Written by Tommy Steelman
Steelman is a senior at Palmyra & a member of the Cougars Football team. In this article, he lends his insight to provide a recap of the Week 5 victory
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Week 8 lined up a Saturday afternoon kickoff between the Palmyra Cougars and the Gettysburg Warriors. Both teams came into the game with a 2-5 record but completely different styles of play. The Warriors are built for scoring, piling on points, while the Cougars pride themselves on their stout defense.
The game started off exactly how Palmyra wanted — getting the ball and unleashing the offense early. They marched their way down the field, getting big yards from the running back duo of Travis McDannel and Aaron Villafane. But with the ball inside the Gettysburg 10, a costly fumble ended their first drive, missing out on a great opportunity to score. The turnover gave the Warriors a spark, and their explosive offense drove right down the field and scored, giving them an early 7-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long, as McDannel took the ensuing kickoff to the house. After a botched snap, senior holder Talon Speck took off and outran the Warriors’ defense, giving Palmyra an 8-7 lead. On the kickoff, the Cougars’ special teams flew down the field and knocked down the Gettysburg returner inside their own 15.
The Warriors kept attacking through the air, and on a 2nd and long, the Cougar defense came up with a huge play. Freshman Mason Kyper made a great break on a flat route and jumped the pass, picking up his fourth interception of the season.
Palmyra’s offense yet again missed out on a great scoring opportunity, failing to convert on a 4th and short. Gettysburg came back out on offense, where disaster struck. The Warriors’ center — whose snaps were all over the place on the first drive — sent two balls over the quarterback’s head, resulting in a safety.
The Cougars got the ball back and went right back to work. A huge pass play to senior tight end Brayden Hoover got them all the way down to the 1, where junior quarterback Roman Russek punched in a touchdown, giving Palmyra a 17-7 lead.
The Cougars kept their foot on the gas, going with an onside kick on the next play and recovering it. The first quarter couldn’t have gone much better for Palmyra, and they held a 17-7 lead.
The Cougars had the ball to start the second quarter. They kept feeding McDannel, and Russek continued to connect with receivers. After a costly Gettysburg penalty on 4th down, the Cougars had a 1st and goal from the 2, where freshman quarterback Jaxin Robinson bounced a designed keeper to the edge and spun his way into the end zone, scoring his first career varsity touchdown.
Gettysburg got the ball back, and the offense picked up right where it left off. They put together a nine-play drive, capped off by a 25-yard touchdown. Their offense was moving the ball efficiently, but their defense was getting gashed by the Cougar offense, which continued on the next drive.
After five plays, Palmyra found themselves in a crucial 3rd and 11. Russek dropped back and found senior receiver Braxtin Risser, who torched the Warriors’ secondary for a 37-yard touchdown. Risser’s score gave Palmyra a 31-13 lead, but Gettysburg kept on attacking.
After a penalty on the Cougars, the Warriors steered their drive into Palmyra territory and capitalized on the great field position. They converted on three 3rd downs and capped off the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run, keeping the pressure on Palmyra’s offense.
With just over two minutes left in the half, the Cougars had plenty of time to put more points on the board. They marched their way down the field, with junior Alex Csongradi’s 27-yard catch and run putting them in field goal range. Kicker Brendan Crout trotted out and buried a 27-yard attempt. After a high-scoring first half, Palmyra held a 34-21 lead.
The Warriors got the ball to start the second half, but their drive quickly stalled out and they were forced to punt. Palmyra’s first drive was a very similar story to the first half. They lulled Gettysburg’s defense to sleep with the run game before Russek connected again on a deep shot to Risser. The 33-yard completion set the offense up inside the 10.
After a score was called back on a penalty, Csongradi came up big again, keeping his footing and breaking a tackle on his way to a 14-yard receiving touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked, so Palmyra’s lead stayed at 40-21.
The Cougar defense held strong yet again, forcing another three-and-out. The Warriors tried to catch Palmyra sleeping with a fake punt, but the Cougars sniffed it out right away and stuffed the attempt. The offense got the ball back with great field position, and Russek found Risser open for a third big gain, picking up 24 yards and a much-needed third-down conversion.
