They've been football rivals. Now these York County linemen will be Division I teammates
Michael Hershey and Michael McMonigle both don’t want to have bragging right over the other.
The two York County linemen faced off for nearly an entire game this past fall – Spring Grove’s Hershey trying to beat York High’s McMonigle for sacks and tackles.
So who won those battles?
“I’d say it was back and forth,” Hershey said.
“It was pretty 50-50,” McMonigle concurred.
The pair will likely face off again this fall. However, they will then become teammates – and will potentially line up next to each other at some point in the following four years.
Both rising seniors, Hershey and McMonigle both verbally committed to the University of Maryland two weekends ago. The 6-foot-6 McMonigle is being recruited as an offensive tackle while the 6-foot-5 Hershey will likely play guard for the Big Ten program.
They will be able to sign their letters of intent in December. Regardless of the positions they end up playing, McMonigle is just thankful he won’t have to continue blocking Hershey.
“His effort sets him apart,” the York High Bearcat said. “He will never stop chasing after the ball."
The two linemen are the first York County football players to commit to Maryland since Red Lion’s Andrew Zeller played for Susquehannock legend Randy Edsall from 2011 to 2015. The Terrapins are coming off an 8-5 season and have shown progress in the Big Ten under fifth-year coach Mike Locksley — a former Towson University teammate of York High head coach Russ Stoner.
It's rare to see two York County football players commit to the same Power Five program in the same season. York High running back Jahiem White and quarterback Sam Stoner just enrolled at West Virginia, but only White is on athletic scholarship. Central York’s Kyle Baublitz, Susquehannock’s Chaz Powell and Dallastown’s Ben Kline were teammates at Penn State in 2011, but all three players were in different graduating classes.
Stoner was blunt when asked if he could think of a situation similar to this one: “Heck no.”
But while McMonigle and Hershey are physically imposing linemen who have racked up double-digit Division I offers over the past year, there are numerous differences between the two – from their backgrounds to football experience and even their personalities.
What they share is a desire to continue to get better — something they will help each other with in the coming years.
“We both want to work hard, have fun and see where it goes from there,” Hershey said. “Score the points and get it done.”
Different but similar
Jovial and almost goofy off the field, McMonigle admitted he's not naturally athletic.
His family moved from the Philadelphia suburbs to York right before he was born, and he never played football growing up. A student at Logos Academy since kindergarten, he spent more time working as a dishwasher at his dad's restaurant than he did playing sports.
But what he did have was size. While his dad is 6-foot-2 and his mom is 5-foot-8, McMonigle was already 6-foot-4 entering high school. Logos Academy students are allowed to play sports at York High, so despite being nervous, McMonigle gave football shot.
By his sophomore season, he was 6-foot-6, 280 pounds and a varsity starter. His long arms and improved footwork have made him an ideal offensive tackle. And he displayed impressive hand-eye coordination when he intercepted a screen pass in a playoff game against Central York this past fall.
He earned his first Division I offer from Marshall last summer and ended up deciding between Maryland and Syracuse.
"When he first walked into my office, he was like a baby giraffe," Stoner said. "He was just a really big, young kid who had never played football before. He's spent endless hours working with (York High offensive line coach) Ben Cregger, and they've working extremely hard turning him into an offensive lineman. He had to learn everything from getting into a stance to running out of a stance. It was just the process of making him a football player."
By contrast, Hershey started playing football in kindergarten. The son of a Spring Grove graduate, Hershey carries himself with a quiet intensity off the field.
That intensity explodes when he steps on the football field or wrestling mat. Stunningly quick and chiseled at 260 pounds, Hershey can go through or around his opposition. A finalist for GameTimePA's Boys' Athlete of the Year, Hershey racked up eight sacks on defense while earning first-team all-star honors on both sides of the ball. His next-level athleticism was apparent in wrestling — where 33 of his 42 victories came by pin.
He didn't hear much from college coaches until this offseason, but received a number of Ivy League and FCS offers before Maryland gave him his first Power Five opportunity.
"I expected it at some point," he said about getting an offer from a major program. "My best football is ahead of me."
Learn more about Hershey: He sacks quarterbacks. He pins heavyweights. But this athlete lets his play do the talking
Division I offers for freshmen? Here's what it means for these York football players
Despite their differences, the two future teammates do share similarities. Both eat large amounts of food to keep their weight up. Both said they partially chose Maryland for academic reasons — finance for McMonigle and mechanical engineering for Hershey.
And while they've gotten to know each other while getting recruited by the same school, they both kept things short when asked about their relationship.
"He's a cool guy," McMonigle said.
"We respect each other," Hershey added.
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: York High, Spring Grove linemen commit to Maryland football
