Another season of high school football season is upon us and it’s time to take a preseason look at the Mid-Penn Conference, specifically the Capital division. Last season, Steel-High lost in the PIAA first round to Bedford after winning a District 3 2A title and Juniata won the District 6 4A championship and made a run into the state quarterfinals.
Preseason Capital MVP: Jasper Shepps, Juniata
Shepps is the only returning wide receiver from last year’s Mid-Penn all first team offense, and he’s primed to put up a season that may contend for a Mid-Penn Capital MVP in November. Last season, he caught 55 passes for 933 yards and 14 touchdowns, by far the leading pass-catcher on Juniata’s team.
Team-by-team Record Predictions
1. Line Mountain Eagles (9-1)
2024 Record: 8-4 | Head Coach: Brandon Carson
The Eagles only dropped two Capital division games in 2024, to Steel-High and a confusing loss to Camp Hill. In the playoffs, they dropped the PIAA District 4 1A title game to Muncy, a team they’re familiar with through preseason scrimmages. They’ll face Muncy in their Saturday scrimmage again this season. Kaiden Maurer is back in the saddle for the Eagles, after a junior season that saw him throw for 2,219 yards off 129 completions. Only Susquehanna Township’s Torin Evans threw for more yards out of returning passers in the Mid-Penn. Maurer also ran for nine touchdowns last year and 356 yards, proving to be a do-it-all guy on the offense. Maurer’s top target, Dalton Schadel, is also back for a senior season in 2025. He caught 28 passes for 651 yards and 10 TD’s last year, a mark that makes him the fourth top returning pass-catcher, and second top in the division. Line Mountain kicks off the season with Lewisburg in non-conference, and it’s hard to see them losing more than two division games. The tough ones will come against Juniata and Steel-High, and I see them splitting the two with one win and one loss.
2. Juniata Indians (8-2)
2024 Record: 9-4 | Head Coach: Kurt Condo
As mentioned, Jasper Shepps is in for a really big final season as the top wide receiver in the division, and one of the best in the Mid-Penn Conference. The Indians continue to run into Selinsgrove each year, and will again for their non-conference game in week one. Last year, the Indians claimed a District 6 4A championship win and beat Shamokin Area in a PIAA playoff game. They were beaten in the state quarterfinals by Southern Lehigh, led by Penn State commit Andrew Olesh. Wyatt Ehrenzeller graduated last year after a memorable career with the Indians, and they’ll likely turn to junior Jason Condo this season, who saw limited action at quarterback last season. For Juniata to lose more than one divisional game this season is tough to see, and the other predicted loss comes in week one to a Selinsgrove team that Juniata desperately wants to beat.
3. Steel-High Rollers (7-2)
2024 Record: 10-3 | Head Coach: Andrew Erby
Steel-High’s season will be an interesting one, considering they won’t play a single game in Steelton all year. The state of 113-year-old War Veterans Memorial Field is condemnable, therefore they won’t get to play on home field all year. If there’s one program that can manage, though, it’s the Andrew Erby-led Rollers, who’ve battled adversity before seasons before and gone on to continue writing history for one of the top small-school programs the state has ever seen. This year, they’ll play home games at Roscoe Warner Field, West Shore Stadium, Rocco Ortenzio Field and Landis Field to get every game in. Last year, the Rollers went 10-3 and claimed another District 3 title, this time in 2A. That shot Steel-High into the PIAA first round, where Bedford claimed a 24-15 win over the team, and finished their season at 10-3. It was their first year without legendary Steel-High passer Alex Erby – now at Navy – and they were successful in using Yahmir Ceaser as his replacement, who’s now playing defensive back at Lock Haven. The team will have to turn to another quarterback in 2025 in front of a nine-game schedule that includes a non-conference game against Susquehanna Township. The Rollers will also get an extra week to wait into their season, not playing until August 28 against Juniata. It was hard to tell last year where Steel-High stacks up and it is again now, but one thing was made clear last season, and that’s that Andrew Erby always has a plan.
