Mechanicsburg's Josh Koontz earned first-team All-State honors in both football and basketball during the 2004-'05 season, all the while maintaining a 95.7 GPA. Sounds like a perfect fit for a University of Penn football player. (Jason Minick/The Sentinel)

Josh Koontz (Part 1 — the athlete)

It was remarkable.

It's one of those plays that will go down in Mechanicsburg football history, an eye-popping display of physical strength and intestinal fortitude that makes a head coach thank the Lord for the invention of videotape.

Koontz, dragging the better half of the Garden Spot football team on his back into the end zone. In a playoff game. For the game-winning score.

Not two defenders, or even three.

Five.

Five players who piled on from the 10-yard line. Five players whose sole mission was to bring down one 6-foot-3, 215-pound kid before he crossed the goal line — and couldn't get it done.

"One of the most phenomenal plays in football," Mechanicsburg head football coach Rich Lichtel says. "They hit him at the 10, and he kept going. He literally carried five people for the touchdown."

Josh Koontz (Part 2 — the student)

Mechanicsburg's Josh Koontz had 1,000 career points as a center in basketball. (File photo/The Sentinel)

The day report cards are mailed out in the Mechanicsburg school district must hold little suspense for Koontz.

If the slip of paper shows anything other than "A's" all the way down the board, it's probably a misprint. Or, as teammate Jeremy Boone puts it, "A ‘B' was pretty much unheard of. I don't know if he ever got one." (For the record, there was one last year in calculus.)

A perennial honor roll student with a 95.7 GPA this year, Koontz is headed to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, where he'll major in business and try to balance academics and athletics on a much higher level.

In between all those layups and touchdowns, Koontz still managed to find time to apply for and tour college campuses, study for mid-terms and finals, and finish every homework assignment his teachers dug up for him.

To put it mildly, Koontz takes the sledgehammer to the dumb jock stereotype, not only taking the time to put a premium on academics but using it to his advantage throughout his sports career. He defines the term student-athlete.

It makes it easy to see why he is the 2005 Sentinel Male Athlete of the Year.

Let's just put it out there — it's real hard to play two sports in high school. Especially when those two are football and basketball.

The seasons run into each other, each sport demands a different level of conditioning, the summers are more about workouts than hangouts, the list goes on and on.

But it's harder to play two sports and maintain high academic standards. Much harder.

A commitment to sports demands long nights and weekends, hard practices and most of all, time. Time most kids spend playing video games or relaxing with friends.

Koontz has time for that, too — after he practices, lifts weights and finishes all his homework for the day.

"I take as much pride in academics as I do sports," he says. "It comes from my parents, they've really motivated me. You have to set some time apart. Whether it's a game or a test, you have to prioritize."

Prioritize. It's an effective word, but far more poignant when you break it down and see what that really entails.

During football and basketball season (he didn't play baseball this season because he needed some time off), Koontz gets up every morning and goes to school for seven hours. That's the end of the line for some kids right there.

After classes, while most teenagers make a beeline to their cars and try to find the quickest way home, Koontz is heading to the locker room to get dressed for a solid two hours of practice.

Some nights, he goes home after that and hits the books, cranking out whatever assignments his teachers have handed him throughout his day.

But three times a week, Koontz stays after practice to lift weights for a few hours before coming home to a mound of math problems,with an essay or two thrown in for good measure. Tired and winded from a long practice and drained after going a few rounds in the weight room, homework would be the first thing shuffled aside for some high school kids.

Koontz not only makes sure it's done, but ensures that the work he hands in will come back with few errors and a red "A" at the top of the page.

And this doesn't happen every once and a while. This is the way Koontz has done business for four years; academics and athletics occupying the same space.

"At a very early age he was always keeping his grades up," Boone says. "He's pretty much a perfectionist."

"It takes a special person to be able to do that," says Mechanicsburg head basketball coach Bob Strickler. "In the summer we tried to work him around football and basketball, and the kid was still asked to run five nights a week in the summer. Most kids are off having fun, he's running from sporting event to sporting event."

But hey, he's a high school kid. He can't just sit home every night and do homework, can he?

Well, no.

Part of prioritizing involves a social life, so Koontz builds in time to see his friends when he's wearing something other than football pads or basketball shorts. A well-spoken high school senior who looks every bit like the effective tight end that he's become, Koontz likes pulling for the Eagles and watching hoops on TV just like everyone else.

Poker nights are a favorite, where — surprise — Koontz tends to go home with a few more chips than he came with on any given night.

"I just like hanging out with my friends," Koontz says. "We've been playing cards all the time lately, a lot of Texas Hold ‘em. I've been pretty good."

"He never seems to have a problem," says Boone. "If he ever wanted to hang out he found time to do it."

So where's all this going? Why do you want to hear about some kid's study and social habits in the sports section?

Patience.

The term student-athlete exists for a reason, although recently many talented teenagers tend to forget about the prefix and concentrate solely on athletics.

Koontz chose a different route, and it made him a better athlete as a result.

"What (his academics) do most is that it sets the foundation for his discipline," Lichtel says. "I think the big thing is that he doesn't lose his cool. He stays patient, he stays focused and as a result he's been very productive in both sports. It's rare to have that in two sports."

It's not just the discipline that helps Koontz succeed. His intelligence makes understanding a playbook, reading and reacting to defenses, learning post moves and gaining an overall knowledge of the game come naturally.

Lichtel describes Koontz as "cerebral," not always the first word a football coach generally bestows on an all-state tight end, and gives Koontz the freedom to change his routes or plays depending on what he sees on the field.

"He knows exactly what's going on," Lichtel says. "Our offense is fairly intricate, and he knew exactly what his role was. He's played tight end, wide receiver, slot receiver, all over for us."

"I think I can pick out where the coverage is going to be, or in basketball, I can see that hole and get inside," Koontz says. "Coach Lichtel would make most of the calls, but if we saw something in the defense, I would go up to (quarterback) Zach Frazer and say, ‘I'm going to run this play or go further out there.' It was more with this class, we had a bunch of guys that played smart."

Maybe that's why Mechanicsburg's football team went 9-4 in the fall and advanced all the way to the District 3-AAA title game before losing to Manheim Central.

Koontz was dominant on the gridiron, but it sometimes got overlooked as many casual fans flocked to see Frazer, the cannon-armed junior quarterback who recently signed a letter of intent to attend college and play football at Notre Dame.

