Lancaster-Lebanon League High School Football Review

LANCASTER-LEBANON

QUARTERBACK

CLUB WEEK 1 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Hayden Johnson, QB, Manheim Township n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK:

Deyvid Palepale, OT-DE, Hempfield

SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Rocco Daugherty, RB-LB, Manheim Central n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Lucas Palange, OG-LB, Exeter

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Kye Harting, QB, Garden Spot n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tyler Hurst, OG-DT, Garden Spot

SECTION FOUR

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Sam Steffey, RB, Cocalico n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Ty Barreto, OL, Berks Catholic

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Phoenix Music, RB-DB, Annville-Cleona n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Kellan Murphy, OT-DE, Lancaster Catholic

GAME OF THE WEEK: COCALICO 42, WARWICK 27

GO FOR IGNITION

WEEK ONE: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, AUG. 26

n Cedar Crest 21, Abraham Lincoln 12

n Hempfield 30, Dallastown 13 n Cumberland Valley 31, Manheim Township 27

n Penn Manor 27, Conestoga Valley 13

n Central Dauphin East 31, Reading 12

n Roman Catholic 46, Wilson 15 n Exeter 35, Daniel Boone 0

n Spring-Ford 21, Governor Mifflin 10

n Palmyra 14, Lebanon 6

n Manheim Central 56, West Chester East 7

n Muhlenberg 25, Octorara 13

n Cocalico 42, Warwick 27

n Red Lion 24, Ephrata 21

n Fleetwood 58, Kutztown 12

Eagles, Warriors open with a thrilling show

JOHN WALK | JWALK@LNPNEWS.COM

The Cocalico offense sputtered in its first five possessions of its season opener Aug. 26.

At home against Warwick, the Eagles’

triple-option rushing attack managed just 35 yards on the first 15 carries of the night — an average of just 2.3 yards per attempt.

Down two scores to the Warriors, thirdyear Cocalico coach Bryan Strohl insert ed junior Bryce Nash at quarterback.

The impact was immediate.

On his first play, Nash handed off to ju nior Sam Steffey, who went 36 yards for Cocalico’s first score of the season. From that point, the Eagles began asserting themselves to take control of the game. End result? A 42-27 season-opening vic tory.

“Bryce takes control of the offense,” Strohl said. “He exudes confidence. Our

IGNITION, page 8

n Garden Spot 31, Conrad Weiser 6 n Solanco 40, Lampeter-Strasburg 35

n Twin Valley 39, Schuylkill Valley 12

n Loyalsock 34, Berks Catholic 12

n Elco 44, West York 22

n Annville-Cleona 55, Hanover 12

n Columbia 34, Eastern York 7

n Hamburg 48, Halifax 6

n Lancaster Catholic 22, York Catholic 14

n Pine Grove 14, Northern Lebanon 9

n Biglerville 14, Pequea Valley 0

GAMES OF SATURDAY, AUG. 27

n Elizabethtown 43, Donegal 21

n McCaskey 30, John Bartram 24

n Wyomissing 49, Kennard-Dale 0

Warwick’s Brendon Snyder (4) is swarmed by the Cocalico defense during first-half action of the teams’ 2022 season opening football game in Denver on Aug. 26.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Catholic’s Jaevon Parker stretches for a couple extra yards after a catch as Hamburg’s Daniel Brady defends on the play. The Crusaders beat the Hawks 38-35 in an L-L Section Five game on Sept. 30.

Photo by Chris Knight, design by Chris Emlet.

WEEK TWO: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, SEPT. 2

n Solanco 21, Cocalico 7

n Octorara 35, Pequea Valley 0

n Garden Spot 46, Lebanon 14

n Ephrata 29, Warwick 21

n Columbia 30, Hanover 7

n Cedar Crest 29, Central Dauphin East 22

n Hempfield 35, York 32

n Manheim Township 40, Dallastown 0

n Elizabethtown 50, McCaskey 21

n Lampeter-Strasburg 35, Penn Manor 0

n Conestoga Valley 42, Daniel Boone 7

n Manheim Central 44, Immaculata (N.J.) 43 (2OT)

n York Suburban 41, Donegal 18

n Wilson 17, Central Dauphin 10

n Reading 33, Muhlenberg 20

n Exeter 37, Boyertown 21

GAME OF THE WEEK: SOLANCO 21, COCALICO 7

n Carlisle 48, Governor Mifflin 14

n Conrad Weiser 28, Fleetwood 21

n Lower Dauphin 17, Twin Valley 14

n Exec. Education Academy 20, Berks Catholic 13

n Wyomissing 49, Pottsville 0

n Hamburg 75, Warrior Run 21

n Upper Perkiomen 31, Schuylkill Valley 14

GAME OF SATURDAY, SEPT. 3

n York Tech 47, Kutztown 27

LANCASTER-LEBANON QUARTERBACK

CLUB WEEK 2 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Grant Hoover, RB, Hempfield n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Connor Schwartz, OT-DT, Cedar Crest

SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brycen Armold, RB, Manheim Central n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Nick Haas, TE-LB, Manheim Central

SECTION THREE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Angel Collazo, WR-DB, Ephrata n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Weston Nolt, OT-DT, Ephrata

SECTION FOUR n BACK OF THE WEEK: Donovan Gingrich, QB, Conrad Weiser n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Evan Miller, TE-DE, Conrad Weiser

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Daezjon Giles, QB, Columbia n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Hudson Hess, TE-DE, Lancaster Catholic

CLEAN GETAWAY FOR MULES

JEFF REINHART JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM

The play was right in front of Aden Herr. And Solanco’s senior linebacker didn’t miss it.

Herr picked off a pass and returned it 34 yards for a second-quarter touchdown and a 14-point lead for the Golden Mules, and Solanco’s defense held Cocalico’s le thal ground-and-pound rushing attack relatively in check in Sept. 2’s nonleague football win — by a 21-7 count — in Quar ryville.

Solanco improved to 2-0 to continue its best start since a 4-0 getaway in 2018, which was also the last time Solanco made it to the district playoffs.

