By Eric Epler: 

CLASS 6A                               Rec.      Previous
1. St. Joseph’s Prep (12)             2-0       1
2. North Allegheny (7)                5-0       2
3. Central Dauphin (3)                5-0       3
4. Archbishop Wood (12)            2-0       4
5. McDowell (10)                       4-0       5
6. La Salle College HS (12)           3-1       6
7. Harrisburg (3)                         4-0       10
8. Delaware Valley (2)                3-1       7
9. Nazareth (11)                         5-0       8
10. Parkland (11)                        3-0       9
Teams to watch: Central York (3) 6-0, Pennridge (1) 4-0, Souderton (1) 4-0, Spring-Ford (1) 5-0, Wilson (3) 5-1.

CLASS 5A                               Rec.      Previous 

1. Pine-Richland (7)                    6-0       1
2. Warwick (3)                           6-0       2
3. Gateway (7)                           4-0       3
4. Peters Township (7)                6-0       4
5. Cathedral Prep (10)                4-1       5
6. Governor Mifflin (3)                5-0       6
7. East Stroudsburg South (11)    3-0       7
8. Penn-Trafford (7)                   5-1       8
9. Mechanicsburg (3)                  5-0       9
10. Unionville (1)                       3-0       NR 

Teams to watch: New Oxford (3) 5-0, Southern Lehigh (11) 3-1, Upper Dublin (1) 3-1, Upper St. Clair (7) 5-2, Woodland Hills (7) 5-2.

CLASS 4A                                Rec.      Previous 

1. Jersey Shore (4)                      7-0       2
2. Lampeter-Strasburg (3)           6-0       3
3. Aliquippa (7)                          7-0       5
4. Bishop McDevitt (3)                5-0       4
5. Thomas Jefferson (7)              5-1       1
6. Oil City (10)                            7-0       6
7. Belle Vernon (7)                     5-1       7
8. McKeesport (7)                      6-1       NR
9. Harbor Creek (10)                   6-1       8
10. Crestwood (2)                      6-0       10
Teams to watch: Berks Catholic (3) 4-2, Chartiers Valley (7) 6-1, Conrad Weiser (3) 6-0, Northern (3) 5-0, Plum (7) 7-0.

CLASS 3A                               Rec.      Previous 

1. Central Valley (7)                    7-0       1
2. Wyomissing (3)                      5-0       2
3. Hickory (10)                           6-0       3
4. Montoursville (4)                    7-0       4
5. Bedford (5)                            7-0       5
6. Scranton Prep (2)                   4-0       6
7. Notre Dame-Green Pond (11) 6-0       7
8. North Catholic (7)                   7-0       9
9. Central Martinsburg (6)          7-0       NR
10. Lakeland (2)                         4-0       NR 

Teams to watch: Danville (4) 6-1, Fort LeBoeuf (10) 6-0, Lake-Lehman (2) 7-0, North Schuylkill (11) 5-0, Tyrone (6) 6-0.
 

CLASS 2A                               Rec.      Previous 

1. Southern Columbia (4)            6-0       1
2. Wilmington (10)                     6-0       2
3. Berlin-Brothersvalley (5)         7-0       3
4. Beaver Falls (7)                       7-0       4
5. Bellwood-Antis (6)                  6-0       5
6. McGuffey (7)                          6-1       6
7. Farrell (10)                             5-2       7
8. Sto-Rox (7)                             6-1       9
9. Richland (6)                            6-1       8
10. Brookville (9)                        7-0       NR
Teams to watch: Apollo-Ridge (7) 5-0, Line Mountain (4) 4-1, Windber (5) 6-1, York Catholic (3) 5-1.

CLASS 1A                               Rec.      Previous

1. Clairton (7)                             5-0       1 

2. Old Forge (2)                          3-0       2
3. Jeannette (7)                          6-1       3
4. Steel-High (3)                         5-0       4
5. Canton (4)                              4-0       5
6. Williams Valley (11)                6-1       6
7. Delone Catholic (3)                 6-0       7
8. Reynolds (10)                         6-0       8
9. Muncy (4)                              6-1       10
10. Tri-Valley (11)                       3-1       9
Teams to watch: Bishop Guilfoyle (6) 4-2, Penns Manor (6) 6-0, Rochester (7) 6-1, Smethport (9) 6-0, Tussey Mountain (5) 6-0. 

Each week, our crew will dish out ‘Game Balls” to athletes who turned in impressive performances across our coverage area. Here are our selections for Week of Oct. 23-26 of the regular season. 

