Manheim Township at 1, Wilson at 2; Wilson at 1, Manheim Township at 2; Manheim Township at 1A, Wilson at 1B; Wilson at 1A, Manheim Township at 1B.
If you want to engage inside Section One of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, you probably already understand that the above the scenarios have largely become the foremost rules of engagement when it comes to who presides at the top rung of this particular ladder. In fact, save for Hempfield inserting themselves into the discussion and coming away with sole possession of the divisional crown in 2022, the L-L’s Section One champion has contained either the words Manheim Township and/or Wilson every single year dating back to 2004. And yes, that would mean that many of the players playing right now weren’t even born the last time neither the Blue Streaks nor the Bulldogs found themselves at the summit of the sectional heap considering the pair’s 95% success rate in finishing on top since those formative years of the 21st century.
Now, to be fair, a large swath of those titles accrued during that time belong to the fellas from Berks County. That’s fair. But, since 2015, Manheim Township has finished as section champ four times over with Wilson doing the same a half a dozen times within that same timeframe respectively.
Suffice to say, it has largely been a two-horse race for supremacy between these two suburban school district juggernauts since most anyone can honestly recollect with few others being able to generate a substantial enough clamor year-over-year in challenging for the crown.
And true to form, 2025 doesn’t appear to be looking much different through the first six weeks of the season at least.
When you’re competing for sectional titles on a perennial basis so much so that you’re going on basically a decade’s worth of data, to suggest or intimate that your program finds itself in anything but solid footing is of course an incredibly gross mischaracterization in assessing the situation.
Forget the word “rebuild” at Township. It simply doesn’t exist within their vernacular. They’ve outgrown that phrase now.
This season, like most every year in Neffsville these days, even when the Streaks see key pieces exit stage right with diplomas in hand every spring, the bar doesn’t lower. Case in point, here they sit again, 5-1 record to their name, after getting bounced by only Central York thus far – a program that also refuses to negotiate with their YAIAA Section One brethren considering the Panthers’ 40-plus game divisional winning streak currently ongoing – with Township also scoring no fewer than 35 points in every game since Week 3 to aid in the Blue Streaks’ case for another solid resume put forth.
In other words, business as usual here. Even if it may be slightly quieter than normal.
But that matchup with Wilson? That’ll have to wait another couple of weeks. For if the Streaks were to falter prior to that Week 10 matchup against the Bulldogs, forget that game losing some sort of abstract “luster.” More importantly, it would significantly dim any shot that Township would have at claiming at least a piece of that section crown yet again. That’s why every week deserves their upmost attention. Yeah, this week especially considering who’s on the docket.
Coming into this year, if there was a team that figured to possess enough venom to warrant a significant challenge to that of the aforementioned pair up at the top, it figured to probably be Cedar Crest most of all.
Coming into Friday night’s affair against Township, it’s been admittedly a bit of a mixed bag thus far for the Falcons at 3 up and 3 down in terms of the season’s ledger. However, in terms of the Section One chase most specifically, Cedar Crest was indeed hanging out like a fox around the hen house with a 2-1 divisional record, just eagerly waiting for the chance to author a signature victory when the odds seem steep. And just like their opponent found on Friday evening, they too are starting to show the initial signs of long-term sustainability in this the second-year journey under head man, Nick Lambros, who is now in charge of the show in south Lebanon.
Oh, and one more thing that probably kept the Township troops up all night over the course of this week of prep?
C’mon now. If you’ve spent any sort of time in this neck of the woods, you know you couldn’t possibly draw up a more prototypical Cedar Crest-style plotline in having the Falcons come down into Lancaster County – us against the world mentality and all — to steal the show while making sure that respect is justly put on their name.
But on this night, while the Falcons certainly didn’t leave town without backing down to a fight in true Cedar Crest fashion, the blue and gray’s opportunity to pen one of those signature victories would have to be tabled and set aside for another evening. Much of that due to the Manheim Township offense stealing their writing utensil.
