Another week, another edition of ‘3 Stars’ … which, once again, had plenty of candidates.
But these three in particular really stuck out to me when I plopped all my stuff down Sunday morning and started snooping around …
Arron Achey, Elco – Every week I keep wondering what this kid will do for an encore, and Friday against Columbia, he might have topped himself. Achey completed 16-of-25 passes for 303 yards and had six touchdown tosses in the Raiders’ 46-20 home win over the Crimson Tide, as Elco improved to 2-0 in Section 3 and to 5-0 overall. Three of Achey’s TD strikes went to Eric Ondo, from 10 yards, 38 yards and 60 yards, respectively. Achey also hit Tyler George for a pair of scores, from 18 yards and 11 yards, respectively. And he connected with Kyle Wenger for a 15-yard TD. The senior also rushed for a team-best 40 yards and made seven tackles on D. Through five games, Achey has completed a sizzling 69 percent of his attempts (59-of-85, against just 1 pick) for 1,036 yards and a league-best 16 TD passes. For his next trick, Achey will balance the state budget, help Obama with health care and cure world hunger.
Kevin Kelley, Conestoga Valley – The beat goes on for the Buckskins’ senior I-back, who torched Elizabethtown for 308 yards (on 41 grind-it-out carries) and four touchdowns in CV’s 35-28 Section 2 triumph over da Bears in E-town. Kelley scored on runs of 15, 1, 34 and 20 yards, respectively, for the Bucks, who improved to 2-0 in the section and to 4-1 overall. Kelley has played a major role in CV’s resurgence. He’s carried the ball a league-high 153 times for a league-best 1,028 yards and he’s scored a league-leading 13 rushing touchdowns. Could a 2,000-yard season be in his future? Stay tuned.
Freddy Pena, Reading – Stellar game for the Red Knights’ senior QB, who completed a cool 16-of-18 passes for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner to his favorite target, Yamil Echavarria, with 25 seconds to go to give host Reading a 32-27 upset win over previously undefeated Penn Manor. Pena’s other TD toss was a 48-yarder to Matthew Perry. After Penn Manor rallied from a 26-7 deficit to grab a 27-26 lead, Pena marched the Knights 75 yards in 1:14, capping the drive with a 29-yard TD pass to Echavarria, who gave Reading the lead for good with less than 30 seconds to play as the Knights, who have been playing the last two weeks minus several starters because of random injuries, improved to 1-1 in Section 1 and to 2-3 overall – while dropping Penn Manor to 1-1 in the league and to 4-1 overall.
