again early in the 4th quarter on a 6 yard run putting them up 21-0. The Cougars finally got on the board when Trevion Carey returned the subsequent kickoff 94 yards to the house. Dresyn Green was a one man wrecking machine in this one, rushing for 75 yards on 26 carries plus 26 receiving, getting two picks and having another batted away on 4th down to end a Harrisburg drive. Quarterback Brady Dorner had an outstanding game, completing 10 of 12 passes for 98 yards and rushing for 30. Bottom line, State limited Harrisburg in almost every area, holding them to 50 yards rushing and 132 passing. SC gouged them on the round, rushing for 213 yards on 41 attempts. Central Dauphin’s Rams are up next for a matchup conference co-leaders, both at 4-0 in what could be a classic. State features a robust offense scoring 36ppg with a defense allowing 10. CD’s offense is getting there at 29ppg with a defense allowing 9 against an arguably tougher schedule of Manheim Township 7-10, Wilson 13-21 and Harrisburg 15-14, compared to SC’s best being St. Augustine Prep-NJ 20-17, Chambersburg 27-17 and Harrisburg 21-6. CD will focus on Dresyn Green who had his coming out party last year in a 35-28 win as a sophomore with 211 total yards!
2 Manheim Township (7-0)
Manheim Township visited Warwick Friday in a game that paired District-3’s highest rated 6A team against the 5A leader. The encounter pulled in a large and loud crowd. But it didn’t prevent Township from asserting its alpha status, getting in Warwick’s head early with a 15 play, 80 yard opening drive that included a fake punt, and scoring the game’s opening touchdown. What a great start to launch a methodical first half that saw quarterback Harrison Kirk run in a keeper then hit Nathan Carpenter near the mid-point of the 2nd quarter from 13 out for a 21-0 half time lead. Warwick got on the board in the 3rd quarter when Colton Miller scored on a 4 yard run at the 2:45 mark of the 3rd quarter, making it a shaky 21-7 lead for Township that wasn’t secure until Jaden Floyd scored on a 5 yard burst with under a minute left in the game. Good game, with final statistics and a 28-7 score belying a competitive game. Township slowed Warwick, doing a good job keeping them out of the end zone. But it’s no easy task playing Township when they have it going with Jaden Floyd rushing for 134 yards and Harrison Kirk completing 15 of 22 passes for 132 yards and rushing for 86 yards. Township had 13 first downs and 360 total yards to 294 for Warwick, with only 86 rush yards. The win keeps them undefeated in first place a game ahead of Warwick, Wilson and Cedar Crest. Congratulations to the Streaks getting past Central Dauphin 10-7 at home, and winning road games at Cocalico (5-2, 5A) 56-7, Wilson (6-1) 30-14, and now Warwick (6-1, 5A) 28-7. Two challenges remain, one against upstart Cedar Crest (6-1, 5A) Friday then bitter rival Hempfield (2-5) at the end, with McCaskey (0-7) sandwiched between those two.
3 Central Dauphin (5-2)
Following games against Wilson, Manheim Township and Harrisburg, Central Dauphin needed the schedule break provided by Altoona who came limping in at 1-6 after rejoining the Mid Penn this year. Four conference games left them battered and bruised, getting outscored 190 to 53, including the 62-0 pasting by CD. Welcome to the bigs! After scoring on their initial possession with FB Marques Holton (6-2, 220) pounding in from the four yard line, they squirted the kickoff into a gap, recovered it and scored again with Holton getting the call from 5 yards out this time, ultimately opening the floodgates where the reserves rushed in after securing a 42-0 halftime lead. The Rams used 18 running backs and 8 receivers. Holton’s development at fullback isn’t making anyone forget the beast Adam Burkhart (5-11, 215) who had 1282 yards rushing and 80 tackles before moving on. But he’s getting the job done and is a real force at DE with 42 tackles. The other strong positive is the continued maturation of sophomore Max Mosey under center. He completed 6 of 10 passes for 102 yards and 2 touchdown. Despite reserves getting significant playing time, they outgained the Mountain Lions 446 yards to 25, with four touchdowns rushing, four passing and a Malachi Bowman 28 yard punt return for a special teams score. Next up is a game at State College against the conference co-leader who is coming off their 21-6 win against Harrisburg.
