Outright section championships for Wilson, Manheim Central 

First things first - yeah, even before Wilson, Manheim Central and Kyle Smith, sorry - 70!

Wow - 70!

Yeah, Cedar Crest lit up the scoreboard for 70 points Friday night in its rip-roaring, scoreboard-popping 70-35 win over Reading. Seventy. The big 7-0. Tack on Reading’s 35 points, and the Falcons and the Red Knights combined for 105 points Friday night. Plus, Cedar Crest’s win might have damaged Reading’s shot at a postseason bid. Reading is 4-5, and must beat McCaskey in Week 10 to have a shot.

70!

Alrighty, on to the big news from Friday night …

BULLDOGS CLAIM SECTION 1 CROWN - Wilson rallied past Penn Manor 24-20 and clinched the outright Section 1 championship for the second year in a row. Yep, the very same Bulldogs’ team that had 20 brand-spanking-new starters in Week 1 improved to 6-0 and wrapped up the section crown. Impressive. Make that 19 Section 1 championships (outright or shared) overall for Wilson. Even more impressive. The ‘Dawgs will go for a 7-0 section season next Friday at home against Warwick, which did a little damage of its own Friday night. Keep reading …

BARONS CLAIM SECTION 2 CROWN - Thanks to Cocalico’s 21-14 win over Conestoga Valley and its 47-0 whitewash over Lebanon, Manheim Central clinched the outright Section 2 championship for the second year in a row. That’s 20 Section 2 titles - and eight in the last 10 years - for Central, which pitched its third shutout in a row, fourth in the last five weeks and fifth this season. Ouch, babe. Central will go for its fourth shutout in a row - and for a 7-0 league mark and 10-0 regular season - next Friday at home against (gulp) winless Garden Spot.

SMITH SNAPS TIE, SETS TD TOSS MARK - It didn’t take Kyle Smith very long to snap his tie with former Manheim Township star Pat Bostick and become the state’s all-time leader in TD passes. Smith hit Kevin Cotchen for a 10-yard scoring strike with 5:04 to go in the first quarter for his record 95th TD pass. Smith ended up with five TD passes - giving him 99 in his career - in Catholic’s 47-0 win over Annville-Cleona. That’s three games in a row that Smith has five TD passes: He had five in a 62-7 win over Pequea Valley and five in a 59-17 victory over Northern Lebanon. Smith has 31 TD passes this season, tops in the L-L League.

THE SCORES - In Section 1, Wilson came roaring from behind and picked off Penn Manor 24-20, wrapping up the outright section crown in the process; Manheim Township toppled McCaskey 35-6, handing the Red Tornado its 20th loss in a row; Warwick blanked Hempfield 16-0, all but knocking the Black Knights out of the District 3 Quad-A chase - and staying alive in said race themselves; Cedar Crest put up the most lopsided number this season in the L-L League with its 70-35 win over Reading, which took a hit in the District 3 Quad-A playoff chase. … In Section 2, all four home teams won: Manheim Central cruised past Lebanon 47-0 and wrapped up the outright section championship; Cocalico rallied past Conestoga Valley 21-14, knocking the Buckskins out of the section race, giving Central the outright crown, and picking up a couple of spots in the District 3 Triple-A playoff race; Elizabethtown outlasted Ephrata 35-34 in triple-OT - it was just the second overtime game involving L-L League teams this season (Donegal fell to Eastern York 20-14 in OT in Week 2); Solanco bum-rushed Garden Spot 41-7 as the Spartans fell to 0-9. … In Section 3, Lancaster Catholic steamrolled Annville-Cleona 49-7 and remained alone in first place (and clinched at least a tie for the section crown in the process); Elco dropped Donegal 44-14 and remained a game behind Catholic (Raiders at Crusaders in Week 10, don’t forget; we will definitely be blogging live from that one at LancSports.com); red-hot Lampeter-Strasburg knocked off Northern Lebanaon 42-7 and remained a game behind Catholic; and Pequea Valley beat Columbia 27-12 for the Braves second win this season and first against a Section 3 foe in (gulp) six years. Columbia fell to 0-9.

SO NOW WHAT - With Section 1 and Section 2 wrapped up (at least the outright champions), that leaves Section 3 to settle. Lancaster Catholic has clinched at least a tie for the championship - its fifth Section 3 title (outright or shared) in a row. The Crusaders are 6-0 and are one game ahead of Elco (5-1) and L-S (5-1). In Week 10, Elco is at Catholic. If Catholic wins, it wraps up the title outright. If Elco wins, it shares the title with Catholic. If Elco wins and L-S wins (at Annville-Cleona), there would be a three-way tie for the title. Section 3 is never easy, is it?

