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?
Here are my pre-season predictions for the Mid Penn’s Keystone division:
1. McDevitt (10-0 OVR, 7-0 DIV)
I simply don’t see a world where McDevitt loses a game in the regular season. They are returning star quarterback Stone Saunders, who will go into his third season, and recently committed to the University of Kentucky, and they’re returning Rico Scott, the incoming senior receiver who’s an Alabama commit. With the momentum of a state title and PA’s longest active winning streak of 13, I believe McDevitt has everything they need to extend that streak to at least 23. They’ll open the season with Mount Saint Joseph, DePaul Catholic, and La Salle College High School, three solid programs, but certainly not Imhotep Charter, the team McDevitt last lost to, 13-7 in 2022’s week 1. Then, the Crusaders will get into the divisional action, which they were flawless in last season, outscoring divisional opponents 412-66.
2. Milton Hershey (7-3 OVR, 5-2 DIV)
In McDevitt’s analysis, I mentioned that they held divisional opponents to 66 points in 2022, but I didn’t mention 22 (⅓) of those 66 came from their game against McDevitt. No, it’s not like they beat the state champs, but they put up the best fight, especially on offense. Milton Hershey lost a rivalry “Cocoa Bean Bowl” game against Hershey by one touchdown last season, and I think they’ll turn it around to win the 80th meeting between the two this year. I see the Spartans going 2-1 in non-divisional play, with a week 1 close loss to Susquehanna Township, and rebounding with 2 wins against Middletown and East Penn.
3. Hershey (6-4 OVR, 5-2 DIV)
Hershey has the pieces this year, so this is another team that I could see gaining 1 or 2 additional wins, but their out-of-conference will be tough. They’ll start with Gettysburg, visit a recovering Waynesboro squad, then have Dallastown. I have them beating Waynesboro and losing the other 2, then going strong in division play, just losing to Milton Hershey and McDevitt. Hershey finished 5-5 last season, losing the opening 3 to Gettysburg, Waynesboro, and Dallastown, then went 5-2 in the division, just losing to Mifflin County and McDevitt. Their two big losses will be last year’s starting quarterback Daniel Painter and WR Marcus Sweeney. Marcus’ younger brother, Cameron Sweeney, will take over at QB this season for the Trojans.
4. Lower Dauphin (6-4 OVR, 4-3 DIV)
The Falcons will lose incoming Shippensburg University WR Charlie Fortney, but retain star running back Ty Millihimes in the coming season. LD will have to find a replacement at quarterback after losing senior Bryce Forney, a tall task for LD alumni and head coach Josh Borelli. I see the Falcons winning their first two against Middletown and Twin Valley, then losing to Elizabethtown, and heading into divisional play at 2-1. They’ll lead off with Mifflin County, Palmyra, and Red Land, a slower start before getting into tougher games like Milton Hershey, Hershey, and McDevitt, whom they have in that order starting in week 8, which I believe they’ll lose all 3 to close the year at 6-4.
5. Mifflin County (5-5 OVR, 3-4 DIV)
The Huskies will return a lot in 2023, including Deakon Schaeffer, a 2022 Keystone division all-star, a list dominated by Crusaders. They’ll also have Travis Renninger, who stars on the field but has also been record-setting in the spring as a track and field star. They’ll open up the year with Central Mountain and Shikellamy and then have Commonwealth division’s Altoona. I see the Huskies winning their first two, but dropping to the 6A Mountain Lions in week 3. As for divisional play, I see them breaking almost even. In my book, they beat Palmyra, Cedar Cliff, and Red Land, and drop the remaining 4, one of which (Lower Dauphin), being a nail-biting loss.
6. Cedar Cliff (4-6 OVR, 2-5 DIV)
We should get a quick glance at Cedar Cliff when they host fellow playoff team East Penn on their Saturday scrimmage on August 19th. They scraped into the playoffs last season and lost in the first round at Shippensburg, which is fitting since they’ll visit the same stadium in week 1. Leaders Nathan Lusk and Matt Eisenhower, as well as head coach Colin Gillen, mentioned how exciting that matchup is considering the history of last season. They’ll also have Mechanicsburg and JP McCaskey, who I predict they’ll beat, but lose to Shippensburg. They will struggle without key pieces like Lucas Andrezeski and Derek Witmer, and scrape out 2 divisional wins, finishing at 4-6.
7. Red Land (3-7 OVR, 1-6 DIV)
Finishing directly below Cedar Cliff are the folks who they share a stadium with, the Red Land Patriots. The Patriots are in their second season coached by alumni Eric Depew, who had previously spent many years at York Catholic. They’ll return Bryce Phillips, who tabbed two all-team selections for the division last season, Second Team Offense (TE), and Second Team Defense (DL). They’ll also have Colton Hoffman and junior Anthony Shay, who I see having a big year.
8. Palmyra (1-9 OVR, 0-7 DIV)
The Cougars are in the more developmental stages of their program with a 1-9 season last year, defeating Lebanon in week 1. I see them beating Lebanon again this year, but losing their remaining non-divisions against East Penn and Donegal. After nearly 800 receiving yards and 245 rushing yards in 2022, the Cougars will feel the loss of Junior RB Juan Figueroa, who will spend this season playing for McDevitt, rather than Palmyra.
