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 Keystone division. Last season, Mechanicsburg put together a 10-0 regular season and was stopped in District 3 play by eventual state champion McDevitt, and Shippensburg made a run into the District 3 playoffs as well to cap off a successful season in the division.
Preseason Keystone MVP: Cameron Sweeney, Hershey
The season that Cam Sweeney put together last year as a Hershey Trojan is nothing short of remarkable. First, he passed for over 800 yards and six touchdowns and ran for five more. Then, he was the leader on a Hershey basketball team that made an improbable run to the PIAA finals, drawing a remarkable hometown crowd to GIANT Center, right off Hersheypark Drive. Sweeney is a natural athlete, and that’s why he’s marked as the Keystone division’s preseason MVP.
Team-by-team Record Predictions
1. Shippensburg Greyhounds (9-1)
2024 Record: 10-2 | Head Coach: Eric Foust
The Greyhounds were undefeated going into their week 10 meeting with Mechanicsburg, which was the only stain on an otherwise-spotless regular season. Ship beat Warwick and lost to Conestoga Valley in the District 3 playoffs to finish their season at 10-2. Brady Maciejewski, the son of Shippensburg University football coach Mark Maciejewski, is back in the saddle as quarterback this season after a 795-yard passing season last year. Janye Statum, the Greyhounds leading rusher, is a key piece lost from last year, though. Statum put up 1,356 yards and 18 touchdowns. The big piece coming back is Mark Carothers with 12 touchdowns on the ground and 898 yards rushing last season. Carathors also caught 13 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown last year. Shippensburg should handle business in week one against Big Spring for the Little Brown Jug, before getting into divisional play.
2. Mechanicsburg Wildcats (8-2)
2024 Record: 11-1 | Head Coach: Dave Heckard
Mechanicsburg’s 2024 season will certainly go down as one of the top seasons in program history. From week one, they snapped a nine-year losing streak to Carlisle, then went on to win a District 3 playoff game against Cocalico, and lose in the District semifinals to the eventual state champions, McDevitt. It was the final season for wide receiver Josh Smith, who began high school as a basketball recruit, and ended up committing to Princeton for football. It was also the senior season for starting quarterback Eli Reider, who is now at Rochester Polytechnic Institute. His successor will likely be Noah Apple, who was 5 of 6 last year with 58 yards. The running game lost a big senior as well, with Isaac Dollman, who ran for 1,030 yards off 91 carries through an emotional season, having lost his father during week nine of the season. That trio – Dollman, Smith, Reider – will go down as one of the best to ever be Wildcats. Jack Deluca, who recently led Mechanicsburg to their first playoff win in boys lacrosse, will step up in a big role as a receiver this year for the team. This year, Carlisle’s Ken Millen Stadium will host the “Backyard Brawl,” and Mechanicsburg is predicted to get that win.
3. Hershey Trojans (8-2)
2024 Record: 7-4 | Head Coach: Mark Painter
After leading Hershey hoops to a PIAA runner-up finish last March, Cameron Sweeney is ready to return as quarterback of the football team, who now plays their games on campus as opposed to inside Hersheypark Stadium. Sweeney went 62/115 with 828 yards passing last season. What’s more though, is Sweeney’s run game, as he put up 1,116 yards rushing and ten touchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback will also have running Samir Edwards-Pace as an option on the ground and Grant Later in the air. The Trojans lost their first playoff game against Cocalico to finish 7-4 last year, but it’s completely reasonable to be high on the squad coming into this season. They’ll open the year against Milton Hershey, which should go in their favor.
4. Lower Dauphin Falcons (7-3)
2024 Record: 6-5 | Head Coach: Josh Borreli
It seems the Keystone division is full of returning quarterbacks, and the Lower Dauphin Falcons are no different. QB Braeden Heckard is back after an 849-yard junior season with seven touchdowns, seven interceptions. Hunter Strohm, a Mississippi State baseball commit, is also back for a final season after rushing for 383 yards and three touchdowns last year. LD faces fellow Falcons in Cedar Crest for their non-conference game before divisional play, where they could get hot and win three straight over Red Land, Northern and Mechanicsburg. It’s also quite possible for Lower Dauphin to win four straight to finish the regular season.
