Matt Hagy

WEST CHESTER – Just over two minutes were left in the second quarter and Roman Catholic was faced with its backs against the wall. Its high-powered offense was at that moment scoreless behind two fumbles, they trailed 3-0, and they were facing 4th-and-1 from their own 37-yard line.

Roman Catholic Head Coach Rick Prete made the aggressive move to go for it instead of punting and most likely trail at the half. The Cahillites converted and scored a touchdown on that same drive, turning the tide of the PIAA 5A State Semifinal against West Chester Rustin. The touchdown started an avalanche of scoring that lifted Roman Catholic to a 41-17 win on Friday Night at West Chester Henderson’s J. Oscar Dicks Stadium and its first appearance in a PIAA State Final in program history.

“Win the game,” Prete said. “You have to take those opportunities and that was not a spot to be conservative. You have to go take it when you have I think the best player in the State in Eyan Stead with the ball in his hands in that situation. We trust our defense as well in that spot.”

The Cahillites (11-4) saw two of its first four drives of the game end in fumbles with the first ending a promising drive that made it to the Rustin 39-yard line. The second fumble set the Golden Knights (13-2) up at the Roman Catholic 29-yard line to conclude the first quarter. Freddie Adler gave Rustin the initial 3-0 lead with a 30-yard field goal following the fumble.

The stage was set for Prete’s aggressive 4th-and-1 call after the teams traded punts. His defense had limited the Golden Knights to just two first downs at that point and trailed by just three despite the two turnovers. Eyan Stead bounced around the left side and picked up 16 critical yards to convert the fourth down for the Cahillites. Stead finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown reception that gave Roman Catholic the 7-3 lead at halftime.

“We had trouble keeping up when they went to their fast tempo,” Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair said. “There were a couple of breakdowns on that last drive in the first half and then we got worn down in the second half. The way we tried to win was establishing long time-consuming drives but they shut us down.”

Roman Catholic needed less than two minutes to extend its lead to 14-3 to open the second half as Stead snagged a 29-yard touchdown pass from Beals for his second score of the game. With the Golden Knights now on their heels, Eisa Nealy took a screen pass 46 yards for a touchdown on the next Cahillites drive that made it 21-3.

“I tip my hat for what Rustin was able to do early on defense,” Prete said. “We were able to flip it by not pressing and trying to force ourselves to make a big play on every play. With the style they play, it was imperative to score before the half and get the ball to start the third quarter. It allowed us to set the tempo.”

The Golden Knights turned to its do-it-all running back Chase Hatton to give them hope with the game slipping away and he returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to set up the drive at the Roman Catholic 30-yard line. JoJo Magolon caught a 24-yard pass on 3rd-and-11 and Hatton scored from seven yards out on the next play that cut the deficit to 21-10 with 3:33 left in the third quarter.

However, any hope was quickly vanquished by Cahillites running back, JoJo Delecce who started the 4th Quarter with a 44-yard touchdown run that made it 28-10. Rustin fumbled on its first play of the next drive and Beals tossed his fourth and final touchdown pass of the night to Nealy that made it 34-10.

“I always want to make sure my wide receivers eat,” Beals said. “I am super honored to help lead this team to its first state final.”

Beals, the city all-time passing leader, threw for 309 yards on 24-of-36 passing with his four touchdown strikes. Nealy and Stead had similar totals of five catches each for 98 and 94 yards along, respectively. Tayden Mines led all receivers with 10 catches for 102 yards.

The Cahillites closed out the win by letting the combo of Delecce and Jeremiah Tabb pound its way through a very strong Rustin defense. Tabb capped off the night with a 17-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

“Our offensive line was phenomenal, and our running backs bounced back from ball security problems,” Prete said. “That allowed us to get settled in by establishing the run and Semaj was able to spread them out.”

Roman Catholic held a decisive 541-172 total offense advantage behind a balanced attack of 309 passing yards and 232 rushing yards.

Hatton, the all-time Rustin leader in offensive touchdowns, finished his career by just hitting the century mark with 100 yards on 14 carries and scored a second touchdown from a 60-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Behind a 30-man senior class, the Golden Knights captured their second District 1 Championship in program history.

“I am really proud of this team,” St. Clair said. “13 wins, beat a lot of top teams in this area, and a District Championship. Just hats off to these kids and this senior class will go down as a special one for this program.”

The Cahillites get their chance at a State Championship that had eluded them before, especially the last two years where they saw their season end at the hands of Imhotep Charter in agonizing fashion both times. They will take on a former State Champion in Bishop McDevitt that much like the Cahillites, are no short of on-field talent.

“We still have more work to do, and we have another game to get ready for.” Prete said. “This chance to play for a State Title next week is a culmination of all the work of these guys. This is not a one year thing this is our sixth year at this, and we have been chipping away. We have learned from our setbacks to Imhotep to work hard and we have a heck of an opportunity in front of us against a heck of an opponent next week.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Roman Catholic	0	7	14	20	41
WC Rustin	0	3	7	7	17

 

Scoring summary

2	WCR	Adler, 30 FG	9:16
2	RC	Stead, 18 pass from Beals (Pollack kick)	1:08
3	RC	Stead, 29 pass from Beals (Pollack kick)	10:40
3	RC	Nealy, 46 pass from Beals (Pollack kick)	5:40
3	WCR	Hatton, 7 run (Adler kick)	3:33
4	RC	Delecce, 44 run (Pollack kick)	11:52
4	RC	Nealy, 4 pass from Beals (Kick Blocked)	10:03
4	RC	Tabb, 17 run (Pollack kick)	5:44
4	WCR	Hatton, 60 run (Adler kick)	5:23

Team statistics

	Roman Catholic	WC Rustin
First downs	24	7
Rushes-yards	30-232	36-132
Passing yards	309	40
Total yards	541	172
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	24-36-0	6-10-0
Fumbles-lost	3-2	2-2
Punts-average	2-32.0	6-34.0
Penalties-yards	10-74	6-42

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Roman Catholic: Delecce 15-117, Tabb 10-66, Stead 2-19, Beals 2-16, Scott 1-14

WC Rustin: Hatton 14-100, Loper 9-29, Magolon 3-10, Dav. Jacobs 4-10, McClain 4-(-4), TEAM 2-(-13)

PASSING

Roman Catholic: Beals 24-36-0—309

WC Rustin: McClain 6-10-0–40

RECEIVING

Roman Catholic: Mines 10-102, Nealy 5-98, Stead 5-94, Scott 3-9, Newuan 1-6

WC Rustin: Magolon 3-34, Hatton 3-6

Photo by Rick Martin

On Friday night at the Norristown High School Stadium, the Friars made program history by defeating District 1 Champion Pope John Paul II 35-7 and will be playing in the PIAA 4A State Semifinals next weekend.

“I told these guys before the game that is was an opportunity for us to go where no Bonner-Prendie team has ever gone before,” Muldoon said. “Our guys did it in style tonight.”

No strangers to each other, the Golden Panthers (12-2) and Friars (10-2) met just over a year ago on the very same field but just one round earlier. Bonner-Prendie outlasted the Golden Panthers 21-13 before being eliminated by Dallas in overtime in the 2023 4A quarterfinals.

“Pope John Paul is a very well-coached team, and we knew the guys we had to worry about,” Muldoon said. “We knew that they had a lot of opportunities and for them to feel as if this was a ‘get-back’ game for them. Our kids handled it very well with the familiarity, but these are two different teams from last year regardless of if the team name is the same.”

The Friars gave the Golden Panthers a second life on the opening possession of the game with a roughing the punter penalty. PJP made the most of the chance by converting it into an early 7-0 lead after Dylan Skarbek scored on a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

There is no doubt that Bonner-Prendie is loaded with talent on offense behind two skilled backs in Mick Johnson and Saleem Frink along with West Virginia commit Jalil Hall. However, tonight wide receiver Jeremiah Coleman stole the spotlight.

Coleman made a statement on the Friars first drive by catching a 32-yard pass over the middle that helped set up an 11-yard Mick Johnson rushing touchdown that tied the score at 7. Coleman further showcased his speed on the ensuing drive by taking a screen pass 79 yards for a touchdown that put Bonner-Prendie up 14-7.

“The team trusted me to go out and make big plays for them and that’s what I did,” Coleman said. “The State Title is all that we want and that has been our goal since the first summer workouts.”

Coleman caught eight passes for 205 yards along with a pair of touchdown passes.

PJP continued to struggle to contain the Friars speed when Mick Johnson extended the Bonner-Prendie lead to 21-7 with a 56-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.

“I was really impressed with their speed,” Golden Panthers head coach Scott Reed said. “You just see some of these plays they made where they would use their skill players and they would catch a 2-yard pass and go 40-50 yards. They have a lot of really good athletes out there and just look like a really good football team.”

After being able to sustain a drive after its initial success, the Golden Panthers finally had a promising drive get into Friars territory in the early part of the second quarter. The drive came to a crashing halt when quarterback Luke Terlesky tossed a low backwards pass that bounced into the arms of Robert Nettles-Carter, turning into a fumble recovery.

The Golden Panthers defense settled in during the third quarter and turned away a pair of Friars drive over on downs deep in their territory. There was one major issue, however, and that was Bonner-Prendie’s defense being even stronger. The Friars did not allow PJP to cross midfield at any point during the second half.

That set the stage for the duo of Mick Johnson and Fink to go to work and help Bonner-Prendie put the finishing touches on a decisive win. Fink carried the Friars into the 4th quarter with 40 yards on a scoring drive that ended with Coleman snatching his second touchdown pass of the game, this time from 11 yards out. Fink was rewarded on the final drive of the game with a 12-yard touchdown run that made it 35-7.

“We take a lot of pride in our run game,” Muldoon said. “Mick was 1st Team All-Catholic League, Saleem was 2nd Team, so we have a history here especially in the last six years of having big-time running backs. Both are following that tradition.”

Johnson and Fink combined for 216 rushing yards with Johnson having 130 of them on 11 carries and Fink with 86 yards on 12 carries.

With all the excitement on the Friars sideline when they knew victory was well in hand, it was initially a somber and quiet postgame scene after Golden Panthers do-it-all wide receiver, Braden Reed, was taken off by stretcher in an ambulance following a carry in the final minutes of the game. The game was ended with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter.

Despite seeing their season end at the hands of the Friars once again, the Golden Panthers still walk away with a second consecutive Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) and District 1 4A Championship.

“I can’t say enough about our coaching staff and kids we had this season,” Scott Reed said. “We ran into a very good football team and all you can say is ‘You know what? that was a really good football team.’ Our kids played hard and fought until the bitter end.”

The ghosts of the 2023 State Quarterfinal loss to Dallas are now a thing in the past for the Friars as they stand one win away from a trip to the State Finals at Cumberland Valley.

“I want to see them follow the process that we have followed all year,” Muldoon said. “This is a senior class that has won more games in a four-year span than any other team in program history. If they follow the process we will have a chance no matter who we play.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Pope John Paul II	7	0	0	0	7
Bonner-Prendie	14	7	0	14	35

 

Scoring summary

1	PJP	Skarbek, 2 run (Franek kick)	7:26
1	BP	M. Johnson, 11 run (Smith kick)	4:59
1	BP	Coleman, 79 pass from Campbell (Smith kick)	2:54
2	BP	M. Johnson, 56 run (Smith kick)	11:48
4	BP	Coleman, 11 pass from Campbell (Smith kick)	8:00
4	BP	Frink, 12 run (Smith kick)	3:21

Team statistics

	Pope John Paul II	Bonner-Prendie
First downs	9	18
Rushes-yards	24-103	25-214
Passing yards	46	256
Total yards	149	470
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	7-16-1	13-21-1
Fumbles-lost	1-1	2-1
Punts-average	5-37.0	1-24.0
Penalties-yards	6-62	11-103

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Pope John Paul II: Skarbek 13-57, Reed 5-31, Terlesky 5-10, DeAngelo 1-5

Bonner-Prendie: M. Johnson 11-130, Frink 12-86, B. Johnson 1-3, Campbell 1-(-5)

PASSING

Pope John Paul II: Terlesky 6-15-1–43, Reed 1-1-0–3

Bonner-Prendie: Campbell 13-21-1–256

RECEIVING

Pope John Paul II: Owens 2-21, Skarbek 2-13, Reed 2-9, Terlesky 1-3

Bonner-Prendie: Coleman 8-205, Hall 2-35, Jones 2-6, M. Johnson 1-10

INTERCEPTIONS

Bonner-Prendie: A. Williams

WITMER – Nearly a month ago, Exeter players were on their own home field in disbelief. They had believed they had punched in a go-ahead two-point conversion in the final 10 seconds that would have given them the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title. Eagles running back Jayden Zandier was ruled short by the officials and Conestoga Valley won the game to spur them to the section title.

There were social media video replays, debates, and other things that would not change the outcome of that 28-27 Buckskins win. Eagles players, coaches, and fans felt that the game was stolen from them.

Exeter got its chance to exact revenge on Conestoga Valley in the District 3 5A Semifinals and this time they left no doubt of the outcome.

Behind a fast start and heroic ground performance, the Eagles rolled past the Buckskins 48-14 at the Conestoga Valley High School Stadium on Friday night.

“Redemption and setting the record straight is the way to describe this one,” Exeter head coach Matt Bauer said. “That is what these kids deserve. The way they did it tonight and the way they came together had so many kids step up tonight.”

The Eagles (12-1) came ready to roll from the start as a strong opening kick return had them set up just shy of midfield. Two Zandier runs later, and just like that Exeter was on top 7-0 only 57 seconds into the game.

