Manheim Central Takes Show Across State Lines, Pulls One Out Of The Fire As Enterline’s Slam Dunk Reception Propels Barons Past Defending Delaware State Champs In Miraculous Fashion

Written by: Andy Herr on Saturday, September 2nd, 2023. Follow Andy Herr on Twitter.

First of all, no matter how the eventual outcome of the game itself would play itself out, Manheim Central’s Labor Day weekend excursion of 2023 would almost certainly prove to be memorable for those involved regardless. Shoot, how could it not? After all, it’s not every day you see two prominent high school football programs hailing from two different states match up against one another head-to-head. Especially not when you’re talking about two public schools either mind you. Nevertheless, when Manheim Central, already easily cemented as one of the premier football franchises in Pennsylvania traversed into Delaware for a mid-afternoon kick against the defending state champs found in Delaware’s 3A ranks, the Smyrna Eagles, inside the city limits of Wilmington at Abessino Stadium in the Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic on Friday, something special figured to be in store. As it turned out though, not even the excitement found in the build up to this interstate meeting could possibly live up to what exactly played out on the field itself over the course of the next three hours on this Chamber of Commerce Day held in the First State.

In the early going however, it certainly appeared as if Manheim Central would make quick work of Delaware’s big school champs in relatively short order.

Sure enough, the Barons’ initial drive of the contest couldn’t have possibly been scripted any better. Aided by a nice series of dinks and dunks found in the powerful runs from All-State senior running back Brycen Armold which paired quite nicely with the high IQ found in fellow senior triggerman Zac Hahn, the visitors from the Keystone State methodically ushered themselves down the pitch in the opening minutes. That said, the drive was not without its challenges. Chief among them, a 3^rd & 10 attempt which successfully saw the chains move as Hahn kept the play alive with his legs before finding Bode Sipel breaking free on the scramble drill, as the senior connection between quarterback and receiver picked up 16 yards to move the ball down to the Smyrna 32-yard line. From there, with a handful of Armold’s bullying runs sprinkled in for good measure, the Barons drew first blood as a Hahn 3-yard TD keeper made it a 7-0 affair following Drew Greiner’s PAT with nearly half the first quarter clock having evaporated considering just 6:19 remained.

If there was one thing that became apparent following Central’s opening drive, it was that the Barons could move the ball down the field in a way that felt relatively unimpeded. To the tune of 63 yards to be precise. Suffice to say, giving this potent Manheim Central club an even shorter field to work with might not be the recommended dose of medicine.

Even still, albeit not with original intent, Smyrna helped gift wrap a short Barons’ drive at the conclusion of the Eagles’ opening drive of their season as a 4^th & short attempt was stonewalled by the Central defensive unit, giving the ball back to Hahn and his troops with just 27 yards left to travel. Sure enough, a second Manheim Central touchdown wouldn’t be far behind as a 16-yard Armold run helped move MC down to the Eagles’ 16 which set the stage for a Hahn to Aaron Enterline 16-yard pitch and catch touchdown between the pair as the lethal senior duo made it a 14-0 Manheim Central count with 4:12 still left to play in the opening frame.

Sensing a theme of Manheim Central barreling downhill at this point? Yeah, well Smyrna certainly had to feel that way too.

Yet again, Manheim Central set up shop at the end of the ensuing Eagles’ (brief) possession as a diving interception made by sophomore defensive back Jayvior Morales put the MC offense back on the field with only 28 yards to go this time around.

And with the Barons continuing to move it down the field bit by bit –highlighted by a pair of Hahn to Enterline tosses that propelled MC down to the Eagles’ 11 — a dominating opening quarter performance was put into stone as Manheim Central carried the 14-0 advantage with them into the second dozen minutes.

In terms of the second frame, it took the Barons all of 1:06 to find paydirt here too. This time, a Brycen Armold 2-yard touchdown plunge on 4^th & Goal put MC up 21-0 with 10:54 left in the half, leaving many in attendance if this would prove to be much of a contest at all.

