College
Decisions
Five
more senior Wildcats have decided to
continue their football careers at the
next level. They are:
| Matt
Fitzpatrick |
Shippensburg |
| Matt
Hertwick |
Albright |
| Tyler
Chubb |
Albright |
| Greg
Drake |
Lebanon
Valley |
| AJ
Ledford |
NC
Wesleyan
|
More info will
follow on what the rest of the senior
class will do in the future!
Congratulations
& Best of Luck to them all &
always remember to show your....
Wildcat
Pride!
Lift
for Life a huge success!
Thanks
to all of the player & parents who
help support the 2007 MASH Lift for Life.
With your efforts we were able to raise
close to $12,000 for the Kidney Cancer
Association! Thanks for showing your
Wildcat-Pride!

Statler
commits to Hillsdale College
Yesterday's
National Signing sent Wildcat Fullback
Jason Statler off to Hillsdale College in
Michigan. Jason was recruited to
play the h-back position for the
Chargers. Congratulations
Jason!
http://www.hillsdale.edu/Chargers/
Other
'Cats on the verge of making their
collegiate decisions, please check back to
see where they land!
'Cats
helping for the Holidays
Delivery
The
Mechanicsburg Football Program presented
a family in need with $680 worth
of gift cards for the holiday season on
Thursday, December 21, 2006!
THANK
YOU to
all you supported
us
in our efforts to help a very deserving
family.
Have
a Happy Holiday Season & a Happy New
Year!
The
2007 officer for the Wildcat
Football Booster Club
Pat
Koveleski, President
Zede
Polilo, 1st Vice President,
Mike
Fahnestock , 2nd
Vice president,
Lorraine
Castranio, Secretary
Terry
Barr, Treasurer
Marianne
Brunner - Junior High Representative
Ledford
named 2nd Team All-Conference
Congratulations
to senior defensive end AJ Ledford for being the
only Wildcat selected to the Mid-Penn Keystone
Division All-Conference Team!
November
11, 2006
Annual
Football Banquet Held
Misiti
Wins the Rich Lichtel Award
Senior
RB Jason Misiti was awarded the Rich Lichtel award
that the 2006 Wildcat Football Banquet this past
Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Carlisle Army War
College. This award is presented to a Wildcat
senior for their commitment to the team, leadership,
and character. Congratulations Jason!
The
banquet was a great event for all to end the 2006
football season. Highlights of
both the JV and Varsity season were given by Coach's
Costello & Coach Lichtel. A great big THANK
YOU went out to the Class of 2007 for their
commitment, leadership & dedication to the
Wildcat football program. The day ended with
some heart felt senior fairwell's and a great
slideshow.
Thanks
to all that had a part in putting together this
great event!
PALMYRA
28, MECHANICSBURG 21 (OT)
Palmyra
finishes season with thrilling victory
Saturday,
November 04, 2006
BY
JOHN TUSCANO, For The Patriot-News
PALMYRA
- Victories have been awfully hard to come for the
Palmyra football team.
None
harder than last night's win No. 3.
The
Cougars and Mechanicsburg went through an emotional
roller coaster and took everyone at Buck Swank Stadium
along for the ride. Palmyra ultimately emerged with a
28-21 overtime win in the regular-season finale for
both teams.
"This
is the first time something like this has ever
happened to me," Palmyra senior quarterback
George Downey said of the game's dramatic finish.
"I
may have post-traumatic stress after this one."
Downey,
who was involved in three of his team's four
touchdowns, scored on a 1-yard sneak in OT to give his
team the lead for good on the first possession of the
extra session.
Mechanicsburg
got its crack from the 10-yard line but moved only 1
yard in two plays. On third down from the nine, QB
Jake Zeigler was intercepted at the goal line by
Cougars cornerback Mason Chandler.
"Going
into overtime, there was such nervousness [on the
sidelines]," Downey said. "I had never been
in overtime before, so I had no idea what was going
on. Once I knew we had four plays, we just had to get
it in and stop them and we did."
