YORK – When the schedules came out for the 2025 High School Football season, one of the games circled early on was the finale of the York Rose Bowl Classic, Imhotep Charter vs Harrisburg. Two state powers with State Championship Game experience and talent that has gone as far as the NFL.
The fans at York High’s Smalls Field were treated to a game that in fact lived up to the hype on Saturday night as Harrisburg used a late surge to pull away from Imhotep Charter to win 40-26.
“It is always great to get a victory but to beat a team like Imhotep Charter is a great way to open the season,” Harrisburg head coach Cal Everett said. “It was not always pretty but hats off to my guys to show how resilient they are.”
The urgency to produce for Harrisburg this season is at a fever pitch with three committed Division I prospect that currently sit inside the 24/7 sports Top 15 for players within the State of Pennsylvania. The presence was felt on both sides of the ball for Harrisburg to start the game.
Penn State commit Messiah Mickens ended the opening Imhotep drive that made it as far as the Cougars 27-yard line with a sack. Three plays later, Rutgers commit Elias Coke made a brilliant 60-yard touchdown catch over a defender to put the Cougars in front 8-0 at the 8:01-mark of the first quarter.
A constant theme of missed opportunities whether it be penalties, turnovers, or failed execution began plaguing the Panthers. Imhotep drove into the red zone following the Coke touchdown to come away empty-handed after a 30-yard field goal sailed well short of the crossbar. On their next drive, they had a “tush push” touchdown nullified due to it being illegal at the high school level before eventually turning it over on downs. Imhotep had a third straight drive reach the red zone in the opening minutes of the second quarter and quarterback Joe McLeish was intercepted in the end zone by Jaiyon Lewis.
Lewis ran the interception back 75 yards that set up Mickens to extend the Harrisburg lead to 14-0 at the 8:55-mark of the second quarter following a pair of carries.
Things finally began to go the Panthers way late in the second quarter after a botched snap on a punt set up good field position at the Harrisburg 25-yard line. McLeish lofted a high ball into the end zone that Brian Culmer came down with off a deflection and juggle to cut the Harrisburg lead down to 14-7 with 3:37 left in the first half. Imhotep got a stop and McLeish found Kareem Abdul Haqq for a 25-yard touchdown with 42 seconds left in the second quarter. However, Haqq spiked the ball which was the fist of two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that were handed to Imhotep following the score. Harrisburg chose to enforce it on the PAT which forced the Panthers to try a two-point conversion from the 33-yard line that was intercepted.
Lewis Dillard swung the momentum back in favor of the Cougars with a 60-yard kickoff return to the Imhotep 30-yard line. Quarterback Mikal Shank Jr. beat the horn by threading a 9-yard touchdown pass through two defenders to Mickens, giving the Cougars a 20-13 lead into halftime.
“These games are so important to us to have early on because to see what your team is truly made of,” Mickens said. “Later down the road if we get into these types of games we know as a team we can overcome adversity.”
Imhotep continued the seesaw affair by tying the game at 20 following a 49-yard touchdown run from Yazid McCorkle on his first carry of the game at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter. Joseph Sondah forced a sack fumble with Harrisburg trapped inside its own 10-yard line and McCorkle put the Panthers in the lead at 26-20 with his second touchdown run of the quarter.
However, the lead was short-lived after Mickens broke through the line for a 63-yard touchdown run at the 1:49-mark to give Harrisburg the lead back at 27-26.
“I told our starters that we are going to ride them down the stretch in this game,” Everett said. “Messiah made plays for us on both sides of the ball, and he overcame cramping to finish the deal for us.”
Imhotep seemingly had a stunning response to the Mickens long touchdown run with an 83-yard connection on a 3rd down from McLeish to By’ire Murphy only to have an illegal shift wipe out the play. One play later, Lewis picked off McLeish again and returned it to the Panthers 10-yard line.
Coke followed by making another spectacular touchdown catch on 4th-and-goal from the 14-yard line to put Harrisburg up 33-26 with 9:57 left in regulation.
The Panthers needed one more stand after Shank Jr. was stripped again of the ball inside Cougar territory and Lewis was once again the guy to deliver with his third interception of the game. Mickens put a bow on a wild night with a 51-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds.
Mickens finished his night with 168 yards on 22 carries and three rushing touchdowns. 132 of those rushing yards came in the second half and he added one more touchdown through the air behind two catches for 15 yards.
“I am thankful to have a great offensive line to allow me to do what I did,” Mickens said. “We have a big game next week, so we have to get back in the film room to see what we missed today.”
That big game is the Cougars home opener next Saturday, August 30th at 1:00 p.m. as they host crosstown rival Bishop McDevitt, who lost 27-7 hours before their contest tonight to Clarkson Football North of Canada.
In a game that featured a combined 31 penalties for 242 yards and five turnovers, the Cougars showed their toughness especially when the game was headed off the rails.
“They did not put their heads down when it got tough and they kept fighting,” Everett said. “That is what you like to see in a football team. I did not like how the game went but on the other side I am happy it went that way, and we came out on top because I know my guys proved they are resilient and they are not going to give up.”
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Imhotep Charter | 0 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 26 |
| Harrisburg | 8 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 40 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | HBG | Coke, 60 pass from Shank Jr. (Dent Run) | 8:01 |
| 2 | HBG | Mickens, 1 run (Kick blocked) | 8:55 |
| 2 | IC | Culmer, 13 pass from McLeish (McLeish kick) | 3:37 |
| 2 | IC | Haqq, 25 pass from McLeish (Pass failed) | 0:42 |
| 2 | HBG | Mickens, 9 pass from Shank Jr. (Pass failed) | 0:04 |
| 3 | IC | McCorkle, 49 run (McLeish kick) | 7:51 |
| 3 | IC | McCorkle, 6 run (Kick blocked) | 4:09 |
| 3 | HBG | Mickens, 63 run (Everett kick) | 1:49 |
| 4 | HBG | Coke, 14 pass from Shank Jr. (Kick missed) | 9:57 |
| 4 | HBG | Mickens, 51 Run (Everett kick) | 0:04 |
Team statistics
| Imhotep Charter | Harrisburg | |
| First downs | 18 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-186 | 43-204 |
| Passing yards | 186 | 142 |
| Total yards | 372 | 346 |
| Passes COMP-ATT-INT | 16-33-3 | 11-20-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 4-2 |
| Punts-average | 1-36.0 | 2-31.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 16-130 | 15-112 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Imhotep Charter: Coleman 15-92, McCorkle 3-53, Ward 6-27, McLeish 2-7, Chappelle 2-7
Harrisburg: Mickens 22-168, Dent 12-47, Lewis 3-6, Shank Jr. 4-4, Arp 1-0, Team 1-(-21)
PASSING
Imhotep Charter: McLeish 16-33-3—186
Harrisburg: Shank Jr. 11-20-0–142
RECEIVING
Imhotep Charter: Ward 6-52, Culmer 3-46, Haqq 3-41, Pollard 3-35, Murphy 1-12
Harrisburg: Coke 7-114, Mickens 2-15, Walker 2-13
INTERCEPTIONS
Imhotep Charter: None
Harrisburg: Lewis (3)
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Imhotep Charter: McLeish 30
Harrisburg: None