Results: Week 2 Picks and Predictions

Thursday, August 29

Keystone

Mechanicsburg 35, Palmyra 14:

Andy Shay: Mechanicsburg 31, Palmyra 14: Cougars showed some moxy in that opener, but this will be a different level in terms of competition. Wildcats have already been tested at another level.

Andy Sandrik: Mechanicsburg 33, Palmyra 25: Here we have two confident squads each coming off big opening-night wins. Expect a tight battle that might not be settled until the final possession.

Adam Kulikowski: Mechanicsburg 45, Palmyra 21: The Cougars appear to be on the rise. Just not sure they are quite ready for the test the Wildcats will provide. 

Capital

Upper Dauphin 42, Halifax 8:

Andy Shay: Upper Dauphin 34, Halifax 6: Something tells me the Trojans are better this week, just don’t have the Week 1 win to prove it. I’m not sure Halifax has the tools to put UDA on tilt.

Andy Sandrik: Upper Dauphin 28, Halifax 7: The Trojans are still stinging after that loss to Williams Valley, but they should be able to find their way against a Halifax squad that had an even tougher time in its opener.

Adam Kulikowski: Upper Dauphin 33, Halifax 13: You know Halifax will bring their best effort, but the Trojans simply possess more weapons in this battle.

Friday, August 30

Non-League

Camp Hill 14, Big Spring 13:

Andy Shay: Camp Hill 35, Big Spring 25: A couple of solid teams that are searching for answers at this early juncture. Something tells me the Lions find a victory but it won’t be easy.

Andy Sandrik: Camp Hill 28, Big Spring 21: Considering the talent on these rosters, it’s hard to imagine either of these teams being 0-2 after this weekend, but that will undoubtedly happen now. 

Adam Kulikowski: Camp Hill 41, Big Spring 33: Give the edge to the team with the best gunslinger–and that’s the Lions with senior Drew Branstetter.

Commonwealth

State College 57, Altoona: 0:

Andy Shay: State College 45, Altoona 7: Death by a thousand paper cuts. That’s what this Little Lions team feels like to me. They grind and lean on you to the point of submission.

Andy Sandrik: State College 40, Altoona 12: I can’t find one guy on State College that had an “unreal” performance last week, yet the Little Lions were still able to put up 49 points against a quality opponent, seemingly at will. Balanced and lethal, this State College team is the last squad Altoona wants to see on Friday night.

Adam Kulikowski: State College 33, Altoona 14: The Little Lions can kill you in any number of ways. That doesn’t bode well for an Altoona team still searching for its identity.

Cumberland Valley 35, Carlisle 0:

Andy Shay: Cumberland Valley 35, Carlisle 7: Eagles learned a few valuable lessons last week for sure. The playing field will be a little more level. Expect CV to prosper because if nothing else this group is resilient.

Andy Sandrik: Cumberland Valley 38, Carlisle 7: I thought I’d see a tighter battle between Carlisle and Mechanicsburg last week, but the Wildcats proved to be too much. Now the Herd has to face an even tougher team in Cumberland Valley.

Adam Kulikowski: Cumberland Valley 48, Carlisle 6:  Can the Eagles improve upon a rushing effort that yielded just four yards against Manheim Township in Week 1? Getting that ground game going will be critical this season.

Cedar Cliff 21, Central Dauphin 13:

Andy Shay: Cedar Cliff 35, Central Dauphin 20: Colts romped with a 50-burger in their opener, but you can expect more pushback, if nothing else, from the Rams this week. Right now, Cliff appears to be the better team, though.

Andy Sandrik: Cedar Cliff 42, Central Dauphin 7: Welcome to the Commonwealth, Cedar Cliff. The Colts should make a safe landing in the division against the Rams, who are still looking for their first TD after a lopsided loss to Central York on opening night.

Adam Kulikowski: Cedar Cliff 48, Central Dauphin 13: The Colts enter this Commonwealth tussle fully ready to showcase their mettle against a rebuilding Rams squad. 

Central Dauphin East 50, Chambersburg 2:

Andy Shay: Central Dauphin East 26, Chambersburg 15: This is a sneaky interesting tilt in my book. If consistency has found the Panthers they have the chops to be dangerous. Trojans will grind and demand a 48-minute performance.

