Comets prepping for quarterfinal showdown vs. South Western

Another year, another trip to the District 3 Quad-A quarterfinals for Penn Manor’s football team.

This is the round the Comets’ bowed out in a year ago, falling to eventual runner-up Cumberland Valley. It was Penn Manor’s deepest trip over in the postseason, a feat the Comets have now matched this season.

Penn Manor must go on the road Friday night and take on South Western, a 10-1 team that would also love to make the Final Four in Quad-A.

The Comets have more than proved that last year was certainly no fluke.

But can they clear this hurdle and make the District 3 Quad-A semifinals?

That was the topic of conversation Tuesday at Penn Manor’s practice, when I chatted with coach Todd Mealy, multi-purpose back LaRonn Lee and thumper Jared Shearer.

You can listen to those audio Podcast interviews here …

 

Penn Manor coach Todd Mealy is a history buff.

He’s only been coaching the Comets for three seasons, but he’s well aware of the program’s history.

For instance, did you know that Friday’s game, which will be played on Nov. 19, is the latest in any season that a Penn Manor football team has played a game?

Good stuff.

But will the Comets have a game a week from Friday – on Nov. 27?

That is the question – and I chatted with Coach Mealy about Penn Manor’s come-from-behind win over Chambersburg in Round 1, about the last couple of weeks – losing a late lead in a gut-punch loss to Wilson, rallying from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Cedar Crest in Week 10, and falling behind 14-0 to Chambersburg before rallying – and about keys to the South Western game, which will be played in The Corral, the Mustangs’ cool home stadium.

You can listen to the interview with Coach Mealy 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.

 

Pick a position, any position – wideout, running back, slot guy, wingback – heck, even quarterback in the wildly popular ‘Wildcat’ package.

LaRonn Lee wears a lot of hats for Penn Manor’s offense – and he wears them all quite well, thank you.

The McCaskey transfer has been a perfect fit for the Comets, who will line him up at any of the aforementioned spots. And Lee has delivered as a multi-purpose threat time and time again.

Through 11 weeks, Lee is second on the team with 673 rushing yards, and he leads the Comets with 25 receptions for 480 yards (19.2 yards per grab). He has accounted for 1,153 yards from scrimmage, he has scored 14 touchdowns and he averages 10.4 yards every time he gets his paws on the football.

I chatted with Mr. Lee about his multi-purpose ability, about what it’s like to play all those positions, about Penn Manor’s run to back-to-back district quarterfinal appearances, and about the matchup with South Western.

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.

 

While quarterback P.J. Rehm and super-back LaRonn Lee get a ton of touches out of Penn Manor’s spread-you-out-attack, fullback-type Jared Shearer does a lot of the dirty work … the third-and-2 and fourth-and-goal-at-the-1 carries. And he blocks, giving up his body so Rehm, the team’s leading rusher (678 yards) and Lee can squeak through holes.

Shearer has filled that role quite splendidly for the Comets this season.

Last Friday, in Penn Manor’s 35-14 win over Chambersburg, Shearer had a bust-out game of sorts, rushing for 108 yards and a TD in the Comets’ come-from-behind win. That upped his season totals to 476 rushing yards and nine TD.

Shearer is also a major slugger at LB for a Penn Manor defense that has flown under the radar a bit this season. The Comets are allowing 256.5 yards per game – ninth-best in the L-L League. Plus, Penn Manor has 22 takeaways on D and is a plus-8 in the all-important turnover ratio department.

I chatted with Mr. Shearer about Penn Manor’s O and D, about the Comets’ penchant for coming from behind the last two weeks in a row, about clearing the district quarterfinal hurdle, and about prepping for South Western.

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 device by clicking here.

Harbach, Smith, Purvis preview district semifinal matchup vs. Middletown

Extremely large game sitting on Lancaster Catholic’s football docket Friday night.

A trip to Hersheypark Stadium for the District 3 Double-A championship game will be on the line when the Crusaders host a familiar foe – Middletown – in a semifinal game.

Lancaster Catholic mauled Middletown 41-0 in last year’s District 3 Double-A title game in Hersheypark Stadium. And now the Crusaders must get past the Blue Raiders to earn a return trip to the championship tilt.

