LebCo High School Football: Week 2 Results

This post will serve as a rolling update of Week 2 Football action from around LebCo. With all six teams in action this weekend, we are working to compile some of the best information about the games as we can. Keep checking back regularly for new information about your favorite teams.

The ELCO/Conrad Weiser and Northern Lebanon/Oxford recaps were written primarily by Gavin Sweeney, a local high school student and aspiring sports journalist.

If you like this type of coverage, please let us know by Following us on social media: Twitter/X – @lebcosports1 and Facebook.

For any questions, comments, or discrepancies, please reach out to dan@lebcosports.com.

Friday

Cedar Crest 45, Spring Grove 7

Cedar Crest raised the bar in Week 1 when they notched a decisive, season-opening victory over Lower Dauphin, 45-16. On Friday night, they welcomed Spring Grove to Earl Boltz Stadium, with the Rockets entering with a 1-0 record of their own after a 31-14 win over Northern York last week.

While there was much enthusiasm on the Crest side, this was expected to be a battle. It did not live up to that expectation, as the Falcons dominated the game in all phases.

It began with Isaiah Zimmerman picking up where he left off in Week 1, as the sophomore scored from 11 yards out halfway through the 1st quarter. Ethan Bowman remained perfect on extra points for the season as he made the game 7-0. After trading punts, the score remained the same through the end of the quarter.

However, on the first play of the 2nd quarter, linebacker Garrett Starry had a pick-six to give the Falcons the 14-0 lead. Bowman hit a 32-yard field goal a short time later to make it 17-0. In the final minutes of the 1st half, things started to get crazy. Quarterback Jackson Custer scored on an 11-yard run with just over one minute remaining, making the score 24-0. On the next play from scrimmage, Malachi Victor returned an interception 24 yards for another Falcon touchdown. By the time the marching band took over, Cedar Crest held a commanding 31-0.

As good as the offense was in the 1st half, much of Cedar Crest’s success came on defense, where they put constant pressure on the Rockets. This resulted in four turnovers and two defensive touchdowns.

Just over four minutes into the new half, Custer found Cameron Tirado on a 9-yard strike to make the score 38-0. This triggered the mercy rule and Coach Lambros’s decision to pull most of his starters. However, he left in his young running back for one more series, and Zimmerman did not disappoint as he broke a 75-yard run for a touchdown that made the game 45-0.

Spring Grove would break the shutout in the 4th quarter, with their starters scoring against the back-ups of Cedar Crest.

In the end, the Cedar Crest defense was impressive as they generated six turnovers and were a +6 in takeaways/giveaways.

Cedar Crest, now 2-0, will immediately begin preparations for next week’s game against Warwick, an opponent that they won in overtime against last season.

Cedar Crest Stats

Passing: Jackson Custer – 5/11, 43 yards, TD

Rushing: Isaiah Zimmerman – 16 carries, 114 yards, 2 TD; Jackson Custer – 7 carries, 48 yards, TD; Josh Tricoche – 2 carries, 5 yards

Receiving: Cameron Tirado – 3 receptions, 25 yards, TD; Jack Waranavage – 2 receptions, 18 yards; Kayden Tirado – 1 reception, 7 yards

Defensive Leaders:

Defensive Leaders: Malachi Victor – 5 tackles, 1 solo, .5 sack, 3 tackles for loss, INT, FF, TD; Garrett Starry – INT, TD; Landyn Kline – 10 tackles, 1 solo, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, FF; Cole Stevenson – 2 assists, FR; Nate Harbaugh – 2 tackles, 1 solo, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, FR; Kaleeb Fees – 5 tackles, 1 solo; Tristan Long – 3 assists, .5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, FR

Kicking: Ethan Bowman – 6/6 PAT, 1-1 FG (32 yd)

Coach Lambro’s Post-Game Thoughts

Having had time to review film from the game, Coach Lambros had this to say about his 2nd game as the leader of the Cedar Crest Falcons:

“Our offensive stats don’t look great, but that’s because our defense played extremely well and gave them short fields and turnovers. We had 2 defensive TD’s Friday and forced 6 turnovers. I’m proud of the defensive effort and I’m proud of the offensive efficiency (no turnovers). We have a lot to clean up still, but I’m encouraged at how the kids have responded so far.”

