eagles football scheduleS

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By William Whisler | For PennLive

With the final seconds ticking off the clock, Cumberland Valley’s Colton Stamy dropped back to pass. Stamy went through his progressions, evaluating his options and as the final seconds were slipping away, he tried to put the team on his back. Needing to reach the end zone to tie the game, Stamy found a hole and ran forward as the pocket collapsed, leaped for the end zone, stretching his arm out for the goal line. As he extended his arm, the ball was knocked from his grasp, as Cumberland Valley fell on the ball as the clock continued to run. A mad dash ensued as Stamy rallied the Eagles to the line, but it was too little too late, time expired, and the Blue Streaks staved off a herculean effort in the final minute by the Eagles, coming away with a 20-14 victory in a battle of two decorated District 3 programs at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.

Trailing 7-0 at the half, Manheim Township scored on both of its third quarter drives. The Eagles’ Cole Hockenberry found the end zone to cap off a dominant drive with 1:10 left to play, but it was the Blue Streaks’ Chase Fletcher who made the game-defining play. On the ensuing kickoff, Fletcher found a seam up the sideline, hitting the hole with speed and purpose, outrunning the Eagles 95 yards to the end zone to give Manheim Township the lead once more, at 20-14 with 57 seconds left.

Stamy again rallied the Eagles, using a 37-yard completion to get the ball deep into Blue Streaks’ territory. Stamy connected with Torin Lang over the middle to give the Eagles first-and-goal from the Blue Streaks’ 10. Following a 3-yard run by Holmes, Stamy’s valiant effort was cut short, as Manheim Township again got the better of Cumberland Valley in the season opener for the fourth consecutive season.

Manheim Township shook off a rusty first half, scoring on both of its drives in the third quarter to take its first lead of the night. The Blue Streaks were led by junior quarterback Dayne Byler, who stepped up in the face of adversity to lead Manheim Township to victory in a hostile environment. Byler finished the night 12-of-16 passing for 123 yards and two scores and added another 23 yards on the ground, picking up multiple key first downs to keep the clock running in the fourth. Fletcher made a big impact for the Blue Streaks as well, catching a 29-yard TD in the third quarter, while scoring the game-winning touchdown on the kickoff return in the final minute. 

Cumberland Valley was led by Stamy, who went an efficient 12-of-15 for 138 yards. Stamy made big plays when the Eagles needed them to give Cumberland Valley a chance to win in the final seconds.

SCORING

Manheim Township 0-0-14-6 – 20

Cumberland Valley 0-7-0-7 – 14

SECOND QUARTER

CV – Jaydin Holmes 16 run (Matt Gossert kick) 7:11

THIRD QUARTER

MT – Chase Fletcher 29 pass from Dayne Byler (Thomas Crispeno kick failed) 9:15

MT – PJ Myers 8 pass from Byler (Chase Fletcher catch) 0:43

FOURTH QUARTER

CV – Cole Hockenberry 9 run (Gossert kick) 1:10

MT – Chase Fletcher 95 kickoff return (Crispeno PAT blocked) 0:57

TEAM STATISTICS

CV… MT

First downs 9… 9

Total yards 207… 202

Rushes-yards 30-69… 24-79

Yards passing 138… 123

Passing (C-A-I) 12-15-0… 12-16-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1… 3-2

Penalties-yards 7-50… 6-53

Punts-Avg. 7-27.4… 4-138

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – CV: Jaydin Holmes 16-67, Cole Hockenberry 5-14, Angel Young 3-8, Eli Ford 1-(-6), Colton Stamy 4-(-14); MT: PJ Myers 13-49, Dayne Byler 10-23, Dehvyn Lauano 1-7.

PASSING – CV: Colton Stamy 12-15-0 138; MT: Dayne Byler 12-16-0-123 2 TD.

RECEIVING – CV: Torin Lang 8-82, Josh Bruaw 1-37, Holden Brown 2-16, Eli Ford 1-3; MT: Chase Fletcher 6-65, Aiden Zulick 3-28, London Banks 1-22, PJ Myers 1-8.

Takeaways From the Game...

