JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
COACH – Jeff Polites (Just completed his 9th season; 48-45 overall).
SECTION 2 RECORD – 4-3.
OVERALL RECORD – 6-5 (Lost to Wilson in the first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs).
RESULTS – @ McCaskey (W 53-7), Muhlenberg (L 28-27), Manheim Township (W 28-27), @ Solanco (W 13-7), @ Conestoga Valley (W 39-13), Garden Spot (W 35-19), Cocalico (L 35-34), @ Manheim Central (L 28-19), @ Ephrata (W 28-21), Lebanon (L 28-21), @ Wilson (L 35-14).
SIGNATURE WIN – Several to choose from, but I’ll go with the 35-19 triumph over Garden Spot, in a battle of 2-0 teams. Bears put the pedal down and remained in a tie for first place in the section, until being bumped off by Cocalico the very next week. That’s when the wheels sort of fell off. E-town fell again the next week at Manheim Central, struggled with Ephrata, lost to Lebanon in Week 10, and then got beat up by Wilson in the first round of Districts. But there were still plenty of positives around the program for the second year in a row.
POINTS FOR – 311 (28.3 per game).
POINTS AGAINST – 248 (22.5 per game).
SCORING MARGIN – Plus-63.
FUMBLES LOST – 8.
INTERCEPTIONS – 10.
FUMBLES RECOVERED – 13.
INTERCEPTIONS FOR – 8.
TURNOVER RATIO – Plus-3.
PENALTIES – 59 for 402 yards.
PUNTS – 28 for 31.1 average.
FIRST DOWNS – 180.
RUSHING YARDS – 2,483.
PASSING YARDS – 1,387.
TOTAL TEAM OFFENSE – 351.8 yards per game.
RUSHING YARDS AGAINST – 1,836.
PASSING YARDS AGAINST – 1,585.
TOTAL TEAM DEFENSE – 311.0 yards per game.
LEADING RUSHER – Conrad Heisey (131 carries for 905 yards, 6.9 avg., 9 TD).
LEADING PASSER – Kyle McNeil (88-of-172 for 1,375 yards, 16 TD, 10 picks, 137.4 QB rating).
LEADING RECEIVER – Mitch Weidman (21 catches for 312 yards, 14.9 avg., 2 TD).
FUN STAT – QB Kyle McNeil, who drew a ton of praise for his pocket presence and poise, finished fourth in the league in TD passes during the regular season.
MVP – Could pick from any number of solid core kids here, but the guy I keep coming back to is Shane Rosenberry, who is absolutely one of the toughest nuts in the L-L League. Terrific slug-it-out fullback who always moved the pile, and a top-notch tackler and playmaker from his linebacker spot. Team leader. Sparkplug. Igniter. Pick a word. Rosenberry and his funky Mohawk haircuts were ready to go on every down, and he made everyone around him better. Bears are going to miss this guy.