Oxford 7, Northern Lebanon 0

Northern Lebanon entered unknown territory when they traveled to Oxford on Friday night. The Week 2 game followed their thrilling 10-0 win over Pine Grove in what could only be described as a defensive battle. Oxford was coming off a loss to Great Valley in what was a slightly higher-scoring affair, 34-22. So, this game would hinge on two questions: 1) Could Northern Lebanon’s defense again slow their opposition? 2) Could the Viking offense generate enough points to bring home the victory? Unfortunately, the answer received was not a “yes” to both questions.

Both teams came out and tried to establish their run games. Each squad was met with resistance. Unable to get Myles Watson going, the Vikings struggled and had yet to make it past the 50-yard line by the time halftime rolled around. While Oxford had generated more offense, they were also held scoreless following a pair of missed field goal attempts.

The 3rd quarter was much of the same as the 1st half. When the final quarter began, it was clear that whichever team could generate any points would walk away the winner. As this was shaping up to be much like the Pine Grove game, the hope among the Northern Lebanon faithful was that it would result in a Viking victory. This would not be the case, as Oxford quarterback Aiden Kaden found Jake Patterson for a late-game touchdown to win it for the home team.

Northern Lebanon, 1-1, will need to regroup and begin to plan for how they will deal with Delone Catholic when they host them next Friday night.

Coach Rice’s Post-Game Thoughts

After the game, we caught up with Northern Lebanon’s Coach Jason Rice for his thoughts.

About his team’s overall effort, Rice said: “We came out on the other side of the outcome of another nailbiter tonight. I just want to say first off just how proud I am of the boys. The amount of compliments that we received from not only the Oxford coaches, but the officiating crew from the Ches-Mont League working the game was very pleased with us. We show up with smaller numbers (NL is 4A, while Oxford is 5A), but we would put on the heck of the fight.” 

On his team’s offensive struggles, Rice said: “We ended up with around 65 yards and that’s total. While I’m not going continue on a negative route about our offense, we didn’t execute. We’re need to figure out how what we’re going to do and how we’re gonna do it as we start to approach our league schedule here soon in a couple of weeks.”

On the Viking defense that has allowed 7 points in the first two games: “Defensively, I couldn’t be prouder of them again for the effort they put forth. We were close again to another potential shut out game that came down to one possession. I’m very proud of our defense and our defensive coordinator. It was a great job coaching, allowing our coaches our players to fly around with that kind of thought-free mentality that you have on defense, allowing them to just to go play football.”

About Oxford and the prospect of seeing them again next year: “The Oxford solid team, solid program all-around and we really evenly matched up on both sides, so it’ll be nice to play another one against them next year on our home field and maybe come out on top.”

On the next steps, Rice is now focused on next week: “Looking ahead to Delone Catholic next week, it should be good matchup. They just beat Lancaster Catholic. We will have to begin preparations on Saturday morning and move on from tonight.”

Mechanicsburg 35, Palmyra 14

On Thursday evening, Palmyra loaded onto buses for the trip to Mechanicsburg, only to have the game postponed on account of the nasty storms that ripped through the area west of Harrisburg. On Friday morning, the Cougars did it all over again as they reported for an 11:00 am game, an unusual start time for a weekday that was made possible by the Labor Day weekend.

Palmyra knew they would need to start fast against an athletic Mechanicsburg team that was playing its first game in the Keystone after going 4-3 in the Colonial in 2023.

There were several factors at play that caused the Cougars to start slow off the line, but there was none more evident than Mechanicsburg’s Josh Smith. The playmaker, Smith, turned into a one-man wrecking crew as he scored on a 49-yard touchdown reception less than 1:30 into the game. He would then score again halfway through the 1st quarter on a 30-yard run. By the end of the quarter, Palmyra had fallen behind 14-0.