Andy Sandrik: Central Dauphin East 28, Chambersburg 14: All signs point to the Panthers being better than advertised. They sure looked that way while clobbering York. Chambersburg won a hard game in Week 1 and also believes it can win.

Adam Kulikowski: Central Dauphin East 27, Chambersburg 24: If you think the Trojans will go lightly in this fray, think again. Just ask Gettysburg what kind of test Chambersburg can provide. 

Keystone

Waynesboro 33, Gettysburg 21:

Andy Shay: Gettysburg 27, Waynesboro 20: There’s thinking you are a quality team and then there’s showing it. Time for Gettysburg to show it. Waynesboro will demand the best of the Warriors.

Andy Sandrik: Gettysburg 28, Waynesboro 21: This is a game that Gettysburg is expected to win, yet I’m having a hard time pulling the trigger against Waynesboro, riding a nice wave of momentum after a rivalry win over Greencastle-Antrim. 

Adam Kulikowski: Gettysburg 41, Waynesboro 28: The Warriors were stunned last week against Chambersburg. Don’t bet on Gettysburg being snake-bitten again in Week 2. 

Shippensburg 28, Hershey 13:

Andy Shay: Hershey 21, Shippensburg 14: I’m riding the Trojans defense to victory in this one. Competitive all the way, though, is how I see it.

Andy Sandrik: Hershey 24, Shippensburg 21: The Greyhounds showed plenty of heart and desire, not to mention potential, in their emotional season opener.  But beating this Hershey side is certainly a tall ask. 

Adam Kulikowski: Shippensburg 28, Hershey 27: The Greyhounds will need to bring their best effort against a Hershey team primed to make a run at a Keystone Division title. 

Lower Dauphin 14, Red Land 0:

Andy Shay: Lower Dauphin 30, Red Land 20: I need another four quarters at least from each of these teams before I have any idea what the heck to think and expect. Makes this matchup very intriguing for sure, though.

Andy Sandrik: Lower Dauphin 21, Red Land 14: Thanks to a Red Land team that overperformed, and an LD squad that underperformed, we now have quite a compelling Week 2 matchup.

Adam Kulikowski: Lower Dauphin 34, Red Land 28: We picked the Falcons to walk away with the new-look Keystone Division. Was their shaky start to the season in Week 1 an anomaly or an indication of things to come this year? 

Northern York 41, Mifflin County 34:

Andy Shay: Mifflin County 34, Northern York 14: Big fan of the Huskies coming out and slinging it all over the lot and stretching a defense. Polar Bears offense isn’t quite built for this caliber of a shootout.

Andy Sandrik: Mifflin County 33, Northern York 21: The key matchup for me is the Northern secondary vs. the Mifflin County passing attack, which saw two QBs throw for five TDs last week.

Adam Kulikowski: Mifflin County 47, Northern York 14: Huskies senior QB Fletcher Wilson turned in a tidy performance in Week 1, slinging the rock for 159 stripes and four TDs. A similar performance in Week 2 should be more than enough to topple the Polar Bears. 

Capital

James Buchanan 16, Susquenita 0:

Andy Shay: James Buchanan 14, Susquenita 7: Stab in the dark here by taking the Rockets. If you asked me for a reason, I’d struggle to give you one.

Andy Sandrik: Susquenita 21, James Buchanan 7: The Rockets scrapped to a season-opening win over York County Tech. Can they again stay competitive long enough to turn this into a “winnable” game, too? 

Adam Kulikowski: Susquenita 28, James Buchanan 14: One team is riding high after a Week 1 victory (JB) while the other is still looking for its first points of the season. However, the quality of the opponent matters, and Nita faced a much more difficult task. Look for the Blackhawks to get on track in this tilt. 

Juniata 29, Steelton-Highspire 14:

Andy Shay: Juniata 28, Steelton-Highspire 13: This is where the rubber meets the road for the new-look Rollers. The flash we’ve come to expect showed up in Week 1. Pretty sure Juniata will ask plenty more questions.

Andy Sandrik: Juniata 21, Steelton-Highspire 14: It’s hard to make any meaningful reads on the new-look Rollers after a 69-0 win over Fairfield. Now, if Steel-High goes out and does the same thing to a battle-hardened Juniata squad, then we’ll have something to talk about.  

Adam Kulikowski: Steelton-Highspire 24, Juniata 21: We’re about to learn more about what this re-load Rollers squad is composed of in what should be a quality early season test on the road in Juniata County. 