Finally, and certainly not a moment too soon as far the home state team had to be concerned, Smyrna finally found their sea legs.

Seeing as how the Barons’ starting defense refused to give the Eagles much of anything when it came to a long, sustained drive, explosive plays figured to be the way in which Delaware’s champs would claw their way back into the thick of things.

Here, on their second offensive series of the second quarter, the Eagles handed the keys of the car over to a freshman quarterback, Drew Marks, with the 9^th grader coming up aces at the onset of this series as a 75-yard touchdown throw from Marks to senior running back Dior Mackey helped chip the Barons’ cushion down somewhat at 21-6 at the end of this one-play series following the missed 2pt try with 5:22 still left to play before half.

That said, it appeared as if the Barons would be able to keep Smyrna at bay after all, especially when Drew Greiner booted a 35-yard field goal through the yellow uprights with just 42 seconds left to go, making it a 24-6 Central lead with time running out.

Running out, but not totally finished.

If there was a phrase that perhaps best epitomized Smyrna’s opening half up until that point, it might’ve been precisely that. And here, aided with the wind of a big play in their sails yet again, the Eagles found themselves on the verge of getting out of dodge relatively unscathed all things being equal considering how much of the opening half played itself out.

For the big play spoils, those honors this time around would be bestowed upon Andre Ashley as the Smyrna senior wideout returned the ensuing Manheim Central kickoff all the way back to the Barons’ 28-yard line. From there, with the assistance of a facemask call whistled against MC as well, the Marks to Mackey relationship proved itself to be fruitful once again from the Eagles’ perspective as a 14-yard delayed seam route resulted in a touchdown before a 2pt conversion run by Timothy Yancy made it a 24-14 ballgame which is where the score remained once the final 14 seconds melted off the second quarter clock.

Suffice to say, while it felt to the layman’s eye that Manheim Central had flexed its collective muscle plenty in that opening half, it remained a modest 10-point advantage all things being equal once the third quarter rolled around. Well, not even that double digit lead would last very long once both teams came out of their respective dressing rooms for the third quarter of play.

Undoubtedly ignited by their opening offensive play of the second half –a powerful run exerted by senior QB Jacob Tiberi who refused to go down had it not been for a majority of the Barons’ defensive crew finally getting involved—Smyrna was flirting with taking all of Manheim Central’s prior momentum and calling it their own.

Big plays you say? Who’da thunk it?

Here, a picture-perfect route from Tiberi to Phoenix Henriquez down the Smyrna sideline resulted in a 65-yard Eagles’ score that came complete with a Cole Moyer 2pt conversion run across the chalk added on top which had now suddenly wiped the Barons’ once commanding 21-point lead down to a very pedestrian two, 24-22, with 11:03 still left to play in the third.

So, if Smyrna had been able to make their hay with big plays by and large, it’d be nothing if not fair to say that Manheim Central on the other hand inflicted the majority of their damage with the assistance of short fields of which to work with.

Case in point, the Barons’ second offensive possession of the third quarter which got underway at the Smyrna 23-yard line following a nifty punt return by Aaron Enterline who fielded the bounding ball and took off running down the Barons’ sideline. And here, while getting back to his more traditional roots of being on the (very) short list of best wide receivers found hanging out in central PA in particular, Enterline’s 13-yard reception on a 3^rd & 10 helped breathe new life into this Barons’ series as the ball was then placed at the Smyrna 10-yard line. From there, after being nothing if not a total warrior all day long as best evidenced by his willingness to fight through a pesky ankle, along with meeting what felt like a host of Eagles’ defenders on quite a few occasions when he did try to tote the rock, Manheim Central’s Brycen Armold came up huge once again his troops as his 10-yard touchdown gallop pushed the Barons’ lead back up to a 31-22 difference with just 2:45 left to play in the third.

But yet again, big plays against them proved to be the thorn in the Barons’ side all afternoon.