Downey
and his teammates looked undaunted in overtime despite
surrendering the lead twice in the fourth quarter. The
second time came with no time showing on the
scoreboard.
As
the score remained tied at 14-14, the Cougars (3-7,
2-5 Mid-Penn Keystone) got a huge break when Zach
Bleiler intercepted Zeigler at the 27-yard line and
returned it down the left sideline to the
Mechanicsburg 35 with 1:40 to play.
Four
plays later, Downey floated a 20-yard TD pass over the
middle to Matt Johnson to give the hosts a 21-14 lead
with 30 seconds remaining.
Amazingly,
the game was far from over.
After
the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats (3-7, 2-5) got the
ball at their own 37 with 24 seconds left. Zeigler
completed an 8-yard pass to wideout Greg Drake before
scrambling for 18 yards to the Palmyra 37 with four
seconds to play.
Mechanicsburg
called a timeout, then tried a hook-and-ladder play
that went out of bounds for just 3 yards as time
expired. On the play, however, wideout Ben Anderson
was dragged down by his facemask.
The
penalty gave Mechanicsburg the ball at the 19-yard
line with no time showing. Zeigler rolled right then
scrambled down the middle of the field to score the
game-tying touchdown.
"The
thing about overtime is that our kids don't know how
to react to it because a lot of them don't know what
is going on," Palmyra coach Don Fureman said.
"Once you call them over and explain what the
rules are, then they get jacked up."
Palmyra
broke a 7-7 tie on a 1-yard plunge from Bleiler to
make it 14-7 with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
Mechanicsburg struck back midway through the fourth on
Zeigler's 65-yard pass to Anderson.
Palmyra
tailback Derek Fackler, who missed last week's game
with a concussion, played sparingly in his final high
school game. The senior gained 78 yards on 11 carries
and went over 1,000 yards for the season.
JOHN
TUSCANO: 832-2090 or jtuscano@patriot-news.com
COUGARS
28, WILDCATS 21 (OT)
Palmyra 0 7 7 7 7 -- 28
Mechanicsburg 0 7 0 14 0 -- 21
Second Quarter
M -- Jason Statler 1 run (Terry Hertzler kick)
P -- George Downey 1 run (Jason Laudermilch kick)
Third Quarter
P -- Zach Bleiler 1 run (Laudermilch kick)
Fourth Quarter
M -- Ben Anderson 67 pass from Jake Zeigler (Hertzler
kick)
P -- Matthew Johnson 20 pass from Downey (Laudermilch
kick)
M -- Zeigler 19 run (Hertzler kick)
Overtime
P -- Downey 3 run (Laudermilch kick)
Team statistics P M
First downs 15 14
Rushes-yards 38-161 37-218
Passing 8-21-1 8-23-3
Passing yards 115 151
Punts-avg. 5-28.6 4-37.2
Penalties-yards 4-50 6-59
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Palmyra, Derek Fackler 11-78, Andy
Reigle 16-66, Downey 6-13, Bleiler 4-4, Lance Curry
1-0. Mechanicsburg, Jason Misiti 12-106, Statler
13-63, Tarik Leftenant 6-27, Zeigler 6-22.
PASSING: Palmyra, Downey 8-20-2, 115
yards; Mason Chandler 0-1-0, 0 yards. Mechanicsburg,
Zeigler 8-23-3, 151 yards.
