Prep Football: Week 10 Rewind

With the District 3 playoffs heading our way over the weekend, you can find all of the information on matchups, times and locations here. South Western, Spring Grove, New Oxford, Delone Catholic and Littlestown all made the playoffs.

Spring Grove and New Oxford — which probably has the toughest matchup out of anyone having to face an explosive Susquehanna Township team — will hit the road while the other three will host home games.

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But first, let’s start with what happened in Week 10…An upset of state ranked West York by Littlestown.

York Daily Record reporter Steve Navaroli covered the game and this was his lede:

There were many people who believed that Littlestown could upset West York and earn a share of the YAIAA Division II championship.

Those believers were the Thunderbolt players, coaches and fans.

Ah hemmm, Steve? I believe you forgot to mention Evening Sun reporters Cory Mull and Travis Johnson, who both predicted an upset on Friday in their “Road to Paydirt” video.

I’ll let it slide.

The upset came as a surprise to most, mainly because West York looked untouchable heading into the final game of the regular season. But you can never guess out Littlestown (8-2, 5-1 YAIAA II), who’s passing style has more reward than risk most of the times, especially with Zuber behind center and with Matt Koontz and Mitch Deaner out wide.

With the win, the Bolts clinched a share of the Division II title with West York.

“Did I think we could score 47 points and leave 14 on the table? No,” Lippy said Saturday. “I thought we could move the ball and compete against them. It’s nice to put it all together one night and in a meaningful game.”

South Western in full gear in win over New Oxford: Over at The Mustang Corral, South Western finished off their season impressively with a result over the Colonials, earning a share of the Division I title and the Hanover Area Division I Cup in the process.

Maybe the biggest accomplishment was the fact that with the co-league title, it made it 15 championships in 50 years for South Western. Averaged out, that’s a title every full class to come in the school over the last 50 years.

“When you average that out, you claim a title every full class,” Seidenstricker said Saturday. “That was big for us. We weren’t sure going in. Every team wants to be undefeated. Every team wants to win a title. Every team wants to go to districts and states. But the reality is that you have to stay in that week-to-week grind.”

Quarterback:
Matt Zuber, Littlestown — 7 for 14, 202 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 1 rushing touchdown
Neil Grudi, Spring Grove — 3 for 7 for 126 yards, 2 TDs
Ian Smith, South Western — 10 for 17 for 132 yards, 2 TDs
Chase Whiteman, Gettysburg — 7 for 12 for 102 yards, 2 TDs
Jake Goodfellow, Hanover — 4 for 11, 88 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Austin Brady, Delone Catholic — 3 for 5 for 75 yards, 2 TDs

Running back:
Jeisson Lloret, Bermudian Springs — 22 carries for 135 yards, 1 TD
Sean Doherty, Littlestown — 26 carries for 132 yards, 1 TD
Austin Keller, Bermudian Springs — 24 carries for 108 yards
J.R. Mummert, South Western — 24 carries for 107 yards, 1 TD
Dustin Reed, Delone Catholic — 12 carries, 107 yards, 4 TDs
Mike Bivens, New Oxford — 11 carries for 95 yards, 2 TDs
Bobby Bailey, Spring Grove — 11 carries for 93 yards, 2 TDs
Austin Re, Gettysburg — 2 carries, 82 yards
Wes Smith, Delone Catholic — 5 carries, 80 yards
Levi Sager, South Western — 11 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
Zuber, Lit — 10 carries for 70 yards, 1 TD
Kyle King, South Western — 9 carries for 66 yards, 1 TD

Wide receiver:
Matt Koontz, Littlestown — 5 catches for 132 yards, 1 TD
Matthew Haines, Delone Catholic — 2 catches for 64 yards, 1 TD
Mitch Deaner, Littlestown — 2 catches for 70 yards, 2 TDs
Keith Stambaugh, Spring Grove – 2 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD
Benttion Hendricks, Gettysburg — 2 catches, 59 yards
Tom Kranias, Biglerville — 2 catches for 28 yards
Levi Sager, South Western — 2 catches for 27 yards

Prep Soccer: Biglerville wins Class A District 3 Title

If you’ve been living under a rock all weekend, you might be unaware that the Biglerville Canners boys’ soccer team captured their first District 3 Class A title on Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium, defeating Camp Hill — the defending two-time champion — 1-0 behind a goal by Alex Lua.