“We had the confidence going into tonight knowing that we felt deep down we down that first game,” Zandier said. “We knew the task at hand, and I am proud of my teammates for the energy they had tonight.”

The focus and urgency were evident in the play of the Eagles as they made it 2-for-2 on touchdown drives following a Buckskins punt when Zanider notched his second touchdown with 4:12 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

Needing a big play, Conestoga Valley (12-1) got one on its ensuing drive when quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade found running back Teagan Ruble for a 44 catch-and-run touchdown to cut the deficit down to 14-7 with just over 33 seconds left in the first quarter. The Buckskins turned away the Eagles on a 4th-and-Goal situation from its own 3-yard line but struggled to get its offense going to sustain momentum. Between multiple drops and overthrows, Conestoga Valley could not reclaim the success they had on the Exeter secondary that they touched up for 277 yards in October.

“We did not execute at the level that we needed to,” Conestoga Valley head coach Joe Scepanski said. “They were able to make some plays on us and we struggled to make plays here and there. There was certainly a difference in things tonight compared to the last meeting.”

Lost in the hype of the rematch was the status of Exeter starting quarterback Riley Martinez. Martinez, who broke his leg in the Eagles Week 7 contest against Muhlenberg, was cleared to play this week. However, Martinez seemed to be a decoy at first as Jake Hafer guided the Exeter offense on the Eagles’ four drives. Bauer finally unlocked Martinez in the final two minutes of the first half after a shanked Buckskins punt had Exeter start at the Conestoga Valley 35-yard line. The move paid off when Martinez found Carter Redding over the middle for a 31-yard passing touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half to give Exeter a 21-7 lead.

“We were looking for the right moment to get him going and we knew with the amount of time left that it was a passing drop-back situation,” Bauer said. “If we were going to use him at all that was the time to do it and he made a great throw.”

Conestoga Valley took advantage of a short field situation of their own in the third quarter and made it a one-score game again at 21-14 following a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Esbenshade.

With momentum changing, Exeter once again turned to its All-State running back and he delivered. Zandier raced 79 yards down the right sideline on the Eagles first play of their ensuing drive and set themselves up at the Buckskins 1-yard line. Genuine Stutzman finished the job one play later to give Exeter a 28-14 lead with 6:03 left in the third quarter.

Zandier powered an Eagles rushing attack with 268 yards on 27 carries and scored four touchdowns while crossing the 2,000-yard mark for the season. He now has 2,094 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2024 that has already topped Exeter single-season records.

“He is electric,” Bauer said. “He (Jayden) is a clutch player and in these types of games you have to give him the ball. Even on plays when he does not get much he makes up for it by adding six more runs of 20+ yards.”

Exeter’s defense put the game away by generating consistent pressure on Esbenshade in the second half and it came to crescendo when Cameron Aiken forced a sack fumble late in the third quarter. Zandier added his third touchdown one play later to extend Exeter’s lead to 34-14.

Conestoga Valley was forced into a desperation spot on their ensuing drive and went for it on 4th-and-11 from its own 34-yard line, resulting in a long incompletion. Zandier wrapped up his night with his fourth touchdown of the game in the final minute of the third to ultimately put the game away at 41-14.

“We knew there was going to be a tremendous amount of emotion and I knew we were in good shape if we could harness that,” Bauer said. “I knew I was getting a good effort tonight, but I told them it needed to be a clean effort.”

Exeter, the eighth seed out of District 3, has now taken out previously unbeaten teams in back-to-back weeks after knocking off the top seed New Oxford last week on a game-winning field goal as time expired. They have made their third District final in the past four seasons and shift focus to sixth-seeded Bishop McDevitt, who also took down an unbeaten team on Friday in Mechanicsburg by a score of 26-14.

“I absolutely believe this team is playing its best football right now,” Bauer said. “They are clicking on both sides of the ball, and they are playing with a lot of emotion and a lot of unselfishness. More importantly, they are playing with a lot of discipline.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Exeter	14	7	20	7	48
Conestoga Valley	7	0	7	0	14

 

Scoring summary

1	EXE	Zandier, 48 run (Franek kick)	11:03
1	EXE	Zandier, 7 run (Franek kick)	4:12
1	CV	Ruble, 44 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick)	0:33
2	EXE	Redding, 31 pass from Martinez (Franek kick)	0:30
3	CV	Esbenshade, 1 run (Erb kick)	6:19
3	EXE	Stutzman, 1 run (Franek kick)	6:03
3	EXE	Zandier, 13 run (Kick missed)	5:14
3	EXE	Zandier, 10 run (Franek kick)	0:34
4	EXE	Flanders, 1 run (Franek kick)	2:59

Team statistics

	Exeter	Conestoga Valley
First downs	16	13
Rushes-yards	38-326	33-149
Passing yards	127	140
Total yards	453	289
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	5-8-0	8-20-0
Fumbles-lost	1-0	2-1
Punts-average	2-33.0	4-29.5
Penalties-yards	6-60	5-35

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Exeter: Zandier 27-268, Brown 7-50, Stutzman 2-6, Prizer 1-1, Flanders 1-1

Conestoga Valley: Johnson 6-60, Ruble 8-54, Garcia 5-46, Esbenshade 14-(-11)

PASSING

Exeter: Hafer 4-7-0—96, Martinez 1-1-0–31

Conestoga Valley: Esbenshade 8-20-0—140

RECEIVING

Exeter: Redding 4-81, Ware 1-46

Conestoga Valley: Ruble 3-63, Johnson 3-23, Byers 1-45, Fisher 1-9

INTERCEPTIONS

None

EMMAUS – The Emmaus Hornets defense turned many heads last week in the Lehigh Valley when they shutout rival Parkland 27-0 to clinch the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference West Division title.

Now it has back-to-back shutouts and the victim this time was none other than defending District XI 6A Champion Nazareth.

Behind a complete effort on defense and an overpowering rushing attack, the fourth-seeded Hornets rolled past the fifth seed Nazareth 35-0 in the first round of the District XI 6A playoffs on Friday night at the EPSD stadium.

“Any time you can slow a team like that down or even shut them out it is a great feeling,” Emmaus head coach Harold Fairclough said. “Our kids were dialed in and ready to go and they came out and did a heck of a job executing a great game plan put forth by our staff.”

One week after scoring 55 points in a 63-55 shootout loss to Easton, Nazareth was shutout for the first time since 2009 when they lost 28-0 which also came at the hands of Easton.

“We were out of sync on every play,” Nazareth head coach Tom Falzone said. “There were either two or three guys not on the same page or some other mistake was being made. We just could not get it together.”

The Hornets defense will get the spotlight in the victory, but it was the Emmaus offense that made the opening statement. Quarterback Jerek Cooper needed just five plays to lead the Hornets (9-2) down the field and raced 37 yards down the left sideline to put Emmaus ahead 7-0 just over two minutes into the contest.

“I am most proud of the relentless effort our kids gave tonight,” Fairclough said. “It was awesome to see those guys fly around while making big and timely plays.”

Nazareth’s offense did not even come close to crossing into Hornets territory on its first two drives, but seemed to get a spark right at the very end of the first quarter when Luke DePietro ran a punt back 54 yards to the Emmaus 14-yard line. Instead, the Eagles (7-4) finished the drive losing four yards and were turned over on downs following back-to-back drops on 3rd and 4th downs.

The Eagles defense did its best to keep the offense in the game by forcing a pair of three-and-outs in the second quarter.

However, the struggles on offense hit a fever pitch when quarterback Peyton Falzone tossed a 37-yard pick-6 to linebacker Cole Moreau with 5:29 left in the second quarter to put Emmaus up 14-0.

“A couple plays before they ran the same mesh route and coach told me I had to stay on my guy because I was behind the last time,” Moreau said. “I read the route and when he (Falzone) threw behind him I capitalized on it.”

Now suddenly the pressure was on the Eagles defense again late in the first half and the walls began to cave in when the Hornets took advantage of short field to go up 21-0 with 26 seconds left in the second quarter. Emmaus rushed with ease on all six plays that started from the Eagles 32-yard line and Reilly Bechtel capped the drive with a 6-yard score.

“Tonight, I thought our defense was great, but we just did not do enough to help them out,” Tom Falzone said. “We put them in bad situations all night and it finally caught up to us.”

The Hornets did not score a point in the third quarter but completed a 13-play drive that took off 5:34 off the clock which wore down a tiring Eagles defense. Nazareth put together a good-looking drive to start the second half until once again having it end in a turnover on downs in the red zone. The Eagles advanced as far as the Hornets 6-yard line before Peyton Falzone was sacked by Bechtel.

“It is so thrilling every time to step on the field knowing we are capable of pitching a shutout like that on defense,” Bechtel said. “I am excited what next week brings for us and more importantly just to have another week together with these guys.”

Bechtel ended any chance the Eagles had at a potential rally when he burst through the middle of the line untouched on 3rd-and-11 from the Nazareth 41-yard line for his second touchdown of the game to make it 28-0. Javier Santos put the finishing touches on the Emmaus win with a 17-yard touchdown with just over five minutes left in regulation.

“I think we ultimately got our run game going on that last drive in the first half,” Fairclough said. “Mark Scisly, our offensive line coach, made some great adjustments at halftime. Nazareth did about one or two things we did not see on film coming into this game so credit to our kids to buy into the adjustments and execute.”

The Hornets ended the game with 324 rushing yards as a team on 39 carries to average 8.3 yards per carry. Bechtel had 147 of those yards on 17 carries while Cooper posted 88, and Santos finished with 81.

Emmaus limited Virginia Tech commit Peyton Falzone to throw for just 137 yards on 19-of-39 passing with his interception.

With the EPC new conference realignment, the Hornets and Eagles did not get to face each other in the regular season. However, Emmaus gets its first EPC rematch next week at Cottingham Stadium against top-seeded Easton after the Red Rovers easily dispatched Stroudsburg 42-7.

Emmaus missed a game-winning field goal in regulation as time expired after letting an early 14-0 lead slip away in the September 21st meeting at EPSD Stadium, falling 28-21. Now, the Hornets get their second chance at the Red Rovers.

“We are going to enjoy this one first, but our kids knew we were possibly going to see them (Easton) down the road.” Fairclough said. “They have a very good offense, but I just want to see this effort showed tonight out of our guys again.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Nazareth	0	0	0	0	0
Emmaus	7	14	0	14	35

 

Scoring summary

1	EM	Cooper, 37 run (Buck kick)	9:32
2	EM	Moreau 37 interception return (Buck kick)	5:29
2	EM	Bechtel, 6 run (Buck kick)	0:26
4	EM	Bechtel, 41 run (Buck kick)	10:56
4	EM	Santos, 17 run (Buck kick)	5:37

Team statistics

	Nazareth	Emmaus
First downs	13	16
Rushes-yards	25-92	39-324
Passing yards	137	14
Total yards	229	338
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	19-39-1	3-6-0
Fumbles-lost	0-0	0-0
Punts-average	4-32.0	4-38.0
Penalties-yards	7-65	11-126

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Nazareth: Falzone 12-58, Wimberly 10-20, Angione 2-11, Smith 1-3

Emmaus: Bechtel 16-147, Cooper 13-88, Santos 7-81, Jefferson-Rushing 3-8

PASSING

Nazareth: Falzone 19-39-1–137

Emmaus: Cooper 3-6-0–14

RECEIVING

Nazareth: Newsome 4-40, Zelachowski 3-41, DePietro 3-19, Wimberly 3-1, Kilareski 2-20, Boyce 2-8, Simpson 2-8

Emmaus: Jefferson-Rushing 2-12, Duggan 1-2

INTERCEPTIONS

Emmaus: Moreau

NEFFSVILLE – At the start of the 2024 season, the Wilson Bulldogs took a chance on their new quarterback. They moved previously All-Lancaster-Lebanon League wide receiver Madyx Gruber under center to lead a team that was mostly unproven with just seven starters returning.

However, on Friday night against unbeaten Manheim Township, the Bulldogs chance they took back in the summer proved to be worth it.

The Bulldogs left no doubt in a 34-16 win over Manheim Township to lock up the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 title, their 30th League Championship in program history.

“We took a young team with very little experience, and they bought in right from the start of the year,” Wilson head coach Doug Dahms said. “We knew tonight was going to be tough with the talent Township has and our kids did a great job.”

The Bulldogs-Blue Streaks matchup has become one of the defining games each season in the Lancaster-Lebanon League and in District 3. The stakes were no different tonight with the Section 1 crown on the line and with the right movement in the ratings possibly the top seed in the District 3 6A tournament as well.

Like two prized fighters, each team came out with its best punch to start. Wilson (6-0, 9-1) methodically went 77 yards in 13 plays to take the initial lead of the game off a 1-yard plunge from running back Correll Akings. The Bulldogs converted a pair of fourth downs on the drive with the second being a 20-yard strike from Gruber to Christo Hunsicker to set up the Akings score.

The Blue Streaks (5-1, 9-1) turned its workhorse back, Declan Clancy, loose on their first drive and he needed just four runs to tie the score at seven with 4:25 left in the first quarter. Clancy seemed poised for another big night after racking up 62 yards on that first drive, but the Bulldogs defense responded by keeping him in check the rest of the night with just 75 yards the rest of the way.
“He (Clancy) had some big runs early, but we went back to basics and the kids just dug in and played well,” Dahms said. “Stopping him after our turnovers was really big and our kids played with a lot of heart across the board.”

Manheim Township was in position to take the lead for the first time as they reached the Bulldogs 13-yard line in the opening minutes of the second quarter. A delay of game and personal foul penalty put the Blue Streaks in an uncomfortable spot to where they needed to throw to the end zone twice from 30 yards out, both of which failed.