RECEIVING: Palmyra, Johnson 4-66,
Chandler 2-41, Bleiler 1-6, Curry 1-2. Mechanicsburg,
Greg Drake 5-70, Anderson 2-79, Misiti 1-2
|
Susquehanna*
a
|
7-0 |
8-1 |
|
Red Land a
|
6-1
|
8-1
|
|
Lower Dauphin b
|
5-2 |
7-3 |
|
Gettysburg
a
|
4-3 |
6-4 |
|
Mechanicsburg
|
2-5 |
3-7 |
|
Hershey
|
2-5 |
3-7 |
|
Palmyra
|
2-5 |
3-7 |
|
Middletown
|
0-7 |
1-9 |
|
*
Conference Champion
a
- qualified for AAA playoffs
b
- qualified for AAAA playoffs
|
MECHANICSBURG
28, HERSHEY 25
Mechanicsburg
earns third win
Tuesday,
October 31, 2006
BY
ROD FRISCO Of The Patriot-News
The
"meaningless" high school football game is a
misnomer.
Mechanicsburg's
28-25 triumph over Hershey last night is proof enough.
Based
strictly on won-loss record, there weren't a whole lot
of tassels attached to this Mid-Penn Keystone Division
game. Between the two, Hershey (3-5 entering the game)
and Mechanicsburg (2-6) had collected just five
victories.
Division
title? Playoffs? Not part of either team's
conversations.
But
on Senior Night at John H. Frederick Field at Soldiers
and Sailors Memorial Park, the two attacked each other
like dogs fighting over the wiener that had fallen off
the grill.
Mechanicsburg
took advantage of four Hershey first-half turnovers --
two fumbles on kick returns and two interceptions -- to
build a 21-7 halftime lead that Hershey nearly erased
with a strong second-half effort.
The
first of those turnovers, a muffed punt at the Hershey
33 on the opening drive, was immediately cashed in when
Mechanicsburg quarterback Jake Zeigler hit uncovered
Tyler Chubb on a corner route.
Hershey
came back to execute a seven-play, 80-yard drive (after
a missed Mechanicsburg field goal) to tie it at 7-7. The
touchdown was Kevin Kettl's 5-yard flip from Mike
Wagner, but the big plays were runs of 33 and 30 yards
by junior tailback Tyler Neal.
But
Hershey unraveled. A pick by Mechanicsburg's Ben
Anderson set up a 70-yard drive ended by Jason Statler's
4-yard score with 5:20 remaining in the half.
Hershey
barely got its hands on the short kickoff, and the
Wildcats' recovery led to Zeigler's 16-yard run at the
3:23 mark
"We
shot ourselves in the foot in the first half,"
Hershey coach Bob "Gump" May said. "We
challenged our kids to play better in the second half,
and they did."
The
Trojans laid into Mechanicsburg immediately, and got a
brilliant 29-yard touchdown run by Neal that started out
as a trap and ended up as a dance routine.
Hershey
forced a three-and-out, and the Trojans moved from their
own 33 to the Mechanicsburg 17 before fizzling, but Ed
Stene ripped a strong 33-yard field goal to make it
21-17.
Mechanicsburg
bounced back with a sharp drive that included the play
of the game. Facing third-and-18 from the Hershey 46
because of an earlier holding penalty, Zeigler found
running back Jason Misiti down the seam for 23 yards.
The pass arrived at the same time as Hershey D-back
Chris Walizer, but Misiti hung on.
Two
plays later, Greg Drake ran another sharp corner route
that turned around the Hershey coverage, and Zeigler
laid it on the mark for a 21-yard score at the 10:01
mark.
"I
saw [Drake] turn the guy around, and he ran a beautiful
pattern," Zeigler said. "It was a beautiful
play."
But
Hershey wasn't done. The Trojans got a nice 33-yard
return on a short kick by Harry Arndt, then punched in
with 3:51 left on Neal's 1-yard run.
Zeigler,
trying to kill time on an ensuing third-and-four, wildly
threw the ball to the middle of the field, and Adam
Goodspeed made a diving pick at the Mechanicsburg 34.
But
the Trojans went just 6 yards, and Stene's 45-yard
field-goal attempt with 1:23 left never had a fighting
chance, going wide right and short.