As Frazer's No. 1 target, Koontz racked up 1,405 yards on 81 catches with 11 TDs in Mechanicsburg's free-wheeling offense (the Wildcats didn't even use a running back most games), earning the first all-state berth of his career.

"Koontz is great, he has a lot of strength," Frazer said during the football season. "If you throw the ball he will catch it and he's guaranteed five more yards."

Although the Wildcats fell to the Red Barons in the D3-AAA title game, it will be the previous game and the play that got them there that will be what most of his teammates remember about Koontz.

That mind-boggling touchdown against Garden Spot.

It's a showcase play that symbolizes both Koontz's raw athletic talent and his sculpted discipline and intelligence, a perfect example of Frazer's observation about strength and yards after the catch.

To hear Koontz tell it, the play shouldn't have happened in the first place, but his understanding of defenses allowed him to be in position to make a play.

"I was just supposed to run a curl up the middle, but it was covered so I broke further out right," he says. "I wasn't really open, but Frazer fired it in there between two guys. I felt the defenders hit me, but I kept my legs moving and was looking at the end zone the whole time."

It sounds so simple, doesn't it?

He neglects to mention there were five people draped over his back like some sort of bizarre scene from "Gulliver's Travels." He leaves out the part where that score decided the game and sent the Wildcats to the D3 championship. He minimized the fact that he recognized the coverage and broke off his route to find some open space.

Koontz makes it sound like just another day at the office. Try telling that to his teammates.

"We actually just played the tape the other day," Boone says. "Some of the wideouts put it in. We had to rewind it three or four times just to take it in. He took a shot, three or four guys piled on and he just carried them in."

Not too shabby for a straight-A student that graduated 18th in his class, is it? And that's only half the story.

In basketball, Koontz practices his moves on an almost obsessive basis, constantly refining his inside game and smoothing out his footwork.

His quick mind lets him watch a game on television and pick up moves from players on the screen, which he then applies in games after practicing them over and over.

"I saw (his intelligence) more when he was outclassed in size," Strickler says. "There were a lot of nights where he wasn't the biggest guy on the floor, height-wise, so he had to use his mind to position himself and be effective. It's one of those things where he's smart about where he positions himself."

Koontz's inside presence was crucial on the hardwood this season, as the Wildcats rode their big man and the dead-eye shooting of Boone all the way to the PIAA playoffs, earning Koontz a berth on the all-state team, his second such honor of the year.

The senior center averaged 16.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 2005, dominating the paint in almost every time he stepped on the court. He closed out his career by finishing second in school history in both points (1,194) and rebounds (554).

But his season ended on somewhat of a sour note, as Bethlehem Catholic knocked off the Wildcats by 11 points in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs. Koontz had 23 points in the loss, but the Golden Hawks' trio of 6-foot-5 big men clamped down on the rest of the team and held the sharpshooting Boone to just eight points.

"I was disappointed," Koontz said. "We played our hardest, but if we played our best I think we could have beat them."

So, now what?

Success in the classroom. Success on the field. What's left for Koontz to conquer?

The next level.

Not yet tired of juggling two sports and lofty academic standards, Koontz gets to flex both his muscles in the fall when college rolls around and Penn becomes his new home. He received a partial $8,000 "leadership" scholarship that many Penn football players are awarded, bringing his tuition down to manageable but still hefty $25,000 a year.

He'll be playing football for the Quakers — a somewhat larger commitment than on the high school level — while trying to get used to the increased workload that an Ivy League college is known for.

"I wanted to challenge myself in both academics and athletics," Koontz says. "I have to be prepared in the working world, and I couldn't pass a Penn degree up. Penn State offered me a walk-on deal, and for a while I was leaning toward PSU. But the academics sold me on Penn."

If it's a challenge he's looking for, Penn should be just the ticket. Koontz admits he struggled during the fall and winter, when mid-terms, college applications and the football season gave him a workload even he struggled to get a handle on. The work only intensifies in college, and coupled with Division I football, there should be plenty of things to keep Koontz busy.

Especially since he's trying to earn some coveted playing time his first year on campus.

"College is going to be a big jump," he says. "I'm trying to get stronger and faster to earn some playing time early. The coach said that there are two tight ends in front of me on the depth chart, but there was a good chance to see some time. I just want to prove that I belong there. I'm just going to work hard to crack the starting lineup."

For now, it looks like some well-deserved R and R is on the horizon. Koontz is officially done with high school and has the whole summer to catch up on some downtime before heading off to Penn.

When he gets there, of course, expect all that to be a thing of the past.

"Traditionally, kids (with his work ethic) continue to do very well in school," Strickler says. "With his ability to budget his time and structure his day, it will make him a stronger guy in the future."

It's already made him a pretty rounded one now.

Koontz by the numbers

Football
— 1,405 yards receiving in 13 games
— 81 catches
— 11 receiving touchdowns
— Associated Press first-team all-state
— First team All-Sentinel
— First team Mid-Penn Keystone

Basketball
— 16.8 points per game
— 7.1 rebounds per game
— 73 percent free throw shooting percentage
— 1,194 career points (second in school history)
— 554 rebounds (second in school history)
— Sentinel 2005 Player of the Year
— Associated Press first-team all-state
— First-team Mid-Penn Keystone

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Koontz to Penn, Boone picks PSU

By Alicia Johnson, February 19

Well Joe Paterno has added another Mid-Penn recruit.

Mechanicsburg punter and wide receiver Jeremy Boone is heading to Happy Valley this season as an invited walk-on.

"I signed the letter of intent today," Boone said Friday. "I'm going in as a preferred punter."

Boone also had his mind on attending Delaware State, where he would also walk-on at the punter position. But it was the big college atmosphere and the impression Nittany Lion coaches had on him during his official visit that swayed him toward Happy Valley

During his senior season, Boone averaged 45 yards a punt and he totaled 1,014 yards receiving. Those impressive numbers made the 5-foot-10 senior the All-State punter, a first-team All-Sentinel punter.

As a preferred walk-on, Boone will have a chance at receiving scholarship money from Penn State.

Boone said he will likely redshirt his freshman year and be up for the job in the next two years once current punter Jeremy Kapinos graduates.