Those in attendance for Cumberland Valley’s season opener against Manheim Township were given a matchup that was worth every cent of the price of admission, as the game came down to the final play in a matchup of District 3 heavyweights. Manheim Township made a goal line stand in the final seconds, as Colton Stamy was upended at the 1-yard line on the final play of the game, allowing the Blue Streaks to escape with a 20-14 victory.

GAME OF INCHES

With the final seconds ticking off the clock, Cumberland Valley’s Colton Stamy dropped back to pass. Stamy went through his progressions, evaluating his options and as the final seconds were slipping away, he tried to put the team on his back. Needing to reach the end zone to tie the game, Stamy found a hole and ran forward as the pocket collapsed, leaped for the end zone, stretching his arm out for the goal line. As he extended his arm, the ball was knocked from his grasp, as Cumberland Valley fell on the ball as the clock continued to run. A mad dash ensued as Stamy rallied the Eagles to the line, but it was too little too late, time expired.

“I thought it was the right call. I think we had enough time to get up and kill, but we didn’t get the ball down fast enough to spike it,” Cumberland Valley coach Josh Oswalt said. “It’s just one of those things where we talk about the strategy. You have to be able to get the ball and spike it, but it didn’t happen that way.”

Stamy shared a similar sentiment. “I was going through my reads, and I didn’t really see anything, so I stepped up, I just saw a chance. I tried to make a play with everything on the line,” Stamy said. “I put everything into that play to get to the goal line but you’re not always going to hit that line. We’re going to face adversity throughout the season, but we responded and as long as we keep our heads up and fight back, we can get the job done.”

IT’S NOT HOW YOU START…

The Blue Streaks struggled to get much of anything going offensively in the first half. Offensive miscues including bad snaps, penalties and mistakes cost Manheim Township in the opening half. Manheim Township had an opportunity to come away with points on the final drive of the half, but instead Rowan Crispeno’s field goal was blocked to end the half with nothing. “We were beating ourselves. We weren’t coming off the ball, we weren’t sustaining blocks,” Blue Streaks coach Mark Evans said. “They got that 24 minutes out of the way and I said, ‘Look, you’re only down seven, no long faces. We just have to keep grinding. We have to keep moving forward.”

The Blue Streaks scored on both their possessions in the third quarter, as Chase Fletcher caught a 29-yard TD pass to cut the deficit to 7-6 with 9:15 left in the frame. Crispeno’s extra point was blocked, keeping the deficit at one. Later, PJ Myers capped off a long drive with an 8-yard TD catch, to give the Blue Streaks their first lead. Fletcher caught a 2-point conversion to push the lead to seven with 43 seconds left in the third. From there, the Blue Streaks bent, but didn’t break, coming away with the game-winning stop. “The kids were able to grind out an ugly win,” Evans said. “They found a way to win for a young team that is still learning the ropes. We truly don’t have many returning starters. They’re learning on the job. They didn’t quit. They didn’t waver. I wanted to see what would happen if we battled adversity.”

SPECIAL TEAMS WOES

Both teams – except for Fletcher’s kick return touchdown – had a night to forget on special teams. Both teams turned the ball over while fielding punts and the Blue Streaks especially struggled, as three blocked kicks, including two blocked extra points were a low point.

SECOND-HALF ADJUSTMENTS

Overall, it was the adjustments at halftime that the Blue Streaks made that led them to victory. Junior quarterback Dayne Byler played exceptionally well in the second half, completing 12-of-16 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Byler led a more explosive offense that moved the ball methodically down the field and limited mistakes. “I don’t think it was personnel adjustments or anything like that. It was our mindset,” Blue Streaks wide receiver Chase Fletcher said. “We had a conversation at halftime that we needed to fix our mindset. I think Dayne showed a lot of confidence tonight. He found his place in the pocket, and he was able to deliver the passes we needed.”

