It might sound like a crazy premonition on the surface, but is it totally out of the realm of possibility that the two teams pegged at #1 and #2 respectively entering the District 3-6A tournament field with a combined record of 23-1 between them could possibly still have a massive chip residing on each of their very broad shoulders? Well, at least when examining this year’s version of the Manheim Township Blue Streaks and Harrisburg Cougars specifically, it’d be fair to say that both squads had their own reasons to still be playing with an edge despite stellar campaigns put forth thus far by each in 2023 heading into Thanksgiving weekend.
For Manheim Township, the team who garnered home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a perfect 10-0 record to their name, this season has been arguably one of the best that any “big school” outfit that calls the Lancaster-Lebanon League its home has demonstrated in not just recent memory, but perhaps all time as well. Case in point, behind an utterly brilliant regular-season stretch that saw the group from Neffsville score no fewer than 35 points that were parlayed perfectly with a staunch defensive effort that resulted in the opposition scoring within single digits nine times, highlighted by four shutouts along the way, the Blue Streaks had seemed to check off nearly every one of the metaphorical boxes.
Well, maybe except for one.
In a lot of ways, Black Friday 2023 had seen everything come full circle for this Manheim Township crew. You see, it was back on this very date a year ago when the Streaks rolled into the state’s capital city to tangle with Harrisburg for the right to decide the District 3-6A title. Suffice it to say, the home-standing Cougars left little in the way of doubt that Saturday afternoon at Severance Field with a thorough 44-6 victory that helped Harrisburg surge onward into the state playoffs and into the title game just a few weeks afterward. So, in that regard, you could certainly sympathize with the notion that everything the Blue Streaks had put forth over the past 364 days had been building up to this crescendo as a way to try and right the wrongs of a year ago on this very same stage, ironically against the very same opponent no less.
“Righting wrongs,” you say? The Harrisburg Cougars are holding on line one, please.
Just like their opposition on this night, it was hard to find many cavities when examining the Cougars from top-to-bottom. That said, there was that one glaring omission that stuck out like a sore thumb on their 2023 resume thus far. For that would come in the form of their 38-6 defeat at the hands of, you guessed it, Manheim Township, back in Week 3 of the season. Since that Friday night turned Saturday morning mess of a game that had to be rearranged thanks to the havoc wreaked by Mother Nature however, Harrisburg seemed no worse for the wear by rolling through the Mid-Penn Commonwealth division unblemished without much in the way of any difficulty save for a good fight put forth by CD East in a 34-27 contest. For their spoils, the Cougars went on to rightly earn the #2 seed in the District 3 dance coming in just behind, yep, Township. And after a pair of victories over the likes of Cedar Crest and Central York respectively through the first two rounds, Harrisburg found themselves with a highly coveted rematch back on Township’s home turf. Not only that but when you add in the fact that the Cougars were the two-time defending 6A champs in the District 3 ranks, prying the crown away from them figured to be nothing if not a tall task.
So, simply put, with both teams understandably having their own motivation and fuel heading into this one, there was ample reason as to why this game was held on the day after Thanksgiving, the holiday that unofficially kicks off the holiday season synonymous with good tidings and warm embraces, had a little bit of old-fashioned football-induced discontent behind it once Harrisburg and Manheim Township met up yet again to renew the latest chapter in this series. As it turned out though, any matchup held before or after this night between these two giants will have quite a bit of heavy lifting to do when it comes to superseding what took place in this one.
From Manheim Township’s perspective, things could not have started off much better for the hosts. After holding the explosive Cougars’ offense to a quick three plays and out, the Streaks followed that up with a punt block in the immediate aftermath as Township sophomore linebacker, Marcon Fernandez, pounced on the loose pill, allowing the Streaks to set up shop at Harrisburg’s 12-yard line. That said, the Cougars’ defense would counter that with stern resistance following the sudden change which helped culminate in a 4th & 1 attempt later in the drive. However, that fourth down play never would take place as Harrisburg jumped offsides, giving Township a fresh set of downs. And with that new lease on life, Manheim Township’s Hayden Johnson knew exactly what to do with it as the senior quarterback plunged his way in for the 1-yard touchdown run to get the scoring started at 7-0 following Hunter Nguyen’s PAT with 8:14 left to play in the opening frame.