"As a preferred walk-on I will be a part of the 110-man roster," Boone said.

Mechanicsburg tight end Josh Koontz won't be joining his friend up at Penn State this season.

The 6-foot-4 senior decided he will be heading to the University of Pennsylvania (8-2 last year) instead. Koontz, who caught 81 catches for 1,410 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, was named to the Class AAA all-state first team and All-Sentinel first team.

The Nittany Lions were also on his list. In fact, Koontz went on an official visit to the school with Boone. But when PSU signed East Pennsboro tight end Mickey Shuler to a full scholarship earlier this month, that left Koontz without a full scholarship option with the Nittany Lions.

Koontz has expressed an interest in attending an Ivy league school, which do not offer athletic scholarship, from the start of the season, so Penn seems like the perfect fit.

Wildcat quarterback Zach Frazer, a junior, is moving up Notre Dame's list.

According to Travis Donnelly of the Irish Today website, the junior quarterback has peaked the Irish's interest with his PIAA record 3,674 passing yards this season. Donnelly reports that new Irish head coach Charile Weis wants to sign a new quarterback every season and Frazer is one of the quarterbacks they are interested in.

Though it is still early in the process, Mechanicsburg head coach Rich Licthel said in the article, that Notre Dame has been calling him for a few weeks about his all-state QB.

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Passing fancy

By Alicia Johnson, December 29, 2004

 

Mechanicsburg junior quarterback Zach Frazer set a PIAA single-season passing record this year by throwing for 3,674 yards. (Jason Minick/The Sentinel)

As Mechanicsburg quarterback Zach Frazer sets up behind his center, everything surrounding him begins to slow down. The noisy crowd is reduced to a slight murmur and full concentration rests on the football he is set to receive.

Frazer takes a quick check to see that his receivers, all five of them, are aligned. "Carolina Curl," he screams and the ball is snapped.

From that moment, the 2004 Sentinel Offensive Player of the Year has but a few seconds to find his man downfield and make the pass before huge linemen come bulldozing into him.

"In about five seconds I read the defense and see what coverages they are in," Frazer says. "I look for anything that will help me out. I look for blitzes and splits of the linemen. I (also) look at the corner, if he would go back, I would hit the short route. If he came up I would hit the deep route cutting behind."

It is Frazer's ability to see everything on the field that makes him so effective, effective enough to set a PIAA single-season passing record, effective enough to help guide the Wildcats to the District 3-AAA finals, and effective enough to earn Associated Press Class AAA Player of the Year honors.

Combining his knack for spotting any mistakes the defense commits with arm strength and tough 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, Frazer is the type of QB NCAA Division I colleges go wild about.

But only a junior, that decision won't come for awhile yet.

For now, area fans get one more season to see the Wildcat QB strut his stuff.

"He definitely has great vision," said All-Sentinel tight end Josh Koontz. "And he is not afraid to get hit. He will hold (the ball) until the receivers are open. He will throw it at the last minute and take a hit if he has to."

"He makes quick decisions," Wildcats head coach Rich Lichtel said. "He makes the right reads and he makes them quick. It's hard to have three or four reads with every pass, but there are times when (receiver Jeremy) Boone, Koontz and (receiver Seth) Pehanich make route adjustments and he finds them. Credit that to him being able to read (defenses)."

Koontz and Lichtel are not the only ones to notice Frazer's "see-all" ability.

After the Wildcats 27-7 loss to Manheim Central in the District 3-AAA title game on Nov. 26, Barons starting linebacker Jeremiah Hunter said he was amazed with Frazer's ability to spot everything on the field.

"The way he was playing, he was wearing us down," Hunter said after the game. "I really don't get tired a lot, but I was tired. He just sees everything."

It was Hunter's tackle just as Frazer released the ball that forced the AP Class AAA Player of the Year to make an early exit from the D-3AAA championship game in the first half.

Up until that point, Frazer and his core group of receivers utilized the short passing game and controlled the ball for 46 plays and 18:28 minutes, limiting Manheim Central to a total of 18 plays for 5:32 in the first half.

Frazer completed 23-of-36 passes for 184 yards in that half, keeping the Wildcats in a 7-7 tie with the favored Barons.

Frazer's numbers are no doubt eye popping. He averaged 290 passing yards a game, completing 285-of-441 passes for that state record 3,674 yards. That's an amazing 64 percent completion rate with 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 12 more TDs.

But someone had to catch those passes, and Frazer had five capable targets, led by All-State selections Koontz and Boone, who both topped 1,000 yards receiving for the year.

That luxury gave Frazer a lot more freedom and selection in the backfield, not to mention much more fun.

"Other team's would design plays to get one person open." Frazer says. "For us, we design the play and made the defense have to make the decision, not us. If one of (the defenders) make a mistake, we will capitalize."

Lichtel, a coach who loves the passing game, used the spread offense, something most high school teams don't get to see, to create various challenges for opposing defenses. Very rarely do teams have enough defensive backs to match up so there is always a receiver mismatch in every game. And with a possible NCAA Division-I quarterback throwing the ball, you better believe Frazer will find the open man.

"Koontz is great, he has a lot of strength," Frazer said "If you throw the ball he will catch it and he's guaranteed five more yards. Jeremy Boone is great because of his quickness. If you give him a quick routed he is going to dupe the defender and get five yards on his own.

"Everyone overlooks Seth Pehanich, but he is a quiet soldier. He is exactly like Boone, he is quick on his feet and he runs good routes. Marcus Hancock, people overlook him too, but he is fast as well. Andy Bartels is like Koontz, he is strong. He is usually running safety routes, so he usually doesn't get the ball that much, but when he does, he will get the yards because he has been in the weight room.

"It is a great advantage to have two powerhouse receivers that can run routes and three quick receivers."

Frazer will have to learn the tendencies of a whole new group of receivers next season because Koontz, Boone, Pehanich, Hanock and Bartels all graduate.

And though it's hard to believe, all of Frazer's accomplishments could be questioned with a group of young and inexperienced receivers running routes next year. But 3.674 yards is a hard number to forget.

"He's already proven himself," Lichtel says. "I don't know of many quarterbacks to throw for (close to) 3,700 yards and almost 300 completions ... that's incredible."

"There's no questioning his talent," Koontz says. "It's a two way street with good receivers and a good quarterback. But just because he loss five receivers doesn't take away from what he's done and what he will do."

