Star of the day. Player of the century. Team of the week.
Has the proliferation of participation awards watered down the local sports scene and served to undermine the hard work and dedication of deserving student-athletes?
Perhaps so, perhaps not. What’s not up for debate though: which superlative was first.
Dating back nearly 50 years, the all-Lebanon County football team was the first local all-star team, the original. You might say that makes it the best.
The all-Lebanon County football team is not a popularity contest, and it does not involve click bait of any kind. It is determined solely by a vote of the countyโs six head coaches.
This week, the Lebanon County football coaches announced their 2023 all-Lebanon County team. Overall, itโs been a pretty good year for county football, one that is reflected on the all-star team.
โThere has to be some awards remaining that are meaningful,โ said Cedar Crest head coach Rob Wildasin, who was tabbed by his colleagues as Lebanon Countyโs coach of the year. โThis goes back to history and why. Itโs done to recognize the kids because they had tremendous seasons.
Read More: Wildasin reaches milestone 50th win as Cedar Crest dominates Penn Manor
โIt matters to us. It matters to the county,โ he continued. โI take a lot of pride in it, and I think these kids should too. Itโs a continual tradition. This is history to us.โ
With a dozen members, Wildasinโs Falcons are well represented on the all-Lebanon County football team, as are ELCO and Annville-Cleona โ all three of whom rode very good regular seasons to the District Three postseason.
All-Lebanon County Offense
Cedar Crest junior quarterback Jackson Custer heads the all-Lebanon County offense and is joined there by Falcon teammates Fernando Marquez at running back, Owen Chernich and Jack Waranavage at receiver, Aiden Schomp at tight-end, Nicholas Lambros at center and Cam Simone on the interior line. Rounding out the all-county offense are ELCOโs Jake Williams, Annville-Cleonaโs Cael Harter and Northern Lebanonโs Mo Gonzalez at running back, Lebanonโs Malachi Briddell and Palmyraโs Jon McDannell at receiver, ELCOโs Tupac Vasquez-Disla at center and Annville-Cleonaโs Damian Holloway, ELCOโs Carter Kemper, Lebanonโs Corbett Brickle and Palmyraโs Beau Toler on the offensive line.
The coaches chose Annville-Cleonaโs Jon Shay as their offensive athlete, Titus Orlando of Palmyra as their utility player, Briddel as their kick returner, Waranavage as their punt returner and former Cedar Crest lineman Michael Rivera as their inspirational player. Rivera was killed in an automobile accident earlier this yer.
โOthers might knock it because weโre a small county,โ said Wildasin. โBut itโs a tradition and weโre a tight-knit county. Thereโs been some big-time players who have sat in the bleachers and had their pictures taken. Itโs history. It goes down in the history books, and itโs not something anyone can take away from you. Itโs a bit of a club, a fraternity.โ
All-County Defense
Manning the all-Lebanon County defensive front are Logan Howard of Palmyra, Damien Miller of Annville-Cleona, Tristan Long of Cedar Crest, and Cedar Brickle, and they are flanked by ends Tanner Fegley of Northern Lebanon, Josiah Wright of Lebanon and Falcon Schomp. The linebacking corps consists of Kadin Jones and Kyle Koennecke of Palmyra, Luke Shaffer and Gonzalez of Northern Lebanon, Elliott Kreider of ELCO, Caleb Dorshimer of Cedar Crest, and Dutchman Holloway.
The all-county defensive backfield features Charlie Stewart of Palmyra, Leo Tirado of Cedar Crest, and Kenyon Figueroa at cornerback, and Nathan Eisenhooth of Palmyra, Logan Oriel of Cedar Crest, Falcon Chernich and Dutchman Harter at safety. The coaches recognized Riley Messinger of Northern Lebanon as their punter, Gavin Bicher of ELCO as their snapper and Ira Gensamer of ELCO as their place kicker.
