Top players to watch in Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
With Manheim Central now out of the picture the table is set for Exeter and Conestoga Valley – who finished right behind the Section 2 champs last season — to battle it out for the top.
Both teams have the players to do it.
The Eagles simply continue to reload. After graduating five all-league first-team picks from an 8-3 team they head into the season with at least three Division I prospects – Logan Wegman, Jayden Zandier, and Genuine Stutzman – and three others who earned all-league honors a year ago.
The Buckskins are well-stocked, as well, with the return of Section 2 Offensive Back of the Year Jayden Johnson and Linebacker of the Year Seth Morgan. Those are the only returning Players of the Year in the section.
Ephrata, which shared the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 title last year, and Elizabethtown move into Section 2, taking the spots of Manheim and Warwick. Each was smacked hard by graduation, as was Gov. Mifflin, which must replace six all-league picks.
Here’s your first look at the top players in Section 2 for the 2024 season. Later this week we’ll take a look at the top players in Section 1.
(This is part four of a five-part series and a collaboration between LNP/Lancaster On-Line and MikeDragoSports.com. Jeff Reinhart of LNP contributed player capsules.)
Brayden Brown
RB/LB
Ephrata
Talk about a breakout season. We knew Brown was coming through the Mountaineers’ pipeline, and he hit the ground sprinting last year. Check his numbers: 1,344 rushing yards with 14 TD runs; 13 catches out of the backfield; 87 tackles, including 15 stops for losses, 1.5 sacks and eight QB hurries; and this mind-scrambler: Brown intercepted three passes, and he returned all three picks for touchdowns — 65 yards vs. Warwick, 49 yards vs. Lebanon, and 55 yards vs. Hershey in the D3-5A playoffs. Brown was a second-team section all-star at RB, and he picked up an honorable mention all-star nod at LB in Section 3, after Ephrata shared that crown, won 12 games, and went to the D3 title game for the first time in program history. Multi-purpose playmaker. Hit-machine on D. Breakaway threat and a powerful, keeps-his-legs-churning runner on O. Don’t miss this kid. He’s a player.
Reese Hohl
RB/CB/KR
Gov. Mifflin
The first time Hohl settled under a kickoff last season he took it back 96 yards for a touchdown, in the Mustangs’ season-opener last year against Spring-Ford. After that not many teams kicked his way.
Soon opponents saw it wasn’t wise to throw to his side of the field. The lock-down cornerback picked off a Berks-leading six passes and knocked five other passes away. That netted him all-league first-team honors on defense.
He earned first-team honors on offense, at Athlete, because of his versatility out of the backfield, as a runner and pass receiver. He was a second-team pick as a kick returner.
The 6-1, 170-pounder is the Mustangs’ best all-around athlete, and the only returning player in Section 2 to earn all-league status in all three phases of the game. He wrestles at 160 pounds and was an outfielder on Mifflin’s PIAA championship baseball team.
Hohl is getting college looks at the PSAC level, and above.
Jayden Johnson
RB/DB
Conestoga Valley
Buckskins’ sleek athlete had a hello-world season last fall as CV’s jack-of-all-trades kid. His staggering numbers: 1,038 rushing yards, averaging 7.5 yards a carry with 16 TD runs; 23 catches for 470 yards (a nifty 20.4 yards per grab) with nine TD snags; 1,655 all-purpose yards; plus a 92-yard kick-return TD vs. Governor Mifflin, and an 83-yard kick-return TD vs. Dover in CV’s playoff victory. He was everywhere. Johnson was named section co-Offensive Back of the Year, he earned first-team section all-star RB honors, and he was on our Big 37 team. Then he went out and broke a bunch of track records this past spring. Catch him if you can.
Nick Keller
WR
Ephrata
Jayden Johnson’s sprint rival on the track had a bust-out season on the football field last fall for the Mounts, who shared Section 3 gold and went to the D3-5A finale. Keller hauled in 30 catches for 707 yards (a snazzy 23.6 yards per grab) with seven TD receptions, and he piled up 991 all-purpose yards. He also thrived in the return game: Keller averaged 40.3 yards per kick-return, and he had an 85-yard kick-return TD against Fleetwood, and he had a 75-yard kick-return TD vs. Solanco. Keller picked up a first-team section all-star KR nod, and he was a second-team PA Football News all-state selection. Burner. Good hands and route-runner. You better tackle him in space. Or you’re toast.
Michael Miller
WR/LB
Muhlenberg
Miller flashed his potential right away for the Muhls. He cracked the starting lineup at linebacker as a freshman and took an interception back for a touchdown in the season opener (though the play was nullified by a penalty). The next week he returned a kickoff 80 yards for a TD.
He had a Pick-Six early last season against Daniel Boone but there weren’t enough similar highlights after he was injured at midseason and played the rest of the way on a gimpy knee.
Still, he was good enough to share the team lead with 36 receptions and earned second-team all-league honors as an Athlete. He was also a second-team pick on defense.
After offseason surgery he returned to spring ball at 100 percent and is now expected to lead a rebuilding Muhls teams on both sides of the ball.
“We need Mike to make plays,” said Muhlenberg coach Rob Flowers. “We need Mike to be a physical and verbal leader in all phases of the game.”
Seth Morgan
LB
Conestoga Valley
Became the Buckskins’ ringleader and heat-seeking missile on D last fall, when CV took second place in Section 2 and won a D3-5A playoff game. Morgan registered 92 tackles, including five sticks for losses, with four forced fumbles. His INT in the waning seconds capped the Bucks’ clutch Week 9 win over then-defending section champ Exeter, and he pocketed section Linebacker of the Year honors, and he was a first-team section all-star ‘backer pick. Ball-hawker. Head on a swivel. Rah-rah guy and a team leader.
