There’s no doubt it, this high school football season is going to be a bumpy ride for all squads in the reinforced Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division, which expanded to 10 teams in the offseason. Regarded by some as the toughest division in the PIAA, the Commonwealth is known for its monsters in the trenches and the superstars lining the skill positions.
The Chambersburg Trojans are going to need max effort to stay competitive in the rugged super division, and perhaps just a little bit of swagger.
The Trojans got that burst of confidence in their non-league season opener at Gettysburg on Friday, coming through in crunch time with a 24-17 victory over the Warriors, a squad expected to contend in Mid-Penn’s Keystone Division.
Gettysburg (0-1) battled to tie the game 17-17 with 7:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Chambersburg later countered with the game-winning drive, pulling ahead on a six-yard run from Antonio Harrison with 2:10 remaining. The Trojans defense played a crucial role in the win, coming through with a pair of late stops.
Imari Watson eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the Trojans, and opened scoring in the first quarter with a 13-yard TD run. Chambersburg expanded its lead to 10-0 with a 26-yard field goal from Trever Luther, but Gettysburg showed life just before halftime with a 16-yard scoring strike from Brady Heiser to Logan Baker.
Trojans QB Ceagan Truett pushed the Chambersburg lead to 17-7 with a 19-run scoring scamper, but the Warriors once again fought back with a 26-yard field goal from Connor Hazel and a game-tying five-yard rush from Heiser.
Momentum was with Gettysburg, which got the ball back after forcing Chambersburg to punt, but the Trojans came through with a stop of their own, leading to their eventual go-ahead score. The Warriors had one last chance to score, facing a fourth down at the Chambersburg 31 with less than a minute remaining, but Chambersburg safety Jason Chambers broke up a pass to seal victory for the Trojans.
Chambersburg (1-0) will hit the road once again on Friday, when it opens its Commonwealth schedule against CD East (1-0), a squad coming off a 40-6 victory over York.
Waynesboro 30, Greencastle-Antrim 27
The Indians and Blue Devils scrapped in a tightly-contested backyard brawl that saw Waynesboro score the winning touchdown with eight seconds left in regulation.
Greencastle-Antrim (0-1) took a 27-23 lead late in the fourth quarter when Blue Devils QB Sean Marshall found Carter McCauley for a 20-yard scoring strike. That left just 1:10 on the clock for Waynesboro to stage a comeback.
The Indians got the job done just as the clock ticked below 10 seconds, with QB Rashawn Fraser-Hewitt bursting 15 yards for the game’s decisive touchdown.
Waynesboro (1-0) showed that it can bounce back from adversity after a first half that saw Greencastle take a 12-2 lead. The Blue Devils jumped ahead 12-0 on a 13-yard TD pass from Marshall to McCauley and a 15-yard scoring scamper from Blake Reuter. The Indians broke up the shutout with a safety in the second quarter, and built off their momentum in the second half.
Third-quarter TDs from Waynesboro’s Tank Benedict (12-yard run) and Anthony Auscherman (interception return) had the Indians ahead by two points, and they boosted that lead to 23-14 in the fourth quarter with a 62-yard run from Ben Williams.
Greencastle-Antrim wasn’t going down without a fight, however, and the Blue Devils charged back into the lead with two TDs: A one-yard plunge from Lars Galinanes, followed by the go-ahead 20-yard TD from Marshall to McCauley.
That’s when Waynesboro landed the final punch at WASHS Stadium. The win should give the Indians a big burst of confidence going into next week’s home game against Gettysburg (0-1), a team coming off a 24-17 loss to Chambersburg.
Greencastle was led by the efforts of McCauley, who caught nine passes for 161 yards and two TDs. Marshall completed 15 of 21 passes for 237 yards, two TDs, and three interceptions. Reuter was the top rusher for the Blue Devils, totaling 51 yards on 12 carries.
Greencastle will look to bounce back when it opens at home against Susquehanna Township (1-0), a team which earned a 36-30 victory over Penn Hills last weekend.
Steel-High 69, Fairfield 0
Steel-High, the defending PIAA Class A champion, played like a well-oiled machine in its lopsided win over Fairfield.
The Rollers (1-0) scored TDs in a variety of ways. Steel-High rushed and passed for TDs, and added two other scores with kick and punt returns for TDs.
Steel-High finished with 329 yards, including 157 yards passing and 172 yards rushing.
Fairfield (0-1) managed 58 yards of offense, including 47 in the rushing game.
The Knights will aim to rebound on Friday, when they hit the road to face Eastern York (1-0), a team coming off a 42-6 win over Columbia.
Standings
Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division: Chambersburg (1-0 overall, 0-0 division), Cedar Cliff (1-0, 0-0), State College (1-0, 0-0), Bishop McDevitt (1-0, 0-0), CD East (1-0, 0-0), Altoona (0-1, 0-0), Carlisle (0-1, 0-0), Central Dauphin (0-1, 0-0), Cumberland Valley (0-1, 0-0), Harrisburg (0-1, 0-0).
Mid-Penn Keystone Division: Waynesboro (1-0 overall, 0-0 division), Hershey (1-0, 0-0), Mechanicsburg (1-0, 0-0), Mifflin County (1-0, 0-0), Palmyra (1-0, 0-0), Shippensburg (1-0, 0-0), Gettysburg (0-1), Lower Dauphin (0-1), Northern York (0-1, 0-0), Red Land (0-1, 0-0).
Mid-Penn Colonial Division: Boiling Springs (1-0 overall, 0-0 division), Middletown (1-0, 0-0), Susquehanna Township (1-0, 0-0), West Perry (1-0, 0-0), Big Spring (0-1, 0-0), East Pennsboro (0-1, 0-0), Greencastle-Antrim (0-1, 0-0), Milton Hershey (0-1, 0-0), Trinity (0-1, 0-0).
Mid-Penn Capital Division: James Buchanan (1-0 overall, 0-0 division), Steel-High (1-0, 0-0), Camp Hill (0-1, 0-0), Halifax (0-1, 0-0), Juniata (0-1, 0-0), Line Mountain (0-1, 0-0), Newport (0-1, 0-0), Susquenita (0-1, 0-0), Upper Dauphin (0-1, 0-0).
York-Adams III: Biglerville (1-0 overall, 0-0 division), York County Tech (0-1, 0-0), Delone Catholic (0-1, 0-0), Bermudian Springs (0-1, 0-0), Littlestown (0-1, 0-0), York Catholic (0-1, 0-0), Hanover (0-1, 0-0), Fairfield (0-1, 0-0).