โThatโs cool. It means a lot to me,โ said Wildasin of his first ever coach-of-the-year award. โWhen we as a staff took over in 2014, I was told by an opposing coach that this is one of the two worst programs in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. To be in the mix now is awesome. Weโve come such a long way, just to be competitive. Iโm really proud of my coaching staff.
โItโs been a great season, probably one of the best in school history, maybe in the top five,โ Wildasin added. โThe growth was there, we stayed healthy. We got better each week. We took care of business when it was time to take care of business. We measured ourselves up really well. We knew where we stood.โ
Despite his coaching honor, Wildasin is no stranger to the all-county football team. He was selected to the team as a player during his days at Annville-Cleona, in 1996 and 1997.
โI remember seeing it every year in the newspaper,โ said Wildasin. โI thought to myself, โThat would be awesome to make it.โ Honestly, I thought it was pie in the sky. It was a big goal, and I was blessed to be on the team for two years. It meant something to me. To these young men, itโs not just another award.โ
Team Photos
Annville-Cleona Dutchmen
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 |
Cedar Crest Falcons
2023 Cedar Crest Falcons
Read all our coverage of the Falcons here.
Roster
Head coach: Rob Wildasin
Assistant coaches: Nick Lambros, Brandon Kirsch, Brian Powers, Tom Gerhart, Shawn Rambler, Tom Waranavage, Logan Horn, Jona Padilla, Nevin Pagan, Bob Peebles, Bob Griffiths, Gary Wildasin
Jersey Number | Name | Grade | Position(s) |
---|---|---|---|
0 | Alex Abreu | 12 | RB/DB |
1 | Leo Tirado Jr. | 12 | WR/DB |
2 | Owen Chernich | 12 | WR/DB |
3 | Asher Ford | 12 | WR/DB |
4 | Jack Waranavage | 11 | WR/DB |
5 | Cristhian Viveros | 11 | WR/DB |
6 | Cameron Tirado | 10 | WR/DB |
7 | Kayden Tirado | 11 | RB/LB |
8 | Jackson Custer | 11 | QB/DB |
9 | Seth Warren | 11 | TE/DL |
10 | Fernando Marquez | 12 | RB/LB |
11 | Logan Oriel | 12 | WR/LB |
12 | Lucas Nolan | 11 | WR/DB |
13 | Diego Yanez | 10 | WR/LB |
14 | Connor McCracken | 10 | TE/DE |
15 | Cameron Hansell | 10 | QB/DB |
16 | Malachi Victor | 11 | WR/LB |
17 | Kaeleb Fees | 11 | WR/DB |
18 | Travis Kemberling | 10 | WR/DB |
19 | Dillon Hoffman | 11 | WR/DB |
20 | Yadi Rosario | 10 | WR/DB |
21 | Caleb Dorshimer | 12 | TE/LB |
22 | Kenyon Figueroa | 12 | WR/DB |
23 | Josh Tricoche | 11 | RB/DB |
24 | Preston Barton | 12 | WR/DB |