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Frazer AP Player of the Year

By From staff and wire reports, December 21, 2004

Zach Frazer

Mechanicsburg quarterback Zach Frazer headed into this season with enough expectations to seriously weigh down his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame.

But it was on a steamy August afternoon when the junior quarterback, who would be starting his first season, said that he wasn't too worried about all the pressure and hype he was receiving. In his eyes, it was just another season.

Almost four months later, Frazer stands atop the Pennsylvania high school passing record with 3,674 yards in 13 games. Earning him the Associated Press Class AAA player of the year.

"It's just a great feeling as an athlete, knowing that you've worked hard to become No. 1 and when you make it, it's just phenomenal," Frazer said. "(Getting all-state) wasn't a goal just basically (getting 2,500 yards) was my goal and becoming a wining team. But being all-state player of the year... I never thought of it, but it's just a great, wonderful feeling."

"I think he's the whole package," said Wildcats tight end Josh Koontz, also a first-teamm all-state selection. "He's big and strong and has a great arm and good accuracy."

This season Koontz caught 81 passes for 1,405 yards and 12 touchdowns, so consider him an expert. Teammate Jeremy Boone, repeats as the first team punter, averaging 45.2 yards on 30 punts and caught 84 passes for 1,083 yards.

"I think it's a wonderful christmas present," Wildcats head coach Rich Lichtel said. "You work so hard but so does everybody else and you need a little luck and sometimes that good Lord rewards you. To have three kids make it on the all-state (team), let alone first team is incredible and almost unheard of."

"I think it's awesome," Frazer said. "That's unheard of to have three of the same people on the first team is phenomenal. They also worked very hard they deserve it as much as I do."

PIAA champion Thomas Jefferson leads the team with four players after bouncing back from two regular-season losses to win seven consecutive playoff games, defeating defending champion Manheim Central 56-20 for the AAA title.

The Jaguars are represented by first-team offensive lineman Jon Consoli, linebacker Nate Nix and defensive back Brad Dawson and second-team linebacker Jason Kolodziej. Dawson starred on both sides of the ball, passing for more than 2,000 yards and returning five touchdowns for interceptions.

TJ coach Bill Cherpak, a former Pitt player, was the runaway winner in the coach of the year balloting of writers and broadcasters.

PIAA semifinalist Erie Strong Vincent, District 7's West Allegheny, District 1's Interboro and longtime power Berwick were among those with multiple all-staters.

Strong Vincent had its best team since its 1991 state championship squad, losing 21-20 on a blocked extra point to Thomas Jefferson in the AAA Western Region final. Defensive lineman Christian Fleming and defensive back Andre Henderson made the first team and running back Mario Henry is on the second team.

West Allegheny, unbeaten before being upset in its district semifinals by West Mifflin, is represented by offensive lineman C.J. Davis, who is getting high-level Division I recruiting attention, and offensive specialist Dorin Dickerson. Dickerson rushed for more than 1,000 yards, had another 517 yards receiving, scored 21 touchdowns and was the Indians' leading tackler.

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District 3 Class AAA Finals

Break busts Wildcats

By Sam Butler, November 27, 2004

Mechanicsburg quarterback Zack Frazer grimaces in pain after injuring his hand late in the second quarter of the Wildcats' District 3-AAA championship game at Hersheypark Stadium. (Wally Shank/The Sentinel)

HERSHEY -- In football, halftime is a chance to rest ailing bodies after 24 minutes of action. It's a time for pep talks from coaches. Friday's halftime also meant something a little more for the Mechanicsburg Wildcats --a time for questions.

The most important question was who was going to quarterback the team? That wasn't the question the Wildcats wanted to answer.

Mechanicsburg starting quarterback Zach Frazer entered the District 3-AAA title game against Manheim Central with 3,500 passing yards, the new PIAA state single-season leader, and left the game with a dislocated index finger on this throwing hand, just before the half.

"It was tough out there," said Wildcat senior tight end Josh Koontz. "They were putting on some good hits. But, that's what football's all about. It was tough to see our guys coming out of the game like that ... though."

Senior wide receiver Seth Pehanich took the final snap of the half while Frazer grimaced in pain on the sideline.

"I heard (Frazer) yelling right away," said Barons linebacker Jeremiah Hunter. "I just thought he got the wind knocked out of him or something. - We knew we wanted to put some pressure on him. I saw he had the ball, and I thought he was going to hold on to it a little longer. But he got rid of it just as I hit him."

And with that one play Frazer was out. Frazer finished completing 23 of 36 passes for 184 yards and had an 8 yard touchdown run. He ends his record-breaking season with 3,684 passing yards.

"It's a shame for (Mechanicsburg)," said Manheim Central head coach Mike Williams. "I feel bad for the coaches at Mechanicsburg. ... It would have been nice to win with him in there."

The Wildcats could not overcome the loss of Frazer and fell to the Barons 27-7 sending Manheim Central to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals next week.

Mechanicsburg quarterback Zack Frazer in the pocket during Saturday nights' game. (Wally Shank/The Sentinel)

There's something funny about Pehanich playing quarterback. He hasn't played that position since ninth grade, it's been all Frazer. The Wildcats did have a back-up quarterback in sophomore Greg Drake. But head coach Rich Lichtel decided against throwing a sophomore into the mix and went with the more experienced Pehanich.

"I never took a snap in a high school game," Pehanich said. "I thought something was wrong with Zach when coach told me to take the last snap (of the half). We all knew Zach was done when coach said, 'We're going to be a man down in the second half.' That's when I figured I'd better start warming up."

With Frazer out, Mechanicsburg decided to simplify it's offense.

All Pehanich had to do was get the ball into the very capable hands of his receivers. Easier said than done, especially when you're playing a team as strong as Manheim Central.

"We went to more of a west coast offense," wide receiver Jeremy Boone said . "It was a lot more dinks and dunks. (The receivers) realized (the Barons) were going to bring the pressure with Seth in the game, so we had to shorten our routes and come back to give him a chance."

The Barons have won 14 of the last 16 D3-AAA titles and are the defending state champs. Manheim Central also boasts a pretty good running back in Hunter (21 carries for 155 yards in the game) and a lights out defense that gave up an average of nine points and 184 yards of total offense this season.

