PIAA State 6A Quarter-Final Preview: Harrisburg at Manheim Township

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

Brian Ptashinski | November 21, 2023

PIAA STATE PLAYOFF 6A QUARTER-FINAL

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25th 7PM

(11-1) HARRISBURG COUGARS at (12-0) MANHEIM TWP BLUE STREAKS

WINNER ADVANCES TO FACE EITHER MCDOWELL or NORTH ALLEGHENY IN SEMI-FINALS.

These two teams faced off against one another back in week 3 of the regular season which ended in a 38-6 win by the Blue Streaks. Manheim Twp held the Cougar offense to just 190 yards total and forced two turnovers in that contest. Harrisburg quarterback Shawn Lee was held to just 49 yards on 6-of-15 passing and one interception in the loss. Harrisburg is seeking their third straight 6A District 3 championship having defeated Township in last year’s finale.

The Cougars are averaging over 400 yards of offense per game this season with Lee leading the way with 1,931 yards passing on 119-for-171 passing tossing  23 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions on the season. He has also rushed for 15 scores , while accumulating 1,132 yards on the ground. RB Neamiah Ewell is nearing the 1,000 yard mark with 936 yards and 15 scores.  Wide receivers Elias Coke, Quincy Brannon and Kymer Williams have combined for 1,564 yards and 20 touchdowns via the airwaves, with Coke leading the way with nearly 20 yards per catch (38-752 11 td’s)

Defensively, Raytel Bryant leads the team in tackles averaging 8.4/game. DT Ryan Epps wreaks havoc on the opposition quarterbacks with 12 sacks on the year.  Brannon leads the secondary in interceptions with  a half dozen. Safety Kymer Williams has forced three fumbles for good measure.

The Blue Streaks on the other hand in the first meeting QB Haden Johnson had three touchdown passes while throwing for 279 yards on 16-of-26 passing and zero picks. On the season Johnson is  169-for-220 2,738 yards and 47 touchdowns. RB Declan Clancy has rushed for 1,088 yards on 172 touches and 14 touchdowns on the season, including a 100 yard performance in the first meeting and a score. Senior WR Landon Kennel leads Township with 60 catches for 1,056 yards and 25 scores. He caught six passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns including a season-long 72 yard completion the last time these teams met.

Manheim Township is solid on defense this year as well, the Streaks are only allowing 190yds/game and only surrendered 122 points all year and have only given up 1,005 yards rushing to their opponents. Declan Clancy, at linebacker leads the teams with 66 tackles, DE Eli Rodriguez has 63 tackles 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, DT  Julian LaRue (48 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks 2 forced fumbles), DE Carter Bair (41 tackles, 13 TFL, 4.5 sacks) and NG Taylor Veilleux (36 tackles, 14 TFL, 3 sacks) anchor the defense. They will need to do what they did in the first meeting to move on to the semi-final next week.

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