25 | Noah Miller | 10 | RB/LB |
26 | Richie Hernandez | 12 | FB/LB |
27 | Landen Weaber | 10 | WR/LB |
28 | Landyn Kline | 10 | RB/LB |
29 | Liam Setcavage | 10 | WR/DB |
30 | Justin Moreno | 10 | WR/DB |
31 | Alex Thies | 11 | WR/DB |
32 | Samantha Fink | 10 | K |
33 | Kai Speaks | 9 | WR/LB |
34 | Antonio Tirado | 9 | WR/DB |
35 | Eli Beard | 9 | RB/DB |
36 | Ethan Bowman | 11 | K |
37 | Dominic Roth | 12 | RB/LB |
38 | Isaiah Zimmerman | 9 | RB/LB |
39 | Tre Wamsher | 11 | WR/DB |
40 | Joe Arnt | 11 | RB/LB |
41 | Jordan Eisenhauer | 12 | WR/DB |
42 | Anthony Lantz | 11 | WR/DB |
43 | Garrett Starry | 9 | TE/LB |
44 | Skyler Sherman | 9 | WR/DB |
45 | Conner Rowe | 11 | WR/DB |
46 | Jackson Chernich | 9 | TE/DE |
47 | Terrance Wilson | 9 | WR/DB |
48 | Calvin Dash | 9 | WR/DB |
49 | Gavin Berkheimer | 9 | OL/DL |
50 | Aidan Arnold | 11 | OL/DE |
51 | Keenon Hopple | 9 | OL/DL |
52 | Caden Wolfe | 9 | OL/DL |
53 | Nicholas Lambros | 12 | OL/DT |
54 | Paxton Thomas | 10 | OL/DL |
55 | Cameron Simone | 12 | OL/DE |
56 | Christian Weaber | 12 | OL/DL |
57 | Tyler Toscano | 10 | OL/DL |
58 | Alex Kissinger | 11 | OL/DL |
59 | Christian Simpson | 10 | OL/DL |
60 | Wyatt Fox | 10 | OL/DL |
61 | Jordan Cullen | 11 | OL/DL |
62 | Brady Shobe | 10 | OL/DT |
63 | Austin Brubaker | 11 | OL/DL |
64 | Jayden Storm | 10 | OL/DL |
65 | Evan Pierce | 11 | OL/DL |
66 | Landen Gross | 10 | OL/DE |
67 | Damarius Galarza | 10 | OL/DE |
68 | Carter Eisenhauer | 11 | OL/DL |
69 | Jimmy Trump | 10 | OL/DL |
70 | Tristan Long | 11 | OL/DL |
71 | Pal Bhavsar | 12 | OL/DL |
72 | Carter Ober | 10 | OL/DL |
73 | Ahmed Mohamed | 11 | OL/DL |
74 | Isaiah Sepulveda | 12 | OL/DL |
75 | Connor Shanaman | 10 | OL/DL |
76 | Michael Rivera | 12 | OL/DL |
77 | Nathanael Harbaugh | 11 | OL/DL |
78 | Bruce Gonzalez | 10 | OL/DL |
79 | Alex Contreras | 11 | OL/DL |
80 | Ben Custer | 9 | TE/DE |
81 | Jayden Marley | 10 | WR/DB |
82 | Chase Warren | 9 | TE/DE |
83 | Luke Oriel | 10 | QB/DB |
84 | Cole Shanaman | 9 | OL/DL |
85 | Cole Stevenson | 11 | OL/DL |
86 | Nolan Brubaker | 9 | TE/LB |
87 | Aiden Schomp | 12 | TE/DE |
88 | Grayson Frankenstein | 11 | TE/DE |
91 | Bryan Duffy | 10 | RB/LB |
99 | Dylan Fuhrman | 11 | TE/DE |
ELCO Raiders
ELCO Raiders
Read all our coverage of the Raiders here.
Roster
Head Coach: Robert Miller
Assistant Coaches: John Carley, Robert Williams, Wyatt Hall, Earl Thomas, John Wetzel
