Against Twin Valley, Lampeter-Strasburg Finds It Twice As Nice As Pioneers Knock Off Raiders For Second Time In A Month, Extend Historic Season Into District 3-4A Title Game
You know that one phrase? The one that goes, “You only get one shot to make a good first impression?” Yeah, true as that notion may be in certain instances, sometimes fate can also intervene. And when it does, while may not –or frankly cannot– totally erase a bad first meeting that transpired between two […]
After Navigating Rough Seas And Choppy Waters, Manheim Township Sets Sail For District 3-6A Semifinal Round As Blue Streaks Use Timely Defensive Stands To Turn Away Cumberland Valley In Latest Chapter Of Nonleague Series
In some ways, it almost had to be this way, right? Death, taxes, and Cumberland Valley and Manheim Township running it back to play twice inside a single year. Okay. Hyperbolic language or not, the fact of the matter is that yes, we have come to expect seeing the Eagles and Blue Streaks renew their […]
Cumberland Valley Models Peak Efficiency At The Perfect Time As Eagles Run Away From Governor Mifflin To Begin Postseason Play, Draw Manheim Township For Third Consecutive Year In District 3-6A Playoffs
At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how exactly you got there, just so long as you ultimately make it to the party in the end. For high school football teams from both near and far inside the state that found themselves still playing this week, there was perhaps no better logic […]
A Week After Heartbreaking Defeat, Exeter Responds With A Vengeance As Eagles Storm Into Postseason Play Following 71-Point Shutout Victory Over Elizabethtown In Final Regular Season Contest
If we were to take an unscientific poll before the season that asked if you would be satisfied or content while owning an 8-1 record with one final week left to go, chances were that most everyone would’ve asked where the nearest pen was at so that they could sign up without any sort of […]
After Passing McCaskey Quiz, Wilson Looks Towards Final Exam As Bulldogs Prepare For Manheim Township, Section Title Game Next Week In Regular Season Finale
If we were to handicap the projected Section One race inside the Lancaster-Lebanon League heading into the 2024 season, there’s more than enough ample evidence to suggest this is essentially the place we figured to find ourselves right here inside of mid-October. That of course being Manheim Township and Wilson largely running away from the […]
Despite Healthy Start, Manheim Township’s Palate Leaves Room For Improvement As Blue Streaks Prevail In Divisional Road Tilt Against Cedar Cres
Exactly nine weeks ago, when the assembled masses convened and descended upon the LNP headquarters in Lancaster city for the outlet’s hosting of the annual media day festivities prior to signify the official, unofficial start of the campaign, the season at large figured to of course be somewhat hard to predict at the time, and […]
Lampeter-Strasburg Keeps Pace With State’s Elite As Pioneers Add Shutout Victory At Octorara To Already Stellar Resume
There’s no contesting that football is inherently an exciting sport. Let’s be honest, if baseball didn’t already trademark the phrase eons ago, the game played with the oblong ball would probably be “America’s Pastime.” And hey, maybe it is in all reality, even without that moniker having to go along with it officially. But for […]
After High-Flying Start, Conestoga Valley Is Forced To Get Gritty As Buckskins Stave Off Stern Spring Grove Effort In Final Seconds To Keep Perfect Record Intact
Somehow, we’ve done it. We’ve reached the halfway point of the season. Probably not much of a surprise in all honesty, however. After all, you can usually set your watch to the masses eventually proclaiming just fast the high school football season moves once everyone gets out of the starting blocks, similar to that of […]
State-Ranked Twin Valley Lands Early Knockout Blow, Yet Leaves Plenty Of Homework Behind, As Raiders Make Quick Work of ELCO In Conference Opener
Across the 360-miles of which it spans, there are 36 exits located along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Not all of these are created equal though. Some serve as a direct dive into the largest and most vital cities in the state. Others meanwhile divert into other key arteries, like the Northeast Extension for example, that make […]
Donegal Runs Past Tough Week One Defeat, Runs Over Columbia In Response As Indians Claim Inaugural ‘Battle of the Rock’ In Latest Chapter Of Longtime Series