This time, after seeing the Eagles start their ensuing offensive series following the aforementioned Armold touchdown 80 yards away from paydirt, Smyrna was given yet another new lease on life as another long Eagles’ pass play, this one into the waiting hands of sophomore wideout Kahmaj Kearney, ushered the attack down the Barons’ 25 yard line with the third quarter horn blaring out and Manheim Central being the owner of the 31-22 lead.

Nine points quickly became one within the blink of an eye however.

Here, behind the use of an unconventional “jumbo” formation that not the least of which featured two players standing at the ready to receive the short shotgun snap from center with no true way to determine who ultimately would similar to that of a rugby scrum, Smyrna’s Dior Mackey got the call on this particular play and trudged his way across the goal line before following that up with a 2pt conversion run immediately afterwards to slice Manheim Central’s lead down to a penny, 31-30, with 11:07 left to go.

Needless to say, a Barons’ rebuttal would be the preferred course of action here with momentum leaning almost exclusively on Smyrna’s side. Unfortunately, as far as those who had crossed state lines had to be concerned, an ensuing three-and-out made things even more precarious for Manheim Central.

Now, with the ball and a chance to take their first lead of the contest at the most opportune of times, Smyrna found, guess this, a chunk play, to move the ball down to the MC 5 yard-line as a long, drawn-out play ended in Drew Marks moving the pocket to the right side and finding Phoenix Henriquez breaking free across the middle as the 66-yard pitch and catch on the first drive of the Eagles’ series put Smyrna in business.

However, while they might have been stymied by big plays, Manheim Central exemplified big-boy football from there on out with Smyrna threatening to take the lead.

In fact, while the Barons not only would bow their necks and refuse to give the Eagles nothing more than crumbs for the rest of the series, Manheim Central shut the door completely in the most fitting of fashions as Zion Rolon came totally free and unabated to the quarterback as the Barons’ junior linebacker’s blitz ended this Smyrna offering on 4^th& Goal, leaving the red and white with no points to show for their devilish efforts.

That said, another ill-timed three-and-out from the Barons offensively gave the ball back to Smyrna once again with the opportunity to take the lead here again. This time, the defending state champs would make good on the motion.

For the specifics of it all, it came in the form of a toss out wide to the boundary from Jacob Tiberi to Phoenix Henriquez who quickly turned upfield following a missed Manheim Central tackle and found nothing but green turf in front of him as the 45-yard touchdown strike felt like a dagger into the hearts of Manheim Central as the Barons’ had formally surrendered their once three-touchdown advantage to the tune of a 36-31 Smyrna lead –the Eagles’ first time playing from in front all day—with 3:06 left to play.

Okay. While this 2023 edition of Manheim Central is already considered one of the better teams found in Pennsylvania District 3 regardless of classification size, there was no doubt that this ensuing offensive drive, their first time this season playing with their backs firmly pushed up against the wall, would tell a lot about the character and resolve found in this cast of Barons. Well, if that’s the true measure of a ballclub, we already know based on the next three minutes and change that Manheim Central has all that and then some measured by the boatload.

 Suffice to say, starting the do-or-die task while taking over at their own 27-yard line with a whisker over three minutes left to play certainly may not have been the most desired of beginning points, the Barons nonetheless remained undeterred. And speaking of undeterred, there was arguably no better example put forth throughout all of Friday than Brycen Armold somehow working himself free from the clutches of a host of Smyrna Eagles, so much in fact that many players on the field seemed to let up as if the play was already blown dead and the 2,000+ yard rusher from last season had already been brought down, as Armold’s heroic run gave the Barons a critical fresh set of downs following a 3^rd & 1 conversion attempt. Then, following the assistance of receiving another fresh set of downs following a third down attempt –this one courtesy of Smyrna’s personal foul — the Barons were suddenly sitting at the Eagles’ 38-yard line.

However, their next third down attempt on the series wouldn’t end in nearly as successful of fashion. In fact, it ended painfully in a very literal sense.