“Great start,” Herr said. “It feels amaz ing, actually. Now we have to stay focused and keep doing our jobs.”

But even with a lot of season left in front of it at that point, Solanco certainly had grabbed everyone’s attention after slaying a pair of District Three heavyweights in its first two games.

Before Herr’s pick-6 that night, though, Solanco grabbed a 7-0 lead on its first pos session, when Josiah Forren darted in from 2 yards out. That short drive was set up when Solanco’s Jaden Summers recov ered a high punt snap. The score remained that way until the 8:20 mark of the second quarter, when Herr stepped in front of a Josh Myer pass attempt and saw nothing but green grass in front of him; 34 yards later he found the end zone and the Mules were up 14-0.

“I stuck with my guy, and he ended up throwing the ball right to me,” Herr said. “It was right there. I thought it lifted ev

eryone up and it really got us going.”

“I’m really happy for Aden and I’m glad he got that pick-6,” Solanco coach Tony Cox said. “Our defense was huge. They did a great job. Cocalico has a great of fense, and they can really run the ball. But I thought we stopped them when we needed to stop them. Our guys really stuck their noses in there and made tackles.”

Solanco capped a 21-0 half in style, when QB Brody Mellinger heaved a 58-yard TD pass to Noah Baber, who made an ac

robatic grab along the sideline, and then outraced Cocalico’s secondary to the end zone. Baber’s PAT boot gave the Mules a three-TD lead at the break.

Solanco didn’t score in the second half, but the Mules made enough plays, chewed up enough yards on the ground, and milked enough clock to fend off Co calico. The Eagles finally got on the board with 4:49 to play when Bryce Nash — who split the QB duties with Myer — flipped a 7-yard TD pass to Brayden Eppinette.

Solanco’s Aden Herr (27) and Braden Caldwell, left, converge on Cocalico’s Brayden Eppinette on Sept. 2.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

GAME OF THE WEEK: ELCO 21, COLUMBIA 12

ELCO TURNS AWAY RALLYING TIDE

JEFF REINHART JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM

Jake Williams got the party started in fine fashion. And Elco, despite some fancy comeback tactics by Columbia, kept an early unbeaten streak alive and well.

Williams returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and he rushed for 250 yards on 27 carries with two TD runs as the Raiders held off the host Crim son Tide 21-12 in a nonleague football clash Sept. 9.

“We made it a little harder than we had to at times,” Elco coach Bob Miller said, “but the guys pulled together and they continued to play every down for all four quarters, and that’s something to be proud of. That’s a winning attitude. You have to be able to overcome adversities. If you keep fighting, good things happen.”

Williams wasted no time in the battle of old section foes, taking the opening kick off, picking up a couple of blockers and bolting 95 yards for a score, just 13 seconds into the game.

LANCASTER-LEBANON QUARTERBACK

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Asher

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Will Cranford, QB, Lancaster Catholic n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Ryan Cardinale, C-DT, Kutztown

Later in the first half, Columbia had firstand-goal at Elco’s 3 and was poised to po tentially tie or take the lead in the game. But Raiders LB Aidon Fritsch stepped in front of Daezjon Giles’ pass at the goal-line on third and goal for a drive-stuffing inter ception.

“Again, overcoming adversity,” Miller said. “Every single play, we’re not going to back down. We’re never going to hang our heads. I love that about these kids.”

Fritsch’s pick set up Elco’s nifty 89-yard march, with Williams barreling the final 11 for a TD and it was 14-0 with 53 seconds left in the first half. That was the score at the break, and the Raiders — who rushed for 305 yards and held Columbia to just 46 rushing yards — added to it midway through the third quarter, when Williams had a 56-yard mad dash of a TD run down the sideline to make it 21-0.

“To be down 21-0, obviously, is tough, es pecially after they took the opening kick off back,” Columbia rookie coach Brady

Elco’s Jake Williams (22) has the ball dislodged by Columbia’s Demari Simms (11) during first-half action of a nonleague game at Columbia High School on Sept. 9. The ball went out of bounds on the play and Elco retained possession.

Mathias said. “We overcame some things and we almost came back there in the end. Our kids really showed a heck of a lot of heart.”

Columbia didn’t fold. In fact, later in the third quarter, the Tide held the Raid ers on downs and finally got on the score board, when Giles fired a 26-yard TD dart to Dominic Diaz-Ellis with 2:21 to go in the third and it was 21-6.

Midway though the fourth, again Co lumbia held Elco on downs, and again the Tide put together another scoring drive. Giles (11-for-25 for 286 yards) uncorked a 40-yard TD laser to Diaz-Ellis and it was 21-12 with 5:35 to go.

Columbia got the ball back with less than two minutes to go, and Giles completed passes of 43 yards, 22 yards and 10 yards, and the Tide had first and goal with time running out. But the Tide stalled on Elco’s 5-yard line, and that was that.

“We’ll learn from this,” Mathias said. “Each week is a learning experience.”

WEEK THREE: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, SEPT. 9

n Elco 21, Columbia 12

n Central York 30, Hempfield 20

n Lancaster Catholic 41, Octorara 7

n Warwick 26, Cedar Crest 20

n Cedar Cliff 44, McCaskey 0

n Manheim Central 35, Cocalico 19

n Solanco 29, Penn Manor 26

n Elizabethtown 41, Lower Dauphin 28

n Ephrata 42, Lebanon 20

n Conestoga Valley 41, Garden Spot 35 (OT)

n Donegal 30, Palmyra 13

n Wilson 37, Martin Luther King 0

n Lampeter-Strasburg 54, Kennard-Dale 7

n Hanover 13, Pequea Valley 6

n Northern Lebanon 20, York Tech 7

n Annville-Cleona 42, Littlestown 14

n Daniel Boone 39, Muhlenberg 15

n Exeter 35, West York 0

n Governor Mifflin 17, Boyertown 14

n Fleetwood 35, Upper Perkiomen 3

n Twin Valley 28, Conrad Weiser 16

n Reading 42, Red Lion 35

n Hamburg 54, Eastern York 34

n Kutztown 26, Pottsville Nativity BVM 20

n Schuylkill Valley 31, Susquenita 13

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WEEK FOUR: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, SEPT. 16

