GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Waynesboro Indians proved to be no match for the speed and power of the Gettysburg Warriors on Friday, Sept. 11. The Warriors put on a ground and aerial display that resulted in a 41-7 Mid-Penn Keystone Division varsity football victory.
Played under clear skies and bearable temperatures (hovering around 70 degrees through much of the game), Gettysburg dominated from the beginning of the game until the end.
Quarterback Grant Johnson, a 6-0, 180-pound junior, rushed for 211 yards on just 12 carries and passed for another 136 yards with eight completions in 12 attempts and no interceptions. Running back Trevor Cunningham finished with 110 yards on nine attempts, including a final touchdown jaunt of 75 yards with 1:43 remaining in the game.
The Warriors appear for real in 2026. They improved to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the division after defeating New Oxford 32-10, Hershey 28-14 and now Waynesboro. Gettysburg goes on the road next Friday to face Northern York in a divisional tilt. In fact, all remaining games for the Warriors and Indians are within the division.
Waynesboro struggled on both sides of the ball, as Johnson utilized his versatility to mask plays as they unfolded. On the first play from scrimmage, Johnson faked a handoff to Cunningham and took off 30 yards to the Waynesboro 33. Two plays later, he lofted a strike to Elijah Allen for a 25-yard touchdown with only 1:13 elapsed on the clock.
About the only thing Gettysburg had trouble with was extra points. The Warriors missed the first three to take an 18-0 lead after a scoring pass from Johnson to Jayden Spencer and a 63-yard TD run by Johnson as the first quarter expired.
Waynesboro did put together a decent possession following Gettysburg’s third touchdown but it stalled. It didn’t help that a 20-yard touchdown run by Anthony Ausherman was nullified by a holding penalty. Then came an incomplete pass, a two-yard loss and a sack resulting in a 12-yard loss on fourth down.
The Warriors kicked a field goal to go up 21-0, which was the score at halftime on Gettysburg’s homecoming game.
But the Tribe (0-3, 0-2 MPC Keystone) had one more chance to get points. Starting on its own 10-yard line, Waynesboro’s sophomore quarterback Brayden Heimbugh and Bryghton Naveja-Irish teamed up for four completions totaling 34 yards. Gavin Starkey caught a pass for 19 yards to give the Indians a first down at the Gettysburg 29. However, two penalties, including a holding call inside the 10-yard line, stymied the drive. A fourth-down pass fell incomplete to end the possession at the 5.
Heimbuch, who was under pressure until leaving the game later in the second half and replaced by Brady Myers, was sacked six times and hurried on other pass attempts.
Waynesboro’s touchdown came on a nice drive that started on its 20 and took seven minutes and 11 plays before Ausherman bulled his way in from the 1. During the possession, led by Myers, Ausherman received the handoff eight times. He ran for 23 yards on a first down at midfield. Myers threw for 23 yards to Robinson, who maintained his concentration on the ball while being draped by a defender. A holding penalty pushed the ball back 10 yards, but Ausherman responded with an 18-yard gain, followed by nine more yards on the next two plays. Myers kept the ball for a six-yard run to the 1.
Robinson hauled in a 53-yard pass from Heimbuch at the 3:37 mark of the third quarter. The reception gave Waynesboro a first down at the Gettysburg 27.
Waynesboro hosts Shippensburg on Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
