WAYNESBORO – Give Waynesboro Area Senior High School senior Tyler Fortney a round of applause.
Although he didn’t qualify beyond the PIAA District 3-AAA tournament held last week at Honey Run Golf Course, the senior golfer was ultra-consistent during the regular season and came very close to winning the Mid-Penn Conference championship at Dauphin Highlands in Harrisburg.
Fortney was the alpha golfer during the Mid-Penn Colonial Division meets. He finished first overall in six of seven meets. He placed second behind Northern’s Logan White with a 75 in the third match. He started the season with a 77, good enough for first overall and one stroke ahead of Shippensburg’s Kaydee Beckenbaugh. In match two, Fortney lit up Range End Golf Course with a 69, five strokes ahead of Northern’s Luke Klawitter.
Fortney did one better at Gettysburg National when he carded a 68. That was four strokes ahead of Shippensburg’s Ben Horgos. Fortney repeated his medalist status with a 73 in the fifth match at Eagles Crossing and shot 74 in the next match at Chambersburg Country Club, also a first-place finish. The final match at Great Cove in McConnellsburg saw Fortney finish first with a 72.
Waynesboro ended the season with a 22-20 record and finished the campaign in a tie for fourth place with Greencastle-Antrim. Northern York won its second straight league title with a 37-5 record. Shippensburg was second at 34-8. Gettysburg finished in third place with a 23-19 record.
Fortney lost in a playoff in the Mid-Penn Championship. He missed the cut for the state tournament after finishing with a 79-79-158, which was three strokes behind the state-qualifying score.
Waynesboro’s Abby Byers also missed the cut. She finished with a 93-85-178.
Beckenbaugh finished fourth in the district tournament (76-79-155), a stroke behind Chambersburg’s Emily Rensch.
Waynesboro has experienced a lot of success in the past six seasons. However, the 2024 team was young.
“Tyler is the leader on the course,” said Waynesboro coach Ryan Henderson, who had eight golfers on the roster. “He is certainly a fantastic player and likely in the top five at Mid-Penns.”
In addition to Fortney, the team consisted of Farin Parks, Caiden Shacreaw, Abby Byers, Landon Crable, Marissa Musolino, Rylan Nichols and Dominic Goodrich.
INDIANS HIT POTHOLE
The Waynesboro varsity football team was sitting on a 4-1 record and hopes of a District 3 playoff berth within reach. But a three-game losing streak has taken some of the luster off the season. It started with a 30-27 loss to Northern York in the annual Homecoming game. The next week the Indians lost 20-14 to Mifflin County in Lewistown. Waynesboro (4-4) fell 35-13 against undefeated Mechanicsburg this past Friday.
There’s still a lot to play for, and it starts with a game at Hersheypark Stadium against Lower Dauphin (4-4). The season finale is Friday, Oct. 25, against Hershey at Buchanan Automotive Stadium.
Four wins is a big improvement over the last two seasons. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Tribe was 2-8.
Waynesboro started the season with a 30-27 comeback win over Greencastle-Antrim. The next week, the Indians beat Gettysburg 33-21. Waynesboro lost 28-21 to Shippensburg the next week before reeling off wins of 23-13 against Red Land and 47-14 at Palmyra.
What makes Waynesboro’s offense go is running back Nathan Nolan. The senior averages 117 yards rushing per game and is the spark that ignites the offense. There has been a lot of pressure on junior quarterback Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt. He completed nine of 29 passes against Mifflin County, but the Indians had a chance to win late.
Frazer-Hewitt has thrown seven touchdown passes and ran for four more. The margin for error has been slim for Waynesboro. Offensive mistakes put pressure on the defense, led by hard-hitting linebackers Andrew Florek and Tank Benedict and lineman Nate Adkins.
The Indians have been burned on pass plays lately, something they’ll have to correct heading into the final two games. Otherwise, the defense has been a bright spot. If both units play with the confidence and potential they are capable of, Waynesboro can finish 6-4.
