MID PENN CONFERENCE (MID SEASON REVIEW)
Tagged under: District 3, News, pfn
Terry Clark Jr. | September 28, 2023
Mid Penn Mid-Season Review
Commonwealth:
Harrisburg: 4-1 (2-0)
State College: 3-1 (2-0)
Central Dauphin: 3-2 (1-1)
Central Dauphin East: 3-2 (1-1)
Chambersburg: 3-2 (1-1)
Cumberland Valley: 1-4 (1-1)
Altoona: 2-3 (0-2)
Carlisle: 1-4 (0-2)
Review:
So, as we expected in the Commonwealth the 2 teams sitting at the top of the division at the halfway point are the Harrisburg Cougars and the State College Little Lions. Once again, the divisional winner this year will come down to these 2 teams as they are both perennial state powers at the 6A level. In fact, these 2 teams are accustomed to meeting 2 times a year as State College represents District 6 and Harrisburg comes out of District 3 once postseason play begins. State College was the winner of this division last year and looked primed to repeat. Coming into this season I picked Harrisburg to win this division and I think outside of that Manheim Twp. game they have looked the part. These 2 teams will meet in State College on 10/13 so make sure you mark that game on your calendar.
Surprises:
I would say the biggest surprise at the halfway point in this division is Cumberland Valley sitting at 1-4. Those 4 losses were to quality teams in Manheim Twp., Central York, Spring Ford and Harrisburg. So, from that prospect a 1-4 start shouldn’t be that shocking but they have not been very competitive in those games. Now for me that is the shocking part as I did not see that coming heading into the season. It should be interesting to see how this team finishes the season but I think a 5-5 or 4-6 finish seems pretty realistic. Central Dauphin is another team that I will discuss as they currently sit 3-2 already matching last season’s win total in an unusual 3-7 season last year. I picked this team to finish in third place in this division and they seem to be right on pace.
Keystone:
Bishop McDevitt: 5-0 (2-0)
Lower Dauphin: 4-1 (2-0)
Cedar Cliff: 4-1 (1-1)
Hershey: 4-1 (1-1)
Mifflin County: 3-2 (1-1)
Milton Hershey: 3-2 (1-1)
Palmyra: 2-3 (0-2)
Red Land: 1-4 (0-2)
Review:
Well it’s another year in which everyone in this division is competing to be the second best team in the Keystone. The defending 4A state champs Bishop McDevitt currently sits undefeated at 5-0 and will easily capture another Keystone title. McDevitt is once again loaded with talent and is the favorite to repeat as 4A state champs as well so you can expect more wide margin victories in the second half of the season. Cedar Cliff was my predicted second place team this year and seem to be right on target as their lone loss was against Bishop McDevitt. It won’t be easy as Hershey and Lower Dauphin both sit currently at 4-1 and Milton Hershey at 3-2 will be in the mix. So once again the opportunity to finish in second place should be pretty entertaining.
Surprises:
The biggest surprise of the Keystone division right now is the Hershey Trojans. A 4-1 start for them is fantastic and I truly believe the impact of losing Marcus Sweeney from a year ago played a big role on why this team was predicted to be a middle of the pack team this season. Hershey did return some nice pieces that are contributing very well for this squad as Angel Cabrera and Cameron Sweeney have been carrying the load offensively. Their lone loss is against Cedar Cliff so a second-place finish seems very unlikely however a postseason district game seems very possible as they currently sit at the fourth seed in 5A. Lower Dauphin looks to be improved and should be a player as they battle to try to grab second place in the Colonial.
Colonial
East Pennsboro: 5-0 (2-0)
Greencastle Antrim: 4-1 (1-1)
Susquehanna Twp.: 3-2 (1-1)
Gettysburg: 2-3 (1-1)
Mechanicsburg: 2-3 (1-1)
Shippensburg: 2-3 (1-1)
Waynesboro: 2-3 (1-1)
Northern York: 1-4 (0-2)
Review:
Coming into the season I said that I believed there were possibly 5 teams that could win the Colonial this year. As of now it looks like that statement is looking pretty spot on. However, I will say that East Pennsboro currently looks like a strong favorite as they are sitting very comfortable at 5-0. East Pennsboro already knocked off last year’s champion Gettysburg. East Penn is also the only undefeated team remaining in the Colonial so if they win out the division will belong to the Panthers. Greencastle is out to another strong start mirroring last season’s start at 4-1. This year I’m sure they are hoping to finish stronger in the second half of the season as they don’t want to have a repeat of going 1-4 to close the regular season out. Susquehanna Twp. is currently 3-2 and they were my favorite to win the Colonial as they are one of the more experienced teams returning this season in the Colonial. They dropped a divisional loss to Mechanicsburg already so winning the Colonial outright seems to be off the table which is a little disappointing but they have an opportunity to play spoiler and grab a share of the division. The talent is here for this group but it will come down to being able to win close games.