BATTLE TESTED

For the fourth season in a row, the Blue Streaks opened the season with a victory over Cumberland Valley, with the Eagles dropping each of the last two matchups by one score. While the Eagles couldn’t punch it in to tie the game on the final play, Eagles’ coach Josh Oswalt was pleased with the fight his team displayed. “Our guys, they’re resilient,” Oswalt said. “They battle. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I saw a lot from our guys, and we learned a lot about ourselves throughout this game. That’s why you schedule a team like Manheim Township. It’s like a playoff setting and it’s August. You open up with a big one and it’s always tight. Last year it was a seven-point game and this year it was a six-point game with us right there with a chance to win it and we just got stopped a couple inches short.”

By the Carlisle Sentinel

The Cumberland Valley students, three and four deep across a section of the visitor bleachers at Carlisle’s Ken Millen Stadium, chanted Dom Lethbridge’s name as the senior lined up in the Eagles’ backfield late in the fourth quarter. The frantic final seconds of the Eagles’ one-score Week 1 loss to Manheim Township had melted away. So, too, had the mistakes and missed opportunities that plagued CV in the first two-plus quarters of Friday’s Mid-Penn Commonwealth opener against Carlisle. Instead, with time winding down in the fourth quarter Friday, and the Eagles up by three scores, the attention turned to running through the finish line.

The students chanted. Lethbridge obliged. Taking the handoff, the 5-foot, 7-inch senior shot through a hole in the line and raced to the end zone with 2:07 remaining for the final score in a 35-7 Cumberland Valley victory.

The Eagles scored 21 unanswered points over the game’s final 12 minutes with junior quarterback Colton Stamy, senior running back Jaydin Holmes and Lethbridge stamping the proverbial envelope on the three fourth-quarter scoring drives. “We learned about some guys tonight,” said Cumberland Valley head coach Josh Oswalt. “It’s early in the season. We’re dealt the hand of one scrimmage, one massive battle of Week 1 and jumping into Commonwealth play. Who we are now is not who we are in Week 10 and beyond. I think we learned a lot about guys who can help us and keep our other guys fresh, and that’s what I’m most proud about tonight.”

BOLSTERING THE BACKFIELD

Beginning the season with a new receiving corps and without feature back Rocco Bushman, the Eagles (1-1, 1-0 Commonwealth) scrambled to establish an identity on offense. Their first two drives on Friday ended with a fumbled exchange on fourth down and an interception from Stamy. Both turnovers occurred inside the Thundering Herd’s 30-yard line.

Cumberland Valley’s second quarter saw the Eagles build a 14-0 lead – on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Stamy to junior Torin Lang and a 12-yard Stamy scoring run – but one that felt tenuous at best. “In the first half, we were trying to do too much, if that makes sense,” Oswalt said. “And I was frustrated because we were sitting out there with open receivers or with gaping holes and we were cutting wrong. But we went into halftime, cleaned up some things, and the leaders stepped up and had some conversations with guys.” 

One of the leaders was Stamy (10/16, 129 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). “I’m always going to be most critical of the quarterback,” Oswalt said. “Colton and I have a great relationship, and he knows I’m going to be tough on him, and I was there at the end of the first half with poor decisions and trying to do too much. He talked to the team at halftime, he came out with a much better head on his shoulders, and he managed the game like we expected him to.” Stamy completed three of his four second half passes and finished with 38 yards and the two rushing scores on seven total carries, none bigger than a 26-yard scamper on a third and 10 from the Carlisle 26 that set up a Holmes 1-yard plunge two plays later and kept the Cumberland Valley offense clicking.

Angel Young took took the lions’ share of carries, rushing 15 times for 95 yards, Cole Hockenberry added a pair of carries for 14 yards, and Lethbridge authored the Eagles’ final three rushing attempts of the night for 29 yards and a score. Jaydin Holmes scored a touchdown in Cumberland Valley's Week 2 football win at Carlisle. “I have the pleasure of working with those guys every day as the running backs coach,” Oswalt said. “They battle. They work hard. They watch film, and they dive into those things. They want to know how they’re going to help the team, and they did a great job at the end of the night.”