Middletown, fresh off an 11-3 (yeah, 11) win over Trinity in the quarterfinals, will likely come to Rossmere Stadium breathing fire and wanting some payback from last year’s debacle.

The Lancaster Catholic-Middletown survivor gets the Delone Catholic-Littlestown winner in the district championship game a week from Friday in good ol’ Hersheypark Stadium.

I popped in on Lancaster Catholic’s practice Tuesday evening and chatted with coach Bruce Harbach, QB Kyle Smith and WR Tyler Purvis about Friday’s matchup against Middletown.

You can listen to those audio Podcast interviews here …

 

Bruce Harbach really likes his team.

He knows his Crusaders are coping with some injuries – Andrew Foltz, an anchor on the o-line, has missed some time, and multi-purpose threat Trevor St. Clair snapped his ankle (and had emergency surgery at 2 a.m. last Saturday) in the York Suburban game last Friday.

He knows the o-line has been shifted around and some new kids have filled in – quite well, Harbach is quick to point out.

And he knows his team had a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers and let York Suburban hang around in the quarterfinals last Friday.

Still, Harbach likes his team, he likes his team’s focus and drive and determination to get back to Hersheypark Stadium and play for another district championship.

I chatted with Coach Harbach about overcoming injuries to win their district opener, about prepping for the rematch with Middletown, and about the state of his program, which, if you haven’t noticed, is in a really good place at the moment.

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 device by clicking here.

 

The numbers, quite frankly, are staggering – 7,771 passing yards and 106 touchdown passes.

The 106 TD passes are the most ever by any Pennsylvania prep quarterback.

The 7,771 yards are second-most ever by any Pennsylvania prep quarterback – and with two really good games (if his team can win and advance Friday), he should/could break the current record.

What a career for Kyle Smith, Lancaster Catholic’s senior quarterback, who has completed 118-of-186 passes (a sizzling 63 percent) for 1,912 yards and 38 TD – against just four picks – this season for the Crusaders, who are set to host Middletown in a District 3 Double-A semifinal game Friday.

As if all the passing stats aren’t fancy enough, Smith recently did two things that he’d never done while playing for the Crusaders:

He rushed for more than 100 yards in a game – 119 in the first-round victory over York Suburban.

And in Week 10 against Elco, Smith played defense in a game for the first time, getting some time at free safety – and registering his first career tackle.

I chatted with Mr. Smith about those two factoids, about the career marks he’s set and is chasing, about his college recruiting trail (Akron and Richmond have offered scholarships and he’s interested in Harvard and Princeton and no, he probably won’t make a decision until next spring, after he throws the javelin), and about prepping for the rematch showdown with Middletown.

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 mp3 device by clicking here.

 

As far as I know, he’ll be the last Purvis to pass through Lancaster Catholic’s athletic program. Although I’ve been told there is one more Purvis (believe it or not) in the pipeline. Stay tuned.

Tyler Purvis, whose bigger brothers Kyle and Ryan were also standout performers in multiple sports for the Crusaders, has definitely carved out his own niche in Lancaster Catholic’s football program.

The three-year starter is the Crusaders’ leading receiver with 43 grabs for 797 yards (18.5 avg.) and 13 TD. The yards and the TD catches are tops in the L-L League.

Purvis has also been a ringleader of a defense that is allowing just 203.0 yards per game – second-best in the L-L League. He’s picked off three passes and returned two of those for touchdowns, most by any D player in the L-L League.

Purvis is also one of the top punters in the league, averaging more than 38 yards per boot.

And Friday, Purvis and his mates will try and get back to Hersheypark Stadium yet again.

I chatted with Mr. Purvis about all things Crusaders’ football.

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.

A couple of L-L League football items …

UP JUMP THE BUCKS – Just one L-L League football team will shift classifications for the 2010-2011 cycle – Conestoga Valley, which will bump up from Triple-A to Quad-A. According to the updated PIAA list, CV will have 545 boys in the high school during that span, and the Bucks will be the seventh-smallest school in Quad-A during those two football seasons.