4 Wilson (6-1)
So much for Hempfield (2-5) continuing their comeback from a 1-4 start (upset Lampeter Strasburg 27-20) getting overwhelmed by Wilson 42-7 last week. Wilson, who came in with a pile of attitude after losing at home to Manheim Township 30-14, jumped on the Knights right away when speedster Mason Lenart dashed 73 yards for the score to set the tone. FB Avanti Lockhart followed with two more scores, each from a yard out as the Bulldogs ran up a 21-0 first quarter lead. They continued punishing the Knights on the ground with 56 carries netting 456 yards! Tack on 116 passing for 572 total yards against a completely broken Black Knight defense. Held to 6 first downs, the Knights mustered a mere 94 yards of offense. Maybe they should make another team their homecoming opponent next year, like this week’s opponent 0-7 McCaskey High. Wilson returns to the comfortable confines of Gurski Stadium for some major payback against Warwick who stunned them in Lititz last year 38-12. Tough spot for Warwick coming off home games against Cedar Crest and Manheim Township, and now traveling to West Lawn for their toughest away game of the year.
5 Harrisburg (4-3)
Harrisburg has not fared well since opening with a 14-6 win at Coatesville, losing to an increasingly difficult slate of teams including Archbishop Hoban (5-1) of Ohio 42-12, Central Dauphin (5-2) 15-14 and last week at State College (7-0) where they dropped a 21-6 decision. Except for Hoban, they could have won all three were it not for unending miscues and turnovers. Two picks, one a Pick-6, 3 sacks and multiple hurries doomed them against hard charging SC who got a critical conference win. State locked them down pretty good, holding Jahmir Plant to 30 yards on 12 carries. Up next is Chambersburg who could be a load at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference action, a game behind State College and CD. Harrisburg is 2-2 with the 6th seed just ahead of Chambersburg. We’ll see if Harrisburg is damaged goods following successive losses to CD and SC, and how that might affect their performance. Chambersburg will be a handful but are still new to this level of success. Harrisburg needs to punch these guys in the mouth at the start or it’s going to be another long and frustrating day.
6 Southern Columbia (7-0, 2A, D4)
Southern is so profound on both sides of the ball they make everyone look bad, including decent, veteran teams like Jersey Shore (4-3). Same with Hammond-SC (5-2) losing 36-0 and Mount Carmel (5-2), crushed 48-0. Coach Roth said as much, saying Jersey Shore was “one of the better teams we played”. For the Tigers, it was another typical game, gaining 576 yards of offense while holding Jersey to 230 total yards. Considering the opponent was SCA, 230 was a decent number until seeing that was all passing yards, 288, before subtracting negative 58 yards rushing. And talk about a decent number. Southern had four players over 100 yards of total offense; running backs Gaige Garcia at 173 yards with 2 touchdowns, Gavin Garcia with 104 yards and 2 scores, Qb Preston Zachman at 174 yards and 3 touchdowns and wide out Julian Fleming at 126 yards with 2 touchdowns. It was 56-0 at the half and 56-14 when it was all mercifully over.
Wyoming Area (7-0, 3A, D2) is next. They play in the Wyoming Valley 3A, scoring 42ppg, allowing 11. Offensively they’ll line up and come right at you behind a sizeable line, running the ball 75% of the time. This year’s team came into the season with a veteran group, good skill depth and five, four year players, notably Qb/SS Dominic Deluca, Rb/Lb Corey Mruk and D1 prospect lineman Sam Solomon (6-4, 295, sr), with offers from BC, Temple, Rutgers and others. Unfortunately, they lost Corey Mruk (5-9, 190) with a knee vs Northwest week-3, a big loss. Other standouts are lineman Nicholas Elko (6-3, 290, so), Tom Wycoski (6-3, 295, sr), DE Derek Ambrosino (6-3, 220, sr), and Lb F.J. Braccini (5-8, 185, sr) who looks like he’s all over the field at the same time. Qb Dominic Deluca (6-1, 195, sr, 640p, 518r) has a strong arm and is a fierce hitter at SS. Their 10 year won-loss is 60-51 with five winning season and five losing seasons. They’ll come out all fired up before the home crowd with the question being, can they sustain that through 4 quarters against a thoroughbred like Southern Columbia once the reality of what they’re up against sets in.