Section One

n Penn Manor 14, Cedar Crest 9 n Hempfield 42, McCaskey 7 n Wilson 48, Reading 6

Section Two n Warwick 21, Conestoga Valley 10 n Exeter 36, Governor Mifflin 6 n Muhlenberg 47, Lebanon 25

Section Three n Solanco 25, Ephrata 17 n Garden Spot 19, Daniel Boone 10 n Twin Valley 42, Fleetwood 14

Section Four n Wyomissing 41, Berks Catholic 24 n Cocalico 56, Octorara 6 n Lampeter-Strasburg 35, Donegal 0

Section Five

n Lancaster Catholic 26, Columbia 6 n Hamburg 39, Annville-Cleona 26 n Schuylkill Valley 35, Kutztown 6 n Northern Lebanon 22, Pequea Valley 8 Nonleague n Manheim Township 17, Spring-Ford 14 n Elizabethtown 34, Red Lion 17 n Manheim Central 49, Susquehannock 0

GAME OF SATURDAY, SEPT. 17

Section Four

n Conrad Weiser 22, Elco 21

GAME OF THE WEEK: SOLANCO 25, EPHRATA 17

MULES KEPT MARCHING

Able to rely on ‘hard-nosed’ ethic

JOHN WALK JWALK@LNPNEWS.COM

By the end of the night Sept. 16, the Solanco rushing attack had tallied 19 first downs at Ephrata.

Four of those came on third or fourth downs over the final 10 minutes, in the final drive of the game, to preserve a 25-17 win for the Mules in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three foot ball opener at War Memorial Field.

“That proves we’re a hard-nosed team,” Solanco senior fullback Cole Harris said. “We keep driving to get the first down whenever we can.”

With the win, Solanco moved its unbeaten mark to 4-0, mainly thanks to a vaunted rushing attack that mustered 345 yards on 55 carries, spearheaded by Harris (23 carries, 126 yards, two touchdowns) and steered by quarterback Brody Mellinger (19 carries, 89 rushing yards, two TDs). Every Solanco player who touched the ball was a senior — there are 24 on the Mules’ roster.

“We knew from the beginning this was going to be a special season,” Solanco senior two-way starter Nick DeFrancesco said. “We’ve been playing together since we were little.”

Still, Ephrata had its chances.

For instance, the Mounts cut the deficit to 19-17 on the open ing drive of the third quarter, and did it with panache. Facing a fourth-and-long, QB Sam McCracken tossed a 37-yard bomb to Evan Boley in the end zone.

Then, the Ephrata D made its first stop of the night. But two plays later, the Mounts fumbled the ball away.

The Mules, who racked up 90 yards in penalties in the game, marched to paydirt over the next seven plays, with Harris scoring on a 4-yard plow to push the lead to 25-17 with 11:35 left.

Ephrata also had those four chances to stop the Mules in the fourth quarter.

“We gave ourselves shots,” Ephrata coach Kris Miller said. “We just didn’t make the plays down the stretch that we had to.”

Solanco scored on the game’s opening drive and the Mountain eers cut the deficit to 6-3 near the end of the first quarter on a 30-yard Chad Jones field goal. Solanco answered with a 10-play, 57-yard drive, finished off by Mellinger’s 1-yard keeper to push the lead to 12-3.

Ephrata responded with a 10-play, 62-yard drive highlighted by three passes from McCracken (9-for-12, 106 yards, one TD) and capped by a 2-yard TD run from Andre Weidman (15 carries, 52 yards) to cut the deficit to 12-10.

LANCASTER-LEBANON QB CLUB WEEK 4 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Eli Warfel, QB, Penn Manor n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Dhamir Wesley, TE-DE, Penn Manor SECTION TWO n BACK OF THE WEEK: Giovanni Cavanna, RB, Muhlenberg n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Anthony Caccese, OT-DT, Exeter

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Josh Rudy, QB, Elizabethtown n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Bradley Candy, OT-DT, Elizabethtown

SECTION FOUR n BACK OF THE WEEK: Donovan Gingrich, QB, Conrad Weiser n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Nate Casiano, OT-DT, Conrad Weiser

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Jaevon Parker, WR-DB, Lancaster Catholic n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Eddie Dresch, DE, Lancaster Catholic

Solanco’s Cole Harris (42) dives for extra yardage as Ephrata’s Nate Conover rides him to the ground during an L-L Section Three game at War Memorial Field on Sept. 16.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WEEK FIVE: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, SEPT. 23

Section One

n Wilson 36, Cedar Crest 13

n Hempfield 17, Manheim Township 14

n Penn Manor 36, Reading 7

Section Two

n Exeter 69, Lebanon 22

n Governor Mifflin 42, Muhlenberg 8

n Manheim Central 47, Warwick 13

Section Three

n Ephrata 28, Daniel Boone 20

n Elizabethtown 47, Twin Valley 42

n Garden Spot 44, Fleetwood 0

Section Four

n Berks Catholic 21, Donegal 9

n Lampeter-Strasburg 23, Cocalico 14

n Conrad Weiser 45, Octorara 7

SOMETIMES, SPORTS TAKE A BACK SEAT

Sure, visiting Conrad Weiser laid a 45-7 homecoming loss on host Octorara on Sept. 23, fueled by 331 rushing yards spearheaded by Ousmane Conde (17 carries, 90 yards, TD). But in the end, it was almost beside the point.

Octorara’s Mason Ellingsworth was named homecoming king at halftime.

The well-known Braves senior, pic tured at left on the sidelines with his team, had both legs amputated above the knee following a June 1 tractor wreck. This season, he remained active with the team, helping coach his teammates dur ing the week.

He was a team captain for the game.

Ignition

guys fed off that. Warwick did a great job stopping what we tend to do best. We had to take their punch and find a coun ter-punch.”

To wit: On its final 33 attempts of the game, Cocalico tallied 290 rushing yards — led by 198 yards on 19 carries, two of them for touchdowns, from Steffey.