Wilson took advantage when Gruber hit Akings wide open in stride off a wheel route for a 65-yard touchdown pass that put Wilson up 14-7 at the 9:22-mark of the second quarter.

“Whenever our backs and receivers are not open I just use my legs and that gives them a better chance at getting open,” Gruber said. “I rolled to the left to buy time and saw Correll open off a busted coverage and he did the rest.”

Gruber’s mobility was equally as effective on the ground with timely runs that kept Wilson drives moving.

“Madyx is a unique individual,” Dahms said. “I always call him ‘squirrely’ and he does a nice job reading coverage and he is tough to bring down because he is so slippery. He throws the ball so effectively and he did what he had to do tonight.”

The Bulldogs defense staved off another red zone threat from the Blue Streaks following a fumble deep in their own territory by turning them over on downs. Wilson kept the momentum rolling by extending its lead to 22-7 following a 9-yard touchdown pass from Gruber to tight end Mike Glover with 2:35 left in the first half.

The success of Wilson in the first half started frustrating the Blue Streaks, who had trailed twice all season coming into the contest. Manheim Township was hit with five personal foul penalties in the first half and finished with 10 penalties for 128 yards.

Despite all the troubles, the Blue Streaks found itself back in the game when they scored on the opening drive of the second half to make it 22-13 following a 1-yard run by Taylor Veilleux. Manheim Township added a 21-yard field goal by Johnny Morales to pull within in a score entering the fourth quarter which came off a Bulldogs interception.

At this point, Wilson was in survival mode with a now stagnant offense that had one turnover and just a pair of first downs in the second half.

It was Gruber’s legs, however, and an acrobatic catch that saved Wilson’s night.

Gruber lofted a high floater to Brady Kline in double coverage who hauled in the pass and broke free for a 41-yard touchdown that put the Bulldogs up 28-16 with exactly seven minutes left in regulation.

“I am proud to be a part of a strong tight end group here and I just said to myself ‘I need to be Mike Glover,” Kline said. “It could be luck, skill, I do not know but it got me in the end zone and that is all that matters.”

Glover has emerged as a focal point in the Wilson offense during his breakout sophomore campaign with 29 catches for 468 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bulldogs turned to its defense to ice the game as they forced the Blue Streaks to go 4-and-out, stuffing Clancy on a wildcat run on 4th-and-1 from the 29-yard line. Gruber put the finishing touches on the Section Title with a 4-yard touchdown run and interception on defense.

“Our defense was the turning point,” Gruber said. “They played phenomenal all night and stopped a very talented offense.”

Gruber went 11-of-18 for 207 yards with four total touchdowns behind three through the air and one on the ground. He added 55 rushing yards on 16 carries in a three-headed rushing attack with Akings (52 yards) and Monty Greer (66 yards), who did the bulk of the work on the Bulldogs final scoring drive.

Wilson and Manheim Township have earned first-round byes as the top two seeds in District 3 6A, but it is yet to be determined on who will gain the elusive homefield advantage throughout the District Playoffs. The two rivals could very well meet again for a District Championship in three weeks.

“If that time comes we will be ready,” Dahms said. “As I told them, if it happens it always tougher to beat a team twice in one season. One step at a time and we will enjoy a little reset next weekend and be ready to go.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Wilson	7	15	0	12	34
Manheim Twp.	7	0	9	0	16

 

Scoring summary

1	WIL	Akings, 1 run (Hunsicker kick)	5:58
1	MT	Clancy, 5 run (Morales kick)	4:25
2	WIL	Akings, 65 pass from Gruber (Hunsicker kick)	9:22
2	WIL	Glover, 9 pass from Gruber (Akings run)	2:35
3	MT	Veilleux, 1 run (Kick Failed)	7:27
3	MT	Morales, 21 FG	0:15
4	WIL	Kline, 41 pass from Gruber (Rush Failed)	7:00
4	WIL	Gruber, 4 run (Kick Failed)	1:37

Team statistics

	Wilson	Manheim Twp.
First downs	19	15
Rushes-yards	41-169	31-154
Passing yards	207	158
Total yards	376	312
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	11-18-1	11-28-1
Fumbles-lost	1-1	1-1
Punts-average	3-39.3	3-35.0
Penalties-yards	7-64	10-128

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Wilson: Greer 9-62, Gruber 16-55, Akings 16-52

Manheim Twp: Clancy 27-137, Weisser 3-16, Veilleux 1-1

PASSING

Wilson: Gruber 11-18-1–207

Manheim Twp: Weisser 10-27-1—123, Dixon 1-1-0–35

RECEIVING

Wilson: Akings 3-79, Zullinger 2-17, Glover 2-13, Kline 1-41, Carpenter 1-35, Hunsicker 1-20, Dean 1-2

Manheim Twp: Feliciano 3-38, Alaimo 2-40, Dixon 2-20, Clancy 2-16, Haberbosch 1-35, Hill 1-9

INTERCEPTIONS

Wilson: Gruber

Manheim Twp: Capizzi

PERKASIE – When fans hear the name Ryan Clemens for Central Bucks West, they immediately turn to his running back abilities. However, on Saturday night against Pennridge, Clemens was the perfect definition of a “do-it-all” player. Clemens was flawless in all three phases of the game as his Bucks pulled away from Pennridge 38-7 in Suburban One National Division action.

“I have been on record before but in my seven years coaching at CB West, Ryan is the best all-around football player we had,” Bucks head coach Rob Rowan said. “He is exceptional, he does everything, and he does it all at a high level.”

Clemens amassed 260 yards on the ground on 24 carries, equating to 10.8 yards a pop, and three touchdowns. He made a 22-yard field goal in a key spot of the third quarter while also going a perfect 5-of-5 on extra point attempts. Oh, by the way, he also made a diving interception in the fourth quarter.

“I am at a loss for words honestly how tonight went,” Clemens said. “I am proud of my guys for stepping up and especially having a couple teammates injured. Our two guards and wing playing for the first time played great. We need to clean some things up but all-around I thought it was a great game.

The Bucks (6-2, 4-1) powered through Pennridge (4-4, 2-3) with an overwhelming rushing attack that totaled 432 yards off 44 attempts. Quarterback Noah Miller set the tone on the first CB West drive of the game by scampering 62 yards untouched down the left sideline to give the Bucks the initial 7-0 lead.

“To have a guy like Noah help guide the offense is special,” Rowan said. “Ryan and Noah have been a heck of a 1-2 punch and I think the most impressive thing is that while what they do on the field is tremendous, who they are off the field is even more impressive, so its no surprise that it translates to the field.

The Rams initially punched back as they used a 58-yard kick return from Chase Marshall to gain good field position on its next drive. Quarterback Noah Keating hit Marshall in stride for a 30-yard touchdown pass two plays after the return to level the score at seven with 5:50 left in the first quarter.

Central Bucks West had its next drive in Pennridge territory stopped when Miller was sacked by Trevor Fuhs and fumbled that was recovered by the Rams. Pennridge converted a 4th-and-8 on its ensuing drive and made it down to the Bucks 24-yard line. However, Keating was intercepted at the 1-yard line by Louie Cipollo.

“We have been needing to get better in coverage defensively and I felt like we did that tonight,” Clemens said. “We did not make many adjustments after Pennridge initially scored because we knew it was a simple mistake and a simple fix.”

Backed up at its own 1-yard line, Clemens hit the gap on the left side of the line and went 91 yards down to the Rams 8-yard line. Two runs later from Miller put the Bucks back in front for good at 14-7 with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

The Bucks got the ball to start the third quarter and held the ball for 8:55 which ended with Clemens knocking through a 22-yard field goal that made it 17-7. Central Bucks West advanced to the Rams 1-yard line but was stopped twice on the goal line before a delay of game penalty thwarted a 4th-and-Goal conversion chance.

“We have a high standard, and we will always push for that standard,” Rowan said. “We need to learn how to finish drives especially when we are on the 1 and 2-yard line. It is a lot of self-inflicted penalties and that is something we have talked about since week one with the guys that we need to get better in those situations.”

Miller flew through the middle of the line of scrimmage at the end of the third quarter and had a 72-yard touchdown until a block in the back penalty negated the score. The Bucks were only backed up to the Rams 18-yard line following the penalty which set up the first of three touchdowns from Clemens in the fourth quarter that made it 24-7. Pennridge fumbled on its next possession inside its own 10-yard line to set up Clemens second touchdown before he put the cherry on top to his night with a 52-yard score at the 6:45-mark.

Following Cipollo’s interception to start the second quarter, the Bucks defense limited Pennridge to just 38 of its 135 total yards of offense. The Rams loss sends them closer to the bubble of the District 1 6A playoff picture and they will travel to take on Central Bucks East next Friday in a game they have to have.

The Bucks turn their attention to a defining showdown next Friday night at home with North Penn that has both Suburban One and District 1 6A playoff positioning implications. The Knights sat second in the power rankings while the Bucks were sixth prior to Saturday’s games.

“Seeing our new guys succeed with the injuries to starters that we have has me encouraged about our stretch run,” Rowan said. “Everyone has to deal with injuries, and I just want us to keep getting better. That is what our guys want, and I tell them every week is that I want them to find out how good they can be. The only way that is going to work is that we show up every day of the week and we need to hit the ground running at practice and have a great week in preparation for North Penn.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
CB West	7	7	3	21	38
Pennridge	7	0	0	0	7

 

Scoring summary

1	CBW	Miller, 62 run (Clemens kick)	6:39
1	PEN	Marshall, 30 pass from Keating (Nunes kick)	5:50
2	CBW	Miller, 1 run (Clemens Kick)	9:55
3	CBW	Clemens, 22 FG	3:05
4	CBW	Clemens, 6 run (Clemens kick)	11:55
4	CBW	Clemens, 11 run (Clemens kick)	10:25
4	CBW	Clemens, 52 run (Clemens kick)	6:45

Team statistics

	CB West	Pennridge
First downs	16	9
Rushes-yards	44-432	28-56
Passing yards	26	79
Total yards	458	135
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	2-6-0	8-16-2
Fumbles-lost	1-1	1-1
Punts-average	1-32.0	4-33.8
Penalties-yards	10-65	3-25

Individual statistics

RUSHING

CB West: Clemens 24-260, Miller 12-162, McGowan 3-11, Todd 1-5, George 1-3, McGuire 3-(-9)

Pennridge: Dougherty 9-39, Rowe 4-19, Leuthe 4-6, Ferguson 2-6, Keating 8-(-7), Swanson 1-(-7)

PASSING

CB West: Miller 2-6-0–26

Pennridge: Keating 8-16-2–79

RECEIVING

CB West: Cipollo 1-18, Todd 1-8

Pennridge: Marshall 5-55, Clontz 3-24

INTERCEPTIONS

CB West: Cipollo

HAVERTOWN – All night the Haverford Fords used their ground game as their best shot at knocking off unbeaten Springfield-Delco. However, it was one pass and one completion that defined their Central League Saturday night showdown.

The Fords one completion was an 86-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Adam Kilpatrick to Jimmy Fusaro with 5:48 left in the third quarter that propelled Haverford to 21-13 win over Springfield-Delco at A.G Cornog Stadium.

“I saw them biting in on the line after the number of times we were running the ball and I wanted to try to pass over the top there,” Kilpatrick said. “Coach (Dougherty) and his staff do such a great job for preparing for times like that when we are able to complete passes like that.”

Haverford (6-1, 4-1 – Central) finished with 212 rushing yards as a team off 47 carries but early on it seemed that the Cougars, who entered the contest ranked second just barely behind Strath Haven in PIAA District 1 5A, had their plan figured out. The Fords went three-and-out to open the game and Springfield-Delco quarterback, Jackson Kennedy, put his Cougars in front 7-0 after finding Chris Dolan for a 23-yard touchdown early in the first quarter.

The Fords got its ground game going on its second drive and Will Hulea tied the game at seven with 3:11 left in the first quarter with a 31-yard touchdown run.

“It starts with our kids working our tails off at practice every day to be able to be resilient and patient when we find adversity,” Haverford head coach Luke Dougherty said. “We ask them to show up every day and they show up every day.”

The Cougars (6-1, 5-1 – Central) were in position to respond following a 56-yard kickoff return by Brian Delaney to the Haverford 17-yard line before Kennedy was intercepted by Fords defensive lineman Chase Russell after a deflection. The interception became a theme of the night for Springfield-Delco in which they missed many opportunities.
After getting a stop, Kennedy and Dolan hooked up once again this time for a 66-yard touchdown pass that put the Cougars ahead 13-7 in the second quarter. Springfield-Delco attempted a two-point conversion following a Fords offside penalty but was stopped on a rush attempt.

Haverford answered the call with a 14-play 65-yard drive which ended with a 1-yard run from Liam Taylor and gave the Fords their first lead of the night at 14-13 with just over a minute left in the first half. Taylor carried the ball on nine of those 14 plays which was a part of a 35-carry 136-yard effort.

“Liam is a beast,” Dougherty said. “We give him the ball a lot because we trust him, and we trust our offensive line plus our quarterback to make the right reads. 136 yards is a grind game for him and the fact he got that knowing they were going to take it away is a testament to these guys and to Liam.”

Even the final minute of the first half was entertaining with no points being scored. The Cougars attempted a hook-and-ladder play, but Dolan fumbled trying to exchange the ball and set Haverford up in Springfield-Delco territory. However, Delaney made a brilliant one-handed interception off a halfback pass from Taylor one play later. The Cougars moved down as far as the Fords 26-yard line before an incompletion to the end zone sailed wide on the final play of the first half.

Haverford forced a Cougars punt to start the second half which set the stage for Kilpatrick to find Jimmy Fusaro on 3rd-and-12 that extended the lead to 21-13 in the third quarter.