Jersey Number | Name | Grade | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jordan Hartz | Jr. | WR/DB |
2 | Justin Smucker | Jr. | WR/DB |
3 | Steven Rosado | Jr. | QB/DB |
4 | Shane Boyer | Jr. | WR/LB |
5 | Jackson Conners | Sr. | WR/DB |
6 | Gavin Bicher | Jr. | QB/LB |
7 | Phillip Horst | Jr. | TE/DE |
8 | Austin Yesko | Jr. | RB/DB |
9 | Ira Gensamer | Sr. | RB/DB |
10 | Elliott Kreider | Sr. | RB/LB |
11 | Dom Herzog | Sr. | WR/DB |
14 | Ethan Busser | Jr. | WR/LB |
15 | Dante James | Sr. | WR/DB |
16 | Sara Miller | Sr. | WR/DB |
17 | Josh Blair | Jr. | QB/LB |
19 | James Prosser | Sr. | WR/DB |
20 | Jude Weaver | Sr. | WR/DB |
21 | Jonathan Fisher | Jr. | WR/DB |
22 | Jake Williams | Sr. | RB/LB |
23 | Zane Trostle | Jr. | RB/DB |
24 | Mitchell Frederick | Jr. | RB/LB |
25 | Lee Tobias | Sr. | RB/DB |
26 | Landon Goodison | Jr. | K/P |
28 | Butch Savich | So. | WR/DB |
29 | Issac Harms | Sr. | WR/DB |
30 | Griffin Kreider | Fr. | QB/DB |
32 | Ellis Gensamer | So. | RB/LB |
33 | Brady Stoops | Jr. | RB/DL |
34 | Victor Feliciano | Sr. | WR/DB |
35 | Dom Shaak | Jr. | RB/DB |
38 | Isaiah Angley | Sr. | RB/DL |
40 | Rhyce Faust | Jr. | WR/DB |
41 | Hunter Mehaffey | So. | WR/DB |
42 | Elejandro Weister | So. | WR/DB |
44 | Connor Showalter | So. | WR/DB |
45 | J.C. Dejesus | Jr. | RB/DL |
50 | Luke Bailey | So. | OL/DL |
51 | Paul Williams | So. | OL/DL |
52 | Avery Kurtz | Jr. | OL/DL |
53 | Alex Muniz Cruz | Sr. | OL/DL |
54 | Robert Lubin | Jr. | OL/DL |
55 | Brayden Malloy | Jr. | OL/DL |
57 | Mason Sipe | So. | OL/DL |
58 | Carter Kemper | Sr. | OL/LB |
59 | Tupac Vasquez-Disla | Jr. | OL/DL |
60 | Lukas Morasco | Jr. | OL/DL |
62 | Griffin Fisher | Sr. | OL/DL |
63 | Asher Grier | So. | OL/DL |
64 | Dominick Lattarulo | Jr. | OL/DL |
65 | Riley McDonald | So. | RB/LB |
66 | Chris Bateman | Jr. | OL/DL |
67 | Ty Landis | So. | RB/LB |
68 | Jason Arnold | Sr. | WR/DB |
71 | James Kuhne | So. | WR/DB |
72 | Dawson Ocker | Sr. | OL/DL |
74 | Cole Haag | So. | OL/DL |
75 | Bryce Maize | Jr. | OL/DL |
76 | Josie Lebron-Matos | So. | WR/DB |
77 | Tyler Shaak | So. | OL/DL |
78 | Dylan Reddinger | Sr. | WR/DB |
79 | Ethan Bretzius | So. | OL/DL |
80 | Tyce Fiddner | Jr. | TE/DE |
81 | Michael Books | Jr. | WR/DB |
82 | Bryant Auker | Sr. | WR/DB |
84 | Noah Burgess | Jr. | WR/DB |
85 | Landon Leonard | Jr. | TE/DE |
87 | Chase Hess | Jr. | TE/DE |
88 | Bryce Haislip | Sr. | WR/DB |
89 | Dalton Pyzka | So. | TE/DE |
Lebanon Cedars
Lebanon Cedars
Read all our coverage of the Cedars here.
