Vote now for your 4th Down Magazine Mid-Penn Conference Player of the Week Sponsored by Crown Trophy of Harrisburg (in Lemoyne). Our poll will remain open until Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. Vote once per hour for your favorite competitor.
Cole Bartram, jr., RB, Northern: In a 17-6 stunner to hand Shippensburg its first loss of the season, Bartram ran 25 times for a touch 151 yards and a crucial 2-yard score. He also caught a 4-yard pass.
Isaac Sines, sr., QB/DB, Cumberland Valley: Sines ran for 112 yards, and totaled three touchdowns (20 and 25 yards on the ground, 9 yards through the air) and picked off CD East QB Terrance Jackson-Copney in the Eagles’ 45-14 win, their fourth of the season.
Kyle Williams Jr., jr., RB, Harrisburg: Williams Jr. recorded 161 total offensive yards (106 rushing, 55 receiving) on 11 total touchdowns and ran into the end zone three times in the Cougars’ 44-15 win over Carlisle. Williams’s three rushing TDs came from 42, 8 and 48 yards out. He also had a two-point conversion.
David Chase III, sr., RB, Central Dauphin: The Rams finally got a win, surviving Chambersburg 42-35 with a strong run game. Chase III was half the equation, scoring three times on runs of 12, 20 and 2 yards. The last of those tied the game in the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 carries and 164 yards.
Devin Shepherd, sr., RB, Central Dauphin: The other half of the Rams’ nearly 400-yard rushing effort against Chambersburg, Shepherd finished with 21 carries and 183 yards, scoring on runs of 86 and 1 yard. The second won the game after Chase III tied it.
D’Antae Sheffy, fr., RB, State College: The rookie continues to shred defenses for nearly 10 yards a pop, nearly doing the same again Friday in a 55-14 win over Altoona. Sheffy finished with 13 touches, 125 yards and two scores.
Jayden Johnson, sr., RB, Gettysburg: Johnson carved up East Pennsboro, which suffered its first loss 27-11, for 161 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The TD came on a 37-yard run.
Ian Goodling, jr., WR/DB/K, West Perry: Goodling did a little of everything in the Mustangs’ 40-14 win over Trinity. He finished with 35 yards on three grabs offensively, but he shined with a pair of picks, including a 96-yard pick-6 in the third quarter. He also drilled field goals of 26 and 45 yards and made four PAT attempts.
Trent Herrera, sr., RB, West Perry: Herrera did the damage on offense for the unbeaten Mustangs. In the 40-14 win over the winless Shamrocks, Herrera scored on runs of 4 and 14 yards and totaled 182 yards on 24 carries and another 22 yards on three receptions.
Marcus Sweeney, sr., WR/DB, Hershey: Sweeney led a thrilling come-from-behind, 21-20 victory over Cedar Cliff with a pair of second-half touchdowns. The senior caught four passes for 115 yards and a 94-yard TD, and he stepped in front of a Bennett Secrest pass for a back-breaking pick-6. Sweeney added three tackles.
Landen Eichhorn, jr., QB, Mifflin County: Eichhorn was solid all night, going 10 of 16 for 188 yards and three touchdowns to Dupree Reed, Isaac Wilson and Deakon Schaeffer in a 28-7 win over Lower Dauphin. The junior also ran three times for 17 yards.
Konner Walker, sr., RB/DB, Upper Dauphin: A Jack-of-all-trades performance by Walker included seven carries for 110 yards and a touchdown, two receptions for 58 yards and a score, and two interceptions returned 26 yards. UD handled Susquenita 30-7 thanks to the effort.
Tavon Cooper, sr., RB, Greencastle-Antrim: The Blue Devils ended an eight-year losing streak against rival Waynesboro, 35-21, thanks to a second-half burst by Cooper. On a night in which he had a Mid-Penn-high 29 carries for 229 yards, Cooper scored second-half TDs of 19 and 29 yards. He had a first-quarter TD of 7 yards to give G-A an early 14-0 lead.
Brady Morgan, sr., RB/DB, Upper Dauphin: Back on track, Morgan wheeled for 146 yards on 14 carries and scored once as the Trojans throttled Susquenita 30-7 in their Mid-Penn Liberty opener. Morgan’s longest run covered 50 yards for a UD squad that netted 341 rushing yards against the Susquenita defense. He also pocketed a couple of tackles as Kent Smeltz’s club opened up a 30-0 advantage.
Ian Bates, soph, RB/DB, Line Mountain: Flashing his speed and ability to go yard at any moment he has the ball in his capable hands, Bates wheeled for 124 yards on 11 attempts as the Eagles cracked the win column by downing Marian Catholic 26-19. Although the Colts jumped on top with a blocked punt return, Bates promptly posted the equalizer by zipping 68 yards for his first score. Then, in the second quarter, he tacked on a 57 yarder for good measure as the diminutive youngster cracked the 100-yard barrier for the first time in his varsity career.
Nolan Baumert, jr, QB/RB/DB, Line Mountain: The focal point of Marian’s early defensive game plan, Baumert needed a little time before to find some needed space as the Eagles claimed a 26-19 decision that gave them their first victory. Baumert wound up with 89 yards on 10 carries, collecting an 8-yard score in the third quarter on a QB keeper before racing 57 yards early in the fourth to set up a Chandon Maurer TD.
Zach Bellis, jr, OL/LB, Newport: While the Newport attack continues to hiccup in neutral, Bellis uncorked a terrific defensive effort in a 36-0 loss to Juniata in the Buffs’ Mid-Penn Liberty opener. Bellis totaled 14 tackles before his night was over, including 10 solo stops. He also caused one fumble and recovered another.
Alex Erby, jr, QB, Steel-High: It’s not like Alex Erby needed any more motivation when the Rollers opened division play Friday night against Boiling Springs. Winning the division is always goal No. 1 for a team that has ambitions far beyond that initial check mark. But Erby entered on a mission, throwing for a conference-high 501 yards and a whopping seven touchdown strikes against a quality Boiling Springs club. Yea, that makes the list of top performers in Week 4.