“Adam got great protection on that throw, and he waited just a second to let it fly.” Dougherty said. “Jimmy got under it and when you are backed into those 3rd-and-long situations you just have to trust the kids to make the plays.”

Springfield-Delco marched its way into Fords territory early in the fourth quarter, but once again a turnover plagued the Cougars. Dolan caught a pass on 3rd-and-6 and appeared to have enough for a first down before fumbling the ball back at the Fords 25-yard line. The Cougars got the ball back with 6:10 left in regulation and once again made it inside Fords territory. However, Dolan had a would-be touchdown pass slip through his hands at the two-yard line and two plays later Kennedy was intercepted by Jimmy Fusaro on 4th down.

“I passed the post off to my safety and I saw the wheel route coming in the corner of my eye,” Jimmy Fusaro said. “When the ball was in the air, I could tell it had enough hang time to where I could center myself under it and pick it off.”

Haverford got on the back of Taylor once again and rushed him eight straight times to run out the final 5:27 of the game to preserve the win.

The Fords win maintains their tie in the Central League standings with Garnet Valley and brings them within a half game of the Cougars. Haverford has little time to celebrate as they host Ridley on Thursday night, who sits just a half game back of them. Springfield-Delco also plays this upcoming Thursday and will take on Radnor.

“We have a good football team, and we have a brutal schedule,” Dougherty said. “Turning around and playing Ridley on Thursday night is no small task since they are a great football team. This is a strong league, and I am excited to see what our kids can do going forward.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Springfield-Delco	7	6	0	0	13
Haverford	7	7	7	0	21

Scoring summary

1	SPR	Dolan, 23 pass from Kennedy (Barber kick)	6:33
1	HAV	Hulea, 31 run (Cunningham kick)	3:11
2	SPR	Dolan, 66 pass from Kennedy (Run Failed)	7:38
2	HAV	Taylor, 1 run (Cunningham kick)	1:06
3	HAV	Fusaro, 86 pass from Kilpatrick (Cunningham kick)	5:48

Team statistics

	Springfield Delco	Haverford
First downs	15	15
Rushes-yards	26-104	47-212
Passing yards	203	86
Total yards	307	298
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	16-25-2	1-3-1
Fumbles-lost	3-2	0-0
Punts-average	2-41.0	4-39.2
Penalties-yards	4-35	5-32

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Springfield Delco: Barber 11-45, Romano 10-44, Dolan 1-8, Coll 3-6, Kennedy 1-1

Haverford: Taylor 35-136, Kilpatrick 4-37, Hulea 5-36, Cunningham 2-5, TEAM 1-(-2)

PASSING

Springfield Delco: Kennedy 16-25-2—203

Haverford: Kilpatrick 1-2-0—86, Taylor 0-1-1

RECEIVING

Springfield Delco: Dolan 6-113, Coll 4-42, Barber 4-33, Francks 1-10, Delaney 1-5

Haverford: Jimmy Fusaro 1-86

INTERCEPTIONS

Springfield Delco: Delaney

Haverford: Russell, Jimmy Fusaro

WEST CHESTER – Downingtown West and West Chester Rustin have been two of the more consist programs in not just the Ches-Mont league, but of all of District 1 for over more than a decade now. Surprisingly, they had never met each other in each other’s program history until Friday night. However, the matchup between the two unbeaten schools was worth the wait.

Behind an overpowering defensive effort, the Whippets outlasted the Golden Knights 14-7 on a misty Friday night at Rustin Stadium in Ches-Mont League crossover action.

“Our defensive coaches got together Sunday to try and get a plan to stop probably the best rushing team in a long time,” Downingtown West Head Coach Tom Kline said. “We wanted to take that rushing attack away and I am so proud of these kids and coaches.”

Kline’s defense limited the vaunted Golden Knights rushing attack to just 82 yards on 38 carries, averaging 2.2 yards as a team. The size and athleticism on the Whippets defensive line proved large in multiple key situations on Friday night.

Downingtown West quarterback Cole Bricker was intercepted by Pat Maychak at the Whippets 32-yard line on their first drive of the game. The Whippets defense went to work and stuffed the Golden Knights on back-to-back plays after a high snap went 12 yards over the head of Rustin quarterback, David McClain.

With the offense still trying to find its rhythm, the Whippets turned to its special teams to help gain its early advantage when TJ Sinkus launched a 61-yard punt to the Golden Knights 1-yard line. Downingtown West forced a punt, got short field, and took a 7-0 lead when Bricker found Darian Smith open in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown on Third-and-Goal.

The Golden Knights defense forced a three-and-out on the Whippets opening drive of the second half and a short punt landed at the Downingtown West 36-yard line. McClain completed his only pass of the night on the first play of the Rustin drive and hit Luke Spitzer for a 36-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven with 9:50 left in the third quarter.

“We set our goal from this year was to finish everything,” Kline said. “We knew we would find adversity at some points, and it was a matter of how we respond to that. Tonight showed us what kind of team we got this year and I am proud of them for being resilient.”

With momentum looking as it was swinging to Rustin after a Whippets punt, Downingtown West’s defense was up to task again by forcing a Golden Knights punt. Bricker converted a 3rd-and-7 with a 13-yard pass to Smith and delivered possibly the biggest play of the night, a 40-yard run up the middle to set the Whippets up inside the Rustin 10-yard line. Tommy Miller rushed for a 6-yard touchdown to put the Whippets back in front at 14-7 with six seconds left in the third quarter.

“Cole is by nature a quiet kid but is a determined young man,” Kline said. “People try to compare him to Quinn (Henicle) but he is his own person, a great leader for us and came up clutch when we need him the most tonight.”

The Whippets defense was put to the test once again when JoJo Magolon closed out the third quarter with a 41-yard kick return to the Downingtown West 48-yard line. However, the Golden Knights went 17 yards backwards thanks to a false start, 4-yard loss on a run, and then a sack by Andrew Brown on third down.

“We added some extra things this week that we felt would throw them off their game,” Smith said. “We have grit and everything we have done over the summer has built us to this point. All the long nights and extra conditioning has brought us together as a group.”

Rustin got the ball back at their 28-yard line with 6:23 left in the fourth quarter after Chase Hatton broke up a 4th-and-4 pass from Bricker that was just shy of the goal line. Hatton marched the Golden Knights down the field behind six carries while converting a third and fourth down situation. Rustin made it to the Whippets 24-yard line before a sack and two incompletions forced a 4th-and-14 from the Whippets 28-yard line. McClain went for Hatton in the end zone but the pass sailed just high to preserve the win for Downingtown West.

“They are a lot bigger than us up front, their front seven is very talented, and they just made a couple of more plays than us tonight.” Rustin Head Coach Mike St. Clair said. “The thing we can take away is that they are a very good 6A team and I think we are a very good 5A team. If a 5A team can battle a 6A team like that it shows a lot about yourself.”

It was a full circle moment for Kline, who was on St. Clair’s original staff when the West Chester Rustin program debuted in 2006 and served as an assistant for three seasons.

“It was a lot of fun coaching against Mike tonight,” Kline said. “We go back a long time and the success I have with these guys shows the great lessons I learned from him when I was at Rustin.”

The Whippets, now 6-0, will maintain their Top-10 PIAA 6A State Ranking status and stay in Ches-Mont crossover action next Friday night as they will travel to face Great Valley. West Chester Rustin (5-1) completes its back-to-back with Downingtown schools by traveling to face East this upcoming Friday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Downingtown West	0	7	7	0	14
WC Rustin	0	0	7	0	7

Scoring summary

2	DTW	Smith, 7 pass from Bricker(Sharp kick)	4:04
3	WCR	Spitzer, 36 pass from McClain (Adler kick)	9:50
3	DTW	Miller, 6 run (Sharp kick)	0:06

Team statistics

	Downingtown West	WC Rustin
First downs	8	8
Rushes-yards	30-112	38-82
Passing yards	58	36
Total yards	170	118
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	6-12-1	1-7-0
Fumbles-lost	1-0	1-0
Punts-average	4-46.8	7-40.7
Penalties-yards	3-20	3-20

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Downingtown West: Miller 6-48, Bricker 5-27, Taraschi 7-14, O’Connor 0-11, Dunn 4-9, Barry 3-7, TEAM 1-(-1), Smith 4-(-3)

WC Rustin: Hatton 19-64, Loper 4-25, DiAntonio 5-10, Magolon 1-6, McClain 8-(-11), TEAM 1-(-12)

PASSING

Downingtown West: Bricker 6-11-1—58, Miller 0-1-0

WC Rustin: McClain 1-7-0—36

RECEIVING

Downingtown West: Miller 2-24, Smith 2-20, Weller 1-9, Shaughnessy 1-5

WC Rustin: Spitzer 1-36

INTERCEPTIONS

WC Rustin: Maychak

ROYERSFORD – After a physical and hard-hitting 47 minutes of football, it came down to one play on Saturday morning between two state-ranked powers in West Chester Rustin and Pope John Paul II. Specifically, one two-point conversion.

The Golden Knights were just stunned one play earlier when Golden Panthers quarterback Luke Terlesky lofted a 74-yard touchdown pass to Braden Reed after keeping the Pope John Paul II passing game in check for most of the game.

However, West Chester Rustin turned away the Golden Panthers on a go-ahead two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 20-13 win in a battle of unbeaten teams.

“It was gut check time and our kids really stood up to the task there at the end,” Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair said. “They could have not been in the right mindset after that touchdown in, but they forced a tough pass and forced the incompletion to seal the win. A really, really good football game today between two great teams.”

Running their patented Wing-T offense, Rustin marched down the field behind the run on the opening drive of the game and made it as far as the Pope John Paul II 18-yard line. The Golden Knights tried to quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1 but were stuffed at the line of scrimmage to end the threat.

The Golden Knights went back to their rushing attack on its next drive and again drove deep into Golden Panther territory. Once again, Rustin was left empty handed towards the end of the first quarter after being stopped on 4th-and-1 this time from the 3-yard line.

Backed up in the shadow of their end zone, Pope John Paul II methodically worked its way down the field and broke the scoreless tie when Terlesky found Dylan Skarbek for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 7:01 left in the first half.

“We knew going in it was going to be a physical game,” Golden Panthers head coach Scott Reed said. “They have a very good program and veteran team and we knew we were going to be in for a fight. We had a shot at the end and just fell short. Lots of credit to Rustin for coming down here and played us hard.”

The Golden Panthers forced a punt for the first time in the contest on the ensuing drive, but Terlesky was intercepted by Jojo Magolon and he returned it for a 35-yard pick-6 that leveled the score at seven going into halftime.

“Getting that pick-6 really changed the momentum of the game,” St. Clair said. “Jojo Magolon made a phenomenal read on that pass he took advantage.”

Rustin gained excellent field position to open the third quarter at the Pope John Paul II 39-yard line and took its first lead of the game at 14-7 when Ryan Loper scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. Loper served as the main tailback after the Golden Knights two-way workhorse, Chase Hatton, took most of the carries in the first half.

“We are a running team and while they were matching up well with us up on the line, I thought we had some of our counters work out really nice.” St. Clair said. “Having a strong stable of running backs makes it easy for us to do what we like to do.”

Hatton finished just shy of 100 yards on the ground with 98 yards on 16 carries which led a 210-rushing yard day from the Golden Knights. Loper totaled 36 yards on the ground off eight carries and his touchdown while catching both of quarterback David McClain’s pass completions for 33 yards.

“Our offensive line played out of their minds today,” McClain said. “Our center Nick Hornbach and one of the best guards in District 1, Charlie Covington, were back which were a huge factor. Nicky Santangelo is so experienced along with Jackson Wolfe at right tackle and Andrew Shallo at the other tackle. PJP has a very strong defensive front and I thought they did a great job picking up their assignments to control the game.”

Along with beginning to establish the running game, the Golden Knights began winning the battle at the line defensively as well with multiple sacks that kept the Golden Panther offense stagnant in the third quarter. Rustin had a chance to put a clamp on the win with an 11-play 89-yard drive that took off 7:08 of the fourth quarter, but a 25-yard field goal went short of the goal post to give Pope John Paul II one last chance.

Braden Reed shocked the crowd with his 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 1:22 left in regulation and nearly came down with the two-point conversion pass from Terlesky but was out of bounds.

“I thought it was the right time to go for it there with seeing what they do backed up at the goal line and what we do in that situation.” Scott Reed said. “I wanted to go for the win with just over a minute left and it was a play we run to get ready for two-point conversions and we just did not get it.”

Braden Reed turned in gutsy 13-catch 154-yard receiving day for the Golden Panthers along with his touchdown reception. Terlesky went 21-of-33 with 233 yards through the air and tossed two touchdowns plus the one interception.

Pope John Paul II landed on their onside kick attempt but were out of bounds. That allowed the Golden Knights, who now set their sights on Norristown next Friday night, to put the finishing touches on the win by recovering a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown from the multiple Golden Panther laterals on the final play of the game.

“We are happy where we are, but we have a lot of tough games coming up,” St. Clair said. “We just need to take it one day at a time and wherever we land, we land.”

The Golden Panthers (2-1) will head back on the road to take on unbeaten Bishop Shanahan next Friday night.

