DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Week 3 of the Central Pennsylvania high school football season is upon us, and for most teams in the region, it marks the final tune-up before conference play commences.
Friday night will be busy once again, with 47 games on the Central PA schedule. The FOX43 High School Football Frenzy Game of the Week is a Mid-Penn vs. L-L League battle between Lower Dauphin and Elizabethtown.
The game will be streamed live on Antenna TV and FOX43+ as part of our partnership with High School Sports Live. The Frenzy Team will preview the action Friday at 6 p.m., and wrap up all the post-game highlights in our special, extended Post-Game show at 11 p.m.
Here are five games to keep an eye on this week:
FOX43 Game of the Week
Elizabethtown (2-0) at Lower Dauphin (2-0): Two teams off to somewhat surprising stars clash Friday night in Hersheypark Stadium as the Bears take on the Falcons.
E-town improved its record to 2-0 last Friday with a 50-21 victory over McCaskey, riding great performances by QB Josh Rudy, WR Braden Cummings and RB Logan Lentz. Rudy completed 18 of 27 passes for 270 yards and hooked up with Cummings for three touchdowns. (Cummings finished with five catches for 123 yards.) Lentz racked up 268 rushing yards on 24 carries and found the end zone three times as the Bears outgained the Red Tornado 565-157 in total yardage.
After picking up a forfeit win in Week 1 due to the cancellation of Middletown's football season after a hazing incident, Lower Dauphin improved to 2-0 with a 17-14 victory at Twin Valley last Friday. Ty Millhimes rushed for 118 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns for the Falcons, but it was kicker Brandon Fritz who was the hero of the game for LD, booting a 24-yard field goal with 1:24 left to provide the winning margin.
Lower Dauphin went 6-4 and made an unexpected appearance in the District 3 playoffs in its first season under coach Josh Borelli last season, and is looking to build on that. E-town is playing its first season under coach Keith Stokes this fall, and is looking to establish itself as a program to be reckoned with. We'll see which narrative prevails on Friday.
Other Games to Watch:
Cocalico (1-1) at Manheim Central (2-0): This has been one of the Lancaster-Lebanon League's fiercest rivalries over the last decade, and the fact that Cocalico and Manheim Central are no longer Section 2 neighbors should do little to diminish its intensity. The Eagles and Barons have squared off 14 times in the last 10 years, including three straight seasons where they met in the regular season and the District 3 playoffs (2016-18). Cocalico and Central shared the L-L League Section 2 title last year and split it in 2016.
Cocalico is coming off a 21-7 loss to Solanco last week after dusting Warwick in Week 1. Central defeated Immaculata (NJ) in a wild 44-43 overtime shootout last week after opening its season with a 56-7 blowout over West Chester East.
Players to watch in this one: Brycen Arnold powers the Baron ground game, with 274 yards and five TDs in his first two games. Aaryn Longenecker leads Cocalico in rushing TDs (3) and has caught a team-high five passes for 74 yards, while Sam Steffy (33-239, two TDs) is the team's leading rusher.
Milton Hershey (2-0) at East Pennsboro (2-0): The Spartans were idle last week, picking up a forfeit win over Middletown due to the cancellation of the Blue Raiders' season. They opened the year with a 26-18 victory over Susquehanna Township.
Quarterback Kenny Emile will try to pick up where he left off in Week 1 for Milton Hershey; he threw for four touchdowns in the Spartans' 26-18 triumph over Hanna. Three of those touchdown tosses went to junior speedster Mohamed Koroma.
East Pennsboro improved to 2-0 with a 27-17 victory over Palmyra, as Dakota Campbell took over at quarterback following an injury to starter Keith Oates and rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Shippensburg (2-0) at Spring Grove (2-0): The Greyhounds stayed unbeaten and collected the Little Brown Jug with last week's 35-21 victory over neighborhood rival Big Spring. Tucker Chamberlain and Erby Weller connected for three touchdowns in the victory. To say Weller is Chamberlain's favorite target thus far would be an understatement; he has caught all eight of Chamberlain's completed passes in the first two weeks. Meanwhile, RB Traevon Kater has powered the ground game with 176 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.
Spring Grove, representing Division 1 of the YAIAA, is also unbeaten so far under new coach Will Thompson after holding off Kennard-Dale 33-28 last week. The Rockets dusted Waynesboro 46-14 in Week 1. QB Andrew Osmun has been the standout so far for Spring Grove; he's got five touchdowns in his first two games this season after throwing for four last week against K-D.
South Western (2-0) at New Oxford (2-0): The visiting Mustangs opened the season with blowout wins over Susquehannock (35-3) and Dover (41-13), racking up 717 yards of total offense. Quarterback Max Winsensale and running back Cohen Bull have combined for 307 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead the ground game, while Wisensale has also completed 12 of 23 passes for 155 yards and two scores. South Western's defense, meanwhile, ranks third in the YAIAA, allowing just 185 yards per game.
New Oxford knocked off neighborhood rival (and YAIAA defector) Gettysburg 28-14 last week after opening the season with a 41-0 rout of Bermudian Springs. The Colonials have ridden the hot hand of quarterback Jett Moore, who has completed 27 of 38 passes for 412 yards and six touchdowns to lead all YAIAA passers through the first two games. Wideout Evan Shriver is second in the conference with 13 catches for 196 yards and three TDs, while Brennan Holmes has eight receptions for 160 yards and three scores. The Colonial defense is second in the league, yielding just 183 yards per game.