The offense couldn’t get anything more, and Crout came out and drilled his second kick of the quarter. Gettysburg continued to struggle moving the ball, and when Palmyra regained possession, they made their first mistake of the half as Russek got hit while throwing and ended up getting picked off.
The Warriors picked up a few first downs but failed to convert on 4th down, giving the ball back to the Cougars. At the end of the third quarter, Palmyra held a commanding 43-21 lead.
After a blistering hot start to the game, the Cougar offense slowed down in the 4th. Gettysburg tacked on two touchdowns to keep the game interesting, but the Cougars ended up putting it away. They put together a nine-play, three–first down drive that chewed the final 2:30 off the clock, closing it out in victory formation.
Final score: Palmyra 43, Gettysburg 35.
This was the first game that Palmyra’s offense was unleashed. They tallied 482 yards on offense — the most in a game since 2021. Russek ended the game going 11/18 for 237 yards and three total touchdowns. Risser led the way in receiving, but the Cougars had five players over 30 yards. The rushing attack was also balanced, with three players totaling more than 40 yards, but McDannel led the way with over 90 yards and a touchdown.
The Cougars will look to carry their high-powered offensive attack into next week as they take on Red Land on Senior Night at Lebanon Valley College, Friday at 7 p.m.
Palmyra 43, Gettysburg 35
Coach Pavone’s Postgame Thoughts
“I’m really happy for our kids to be back in the win column. We had a great week of practice and it paid off in a big way today with all three phases contributing. We talk a lot about playing complementary football and we did that today with big plays in all areas from various contributors.
After a tough four week stretch where three games were decided by a five combined points, our kids have just continued to dig in and believe in what we are building each day.”
Palmyra Stats
Passing: Roman Russek – 9/17, 171 yds, 2 TD, 1 Int; Jaxin Robinson – 4/4, 58 yds; Additional – 1/1, 39 yds
Rushing: Travis McDannell – 15 carries, 68 yds; Aaron Villafane – 12 carries, 53 yds, 1 fumble; Alex Csongradi – 6 carries, 27 yds; Roman Russek – 11 carries, 10 yds, 1 TD, 1 fumble; Carter Smith – 1 carry, 8 yds; Additional – 8 carries, 47 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: Braxtin Risser – 4 receptions, 95 yds, 1 TD; Brady Hoover – 2 receptions, 43 yds; Aaron Villafane – 1 reception, 39 yds; Talon Speck – 2 receptions, 18 yds; Nate Holt – 1 reception, 12 yds; Additional – 4 receptions, 61 yds, 1 TD
Defensive Leaders: Anthony Pinko – 2 tackles (5 assists); Travis McDannell – 2 tackles (4 assists), 1 TFL, 1 safety; Nate Holt – 1 tackle (5 assists), 1 safety; Jake Schelhorn – 1 tackle (4 assists); Aaron Villafane – 2 tackles (3 assists); Peter DiGuardia – 3 tackles; Gavin John – 2 tackles; Kyler Sparks – 1 tackle (1 assist); Jordan Francis – 1 tackle; Talon Speck – 1 tackle; Carter Smith – 1 assist; Wyatt Fogleman – 1 assist; Noah Krupko – 1 assist; Owen Kupstas – 1 assist; Team – 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Int, 1 Fum Rec
Scoring: Travis McDannell – 1 rushing TD; Braxtin Risser – 1 receiving TD; T. McDannell – 1 kickoff return TD; Brenden Crout – 2 FGs, 3 PATs
Special Teams:
Kick Returns – Travis McDannell, 1 for 81 yds, 1 TD; Team, 4 for 24 yds (avg 6.0)
Punt Returns – Alex Csongradi, 2 for 28 yds (long 27)
Kickoffs – Brenden Crout, 7 for 338 yds (long 60), 1 TB; Owen Kupstas, 1 for 11 yds; Carter Smith, 1 for 4 yds; Team, 2 for 81 yds (long 58)
Punting – Anthony Pinko, 1 for 40 yds
“Additional” is a player(s) unaccounted for on the stat sheet
For more Week 8 Coverage, check out: LebCo High School Football: Week 8 Results
2025 LebCo Football Team-by-Team Season Outlooks
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