Jake Adams’s Game Balls

Garvey Brothers, Boiling Springs: And all the other Bubblers. A year after finishing 0-10, Boiling Springs is playoff bound, having secured the berth with a 35-0 drubbing of Camp Hill to finish the regular season 4-1. The Garvey brothers were center stage. Big bro Patrick scored on an 81-yard punt return, hauled in a 34-yard TD reception, picked off Lions QB Daniel Shuster and scooped up a fumble recovery. Not to be outdone, Carson swiped two Shuster passes, including one he took to the house from 34 yards out. No team played a better defensive game against Camp Hill this season, and it was largely thanks to the siblings.

Sean Smith, RB-LB, Carlisle: I’m told Smith’s 336 rushing yards are a Carlisle record. No Thundering Herd runner ever eclipsed the 300-yard mark before Friday night. It was critical to the Herd’s efforts in beating Cedar Cliff 35-28 in a wild game. Just for fun, Smith scored four times on his 33 carries, covering 63, 11, 8 and 44 yards. Smith nearly doubled his season output in one night, reaching 702 stripes and nine scores. The Herd run game has been led by a bullish offensive line that has put up nearly 1,200 yards in just four games. 

Andy Shay’s Game Balls

Isaiah Houser, WR, Shippensburg: The Greyhounds speedy and dangerous wideout wrecked a game and had the kind of impact that produces only a winning result. Three catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Houser can do that in any game without any warning or notice. And he caught his TD passes from different quarterbacks. His 70-yard catch-and-run from Zack Manning gave Ship an early 12-0 lead in a 25-22 win over East Pennsboro. His 59-yard reception with 2:57 to play from Tucker Chamberlin was the game winner. Two home run bombs in a tight game was the difference between a W and an L.

Jordan Heisey, QB, Northern: All season Heisey has been a rock for the Polar Bears’ offense. Whatever the ask, He’s provided the answer and the Polar Bears are 5-0 and appear headed for the District 3 Class 4A playoffs. Against Susquehanna Township the offense struggled for three quarters for the first time all season, really. Trailing by eight with only 10 points on the board heading into the final 12 minutes, Heisey delivered big-time in the clutch. Northern scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and Heisey’s short TD run in overtime kept Northern undefeated. He finished 225 total yards (124 passing, 101 rushing) and scored a pair of TD’s on the ground. Clutch in a tight spot.

Patrick Garvey, WR-KR, Boiling Springs: In the crazy world that is 2020 you have a Boiling Springs squad that was 0-10 last year and is now going to the District 3 Class 3A playoffs one season later. All the Bubblers deserve a game ball for going 4-1 overall, but against a Camp Hill pass attack that has very little trouble producing results this season, the Bubblers went out and posted a dominating 35-0 victory. Big plays always change the scope of a game when you run the ground-and-pound Wing-T offense. Garvey hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass (not a running play) and returned a punt 80 yards for another score. Those type of monster plays flip the script on a game in a hurry and that was all the Bubblers defense needed.

Adam Kulikowski Game Balls

Alex Erby, QB, Steel-High: Another week, another dynamic performance from the freshman QB in Roller Town. All Erby did this week was light up the scoreboard with five passing TDs en route to 396 stripes. Oh, and he added sixth on the ground from a yard out for good measure. It’s tough to remember that Erby is a first-year starter at the varsity level.

Caleb Brubaker, DB-WR, Mechanicsburg: Waynesboro quarterback Chance Eyler likely won’t want to hear Caleb Brubaker’s name anytime soon. The twin brother of quarterback Micah played a huge role in disrupting the Indians’ offensive attack. He notched seven tackles and a pair of sacks–including a strip-sack that led to a Wildcats touchdown. Not too shabby.  

Calvin Everett, coach, Harrisburg: Tip of the cap to you, sir. There’s not a coach in the state that fights harder for his team and his school. The Cougars and their leader faced adversity throughout this COVID-impacted season–from the initial cancellation of its season to a delayed start to a race to strap the helmets on enough to meet the qualification standards for playoff competition. At the eleventh hour, Everett secured that coveted match-up his team needed to earn a playoff berth. Now, the boys can simply focus on making that playoff run. Watch out, 6A foes. 

Michael Bullock’s Game Balls

Bryce Herb, QB-DB, Williams Valley: While Herb tossed three second-half touchdown passes and finished with a mere 96 yards through the air, we’re going to recognize the 6-1 senior for rallying to defeat Tri-Valley 35-28 becoming Williams Valley’s all-time passing leader on his 23-yard strike to Jake Herman. The previous mark, which stood for some 35 years, had been owned by Paul Herb — Bryce’s pops.

Chase Herb, RB-DE, Tri-Valley: The 6-3, 215-pound senior uncorked his typical all-around effort, yet it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs tumbled to Williams Valley 35-28 in a possible District 11 Class A championship game preview. Herb rushed for 105 yards and one score on 21 carries, but also caught touchdown passes covering 33 and 42 yards — the latter materializing from a fake punt.

