SIMPLY DASHING
Looking back at a memorable L-L season
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
WEEK ONE
FRIDAY, AUG. 23
n Cocalico 28, Elizabethtown 14
n Dallastown 28, Hempfield 9
n Pequea Valley 49, Renaissance Academy Charter 0
n Manheim Township 42, Cumberland Valley 14
n Notre Dame Green Pond 71, Garden Spot 64
n Manheim Central 24, West Philadelphia 8
n Lampeter-Strasburg 35, Solanco 9
n Avon Grove 12, Warwick 3
n Middletown 31, Donegal 24 (OT)
n Conestoga Valley 35, Penn Manor 0
n Octorara 30, Hamburg 7
n Lancaster Catholic 42, Camp Hill 41 (2OT)
n Eastern York 42, Columbia 6
n Northern Lebanon 10, Pine Grove 0
n Biglerville 39, Annville-Cleona 36
n Cedar Crest 45, Lower Dauphin 16
n Palmyra 40, Lebanon 8
n Twin Valley 42, Berks Catholic 16
n Exeter 36, Daniel Boone 0
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Zimmerman, RB, Cedar Crest
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Christo Hunsicker, LB, Wilson
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Caleb Grant, QB, Ephrata
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Brennan Frymoyer, OG-DE, Ephrata
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: A.J. Hurst, QB-DB, Garden Spot
n Governor Mifflin 35, Pleasant Valley 0
n Muhlenberg 29, Schuylkill Valley 20
n Conrad Weiser 21, Abington 7
n Fleetwood 48, Kutztown 12
n Phoenixville 41, Reading 16
SATURDAY, AUG. 24
n West York 33, Elco 6
n Ephrata 35, Red Lion 14
n McCaskey 41, John Bartram 14
n Wilson 28, Cheltenham 20
n Wyomissing 25,
Southern Columbia 21
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Ashton Kiebach, DE, Conrad Weiser
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Evan Myers, QB, Twin Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Emory Fluhr, LB, LampeterStrasburg
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Jonathan Shay, RB-DE, Annville-Cleona
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Eric Bennethum, OG-DE, Berks Catholic
WILD START
JASON GUARENTE
JGUARENTE@LNPNEWS.COM
EASTON — AJ Hurst stood in front of his teammates, who were worn out and heartbroken, and reminded them it was only Week One.
Garden Spot had nine more of these to play. None could possibly be as crazy as this one.
The Spartans allowed more than 600 passing yards. They surrendered 10 touchdowns. They trailed almost the entire way. And they almost pulled it out.
The final, Notre Dame Green Pond 71, Garden Spot 64, surely caused a few double-takes when fans scrolled through the list of football scores from Aug. 23. Even the players might have asked themselves if what they experienced was real.
“That’s one of the most intense games I’ve ever been in,” Hurst said. “We fought our hardest. We answered most of their touchdowns. They were hard to stop.”
At some point in the second half, it became apparent the outcome wasn’t going to be decided by a defensive play. One team was going to run out of time.
That’s one of the most intense games I’ve ever been in. We fought our hardest. We answered most of their touchdowns. They were hard to stop.
— Garden Spot quarterback AJ Hurst
Garden Spot took its final possession at its 29 with 1:29 remaining. If the Spartans had a few more minutes, no one doubts they could have scored again. They needed to hurry. The clock started working against them.
Hurst was forced into a desperation toss that floated into the hands of Notre Dame’s Aaron Gordon for an interception. It was Garden Spot’s last hope.
Notre Dame quarterback Matt Bodnar completed 37of-49 passes for 608 yards and seven touchdowns.
WILD,
page 3
Lampeter-Strasburg players celebrate with the Milk Jug trophy following their win over Solanco on Aug. 23 at Quarryville.
LOGAN GEHMAN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Manheim Township’s Lex Haberbosch takes off for the end zone after a 68-yard catch and run against Hempfield during the first half of an L-L League Section One game Sept. 20 at Manheim
Stadium.
PRODUCTION ON THE COVER
EDITOR
Brian Smith
Logan Gehman
Chris Knight
Mark Palczewski WRITERS Mike Drago Jason Guarente
Jeff Reinhart
Wild: Spartans beaten 71-64
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior connected with a different receiver on each of his TDs.
“We’ve never played them before,” senior lineman Cullen Witmer said. “We only had their scrimmage film. We didn’t know what they were gonna run. I’d say we weren’t completely prepared defensively.”
Garden Spot looked like it was chasing
an endless deficit over the final 24 minutes. Every time the Spartans inched closer, the Crusaders extended their lead.
With 7:37 left in the fourth quarter, Garden Spot trailed 64-50 and it looked hopeless.
The Spartans needed a score and a defensive stand. The first part wasn’t so hard. The second seemed impossible.
Cole Humphreys caught a 24-yard
LANCASTER-LEBANON LEAGUE FOOTBALL
strike to pull Garden Spot back within seven. Then an errant snap when Bodnar wasn’t looking gave the Spartans the ball on Miguel Candelaria’s fumble recovery. They scored again on Jace Conrad’s 36-yard catch with 4:41 left. It was 64-64.
Notre Dame never flinched as its oncecomfortable lead disappeared. The Crusaders marched 78 yards on 13 plays to push home one more touchdown. Christian Rivituso rumbled in from 11 yards to decide it.
“It was a battle,” Witmer said. “You’re
on defense constantly because offenses are scoring and scoring.”
Hurst, making his first varsity start at quarterback, was 21-for-33 for 468 yards and six touchdowns. He returned an interception 81 yards for another score as a safety.
Garden Spot faced a long ride back to New Holland as the players pondered the wildest game some of them will ever see.
“We played with some heart,” Witmer said. “It didn’t end up how we wanted. We’re gonna grow from this one.”
Township’s Gene Kruis Field at War Memorial
Photo by Chris Knight, design by Abby Rhoad
WEEK TWO
THURSDAY, AUG. 29
n Manheim Township 28, Central York 10
n Conrad Weiser 31, Elco 7
n Annville-Cleona 48, Hanover 20
n Schuylkill Valley 31, Daniel Boone 27
FRIDAY, AUG. 30
n Dallastown 28, Penn Manor 0
n Kennett 35, Elizabethtown 28
n Ephrata 31, Manheim Central 14
n Hempfield 27, York 6
n Pequea Valley 35, Jenkintown 0
n Garden Spot 56, Lebanon 6
n New Oxford 21, Cocalico 0
n Solanco 38, Octorara 19
n Lampeter-Strasburg 21, Warwick 0
n Donegal 43, Columbia 12
n Conestoga Valley 55, McCaskey 6
n Delone Catholic 35, Lancaster Catholic 21
n Oxford 7, Northern Lebanon 0
n Cedar Crest 45, Spring Grove 7
n The Haverford School 20, Wyomissing 3
n Wilson 21, Plymouth-Whitemarsh 7
n Twin Valley 40, Selinsgrove 10
n Exeter 49, Boyertown 7
n Perkiomen Valley 31, Governor Mifflin 14
n Upper Perkiomen 28, Fleetwood 21
n Hamburg 41, Midd-West 7 Final
n Berks Catholic 22, Executive Education 18
n Reading 34, Muhlenberg 20
SATURDAY, AUG. 31
n York Tech 21, Kutztown 14
LONG TIME COMING
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
The long wait is over.
Mounts get 1st win over Barons since 1997
For the first time since 1997, Ephrata topped Manheim Central in a varsity tackle football game.
And the Mountaineers did it with an outstanding finishing flourish, cashing in on a pair of fumble recoveries in the waning minutes to beat the Barons.
Brayden Brown scored three touchdowns — two in the final 4:51 — Brennan Frymoyer recovered a pair of fumbles, and the host Mounts, in front of a raucous, overflow crowd in venerable War Memorial Stadium, KO’d Central 31-14 in a nonleague thriller on Aug. 30.
“This definitely lived up to the hype,” Brown said. “There were so many people here, and we haven’t beaten them in a really long time.”
It was the Mounts’ first victory over the Barons since a 9-7 triumph in 1997. The teams were playing for the first time since 2017, and Ephrata snapped a 16-game losing streak against Central, which knotted the game up at 14-14 when Ray Lewis lobbed a 67-yard TD pass to Asher Cook with 7:46 to go in the third quarter.
But Ephrata finished fast. Evan Honberger’s 30-yard field goal gave the Mounts, coming off a must-have turnover on downs, a 17-14 edge with 5:04 to play. On the first play of Central’s ensuing drive, the ball popped out on a running play and Brown scooped it up and raced 20 yards for a TD and a 24-14 lead.
