Lampeter-Strasburg angling for same success in rematch vs. Wyomissing: 3 L-L League football facts for Nov. 18
Week 14 on deck, with D3 championships in 6A, 5A and 4A teed up and ready to go. Some notables about the four L-L League teams still standing ...
. Quick rewind to Week 10, when Lampeter-Strasburg KO'd Wyomissing 20-7 to sew up the outright Section 4 championship — and snap the Spartans' 36-game home winning streak in the process. ... Wyo didn't have much success slowing down L-S QB Caileb Howse (129 rushing yards, 1 TD) or RB Dominic Brown (116 rushing yards, 1 TD). Not that anyone has had much success curtailing either one of them this fall. ... Howse is up 1,350 passing yards with 14 TD tosses against no picks, plus 1,245 rushing yards with 19 TD keepers. He had two TD throws in the Pioneers' 31-13 win over Twin Valley in the D3-4A semifinals. ... Brown is up to 1,277 rushing yards — he had a tour-de-force 183-yard effort in the semifinals vs. TV — with 21 TD rumbles, as L-S is cranking to 374.8 yards a game. ... Safe to say Wyo can't let Howse and/or Brown run wild in the rematch, when the Spartans and the Pioneers collide for D3-4A gold on Friday at 7 p.m. at Warwick. ... Wyo's D is certainly feeling it; Spartans blanked East Pennsboro 31-0 in the quarterfinals, and then held West York to minus-9 rushing yards in a 35-7 victory in the semifinals, as Wyo stretched its D3 winning streak to 13 straight dubs. ... In eight playoff quarters, Wyo has allowed just 16 first downs, 244 total yards and 74 rushing yards on 47 carries — a measly 1.6 yards per pop. Not too shabby. They'll need that kind of a D effort vs. L-S — on the turf surface — on Friday.
. Nice to see QB Riley Martinez back under center for Exeter in the Eagles' 48-14 win over Conestoga Valley in the D3-5A semifinals. He didn't play the whole game, but he was back on the field after missing a month-plus while rehabbing an injury. ... In his lone pass attempt vs. the Buckskins, Martinez lobbed a 31-yard TD strike to Carter Redding. He's now 48-for-70 for 878 yards with 15 TD flips against no picks; he and Howse are the only qualified L-L QBs who have not thrown an INT so far this season. ... While Martinez was out, lefty Jacob Hafer (28-for-50 for 515 yards, 6 TD) and RB Jayden Zandier (2 TD passes in 7 completions) took snaps; Zandier mostly in Wildcat packages. Having Martinez back out there will only help, especially when Exeter tangles with Bishop McDevitt for D3-5A supremacy on Friday at 7 p.m. at Elco.
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. Not sure if Wilson QB Madyx Gruber will reach a 1,000-pass/1,000-rush season for the Bulldogs. But he's been quite the dual-threat. Check the numbers: 135-of-208 (65%) for 1,885 yards with 24 TD tosses, plus another 715 rushing yards with eight TD keepers. He'll need 115 air yards vs. Harrisburg in the D3-6A finale on Saturday for a 2,000-yard passing season. ... Gruber has also excelled on D, with five INT and 10 pass breakups from his DB spot. The Cougars must be wary of him at all times.
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