Annual York Rose Bowl Classic is ready to roll. First kick today at 5

Tagged under: District 12, District 3, District 7, News

Billy Splain | August 23, 2024

Ron Coursey had some challenges to get through this year but nothing was going to stop the second edition of the York Rose Bowl Classic. The first challenge is always finding teams. Together with PFN the teams finally lined up. Next up was the field. Because of concerns with crowds and parking along with all day noise for two days in the neighborhood, the decision was made to move Saturdays games to a larger venue, Smalls Field. “I’m excited, I think this lineup of games is even better than last years event” said Coursey. “You know, we had to respect our neighbors here at Suburban. We have to live with them on a daily basis so we kinda just split up the day. If our field weren’t in a tight neighborhood it’d be different”.

Imhotep vs Clarkson North: Friday, 5pm, York Suburban HS.

Imhotep:

The Panthers, coming off a PIAA Class 5A title win and a 15-0 record, took a few hits losing Mikal Davis, Kenneth Woseley, Jah’Sear Whittington, David Johnson and Zafir Stewart to graduation. But Imhotep doesn’t rebuild, they reload. Coach Devon Johnon says “Even though this is our first year in 6A, our goals still remain the same every year. Go 4-0 in our Non League schedule. Win our 13th Public League Championship. Win our 11th City Championship. Win our 3rd State Championship in school history”.

Cornerback Samire Locks, defensive end Zahir Mathis and running backs Syeer Coleman and Jabree Wallace-Coleman return to lead a now class 6A Panther team. Jesse Moody, Nick Williams and Brian Graves return on the offensive line. New QB Joe McLeish has a solid stable of backs with the Colemans and at the wideout spots Zaire Pollard, Isaiah Prater and Kareem Haqq are solid. Look for the defending champs to once again be dominant on defense. Charles Belser will lead a strong linebacking corp that also includes Jordan Smith and Zykee Scott.. Mathis is a terror on the defensive line along with Mikale Whitfield. The DBs will be led by Locks and Willie Norris. Tep has a whopping 11 players with D1 offers.

Clarkson North:

Football North enters the 2024 season as the defending ECP League champs, looking to defend the title. Football North brings back a talented squad that has multiple division one commitments. In 2024 Football North has its toughest schedule to date, playing teams such as St. Edward (OH) Massilion Washington (OH) and Imhotep Charter (PA)

The Football North offence is expecting a very big season from our offensive line which has multiple players with D1 offers, this group is lead by Tamarley Smith (EMU Commit), Dejan Guzina and Owen Richardson. Football North’s skill positions are loaded with explosive play makers and are expecting big seasons from WR Lucas Weir, WR Tyson Clarke, WR Zion Grant and RB Lucas Shannon. The glue that holds the Football North offence together is QB Winston Chapman who returns after a very successful 2023 campaign where he lead the team to an undefeated season in league play capped off with the ECP crown.

The Football North Defence is lead by LB Shane Keyes Wilson (Maine Commit) and DB Jorel Sahay. Football North is expecting a very strong year from our defence with big years from the following players; DL Graham Harburn Weldon, LB Shane Keyes Wilson, DB Kash Grewal (Maine Commit), DB Xavier Smith and DB Jorel Sahay. The defence is a very veteran group that is littered with talented and play makers across the field.

York Suburban vs Southwestern: Friday, 8pm, York Suburban HS

Suburban:

The Trojans, 4-6 last year, “are a relatively young team with new players filling some key roles for the first time. They have a good mix of returning and new talent, but some new starters will need to mature into their roles fast. Their success will depend on the growth of young players, especially on the offensive and defensive lines” says coach Josh Fry. Returning for Suburban are Rylan Bratton – QB/DB, Steven Bowman – WR/DB, Alexander Ballan – WR/S, Elisha Dennis – TE/LB, Taza Sweeny – RB/S, Gehret Gentzyel – RB/LB, Patrick Glennon – LB and Clarence Cashour – OL/DL.

Southwestern:

The Mustangs were 8-4 last year and their returning starters “should allow them to be competitive on a weekly basis. They have a lot of offensive production returning but will be inexperienced up front. They hope to continue their run of winning seasons and make the district playoffs” says coach Tony Shermeyer. Returning are Bryce Graham QB, 6-1, 170, 2025
Austin Rollman RB, Declan Smith WR/FS, Mason Currey OL, Eliott Piatt OL, Ethan Rissler DL and Ian Wysocki LB.

Imani Christian vs West Catholic: Saturday, 10:30 am, Smalls Field

West Catholic

The Burrs had a successful season last year. That might be hard to take considering their overall record of 1-10. The key to that statement is they played teams 2-3 times their size in the regular season with close losses to powerhouse Steel High, Lansdale Catholic and a strong Camp Hill (the only losses they had to teams their size). This year coach Richardson says “the Burrs look to build off their strong finish”. Returning are Jayden Meekins, DL/ATH, Christin Karnga, RB/LB, Kal-El Durham, QB, Alexander Suah, OL, Cameron Stone, OL/DL, and Isaiah Brown, OL.