Jackson Nolt
OT/DE
Ephrata
Mounts’ punisher was fabulous along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in 2023, helping Ephrata put together its best season ever. Plow-horse O-line performer helped the Mounts average 38 points and 367 yards a game. And Nolt shined on D from his end spot with 53 tackles, including nine hits for losses, 16 big QB hurries and a forced fumble. His accolades: Section 3 first-team all-star DE honors, and a second-team OT nod. Nolt will blow you up, so pay attention.
Isaiah Sensenig
DB
Conestoga Valley
Bucks’ spark plug can get you any number of ways, especially from his DB spot. Sensenig had 53 stops, including five tackles for losses with eight pass breakups and three picks last fall, when CV made a big splash in the section hunt and won a D3-5A playoff game. Two more fun factoids: Sensenig had an 88-yard kick-return TD in the Bucks’ big win over Exeter, and he had a 40-yard pick-6 INT return against Muhlenberg, picking up a first-team section all-star DB nod for his multi-purpose prowess. CV has a bunch of jack-of-all-trades guys. Sensenig very much included.
Tal Stoltzfus
OG/DT
Conestoga Valley
One of the Bucks’ hammers in the middle, Stoltzfus returns to anchor both lines for CV, a playoff team in 2023. Last fall, Stoltzfus was a key-cog on the O-line, helping the Bucks crank out 2,300-plus rushing yards, plus 315 yards and 30 points a game. On D, Stoltzfus plugged plenty of holes, stacking up 31 tackles, with four hits for losses and a couple of sacks for CV. He was a first-team section all-star pick at OG, and an honorable mention selection for his DT efforts. If you want to go places, you better have a line-of-scrimmage stalwart who enjoys the dirty work with little fanfare. Stoltzfus fits that bill for the Bucks.
Genuine Stutzman
TE/LB
Exeter
Stutzman was a true Swiss Army Knife for the Eagles on offense as a sophomore, lining up as a traditional tight end, a split end, an H-back or – in goal-line situations – as a fullback.
He was effective in each role, running for four touchdowns on six carries, taking four of his 12 receptions to the end zone and recording an 85 percent blocking grade, often leading the way at the point of attack.
Those blocks helped pave the way for teammate Jayden Zandier’s path to the All-State team.
Stutzman’s physical play, 6-3, 225-pound frame and footspeed has drawn attention at the college ranks; he’s getting looks from Division I programs such as Delaware and Monmouth.
Stutzman saw limited playing time on defense last season but should step into a starting role at linebacker and play a key role in seeing the Eagles return to the top in Section 2.
Logan Wegman
T/DT/LS
Exeter
Wegman came on quickly for the Eagles last season as a junior, emerging as their best offensive lineman in his first year as a starter when he posted a team-best 96 percent blocking grad and earned all-league first-team honors at both offensive tackle and defensive end.
That led to a productive and busy offseason that saw him tack 30 pounds onto chiseled his 6-5 frame and collect two dozen Division I offers.
He’s taken an official visit to the University of Connecticut and has offers from Navy, Army, William & Mary and most of the Ivy League schools.
“Logan is about as sure as a thing as you can get in a young lineman,” says his coach, Matt Bauer.
Wegman, who’s now up to 275 pounds, recorded 50 pancake blocks as a junior and anchored a line that didn’t given up a sack during the regular season. On defense, he recorded 57 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
He showed his athleticism, work ethic, and strength in the spring when he broke a school shot put record that had stood for more than 50 years and later earned a PIAA silver medal with a personal best 58-9.75 on his final throw of the state championships.
Jayden Zandier
RB/CB/KR
Exeter
Zandier enjoyed a breakout junior season that saw him rush for 1,358 yards despite opening the season as a wide receiver and not moving into the backfield fulltime until Week 3.
Zandier averaged 10.7 yards per carry, tops in Section 2 and third-best in 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League. His 19 TDs were second-most in Berks. He averaged 23.1 yards on seven catches, with three TDs, and averaged 33 yards on 10 kickoff returns.
Those gaudy numbers led to a spot on the Class 5A All-State team, as well as first-team all-league honors at running back in Section 2.
The 6-2, 175-pound rising senior picked up an offer from Stony Brook in the spring.
In his first start at running back, against Gov. Mifflin, he scored three touchdowns and rushed for 126 yards. He scored four TDs and rushed for 262 yards in a 49-27 win over Hempfield in Week 8. He ended the season 222 yards and a TD against Hershey in the District 3 playoffs.
He played key role as a defensive back, with an interception and four passes defended. He also blocked a field goal.
Others to watch
- Malachi Briddell, WR, Lebanon
- Alexis Cintron, WR, Elizabethtown
- Justin Corson, C/DE, Conestoga Valley
- Aiden Dauble, LB, Exeter
- Sawyer Esbenshade, QB, Conestoga Valley
- Brennan Frymoyer, T/T, Ephrata
- Grady Garner, FB, Gov. Mifflin
- Evan Honberger, PK, Ephrata
- Gavin Kelly, C/DE, Gov. Mifflin
- Riley Martinez, QB, Exeter
- Brady Moran, RB, Elizabethtown
- Zavier Otero, G, Muhlenberg
- Chris Prange, RB/LB, Ephrata
- Carter Redding, WR/S/KR, Exeter
- Presley Rinker, G/G, Gov. Mifflin
- Kai Rivera, RB, Lebanon
- Teagan Ruble, RB/PK, Conestoga Valley
- Joel Ummarino, DE, Exeter
- Jayden Ware, WR, Exeter