Evening Sun correspondent Tom Sixeas did a great job reporting on the Canners historic day on Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium.

“This is great for the community and great for Adams County to have a district champion,” Biglerville head coach Rob Moore said Saturday. “Biglerville is kind of a forgotten community in our area. … Hopefully, this puts us on the map and we can get twice as many people here on Tuesday.”

Biglerville heads back to Hersheypark Stadium on Tuesday for a date with District 4 runner-up Bentton at 5:30 p.m. The Canners will try to advance past the first round of states for the first time this decade.

As for the win over Camp Hill, it was an effort that finally put Biglerville over the top. Two other times the Canners had featured in the title game — last year and in 2003.

Prep Soccer: Biglerville’s Ascension

Photo by Attorney Jay

When the Biglerville High soccer team secured its 2-1 win over Lancaster County Day in the semifinals of the District 3 Class A tournament this past Wednesday in Hershey, it slotted the Canners into the district final for the second straight year.

They will face Camp Hill, who’s trying to three-peat, on Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium, the same team they faced last year in a 2-1 overtime loss.

We’ll get to that soon enough, though.

Beginning the season, it was a safe pick to slide Biglerville into the class of District 3, as they had their prolific senior scorer back, one of the best holding and attacking midfielders in the YAIAA back and perhaps one of the most improved central defenders helming that sturdy back line.

Alex Lua (27 goals, 9 assists), Tyler Shaffer (18 goals, 12 assists) and Rodney Weigle were without question the building blocks that head coach Rob Moore relied on at times during the regular season.

But for the Canners to record a 17-5-0 record, it took a lot more than a few standouts. The diminutive Nate Long (6 goals, 3 assists) grew massively in his sophomore campaign, as did defender Brady Griest and Corbin Taylor.

Bryce Showers moved into the midfield for a large portion of the season, Arnol Tapia was always dangerous and Erik Angeles provided a solid defense from the left back position.

It’s unfortunate what happened to Ricky Pena — he was forced to vacate the season Sept. 16 after a mysterious ailment — because had he been healthy, the Canners would be stronger at this point. And that’s scary to think about.

Just check their goal margin. They’re at 88-31 on the year, a perfect 2-0 in overtime and 43-10 in the first half.

If you want to talk about consistency, this team has it. It’s the main reason why this team has reached the district playoffs for the past four seasons.

Moore has guided the Canners to a 59-26-2 line in the past four years, including a 15-4-0 record in 2006 (YAIAA III champions at 10-0-0). Biglerville has gobbled up two outright York-Adams Division III champions in that time and a share of one in 2008.

It wasn’t until last year, though, when the Canners finally got back to the district final for the first time since 2003.

Largely, it was because the Canners were finally at their peak, playing at an elite level that wasn’t as defined in the early part of the season.

One of the reason’s was Lua, who chased a dream before the season even started. His tryout with Atlas FC in Mexico didn’t work out, and Lua had to head home — and back to reality.

Moore said early in 2008 that Lua was still discouraged in the disappointment at the early part of the season, playing a somewhat more self-involved soccer that wasn’t typical of how the Canners played.

By midway through the season, there was evidence. The Canners were lurking in mediocrity, as evidence by their 6-7-1 record.

But it was at that point, it seems, when Biglerville — and Lua — finally kicked into gear. It went undefeated in its next five matches, outscoring opponents 17-3 in that span before a loss to eventual Class AA champs Susquehannock broke the run with a 4-0 win.

Lua finished the season with 12 goals and 3 assists — somewhat down from his 17 goal, 3 assist performance in 2007 — but the last third of the season was pivotal for him.

He was a dangerous player again.

And it wasn’t only him.