Needing an answer, once again Central fumbled, and Ephrata’s Chase Prange pounced on it deep in Barons territory. Brown iced it, reversing his field and scooting 13 yards for the back-breaking TD with 2:29 to go.
“You never know what it’s going to take to win a football game,” Ephrata coach Kris Miller said. “There are so many paths to winning a game, and we had to pick the right one. And our kids just kept going. Even when Manheim came back, we kept our heads about us and we kept going. That’s a great team win. Absolutely.”
WEEK 2, page 11
QUARTERBACK CLUB TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Declan Clancy, RBLB, Manheim Township
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Julian Larue, TE-DT, Manheim Township
SECTION TWO
n CO-BACK OF THE WEEK: Brayden Brown, RB-LB, Ephrata
n CO-BACK OF THE WEEK: Jayden Zandier, RB, Exeter
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Joel Ummarino, C-DE, Exeter
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Donovan Gingrich,
QB, Conrad Weiser
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Mason Gechter, TE-DE, Conrad Weiser
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Haydn Moyer, QB, Daniel Boone
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Carter Faubel, OG-DT, Twin Valley
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Tyler Shuey, QB, Hamburg
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Preston Bomgardner, C-LB, Annville-Cleona
L-L
Ephrata’s Brayden Brown dives for a touchdown against Manheim Central’s Jayvior Morales during the first half of the Mounts’ win over the Barons on Aug. 30.
CHRIS
Donegal players celebrate with the “Battle of the Rock Trophy” after defeating Columbia in Mount Joy on Aug. 30.
MARK PALCZEWSKI | FOR LNP | LANCASTER ONLINE
WEEK THREE
THURSDAY, SEPT. 5
n Conestoga Valley 33, Dover 6
n Bethlehem Catholic 28, Berks Catholic 10
FRIDAY, SEPT. 6
n Garden Spot 21, Ephrata 17
n Governor Mifflin 28, Hempfield 23
n Manheim Township 42, York 0
n Lampeter-Strasburg 35, Cocalico 14
n Dallastown 35, Manheim Central 0
n Morrisville 18, Pequea Valley 15
n Littlestown 27, Annville-Cleona 21
n Conrad Weiser 41, Lebanon 0
n West York 28, Donegal 16
n Elco 28, Lancaster Catholic 22
n York Tech 20, Columbia 19
n Delone Catholic 22, Northern Lebanon 21
n Solanco 49, Penn Manor 8
n McCaskey 7, Elizabethtown 0
n Warwick 19, Cedar Crest 3
n Octorara 20, Kutztown 14 (OT)
n Emmaus 38, Reading 7
n Exeter 49, Pleasant Valley 0
n Muhlenberg 40, Daniel Boone 29
n Fleetwood 22, Schuylkill Valley 10
n Nazareth 35, Wilson 31
n Wyomissing 46, Acad. of the New Church 19
n Twin Valley 69, Olney 0
L-L QUARTERBACK CLUB
TOP
PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: De’Andre Jones, WR-DB, McCaskey
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Aaron Martin, OT-DT, McCaskey
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Grady Garner, RB, Governor Mifflin
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Justin Corson, DE, Conestoga Valley
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Trenton Hoober, WR-DB, Garden Spot
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Cullen Witmer, OG-DE, Garden Spot
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Austin Kurtz, RBLB, Octorara
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Greyson Miller, OG-DE, Twin Valley
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Nate Rose, RB, Berks Catholic
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Palmer Reber, OT-DT, Berks Catholic
GAME OF THE WEEK: LAMPETER-STRASBURG 35, COCALICO 14
LIGHTING THE SPARK
Pioneers quickly score after recovering fumble to put away Eagles
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
The game was still very much hanging in the balance when Cocalico had the football and was setting sail on a drive, down by just seven with 10:59 to go.
In a matter of seconds there was a pass. And a catch. And a big stick. And a fumble. Lampeter-Strasburg’s Dominic Brown scooped it up and the Pioneers had the ball. Two plays later, L-S landed the knockout punch.
Caileb Howse’s third TD keeper of the game — an electrifying 23-yard run around left end early in the fourth quarter — iced the Pioneers’ 35-14 victory over the Eagles in a nonleague clash on Sept. 6 between L-L League bloodblue programs at Lampeter.
“That definitely turned the momentum around completely,” Howse said of the turnover/touchdown. “After that, it sparked our energy, and we didn’t feel like we were going to be stopped.”
L-S wasn’t.
“Our kids are pretty resilient,” Pioneers coach Victor Ridenour said. “They dug in and they found ways to make plays. That turnover was huge, and we were able
to punch it in. That was a big play for us.”
“Turnovers are killers, and that was big,” Cocalico coach Bryan Strohl said. “We had some momentum, but we gave it back to them, and they punched it in. That was a big spot.”
Howse was superb. The first-year starting QB clicked on 11-of-15 passes for 202 yards. He rushed for 80-plus yards and those three TDs. Most importantly, L-S didn’t turn the ball over and Howse
wasn’t sacked.
The Eagles were dealing with a cornucopia of injuries, including the loss of two-way standout Dane Bollinger, who hadn’t played a down yet in the season while recovering from a knee injury.
Against L-S, Cocalico shifted several linemen to new spots, and one starter up front got hurt in the first quarter and didn’t return.
Still, the Eagles hung tough and tied it at 14-14 on Dane Horning’s 3-yard burst with
7:28 to go in the third quarter. His 22-yard run set up the TD, and Cocalico finished a drive for the first time since its opening possession.
The Eagles took nearly eight minutes off the clock to open the game, with QB Josh Myer zooming 31 yards on fourth down for a quick 7-0 lead.
L-S punched right back, with Howse darting 7 yards for a game-tying TD. Later, Brown’s 5-yard TD run — set up by Howse’s 34-yard pass to Emory Fluhr — gave the Pioneers a 14-7 lead at the break. Howse’s 5-yard TD run with 1:35 to go in the third gave L-S a 21-14 lead. His 39-yard pass to Fluhr set up the go-ahead score.
Cocalico appeared poised to answer back. But the fumble, Brown’s recovery and Howse’s TD sealed it.
L-S tacked on a game-icing TD with 1:36 to go on Brown’s 3-yard plunge.
“I thought we went toeto-toe with them for three quarters,” Strohl said. “All the credit to them. They’re a tough, physical team. And they also have the ability to throw the ball on you. They definitely mixed it up defensively and they really flied to the ball.”
Lampeter-Strasburg’s Caileb Howse runs the ball during the Pioneers’ victory over Cocalico on Sept. 6.
LOGAN GEHMAN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEK FOUR
GAME OF THE WEEK: CONESTOGA VALLEY 42, EPHRATA
A FAST START
Buckskins score 5 1st-half touchdowns to beat Mounts
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
Just when you thought Conestoga Valley junior quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade couldn’t top the already snazzy start to his season, the rookie signal-caller one-upped himself on Sept. 13. Esbenshade fired five touchdown passes and had his first career 300-plusyard passing effort, helping CV topple Ephrata 42-7 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two football opener before a packed house in Ephrata.
CV bolted to a 35-0 lead at the half, had four sacks and kept Ephrata off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter.
Four games. Four lopsided wins. And some gnarly defense, too. A pretty good start for the Bucks, right?
“I’d be a knucklehead if I said no,” CV coach Jon Scepanski said with a smile. “I’m proud of them. But that’s only four games, and we have a long, long way to go.”
CV followed blowout nonleague wins over Penn Manor, McCaskey and Dover with a convincing victory in the league opener.
The Bucks never really let the Mounts up for air Friday, as CV and Ephrata met for the first time since 2017.
CV set the tone with three first-quarter scores to seize control. Esbenshade hit Konnor Fisher for a 59-yard TD strike and a 7-0 lead, and he drilled a 26-yard TD pass to Jayden Johnson and CV quickly had a 13-0 cushion. Tegan Ru-
ble’s 2-yard TD run beat the first-quarter horn, and his two-point catch gave the Bucks a 21-0 lead.
“We were all excited coming out of the locker room,” CV all-star two-way lineman Tal Stoltzfus said. “We worked together. That was the biggest thing. Everybody was putting in a little bit more energy. That got everyone juiced up.”
benshade. “And he keeps working to get better.”
“I’m super-thrilled for him, and I’m super-proud of him,” Scepanski said of his prized QB. “He’s seeing things and now he’s learning his receivers. He’s been playing great.”
