Hempfield races past Reading High to clinch Section 1 title
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Matt Gaffney — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Hempfield won its first outright Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 championship since 1994 Friday night with a 40-16 win over Reading High at Albright College’s Shirk Stadium.
Grant Hoover rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns while backfield mate Stephen Katch added two scores on the ground to lead the Black Knights (6-0, 8-2) to the title.
| Section 1 | League | Overall |
| Hempfield | 6-0 | 8-2 |
| Wilson | 5-1 | 8-2 |
| Manheim Township | 4-2 | 7-3 |
| Penn Manor | 3-3 | 5-5 |
| Cedar Crest | 2-4 | 5-5 |
| Reading High | 1-5 | 3-7 |
| McCaskey | 0-6 | 1-9 |
The Black Knights were all over the Red Knights (1-5, 3-7) from the start as they scored on all five first-half positions to take a commanding 33-0 halftime lead. Hoover’s two rushing touchdowns established a 14-0 first quarter lead.
Hempfield’s first drive was an all-Hoover affair as he carried the load with five rushes for 46 yards and a reception for 8 yards to account for all of the Black Knights’ offense. He finished it off with a 19-yard touchdown run.
After a quick three-and-out by the Red Knights, the Black Knights took over in Reading territory. It took three plays for Hempfield to go 40 yards with Hoover scooting for his second touchdown of the game, this time from 5 yards out.
In the second quarter, Katch kept the party going, bulldozing his way into the end zone for his first touchdown, a 10-yard run. Cannon Biscoe’s third successful PAT attempt made the score 21-0 with 11:16 left in the half.
The Red Knights could not get out of their own way in the first half as their evening was marred by penalties. They were flagged for eight offsides penalties in the first half alone and 17 total penalties.
The Red Knights struggled to get anything going on offense with the Black Knights shutting them down to the tune of 14 total yards. Quarterback Amier Burdine was under constant pressure from Hempfield’s front seven all game.
Reading did not get a first down until Burdine scrambled 20 yards with 28 seconds left in the first half to finally move the chains.
Hempfield could do little wrong.
Biscoe culminated an eight-play, 61-yard drive with a 22-yard field goal to increase Hempfield’s lead to 24-0 midway through the second quarter. A few moments later, a bad Reading snap in the end zone on a punt resulted in a safety for the Black Knights to make it 26-0.
Following the free kick, Hempfield had great field position starting at the Reading 48-yard line. Six plays later, quarterback Jackson Landis hit Micah Gates for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 33-0 at the half.
The Black Knights took their foot off the gas a bit in the second half. After Gates’ 39-yard punt return deep into Reading territory, Katch cashed in with a 5-yard run, his second touchdown of the night, to make it 40-0.
At that point, it was time for Hempfield’s reserves to get some playing time and for the starters to begin planning their celebration.
Reading finally got on the board in the third quarter, courtesy of an 80-yard catch-and-run from Amier Burdine to Ruben Rodriguez. A Cameron Small rushing conversion made it 40-8.
The Red Knights liked that play so much they dialed it up again in the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-28 from their own 29-yard line, Burdine again hit Rodriguez, this time for a 71-yard score. Alexis Alvarado’s rushing conversion made it 40-16.
Rodriguez finished with three receptions for 157 yards and the two scores. Burdine was 7-for-10 for 180 yards and two touchdown passes.
