Evan Johnson carries Twin Valley to first district playoff victory, district semifinals
(This story will be updated with details and postgame reaction.)
Sophomore Evan Johnson broke off three long touchdown runs to help Twin Valley hold off Milton Hershey 43-29 in a wild District 3 Class 4A game Friday night at Twin Valley Stadium.
Johnson scored on runs of 60, 68 and 42 yards as the fourth-seeded Raiders (7-4) won the first district playoff game in program history.
Twin Valley advances to the semifinals next week at top-seeded Bishop McDevitt, a 42-7 winner Friday over East Pennsboro.
The Raiders got just enough defensive stops, including a fumble recovery at their 2 with 7 1/2 minutes left, to stop the fifth-seeded Trojans (6-5).
Johnson finished with a career-high 205 yards. Jaydon Goebel ran for 154 yards. The Raiders had over 500 total yards.
Milton Hershey led 8-7 and 15-14 in the first quarter before the Raiders got moving on offense, scored 15 unanswered points — including two on a safety — to lead 29-15 at the half.
Jason Burney threw three touchdown passes for Milton Hershey.
Twin Valley returned to districts for the second straight season after not qualifying in their first 25 seasons. They lost at Spring Grove 33-6 last season.
The Trojans were back in districts for the time since 2019 when they lost at Berks Catholic (a 49-18 Saints victory that featured a long punt return by Anthony Myers in his final game). They finished fourth in the Keystone Division of the Mid-Penn Conference, behind Bishop McDevitt, Cedar Cliff and Hershey.
Milton Hershey owns two wins over district playoff qualifiers, Susquehanna Township and Mifflin County. One of its wins came via a forfeit from Middletown, which suspended its program before the season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Milton Hershey | 8 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 29 |
| Twin Valley | 14 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 43 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 60 run (Frey kick) | 10:30 |
| 1 | Milton Hershey | Koroma, 13 pass from Burney (Rascoe pass from Brooks) | 3:00 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Myers, 2 run (Frey kick) | 0:21 |
| 2 | Milton Hershey | Roberts, 7 pass from Burney (Lomodong kick) | 10:30 |
| 2 | Twin Valley | Myers, 37 run (pass failed) | 9:00 |
| 2 | Twin Valley | Goebel, 10 run (Frey kick) | 1:06 |
| 2 | Twin Valley | Safety, ball snapped out of end zone | 0:12 |
| 3 | Milton Hershey | Johnson, 19 run (Lomodong kick) | 9:49 |
| 3 | Milton Hershey | Thomas, 15 pass from Burney (Lomodong kick) | 5:48 |
| 3 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 68 run (Frey kick) | 4:42 |
| 4 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 42 run (Frey kick) | 9:33 |
Team statistics
| Milton Hershey | Twin Valley | |
| First downs | 22 | 24 |
| Rushes-yards | 32-174 | 55-466 |
| Passing yards | 241 | 89 |
| Total yards | 415 | 555 |
| Passes | 16-30-1 | 6-11-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-40.0 | 1-35.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-35 | 3-38 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Milton Hershey: Johnson 26-175, Brooks 3-7, Burney 2-2.
Twin Valley: Johnson 17-209, Goebel 22-154, Myers 11-86, Engle 3-12, Rose 1-6.
PASSING
Milton Hershey: Burney 16-30-1–241.
Twin Valley: Myers 6-11-0–89.
RECEIVING
Milton Hershey: Koroma 7-93, Thomes 5-54, Roberts 3-81, Kittrell 1-13.
Twin Valley: Zolty 2-16, Goebel 1-33, Winchester 1-20, Rose 1-12, Johnson 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS
Twin Valley: Spiri.