Out from between a rock and a hard place, ‘Hanna emerges as title contender
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A 23-second meltdown early in its playoff opener last year against Twin Valley ignited a rapid end to Susquehanna Township’s season and nearly cost the program its longtime and beloved head coach.
One minute, the Indians were leading . . . the next, the Raiders struck with the ferocity of a tornado, stringing together a touchdown pass, safety, and kick return to post 16 sudden points and put Joe Headen’s future in the crosshairs.
It wasn’t long after that loss that Headen, ’Hanna’s head coach for a quarter century, was left dangling, his job opened after three straight first-round playoff exits and nearly a decade without a postseason win.
He was told he could choose to swallow his pride and apply for the job like everyone else. . . and he did. After a couple of tumultuous months in the ’Hanna football community Headen was rehired.
Now, some 11 months later, Susquehanna Township is enjoying the best start in program history and on the precipice of the school’s first district football championship.
To get it, Headen’s team will have to get past . . . you got, it Twin Valley.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a great motivating factor (throughout the season),” said Headen, whose team meets Twin Valley Friday at 7 at Elco for the District 3 Class 4A championship. “In the back of our minds we always said we would get a shot (to play them again). You look at 4A and the staples are Twin Valley, Wyomissing, Lampeter-Strasburg and, the last few years, I’ll say us.
“We knew at one point we would have to go through two of the three. Here we are. We got one; hopefully we can get through the second one.”
PIAA Class 4A Tournament bracket
The first leg of that redemption tour turned out to be perhaps the greatest finish, and biggest win, in ’Hanna football history. It took a prolonged, zig-zagging scramble by senior quarterback Torin Evans to keep the play alive, then, with time expiring, a toss to the back of the end zone – think Joe Montana to Dwight Clark; if you’re too young to remember that Google “The Catch” – to beat Wyomissing 37-35 in the semifinals.
“The one gift that Torin has is the ability to extend the play,” Headen said. “In high school football, if you have a very good quarterback, you always have a chance.”
Now the Indians need to tackle a Twin Valley team that is unbeaten, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4A and scoring points by the bushel basket.
Tough as it was to swallow, Headen looks back at last year’s 47-19 loss to Twin Valley as the beginning of this year’s to-date perfect run. It provided not only motivation but a learning lesson he believes his experienced and talented team – it boasts a staggering seven Division I recruits – has grown from.
“Last year, we did not deal with the adversity of that scoring barrage well,” Headen said. “We mentally and physically just didn’t bounce back. That’s been the push behind us all year: Deal with adversity, weather the storm.
“With a team like Twin Valley, you’re going to have to weather one or two storms. West York jumped up on ’em (leading 14-0 last week) and then they just stayed the course. The next thing you know, they ripped off 45 points.”
Headen, named Mid-Penn Conference Coach of the Year, doesn’t look at this triumphant season as personal redemption, as a middle finger extended to those who were trying to get rid of him.
“I try not to really look into that,” he said of last year’s postseason spectacle. “The gratification (of this season) comes from the whole process and knowing that our players stuck together. We had known this group had always been successful all the way up through. It was a matter of keeping them together.”
Headen’s football program is literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Its campus is one mile away from Bishop McDevitt and its school district borders with Harrisburg’s. Those are two of the most powerful football programs in the state, and both have a reputation for drawing top talent from nearby programs. Susquehanna Township, like other schools in the region, has seen top players transfer out.
Making his players believe they can be successful by staying home has been the most important thing Headen’s done.
“These guys have been playing together since they were 7, 8 years old,” Headen said. “Torin and (captain) Jarrett (Kern) were my ballboys. . . we have been around these kids for a very long. The year before (this senior class) came in we were 0-10. We made our whole campaign about: ‘You’ve gotta keep ’em at the ’Hanna. There were some that left, but the ones who’ve stayed here with us have also been successful. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of.”
Susquehanna Township’s roster has 16 all-league picks, including the Colonial League’s Offensive Player of the Year, Evans, and it’s Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Josh Nengite. If the league named a Lineman of the Year it would likely be 6-3, 295-pound Coast Carolina recruit Yendor Mack, a nose tackle and offensive tackle.
Susquehanna Township game by game
He anchors a massive offensive line that averages 6-1 ½, 291 pounds from tackle-to-tackle – bigger even than Twin Valley’s, which few Class 4A teams can say.
Wide receiver Zikhere Leaks has committed to Syracuse. Evans, Kern, and Nengite have offers from Akron. Including the underclassmen, there could be as many as 10 or Division I players on the field for Susquehanna Township. Twin Valley could have a couple, though one of them, tailback Drew Engle, plans on playing lacrosse at the U.S. Military Academy, not football.
“The quarterback is obviously the guy that makes things go, but they are loaded,” said Twin Valley coach Brett Myers. “They’re really big and really athletic and a really good football team. They’re the biggest team we’ve played, and they’re the fastest team we’ve played.
“(After playing them last year) we don’t have to tell the kids that – they know that. They’re really good, and our kids know that; they were really challenged and it was hard-fought game. The good news is that only one guy can have the ball at a time.”
List of District 3 Class 4A champs