THE SCORES
THURSDAY, SEPT. 12
n Cedar Crest 58, Penn Manor 7
FRIDAY, SEPT. 13
n Hempfield 58, McCaskey 21
n Manheim Township 20, Plymouth-Whitemarsh 18
n Wilson 50, Reading 6
n Conestoga Valley 42, Ephrata 7
n Exeter 34, Governor Mifflin 13
n Muhlenberg 55, Lebanon 36
n Cocalico 21, Garden Spot 0
n Warwick 21, Solanco 7
n Manheim Central 20, Martin Luther King 14 (OT)
n Conrad Weiser 35, Fleetwood 7
n Lampeter-Strasburg 48, Donegal 7
n Twin Valley 51, Elco 7
n Lancaster Catholic 69, Columbia 0
n Octorara 10, Daniel Boone 8
n Hamburg 27, Annville-Cleona 14
n Berks Catholic 55, Pequea Valley 6
n Schuylkill Valley 50, Kutztown 24
SATURDAY, SEPT. 14
n Wyomissing 42, Northern Lebanon 0
n Springfield (Montco) 24, Elizabethtown 21
L-L-QUARTERBACK CLUB TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Marquise Washington, RB-LB, McCaskey
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Greg Gillespie, OG, Manheim Township
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Sawyer Esbenshade, QB, Conestoga Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Logan Wegman, OT-DT, Exeter
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Josh Myer, QB-DB, Cocalico
CV went for the jugular in the second quarter; Esbenshade, who clicked on 15-of-17 passes for 310 yards, flipped a 3-yard TD toss to Elijah Tlumach, and he zipped a back-shoulder, 16-yard TD dart to Cordell Bair on fourth down to give the Bucks a commanding 35-0 lead with time running out in the first half.
CV cashed in on its opening drive of the second half, with Esbenshade hitting Josh Dennis on a perfectly placed 48-yard bomb to cap the Bucks’ scoring.
“He’s confident,” Stoltzfus said of Es-
Ephrata punched in its lone score when Jayden Artis had a 3-yard plunge with 3:10 to play. The Mounts saw four drives short-circuited on downs, and CV picked off a pair of passes, one by Bair — which led to Johnson’s 26-yard TD grab — and one by Isaiah Sensenig, which set up Bair’s 16-yard TD catch.
“Hat’s off to them,” Ephrata coach Kris Miller said, giving a nod to CV. “They came in here with a nice game plan and they got after us. But we’re going to be OK. It’s a long season, and this is one loss. And now back-to-back, so we’re facing some adversity. Now we have to figure some things out.”
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tyler Groff, OTDT, Manheim Central
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Nate Dow, LB, Octorara
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Aris Drake, OT, Twin Valley
SECTION FIVE
n CO-BACK OF THE WEEK: Brandon Way, RB, Lancaster Catholic
n CO-BACK OF THE WEEK: Zach Suski, QB, Berks Catholic
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Eric Bennethum, OG-DE, Berks Catholic
Conestoga Valley’s Josiah Garcia catches a pass in front of Ephrata’s Dominic Pugh during the first half of the Buckskins’ victory at War Memorial Field on Sept. 13.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEK FIVE
THE SCORES
THURSDAY, SEPT. 19
n Conestoga Valley 13, Spring Grove 7
n Eastern York 57, Solanco 50
FRIDAY, SEPT, 20
n Manheim Township 38, Hempfield 0
n Wilson 14, Cedar Crest 7
n Penn Manor 19, Reading 16
n Ephrata 17, Elizabethtown 10
n Exeter 55, Lebanon 0
n Cocalico 10, Warwick 7
n Conrad Weiser 38, Manheim Central 3
n Garden Spot 31, Fleetwood 23
n Lampeter-Strasburg 44, Daniel Boone 21
n Northern Lebanon 14, Donegal 12
n Wyomissing 49, Elco 14
n Twin Valley 49, Octorara 7
n Schuylkill Valley 33, Pequea Valley 0
n Lancaster Catholic 30, Berks Catholic 28
n Annville-Cleona 43, Columbia 0
n Hamburg 34, Kutztown 25
n William Tennent 14, McCaskey 7
SUNDAY, SEPT. 22
n Governor Mifflin 41, Muhlenberg 6
L-L QUARTERBACK CLUB
TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Gabe Laws, RB-LB, Reading
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Garrett Starry, LB, Cedar Crest
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Caleb Rice, LB, Ephrata
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Brennan Frymoyer, OG-DE, Ephrata
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Donovan Gingrich, QB, Conrad Weiser
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jack Heckman, OG, Conrad Weiser
SECTION 4
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Evan Johnson, RBDB, Twin Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Zack Troutman, OT, Twin Valley
SECTION 5
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Bryce Gumby, RB, Berks Catholic
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jaxon Speece, OT-DT, Annville-Cleona
GAME OF THE WEEK: MANHEIM TOWNSHIP 38, HEMPFIELD 0
PUSHING THROUGH
Blue Streaks put in complete effort to beat Black Knights
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
Persist until something happens. PUSH, for short.
It’s the acronym attached to Manheim Township’s football helmets this season, and a slogan Blue Streaks coach Mark Evans has been preaching to his team since since they got together for their first workouts earlier this summer.
His squad is certainly buying in.
“Keep going,” Township’s Tom Capizzi said. “Don’t let anything stop you. Keep pushing.”
“I genuinely believe they’re pushing,” Evans said. “With each passing week we’re learning from our mistakes and we’re growing from them. We’re pushing through. We’re persevering.”
Township persisted and pushed its way to a 38-0 victory over Hempfield in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One game on Sept. 20 at Neffsville.
The Streaks hoisted the Joseph Kurjiaka Memorial Trophy after the win, grabbing an 11-3 lead in the hardware series between the bitter rivals.
The Streaks needed a better effort in the PUSH department after the previous week’s escape-job, 20-18 victory at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and they hit the ground running against the Black Knights with three first-quarter touchdowns on the way to an eventual mercy-rule final.
How’s this for a defensive push: Township’s hard-charging D held Hempfield to minus-6 rushing yards, including four sacks.
The Streaks also picked off a pair of passes — one by Capizzi and one by Daryus Dixon — and QB Carson Weisser had two TD passes and a TD run for Township.
“They do everything well, but I think for them it starts with their defense,” Hempfield coach George Eager said about Township. “That’s what stood out on film, and they really fly to the ball and they get off their blocks. They have a good secondary. They have a good interior.
“When you’re looking at it and trying to
figure out how you’re going to move the ball, they don’t have many weaknesses.”
The Streaks’ last two seasons ended in the District Three Class 6A title game, both times at the hands of Harrisburg. Township is definitely motivated to finish the job this time around.
“We had a team that pushed two years straight to make it, just to obtain silver,” Capizzi said. “This year we’re pushing until we get gold. That’s what we want. But for now it’s next week and the next opponent. That’s all we can look at. Nothing more.”
Manheim Township’s Thomas Capizzi intercepts a pass intended for Hempfield’s Cam Margeson during the second half of the Blue Streaks’ win in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One game at Neffsville on Sept. 20.
GAME OF THE WEEK: HAMBURG 28, LANCASTER CATHOLIC 13
PASSING A TEST
Hawks get big road win against Crusaders
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
There was no longer a threeway tie atop the LancasterLebanon League Section Five football race.
Hamburg saw to that.
The Hawks made some big plays in crunch time on Sept. 27, got an outstanding rushing performance from Blaise Ernst and knocked off Lancaster Catholic 28-13 on the Crusaders’ home field.
Hamburg never trailed, zooming to a 14-0 first-quarter lead behind QB Tyler Shuey.
The Hawks, who booted Catholic off the top line and created a first-place tie with Schuylkill Valley, picked up a gut-check road win over the Crusaders.
“Unlike last year, our attitude is totally different,” Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert said. “When things go wrong, these guys don’t freak out. They’re always positive.”
In this one, Catholic was stung by penalties; the Crusaders were flagged seven times for 65 yards — six times for 60 yards on offensive holding calls, in some cases wiping out big ground gainers.
keep the drive alive — Shuey had a 1-yard sneak and it was 14-0 heading into the second quarter.
Catholic finally got on the board when Brandon Way bolted 40 yards for a TD with 3:16 to go in the second quarter and it was 14-7 at the half.
The Crusaders made Hamburg sweat a little in the third quarter when Way darted 10 yards for a TD. But a missed PAT only cut the Hawks’ lead to 14-13.
“We got back in the game,” Maiorino said, “but at the end of the day, we didn’t play well enough. They made plays and we didn’t. That’s football.”
Way ended up with 162 yards on 24 carries with two TD runs. But take away those two scoring drives, and Catholic was going backward too many times. The Crusaders punted five times.