Of the slow start, Steffey simply noted, “We just needed to fix some stuff. Every one is young this year. We’re just trying to figure stuff out.”

It was Warwick that blazed out of the gate.

Cocalico fumbled the ball away on its first possession, and just two plays later, Warwick’s Jack Reed launched a 31-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Evans for the opening score. Three drives later, in the

second quarter, Warwick doubled it up to 14-0 on a 55-yard bomb from Reed (15for-31, 262 yards, three TDs) to Brendon Snyder.

After Steffy’s score made it 14-7, Cocali co’s next drive went five plays, back-ended by a 33-yard heave from Nash to Aaryn Longenecker and a 5-yard TD run from Steffy to tie it at 14-14.

Cocalico’s second drive of the second half went 50 yards on six plays, aided by a 15-yard Warwick facemask penalty and capped by a Longenecker 8-yard TD run to the left side to give the Eagles their first lead of the season, 21-14.

The Warriors answered on their next drive, highlighted by a 55-yard pass from Reed to Snyder and finished off by Andrew McClune’s 1-yard TD plunge. But the PAT snap was bad, resulting in a failed twopoint pass attempt picked off by Dane Bol linger, keeping Cocalico in front 21-20.

n Wyomissing 42, Elco 0

Section Five

n Annville-Cleona 27, Columbia 7

n Lancaster Catholic 55, Northern Lebanon 20

n Schuylkill Valley 55, Pequea Valley 7

n Hamburg 42, Kutztown 7

Nonleague

n Plymouth-Whitemarsh 46, McCaskey 0

n Solanco 41, Conestoga Valley 21

LANCASTER-LEBANON QUARTERBACK CLUB WEEK 5 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Tommy Hunsicker, QB, Wilson n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Sylas Cox, TE-DE, Hempfield

SECTION TWO n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brycen Armold, RB, Manheim Central n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jaden Weit, RB-DE, Manheim Central

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Andre Weidman, RB-DB, Ephrata n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Weston Nolt, OT-DT, Ephrata

SECTION FOUR

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Adam Noll, K-P, Conrad Weiser n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Luke Hines, DE, Lampeter-Strasburg

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Will Cranford, QB, Lancaster Catholic n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jonathan Shay, DE, Annville-Cleona

GAME OF THE WEEK, PART I: CONRAD WEISER 45, OCTORARA 7

ANDY BLACKBURN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Warwick’s Brendon Snyder catches a pass and takes it in for a touchdown against Cocalico on the opening night of the 2022 season, Aug. 26.

ANDY BLACKBURN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Benjamin’s TD catch a catalyst for Black Knights

JASON GUARENTE JGUARENTE@LNPNEWS.COM

The Hail Mary pass that landed in Ga briel Benjamin’s hands looked so easy. One could only assume that’s how the play was designed. Not exactly.

Whenever Hempfield runs that play in practice, Micah Gates is the intended target. When backup quarterback Ste phen Katch dropped back and fired the night of Sept. 23, Gates was the one who was supposed to catch it.

Benjamin just happened to be where the ball fell. A little luck never hurts.

“My coach told me to keep a calm head,” Benjamin said. “I see the ball thrown up, I turn and it’s going straight to me. I went up and got it. That was an amazing pass.”

Hempfield’s last-second touchdown in the first half was the catalyst for a thrilling victory over Manheim Town ship. The Black Knights prevailed 17-14 in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One football at Neffsville.

Katch, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior, fills many roles. He can be a bruising run ning back or run direct snaps at quar terback. He’ll occasionally throw a pass and is his team’s Hail Mary specialist.

“The biggest thing I want everybody to know is he’s an outstanding teammate,” Hempfield coach George Eager said. “If I said, ‘To win this game, you’ll have to shovel dirt.’ He would do it. He’s going to be a big part of it down the stretch.”

Katch had attempted one pass prior to the bomb. It went for minus-1 yard. Without any warmup or warning, he stepped under center for a much longer attempt.

“I was fine throwing it,” Katch said. “I

don’t need to get loose. I was ready to go. I guess he likes my arm strength. I was just throwing it in the middle, but it went to Gabe on the outside. It was crazy.”

The craziness was just beginning.

Grant Hoover returned the opening kickoff of the second half 93 yards for a touchdown. After neither team reached the end zone for nearly two full quar ters, Hempfield had two TDs in 14 sec onds. The lead was 17-0.

Township, to its credit, bounced back.

Quarterback Hayden Johnson, who completed 32-of-44 attempts for 234 yards in the game, led the Blue Steaks on two scoring drives. One was capped with Johnson’s 2-yard TD run. The other by a 9-yard connection with Landon Kennel.

Johnson brought Township from its own 2-yard line to Hempfield’s 13 in the final minute. Quin Arnold’s 30-yard field goal attempt with 33 seconds left was off the mark.

Township played without running back Nick Good due to injury. Two-way standout Jake Laubach was out of ac tion in the second half.

Eager, a 2005 Township grad who’s in the school’s Hall of Fame because of his accomplishments as a wide receiver, savored his second win against his alma mater in as many years. Hempfield’s coach has some fond memories on this field.

“This is another one,” Eager said. “It goes to the top to be honest with you. Because of the way we pulled it out. We built a lead. We won ugly. It was just the belief of these seniors.”

Hempfield lifted the Joseph F. Kur jiaka Trophy awarded to the winner of this heated rivalry each season. On the front, from 2011-19, Hempfield’s name is engraved only once.

Times have changed.

“It’s back where it belongs,” senior Ju lian Morales said as he lifted the hard ware with his teammates all around him.

“If you look at that trophy, it says Township a lot,” Benjamin said. “Now we got it back-to-back. So that’s amaz ing.”

Kind of like a Hail Mary pass that somehow finds a target.

GAME OF THE WEEK, PART II: HEMPFIELD 17, MANHEIM TOWNSHIP 14

Hempfield’s Micah Gates is tackled by Manheim Township’s Charlie Hill (81) and Declan Clancy (4) during an L-L Week 5 game at Gene Kruis Stadium in Lancaster on Sept. 23.