SOURBER SETS MARKS – Manheim Township senior RB Brian Sourber had a sensational season toting the football for the Blue Streaks. Through 11 games, he carried 246 times for 1,546 yards, had 21 touchdown runs and 24 total TD for 146 points scored. He broke Justin Stull’s single-season rushing mark (1,542 in 2001); he broke Stull’s single-season TD rushing mark (18 in 2001); he broke George Eager’s single-season total TD mark (22 in 2004); and he broke Eager’s single-season scoring mark (132 in 2004).

COMEBACK KIDS – If you thought Wilson steamrolled through its second straight 7-0 run through Section 1, look again. The Bulldogs came from behind to win seven times during the regular season. And they nearly made it eight, but came up 2 points shy and a wide-left field goal from rallying past Manheim Central.

STEWART SURPASSES SINGLE-SEASON MARK – Lancaster Catholic junior RB Jordan Stewart’s 1,218 rushing yards are a single-season school record, topping the previous mark of 1,198, set by current Lancaster Catholic RB/DB coach A.J. Cunningham in 1998. Stewart has played in nine of the Crusaders’ 11 games, making his new mark a little sweeter.

LIVE BLOGS - For Friday’s District 3 playoffs, Keith will blogging live from the Middletown @ Lancaster Catholic Double-A semifinal game, and I will be blogging live from the Daniel Boone @ Manheim Central Triple-A quarterfinal game. You can find those links at LancSports.com.

To say Cocalico grounded out its 56-31 victory over Elco in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs last Friday night in Denver might not even do this one justice.

The Eagles ran 46 plays against the Raiders – all 46 calls were of the rushing variety.

Senior QB Matt Carty attempted exactly zero passes against Elco.

The end result of those 46 running plays – a school single-game record 589 yards … and a trip to the district quarterfinals this Friday against No. 2 seed Susquehanna Township, whom Cocalico topped in the first round last year when (get this) the Eagles set their previous record for rushing yards in a game.

I popped in on Cocalico practice Monday and chatted with coach Dave Gingrich, RB Jon Smoker – who smoked Elco for a career-best 256 yards and five TD runs – and LB Andrew Prevoznik.

You can listen to those audio Podcast interviews here …

Dave Gingrich makes no bones about it.

We’re a Veer option team.

These are the plays we run.

We’re very good at the plays we run.

And if it ain’t broke, we certainly aren’t going to fix it.

Hence his all-run attack against Elco in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs, when Gingrich called 46 running plays in the Eagles’ 56-31 triumph over the Raiders.

Cocalico pumped out an eye-popping 589 rushing yards, and the Eagles hope to keep that up Friday when they visit tricky No. 2 seed Susquehanna Township (10-1), which features speedy dual-threat QB Ben Dupree.

I chatted with Coach Gingrich about the lights-out rushing performance against Elco, about how the Eagles will prep for Dupree and Susquehanna Township, and about the sudden resignation of his friend and coaching comrade, Northern Lebanon’s Jack Beidler.

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 mp3 device by clicking here.

Oh, what a night.

Jon Smoker has been sort of the forgotten guy in Cocalico’s backfield.

With sturdy FB Austin Hartman cranking out back-to-back 1,000-plus-yard seasons, QB Matt Carty gobbling up scads yards on keepers, and guys like Shiron Hudson and Roman High sharing some carries, Smoker has kind of quietly just kept plugging away.

In Cocalico’s first-round District 3 Triple-A playoff game against Elco last Friday, the spotlight found Smoker – in a big way.

The senior slugger gouged out a career-high 256 yards and scored a career-high five touchdowns in the Eagles’ 56-31 romp. It was, he says, the greatest game he’s every played.

Smoker’s big night not only propelled Cocalico into the second round of Districts, but it upped his numbers to 494 yards (10.3 yards per carry) and eight TD this season – and gave the Eagles another super reliable back in their Veer option attack.

Oh by the way, Smoker’s third cousin is – ta-da – former Manheim Central standout Jeff Smoker. So he’s got that athleticism in his genes.

I chatted with Mr. Smoker about his big performance against Elco and about this week’s game against Susquehanna Township.