Cameron Smeltz, WR-OLB, Line Mountain: Smeltz played a lead role on the Eagles’ defensive unit, registering 12 tackles — including eight solos and one for loss — as Brandon Carson’s club rallied to defeat Newport 44-21 and run its winning streak to four games. Smeltz also swiped one pass as Line Mountain claimed the No. 4 seed in the District 4 Class 2A playoffs and set up a scrap this weekend at Southern Columbia.

Jackson Yoder, C-ILB, Williams Valley: Working in tandem with fellow inside linebacker Jesse Engle, Yoder piled up 18 tackles as the Vikings rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit to beat backyard rival Tri-Valley 35-28. Yoder also helped the Williams Valley attack get untracked after the break from his center position, occupying would-be Bulldogs tacklers long enough so Engle could rush for 109 yards and one score.

Derek Gibney, QB, Susquenita: Opportunistic whenever he spotted a crease inside or some space on the flanks, Gibney rushed 10 times for 45 yards and touchdowns covering 3, 7 and 10 yards in Susquenita’s 29-0 conquest of Halifax. The Blackhawks’ QB also threw for 35 yards one touchdown to fellow freshman Bryce McKee. Gibney also had a pair of would-be touchdown passes dropped.

By 4th Down staff:

Welcome to 4th Down Magazine’s vote for Player of the Week presented by Crown Trophy of Harrisburg (in Lemoyne).

The nominees for the week are listed below. Vote for the player with the most impressive performance.

The poll will remain open until Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. and voting is allowed once per hour. The winner will be announced Wednesday evening.

Isaiah Houser, WR-DB, Shippensburg: Three catches, two touchdowns including the game winner with under 3:00 to play in a come-from-behind win over East Pennsboro. Houser finished with 136 receiving yards (45.3 average) and had TD catches covering 70 and 59 yards. He also had three tackles, two tackles for a loss and an interception on defense.

Sean Smith, RB, Carlisle: Ran for a staggering 333 yards, what is likely a Thundering Herd record, and scored four of the Thundering Herd’s five touchdowns in a 35-28 victory over Cedar Cliff.

Caleb Brubaker, DB-WR, Mechanicsburg: Twin brother of quarterback Micah wrecked Waynesboro’s offense in a 35-7 victory over the Indians. Blitzing from everywhere, he finished with seven tackles, two sacks — including a strip-sack that led to a Wildcats touchdown — and two tackles for a loss in less than three quarters of work. Also had two receptions for 19 yards.

Lek Powell, QB, Bishop McDevitt: The senior threw for more than 300 yards for the second time in three weeks after rolling up 301 passing yards on Red Land. He also threw a pair of TD passes and rushed for another score in the 42-3 victory.

Patrick Garvey, DB-WR-PR, Boiling Springs: Younger brother Carson also deserves a hat tip here, with his pick-6 and another INT. But Patrick had a monster night, recording an 81-yard punt return TD, 34-yard TD grab, an interception and a fumble recovery. 

Jamir Reynolds-Vasquez, RB-DB, Cedar Cliff: Sure, the Colts lost 35-28, but not without a strong effort for Reynolds-Vasquez. The RB carried the rock 33 times for an even 200 yards and scored on a 37-yard run in the third quarter that got the Colts back within a score. 

Alex Erby, QB, Steel-High: Yeah, six touchdowns will do it. The freshman signal caller fired five scoring passes and ran for another in the Rollers’ 65-30 blowout win over Big Spring. Erby finished 22-of-30 for a tidy 396 yards, his TD tosses covering 10, 23, 7, 20 and 33 yards. He punched in a 1-yard TD as well.

Damein Hammonds, WR-PR, Steel-High: The Rollers’ QB has a lot of headlines, but Hammonds celebrated senior day with a quality performance. He scored on a 23-yard reception, 69-yard punt return and 33-yard reception in a 65-30 win over Big Spring. Hammonds finished with 67 yards on four catches and added an interception.

Trent Herrera, RB, West Perry: The sophomore scored three times to lift West Perry to its first win of the season, 27-20 over Greencastle-Antrim. Herrera finished with 126 yards on 18 carries, scoring on rushes of 20, 12 and 8 yards.

Jordan Heisey, QB-DB, Northern: The Polar Bears held on to its District 3 Class 4A playoff spot in a tight 30-24 win over Susquehanna Township. Heisey was front and center, rushing for 101 yards and passing for another 124 yards. Heisey rushed for an 8-yard TD in the third quarter, then scored the game-winner in overtime on a 1-yard plunge.

Garret Laudenslager, RB-LB, Line Mountain: Laudenslager continued his highly productive senior season by rolling up 252 yards and one touchdown in Line Mountain’s come-from-behind 44-21 victory over Newport. He caught one pass for 10 yards as the Eagles clinched a spot in the District 4 Class 2A playoffs opposite three-time defending PIAA champion Southern Columbia.