HERD HAMPERED

Facing their 12th consecutive loss and looking to reverse last year’s 42-0 setback to Cumberland Valley, the Thundering Herd (0-2, 0-1) threatened early in the second half. Drake Kelly scored on a 25-yard run to cap the first drive of the second half and cut the Cumberland Valley lead to 14-6. Carlisle halted the Eagles’ ensuing drive, thanks in part to a John Book sack on third down. But with the momentum, the Herd’s offense backed up due to a pair of penalties. They punted the ball away with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter, and the momentum dissipated from there. Carlisle also committed three total turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble – all of them in Eagles territory. “We’ve just got to clean some things up technically,” said Carlisle head coach Brandon Cook. “We were in this ballgame until a couple turnovers and a couple penalties hurt us bad. You’ve got to stay ahead of the change, and you’ve got to produce there.” Carlisle quarterback Carter Wilson completed four of 14 passes for 82 yards and rushed for 34 yards on 14 carries.

The Thundering Herd are scheduled to play their first road game of the season Friday at Central Dauphin (0-2, 0-1) while the Eagles return home to take on reigning District 3 champion Harrisburg (1-0). “We have to be all on,” Oswalt said. “We can’t just play a couple quarters next week and expect to win. We’ve got to be able to put four quarters together and win.”

By William Whisler | PennLive

Big plays and a big night on the ground from Harrisburg running back Princeton Dent was more than enough to power Harrisburg past Cumberland Valley, 28-7, on Friday night at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field in a clash of two Mid-Penn Commonwealth foes. Harrisburg (3-0, 2-0 Commonwealth) received a strong showing from Dent, who made the most of his opportunities, racking up 126 yards on 19 carries and a pair of scores on the way to the three-score victory. The Cougars relied on big plays to come away with points in the opening half, as Trays Walker returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a Cougars touchdown and Kayden Stephens connected with Jaiyon Lewis for a 9-yard touchdown pass to give Harrisburg a 14-0 lead with seven minutes left in the opening frame.

Cumberland Valley (1-2, 1-1 Commonwealth) clawed back with a strong drive after surrendering a second score, as Colton Stamy capped off a 10-play drive with a 1-yard QB sneak to put the Eagles on the board, but the Cougars wasted no time responding. The first play from scrimmage following the Eagles’ TD was a 61-yard run through a gaping hole in the middle of the field that allowed Princeton Dent to rumble through the Eagles’ secondary as he used his speed and shiftiness to elude a pair of would-be tacklers on the way to the end zone for a backbreaking TD with 11:44 left to play in the opening half. Dent added a second TD on the ground for good measure in the final minute, as Harrisburg finished strong with its longest drive of the night as far as the number of plays with an 8-play, 42-yard drive with a TD. All eight plays on the drive were runs straight up the gut as Harrisburg ate up 5:24 of clock while delivering the knock-out blow.

Cumberland Valley struggled to complete their drives on offense, as Harrisburg gave up some first downs but refused to bend when the ball crossed into the Cougars’ side of the field. Cumberland Valley was forced to punt four times and couldn’t muster much after coming away with no points on two promising drives to begin the second half. Jayion Lewis led Harrisburg’s receivers with five catches for 85 yards. Stephens completed 7-of-16 passes for 88 yards and a score. Harrisburg did not turn the ball over. The Eagles picked up 13 first downs to Harrisburg’s nine but failed to muster much offensively outside of their lone scoring drive. Eagles quarterback Colton Stamy led the Eagles with 45 rushing yards on 11 carries, while completing 10-of-16 passes for 69 yards and an interception.

SCORING

Harrisburg 28, Cumberland Valley 7

Harrisburg 14-7-0-7 – 28

Cumberland Valley 0-7-0-0 – 7

FIRST QUARTER

H – Trays Walker 85 kick return (Amir Everett kick), 11:46

H – Kayden Stephens 9 pass to Jayion Lewis (Everett kick) 7:00

SECOND QUARTER

CV – Colton Stamy 1 run (Matt Gossert kick), 11:56

H – Princeton Dent 61 run (Everett kick), 11:44

FOURTH QUARTER

H – Princeton Dent 1 run (Everett kick), 0:21

TEAM STATISTICS   H… CV

First downs 9… 13

Total yards 277… 180

Rushes-yards 32-189… 36-111

Yards passing 88… 69

Passing (C-A-I) 7-16-0… 10-16-1

Fumbles-lost 0… 1-1

Penalties-yards 12-110… 5-32

Punts-Avg. 3-40… 4-23

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – H: Princeton Dent 19-126, Ja’Auan Johnson 7-29, Trays Walker 2-18, Kayden Stephens 4-16; CV: Colton Stamy 11-45, Cole Hockenberry 11-39, Jaydin Holmes 7-20, Dom Lethbridge 3-2, Angel Young 3-2, Jonah Wagenheim 1-3.

