Caileb Howse does the impossible to lifts Lampeter over Wyomissing in classic championship
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jason Guarente — LNP/Lancasteronline
LITITZ — The play that saved Lampeter-Strasburg’s season was impossible. There’s no way it should have worked.
Caileb Howse must have scrambled for 70 yards. The senior’s pass must have floated 30 yards into the air. It was a rainbow. A prayer in search of an answer.
When it finally came down, the ball rested in the hands of Mason Hostetter. Lampeter-Strasburg had dodged elimination with the only two words that mattered at that point: first down.
Three plays later, Christian Nolt scored the tying touchdown. One overtime later, the Pioneers were crowned District 3 football champions.
Lampeter-Strasburg outlasted Wyomissing 30-27 in a Class 4A final for the ages at Warwick Friday night.
“Never a doubt,” Lampeter-Strasburg assistant coach Todd Shelley said as he left the press box to join the celebration.
Shelley was joking, of course. There were doubts. Plenty of them.
Howse broke every rule on his never-ending scramble that went from one sideline to the other. He went backward. He changed direction. He threw across his body. He threw across the entire field. As each second ticked away, it seemed less and less likely he was going to find a happy conclusion.
Then, somehow, he did.
“He’s Superman in a 13 jersey,” one Wyomissing coach said as he left the field.
Lampeter-Strasburg was facing fourth-and-13 and was trailing 27-20 as the game entered the final minute of regulation. Hostetter’s catch went for 18 yards.
“I was just thinking, ‘I’ve got to go get it,’ ” Hostetter said. “That was our season right there. I needed to make a play so we could keep going.”
Carson Zook came through with one of the key blocks after Howse reversed course. The center lifted his arms to make sure he didn’t get flagged for an illegal block in the back.
Howse was looking straight ahead by the time he reached the left hashmark and he saw nothing but Wyomissing jerseys. There was no one open in front of him. His only target was what seemed like a million miles away.
Hostetter slipped behind the defense to give his quarterback a chance. Then the 5-foot-8, 140-pound senior jumped into traffic and made the catch of his life.
“I trust my receivers,” Howse said. “I’ll throw a 50-50 ball to them any day. I saw Mason peel out. I was like, ‘That’s the guy. He’s getting the first down for us.’ ”
The outcome brought a flood of emotion from both sides. Tears of disappointment for Wyomissing, which fell inches short of its sixth consecutive district title. Tears of joy for Lampeter-Strasburg because this magical ride will last at least one more week. There’s a bond between these Pioneers that has been forged by close friendships and a 13-0 record. Howse believed that Hostetter could corral that ball. Everyone on the Lampeter-Strasburg sideline believes in Howse.
“It all starts with Caileb,” Hostetter said. “All props to him. He’s a really great player and I’m so lucky to be playing with him. He’s just an awesome kid.”
Howse was holding the trophy when he was summoned for a TV interview. The quarterback handed it to Hostetter, who held it in his right arm as a misty rain fell. It was their second-best connection of the night.
The story of the fourth-down conversion will be told for as long as people talk about Lampeter-Strasburg football. It has to rank among the greatest plays in school history.
“You can’t even describe it,” senior Emory Fluhr said. “That’s one you’ll remember forever.”
It was impossible. Until Howse and Hostetter proved it wasn’t.