Jacob Feese, QB-LB, Line Mountain: Feese triggered Line Mountain’s explosive attack, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for a fourth as the Eagles scored the final 34 points — in a span of 10:21 bridging halftime — in a 44-21 conquest of Newport. While Feese totaled 184 rushing yards on 19 attempts and scored on runs of 6, 57 and 56 yards, it was his 11-yard TD pass to Aidan Herb with 11 seconds left in the first half that sparked the Eagles and helped them overcome a 21-10 deficit.

Jesse Engle, TE-RB-LB, Williams Valley: Shifted to tailback during the halftime break, Engle rolled up 109 yards and one score as the Vikings rallied from a 21-7 deficit to beat their backyard rivals. Engle also made 14 tackles from his inside ‘backer spot, but it was his interception of a Jonas McGrath pass that ultimately put Williams Valley in position to bank the game-winning score on a pass from Bryce Herb to Brady Evans.

Jake Herman, WR-DB, Williams Valley: While Herman authored the first of Williams Valley’s four picks — he swiped a ball in the end zone to deny one early march — it was the second of his two touchdown receptions that had the Vikings in a 28-all deadlock with Tri-Valley heading into the fourth quarter. Herman finished with four catches for 79 yards and scores covering 24 and 23 yards as Tim Savage’s club won its fifth in a row.

Austin Kenny, RB-LB, Susquenita: Although the determined Kenny did not locate the end zone, he generated plenty of damage by rushing 25 times for 209 yards as Scott Acri’s Blackhawks blanked Halifax 29-0 and ran their winning streak to two games. 

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By Andy Shay: 

This was the perfect storm of wins and losses, and it appears undefeated Bishop McDevitt will not qualify for the District 3 Class 4A playoffs this season. Is that the most 2020 thing you’ve ever heard as it relates to high school football?

The problem for the Crusaders, who are fifth in the still unofficial Class 4A power ratings behind Lampeter-Strasburg, ELCO, Northern and Conrad Weiser, is McDevitt’s opponents winning percentage is an abysmal .271. That’s about as low as it gets through five games.

And despite McDevitt thumping Red Land 42-3 and taking care of what it can control, the other four teams on their schedule — Mifflin County, Lower Dauphin, Cedar Cliff and Cumberland Valley — all lost Friday night. That was the perfect storm that swept Jeff Weachter’s talented squad from fairly comfortably inside the playoff bubble to on the outside looking in.

Cedar Cliff fell to Carlisle in a one-score game. Mifflin County fell to Palmyra 34-25 in a matchup of previously winless squads. Cumberland Valley was doubled up by Chambersburg 20-10 in a game of teams with identical 1-3 records. And winless Lower Dauphin put up a valiant fight but eventually fell to undefeated Hershey 20-3.

When you have more expanded playoff fields this is not a problem. Undefeated and one-loss teams in Class 4A are going to make the eight-team cut. In this crazy pandemic world of 2020, the shortened season brought about reduced playoff fields. It was the right decision. And the power ratings is the most fair and efficient way to measure the on-paper success of any team. The other problem for McDevitt is the four teams above them are all undefeated as well.

We’ve all learned there’s a lot we can’t control during this pandemic and a lot has changed. Add undefeated McDevitt missing the playoffs as something nobody can control. I will say this — and I know Lampeter-Strasburg beat McDevitt last year — none of those four teams were touching the Crusaders head-to-head.

Hershey appears to be on the outside looking in as well despite also being undefeated at 5-0. Trojans have the same problem as McDevitt — their opponents’ winning percentage is an abysmal .268. How does that impact the power rating number? Hershey finished in the No. 6 hole behind 4-2 Red Lion, a two-loss team with a better power rating. As I’ve always said, who you play matters. Quality helps more than it hurts.

I’m not even going to say whether Mechanicsburg is in or out. It APPEARS the Wildcats are the No. 4 team in Class 5A. A team on their schedule, Susquehanna Township, still plays Monday against Newport. That result will figure into the final equation. That’s all I have to say about that.

Harrisburg still needs one more game, and the clock is ticking. Oct. 26 is tomorrow, and the Cougars currently have only three of the required four games played to be playoff eligible. Seems nobody wants to play the Cougars. What happened to “let the kids play” chants? Well, now that the kids are playing it seems a few schools have become opponent selective. My word for those opponent selective schools is cowards.

UPDATE: Harrisburg and State College will play Monday at 4 p.m. in State College 

Boiling Springs went 0-10 last year and will now participate in the District 3 Class 3A playoffs. Everybody else get in line behind the Bubblers when it comes to the feel-good story of 2020. Taking out Camp Hill 35-0 is a shock to me. The Bubblers winning isn’t a surprise at all. Posting a shutout against a good quarterback who has put points and yards up against everybody speaks volumes. I still need some Bubblers gear. Just saying!