MARK PALCZEWSKI | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE

WEEK SIX: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, SEPT. 30

Section One

n Hempfield 34, Penn Manor 7

n Cedar Crest 39, Reading 0

n Manheim Township 55, McCaskey 6

Section Two

n Conestoga Valley 38, Lebanon 18

n Exeter 47, Warwick 7

n Manheim Central 70, Muhlenberg 0

Section Three

n Elizabethtown 26, Daniel Boone 13

n Garden Spot 24, Ephrata 21

n Solanco 32, Twin Valley 25

Section Four

n Berks Catholic 45, Conrad Weiser 0

n Cocalico 42, Elco 6

n Wyomissing 41, Donegal 7

n Lampeter-Strasburg 49, Octorara 13

Section Five

n Annville-Cleona 42, Kutztown 28

n Lancaster Catholic 38, Hamburg 35

n Pequea Valley 16, Columbia 0

n Schuylkill Valley 39, Northern Lebanon 12

GAMES OF SATURDAY, OCT. 1 (Nonleague)

n Wilson 32, Governor Mifflin 14

n Kennard-Dale 20, Fleetwood 14

LANCASTER-LEBANON

SO HYPE

Crusaders, Hawks trade barbs until field goal yields win

JEFF REINHART JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM

Gavin Tragea booted the biggest kick of his career.

Brandon Way made the biggest defen sive play of his career.

And in a game that more than lived up to the hype, host Lancaster Catholic out lasted Hamburg 38-35 in an instant clas sic Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Five showdown Sept. 30.

“That game definitely lived up to the hype,” Catholic QB Will Cranford said.

QUARTERBACK

CLUB WEEK 6 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Cam Jones, RB-DB, Wilson

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jack Dendall, OT, Wilson

SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Bode Sipel, WR-DB, Manheim Central

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Cole Groff, OG-DT, Manheim Central

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Cade Capello, WR, Elizabethtown

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Cullen Witmer, OG-DE, Garden Spot

SECTION FOUR

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Josiah Jordan, RB-DB, Berks Catholic

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jackson Haas, OG, Berks Catholic

SECTION FIVE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brenden Ackley, RB-LB, Kutztown

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Storm Haney, OG-DT, Lancaster Cath.

GAME OF THE WEEK: LANCASTER CATHOLIC 38, HAMBURG 35

Lancaster Catholic quarterback Will Cranford looks to pass against Hamburg during firsthalf action of an L-L League Section Five game on Sept. 30.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

CRUSADERS, page 15

WEEK SEVEN: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, OCT. 7

Section One

n Manheim Township 42, Cedar Crest 14

n Hempfield 20, Wilson 16

n Reading 38, McCaskey 0

Section Two

n Conestoga Valley 34, Governor Mifflin 31

n Exeter 42, Muhlenberg 8

n Manheim Central 83, Lebanon 7

Section Three

n Solanco 35, Elizabethtown 32

n Ephrata 42, Fleetwood 28

n Twin Valley 37, Garden Spot 29

Section Four

n Lampeter-Strasburg 30, Berks Catholic 7

n Donegal 28, Conrad Weiser 12

n Elco 41, Octorara 21

Section Five

n Lancaster Catholic 14, Annville-Cleona 13

n Schuylkill Valley 35, Columbia 6

n Hamburg 27, Pequea Valley 20

n Kutztown 34, Northern Lebanon 28

Nonleague

n Souderton 45, Warwick 24

n Penn Manor 33, Daniel Boone 12

GAME OF SATURDAY, OCT. 8

Section Four

n Wyomissing 38, Cocalico 7

LANCASTER-LEBANON QUARTERBACK

CHILLS AND THRILLS

Mules’ Mellinger scores winner

JEFF REINHART JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM

A new outright leader took its place atop the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three football standings Oct. 7 — Solanco.

Brody Mellinger engineered a gamewinning drive in the waning minutes and his 1-yard QB dive with 1:38 to play in regu lation gave the Golden Mules the lead for good. Donovan Peters came up big at the other end, too, batting away Elizabeth town’s last-gasp throw into the end zone at the buzzer in an absolutely riveting 35-32 win on homecoming in Quarryville.

“There’s still a long way to go, but we feel great about where we are,” Mellinger said. “Now we have to keep this momentum go ing and stay focused every week.”

In a game that more than lived up to the hype, the Mules handed E-town its first loss in a showdown that featured the two top-rated teams in the District Three Class 5A power ratings at the time.

“(The effort) goes back to our seniors,” said Solanco coach Tony Cox, who picked up his 50th career win as the Mules’ skip per. “We’ve had adversity all year. Against Penn Manor and L-S we got down early, but we kept punching back. And I knew this was going to be a great game. It’s al ways a close game when we play E-town. Our culture has really changed here. The kids keep their heads up and they keep fighting away.”

The win put Solanco firmly in the driver’s seat for section gold, with the caveat that it had to to slam the door the rest of the way.

The Mules trailed 32-28 with just over six minutes to go Friday, but embarked on the go-ahead 69-yard drive, pounding the ball on the ground the whole route. Mellinger, who rushed for 122 yards, dove in from a yard out with 1:38 left for a 35-32 lead.

“Very confident there,” Cox noted. “It comes down to guys like Brody and Josiah Forren and Elijah Cunningham and our O-line. They did a great job. And I can’t say

anything more about our seniors. They’re a family, and that’s been the greatest thing about all this.”

E-town had 58 seconds to go 73 yards and QB Josh Rudy completed several pass es along the way to put the Bears in scor ing range with time running out. On the last play, Rudy fired a deep slant to Brady Breault, but Peters swooped in and batted the pass away, and Solanco survived.

“I had so much confidence in our defense there,” Mellinger said. “I knew they were going to make a play there in the end.”