Speaking of offense, both attacks were anything but timid in the early going on Friday night.
In fact, while buoyed by a flea flicker play the resulted in a bomb lobbed downfield from Cedar Crest sophomore quarterback, Steven Reyes, into the hands of senior wideout, Luke Oriel, the guests from Cornwall had not just made an emphatic opening punch, they more importantly bore witness their initial offensive series of contest suddenly finding itself at the Township 3-yard line within the blink of an eye. From there, the impressive opening Cedar Crest march was punctuated by a 1-yard touchdown plunge courtesy of junior running back, Eli Beard, pressed into service after Isaiah Zimmerman was sidelined for the remainder of the contest following the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Yet if the hosts seemed dazed and confused following their opposition’s early jab, they sure had a funny way of showing it.
Despite getting their first crack with it while coming out at their own 28-yard line, distance seemed to be a mere speedbump in terms of the Streaks’ offense prowess. In fact, following a 14-yard darting, scamper of a run toted off by way of Township senior tailback, Marcos Fernandez, the hosts already found themselves sitting on the Cedar Crest side of the field, the 47-yard line most specifically.
And 47 yards would be all that was required of the Township ensemble to then cross the chalk from there on out as a simple toss out towards the MT sideline thrown by Township senior trigger man, Jack Kenneff, resulted in what would blossom into a 47-yard workmanlike touchdown reception hauled in by fellow senior, Daryus Dixon, with Dixon doing the yeoman’s work in terms of slicing through the Cedar Crest defensive unit while en route to an early TD that knotted things up at 7-apeice following a Rowan Crispeno PAT with 6:21 left to play in the first. If you’re keeping track, that would be a 72-yard drive over the course of 1:38 to answer – a prevailing theme for most of the night at large.
Ironically, for an opening stanza that largely centered around the proficiency of both teams’ offensive units until that point, both the Falcons and Streaks would be forced to bring on their punting units their next times out on the field following their early tug of war. The problem was, Manheim Township never actually got their punt up in the air.
Well, maybe an inch or two in terms of technicities. However, Cedar Crest’s Landyn Kline couldn’t have cared less about the true altitude of the ball in actuality as the senior stormed in from his backer spot to block the would-be Manheim Township punt in the waning stages of the opening period, prompting the Falcons’ offense to jettison back onto the field with all of 7 yards left to negotiate following Kline’s momentum-stealing special teams gem.
From there, even though the pass would end up getting deflected, the Reyes-thrown pass would find the waiting hands of Liam Setcavage on the first play of this abrupt Cedar Crest series, making it a 13-7 Falcons’ buffer once the PAT was blocked in the aftermath of the senior receiver’s heady 7-yard TD reception with 1:27 left to play in the first by that point.
Maybe it should’ve been a sign of things coming down the pike. Or maybe it was just a case of it innocently happening on the first play of the second frame. But whatever “it” was, the game promptly turned on a dime just 10 seconds into the second act.
As if the Kenneff to Dixon connection hadn’t been lethal enough to oppositional forces already this fall, Cedar Crest was certainly getting first-hand exposure here and then some on Friday night. Not the least of which was due to the pair finding one another yet again to help raise the curtain on the second period, this time from 60 yards away, as the duo’s second TD strike made it a 14-13 Township cushion with 11:50 left in the opening half following the second successful PAT booted through the pipes by way of MT junior kicker, Rowan Crispeno.
It would be a lead that the hosts would refuse to give back for the remainder of the night.
By that point, considering that Township’s previous two scoring drives came from distances of 72 yards and 80 yards respectively up until that point, 90 yards seemed like it would’ve just been the next logical distance required to travel. Spoiler alert – nearly the entire length of the field wouldn’t be much of a deterrence here either.
While ignited on the very first play of the drive that resulted in Township sophomore wideout, Chase Fletcher, promptly bouncing off a crushing would-be Cedar Crest tackle before then rumbling out for a 10-yard pickup to move the sticks, the Blue Streaks’ offense only settling into top gear. And while a little Falcons’ gratuity certainly wouldn’t be refused – such as the case when Cedar Crest was hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty following an incomplete pass on third down which would’ve concluded the MT series – Township only continued to pounce.
