Four Downs: Four big takes from Week 8
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Four biggest takeaways from Week 8 of the 2024 high school football season.
(Updated with new information regarding Class 6A playofs.)
1ST DOWN
He doesn’t have the stats to back it up at this point but the eye test says that Wyomissing’s Justice Hardy may well be the best all-around football player in the Lancaster-Lebanon League – as a sophomore.
He was dazzling against the top-ranked Class 4A team in the state Friday, rushing for 196 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a defense that had been allowing just 41 rushing yards per game. Hardy got more than that on a fourth-quarter touchdown.
That 56-yard scoring run around the right edge showed his tremendous explosion and ability to cut and avoid defenders. It’s a dangerous combination few athletes at this level possess – and that few can defend.
Hardy’s two biggest plays against Twin Valley came in the passing game where, lined up as a wide receiver, he pulled in game-changing 53- and 48-yard receptions.
He’s just as dangerous returning kicks and as a cornerback he’s a virtual Pick-Six waiting to happen.
2ND DOWN
Wilson’s season-ending visit to Manheim Township will decide the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title and have a big impact on the top seeds in the quickly approaching District 3 Class 6A Tournament.
The Bulldogs (7-1), who haven’t lost since a Week 3 shootout at Nazareth, have moved up to No. 2 in the power rankings.
The No. 1 Blue Streaks (8-0) are the only unbeaten Class 6A team in the district. With a win over Penn Manor this week they will clinch the top seed; a week Week 10 loss will not affect that.
If Wilson beats McCaskey this week it will clinch an opening-round bye and a quarterfinal home game. If it then loses to Township it’ll likely slip to No. 3 in the power rankings. By winning its final two games Wilson will clinch the No. 2 seed and have home-field advantage through the semifinals.
Three-time defending champ Harrisburg, which had been in position to grab one of the top two seeds, took its second loss Saturday when it was tripped up by a 3-4 Cumberland Valley team — at home.
3RD DOWN
Impressive as it was, Wyomissing’s 34-24 win over Twin Valley Friday didn’t determine a thing. It only served to whet the appetite for what’s to come in the next several weeks, including a potential Raiders/Spartans rematch in the District 3 Class 4A Tournament.
That was on everyone’s minds the minute the Friday’s game ended. The Raiders want a rematch and the Spartans welcome that challenge.
It would be disappointing if we don’t see it.
Wyomissing still needs to beat Lampeter-Strasburg in Week 10 if it wants to claim an outright Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 title and not share it.
Before that happens the unbeaten Pioneers will play the Raiders in a Week 9 showdown that should be every bit as good as what we saw the other night at Twin Valley Stadium.
Wyomissing, Twin Valley, and Lampeter-Strasburg all figure to get opening-round byes in districts. How that shakes down, and in what order, is impossible to calculate at this point. All we can say for sure is it’s going to be fun watching it unfold.
4TH DOWN
With two weeks to go there remain six unbeaten Class 5A teams in District 3.
That number will be reduced by at least one Friday when Conestoga Valley visits Exeter for what will decide the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 championship.
Conrad Weiser faces its biggest challenge Friday when it heads to Cocalico, which has won five straight after a rough start. The Scouts had trouble defending Solanco’s Triple Option game earlier this season and will be put to the test against the Eagles, who ran their Veer to near perfection in winning the last two Class 5A titles.
Their match-up Friday will determine the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 championship and play a big role in the district seedings.
The group of unbeatens will be further reduced in Week 10 when Shippensburg and Mechanicsburg meet to determine the Mid-Penn Keystone title.
The favorite in Class 5A remains Bishop McDevitt, which hasn’t lost since an overtime defeat to Harrisburg in Week 2. The Crusaders won the last three Class 4A titles before being pushed up a class by the PIAA’s Success Formula.