The hidden key to Hershey being 5-0 has been its defense. I’ve said that enough that it should not be a hidden key anymore. It wasn’t easy to finally subdue winless Lower Dauphin Friday night because the Falcons put up a fight. Hershey posted a 20-3 victory on the strength of its defense. Lower Dauphin outgained Hershey 234-184 in terms of total yards. But the Trojans defense came up huge with two interceptions, a couple sacks and five tackles for a loss. And for the second consecutive game the D came up with a goal-line stand.

If this weird and wacky season was 10 games like every other year, the team from the Mid-Penn Conference Commonwealth Division that would be making more noise and be in the hunt for a District 3 Class 6A playoff berth would be the Carlisle Thundering Herd. In case you didn’t notice, that’s 12 consecutive quality quarters for the Herd and only one win. They played Central Dauphin tough before nature took over and the Rams pulled away. They were in the game at State College this past Monday every step of the way before falling late 38-29, and they just beat Cedar Cliff to push its record to 2-2. CD East, Cumberland Valley and Hershey are the Herd’s final three opponents. Nothing tells me this team won’t finish 5-2 overall.

My under-the-radar player of the week nod goes to Chambersburg running back Jayden Jones. In a game with Cumberland Valley where yards and points were always going to be hard to come by, Jones rushed for 120 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in a 20-10 victory over the Eagles. Neither offense lights it up, so a couple scores and 100-plus rushing yards is like football gold.

By Andy Shay: 

If the early numbers crunching in the District 3 Class 5A playoff field is correct, it appears undefeated Mechanicsburg will be on the outside looking in during this strange 2020 football season. That won’t be official until after the October 26 deadline.

What the Wildcats have is a dangerous 1-2 punch of an explosive offense that can be a powder keg at any moment and a defense that is fast and creates pressure on an offense to operate at an uncomfortable pace.

Waynesboro’s defense did a good job Friday night and the Indians really still had no say in the outcome of this 35-7 Colonial Division win for Mechanicsburg. The Wildcats defense set the tone, produced four turnovers, 10 negative plays, scored a touchdown and limited the visitors to 130 total yards on 55 snaps.

Time to hand out some grades.

WAYNESBORO INDIANS

Quarterback: Chance Eyler literally had no chance on this night (apologies for the bad pun). He was under some serious heat almost every time he dropped back to throw. The only way to have any shot was to get the ball out way quicker than he’s used to and that had an impact on his accuracy. He did throw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, the first TD through the air Mechanicsburg has allowed in 2021. He had a rough night, but it wasn’t a fair fight. Grade: C

Running Back: Mikel Holden ran hard and found seams. His vision gave him a chance and his 78 yards on 13 carries was the only offense the Indians really mustered. His counterpart in the backfield, Aidan Mencia, struggled. Only 13 yards on 13 carries. Grade: B-

Wide Receivers: It was clear Rhyan Day is their best receiver, and Mechanicsburg knew that. He garnered plenty of attention and caught only two passes for seven yards. The couple times he was open the ball was overthrown. Cade Reed led the Indians in receiving with 43 yards on three catches, but 26 of those yards came against the reserves after it was 35-0.  Grade: C

Offensive Line: Rough night for this crew, no other way to put it. The speed and power of the Wildcats up front and coming off the edge was just too much to handle. When a Wing-T offense has only 54 rushing yards on 34 carries, that’s a problem. Sometimes it was a numbers game and Mechanicsburg won by bringing six or seven guys into the gaps. That’s tough. But 10 negative plays says a lot. Grade: D

Defensive Line: This group did its job. They didn’t allow the shifty Wildcats’ QB to escape all the time and they clogged up the middle on those draw plays that get teams off balance. Marcus Smith won more battles than he lost. He stood out. And they brought some heat up the middle on the pass rush, too. Grade: B

Linebackers: Holden, Callin Kauffman and Jesse Julias did very good against the run, but on those pass plays over the middle they missed too many tackles in space to keep Mechanicsburg’s offense under wraps. Less than 300 total yards allowed isn’t bad. Grade: B-

Secondary: Very nice interception by Day in the end zone. His coverage on that fade route was perfect. He did a good job all night as a lock down corner. It’s not easy to defend this quarterback and group of receivers. Making them sputter means it wasn’t all that bad. Grade: C+

Special Teams: I’m guessing the short kickoffs were to keep the speedy Wildcats from running free. Punts were a bit of a mystery with that rugby style producing a nine-yard punt and a 25-yard kick. Not very helpful on the field position battle posing those numbers. Punt coverage was good, though. Grade: C