7 Warwick (6-1, 5A)
Warwick’s Joey McCracken completed just 11 of 34 passes (32%) for 90 yards as the Warriors fell to Manheim Township 28-7 in a key LL-1 game for their first loss of the season. Township’s pressure and coverage held Justin Gerhart to 4 catches for 41 yards and Conor Adams to 6 completions for 46 yards. Warwick came into the game averaging 280 yards passing a game. They stayed within reach of the Blue Streaks, down 21-7 late in the 4th quarter when a final touchdown by the visitors sealed it. Township’s defense was simply too dominating, holding them to 86 yards rushing on 26 carries. The loss knocked them out of first place at 2-1 behind Township at 3-0. So they’ll need a little help catching them. Problem there is a road trip to Wilson Friday who is in the same predicament at 2-1, trying to catch Township while running out of games.
8 Central York (6-1)
Once again the Panthers walloped an overmatched Spring Grove (2-5) team with a 17-0 first half followed by a 35-0 second half. In 2018 they beat them 58-14 and again in 2017 55-14, showing the gap between the two schools. The win extends Central’s winning streak to 5 games, keeping them deadlocked at 4-0 atop the York-Adams league with another exciting edition at York High. Since opening with a 42-7 disaster against Pittsburgh Central Catholic, the Bearcats (5-2, 5A) have been on a roll. They’ll meet in the regular season final. What many may not have noticed about Central York is an outstanding defense that is strangling opponents. With an offense averaging 43 points per game, its easy overlooking a defense that held 6 teams to 7 points or less along with 2 shutouts. The Northeastern Bobcats (6-1) are next at 3-1, a game behind Central High and York. They have a lot of bodies back from last year’s 5-6 group that got your attention with a mid-year upset of Red Lion (8-3) and a 6-0 loss to Shippensburg (10-2) in the first round. Central York should prevail but the Bobcats score points, 36 a game and are no slouch. Zech Sanderson (6-4, 200, sr, 1124 yards) can sling it and he doesn’t throw picks.
9 Chambersburg (5-2)
Central Dauphin East hung out with Chambersburg last week, enjoying the beautiful stadium and nearby mountains while actually giving the Trojans a game, trailing 14-10 at the half. Isaiah Abraham had a 15 yard fumble return with Miles Mims booting a 42 yard field goal to account for their early scoring. Bryce Baker did his part contributing 88 yards on 26 carries. But 5 turnovers did them in, plus a 17-6 Chambersburg second half as the Trojans prevailed 31-16. Keyshawn Jones had a terrific game, rushing for 192 yards on 18 carries. Their other talented back Jayden Jones, added 86 yards on 4 carries. Brady Stumbaugh completed 6 of 10 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 68 yads. Tyler Luther caught the 20 yard scoring toss and kicked a 45 yard field goal. East High got pushed around for 328 rush yards while the Trojans held them to 132 yards rushing and 73 passing. Harrisburg is next. But with Harrisburg coming off consecutive losses, there are probably better places to be than Severance Field on a Saturday afternoon against what could be a focused bunch of Cougars.
10 Manheim Central (5-2, 5A)
Manheim Central and Lampeter Strasburg got into a good one last week where another misleading score tells the wrong story. 33-14 looks convincing, and the final score is all that matters. The hidden story is MC holding a slim 20-14 lead with just under 7 minutes left in the game. These old LL-2 adversaries went at it long and hard, battling deep into the 4th quarter on an equal footing. Final stats showed both with 16 first downs, MC with 150 rush yards, LS with 180. The real difference was MC’s quarterback Evan Simon’s ability to make the big play. LS held him to 20 yards rushing as he completed 14 on 32 attempts. Bad throws, drops? But when they connected it produced 224 yards in receptions with a touchdown of 25 yards to Colby Wagner and a 1 yard keeper by Simons. Colby had an exceptional game with 8 receptions for 145 yards while rushing for 129 yards on 12 carries for 3 more touchdowns. Talk about a weapon. Guess who scored the 26 and 21 yard touchdowns late in the 4th quarter? Conestoga Valley (2-5) is next, with a coach in Gerad Novak and quarterback in Bradley Stoltzfus who never saw a down or distance that couldn’t be approached with a pass. Stoltzfus can get it out there with a 69% completion rate, generating 1688 yards with an 18/3 ratio. He rushed for 498 yards. Pretty nice for a 2-5 team. The rebuilt line still has issues but not at center where Joshua Mathiot (6-2, 270, sr) makes life much easier for Stoltzfus. The Barons should roll but Stoltzfus is a weapon.
