Manheim Township blanks rival Hempfield to push its way to 5-0
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(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jeff Reinhart — LNP/Lancasteronline
NEFFSVILLE — Persist until something happens.
PUSH, for short.
It’s the acronym attached to Manheim Township’s football helmets this season, and a slogan Blue Streaks coach Mark Evans has been preaching to his team since since they got together for their first workouts earlier this summer.
His squad is certainly buying in.
“Keep going,” Township’s Tom Capizzi said. “Don’t let anything stop you. Keep pushing.”
“I genuinely believe they’re pushing,” Evans said. “With each passing week we’re learning from our mistakes and we’re growing from them. We’re pushing through. We’re persevering.”
Township roared to 5-0 Friday night, persisting and pushing its way to a commanding 38-0 victory over Hempfield in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 game in Neffsville.
The Streaks hoisted the Joseph Kurjiaka Memorial Trophy after the win, grabbing an 11-3 lead in the hardware series between the bitter rivals.
The Streaks (1-0 league) needed a better effort in the PUSH department after last week’s escape-job 20-18 victory at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and they hit the ground running against the Black Knights with three first-quarter touchdowns on the way to an eventual Mercy Rule final.
How’s this for a defensive push: Township’s hard-charging D held Hempfield (1-1, 2-3) to minus-6 rushing yards, including four sacks.
The Streaks also picked off a pair of passes — one by Capizzi and one by Daryus Dixon — and QB Carson Weisser had two TD passes and a TD keeper for Township, which came into the weekend at No. 1 in the District 3 Class 6A power ratings.
“They do everything well, but I think for them it starts with their defense,” Hempfield coach George Eager said about Township.
“That’s what stood out on film, and they really fly to the ball and they get off their blocks. They have a good secondary. They have a good interior. When you’re looking at it and trying to figure out how you’re going to move the ball, they don’t have many weaknesses.”
The Streaks’ last two seasons ended in the District 3 Class 6A title game, both times at the hands of Harrisburg. Nobody is looking ahead to the postseason yet. But Township is definitely motivated to finish the job this time around.
“We had a team that pushed two years straight to make it, just to obtain silver,” Capizzi said. “This year we’re pushing until we get gold. That’s what we want. But for now it’s next week and the next opponent. That’s all we can look at. Nothing more.”
Friday’s only bugaboo for Township was penalties; the Streaks were flagged 10 times for 120 yards, including four 15-yard personal fouls.
That, Evans stressed, must be cleaned up. Pronto.
“It’s a fine line between being tough and being stupid,” Evans said. “We’re teetering on that line, and we have to eliminate that part of it, and just play tough, hard-nosed football between the whistles. If we’re going to reach the ceiling of our potential, those are things that are going to stop us from getting to the top. We have to keep being persistent and we have to keep pushing to get better.”
There’s PUSH again.
As for Township’s offensive onslaught Friday, Weisser zipped a 34-yard TD strike to Donovan Rodriguez, Taylor Veilleux body-slammed in for a 4-yard TD rumble, and Weisser — who went 14-for-18 for 271 yards — hit Lex Haberbosch for a 68-yard TD toss, all in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead.
Weisser made it 28-0 at the half with a 1-yard sneak with 3:12 to go in the second quarter, and Township went up 31-0 on a 39-yard field goal by Johnny Morales late in the third quarter.
Declan Clancy, who rushed for 119 yards, had a 15-yard TD sprint on the last play of the third quarter to cap it. Dehvyn Lauano and Clancy were each in on a pair of sacks, spearheading Township’s dominating defensive effort.
