Audio Podcast preview interviews below with Manheim Central coach Mike Williams and Cocalico coach Dave Gingrich

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

THE GAME: No. 5 Manheim Central Barons (9-2 overall) @ No. 4 Cocalico Eagles (10-1 overall), Friday, 7 p.m., District 3 Triple-A quarterfinal.

LIVE BLOG: I’ll be blogging live from this game in Denver on the L-L League Insider at lancsports.com. Can’t make it to this big showdown? Find me online and I’ll provide instant updates, scoring summaries, news, notes and nuggets, post your comments and answer questions … and post scores from around the district.

LAST WEEK: Manheim Central toppled L-L League neighbor Elco 45-14. … Cocalico outlasted Susquehanna Township 49-30.

WINNER GETS: No. 1 Mechanicsburg (11-0) or No. 9 Daniel Boone (8-3) in the semifinals.

REMATCH ALERT: This is a rematch from an L-L League Week 4 classic – Central won 56-33 in a score-fest at Cocalico. The Eagles grabbed an early 14-0 lead, but the Barons zoomed from behind and won behind senior QB Jeremy Knosp, who did not start the game, but came in off the bench in the second quarter and went 19-of-31 for 320 yards and five touchdown passes. Knosp, who is battling a right (throwing) shoulder injury, is playing wideout these days; junior Justin Gorman, who passed for 271 yards and three TDs in last week’s win over Elco, is under center; just like he was in Week 4, before Knosp relieved him on Central’s first drive of the second quarter. … This is also the fourth time Cocalico and Manheim Central will square off in a District 3 Triple-A playoff game; Barons lead 3-0.

THE COACHES: Manheim Central’s Mike Williams is in his 28th season and he is 285-58-3 overall. He is the all-time winningest coach in District 3 football history. … Cocalico’s Dave Gingrich is in his 5th season and is 33-20 overall.

MANHEIM CENTRAL RESULTS: Susquehannock (W 32-10), @ Wilson (L 20-15), Lancaster Catholic (L 21-8), @ Cocalico (W 56-33), Solanco (W 24-14), @ Ephrata (W 61-14), Conestoga Valley (W 34-7), Elizabethtown (W 28-19), @ Lebanon (W 33-28), @ Garden Spot (W 24-19), Elco (W 45-14). … Humming along on a tidy eight-game winning streak. … Losses were to Wilson, the No. 1 seed in Quad-A, and Lancaster Catholic, the No. 1 seed in Double-A. Those two are a combined 21-1 overall, and Wilson is ranked No. 3 in the state in the Pennsylvania Football News poll.

COCALICO RESULTS: Lampeter-Strasburg (W 35-21), @ Exeter (W 35-21), @ Annville-Cleona (W 41-7), Manheim Central (L 56-33), @ Ephrata (W 42-14), Lebanon (W 53-38), @ Elizabethtown (W 35-34), Garden Spot (W 31-17), @ Conestoga Valley (W 54-35), Solanco (W 28-0), Susquehanna Township (W 49-30). … Riding a nifty seven-game winning streak since that wacky 56-33 loss to Manheim Central in Week 4.

COMMON OPPONENTS: The entire Section 2 slate – Manheim Central went 7-0 and won the Section 2 crown outright; Cocalico went 6-1 (lone loss to Central) and finished alone in second place.

MANHEIM CENTRAL STAT PACK: Leading rusher – Joe Gruber (120 carries for 711 yards, 5.9 avg., 7 TD); Leading passers – Jeremy Knosp (102-of-185 for 1,802 yards, 13 TD, 6 picks), Justin Gorman (27-of-49 for 531 yards, 4 TD, 3 picks); Leading receiver – Dakota Royer (48 catches for 1,014 yards, 21.1 avg., 5 TD); Team offense – 401.5 yards per game (3rd in the L-L League); Team defense – 236.0 yards per game (5th in the L-L League).

COCALICO STAT PACK: Leading rusher – Kyle Fisher (122 carries for 1,633 yards, 13.4 avg., 24 TD); Leading passer – Matt Carty (34-of-57 for 572 yards, 7 TD, 4 picks); Leading receiver – Kyle Fisher (14 catches for 240 yards, 17.1 avg., 3 TD); Team offense – 442.8 yards per game (1st in the L-L League); Team defense – 328.4 yards per game (15th in the L-L League).

ABOUT MANHEIM CENTRAL – 15-time District 3 Triple-A champ – including jaw-dropping 10 in a row from 1992-2001 – but not titles since 2005, plus a first-round flameout to Red Land last year. … O did a ton of damage against Elco, particularly Justin Gorman (11-of-14 for 271 yards, 3 TD passes), Joe Gruber (18 carries, 180 yards, 1 TD) and Dakota Royer (5 catches for 112 yards, 1 TD). … Outscored opponents 360-199 (plus-161). … Minus-6 turnover ratio (16 take, 22 give). … 85 penalties for 738 yards (both the most in the L-L League). … 34.8 yards per punt on 30 boots. … 188 first downs. … Barons had 14 penalties for 135 yards in the district opener against Elco, which sent media types scrambling for the record books. Here’s the skinny – Central’s 135 penalty yards were the most by one team in any District 3 playoff game, snapping the previous mark of 130 penalty yards by Halifax (against Columbia) in the 2003 Single-A semifinals. The 14 penalties were a first-round record (so the Barons have that going for them, which isn’t necessarily nice). The District 3 record for most penalties in a playoff game belongs to Northern York, which had 15 (for 110 yards) in the 2005 Triple-A quarterfinals.

Click on the ‘play’ button above to listen to my interview with Manheim Central coach Mike Williams.

You can also download the interview and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.

ABOUT COCALICO: Lost to Hershey in the first round last year. … Also made trips in Triple-A in 1996 (lost to Manheim Central in the first round), 1997 (lost to Manheim Central in the title game) and 2005 (lost to Manheim Central in the first round). So these teams are familiar with each other – and not just from playing in Section 2. … Two-time District 3 Double-A champ – 1985 (over East Pennsboro) and 1994 (over Juniata). Lost in Double-A finals in 1992 (to Bermudian Springs) and in 1995 (to Bishop McDevitt). … Two 1,000-yard backs here, with Kyle Fisher (1,633 yards, second-best in the league, league-best 24 TD runs) and FB Austin Hartman (1,502 yards, third-best in the league, 10 TD), who completely torched Susquehanna Township for 344 yards and three scores. … Outscored opponents 436-273 (plus-163). … Plus-6 turnover ratio (24 take, 18 give). … 54 penalties for 464 yards. … 33.8 yards per punt on 18 boots (least amount of punts in the L-L League). … 193 first downs. … Cocalico has rushed for 4,216 yards. No other team in the L-L League has 3,000.

Click on the ‘play’ button above to listen to my interview with Cocalico coach Dave Gingrich.

You can also download the interview and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.

SORRY ABOUT THE WIND

MORE MULTI-MEDIA:

I chatted with Manheim Central coach Mike Williams and Barons’ standouts Jeremy Knosp and Dakota Royer after the Barons 56-33 win at Cocalico in Week 4. Please follow these links to listen to those Podcasts, and hear Williams, Knosp and Royer put a bow on Central’s win that night:

Mike Williams chats after win at Cocalico

Jeremy Knosp chats after win at Cocalico

Dakota Royer chats after win at Cocalico