11 Shippensburg (7-0, 5A)
Shippensburg’s terror tandem of Alex Sharrow (5-5, 140) and fullback Jacob Loy (6-0, 195) dominated West Perry as Sharrow motored for 132 yards on 12 carries with touchdown runs of 56, 38 and 5 yards. Loy contributed with 102 yards on 15 carries, blasting in for touchdowns of 4 and 2 yards. Sprinter Isaiah Houser (5-9, 140) got it all going, returning the opening kickoff 95 yards as the Greyhounds powered over the Mustangs 39-13. The Perry county squad was held to 125 total yards. Northern (5-2, 5A) is next. For all intents and purposes, they’d be off the radar except for the exploits of running back Kyle Swartz. He’s a 6 foot 210 pound senior who has 1340 yards rushing in just 5 games, and the reason the Polar Bears are tied with Shippensburg atop the Mid Penn-Colonial. Dillsburg loves their football and will be pumped for the super quick Hounds with a powerful ground game trying to slow things down, supported by a full house. Nice seeing Shippensburg’s Jacob Loy on the field with Swartz of Northern.
12 Susquehanna Township (6-1, 4A)
Jacob Seigle returned from the injured list to help the Tribe defeat 3-4 Conrad Weiser 24-7. His return was integral to the win, gaining 156 yards rushing and catching 3 passes for 25 yards. Quarterback Rahsaan Carlton had one of his better games of the season completing 15 of 22 passes for 184 yards, spreading those receptions out to 7 different receivers. He threw 3 touchdown passes. Their defense dominated the slower Scouts, holding them to 4 first downs and 70 total yards of offense to Hanna’s 364 total yards. They move on to play Red Land (4-3, 2-2, 5A) before decisive conference games against Cedar Cliff (7-1, 3-0, 5A) and Bishop McDevitt (4-3, 2-1, 4A), games that will decide the conference championship and postseason playoff positions.
13 Milton Hershey (6-1, 5A)
Milton Hershey soared in the ranking from 17th after defeating previously unbeaten Middletown 33-21 who was ranked 8th. Their rise and Middletown’s precipitous fall was based on the Blue Raider’s losing at home to Milton Hershey and an overall reassessment of team performances. The game put MH in sole possession of first place in the conference. There were a lot of athletes on the field in this one where the Spartans proved to be more diverse and efficient with their opportunities. While Middletown outgained them 326 to 258 yards, it was largely the Jose Lopez show, gaining 194 yards on 34 carries. Their passing woes continued, completing but 6 of 13 for 48 yards. Team mate Tymir Jackson added 102 on 15 attempts. But the Raiders had no answer for sophomore Dion Bryant who scooted for 134 yards on 18 carries with touchdowns of 84 and 33 yards. At 5-8, 180, he’s a hard tackle. He also returned a kickoff 73 yards for another score. Their big receivers, Josh Parra (6-4, 210) and Avohn Cross (6-4, 204) kept Middletown honest with 33 and 25 yards in receptions respectively. Forget about it with those two loose in your secondary. Significantly, Middletown had eight drive stopping fumbles, losing four. MH moves on to Palmyra (3-4) before Camp Hill (1-6) then a huge game against Steel High.
14 Middletown (6-1, 3A)
Middletown’s home loss last week against Milton Hershey snapped their 25 game Capital Conference winning streak, dropping them into second place behind Milton Hershey in the Capital conference. It also resulted in their plunge in the ranking from 8th to 14th. The standings through seven weeks show Milton Hershey in first at 4-0, followed by Middletown and Steel High (6-1) at 3-1 with Trinity (5-2) still in it at 2-2. It’s a great race with Steelton Highspire likely eyeing the October 25th showdown in Hershey against Milton Hershey where a Roller win will create a 3 way conference tie. The Blue Raiders move on, likely blowing out Trinity (5-2), East Pennsboro (2-5) and Palmyra (3-4) to position themselves for post season concerns and another possible conference championship. They currently hold the 2 seed behind Wyomissing.