Imani Christian

Imani enters the season after finishing a respectable 8-3 with a very close playoff loss to Mohawk. Laroi Johnson has several D1 recruits at his disposal. Dayshaun Burnett, LB, David Davis, DB/RB, Steven Vandiver, QB, Will Gorman, DE/TE, and athletes Carter Bonner and Gabriel Jenkins all have P5 offers. Vandiver gave Steel High fits in last years Rose Bowl Classic, a close contest until the fourth quarter.

Penn Hills vs Susquehanna Twp: Saturday, 1:30 PM, Smalls Field

Penn Hills:

The Indians are coming off a up and down 9-3 season. Coach Charles Morris Jr is hoping to “make the playoffs and build off of last years success while continuing to change the culture” at Penn Hills. They have a challenging schedule with Woodland Hills, North Allegheny,Aliquippa and Pine-Richland but still look strong. The loss of swiss army knife Julian Dugger is tough, but with returning starters Naytel Mitchell RB/LB, Donovan Burnett OL/DL and  Martel Palmer WR/DB look for Penn Hills to compete at a high level.

Susquehanna Twp:

Coach Joe Headen says “The 2024 Season will present Township with many challenges. The main one being the willingness to do the little things in order to have a chance to be successful”. Upfront Twp. returns 3 starting offensive lineman from last season. However depth may become an issue for that position. The most experienced position on offense will be that of the WR. With four starters returning it is the Tribes deepest position on both sides of the ball. Led by 4-star and SEC commit Lex Cyrus. Cyrus will be accompanied by proven WR’s Jarrett Kern, Darien Brown and Zikhere Leaks. The RB position will be handled by committee, Rahki Seville, Xavier Rivera, Steph Mallete and Garee Mathis will all have a opportunity to tote the rock for Susquehanna.

Defensively Susquehanna Twp. will have a solid group of returning starters and role players. However, in order to win games  Hanna will have to play discipline defense, tackle exceptionally, create turnovers and play great in the 4th qtr. The tribe had 4 losses, 3 of them by one point or less, all of which they were wining or had a chance to win in the 4th qtr only to lose.

Bishop McDevitt vs Mount Saint Joseph: Saturday, 4:30 pm, Smalls Field

The Crusaders suffered a stunning blow in the Semi-Finals last year to Dallas, finishing 13-1. This year coach Weachter says “We must step our game up in all three phases after our playoff loss last year. We need some young players to grow up fast”. Gone are Rico Scott, Chase Regan, Nevan Hopkins, Nick Slogik and Jaire Rawlison among others. McDevitt will take the field with 4 players holding D1 offers. Kentucky commit Stone Saunders returns at quarterback while Maurice Barnes running backs and Nassir Jones-Davis also return on offense. Dominic Diaz-Ellis is a wolid receiver for Saunders. Defensively the Crusaders have some gaping holes to fill but Jamison Crummel, Lucas Lawler and Venny Brooks are a good solid core to build around.

Mount St. Joseph:

The Gaels finished 7-5 in 2023, losing to Bishop McDevitt in their opener. They have to replace starting quarterback Winstong Watkins.  Peyton Youngbar took snaps last year so look for him to take the lead. MSJ also lost their three top rushers to graduation. Kaleb Davis and Jayden Timmons are the returning backs.

York High vs Central Dauphin East: Saturday, 8pm, Smalls Field

CD East:

The Panthers return a big portion of their offense from their 4-6  with running back Jared Porter and QB Demaj Jalloh. Coach Lance Deane says he’s “Very excited and optimistic for this season. We’re taking it one day at a time preparing for a very success year and expecting to win every week”. The East defense also looks strong with linebacker Zach Brown, DB Darrian Cofield and DE Khamari Clark returning. The Panthers don’t have a cakewalk for a schedule in the Mid Penn Commonwealth and face many powerhouses including Harrisburg, McDevitt, State College and Cumberland Valley. Defensively the Panthers should be ok with Avery Roman, Leon Parson and Cofield returning in the backfield and Clark on the line.

York High:

The Bearcats are very young. So young in fact that coach Russ Stoner says they’ll likely start 11 freshmen at some point this year. There are some bright spots. Najee Still returns to take the snaps for the Bearcats. He’ll be comfortable throwing to familiar targets David Warde and Wa’Nieq Scott. Running back Shavane Anderson has talent and is starting to count his division one offers. Stoner doesn’t like the word “underdog”. “Our expectation is to win, so we just want to compete and get better each week and then we’ll go from there”. With just 8 seniors he’s got high expectations but don’t count out the Bearcats.

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