Just six seconds into the 2nd quarter, Smith caught another touchdown, this time from 10 yards out. While he was not involved in the next Mechanicsburg touchdown, Smith was used to converting a successful two-point conversion to make the game 28-0. He would add a 52-yard touchdown reception to end the 1st half scoring, with the Wildcats leading 35-0 at the break.

After having the opportunity to calm down at the half, Palmyra looked much better in the 3rd quarter. Eventually, this resulted in a Travis McDannell touchdown as he ran the ball in from the 3-yard line with just over four minutes left in the quarter. With four minutes left in the 4th, Braxtin Risser scored on a 6-yard run to give the Cougars 14 points. However, while the scoring was important, the fact that Palmyra came together to hold Mechanicsburg off the board the entirety of the 2nd half should be commended, regardless of which set of personnel was on the field. This is not an easy task in any situation.

Palmyra (1-1) will now begin preparations for a rivalry game at home next Friday night against Hershey.

Palmyra Stats

Passing: Ryan Kowalski – 14/24, 101 yards, INT

Rushing: Braxtin Risser – 20 carries, 51 yards, TD; Travis McDannell – 2 carries, 8 yards, TD; Xavier Smith – 1 carry, 7 yards; Justin Kaplan – 1 carry, 7 yards Ryan Kowalski – 2 carries, – 4 yards

Receiving: Nathan Holt – 5 receptions, 56 yards; Justin Kaplan – 3 receptions, 30 yards; Liam Setcavage – 4 receptions, 18 yards; Braxtin Risser – 1 reception, -5 yards

Defensive Leaders: X. Smith – 2 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss; J. Schlehorn – 4 tackles, 1 assist; J. Altebrando – 2 tackles, 4 assists, 1 tackle for loss; T. Speck – 2 tackles, 2 assists; B. Smith – 2 assists, 2 tackles for loss

Kicking: Cy Melnyk – 2/2 PAT

Coach Pavone’s Post-Game Thoughts

On Saturday, Coach Pavone reflected on the game, telling us:

“It was a tough game against a tough opponent. We had to work through the schedule adjustments between Thursday night and Friday morning, which I thought our kids handled well. It took us a little to get going and we needed a fast start against a team of their caliber. I like the way our kids responded in the 2nd half as they didn’t fold which can really help us moving forward.”

Garden Spot 56, Lebanon 6

In Week 1, Lebanon fell to Palmyra but continued to grind until the end of the game. Garden Spot was also a loser in their first game of the season but managed to generate 64 points in the process. The major thing to watch in this game was going to be to see if Lebanon could slow the Spartans and if they could find an offensive rhythm to put points of their own on the board after scoring just once in Week 1.

To Garden Spot’s credit, they showed that they had remained in high-octane mode, scoring their first touchdown halfway through the 1st quarter. Following a Lebanon turnover, Garden Spot scored less than a minute later to make it 14-0. By the end of the 1st quarter, things had gone from bad to worse for the Cedars as the Spartans made two more trips to the end zone to make it 28-0.

In the 2nd quarter, Garden Spot continued to press the issue, scoring to make it 35-0. In most cases, the opponents on the losing end of this type of score would continue to struggle, especially following the barrage they had taken over the course of ten minutes. However, the Cedars drew up a nifty short pass play to their #1 playmaker, Malachi Briddell, who took the pass from quarterback Bradyn Castro and broke it for a 66-yard touchdown. This Briddell touchdown was much needed and showed the best of Lebanon’s abilities.

That said, Garden Spot was not done yet. They made the score 49-6 with two more scoring plays prior to the half. They added another touchdown in the 3rd quarter. The game would end with the score of 56-6.

Lebanon (0-2) will host Conrad Weiser next Friday night in the first home game for rookie Head Coach Tyler Pritchett.