As it turned out though, Manheim Township was only rounding into form.
In fact, the Streaks’ stingy defense was up to the task at hand their very next time out on the field as evidenced by an interception hauled in by way of Nick Palumbo as the Township senior defensive back seemed as if he was the one running the pass pattern instead with Palumbo’s pick setting the Streaks up at their own 11-yard line following the theft.
Yet in many ways, even while backed up in the shadows of their goalposts, it felt as if that was really only more real estate from which the Manheim Township offense could operate within.
Hard to argue seeing as how Johnson was able to hook up with his favorite target, Landon Kennel, as the potent Township senior duo connected for a 32-yard pitch and catch which ushered the attack down to the midfield stripe. From there, another Johnson to Kennel find –this of the 9-yard variety—eventually paved the way for an upcoming 3rd & 1 attempt with the ball resting on the Cougars’ 41-yard line. Unfortunately, for those who had come eastward on this night, they would see their team jump offsides yet again in back-breaking fashion, giving Township another breath of fresh air. Truth be told, it looked for all the world that the Streaks would indeed make their adversaries pay for their gratuity as a 32-yard touchdown from Johnson to Palumbo was found right behind it, until a penalty call whistled against Township on The play brought the threat all the way back.
However, even when Harrisburg found themselves staring down the barrel of having to stop the Streaks on yet another pivotal third downplay later in this very same series, Manheim Township continued to have the antidote.
This time around, faced with a 3rd & 7 attempt while residing at the Harrisburg 32, a quick slant from Johnson to another senior target on the outside, Asher Wolfe, was good for the 13-yard gainer which then moved the Streaks inside of the red zone once the first quarter horn rang out with Manheim Township holding serve by virtue of their 7-0 advantage, albeit while knocking on the door of perhaps punching in another score once the second act got underway.
Spoiler alert- they would.
Again, despite the Harrisburg defense vehemently refusing to simply allow Manheim Township to saunter into the endzone unimpeded, a 4th & 7 play later in the series was afoot. And with the marvelous Lehigh-bound quarterback commit who had thrown 40+ touchdown passes without a single interception thus far on the season buying time with his legs in this particular venture, a window had finally opened up with Asher Wolfe standing all by his lonesome behind the Harrisburg secondary as Hayden Johnson’s 16-yard TD strike to Wolfe made it a 14-0 affair in Township’s favor just 14 seconds into the second quarter.
After another quick three-and-out authored by the Township defensive unit on Harrisburg’s ensuing offensive series, it’d be understandable as to why those who had assembled on the visiting bleachers on this frigid night were right to be seen squirming somewhat. Finally, and certainly not a moment too soon from their perspective, good fortune had finally blessed the Cougars in the form of a Manheim Township fumble which Harrisburg promptly recovered right at midfield.
Speaking of that good fortune, Harrisburg continued to ride that wave en route to what became their initial scoring drive of the evening.
That said, it too wouldn’t come without some sort of adversity wedged within it, such as the case when the Cougars’ battering ram of a junior tailback, Nehemiah Ewell, was able to trudge his way forward with a key tote to pick up just enough to move the sticks on a 4th & 1 attempt to extend the drive. Of course, if Manheim Township was going to offer up their own unsolicited assistance, Harrisburg surely wasn’t about to turn that down either given how a defensive pass interference call whistled against the Blue Streaks on a 4th & 4 play not long afterward kept the Cougars’ offensive unit out on the field. From there, following a 9-yard scamper by Ewell in the immediate aftermath following the penalty, the 5’11 190lb back was only just getting lathered up as a 1-yard touchdown dive by Ewell not long afterward helped to cut the deficit down to a 14-7 count following Gideon Fasayna’s PAT with 3:45 left to play before intermission.
But that would be more than enough time for Manheim Township to counter back with a rebuttal of their own.
