Annville-Cleona started the season on a high note, racing past Hanover 52-19.
Read More: Annville-Cleona football defies odds, rebounds despite graduation losses
The Little Dutchmen offense churned out 474 yards rushing, battering the Nighthawk defense.
A/C Head Coach Matt Gingrich said Hanover had size, but his team executed from the start.
“I was a little concerned when I saw them come in because they’re physically impressive, a lot of really good athletes, big kids,” said Gingrich. “We did a great job at the beginning asserting our game plan.”
On the opening drive, A/C junior running back Bryce Keller powered his way into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to start the scoring 7-0. Next possession, quarterback Cameron Connelly ran 10 yards for a touchdown, jumping out to a 14-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff Hanover would fumble away the ball, which was recovered by A/C senior Cash Watson on the Nighthawks 36 yard line. Less than a minute off the clock, Harter would take it in for a 9-yard score pushing the lead to 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.
While the rushing attack was firing on all cylinders, A/C was limited through the air completing just one pass.
“We got to complete some passes,” said Gingrich. “We had open passes and we dropped a couple passes that we were wide open and we didn’t run good routes on a couple of them.”
In the second quarter, the offensive line continued to open up huge holes. Junior Jonathon Shay scored on an 8-yard run. On the next drive A/C would add another touchdown this time on a 1-yard QB sneak by Connelly increasing the score to 33-0.
Hanover would fight back late in the second quarter as Joey Wilkinson would haul in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Trish. The Nighthawks would strike again through the air as Trish would connect with Sage Hartlaub for a 35-yard touchdown bringing the score to 33-12.
“Our defensive lapses, we had some defensive back coverage errors that haunted us in our Trinity game last year and it’s carried over,” said Gingrich.
Less than a minute left before halftime A/C would march down the field. With a few seconds left, Harter took the handoff and shook off tacklers, darting 35 yards to paydirt as the horn sounded, giving A/C a commanding 40-12 lead at the half.
The Nighthawks would open the second half with another quick strike through the air as Trish would find Wilkinson for a 14-yard TD catch.
A/C compiled 26 first downs in the contest. Shay would add a 19-yard TD as his teammate Harter would score his third touchdown of the night this time on a 15-yard interception return to finish the scoring.
A/C ran 73 plays for 483 total yards.
Next week, Annville-Cleona will travel to face longtime rival ELCO.
Coach Gingrich said that, due to ELCO moving up into a different division, this could be the last time A/C and ELCO play against each other, which he’ll miss.
“I always played ELCO, my childhood was against ELCO and I’m going to hate missing that rivalry.”
Annville-Cleona will face ELCO Thursday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. in Myerstown.
Read More: ELCO football team starts 2023 season with record turnout and high hopes
Annville-Cleona Dutchmen
Read all our coverage of the Dutchmen here.
Roster
Head Coach: Matt Gingrich
Assistant Coaches: Joe Heckard, Greg Keener, Joe Shay, Jon Bopp, Drew Speraw, Cody Dodson, Jonathan Lum, Mike Miller
| Jersey Number | Name | Grade | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miles Riehl | 11 | WR/DB |
| 2 | Cash Watson | 12 | WR/DB |
| 3 | Carson Grow | 12 | WR/DB |
| 4 | Cael Harter | 12 | RB/DB |
| 6 | Noah Riehl | 10 | WR/DB |
| 7 | Wyatt Mase | 10 | QB/DB |
| 8 | Liam Pulaski | 12 | WR/DB |
| 9 | Gavin Martens | 10 | WR/DB |
| 10 | Jonas Cupak | 11 | WR/DB |
| 11 | Bryce Keller | 11 | RB/DB |
| 13 | Ryan Barrientos | 11 | RB/LB |
| 14 | Jonathan Moran | 10 | RB/LB |
| 16 | Cameron Connelly | 12 | QB/DB |
| 17 | Kaeli Pennington | 11 | WR/DB |
| 19 | Yamaliel Navarro | 9 | RB/DB |
| 21 | Mina Elzek | 12 | K |
| 22 | Aidan Blauch | 11 | WR/DB |
| 24 | Hudson Sellers | 10 | RB/LB |
| 31 | Dominic Casciotti | 11 | WR/DB |
| 33 | Luke Wentling | 10 | RB/LB |
| 35 | Jack Getty | 11 | WR/DB |
| 36 | Ivan Kreider | 11 | TE/LB |
| 41 | Jonathon Shay | 11 | RB/DL |
| 44 | Levi Heckard | 10 | TE/DL |
| 50 | Dan Bright-Walck | 10 | OL/DL |
| 51 | Alex Hemperly | 11 | OL/LB |
| 52 | Damien Miller | 12 | OL/DL |
| 53 | Anthony Gardner | 12 | OL/DL |
| 54 | Malacai Victa | 11 | OL/DL |
| 55 | Travis Wilk | 10 | OL/DL |
| 59 | Jordan Nickens | 10 | OL/DL |
| 64 | Armani Santos | 10 | OL/DL |
| 68 | Nathanael Sanchez | 10 | OL/DL |
| 70 | Blake Meyer | 10 | OL/DL |
| 72 | Alec Tetzlaff | 12 | OL/DL |
| 75 | Carter Smith | 12 | OL/DL |
| 76 | Preston Bomgardner | 11 | OL/DL |
| 77 | Jaxon Speece | 9 | OL/DL |
| 87 | Darrian Holloway | 12 | TE/LB |
| 89 | Timothy Montijo | 12 | RB/DL |
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
More Top Stories
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
