LANCASTER – Just gathered, tabulated and perused the 2011 Lancaster-Lebanon League football schedule. Hey, it’s never too early, right?
Some observations …
PRACTICALLY IDENTICAL: This is Year 2 of the 2010-2011 schedule cycle, so the 2011 schedule is all but the exact same as the 2010 slate. There will be a whole slew of new non-league match-ups (and the league schedules should also get a fresh facelift, considering Lancaster Catholic’s shift to Section 1, Ephrata’s move back to Section 2 and Garden Spot dropping to Section 3) for 2012-2013 seasons. More on that, um, in a year.
The 2 schedule changes this season:
* McCaskey has dropped Peabody from District 7 and added District 1 foe Coatesville (a former regular on the Red Tornado’s non-league schedule) in Week 1. McCaskey housed Peabody 47-0 in last season’s opener; this season they’ll open at Coatesville, which is coached by former McCaskey assistant (and former York High head man) Matt Ortega. The Red Raiders lost to Central Bucks West in the first round of Districts last fall. Been a lot of McCaskey-Coatesville barnburners in the past; we’ll see how this one goes as the Tornado opens Season 2 under reigning co-Section 1 Coach of the Year Rob Monzon.
* Pequea Valley has dropped Freedom Village Academy (NY) and added Pine Grove (a familiar non-league foe to several L-L League teams) in Week 8. One of the Braves’ two victories last season came against Freedom Village Academy, by a 49-12 count.
SATURDAY SLATE: One (uno) Saturday game this season – Week 2, on Sept. 17, Solanco will host Oxford in a backyard non-league scrap. That game was shifted to Saturday night at 7 because of the always popular Solanco Fair in Quarryville. Since it’s the only (scheduled) Saturday game, there’s a pretty good shot I’ll be providing a live blog/live chat from Quarryville that night. Stay tuned.
STARTING TIMES: With just the singular Saturday game, every other L-L League game will be contested on Friday. And all but two of those games will start at 7 p.m. The other two are 7:30 p.m. kick-offs: Week 5, Sept. 30, Manheim Central @ Solanco … Week 7, Oct. 14, Lebanon @ Solanco. … Nope, they still can’t get rid of those 7:30 p.m. start times at Solanco. Well, at least they’re down to just two of them this season.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULES: If you’re just going off of 2010 results, a pair of L-L League teams will face seven (7) teams that advanced to the district playoffs last fall:
Hempfield: Lampeter-Strasburg, Lancaster Catholic, Penn Manor, McCaskey, Wilson, Warwick and Manheim Township.
McCaskey: Coatesville, York High, Lancaster Catholic, Wilson, Penn Manor, Warwick and Manheim Township.
COMPASS: This one is sort of a stretch, but play along with me, OK. Columbia is set to play four (4) directional schools – Eastern York, Northeastern York, Eastern Lebanon and Northern Lebanon. Where else are you gonna find this stuff?
BERKS COUNTY CONNECTION: Donegal’s first three games (all non-league) are against Berks I-C competitors – Daniel Boone, Fleetwood and Conrad Weiser. … Boone, in Quad-A, and Weiser, in Triple-A, were District 3 semifinalists last season. Ouch. Fleetwood, for the record, went 1-9. … Donegal’s fourth non-league game is vs. Trinity.
NON, NON-LEAGUE: Two other L-L League teams (also from Section 3) will play all of their non-league games against non L-L League teams:
Columbia: Eastern York, Northeastern York, Daniel Boone and Boiling Springs. … By the way, the Crimson Tide will play those four games first; Columbia is the only Section 3 team not playing a league game in Week 4.
Pequea Valley: York Tech, Kutztown, Octorara and Pine Grove.
Everyone else in the L-L League is playing at least one L-L League-member non-league game.
LEBANON COUNTY CONNECTION: Once again, all three (3) of Lebanon’s non-league games will come against in-county opponents – Week 1 @ Cedar Crest in the Cedar Bowl; Week 2 vs. Northern Lebanon; and Week 3 @ Elco in the Bologna Bowl (at least that’s why I’ve dubbed it).