"It was a lot different (in the second half) knowing they can't pass as well as they did in the first half," Hunter said. "(Frazer)'s a great high school football player. We knew they would keep battling without him. We knew we had to play our game."

Both of those keys for the Barons clicked in the second half as Hunter rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns, while the defense held the Wildcats to 37 yards of total offense in the second half and picked off two Pehanich passes.

"Our defense was on the field a lot in the second half," Pehanich said. "We had a few first downs, but mostly it was three-and-outs. That had a lot to do with me. But, credit (the Barons) they showed why they're one of the best teams in D3."

Manheim Central wasted little time in the second half marching 53 yards in seven plays on it's opening possession. Hunter put the Barons ahead 14-7 after shedding tackles on a 14-yard run with 9:13 remaining in the third quarter.

Manheim struck again when quarterback Tyler Reifsnyder (6-10-1 for 144 yards) hit Graham Zug (two catches for 38 yards) on a 5-yard strike to open a 20-7 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the third.

The final Barons score came with 3:16 left in the game after Hunter picked off Pehanich on the Manheim Central 19-yard line. Hunter finished what he started when he bashed his way in from 5 yards out for a 27-7 lead.

"It would have been interesting if the second half continued the way the first half went," Williams said. "Could our offense go down and score, and could our defense stop them? We held him to seven points. We did score a couple of touchdowns. You give a lot of credit to (Frazer's injury) for their downfall, but we had something to do with it, too."

Before turning into a quarterback Pehanich pulled in 11 passes for 74 yards in the first half to lead the offense. Boone and Koontz each had 60 receiving yards, Boone caught eight passes while Koontz snagged five. Marcus Hancock and Greg Drake combined for five catches for 20 yards.

"If Zach doesn't go out it's a different ball game," Pehanich said. "I'm not saying that we win, but the score isn't 27-7. I'm sure we all feel a little slighted, we didn't have our best team out there for the whole game. It would have been great to see how we matched up with them over the full game."

District 3 Class AAA Finals
at Hersheypark Stadium

BARONS 27,
WILDCATS 7

Mechanicsburg 7 0 0 0 -- 7

Manheim Central 7 13 7 -- 27

First Quarter
M -- Zach Frazer 8 run (Jeremy Boone kick), 2:28
MC -- Nate Mast 4 run (Ryan Huber kick), :00

Third Quarter
MC -- Jeremiha Hunter 14 run (Huber kick), 9:13
MC -- Graham Zug 5 pass from Tyler Reifsnyder (kick blocked), 2:03

Fourth Quarter
MC -- Hunter 5 run (Pat Dougherty kick), 3:16

Team Statistics M MCFirst downs 15 20
Rushes-yards 16-13 41-253
Passing 29-44-2 6-10-1
Passing yards 214 144
Punts-avg. 4-33.0 2-42
Penalties-yards 3-13 3-35
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Mechanicsburg, Frazer 8-(-2); Boone 2-10; Seth Pehanich 3-9; Jason Misiti 3-(-2). Manheim Central, Mast 12-45; Tyler Reifsnyder 4-26; Hunter 21-155; Craig Gatchell 2-4; Jeff Ochoa 2-23.

PASSING: Mechanicsburg, Frazer 23-36-0, 184 yards; Pehanich 6-8-2, 30 yards. Manheim Central, Reifsnyder 6-10-1, 144 yards.

RECEIVING: Mechanicsburg, Boone 8-60; Pehanich 11-74; Josh Koontz 5-60; Marcus Hancock 4-14; Greg Drake 1-6. Manheim Central Huber 2-30; Hunter 1-23; Zug 2-38; Dan Witmer 1-53.

District 3 Class AAA Finals

Let the what-ifs begin

By Alicia Johnson, November 27, 2004

HERSHEY -- In football there are no guarantees. So to say that Mechanicsburg's 27-7 loss to Manheim Central Friday night was because Wildcats starting quarterback Zach Frazer's finger bent sideways in the first half might not be truly fair to the defending state champion Barons.

But if you had to pick the single most important player to his team (and his team's game plan) in District 3, Frazer and Bishop McDevitt's LeSean McCoy would be your guys.

So when Frazer left the field in a 7-7 tie just before halftime Friday wincing in agony because his finger had dislocated so badly the bone poked through the skin, Mechanicsburg's hope followed him to the locker room.

"Bad luck is a part of football," Wildcats head coach Rich Lichtel said. "You can't drone on and on about what could of or what should have, you just have to move on."

At the start of the game, the Wildcats seemed poised against the Manheim powerhouse, a team that has now won 14 of the last 16 D3-AAA titles.

In only a half of play, Frazer completed 23-of-36 passes for 184 yards and ran for an 8-yard touchdown. The Wildcats used the short passing game and controlled the ball for 46 plays for 18:28. They limited the Barons to 18 plays for a total of 5:32 in the first half.

Mechanicsburg fans could not have asked for a better situation. Their high-flying offense controlled the clock, and helped avoid any early pitfalls against the tough Baron D.

A team known for comebacks had a tie game and momentum on its side. It's future NCAA Division I QB was on his game.

But all that hope ended as the final seconds of the second quarter ticked away.

Frazer rolled out to his left on a fourth-and-13 play and just released a pass as Manheim linebacker Jeremiha Hunter hit him. Frazer's follow-through took his arm into Hunter's helmet, and his right index finger bore the brunt of the blow.

Not even the players on the field were aware of just how serious Frazer's injury was initially.

"My coach had me on a blitz," Hunter said. "I saw he got the ball and I thought he was going to hold it too long, but he got rid of it just as I hit him.

"I heard him yelling right away," Hunter added. "I just thought he got the air knocked out of him or something."

Even as Frazer sat on the sidelines in the final seconds of the half with his eyes tightly shut and teeth clinched in pain, teammates and supporters were still unaware of what was really going on. The junior quarterback spent the final snap of the first half on the bench surrounded by trainers and other Mechanicsburg personnel.

The silence grew as attention shifted from the field and onto the sideline as Frazer continued to receive attention even after the rest of the team headed to the locker room for halftime.

About two or three minutes later, with a white towel draped over his head, Frazer, who just broke the PIAA single-season passing record last week, headed down into the tunnel amid nervous applause and worry. Fans left their seats and lined up along the fence, still clinging on to some type of hope -- about 30 seconds worth.