MECHANICSBURG WILDCATS

Quarterback: Micah Brubaker had his normal game of 232 total yards and a hand in all four offensive touchdowns. His speed and ability to improvise when he drops back to pass is something I can only describe as special. And the way he finds open receivers after scrambling drives defenses nuts. Not a lights-out game, but solid. Grade: B+

Running Back: Taylor Shearer didn’t get many carries, and it’s clear this offense isn’t designed for him to get 15-18 carries a game. Only had six totes but he averaged more than 6.0 yards per carry. He also had 42 receiving yards on two catches. Eight total touches for 79 yards. Productive.  Grade: B+

Wide Receivers: They have so many options and are best served when several of them are getting three, four or five catches each. Nick Morrison had a big night with 85 yards on four grabs to lead the way. His work after the catch was stellar. I saw only one ball that I would classify as a drop that was catchable. And even that one was in the tough catch category. Grade: A

Offensive Line: Run blocking up the middle was poor all night. I know the Indians were bringing heat up the middle, but that was poor blocking in between the tackles. Tackles Marlon Aristy and Hoyt Lechthaler were solid. Overall, though, way too many holding penalties. Five in one game is far too many. It bogged this offense down.  Grade: C

Defensive Line: Tyree Morris was a terror on the edge and shut down several of those inside handoffs meant to fool the defense. He wasn’t fooled. The guy at the other DE, Sam Geraty, had a good night as well. They were a force together. Grade: A

Linebackers: In order to slow down the Wing-T offense you need the MLB, in this case Aristy, to be on point and playing fast. Yeah, No. 56 did his job in the middle. And Sam Deluca is a rising junior who stood out as well. Overall this group was outstanding. Grade: A

Secondary: Caleb Brubaker is a weapon. There’s no other way to put it. They line him up everywhere and he brings heat and on this night was a game wrecker. James Anderson is a ball hawk at safety and had a 45-yard pick-six. Two interceptions overall and less than 50 percent completion percentage. And very good in run support off the edge, too. Grade: A+

Special Teams: Three touchbacks on kickoffs from Morrison and extra points had some pop as well. Kickoff coverage was shaky, nothing in the return game on punts and a missed field goal from 24 yards. Not bad, but certainly not good. Grade: C

By Andy Shay: 

All Mechanicsburg can do is wait and see what the numbers say in terms of earning a District 3 Class 5A playoff berth.

The undefeated Wildcats took care of what they can control by using a lights out effort from their defense to overwhelm once-beaten Waynesboro Friday night at John H. Frederick Field.

Mechanicsburg’s defense used a strip-sack to force a turnover that led to a touchdown and James Anderson had a pick-six to set the tone for a comfortable 35-7 Colonial Division victory over the Indians.

“Our defense has been playing great all year,” said Wildcats defensive back Caleb Brubaker, who had the strip-sack early in the second quarter that was recovered by defensive Tyree Morris at the Waynesboro 14-yard-line. “We’ve been doing a great job of creating turnovers and getting our offense back on the field.”

Mechanicsburg’s offense was functional, but a step behind its normal high-octane self. The Wildcats’ first touchdown came on a short field after a nine-yard punt by the Indians. The defense set up the second score and Anderson made it 21-0 at halftime with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“The offense struggled a little bit early, but defense came out and set the tone,” said Brubaker, who blitzed from all over the field and along with Morris made life miserable for the Indians’ Wing-T offense. “Defense took control tonight and let the offense know it was our time to have their backs and make a difference.”

The Wildcats’ offense powered by quarterback Micah Brubaker found another gear after halftime and put 14 quick points on the board to make it 35-0 before the midway point of the third quarter.

Micah Brubaker, who finished with 232 total yards and had a say in all four offensive touchdowns, connected with Nick Morrison on a short pass over the middle. Morrison did the rest, breaking three tackles on his way to the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

The next time the Wildcats had the ball, with excellent starting field position at the Waynesboro 32 courtesy of the defense getting a three-and-out with the Indians pinned at their own 10-yard-line, Mechanicsburg need only five plays to find the end zone on Micah Brubaker’s second rushing touchdown that made it 35-0.

“I think our defense has been a little bit underrated throughout the course of the season. We’ve really improved up front and our secondary does a good job making teams uncomfortable in the passing game,” said Mechanicsburg coach Anthony Rose, whose defense forced four turnovers and limited the Indians to 130 total yards. “Caleb Brubaker was everywhere tonight, he had two big sacks including that strip-sack.

“In my 23 years of coaching he’s the best defensive player I’ve ever coached. We could put him anywhere. He’s just a game changer for us defensively. The defense just played lights out all night.”

