Photos by Nate Sports Media
Much like the weather the time of year when these games are contested, springtime all-star football games can be a bit of a crapshoot – for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes, no matter how little, relative cohesion these makeshift, ragtag squads have with one another in the weeks leading up to kickoff, things can nonetheless seem to go off without a hitch. Just look at last year’s 49-39 back-and-forth affair between the Lancaster and Berks/Lebanon outfits in the 23rd edition of the Tri-County All-Star game for proof of that, a Memorial Day weekend staple in Lancaster County which pits senior all stars from the Lancaster-Lebanon League against one another one final time in the scholastic ranks.
Other years, like this year for instance, instead of Memorial Day weekend correctly serving as in its unofficial capacity in being the tantalizing start to summer, it can look and feel like Mother Nature wanted nothing more than to have a football game be played in football-like conditions, the exact scenario which everyone who descended upon Manheim Central’s Elden Rettew Field encountered in full on Friday night for the 24th running of the Tri-County All-Star Game amid chilly, rainy, and downright raw conditions more befitting of late October as opposed to the calendar showing it being a week out from June.
Fittingly, as one might expect with the stage being set in such a manner, while there were a smattering of big plays to be found in this year’s contest, the annual grudge match between these three counties (four if we’re counting Chester County to account for Octorara’s inclusion) lent itself to more a defensive rock fight than a football version of the fireworks show which concluded the evening after the final gun.
Yet once it did and those pyrotechnics took to the skies, one tradition continued. That being Lancaster’s all-star unit retaining the upper hand in this series yet again as the host county was able to successfully fend off their neighbors to the north – the only such result which has occurred following the full Berks County merger into the L-L League which came prior the 2023 springtime football game.
Early on, as if to know full-well the prevailing history aiding them along, the Lancaster team took the opening kickoff and promptly went down the field to begin the evening’s festivities.
There, ignited by a pass thrown by the L-L Section Two Back of the Year, Sawyer Esbenshade, Conestoga Valley’s sensational quarterback was able to hook up with Cody Hess of Manheim Central as the Buckskin to Baron connection was not only good for a 15-yard pickup to move the chains, but it also ushered the hosts down to the visitor’s 37-yard line in short order. Later, while a defensive pass interference call whistled against Berks/Lebanon – the second of the series – moved the ball down to the 7-yard line, Lancaster’s opening salvo was met with stiff resistance.
Yet once it was and Berks/Lebanon allowed for no further negotiation, the good news was that an All-State kicker was able to trot out onto the field for their side nonetheless as Lampeter-Strasburg’s Peter Fiorello was able to live up to such distinction by breaking the scoring seal with a free and easy 24-yard field goal knocked thru the uprights to make it a 3-0 Lancaster cushion with 6:04 left to play in the opening frame.
That said, for as much as promise as Lancaster’s initial march might’ve displayed out of the chute as a precursor of things to come, the remaining drives of the first quarter saw nothing but three plays and punt– three of them to be exact between the two sides – as the sun would set on a opening stanza with Lancaster’s 3-0 cushion remaining the only margin of separation amid this sudden, defensive slugfest.
Ironically, even once a defense might’ve shown signs of perhaps breaking down – such as the case with Lancaster’s offensive drive to begin the second quarter which progressed all the way down to the Berks/Lebanon 15-yard line – that too would conclude without anything to show for it as an unsuccessful field goal saw the 3-0 difference remain firm with the guests now getting to take over at own 15-yard line with 7:49 left before the intermission.
Turns out, the spark that the Berks/Lebanon crew sought out just so happened to be sitting on its bench.
Almost immediately, once Wilson’s Mason Young took over controls of the Berks/Lebanon offense to begin his chore of second quarter quarterbacking duties, the red-clad bunch began moving the ball down the field in short order.
Case in point, Young wasting little to no time in finding a streaking Jayden Ware down the far sideline as the Wilson to Exeter tandem’s 34-yard gainer moved the ball out past the midfield stripe and down to the Lancaster 48-yard line in a flash.
And even while Berks/Lebanon might’ve encountered a bit of resistance as well, such as the case when Manheim Township’s Will Milazzo was able to collect himself a sack from his defensive line position, Lancaster’s ill-timed generosity in the form of a personal foul at the end of an unsuccessful Berks/Lebanon third-down play was much obliged considering how it allowed this most promising threat seen from the visitors to continue onward.