THE SCORES
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27
n Manheim Township 48, McCaskey 0
n Hempfield 36, Penn Manor 0
n Cedar Crest 42, Reading 20
n Wilson 43, Governor Mifflin 20
n Exeter 43, Ephrata 6
n Conestoga Valley 54, Lebanon 14
n Elizabethtown 36, Muhlenberg 34
n Cocalico 30, Manheim Central 14
n Warwick 21, Garden Spot 6
n Conrad Weiser 56, Solanco 35
n Elco 19, Daniel Boone 14
n Lampeter-Strasburg 45, Octorara 0
n Twin Valley 42, Northern Lebanon 0
n Wyomissing 49, Donegal 0
n Annville-Cleona 35, Kutztown 28
n Hamburg 28, Lancaster Catholic 13
n Pequea Valley 52, Columbia 6
n Schuylkill Valley 20, Berks Catholic 14
SATURDAY, SEPT. 28
n Fleetwood 28, Kennard-Dale 0
L-L QUARTERBACK CLUB
TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Madyx Gruber, QBDB, Wilson
“Every drive that stalled was because we were behind the sticks,” Catholic coach Chris Maiorino said. “I don’t think it’s a big secret; we have to run the football to be successful. If we’re behind the sticks, we’re not as good a football team on offense. We have to do a better job with
that. Penalties are killers.” Hamburg took advantage. It took the Hawks all of five plays to grab a 7-0 lead, when Shuey zipped a 21-yard TD pass to Ty Werley less than two minutes into the game. One possession later — after Shuey hit Werley for a 17yard gain on fourth down to
“Way is such a great player,” Hoffert said. “He can make something out of nothing. Coming in here we knew we had to spy him and take care of business.”
Hamburg never flinched, getting a pair of fourth-quarter scores to ice it. Ernst was the hero on both drives.
WEEK 6, page 11
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tristan Long, OT-DT, Cedar Crest
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Cameron Small, Muhlenberg
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Aven Acuna, OG, Exeter
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Evan Rittle, WR-DB, Conrad Weiser
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Kaleb Britting, OT, Conrad Weiser
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Evan Myers, QB, Twin Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Collin Shelley, OT-NG, Lampeter-Strasburg
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Kowen Gerner, WRLB, Schuylkill Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Eric Bennethum, OG-DE, Berks Catholic
Hamburg’s Ethan Horvath makes a diving catch for a first down in the first half of the Hawks’ win over Lancaster Catholic on Sept. 27 at Crusader Stadium.
CHRIS KNIGHT STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEK SEVEN
THE SCORES
THURSDAY, OCT. 3
n Twin Valley 49, Donegal 0
n LampeterStrasburg 56, Northern Lebanon 3
FRIDAY, OCT. 4
n Manheim
Township 38, Cedar Crest 13
n Wilson 38, Hempfield 14
n Reading 38, McCaskey 14
n Conestoga Valley
28, Governor Mifflin 21
n Exeter 56, Muhlenberg 28
n Elizabethtown 14, Lebanon 8
n Conrad Weiser 24, Garden Spot 6
n Warwick 35, Fleetwood 14
n Solanco 33, Manheim Central 7
n Elco 24, Octorara 14
n Lancaster Catholic 49, Annville-Cleona 24
n Pequea Valley 24, Hamburg 17
n Schuylkill Valley 42, Columbia 6
n Berks Catholic 35, Kutztown 34
n Cocalico 10, Ephrata 7
SATURDAY, OCT. 5
n Wyomissing 42, Daniel Boone 6
GAME OF THE WEEK: CONESTOGA VALLEY 28, GOVERNOR
POSITIVE RESPONSE
Buckskins answer Mustangs drive, then seal it by recovering fumble
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
It was an epic, clock-draining, chain-moving drive.
But Governor Mifflin’s glorious 99-yard, fourth-quarter scoring journey was for naught.
Conestoga Valley answered the Mustangs’ game-tying drive with a quick-strike scoring drive of its own to grab the lead for good before Isaiah Sensenig’s fumble recovery capped it.
Sawyer Esbenshade’s 5-yard TD keeper with 6:29 to go in regulation gave the Buckskins the lead for good, and Sensenig’s recovery off Seth Morgan’s forced fumble with 1:49 left gave CV an electrifying 2821 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two win on Oct. 4 at Witmer.
“Battling back after that 99-yard drive was mental toughness,” CV coach Jon Scepanski said. “I’m so proud of our guys for being able to match their physicality. And we were able to come back and make plays when we had to.”
None bigger than Morgan’s strip and Sensenig’s recovery.
CV survived Mifflin’s groundand-pound rushing attack and a physical game up front, but couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief until Sensenig — who also had a firsthalf interception from his safety spot — secured the bouncing ball, thwarting Mifflin’s last-gasp drive.
L-L QUARTERBACK
CLUB TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Lex Haberbosch, WR, Manheim Township
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Owen Marks, C, Manheim Township
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Jayden Zandier, RB, Exeter
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Logan Wegman, OT, Exeter
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Dane Horning, RB-LB, Cocalico
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Ashton Keibach, DE, Conrad Weiser
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Caileb Howse, QB, Lampeter-Strasburg
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Noah DiGiacomo, C, Twin Valley
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Logan Nawrocki, QB, Schuylkill Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jack Chiarelli, C, Berks Catholic
In riveting fashion.
“I saw Seth Morgan knock the ball out, and it was bouncing all over the place,” Sensenig said. “I say, ‘Hey, that’s gotta be my ball. I got it.’ And it ended the game. Everyone had to keep to their jobs and fill all the gaps. We were able to stop them.”
Buckskins’ 10, where Sensenig finally corralled it.
Mifflin was marching into CV territory late. The fumble ended up bouncing all the way inside the
Mifflin was pinned at its 1 after the Mustangs stuffed CV on a fourth-and-goal play in the third quarter.
Conestoga Valley’s Seth Morgan (6) and Konnor Fisher cause Governor Mifflin’s Gardy Garner to fumble the ball to help preserve the Buckskins’ win over the Mustangs on Oct. 4 at Witmer.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEK EIGHT
GAME OF THE WEEK: COCALICO 42, SOLANCO 24
DRIVING AWAY
Eagles go 99 yards in 11 plays to seal win over Mules
THE SCORES
THURSDAY, OCT. 10
n Annville-Cleona 41, Pequea Valley 31
n Berks Catholic 54, Columbia 6
FRIDAY, OCT. 11
n Manheim Township 54, Reading 0
n Cedar Crest 49, McCaskey 18
n Wilson 58, Penn Manor 0
n Conestoga Valley 42, Elizabethtown 0
n Governor Mifflin 56, Lebanon 18
JEFF
REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
It was the quintessential Cocalico football drive. A kind of drive you’d expect from, well, the Eagles and their trusty triple-option attack.
Cocalico was pinned at its 1-yard line with 7:18 to go in the third quarter on Oct. 11 after an excellent punt by Solanco.
No panic. No dread. No fear. It was simply Cocalico doing what it does best: Blowing open holes, getting good reads from veteran QB Josh Myer and keeping the chains moving — and the clock running.
The end result: A glorious 99-yard drive on 11 plays, draining 6:20 off the clock for a game-changing touchdown. Dane Horning did the honors, blasting in from a yard out, giving the Eagles a 35-17 lead with 1:38 to go in the third.
Cocalico went on to beat the Golden Mules 42-24 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three game in Denver.
The Eagles had three backs rush for 100plus yards. Road-graders Jerry McArdle, Thomas Dattoli, Kendall Weaver, Nick McArdle and Rylan Jenkins anchored the Eagles’ O-line, which did plenty of work, especially on the 99-yard march.
“Huge,” Myer said. “When that punt landed on the 1-yard line we knew there could be a momentum shift, and we had to get some momentum going and just hold on to the ball. We had to get positive yards. We couldn’t go backward. We had to keep moving forward on every single play and keep getting first downs.
“It’s a big morale boost and a huge mo-
mentum swing when you can bully a team for 99 yards. We were able to keep getting first downs and keep it moving.”
All the way to end zone. And a backbreaking score.
“We do what we do,” Cocalico coach Bryan Strohl said. “Whether it’s 11 plays or three plays or 23 plays. We’re going to do what we do. Hopefully you break a long one, or you keep getting four yards and a cloud of dust. We’ll take it any way we can get it. It turned out to be a great drive because we moved the ball inside and outside.”
Myer, who made all the right reads throughout, rumbled for 118 yards with three TDs, including an electrifying 76yard sprint for a 28-17 lead.
