Hempfield QB and Valparaiso Commit Cam Harbaugh leads North over South in Tri-County All-Star Football Game

The 2021-22 Lancaster-Lebanon League football season officially concluded Tuesday night at Manheim Central’s Elden Rettew Stadium.

The North all-stars defeated the South 27-17 in the Manheim Touchdown Club’s 20th annual Tri-County All-Star Football Game with top seniors from Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties.

Hempfield quarterback Cam Harbaugh (Valparaiso) took home MVP honors for the winning side by orchestrating the offense for most of the game and scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

He took his final moment on a high school football field to have fun and also had something to prove.

“I was just trying to have fun,” Harbaugh said. “But I was also trying to win as a team and prove how good of a player I am too.”

The 6-1, 210-pound signal-caller was versatile during his time at Hempfield, showing the ability to both run and pass, something he will carry with him to Indiana.

“I’ve talked to [Valparaiso head] coach [Landon] Fox a little about the run game and future of me doing that as a QB,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll really do whatever the coaches want me to do.”

Harbaugh scored the first points of the day on a 6-yard run with 8:46 left in the first quarter and the North was up 7-0.

Columbia quarterback Robert Footman (Millersville), who was announced Manheim Football Club L-L Player of the Year at halftime, led the South on a drive that ended in a 32-yard field goal from Garden Spot kicker Walker Martin (Buffalo) to make it 7-3 with 7:27 left in the second quarter, a score that remained to end the half.

At halftime, Footman beat out Harbaugh and Manheim Central quarterback Judd Novak (Kutztown) for L-L Player of the Year and Lampeter-Strasburg lineman Nick Del Grande (Coastal Carolina) beat out Cocalico’s Ryan Brubaker (South Carolina) and Manheim Central’s Jeff Hauser for L-L Lineman of the Year.

The action started to look more like an all-star game in the second half as the South started with an onside kick and recovered.

Cocalico running back Anthony Bourassa scored on a 34-yard run with 7:07 left in the third and the South took the lead at 10-7.

The North got the ball back and executed some trickery of its own when Harbaugh secured a 33-yard reception from Elizabethtown wide receiver Pat Gilhool on a Philly Special-like play. Harbaugh dashed in for a 2-yard score with 3:51 left in the third after a 24-yard run by Cedar Crest’s Aadyn Richards put the North in the red zone. The North regained the lead at 14-10.

“I wasn’t too nervous I’d drop it,” Harbaugh said of the wide-open reception he made on the trick play. “We ran it twice at Hempfield throughout my career and I caught both of those so I was pretty confident.”

Richards tacked on another score with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:57 left in the game.

Wilson quarterback Brad Hoffman, who won MVP honors for the South, hit Garden Spot wide receiver Derrick Lambert (Grove City) for a 10-yard score with 2:15 left and they had a chance only down 20-17.

But the onside kick didn’t work this time, they actually did recover but got called for a penalty since the ball didn’t go far enough, and the North embarked on a short-field drive to seal it.

Palmyra running back Richie Kowalski ran it in for a 6-yard touchdown with 1:30 left and the teams settled on a 27-17 final.

It’s the last time these seniors will step on the field as high school football players, a bittersweet moment even if college football is in many of their futures.

“It’s exciting for the next chapter but it’s also sad too,” Harbaugh said. “I made a lot of memories and a lot of friends. It’s sad, but also exciting to be able to build toward the future.”

Full stats – Courtesy of LNP Correspondent Daryl Simione