5. Gettysburg Warriors (6-4)
2024 Record: 4-6 | Head Coach: Matt Heiser
Gettysburg was sort of underwhelming in 2024, dropping their first game to Chambersburg and never truly recovering to get the season back on track. They beat Red Land, Northern, Palmyra and Mifflin County for their season last year, and are certainly looking to put together a season north of .500. They’ll need to use a new quarterback, though, after losing Brady Heiser to graduation last season, who’s now at PSAC school Shepherd. Leading rusher Preston Burnett is back, though. He ran for 1,116 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, and he’s running behind a Warriors offensive line that is returning four starters. It seems the squad will definitely be good enough to handle a lot of division teams, but won’t quite keep up with the top guys in the league. In my book, they start off 4-0 and lose some games from there.
6. Red Land Patriots (4-6)
2024 Record: 2-8 | Head Coach: Jaimie Thomas
In December, Jaimie Thomas was the color analyst for football state championships and doing some coaching work locally. Now, the McDevitt legend, who played college football at Maryland and spent time with the Indianapolis Colts, is the head man at Red Land. Last year, the team had three players take at least 30 snaps at quarterback, and they’re all returning this season for a senior season. Cason Hoffman, Michael Eshleman and Quinlin Shearer all are back for a senior year and add a viable threat as passers. The Patriots open the season against West Shore School District foe Cedar Cliff, and right now, it’s not hard to see them getting wins over Waynesboro, Palmyra, Mifflin County. Another win? It’s easy to see it happening, but difficult to pick the victim. For now, it’s Shippensburg, because football is chaos.
7. Northern Polar Bears (4-6)
2024 Record: 4-6 | Head Coach: Jeff Costello
It’s a new era for Northern as Jeff Costello takes over the program. Former head coach Bill Miller is now the offensive line coach at West York, and Northern. Grady Bonin is now in his senior season with the program, and will add on to last year’s 904 yard season, and a .527% completion rate. Bonin also extended plays on the run, scoring nine touchdowns rushing. The squad’s leading rusher is back as well, as Gabe Johnson will be building off his sophomore season last year that saw 12 touchdowns and 1,064 yards. In the winter, Johnson went on to all-state honors as a wrestler. Northern hosts Spring Grove to open the season, a game they lost 31-14 last season. It’s a pretty relentless schedule, so for now I can only see four wins. It’s very easy to see them grab some wins through the schedule.
8. Waynesboro Indians (3-7)
2024 Record: 4-6 | Head Coach: Mark Saunders
Senior Rayshawn Frazier-Hewitt returns for his senior season with the Indians this year, and they’ll look to advance on last year’s 4-6 record. Fraier-Hewitt passed for 1,357 yards last year and 13 touchdowns, while also taking six touchdowns to the house through his run game. The squad lost a good chunk of skill position players, though, losing Nathan and Hayden Nolan, as well as Bryan Benedict. Waynesboro pulled off a nice home win against rival Greencastle last year, and could do the same on the road in week one. Then, they should be able to take care of business against Palmyra and Mifflin County, at least, in the regular season.
9. Mifflin County Huskies (2-8)
2024 Record: 4-6 | Head Coach: Shane Breon
Mifflin County recently renovated their stadium, putting in turf, new lights, and all sorts of huge changes to the complex. Now, they’ll need to bring some excitement to the field on Friday nights as well. That’ll start with Central Mountain, whom they usually take care of in non-conference play. Their second predicted win comes against Palmyra in week six. Chase Hartung is returning as quarterback, after passing for 944 yards and seven touchdowns. Catching five of Hartung’s touchdown passes is returning receiver Landon Haigh, who tallied 457 receiving yards in the process. Mifflin County might be able to squeak out a few extra wins, and deliver inside a new stadium to compete a little bit more in the division.
10. Palmyra Cougars (1-9)
2024 Record: 1-9 | Head Coach: Chris Pavone
Palmyra will return their QB from last season, Roman Russek, still just a junior. They beat Lebanon 40-8 in week one last year, and should be able to handle the Cedars again in nonconference play. Keystone opponents will likely be tough for the squad, though. Running back Travis McDannell and receiver Braxtin Risser will be two names to watch as playmakers.