Wing back Brayden Eppinette supplied the lightning with 195 yards and two TDs, including a 62-yard bolt for a 21-14 lead midway through the second quarter.
And Horning was the thunder; he rushed for 156 yards, including the 1-yard plunge to cap the 99-yard excursion, as Cocalico gouged out 481 yards on the ground.
Solanco hung tough and was within 2117 at the half. The Mules drew first blood when Chase Sensenig zipped a 15-yard TD strike to Braighton Lenhart. Later, Wesley Bard had a 16-yard TD run to keep it close. And Tristan Brown’s 29-yard field goal cut Cocalico’s lead to four at the break.
Then came two back-breaking drives by the Eagles: Myer’s 76-yard TD run, followed up by that monstrous 99-yard trip.
n Ephrata 32, Muhlenberg 0
n Cocalico 42, Solanco 24
n Conrad Weiser 21, Warwick 7
n Manheim Central 28, Fleetwood 26
n Daniel Boone 7, Donegal 6
n Lampeter-Strasburg 52, Elco 7
n Wyomissing 34, Twin Valley 24
n Octorara 28, Northern Lebanon 7
n Lancaster Catholic 41, Kutztown 20
n Schuylkill Valley 30, Hamburg 21
n Exeter 36, Hempfield 3
L-L QUARTERBACK CLUB TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Zimmerman, RB, Cedar Crest
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Julian Larue, DE, Manheim Township
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brayden Brown, RB-LB, Ephrata
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Landan Barton, OG, Ephrata
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brayden Eppinette, RB-DB, Cocalico
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Charlie Shimp, C, Conrad Weiser
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Justice Hardy, RB, Wyomissing
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Andrew Bresnahan, TE-DE, Wyomissing
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Jonathan Shay, RBDE, Annville-Cleona
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Luke Spotts, TE, Schuylkill Valley
“Little knick-knack things, but our guys are learning,” Solanco coach Tony Cox said. “A missed block or a missed read. And we couldn’t stop people. Once we figure some of that stuff out, we’re going to be good to go. We’re young, but we’re getting better.”
Cocalico’s Josh Myer (12) breaks up a pass intended for Solanco’s Kris Burgos-Wise during the first half of the Eagles’ victory at Denver on Oct. 11.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Week 2
Frymoyer’s fumble recovery set up Ephrata’s first score, when Brown slammed in from 2 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 1:28 to go in the first quarter.
“I was surprised I was there at the right time, so that’s big,” Frymoyer said. “The fumbles really changed the script of the whole game, and that was huge for us.”
Central (1-1) finally got on the board with 1:05 to go in the first half when Brodie Dougherty had a 7-yard TD run. Lewis had two clutch passes to Cody Hess on that drive. The Barons misfired on the PAT and it was 7-6 at the half.
Ephrata (2-0) grabbed a 14-6 lead when QB Caleb Grant called his own number and snuck in from 4 yards with 9:19 to go in the third quarter.
A trick play set up that score; Nate Conover’s 32yard halfback option bomb to Nick Keller gave the Mounts life.
Lewis’ bomb to Cook — who had an interception
Week 5
The only bugaboo for Township was penalties; the Streaks were flagged 10 times for 120 yards, including four 15-yard personal fouls.
That, Evans stressed, must be cleaned up. Pronto.
“It’s a fine line between being tough and being stupid,” Evans said. “We’re teetering on that line, and we have to eliminate that part of it, and just play tough, hard-nosed football between the whistles. If we’re going to reach the ceiling of our potential, those are things that are going to stop us from getting to the top. We have to keep being persistent and we have to keep pushing to get better.”
There’s PUSH again.
The fumbles really changed the script of the whole game, and that was huge for us.
— Ephrata’s Brennan Frymoyer
on defense earlier — and Dougherty’s two-point run tied it.
That set up the Mounts’ frantic finish.
Brown’s scoop and return was the highlight.
“I saw the ball being juggled in the air and it fell right at my feet,” he said. “I just picked it up and started running.”
All the way to pay dirt. And a win 27 years in the making.
“We lacked discipline and we lacked executing and finishing,” Central coach Dave Hahn said.
“It’s disappointing because that’s not Baron football. We wanted to come out and be physical. At times we were, and when we would get some momentum going, we’d get stopped.
“Bottom line, we’re better than that.”
Conestoga Valley’s Teagan Ruble dives for a touchdown during the first half of the Buckskins’ win over Governor Mifflin on Oct. 4.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Week 7
Continued from 9
Trailing 21-14, Mifflin gambled and went for it on fourth-and-1 at its 20 and Grady Garner — who rumbled for 178 yards, including a 34-yard TD run — picked up the first down to keep the drive alive.
Reese Hohl capped the 99-yard march — which featured all running plays — with an 8-yard TD sprint for a 21-21 tie with 9:48 left.
“I don’t know how long it was, but it felt like our offense wasn’t on the field the whole second half,” Scepanski said. “They made us pay for it.”
Undaunted, CV went right to work. Esbenshade — who clicked on 12-of-16 passes for 239 yards and two TDs — had a pair of 15yard runs, and his 5-yard TD dash gave the Bucks a 28-21 lead.
“I had great confidence in our offense, and they were able to punch it right back in,” Sensenig
said. “We were able to go right back at them.”
Then CV buckled up for Mifflin’s last possession. The Mustangs were on the move — they rushed for 277 yards in all — before Morgan’s strip and Sensenig’s scoop clinched it.
“Two great senior football players — and all the other guys out there with them that helped the play unfold — making a huge play at the end of the game to seal it,” Scepanski said. “That’s big.”
As for Township’s offensive onslaught, Weisser zipped a 34-yard TD strike to Donovan Rodriguez, Taylor Veilleux body-slammed in for a 4-yard TD, and Weisser — who went 14-for-18 for 271 yards — hit Lex Haberbosch for a 68-yard TD, all in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead.
Weisser made it 28-0 at the half with a 1-yard sneak with 3:12 to go in the second quarter, and Township went up 31-0 on a 39-yard field goal by Johnny Morales late in the third quarter.
Declan Clancy, who rushed for 119 yards, had a 15-yard TD sprint on the last play of the third quarter to cap it.
Dehvyn Lauano and Clancy were each in on a pair of sacks, spearheading Township’s dominating defensive effort.
Week 6
Continued from 8
His 34-yard run set up Shuey’s 2-yard sneak for a 21-13 lead with 9:33 to play. Later, Ernst ripped off another 34-yard run, setting up his 2-yard plunge for the capper with 2:09 left.
Ernst rushed for 140 yards; Shuey ran for 58 yards and passed for 134; and Wer-
ley had five catches for 84 yards.
Hamburg was 0-2 all-time against Catholic coming in, and last fall, the Crusaders hung 61 points on the Hawks — in Hamburg.
The Hawks used that as motivation.
“We try to use that stuff to our advantage sometimes,” Hoffert said. “We’ll use it with our guys. We lost a heart-breaker here two years ago, and last year they put up a big number on us.”
WEEK NINE
THE SCORES
FRIDAY, OCT. 18
n Cedar Crest 31, Hempfield 27
n Manheim Township 42, Penn Manor 14
n Wilson 56, McCaskey 7
n Oxford 42, Reading 14
n Conestoga Valley 28, Exeter 27
n Governor Mifflin 48, Elizabethtown 14
n Ephrata 59, Lebanon 6
n Conrad Weiser 24, Cocalico 21
n Solanco 55, Fleetwood 10
n Garden Spot 28, Manheim Central 9
n New Oxford 30, Warwick 7
n Lampeter-Strasburg 62, Twin Valley 14
n Wyomissing 31, Octorara 7
n Northern Lebanon 36, Daniel Boone 13
n Elco 34, Donegal 8
n Lancaster Catholic 26, Pequea Valley 13
n Berks Catholic 48, Hamburg 14
n Kutztown 42, Columbia 17
n Schuylkill Valley 49, Annville-Cleona 28
SATURDAY, OCT. 19
n Academy Park 53, Muhlenberg 38
SIMPLY DOMINANT
Led by Howse, Pioneers roll to big victory over Raiders
JASON GUARENTE
JGUARENTE@LNPNEWS.COM
Caileb Howse’s teammates tried to tell everyone back in August. LampeterStrasburg’s new starting quarterback
had a chance to be special.
There was evidence to support those claims through the first eight weeks of this football season. Then came the showdown against Twin Valley on Oct. 18. The numbers are hard to believe.