In some respects, the game of high school football is a bit of an oddity and an outlier. For example, are there any other sports in the known free world where the number of months that make up the offseason actually compare, if not totally outweigh, the number of opportunities found in the number of […]
Avon Grove’s Patience Pays Off As Red Devils’ Persistent Defensive Peskiness Paves Way For Fourth Quarter Flurry In Season Opening Victory Over Warwick
For most everyone, this is the best week of the entire high school football season. Sure, aside from the old cliché that it’s the only time during the campaign that quite literally everyone has a 0 beside their name under the loss column on the season ledger, it’s the promise that a new season, a […]
Lancaster County All-Stars Lean On Home Cooking As Outgoing Manheim Central Seniors Steal The Show In Final Game At Elden Rettew, Help Blank Berks/Lebanon In 22nd Tri-County All-Star Game
For a state where some may consider high school football to be a religion of sorts, it’s somewhat surprising perhaps to look around the state and realize that there isn’t a bountiful feast of postseason all-star games played to try and satisfy the appetite. But that isn’t exactly the case in south central Pennsylvania if […]
Harrisburg Does It ‘The Hard Way’ As Cougars Erase 21-Point Second Half Deficit To Stun Manheim Township, Earn Third-Straight District 3-6A Title In The Process
It might sound like a crazy premonition on the surface, but is it totally out of the realm of possibility that the two teams pegged at #1 and #2 respectively entering the District 3-6A tournament field with a combined record of 23-1 between them could possibly still have a massive chip residing on each of […]
Bishop McDevitt Beast Shows Its Teeth As Crusaders Gobble Up Lampeter-Strasburg, Stalk Another District 3 Title
By any objective measure, it’d be safe to say that it’s been yet another successful football season as far as Lampeter-Strasburg had to be concerned. And that’s not for nothing either. To be sure, for a program that routinely finds itself at the head of the class both in terms of their own respective Lancaster-Lebanon […]
Manheim Central Withstands Susquehanna Township’s Best Punch As Barons Remain Standing, Head To District 3-4A Semifinal Round Following Wild 45-34 Triumph
The last time we ran into the Manheim Central Barons in person, it was quite a while ago. In fact, it was so long ago that they were found in an entirely different state altogether. Okay, maybe it wasn’t all that long ago in the traditional calendar-sense, but in football terms, it’d be fair to […]
Schuylkill Valley Rides Explosive Plays, Dominic Giuffre’s All-Everything Exploits, Into District 3-3A Semifinal Round As Panthers Run Away From Littlestown To Set Date With Top-Seeded Wyomissing
Without much in the way of any real dispute, the District 3 footprint in the landscape of Pennsylvania high school sports has to be considered nothing if not massive. Not a hard argument to make I suppose considering it spans all of 11 counties within the southcentral region of the Commonwealth that reaches all the […]
Cocalico Completes Sweep Of Section Four Competition, Gears Up For Postseason Run As Eagles Hold Off Stern Conrad Weiser Challenge In Regular Season Finale
At this time a year ago, no one was thinking about the Cocalico Eagles. Okay, that’s really nothing more than a bad hyperbole that isn’t 100% accurate, but it’s not as if you could have found fault with those who may have given the team from Denver nothing more than just a passing glance last […]
Wilson Passes Its 600th Test As Bulldogs Bite McCaskey, Ready Themselves For Final Exam Against Manheim Township In Section Title Game
It’s Week 9 of the high school football season this week which means only one thing—We are just a handful of days away from Week 10. Okay, okay. Yes, while most everyone has their eyes set on the final week of the regular season slate next weekend, especially inside the Lancaster-Lebanon League where either by […]
Twin Valley Uses Recipe Of Big Plays, Mental Fortitude, And Old-Fashioned Guts To Cook Up Improbable Come-From-Behind Victory Against Solanco As Raiders Remain Unbeaten, Hungry To Continuing Fight Towards Section Crown
We all know this is a game that by its nature is woven in a very fine cyclical fabric. I dunno about you all, but maybe that’s why we all love it so much. It certainly is for me at least. And how could you not? What’s not to enjoy about the constant ebb and […]