Waynesboro         0-0-0-7—7

Mechanicsburg     7-14-14-0—35

Scoring summary

First quarter

M-Taylor Shearer 32 pass from Micah Brubaker (Nick Morrison kick), 7:04

Second quarter

M-Brubaker 4 run  (Morrison kick), 9:24

M-James Anderson 45 interception return (Morrison kick), :52

Third quarter

M-Morrison 29 pass from Brubaker (Morrison kick), 9:36

M-Brubaker 6 run (Morrison kick), 6:57

Fourth quarter

W-Jared Peck 13 pass from Chance Eyler (Louie Lindsay kick), 11:05

Team stats              W    M

First downs             6       14

Rush-yards              34-54 27-102

Passing                    76    192

Comp-Att-Int           10-21-2 12-18-1

Fumbles-lost           3-2   1-0

Punts-Avg.               5-25.6  2-36

Penalties-Yards       2-25   12-109

Individual statistics

RUSHING: Waynesboro, Mikel Holden 13-78, Aidan Mencia 13-13, Chance Eyler 5-(minus-21), Louie Lindsay 2-(minus-6), Team 1-(minus-12); Mechanicsburg, Micah Brubaker 10-40, Taylor Shearer 6-37, Glenn Robinson 2-(minus-5), Parker Sample 3-11, James Anderson 1-8, Seth Brubaker 4-13, Team 1-(minus-2).

PASSING: Waynesboro, Eyler 10-21-2—76; Mechanicsburg, Micah Brubaker 12-18-1—192.

RECEIVING: Waynesboro, Cade Reed 3-43, Holden 4-13, Rhyan Day 2-7, Jared Peck 1-13; Mechanicsburg, Nick Morrison 4-85, Caleb Brubaker 2-20, Shearer 2-42, Anderson 2-29, Joey Rowland 2-16.

By Michael Bullock: 

Heavy lifters, ground game key as Eagles eye four in a row

Powered by a productive running game that’s featured six triple-figure rushing totals in four outings, Line Mountain has averaged 47 points per game during a three-game winning streak that has elevated Brandon Carson’s Eagles (3-1, 2-0) to the top of the Mid-Penn’s Liberty Division standings. And while breakaway running back Garret Laudenslager and driven quarterback Jacob Feese have consistently popped impressive numbers, Carson will quickly tell you how effective his rebuilt offensive front has performed. While veterans Dominick Bridi and Wyatt Shaffer operate at left guard and left tackle — the Eagles will use that left-sided push on the goal line or when they need to move the sticks — others such as center Chase Miller, right guard Colby Rebuck and right tackle Seth Wolfe have been just as critical to a surge that has Line Mountain contending for a District 4 Class 2A playoff spot. Come Friday night at Glenn Ressler Field, the Eagles will chase consecutive victory No. 4 against a Newport side (2-0, 1-0) skippered by Line Mountain alum Todd Rothermel that’s been idled since Oct. 2 by a COVID-19 flare-up. Feese was the instigator in last weekend’s 47-20 triumph at Northwest Area, rushing 13 times for 141 yards and four first-half touchdowns as the Eagles opened a 33-7 lead at the break. Feese also threw for 104 yards (6-for-10) — Laudenslager caught three balls for 72 yards — while Laudenslager rushed 13 times for 68 yards and two scores. Line Mountain’s defense also scored for the third game in a row, as the agile Bridi motored 88 yards with a Northwest fumble early in the second half. A 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior with plenty of agility, Bridi led Line Mountain with 12 tackles and leads the Eagles with a season-best 32 stops. Cameron Smeltz, who bagged the first of Line Mountain’s three defensive scores, added 10 tackles. Newport, which also is slated to play Monday night against Susquehanna Township, downed Susquenita 20-6 the last time the Buffaloes played. QB Andrew Bates rushed 11 times for 119 yards and one score, but also returned a botched lateral 30 yards for another TD. Bates accounted for Newport’s third score as well, connecting with Will Davis for a 19-yard TD.

Finally at home, Juniata chasing fourth consecutive victory

About to make its 2020 debut at Klingensmith Stadium, Kurt Condo’s resourceful Juniata Indians (3-1, 1-0) are coming home seeking their fourth win in a row after holding off Lancaster Catholic 28-20 in overtime. It was Juniata’s second straight success in OT, following a 21-14 triumph one week earlier at Lower Dauphin. Jacob Condo banked the game-winning points at Catholic by crashing over in OT for a short-yardage TD. Condo also passed for 115 yards (10-for-19, 1 pick) with both of his touchdown passes thrown to Manny O’Donell. O’Donell hauled in four throws for 73 yards. Jace White’s short run accounted for Juniata’s other score. Making the lengthy trek to Mifflintown will be a James Buchanan side (0-3, 0-1) that opened Mid-Penn Liberty play last weekend by losing 34-6 to visiting Susquenita. Unable to get any traction on the ground — JB rushed 30 times for minus-10 yards and was sacked nine times — Cliff Pine’s Rockets managed only a 19-yard touchdown pass from Caden Stoner to Mason Line. Stoner threw for 135 yards, but only completed six of his 17 attempts and was picked off twice. JB did pocket a trio of interceptions against Susquenita, as Stoner plucked a pair and Line snagged one.