CLUB WEEK 7 TOP

PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Micah Gates, WR, Hempfield

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Michael Shaffer, OG-DT, Hempfield SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Mason Rotelli, QB, Exeter

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Jaden Weit, DE, Manheim Central

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Andre Weidman, RB-DB, Ephrata

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Seth Heinsey, C-LB, Ephrata

SECTION FOUR

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Jake Williams, RB, Elco

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Chuckie Drain, DT, Cocalico

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Xander Menapace, QB, Hamburg

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tyler Hallock, OT-DT, Kutztown

GAME OF THE WEEK: SOLANCO 35, ELIZABETHTOWN 32

Until

with just 98 seconds to go

Solanco quarterback Brody Mellinger runs the ball against Elizabethtown on Oct. 7.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WEEK EIGHT: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, OCT. 14

Section One

n Cedar Crest 42, McCaskey 19

n Manheim Township 49, Reading 14

n Wilson 56, Penn Manor 7

Section Two

n Manheim Central 48, Conestoga Valley 0

n Governor Mifflin 62, Lebanon 0

n Warwick 41, Muhlenberg 8

Section Three

n Solanco 49, Daniel Boone 21

n Elizabethtown 42, Fleetwood 16

n Ephrata 35, Twin Valley 13

Section Four

n Berks Catholic 38, Octorara 7

n Cocalico 39, Donegal 14

n Wyomissing 49, Conrad Weiser 10

n Lampeter-Strasburg 49, Elco 0

GAME OF THE WEEK: EXETER 44, HEMPFIELD 22

Section Five

n Annville-Cleona 49, Pequea Valley 12

n Columbia 12, Northern Lebanon 6

n Schuylkill Valley 41, Hamburg 34

n Lancaster Catholic 46, Kutztown 23

Nonleague

n Exeter 44, Hempfield 22

n Garden Spot 45, Central Mountain 6

LANCASTER-LEBANON QUARTERBACK

CLUB WEEK 8 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Declan Clancy, RB-LB, Manheim Township

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Trebor Glover, OG-DT, Manheim Township

SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Richie Karstien, RB, Exeter n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Anthony Caccese, OT-DT, Exeter

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Josh Rudy, QB, Elizabethtown

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Tyler Hurst, OG-DT, Garden Spot

SECTION FOUR n BACK OF THE WEEK: Trent Wagner, QB, Lampeter-Strasburg n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Pacen Ziegler, OT-DT, Wyomissing

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Dom Giuffre, RB, Schuylkill Valley

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Christian Davila, OT-DT, Schuylkill Valley

THROUGH THE GRINDER

Karstien had

JEFF REINHART JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM

224-yard, 4-TD night

Have a night, Richie Karst ien.

Exeter’s bruising senior run ning back followed his block ers to daylight over and over and over again, rumbling for 224 yards on 32 workmanlike carries with four touchdown runs in the Eagles’ 44-22 non league victory over Hempfield on Oct. 14 in Landisville.

Exeter improved to 8-0 overall and Hempfield dipped to 6-2 in a showdown game featuring a pair of Lancast er-Lebanon League section leaders, and two of the top squads in their respective District Three classifications coming into the weekend.

“You’ve got Anthony Cac

cese, Kyle Lash, Lucas Palange, Matt McConnell and Justin Hernandez,” Karstien said, rattling off the names of the rugged Eagles offensive linemen who con tinually opened holes. “They were great. The holes were big enough for me to squeeze right through them. The whole line did a great job.”

Exeter’s D-line also came up big, helping to hold Hemp field to minus-15 rushing yards with four sacks. And the Eagles’ O-line busted holes open aplenty for Karstien.

“That’s our heart and soul, no question about it,” Exeter coach Matt Bauer said of his trench players. “We chal lenged them to step up and

Hempfield’s Deyvid Palepale, left, pursues Exeter’s Richie Karstien.

CHRIS KNIGHT| STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WEEK NINE: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, OCT. 21

Section One

n Hempfield 24, Cedar Crest 0

n Manheim Township 35, Penn Manor 13

n Wilson 63, McCaskey 7

Section Two

n Exeter 38, Conestoga Valley 10

n Manheim Central 69, Governor Mifflin 21

n Warwick 60, Lebanon 13

Section Three

n Twin Valley 43, Daniel Boone 20

n Garden Spot 66, Elizabethtown 21

n Solanco 56, Fleetwood 12

Section Four

n Cocalico 31, Berks Catholic 10

n Lampeter-Strasburg 51, Conrad Weiser 17

n Donegal 20, Elco 19

n Wyomissing 56, Octorara 7

Section Five

n Annville-Cleona 42, Schuylkill Valley 10

n Kutztown 19, Columbia 13

n Hamburg 48, Northern Lebanon 27

n Lancaster Catholic 33, Pequea Valley 0

Nonleague

n Central York 44, Reading 8

n Ephrata 42, Muhlenberg 14

HIGH-FLYIING OFFENSES

Garden Spot pulled away from Elizabethtown

JEFF REINHART JREINHART@LNPNEWS.COM

Two of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s most high-powered offenses squared off Oct. 21 in Elizabethtown, as the Bears, who had the top-ranked O in the circuit coming into the Week Nine games, played host to Garden Spot.

The Spartans offense ended up outoffensing the Bears’ high-octane attack.

Garden Spot scored on its first two touches of the game. QB Kye Harting had three touchdown keepers and a pair of TD passes, and the Spartans soared past E-town 66-21 to set up a Section Three showdown at Solanco in Week 10.

“This is awesome,” Garden Spot coach Matt Zamperini said. “What more can you ask for? We had a couple of disap pointing losses early on. But now we can play for a shot at a share for the section title against a great team in Week 10.”

E-town could only watch as Garden Spot scored on its first two touches of the game. Jadon Burkholder got the party started. After the Spartans took the opening kickoff, he raced 70 yards for a TD on the first play from scrim mage and it was 7-0. After Garden Spot held E -town on downs and got the ball right back, Harting called his own num ber and bolted 57 yards for a TD and it was 14-0 just like that.

“Scoring on the first two plays like that definitely gave us some confidence, and definitely propelled us forward for

the rest of the game,” said Harting, who passed for 137 yards and rushed for 134 yards, his third 100-100 game this sea son. “And we were able to keep our feet on the gas and we finished it.”