Lua, Shaffer and Weigle all emerged into their senior campaigns as leaders, which was something the Canners needed early in 2009.

Weigle’s play hasn’t always been heralded, but after a 6-1 win over Upper Dauphin in the quarterfinals of districts, Moore said he was a key figure in the maturation of Griest and Angeles. For a central back, often times the general on the field, leadership is a requirement. Moore’s words shed light on the exact ability of Weigle.

The same can be said about Shaffer, although his play often is defined easily on the stat sheet.

How he directs the flow of the game, though, is all in the eye of viewer.

His distribution has been a big reason why the Canners have been playing so well lately.

With the win over Lancaster Country Day, the Canners secured a berth into the PIAA Championships for the second straight year.

After the Upper Dauphin match, I asked Shaffer whether the district championship was the most important goal at this point.

He deferred to the state tournament, saying while the district final would be great, the Canners broadened scope — aside from the game-by-game focus — is on the state playoffs, where they hope to make a divet in the Class A bracket.

State XC Preview

Photo by Bill Bowden of the York Daily Record/Sunday News

By tomorrow afternoon, the cross country season will officially mark its end in the state of Pennsylvania.

The PIAA Championships will commence as early as 9 a.m. at the 3.1 mile Hershey Parkview Course and will end nearly four hours later.

Nine Hanover area runners will feature in the meet, as well as 18 other athletes from the YAIAA.

Here are our Hanover area runners:

Boys AAA
Michael Beegle, Gettysburg (ran 16:46 last Wednesday and finished 4th)
Andrew Rohrbaugh, Spring Grove (13th and 17:22)
Matt Shenk, Spring Grove (32nd and 17:48)

Boys AA
Xavier Sauvageau, Littlestown (20th and 18:12)
Jesse Wool, Bermudian Springs (24th and 18:28)

Girls AAA
Kaylee Kubisiak, New Oxford (19th and 20:55)

Girls AA
Emily Resciniti, Delone Catholic (4th and 21:33)
Sarah Schumaker, Littlestown (23rd and 22:54)
Mary Kate Lutz, Delone Catholic (25th and 23:12)

Medalist hopefuls: Judging by the times, there are two runners — male and female — with a realistic chance, based on their performance at the District 3 meet, to earn a state medal in Hershey.

Michael Beegle, who has been keying on a state medal since he began the season, will have the best shot in the Boys AAA meet. His time fits along nicely in what it may take to place in the top 25. Three runners out of District 1 seem to be the favorites heading into the meet: Brad Miles and Sam Bernitt of North Penn and Will Kellar of West Chester Henderson. Those three executed times in the 15:40s in their district meet.

But Beegle could almost guarantee a medal with a time in the 16:30 range.

As for Resciniti, her chances aren’t as cut in stone as Beegle’s may be, but they are realistic. However, Saturday must be her best race of the season. In Class AA, what it may take on this course is somewhere in the range of the low 20s. Resciniti has proved countless times this season she is capable of achieving that range of time nd will need to pull out a memorable performance in Hershey to solidify her position in the top group.

Video: Road to Paydirt V

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In our Week 10 edition, Travis and I discuss the Littlestown-West York game that’s sure to be a thriller one week removed from Halloween — so sorry, Michael Jackson fans, no zombies this week.

We go on to talk about the Hanover Area Division I and II-III Cup games before moving on to Fearless Forecasting and finish with some District 3 playoff talk.

Enjoy! Comment if you like what you see.

Prep Football: Matt Koontz profile

I’m surprised I didn’t do this earlier, but I figured since I have all this leftover stat-stew, I’d give you readers a little piece of information pie. Like the food references?

OK, let’s talk Littlestown senior wideout/cornerback Matt Koontz.