Howse rushed for 334 yards and seven touchdowns and passed for another score to lead L-S to a 62-14 victory in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Four football game at Lampeter.
One of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season turned into a rout. The score sent shocked face emojis bouncing around social media.
Carson Zook, the center, was one of those L-S players vouching for his QB during the preseason. This performance was what Zook had in mind.
“I knew he had it in him,” Zook said.
“I didn’t know when it would come out. He’s one of the most athletic people on the team. One of the most athletic people I know.”
Howse broke free for rushing touchdowns of 26, 56 and 56 yards in the first quarter as L-S built a 28-0 lead. He added rushing TDs of 67, 19 and 18 yards before intermission. A 3-yard score in the second half was the cherry on top.
There were some nifty runs for the 6-foot, 200-pound senior, who has a rare combination of size and speed. There were also some runs where no one was close to touching him.
L-S dominated up front behind an offensive line featuring Zook, guards Javon Brisma and Elijah Hawley and tackles Collin Shelley and Thad Wolf.
Lampeter-Strasburg’s Caileb Howse celebrates after a touchdown run in the first half of the Pioneers’ win over Twin Valley on Oct. 18
LOGAN GEHMAN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Conrad Weiser coach Alan Moyer is doused with an ice-water bath after the Scouts beat Cocalico 24-21 to clinch the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three championship on Oct. 18 at Robesonia.
CHRIS KNIGHT: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEK NINE
Lampeter-Strasburg’s Dominic Brown tries to get past Twin Valley’s Ben Grundy during the first half of the Pioneers’ win on Oct. 18.
Pioneers
Continued from 12
There were moments when Howse was given so much space it looked like a practice drill.
“It just shows how much we’ve improved,” Howse said. “All the gaps. The teamwork we have. The chemistry we have together is amazing.”
The night got even better for the Oline when Zook was named Homecoming king at halftime. He showed up for the announcement wearing his No. 60 jersey with a crown and sash.
The first hint of where this game was headed came on Twin Valley’s first possession. L-S created three consecutive negative plays, including a hard hit by Dominic Brown and a sack by Jai Steberger, to force a turnover on downs.
The second hint, an even more emphatic one, came when Brown demolished one of Twin Valley’s defensive backs with a block to spring Howse for his first 56-yard touchdown.
No one hits harder than L-S. No one swarms faster to the ball.
The Pioneers generated three turnovers. Aven Cunningham and Christian Nolt grabbed interceptions and Steberger recovered a fumble.
“I was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life,” Nolt said. “I was shaking before the game. After the first quarter, I was like, ‘What is going on right now?’ That’s the result, though.”
Twin Valley dropped two in a row after starting the season with seven consecutive wins and being ranked No. 1 in one state poll.
The Raiders played without leading rusher Evan Johnson.
Brown finished with 156 yards and the only touchdown that wasn’t connected to Howse. L-S produced 546 yards on the ground.
Howse reached 1,000 yards passing and rushing for the season. It’s an exclusive club that highlights his talent and versatility.
“He’s crazy,” Nolt said. “He’s probably the best quarterback I’ve ever seen for us. We’ve always believed in him. We knew he was our guy.”
L-S tried to tell people about Howse. Now there’s no choice but to listen.
FRENETIC FINISH
MIKE DRAGO MIKEDRAGOSPORTS.COM
REIFFTON — Jon Scepanski waited eight long weeks for Conestoga Valley’s much-anticipated Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two showdown at Exeter. He seemed to wait that long for a verdict in the final seconds on Oct. 18, after the Eagles went for a two-point conversion and the win.
“Too long,” CV’s coach said of the wait as officials sorted things out. “Too long.”
Moments after Exeter players ran off the field in celebration, thinking Jayden Zandier had scored to give his team the lead, it was the Buckskins who were cheering after the officials huddled and ruled that the Eagles’ rushing leader did not cross the goal line and that Conestoga Valley’s 28-27 lead had stood.
“That was a heckuva football game,” Scepanski said. “Two good football teams going at it. Both teams were doing things well. Fortunately our boys played hard enough there toward the end that (they) were able to (come through) for us on the defensive side. I’m proud of ’em. It’s a team win, for sure.”
To a man the Eagles believe Zandier scored on the two-pointer. Video replays indicated he did, as well.
“(A key play like that) we’re gonna put the ball in Jayden’s hands,” said Exeter coach Matt Bauer of the decision to go for two after a penalty moved the ball to the 1. “We need a yard, we’re gonna get a yard. And we got a yard. Clear as day. He’s over the line; he’s way deep in the zone.”
Exeter drove 82 yards in the final 1:23
to pull within one point on Jake Hafer’s 15-yard TD pass to Jayden Ware. One play earlier on fourth-and-2, Hafer connected with Genuine Stutzman for a 19-yard gain.
Zandier, who played quarterback much of the night in place of injured Riley Martinez, finished with 172 rushing yards on 27 carries. He felt sure, like his teammates, that he scored on the conversion.
Exeter played most of the second half without all-league lineman Logan Wegman, a Navy recruit who was injured during the game.
“Everyone stepped up and everyone pulled together and that’s the mark of a good team,” Bauer said. “I just hate when things like that are taken away from the kids.”
Scepanski, of course, saw it another way.
“I’m biased, but I’m gonna say we stopped ’em,” he said. “From where I was (on the sidelines), I never saw him cross. That was a tough play. We dug in deep. I’m proud of everybody’s effort.”
Ware’s touchdown was the only score of the second half, which began with Conestoga Valley leading 28-21.
Exeter entered with the league’s No. 1 pass defense, but junior Sawyer Esbenshade, a first-year starter, threw for three touchdowns and 191 yards in the first half. He finished 19-of-31 for 277 yards.
Esbenshade’s 2-yard run late in the first quarter gave the Buckskins a 14-0 lead.
The Eagles tied it at 21-21 on Hafer’s 21yard scoring pass to Ware 1:40 before halftime. Esbenshade put the Bucks back on top 28-21 on a 29-yard TD pass to Jayden Johnson with 34 seconds left in the half.
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Carson Weisser, QB, Manheim Township
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Alex Kissinger, OT, Cedar Crest
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Sawyer Esbenshade, QB, Conestoga Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tal Stoltzfus, OG-DT
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Gabe Martin, QBLB, Garden Spot
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Ashton Kiebach, DE, Conrad Weiser
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Caileb Howse, QB, Lampeter-Strasburg
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Carson Zook, C, Lampeter-Strasburg
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Xavier Gerald, RB, Berks Catholic
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Damoni Daglis, DT, Berks Catholic
LOGAN GEHMAN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEK TEN
THE SCORES
FRIDAY, OCT. 25
n Wilson 34, Manheim Township 16
n Hempfield 42, Reading 18
n Penn Manor 44, McCaskey 6
n Ephrata 35, Governor Mifflin 21
n Conestoga Valley 52, Muhlenberg 22
n Exeter 71, Elizabethtown 0
n Solanco 35, Garden Spot 27
n Warwick 6, Manheim Central 3
n Cocalico 21, Fleetwood 17
n Twin Valley 42, Daniel Boone 6
n Octorara 28, Donegal 22
n Elco 28, Northern Lebanon 7
n Schuylkill Valley 40, Lancaster Catholic 29
n Berks Catholic 49, Annville-Cleona 14
n Hamburg 59, Columbia 0
n Pequea Valley 26, Kutztown 20
n Conrad Weiser 28, Unionville 27
SATURDAY, OCT. 26
n Lampeter-Strasburg 20, Wyomissing 7
L-L QUARTERBACK CLUB
TOP PERFORMERS
SECTION ONE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Chase Herb, DB, Wilson
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tristan Long, OT-DT, Cedar Crest
SECTION TWO
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brayden Brown, RB-LB, Ephrata
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Justin Corson, DE, Conestoga Valley
SECTION THREE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Josh Myer, QB-DB, Cocalico
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Thomas Dattoli, OG-DT, Cocalico
SECTION FOUR
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Austin Kurtz, LB, Octorara
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Emory Fluhr, LB, Lampeter-Strasburg
SECTION FIVE
n BACK OF THE WEEK: Logan Nawrocki, QB, Schuylkill Valley
n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Luke Spotts, TE-DE, Schuylkill Valley
GAME OF THE WEEK, PART 1: WILSON 34, MANHEIM TOWNSHIP 16
UNKNOWN NO MORE
Bulldogs rule section, end Streaks’ run of 19 straight regular-season wins
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
Not many football folks in the know outside of West Lawn saw this one coming.
But Wilson delivered.