Garden Spot continued to pour it on; Harting had a 15-yard keeper and it was 21-0 after the first quarter, and the Spar tans got three second-quarter scores: Harting hit Zac Nagle for a 27-yard TD pass; Burkholder had a 4-yard TD scam per; and Blake Weaver had a defensive TD, intercepting a pass and zooming 67 yards the other way for a pick-6.

“You wouldn’t expect that start with 100 different scripts,” Zamperini said. “In our dreams, maybe. But we did it.”

E-town was able to finally gain some momentum with three second-quarter scores — QB Josh Rudy had a 28-yard TD keeper, Cade Capello had a 4-yard TD run and Rudy fired a 19-yard TD strike to Brady Breault — but Garden Spot had a cozy 42-21 lead at the break.

The Spartans tacked on in the third as Harting had a 3-yard run and Nick Gleason booted a 39-yard field goal. And Garden Spot triggered the mercy rule when Burkholder (108 rushing yards) gathered in a 27-yard TD pass from Harting. Weaver added an offensive TD — barreling 28 yards for a score midway through the fourth quarter — to cap the Spartans’ offensive explosion, as they piled up 402 yards, while holding Etown 269 with four sacks.

LANCASTER-LEBANON QB CLUB WEEK 9 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Edison Case, WR-DB, Wilson

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Deyvid Palepale, NG, Hempfield

SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Brycen Armold, RB, Manheim Central

n LINEMEN OF THE WEEK: Manheim Central’s complete O-line and D-line

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Kye Harting, QB, Garden Spot

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Reed Gruber, OT-DE, Garden Spot

SECTION FOUR

n BACK OF THE WEEK: Sam Steffey, RB-LB, Cocalico

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Chase Tucker, OG, Cocalico

SECTION FIVE

n BACK OF THE WEEK: James Voight, WR, Northern Lebanon n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Darrian Holloway, TE-LB, A-C

GAME OF THE WEEK: GARDEN SPOT 66, ELIZABETHTOWN 21

Garden Spot quarterback Kye Harting takes off on a long run against Elizabethtown on Oct. 21.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

GAME OF THE WEEK: EXETER 21, MANHEIM CENTRAL 17 LANCASTER-LEBANON

QUARTERBACK

CLUB WEEK 10 TOP PERFORMERS

SECTION ONE

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Cam Jones, RB-DB, Wilson

n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Logan Kurzweg, C-DT, Wilson

SECTION TWO

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Jack Reed, QB, Warwick n LINEMEN OF THE WEEK: Kyle Lash, OG-DT, Exeter

SECTION THREE

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Josh Rudy, QB, Elizabethtown n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Nick Defrancesco, OT, Solanco

SECTION FOUR

n BACK OF THE WEEK:

Josiah Jordan, RB, Berks Catholic n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Carter Getz, TE-LB, Cocalico

SECTION FIVE n BACK OF THE WEEK: Elijah Cunningham, RB, Lancaster Catholic n LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Darrian Holloway, TE-LB, Annville-Cleona

BIG-KID BATTLE

Eagles top hard-hitting Barons for section title

JOHN WALK JWALK@ LNPNEWS.COM

All night long, Manheim Central wide receiver/de fensive back Aar on Enterline had been making big plays on both sides of the ball.

So chances were good that the host Barons — trailing by a score with less than 40 sec onds left on Oct. 28 — would return to the well when they faced a long third down near Exeter’s end zone.

It’s why Eagles coach Matt Bauer called a timeout when he saw de fender Nathan Pashley lined up

BATTLE, page 15

WEEK TEN: GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

GAMES OF FRIDAY, OCT. 28

Section One

n Hempfield 40, Reading 16

n Wilson 27, Manheim Township 21

n Penn Manor 42, McCaskey 6

Section Two

n Conestoga Valley 35, Muhlenberg 0

n Exeter 21, Manheim Central 17

n Warwick 25, Governor Mifflin 7

Section Three

n Daniel Boone 35, Fleetwood 8

n Elizabethtown 35, Ephrata 30

n Solanco 35, Garden Spot 20

Section Four

n Berks Catholic 49, Elco 28

n Cocalico 49, Conrad Weiser 0

n Donegal 37, Octorara 6

Section Five

n Annville-Cleona 48, No. Lebanon 10

n Hamburg 42, Columbia 20

n Pequea Valley 21, Kutztown 20

n Lancaster Catholic 44, Schuylkill Valley 41

Nonleague

n Cedar Crest 47, Lebanon 0

n Twin Valley 55, Hatboro-Horsham 20

GAME OF SATURDAY, OCT. 29

Section Four

n Wyomissing 21, Lamp -Strasburg 0

Manheim Central’s Aaron Enterline, right, picks off a pass intended for Exeter’s Joey Schlaffer during first-half action of a LancasterLebanon League Section Two game at Elden Rettew Field in Manheim on Oct. 28.

CHRIS KNIGHT | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Battle: Barons

Continued from 14

one-on-one with Enterline. Bauer put a second D-back on Enterline.

It worked. A Barons pass to the back of the end zone was instead intercepted by Pashley, sealing a 21-17 Lancaster-Leb anon League Section Two football win for Exeter in a battle of unbeatens that lived up to the hype at Manheim’s Elden Rettew Stadium.

With the victory, Exeter (6-0 L-L, 10-0 overall) won the Section Two crown and handed Manheim Central (5-1, 9-1) its first loss in a regular season finale filled with fireworks.

“It feels great,” Pashley said afterward.

Exeter marched down the field on its opening drive, plowing 87 yards over 13 plays, 10 of those being run plays to run ning back Richie Karstein that totaled 66 yards, including a 6-yard Karstein touch down run to spot the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.

After Dylan Neff hit his first field goal of the season (20 yards), Manheim Central later went in front 10-7 when quarter back Zac Hahn (10-for-17, 121 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) found Enterline in the back right corner of the end zone for a 20-yard TD strike on fourth down, completing a sixplay, 40-yard drive. The lead was pushed to 17-7 on Enterline’s 73-yard punt re turn score.

