And then there were six …
Wilson, Penn Manor, Manheim Central, Cocalico, Conestoga Valley and Lancaster Catholic made it through on the first night of the District 3 football playoffs.
Wilson, the Section 1 champ and reigning District 3 Quad-A champ, rolled over York High 31-7 behind junior QB Zach Zweizig, who had three touchdown passes – one to Patrick O’Brien, one to Tyler Beck and one to Shane Witmyer – and the Bulldogs held the Bearcats to 150 total yards.
Penn Manor punched its ticket to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row with a 35-14 come-from-behind win over pesky Chambersburg. LaRonn Lee had two TD runs and Jared Shearer rushed for 101 yards and a pair of scores for the Comets, who trailed 14-0 early before zooming from behind with 35 unanswered points.
Manheim Central saw its shutout streak end, but the Barons walloped Shippensburg 49-8. Central cruised to a 35-0 lead at the break and led 49-0 before the Greyhounds snapped the Barons’ shutout streak with a safety late in the fourth (making it 49-2), and then getting a TD pass at the final horn for the final margin. Central’s streak ended at 19 quarters without giving up a point. Barons’ coach Mike Williams is up to 298 career wins.
Cocalico outlasted L-L League foe Elco 56-31 in a shootout. Jon Smoker rushed for 257 yards and scored five touchdowns for the Eagles, who flat-out survived. Cocalico and Elco combined for 1,016 total yards – 567 for the Eagles, all, incredibly, on the ground. Swan song for four-year starter Arron Achey, who went bananas in his finale: 27-of-49 for 341 yards and three TD tosses. He finished his career with (unofficially) 4,299 passing yards.
Conestoga Valley pulled off the biggest upset – seed-wise – on the first night of the district playoffs when the No. 11 Buckskins whitewashed No. 6 Northern York 35-0 – on the road no less. And there was a whopper milestone in that game as CV senior RB Kevin Kelley rushed for 173 yards and a pair of TD, giving him (unofficially) 2,085 rushing yards this season.
And Lancaster Catholic opened defense of its Double-A title with a hard-fought 48-21 win over York Suburban – but might have lost a key cog for a while in the process. Senior QB Kyle Smith was picked off twice, but he rushed for a career-high 119 yards and completed 22-of-29 passes for 303 yards and was in on four touchdowns. Jordan Stewart added 130 rushing yards and scored three TD for the Crusaders, who are one step closer to going back to Hersheypark Stadium. Two-way threat Trevor St. Clair was taken off the field with a leg injury. Stay tuned for updates.
That, of course, means three L-L League teams were bumped off on Night 1 …
Manheim Township had no answer for Governor Mifflin’s power option attack and the Blue Streaks were bounced from the Quad-A bracket 14-0. The Mustangs piled up 280 rushing yards and 19 first downs and basically played keep away, keeping Township’s high-powered Razorback attack on the sidelines.
Lampeter-Strasburg suffered perhaps the most wicked loss across the board in the first round, when the Pioneers had their potential game-winning field goal with time running out blocked in a gut-puncher 30-28 loss to Conrad Weiser.
And Elco fell to former Section 3 pal Cocalico 56-31 in a score-fest.
ROUND 2 MATCHUPS INVOLVING L-L TEAMS:
QUAD-A
(2) Wilson vs. Saturday’s (7) Central York vs. (10) Dallastown winner.
(5) Penn Manor @ (4) South Western.
TRIPLE-A
(9) Daniel Boone @ (1) Manheim Central.
(7) Cocalico @ (2) Susquehanna Township.
(11) Conestoga Valley @ (3) West York.
DOUBLE-A
(5) Middletown @ (1) Lancaster Catholic.
FAST FACTS: Manheim Central, the only undefeated team in the Triple-A bracket (11-0), topped Daniel Boone 26-19 in an overtime classic quarterfinal-round game in Birdsboro in 2006. … Cocalico outlasted Susquehanna Township 49-30 in a first-round game last year. … CV must go on the road and take on the defending Triple-A champ, West York. … Lancaster Catholic mauled Middletown 41-0 in last year’s Double-A title game; this year’s matchup is a semifinal.
FRIDAY’S SCORES:
QUAD-A
Cumberland Valley 42, Muhlenberg 7
Central Dauphin 37, Spring Grove 13
Wilson 31, York High 7
Penn Manor 35, Chambersburg 14
Governor Mifflin 14, Manheim Township 0
Dallastown @ Central York, Saturday
Harrisburg @ Bishop McDevitt, Saturday
TRIPLE-A
Susquehanna Township 42, New Oxford 7
Daniel Boone 35, Greencastle-Antrim 7
Hershey 24, Kennard-Dale 21
West York 35, Mechanicsburg 28
Manheim Central 49, Shippensburg 8
Cocalico 56, Elco 31
Conestoga Valley 35, Northern York 0
Conrad Weiser 30, Lampeter-Strasburg 28
DOUBLE-A
Littlestown 24, Milton Hershey 22
Middletown 11, Trinity 3
Delone Catholic 49, Wyomissing 28
Lancaster Catholic 48, York Suburban 21
SINGLE-A
Upper Dauphin, bye
Millersburg 41, Reading Central Catholic 0
Steel-High 49, Camp Hill 13
York Catholic 23, Reading Holy Name 22
2 GRAND FOR KELLEY – Conestoga Valley senior RB Kevin Kelley rushed for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns Friday in the Buckskins’ 35-0 demolition over Northern York. That puts Kelley (unofficially) at 2,085 rushing yards, making him the first L-L League back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season since Lebanon Catholic’s Tommy Long rolled up 2,264 yards in 10 games in 1996.
GNARLY D – No messing around for Conestoga Valley in its Mercy Rule-inducing 35-0 triumph over Northern York. The Buckskins shook off some injury bugs and got a huge defensive effort, holding the Polar Bears to 38 yards and just two first downs – on their home field in Dillsburg, which made CV’s bus ride home a whole heckuva lot more fun, no doubt.
GORMAN REMAINS HOT – One week after torching Garden Spot and earning LancSports.com Player of the Week kudos, Manheim Central QB Justin Gorman was up to his old tricks in the Barons’ rip-roaring 49-8 win over Shippensburg. Gorman had 10 keepers for 100 yards and scored two TD on the ground, and he completed a cool 8-of-10 passes for 161 yards and another TD. In his last two games, Gorman has completed 20-of-23 passes for 344 yards and four TD against no picks, and he’s carried 17 times for 241 yards and five scores.
Plenty more coming later this weekend, so stay tuned for that.
Plus plenty of previews and features and stats and facts coming next week.
And, believe it or not, I’m getting my (gulp) basketball folders out next week. Time is flying, gang.
