Couple of things riding in the Manheim Township at Hempfield football game last Friday night.
First and foremost, that just happens to be one of the biggest and best rivalries in the county – any sport, any gender, any time.
Said it before and I’ll say it again: The Blue Streaks and the Black Knights could play tiddlywinks in the middle or Route 30 and it would be a throw-down – with a big crowd on hand, no doubt.
Anyhoo … last Friday’s game was also important for Township in that the Streaks needed a victory to secure a top-8 seed and get a home game in the first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs.
And with that, another Township-Hempfield rivalry game was tucked away into the books, and the Streaks did indeed earn a home game in the first round of Districts – Governor Mifflin will pay a visit to Neffsville on Friday in a battle of 8 and 9 seeds.
I caught up with Township coach Mike Melnyk and the Streaks’ players Brady Souders and Moyo Oluleye after the game.
You can listen to those audio Podcast interviews here …
Mike Melnyk’s mantra this season has been all about ignoring the noise.
Manheim Township’s coach knew he had some major talent in Neffsville, and after a 5-1 start, his Streaks were starting to open some major eyebrows around the league.
Then a hiccup – Penn Manor 28, Township 18.
And another hiccup – Wilson 35, Township 16.
But Melnyk rallied his troops and told them, again, to ignore the noise. Township was still a good team, still had major weapons, and still could do some major damage.
The Streaks responded with back-to-back wins to close the regular season, including the 28-14 win over Hempfield, which wasn’t as close as the final score, quite frankly.
And here are the Streaks, home for a District 3 playoff game after a cozy tie-for-second finish in the Section 1 race, which was as cutthroat as usual, mostly because Wilson – even though the Bulldogs won the title outright – didn’t stomp on everyone this time around.
I chatted with Coach Melnyk about Section 1, and how those wars prepped the Streaks for what’s ahead; about the win over Hempfield and the importance of beating their rival and getting a home game; and about how Township will approach the Governor Mifflin game.
You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.
You can also download the Podcast and play it on your favorite listening device by clicking here.
The Razorback is back.
Manheim Township’s direct-snap package has been quite menacing as of late.
When steady senior QB Jon Yuko isn’t under center making the Streaks go, Township has a couple of major weapons who can take a direct snap and make things happen.
Brian Sourber is definitely one of those weapons – he’s rushed for 1,463 yards and 21 touchdowns – both second-most in the league – and he’s been chewing up opposing defenses from all over this season.
Quint Miller – who has rushed for 351 yards and 3 TD – is another weapon out of the Razorback.
And so is Brady Souders, who has been a major weapon on both sides of the ball for Township.
He’s was up to his old tricks in the Hempfield game, averaging 8 yards a carry on offense and scoring on a 14-yard run to open the scoring for the Streaks – after he picked off a pass on defense to set up that drive.
Souders picked off another pass later, and he’s second on the team with 488 rushing yards, plus three TD runs and a TD catch.
He’s like the energizer bunny.
I chatted with Souders about Township’s Razorback attack, about the Streaks’ D – which has allowed just three scores in the last eight quarters – and about the upcoming District 3 playoffs.
You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.
You can also download the Podcast and listen to it on your favorite mp3 player by clicking here
If you haven’t checked the defensive stats lately, Manheim Township allowed just 260 yards a game in the regular season – that’s third-best in Section 1 and ninth-best in the L-L League. Plus, the Streaks were a plus-5 in turnover ratio with 15 takeaways on D during the regular season.
And the Streaks feature one of the best hammers around in LB Moyo Oluleye. All he’s done this season is lead Township in solo stops (58), he’s second on the team in assisted tackles (38), plus six tackles for losses, three sacks and a couple of forced fumbles.
Oluleye is drawing serious college feelers, and he’s got a couple of Ivy League schools on his plate.
But for now, he’s focused on the district playoffs.
I chatted with Oluleye about Township’s win over Hempfield, about getting a home game for Districts, about how the Streaks will approach this week – and about Brian Sourber, Township’s dynamic back … and his nickname.
You can listen to the interview by clicking the ‘play’ button above.
You can also download the Podcast and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.