When senior wide-receiver turned quarterback Seth Pehanich came on the field and began throwing the ball to assistant coach Jeff Costello, people still stood along the fences, almost expecting to see Frazer emerge from the tunnel.

And in a season when the Wildcats seemed to battle back from every kind of adversity it seemed almost expected that Frazer would make some miraculous recovery and trot back onto the field. You can play with a broken finger, right?

"It looked like they were waiting for Frazer to do a Willis Reed," Pehanich said.

No such luck for Mechanicsburg this week. This break was very bad in more ways than one.

"(At halftime), I told them that we are playing a team with so much tradition and we just limited them to (18) plays in the first half," Lichtel said. "(I told them) we have to keep battling and do what we have been doing all year."

"I was kind of mad, I really wanted to play against him," Hunter said. "The way (Frazer) was playing, he was wearing us down. I really don't get tired a lot, but I was tired. Once he went out, I was glad because he was picking us a part in the first half."

The Wildcats headed to field with Pehanich, who hadn't taken a varsity snap at QB in his entire Mechanicsburg career. In fact, the last time Pehanich was at the QB position he was in 9th grade and was filling in for the injured 8th grader Frazer. Pehanich said he threw about five times in that game and hadn't been back to the position since.

Lichtel said backup quarterback Greg Drake, a sophomore, was not ready for the kind of district title atmosphere. So he went to one of his senior receivers to replace the franchise.

"Pehanich is an on-field coach and has plenty of district experience with football and basketball," Lichtel said.

The "back-up" completed his first six passes and even ran through the middle for a some extra yardage. But it was a night when Frazer needed to play a flawless game to beat the 11-1 Red Barons, and Pehanich, who had 11 catches for 74 yards in the first half, needed to be on the receiving end of the Frazer's passes.

With Frazer, the Wildcats had 12 first downs in the first half but garnered just three first downs and 39 total yards in the second half. When Hunter capped off Manheim's seven-play, 53-yard drive with a 14-yard scoring run to open the third quarter, the Wildcats' fate seemed sealed.

The Barons had a 14-7 lead and Frazer was no where to be seen, never coming back out on to the field.

Feel free to start tossing around all the what-ifs you want to.

"It's a shame for Mechanicsburg," Manheim Central head coach Mike Williams said. "I feel bad for the coaches at Mechanicsburg. You give (Frazer's injury) a lot of credit for their downfall, but we had something to do with it.

"It would have been nice to win with (Frazer) in there."

Mechanicsburg would have been happy just for the opportunity to play with its stud QB. Football is a team game, and it takes receivers to catch passes, linemen to block and defenders to tackle to win games.

But when you take the engine out of one of the most potent passing offenses this state has seen, it's hard to maintain your postseason run.

"I tip my hat to Manheim," Pehanich said. "But if we played our best tonight (with Frazer), we could have beat them. It's just disappointing to end the game this way."

Mechanicsburg head coach Rich Lichtel should be a little concerned.

His team has won its last two playoff games against Gettysburg (33-27) and Garden Spot (34-31) by a combined nine points, his leading rusher in carries is his starting quarterback, and now he and his boys face perennial powerhouse Manheim Central, the team who has won 13 of the last 15 D3-AAA titles.

Lichtel should be concerned, but instead, he's having a ball.

"We are just excited to be in the finals," Lichtel says. "I have so much confidence because they are exciting and it's almost to the point that if we are down two or three touchdowns these kids just keep fighting and you anything can happen. I really do think this bunch has something special."

In Lichtel terms, special means your junior quarterback, Zach Frazer, breaks a state record with 3,500 yards on 260-of-405 passes. Special means you have two receivers, Josh Koontz and Jeremy Boone, who each top the 1,000-yards mark in a single season -- Koontz with 1,350 yards and Boone with 1,014 yards. Special means a shaky defense suddenly becomes rock solid and capable of making key stops in the playoffs to shift the momentum in the Wildcats' favor.

"Mechanicsburg is like the Cinderella team," Manheim head coach Mike Williams says. "They are extremely dangerous. If they get hot they can score a lot of points."

The same can be said for the defending state champion Barons (11-1), who average 39 points a game, mostly done on the ground with 206 rushing yards a game.

But what Manheim Central is known for is its ability to shut offenses down. The Barons allow just nine points, 84 rushing yards and 100 passing yards a game.

Clearly if the Wildcats (9-3) are the Cinderella fairy tale, then the Barons are the ugly stepsister reality.

Mechanicsburg linebacker Ian Thomas returns an interception against Garden Spot Friday. The Wildcats won the game 34-31. (Curt Werner/Special to The Sentinel)

"(Manheim) is well coached, they have a dynasty and everyone of their players are crisp and quick and they believe in themselves," Lichtel says. "They know their assignments and they don't make mistakes. They (also) don't take plays off -- they have 11 guys on every play going to the extreme."

Among those 11 players, quarterback Tyler Reifsnyder ( 94-159-5, 1,716 yards), running back Jeremiah Hunter (141 carries, 875 yards) and wide receiver Graham Zug (46 catches, 723 yards) are just a few Mechanicsburg might want to keep an eye on in the Hersheypark showdown.

In the win over Northern last week, Hunter went off for three touchdowns while Zug contributed with a 25-yard interception return of his own. Williams says that the key to defeating the Wildcats could be to outscore them, which would be much easier if they can keep the ball out of the hands of Frazer and his capable receivers.

Mechanicsburg's high powered offense can wear teams out by forcing defenders to chase receivers all over the field, a major reason why the Wildcats have been able to battle back from early deficits.

"Fraser is really good and they have really good receivers," says Northern head coach Rick Mauck, who played against both teams this year. "I think Mechanicsburg is not playing on typical high school level, it's pretty sophisticated and that's what they've hung their hat on this year. It will be a good matchup."

"We play a lot of teams in league that spread you out," Williams says. "We are not really concerned with the spread. We are concerned with the QB and his ability. (Frazer's) ability to read coverages and his accuracy (is what we are concerned with).

" It's been a while since we've played against a quarterback of that caliber."

That's certainly saying a lot since over the years Williams has faced the likes of Conestoga Valley's Jordan Steffy, Berwick's Ron Powlus, while also coaching his very own ace, Jeff Smoker, a rookie quarterback for the St. Louis Rams this season.

