District 3 football: Annville-Cleona, Elco kick off tournament play Friday
Three Lebanon County football teams have earned spots in the District 3 tournament. For Annville-Cleona and Elco, the playoffs start at 7 p.m. Friday. Cedar Crest will have to wait until Saturday, Nov. 11 for its first postseason contest.
Camp Hill (5-5) vs. Annville-Cleona (7-3) at Lebanon Alumni Stadium: If this District 3 Class 2A semifinal seems familiar, there is good reason.
Last year, the Dutchmen were the top seed in 2A and hosted the Lions in the semifinals. A-C won that contest 42-13. This time around, the matchup is the same, though the location will be different. Due to construction at A-C, the game will be played at Lebanon with the Dutchmen still considered the host.
A-C earned a share of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Five title after closing out the regular season with a 24-0 win over Northern Lebanon. The Dutchmen split the title with Lancaster Catholic and Schuylkill Valley. A-C beat the Crusaders 35-21 but lost to the Panthers 14-13.
The Dutchmen ran the ball on 92 percent of their offensive snaps. Cael Harter led A-C with 1,087 rushing yards, while Bryce Keller and Cam Connelly added 758 and 669, respectively. Harter and Connelly had 13 rushing touchdowns each.
Though passes have been infrequent for A-C, Jon Shay has pulled in 13 receptions and two touchdowns, the only two scoring throws for Connelly this fall.
The Lions were the last team in the 2A field. Camp Hill started the season 3-0, but lost five of their last seven. Two of those losses were against 10-0 Steel-High and 9-1 West Perry. The Lions ended the regular season with their only win in the Mid-Penn Capital Division, a 35-27 victory against Boiling Springs. Camp Hill quarterback Drew Branstetter threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns in that win.
If the Dutchmen win, they will face the winner of the Trinity-Delone Catholic semifinal on Nov. 10.
Big Spring (6-4) At Elco (7-3): Two teams that missed out on the postseason last year meet up in this Class 4A first-round contest.
The Raiders opened the season 4-0, but then had to win their last two games to hold on to a first-round home game. Elco defeated Donegal 12-0 in Week 9 without Jake Williams, who returned for a 34-21 win over Berks Catholic in the regular-season finale.
Williams rushed for 314 yards and four touchdowns in that win, bringing his season total to 1,978 rushing yards. That set a school record, previously held by Braden Bohannon.
Though the Bulldogs throw the ball a bit more than the Raiders, their big numbers are on the ground. Connor Green ran for 1,075 yards in the regular season, while Grant Hall rushed for 1,025 yards. They had 12 and 10 touchdowns, respectively.
Big Spring ended the regular season with a three-game win streak to sneak into the District 3 playoffs, clinching its spot with a 21-7 win over Middletown last Friday. The Bulldogs are 0-4 against teams that finished the regular season with a winning record.
The winner of this game will travel to No. 2 Twin Valley (9-1) for the quarterfinals next weekend.
Cedar Crest (8-2) at Harrisburg (9-1): The eight-team Class 6A bracket does not start until one week after the above tournaments, so the seventh-seeded Falcons and second-seeded Cougars have an extra week to prepare for each other. More on this contest will be in this section next week.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: District 3 football: Annville-Cleona, Elco start postseason this week
