By Bill Engelhardt
York-Adams County District 3 Playoff action:
The seventh seeded Little Lions of State College (9-3 overall, 5-3 Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division) upset the undefeated and third seeded Panthers of Central York (11-1 overall, 6-0 YAIAA Division I) 21-6 in class AAAA semifinal action. Justin Masorti rushed for 69-yards, including a 1-yard touchdown; Nathan Stupar rushed for 64-yards, including a game breaking 63-yard touchdown, and caught 3 passes for 43-yards, and quarterback Ben Ganter rushed for 27-yards, including a 10-yard touchdown, and completed 11 passes for 98-yards for the Little Lions. Interceptions by Matt Fogarty and Matthew Kenney thwarted drives by the Panthers. Quarterback Eric Schwartz led the Panthers rushing attack with 38-yards, followed by Matt Nugent with 20-yards, including a 4-yard touchdown. Schwartz also completed 15 passes for 168-yards to seven different receivers (Garyon Johnson with 2 for 40-yards, Shane Gilbert with 2 for 33, Ryan Ortyl with 2 for 30, Anjelo Kellum with 3 for 22, Jon Shuff with 3 for 20, Derrick Bender with 1 for 6 and Matt Nugent with 1 for 2-yards). The Little Lions will face the Crusaders of Bishop McDevitt (12-0 overall, 9-0 Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division), 31-30 victors over Hempfield, for the Subregion District 3/6 title at Hershey Park Stadium Saturday, November 26.
The third seeded Muhls of Muhlenberg (10-2 overall, 3-1 Berks Inter-County Section 1) defeated the seventh seeded Warriors of Gettysburg (9-3 overall, 4-2 Mid-Penn Keystone Division) 35-21 in class AAA semifinal action. Jantzen Linn led the Muhls rushing attack with 150-yards, including touchdowns of 1 and 54-yards, and quarterback Jordan Kipp completed 7 passes for 137-yards, including touchdowns of 35 and 16-yards to Brandon Fox (who caught 6 passes for 117-yards) and 20-yards to Bryan Fox (Brandon’s younger brother). Cody Trail and R. J. VanBrakle each rushed for 43-yards and Curtis Corbin added 33-yards for the Warriors. Superstar Terrill Barnes was held to 16-yards rushing and 29-yards on 5 pass receptions, but he still made his presence felt for the Warriors as he scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run, scored another on an 8-yard pass from Evan Lewis and completed a 60-yard pass himself. Lewis completed 11 passes for 91-yards, including the touchdown to Barnes and a 20-yard touchdown to Tim Monahan. D. J. Stahl caught 4 of those passes for 100-yards for the Warriors. The Muhls will face the Barons of Manheim Central (11-1 overall, 7-0 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2), 42-14 victors over Northern York, for the district title at Hershey Park Stadium Friday, November 25.
The fourth seeded Barons of Manheim Central (11-1 overall, 7-0 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2) defeated the eighth seeded Polar Bears of Northern York (9-3 overall, 6-0 Mid-Penn Colonial Division) 42-14 in class AAA semifinal action. Nate Mast rushed for 89-yards, including a 14-yard touchdown; Jeff Ochoa rushed for 30-yards; and quarterback Brandon Miller rushed for 22-yards, including a 1-yard touchdown, and completed 9 passes for 198-yards, including touchdowns of 35 and 63-yards to Graham Zug (who caught 5 passes for 134-yards), 47-yards to Tim Meyers and 4-yards to J. C. Evans, for the Barons. Mike Romagnoli led the Polar Bears rushing attack with 104-yards and Gerald Anderson scored a touchdown on a 4-yard run. Quarterback Colby Betz completed 9 passes for 78-yards, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to his twin brother Corey (who caught 4 passes for 56-yards) for the Polar Bears. The Barons, who have won 14 of the last 16 district championships, will face the Muhls of Muhlenberg (10-2 overall, 3-1 Berks Inter-County Section 1), 35-21 victors over Gettysburg, for the district title at Hershey Park Stadium Friday, November 25.
The first seeded Crusaders of Lancaster Catholic (12-0 overall, 7-0 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3) defeated the third seeded Thunderbolts of Littlestown (10-2 overall, 6-0 YAIAA Division III) 34-7 in the class AA championship game. Matt Bleacher led the Crusaders relentless rushing attack with 106-yards, including a 75-yard touchdown jaunt early in the third quarter that broke the game open, and Robert Checcia rushed for 25-yards, including a 3-yard touchdown, and returned an interception 10-yards for the final touchdown in the game. Quarterback Nick Downey rushed for 71-yards and completed 13 passes for 164-yards, including touchdowns of 21 and 16-yards to Bobby Bushong (who caught 9 passes for 135-yards), for the Crusaders. Evan Bair led the Thunderbolts meager rushing attack with 23-yards, quarterback Zach Beaver completed a pass for 9-yards before leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, and backup quarterback Luke Reichert scored the only touchdown for the Thunderbolts on a 9-yard run to open the scoring in the game and completed 3 passes for 45-yards (all to Corey Hegarty). Star Thunderbolts running back Nate Rolon was held to just 6-yards on 9 carries and he caught a pass for 9-yards. Tim Lookingbill sacked the Crusaders quarterback 4 times for the Thunderbolts and was selected defensive star of the game by radio station WHVR-1280AM, which broadcast the game. The Crusaders won the first 2 class AA district titles in 1982 and 1983 and lost the title game to the Thunderbolts in 2004.