The Barons' ability to defend the passing game could be a serious problem for them against Mechanicsburg Friday night. Everyone knows how strong Manheim's rush defense is. But since the Wildcats simply abandon the run (Frazer has nearly half of the team's 192 rushing attempts), the Barons will get a new test.

"When you have a passing attack it can neutralize a lot of things on a good defense," Lichtel says.

"We have never played against a team that throws the ball every time," Williams says. "We are going to have to use a lot of coverages and we will also have to put pressure on the quarterback. But he doesn't get too excited or too rattled. He is going to get his yards and we are just going to try to score a few points ourselves."

If Manheim can't stop the pass and Mechanicsburg, a team with nothing to lose, executes its plays, then there could be a new champion in District 3-AAA. A Wildcat win would be the first district title in football since 1986 and only the third district title in school history.

"You can't change what you have success with," Lichtel says. "We think our offense can present problems for anybody and we just hope that we can get a few breaks."

D3-AAA Finals: 

Mechanicburg vs. Manheim Central

By Sports Staff, November 25, 2004

Mechanicsburg Wildcats (9-3)

vs. Manheim Central Red Barons (11-1)

Friday at Hersheypark Stadium, 7 p.m.

Coaches: Mechanicsburg, Rich Lichtel; Manheim Central, Mike Williams

League finish: Mechanicsburg, second in the Mid-Penn Keystone Division, Manheim Central first in Section 2 Lancaster Lebanon League

Last meeting: Did not play this year

Key players: Mechanicsburg, Zach Frazer (QB, 261-405-10, 3,500 yards); Jeremy Boone (WR, 74 catches, 1,014 yards); Josh Koontz (WR, 76 catches, 1,350 yards)

Manheim Central -- Tyler Reifsynder (QB, 94-159-5, 1,716 yards); Jeremiah Hunter (RB, 141 carries, 875 yards); Graham Zug (WR, 46 catches, 723 yards)

Offensive stats: Mechanicsburg averages 27 points, 45 rushing yards and 290 passing yards a game

Manheim Central averages 39 points, 245 rushing and 162 passing yards a game

Defensive stats: Mechanicsburg allows 22 points, 156 rushing yards and 133 passing yards a game

Manheim Central allows 9 points, 84 rushing yards and 100 passing yards a game

Up next: Winner advances to PIAA semifinals next week to face winner of Berwick (11-1) vs. Upper Merion (10-2).

Keys to the game: Here is your classic Cinderella team facing off against Goliath, and Mechanicsburg sure has looked good wearing that glass slipper. The Wildcats are a dangerous bunch, using a potent passing game that most high school defenses aren't used to seeing. But Manheim isn't your typical team. The Barons are filled with tradition and confidence. Their defense is strong and they know what to do when they get to Hershey. That means the Wildcats need their A-game to pull off the upset. So what's involved in the A-game? Well, lots off passing yards and a point total in the 20s. Frazer and crew probably can't afford a slow start this time. They just need a steady game with limited turnovers. The Mechanicsburg defense provides the rest of the key. The Wildcats need stops. They can't let Manheim run up and down the field and chew time off the clock. A few turnovers like last week would be a big plus. Don't think Mechanicsburg doesn't have a chance. First, Garden Spot already played the Barons tough in a 21-14 loss. Second, with this offense, the Wildcats can't beat anyone on a given day. It's just going to take a strong effort to do it this time.

Pick: Mechanicsburg 26, Manheim Central 20 ... Wildcat D delivers just enough to win a D3 title in what may be Lichtel's last run

NEW HOLLAND - Two weeks ago, the Mechanicsburg seniors gathered on the field at Memorial Park and posed for one last picture. They had tears in their eyes, because they thought they had just ended their season and careers with a very, very flat 30-0 loss to Hershey.

"All the seniors said their good-byes," Wildcat senior Seth Pehanich said. "We had a meeting in the weight room and talked."

Call it the definite lowpoint for Mechanicsburg football in 2004.

The high points, well, they just keep on coming.

Thanks to an expanded eight-team Class AAA playoff field, the Wildcats caught some breaks and slipped into the postseason.  Thanks to an offsides penalty and a blocked extra point by Pehanich, they rallied to beat Gettysburg in triple overtime in the D3-AAA quarterfinals last week.

And when Garden Spot bolted out to leads of 16-0 in the first quarter and 24-7 with 6 minutes to play in the first half of Friday night's D3-AAA semifinal in New Holland, well, Mechanicsburg had been there before.

"The bottom line is our kids are resilient," Wildcats head coach Rich Lichtel said. "We've been in a lot of close games, and in all fairness to Garden Spot, they haven't.

"Sixteen points is not too much for these guys to come back from. Maybe 30 and up, but not 16."

Not with a state-record setting quarterback. Not with a set of receivers that can be called nothing short of outstanding for a high school football team. Not with a defense that knows it only needs to make a few plays to give that passing offense a chance, and then goes out and does it.

Mechanicsburg closed the first half with TD passes of 39 and 30 yards from QB Zach Frazer to wide receiver Jeremy Boone, then rode three interceptions from the defense and two more TD passes from Frazer in the second half to pull out a 34-31 win over Garden Spot.

It was a gut-churning game that featured big play after big play, and that's just how the Wildcats like their football.

"If you give us a second chance, we'll come back and play our hearts out," Frazer said.

Second chance? Mechanicsburg (9-3) has seemingly used up all of its lifelines as it heads into Friday's D3-AAA title game against perennial D3 power Manheim Central (10-2) at 7 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium. The team's last and only D3 title came in 1986 as a AAAA team.

But even minus those lifelines, the Wildcats still have their wildcard - Frazer and that potent passing game.

The junior QB set the PIAA record for single-season passing yards on a 25-yard pass to Koontz with 11:52 to play in the first half. Frazer finished the game 24-for-34 with 319 yards and five TDs, pushing his season passing yardage to 3,480, topping the old state record of 3,224 yards set by Clearfield's Chad Kroell in 1994.

"I thought about the record coming in to this game, but not as much as I thought about winning the game," Frazer said. "I came in to the year aiming for 2,500 yards, so getting a state record is great. But getting this far is better."