History-Making Mounts Continue Torrid Start As Ephrata Locks Up Daniel Boone, Moves To 5-0 For First Time In 28 Years
It’s Week 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League high school football slate this week which (somehow) means we are already halfway home through the regular season gauntlet in 2023. In some cases, we’re halfway home towards a section title. For others, halfway home towards a potential playoff berth. And yes, for some, we’re halfway home towards […]
Annville-Cleona Gets Its Groove Back With Old-Fashioned Muscle As Dutchmen Dictate Terms, Ground High-Flying Hamburg To Begin Divisional Play
Over the totality of an entire high school football season, every week is precious in its own way. Hard to argue that I suppose given that you only have a finite number of games in which you can play, short of taking matters into your own hands and playing beyond that allowed allotment and into […]
Cedar Crest Waits 16 Hours (Plus A Little Extra) To Keep Perfect Record Intact As Falcons Move To 3-0, Outduel Warwick In Walk-Off Fashion After Three Overtime Affair
Full disclosure here. We know this is a space solely dedicated to pigskin. But if you’re a fan of the high school sports scene in and around the Lancaster-Lebanon League, the truth of the matter is that if we get Cedar Crest and Warwick going against one another on the hardwood this winter in the […]
Manheim Central Takes Show Across State Lines, Pulls One Out Of The Fire As Enterline’s Slam Dunk Reception Propels Barons Past Defending Delaware State Champs In Miraculous Fashion
First of all, no matter how the eventual outcome of the game itself would play itself out, Manheim Central’s Labor Day weekend excursion of 2023 would almost certainly prove to be memorable for those involved regardless. Shoot, how could it not? After all, it’s not every day you see two prominent high school football programs […]
Manheim Township Authors Successful First Chapter In What They Hope Becomes Storybook Season As Blue Streaks Open Season, Handle Cumberland Valley In 29-Point Victory
On Friday night, in stadiums dotting high school campuses dotting all corners both near and far from around the state and every which way in between, hope sprang eternal. It was on this night that the renewal of a time-honored tradition –the high school football season- was ushered into existence for the 2023 calendar year. […]
No. 12 Seed Cocalico Looks Anything But, Dismantles #1 Solanco En Route To Third District 3-5A Championship Game In Five Years
Undeniably, one of the most fun and unique parts about this weekend in particular –the weekend that is the semifinal and final rounds of four of the six classes in the District 3 ranks – is that tantalizing matchups would likely abound given the sheer breadth of high-quality high school football volume that the mid-state […]
Manheim Township ‘Redemption Tour’ Begins With Thrilling Heavyweight Victory Over Cumberland Valley As Blue Streaks Set Sights On Hempfield In District 3-6A Semifinal Round
Typically, the start of postseason play brings with it a renewal of sorts. A fresh start if you will. True enough, yes, but maybe that wasn’t exactly the case across the entire board on Friday night when it came time for the onset of the District 3-6A playoffs to get underway. Well, at least for […]
Warwick Flips The Script, Reverses 28-Point Playoff Loss As Warriors Topple Governor Mifflin In Regular Season Finale
In some ways, it’s almost funny. Yes, for as dynamite as the Week 10 slate across the Lancaster-Lebanon League ended up being considering this week given that it featured games with head-to-head divisional title implications nearly the entire way down the gamut from Sections One thru Five respectively, there was one matchup hiding in the […]
Hamburg Shows Off Offensive Weaponry As Hawks Notch Divisional Road Win At Northern Lebanon In High-Scoring Affair
When you get to the ninth week of the year come to the marathon — yet somehow also a sprint oddly enough — that is the high school football season, there are almost always storylines aplenty to go around on the slate, regardless of what the matchup between the two opposing sides may be. Granted, […]
Early Successes Ignite The Spark As Manheim Township Notches 35-Point Divisional Road Win Over Reading
It’s the eighth week of the high school football season which means that while the temperature outside will only continue to plummet, the stakes and implications that await a great number of teams from around the state will only continue to ramp up and intensity with a level of high heat that would make even […]