PASSING – H: Kayden Stephens 7-16-0 88; CV: Colton Stamy 10-16-1 69.

RECEIVING – H: Jaiyon Lewis 5-85, Princeton Dent 1-2, Trays Walker 1-1; CV: Ethan Bruaw 2-31, Torin Lang 4-27, Josh Bruaw 1-9, Holden Brown 1-8, Cole Hockenberry 1-3, Jonah Wagenheim 1-1

Playing a game without their top quarterback and top receiver — who also happens to be the backup QB — put a huge handicap on Chambersburg on Friday night. And Cumberland Valley used a conservative game plan wisely to turn back the Trojans 21-0 in a Mid Penn Commonwealth game at Trojan Stadium on Friday night. The Eagles (2-2, 2-1 MPC) used Rocco Bushman (25 carries, 101 yards) as a battering ram to chew up the clock and caught Chambersburg’s defense napping on a couple of plays that worked for scores. The rest was playing solid defense against the hurting Trojans (0-4, 0-3 MPC).

Cam Green, the QB, and Jashaun Palmer, the receiver, were injured and did not play for Chambersburg, putting the ball in the hands of Justin Deneen, who was himself coming off an injury and getting his first playing time. Deneen completed 14 of 26 passes for 120 yards and connected with 9 different receivers. Trojan coach Gary Carter said, “I thought Justin played well … good enough to win.” Chambersburg got as far as the CV 38 on its first possession and down to the 24 on its next, and had six first downs, but had no points to show for it.

Cumberland Valley put together a scoring drive late in the second quarter, fueled mostly by Bushman runs. But from the Trojan 12, a fake to Bushman set up a touchdown run by Cole Hockenberry to make it 7-0 with just 1:24 left in the half. And then disaster struck when a handoff from Deneen to Ashton Allen was fumbled and the Eagles recovered at the Chambersburg 5. QB Colton Stamy snuck in from the 1 to make it 14-0 and give a crushing blow to the Trojans. “It should have been 7-0 at halftime and 7-0 until late in the game,” Carter said. “We’d have had a better chance. And then they hit on their only big play of the second half and that was on me. We had played zone most of the game and I went to man to pressure them and the quarterback got the throw off just before he got hit.” Stamy floated a pass to Torin Lang, who was wide open over the middle and scored the clinching points on the 41-yard play.  “Our effort and aggressiveness in the second half was really good, and we were getting off the ball well,” Carter said.

CV totaled only 224 yards offense, and Chambersburg got its first two turnovers of the season on defense. Mason Mowen, playing his first game after being injured in the preseason, made a diving catch after the ball went off a receiver’s fingers. In the second half, linebacker Deakon Snavely first plugged up the middle to keep Stamy from scrambling, then when Stamy tried to flip a pass over him, Snavely got his hands on the ball and tipped it to himself for the pick.

Carter said, “It’s hard to say anything negative about the kids. I know they’re getting frustrated with all the injuries — we had five guys on defense and four more on offense who were playing banged, trying to play through it. “When I look at the film, I see lots of good things. But we just have to be better, and that goes for the coaching, too.”