Garden Spot seemed to have lady luck on its side throughout the first half. The Spartans (9-3) marched the ball 73 yards on their first possession and grabbed a 7-0 lead on Nate Santiago's 14-yard run. When Boone fumbled the ball away on the ensuing kickoff, the Spartans marched 35 more yards and made it 13-0 on Bruce Crabb's 1-yard run.

It got even worse on the Wildcats' next series when they were forced to punt after three plays yielded 3 yards. When the snap sailed over Boone's head, the senior made a terrible situation bearable by chasing the ball 20 yards behind him and getting off a punt that in the end yielded no yards.

But that's when Mechanicsburg started digging itself out of the hole. The defense held Garden Spot out of the end zone at the 3-yard line, and the Spartans had to settle for Kyle Ziemer's 20-yard field goal for a 16-0 lead.

"We came out in a cover-2 defense, and they kept running the option to the weak side, so we had to get out of it," Pehanich, a defensive back, said about the Wildcats early defensive adjustments.

"We just had to get back in the game and get the right mindset," said Bartels, a linebacker.

With Frazer's record-setting pass to Koontz putting Mechanicsburg down to the 6-yard line on its next series, the Wildcats cashed in with a 6-yard TD strike from Frazer to Pehanich to get on the board.

Garden Spot answered with a 71-yard, 11-play scoring drive on its next possession, sparked by two 15-yard Wildcat penalties, to take a 24-7 lead with 6:37 to play in the half.

But Pehanich's score broke the seal for the Mechanicsburg offense, and the Wildcats went off full blast in the final 6 minutes of the half behind Frazer.

The nimble 6-foot-4, 220 pounder slipped a tackle in the backfield and fired a 39-yard strike to a wide-open Boone for a score with 3:42 to play in the half.

After Mechanicsburg's defense held and forced a punt, Frazer went on top again, using a 44-yard strike to Koontz to set up a 30-yard sideline pass to Boone for another score. Boone used a quick burst of speed on the play to blow past his defender and pull Mechanicsburg within 24-21 at the half.

"Our receivers are great, the best we've ever had here I think," Frazer said. "We can call one play, and our receivers can change a rout and I'll know what they are going to do."

After surrendering 124 yards, 10 first downs and 24 points in the first half, the Wildcat defense held Garden Spot to six points, six first downs and 167 yards in the second half - 66 of those yards coming on Santiago's scoring run. The key were interceptions from Pehanich, Ian Thomas and Bartels that cut short three key Spartan drives.

Pehanich's pick came late in the third quarter and gave Frazer and crew the ball at the Garden Spot 9-yard line thanks to a late-hit penalty. Frazer took one play to score, firing a 9-yard strike to a Bartels in the right flat of the end zone for a 27-24 lead.

Thomas stopped the Spartans' next drive, picking off QB Shane Martin's pass at the Mechanicsburg 47-yard line. The Wildcats had to punt the ball back, and Garden Spot re-grabbed the lead one final time on Santiago's 66-yard burst with 7:26 to play.

It took Mechanicsburg's offense all of 3 minutes to march 74 yards with an answer, helped by a pair of Garden Spot penalties and a 14-yard run by Boone on a lateral from Frazer.

The go-ahead score came when Frazer found Koontz at the 10-yard line. The senior tight end met three Garden Spot defenders as he caught the ball, then carried those three guys plus two more defenders 10 yards further into end zone in a play worthy of he-man recognition.

"I felt like the whole team was on me," said Koontz, who finished with six catches for 131 yards. "I just tried to keep my legs moving, keep my body moving."

"He carried those guys in there by himself," Lichtel said.

The eventual 27-yard scoring play gave the Wildcats a 34-31 lead with 4:39 to play, leaving Garden Spot one last chance.

The Spartans used five consecutive running plays to march from their own 26-yard line to the Mechanicsburg 36 with just over 2 minutes to play. On first down, Martin threw an incomplete pass. On second down, the Wildcat defense produced a sack for a 4-yard loss. On third down, Bartels sealed the win.

Martin got flushed out of the pocket and tried to throw pass to the right sideline. The ball ended up sailing right to Bartels at the Wildcat 27-yard line.

"My eyes got real big," Bartels said. "I almost dropped it."

Frazer and the offense ran out the final 59 seconds of the game as Mechanicsburg players exchanged hugs and yelps in the middle of the field to celebrate the win. It was the polar opposite of the somber mood after that 30-point loss to Hershey two weeks ago, but that's what you get when you give Mechanicsburg a second chance.

"I definitely thought we were done (for the season) then," Bartels said. "But we got another chance. Now we're not expected to win. We're just out here playing a game."

"We're the No. 8 seed, the low man on the totem pole," Lichtel said. "We're just happy to be playing."

District 3 Class AAA Quater-Finals

MECHANICSBURG 33 GETTYSBURG 27

Seth Pehanich

 

NEW OXFORD - When Gettysburg kicker Tim Newman connected on an extra point kick in double overtime against Mechanicsburg Saturday night, Warriors' fans and players leapt to their feet and began making their way to the field. Even a few announcers claimed a Gettysburg victory.

It would have been a fantastic finish ... except for that little yellow flag.

In all the excitement and fanfare, few people heard the whistle blow before the ball was snapped. The referees called an offsides penalty against the Wildcats, a dead ball foul that meant Gettysburg had to do the kick all over again.

Irate fans jeered at the officials call, while Newman set up again for his second possible game-winning kick. The Warriors snapped the ball. Just as Newman connected, Mechanicsburg's Seth Pehanich sprinted over from the left side with arms outstretched and blocked the kick, sending the game into triple overtime tied at 27 apiece.

In the alternate-possession overtime format, Gettysburg received the ball first and started off with a 1-yard run from fullback Robin Shah (4-for-15). On second-and-goal play at the 9-yard line, the Warriors fumbled the ball, and Wildcats defensive end Joel Keckler recovered.

"I tipped the ball out of his hands and saw the ball on the ground and I just jumped on it," Keckler said after the game.

With possession now back in Mechanicsburg's hands, all the Wildcats had to do was score on their possession from the 10-yard line.

Quarterback Zach Frazer (21-for-36, 251 yards) threw a 7-yard pass to Pehanich (6-for-52), then ran in the 3-yard touchdown himself for the Wildcats' 33-27 triple overtime win at Colonial Stadium at New Oxford High School.

"I hit the ground and I didn't think it was real,&