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High School Football: District 3 Class 2 a title game is a neighborhood rivalry rematch between Trinity and Camp Hill

The Shamrocks held off the Lions 14-13 in the regular season, and will have to beat them again to retain their Class 2A championship.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Friday night's District 3 Class 2A title game will be a battle for bragging rights in one Cumberland County borough.

That's because the two schools who will battle for the trophy Friday night -- Camp Hill and Trinity -- are located roughly two miles apart. 

The top-seeded Shamrocks will defend their district title against their crosstown rivals on their home field. 

Here's a preview of the title game.

No. 4 Camp Hill (6-5) at No. 2 Trinity (7-3)

Friday, 7 p.m.

ABOUT CAMP HILL: The Lions upset top-seeded Annville-Cleona 35-14 in last week's semifinals, riding the hot hand of quarterback Drew Branstetter, who threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns to lead the way. 

It was the second straight win for Camp Hill, which now gets a rematch with its neighborhood rival and a chance to avenge a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to the Shamrocks on Oct. 13. 

The Lions appear to have put a mid-season swoon that saw them lose five out of six games in their rearview mirror. While they've got some defensive issues to tighten up, the Lions have no trouble airing out the ball on offense. 

Branstetter has now thrown for 2,449 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. He is also Camp Hill's second-leading rusher. The top runner is Kobe Moore, who has 436 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Alex Long (59-788, 9 TDs) and Noah Doi (51-756, 10 TDs) have combined for more than 100 catches and 1,500 receiving yards.

Camp Hill has a rich program history with 10 district titles, the most recent coming in 2020. 

ABOUT TRINITY: The Shamrocks returned to the district title game by defeating Delone Catholic for the second time this season, rolling to a 28-3 victory in the semifinals. Trinity hammered the Squires 49-12 in their season opener.

Sophomore RB Messiah Mickens, who has already committed to Penn State, rushed for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help Trinity down Delone in the rematch.

The Shamrocks finished third in the Mid-Penn Capital Division behind Steelton-Highspire and West Perry, both of whom defeated them in the regular season. Trinity's other loss came against Wyomissing, the top seed in the Class 3A bracket. Those three losses came by a combined total of nine points.

Coached by Steelton-Highspire grad Jordan Hill, a former Penn State star who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks during his four-year stint in the NFL, Trinity has a balanced offense. The main guy to watch is Mickens, who has racked up 1,133 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He is ranked as Pennsylvania's No. 1 prospect for the Class of 2026 by several recruiting websites. Senior QB Caleb Wray has completed 79 of 135 passes for 1,307yards and 21 scores for the Shamrocks.

Trinity is seeking its second straight district title and the fourth in program history. 

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