SCORING
Cumberland Valley     0     14     0     7     —     21
Chambersburg              0      0      0      0     —      0

Second Quarter
CV — Cole Hockenberry 12 run (Matt Gossert kick), 1:24
CV — Colton Stamy 1 run (Gossert kick), 0:38
Fourth Quarter
CV — Torin Lang 41 pass from Stamy (Gossert kick), 8:34

Team Statistics: CV / CHBG
First downs:  9 / 10
Rushes-yards: 34-135 /  26-44
Passing: 6-10-2 / 14-26-0
Passing yards: 89 / 120
Total offense: 224 / 164
Punts-average: 3-32.3 / 4-38.0
Fumbles-lost:  1-0 / 2-1
Penalties-yards:  4-35 / 5-44

Individual Statistics
Rushing — CV, Rocco Bushman 25-101, Stamy 7-20, Hockenberry 2-14. Chbg, Malachi Tasker 12-29, Justin Deneen 11-15, Ashton Allen 3-0.
Passing — CV, Stamy 6-10-2-89. Chbg, J.Deneen 14-26-0-120.
Receiving — CV, Land 2-65, Holden Brown 2-8, Bushman 1-8, Jonah Wagenheim 1-8. Chbg, Isaiah Ferguson 3-25, Tasker 2-24, Lucas Ocker 2-14, Seth Gilliam 2-14, Cam McNew 1-14, Bryce Deneen 1-9, Brock Chlebowski 1-8, Sebastian Laughlin 1-8, Nathan Chambers 1-4.
Interceptions — Chbg, Mason Mowen, Deakon Snavely.

BUSHMAN IN THE BACKFIELD

After missing Cumberland Valley’s first three games, Rocco Bushman joined the Eagles’ backfield Friday in a 21-0 Mid-Penn Commonwealth victory at Chambersburg. The sophomore carried the ball 25 times for 101 yards for the Eagles (2-2, 2-1 Commonwealth), helping Cumberland Valley control the clock against a banged-up Chambersburg side. According to The Sports Page’s Ed Gotwals, The Trojans (0-4, 0-3) were down their starting quarterback and their No. 1 receiver due to injury. Cole Hockenberry and Colton Stamy authored rushing touchdowns for Cumberland Valley, and Stamy connected with Torin Lang for the Eagles’ other score. After returning their record to the .500 level, the Eagles head to Harrisburg Friday for a Week 5 showdown with Bishop McDevitt, which blanked Cedar Cliff 49-0 Friday to remain unbeaten.

By Eric F. Epler / PennLive

On a night when Bishop McDevitt celebrated fallen heroes and first responders, the Crusaders leaned on one of their newest members to surge forward. Freshman tailback Kaedyn Walker turned two of his 15 carries into long scoring runs as the Crusaders defeated Commonwealth foe Cumberland Valley 20-0 at Rocco Ortenzio Stadium. Walker accounted for 99 rushing yards while Smith, playing against his former teammates, started the scoring with a 20-yard TD reception from Sebastian Williams. Still, McD (4-1, 3-1) needed a more efficient second half to put the game Eagles away. That’s where Walker and McD’s balanced offensive line kicked in. Walker posted TD runs of 29 and 20 yards to give his side some breathing room.

Trailing 13-0, the Eagles saw his best scoring chance eaten up by a key fourth-down stop from McD DB Elijah Sherman, another CV transfer. Staring at fourth-and-3 from McD’s 4, Sherman brought down receiver Torin Lang at the line of scrimmage. Highlighted by receptions of 22 and 52 yards on the ensuing series, McD, although plagued by 11 penalties for over 100 yards, extended its lead on Walker’s 20-yard hitch up the middle with 8 minutes to play. Williams was 15 of 20 for 215 yards. Quick caught three passes for 90 yards for the Crusaders.

Cumberland Valley (2-3, 2-2) was paced by RB Rocco Bushman, who carried 25 times for 98 yards. QB Colton Stamy finished 14 of 24 on the night. Smith added his weight to Bishop McDevitt’s defensive push, as well, collecting a sack and TFL. Linebackers Ethan Miller, Princeton Kinama and DE Creigton Miltsch also were key components in the shutout.