After starting off at their own 42-yard line following a solid return on the ensuing kickoff, a pair of Johnson to Palumbo pitch and catches moved the Blue Streaks all the way down to the Harrisburg 26-yard within the blink of an eye.
However, bending not breaking would prove to be the prevailing narrative for the Harrisburg defense all night long.
Case in point, a huge sack tallied by way of senior defensive end, Ryan Epps, on a 3rd & 11 attempt that could have easily forced Manheim Township into a bit of a conundrum yet again. Perhaps, but when you have the assistance of such an experienced crew, you put all your chips to the center of the table and declare yourself as being all in. With that in mind, the Streaks’ offense remained out on the field for the upcoming 4th & 16 attempts with time quickly winding down in the opening half. And as if right to be right on cue, Mr. Cool, also known as Hayden Johnson, was able to find Nick Palumbo yet again for another key conversion that moved the hosts down the visitor’s 14-yard line. Later, behind the assistance of a defensive pass interference call which matriculated the ball down even further, a gargantuan touchdown pass from Johnson to Palumbo from 5 yards out with all of three seconds left in the second quarter made it a 21-7 Township advantage following Hunter Nguyen’s third successful PAT as both teams retired to their respective locker rooms to regroup and prepare for the second half.
That said, it felt as if the team who needed to make the most of the 20-minute recess would be Harrisburg seeing as how Manheim Township had largely owned every facet of the first 24 minutes by and large. Well, suffice it to say, while one Harrisburg team entered the locker room for halftime, a whole different Harrisburg crew would emerge on the other side.
Even still, the mountain grew even steeper for the Cougars to climb once the second half got underway in earnest.
For that would come at the hands of –well, technically the legs – of Manheim Township junior running back, Declan Clancy, as the 5’10 190lb bruising back rolled around the right side of the line for a 67-yard trot along the Township sideline before being tackled at the Harrisburg 13-yard line. From there, the Streaks would need to pick up only three yards more before finding paydirt yet again as a 10-yard touchdown run by Hayden Johnson, his fourth overall TD of the evening, upped the Township lead to what appeared to be an insurmountable 28-7 cushion with 10:36 left to play in the third.
Insurmountable to some, but not to a two-defending champ that is.
Granted, while Harrisburg had been able to find the endzone back in the first half after having to travel only 50 yards worth of distance, the hard-hitting Manheim Township defense presented nothing if not tough and arduous sledding for the Cougars to try and navigate against throughout much of the evening up that point.
Yeah, but up until the point that Harrisburg junior quarterback, Shawn Lee Jr, finally got loose that is.
In fact, it took the grizzled three-year starter all of one play to show off his wheels in the form of a 79-yard bolt of lightning run which saw the 5’11 190lb signal-caller bob and weave his way through the Township defense before being tripped just shy of the chalk line for a play which had appeared to finally tilt momentum over to the Cougars’ favor. And in the most apropos way possible, while Lee may have been robbed of the highlight score a moment earlier, he certainly no qualms with a TD nonetheless as his 1-yard TD sneak made it a 28-13 contest with 9:25 to play in the third as Harrisburg opted to go for two following a Township offsides penalty on the ensuing point after try that was negated.
Momentum tilting? Well, it really turned into a boulder rolling downhill it seemed after that quick Harrisburg rebuttal more than anything else.
For proof of that, look no further than the pair of drive-killing sacks registered by Ryan Epps and Micah Chambers in successive fashion on the ensuing Manheim Township possession which in turn allowed the Harrisburg offense to return to the field, albeit 99 yards away following yet another marvelous punt on season by one Hayden Johnson.
Length of the field to go? No matter.
That said, with Harrisburg’s offense appearing to finally have the answers that seemed to elude them during much of the first half of play on Friday night, Manheim Township’s defense aided in the effort much to the Streaks’ collective chagrin as a Shawn Lee Jr run to begin the drive that came complete with a facemask call added on top effectively moved the Cougars out to their own 29-yard line. From there, following a crucial 4th & 1 pickup courtesy of a Lee sneak to extend the drive, a defensive pass interference call against Township moved the advance inside the Streaks’ side of the field at the 42-yard line which is where things would remain at the end of the third prior to what promised to be a wildly entertaining final dozen minutes with Manheim Township holding serve by virtue of the 28-13 lead which somehow felt extremely precarious all things considered.