The Bulldogs feasted on short fields, Madyx Gruber had three touchdown passes and a TD run, and his interception iced it, and Wilson marched into Neffsville on Oct. 25 and did what nobody has done in two years: Beat Manheim Township in the regular season.
The Bulldogs KO’d the Blue Streaks 34-16 to do a couple of things, first and foremost clinch the outright LancasterLebanon League Section One championship. Second, Wilson snapped Township’s glittering 19-game regular-season unbeaten streak. And third, the Bulldogs made it an even 30 section titles, most in the L-L, and first since 2021.
Township was denied a second straight section title.
“I told them that we’re an unknown quantity,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “I said that a lot of you are first-time starters, and (Township) doesn’t know enough to be afraid of you. So go out there and put the fear in their hearts and play like it’s your game. ... And we did. We made some big plays when we had to.”
Township’s bugaboo: Penalties. The Streaks were flagged 10 times for 121 yards with seven 15-yard personal foul yellow hankies.
“Lack of discipline gets you beat,” Township coach Mark Evans said. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for nine weeks, and now they have a reference point.
“Our message right now is that a mistake doesn’t define you. What you do next does. But lack of discipline got us beat tonight. That’s it.”
Wilson took the opening kickoff 77 yards in 13 plays, with Correll Akings scoring on a 2-yard TD run for an early statement and a quick 7-0 lead. Township punched right back, tying it at 7-7 when Declan Clancy punched in a 5-yard TD run.
Wilson got the last two scores of the
first half to take a 22-7 lead at intermission.
First, Gruber was flushed from the pocket but he recovered and lofted a 65yard TD toss to Akings, who shook free behind the secondary. Later, Gruber fired a 10-yard TD strike to Mike Glover with 2:35 to go in the second quarter.
Desperately needing a drive to get back in it, Township scored on the opening drive of the third quarter, with Taylor Veilleux slamming in from a yard out to cut it to 22-13.
Township was within 22-16 after Johnny Morales booted a 21-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Two key plays in the fourth quarter helped Wilson clinch it.
The Bulldogs recovered a fumbled punt at midfield, killing the Streaks’
momentum after Morales’ field goal and Tom Capizzi’s interception, which thwarted an earlier drive by Wilson.
Wilson’s Madyx Gruber tackles Manheim Township’s Blayke Alaimo for a loss after a catch during the first half of the Bulldogs’ victory on Oct. 25 at Neffsville.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BULLDOGS, page 15
WEEK TEN
GAME OF THE WEEK, PART 2: LAMPETER-STRASBURG 20, WYOMISSING 7
‘IT’S AMAZING’
Pioneers roll to Section 4 championship
JEFF REINHART
JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM
WYOMISSING — The moment took Victor Ridenour completely by surprise.
“Game ball!” one of Lampeter-Strasburg’s football players shouted, running top-speed to join his teammates in the postgame huddle. “It goes to coach.”
That would be Ridenour, the Pioneers’ soft-spoken, well-liked leader, who tucked the ball under his arm and fought back some tears before addressing his team, which made a successful business trip to Berks County on Oct. 26.
Ridenour’s squad completed a glorious 10-0 regular-season ride, outslugging host Wyomissing 20-7 in a grudge match to capture the outright Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Four championship.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Ridenour said, still cradling the game ball and trying to dry off after a postgame waterbucket shower. “The games aren’t about me. This is all about them. This senior class, they’re so great to coach. So this means a lot.”
If you had L-S surviving the gauntlet that was the Section Four race, take a bow. The Pioneers were the last team standing, running the table in the process.
“It feels great to be able to come into their house, and beat them for the outright section championship,” L-S’s Emory Fluhr said of the 7-0 sectional run. “It’s amazing. I wasn’t even really thinking about something like this at the beginning of the year. But now that we’re here, this is crazy.”
L-S snapped Wyomissing’s sparkling 36-game home winning streak, which dated to 2018.
The Pioneers’ unrelenting defense swarmed, wrapped and tackled Wyomissing’s punishing Wing-T attack in a rock-fight kind of a game that was played mostly between the tackles.
“Amazing,” L-S’s Caileb Howse said. “Coming into Wyomissing, this is such a tough place to play. So to deliver the way we delivered is just awesome. I think we showed how much of a team we are, and that we’ll keep picking each other up, no matter what. We were ready for this. We knew it was going to be a physical game, but we came in here prepared for a dogfight.”
A dogfight it was. Think field-possession kind of a game, with plenty of fullback traps, toss sweeps and big hits. And a lot of 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust plays. L-S’s defense held Wyomissing to just 3.7 yards per carry and negative passing yardage.
“Like Bob (Wolfrum, Wyomissing’s coach) just said,” Ridenour noted, “it was a slobber-knocker. And it really was.”
Wyomissing’s lone scoring drive was set up by a minus-5-yard punt, giving the Spartans just 15 yards to navigate.
Derek Macrina’s 3-yard run tied it at 7-7. L-S had drawn first blood on Dominic Brown’s 1-yard plunge after Wyomissing was flagged for roughing the kicker, giving the Pioneers first-and-goal.
Peter Fiorello, who is enjoying a fabulous season kicking the ball for L-S, booted a 21-yard field goal with 17 seconds left in the second quarter, and the Pioneers took a 10-7 lead into the locker room.
Wyomissing was marching on its opening drive of the second half, grinding out three first downs and finally getting some momentum. But L-S’s defensive
tightened, stuffed the run and forced a punt. The teams combined for 11 punts.
Later in the third, L-S grabbed a 13-7 lead when Fiorello drilled a 42-yard field goal. Howse’s 44-yard run set that up; he rushed for 111 yards.
The game turned early in the fourth quarter. Howse unloaded a punt, pinning Wyomissing at its 7. Two big sticks later — including a sack on third down — L-S forced a punt and got great field position.
Howse — coming off his epic 323-yard, seven-TD rushing performance against Twin Valley — supplied the back-breaker, a 15-yard TD sprint for a 20-7 lead with 7:21 to go.
“Play physically, that was our main thing,” said Brown, who rushed for 128
hard-fought yards into the heart of Wyomissing’s D. “They’re a big team, and they have speed. But we’re a big team, and we’re physical, too. It was great to come in here and to be able to go out and execute our game plan.”
Fluhr iced it for L-S with an interception with 3:45 to play, and the Pioneers ran out the clock.
Then everyone made a beeline to the huddle to deliver the game ball to Ridenour.
“These guys just keep doing their job, week to week to week to week to week,” Ridenour said. “They prepare so well, and they respect everybody they play. They’ve been so consistent every week, with just wanting to get better, and to play better.”
Later, after the Bulldogs held Township on downs for the third time in the
game, Gruber fired a 41-yard TD pass to Brady Kline, who made a great leaping grab in traffic.
Dahms said he was finally able to exhale after Kline’s clutch TD.
“That catch was phenomenal,” Dahms
said. “The kids played with a lot of heart, right across the board.”
Gruber capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run with 1:37 to go, and his interception with 18 seconds to play iced it.
“The kids believed and they played a heck of a game,” Dahms said. “This one was going to be tough because (Township) was the favorite from the get-go. We took a young team with very little experience, and they bought in.”