15 Berks Catholic (4-3, 4A)
Berks Catholic continued its recovery from a demanding early season schedule where most of the backfield suffered injuries against Central Dauphin, McDonogh and Malvern Prep which forced at least three players at one point to the sidelines. Two weeks ago saw them stutter step to a 9-0 win against Hamburg (3-4). Last week showed progress with a more fully recovered backfield routing hapless Kutztown (0-7, 3A) 61-7, getting offensive touchdowns from 7 different players. It started with Clayton Gibbs returning the opening kickoff 85 yards followed by Christian Cacchione returning Kutztown’s first punt 47 yards for another score. The rout was on. They’re at Schuylkill Valley (3-4, 3A) Friday where the Panthers are coming off a 32-21 Homecoming loss to Fleetwood (6-1). SV has been a no-show against the stronger teams on their schedule, losing 44-14 to undefeated Upper Dauphin (7-0, 2A, D3) and District-1 PAC-Frontier power Pope John Paul II (6-1, 3A) 52-7. They’ll handle SV then finish out at home against Berks-2 challengers Fleetwood and rival Wyomissing (7-0, 3A) where the conference championship will be decided.
16 Cocalico (5-2, 5A)
Despite winning last week against Conestoga Valley 54-41, the Eagles dropped in the ranking with their young defense wilting the last 3 games, losing to Manheim Township 56-7 and Manheim Central 46-43, then getting a 54-41 win last week against Conestoga Valley. That’s 143 points allowed in 3 games. About the game; the statistics were immense, with Cocalico gaining 746 total yards of offense (586r, 160p), to Conestoga Valley’s 559 (138r, 421p!). Cocalico’s veer often produces stats that look like typos. And it is difficult containing their ball control offense as rarely as it’s seen with a quarterback like Noah Palm and Rb Ronald Zahm behind a line that understands discipline. Because they’ve been running it for years with a staff that’s been in place forever, they’re good at it! That makes it tough for opposing defenses who have to be equally disciplined, knowing assignments and tackling well. Still, Cocalico’s scheme can lull you to sleep; dive, dive, dive…then Palm keeps it for a big gain, or worse, throws a dart with his 67% completion rate. Manheim Township is the only team to shut them down, aided in part by Fb Austin Vang, Qb Palm and Rb Zahm all going down in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Palm (New Hampshire) is the key to everything Cocalico does offensively, rushing for 203 yards with 3 Tds against CV and passing for 160 with another touchdown. That’s 49 % of their offense. Zalm had 192 yards on 10 carries (4 Tds) with sophomore Steven Flinton (1 Td) turning heads with 164 yards on 9 carries. For Conestoga Valley, Qb Bradley Stoltzfus was outstanding, rushing for 113 yards on 18 carries and completing 24 of 32 passes (75%) for 421 yards and 4 touchdown. Zach Fisher caught 11passes for 170 yards with Derek Ulishney catching 6 for 116 yards. They move on to play Manheim Central while the Eagles go to winless Garden Spot (0-7) who they defeated 55-21 last year.
17 Wyomissing (7-0, 3A)
A 17 point first quarter followed by a 14-0 2nd quarter was all she wrote for Hamburg as the Trojans ran for 300 yards to overwhelm the Hawks 45-6. Max Hurleman’s 80 yards kickoff return following Hamburg’s only score blunted whatever thoughts they had of a comeback. It’s frustrating playing Berks Catholic and Wyomissing back-to-back although they did some damage with Shaheed Warren running for 78 yards; something they’ll have to address before playing Berks Catholic with their stable of running backs. Hurleman finished with 58 rushing and a 16 yard touchdown run with Jevin Tranquilla getting 92 yards on 5 carries. FB Evan Niedrowski had 50 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Kutztown is next, then Schuylkill Valley before the road game at Berks Catholic for the Berks-2 title.