Manheim Central Suffocates Muhlenberg Amid Scoring Explosion As Barons Roll To 70-Point Shutout Victory
In some ways, particularly if you fancy yourself as a religious reader of these postgame recaps that I type up and submit on a weekly basis for the viewing pleasure of one and all (god bless your brave soul by the way), but if you know that I am going to be recapping a Manheim […]
Cocalico Looks The Part, Begins Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Four Gauntlet With Dominating Win Over Octorara
As crazy as it may be to say this out loud –or rather type it out loud as it were I suppose — Friday night somehow marked Week 4 of the high school football season in Pennsylvania. What does all that mean you ask? Well, short of trying to figure out where exactly it was […]
Rudy, Cummings Take High-Wire Act To Hersheypark As Elizabethtown Leaves With Perfect Record Intact Following Triumph Over Lower Dauphin
In many ways, the setting and surroundings that enveloped the Week 3 collision course matchup between Elizabethtown and Lower Dauphin could not have been any more apropos. Firstly, the location. For years, nay, generations even, every high school football team that handed out uniforms and pads in the month of August dreamed of the possibility […]
Hempfield Refuses To Flinch As Black Knights Earn Walk-Off Win, Stun York High In Final Seconds For Key Nonconference Victory
It’s Labor Day weekend which usually means one of two things. First, it’s time –begrudgingly for some folks – to put the boogie boards, umbrellas and coolers away for good as it marks the unofficial death of summer. Secondly, while this long weekend may signify an untimely passing unless of course, you’ve been itching to […]
ELCO ‘Brotherhood’ Proves Vital As Raiders Overcome Fourth Quarter Deficit To Storm Past Annville-Cleona
There’s an old adage floated around in football circles that goes something along the lines of this. “The greatest improvement a team can make is between Week 1 & 2.” Fair point no doubt, but man alive. If the season openers for Annville-Cleona and ELCO respectively last week were to serve as any sort of […]
Falcons Refuse To Yield As Cedar Crest Stymies Lincoln, Opens Promising Campaign With Intriguing Nonconference Victory
If you’re a high school football fan living in central Pennsylvania unless of course you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years I suppose, you’ve probably already heard the news by now that the 13 football programs that as of just this past season who had made up the Berks County […]
Lampeter-Strasburg Gets Defensive, Stymies Kennard-Dale As Pioneers Await Date With Bishop McDevitt In District 3-4A Title Game Black Friday Night
In sports, much like in life, there’s an old familiar phrase that says, “Water eventually finds it level.” Yeah, true enough in terms of the earth science technicalities of things I suppose, but that’s not always the case in the world of playoff-era sports. Well, at least not particularly in the case of Friday night’s […]
Singleton’s Historic Night Fuels Governor Mifflin As Mustangs Gallop Past Warwick, Into District 3-5A Semifinal Round
At this time one year ago, this was the matchup everyone would’ve crawled across broken glass to see. And for good reason too. Last season, Warwick, bringing with them the best collection of talent that the school had ever seen in the history of its football program, was slated to head up to Shillington play […]
Garden Spot Finishes Strong, Rides Strong Second Half Performance As Spartans End With A Statement Win Over Ephrata
In some ways, it was rather fitting that Ephrata and Garden Spot happened to match up against one another on Friday night. You see, in this contest, perhaps more so than other games that either the Mounts or Spartans had played all year long up until this point respectively, did either squad probably feel as […]
Manheim Township Overcomes Early Hiccups, Screams Past McCaskey As Blue Streaks Set Their Sights On Pivotal Regular Season Finale
Funny how time can change and shift your outlook around on things every now and then. Yes, sometimes even a week can alter things quite dramatically, especially in the sport of high school football no less. Just look at Manheim Township and McCaskey for example. As of seven days ago, the general storyline and buzz […]
Lampeter-Strasburg Starts Slow, Erases Ten-Point Deficit As Pioneers Zoom Past Garden Spot In Key Divisional Tilt
