Keith’s Lancaster Catholic - Delone Catholic post-game wrap-up here

Mike Williams woke up Friday morning with 299 career victories as Manheim Central’s football coach.

Kyle Smith woke Friday morning with 8,003 career passing yards as Lancaster Catholic’s quarterback.

When Williams went to bed Friday night, not only was he sitting on 300 career victories, but his Barons had clinched a spot in the District 3 Triple-A championship game after a convincing 42-7 romp over Conrad Weiser in a semifinal game in Manheim.

When Smith went to bed Friday night, not only had he helped the Crusaders win their second District 3 Double-A championship in a row – compliments of a 42-6 rampage over Delone Catholic – but he had passed Pat Devlin to become Pennsylvania’s all-time leader in career passing yardage.

Two polarizing figures in Lancaster-Lebanon League football circles, particularly Williams, who has been at this for 29 seasons in Manheim.

This is just season No. 3 for Smith, who is now the state’s all-time leader in passing yards (8,173 – and counting) and touchdown passes (114 – and counting).

He’ll surely add to those numbers next Friday in the first round of the PIAA Double-A state playoffs, when Catholic (12-1) takes on the District 4 champ – Lewisburg or Loyalsock, pending Saturday’s outcome – somewhere on the road in the coal region.

Meanwhile, Williams became just the 10th coach in PIAA history to join the 300-career-win club. He has more coaching victories than anyone in District 3, and with the Barons’ win over Conrad Weiser, Central improved to a staggering 41-6 in District 3 playoff games.

Yeah – that’s the most wins. As are the Barons’ 15 championships.

They’ll go for No. 16 next Friday at 7 p.m. in Hersheypark Stadium, where No. 2 seed Susquehanna Township will be waiting. The Indians held off reigning champ West York 7-6 in Friday’s other Triple-A semifinal.

That 7-6 final was a bit of a head-scratcher; the talent of ‘Hanna QB Ben Dupree and his quick feet and rocket right arm aren’t. He’s a stud, and will give the Barons’ fits.

But that’s next week.

Other items from Friday night …

BULLDOGS OUSTED – Wilson, the L-L League Section 1 outright champ, will not defend its Quad-A crown. The Bulldogs fell behind 21-0, rallied to knot the game at 21-all, but fell to Cumberland Valley when the Eagles’ Trevor Harman caught a 48-yard TD pass from Eric Sawyer with six seconds to go, giving Cumberland Valley a 28-21 win, and some major redemption and payback from last year’s district final, when the Eagles turned the ball over eight times in Wilson’s 35-7 romp. Not only did Cumberland Valley not turn the ball over against the Bulldogs Friday night, but the Eagles have only turned the ball over just nine times through 13 games – after turning it over eight times alone in one game last year against Wilson. What a difference a year makes, for sure. Cumberland Valley, owners of 10 District 3 titles, will get the winner of Saturday’s Bishop McDevitt vs. Penn Manor semifinal showdown in next Saturday’s Quad-A finale, set for 6 p.m. in Hersheypark Stadium. Wilson, which had its 10-game winning streak snapped, returns a slew of talent next season, so expect the Bulldogs to be back and ready to rock and rock next fall.

GORMAN REMAINS RED HOT – Manheim Central senior QB Justin Gorman, who accounted for 13 touchdowns in the Barons’ previous four games, was up to his old tricks in Central’s semifinal win over Conrad Weiser. Gorman completed 7-of-9 passes for 188 yards and he tossed three TD passes – an 8-yard flip to a wide-open Dakota Royer; a 19-yard toss to Royer, who made a sweet grab in the back of the end zone; and a 34-yarder to Derek Hart, which all but iced the game in the second half for the Barons, who improved to 13-0 while piling up 390 yards against the Scouts. Next up: Susquehanna Township in Chocolatetown.

BIG PICK - For me, the biggest play of the night in Manheim Central’s 42-7 win over Conrad Weiser came at the tail end of the second quarter, when Barons’ CB Jarryd Heisey picked off a pass in the back of the end zone. Scouts’ QB Zach Guiles tossed a high fade toward the back corner of the end zone, and Heisey went up in traffic, secured the pick and came down (somehow) in bounds. It was a mucho athletic play. The theft thwarted a nifty Weiser drive, and a score there and the Scouts could have cut into Central’s 21-7 lead heading into the half. Instead of Weiser gaining some momentum, Central forced the turnover, ran out the clock and took a 14-point lead into the half - and got the ball to start the third quarter. The Barons did turn the ball over on that drive, but on their ensuing drive, Justin Gorman fired a TD pass to Dakota Royer and the rout was on … keyed, I thought, by Heisey’s pick, which really changed the face of the game. 

LIVE BLOG PLUG – Next Friday night, Keith will be blogging live from Lancaster Catholic’s game, and I’ll be blogging live from the Manheim Central vs. Susquehanna Township game in Hersheypark Stadium. If Penn Manor wins, the Comets would play next Saturday night, and I’m quite sure that game will be blogged for sure. All live blog links can be found at LancSports.com.

NEWS AND NOTES – Kyle Smith completed 10-of-16 passes for 170 yards and four TD against Delone Catholic. He was also intercepted – just his fifth pick this season. Smith has now passed for 2,385 yards and 46 touchdowns this season. His 8,173 yards are now 11 ahead of Pat Devlin, the former Downingtown East standout who finished his prep career with 8,162 yards. Smith needs three TD passes to former Clearfield standout Chad Kroell for the most TD passes thrown in a season in PIAA history. Kroell had 49 in 1994. … The pass that put Smith past Devlin was a 31-yard TD toss to WR Tyler Purvis, who had two TD grabs against Delone Catholic. … Stat of the Night: Delone Catholic came into the district finale averaging more than 300 rushing yards a game out of its Wing-T set. The Squires managed just 98 yards on 25 attempts (3.9 yards per carry) against Lancaster Catholic, which was making its fifth appearance in the Double-A title game in the last six years. The Crusaders have now won three championships over that span. … Cumberland Valley now leads Wilson 6-4 in their 10 District 3 playoff head-to-head match-ups. … Wilson’s last home loss was a 14-12 setback to Warwick in Week 4 of the 2007 season. … To honor Williams and his 300th win, Manheim Central invited back alumni from all the teams Williams has coached. Former players from those teams were recognized in a post-celebration. Williams had no idea they were all going to be there. Check back Monday for an audio Podcast interview with Central’s coach, and his thoughts about going back to the district finals and getting win No. 300. … Also check back Monday for an audio Podcast interview with Central o-lineman Shaun Buller, who is part of the Barons’ rugged line. We chatted about Central’s success, and his senior season after transferring over from Elizabethtown. … Also check back Monday for an audio Podcast interview with Penn State wideout Graham Zug, the former Barons’ standout who was in Manheim Friday to watch his former coach go for – and hit – a milestone victory.

More to come …