Four Downs: 4 big takes from Week 10
Four biggest takeaways from Week 10 of the 2022 high school football season:
1ST DOWN
Schuylkill Valley coach Bruce Harbach calls Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League “the fun section,” and he’s right.
It’s easily been the most entertaining of the league’s five sections to watch, with high-scoring, close games and a section championship that went down to the wire.
Lancaster Catholic emerged as champ after a 10-0 run but the Crusaders grabbed the title by the skin of their teeth.
They edged Hamburg 38-35 in a thriller, with a game-deciding field goal with 1:16 left. Same thing at Schuylkill Valley Friday night, where they needed a last-minute field goal to beat the Panthers 44-41. They needed to stop a two-point conversion in the final minutes to escape with a 14-13 win at Annville-Cleona in Week 7.
Catholic earned the title with gritty determination and clutch play.
Now, if Hamburg’s Pierce Mason is healthy and on the field in Week 6 at Catholic that game likely ends differently.
2ND DOWN
The Lancaster-Lebanon League doesn’t pick an overall Player of the Year but if it did wouldn’t Wilson’s Cam Jones have to be it?
He’s a three-way standout who can dominate the game in every phase.
Jones leads Section 1 backs in rushing with 965; his 9.5 yards-per-carry average is better than any of the league’s 1,000-yards rushers, except for Hamburg’s Pierce Mason (11.0).
He leads Section 1 players with 25 touchdowns, five on punt returns.
Plus he’s a shutdown corner; opponents don’t even try to throw to his side of the field.
Lancaster-Lebanon League coaches will pick all-league teams for each of the five sections, with an Outstanding Back and Outstanding Lineman in each section, along with Offensive Back, Defensive Back, etc.
3RD DOWN
You’re never going to see a better finish to a championship game than Exeter’s, in a heart-stopping 21-17 win at Manheim Central Friday night.
The Barons had a first down at the Exeter 2 with 90 seconds left before the Eagles came with one of the all-time great goal-line stands. They drove the Barons back with losses on first and second downs, then saw Nate Pashley pick off a pass in the back end of the end zone to end it.
“They’re definitely the most battle-tested group that’s ever come through Exeter,” Eagles coach Matt Bauer said of a crew that includes a lot of the same players who won three road games in route to a District 3 championship last season. “They know how to play in big games, and they know how to respond and they’re never out of it, and they’ll never give up. I’m just so proud of the way they responded tonight.”
The new five-section format in the Lancaster-Lebanon League has created a lot of new rivalries but none figure to be hotter than Exeter vs. Manheim Central in the coming years.
4TH DOWN
Wyomissing won 16 games in 2012 on the way to a PIAA Class AA championship.
Its Berks record for wins is safe for now. No one’s going to top it this season.
Even if Wyomissing and Exeter, each of which are unbeaten, go on to win state titles they’ll play a maximum of 15 games this season.
Wyomissing (10-0) earned a first-round bye in the District 3 Class 3A Tournament, meaning it’ll play, at most, two games in districts and three games in the state tournament. That’s 15 games.
If Exeter (10) wins three district games and another Class 5A title, it’ll enter the PIAA Tournament in the semifinal round and play, at most, two state games. That’s also 15.
No one will be complaining if either, or both, finish 15-0.
