Franklin County Week 1: Second half dooms Shippensburg in defeat to Cedar Cliff
It was a solid first half for the Shippensburg Greyhounds, but it all went downhill after that Friday night.
The Cedar Cliff Colts, who trailed by three at the half, outscored Shippensburg 19-0 in the second half en route to a 29-13 victory.
Head coach Eric Foust didn't mince words with his assessment of the opener.
"We had our butts handed to us. We weren't good," Foust said. "If we continue to play this way, we're going to struggle throughout the year."
It was a defensive struggle in the first quarter as neither side could get anything going offensively. But in the second quarter, both teams did.
Shippensburg got some nice plays from young guys. Freshman Mark Carothers had a long kickoff return that set up a rushing touchdown from sophomore quarterback Brady Maciejewski. And then Maciejewski hit Kaden Shope with a beautiful deep ball to give Shippensburg the lead going into the break.
"Brady is a very heady kid. Mark's going to be a quality weapon for us," Foust said. "And we have a lot young kids who saw their first varsity experience, but we gotta be better."
But from there, it crumbled. Offensive mistakes and turnovers kept giving the ball back to the Colts. And they took advantage.
"I don't think it was nerves," Foust said. "They were just trying to figure things out, and we didn't do a very good job of that."
Cedar Cliff ran the ball well, led by Erik Schriver, who had 136 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns, all in the second half. And quarterback Bennett Secrest did what he had to do, finishing with 132 total yards.
"We played a good half, but all of a sudden we just didn't finish," Foust said. "We didn't continue the game. I just didn't expect that."
Cedar Cliff wore the Shippensburg defense down as the game went on. It was in the mid-80s at the time of kickoff, so the heat could have played a factor, but Foust wasn't ready to chalk that up as a reason.
"They played in the same heat," Foust said.
More: Pa. high school football scores: Week 1 statewide scoreboard
Maciejewski had some bright spots but finished his first start 5-of-12 passing for 93 yards, two total touchdowns and an interception. The running game as a whole didn't produce, as Shippensburg only finished with 30 rushing yards.
Shippensburg has to turn it around quickly as it heads out to face its rival Big Spring in the Little Brown Jug game next week.
Waynesboro 21, Spring Grove 3
It was a dominant defensive performance for the Indians. They didn't let the Rockets get anything going all game, and they took advantage of their own opportunities to seal the win.
Waynesboro scored touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, capped off by a touchdown pass by new sophomore quarterback Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt.
It's the first win in his first game for new head coach Mark Saunders, who looks to make it two in a row next week against Hershey.
Greencastle-Antrim 17, Big Spring 14
It was a strong fourth-quarter effort that propelled the Blue Devils to victory.
Greencastle, trailing 14-10, found the end zone with a 13-yard passing touchdown from Logan Alvey to Carter Coons. Big Spring tried to push on the final drive, but Greencastle forced a turnover on downs to seal the victory.
The Blue Devils will now head out-of-state next week for a battle with Berkeley Springs from West Virginia
Pope John Paul II 22, Chambersburg 0
Pope John Paul II has a stout defensive front, and with the inexperience of the Chambersburg offensive, it was an uphill battle it couldn't overcome.
The Trojans only ran for 16 yards against that front, and it couldn't muster up enough in the passing game.
The defense for Chambersburg was strong, as the game was scoreless at the half, but the Golden Panthers took advantage of their opportunities in the third quarter, finishing it with a 19-0 run.
Chambersburg stays home next week for a battle with Northern.
York Tech 14, James Buchanan 7
The Rockets took a 7-0 lead early, but couldn't add to it.
The Spartans hung around, eventually taking an 8-0 lead off a safety, and then added a touchdown to make it a seven-point game.
James Buchanan had a chance to tie it at the end, but a fourth-down shot to the end zone came up short.
The Rockets also go out of state next week, as they head to Maryland to face Clear Spring.
This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Week 1 recap: Second half dooms Shippensburg in defeat to Cedar Cliff