After he too had been played the leading role of fearless Manheim Central quarterback all day long as if to be right out of central casting after taking shot after shot from the Smyrna defensive unit, Manheim Central quarterback Zac Hahn was forced to leave the game for one play after formally being attended to medically. Suffice it to say, it couldn’t have been at a worse time you’d imagine considering it meant that the Barons’ All-State stud was sidelined on 4^th & 10 with the game hanging in the balance. Of course, when you have the likes of an athletic phenom such as Aaron Enterline at your disposal, you’re never truly out of it.

So, after having entered the game more like Artic Circle-cold as opposed to the generic version of Ice Cold considering this would be his first time off the bench all game long, Manheim Central trotted out sophomore quarterback Ray Lewis to pull the strings on this magic attempt. And wouldn’t you know it, but the moniker of “Manheim Magic” is apparently a very real thing that can play out in other states as well seeing as how Lewis lofted a jump ball into triple coverage with Enterline hopefully somewhere down there waiting for it to come back down to Earth. There, using all his athletic prowess that also helps the star wide receiver moonlight as arguably the best dunker in the Lancaster-Lebanon League come wintertime as well, Enterline was able to high-point the ball in the air, turn around, and rumble all the way into the endzone with 18 seconds left after having just given Manheim Central the go-ahead 37-36 lead.

As one might imagine, it would be nothing if not extremely difficult for Smyrna to try and recover after having given up such an excruciating play. Sure enough, while they had largely thrived by way of the big play throughout much of the afternoon, there would be no more to be had inside the final seconds here. And once the final hook-and-ladder play ended in a Manheim Central tackle with nothing but zeroes left on the clock, another memorable, downright improbable Manheim Central victory to add to an already extremely long list in Barons’ lore was born into existence as this 37-36 triumph over an out-of-state opponent and the circumstances surrounding it will be one assuredly remembered inside this football-crazed community for years to come.

For the hero of it all, even he too had a hard time believing what had just transpired not even five minutes prior.

“No,” Aaron Enterline said while also seeming to process an added layer of bewilderment to it all when asked if there was ever a situation in Manheim Central practice where the task at hand involved backup quarterback Ray Lewis trying to find him with the game on the line.

“I still had hope because we had another play, but when Zac (Hahn) went down and was laying there, it was like, ‘Get up, get up,’” Enterline admitted heading into the Barons’ last-ditch effort. “We knew what we were going to do. The coach said to go route the route. (Lewis) threw it earlier than I thought so I had to speed up, went up and got it, and I went numb when I caught that.”

“He didn’t look nervous, but he didn’t look like Zac you know,” Enterline continued of Lewis who overnight already has a place somewhere in the annals of Barons’ storytelling. “He’s young, but he doesn’t have a weak arm…He let it go, he felt good with it, I felt good with it, and we feel really good now.”

As far as the Barons’ headman who just saw his team persevere at the end of a wild 48 minutes of play? He might have put it best.

“That kid right there? That kid is an athlete. That’s the story here,” Manheim Central head coach Dave Hahn said while pointing to Aaron Enterline who was busy with more postgame interviews while clutching a commemorative football that read, “Game MVP” on it. “Listen, Jimmy’s and Joe’s, man. We threw it to our Jimmy, and he made a play. There’s no magic secret to that. No magic secret at all.”

“He put it up there and had Aaron make a play. He did what he had to do. For that, I’m proud of him,” Hahn added of Lewis coming in off the bench when called upon.

And at the end of the day, perhaps that’s all that really needs to be said. Sometimes, when it feels like the margin of separation is just razor thin, players just make plays. Well, that, along with answering the dinner bell when challenged both on the field and otherwise. So, if Friday afternoon in Delaware is to serve as any sort of indication as to what the Barons have in their collective tank as a whole for 2023, this might end up being one of the more memorable Manheim Central units that has been assembled after all. Now, even the state of Delaware knows all about the Manheim Central Barons.

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