JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
The deeper the season goes, the tougher it is to pick these 3 Stars.
Seriously.
I have an entire sheet of paper full of names and accomplishments in front of me, and I’m scouring the room looking for a quarter to flip.
Week 5 was full of clutch performances.
And after sifting through all of them, here are my 3 Stars:
*** Mike Brooks, Solanco – The senior scatback came up large in Solanco’s 28-7 win over Manheim Central, hauling in a TD catch just before the half to give the host Golden Mules a 7-0 lead at the break. It was an awesome catch – Brooks went up in traffic and snatched the ball out of the air just before he hit the ground. He also picked off a pair of passes – the first, in the first half, thwarted a Central drive on Solanco’s 12. And the second, with the clock ticking down and Solanco’s students getting ready to bum-rush the field, Brooks picked off and returned 95 yards for a game-icing touchdown – bobbing and weaving and dodging would-be tacklers during his trek all the way down the field. Oh yeah, if you haven’t heard, it was Solanco’s first win over Central since 1991. And for one night, at least, it made the good folks in Quarryville forget all about 96-0.
*** Tyler Horst, Garden Spot – The senior quarterback had perhaps his best game to date, completing 13-of-21 passes for 280 yards with three TD tosses and a TD keeper in the Spartans’ 55-22 demolition over Lebanon. Horst had a 78-yard TD pass to Derek Deshaw and a pair of TD tosses to his favorite target, Sean Beahan: a 30-yarder and a 19-yarder. He also had a 1-yard TD dive for the Spartans.
*** Travis Leber, Elizabethtown – Spunky senior came up big in special teams once again, blocking a punt and returning it 30 yards for a score in the Bears’ 42-0 win over Conestoga Valley. Leber also blocked a punt at Manheim Township in Week 3, leading to a score in E-town’s come-from-behind 20-10 triumph over the Blue Streaks. Special teams. Gotta have them. The Bears have. Leber has shown the way. And E-town is 5-0.