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
WC Rustin	0	7	7	6	20
Pope John Paul II	0	7	0	7	13

Scoring summary

2	PJP	Skarbek, 11 pass from Terlesky (Simonic kick)	7:01
2	WCR	Magolon 35 interception return (Adler kick)	5:01
3	WCR	Loper, 5 run (Adler kick)	6:47
4	PJP	Reed, 74 pass from Terlesky (Pass Failed)	1:22
4	WCR	Colonia 0 yard fumble return	0:00

Team statistics

	WC Rustin	Pope John Paul
First downs	16	14
Rushes-yards	45-203	14-22
Passing yards	33	221
Total yards	236	243
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	2-3-0	21-33-1
Fumbles-lost	0-0	1-1
Punts-average	3-32.0	5-35.0
Penalties-yards	5-50	11-111

Individual statistics

RUSHING

WC Rustin: Hatton 16-98, Loper 8-36, Jacobs 3-33, McClain 12-28, DiAntonio 3-8, Magolon 2-1, TEAM 1-(-1)

Pope John Paul: Lucci 7-25, Skarbek 1-6, Scruggs 2-3, Terlesky 4-(-12)

PASSING

WC Rustin: McClain 2-3-0—33

Pope John Paul: Terlesky 21-33-1—221

RECEIVING

WC Rustin: Loper 2-33

Pope John Paul: Reed 13-154, Skarbek 4-42, DeAngelo 2-8, Bass 1-17, Digiacomo 1-6, Frantz 0-(-6)

INTERCEPTIONS

WC Rustin: Magolon

MISSED FIELD GOALS

WC Rustin: Adler 25

ROYERSFORD – Pope John Paul knew what it was getting itself into when they made their non-conference schedule for the 2024 season. After earning a 34-27 win over a strong Springfield Township team a week ago, the Golden Panthers moved onto the next step of its early season gauntlet against state-ranked Neumann-Goretti. 

Behind an overwhelming defensive performance, the Golden Panthers shut out the Saints 18-0 on Saturday afternoon at Pope John Paul II High School. 

“I knew today was going to be a big test and Neumann-Goretti is a powerhouse in this state,” Pope John Paul head coach Scott Reed said. “You schedule these kinds of games to see where your team is. Our defense led the whole way today and our offense took advantage of some opportunities they gave us.”

The Golden Panthers wanted the ball to start and made a statement on the opening drive of the game when quarterback Luke Terlesky found Jacob Lucci for a 14-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal that made it 7-0. Following that series, the Pope John Paul offense struggled to finish drives as they had two of its next three drives ending with a turnover on downs. 

However, the frustrations on offense were negated by a ferocious pass rush that made life miserable for Saints quarterback Deante Ruffin all afternoon. 

“There was a lot of times where we were going back and forth with sending pressure and not sending pressure,” Scott Reed said. “That is a credit to our defensive coordinator, Coach Dallas, on working really hard to scheme up formations and to our kids for being in the right gaps and doing what they are supposed to do. We would see one of our kids get a sack because another one took out a blocker.”

All in total, the Golden Panthers racked up seven sacks and limited the Saints to an astonishing -57 rushing yards. That total was also compounded by two high snaps over Ruffin’s head in the second quarter which led to a 12-yard safety to extend the Pope John Paul lead to 9-0. 

After turning the Golden Panthers away on downs in the red zone, Ruffin hit on a 39-yard pass to Wydeek Collier that set the Saints up at the Golden Panthers 41-yard line late in the second quarter. The drive, however, was swamped thanks to back-to-back sacks which preserved the 9-0 advantage for Pope John Paul. 

The mistakes from the Saints carried into the second half as they were called for having 12 men in the huddle on the opening play of the third quarter before a sack fumble forced a punt. The Golden Panthers pinned the Saints at their own one yard line on a punt and Anthony Borzillo wrapped up Nahjee Williams in the end zone for the second safety of the game to make it 11-0. 

Neumann-Goretti seemingly connected on a long pass by Ruffin that would have set them up at the Golden Panthers 30 yard line, but Collier let the ball slip out of his hands as he hit the ground. One play later, Ruffin was sacked again to force another punt. 

The Saints still found themselves only down 11 with 8:59 in the fourth quarter but saw any final chance of rallying crash after having another long completion to Collier wiped out due to a holding penalty and sack on 4th and 14. Pope John Paul delivered the final blow when do-it-all back Braden Reed found a wide open Brandon DeAngelo for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 18-0 with three minutes left in regulation. 

“Braden is a guy that has been starting for all four years and he helps us in so many ways,” Scott Reed said. “He was a big part of our success these last two seasons and now it is his turn to be a senior and we are trying to be creative with how we get the ball in his hands because good things happen when we do.”

Braden Reed caught a game-high seven passes for 41 yards, rushed for 36 yards on eight carries, and completed both pass attempts for 55 yards along with his touchdown. He completed a 35-yard pass to DeAngelo on the first play of the game that initially set up the Golden Panthers for their first score of the game. 

“That first play was just a big momentum play to set a tone,” Braden Reed said. “Most teams will play it safe on the first play but getting a big gain on our first play gave our sideline a lot of energy.”

Pope John Paul, now 2-0, completes its opening-season gauntlet next Saturday afternoon at home against West Chester Rustin. Rustin also sits with the same record and was ranked fifth in the latest 5A Pennsylvania State Rankings. 

“This is definitely a grind for us,” Reed said. “Rustin is extremely good, and they have been very impressive in its first two games. We are going to have to play our best brand of football to knock them off.” 

As for Neumann-Goretti, 0-2 against teams state ranked, they will seek its first win of the 2024 season next week against an out-of-state opponent in Tottenville (N.Y.). 

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Neumann-Goretti	0	0	0	0	0
Pope John Paul	7	2	2	7	18

Scoring summary

1	PJP	Lucci, 14 pass from Terlesky (Simonic kick)	7:30
2	PJP	12 yard safety	5:50
3	PJP	1 yard safety	7:24
4	PJP	DeAngelo, 20 pass from Reed (Simonic kick)	3:00

Team statistics

	Neumann-Goretti	Pope John Paul
First downs	7	13
Rushes-yards	24-(-57)	29-110
Passing yards	122	140
Total yards	65	250
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	7-21-0	15-29-0
Fumbles-lost	1-0	0-0
Punts-average	4-32.5	4-24.0
Penalties-yards	14-95	12-80

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Neumann-Goretti: Mitchell 5-42, Williams 3-3, Bradley 1-0, TEAM 2-(-29), Ruffin 13-(-73)

Pope John Paul: Scruggs 12-58, Reed 8-36, Lucci 3-12, Terlesky 4-4, TEAM 2-0 

PASSING

Neumann-Goretti: Ruffin 7-21-0–122

Pope John Paul: Terlesky 13-27-0—85, Reed 2-2-0–55

RECEIVING

Neumann-Goretti: Collier 3-99, Williams 2-15, Bashir 2-8, 

Pope John Paul: Reed 7-41, DeAngelo 3-75, Lucci 3-13, Scruggs 1-7, Bass 1-4

HARRISBURG –Saturday’s season-opening contest against Harrisburg was a full circle moment for La Salle College first-year head coach Brett Gordon. The 1998 La Salle graduate got to lead his alma mater to a resounding 45-7 win over the Cougars on the road in his first game at the helm on Saturday afternoon at Severance Field.

It could be argued one of the most impressive results during the opening weekend of the 2024 Pennsylvania high school football season.

“My takeaway is that I am just so proud of the kids,” Gordon said. “The theme that I have been preaching to them since I took over in January is to play to our potential. We know we have some talented kids and our job as coaches is to put them in positions to showcase what they can do. The kids did that today, but I also think we have a lot to clean up too.”

Gordon’s first reward after being hired by La Salle was to open with three-time defending District 3 champion Harrisburg on the road that had a roster loaded with Division I talent across the field. The Cougars entered 2024 ranked as high as second in the 6A class throughout various preseason ranking outlets even without quarterback and Pittsburgh commit Shawn Lee, who was denied another season of eligibility by the PIAA on Wednesday.

After Saturday’s performance, many eyes will shift focus on the Explorers who showcased the top talent they have to offer this season.

“We heard all the noise about how good they are, and no one was talking about us,” La Salle quarterback Gavin Sidwar said. “We flew under the radar entering this season and we have worked extremely hard all summer to get to this point. The last two years have not lived up to the La Salle standard and Coach Gordon preached to us to return this program back to prominence. We are so happy to help get him his first win in his debut.”

Sidwar, a Rutgers commit, got the ball rolling right from the jump to start as he went 5-for-5 through the air on the Explorers opening drive which ended with him finding Julian McFadden for a 20-yard touchdown at the 8:31-mark of the first quarter. The Explorers got great field position following a very short Cougars punt, but Sidwar was intercepted by D’Antae Sheffey off a deflection and the State College transfer returned the ball 46 yards to the Explorer 35-yard line.

Harrisburg sophomore quarterback Mikal Shank Jr. earned the start following the decision on Lee and he connected with Jayion Lewis for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven late in the first quarter.

The tide of the game changed early in the second quarter when the lone Explorers punt of the day deflected off a Cougar and was recovered inside the red zone by La Salle. Aidan Hatfield took advantage of the turnover by knocking through a 21-yard field goal to put La Salle up 10-7. The Explorers used a lengthy 8:26 drive to extend their lead to 17-7 before the half as running back Desmond Ortiz converted a 4th and 17 with a 27-yard catch-and-run.

It was all Sidwar and his favorite target on the day, Joey O’Brien, in the second half as he connected with the 6’4 junior twice to help La Salle ultimately pull away from the Cougars in the third quarter. The first came on a 62-yard reception after O’Brien took advantage of his defender falling before snatching a 22-yard pass three minutes later. Sidwar capped his day with his second strike to McFadden on the first play of the fourth quarter that made it 38-7.

Sidwar threw for five touchdown passes and went 21-for-29 through the air, totaling 268 yards. O’Brien caught nine passes for 147 yards and two scores while Syracuse commit McFadden finished with seven receptions for 63 yards.

“Our success today all started on the offensive line,” O’Brien said. “If they give Gavin the time, he has the weapons and IQ to find us in successful spots. We have a very talented receiving crew and we are going to be hard to guard all season.”

Equally as impressive was the Explorer defense that limited the Cougars to just 185 yards of total offense and 68 passing yards. La Salle bottled up Penn State commit Messiah Mickens, who was making his Harrisburg debut after transferring from Trinity, on the ground by holding him to 54 yards on 10 carries. Mickens impressed most on defense with two sacks, but in the end the Cougars could never find a consistent offensive groove all afternoon.

“We are very happy with how both sides of the ball played today,” Gordon said. “We put a lot of hard work and effort into preparing for this game and it made me excited to go out there and watch our kids execute.”

It does not get any easier for the Explorers as they take on another Pennsylvania powerhouse next Friday night in their home opener against Malvern Prep. The Friars have gotten the best of the Explorers the last two seasons, winning 35-0 in 2022 and 13-7 last season.

“We just have to take one game at a time,” Gordon said. “I know its cliché but our schedule kind of forces us to do that. Harrisburg is perennial state power, they have good players, so we knew we would have to come in and be very prepared. We made sure our offseason conditioning was at an all-time high for us to be the better conditioned team. The kids have bought in so far and Malvern has gotten the best of us the last two years so we need to be at our best next week.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
La Salle College	7	10	14	14	45
Harrisburg	7	0	0	0	7

Scoring summary

1	La Salle	McFadden, 20 pass from Sidwar (Hatfield kick)	8:31
1	Harrisburg	Lewis, 24 pass from Shank Jr. (Lopez kick)	1:25
2	La Salle	Hatfield, 21 FG	9:43
2	La Salle	Ortiz, 27 pass from Sidwar (Hatfield kick)	1:11
3	La Salle	O’Brien, 62 pass from Sidwar (Hatfield kick)	9:44
3	La Salle	O’Brien, 22 pass from Sidwar (Hatfield kick)	6:14
4	La Salle	McFadden, 18 Pass from Sidwar (Hatfield kick)	11:54
4	La Salle	Simmons, 6 run (Heck kick)	5:29

Team statistics

	La Salle College	Harrisburg
First downs	19	13
Rushes-yards	26-53	41-117
Passing yards	268	68
Total yards	321	185
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	21-29-1	9-17-0
Fumbles-lost	2-0	5-2
Punts-average	1-28.0	3-19.3
Penalties-yards	3-20	11-91

Individual statistics

RUSHING

La Salle: Simmons 10-47, Ortiz 12-24, McFadden 1-6, Sidwar 3-(-24)

Harrisburg: Mickens 10-54, Hill 5-34, Ewell 7-30, Sheffey 4-21, Cooke 1-11, Lewis 8-10, Brannon 1-(-3), Williams 1-(-5), Shank Jr. 3-(-7), TEAM 1-(-28)

PASSING

La Salle: Sidwar 21-29-1–268

Harrisburg: Shank Jr. 7-14-0–59, Lewis 2-3-0–9

RECEIVING

La Salle: O’Brien 9-147, McFadden 7-63, Swanson 3-22, Ortiz 1-27, Patrick-Oates 1-9

Harrisburg: Cooke 3-16, Sheffey 2-12, Brannon 2-7, Lewis 1-24, Williams 1-9

INTERCEPTIONS:

Harrisburg: Sheffey

Photo of Twin Valley QB Evan Myers

READING – Many eyes have been focused on the 2024 version of the Twin Valley Raiders in the preseason whether it be media, fans, or other coaches. In 2023, the Raiders matched the program record for wins with 10 and tied for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 title last season – only the second championship in their 28-year history.

With about a dozen starters returning, six of which earned All-LL League honors, the Expectations have never been higher entering a season for a football team at Twin Valley. The Raiders passed their first test to open the 2024 season as they convincingly defeated Berks Catholic 42-16 on the road at the Forino Sports Complex during a crossover LL League sectional battle.

