There is no tougher bus ride in the Mid-Penn Conference than the road that leads to and from Severance Field in Harrisburg, home of the undefeated Cougars.
The field has been a source of nightmares for opponents in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division this fall. Just ask Cedar Cliff, Central Dauphin, and Carlisle, three teams that have been buried by Harrisburg by a combined 172-20 score.
It was Chambersburg’s turn to take that miserable road trip on Saturday to face Harrisburg, the team ranked No. 1 in District 3-6A and No. 2 in the entire state. The two-win Trojans were expected to get smashed just like the rest of the division, but something else happened entirely.
Chambersburg put together perhaps its best game of the season in a 28-12 loss that was even closer than the score indicates. The defense challenged the explosive Cougars, while the offense got two TD passes from Cam Green to Keiandre Cross.
Harrisburg (8-0, 7-0) led just 7-0 at halftime, and expanded that advantage to 14-0 by the end of the third quarter, with Princeton Dent running in both TDs for the Cougars. The Trojans needed a response and they got one from Green, who rifled a 42-yard scoring strike to Cross to kick off the fourth quarter.
But just as momentum seemed to swing toward Chambersburg (2-6, 2-5), Harrisburg responded to the Trojans’ score with a 78-yard kickoff return TD from Nuh’me Collier to once again make it a two-score contest at 21-6. Another TD run from Dent provided some insurance, before Chambersburg scored the game’s final points on a 64-yard pass from Green to Cross.
Green completed 15 of 27 passes for 230 yards, with three of those completions going to Cross for 113 yards. Nathan Chambers added two catches for 69 yards.
The Trojans sit at No. 14 in the district power rankings, just outside the 12-team threshold for the postseason. To have any hopes of qualifying, Chambersburg will need to first handle business on Friday at home against CD East. The Panthers (1-7, 1-6) are coming off a 21-0 loss to Cumberland Valley.
Trinity 28, Greencastle-Antrim 6
Leading 7-6 at halftime, Trinity scored 21 unanswered points to distance itself from Greencastle-Antrim in Friday night’s Mid-Penn Colonial Division contest.
The Shamrocks (5-3, 4-1) drew first blood on a seven-yard TD run from Brandon Harris in the first quarter, before the Blue Devils responded in the second with a 20-yard scoring strike from Gavin Logsdon to Wyatt Hull. Greencastle kept the game close with an interception from Luke Hull and a special teams fumble recovery from Ivan Mason.
Trinity took control in the second half, using its run game to set the tone and its defense to stifle the Blue Devils. Greencastle managed just 53 yards of total offense in the third and fourth quarters.
The Blue Devils (4-4, 2-3) hit the road on Friday to take on East Pennsboro. The Panthers (3-5, 2-3) are coming off a 35-8 win over Boiling Springs.
Red Land 24, Waynesboro 22
Red Land scored a tie-breaking safety with 34.2 seconds remaining to break the hearts of the Indians, who had come back from a 14-0 deficit to challenge for their first win of the season.
The Patriots (4-4, 3-4 Keystone Division) took control early, but QB Brayden Heimbuch guided Waynesboro on a comeback. He threw for TDs to Bryghton Naveja-Irish (13 yards) and Dwayne Robinson (28 yards), and ran for a 27-yard score of his own.
With the game tied 22-22 late and Red Land in position to go for a game-winning field goal, the Patriots elected to pass and Naveja-Irish came down with an interception at the 1. Two plays later, Heimbuch was sacked in the end zone for a safety.
Robinson highlighted the Indians (0-8, 0-7) with seven catches for 133 yards, while Heimbuch led his squad in rushing yards.
Waynesboro will be looking to score an upset on Friday, when it hosts division leader Northern (7-1, 7-0), a team coming off a 24-0 shutout over Hershey.
Smithsburg 42, Catoctin 13
Winless Catoctin put an early scare into undefeated Smithsburg, but the Leopards rallied to run their record to 7-0.
The Cougars (0-7) scored the game’s first points the opening quarter, before Smithsburg coolly responded with a 29-yard TD run from Zach Linn. Nicolas Roncone added scoring runs of 1 and 20 yards to put the Leopards ahead 20-7 at halftime.
Roncone notched his third rushing score to expand Smithsburg’s advantage to 28-7, before the Leopards wrapped up their scoring with two more rushing TDs from Noah Hegbe (27 yards) and Luke Scott (5 yards). Smithsburg had a monster effort in the ground game, rolling up 464 yards on 46 carries, with Hegbe (14 carries, 234 yards) and Roncone (19-148) leading the way.
The Leopards are set to host Fort Hill in a battle of undefeated squads on Friday. The Sentinels (7-0) are coming off a 42-6 win over North Hagerstown.
Fort Hill 42, North Hagerstown 6
Undefeated Fort Hill didn’t complete a single pass on Friday, but the Sentinels didn’t need to as they ran the ball at will to squash North Hagerstown on Friday.
Fort Hill (7-0) compiled 387 rushing yards on 40 carries, and was led by the running of Carson Bender (127 yards, 3 TDs) and Neek Taylor (137 yards, TD).
The Sentinels posted the game’s first score on a 25-yard rumble from Bender, before North (3-4) responded with a TD drive of its own. Michael Stewart fueled the Hubs, hauling in a 52-yard pass from Ronnie Savage before plowing into the end zone from the 1 two plays later.
Leading 7-6, Fort Hill took over and closed the game out with 35 unanswered points.
Stewart led North with 110 total yards, while Savage rolled up 99 stripes through the air. The Hubs defense was guided by Donald Rivers (17 tackles, forced fumble), Mykai Bostic (14 tackles), Antonio Rivera-Herrera (10 tackles), and Drexel Smitley (fumble recovery).
North will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak on Friday, when it hosts Boonsboro (4-3), a team coming off a 76-0 rout over Clear Spring.
Williamsport 40, South Hagerstown 8
Williamsport scored TDs on each of its first four possessions to build a 28-0 lead, and the Wildcats never looked back in a rout over South Hagerstown on Thursday.
The fast start for Williamsport (6-1) was fueled by two TD passes from Colton Hahn to Mark Hall and a pair of scoring runs from Tae’myj Boyce-Brown. The Rebels (2-5) responded with a 38-yard TD strike from Lucas Semler to Percell Clay III, but the Wildcats scored again on another Hahn-to-Hall connection, this time from 75 yards, to go ahead 34-8 at halftime.
Williamsport posted the only score of the second half on a 12-yard scramble from Hahn.
The Wildcats return to action on Friday with a road game at Liberty (3-3), a team that was scheduled to play Winters Mill on Monday night.
Boonsboro 76, Clear Spring 0
Boonsboro had its biggest offensive outing of the season, and pitched its first shutout of the fall, to snap a two-game losing streak on Thursday.
Jadon King and Brady Sherman each ran for two TDs, while seven others found their way into the end zone for the Warriors, including Kwame Ofori-Baabu (interception return TD), Darius Fraley (punt return TD), Jayden Pugh (interception return TD), Brody Honeycutt (rushing TD), Luke Matthews (fumble return TD), Mason Galloway (rushing TD), and Blake Main (rushing TD).
Clear Spring fell to 1-6.
Boonsboro (4-3) returns on Friday for a road game at North Hagerstown (3-4). The Hubs are coming off a 42-6 loss to Fort Hill.