Other scheduling anomolies:
* Most home games in 2011? That would be Manheim Central, which will play six (6) games at Elden Rettew Field, and Pequea Valley, which will play six (6) games on the turf in Kinzers. … The Barons’ home slate includes the opener vs. Lower Dauphin, which could be a pretty emotional night, when Manheim Central will remember the four fallen students from the past year. … Pequea Valley, under first-year coach Evan Breisblatt, will play only four road games, but three of those come in the first four weeks of the season; the Braves will play their final four games at home: Week 7 vs. Elco; Week 8 vs. Pine Grove; Week 9 vs. Columbia; and Week 10 vs. Northern Lebanon.
* Most road games in 2011? That would be Garden Spot, which will play six (6) games away from New Holland. And I’m expecting some bigger and brighter things from the Spartans, so we’ll see how they handle playing behind enemy territory that many times – one last time around Section 2 before going down to Section 3 in 2012.
* Home Cooking Part 1: Manheim Township has a 3-game homestand – Week 2 vs. Red Lion (another OT game in the cards, perhaps?); Week 3 vs. Elizabethtown; and Week 4 vs. Ephrata in the Section 1 opener.
* Home Cooking Part 2: Lampeter-Strasburg, in its second season in Section 2 after coming up and winning the whole shebang last fall, has a 3-game homestand – Week 7 vs. Garden Spot; Week 8 vs. Solanco; and Week 9 vs. Elizabethtown. … FYI: That’s after Week 5 @ Cocalico and Week 6 @ Manheim Central. Hello!
* On the Road Again Part 1: Ephrata, in its second and final season in Section 1 before bumping back down to Section 2 next fall when Lancaster Catholic leapfrogs to Section 1, has a 3-game road trip: Week 2 @ Cocalico; Week 3 @ Conestoga Valley; and Week 4 @ Manheim Township in the Section 1 opener. You’ll recall Ephrata picked off Cocalico 21-20 and Conestoga Valley 7-3 last season, before dropping a wild 47-32 decision against Manheim Township.
* On the Road Again Part 2: Hempfield, under first-year coach Ron Zeiber, will have a 3-game road trip: Week 3 @ Central York; Week 4 @ Penn Manor in the Section 1 opener; and Week 5 @ McCaskey. Critical, critical games there; pegging Penn Manor and McCaskey to be very much in the Section 1 hunt. … FYI: The Zeiber Era gets started with back-to-back home games, against Lampeter-Strasburg and Lancaster Catholic, both District 3 semifinalists (who combined to go 22-3) last season. And I hate to bring this up to the good folks in the greater Landisville area, but … 2010: L-S 38, Hempfield 0 … Lancaster Catholic 35, Hempfield 0. Moving on …
* On the Road Again Part 3: Lancaster Catholic, which was knocked out in the District 3 Double-A semifinals after an 11-0 start last season (one season after winning Double-A state gold), should have a mighty big chip on its shoulder. The Crusaders must play three of their first four games away from Rossmere Stadium: Week 1 @ Trinity; Week 2 @ Hempfield; and Week 4 @ Donegal. The one home game in that stretch is Week 3 vs. neighbor McCaskey in a much-anticipated non-league battle (keep reading, eh).
CANTAFIO SIGHTINGS: Former Conestoga Valley and Wilson coach Jim Cantafio and his Cedar Cliff Colts will see two L-L League teams in the non-league – Week 1 @ Elizabethtown and Week 3 vs. Lampeter-Strasburg; the Pioneers picked off the Colts last fall on the way to a 9-1 mark in the regular season. Cantafio, you might have heard, was a finalist for the Hempfield job this off-season.
10 TO WATCH: This list will probably change once the season gets cranking, but as of late June/early July, here are my 10 L-L League football games to circle, from 10 to 1 …
10. Manheim Central @ Selinsgrove in Week 3 – Third year in a row for the Barons and the Seals, coming on the heels of Selinsgrove beating Manheim Central in the 2009 PIAA Triple-A title game. Barons returned the favor with a nip-and-tuck 21-20 win in Manheim last fall; the rubber match is in Selinsgrove – after Manheim Central faces an emotional test against Lower Dauphin in the opener and then Wilson, also at home. I’m a sucker for state-final rematches. I know this is two years out now, but humor me. And this is the last year (in the non-league, at least), for Barons-Seals (insert seal sound here).