Finally, after bearing witness to another third down conversion – this of the more traditional variety via a Cameron Small run courtesy of the uber talented Muhlenberg running back – Berks/Lebanon was able to find paydirt as that same Young to Ware duo which had kickstarted this drive capped things off in kind as the 17-yard TD toss between the two made it a 7-3 Berks/Lebanon lead following Annville-Cleona’s Cian Soliday’s PAT with 1:57 left before the break.
Remember that prior mention of a smattering of big plays to be found in this contest though? Here came one on the ensuing Lancaster drive.
Specifically, it took all of one play as Garden Spot’s Gabe Martin, now the pilot of the hosts’ offensive operation, fired off a 61-yard go-route to Solanco’s Kris Burgos-Wise as the Spartan to Golden Mule pairing was good for the lightning-quick touchdown rebuttal, making it a 10-7 Lancaster advantage a mere 18 seconds later following a Fiorello PAT.
However, even with nary 99 seconds remaining in the opening half at that point, these sudden-spark offenses continued to remain alive and well.
For that, look no further than Berks/Lebanon’s next time with the football, a drive which included the likes of a 17-yard jaunt from Conrad Weiser’s Javien Rivera’s running back spot, preceding a Mason Young to Fred Lacey 24-yard strike thru the air, as the Muhlenberg Muhl hauled in the reception to move the Berks/Lebanon troops down to the Lancaster 29-yard line.
However, promising drive and all, the guests would end up turning it over on downs all the same with Lancaster regaining control at their own 28-yard line with all of 34 seconds outstanding in the game’s first 24 minutes.
And as it had down just before, the Martin to Burgos-Wise potent chemistry bore fruit once again as this time a 50-yard pitch and catch between the reps from the two neighboring Lancaster County school districts moved the hometown attack down to the Berks/Lebanon 22-yard line. Then, following a defensive pass interference – Berks/Lebanon’s third of the half – the pill was sitting on the 11-yard line with the damage being half the distance to the goal.
Yet like their opponent’s prior possession which showed much promise at least initially, Lancaster’s final offensive drive of the first half would end absent of points too as a botched field goal operation on the final play of the second stanza sent both teams into the locker room with Lancaster owning the 10-7 halftime lead.
As it turned out though, Lancaster, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, had no problem righting the wrongs of the latter stages of the first half when the task came to authoring more points.
In terms of specifics, it took all of one play from scrimmage as a fumble on Berks/Lebanon’s initial play from scrimmage following the halftime respite ended with Manheim Township’s Zach Bomberger picking up the fumble recovery and dashing 22 yards to the house with it as the Blue Streak defensive back’s scoop and score allowed the hosts to gain an insurance score, making it a 17-3 count with all of nine seconds having bled off the third quarter clock.
Then, for a period which began with such explosion considering it took just nine seconds for someone to cross the chalk, that same 14-point difference would remain sturdy and firm once the book closed on the penultimate quarter of play, albeit with Lancaster once again in the midst of writing what could be perceived as the game’s knockout blow once the fourth act got underway.
Sure enough, that early Q4 KO would largely come the via the legs of Marcos Fernandez as the Manheim Township running back was able to power his way for a six-yard pickup to move the sticks on a key 3rd & 2 play just outside the Berks/Lebanon redzone once the fourth quarter commenced. Then, the back wearing the #7 jersey was able to dash his way in for a 7-yard TD run which essentially did shut the door on a possible Berks/Lebanon comeback bid as the Fernandez touchdown gallop made it a commanding 23-7 Lancaster lead with 10:03 left to play following the ensuing PAT being blocked.
And once those remaining ten minutes and change did melt away, it was yet another successful defense of the homeland from the host Lancaster crew as the 16-point verdict officially, unofficially wrapped up the 2025 high school football season for this 37-team conference – a season which saw one of its members, Twin Valley, reach a state championship game for the second straight season when paired alongside Lampeter-Strasburg’s excursion in 2024.
So, will another trip to Cumberland Valley be in the cards for an L-L member school in December of 2026? Who’s to say. What can be said however is that the Lancaster-Lebanon League must be considered one of the best leagues in the entire state by this point. The facts bear that out. And for a league that so treasures its place underneath the Friday night lights in the autumn, it seems only right that its outgoing seniors have one final bow come the spring. Yes, even if it feels like the weather may have never changed.