It’s almost time for football season, and the Mid Penn’s best was on full display at 2023 Media Day at Cumberland Valley High School. All the Mid Penn teams started off their year doing interviews and taking pictures on Chapman Field. The end goal is to return to “The Chap”, the site of the PIAA football championships when December rolls around. One team from the Mid Penn Keystone lifted a trophy last year, when Bishop McDevitt defeated Aliquippa for the 4A Championship, but will the Keystone division have enough power to send another team to Chapman Field?
It’s almost time for football season, and the Mid Penn’s best was on full display at 2023 Media Day at Cumberland Valley High School. All the Mid-Penn teams started their year doing interviews and taking pictures on Chapman Field. The end goal is to return to “The Chap”, the site of the PIAA football championships when December rolls around. Will the Colonial division have enough power to send a team to Chapman Field?
Here are my pre-season predictions for the Mid Penn’s Colonial division:
1. Gettysburg (9-1 OVR, 7-0 DIV)
The Warriors spent their season in the Mid Penn conference for the first time since 2014, after moving back to the Mid Penn from the York Adams, where the Warriors battled from 2014-2021. They were a 2-loss regular season team last year, only falling to New Oxford and Northern by a combined 15 points.
They then fell in the first round of the District 3 5A bracket to New Oxford. QB Brady Heiser will play for his dad, head coach Matt Heiser for one final season, and the Warriors retain Jacob Dickerson on the line. Despite losses in other spots, I see Gettysburg winning this division back to back times. In fact, I think the Warriors will flip their 1-point loss to Northern into a 2023 win, and only fall in one regular season game to New Oxford in week 2.
2. Susquehanna Township (8-2 OVR, 5-2 DIV)
Susquehanna Township turned a lot of heads in 2022, going from an 0-10 2021 record to a 6-4 regular season and playoff birth, where they fell to powerhouse Lampeter Strasburg. The Indians really caught fire down the stretch last year, going 4-1 on the “back 9”. Despite 4 regular season losses, none were blowouts, only one was a multi-possession game, the 21-point loss to Shippensburg. Junior receiver Lex Cyrus added an SEC offer to his long list on Monday, picking up an Auburn offer to add to a list including Pitt, Texas A&M, Penn State, Wisconsin, and more. Also, Sophomore QB Torin Evans will step up big for Township in 2023 as the next man up for quarterback after the graduation of Javon White.
3. Northern (7-3 OVR, 5-2 DIV)
Northern put together a storybook postseason last year, as a 12 seed that most looked right past come time for District playoffs. Northern made a run through the District 3 5A bracket, beating #6 seed South Western and #3 seed New Oxford. Northern, an 11 seed made noise, but the lowest-seeded, #12-ranked Cocalico ended up winning that district trophy.
4. East Penn (6-4 OVR, 4-3 DIV)
East Penn will open up the year part of the York Rose Bowl, hosted at York Suburban high school, which will bring in talent from Harrisburg, Imhotep Charter, and more. It wasn’t part of a showcase, but the Panthers beat York Suburban 34-14 last season in their opener. They’ll then visit Palmyra in week 2, and visit Milton Hershey in week 3. They’ll finally break in the grass week 4 when they host Gettysburg. I see East Penn winning their first two, dropping to Milton Hershey and Gettysburg, rebounding with two more wins against Greencastle and Mechanicsburg, and eventually finishing 6-4, 4 of 6 wins coming from Colonial foes.
5. Shippensburg (6-4 OVR, 3-4 DIV)
Shippensburg was also part of the craziness of the District 3 5A bracket last year, facing Cedar Cliff in the first round and winning. They won that 8 vs 9 seed matchup and faced #1 seeded Solanco, where they put up a great fight, but closed their season with a 42-35 loss. They’ll face Cedar Cliff for the third time in 2 seasons in week 1 of this season, where I think they’ll win, paired with 2 other non-divisional wins against Big Spring and Spring Grove. The week 2 matchup and predicted win will be another big win for the Greyhound program, winning their 12th straight “Little Brown Jug.” Getting into divisional stuff, I see Shippensburg starting with 3 losses with a tough three-game stretch of Northern, Susquehanna Township, and Gettysburg. From there, they’ll only lose one more to East Penn and finish up 6-4, likely scraping into a playoff spot.
6. Greencastle (3-7 OVR, 2-5 DIV)
Greencastle isn’t losing a whole lot in 2023 numbers wise, but the one they’re losing is a big loss. It’s the division’s 2022 Offensive Player of the Year, and all-state caliber running back Tavon Cooper. They’ll open up with Big Spring at home, then travel to Berkeley Springs of West Virginia for week 2. From there, they go to Delone Catholic for week 3. From Greencastle-Antrim High School, it’s a 44-minute drive through Maryland to their game in West Virginia, and a 1 hour, 1 minute drive to Delone Catholic, even though it’s still in state. I see Greencastle fairing 2-5 in the division with wins against Mechanicsburg and Waynesboro.
7. Waynesboro (1-9 OVR, 1-6 DIV)
A new look Waynesboro team will look to improve in 2023 with a new skipper, Mark Saunders. They finished 3-7 overall in 2022, with a 6-point win against Hershey, 3 points Northern win, and a 3-point overtime win against East Penn. Their wins were close, but losses were another story, with the closest loss being an 11-pointer with Gettysburg. I see Waynesboro winning in week 9 against Mechanicsburg.
8. Mechanicsburg (0-10 OVR, 0-7 DIV)
Anthony Rose will coach the Wildcats with some recoveries due to graduation. Eli Rider will look to lead the Wildcats at quarterback, and Justin Bardo will add some veteran experience at outside linebacker.
They’ll open up with a rivalry matchup against Carlisle, then have the West Shore School District, Cedar Cliff followed by Red Land to round out the non-divisional play.
