Big School 6A-4A:
Isaac Sines, jr., QB/K, Cumberland Valley — Sines almost single-handedly kept the Eagles in the game before Quinn Murphy drilled a 24-yard field goal to lift State College to a 21-18 win in OT. Sines opened the game with a 96-yard sprint to the end zone, then added 34- and 33-yard field goals in the second quarter to make it 12-0 CV. He added fourth-quarter field goals from 25 and 29 yards out, the last with 28 seconds left to force overtime. Sines finished 10-of-34 for 149 yards and a pick and added 144 yards on nine rushes.
Justin Cook, sr., WR/DB, Harrisburg — Cook hauled in an impressive eight passes from two different quarterbacks for 120 yards and two scores in the Cougars’ Saturday matinee, a 25-20 win over CD East in a battle between Mid-Penn Commonwealth contenders. He scored both TDs in the first half, the first a 35-yarder from Zakii Lewis and the second for 63 yards, also from Lewis.
Roman Jensen, so., QB, Red Land — Jensen had one of his best games of the season in a 32-0 whitewash of Mifflin County. The signal caller was a tidy 12-of-16 for 274 yards and tossed three touchdowns of 65, 10 and 50 yards. He also ran for another from 2 yards out.
Parker Lawler, so., RB/DB, Red Land — Lawler hauled in one of those Jensen TD tosses and used his hands on the other side of the ball for two interceptions in a 32-0 win over Mifflin County. Lawler finished with 100 total yards of offense.
Stone Saunders, fr., QB, Bishop McDevitt — It was supposed to be the game that would decide the Mid-Penn Keystone crown, but Saunders never left it in doubt. The Crusaders stormed Cedar Cliff 56-0, with the rookie’s nine completions turning into five touchdowns (four in the first quarter to four different receivers). He finished with 242 yards and was 9-of-13 passing. The TDs went for 59 (Jeff Penn), 44 (Rico Scott), 38 (Mario Easterly), 42 (Marquise Williams) and 36 yards (Kamil Foster).
Ahren Stauffer, sr., K, Central Dauphin — Two kickers on the poll this week? Yes, yes there are. Stauffer nailed a game-winning boot with all zeroes on the clock to lead Central Dauphin to a thrilling 24-21 win over Carlisle. The kick cleared from 39 yards out. Stauffer was also good on all three extra point attempts.
Anthony Smith, sr., DE/TE, Shippensburg — The Greyhounds defense swarmed Northern in a 21-3 win to improve to 7-0. Smith, a Minnesota commit, finished with a pair of sacks finished with 45 yards on two receptions, including a 38-yard score in the first quarter that put the game out of reach.
Aiden Mencia, sr., RB, Waynesboro — Mencia had at least 120 rushing yards in Friday’s 52-7 win over Susquehanna Township, scoring on first-half runs of 43, 64 and 15 yards to spark a blowout after the Indians posted the first score less than a minute in. He also scored a two-point conversion after his second TD.
Small School: 3A-1A:
Joey Menke, sr., RB/LB, Boiling Springs — Menke continues to put up big numbers for the surging Bubblers, this time a 200-yard outing in Friday’s 44-28 win over Big Spring. Menke recorded 134 rushing yards and 73 receiving, scoring four times. Those TDs included a 16-yard dash, a 73-yard pitch-and-catch from Collin Lunde, a 1-yard plunge and a 46-yard burst. He also added five tackles and a sack on defense.
Taeyon Bratton, sr., RB, Steel-High — A rare comeback win for the Rollers was completed by Bratton, who scored three short touchdowns on the ground, including two late to secure a 34-28 victory over Trinity, led by former Roller Jordan Hill.
Aiden Dishman, jr., RB, Newport — Dishman enjoyed the biggest night of his career last weekend, as the diminutive junior rushed 23 times for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Newport’s 41-7 thrashing of James Buchanan. As a result, Todd Rothermel’s Buffaloes ended a five-game losing streak. Dishman reeled off a 73-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as Newport opened a 13-0 halftime lead, then tacked on an 18-yard TD early in the fourth quarter.
Brady Evans, jr., WR, Williams Valley — Not that far removed from his Small School Player of the Week success, Evans played a leading role Saturday night as Williams Valley methodically disposed of Marian Catholic 35-7. Before the Vikings’ latest victory was in the books, Evans caught five passes for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns — one in each half.
Wil Laskowski, sr., QB, Upper Dauphin — Deftly engineering yet another UDA victory, Laskowski rushed seven times for 95 yards, scored twice and tossed a touchdown pass before the opening quarter of the Trojans’ 40-8 defeat of Susquenita was over. Laskowski scored on runs of 50 and 15 yards, then tacked on a 29-yard TD pass to Aiden Wiest as UDA opened a 20-0 lead with one second to play in the first quarter in his lone completion on three attempts.
Kameron Wetzel, jr., RB, Tri-Valley — Wetzel contributed every time he touched the football over the weekend, and the athletic junior made all of them count as Tri-Valley pulled away to a 42-17 victory over Colonial-Schuylkill Blue playmate Nativity. While Wetzel rushed 19 times for 89 yards and scored three times via the run, he also caught one pass for 5 yards. However, it was his return of the second-half kickoff for yet another touchdown that enabled Jeff Sampson’s club to score the last 21 points of the game and win rather easily.
Jake Scheib, jr., RB/DL, Tri-Valley — While the rugged Scheib undoubtedly cleared plenty of space for Wetzel to bounce through, he also rushed 12 times for 107 yards in Tri-Valley’s 42-17 conquest of Colonial-Schuylkill Blue rival Nativity. Scheib also proved to be a handful on the defensive side of the ball as he racked up a team-high eight tackles and recovered one fumble.
Isaac Whiteash, jr., QB, Williams Valley — Extremely efficient throughout the Vikings’ 35-7 dispatching of Marian Catholic, Whiteash completed 11 of his 15 pass attempts for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns — both to Brady Evans and one in each half.Â