ROD
FRISCO: 255-8122 or rfrisco@patriot-news.com
Zeigler
helps Wildcats past Hershey
By
the Sentinel staff reports, October 31, 2006
HERSHEY
- Quarterback Jake Zeigler passed for two scores and ran
for another to help Mechanicsburg top Hershey 28-25 in a
Mid-Penn Keystone Division makeup football game Monday.
In a game that was postponed from Friday, Zeigler helped
stake the the Wildcats to a 21-7 halftime lead thanks to
a 33-yard scoring pass to Tyler Chubb and a 16-yard run.
But the Trojans pulled within 21-17 after three quarters
thanks to a 10-point third quarter. Zeigler then helped
put the game away with a 21-yard pass to Greg Drake with
10:01 to play in the game. Hershey scored with 3:51 to
play to pull within 28-25, but got no closer.
Zeigler completed 9-of-16 passes for 168 yards and added
76 yards rushing on eight carries. Drake had five
catches for 81 yards.
Mechanicsburg (3-6 overall, 2-4 Keystone) closes its
season at Middletown Friday.
WILDCATS
28, TROJANS 25
Hershey 7 0 10 8 - 25
Mechanicsburg 7 14 0 7 - 28
First Quarter
M - Tyler Chubb 33 pass from Jake Zeigler (TJ
Hertzler kick), 10:32
H - Kevin Kettl 5 pass from Mike Wagner (Ed Stein kick),
1:00
Second Quarter
M
-- Jason Statler 4 run (Hertzler kick), 5:20
M -- Zeigler 16 run (Hertler kick), 3:23
Third Quarter
H -- Tyler Neal 29 run (Stein kick), 9:33
H -- Stein 33 field goal, 2:24
Fourth Quarter
M -- Greg Drake 21 pass from Zeigler (Hertzler
kick), 10:01
H -- 1 run Neal (Jayson Elmore pass), 3:51
Team Statistics H Mech
First downs 15 12
Rushes-yards 28-176 37-162
Passing 15-27-2 9-16-1
Passing yards 151 168
Punts-avg. 1-30 3-31
Penalties-yards 2-10 1-10
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Hershey, Neal 13-119; Arndt 8-40; Wagner 6-15;
Otey 1-2 . Mechanicsburg, Zeigler 8-76; Jason Misiti
15-49; Statler 7-26; Tarik Leftenant 6-11; Jon Only 1-0.
PASSING: Hershey, Mike Wagner 15-27-2, for 151 yards.
Mechanicsburg, Jake Zeigler 9-16-1, 168 yards..
RECEIVING: Hershey, Walizer 7-73; Kettl 3-22; Boyer
3-17; Wallace 1-26; Elmore 1-13 . Mechanicsburg, Drake
5-81; Chubb 1-33; Matt Morell 1-23; Misiti 1-23; Statler
1 - 8.
RED
LAND 38, MECHANICSBURG 14
Hunt
guides Red Land to win, playoff berth
Saturday,
October 21, 2006
For
The Patriot-News
Perhaps
a full Mechanicsburg assembly could have extended Red
Land's District 3-AAA playoff search by a week.
The
youthful Wildcats had dented a few Mid-Penn Keystone
Division defenses before, but a couple of magnified
mistakes at critical junctures afforded just two
victories in seven chances.
Learning
on the fly can be difficult, and the host Patriots were
more than willing to extend Mechanicsburg's on-field
education last night at West Shore Stadium.
Thanks
mainly to a compelling effort from quarterback Skyler
Hunt, and a churning defensive front that owned the line
of scrimmage, Red Land easily toppled the Wildcats 38-14
to lasso its first postseason berth in school history.
With
Mechanicsburg's top rusher, Jason Misiti, hobbled and
the Wildcats missing head coach Rich Lichtel, Hunt
targeted 12 of 20 attempts for 150 yards and guided the
Patriots to 28 second-half points.
It
was redemption for Red Land's engineer, who struggled in
last week's eight-point setback to division front-runner
Susquehanna Twp.