9. Lancaster Catholic @ Trinity in Week 1 – It’s the annual opener between these two District 3 Double-A goliaths, and the Crusaders have owned the series as of late, including last year’s 35-7 thumping. Extremely anxious to see how Lancaster Catholic hits the ground this season, coming off last year’s upset loss to Wyo in the district semis. Just a hunch, but the experienced and talented Crusaders will be spitting fire.
8. Manheim Central @ Conestoga Valley in Week 7 – It’s the Barons. It’s the Buckskins. It’s the granddaddy of all L-L League football rivalries. Manheim Central squeaked out a 15-8 win at home last season; Buckskins lost some major talent (o-line, QB, RB), but new QB (track star Terrance Taylor, I’m told) has some major speed. Always fun when these two hook up, even though Manheim Central has dominated the last decade. Or two.
7. Wilson @ Manheim Township in Week 8 – These two old Section 1 foes hooked up twice last season, and the Blue Streaks gave the Bulldogs their best game in Section 1 (Wilson 27, Manheim Township 14, but the ‘Dawgs needed some fourth-quarter scores to pull it out – at home) before Wilson stomped Manheim Township 48-21 in the first round of Districts, also in West Lawn. Guessing by Week 8 that this game should/could be dripping with scenarios. And who knows? Maybe we’ll see Bulldog Punt get dusted off. Good times.
6. Lebanon @ Cedar Crest in Week 1 – Hey, it’s the Cedar Bowl. ‘Nuff said. Go crazy, LebCo.
5. Warwick @ Ephrata in Week 6 – Truth be told: I’m not expecting either of these teams to be with the lead pack in Section 1 come Week 10. But when the George Male Trophy is in the stadium, and the Warriors and the Mountaineers are squaring off on the gridiron, all bets are off.
4. Cocalico @ Manheim Central in Week 4 – Hoping the L-L League schedule-makers push this game back to Week 9 or Week 10 for the 2012-13 cycle because this has become quite the heated Section 2 rivalry here the last couple of years. Eagles stamped the rivaly with a 34-28 win in Denver last fall. Barons will be out for some payback – this time in Manheim. A 1-0 start in Section 2 will be mucho important here; you saw what happened last season.
3. Wilson @ Manheim Central in Week 2 – The Bulldogs and the Barons have played some classics the last couple of years; Wilson eked out a 25-22 win last season in West Lawn, after the Barons eked out a 29-27 win in Manheim in 2009. Pound-for-pound two of the best programs in the L-L League, District 3 and PIAA. Always a treat when these two hook-up, and enjoy this meeting, because they are not scheduled to meet in the 2012-13 cycle; Wilson is playing Governor Mifflin, Reading High and Harrisburg while Manheim Central is playing Hempfield, Warwick and Daniel Boone.
2. Lampeter-Strasburg @ Manheim Central in Week 6 - Yeah, guessing this game might get some pub, considering what happened last fall, when the Pioneers beat the Barons not once, but twice in their first season up in Section 2. L-S shocked Manheim Central in the league game when LB Ethan Martin stripped QB Chase Moyer and rumbled 60 yards to win it. L-S also won the rematch in the District 3 Triple-A quarterfinals with a hard-fought 25-20 win over the Barons, also in Lampeter. You know Manheim Central is jonesing to get a piece of the Pioneers. Circle this game for sure.
1. McCaskey @ Lancaster Catholic in Week 3 – The city rivals will have at it again after last year’s game drew 10,000-plus fans in Tornado Alley. This time around, Lancaster Catholic will host, and McCaskey has obtained a parade permit, and will march across Route 23 to Rossmere Stadium. Should be a spectacular sight. More good news: The Tornado and the Crusaders will be Section 1 foes starting in 2012.
That’s all for now … stay tuned for more L-L League items as the summer rolls on.
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