Susquenita and Halifax to collide

Finally in the win column last weekend after stopping James Buchanan 34-6 on the road, Susquenita (1-3, 1-2) will try to make it two straight when Halifax (0-3, 0-3) comes motoring into Cove. Scott Acri’s Blackhawks jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead as freshman quarterback Derek Gibney rushed for two touchdowns and hooked up with Michael Kurtz on a 39-yard heave that accounted for the third score. Gibney rushed 14 times for 108 yards and threw for 91 more (6-of-13), even though he was intercepted three times. Austin Kenny added an 80-yard kickoff return, while Louie Frisenda chipped in a 12-yard touchdown run. Susquenita also benefited from a fierce pass rush, as the Blackhawks recorded nine quarterback sacks and limited JB to minus-10 yards on the ground. Halifax continued to air things out, but it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats tumbled 38-28 to Upper Dauphin in a regionally televised contest. Micah Deitrich completed 25 of his 41 pass attempts for 262 yards and one touchdown, while Carter Enders and Ryan Stahl also tossed TD passes off gimmick plays. Stahl had a huge game, catching 11 passes for 129 yards and one score while amassing 14 stops defensively. Judah Miller also played a leading role in the passing game, catching eight throws for 118 yards and a touchdown. Feature back Bryce Enders couldn’t get untracked running the ball, but he did latch on to a handful of throws for 53 yards and a TD while making 16 tackles defensively.

Upper Dauphin hoping to run win streak to three

Stepping out of Mid-Penn Liberty play, Upper Dauphin (2-2) will play host to Fleetwood as Kent Smeltz’s Trojans chase their third victory in as many weekends. UD racked up more than 600 yards of offense last weekend — 483 on the ground — and had three backs rush for 100 yards or more in a 38-28 victory at neighboring Halifax. Aiden Wiest picked up 167 yards on 10 carries and scored three times, Christian Snyder chipped in 109 yards on 16 attempts and crossed the goal line once, and Chance Crawford accrued 101 yards on six totes before leaving with an injury. Sophomore Brady Morgan nearly hit the 100-yard mark but fell just short with 97 yards and one score on seven carries. QB Tyler Cleveland (8-of-13, 1 interception) threw for 119 yards with Kyle Casner, Crawford and Wiest combining for six catches for 91 yards. Snyder also totaled 13 tackles from his linebacker position. Pulling into Elizabethville will be Fleetwood (1-4), which last weekend suffered a 55-49 loss to Hamburg in four overtimes. To date, that’s the longest game in Berks County history. QB Tanner Maddocks passed for 257 yards (15-for-34) and five touchdowns to lead the Tigers, with Owen Maddocks making eight catches for 145 yards and three TDs.

By Andy Shay: 

Each week during the 2020 season we’ll offer some news, notes, tidbits and opinions from each of the five divisions in the Mid-Penn Conference.

Winner take all match-up on tap: 

Nothing like a winner-take-all game to spice up an already intriguing and very different 2020 season, right. When Mechanicsburg and Waynesboro tangle Friday night on the Wildcats’ home turf, the winner will earn a spot in the District 3 Class 5A playoffs. Waynesboro currently occupies the fourth and final spot in the power ratings, with Mechanicsburg just on the outside at No. 5. Both squads know what’s at stake here. Mechanicsburg and that offense powered by quarterback Micah Brubaker has been using fast starts to put opponents underwater by halftime the last three games. Waynesboro was just clipped by East Pennsboro 40-28 last week. So the Indians are in rebound mode. You never know what’s going to happen when the stakes are raised.

Northern fighting for D3-4A playoff berth:

Northern is hunting for a spot in the District 3 Class 4A playoffs this week when it hosts Susquehanna Township. The Polar Bears defense has been a little leaky in recent weeks, but that offense is carrying the load. The Indians have been fighting the tail of the COVID-19 dog most of the season and have only played two games. ‘Hanna went 18 days between games with very little practice and showed some spark in the second half last week against Mechanicsburg. If they take care of the ball the Indians could be a tough out. Northern has to win and get some help from Warwick. The Polar Bears are currently in the No. 5 spot and 4-1 Cocalico is fourth. The Eagles travel to Warwick Friday night. Hint: Warwick is beating Cocalico. Northern takes care of business, and they are in.

East Pennsboro impresses in victory against Waynesboro: 

Raise your hand if you were caught napping by the 3-1 East Pennsboro Panthers (picture my hand flying in the air). That was an impressive takedown of previously unbeaten Waynesboro on Friday night. On deck is Shippensburg. With the way the Panthers defense is playing, they are the clear favorite in this one.