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.”