Lampeter-Strasburg’s Dominic Brown hurdles Wyomissing’s Daniel Delp during the first half of the Pioneers’ victory over the Spartans on Oct. 26 at Wyomissing.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
L-L FOOTBALL STATISTICAL LEADERS
Here are the leading rushers, passers and receivers through the L-L League football regular season:
RUSHING
n Cameron Small, Muhlenberg — 230 carries for 1,842 yards, 8.0 avg., 21 TD
n Brandon Way, Lancaster Catholic — 185 carries for 1,665 yards, 9.0 avg., 24 TD
n Declan Clancy, Manheim Township — 218 carries for 1,611 yards, 7.4 avg., 18 TD
n Jayden Zandier, Exeter — 117 carries for 1,473 yards, 12.6 avg., 23 TD
n Isaiah Zimmerman, Cedar Crest — 140 carries for 1,300 yards, 9.3 avg., 12 TD
n Johnny Garcia, Solanco — 199 carries for 1,298 yards, 6.5 avg., 18 TD
n Grady Garner, Governor Mifflin — 209 carries for 1,296 yards, 6.2 avg., 19 TD
n Caileb Howse, Lampeter-Strasburg — 104 carries for 1,159 yards, 11.1 avg., 19 TD
n Dane Horning, Cocalico — 206 carries for 1,031 yards, 5.0 avg., 8 TD
n Dominic Brown, Lampeter-Strasburg — 164 carries for 1,050 yards, 6.4 avg., 19 TD
n Jonathan Shay, Annville-Cleona — 140 carries for 1,030 yards, 7.4 avg., 10 TD
n Josh Myer, Cocalico — 157 carries for 1,024 yards, 6.5 avg., 11 TD
n Evan Myers, Twin Valley — 96 carries for 867 yards, 9.0 avg., 13 TD
n Correll Akings, Wilson — 141 carries for 851 yards, 6.0 avg., 9 TD
n Kris Burgos-Wise, Solanco — 64 carrier’s for 806 yards, 12.6 avg., 6 TD
n Bryce Gumby, Berks Catholic — 84 carries for 789 yards, 9.4 avg., 11 TD
n Nate Rose, Berks Catholic — 130 carries for 786 yards, 6.1 avg., 9 TD
n Brayden Brown, Ephrata — 132 carries for 768 yards, 5.8 avg., 10 TD
n Drew Tibbins, Pequea Valley — 146 carries for 753 yards, 5.2 avg., 12 TD
n Steven Rosado, Elco — 121 carries for 745 yards, 6.2 avg., 13 TD
n Justice Hardy, Wyomissing — 76 carries for 728 yards, 9.6 avg., 11 TD
n Evan Johnson, Twin Valley — 87 carries for 728 yards, 8.4 avg., 11 TD
n Brenden Ackley, Kutztown — 135 carries for 711 yards, 5.3 avg., 9 TD
n Brayden Eppinette, Cocalico — 75 carries for 707 yards, 9.4 avg., 4 TD
PASSER EFFICIENCY RATING
(Per NFL formula; minimum 50 attempts)
n Riley Martinez, Exeter — 47 of 69 for 847 yards, 14 TD, 0 INT — 150 rating
n Zach Suski, Berks Catholic — 81 of 115 for 1,286 yards, 16 TD, 3 INT — 136 rating
n Sawyer Esbenshade, Conestoga Valley — 101 of 159 for 1,845 yards, 24 TD, 3 INT — 135 rating
n Donovan Gingrich, Conrad Weiser — 97 of 141 for 1,360 yards, 16 TD, 2 INT — 132 rating
n Logan Nawrocki, Schuylkill Valley — 147 of 220 for 2,154 yards, 30 TD, 4 INT — 131 rating
n Caileb Howse, Lampeter-Strasburg — 80
of 120 for 1,215 yards, 11 TD, 0 INT — 130 rating
n Carson Weisser, Manheim Township — 100 for 171 for 1,682 yards, 22 TD, 2 INT —
127 rating
n Madyx Gruber, Wilson — 111 of 169 for 1,581 yards, 20 TD, 5 INT — 123 rating
n Tyler Shuey, Hamburg — 86 of 148 for 1,390 yards, 12 TD, 1 INT — 114 rating
n Evan Myers, Twin Valley — 98 of 158 for 1,421 yards, 20 TD, 8 INT — 110 rating
n Bryce Keller, Annville-Cleona — 36 of 55 for 704 yards, 8 TD, 6 INT — 109 rating
n A.J. Hurst, Garden Spot — 99 of 158 for 1,384 yards, 16 TD, 8 INT — 107 rating
n David Stefanow, Lancaster Catholic — 99 of 171 for 1,280 yards, 14 TD, 3 INT — 101 rating
n Jackson Custer, Cedar Crest — 55 of 104 for 895 yards, 15 TD, 7 INT — 94 rating
n Caleb Grant, Ephrata — 79 of 152 for 1,226 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT — 91 rating
n Haydn Moyer, Daniel Boone — 100 of 169 for 1,586 yards, 12 TD, 10 INT — 90 rating
n Derek Katch, Hempfield — 148 of 255 for 1,773 yards, 12 TD, 10 INT — 79 rating
n Javien Pletz, Governor Mifflin — 46 of 91 for 846 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT — 78 rating
n Chase McMonagle, Fleetwood — 84 of 170 for 1,384 yards, 10 TD, 9 INT — 75 rating
n Jalen Cintron, McCaskey — 109 of 208 for 1,295 yards, 8 TD, 5 INT — 74 rating
n Kayson Fritz, Reading — 42 of 79 for 684 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT — 74 rating
n Collin Wood, Octorara — 87 of 157 for 897 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT — 74 rating
n Brandyn Castro, Lebanon — 77 of 170 for 1,236 yards, 11 TD, 9 INT — 70 rating
n Brayden Huber, Elizabethtown — 57 of 102 for 635 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT — 66 rating
n Anthony Stoltzfus, Pequea Valley — 35 of 71 for 429 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT — 62 rating
n Ray Lewis, Manheim Central — 69 of 145 for 725 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT — 57 rating
n Thomas Myers, Warwick — 75 of 174 for 854 yards, 6 TD, 7 INT — 53 rating
Manheim Township’s Declan Clancy, who finished the regular season with 1,611 rushing yards, leaps over Wilson’s Chase Herb during the first half on Oct. 25 at Neffsville.
CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
n Steven Rosado, Elco — 50 of 95 for 650 yards, 4 TD, 12 INT — 49 rating
n Gannon Shank, Elizabethtown — 71 of 145 for 577 yards, 4 TD, 7 INT — 49 rating
n Chase Marshall, Donegal — 28 of 56 for 346 yards, 3 TD, 6 INT — 48 rating
n Blake Burdick, Northern Lebanon — 20 of 51 for 284 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT — 45 rating
n Conner Smeigh, Penn Manor — 52 of 120 for 481 yards, 3 TD, 6 INT — 42 rating
n Wyatt Stoess, Kutztown — 26 of 77 for 594 yards, 4 TD, 10 INT — 40 rating
n Adriel Baez, Muhlenberg — 28 of 83 for 349 yards, 3 TD, 5 INT — 35 rating
n Cameron McClair, Columbia — 64 for 180 for 641 yards, 5 TD, 10 INT — 33 rating
n Kael Erdman, Northern Lebanon — 19 of 54 for 147 yards, 0 TD, 5 INT — 5 rating
RECEPTIONS
n Luke Spotts, Schuylkill Valley — 50 catches for 849 yards, 17.0 avg., 8 TD
n Brayden Charles, Hempfield — 44 catches for 574 yards, 13.1 avg., 3 TD
n Malachi Briddell, Lebanon — 42 catches for 910 yards, 21.7 avg., 9 TD
n Jace Conrad, Garden Spot — 40 catches for 521 yards, 13.0 avg., 6 TD
n Colton Hegener, Lancaster Catholic — 38 catches for 434 yards, 11.4 avg., 5 TD
n Alexis Cintron, Elizabethtown — 36 catches for 452 yards, 12.6 avg., 4 TD
n Kowen Gerner, Schuylkill Valley — 36 catches for 629 yards, 17.5 avg., 8 TD
n Ben Grundy, Twin Valley — 36 catches for 511 yards, 14.2 avg., 7 TD
n De’Andre Jones, McCaskey — 36 catches for 432 yards, 12.0 avg., 2 TD
n Max Heffner, Daniel Boone — 35 catches for 531 yards, 15.2 avg., 2 TD
n Evan Rittle, Conrad Weiser — 35 catches for 561 yards, 16.0 avg., 9 TD
n Ty Werley, Hamburg — 35 catches for 637 yards, 18.2 avg., 5 TD
n Harrison Delissaint, Daniel Boone — 34 catches for 564 yards, 16.6 avg., 6 TD
n Cam Margeson, Hempfield — 33 catches for 416 yards, 12.6 avg., 3 TD
n Tristin McFarland, Fleetwood — 32 catches for 446 yards, 13.9 avg., 3 TD
n Alisay Ramos, McCaskey — 31 catches for 466 yards, 15.0 avg., 4 TD
n Mike Glover, Wilson — 29 catches for 468 yards, 16.1 avg., 4 TD
n Dillon Lackner, Schuylkill Valley — 29 catches for 432 yards, 14.9 avg., 7 TD
n Chandler Stoltzfus, Octorara — 28 catches for 284 yards, 101. avg., 0 TD
n Charlie Warren, Lancaster Catholic — 27 catches for 418 yards, 15.5 avg., 6 TD
n Trenton Hoober, Garden Spot — 26 catches for 334 yards, 12.9 avg., 6 TD
n Davyan Moore, Fleetwood — 26 catches for 488 yards, 18.8 avg., 3 TD
n Carter Redding, Exeter — 26 catches for 433 yards, 16.7 avg., 5 TD
n Orion Abrams, Hempfield
for 303 yards, 12.1 avg., 3
n Michael Miller, Muhlenberg
for 312 yards, 12.5 avg., 3 TD