Line Mountain 40, Newport 0:

Andy Shay: Line Mountain 47, Newport 7: This is a very opportunistic spot for the Eagles to find their footing and return to form.

Andy Sandrik: Line Mountain 38, Newport 7: Assuming Line Mountain can shake off its season-opening loss to Lewisburg, I still believe the Eagles have the firepower to make a run at the Capital Division. 

Adam Kulikowski: Line Mountain 45, Newport 6: These are two teams in very different places. Eagles bag a Dub and move on to Week 3. 

Colonial

West Perry 44, Boiling Springs 21:

Andy Shay: West Perry 26, Boiling Springs 20: You could make a solid case both of these clubs overachieved in their performances in Week 1. Congrats to both squads. Now go out and trade some paint and let’s see what happens. Interesting matchup.

Andy Sandrik: West Perry 28, Boiling Springs 25: Let me be the first to say I may have been off target about Boiling Springs. There are some bad dudes in Bubbletown and they showed it in their opener. Another underappreciated team is WP, who brushed off heavy graduation losses and put 58 points on the scoreboard last week. 

Adam Kulikowski: West Perry 34, Boiling Springs 28: Both teams entered intriguing evidence last week as to why they should be the chosen winner in Week 2. Give me the Mustangs in a tight battle. 

Trinity 37, East Pennsboro 14:

Andy Shay: East Pennsboro 28, Trinity 7: Offense is going to be an ongoing challenge for the T-Rocks. The Panthers proved their mettle despite a Week 1 loss. East Penn is comfortable in their own skin.

Andy Sandrik: East Pennsboro 24, Trinity 10: Don’t sleep on East Penn senior Aaron Angelo, who had a big week against Bethlehem Catholic last week. He averaged 8.2 yards per carry on the way to a 163-yard night, while also catching two passes for 43 yards. 

Adam Kulikowski: East Pennsboro 31, Trinity 7: The Shamrocks completed just 36 percent of their passes in a Week 1 shutout loss to Allentown Central Catholic. 

Susquehanna Township 35, Greencastle-Antrim 13:

Andy Shay: Susquehanna Township 35, Greencastle-Antrim 14: Too many options for the Hanna Tribe to expect the Blue Devils to keep them inside the box over four quarters. Only a sliver of space is needed for the Indians to light up the scoreboard.

Andy Sandrik: Susquehanna Township 42, Greencastle-Antrim 21: I loved the fight I saw from Greencastle in its rivalry game against Waynesboro, and I think the Blue Devils will battle again this week. But the Indians have too many weapons that can break this game open to make any other pick than ‘Hanna beating G-A for a third-straight year. 

Adam Kulikowski: Susquehanna Township 31, Greencastle-Antrim 27: The Indians should be considered the class of Colonial Division until someone proves otherwise. 

Milton Hershey 21, Middletown 19:

Andy Shay: Milton Hershey 21, Middletown 14: Are the Blue Raiders making strides on the road to being competitive again? Are the Spartans going to struggle on a weekly basis? Valid questions that will be answered.

Andy Sandrik: Middletown 21, Milton Hershey 14: This game should be much more competitive for Milton Hershey than the Cocoa Bean Bowl was last week. The Blue Raiders showed in their opener they can win a tight game, and I think they do it again this week. 

Adam Kulikowski Milton Hershey 17, Middletown 14: Both teams have major question marks to answer. Can Week 2 provide some clarity? 

Saturday, August 31

Commonwealth

Harrisburg 35, Bishop McDevitt 33 (OT)

Andy Shay: Bishop McDevitt 21, Harrisburg 14: They are no longer residents of Market Street and it’s been several years since they renewed acquaintances. I think this game will have a different tone and tenor than what you might expect. Cougars are picking up the pieces after Week 1. Can they collect enough to corral the Crusaders? Tough ask.

Andy Sandrik: Bishop McDevitt 28, Harrisburg 21: I still think the Cougars can be the class of the Commonwealth, but they have a few things to sort out after last week’s 38-point loss to La Salle College. This seems like a great spot for the Crusaders to steal a win, and perhaps carve their own path toward a division title.

Adam Kulikowski: Bishop McDevitt 34, Harrisburg 28: The jury is still out on what the Cougars will look like without star QB Shawn Lee Jr. There are no such questions on the McDevitt sideline.