"Our
extra incentive came from that loss," Red Land
coach Frank Gay said. "We qualified for the
playoffs for the first time, and that's important. But
we've got bigger aspirations than that. We're pleased,
but we can't afford to be lethargic like we were in the
first half."
Three
of Red Land's five opening-half possessions started in
Mechanicsburg territory, and the Patriots racked up 153
total yards to 89 for Mechanicsburg.
Still,
Red Land (7-1, 4-1) managed a mere 10-0 edge at the
break on a Matt Cox first-quarter plunge and a 31-yard
field goal from Chad Christen just before the half.
Gay
used the extended homecoming break to his advantage.
"I
asked them, where was their passion?" Gay said.
"We had a big gain in the second quarter and guys
are walking down the field. But we settled in and got
back to our assignments."
The
adjustment was noticeable as Red Land took the opening
second-half kickoff and moved 75 yards in 10 plays,
highlighted by Hunt's 24-yard flea-flicker to Kyle
Otstot to Mechanicsburg's 4. Brian Danner's blast right
made it 17-0 with 7:41 left in the third.
Three
minutes later, Cox lined up at fullback and parlayed a
simple dive into Red Land's third touchdown.
"Our
guys played tough and we're happy with their
effort," said Jeff Costello, who called the
Mechanicsburg offense and assumed head coaching duties
for Lichtel (illness). "They certainly came out in
the second half and slammed it down our throats."
The
Wildcats (2-6, 1-4) finally broke through with 3:13 left
in the third as Jake Zeigler's 46-yard streak to Greg
Drake set up Misiti's 5-yard TD burst. Misiti (11-42),
suffering an apparent leg injury on his sixth carry of
the first quarter, rushed only twice in the second half.
Hunt
would get two more scoring chances after Mechanicsburg
fumbled on back-to-back possessions. The final one
stuck.
Starting
at the Wildcats 18, Hunt targeted Dan Klein, who
collected a well-timed fade and stuck his left foot on
the pylon with 9:47 to go. The reserves took care of the
rest.
Linemen
Aubrey Moore and Justin Weyant were just two defensive
standouts that helped Red Land limit Mechanicsburg to 99
yards rushing on 25 attempts.
SCHOLASTIC
NOTEBOOK
Saturday,
October 21, 2006
From
start to finish, there is little doubt Red Land owned
last night's 38-14 victory over Mechanicsburg at West
Shore Stadium. The celebration, marking the school's
first postseason invitation, should last a while, or at
least until Friday's match with Keystone rival
Gettysburg.
But
Mechanicsburg certainly struggled offensively without
well-liked skipper Rich Lichtel at the helm. Assistant
coach Jeff Costello said Lichtel was desperate to make
the game, but an illness prevented it.
Costello
called the offense, while usual coordinator Chris Hakel
called the shots on defense.
"Rich
wanted to be here and when the team found out he
couldn't make it, they really wanted to do well for
him," Costello said.
ERIC
F. EPLER: 255-8187 or eepler@patriot-news.com
Patriots
rolling
By
Brett Smith,
October 21, 2006
Red
Land may not have started its Keystone Division game
against Mechanicsburg like a team that needed to win one
game to secure a spot in the District 3-AAA playoffs.
But adjustments, a halftime speech, or maybe a
tongue-lashing seemed to do the trick.
After the break, Red Land looked like a now 7-1, 4-1
team that was hungry to reach the postseason in its
first year in its new division.
A 10-0 lead at halftime turned into a 38-14 score by the
end when the Patriots' offense started finishing drives,
something it didn't do for the most part in the first
half.
We came out a little flat tonight and didn't take
advantage of some opportunities in the first half,
said Red Land head coach Frank Gay. I think it's safe
to say we were a little lackadaisical. I told our guys
at halftime that we should be blowing this team out
right now with the chances we had. Mechanicsburg is a
team that can stay with you if you are making mistakes.
We were able to come out in the second half and played
hard and get the job done.