18 Exeter Township (5-2, 5A)
Reading got out the gate well, winning their first four games before facing the reality of Berk-1 competition that saw them lose to Governor Mifflin (4-3, 5A) 49-6, and Exeter Township last week 42-7. Governor Mifflin is a strong team that got off on the wrong foot at 0-3, including a 61-14 disappearing act against rival Wilson before righting the ship. Exeter’s season began at Berks Catholic with the “gift that keeps on giving” of 19 penalties for 150 yards in a 14-10 loss. Untimely penalties and a fumbled punt return helped do them in against Spring Ford 24-7, plus Ryan Engro’s 304 yards passing! But they’re hot now, winning 3 straight with the Reading win. Wide out Alex Javier (D1 talent) was too quick and shifty for Reading, snagging 4 touchdown tosses on 5 receptions for 120 yards; one, a 68 yard bomb just before the half giving them a 28-7 lead. The Eagle D thwarted the Knights throughout the game, holding them to 84 total yards of offense. Twin Valley (2-5, 5A) is next, before the big game at Governor Mifflin that will decide the Berks-1 title and more since both are 5A teams. Exeter is currently 12th with GM at 15.
19 Cedar Cliff (4-3, 5A)
A 21 point first quarter was all Cedar Cliff needed to dispose of Hershey (1-6) 43-20, who hasn’t won a game since the opener. Things are far more positive for the Colts who opened the season at 1-2, then went on a tear since the Harrisburg loss with wins against Hollidaysburg 49-8, Lower Dauphin 47-7, Hershey last week and their most impressive win, beating Bishop McDevitt 20-17 three weeks ago. They’re doing it with a balanced offense and a developing first year starter in junior Gannon McMeans (6-0, 190) under center. He’s thrown for 826 yards at 50%, with a Td/Pick ratio of 9 to 3. He rarely runs but doesn’t have to with a back like Jaheim Morris (5-10, 190, sr) doing damage against everyone including Harrisburg and McDevitt where he rushed for 76 and 86 respectively. Against Hershey, he rushed for 196 yards on 26 attempts, scoring touchdowns of 3, 34 and 10 yards. The win keeps them tied with Susquehanna Township atop the Mid Penn-Keystone. Great scheduling for the fans sees Susquehanna Township playing them in two weeks at Cedar Cliff, then McDevitt finishing out the regular season at ST. This week sees the Colts in their last away game at Mechanicsburg (5-2) who are hanging around at 2-1, a game behind the leaders. The Wildcats are inconsistent, beating Northern (5-2) 35-36 on the road then getting skunked two weeks ago at Susquehanna Township 34-0. The Colts are hoping the latter version shows up Friday night.
20 Cedar Crest (6-1)
Cedar Crest responded to the disappointing loss at Warwick last week with a strong effort against Penn Manor (2-5), gaining 400 yards of offense in a 37-10 win. Junior Qb Chris Danz (5-10, 150) is coming along well in his first year as a starter, having a strong game here completing 13 of 21 passes for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the season, he’s at 57%, for 1286 yards with a 13/2 ratio. Most of his passes against PM went to Cole Miller, who caught 6 for 112 yards, including a 55 yard scoring toss. He’s their leading receiver, with 31 receptions for 532 yards and 6 touchdowns. Tyler Cruz was the man again, rushing for 126 yards with scores of 1, 44 and 14 yards on 24 carries. He‘s at 1018 yards for the year. Defense was also strong, picking off quarterback Luke Brass 3 times and recovering 2 fumbles. The Falcons are having a fine season, enjoying something of a renaissance going 25-13 the last 4 years (6-4, 8-3, 5-5 and 6-1) after a long and inept run going 24-77 from 2006 through 2015. They’re in unchartered territory this year with the 4th seed behind Central Dauphin, and a game behind Manheim Township in the Section-One race. That will change this weekend playing at Township.
Honorable Mention:
Northeastern (6-1, 5A) at Central York 6-1
York Suburban (7-0, 4A) home Gettysburg 6-1, 4A
Northern York (5-2, 5A) home Shippensburg 7-00, 5A
York-William Penn (5-2, 5A) at South Western 3-5, 5A
Lampeter Strasburg (5-2, 4A) home Solanco 5-2, 5A
Montoursville (7-0, 3A, D4) at Mifflinburg 4-3, 3A
Gettysburg (6-1, 4A) at Suburban 7-0, 4A
Steelton Highspire (6-1, 2A) at East Pennsboro 2-5, 4A
Mount Carmel (5-2, 3A, D4) home South Williamsport 4-3, 1A
Bishop McDevitt (4-3, 4A) at Hershey 1-6, 5A
Governor Mifflin (4-3, 5A) home Lower Dauphin 0-7, 5A
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