2023 Team Preview: Mechanicsburg Wildcats

Written by: David Mika on Friday, August 25th, 2023. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

Head Coach: Anthony Rose

Assistant Coaches:
Frank Rubinic
Jeff Costello
Steve Reider
Sean O’Malley
Jason Misiti
Josh Hinkle
Gaige Zettlemoyer
Adam Casper
Andrew Walters

Team Name: Mechanicsburg Wildcats

2022 Record: 4-6

District: 3

Class: AAAAA

League: Mid-Penn Conference, Colonial Division

Key Starters Lost:
Seth Brubaker (TE/DE)
Sage Thomas (RB/LB)
Parker Sample (RB/LB)
Jayden Connors (OL/DL)
Teddy Lechthaler (OL/DL)

Offensive Starters Returning:
Sr. QB Jeffrey Lougee, 5’11, 185
Sr. OL Davon Hutchinson, 6’1, 250
Sr. WR Henry Notarfrancesco, 5’10, 175
Sr. OL Isiah McRae, 6’0, 210
Jr. WR Josh Smith, 6’1, 170
Jr. OL Justin Bardo, 5’11, 200
Jr. WR Wyatt Lehr, 6’0, 170

Defensive Starters Returning:
Sr. DB Jeffrey Lougee, 5’11, 185
Sr. DL Davon Hutchinson, 6’1, 250
Sr. DB Henry Notarfrancesco, 5’10, 175
Jr. DB Josh Smith, 6’1, 170
Jr. LB Justin Bardo, 5’11, 200
Jr. DB Eli Reider, 6’1, 170
Jr. Isaac Dollman, 5’10, 170

Special Team Starters Returning:
Sr. K Brennan Baker, 5’10, 165

Key Newcomers:
Jr. OL/DL Patrick Crone, 6’1, 220
Jr. WR/DE Owen Witmer, 6’3, 180
Jr. WR/DB Brendan Mena, 5’10, 160
Jr. OL/DL Willie Travis, 6’0, 190
Soph. RB/DE Collin Stare, 6’1, 220
Soph. OL/DL Jimmy Dewire, 6’1, 230
Soph. WR/DB Jack DeLuca, 5’11, 160

2023 Returning Player Stats:
Jeffrey Lougee (QB, 5’11, 185 lbs., Sr. – 851 yards passing, 5 TD’s, 536 yards rushing, 4 TD’s)
Henry Notarfrancesco (WR/DB, 5’10, 170 lbs., Sr.- 179 yards receiving, 2 TD’s)
Josh Smith (WR/DB, 6’0, 170 lbs., Jr.- 107 receiving yards, 2 TD’s)
Justin Bardo (OL/LB, 5’10, 195 lbs., Jr.- 65 total tackles, 10 TFL’s, 1 sack)
Davon Hutchinson (OL/DL, 6’1, 250 lbs., Sr.- 28 total tackles, 8 TFL’s, 1 sack, 2 FF)
Isaac Dollman (RB/DB, 5’10, 170 lbs., Jr.- 23 total tackles, 1 INT, 9 passes defended)
Eli Reider (QB/DB, 6’1, 175 lbs., Jr.- 29 total tackles, 1 INT, 8 passes defended)

2023 Offensive Outlook: Offensively, we return a nice blend of size and speed across the board. Davon Hutchinson and Justin Bardo will spearhead our warriors in the trenches, while Jeff Lougee, Josh Smith, Isaac Dollman, Henry Notarfrancesco, and Eli Reider will bring not only experience but also explosiveness and big play ability to our respective skill positions. Those traits are very useful, as we will shift back to a more spread-like style of offensive. We are also fortunate enough to have several other players who gained valuable experience up front last season, in the form of Isiah McRae and Patrick Crone. The keys for us offensively will focus on maintaining an advantage in time of possession during each game, and a renewed emphasis on the passing game this season.

2023 Defensive Outlook: Defensively, we return several key starters from last season, such as Davon Hutchinson, Justin Bardo, Isaac Dollman, and Josh Smith. We like our potential playmakers at all three levels, and we look to continue the hard-hitting, aggressive style of defense that has characterized our teams in recent years. Again, we have a nice blend of size, speed, and experience at all three levels of the defense, and I feel that we have the potential to be one of the better defensive units in the division.

2023 Special Teams Outlook: Brennan Baker will return after handling our PAT duties last season, and he will slide into the full-time kicking job this year. To be successful on special teams, we must continue to refine our coverage and gap responsibilities on the kickoff and punt teams.

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