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Bishop McDevitt Makes a Statement in 51-14 Mercy Rule Victory Over Harrisburg

 
Tagged under: District 3, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 25, 2026

HARRISBURG – Bishop McDevitt came into week 9 with a 7-1 record and sitting at number 5 in the Pennsylvania 6A rankings, and they’ve been looking for an opportunity to prove themselves. That’s when the number 2 team in 6A came to town, the undefeated Harrisburg Cougars, and not only did the Crusaders walk away from the rivalry with a win, they completely dominated, earning a decisive 51-14 mercy rule victory on their 2026 homecoming weekend.

Coming into this matchup, Bishop McDevitt was looking for their first win over Harrisburg since 2016, going 0-3 against the Cougars in that span. In fact, their losses in 2024 and 2025 were by a combined 10 points, so the Crusaders had the opportunities to get the job done, they just struggled to finish those games. That all changed this time around though.

Bishop McDevitt took control very early on in this game, forcing a quick three and out on Harrisburg’s opening possession, then driving down the field themselves and scoring. Powered by a strong run game led by Kaedyn Walker, the Crusaders marched 61 yards in just 7 plays, capping off their opening drive of the day with a goal line touchdown run from Walker.

Immediately after the Crusaders’ first touchdown of the day, Harrisburg went back on offense, and things did not get any better for the Cougars. On the second play of the drive, the snap went over the head of quarterback Kayden Stephens, and McDevitt’s Creighton Miltsch was able to recover it deep in Harrisburg territory. Then on the very next play from scrimmage, Sebastian Williams connected with Jontai Quick over the middle for a 20 yard catch and run touchdown giving the Crusaders a 14-0 lead a little over five minutes into the game.

“It was because of our passing game, they weren’t able to just sit and load box,” Bishop McDevitt head coach Jeff Weachter said about their ability to run the ball effectively. “They started to do that a little bit in the second half, load the box and try to take away the run, so we were able to take whatever they were going to give us.”

Bishop McDevitt continued to keep a strangle hold of the game through the entire first quarter and well into the second quarter as well, continuing to use the run game to perfection. The Crusaders opened the second quarter with a second touchdown run from Walker, this one coming on a 20 yard break away, putting them seemingly in complete control with a 21-0 lead not even three minutes into the second quarter.

Harrisburg had their backs against the wall now, staring at a 21-0 deficit early in the second quarter and sitting at just 24 yards of total offense up to this point. On the ensuing possession, the Cougars finally found an answer, with the help of a couple pass interference penalties from Bishop McDevitt’s defense, Harrisburg got their offense into a decent rhythm and drove 82 yards, finishing the drive off with a 10 yard connection between Stephens and Ja’Auan Johnson.

With a little under three minutes to go until halftime, and with Harrisburg having pulled within two scores, Bishop McDevitt began driving once more, easily making their way back into Cougar territory before stalling. After a holding penalty and a sack on consecutive plays, Harrisburg called a timeout prior to a 3rd and 29 play from the Cougar 41 yard line, potentially setting up an opportunity to steal some momentum back before halftime.

This never happened though, as on that third and a country mile, Williams connected with a wide open Zayden Smith who got tripped up just a yard shy of the end zone for a 40 yard gain. Then on the very next play, the Crusaders punched it into the end zone with Creighton Miltsch, giving Bishop McDevitt their three score lead back heading into the halftime break.

Harrisburg wasn’t going to go away quietly in the second half though, as they still did their best to fight their way back into the game, halting Bishop McDevitt’s opening drive of the second half with an interception from Jeremy Berroa Bachiller deep in Cougar territory. A few minutes later, the Cougars cashed in on Stephens’ second touchdown pass of the day, as he hit Trays Walker for an 8 yard touchdown, keeping Harrisburg within striking distance.

While Harrisburg was seemingly keeping themselves within range for a potential comeback, that ability to keep up with Bishop McDevitt quickly began to fade. Just four minutes after Harrisburg’s second touchdown of the afternoon, Bishop McDevitt answered back with their fifth touchdown, converting on a big fourth and short with a 12 yard connection between Williams and Smith for the score, putting the Crusaders ahead by three scores for the third time in this game.