I
can't say too much about that, said Red Land's Matt
Cox with a laugh about the halftime talk. But we knew
we needed to come out harder in the second half and we
did. We were able to start moving the ball and finish
drives. We were very motivated for this game. We knew if
we could win this one, we qualified for playoffs. We've
never been in district playoffs so this is big for us.
But we need to keep moving forward. We've made the
playoffs but we want to finish 9-1 to get the higher
seed.
It wasn't that Red Land looked like a completely
different team offensively in the third and fourth
quarters. The Patriots moved the ball in the first two
quarters as well and scored on their second drive of the
game with a 10-play drive that ended with a Cox run from
one yard out.
On their second possession, they put together eight
plays but stalled at Mechanicsburg's 48-yard line. That
was followed by a six-play drive that resulted in a
missed field goal. The chances were there.
A 31-yard field goal by Chad Christen with three seconds
remaining in the first half made it a two-possession
game.
Red
Land came out rejuvenated to start the second half and
did what it does best - pound the ball.
Brian Danner and Cox worked their way down the field
with handoff after handoff. There was some trickery with
a flea-flicker from Skyler Hunt to Kyle Otsot that put
the Patriots in the red zone. From there, Danner scored
on a two-yard run on the opening drive.
Before Mechanicsburg (2-6 overall, 1-4 Keystone) could
recover, Cox found the end zone for the second time of
the night, this time on a 14-yard run, making it 24-0.
The Wildcats didn't let that get them down, though.
Wildcats QB Jake Zeigler found Greg Drake twice through
the air on the ensuing drive for a total of 74 yards,
and Jason Misiti scored on a five-yard touchdown run to
get Mechanicsburg's first points of the night.
Misiti finished with 46 rushing yards on eight carries.
The senior opened the game with a 28-yard run, but never
found his groove again after being injured early on.
Dan Klein got into the scoring action when he caught an
18-yard touchdown pass from Hunt in the fourth quarter.
Klein finished the night with four catches for 39 yards.
Red Land scored its last touchdown when Junior Rodriguez
broke open a 32-yard run with five minutes remaining in
the game.
Sophomore quarterback Mike Poplaski came in for
Mechanicsburg to get some time and looked impressive
when he hit Matt Koveleski for a 23-yard touchdown in
the final minutes.
I wanted to come out and re-establish our defense
tonight, said Gay. For the most part I think we
did. There were a few exceptions when we were late on
adjusting to some plays, but overall I thought we did
well. Now we qualified for playoffs, but we're not happy
with that. We have two big games left that we want to
win.
Red
Land travels to Gettysburg next Friday while
Mechanicsburg hosts Hershey.
PATRIOTS 38, WILDCATS 14
Mechanicsburg 0 0 7 7 -- 14
Red Land 7 3 14 14 -- 38
First Quarter
RL -- Matt Cox 1 run (Chad Christen kick), 4:27.
Second Quarter
RL -- Christen 31 field goal, :03.
Third Quarter
RL -- Brian Danner 2 run (Christen kick), 7:41.
RL
-- Cox 14 run (Christen kick), 4:43
Mech -- Jason Misiti 5 run (Terry Hertzler kick), 3:13.
Fourth Quarter
RL -- Dan Klein 18 pass from Skyler Hunt (Christen
kick), 9:47.
RL -- Junior Rodriguez 23 run (Christen kick), 1:54.
Mech -- Matt Koveleski 23 pass from Mike Poplaski (Hertzler
kick), 1:54.
Team Statistics M RL
First downs 9 17
Rushes-yards 20-91 51-276
Passing 10-25-0 10-17-0
Passing
yards 139 100
Punts-avg. 6-30 4-43
Penalties-yards 4-27 7-50
Fumbles-lost 3-3 1-1
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Mechanicsburg, Jason Misiti 8-46;
Tarik Leftenant 5-20; Jake Zeigler 5-14; Jason Statler
1-1; Jon Only 1-10. Red Land, Hunt 4-(-13); Cox 13-63;
Danner 14-39; Kyle Boyer 3-15; Ryan Dill 2-49; Kyle
Otsot 1-10; Mike Hackenberg 5-30; Junior Rodriguez 3-45;
Scottie Acri 2-2; Ryan Sherry 1-10.