Roster
Head Coach: Frank Isenberg
Assistant Coaches: Greg Herr, Tyler Roth, Jason Capello, Nathan Myers
Jersey Number | Name | Position | Grade |
---|---|---|---|
2 | Derek Infante | WR/DB | Senior |
4 | Riquelme Estevez | WR/DB | Senior |
5 | Jack Herr | WR/LB | Senior |
6 | Derrick Briddell | WR/DB | Senior |
7 | Tayvian Rivera | WR/DB | Senior |
8 | Malachi Briddell | WR/DB | Sophomore |
9 | Aidan Fernandez | TE/LB | Senior |
10 | Brandyn Castro | QB | Junior |
11 | Braylon Beaver | WR/DB | Senior |
12 | Jahkeim Medlock | RB/DB | Senior |
13 | Benjamin Fenstermaker | WR/DB | Senior |
14 | Jeavon Cortes | WR/LB | Senior |
15 | Paul Trace | WR/DB | Senior |
16 | Josiah Wright | TE/DL | Senior |
17 | Kareem Stoner | QB/DB | Junior |
18 | Juan Rivera | WR/DB | Sophomore |
19 | Jovani Rivera-Gonzalez | WR/DB | Sophomore |
20 | Kai Rivera | RB/LB | Junior |
21 | Sebastian Polanco | RB/LB | Sophomore |
22 | Camron Buchmoyer | RB/LB | Sophomore |
24 | Anthony Klish | WR/DB | Sophomore |
25 | Nathan Border | RB/LB | Senior |
26 | Jesucristo Echevarria Figueroa | WR/LB | Junior |
27 | Jamil Gordon | WR/DB | Sophomore |
30 | Messiah Wilson | TE/LB | Junior |
32 | Josean Wright | WR/LB | Freshman |
33 | Issac Cortes | WR/LB | Junior |
34 | Reinaldo Rivera | RB/LB | Junior |
50 | Colin Daugherty | K | Senior |
52 | Omar Aguilar-Ortiz | OL/DL | Junior |
54 | Ethan Rivera | OL/DL | Sophomore |
60 | Dujhan Baez | OL/DL | Junior |
62 | Daniel Hershey | OL/DL | Sophomore |
64 | Derryck Brickle | OL/DL | Sophomore |
65 | Mahkye Cortes | OL/DL | Senior |
65 | Colin Johnsen | OL/DL | Senior |
70 | Elis Bentez Jimenez | OL/DL | Sophomore |
72 | Cayden Clentimack | OL/DL | Junior |
75 | Cameron Harbaugh | OL/DL | Sophomore |
76 | Omar Milete | OL/DL | Junior |
78 | Corbett Brickle | OL/DL | Senior |
Northern Lebanon Vikings
Northern Lebanon Vikings
Read all our coverage of the Vikings here.
Roster
Head Coach: Jason Rice
Assistant Coaches: Mark Rice, Josh Thompson, John Heisey, Josh Wolfe, Rusty Wallace, Hunter Wallace, Collin Wall
Jersey Number | Name | Grade | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2 | Bryan Mitzel | 10 | WR/DB |
3 | Moises Gonzalez | 12 | WR/LB |
4 | Kael Erdman | 10 | QB/LB |
5 | Julian Rivera | 9 | QB/WR/DB |
7 | Brendan Ryan | 11 | WR/DB |
8 | Luke Shaffer | 12 | TE/LB |
10 | Bryce Yocum | 9 | TE/LB |
11 | Tanner Feagley | 12 | WR/DE |
12 | Kaleb Barr | 10 | WR/DB |
14 | Riley Messinger | 11 | K/P |
17 | Owen Dohner | 9 | WR/DE |
18 | Sincere Perez | 10 | RB/LB |
19 | Garrett Bohn | 11 | K |
20 | Jack Kleisath | 9 | RB/LB |
21 | Corey Jackson | 11 | RB/DE |
22 | Kade Erdman | 12 | WR/DB |
23 | Eli Ostermayer | 12 | RB/LB |
25 | Brady Ryan | 9 | WR/DB |
27 | Jaxin Bush | 9 | WR/LB |
29 | Myles Watson | 11 | RB/DB |
30 | Raheim Rushton | 11 | WR/DE |
42 | Joe Billig | 9 | WR/DB |
43 | Jasper Uhler | 10 | WR/DB |
51 | Matthew Chernich | 10 | OL/DL |
52 | Russell Beers | 11 | OL/DL |
55 | Kyle Hitz | 12 | OL/LB |
57 | Eli Thompson | 11 | OL/DE |
60 | Christian Peiffer | 10 | OL/DL |
62 | Hayden Adams | 11 | OL/DL |
66 | Caleb Wright | 10 | OL/DL |
68 | Bryce Wimer | 11 | OL/DL |
73 | Ethan Hughes | 11 | OL/DL |
74 | Kale Loser | 11 | OL/DL |
77 | Andrew Stohler | 11 | OL/DL |
Palmyra Cougars
Palmyra Cougars
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