The second week of the high school football season gets off to an early start, with three games tonight.
On Friday, there are 35 games on the slate, including the FOX43 High School Football Frenzy Game of the week, Central York at Cumberland Valley. FOX43 will be live from Chapman Stadium in Mechanicsburg to preview all of Friday night's action at the High School Football Frenzy, so be sure to join us at 6 p.m. for all the fun.
In the meantime, here's this week's Frenzy Five: a handful of games we'll be keeping a close eye on Friday night.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FRENZY GAME OF THE WEEK
Central York (1-0) at Cumberland Valley (1-0)
The Panthers opened the season in impressive fashion with a 60-0 drubbing of West York, fueled by quarterback Beau Pribula and running back Brendon Harris, who scored two touchdowns each, and a stifling defense that held West York to 63 total yards (including minus-3 yards on the ground), forced several turnovers, and even came up with a pair of safeties. Aided by great field position on several early drives, Central York roared to a 31-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Pribula, a sophomore making his first varsity start under center since he inherited the job from his older brother, Cade, also threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Panthers. The younger Pribula brother started for Central York at wideout and defensive back last season, and already has scholarship offers from Sacred Heart at Temple.
Cumberland Valley appears to be on a mission after suffering through its first losing season since 2006 last year, a 3-7 campaign that felt completely out of character. The Eagles sure opened a lot of eyes around the Mid-Penn with last week's 21-7 victory over Bishop McDevitt. It looked like a vintage CV effort against the Crusaders, as the Eagles rode their ground game and a tough defense to grind out the victory. Max Dell’Anno rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts to power the CV offense; his 71-yard burst in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.
OTHER GAMES TO WATCH
Cocalico (1-0) at Cedar Cliff (1-0)
One of three Thursday night games scheduled in Week 2, Cocalico travels to Cedar Cliff to try to knock off the Colts for second straight year. Last season, the Eagles won 31-21 in Denver. Cocalico opened its 2019 campaign with a 42-15 triumph over Conrad Weiser, riding a five-touchdown effort from senior quarterback Noah Palm. The University of New Hampshire commit rushed for 123 yards and four scores on seven carries and found paydirt for the fifth time with a 34-yard interception return for a score. He also went 6-for-7 for 93 yards through the air. Cocalico built a 42-0 lead before its reserves allowed Weiser to find the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, after Palm and the rest of the starters had called it a night.
Cedar Cliff also opened its season with a win, knocking off Governor Mifflin 18-13 behind running back Jaheim Morris and quarterback Gannon McMeans. Morris opened the scoring with a 98-yard TD run in the first quarter on his way to a 150-yard outburst, while McMeans threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 53-yard strike to Jahiem Reynolds in the fourth quarter that wound up deciding the outcome. The Colts held off Mifflin despite being outgained by three yards, 241-238. The two turnovers Cedar Cliff's defense forced certainly helped that effort.
Bishop McDevitt (0-1) at Gettysburg (1-0)
McDevitt will need to rebound quickly from last Friday's 21-7 loss to Cumberland Valley if the Crusaders want to avoid an 0-2 start. They lost last week in spite of a spectacular effort by their defense, which forced two turnovers and got a game-high 16 tackles from linebacker Devyn Clair. Quarterback Lek Powell hooked up with Mario Esterly for a 26-yard touchdown to account for McDevitt's only touchdown against the Eagles.
Gettysburg opened the season with a 28-9 victory over South Western. Running back William Warren led the offense, carrying 10 times for 130 yards and a touchdown in his first game since taking over for graduated star Ammon Robinson, the YAIAA Division II Offensive Player of the Year last season. The Warriors built a 21-0 halftime lead and were never really threatened.
Lancaster Catholic (1-0) at Columbia (1-0)
The L-L League Section 3 slate opens with a rivalry game between the only two teams in the section to open the season with victories last week.
Catholic picked up its 11th straight regular-season victory with a 39-25 triumph over Camp Hill, rallying from deficits of 10-0 and 17-13. The comeback was sparked in part by Mason McClair, who scored on an 84-yard kickoff return and hauled in a 17-yard TD strike from Gavin Sullivan in the third quarter. Jeffrey Hartley added 124 yards and two touchdowns on the ground for the Crusaders, while Sullivan threw for 158 yards on 6-of-11 passing and added 83 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Columbia traveled across the Susquehanna River to claim a hard-fought 35-28 victory over Eastern York in the River Rivalry Game, fueled by quarterback Matt McCleary, who threw for 213 yards and four touchdowns and added 62 yards on the ground for the Crimson Tide. After battling to a 21-21 stalemate at halftime, Columbia got second-half TDs on a nine-yard pass from McCleary to Ryan Redding and a 15-yard pick-six return by Jvon Collazo. Eastern got to within a touchdown with a late 19-yard TD pass from Trevor Seitz to Eliot Whiteside, but the Golden Knights were turned away inside Tide territory as time expired.
Northeastern (1-0) at Carlisle (1-0)
The Bobcats defeated Solanco 55-35 to open the season, racking up 534 yards of offense in the process. Zech Sanderson completed 11 of 22 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns for Northeastern, while wideout Jordan Lagana hauled in seven catches for 162 yards and both TDs. But the big star was running back Manny Capo, who racked up four touchdowns and 225 yards on 25 carries. But it wasn't all rosy for the Bobcats; their defense allowed 315 yards to the relatively inexperienced Golden Mules, who fumbled seven times in all, losing three.
Carlisle rode a 21-point outburst in the second half to knock off Mechanicsburg 24-10 in its season opener. The Thundering Herd led just 3-0 after a sloppy first half, but quarterback Owen Hacker scored on a pair of short touchdown runs, and Tristyn Sullich added another. That was more than enough for Carlisle, which took advantage of several Mechanicsburg fumbles, including two deep in Herd territory. Braydon Keller eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the Herd.