GREENCASTLE, Pa. – The Waynesboro Indians had two opponents in Friday night’s season-opening 35-13 loss to the Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils – Greencastle and themselves.
During a two-minute stretch spanning the first and second quarters, the Blue Devils converted two Tribe fumbles into touchdowns that gave Greencastle a 21-0 lead. Waynesboro, a youthful team with sophomore starting quarterback Brayden Heimbuch and new head coach Scott McClure, couldn’t overcome the deficit despite a sincere effort to make a game of it.
It was 28-0 when Waynesboro punched it in the end zone when Heimbuch, who began to find his groove as the game progressed, ran a keeper for an 8-yard touchdown. Heimbuch also started the drive that followed a Greencastle punt with a 15-yard run, pushing the ball to the Blue Devils’ 18-yard line.
Waynesboro was unable to gain any traction in the run game, putting the pressure on a developing passing game to stay competitive with a Greencastle team that used chunk plays to keep possession of the ball and score TDs.
Spencer Long raced 65 yards to christen the scoreboard for the 2026 season as the Indians barely put a hand on him. After the Indians fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Greencastle needed five plays to cover 39 yards, culminating in a 27-yard scoring run by Landon Kagarise.
Waynesboro coughed up the ball on its next possession on a second-down play, and the Blue Devils took over at the Indians’ 35. Four plays later, quarterback Gavin Logsdon, a senior signal caller, tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Wyatt Hull with 8:51 remaining in the second quarter.
Waynesboro’s next offensive series stalled after three plays, with two nominal gains and an incomplete pass. Long’s number came up on four consecutive plays, resulting in yet another touchdown. This time, even after a nice defensive play by ‘Boro’s Gavin Starkey (a 5-yard tackle for loss on second down), Long was on the receiving end of a 30-yard TD strike from Logsdon.
The game turned on a dime, so to say, late in the third quarter. Following Waynesboro’s initial touchdown of the game, the Tribe defense, which had its share of highlights given its time on the field, held the Blue Devils to three and out. Waynesboro’s Dwayne Robinson set the Indians up in the red zone after a 35-yard punt return. Waynesboro managed only five yards on the possession and set up for a 37-yard field goal. The kick was blocked, and G-A’s Ethan South scooped up the ball and ran 87 yards to paydirt and a 35-7 lead after Blake Witmer’s fifth extra point kick.
Waynesboro responded with a 10-play, 68-yard drive punctuated by a 25-yard scoring strike from Heimbuch to Robinson at the 10:31 mark of the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was not successful, resulting in the final score of the game.
Waynesboro will host Lower Dauphin on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. in its home opener and the Mid-Penn Keystone Division opener. All nine of the Tribe’s remaining games are in the division.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