4. Upper Dauphin Trojans (6-4)
2024 Record: 5-6 | Head Coach: Tim Savage
The Trojans took a 20-point loss in the semifinals of last year’s District 3 2A semifinals to Steel-High, and are looking to make another push into the postseason yet again. Aidan Bingaman graduated after a 1,300+ yard passing year last season, and it’ll likely be a year for Alfonso Santiago to step up. Fortunately, Isaac Jackson and Eoghan Savage are returning as receivers, who combined for over 500 yards receiving last year and six touchdowns. Running back Carter Dreibelbis returns as well, after scoring four touchdowns on the ground. He’ll be stepping in for Caleb Snyder, a top rusher in UDA’s program, and the man who put up 18 touchdowns on the ground last season. The Trojans open the season at Williams Valley again this season and are predicted to open up 2-0, but a tough stretch of West Perry, Steel-High and Line Mountain will make or break the season in weeks three, four and five.
5. James Buchanan Rockets (6-4)
2024 Record: 4-6 | Head Coach: Cliff Pine
Christian Pine will be a name to watch this season as a returning receiver, and there’s a plethora of offensive weapons that are coming back from what seemed to be a young and inexperienced squad that tallied four wins last year. If those young pieces from last season can become more developed and ready this season, JB could be in shape for a leap to a record north of .500. The Rockets started 4-1 last season with wins over York County Tech, Susquenita, Newport and Halifax. The back half was rough, losing five in a row. The squad will look to turn some backstretch losses into wins to finish the season this year, and potentially enter in the postseason.
6. Susquenita Blackhawks (3-7)
2024 Record: 2-8 | Head Coach: Joe Chrismer
Susquenita returns junior Rex Wilson at quarterback for a Susquenita squad that is looking to improve upon last year’s two-win record. He threw 103 completions off 216 attempts last season, tallying 1,242 yards in the process. One of his targets, Jacob Brown comes back as well after leading the team in rushers and and is the top returning air threat as well. The Blackhawks squeaked out wins over Newport and Halifax last year, and they might be able to add Camp Hill to a list of wins this year.
7. Camp Hill Lions (2-8)
2024 Record: 6-5 | Head Coach: Tim Bigelow
The Lions met up with Lancaster Catholic more than any other team last year, catching the Crusaders in a week one, double overtime loss and a 27-20 loss in the District 3 2A semifinals. Now, Drew Branstetter – now at Gettysburg College – hands the reigns of quarterback to junior Colby Luther, who is ready to prove himself as Camp Hill’s next passer. Branstetter took over midway through his freshman year and was QB1 since then, so it’s reasonable to expect the transition under center to be a big move. The Lions will host Lancaster Catholic in week one at Siebert Park, then get into conference play against Big Spring. Two seniors, AJ Serdar and MA Scaringi will be difference makers this season, Serdar as a running back and Scaringi as a linebacker. The two threats at wide receiver will be junior Owen Grove and senior Jax Hale, a transfer from Upper Dauphin. It’s not far-fetched to say the Lions can squeak a few more wins out of their schedule, it’s just not easy to see where they come. For now, it’s Halifax and Newport.
8. Newport Buffaloes (1-9)
2024 Record: 2-8 | Head Coach: Todd Rothermel
The Buffaloes edged out a surprising win over Milton Hershey and beat Halifax last season, and are bringing back quarterback Trevin Arnold for his senior year this season. Whenever Newport can grab a win in their schedule, it’ll come as Rothermel’s 100th of his career at Newport, and it seems they may be able to beat Halifax again this year. It seems they’ll be led in the ground game, with a duo of running backs – Landon Cigic and Dalton Kratzer – leading the way. The Buffaloes open the year hosting Juniata Valley.
9. Halifax Wildcats (0-10)
2024 Record: 0-10 | Head Coach: Ben Carroll
Halifax will turn to Ben Carroll to lead the program in 2025, and they hope for a few wins in the new season. Ryder Tobias will take over as Halifax’s quarterback this season. Halifax opened their season with Minersville, and will host the Battlin’ Miners again in week one. Halifax’s closest game was their 7-0 loss versus Camp Hill, so they may turn to that road game this season as a potential chance to win.