“It took a while for those two to get it together,” coach Weachter said about the connection between Williams and Smith. “We’ve got four great receivers and you can’t take away all of them, and there were times where it was just [Smith], that he was the guy that we got open, and [Williams] did a great job of making those throws.”

It was on Harrisburg’s next drive when things began to fall apart, as with just a little over a minute left in the third quarter, the Cougars began at their own 20 yard line. Following three consecutive negative plays, a holding penalty and back to back runs for losses, the referees signaled for a safety, as Preston Dent had been taken down in the end zone, increasing the lead up to 37-14, and giving the Crusaders the ball right back.

The fourth quarter came around and Bishop McDevitt wasted no time capitalizing on the quick turnaround thanks to the safety, finishing off another strong drive with a second touchdown run from Creighton Miltsch extending the lead to 44-14. Then six and a half minutes later, the Crusaders tacked on one more for good measure with a 2 yard touchdown run from Elijah Sherman sending the game into mercy rule and ultimately sealing the 51-14 win over Harrisburg.

Bishop McDevitt now sits at 8-1 on the season following the victory, their sixth straight win since falling to State College at home 27-20 back in week 2, they’ll have one more regular season game at home against Chambersburg. For Harrisburg, the loss marked their first regular season defeat since week 1 of 2024 when they lost 45-7 to La Salle College, their final game of the regular season will be on the road against State College.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

Bishop McDevitt – 7-0 (7:44) – Kaedyn Walker 1 yard run (David Lulinda kick)
Bishop McDevitt – 14-0 (6:45) – Jontai Quick 20 yard pass from Sebastian Williams (David Lulinda kick)

2nd Quarter

Bishop McDevitt – 21-0 (9:33) – Kaedyn Walker 20 yard run (David Lulinda kick)
Harrisburg – 21-7 (2:52) – Ja’Auan Johnson 10 yard pass from Kayden Stephens (Isaac Garay-Oropeza kick)
Bishop McDevitt – 28-7 (0:31) – Creighton Miltsch 1 yard run (David Lulinda kick)

3rd Quarter

Harrisburg – 28-14 (5:48) – Trays Walker 8 yard pass from Kayden Stephens (Isaac Garay-Oropeza kick)
Bishop McDevitt – 35-14 (1:39) – Zayden Smith 12 yard pass from Sebastian Williams (David Lulinda kick)
Bishop McDevitt – 37-14 (0:45) – Princeton Dent run 4 yard loss for safety

4th Quarter

Bishop McDevitt – 44-14 (11:01) – Creighton Miltsch 1 yard run (David Lulinda kick)
Bishop McDevitt – 51-14 (4:35) – Elijah Sherman 2 yard run (David Lulinda kick)

PLAYER STATS

HARRISBURG

Kayden Stephens – 9/24, 105 YDS, 2 TD

Princeton Dent – 18 CAR, 36 YDS
Duron Smith – 8 CAR, 29 YDS
Kayden Stephens – 6 CAR, 10 YDS
Ja’Auan Johnson – 1 CAR, 1 YD

Keijuan Sinkler – 3 REC, 53 YDS
Ja’Auan Johnson – 3 REC, 33 YDS, 1 TD
Trays Walker – 1 REC, 8 YDS, 1 TD
Princeton Dent – 2 REC, 11 YDS

BISHOP MCDEVITT

Sebastian Williams – 18/24, 290 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT

Kaedyn Walker – 18 CAR, 83 YDS, 2 TD
Elijah Sherman – 7 CAR, 29 YDS, 1 TD
Sebastian Williams – 3 CAR, 28 YDS
Creighton Miltsch – 2 CAR, 2 YDS, 2 TD

Jontai Quick – 6 REC, 109 YDS 1 TD
Zayden Smith – 6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD
Creighton Miltsch – 1 RED, 28 YDS
Thacher Hanzely – 2 REC, 24 YDS
Howard Holton Jr. – 2 REC, 16 YDS
Kaedyn Walker – 1 REC, 12 YDS

 
 
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