PASSING: Mechanicsburg, Zeigler 7-21-0,
99 yards; Mike Poplaski 3-4-0, 40 yards. Red Land, Hunt
10-17-0, 100 yards.
RECEIVING: Mechanicsburg, Statler 2-9;
Leftenant 1-2; Ryan Gates 2-18; Greg Drake 3-75; Dan
Mateja 1-12; Koveleski 1-23. Red Land, Klein 4-39; Otsot
3-42; Dill 2-9; Cox 1-10.
JV
'Cats Beat the Warriors 33-6
M-burg
falls to G-burg
From
the Patriot News......
GETTYSBURG
36, MECHANICSBURG 21:
Evan
Lewis threw for 203 yards and two TDs to lead the host
Warriors (5-2, 3-1) to a Mid-Penn Keystone Division win
over the Wildcats (2-5, 1-3). Storm Woerner, who had
four catches for 68 yards, caught Lewis' first TD throw
for 37 yards with nine seconds left in the first
quarter. Zach Michael led the Warriors with six catches
for 101 yards and a 42-yard reception with 8:05 left in
the game. Gettysburg running back R.J. Vanbrakle rushed
for 145 yards on 23 rushes and two touchdowns. The
Warriors had a 13-0 edge before Mechanicsburg got on the
scoreboard with 1:20 remaining in the first when Jake
Zeigler connected on a 3-yard pass to Ryan Gates.
GETTYSBURG
36, MECHANICSBURG 21:
First
Quarter
G - Storm Woerner 37 pass Evan
Lewis, (Kick failed), 0:09
Second
Quarter
G - R.J. Van Brakle 9 run,
(Attempt failed), 6:08
M - Ryan Gates 27 pass from Jake
Zeigler, (T.J. Hertzler kick), 1:20
G - Evan Lewis 23 field goal 0:00
Third
Quarter
G - Justin Jones 16 run (Lewis
kick), 7:49
G - Van Brakle 6 run (Lewis kick),
2:05
Fourth
Quarter
M - Zeigler 3 run (Hertzler kick),
11:02
G - Zach Michael 42 pass from
Lewis (Lewis kick), 8:06
M - Tarik Leftenant 71 run (Hertzler
kick), 3:13
|
Team Statistics
|
M
|
G
|
|
First
downs
|
11
|
17
|
|
Rushes-yards
|
30-122
|
42-222
|
|
Passing
|
13-24-1
|
13-17-0
|
|
Passing
yards
|
133
|
203
|
|
Punts-avg.
|
4-31.5
|
1-33
|
|
Penalties-yards
|
3-27
|
4-37
|
|
Fumbles-lost
|
1-1
|
2-2
|
Individual Statistics
RUSHING:
Mechanicsburg, Leftenant 4-70;
Jason Misiti 9-50; Jon Only 1-21; Jason Statler 3-6;
Jake Zeigler 10-4; Mike Poplaski 3-(-29).
Gettysburg, R.J. Van Brakle 23-145; Justin Jones
3-32; Cody Trail 4-14; Trevon Johnson 4-14; Dwayne
Allen 1-14; Evan Lewis 4-8; Zach Sharrah 1-1; Sean
Shelleman 1-(-2); Tyler White 1-(-4).
PASSING:
Mechanicsburg, Jake Zeigler
12-20-1, 121 yards; Mike Poplaski 1-4-0, 12 yards.
Gettysburg
, Lewis 13-17-0, 203 yards.