Lebanon Stats

Passing: Brandyn Castro – 7/15, 127 yards, INT, Fumble; Wyatt Parker – 3/7, 13 yards

Rushing: Nelson Richardson – 6 carries, 4 yards; Kai Rivera – 5 carries, 9 yards; Malachi Briddell – 3 carries, 1 yard; Brandyn Castro – 2 carries, -6 yards

Receiving: Malachi Briddell – 4 receptions, 100 yards, TD; Sebastian Cruz – 1 reception, 19 yards; Jamil Gordon – 1 reception, 11 yards; Anthony Klish – 1 reception, 5 yards; Nelson Richardson – 1 reception, 5 yards; Jovi Rivera-Gonzalez – 2 receptions, 0 yards

Thursday

Annville-Cleona 48, Hanover 20

In Week 1, Annville-Cleona suffered a heartbreaker when they lost to Biglerville in the closing moments of the season-opening road game. There were several positives for Coach Matt Gingrich’s squad despite the final outcome, headlined by the fact that they scored 36 points, which was primarily the result of the fact that the Dutchmen were able to rush for 345 yards.

On Thursday night, the Dutchmen looked to get into the win column when they hosted the Hanover Nighthawks for a non-league matchup. The game also marked the opening of the newly renovated facilities at Annville. Hanover entered the game, having lost their Week 1 game to Kennard-Dale.

Hanover struck first following an early long run as they took a 6-0 lead. Less than three minutes later, Annville responded when rushing quarterback Bryce Keller scored from 7 yards out. The Dutchmen defense then held and forced a punt to regain possession. They capitalized by driving down the field and capping off possession with Jonathon Shay punching it in from 1 yard out. After the 1st quarter, Annville-Cleona led 13-6.

Halfway through the 2nd quarter, Hanover would find the end zone and took the 14-13 lead following a successful two-point conversion. This would be the last time that Annville would trail.

A short time later, Keller again scored on a short run. Then, with seven seconds remaining in the half, Keller found Shay for a 20-yard strike. When the two teams broke to go to the locker rooms, the Dutchmen held a 28-14 lead.

In the 3rd quarter, Keller took over!!! He would score three times on runs of 3 yards, 56 yards, and 13 yards. By the time the 4th quarter began, Annville was up 48-14 after having scored 35 unanswered points. Keller had five rushing touchdowns.

Annville’s defensive effort in this game cannot be understated, as they clamped down on Hanover to create a series of short posessions to give the ball back to their offense.

Hanover would score once more in the final frame, but by then, the game was decided.

In total, the Dutchmen rushed for 435 yards. Keller led the way with 162 yards and 5 touchdowns. Shay broke the 100-yard mark, carrying the rock 13 times for 110 yards and a touchdonw. Sophomore Devon Englehart went for 83 yards on the ground.

Keller completed three passes, all to Shay, for 52 yards, with one resulting in a touchdown.

Annville-Cleona asserted their dominance and moved to 1-1. They will look to keep things rolling when they travel to Littlestown next Friday night.

Annville-Cleona Stats

Passing: Bryce Keller – 3/4, 52 yards, TD

Rushing: Bryce Keller – 15 carries, 162 yards, 5 TD; Jonathon Shay – 13 carries, 110 yards, TD; Devon Englehart – 7 carries, 83 yards, 2 pt conversion; Yamaliel Navarro – 7 carries, 35 yards; Cory Weiss – 2 carries, 24 yards; Lane Peters – 1 carry, 10 yards; Hudson Sellers – 1 carry, 8 yards; Mani Biswa – 1 carry, 3 yards

Receiving: Jonathon Shay – 3 receptions, 52 yards

Defensive Leaders: Jonathon Shay – 10 tackles, 5 solo, 1 sack; Hudson Sellers – 10 tackles, 5 solo; Bryce Keller – 10 tackles, 5 solo

Kicking: Cian Soliday – 4/6 PAT

Coach Gingrich’s Post-Game Thoughts

We spoke with Coach Matt Gingrich about his team’s victory.

