Drew Engle’s return helps Twin Valley light up Susquehanna Township
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
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Twin Valley 47, Susquehanna Township 19
By Rod Frisco — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
HARRISBURG — Four days before his Twin Valley teammates were set to play Susquehanna Township in the quarterfinals of the District 3 Class 4A football playoffs, Drew Engle was nervous.
Not because he was concerned about returning to the field for the first time in 10 weeks, but because he might not play in the playoffs.
“I was nervous because I didn’t get cleared to play until Tuesday,’’ said Engle, the junior running back who broke his collarbone in the opening week of the season. “Once I found out I could play, my face lit up.’’
Engle, along with senior running back Evan Johnson, lit up Susquehanna Township in an entirely different way Friday night, both going over 100 yards rushing and combining for five touchdowns in the Raiders’ 47-19 romp.
The victory boots Twin Valley to a 9-2 record and a rematch with Lampeter Strasburg (11-0) in the 4A semifinals next week at L-S. The unbeaten Pioneers stunned Twin Valley, which had won its first seven games handily, 62-14 on Oct. 18, a week after its first loss of the season to Wyomissing and playing without several starters.
That semifinal game will be played next Friday at Lampeter-Strasburg.
Johnson, who has carried the bulk of Twin Valley’s rushing load along with quarterback Evan Myers, carried 15 times for 137 yards and touchdown runs of 54 and 18 yards.
Engle, showing no ill effect from his injury, carried 17 times for 137 yards with touchdown runs of 3 and 8 yards as well as a 31-yard scoring pass from Myers.
“There was definitely some adrenaline flowing tonight,’’ said Engle, who rushed for more than 1,500 yards as a sophomore. “But it was all about the guys up front and my team around me lifting me up.’’
Team, indeed. While Johnson and Engle were the most visible aspects of Twin Valley’s win, which sends the Raiders to the district semifinals for the third straight year, the Raiders were utterly precise on both sides of the ball. The offensive and defensive lines both performed superbly.
Susquehanna Township (8-3) had abundant speed and playmaking ability in the persons of wide receiver Lex Cyrus, a University of South Carolina recruit and a PIAA 100-meter champion as a sophomore, and junior quarterback Torin Evans.
Both had their moments: Cyrus flashed his sprinter’s speed on the game’s first touchdown, a 32-yard flip while Evans made two magical throws, one while being tackled, for the Indians’ other two scores.
But in between Twin Valley was clearly the better team, the only flaw being a handful of penalties (eight for 101) it will need to clean before facing Lampeter Strasburg.
“Our defense played tremendous,” Twin Valley head coach Brett Myers said. “To hold that team to 19 points was an accomplishment. It says a great deal about how well they played tonight.’’
Twin Valley stuttered a bit in the first quarter, falling behind 7-0 on Cyrus’ score and punting from midfield on its first possession.
But Johnson lit the Raiders’ offensive fuse on the next series by taking a counter left and making a brilliant downfield cut to go 54 yards for a score that tied the game at 7-7 at the 3:26 mark.
No one could imagine the craziness that soon followed.
After a very short Susquehanna Township punt – 6 yards from its own 32 to the 38 – Twin Valley took full advantage, scoring two plays later when Myers hooked up with Engle for a 31-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead the Raiders would never relinquish with 1:03 left in the opening period.
On the following kickoff, Nate Shaffer booted the ball to the Indians’ 10. The ball was mishandled and ended up in the back of the end zone for a safety. The Raiders led 16-7 with 52 seconds left.
Then, on the free kick, Ben Grundy of Twin Valley pulled in the ball at his own 34, dodged a few tacklers and zipped into the end zone with 40 seconds showing.
Twenty-three seconds of game clock. Sixteen points. A 23-7 lead. Even with three quarters to play, Twin Valley had established itself.
That’s how it eventually played out even though both teams scored in the second quarter.
Engle scored son a 3-yard run one play after Myers found Matthew Knight wide open on over the middle on a 44-yard pass. The Indians scored with nine seconds left in the half when Evans, falling to the ground, somehow got the ball to Zi’here Leaks for a 7-yard TD, cutting Twin Valley’s lead to 30-13
Shaffer’s 40-yard field goal into the wind — the longest in program history — provided the only points for the Raiders in the third quarter.
The Raiders’ final points came on Johnson’s 18-yard score 24 seconds into the fourth quarter and Engle’s 8-yard run with 2:22 to play.
Grundy, who played an excellent game, also picked off a pass late in the game.
Twin Valley rolled up 360 yards of total offense – 285 rushing and 75 passing.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Twin Valley | 23 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 47 |
| Susquehanna Twp. | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Susquehanna Twp. | Cyrus, 32 pass from Evans (Ramsey kick) | 8:16 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 54 run (Shaffer kick) | 3:26 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Engle, 31 pass from E.Myers (Shaffer kick) | 1:03 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Safety, Susquehanna Twp. recovers own fumble in end zone | :52 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Grundy, 66 free kick return (Shaffer kick) | :40 |
| 2 | Twin Valley | Engle, 3 run (Shaffer kick) | 2:25 |
| 2 | Susquehanna Twp. | Leaks, 7 pass from Evans (kick failed) | :09 |
| 3 | Twin Valley | Shaffer, 40 FG | 5:06 |
| 4 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 18 run (Shaffer kick) | 11:36 |
| 4 | Susquehanna Twp | Kern, 16 pass from Evans (kick failed) | 8:27 |
| 4 | Twin Valley | Engle, 8 run (Shaffer kick) | 2:22 |
Team statistics
| Twin Valley | Susquehanna Twp. | |
| First downs | 16 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 47-293 | 21-76 |
| Passing yards | 75 | 179 |
| Total yards | 358 | 255 |
| Passes | 5-8-0 | 14-27-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-35 | 4-26.2 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-101 | 6-43 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Twin Valley: Johnson 15-135, Engle 18-122, E. Myers 10-38, Grundy 1-3, Team 3-(-5).
Susquehanna Twp: Seville 11-35, Rivera 4-18, Cyrus 1-14, Evans 5-9.
PASSING
Twin Valley: E. Myers 5-8-0–75.
Susquehanna Twp: Evans 14-27-1–179.
RECEIVING
Twin Valley: Engle 2-27, Grundy 2-4, Knight 1-44.
Susquehanna Twp: Cyrus 6-68, Kern 5-58, Brown 1-40, Leaks 1-7, Rivera 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
Twin Valley: Grundy.