RECEIVING:
Mechanichsburg, Ryan Gates 3-53;
Matt Morell 3-41; Greg Drake 3-16; Jason Misiti 2-6;
Leftenant 1-12; Jason Statler 1-5. Gettysburg, Zach
Michael 6-102; Storm Woerner 4-68; D.J. Cool 1-15;
Zach Sharrah 1-14; Cody Trail 1-4
.
JV
'Cats beat the Tribe 27-7!
Cat's
fall to explosive Township 34-21....
From
the Patriot News & pennlive.com.....
SUSQUEHANNA
TWP. 34, MECHANICSBURG 21
Oliver
lifts Susquehanna
Saturday,
October 07, 2006
For
The Patriot-News
Already
a sensational Mid-Penn Conference storyline,
Susquehanna Twp. penned another engaging Keystone
Division chapter last night at John H. Frederick
Field.
Fleet
ballcarrier Gabe Oliver rushed for 171 yards -- the
junior bounced for three touchdowns and caught a
fourth -- while confident Indians quarterback R.
Anthony Wagner fired a pair of touchdown passes to
help blight Mechanicsburg's homecoming weekend 34-21
at Memorial Stadium.
Although
paced brilliantly by Jason Misiti's 131 ground
yards, Mechanicsburg could offer no response to 21
second-quarter points from the Indians, and never
quite rattled an Indians defense that produced three
crucial turnovers.
"It
wasn't about looking good," said Susquehanna
Twp. skipper Joe Headen, who watched his dangerous
offense collect 18 first downs and more than 400
total yards.
"I
knew if we made even the slightest mistake,
Mechanicsburg could take advantage. But there were
some times when our defense simply did not execute,
and we were lucky to get those turnovers. Over the
course of a season you're going to get victories
like this, and it tells you a lot about your
team."
In
a swing match -- one week clear of Gettysburg and
one week short of Red Land -- Oliver's fast 53-yard
scoring scamper, less than 90 seconds after the
opening kickoff, put the Indians (5-1, 3-0) in gear.
But
on Mechanicsburg's second series, Misiti carried
seven times, eventually bursting off the left corner
from 8 yards out to slice the Indians' edge to 7-6
after the conversion kick was blocked.
That
tally came with 11:18 left in the half.
With
8:46 to go, Susquehanna Twp. used Wagner's 48-yard
keeper to set up Oliver's 10-yard scamper, then
parlayed Dominic Schiano's fumble recovery on the
ensuing kickoff to make it 21-6. Wagner's
quick-slant to Oliver, lined up in the slot, covered
the final 48 yards.
The
programs traded touchdowns -- Misiti from the 2 and
Wagner to Ashton Burno from Mechanicsburg's 5 --
over the final eight minutes for a 28-14 Indians
lead.
"I
thought we did a real good job offensively in the
first half, but our defense stepped up down the
stretch," said Wagner, connecting on 10 of 18
for 129 yards.
"They
are a tough team, but even though we made mistakes,
the point is we won the game."
Fighting
for answers, Mechanicsburg (2-4, 1-2) took the
second-half kickoff and marched to the Indians' 6.
One play later, quarterback Jake Zeigler fumble to
botch a third-down attempt, and Zeigler's low
fourth-down pass to the end zone was broken up by
defensive back Earl Timothy.
Seconds
later, after Susquehanna Twp. was forced to punt
from deep in its own territory, linebacker Nick
Bender intercepted Zeigler's pass at Susquehanna
Twp.'s 40. Two golden opportunities missed.
"We're
limiting our mistakes each week, but the mistakes we
do make are killing us," said Mechanicsburg
coach Rich Lichtel. "It was a hard-played game,
but we heard this Susquehanna team was explosive,
and let me tell you, they can score in a
heartbeat."
The
Indians pushed ahead 34-14 with 10:04 left after
Misiti fumbled at his own 11, leading to Oliver's
fourth touchdown. Zeigler, who collected 130 passing
yards, found Greg Drake from 17 yards out with 2:59
remaining.
ERIC
F. EPLER: 255-8187 or eepler@patriot-news.com
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