“We came out prepared and played fast at a tempo that all of us are proud of.” Raiders head coach Brett Myers said. “Second half we did not show the maturity we have and with 14 seniors plus 13 starters back we should be able to close out a game cleaner. We have some stuff to learn from as we wrap up the game tomorrow.”

The tempo that the Raiders played with was apparent early as quarterback Evan Myers found Matthew Knight for a 49-yard completion on the first play of the game and his team was quickly back on the line after the long completion for the next play. Twin Valley saw its drive end on downs, but the Raiders needed just four plays on its next drive to get on the scoreboard which ended with a 45-yard scamper down the right sideline by Myers.

“Our players believed in our coaching staff from day one and we worked together all summer very well,” Evan Myers said. “Everyone did their job and made it easier for each individual player on the field tonight. The offensive line did a great job giving myself time in the pocket and our receivers time to get open and they made great plays.”

Myers went right back to work again following another Saints punt and hit Knight from 44 yards out for a touchdown to make it a 14-0 game just before the second quarter. Things quickly went off the rails for the Saints to open the second quarter after fumbling a snap on a punt. The ball bounced 10 yards backwards after Raiders defenders made contact with punter Devyn Sutton and was scooped up by Ryan Rementer, who needed just to go nine yards for the touchdown. The Saints finally put together some momentum after kicker Tyler Osorio made a 29-yard field goal to make it 21-3 and Owen Schalk intercepted Evan Myers as the Raiders were driving once again.

However, that momentum was short-lived with a three-and-out plus a 13-play drive from the Raiders that ended with a two-yard rushing touchdown by Lucas Myers to make it 28-3 into halftime. Twin Valley continued to pour it on in the second half when Drew Engle ran for a 43-yard touchdown early in the third quarter that made it 35-3. Greyson Miller forced a Saints fumble three plays into the next Berks Catholic drive and Evan Myers needed just one long throw to Ben Grundy for his second passing touchdown of the night, capping the Raiders scoring.

Myers, the Raiders all-time leading passer, put on another show Friday night by accounting for 346 of the 521 yards of total offense for Twin Valley behind 237 passing yards and 109 rushing yards. He tossed a pair of touchdowns while running for another.

“He has been very productive his whole life,” Brett Myers said. “Probably the last two years I held him back a little bit, but he is a playmaker on the field and any field he plays on. He is a competitor and tonight we took advantage of what they do defensively against a dual-threat quarterback.”

While Brett Myers has built Twin Valley into a contender in such a short time, Friday was also the debut of Dave Stahler as the Saints new head coach. Stahler, who spent 11 years as an associate head coach under recently retired Saints head coach Rick Keeley, had a tough task entering 2024 by replacing four All-LL League selections.

“We played a really good and physical football team,” Stahler said. “I think we can eventually match their physicality on both sides of the ball but we are still working towards it. They were bigger and deeper than us and it wore on us as the game went on. Despite that, I am proud of the kids effort tonight and we will get better.”

Saints quarterback Zach Suski went 12-for-16 passing for 142 yards in his first high school start and tossed one touchdown to Nathaniel Rose late in the fourth quarter. Berks Catholic now heads up to the Lehigh Valley next Friday to face Executive Education, a team the Saints knocked off 19-14 in week two of 2023.

The Raiders have heard and seen the expectations placed from the outside this summer but are constantly focused on what they can control.

“I think most of the guys on this team take that as just white noise,” Evan Myers said. “We do not let anything outside affect us and within the program we have hard-minded kids that come in and want to work to win. It definitely is nice though to see our name mentioned once in awhile.”

Twin Valley makes their home debut in Elverson next Friday against a strong District 4 contender in Selinsgrove.

“We are going to watch film tomorrow, guys are going to work out, and if their effort does not meet our standards they are going to move off the depth chart and we will get it fixed,” Brett Myers said. “That is ultimately what matters for this team is to play and have fun.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Twin Valley	14	14	14	0	42
Berks Catholic	0	3	0	13	16

Scoring summary

1	Twin Valley	E. Myers, 45 run (Shaffer kick)	6:35
1	Twin Valley	Knight, 44 pass from E.Myers (Shaffer kick)	0:33
2	Twin Valley	Rementer, 9 yard fumble return (Shaffer kick)	10:15
2	Berks Catholic	Osorio, 29 FG	6:23
2	Twin Valley	L. Myers, 2 run (Shaffer kick)	0:27
3	Twin Valley	Engle, 43 run (Shaffer kick)	8:54
3	Twin Valley	Grundy, 47 pass from E. Myers (Shaffer kick)	7:32
4	Berks Catholic	Rose, 3 Pass from Suski (Osorio kick)	5:40
4	Berks Catholic	Zudie, 0 yard blocked punt return (kick failed)	2:30

Team statistics

	Twin Valley	Berks Catholic
First downs	18	9
Rushes-yards	30-284	28-23
Passing yards	237	142
Total yards	521	165
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	12-17-1	12-16-0
Fumbles-lost	0-0	2-2
Punts-average	1-0.0	5-36.4
Penalties-yards	8-83	4-40

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Twin Valley: E. Myers 5-109, Johnson 11-91, Engle 8-82, L. Myers 1-2, Reilly 3-2, TEAM 2-(-2)

Berks Catholic: Rose 11-47, Gerald 1-6, Gumby 5-1, Schalk 4-1, Suski 1-0, Curley 3-(-1), TEAM 2-(-11), Sutton 1-(-20)

PASSING

Twin Valley: E. Myers 12-17-1–237

Berks Catholic: Suski 12-16-0–142

RECEIVING

Twin Valley: Grundy 5-93, Knight 2-93, L. Myers 2-22, Engle 2-17, Johnson 1-12

Berks Catholic: Duffy 3-77, Rose 2-19, Curley 2-3, Kozik 1-24, Sutton 1-7, Welker 1-6, Partsch 1-5, Schalk 1-1

INTERCEPTIONS:

Berks Catholic: Schalk

NAZARETH – After multiple twists and turns which included a wild and long fourth quarter, it was déjà vu all over again in The 53rd McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic. For the second straight year the Gold Squad defeated the Red Squad 21-20 on a warm Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andrew S. Leh Stadium.

The McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic is made up of senior football players from Northampton County, Phillipsburg and Palisades (Gold Team) and from Lehigh, Carbon and Monroe counties (Red Team). All proceeds from this event benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“The most important thing that I take away from this is the amount of talent that there is in the Lehigh Valley,” Gold Squad and Penn Argyl Head Coach Brady Mutton said. “You know its there from the years coaching but then when you get them all together it is incredible. It is a pleasure to coach these kids and you do not have to do much with them because they know how to play football. We just have to make sure they are doing their job and tonight they did that.”

Much like last year’s contest, it was the Gold Squad that got off to a hot start. The Red Squad went three and out to open the game and Mutton’s own quarterback at Penn Argyl, Bradley Rissmiller, got the scoring started by finding Northampton’s Tristin Pinnock open over the middle for a 34-yard touchdown pass on third down and eight. It set the tone for a big half for Rissmiller, who is set to play baseball next year at Northampton Community College.

“Our receivers were running great routes and were getting open in the first half,” Rissmiller said. “The line was doing an incredible job blocking too to give not just myself but all three quarterbacks we used tonight time to set and throw.”

The Red Squad countered on their ensuing drive when Executive Charter’s Kristopher Cruz found a familiar target of his in fellow Raptor teammate Damon Young for a 20-yard touchdown pass, also coming on third and eight, to level things at seven late in the first quarter.

It was Notre Dame’s Danny Darno’s turn under center on the next Gold Squad drive and he put his team back in front on the first play of the second quarter by hitting Easton’s Jordan Alston in stride for a 47-yard touchdown. It seemed the Gold Squad was about to start running away with things when Rissmiller found Notre Dame’s Josh Ludlow for another deep strike, this time from 44 yards, for his second touchdown pass of the day that made it 21-7 with 7:13 left in the second quarter.

The Red Squad took the opening drive of the second half down to the Gold Squad 25 yard line before being stuffed on 4th and 1 but got the ball back immediately when Rissmiller fumbled on a draw one play later. Northwestern Lehigh’s Dalton Clymer punched it in from two yards out to make it 21-14 with 4:21 left in the third quarter.

The Gold Squad kept leaving a door open for the Red Squad after coming away empty-handed on its next drive despite making it all the way to the Red two yard line. A botched snap sent them back 21 yards before a 38-yard field goal attempt clanked off the left crossbar. Parkland’s Luke Spang drove the Red Squad down the field and capped off a drive that featured four gold squad penalties with a seven-yard scamper that made it 21-20.

In the exact same spot from a year ago that 2023 Red Squad Head Coach Jim McCarroll was, Pleasant Valley Head Coach Blaec Saeger went for two and the lead. The players were different, but the result was the same as Dieruff’s Mekhi Ashby was stopped at the one-yard line by Saucon Valley’s Landon Beckowski that ended up being difference in the game.

The Red Squad got the ball back with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter but were unable to get past midfield.

“When the game gets chaotic and chippy like it did at the end it was just important we stayed focused,” Mutton said. “I told them do not get in the mess and close this game out.”

The Red Squad held a 267-222 advantage in total yards behind a balanced offensive attack. Rissmiller finished with a game-high 92 yards on 5-of-8 passing and two touchdown passes. Ludlow led all receivers with 80 yards on four catches with one being a touchdown reception.

“It is an amazing experience and honestly surreal to think about playing with all of these talented guys that you are used to competing against in the Fall,” Rissmiller said. “You watch these guys, and it is a great way to build friendships and a brotherhood. Football brings a lot of people together.”

Scoring Summary:

1	Gold	Pinnock, 34 pass from Rissmiller (McLaughlin kick)	6:17
1	Red	Young, 20 pass from Cruz (Cerco kick)	1:26
2	Gold	Alston, 47 pass from Darno (McLaughlin kick)	11:53
2	Gold	Ludlow, 44 pass from Rissmiller, (McLaughlin kick)	7:13
3	Red	Clymer, 2 run (Cerco kick)	4:21
4	Red	Spang, 7 run (run failed)	7:10

Team Statistics:

	Red	Gold
First downs	21	13
Rushes-yards	30-94	25-28
Passing yards	173	194
Total yards	267	222
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	17-35-1	8-16-0
Fumbles-lost	0-0	1-1
Punts-average	4-46.5	3-42.7
Penalties-yards	6-85	9-102

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Red: Ashby 7-37, Clymer 8-16, Ecker 3-14, Cruz 2-11, Bray 4-9, Spang 6-7

Gold: Bendekovits 5-27, Darno 6-20, Rissmiller 3-7, Richardson 1-3, Vermuelen 1-2, Pierre 2-(-1), Sutton 4-(-6), TEAM 3-(-24)

PASSING

Red: Bray 6-17-0-51, Cruz 6-9-0–77, Spang 5-8-1-45, Clymer 0-1-0-0

Gold: Rissmiller 5-8-0-92, Darno 3-7-0-102, Vermuelen 0-1-0

RECEIVING

Red: Juica 3-34, Allen 3-33, Robles 3-24, Ashby 2-19, Mecca 2-18, Young 1-20, King 1-13, Thomas 1-12

Gold: Ludlow 4-80, Pinnock 3-67, Alston 1-47

INTERCEPTIONS:

Gold: Hilarczyk

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Red Squad	7	0	7	6	20
Gold Squad	7	14	0	0	21

Watch Replay

KUTZTOWN – Northwestern Lehigh head coach Josh Snyder faced down his team in the locker room down 17-7 and said, “We play like this again in the second half like we did in the first half this will be the last time this season we take our equipment off.” Senior running back Dalton Clymer responded to Snyder and said, “This is not going to be the last time I take this equipment off.”

Clymer and his teammates made true to his word as they overcame a first-half deficit to defeat Wyomissing 33-24 in the PIAA 3A State Semifinal on Friday night at Kutztown University’s Andre Reed Stadium. For the first time in school history, the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers (15-0) will be playing for a PIAA State Championship next Saturday at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field against defending 3A Champion, Belle Vernon.

“Leading a team to a State Championship game are words that I have never said, or thought was going to happen,” Snyder said. “When you become a coach, getting to and winning a State Championship game is obviously the goal. We have had many good football teams that have come through here and were eliminated in different rounds. There are a lot of great football teams out there, including Wyomissing, and it is tough to win one in this state. These guys have been different in all aspects of the game, and no one is in awe of any opponent coming in. We dig in and practice and they absorb everything we give them.”

Early on it seemed Wyomissing (12-2) was going to control the game with its potent Wing-T offense as they built their 17-7 lead at the half. The Spartans dominated on the line of scrimmage, and they forced the Tigers into bad field position.  The Tigers did themselves no favors in the first half by committing eight first-half penalties for 63 yards and had a Spartans punt bounce off a leg of one of their players that set up Wyomissing for a field goal.

“These kids refused to lay down and roll over,” Snyder said. “Things could not have gone worse on offense in the first half with being backed up it seemed every drive and many penalties. Our defense was still playing well and I said ‘Keep fighting, get a stop, and clean our acts up.”

The Spartans struck first by racing 51 yards down the field in five plays and Drew Eisenhower capped the drive with his 23-yard touchdown run, picking up where he left off last week with four touchdowns in a win over Danville. The Tigers answered back and tied the game at seven in the final minute of the first quarter when Clymer took a screen pass 25 yards to the end zone on 4th and 7.

“That play was set up by the great blocking I had downfield with the ball,” Clymer said. “At no point did I think I was going down. The blocking from our line and receivers were tremendous.”