6 FOR 1,000 – Six L-L League backs have now rushed for 1,000 or more yards through nine weeks. These numbers are unofficial, but here’s what I have – Conestoga Valley’s Kevin Kelley had a season-low 113 yards against Cocalico, raising his total to 1,798 yards; he’ll need 202 yards in Week 10 against Ephrata to hit 2,000 yards in the regular season. … Cocalico’s Austin Hartman, who rushed for 120 yards in the Eagles’ 21-14 come-from-behind win over CV, is up to 1,249 yards. … Manheim Township’s Brian Sourber, who piled up 192 yards against McCaskey, has 1,220 yards. … Elco’s Arron Achey became the first L-L League QB to join the club; after torching Donegal for 232 yards, he’s up to 1,109 yards. … Reading’s Jason Stewart, who had 146 yards in the Red Knights’ otherwise forgettable 70-35 loss to Cedar Crest, is up to 1,078 yards. … Annville-Cleona’s Rickey Snyder, who rushed for 80 yards in a 49-7 loss to Lancaster Catholic, is up to 1,003 yards. I’ll update these numbers once I get the official stats from the coaches over the weekend. Stay tuned.

NEWS AND NOTES - In its 70-35 win over Reading, Cedar Crest was actually out-gained 523-504. … Reigning LancSports.com Player of the Week Gary Gristick had a huge night for the Falcons under center. He had four TD tosses and a TD run to spark an offense that cranked out 321 rushing yards, 23 first down and put up 42 points in the first half. Gristick went 12-for-20 for 183 yards but he was picked off for the first time this season; Cocalico QB Matt Carty is now the only full-time signal caller in the L-L League not to throw a pick this season. Cedar Crest also had a pair of 100-yard rushers against Reading: Charles Kyeremeh had 148 yards and Sean Sellers had 101 yards. Gotta do some research and find out the last time an L-L League team went off for 70 points in a game. Stay tuned. … Huge night for Lampeter-Strasburg RB Chad Frey. One week after piling up 144 yards and three TD against Pequea Valley, Frey torched Northern Lebanon with three TD runs (29, 34 and 68 yards, respectively) a punt return for a score (51 yards) and a pick-6 (25 yards) for five total TD in the Pioneers’ 42-7 romp, the team’s fifth win in a row. Frey carried 9 times for 144 yards in the victory, giving him back-to-back 144-yard efforts. … Elco piled up 510 yards in its 44-14 wipeout over Donegal. Senior QB Arron Achey was up to his old tricks, passing for 159 yards and a TD, rushing 24 times for 232 yards and three TD, and registering a pair of sacks and getting a safety on D for the Raiders, who held the Indians to 146 yards and three first downs. … RB Brian Sourber had three TD runs in Manheim Township’s 35-6 win over McCaskey, giving him 18 TD runs this season. … QB Justin Gorman had three TD keepers in Manheim Central’s 47-0 win over Lebanon. … Cocalico ‘held’ Conestoga Valley’s Kevin Kelley to 113 yards - his season low in that category. But it was two late interceptions that saved the Eagles; Shiron Hudson’s theft set up Cocalico’s go-ahead drive, and Matt Carty’s pick sealed the deal for Cocalico, which knocked the Bucks out of the Section 2 race. The picks ruined an otherwise terrific game by CV QB Alex Dienner, who completed 10-of-18 passes for 163 yards and two TD, including an ultra sweet 31-yard lob to Leonard Williams, who made an incredible catch laying on his back in the end zone. Dienner also hit Stefan Sensenig for a 9-yard TD. … FYI: Audio Podcast interviews with Cocalico’s Matt Carty and Austin Hartman and Eagles’ coach Dave Gingrich coming Monday. Check back for those. … B.J. Enck picked off three passes on D and rushed for 214 yards on 13 carries (16.5 per pop) in Solanco’s 41-7 win over Garden Spot. He had two TD runs and a pick-6 for the Golden Mules, who won their third game in a row and picked up more important District 3 Triple-A power points. RB John Fisher also helped out Solanco’s ground attack with 103 yards on just 8 carries (12.9 per pop). … Slug-it-out RB Chris Schaffer continues to amaze for Warwick. In the Warriors’ clutch 16-0 win over Hempfield – which knocked the Black Knights out of the district chase and kept Warwick in line for a playoff bid – Schaffer rushed for 173 yards and a score. In his last four games, Schaffer has rushed for 637 yards (unofficially) and seven TD. He’s been a major weapon for Warwick. … Guess the rain really did bother Pequea Valley QB Ben Myers the last couple of weeks. With a dry football against Columbia, Myers was up to his old tricks, completing 13-of-24 passes for 221 yards and three TD. He also rushed for a score in the Braves’ 27-12 win. It was Pequea Valley’s first L-L League Section 3 win since Oct. 3, 2003, snapping the Braves’ 48-game section losing streak. I have Myers for (unofficially) 1,941 passing yards, most in the L-L League. … Have a night, Elizabethtown’s Jared Danneker, who scored two touchdowns in overtime and then blocked Chris Fassnacht’s potential game-tying extra point in the third OT in the Bears’ wild and wonderfully whacky 35-34 win over Ephrata. … Manheim Central coach Mike Williams is up to 296 career wins. If the Barons keep winning, he’d hit magical No. 300 if Central wins in the District 3 Triple-A semifinals. Stay tuned. … With one week to go, there are still two winless teams in the league: Garden Spot in Section 2 and Columbia in Section 3. The Spartans face unbeaten Manheim Central in Week 10; the Crimson Tide hosts Donegal, which will bring a four-game losing streak into that backyard rivalry game.