Name: Matt Koontz
Nickname: (Guesswork) Koontzy, M-Ko, K-Money, The Coon
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: (Roughly) 185-190 pounds
2008: 37 catches, 706 yards (19.1 per catch), 8 TDs
2007: 20 catches, 305 yards, 2 TDs
2006: 14 catches, 377 yards, 2 TDs
Strengths: Big target…steady hands…reliable receiver…big play potential…good route runner….developed great connection with QB…physical presence for high school player…can create space

As for his weaknesses, I’m not quite sure. I’m no scout, but as far as I can tell, I don’t believe his true position is at receiver. He has a tight end build, and that fits with the overall perception that he lacks top-end receiver speed.

Still, Koontz is the best receiver we’ve had in at least two years.

He’s not in the realm of Steve Olsen, who is the record holder in the Hanover area with 65 catches in a season in 1993.

And he’s nowhere near the 144 catches Brock Harner of Littlestown caught in a three year period between 2002 and 2004.

But his 71 overall catches, 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns certainly are going to be sealed away in the annals of Bolts history. He’s a good one.

Prep Football: South Western’s been here before

There’s reason in Don Seidenstricker’s voice, a measure of assurance and comfort every time he speaks. You don’t get that way until you’ve seen it all, been through countless seasons and endless heartbreaks.

The South Western head football coach is often the most revealing, his most candid, in the days after a big win. He’s looked over the tape, seen the mistakes, the big plays, the good fortunes and by that time, he’s ready to unfurl.

Wednesday night Seidenstricker let me in on a little secret, something that before tonight perhaps only his team, himself and a select few — including diehards — knew.

The Mustangs, on the eve of their regular season finish, on the verge of completing a remarkable campaign in the background of intense exposure and spotlight, is one game away from doing something spectacular.

15 in 50.

As in, 15 championships in 50 years of football.

That’s one championship every four year cycle.

“The fact that we have a shot to share of piece of this championbship is something special,” Seidenstricker said. “Honestly, we’re on the verge of completing 15 in 50. This is something we’ve been quietly talking about within our little our circle for some time now.”

“One for every full class for every boys class to come through school.”

To do it on the year the Mustangs are celebrating 50 years of football? That’s gotta be fate, right?

“The kids will tell you what I said to them after the Central York game,” Seidenstricker said. “When we still were on the field, I said “Stranger things have happened.” The truth of the matter is, again, when I reflect back through the 90s, when we were very very fortunate to throw together those championships, the truth is that three or four times we had a scenario similar to the one we had this week.

“By that I mean, we were at the top or in first place, lost and then somebody happened to beat the team we’ve lost to. That happened a couple of times. Because of that, I was said, ‘Wow.’

“I was somewhat surprised, but I wasn’t completely shocked. It’s just a scenario that played out. For Red Lion to come back and win in that fashion, it’s absolutely incredible. It helps us out. It’s why we have standings.”

The Weekly Basketball Jones

NBA talk with J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas.

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Reader/viewer questions for Road to Paydirt

In last week’s episode of “The Road to Paydirt”, Travis and I unveiled a new segment called “Reader Q & A.” Only, our readers were fictional villains of Halloween lore. Too bad. I thought Voldemort and Co. had some really provocative questions.

Anyway, this blog post is dedicated to our real readers, those who have real questions and real concerns about the high school football season. If you have a question you would like answered in our video that will be shot on Tuesday, please comment on this post and leave a name and school affiliation or place of residence.

We’ll answer as many as we can. My only regret is coming up with this concept with two weeks left in the high school season. It has some real promise.

All right, get the picture then? Fire away.

Quote the Ravens…

Hey readers. For those of you who didn’t know, the Evening Sun covers the Baltimore Ravens home games at M & T Bank Stadium. Our own Travis Johnson was reporting from Baltimore yesterday in the Ravens 30-7 win over the Denver Broncos. He created a blog within our site called “Quote the Ravens…” which you can see at the top of the screen. It’s the fourth tab over.

Our hope is to bring you new and exciting news about the team in this tab. When we cover gameday in Baltimore, make sure to check it out.

In the meantime, check out this feature on rookie cornerback Ladarius Webb, who scored his first NFL kickoff return yesterday.

“I’m a rookie, man,” Webb said Sunday. “All I know is I ran and scored and they went crazy.”