PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Buckle those chinstraps, Central Pennsylvania -- high school football is back!
The teams of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, Mid-Penn Conference, and York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association all are back under the Friday night lights this week as the 2024 season begins.
There are a whopping 57 games on the slate in Central PA Friday night, with another nine set for Saturday. That's a huge field to choose from for the FOX43 High School Football Frenzy Game of the Week.
But we just can't resist a good feud, so we're going with the District 3 Class 6A playoff rematch between L-L League powerhouse Manheim Township and Mid-Penn Commonwealth contender Cumberland Valley.
The Blue Streaks and the Eagles will square off Friday at 7 p.m. at Chapman Field in Mechanicsburg. FOX43 will preview all the action with the High School Football Frenzy at 6 p.m.
Friday's opener will be the teams' fifth meeting in the last two seasons; Township is 4-0 in those matchups. They might play in different conferences, but the Streaks and the Eagles know each other well.
Township barely held off CV in last year's district semifinals, emerging with a 37-27 victory. The Streaks then fell to Harrisburg for the second straight year in the title game, dropping a 34-28 overtime decision. It was their first and only loss of the season, ending their campaign at 12-1.
This year, Township appears primed for another playoff run, even with the loss of the program's all-time passing leader, Hayden Johnson, who is now plying his trade at Lehigh University.
Johnson, who threw for 2,896 yards and 49 touchdowns without a single interception as a senior, left Township with 7,536 career passing years and all of the program's passing records. His loss will sting, as will the departure of wideout Landon Kennel, who had more than 1,100 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns last fall.
But Township brings back last year's leading rusher, Declan Clancy (1,181 yards, 14 TDs), along with a roster deep on postseason experience. The Streaks have made two straight trips to the District 3 title game, but have fallen to Harrisburg each time. You can bet they'll be looking to rectify that this autumn.
Cumberland Valley's road to the playoffs last year was much different than Township's. At the regular season's midway point, the Eagles were a dismal 1-4, including a lopsided 35-6 loss to Township in the season opener. But instead of folding the tent, CV hunkered down and reeled off five straight victories to sneak into the playoffs.
Once there, the Eagles upended Wilson 20-14 in the opening round before bowing out in a much more competitive rematch with the Streaks.
This year, CV is part of a bulked-up, 10-team Mid-Penn Commonwealth division bolstered by the arrival of Bishop McDevitt and Cedar Cliff. That makes the Commonwealth gauntlet even more imposing than usual, but the Eagles should be ready to fly.
Senior quarterback Grant Shepley is back; his move to a starting role last year coincided with CV's second-half rally that got the Eagles to the playoffs. The job of protecting Shepley falls to returning starters Tyler Merrill and Brady Hubbard on the offensive line. Merrill, a 6-5, 300-pound behemoth, is being courted by Penn State, Notre Dame, and Michigan, among others.
The Eagles aren't quite as run-heavy as they've been in the past -- Shipley completed 60 percent of his 101 passes for 754 yards in six starts, after all -- but they will need to replace last year's top rusher, Bryce Staretz, who had 1,573 yards and 20 TDs. Look for CV to lean on its experienced, lightning-quick defense while the new faces on offense find their footing.