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 know anything at all about Cocalico’s football program, you probably know all about the Eagles’ Veer option attack and gaudy offensive numbers – like the 3,717 rushing yards and 398.5 yards per game – both tops among L-L League teams still dancing in District 3 playoff brackets.

Cocalico’s defense has flown under the radar this season.

Bet you didn’t know the Eagles own the fourth-ranked total team D in the L-L League, yielded 237.0 yards per game.

Yes, Elco put up some crooked numbers last Friday in the first round of Districts, piling up 467 yards and 23 first downs. Dual-threat QB Arron Achey did a lot of that damage through the air, chucking it for 341 yards.

Take away that epic night by Achey, and Cocalico’s D has been quite stingy.

One of the ringleaders of that unit has been LB Andrew Prevoznik. Known early on perhaps more for his kicking prowess, Prevoznik has had a dynamite season stuffing ball-carriers and chasing quarterbacks.

Through 11games he leads Cocalico with 126 total tackle point, which including a team-best 72 assisted tackles and a big 15 tackles for losses.

The aforementioned Jon Smoker is second on the team wit 113 total tackle points, including 31 solo stops.

Prevoznik, who still handles the extra point and field goal duties, Smoker and the rest of Cocalico’s D will be tested mightily in the district quarterfinals against dual-threat QB Ben Dupree and a Susquehanna Township offense that averages 429.4 yards per game.

I chatted with Mr. Prevoznik about the big win over Elco, about Cocalico’s defense, and about prepping for Mr. Dupree and the Indians.

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 mp3 device by clicking here.

Former Manheim Township standout chats about record-breaking career for Diplomats

Pick a receiving or all-purpose mark in Franklin & Marshall’s storied football record book, and you’ll see George Eager’s name there – multiple times.

The former Manheim Township standout – and former Lancaster New Era Male Athlete of the Year – has had an incredible three-year run playing wideout for the Diplomats.

After spending his freshman season playing for Millersville University, Eager transferred cross-town to F&M and he’s been climbing the school’s statistical chart since the day he landed on campus.

Through 10 regular season games this season, Eager has 79 catches for 1,043 yards and 11 TD grabs. He’s averaging 13.2 yards per catch. This is the third season in a row he caught at least 70 balls, and after catching 10 passes for 162 yards in F&M’s 33-23 win over rival Gettysburg last Saturday, Eager moved up a couple of more charts - and had his named called over the PA several times.

Eager and the Diplomats will play one last game Saturday, when F&M (8-2) hosts Wilkes University (6-4) in the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl at high noon.

It will give F&M a shot to go out with a postseason win – and for Eager one last shot to move up the charts a little more.

“George has outworked everybody,” F&M coach John Troxell said last Saturday after the Diplomats topped Gettysburg in Lancaster. “When you talk about leaders, George will be the first guy in every sprint, he’ll be the first guy in the weight room and he’ll be the last guy out. He’s an incredible person, and that’s what makes him a great player. The guys respect him so much. He brings everyone’s level way, way up. It’s very hard to find a George Eager. You get blessed to have maybe one guy like him in your program every so often in your career.”

A sampling of some of Eager’s marks – His 1,483 all-purpose yards this year are a single-season record; he’s first in program history with three kickoff returns for scores; he’s first in career all-purpose yards with 3,986; he has 1,371 yards in kickoff returns, good for second-best in program history; he has 25 career TD catches, second-most in program history; his 79 catches this year are second-most in a single-season; his 11 TD grabs this year are second-most in a single-season; he’s third in program history in receiving yards (2,446), catches (200), points scored (172) and touchdowns scored (28).

It goes on and on and on – and Eager compiled all those numbers in just three seasons. And when he left MU for F&M, the Diplomats were still in a bit of rebuilding phase with Troxell coming on board.

“When you talk about turning a program around, it takes a pretty special person to jump on board and say, ‘I’m going to help you win,’” Troxell said. “That’s the kind of person George is. He’s a special person.”

I chatted with Eager after Saturday’s win over Gettysburg about all these records (and getting his name called over the PA a bunch of times during the Gettysburg game), about F&M’s shot at a postseason bid – which turned out – and about his legacy in a Diplomats’ uniform.

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 mp3 listening device by clicking here.