Remember Daryus Dixon? Cedar Crest certainly will have a hard time forgetting his efforts for quite some time as Dixon proceeded to haul in another back-breaking reception, this coming on a 49-yard pickup on a 3rd & 20 play shortly thereafter, moving the ball down to the Falcons’ 25-yard line in the process. Then, in going tit-for-tat in terms of aerial attack and ground assault, a prompt 21-yard touchdown run by Marcos Fernandez’s feet upped the Township lead out to a 21-13 count with 1:40 left to play in the first half following Crispeno’s third successful PAT try.
Yet while Cedar Crest would have one last go of it following a magnificent interception snared by Falcons’ junior defensive back, Antonio Tirado, inside of the final minute, the guests’ last gasp drive to end the second quarter would fall short of picking up any additional points to dent the difference as Township trotted into the dressing room with the 21-13 lead to their name, a one-score game that felt as if the margin of separation was somehow wider than what the scoreboard lights might have reflected.
But once they came out to begin the third quarter, whatever hospitality Township had extended to Cedar Crest throughout points found within the game’s first 24 minutes, that same generosity would be over and done with when it came to the final two quarters.
In terms of drives, you’d be hard-pressed to find one much better than what the Blue Streaks put together to begin the third stanza.
Devilishly good runs that could help break an opponent’s will? Taylor Veilleux’s 6-yard tote plus a pair of Marcos Fernandez scampers of 11 yards and 7 yards apiece helped to do just that with the hosts eventually marauding their way down to the Crest 36-yard line. Through the air? Well, that base would be covered too courtesy of a pair of Jack Kenneff hookups to Chase Fletcher, with the sophomore wideout getting the attack down to the Falcons’ 13-yard line in just two plays. Yet even when it may have seemed as if Township was starting to sputter – even in just the slightest of bits – those assumptions were dashed on a 4th & 1 play which resulted in Veilleux falling forward to move sticks and prolong the advance. That would in turn then lead to Kenneff hunkering down and plowing his way ahead for the quarterback sneak turned touchdown run, making it a 28-13 contest with 3:30 left in the third. So, if you’re keeping track at home, that would indeed conclude an 80-yard drive that would gobble up 8:30 worth of third quarter time. Hard to do much better than that.
But the Manheim Township hammer only continued to get swung downward.
In fact, the Streaks’ defense would be the liaisons who would next usher their offensive mates back onto the field once Township senior defensive back, Riley Rontal, came away with a magnificent diving interception to negate this ensuing Cedar Crest series with all of just 40 yards of field required of the Township offense to traverse in terms of tallying another score.
Ironically, while sparked by the soup de jour of the night, Kenneff to Daryus Dixon, the pair’s next tandem of pitch and catches would net roughly 30 yards to get things in motion once more. From there, while obviously proving himself to be a tool that is nothing if not hard to bring down unless you’re bringing the rest of the calvary with you, Taylor Veilleux’s prompt 8-yard touchdown gallop would then make it a 35-13 Streaks’ cushion, exactly where the difference remained once the final 53 seconds evaporated off the third quarter clock.
Yet even if the metaphorical dagger had already been inserted at some point earlier in the contest, that didn’t exactly mean that the hosts were about to put this vehicle into cruise control for the final dozen minutes.
Sure enough, after halting the Falcons’ most proficient drive of the second half up until that point with an emphatic fourth down stop, that would yet again be the precursor for another MT excursion into the endzone shortly thereafter.
This time, with Fernandez and Veilleux getting the lion’s share of the work when it came to propelling the march down the field, Jack Kenneff and the Township offensive braintrust still had one final ace up their sleeve.