Easy to understand the overall queasiness from Township’s perspective of course once Lee was able to show off his lively right arm with a key 3rd & 8 conversion attempt to Quincy Brannon Jr on a slant route which then moved the guests down inside the 15-yard line on the very first play of the final quarter. And that would prove to be all the further the Cougars needed to navigate as a 15-yard touchdown run courtesy of Nehemiah Ewell cut the gap down to a 28-20 difference following a Gideon Fasayna PAT with 9:59 left to play.
Then, playing in a true complimentary fashion to the tune of their defense thwarting Township from tallying any additional points over the course of their next two offensive possessions, Harrisburg had the ball back in their clutches just 35 yards away from potentially sending this game into an extra session following a wonderful punt return courtesy of Jayion Lewis.
To start things off, Nehemiah Ewell continued to be up to his old tricks by rattling off a 10-yard jaunt to get things in motion. Later, even while operating against the assignment of a 3rd & 3, Ewell only continued to get stronger it appeared with a significant carry to not only move the chains but to put the ball even further down inside the Township red zone. And in keeping with the theme of significance, there would be no more pivotal tote that Ewell would have all game long than with his eventual first down run on a 4th & 2 attempt inside the Streaks’ 10-yard line which understandably would’ve had the Cougars’ coaching staff scouring their playbook for their best two-point play seeing as how an eventual Harrisburg touchdown felt all but certain. Sure enough, with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation, a fade route lobbed high into the night sky from Shawn Lee Jr into the waiting mitts of Elias Coke on the receiving end was good enough for the 4-yard touchdown in the very back corner of the endzone, making it a 28-26 ballgame with the aforementioned two-point play upcoming. As it turned out, it was a play so nice on the touchdown that they decided to run it twice as Lee went right back to the well of Coke as the two-point jump ball play in the back corner was hauled in by the Cougars’ rangy 6’3 sophomore wideout which in turn sent the Harrisburg side of the field into a tizzy, with nary a murmur on the opposing side of the campus grounds given how they were understandably in a state of shock given Harrisburg’s improbable comeback.
Even still, there would be just enough time for Manheim Township to author some sort of heroic act. That said, it certainly didn’t seem as if anything of the sort would transpire once Cougars’ Quincy Brannon Jr picked off a Township pass with just under five seconds remaining in regulation. However, thanks to a defensive penalty whistled against the Cougars on said play, Brannon’s interception was in turn nullified with the Streaks having one final gasp. In this instance though, Hail Mary was not full of grace as the Township pass down near the goal line was swatted away, sending this heavyweight bout into overtime to ultimately settle the difference.
Once inside the extra frame, Harrisburg wasted next to no time at all in serving up an early haymaker.
For that would come in the form of an 8-yard jaunt around the right side of the line from Ewell which put the Cougars right on the precipice of drawing first blood. Fittingly, given how he had served admirably in his role as the workhorse back all night long, Nehemiah Ewell’s 2-yard touchdown run on the very next play, his third TD of the evening, made it a 34-28 lead in Harrisburg’s favor which is where things remained following a high snap on the ensuing point after try which in turn helps cause the kick to sail wide left with Manheim Township set to take their turn at response with an added jolt of momentum all things considered.
Needless to say, with their season hanging in the balance, there wasn’t really any sort of desire to go away from anything other than what had worked for them not just this season, but over the course of the last several years altogether. With that in mind, it should’ve come as a surprise to almost no one that Hayden Johnson found Landon Kennel in the endzone for the game-saving, potentially season-saving touchdown pitch and catch. However, the celebration would abruptly be put on mute as the Streaks were whistled for illegal touching on the play, nullifying the score and forcing Township to right the ship and try to regroup off the emotional high.