On the topic of this being a bounceback game, Gingrich said: “It was was nice to get a win after last week’s loss. We really feel like we let one slip through our hands. We knew that if we didn’t get one this week, our chances of making the playoffs, with our schedule coming up, would be slim to none. It was great to get the victory and that it was the first win in the new stadium.”

As far as his team’s overall progress, Gingrich was honest in saying that there is a lot of work to do: “The bigger thing was that we just started playing a little bit better. We’re not playing great, but we’re playing better. You might say that doesn’t make sense what we’re doing on offense right now, but it’s the truth. We’ve just got a lot of things clean up, everywhere. We have a general lack of knowledge of football all the way across the board and it’s something we’re trying to fix, but it’s been a slow process.”

He praised his offense and their business-like attitude: “Offensively, it was great to see them just keep doing what they do after we gave up two touchdowns on the first two series and were trailing in the 2nd quarter. The key part for me with the offense you couldn’t even tell if they scored. The neat part for me is that you couldn’t tell in their demeanor after each possession if they scored or they didn’t score. They have played very well so far this year and I’m very proud of them when it comes to that.”

Gingrich also praised his defense, but cited some concerns about what they haven’t figured out yet through two games: “The defense, after the first two series, did tighten up a lot. That was nice to see. Our d-line is doing really well. Our linebackers got better. But our DBs, were just still, not really good as a group right now and we don’t know who we can trust back there. A lot of it, with everything in high school football, comes down to trust. Who do we trust to be at the right spot and make the right play? Sometimes, we don’t even care if they catch the ball, we just want them in the right spot to tackle, so that’s something we’re trying to figure out. Hopefully, we can figure it out this week.”

Gingrich finished his thoughts by saying: “Overall, it was a great win and with it being on a Thursday, we can back to preparing on Friday for next week. With Labor Day weekend ahead, I expect the team to watch 1,000 football games and absorb the game further.”

Conrad Weiser 31, ELCO 7

In recent years, ELCO and Conrad Weiser have had a series of battles that have resulted in exciting outcomes, especially as the two were both part of the Lancaster Lebanon League’s Section 4. This year, Weiser moved to Section 3, but the neighbors kept each other on the schedule as a non-league game.

After Conrad Weiser’s Week 1 performance, in which they moved to 1-0 with a 21-7 victory over the Galloping Ghosts of Abington, ELCO was going to have their work cut out for them as they hosted the Scouts on Thursday evening with short rest following Saturday’s season-opening loss to West York.

From the onset, Weiser implemented a game plan that relied on ball control, marching down the field 80 yards to score on their opening drive. By halftime, the Scouts found the endzone two more times and tacked on a field goal to take a 24-0 lead.

After the half, Weiser added another touchdown in the 3rd quarter, with running back Javien Rivera finding paydirt for the second time of the night. Though down 31-0 entering the 4th quarter, the Raiders kept fighting. This resulted in a Zane Trostle score, running the ball in from 13 yards out to make the score 31-7 with just over two minutes remaining. An indication that ELCO would not quit until the final whistle, they attempted and recovered an onside kick in what may have otherwise seemed like a game that was out of reach.

Though ELCO took the loss, quarterback Steven Rosado showed off his ability to scramble and connected on some nice passes, most notably to tight end Dennis Pyszka and wide receiver Justin Smucker. Defensively, lineman Paul Williams, linebacker Mitchell Frederick, and defensive back Griffin Kreider were able to record key stops.

ELCO (0-2) will now turn their sights to next Friday when they travel to Lancaster Catholic.

Coach Miller’s Post-Game Thoughts

We spoke to Coach Bob Miller on Saturday and got his thoughts about Thursday’s game.

Miller said: “We are a step closer. Weiser is a solid team and we made improvements from Week 1. Our guys were tasked with playing a noon kickoff on a Saturday with 85 plus degree heat and then to turn around and play a Thursday game. They battled every second and showed they have an unbreakable will. With eight games remaining, there is a lot of ball left to be played.”

Previous Results

Week One

2024 LebCo Football Team-by-Team Season Outlooks