The Tigers finally had the Spartans backed up past the Wyomissing 40-yard line for the first time to start the second quarter, but a 43-yard punt from Collin Niedrowski pinned the Tigers at their own 1. A three-and-out plus short punt to their own 23 set the Spartans to go up 14-7 on a 5-yard pass from quarterback Logan Hyde to Ryker Jones with just over five minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

“We apply a lot of pressure and I think our success on defense helped keep our offense fresh in the first half,” Wyomissing Head Coach Bob Wolfrum said. “It kept us in the game and as the half wore on we could not do anything with them nor stop them. We just could not keep it going.”

A block in the back penalty on the ensuing kickoff set Northwestern Lehigh inside their own 10 and they eventually punted to put Wyomissing just at their own 47-yard line. They got a stop, however, the Spartans’ punt bounced off the leg of a Tiger to put Wyomissing at Northwestern’s 25-yard line. Spartans kicker Keegan Maher lined up and drilled Wyomissing’s first and only field goal attempt of the season from 39 yards out to end the first half.

Turnovers had been the thing the Tigers’ defense had thrived off all season as they forced 29 entering tonight’s contest. When they needed their first of this game, they turned to Eli Zimmerman, who picked off Hyde on the Spartans at the Tigers 25-yard line on the opening drive of the second half for his astounding 10th interception of the season.

“That interception was on a third and long and Eli just makes the plays we need to on defense,” Snyder said. “He had a couple of amazing tackles, nearly another interception on the last drive of the game, and a heck of a pass break-up that he forced out of the kid’s hands. He knows everything that goes on back there and he communicates everything to the secondary. To keep Wyomissing to three scores plus a field goal after what they do this year, and every year is truly an amazing defensive performance.”

The interception turned the tide of the contest as Tigers quarterback Shane Leh brought his offense to life with a 41-yard run down the right sideline before racing 26 yards into the end zone to make it a 17-14 game at the 5:42-mark of the third quarter. Northwestern forced a three-and-out and used good field position of their own to ground-and-pound 46 yards down the field to take their first lead of the night at 20-17 when Daniel Jenkins scored from three yards out.

A false start on 4th and 1 from the Tiger 11-yard line brought Maher back onto the field and tied the game at 20 with a 33-yard field goal, or so he thought. A roughing the kicker penalty gave the Spartans drive new life and Eisenhower pushed his way into the end zone on 4th and Goal from the 1 to put Wyomissing ahead at 24-20 with 5:43 left in regulation. Hyde valiantly scrambled 18 yards on 3rd and Goal from the 18 to set up Eisenhower’s chance.

However, at this point, the Tigers’ offense was clicking on all cylinders. Northwestern responded and took the lead back for good with 2:57 left in regulation following a clutch 6-yard run out of the wildcat from Devon Hildebrand on 4th and 3. Hildebrand already had come through in a big way earlier in the drive when he took a screen pass up the middle 39 yards that put the Tigers at the Spartan 13-yard line.

“That has always been our big-hitter,” Hildebrand said. “We go to it in times of need, and I saw green grass with my lineman blocking. It was all I could have asked for.”

Wyomissing needed a quick strike, and they turned to their passing game that does not often get used when their Wing-T is rolling. Hyde went 1-of-3 on the Spartans’ next drive which handed the ball back to the Tigers deep in their own end. Clymer put the exclamation point on the Tigers win with a pair of runs and his second touchdown of the game.

“We had to throw we did not have the time to move the ball how we normally do,” Wolfrum said. “We had too much to make up and when we had to start throwing full time, that is simply not our game.”

Hyde finished 7-of-17 with a touchdown pass and two interceptions. The seven completions were a career-high and his 17 pass attempts blitzed his previous career-high total of 10 set back in a thrilling 35-34 win over Trinity on September 8th.

The Tigers totaled 285 total yards and limited the Spartans to 265 yards with 199 of that coming on the ground. Leh went 7-of-12 through the air for 111 yards and one touchdown while adding 62 yards on the ground off 11 carries and another touchdown.

For Wyomissing, their fourth-straight 3A State Semifinal appearance ended the same way it did last year, but the work the Spartans have done over the past four seasons is nothing to be overlooked. Wyomissing is 48-5 since the start of the 2020 season and their 40 wins over the past three are the most by a Berks County team in history.

“Every year this senior class has won the district and been to this round,” Wolfrum said. “They were fun to coach and I am super proud of everything they have done for our program.”

For Snyder, as a high-school athlete at Northwestern Lehigh, saw his team come up short in this very round in 1997 to South Williamsport. Now he has a chance to deliver a State Championship to his alma mater.

“It is a surreal feeling for sure,” Snyder said. “I am proud of these kids from top to bottom and what they have done. We are just some guys from New Tripoli going out to Cumberland Valley to play for a state final next weekend.”

Clymer, the Tigers lead back, finished with 120 all-purpose yards behind 92 yards on 17 carries and two catches for 28 yards.

“It feels amazing to be playing for a state final,” Clymer said. “We have been breaking records all year and making history for this school and it is another notch in our belt,”

The next time Clymer and his Tiger teammates take their equipment off will be next Saturday afternoon and they hope to be holding a State Championship trophy while doing so.

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
NW Lehigh	7	0	13	13	33
Wyomissing	7	10	0	7	24

Scoring Summary:

1	Wyomissing	Eisenhower, 23 run (Maher kick)	3:57
1	NW Lehigh	Clymer 25 pass from Leh (Kern kick)	0:57
2	Wyomissing	Jones, 3 pass from Hyde (Maher kick)	5:09
2	Wyomissing	Maher, 39 FG	0:59
3	NW Lehigh	Leh, 26 run (Kern kick)	5:42
3	NW Lehigh	Jenkins, 3 run (kick failed)	2:09
4	Wyomissing	Eisenhower, 1 run (Maher kick)	5:45
4	NW Lehigh	Hildebrand, 6 run (Kern kick)	2:57
4	NW Lehigh	Clymer, 2 run (kick failed)	1:21

Team Statistics:

	NW Lehigh	Wyomissing
First downs	13	15
Rushes-yards	35-174	47-199
Passing yards	111	66
Total yards	285	265
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	7-14-0	7-17-2
Fumbles-lost	2-1	0-0
Punts-average	5-29.2	4-33.8
Penalties-yards	9-64	7-50

Individual statistics

RUSHING

NW Lehigh: Clymer 17-92, Leh 11-62, Hildebrand 2-10, Matson 1-5, Zimmerman 2-4, Jenkins 1-3, TEAM 1-(-2)

Wyomissing: Eisenhower 16-72, Jones 7-59, Hyde 6-34, Hardy 6-17, Macrina 6-16, Marv. Armistead 1-1, Niedrowski 3-0, Diaz 2-0

PASSING

NW Lehigh: Leh 7-12-0–111, Bollinger 0-1–0

Wyomissing: Hyde 7-12-2–66

RECEIVING

NW Lehigh: Clymer 2-28, Matson 2-24, Hildebrand 1-39, Bollinger 1-18, Zimmerman 1-2

Wyomissing: Eisenhower 2-19, Blickley 1-24, Neff 1-12, Brower 1-6, Jones 1-3, Hardy 1-2

INTERCEPTIONS:

NW Lehigh: Zimmerman, Jenkins

Photo by Rick Martin

READING – December football has become the standard for Wyomissing football, especially for this senior class. Behind an overpowering rushing attack, Wyomissing defeated Danville 48-27 in the PIAA 3A State Quarterfinals on Friday night at Albright College’s Shirk Stadium.

The Spartan football class of 2024 has now reached at least the State Semifinals in all four seasons they have been members of the team.

“It is amazing to go to the State Semifinals or Finals that many times in a row,” Wyomissing head coach Bob Wolfrum said. “It does not happen very often even with a great program. We are fortunate to have had several great classes in a row and great kids. These kids are just winners, and they are willing to put in the time in the offseason and our staff does a great job getting each class prepared.”

The Spartans (12-1) needed time to fend off a valiant effort from a Danville (12-2) squad that took them to the limit on this weekend one year ago. Wyomissing uncharacteristically had three first-half turnovers which was more than half of their total amount of turnovers (5) that they had since October 6th. However, once Wyomissing got its patented Wing-T offense rolling in the second half, the Ironmen could not keep up.

“Danville is one of those teams where you have to try and control possession the best you can,” Wolfrum said. “My hats off to Danville, they have some tremendous skill players that kept us off-balanced on defense, especially in the first half. Our defense made the plays needed that they did not in the end.”

The Ironmen made an early statement by taking a 6-0 lead on the opening possession of the game when wide receiver Aaron Johnson took a screen pass 50 yards for a touchdown. Ryker Jones blocked the extra point to start a big night for one of those seniors who has played in the month of December all four years for the Spartans.

Derek Macrina nearly got the points back for the Spartans on their first offensive play of the game when he raced 60 yards to set the Spartans up at the Ironmen 25-yard line. Chase Eisenhower punched it in from two yards out a few plays later to tie the game at six following a missed extra point. Jones needed just the first play of the Spartans’ second drive to score as he ran 79 yards for a touchdown while stiff-arming a defender in his path that made it 13-6.

“Our offensive line was amazing tonight,” Jones said. “All of my yards tonight were a credit to their hard work and creating the holes for all of our backs tonight.

Jones, a Princeton commit, rushed for a season-high 155 yards off just nine carries to lead the Spartans attack that rushed for 472 yards as a team, also a season-high.

Danville countered the long touchdown with a good-looking drive of their own to tie things back up at 13 late in the first quarter after Bo Sheptock scored a 2-yard touchdown. The Spartans used another lengthy run to open a drive, this time a 21-yard game from Justice Hardy, to set up their next score from Collin Niedrowski that put them back in front at 19-13 early in the second quarter.

The Spartans seemingly looked to lay an early knockout punch on the Ironmen when they forced a punt, but Ethan Brower muffed the punt to set Danville up inside the Wyomissing 7-yard line. Sheptock added his second score of the game on the ground to knot the score at 19 after the Ironmen had their second extra point of the game blocked.

The muffed punt started a wild sequence of four-straight drives that ended in turnovers between the two teams. Spartan quarterback Logan Hyde was intercepted by Cole Duffy to put Danville at their own 36-yard line. Tyler Niedrowski gave Wyomissing the ball back two plays later when he stripped Carter Raup after a pass completion only to see their drive end when Collin Niedrowski fumbled in the red zone. However, Collin Niedrowski turned the tide of the game when he intercepted Ironmen quarterback Madden Patrick and returned it to the Danville 5-yard line. Eisenhower gave the Spartans the lead for good at 27-19. one play later he scored his second touchdown of the game on the ground.

“We just had to settle and play Wyo football,” Eisenhower said. “We had adversity in our way but none of our guys were phased at any point. The best part of this whole success is living up to the teams that have played at Wyomissing before us, and it is a great feeling for all of us.”

The Spartans were stopped on 4th and 1 at midfield to start the second half but its defense had its best stand against the Ironmen by forcing a three-and-out. Wyomissing put together a decisive 16-play 91-yard drive that took off 7:27 and ended with Jones scoring his second touchdown of the game to extend the Spartans lead to 34-19. Eisenhower added two more scores in the fourth quarter to help lock up the Wyomissing win and crossed 1,000 rushing yards for the season after finishing with 98 yards on 18 carries.

Patrick finished the night 24-of-36 for 221 yards and one interception for the Ironmen with 19 of his passes being completed in the first half. Johnson caught 11 passes for 105 yards while Sheptock crossed the century mark on the ground with 112 yards off 18 carries. First-year Danville head coach Carl Majer picked right up where former coach Mike Brennan left off with 12 wins in 2023 and returns a bevy of talent for 2024 that is headlined by Patrick, Sheptock, and Raup.

Wyomissing will take on unbeaten Northwestern Lehigh next weekend in the State Semifinals after the Tigers dispatched Scranton Prep 27-6.

“Our motivation has not changed from day one in June,” Jones said. “Our motivation is getting a state championship and after what happened last year we feel like we have unfinished business.”

What happened last year was the Spartans suffered a heartbreaking 20-17 loss in the final minute in the 3A State Semifinal to Neumann-Goretti. The 16 Spartan seniors that have once again made it to December football now get the chance with two more wins to etch their names forever in the Wyomissing history books.

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Danville	13	6	0	8	27
Wyomissing	13	14	7	14	48

Scoring Summary

1	Danville	Johnson, 50 pass from Patrick (kick blocked)	10:24
1	Wyomissing	Eisenhower, 2 run (kick failed)	7:10
1	Wyomissing	Jones, 79 run (Maher kick)	6:00
1	Danville	Sheptock, 2 run (Hoffman kick)	2:12
2	Wyomissing	C. Niedrowski, 7 run (pass failed)	10:45
2	Danville	Sheptock, 2 run (kick blocked)	8:10
2	Wyomissing	Eisenhower, 5 run (Eisenhower run)	0:20
3	Wyomissing	Jones, 5 run (Maher kick)	0:11
4	Wyomissing	Eisenhower, 1 run (Maher kick)	6:54
4	Danville	Kiersch, 15 pass from Patrick (Patrick rush)	4:28
4	Wyomissing	Eisenhower, 15 run (Maher kick)	3:15

Team Statistics

	Danville	Wyomissing
First downs	15	21
Rushes-yards	23-115	59-472
Passing yards	221	20
Total yards	336	492
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	24-36-1	2-4-1
Fumbles-lost	2-2	4-2
Punts-average	4-34.8	1-20.0
Penalties-yards	6-30	2-25

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Danville: Sheptock 18-112, Madden 4-5, TEAM 1-(-2)

Wyomissing: Jones 9-155, Eisenhower 18-98, Macrina 10-92, C. Niedrowski 9-55, Hardy 6-34, Diaz 2-26, Ma. Armistead 3-14, Sierra 1-0, TEAM 1-(-2)

PASSING

Danville: Madden 24-36-1–221

Wyomissing: Hyde 2-4-1–20

RECEIVING

Danville: Johnson 11-105, Raup 7-33, Duffy 3-48, Kiersch 3-35

Wyomissing: Hardy 1-12, Jones 1-8

INTERCEPTIONS:

Danville: Duffy

Wyomissing: C. Niedrowski

Photo courtesy of Rick Martin

ELVERSON – Manheim Central running back Brycen Armold announced his return to the Barons backfield in a big way in their District 3 4A semifinal matchup with Twin Valley on Friday night. Armold fended off nagging injuries to rush for 368 yards and six touchdowns to help lead Manheim Central to a 65-28 win over the Raiders and back into the District III 4A Championship Game.