Here, with Cedar Crest calling a timeout prior to a third and goal very late in the contest, Township trotted back onto the field with a wise play call for the rebuttal – leaking Veilleux out in the flat with only heroic souls left in his immediate path to try and bring 5’11 250lb back down. And try as they might defensively from the Falcons’ perspective, Township’s senior bowling ball of a back continued with his pension for crossing the chalk, this time being the recipient of a 13-yard touchdown reception, formally closing the book on the night at large with Manheim Township continuing to chug right along in 2025 thanks to this 42-13 triumph over a game Cedar Crest outfit on a windy and brisk Friday evening inside of Neffsville.
On the surface, while what would culminate in 29-point victory might seem like business as usual here, this game featured far more storylines than what the final verdict may lead one to believe. First and foremost, the proficiency of the Township offense.
Just try some of these numbers on for size. Over 400 yards. Over two dozen first downs. Scoring drives of 72, 80, 90, 80, 40, and finally 49 yards respectively. Oh, and over 20 yards – that last statistic being the average distance of reception hauled in Daryus Dixon on the night against Crest. And lastly, how about ending the game on a 35-0 spurt to win going away?
To be sure, Cedar Crest was not the least bit intimidated once the game kicked off and it showed in spades with the Falcons going punch for punch, particularly in the early going on Friday night. It also made enough of an impression on the MT head coach that he too felt like it needed to be addressed.
“I was getting into (his players) pretty good at halftime,” Streaks’ boss, Mark Evans, admitted postgame. “I thought like we were playing with our food…At some point, you have to stop playing with your food and learn to eat it.”
“They spotted us,” Evans continued of his alma mater that went against his current operation on this night. “(Cedar Crest) hit us with that trick play early on and we took their best shot. We just needed to settle down. We didn’t do our best at times early, but we settled down, got some things addressed at halftime…We finally settled down and started playing. We started eating.”
In reality, it was the Streaks’ offensive unit that would be doing most of the devouring.
“We’re fortunate to have those offensive weapons,” Evans remarked of the thoroughbreds MT has inside the stables. “We still need to be more consistent, but yes, it’s nice to have that versatility. (Cedar Crest) was bringing a lot of heat, and you know what, sometimes that plays right into your hands. I kept saying, ‘They’re throwing everything at us.’ But our guys just kept staying resilient and locking horns with the guy right in front of them. For that, I’m proud of them.”
And if it seems like the overall chatter and noise is somewhat more tempered than perhaps it’s been in recent years coming out Blue Streaks’ camp, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. To them, maybe that’s the way they want it.
“We’re more blue-collar,” Evans said without hesitation when asked about the perceived quietness regarding his bunch from the outside masses thus far. “I think we learned something over the last couple of weeks to where the last couple of years we’ve been able to quick strike, put teams away, and let the JV’s finish the game. I think maybe we kind of thought that was just going to happen (again). Now, we have to work for it,” he shared.
“We don’t have tons of superstars. We just got a bunch of guys that go to work. It’s kind of a been a change going from a more finesse style to a more blue-collar team. I like this. I like this team.”
Finally, as is every year with Manheim Township, the year is often defined by a phrase or an acronym that they will try and live by through the autumnal months. This season, the motto is C.L.I.M.B.
“We talk about our standards in this program, and everyone wonders why our program is where it is right now. This was probably one of those years where people might have thought, ‘Oh, Township is going to have a down year.’ We talk about standards in January, February, March, and that’s really where you win and lose your ballgames,” said Evans. “Climb is based on the theme of commitment, doing the little things, things I think we still sometimes struggle to grasp maybe. Intensity, I think we have some intense dudes. I certainly do my best to try and model it,” he quipped. “Then, mental toughness. We’re always working on that mental toughness piece. Last thing, brotherhood. Continue to be a brotherhood and be a team. No matter how much sometimes they may dislike each other, I think this team genuinely loves each other. I think that’s the most important part of this whole deal.”
Whether it’s based on love, skill, knowledge, or any combination of the three, Manheim Township has cracked the code. For that, maybe there’s another section title waiting there in the safe come the end of 2025.