The Greencastle-Antrim football squad is starting to gain some traction.
Playing a physical brand of football on Friday night, the Blue Devils toppled James Buchanan by a 28-6 score to earn their second win in three weeks.
The Blue Devils (2-1), who check in at No. 12 in the latest District 3-4A power rankings, found themselves in a close first-half battle with the Rockets (1-2). Greencastle moved quickly on its opening possession and got on the board with a two-yard plunge from Landon Kagarise, but James Buchanan countered with a long and methodical drive to pull within one point, 7-6, by halftime.
The Blue Devils took control in the second half, scoring on three of four possessions. Gavin Logsdon scored from six yards out and Kagarise posted his second TD on a two-yard run in the third quarter, before Spencer Long exploded for a 54-yard TD in the fourth to seal James Buchanan’s fate.
Greencastle is set to kick off its Colonial Division schedule on Friday, when it hosts Susquehanna Township (1-2), a team coming off a 23-7 victory over Hollidaysburg.
Gettysburg 41, Waynesboro 7
Gettysburg QB Grant Johnson had a hand — and foot — in five TDs to lead the Warriors to a rout over Waynesboro on Friday.
Johnson ran for 200 yards and three scores, and aired out two more TDs while racking up 125 passing yards. It was another big win for Keystone Division challenger Gettysburg (3-0 overall, 2-0 division), a squad which has crushed its opponents by a combined 101-31 score.
The starting QB for Waynesboro (0-3, 0-2), Brayden Heimbuch, left the game due to concussion protocol precautions. He was replaced by Brady Myers, who helped guide the Indians down the field on a late scoring drive that was capped with a one-yard scoring plunge from Anthony Ausherman.
Waynesboro will be looking to get back on track on Friday, when it plays host to Shippensburg (1-2, 1-1), a squad coming off a 28-18 loss to Hershey.
Cedar Cliff 21, Chambersburg 20
Chambersburg amassed a 20-7 lead late in third quarter but could not hang on as Cedar Cliff rallied on Friday for its first win of the Commonwealth Division season.
The Trojans (0-3 overall, 0-2 division) were no pushovers in this game. After surrendering a quick TD on the opening drive, Chambersburg locked in and built a 12-7 halftime lead on a pair of long TD bombs from Cam Green to Jashaun Palmer and Luke Ocker. The Colts (1-2, 1-1) blocked the extra point following the first TD, and snuffed out a conversion run after the second score.
The Trojans were one step closer to victory near the end of the third quarter, when Green launched his third TD pass of the night — a 29-yard strike to Ocker — and then converted the two-point conversion by catching a pass from Palmer. Chambersburg was leading 20-7 with 3:43 remaining in third quarter.
That’s when the Colts turned up the heat.
Cedar Cliff cut into the advantage with 52 seconds left in the third, making the score 20-14 on a 16-yard pass from Jalen Hinton to Mekhi Stephens. The Colts forced a quick three-and-out and then scored the go-ahead TD on a five-yard connection from Hinton to Blake Secrest.
Green finished the game by completing 11 of 17 passes for 179 yards.
The Trojans will try to bounce back on Friday when they welcome Cumberland Valley to Trojan Stadium. The Eagles (1-2, 1-1) are coming off a 28-7 loss to Harrisburg.
Smithsburg 21, Williamsport 14
After giving up the game-tying score late in the fourth quarter, Smithsburg immediately responded with a big play — a 65-yard TD bomb from Luke Scott to Dakota Sowers — and came up with a stop on defense to seal victory over a stunned Williamsport on Thursday night.
The Leopards, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2012, got a strong evening from Scott. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 166 yards.
Williamsport (1-1), which was twice tackled in the end zone for safeties in the first half, was trailing 9-0 following a three-yard TD run from Smithsburg’s Nicolas Roncone. Taemyj Boyce-Brown got Williamsport on the board with a seven-yard TD scamper, but the Leopards carried a 14-6 lead into halftime thanks to another safety and a 33-yard field goal from Walker Clark.
Boyce-Brown ran for another score, this time with 2:10 remaining in regulation, to help lock the score at 14-14. Just when it looked like momentum belonged to the Wildcats, Smithsburg completed its longest pass of the season to turn the game upside down.
On Friday, the Leopards will invade West Virginia to take on Berkeley Springs (1-2), a team coming off a 32-13 loss to Petersburg.
Francis Scott Key 31, South Hagerstown 13
Francis Scott Key, trailing 7-3 at halftime, erupted for 28 points in the second half to upend South Hagerstown and earn its first win of the season.
The Rebels (0-2) went ahead 7-0 in the second quarter on an 11-yard sweep around left end from Lucas Semler, but the Eagles (1-1) began to chip away with a 30-yard field goal from Carter Rhodes in the final minute before halftime.
FSK went ahead in the third quarter on a seven-yard TD run from Jayden Zepp, and expanded that lead to 17-7 on a seven-yard scamper from Damian Blizzard.
South Hagerstown lost a fumbled snap on the ensuing possession and the Eagles capitalized with a 16-yard TD pass from Brett Ricketts to Rhodes to go ahead 24-7. The Rebels responded with a 35-yard TD scramble from reserve QB Cole Stockman, before FSK wrapped up scoring on a fake punt with a 39-yard run up the middle from Elijah Dawson.
South Hagerstown will be aiming to bounced back on Friday, when they hit the road to take on Frederick (0-2), a squad coming off a 44-12 loss to Smyrna.
Manchester Valley 28, North Hagerstown 7
Playing without injured starting QB Colt Butts, North Hagerstown sported a mostly one-dimensional offense against Manchester Valley on Thursday.
The Hubs (0-2) managed 125 yards of offense, with 119 of those coming on the ground. Michael Stewart led North’s rushing attack with 63 yards, including a 13-yard TD run to break up the shutout with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Mykai Bostic added 47 rushing yards, while Ronnie Savage chipped in with 38.
Manchester Valley (2-0) posted 183 yards of offense, including 145 through the air, but scored three of its four TDs on short runs.
The Hubs return to action on Friday, when they host Thomas Johnson (1-1), a team coming off a 42-6 loss to Oakdale.
Boonsboro 24, Mountain Ridge 21
Boonsboro edged Mountain Ridge to secure its first win of the season.
Both the Warriors and Miners moved to 1-1.
Boonsboro (1-1) travels on Friday to take on Brunswick (0-2), a group coming off a 44-14 loss to Tuscarora.