Cumberland Valley 0-0-0-0 – 0

Bishop McDevitt 6-0-7-7 – 20

First quarter

McD-Zayden Smith 20 pass from Sebastian Williams (kick failed), 2:35

Third quarter

McD-Kaedyn Walker 29 run (David Lulinda kick), 4:32

Fourth quarter

McD-Walker 20 run (Lulinda kick), 8:00

Team statistics CV -- McD

First downs: 10 -- 15

Rush-yards: 28-85 -- 28-166

Passing: 95 -- 215

Comp-Att-Int: 14-24-0 -- 15-20-0

Fumbles-lost: 1-0 -- 1-1

Punts-Avg.: 5-40.8 -- 2-43

Penalties-yards: 2-10 -- 11-102

Individual statistics

RUSHING: Cumberland Valley, Rocco Bushman 25-98, Colton Stamy 3-(minus-13); Bishop McDevitt, Kaedyn Walker 15-99, Elijah Sherman 8-54, Sebastian Williams 3-6, Jontai Quick 1-5, Layden Black 1-2.

PASSING: Cumberland Valley, Stamy 14-24-0—95; Bishop McDevitt, Williams 15-20-0—215.

RECEIVING: Cumberland Valley, Josh Bruaw 6-69, Torin Lang 4-17, Rocco Bushman 3-5, Jonah Wagenheim 1-4; Bishop McDevitt, Quick 3-90, Howard Holton Jr. 4-37, Zayden Smith 2-30, Thatcher Hanzely 2-27, Walker 2-19, Davar Chance 1-7, Sherman 1-5.

Team Records & Impact

• Bishop McDevitt Crusaders: Improved to a 4-1 record on the season with their third shutout win. Scoring opened with a play by Zayden Smith, alongside key contributions like a touchdown run by Kaedyn Walker.
• Cumberland Valley Eagles: Dropped to a 2-3 record following a tough defensive battle against the Crusaders

Top Performers for the Eagles

Colton Stamy #10 QB

13/24 CMP/ATT

100 YDS

0 TD

0 INT

Rocco Bushman #6 RB, OLB

100 YDS

0 TD

27 CAR

Josh Bruaw #87 WR, CB

69 YDS

0 TD

5 REC

Player(s) of the Game

Congratulations to #1 Jaydin Holmes (overall and defensive), #87 Josh Bruaw (offensive) and  #31 Jon Gossert (special teams) for being selected as the Cumberland Valley Football Players of the Game..

By Tim Gross

The Eagles had invaded Ken Millen Stadium and took home a 35-6 victory over the Thundering Herd... Cumberland Valley’s football team had gained traction and built momentum with a 21-0 win over Chambersburg in Week 4. The victory evened the Eagles’ record at 2-2, as a healthier Cumberland Valley lineup marched toward the season’s midpoint. But the Eagles took a step back in Week 5, suffering a 20-0 shutout loss to Bishop McDevitt. The road remains rough for the Eagles, who welcome Mid-Penn Commonwealth-leading State College to Chapman Field Friday night at 7 in The Sentinel’s game of the week. The Little Lions (5-0, 4-0) enter with the No. 3 ranking in PennLive’s Pennsylvania Class 6A rankings. While the Little Lions present a test for a Cumberland Valley roster still trying to establish an identity, it also gives the opportunity for the Eagles to make a midseason statement.  Here’s a quick look at the matchup.

KEY PLAYERS

STATE COLLEGE

Connor Kulka, jr., QB: After picking up Division I offers from Buffalo and Rutgers over the summer, the Little Lions quarterback passed for 861 yards and seven touchdowns, and rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns, in the first five games of the season. Rowan Walker, sr., RB/DB:Averaging 97.8 rushing yards per game, Walker leads State College with nine touchdowns.

CUMBERLAND VALLEY

Torin Lang, jr., WR/DB: A two-way contributor, Lang leads the Eagles in receptions (21), receiving yards (234) and interceptions (2). Rocco Bushman, so., RB/LB: After missing the first three games of the season, Bushman has averaged 100 rushing yards per game over the last two.

BY THE NUMBERS

+3 – Cumberland Valley has scored 77 points so far this season while allowing opponents to score 74. Despite the small margin, the Eagles’ last four games have been decided by 20 points or more.

8 – State College has held opponents scoreless over their last eight quarters dating back to the fourth quarter of a 27-20 win at Bishop McDevitt Sept. 11.

BOTTOM LINE

Why State College will win: The Little Lions are on a roll, having shut out three of their last four opponents. They will challenge a Cumberland Valley offense that has yet to find consistency.