Enterline finished with 84 reception yards, the punt return score and two in terceptions on defense. Manheim Cen tral running back Brycen Armold tallied 105 rushing yards on 22 carries

The Eagles cut the deficit to 17-14 when wide receiver Joey Schlaffer, a Penn State recruit, lined up at QB and took a designed run for him to the left side, took off down the sideline and, after a cutback, scored on an electric 65-yard run.

Karstein was held to 7 yards on four carries the remainder of the first half af ter Exeter’s opening drive, a topic of con versation among Eagles coaches during intermission when Exeter faced its first halftime deficit of the year.

“We got away from what we do,” Bauer said. “We’ll go out and ride it on the back of our foundation, which is our offensive line.”

After a 42-yard kickoff return to start the second half, Exeter needed nine plays to go 50 yards, seven of those plays being Karstein runs, including a 3-yard TD score to put the Eagles back on top, 21-17.

Karstein finished with 30 carries, 154 yards and two scores.

An Enterline reception to the Barons’ 2-yard line with under a minute left was followed by a stuffed run play and a sack before the interception.

Crusaders: Got better of Hawks in Week 6

Continued from 10

“So many emotions everywhere. And what’s better than a football game on a Friday night with that many emotions? Just an amazing game. We played a re ally good team, and luckily, we were able to come out on top.”

On this night, Hamburg was minus explosive RB Pierce Mason, who came into the game with 800-plus rushing yards and a league-best 18 touchdowns. He was in uniform, but didn’t play be cause of a bad ankle.

Still, the Hawks managed 22 first downs and more than 300 yards on the ground. Catholic just eked it out when Tragea booted the game-winning field goal, a 23-yarder, with 1:16 to go in regulation.

“Clutch,” Catholic coach Chris Maiori no said. “It’s good to see that kid have some success. Good for him. He re ally works at it and he was able to put it through there for us.”

“I said to him, ‘Dude, all you have to do is put it between those two posts,’” Cran ford said. “He did it.”

Just 16 seconds after Tragea’s kick, and with Hamburg looking to make a last-

gasp effort, Way, from his cover-corner spot, chased down Hawks ballcarrier Derek Ruiz, forced a fumble and scooped it up for a turnover.

“An incredible play by a freshman cor ner,” Cranford marveled. “You can’t ask for anything more than that. He came in there and tore it out.”

“He got his hand in there and it worked out,” Maiorino said. “We coach them up to get a hand in there and try and pop it out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

This time, it did. In absolute crunch time.

The game was a slugfest and Catholic was able to break open a 14-14 halftime tie with two huge plays right out of the chute in the second half. First, R.J. Gonzalez re turned the third-quarter kickoff 85 yards for a TD and the Crusaders had a 21-14 lead.

On Hamburg’s next drive, Catholic’s Jaevon Parker, who had a 15-yard TD catch to get the scoring parade started, stripped away a fumble after Hamburg completed a pass and went 45 yards the other way for a TD and a 28-14 lead.

But the Hawks never went away, getting a 7-yard TD sprint from Ruiz with 4:43 to play to tie it up at 35-35. Catholic had the ball back at its own 37 with 4:35 to go, and Cranford hit Parker for a 43-yard pass to get the eventual game-winning drive started.

When Catholic stalled out in the red zone, Tragea trotted on and coolly and calmly drilled the go-ahead 23-yarder.

Earlier, Ruiz had a 33-yard TD bolt and Xander Menapace had a 4-yard TD keeper, one of his three TD runs, to give Hamburg a 14-6 lead. But Catholic’s Eli jah Cunningham zoomed 8 yards for a TD, and the ensuing 2-point pass made it 14-14 at the half.

Catholic appeared to be in great shape after Gonzalez’s kickoff return TD and Parker’s defensive score, but Hamburg countered with three touchdowns of its own in the third.

In the end, the Hawks had to go 56 yards in 1:12, and Ruiz broke free down the near sideline for a huge gainer. But Way tracked him down, poked out a fumble and scooped it up, and Catholic remained perfect.

Exeter

Continued from 12

rise to the occasion. If we were go ing down, we were going down on the strength of our O-line. Those kids re ally answered the call.”

Exeter feasted on four first-half turn overs and had the Knights in a 30-7 hole at halftime.

Hempfield lost a pair of fumbles and the Eagles picked off a pair of passes, the latter by Gavin Reiking, who returned his pick 89 yards the other way for a TD on the last play of the first half to put Exeter up by 23 points at the break.

Earlier, Miles Brant picked off a pass for Exeter, setting up Karstien’s 1-yard

plunge for a 17-7 lead. On the first play of Hempfield’s ensuing drive, Caccese forced a fumble, Exeter had it right back and QB Mason Rotelli raced 4 yards for a score, making it 24-7. Rotelli rushed for 65 yards and passed for 132 yards in the victory.

Exeter had an early 10-0 lead on Mat thew Skipper’s 26-yard field goal and Karstien’s 9-yard TD bolt. The Knights took advantage of the Eagles’ lone mis cue, turning a fumble recovery into Jack son Landis’ 27-yard TD flip to Andy Gar cia and the Knights were within 13-7.

But that’s when the turnovers started piling up and Exeter built on its lead.

Hempfield took to the air in the sec ond half, opening the third quarter with a four-play drive — on four completions

— and Landis zipped a 7-yard TD pass to Julian Morales. Later, Landis, who threw for 297 yards, hit Micah Gates for a 30-yard TD pass as the Knights contin ued to have success up top. But Karstien capped it with a 30-yard TD bolt early in the fourth quarter and the Eagles salted it away.

“We certainly dug ourselves a hole,” Hempfield coach George Eager said. “The four turnovers in the first half were killers. When you’re playing against a good team like that, when you dig your self a 30-7 hole, that’s a tough hole to dig out of. And we didn’t stop their run. They were able to run at will. Their O-line did a fantastic job up front. It’s disappoint ing we didn’t compete a little better up front.”