Upset bid by Manheim Central falls short against top-ranked Bishop McDevitt
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Daryl Simione — LNP/Lancasteronline
HARRISBURG — In a matchup of arguably the two most successful football programs in District 3, the Manheim Central Barons suffered a gut-wrenching 23-17 defeat to mighty Bishop McDevitt in the Class 4A championship game Friday night.
Manheim Central gave McDevitt all it could handle with suffocating defense, opportunistic special teams, and a hard-nosed offensive effort. Despite the outcome the Barons proved a point.
“They’re pretty happy with themselves but they know they were in a game,” Barons coach Dave Hahn said of the Crusaders, ranked No. 1 in the state all season. “That’s not a consolation for us. We wanted to win it. I’m not mad at these kids; I love them for everything they’ve done. They’re a special group.”
Manheim Central, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the final with 65-28 win last week at Twin Valley.
Last year Central was on the wrong end of a 40-0 defeat at the hands of the Crusaders. But the Barons made sure the rematch would be different.
Both teams entered averaging over 40 points per game. However, the first half featured less than 100 combined offensive yards and three defensive scores and culminated with a 17-8 Barons lead.
Manheim Central (11-2) took advantage of a bad snap on a punt midway through the first quarter. Armed with excellent field position, running back Brycen Armold (20 carries, 46 yards) ran consecutive counter plays to move the ball to the 1.
Michael Torres plunged in for the score and the Barons had an early 7-0 lead.
“We were trying to mix it up with some zone and some counter,” Hahn said of the running game. “We had some success and then they were able to kind of blow us up in the middle a little bit. Just not enough consistency.”
Later, a McDevitt punt forced Central to start at its own 1-yard line, and quarterback Zac Hahn was sacked in the end zone for a safety to make it 7-2.
Aaron Enterline intercepted McDevitt quarterback Stone Saunders. But Crusaders speedster Chase Regan intercepted a deep pass by Hahn and scooted 66-yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
Central regained the lead on a 32-yard field goal by Drew Greiner. Then, with time winding down in the first half, McDevitt was forced to punt deep in its own territory. A Barons player got his hand on the punt and Dylan Werner corralled the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown and 17-8 lead.
The defenses maintained control through the third quarter. Things began to fall apart for Manheim Central in a span of three plays.
Midway through the fourth quarter Saunders threw 46-yard touchdown pass to Gage Ruth. After a fumble on the Barons next possession, Saunders found Alabama-recruit Rico Scott for 26 yards up the seam for a 21-17 lead.
“The defensive coaches did a fantastic job of putting a plan together,” Dave Hahn said. “Very proud of them and what they did. We just had maybe one or two miscues that ended up being big plays. A team like that, they’re going to expose that.”
Saunders ran the two-point conversion to set the final margin and the Crusaders defense held.
“We win as a team, and when we lose, it’s on me,” Hahn said. “It’s not on these kids. They gave everything they had against a top-notch team, a great program. We had our chances, we didn’t finish, and that’s on me.”