Surprises:
The teams that finished first, second, and third in this division last year are all currently under .500. Those 3 teams are Gettysburg, Shippensburg and Northern York. Graduation hit these 3 teams extremely hard and early on it is showing. However, I don’t think I quite accounted for just how much the graduation losses could really hurt Northern York as they are currently 1-4. Coming into the year I thought bringing back an Allstate Caliber player in Cole Bartram would be able to overcome some of those losses. However, that hasn’t exactly been the case, instead the inexperience is showing in the close games in which they are falling short. Gettysburg and Shippensburg are in the same boat but they are both a couple steps ahead of Northern York at the moment. Now the biggest surprise so far has to be East Pennsboro as they currently are sitting undefeated. Let’s remember this is a team that finished 1-6 in the Colonial a year ago. Last year was a strange season as we never did get to see what this team could truly look like fully healthy as they battled injuries and illness all season long. Now here we are a year later and a lot of the key contributors are back. They have a great opportunity to go undefeated but it won’t be easy as they have a game remaining vs Susquehanna Twp. who I think is the only road block from allowing this to happen.
Capital
Steel High: 5-0 (2-0)
West Perry: 5-0 (2-0)
Middletown: 1-4 (1-0)
Trinity: 3-2 (1-1)
Big Spring: 3-2 (1-1)
Camp Hill: 3-2 (0-2)
Boiling Springs 1-4 (0-2)
Review:
Well so far, it’s looking very similar to last year as both Steel High and West Perry are 5-0 at the halfway mark just like last season. Steel High the defending 1A state champions played a pretty strong non-conference schedule as they are the favorite to repeat as 1A state champions. West Perry brought back another strong team and were expected to have another really strong season. Last season West Perry got overwhelmed by a very strong Wyomissing team in the 3A district title game and they are hoping to build off last years’ experience. They recently knocked off Trinity for the second year in a row which was a very good win for them. The division’s winner should come down to West Perry and Steel High. However, Trinity at 3-2 is out of the equation of being able to win the division outright but they could play spoiler if they are able to beat Steel high forcing a 3 way share for the Capital which could happen. I did pick Trinity to win the Capital this year so the talent is here and the last 2 games vs Steel high has come down to the last play of the game. Let’s hope Trinity is healthy come October 21st as they are a little beat up right now. Mark October 21st down on your calendar as I expect it to be another exciting game.
Surprises:
Honestly, the biggest surprise has to be Middletown which got their first win of the year over Camp Hill a week ago. I truly did not know what to expect out of a football team that forfeited an entire year of football due to the situation that happened last year with their football team. If you watched this team early on you would have thought they would not be able to win a game and many people expected that after missing a year of football. Remember not too long ago this was one of the best football programs in District 3 and it may take them some time to get back to that caliber again. Despite everything it was nice to see them get a win in the first half of the season. Camp Hill started the season 3-0 which included picking up a nice win over Upper Dauphin. I thought they would have a shot at finishing 7-3 but after dropping their last 2 games to Big Spring and Middletown that is out of the equation. That to me is a little disappointing however depth was a concern coming into the season and it may have already come into play.
Liberty
Upper Dauphin: 3-2 (2-0)
Juniata: 2-3 (2-0)
Line Mountain: 3-2 (1-0)
Halifax: 3-2 (1-1)
James Buchanan: 1-4 (0-1)
Susquenita: 1-4 (0-2)
Newport: 0-5 (0-2)
Review:
Coming into this season there were 3 teams that many thought had a realistic shot at winning the Liberty division. Those 3 teams all currently sit at the top at the halfway mark which are Upper Dauphin, Juniata and Line Mountain. Upper Dauphin did lose the most players from graduation compared to the rest of the division so it was going to be very difficult for them to repeat as champs. However, so far, they have proven that you should not count them out. The popular pick to win it all this year is Line Mountain and for good reason. They returned 10 starters which was the most in the Liberty division this year. Juniata started the season out 0-3 but are riding a 2-game winning streak and should be a contender to bring home the title as well. It’s setting up for an exciting second half for Liberty Division football.
Surprises:
It would have to be Susquenita sitting at 1-4. Susquenita has talent and this was supposed to be the year they were hoping that their senior loaded group would turn the corner. This could have been the outcome but given the circumstances of this senior group having its third head coach in 4 years makes that thought pretty difficult. Now their schedule was indeed front loaded and I do believe they have an opportunity to possibly win out. The talent is here, let’s see if they can turn the season around and finish strong. Halifax comes in at 3-2 at the halfway mark and that is a great start for a team coming off an 1-9 season. Last year was very challenging as this team only rostered 17 players but the bright side of that was practically everyone returned from last year. Numbers have increased now approaching close to 30 which is good news. This was a confident group coming into the season determined to show everyone how much they improved. Let’s see how they finish out the second half of the season.
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