Armold had missed the Barons (11-1) past three games, but you would not have been able to tell with the explosiveness the 5’6 senior showed on Friday.

“It is my senior year and being back with the team was the most important thing,” Armold said. “It felt really great to be back out there and my line helped make my success possible tonight.”

Armold, the 3,000+ career rusher, needed 24 carries to get his season-high total that sent the Barons to their 24th all-time appearance in a District 3 final. Manheim Central has won 18 District 3 Championships which is still the most of any program in District III.

“You play the game to win, and I am not going to say we will be just happy to be there next week,” Barons head coach Dave Hahn said. “We want to win, and we are going to work to win against a great team.”

The final score was not indicative of the fireworks that represented the theme of the first half between the two squads. Manheim Central quarterback Zac Hahn went to work right away and put the Barons out front first at 7-0 just over two minutes into the contest after finding his top target, Aaron Enterline, on a 39-yard touchdown pass. Enterline caught five passes for 64 yards and set the Barons career receiving yard record that was held by Jake Novak.

Manheim Central seemingly had Twin Valley (10-2) stopped on its opening possession of the game, but a personal foul penalty on a punt gave the Raiders second life. Twin Valley made the most of it as Ean Winchester scored from a yard out on the ground to tie things at seven. Winchester’s run was set up by a 46-yard catch-and-run from Raiders running back Drew Engle.

Armold wasted little time to get the Barons the lead back as he raced 68 yards down the left sideline to set up his first touchdown of the night from three yards out on 4th and 1. Evan Myers countered with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Engle on the first play of the second quarter to tie the game at 14 on 4th and 6. The back and forth action continued as the Barons methodically worked its way down the field and took the advantage back at 21-14 following a 1-yard QB sneak from Hahn on 4th and goal. The Raiders yet again had an answer for the Barons on their next drive when Evan Myers rushed up the middle from 11 yards out and tied the game up at 21.

30 seconds later, two Armold runs had Manheim Central in front at 28-21 in the frantic first half. However, the first mistake was committed by the Raiders in the final minute of the second quarter when an Evan Myers pass was intercepted by Enterline at the Barons 3 yard line.

Twin Valley opened the second half with a three-and-out and had the first punt of the game that was not negated by a penalty returned by Enterline deep into Raider territory. Hahn extended the Barons lead to two scores for the first time in the contest at 35-21 when he rolled out of the pocket and found an open Bode Sipel for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Evan Myers powered the Raiders down the field with four runs and set up Winchester’s second touchdown of the night that made it a 35-28 game in the third quarter, continuing the theme of the night.

Armold had other ideas as his dazzling night came to a crescendo on the first play of the Barons ensuing drive when he sliced up the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown, his longest rush of the night, to make it a 42-28 game.

“When we have a lot of guys that can do different things, we can score in all aspects of the game,” Armold said. “It feels great knowing we have that luxury of getting that many guys involved in the game.”

The run did more damage to the Raiders than expected as they suddenly began running out of answers to the potent Baron offense. Manheim Central did not allow a single point after the long touchdown run and added three more scores from Armold to close out the Raiders historic program season.

“I think we were there on defense in the first half, we just did not finish plays,” Dave Hahn said. “Coach (Jared) Shearer made a couple of adjustments and got us right, but it was mostly just playing with that intensity and determination that we needed. We have a lot of guys that play both ways and we just needed that time to just talk and settle down.”

The Barons amassed a whopping 441 yards on the ground and 600 total yards of offense against the Raiders and did not punt the entire game. They had two drives that were stopped only because the half ended on each occasion. Zac Hahn finished the night 10-of-14 with 159 yards through the air with his two touchdown passes, while setting the Barons single-season passing yard record and crossing 5,000 passing yards for his career.

Twin Valley, the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s No. 1 ranked offense, put up gaudy offensive numbers as well with 499 total yards of offense that helped the combined yardage between the teams go over 1,000 at 1,099. Engle and Evan Myers each rushed for over 100 yards with Engle going for 161 on 18 carries while Myers had 136 on 23 carries. Engle finished with 254 all-purpose yards after catching four passes for 93 yards. Myers went 10-of-17 for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Raiders set a new program record with their 10 wins and held a share of the LL Section 3 title with Ephrata plus Garden Spot.

The Barons will run into a familiar foe in defending 4A state champion next week Bishop McDevitt next Friday in Harrisburg. Manheim Central fell 40-0 to the Crusaders in last year’s District 3 4A Championship game.

“It is going to take a lot and we must be at our best next week, Dave Hahn said. “They are just as explosive on offense as anybody we have played. It will take a great team effort that includes holding onto the ball and get some stops with maybe some turnovers as well. It is a monumental challenge to face an excellent team like McDevitt is, but I think we are up for the task.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Manheim Central	14	14	21	16	65
Twin Valley	7	14	7	0	28

Scoring Summary

1	Manheim Central	Enterline, 39 pass from Hahn (Greiner kick)	9:48
1	Twin Valley	Winchester, 1 run (Frey kick)	7:02
1	Manheim Central	Armold, 3 run (Greiner kick)	5:02
2	Twin Valley	Engle, 31 pass from E. Myers (Frey kick)	11:53
2	Manheim Central	Hahn, 1 run (Greiner kick)	7:10
2	Twin Valley	E. Myers, 11 run (Frey kick)	3:50
2	Manheim Central	Armold, 40 run (Greiner kick)	3:20
3	Manheim Central	Sipel, 27 pass from Hahn (Greiner kick)	9:23
3	Twin Valley	Winchester, 2 run (Frey kick)	6:54
3	Manheim Central	Armold, 80 run (Greiner kick)	6:40
3	Manheim Central	Armold, 1 run (Greiner kick)	3:15
4	Manheim Central	Armold, 1 run (Sipel pass from Hahn)	9:38
4	Manheim Central	Armold, 9 run (Hahn rush)	6:20

Team Statistics

	Manheim Central	Twin Valley
First downs	25	18
Rushes-yards	37-441	46-299
Passing yards	74	121
Total yards	600	455
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	10-14-0	10-17-1
Fumbles-lost	0-0	0-0
Punts-average	0-0	3-43.3
Penalties-yards	6-60	10-110

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Manheim Central: Armold 24-368, Enterline 2-50, Geib 4-23, Hahn 6-1, TEAM 1-(-1)

Twin Valley: Engle 18-161, E. Myers 23-136, Winchester 2-3, Hartwell 1-0, Moser 1-0, Rose 1-(-1)

PASSING

Manheim Central: Hahn 10-14-0—159

Twin Valley: E. Myers 10-17-1–156

RECEIVING

Manheim Central: Enterline 5-64, Sipel 3-63, Callahan 2-32

Twin Valley: Engle 4-93, Winchester 2-29, Grundy 2-23, Pinciotti 1-7, Rose 1-4

INTERCEPTIONS:

Manheim Central: Enterline

OREFIELD – The top-seeded Parkland Trojans came into Friday’s first-round District 2/4/11 contest with Williamsport with high expectations, but fans in attendance were alarmed by the start the Trojans had to start the evening.

The Trojans had two turnovers on their first two possessions that gave the eighth-seeded Millionaires some early hope. That hope, however, was short-lived as Parkland (11-0) shook off the slow start to rout Williamsport (5-6) 56-0 at Orefield Football Stadium. Following the first two drives, it looked much more like the undefeated Trojan team that rolled through the regular season.

“We woke up and played Trojan football,” head coach Tim Moncman said. “Our focus was not the best to start but they bounced back and put it all together. Defensively I thought we played a pretty complete game.”

That slow start began on Parkland’s opening drive of the game when quarterback Luke Spang was intercepted by Williamsport’s Ky’ian Mims, setting the Millionaires up at the Trojan 35-yard line following a personal foul penalty on the return. The Millionaires moved the ball to the 28 to set up All-State kicker Connor Poole up for a 38-yard field goal, but he was well short to keep the game scoreless. Trojan running back Trey Tremba broke off for a 36-yard run on the ensuing drive to only be stripped of the ball by Khanif Carter and recovered by Williamsport at their own 40-yard line.

It took only one play for the game to finally swing back into the hands of Parkland when Russell Clark sacked Williamsport quarterback Caleb Williamson and forced a fumble that the Trojans recovered. Tremba more than made up for his fumble by racing 16 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the drive that gave Parkland a 7-0 lead at the 6:10 mark of the first quarter. It was a sign of things to come for the senior running back that totaled 184 all-purpose yards (105 rush, 79 receiving).

“We knew we had to limit turnovers and once we shook that off I felt that is when we could finally get rolling,” Tremba said. “Our offensive line did a great job creating holes and it made my job easier when I was in.”

Tremba and the Trojans went back to work following a Millionaire three-and-out and he added his second touchdown on the ground off a 26-yard burst following a nice cutback to the right side. One drive later, Tremba struck through the air as Luke Spang found him wide open on a wheel route for a 73-yard touchdown that gave Parkland a 21-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

“Trey has done a tremendous job for us all year,” Moncman said. “We finally got two of our senior offensive lineman back that missed time this year and that is going to help us a long way moving forward.”

Parkland continued to thrive off big plays into the second quarter when Luke Spang found Leo Dauberman on a 43-yard catch-and-run from a screen pass to bring the score to 28-0 just 1:40 into the second quarter. Tremba’s night was over just less than a quarter and a half into the game and freshman T.J. Lawrence picked up right where he left off by racing 31 yards up the middle on the next Parkland drive to make it 35-0.

The Trojan offense could easily be the spotlight of the game after racking up 418 total yards, but the defense was equally as impressive by holding Williamsport to just 36 yards of total offense and five first downs behind limiting them to -15 yards rushing. Defensive lineman Julius Reyes snatched a short pass attempt for an interception on Williamsport’s next drive deep in Millionaire territory. Three plays later, Caleb Corsa got in on the scoring to push Parkland’s advantage to 42-0 that they held into the half.

“We have preached speed to the ball all year on defense and especially our ends Jake Beidleman and Robbie Rusich have done a great job limiting big plays from starting,” Moncman said. “Our secondary has really stepped up and played well it was really just a great effort on defense.”

Parkland capped their dominant night by adding a pair of second half touchdowns with one coming in each quarter. Backup quarterback Blake Nassry scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown on 4th and Goal in the third before Liam Spang finished the scoring by powering in from a yard out.

The Trojans now set their sites on a second round contest with a very familiar foe in EPC South rival Emmaus (6-5), who held off Freedom (6-5) 19-14 in Bethlehem.

“I told the guys at halftime that if they started like this against an Emmaus or Freedom they would possibly be down at that point of the game,” Moncman said. “It is going to be a typical EPC South Division game and it is important we have the game at home. The game will be a slugfest and back to what we are most used to.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	Final
Williamsport	0	0	0	0	0
Parkland	21	21	7	7	56

Scoring Summary:

1	Parkland	Tremba, 16 run (Gallagher kick)	6:10
1	Parkland	Tremba, 26 run (Gallagher kick)	3:05
1	Parkland	Tremba, 73 pass from Luke Spang (Gallagher kick)	0:15
2	Parkland	Dauberman, 43 pass from Luke Spang (Gallagher kick)	10:20
2	Parkland	Lawrence, 31 run (Gallagher kick)	8:12
2	Parkland	Corsa, 2 run (Gallagher kick)	6:41
3	Parkland	Nassry, 9 run (Dancsecs kick)	3:10
4	Parkland	Liam Spang, 1 run (Dancsecs kick)	5:11

Team Statistics

	Williamsport	Parkland
First downs	5	19
Rushes-yards	20-(-15)	33-193
Passing yards	51	225
Total yards	36	418
Passes COMP-ATT-INT	10-24-1	14-20-1
Fumbles-lost	3-1	1-1
Punts-average	7-33.4	1-33.0
Penalties-yards	2-20	2-30

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Williamsport: Whaley 5-20, Harris 1-4, Hale 5-2, Moses 1-1, White 1-0, Rice 2-(-7), Williamson 5-(-35)

Parkland: Tremba 10-105, Lawrence 1-31, Corsa 12-24, Nassry 2-18, Adams 4-13, Liam Spang 2-12, TEAM 2-(-10)

PASSING

Williamsport: Williamson 8-18-1—42, Way 2-5-0—9, Moses 0-1-0

Parkland: Luke Spang 8-12-1—165, Nassry 6-8-0–60

RECEIVING

Williamsport: Moses 3-14, Hale 2-15, Damschroder 2-9, Everett 1-10, Poole 1-5, Rice 1-(-2)

Parkland: Tremba 2-79, Babinchak 2-23, Kelchner 2-17, Dauberman 1-43, Bauer 1-19, Johns 1-14, J. Ruisch 1-10, Sanchez 1-8, Adams 1-5, Andrush 1-4, Rosenblum 1-3

INTERCEPTIONS:

Williamsport: Mims

Parkland: J. Reyes

MISSED FIELD GOALS:

Williamsport: Poole, 38