Why Cumberland Valley will win: The Eagles’ defense has managed to keep games within reach, even on the road against No. 6 McDevitt. If it can slow the Little Lions just enough, the offense could have a chance to make enough plays to shift momentum.

State College rides early run, strong finish to Mid-Penn Commonwealth win at Cumberland Valley

By Tim Gross

Rowan Walker scored three touchdowns at Cumberland Valley to help State College football improve to 6-0. It took State College six minutes and 17 seconds of game time to sprint to a 21-0 lead over Cumberland Valley in Friday’s Mid-Penn Commonwealth football game at Chapman Field. It took a second-half second wind for the Little Lions to put away the Eagles. Cumberland Valley cut the deficit to single digits in the third quarter, but State College responded with 17 unanswered points to pull away for a 41-15 victory and keep its undefeated record intact.

“That’s a good football team,” Cumberland Valley head coach Josh Oswalt said of State College. “It’s a well-coached football team that those guys have been building for some time. Moral victories, we’re not in the business for that, but our guys battled.”

Before the battle came the opening blitz from the Little Lions (6-0, 5-0 Commonwealth), who took the game’s opening drive 73 yards on seven plays and punctuated it with a 21-yard touchdown run from senior Rowan Walker. In a span of 183 seconds, the lead grew to 21-0. Shane Markowski recovered his own onside kick, and Mason Evans pounced on a squib kick that bounced off of and away from a Cumberland Valley player. In between, Anderson Fry ran for a 49-yard touchdown and Walker punched in a 1-yard score for his second of three touchdowns. Cumberland Valley’s offense had yet to run a play.

“Our guys continue to fight,” Oswalt said. “I keep telling them, ‘This is a marathon, not a sprint.’ The progress we have made from August until now, they haven’t seen it yet because we’ve played four top 10 teams in the state. We’re not far from that, and we’ve just got to continue to believe and continue to fight.”

Oswalt’s Eagles (2-4, 2-3) had suffered their previous losses against Manheim Township, Harrisburg and Bishop McDevitt, three of the top five teams in the District 3 Class 6A power rankings. Facing a three-score deficit against State College, the No. 1 team in District 6 and the No. 2 team in PennLive’s state Class 6A rankings, they chipped away. Junior quarterback Colton Stamy finished the night with 17 completions on 31 attempts for 174 yards, a touchdown and an interception and engineered a drive at the end of the first half that he punctuated with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Torin Lang. “I feel like, in this small snippet of six games that we’ve had, each week, we’ve had really good clips of football,” Oswalt said. “The end-of-half drive was awesome.”

The momentum continued into the third quarter, where Cumberland Valley answered a Markowski field goal and shrank the deficit to nine points on a Stamy octopus – a 1-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion – with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter. It was State College’s turn to respond. “Any chance you have an opportunity to get a win, and to also have resiliency that you’re building throughout that experience, I think it’s a win-win,” said State College head coach Matt Lintal. The Little Lions scored on their next three possessions with a 7-yard touchdown run from Walker, a 37-yard touchdown pass from Connor Kulka to Fry and a 27-yard Markowksi field goal to cap the scoring with 1:05 remaining.

The Little Lions offensive front paved the way for success, providing the push that propelled Walker to 175 yards on 23 carries. It also drew defenders inward, allowing more opportunities downfield for Kulka, who completed 13 of 21 passes for 208 yards, a touchdown and an interception. “We pride ourselves in those guys and their effort,” Lintal said. “Their ability to just move people off the line of scrimmage is tremendous, and that really dictated the flow of the game. We felt like we could really control the clock and make sure we were moving the chains.”

Cumberland Valley’s Rocco Bushman carried the ball 11 times for 32 yards, and Lang led the Eagle receivers with 60 yards on five catches. “Those kids are well-coached,” Lintal said. “They never give up, never quit. We got off to that jump start, but they continued to push, and our kids had to bear down and really be ready to go. I’m proud of our guys, proud of the effort, proud of their finish.” Cumberland Valley saw its chances slip away Friday when it allowed 17 unanswered points to State College in the second half, one of several scoring runs against local teams in Week 6.