Let’s start off with a question this week. What’s the best athletic department currently operating these days in the Lancaster-Lebanon League? If someone were to stop you in the street and ask that question, there are probably a few names that would immediately bubble up to the surface. Hempfield? Sure, having the second biggest enrollment […]
Second Quarter Surge Propels Crimson Tide As Columbia Takes Care Of Northern Lebanon In Section Four Tussle
Without fail, each and every season brings with it those feel good stories that emerge from the early portion of the regular season slate regarding programs that appear to have finally turned a corner and put those dark and dreaded days of losing behind them once and for all. Well, far be it from me […]
Wilson Sends A Message, Dismantles Penn Manor As Bulldogs Prevail In Section One Lid-Lifter
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Along the first leg of our journey, I want you all to recall the years of 2012 and 2013. What do you remember doing back then? Well, if you were associated with the Penn Manor Comets football program, life was pretty sweet in those days. After […]
Manheim Township Handles Early Punches, Uses Second Quarter Surge To Push Away Cocalico In Key Crossover Clash
It’s Week 5 inside the Lancaster-Lebanon League this week which can mean only one thing—it’s crossover week. Ah yes. The beloved crossover week. The one week each year where you either find yourself firmly entrenched on one side of the fence or the other. For fans and players, it’s hard not to get excited about […]
Lancaster Catholic Hangs On, Notches Second Consecutive Victory As Crusaders Get Past Archbishop Carroll
In football, much like in life, sometimes all you really need is a spark. Well, Week 2 of the 2021 high school football season just happened to provide that very opportunity for two programs that were both in search of a jolt, Archbishop Carroll and Lancaster Catholic. For the Crusaders of Lancaster Catholic, finding momentum […]
Cocalico Explodes Past Cedar Cliff, Into State Semifinal Round As Eagles Claim District 3-5A Championship
No matter what the sport and no matter what the competition level, there are always some undeniable truths that always come to light when talking about the postseason. Chief among them, and perhaps the most tantalizing of all, is the prospect of rematches. And if we’re talking about the 5A level within District 3, there […]
Wyomissing Rumbles Past Annville-Cleona, Into District 3-3A Title Game As Spartans Turn Away Dutchmen
For most every high school football player, there is simply nothing that can rival nor replicate the sheer joy and excitement that comes along with wearing the hometown colors and playing in front of your classmates underneath the bright Friday night lights. In fact, the atmosphere in and of itself is arguably just as instrumental, […]
Lampeter-Strasburg Holds Off Valiant York Suburban Charge As Pioneers Conquer Trojans, March Into District 3-4A Semifinals
When the leaves on the trees start to turn colors and the howling, brisk winds of autumn begin to reappear into our little slice of heaven here in the state of Pennsylvania, it usually means that our oldest nemesis, dreaded winter, is hot on our heels. But thoughts of freshly, laid white powder and slippery […]
Top-Seeded Wilson Embarks On District 3-6A Playoff Quest In Emphatic Fashion As Bulldogs Bite Chambersburg
As hard it may be to believe, ten weeks of regular season high school football across the state of Pennsylvania have now come and gone, all seemingly within the blink of an eye. Now sure, while the regular season features plenty of thrills and heart-stopping moments to offer in its own right, the simple fact […]
ELCO Completes Frantic Comeback, Locks Up Playoff Big In Wild Regular Season Finale Against Columbia
It’s funny sometimes how life has a way of meandering its way back around full circle. In many ways, high school football is also quite capable of providing a prevailing sense of deja vu. Should you need proof, just look back 364 days ago to when ELCO and Columbia last met up against one another […]
Harley, Lancaster Catholic Motor Past Donegal As Crusaders Capture Share Of Section 3 Title In Shutout Victory
When high school football coaches, players, and fans alike look up and see that the penultimate week of the regular season has suddenly arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, it’s far from hyperbole to suggest that time is of the upmost essence. For both the Donegal Indians and Lancaster Catholic Crusaders, Friday’s night affair between the […]