Ironically, the very same ask would be required of the Cougars not long afterward.
For it would be Harrisburg who would have to regroup following a 4th & 12 stop in which they felt they had finally won the game, so much so that the Cougars’ bench erupted and spilled onto the field of play in the immediate aftermath, only to see a yellow flag laying on the field that had gone against them as a defensive pass interference call moved the ball half the distance closer with Township having one final go of it. And in what would truly prove to be the final play of evening, a Manheim Township pass in the endzone was batted away, finally causing the Harrisburg sideline to erupt in jubilation officially as they had just put the punctuation mark on a heart-stopping, tough-as-nails victory to snatch their third straight District 3-6A trophy behind a memorable 34-28 overtime triumph against Manheim Township in enemy territory that came in come-from-behind fashion no less.
Afterward, once both teams had moved off to their respective corners of the field to partake in either an agonizing postmortem or a well-earned photoshoot with accompanying hardware to match, the Cougars had assembled for the latter while yelling out, “The hard way.” Fitting, because that’s exactly what it had been over the course of the last 48 minutes and then some on Friday evening in Neffsville.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Harrisburg head man Calvin Everett said to the throng of media members encircling him with his players understandably taking in the moment behind him. “That team is awesome,” Everett said in lauding Manheim Township. “It just says a lot about our kids and our program with how resilient we are,” he continued proudly. “Our defense comes through in the clutch, they held it down, and we got the victory.”
“Just keep fighting. Play the next play,” said Everett when asked how his group was able to withstand the early jab that the Streaks had laid against them. “Next play. That was it.”
And for their efforts, Harrisburg will indeed have plenty of “next plays” in front of them as they ready for a state semifinal tussle against North Alleghany, a 41-7 winner over Erie McDowell this weekend, as the Tigers from North Alleghany somewhat upset the entire apple cart of the western side of the state playoffs as their WPIAL championship game victory against Pittsburgh Central Catholic the week previous eliminated a Vikings’ crew who seemed destined to find itself in the very spot North Alleghany currently occupies. And should they be able to get through that semifinal round matchup, it would become two consecutive trips for the Cougars into the state’s grand finale, an achievement that in and of itself should lend credence as to how and why Harrisburg High remains a premier player in respect to the entire landscape of Pennsylvania high school football at large.
For Manheim Township on the other hand, this loss understandably will hit like a ton of bricks and won’t be something that will easily be solved with just one night’s sleep. Not just in that it was the Streaks’ lone loss of an utterly dominant season, but the fact that the script had been totally flipped against them solely within the second half on Friday night given that they found themselves with ownership of the 28-7 lead into the third quarter. Invariably, while this will take some time to get over, especially seeing as how it was a somewhat cruel and immediate ending of a career for a number of Blue Streaks’ players who had poured their all in for the betterment of the program over the course of too many hours and days to reasonably count, the foundation in which next year’s Manheim Township players find the program at thanks to this departing group is assuredly rock-solid. Not to intimate or suggest in the slightest that the program itself was somehow only being held together by rubber bands, scotch tape and gum mind you, but the fact that this graduating crop has helped elevate the bar even further upward in their own way should help demonstrate as to why this operation has staying power for years and years to come. And granted, while the black-and-white history books won’t show this 2023 cast as being able to revel in the same achievement as their 2017 brethren who still live on as the lone team in Township history to taste District 3 supremacy, that would simply be selling this group far too short. Rest assured, while the sting of falling short at this particular juncture might not be something that one truly ever recovers from in full, you can be assured that in just a few years’ time when perhaps another Manheim Township football team finds itself in this very same position, you’ll likely hear those up-and-coming Blue Streaks rattle off some of the same names that were on this 2023 team as who they looked up to and used for inspiration. And, yes, while maybe that doesn’t lead to something finite such as a trophy held behind a glass case, or a gold medal that may someday be stowed away in a storage box that ends up collecting dust, leaving behind a legacy that inspires others to follow in your very same footsteps isn’t such a bad way to be remembered.
