State College Hosts Harrisburg for Huge Mid Penn Commonwealth Game

Tagged under: District 3, District 6, Gameday Hub, News

Todd Ross | October 13, 2023

This game is a big deal for many reasons. Both teams come into this matchup with 1 loss, State College at 5-1 and Harrisburg 6-1, and are also both undefeated in conference play. This game may decide the Commonwealth champion if the winning team wins out. This game also matters a lot to the teams as they have played each other quite a bit. These two teams are developing a real rivalry as they have met in the playoffs the past two seasons along with the regular season. In 2021, Harrisburg took the regular season meeting and State College took the playoff game, but last year it was the opposite. Harrisburg won the most recent matchup in last year’s 6a semi final 27-7. After being down 7 nothing at halftime, they battled back to score 27 unanswered.

Kyle Williams, who scored the four touchdowns for Harrisburg last time they met, has graduated and is now at Temple, but Harrisburg still has loads of talent. First is Quarterback Sean Lee who has been a great dual threat with 16 passing touchdowns and 7 on the ground. His favorite target has been sophomore Elias Coke, who has received attention from top college programs. Coke leads the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Along with Lee in the rushing game is Nehemiah Ewell, who leads the team in yards. Defensively this team is equally talented with Senior Edge Micah Chambers and Junior Edge Jyrell Britton leading the team with the most tackles. Ryan Epps has been standout for the Cougars as he leads the team with 16 tackles for loss and 9 sacks. The defensive backs have also been great as junior Quincy Brannon leads the team with 4 interceptions. This team has lots of talent, and I am excited to see them in action.

State College is ready to host them with a powerful team themselves. Quarterback Eddie Corkery has been great with almost 1500 yards passing and 15 touchdowns. He has three reliable targets, all juniors, including Michael Gaul, Cooper Brushwood, and Ty Salazer. This team can also run the ball with D’Antae Sheffey who has 12 rushing touchdowns this season. State College’s offensive line will definitely be challenged, but the unit led by seniors Jake Hohenshelt, Colin Dardis, and Aiden Lulis will be up for the challenge. They also can get points from Kicker John Zipf who has been impressive on field goals and extra points. Defensively they are just as sound with Michael Gaul averaging over 10 tackles a game and Justin Castro-Dixon is a close second with 8. The pass rush has been led by Sam Mayer who has 5 sacks so far. Interceptions have come from many different players for the little lions Gaul Sheffey and Cooper Brushwood each have 2 so far this season. In the most recent game for the Little Lions Senior Owen Yerka had a crucial special teams performance with two punt blocks including one he recovered for a touchdown, and he will look to disrupt more in special teams this week.

These two teams have lots of talent and lots of passion to win but who will come away with a second loss, and who will be the frontrunner to win the Mid Penn Commonwealth?

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